Yay! only one more chapter left! :)
Please let me know what you think of what's all be going down and all that :) Read and Review my friends!
As always, I don't own Hey Arnold! I only own Ray. (Does that sound weird? Hahah)
anyways, enjoy! see ya for the conclusion! :)
xoxo
Polkahotness
Rhonda was in full swing for party planning, which, is never a good thing.
As in a horrible thing.
"Do you think that we should have all pink, or a medley, Nandine? I'm thinking medley since it feels more Hawaiian. Don't you think?"
"Well, Rhonda, I think that-"
"Medley. You're so right."
I rolled my eyes and crossed my arms.
"We should really have this party in honor of Ray. I mean, you all saw him this morning? So helpless in that bed..."
"We were playing cards with him. He wasn't helpless at all." I countered, receiving the stink eye.
"Well for goodness sake, Helga. His ARM is broken. He can't play guitar, he can't do ANYTHING."
"Well, to be perfectly honest Rhonda, breaking your arm may hurt but it isn't all that bad."
"For once I agree with Lila." I added.
"Plus you get a cast! And we can all sign it! Eugene has some pens in all different colors that work well on the cast!" Sheena squeaked while hanging up a string of Hawaiian flowers.
"Casts are hideous, Sheena." Rhonda deadpanned.
"Casts are also a thing normal people have to have sometimes, Princess." I muttered and tapped Phoebe's shoulder. "Let's go, Pheebs."
It surprised me that Rhonda didn't put up more of a fight.
"She never lets me get away with a comment like that." I said as we walked down the sidewalk.
"Maybe she's tired of fighting, Helga."
"Rhonda? Tired of fighting with me? Fat chance."
We slowed to a stop when we reached the familiar green house I had once called my home.
It's funny how quickly the feeling of home can disappear when you never truly felt it in the first place.
"You think they're in there?" Phoebe asked, my eyes drifting to the upstairs window I had once looked out of with dreams of a football-headed God so many times.
"I could care less, Pheebs."
"I'm sure they miss you."
"I doubt it."
"Why?"
I turned my head to look down to her and crossed my arms tightly across my chest.
"Because, Phoebe. When have they ever showed that they cared one ounce for me?"
I heard the door open and a head peak out.
"H-helga?"
I sighed and closed my eyes for a moment, biting my lip and taking in a deep breath before turning to look at her.
"Hi, Miriam."
"Oh, Helga! It's you! Hey B! Helga's out here!"
I glared in Phoebe's direction.
"You planned for this, didn't you."
She shrugged and smiled warmly.
"It's about time you knew that Arnold isn't the only one who cares about you, Helga."
The whirl of the blender filled the air and I sat down on a stool in the newly remodeled kitchen I no longer recognized.
"You know, Helga, I can't believe you never told me about all the things you've done..."
"I tried once upon a time ago, mom."
"You did?"
"Of course I did. I've always been trying to make you fools proud."
"Now Helga, we are NOT fools."
I shrugged and took a sip from the glass of water I had made myself.
"Considering you have spent your whole lives worshiping the daughter who could instead of the daughter who did, yeah. I'd consider you fools." I stood up and poured the rest of the water into the sink and shoved my hands in my pockets. "Now this has been just a barrel of fun, but I think I'm headin' out."
"Now just you wait, little lady."
"What Bob? I'm leaving. Done. No more of this crap."
"Crap being seeing your family? Cripes, Olga."
"IT'S HELGA. And I'm LEAVING."
"Helga, please," Miriam whined, "we haven't talked in so long. Just... why don't you tell us what you've, what you've been up to."
I slowly sat back down under the heat of Bob's glare.
"School. More school."
"Are you seeing anybody?" Bob asked.
I sat quietly and nodded slowly. "Yep."
"Well, is it anybody we know?"
"Why would it be anyone we know, Miriam? She's off in school in... where was it again?"
"Does it really matter?" I groaned.
"So who is the young man in your life, Helga?" Miriam asked with sudden excitement.
"His name is Arnold."
"Arnold? Wasn't that the orphan boy?"
I facepalmed my forehead and rubbed my head for a moment.
"Yes DAD. And He's not an orphan."
"Does he have parents?" he argued.
"Not here at the moment-"
"Then he's an orphan boy!"
I shook my head and smiled.
"Yep. I'm definitely done here. Thanks for the water, and I'll be seeing you someday."
"Helga, don't listen to him," Miriam tried after me, but I was already at the door.
"Seeya" I called out, Miriam just reaching me fast enough to put a hand on my shoulder and spin me around.
She must have been fairly sober.
"Helga... will you please call or something?"
"I dunno, Miriam,"
"I know I've never been that good of a mom, Helga. But I'm trying. So will you please call?"
I scratched the top of my head and nodded.
"Sure, Miriam. I'll call."
"So it wasn't so bad." Arnold said as I forced my body in the made for one person chair he was sitting in.
"Not worse than usual."
"Helga..."
"What? It isn't like they welcome me home with banners and pinatas for God's sake."
"Woah... they don't?" Ray added and I quickly whipped out my finger of choice.
"Real funny Mop-Head."
"Ray gets released today."
I smirked.
"Wow, back into the real world huh? Maybe with the cast, Rhonda will give you some breathing room."
"Is she always that intense with people?"
Arnold and I shared a look and nodded.
"Only with new man meat."
"Man meat?"
"You're her new favorite eye candy. That's all."
Ray seemed to adjust almost nervously.
"She's the one the bonfire is at tomorrow again, right?"
"Depends on if you're feeling up to it..." Arnold nervously stated and I rolled my eyes giving him a light nudge.
"He's feeling up to it. Criminy. The guy just broke his arm."
"He fell down a flight of stairs, Helga."
"Same difference. He's getting released today, isn't he? Now come on."
"Nice to know I have a say in this," Ray chuckled "but I'll be there."
I still hadn't told Arnold about my recent encounter, if you will, with my parents. I didn't think it was the best thing to bring up since we hadn't really talked about US yet.
Even though I assumed he thought we were okay, I still didn't feel like everything was settled. I didn't want to live the rest of my life feeling like I guilted him into saying he loved me.
"What?" he asked as I had zoned out staring at his calm expression.
"Uh... nothing."
he lifted his legs to rest them on the coffee table and crossed his arms.
"Helga..."
"I saw my parents today." I blurted out and inwardly banged my head against a wall.
Smooth...
"You did?" He repeated, clearly shocked by the news.
"This is why I didn't want to tell you."
he scrunched his eyebrows together in confusion and blinked a few times.
"Because I'm happy for you?"
"Because I know as well as you do that you want me to be all, 'tight' with my family."
"Tight?"
"It's what all the cool kids say nowadays, grandpa." I smirked and leaned back, sinking into the couch.
"I just want you to feel comfortable enough to visit them... maybe even with me."
I laughed and shook my head.
"Hell no. Nice try, but HELL no, Arnoldo."
"And why no? I am your boyfriend, aren't I?"
"Sort of." I smiled and wiggled my eyebrow.
"Helga."
"Yeah yeah yeah. That doesn't mean I have to show you off like some prized show dog or something."
My joke didn't seem to phase him in the slightest.
"That's one of the fun things about being together. Meeting each other's families and kind of merging them."
"Arnold that's what you do when you get married ya bozo."
it took me a moment to realize what I had just said.
So naturally I back tracked.
"I mean, it isn't like, what I meant to say is when people... Marriage...ha, I uh-"
"It's fine, Helga." His expression was playful, and I took in a breath of relief. "That's what dating is for."
"Marriage?"
"To see if you WANT to marry someone. Why are you acting so weird about this?"
Oh, you know, it isn't like I've spent every day of my waking life imagining the details of our one-day wedding day...
"I'm... I'm not acting weird I just don't feel like showing you off to my parents is the most swell idea."
He seemed to become disgruntled and looked away from me.
"Helga, I've already MET your parents. What's the big deal?"
Oh I dunno. My mom's a drunk, my dad's an asshole and oh hey, "They think you're an orphan." I spit out and instantly covered my mouth, my eyes widening in horror at what was supposed to stay a thought bubble inside of my head.
Silence.
In all our time together, good and bad and dating and not dating we had NEVER talked about his parents to the extent of dead or alive. And the orphan comment was definitely one of those 'dead' assumptions I tried never to voice.
Because while I knew he only ever hoped for the best, and of course I did too, everybody knew deep inside that the chances of that were slim to none.
"Oh." He finally whispered and swallowed hard as if to remove the lump that had formed in his throat.
"I don't think that," I quickly added, trying to make up for what I had just said, "we know they're still out there-"
"Your parents are right though, Helga." He finally stated, biting his lip for a moment and then nodding his head. "I mean, they haven't come back yet. No letters or anything-"
"It's not like they have a mailman in San Lorenzo, Arnold-"
"They would have found a way. Maybe..." he took a deep breath and released it, "maybe it's time I present myself the way I realistically am."
This is why I shouldn't be allowed to have a voice box.
"It doesn't matter what my parents think, Arnold. They know nothing. Half the time they don't even know my name so..." I trailed off realizing that no matter what it was I said, Arnold had made up his mind.
"So let's go to their house." He stood up and I instantly grabbed his arm to pull him down."
"Fat chance. Orphan or not, we aren't going ANYWHERE."
"But Helga,"
"No."
"Never?"
I sighed and groaned for a moment, loudly and dramatically.
"One day, okay? One day, I promise I will bring you over there and show you off like the red ribbon winning show dog you so desperately want to be presented as."
"Red ribbon winning?"
"You can't have blue yet. You gotta work for that."
He laughed and shook his head before leaning into kiss me gently.
"I love you, Helga."
I blushed and grinned, the words melting me into a puddle of Helga soup.
"I love you too, football-head."