IV

Confronting feelings

Tree hours later…

Darkness. Complete darkness.

Slowly, Arnold started blinking, his vision all blurry. The first thing he had seen was the drooling face of his best friend Gerald. It took him another two blurry blinking to just realize in what position he was in. He opened his eyes wide in shock, when he saw that his own hand was touching Gerald's private parts. He let out a loud scream before he fell out of his own bed. He banged his head against the floor. That woke him up fully.

"OW! Damn it!", Arnold let out a groan. "What the fuck?!".

He looked at his Arnold shaped clock. It read 7.30 PM. He's been asleep too long. He rose from the floor to shake his best friend. "Gerald? GERALD!". He shook him more, and more violently. "Wake up, dude!".

Gerald let out a loud groan, and stirred. "Huh? Mom?".

Arnold scratched his head, and put his hands in jars. "Do I sound like your mom?!".

Gerald woke up, and stirred again. "Oh, it's you, Arnold. What's up?".

"What's up? What's up?! We fell asleep and we were both in my own bed, kinda touching each other!", Arnold said, desperatedly, and feeling embarrased.

Gerald blinked for a moment, and looked at Arnold's face, which was red like a tomato. A grin formed in his face. "Aaand… did you like it?".

Arnold let out a sigh, shaking his head. "Gerald, this is not the time for jokes. I don't even remember what happened.", he said to his best friend. "What if smoking pot turns you gay?", he asked, suddenly.

Gerald blinked again, surprised, and took a serious pause to think. "Uhm, not that I remember anyone I know turning gay at this point just for one week of getting high, yo'". A sudden memory flashed on his head. "Wait just a minute!", he raised his hand. "Are you sure you don't remember Helga G. Pataki bursting her own ass in here?", he asked.

Realization hit Arnold again. "Yeah… that would explain a lot. Actually, I kinda remember now she was concerned about my safety, and…". A sudden memory struck Arnold like a thunder. "Did she just—". He cut his own thoughts. He stood there looking like an idiot, processing all what happened between them.

Gerald looked at his friend. "Arnold?".

But there was no reply. His best friend was standing there, with a look of shock, and there was something else. Was it.. love? Gerald got up from bed and walked in front of a stupid looking Arnold with his jaw wide open and a lovestruck look in his face.

"Arnold? What's the matter, man? Yo'! I'm talking to yo' ass! Hello?!", Gerald waved a hand in front of Arnold.

"She… she loves me…. She still does…", Arnold let out a stupid smile full of teeth.

"She? Who's she?", Gerald asked, confused. "What the fuck's going on with ya?".

Arnold woke up from his sudden trance. He ran to the recently built new bathroom on the right side of the bed, muttering incoherent words. Gerald looked at his best friend in awe as he rushed to the bathroom, from there to the bedroom door cabinet to get some new clothes, to the bathroom again running with a soap and a pair of sandals. "A-Arnold?". Then he searched in a small cabinet for a pair of socks and a pair of new underwear. "Yo'! What the fuck, man? Slow down!". And without even answering, he went to the bathroom again, where he slammed the door shut. Gerald could hear Arnold turning the shower on.

"Whoa! Whoa! Are you going to take a bath? I'm right here, dumbass! Explain some shit!", Gerald asked, banging on the bathroom door.

Arnold opened the bathroom door, suddenly. "Igottaseehelgacausesheisinlovewithme!". With that said, Arnold quickly slammed the door shut again.

"What the fuck was that?! T-that-that wasn't even a sentence…!", Gerald stood, confused at Arnold's bath door. "Arnold!", he banged on the door again.

"Helga! I'm coming, babe!", Gerald could hear his friend scream.

"Do I sound like your girlfriend?!", he yelled.

The shower stopped. Arnold stepped out of the bathroom, naked, and pissed off, he stated a "She's not my girlfriend".

Gerald put his arms on his own built up chest. "And you're not having any clothes on either, bud", he pointed out.

Arnold looked down and, embarrassed, he felt the need to cover his own nudity with his hands. "Sorry". He bolted back to the bathroom, and stepped back with a towel around his private parts. "Look, Gerald, I would like to explain it all, but I have to see Helga. It's important".

Gerald stood there, looking at his friend as if he grew another head, and processing the information. "You… have to see… Helga G. Pataki?", he asked, slowly. He stood in silence. "Why?".

"Later, Gerald. Later. I'm running late. I'll give you a call", Arnold stated, slamming the bathroom door shut.

"You're a bold guy, Arnold, a really bold one.", Gerald said as he shook his head, and exited Arnold's room, as the shower was turned on again, and the bold guy could be heard singing.

At Helga's front door.

Arnold stood up on Helga's porch with a bouquet of flowers in his hands. Not that he wanted to buy her some flowers, but he suddenly felt the need of doing it, God knows why. He was dressed in his Grandpa's old tuxedo with a black bowtie, and a pair of black shoes. He was wearing a Zenko cologne and a stupid grin over his face.

"Better now than never", he said as he joined courage to ring the doorbell.

"WHAT NOW?!", Arnold could hear a scream. The floor was trembling, with what it looked like big giant steps. It was like if a giant beast could suddenly attack him. He thought twice now about staying to look at the door or to back off. The door opened and Arnold didn't have the time to back off now, unless the owner of the house told him to. "YEAH?! OH, IT'S ALFRED!", the 'beast', or so it looked like Big Bob Pataki but much older and grumpy and a screamer. The depredator looked down at his possible new victim of dismembering.

Arnold face turned white, and trembling, he offered the flowers to Big Bob as he covered himself from any possible harm.

Bob looked at him, odd, and raised an eyebrown. He was now more relaxed, and Arnold sighed in relief. "What do you want?! And make it quick, it's Bingo night!".

Arnold joined courage again. "Mr. Pataki, sir, I came to see Helga. Of course if you don't mind, me, talking to her?".

"Oh, sure. Uhm, OLGA! YOUR FRIEND ALFRED IS HERE!", he screamed out loud, so the entire neighborhood could hear. Arnold was glad he was being called Alfred, so there would be no posterior trouble.

"COMING, BLOB!", Helga shouted from her bathroom position. The toilet flushed and Helga stepped out, with a piece of toilet paper stuck to her shoe. As she adjusted her pink dress, and her blonde short hair waved to the sides without its usual pigtails, she muttered incoherent blabbing and insults. But when she stepped on the porch and saw Arnold, the little color left in her face was gone. She stood up looking at him, shaking of fear. She started sweating. "Football Head?".

He smiled and waved. "Hello to you, too, Helga".

Bob shrugged at those comments and went back to what he was doing, watching TV. He screamed a "DON'T RETURN LATE, IT'S A SCHOOL NIGHT, YOUNG LADY".

Helga recovered her senses and screamed at his dad, raising her unibrow. "And since when did you worry about me getting late to school?!", she shouted back.

Bob grumbled in response, and dismissed her with his huge hand, while still watching TV. And with that done, Helga returned her gaze back to Arnold, who was smiling stupidly at her. Something was off.

"What the hell are you doing here, buck-o?", she screamed at him, as usual.

Arnold adjusted his bowtie, and coughed a bit. "These are for you", he said as he gave her the flowers.

Helga stood there, dumbfounded, as she received the bouquet of red flowers on her hand. She was astounded as how the guy was seemingly accustomed to her screaming and shouting and bullying. She felt a sudden lovestruck look on her face was covering her face, so she shook it, remembering to hide her bland side. She tossed the bouquet aside, crashing a china vase, and letting a "Yeah, yeah, whatever" from her mouth. She crossed her hands over her chest. "What do you want?", looking at him and adjusting her figure on the door.

"I wanted to know if you would like to... I don't know, hang out with me?", Arnold asked.

That took Helga out of her fighting mood, and she relaxed, standing again straight and her hands were no longer on her chest, but freely to her sides. She looked as if the world was playing a joke at her. Arnold wanting to date her? As in really, really taking her out on date? She shook her head.

"Who said I wanted to go out with you, and your stupid football head?!", Helga asked, suddenly angry.

"Well, why did you tell me those things back at my place?", he asked as nicest as possible.

Helga looked at him, shocked. So, he remembered. But he was sure high.

"I didn't", was her cut reply.

Arnold expected it, and shook his head. "No way you didn't. You bursted through my door and told me you cared".

Helga looked at both sides, for an excuse and a hole to put her head inside, then looked at him again, angry. "W-well, it's a free country Arnold-o, what did you expect? I can burst through your door if I want to! You know me, so it's not trespassing. Crimeny, I could be your guest", she said, angrily again, waving her hands in the air and avoiding the other question.

"But you said you loved me", was Arnold's immediate blurt.

Helga looked for a way to exclude herself. "Yeah, well, maybe you're delusional, 'cause I certainly didn't". She was nervous, and avoiding him.

Now he was pissed off. "Then why I do suddenly remember you talking about my late Grandpa, and you know it's been weeks since he died?", he asked.

"Idontknowwhatyourtalkingabout", was her freaked out response.

"And the fact that you love my stupid football head and everything around me".

"Doesn't ring a bell".

"Helga!".

"I don't have time for this", she yawned. "I'm going to bed and I expect you and your junkie ass to go away this instant!", she screamed at him before slamming the door in his face.

He realized her mistake as he banged on the door again. Helga opened to say "WHAT?".

"If it wasn't you there, then how come you know I'm a junkie?", he asked.

Helga now realized her mistake, with big wide opened eyes and nothing to come up as a response. Damn.

R&R, people. More coming up soon!