Yay! Chappie five! Not much to say, so, enjoy!
Disclaimer: I don't own Hey Arnold. End of story. Capeesh!
I hope I'm not late! I hope I'm not late!
As he walked toward the old oak tree, he spoted Gerald and Phoebe talking to each other while they wait. No sign of Helga. Where is she?
He looked at his watch. She should be here by now.
"Hey Gerald! Phoebe!" He called to them as he waved. They waved back.
"You're late, Arnold!" Gerald said as Arnold came within earshot.
Arnold sighed. "I know. I needed time to think so much I guess I, forgot. Where's Helga? She's not one to be late to anything."
Gerald looked to Phoebe. She looked confused for a moment, then her eyes lit up.
"Oh! I just remembered. She called me and said she needed to take care of something real quick before she meets us."
"Okay. We can play catch whil we wait." Gerald suggested.
"But Helga has my glove." Phoebe informed.
Arnold held his glove out to Phoebe. "Here. You two can play. I wanna think for a bit, anyway."
"Are you sure, Arnold? I can wait a turn." Phoebe said.
Arnold held up his free hand. "No. It's fine. I don't mind."
Phoebe accepted the glove and baseball. Arnold leaned against the tree, watching the clouds pass by as Gerald and Phoebe tossed the ball back and forth, all waiting for Helga to come.
Twenty minutes later, Arnold saw Helga just on the hill's horizon, waving as she ran toward them.
"Hey Guys! Sorry I'm late. I had some buisiness to take care of. I brought an extra ball, just in case."
She was about to hand Phoebe the extra glove when she noticed that Phoebe already had a glove on her hand.
"When did you get a glove, Phoebs?"
"Oh, no. This is Arnold's glove. He let me use it while we waited for you." Phoebe explained. She handed the glove back to Arnold and took the one from Helga.
"Okay. Who's playing who?" Gerald asked.
"Me and Gerald will play each other. You and Helga will face each other. The winners best out of three will play each other. The losers will play each other. Best out of three catches wins. That sound good?" Arnold said.
"Okay." Helga said.
"That sounds doable!" Phoebe said.
"Sounds good to me." Gerald aggreed.
"Alright. Let's play ball!"
Arnold and Gerald played far enough away from the tree that the farthest branches couldn't reach over them. Helga and Phoebe played on the opposite side of the tree.
When he was sure they were out of earshot, Gerald asked, "So, why were you so distracted today? Or do you still need to think on it?"
Arnold gave a sigh. "Have you ever had this weird feeling but couldn't figure out what it is?"
He looked at Arnold for a moment. Finally, he said, "Yeah, you need more time to think."
Arnold nodded. "You're right, Gerald."
Arnold tossed the ball back and Geralld missed the catch.
"Ha! I got you!" Arnold said.
"Yeah. Okay. I get it, Arnold. You got me. You won." Gerald replied as he went to get the ball.
As they headed back to the tree, they spotted Phoebe and Helga talking to each other as they sat under the tree.
Helga turned her head towards them and called, "It's about time! What took you so long?"
"What? How long have you guys been sitting?" Arnold asked as they came into earshot.
"About five minutes." Phoebe replied, looking at her watch. "So who won?"
"Arnold did. What about you guys?"
"Helga."
"You and me, then. Play ball!"
Gerald headed back the direction he came. Helga handed Phoebe her baseball as Phoebe got up to follow Gerald.
Helga got up as well and said, "Well, it looks like we're playing each other. You wanna toss first?"
Arnold then offered the ball to Helga as he said, "No. You can go first."
My love offered me the first toss! I think I'm gonna die! (Mentally swoons)
"No, I insist you toss first, football head."
Arnold suddenly lifted his head slightly, his eyes looking intent and surprised.
What? Wait, what did I just say? Did I just call him 'football head'? Oh, great! Now I really am gonna die!
"Haven't used that name in a long time." He said softly.
She reached out to him. "Arnold, I-I didn't mean-"
"Relax, Helga. I don't mind the name. And I know you didn't mean it the way it sounded." Arnold assured her with a smile.
My love. Kind and understanding. (Mentally swoons)
Helga smiled back.
She tossed the ball into play and they started the game.
As they tossed the ball back and forth Arnold finally broke the silence between them.
"I'm so glad that we're friends, Helga. I really have had fun hanging out with you for the past few weeks."
Helga then perked up at his words. Do my ears decieve me? Did Arnold just say that he has enjoyed my company? Oh, happy days! Oh, Arnold, my love. Your sweet words fill my heart with joy. (Mentally swoons) "Yeah, me too."
Arnold was surprised at her tone. She sounded distracted, almost, sad. "What's wrong?" He asked in his usual, considerate to everyone voice. He tossed the ball back to Helga.
"I'm just thinking about my family at home." She tossed back.
"Is Olga coming to visit again?"
"No. It's just, sometimes, I wish I could get away from it all, you know? If I had a choice, I would never go back home again. My mom and dad are, well, not exactly the best parents around."
"What would make you think that?"
"Well, let's see. Bob, my so called 'dad' is always too busy with buisiness or gambling to pay attention. And Miriam, heh, let's just say she drinks so many smoothies she can't even stay awake long enough to even make my lunch right or make sure it's put on the counter instead of in the oven. And then there's Olga. Bob and Miriam are always so proud of her and pay so much attention to her that they barely notice that I exist. They've been neglecting me for as long as I can remember."
She had a rather sad look on her face as she said that last sentence.
Arnold didn't notice much. "And how far back was that?" He questioned.
"Cince I was three."
This saddened Arnold. There was a short period of silence, then he spoke.
"You have lived a lonely sad life. No one to be there for you." By this time, they stopped tossing Arnold's baseball.
Helga looked down at the ball in her glove. "Well, there was someone."
She looked back up at Arnold. She then gave him a sincere smile. "I think you know who that is." She added.
That was when he realized what she was referring to. That day in preschool. He thought. I held an umbrella over her. And complemented her. That must be the day she-
His thoughts were interrupted when Helga spoke. "One morning after I grabbed my lunchbox for preschool, I went into the living room in search for Bob and Miriam. There they were, smiling proudly as they watched and listened to Olga play the piano. Confused, I tugged on Bob's pant leg and said, 'Daddy, who's taking me to pweschool?' You know what he said? He said, 'Huh? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Just, go outside and play or something.' and waved me off! Then he said, 'Come on, let's hear another one!' and Olga said something about a one minute waltz. Then, as she started playing some other song, I walked out of the living room and said, 'I'm going to pweschool.' They didn't say anything, so as I went out the door, I shouted, 'I'm going to pweschool!' in an annoyed tone. It was when I closed the door that I noticed it was raining. Saddened by this, I continued on. When I came up to the street crossing, a car drove past ans splashed mud all over my jumper. When I passed an alley, an alley dog took my lunch box. I continued on until I saw the preschool building. By the time I reached the front of the building, I was soaking wet and really sad. So I just stood there, looking down at my shoes when I noticed that drops had stopped falling on me. I looked up and noticed an umbrella above my head. Then I looked over and saw you when you said, 'Hi. Nice bow.' Then I said, 'Huh?' and you clarified by saying, 'I like your bow, because it's pink like your pants.' That's when I fell for you. You're the only person who's ever noticed me and actually seemed to care. At the time, I never intended to be your bully in the first place. But then at snack time that day, one of the others caught me sneaking looks at you and mocked it. That hurt me so much, I decided to put my true feelings in hiding as this new side of me was let loose. From that day on and every day since, I was too afraid that they'll laugh at me again. All because I have problems at home that was so hard on me already, I just couldn't take any more hurt. So, yeah. My parents aren't even parents to me. That's why I call them 'Bob' and 'Miriam'. They don't deserve the title of 'mom' and 'dad'."
Wow. Arnold was speechless. He couldn't imagine having parents who neglected him for an older sibling. He knew she had problems at home, but he didn't know it was that bad. There was that feeling of saddness for her again. He stood there as he breathed it in.
"Arnold?" Helga said.
"Wow. I had no idea." Then he realized. "Are we still playing, or do you want to call a tie?"
Helga almost forgot about catch. She tossed the ball to him and smiled.
"No. We're still playing. Don't think you can win that easily!"
Yay! So, how'd you like it? Tell me!
Thanks once again to those who are everlastingly faithful to this whole story.
I wanna let you all know that there is lots more to come. I still haven't gotten to the ending yet! Can you believe it?
With nothing more to say, here is my final word.
REVIEW!