Disclaimer: I do not own Hey Arnold!
(A/N: I hope you enjoy this one!)
Downtown Hillwood City Hall.
Helga had been locked in a storage room with no windows for hours now. At first, she screamed for the guards to let her go, but seeing that they were ignoring her on purpose, she gave up. Luckily for her, they never even bothered to tie her hands and feet.
"Those idiots" she uttered lowly then snorted. "Can't even kidnap someone properly."
She rolled her eyes at the extreme stupidity of those men, but she grew tired from her fit and decided to rest.
Helga decided to focus on keeping it together while in captivity so she could continue to merge with the other two personalities.
"I am not going back on my word to Arnold" she said to herself.
But she didn't know how she was supposed to go about it? She never had the chance to speak to Arnold at all on what her recovery entailed. And whoever those bozos that kidnapped her were, they didn't give her much of chance to anyway.
Helga pondered and paced the room for a while, trying to figure something out. She got more anxious by the minute. She squeezed her eyes tightly shut and shouted. "This stinks!"
A voice sounded. "Tell me about it!"
Helga turned and looked around the room. But no one was there. "Um..Hello? Is anybody there?"
She heard nothing, saw no one.
"Show yourself you..you..creep or I'll show you ol'Betsy here!" Helga lifted her clenched fist, waving it aimlessly in the air to prove her point. "I'm not afraid to use this, believe me."
The voice spoke out again. "Put that away before you hurt yourself." Helga made a 360 to find the owner of that voice, but still saw no one. She told herself not to panic as she gazed around the stuffy room. Nothing.
However, this person sounded close, real close, and that voice sounded oddly familiar now. Eerily it sounded almost like…hers. Her eyes grew wide.
The voice said arrogantly, "FINALLY, you figured it out…Took you long enough!"
Helga tightly clenched both of her fists, squinted her eyes and pursed her lips at the nerve of that …that…whatever it was, but chose to calm herself instead to get some answers.
After settling herself, she spoke. "So…who are you?"
"I'm you, you moron!" The voice responded annoyingly.
Helga through gritted teeth, uttered. "I KNOW THAT! I meant, what's your name?"
"Hmph, name's Eleanor" At that response Helga nodded, but then she realized that she just nodded to herself and quickly shook her head.
Helga uttered. "Eleanor?"
"Yep that's me." The voice replied. "Don't wear it out"
Helga rolled her eyes, thinking. "She sure does have an attitude!" But she brushed that thought aside quickly and spoke. "How many are there? I mean in me…in my head that is?"
Eleanor chuckled. "You should know!"
Helga frowning, replied. "I'm not sure. I only heard what the nurses and staff told me and that's not much."
Eleanor responded, "Well based on the file I stole from one of the previous doctors during one of my 'sessions', I read there's only two so far. Me and Cecile."
Cecile jumped in cheerily. "Allo Helga!"
Helga's eyes went wide in fear as she heard the other voice speak. They all sounded like her, but a little different. She heard about them, but she never communicated with them. She often believed that it was the doctors trying to make her sound… crazy. But now she realized that maybe her sanity wasn't as secure as she thought. She did not remember all the hysteria and blackouts she sustained when her personalities took over. And yet, while they spoke to her at this very moment a number of their memories were seeping through her mind, things that she herself had never experienced post-rape.
Helga muttered under her breath, alarmed. "Oh my gosh, I'm finally losing it."
" I think it's too late for that, Toots!" Eleanor replied.
"ELEANOR!" Cecile uttered astounded.
"What?" Eleanor voiced faking innocence.
"We're supposed to help Helga? You promised Arnold. We all did." Cecile added.
Eleanor sighed. "Yeah, yeah, yeah I know!"
Helga sat down on a cardboard box for a moment, she felt dizzy. Having a conscience was one thing. But having other voices in your head with no control over them was another. Helga took a few deep calming breaths, then muttered, "I cannot believe this. I can't believe this is happening to me!"
"Well believe it" Eleanor piped in.
"Helga, you're remembering things aren't you?" Cecile asked, and it was meant as a statement, to which Helga acknowledged.
She remembered the fire, the hospital, everything. The memories were so overwhelming that she had to distract herself before she hyperventilated. She couldn't take it, and for once she's admitting that she needed help. So she took on the task to get out of this…holding room to find Arnold. She needed some answers as to what is happening to her.
So Helga addressed her personalities.
"All right Eleanor, Cecile…um, I guess we have to cooperate with each other if we are to get out of here. We need to get to Arnold, and under no circumstance does anyone do anything on their own got that!" Helga stated rather bluntly.
"Who died and made you the boss, dipstick?" Eleanor voiced annoyed.
Helga by now was fed up with this chick's attitude and replied irritated. "Me that's who, ya geekbait"
"Girls, I think we should all try and get along for Arnold's sak-" Cecile stated.
"SHUT UP" Eleanor and Helga said in unison.
They both argued on for a minute while Cecile kept quiet.
Suddenly Helga screeched, "Ahhh, it is too crowded in here. I can't even THINK!"
"Good! Cuz I do the thinking around here and you do the swooning!" Eleanor replied teasingly.
Helga told a lie in her defense, "Actually, Cecile does the swooning, Bucko…get it straight.
Cecile replied offended, "I do not" Her voice became meek then. "At least... not all the time".
Helga confidently added, "Lest not forget who got us out of some of the jams we were in when I was young. Waaaay before you two ever barged into my life."
Eleanor stated, "Helga! You wouldn't have to get out of them if you didn't create them in the first place. Take the little pink book for example, ending up in Arnold's hands, or the message on his answering machine of you confessing your love for him. And, oh, oh, what about the parrot eh, eh."
"Oh shut up Eleanor" Helga replied
"My point exactly!" Eleanor stated.
Helga mumbled, "Stupid personality why did I create you anyway"
"Uh, Helga?" Eleanor called.
"What?" she replied annoyed.
"I can hear you, you know" her alter stated frankly.
"You'll live" Helga rebutted.
Turning her focus on getting out, Helga asked, "Cecile? Do you-"
"OH NOW you want me to talk!" Cecile interrupted angrily.
Eleanor burst out in laughter. "It's about time you got the balls to stand for yourself, Cecile"
"Oh Shut up Eleanor you're no better than she is."
Helga sighed and tried to take hold of the situation, "Alright, alright, look you guys...I…we… need to get out of here fast before these losers come back in here! Does anyone have a plan?"
Cecile stated candidly, "Any chance that we can leave out the front door? Maybe you can punch their lights out Helga, you're good at that!"
Helga smirked, "Hmm, while I would looove to do that Cecile, there are too many of them I can't take them all."
Eleanor offered her input, "Maybe we could check out if there's a vent or some opening to get to the outside." she exclaimed.
"Okay, that might help. I think it's worth a shot. So how about it girls…ready to get out of this dump?" Helga asked.
The others responded, "Heck yeah!"
"Let's do this then!"
Helga began looking around the room for an opening other than the door that had two bodyguards posted behind it. She looked up at the ceiling wondering if she could make it up to the panels there. She figured she could climb the shelves near the wall and reached up to push it open. Carefully, she performed each step, trying to make as little noise as possible.
"Eureka" she said as she pulled herself up into the vent. "Now I can...I mean we can get the hell outta here."
Helga began her escape as she crawled into the vent. Minutes passed as she traveled on her hands and knees encountering the occasional dust and spider webs. "Let's hope that there are no rats in here. I ha-hate rats" she shivered at the thought as the other two wholly agreed."Hm-mm" "You got that right!"
She continued to travel until she heard voices in a room she came across. She stopped and listened for a moment.
A secretary's voice was heard from an intercom, "Excuse-me Mayor Johanssen, we have a Dr. Shortman on line 2?"
"I'll take that thank you, Shayna" The mayor replied,
Helga thought, "Arnold? What's going on here? Why was I brought here? And if this is the mayor…this must be his office."
With eyes wide she realized. "I'm in city hall"
Helga did not want to move on; she wanted to stay and listen in on the conversation. However, her other personalities pleaded with her to move forward and on to safety, but Helga contested.
"It's Arnold you guys, I need to know what's going on." Both alters sighed in frustration.
"This I'm sure is not gonna go well." Eleanor muttered.
Helga looked down through the vent and could only make out a profile of the mayor. His figure was familiar to her, but she couldn't put her finger on why.
The mayor put Arnold on speaker, "Hey Arnold, How are you?"
Arnold coldly replied, "Let's cut to the chase, where's Helga?"
"My my my didn't peg you for an ill-mannered man at all. What happened to you man?" Fuzzy said haughtily.
"YOU happened, now where is she?"
"Tsk, tsk,tsk don't worry Arnold… you'll get her back...eventually"
"What do you mean by that?" Arnold asked defensively
"Well, I just need a few things from you."
"Yeah? Like what?" Arnold asked.
Fuzzy laughed. "Oh, I think you know what. Someone has brought to my attention that you have… evidence… that belongs to me, and I want it back!"
Helga still located in the vents, whispered to herself. "Evidence?" She recalled the police report she held in her hands a few days ago and gasped, "Oh no! Don't do it Arnold."
Arnold replied, "I don't know what you're talking about"
Fuzzy Slippers clarified, "Oh ho ho but you do Arnold, my cousin told me everything."
Through gritted teeth, Arnold uttered, "That son of "
"Temper, temper, Arnold, I didn't know you had it in you. Besides, Gerald was actually feeling pretty down from your good ol talking to. He even said that we should turn ourselves in. I guess you rubbed off on the guy after all. I mean he rather sacrifice his hard earned life to do what's right. Sounds kind of...epic. Don't you think?"
Seething with anger Arnold spoke again, "I really don't give a rats ass about him anymore. Just...tell me where and when and bring Helga wi-"
A huge crash was heard as the ceiling caved in.
Helga landed on the floor of the mayor's office, coughing up a storm from all the dust flying around.
She rolled her eyes and thought. "Gee, didn't think I was THAT heavy?"
"Speak of the devil" Fuzzy Slippers inputted to Arnold on the phone.
Helga taking in her environment casually uttered, "Man do they need to renovate this place, it's like no one can escape around here without something falling apart!"
Gradually standing up, she patted the dust off of her clothes. "I mean Criminy, look at me, I'm filthy."
Hearing her voice on the line, Arnold worriedly called for her, "Helga? Helga? Are you okay?"
She turned to face the phone on the mayor's desk to respond when she noticed the face of her attacker, sitting right before it.
The moment their eyes met she gasped. "No, no, you're...not...real." Her head shook in denial, as she figured that she was hallucinating again.
Arnold continued calling out for her through the phone, "Helga? HELGA!"
Fuzzy Slippers replied in his deep baritone voice to the stunned woman with coolness, "I'm very real gorgeous." He paused. "Helga G. Pataki, my, my, my, it's so nice of you to...drop by" he uttered, laughing at his pun.
Helga began to panic at that moment, thinking. "What am I gonna to do? What am I gonna to do?"
Eleanor began speak, "Snap out of it Helga, I know you're scared, but you have to stop running away from your problems. We cannot go on with you taking a back seat so we can face them for you. You have the will to reclaim your life, so stop with all the drama and GET TO IT."
Cecile added, "She's right Helga. You have to be strong and face your fears. Arnold was right, we are only a part of you and you as well us know that we cannot survive without working together as one. SO get a grip and fight back." Helga nodded to herself and with determination in her eyes she approached the mayor's desk.
Meanwhile, Arnold was frantically yelling and cursing the mayor over the phone, threatening him if he ever harmed a hair on Helga's head. Helga stopped short of his front desk and listened. "Whoa! Sailor, where did he get that potty mouth from?"
With her hands on her hips, Helga spoke up into the speaker, "Arnold"
But Arnold kept on going so she yelled louder. "ARNOLD!"
He stopped mid-rant to the mayor, "Helga? Helga, is that you? Are you okay? Don't worry I'm coming, Sweetheart"
Helga swooned for a moment, but Eleanor and Cecile intervened, "Get a grip Pataki!" they both voiced aloud.
"But, but... he called me sweetheart" she whined. Helga pouted at the fact that she couldn't dwell on the sentiment he relayed to her.
While she spoke to her alters, Fuzzy Slippers looked around his office wondering who was she talking to, when he found no one he shrugged his shoulders and just observed.
Eleanor reprimanded her, "Now is not the time for this, put your game face on, got it!"
"Yeah, yeah, yeah, I get it!" Helga agreed.
Helga returned her attention back to the phone and the mayor sitting comfortably at his desk.
She spoke into the mic on the phone, "Um Arnold, I'm okay. I...need to talk to Mayor Johanssen for a few minutes, sooo… why don't you hang up… and I'll call you back, mkay" she announced in the most sweetest voice she could have ever mustered.
Arnold was flabbergasted, "Are you sure… you're okay Helga?"
She replied with so much charm and sugary sweetness that it sounded rather strange coming from her. "I'm absolutely, positively okay, Arnold. Now be a good boy and hang up!"
"But Helga-" He tried to object, but got hung up on.
Helga's finger lingered on the end call button for a moment, and her gaze shifted to the man before her. A few moments ago, this…so-called man seemed rather confident and cocky when she faced him, but now she saw the beginnings of discomfort in him as she fixed her cold stare at him.
Sweat was starting to appear on his forehead as her icy blue eyes penetrated his own dark brown ones. She spoke as she looked at the luxurious décor of his office. "So...I see you've done well for yourself."
Fuzzy Slippers puffed his chest with pride. "Yeah, I've worked hard to get to where I'm at, but not without any sacrifices."
Helga rolled her eyes and scoffed, "Sacrifices? Pl-lease the only sacrifice you made was at my expense."
Fuzzy Slippers offended, rebutted, "Hold on now Pataki, what happened that day was an accident. I was drunk and I didn't know what happened until I sobered up."
"Ohhhh….So what you're saying is that because you were drunk and didn't know what you were doing, that it makes it right? So, it justifies what you've done to me?"
Fuzzy Slippers replied defensively, "No, no...I felt really bad about what I had done. Consciously, I wouldn't have done it. Circumstances were that I was at the wrong place, at the wrong time. There was nothing I could do. I was stuck between a rock and a hard place you could say. All I can say is that I'm sorry…. for everything."
Helga still observing his décor uttered. "Kinda late for that, don't ya think? Besides, couldn't you have owned up to your mistakes like a real man should, back then? It would seem fair, right?"
He replied, "Look, I said I was sorry. I was desperate and confused then. I just felt my future was going down the drain and I panicked. You don't know the pressure I'm in. People have high expectations of me. The entire community relied on me for years and I was always there to provide the help that they needed. And that was my purpose once I became mayor of this city. So I can continue that legacy."
Helga voiced, "Look I didn't come here to listen to your sob story. Besides, you of all people shouldn't be lecturing me about helping people. You…the man who took advantage of a woman and covered up the crime in order to go out and live the good life. "
She looked to the man, disgusted and uttered. "I can tell you didn't give a damn about me when it happened or after the fact. You made no attempts to contact me at anytime. And it doesn't seem like your conscience got the better of you while I was rotting away in that mental institution, now did it! So keep your apologies… cause I don't need 'em. You made me look like a fool in front of all my friends and the community. All for your prestigious reputation, which was built on lies by the way. And now that it is being threatened, you feel...remorseful?"
She pointed at him accusingly, "That's a load of crap and you know it. All you want to do is save your precious position with your fancy shmancy office with it. Well, NO MORE... I'M TAKING MY LIFE BACK, I, Helga G. Pataki, am going to reveal to the world what a scumbag you are. "
Fuzzy Slippers was growing angrier by the minute, he stood at that moment, and slapped Helga right on her left cheek.
On impact, her face turned to the direction the slap swayed her into and stayed there for a moment.
"Shut up you whore" he hissed.
Helga, stunned touched her cheek, the burning sting was still lingering after contact.
Slowly turning to face him, she uttered with a smirk. "I guess chivalry is dead."
And she quickly lifted her hand and slapped him back so strongly that a small amount of saliva escaped his lips. "Don't you ever...Ever... touch me again" she hissed in return.
Fuzzy Slippers stood there wide-eyed staring into her blazing blue eyes full of anger and rage. He snapped.
"You're gonna regret this" he gritted out through his teeth as he pounded his fists on the cherry oak hand-carved desk.
She crossed her arms over her chest with a knowing look. "Not as much as you are."
Fuzzy Slippers's face turned crimson with fury as he tried to reach for Helga over his desk, but she backed away. He pulled back and ran around it to try and catch her, but missed. The man had lost all sense of reason at that point, and his main goal was to capture the woman in order to teach her a lesson.
Helga ran and dodged the man's attacks. She knocked over a long-standing lamp which in turn tripped him. He fell unto the hardwood floor in a loud thud, bruising his forearms. She took this development as her cue to head for the door, but before she could, he got up on all fours and quickly crawled to her grabbing both of her ankles, which forced Helga to fall as well.
Fuzzy Slippers pulled her close towards him as she screamed for help. Though no one came or bothered to come. He straddled her and took out his cell phone from his pant pocket and called his guards. "Have security on standby near my door, Pronto"
He looked to her with a malicious smile which made her cringe with fear as he spoke these next words. "You will learn to be submissive. I will teach you to mind your tongue in my presence."
Helga looked all around her for something to get out of her situation. She looked for anything that she could use to knock him out, she found none. But an idea came to mind as she recalled her many outbursts at the asylum, and then it clicked.
She wiggled under him, keeping him unsteady over her, until he loosened one of her arms from his grip. She then rallied her strength and grabbed his balls with the five avengers and squeezed it as hard as she could till he begged for mercy.
"Bull's eye" she yelled gleefully when he released her, rolling over to curl himself up into a ball.
She quickly got up and kicked him in the gut twice just to be sure he had no time to get up as she headed for the door.
A sigh of relief came out as she opened the door to find no one in the halls. And urgently she left without looking back.
Once out, she muttered under her breath, "Submit to him? HA!"
With vigor, Helga ran through the hallways, searching for an exit. She dodged a flux of security men, who by now were overflowing the floor.
Turning back, she ran the opposite direction and exclaimed, "Oh! Man I should've kept moving in the vents"
"Ya think!" Eleanor shouted out with indignation
"Alright, alright I get it. So what now genius?" Helga asked irritated at her counterpart's timing.
Eleanor thought a moment, "How about going down the stairs, Einstein?"
Helga yelled, "It's swarmed with police men! So far we can only go up, anything else?"
Cecile offered, "I think we should continue running down the hall maybe we could find the emergency exit door to the outside or something"
Helga shouted, "Cecile we're thirteen floors up!"
There was no choice but to continue running throughout the floor to avoid the guards. So she kept running until...
WHAM! She collided with none other than her beloved Arnold.
"OW, move it Football-head" Helga blurted out impulsively.
Arnold's eyes opened wide and a smile crept up on his face. "Sorry Helga, I was just about to go to mayor's office ...to get you by the way."
Helga shook her head clear and realized that she actually ran into said person, smiled as well.
But the reunion was abruptly interrupted as the footsteps of the guards were heard approaching.
"Arnold I love to chit chat and all, but I'm kinda on the run." She exclaimed as took a quick look behind her then back at Arnold.
She quirked an eyebrow at him and asked, "Care to join me?"
Arnold smirked and nodded, "Whatever floats your boat, Helga"
"HEY!" she yelled, but soon lowered her voice, she pouted, "That's my line!"
Arnold smiled and grabbed her hand and they began to run.
Arnold and Helga ran through the hallway and made a series of turns where they encountered a service elevator. Arnold suggested that they take the elevator and Helga quickly obliged.
They approached the button for it to open up. Arnold pressed the down button repeatedly on the elevator, but the elevator took too long to open up. With no other choice, they continued to run.
However, mere seconds later, they encountered a lone guard blocking their path.
The guard went on the offensive with his nightstick, and tried to attack them. As the guard grew closer, Arnold sweep kicked the guard to the floor, knocking him off his feet and hitting his head, rendering him unconscious for the moment. He then grabbed Helga's hand and continued their run.
With a sense of excitement at what just happened Helga exclaimed, "That… was so...boss, Arnold."
Arnold looked to her with a half-smile and replied. "I didn't want to hurt him too bad, but I had to something so we could get away."
Helga thought inwardly, "Oh Arnold you're so bold, and so brave. How I love the way you have mercy even on the most undeserving of men" She sighed, "Hahhh." She slapped herself to snap out of her reverie as they both came up to a dead end.
Arnold looked around aimlessly as he spoke, "Helga, we're at a dead end, I think we should go back before the guards show up, maybe we could-"
Helga in turn looked to whence they came and saw the guards coming up ahead, and then looked to Arnold who took a defensive stance to hold them off. Luckily, Helga looked to her side and found a garbage chute big enough to fit an average person. She poked Arnold in the rib and he turned looking to her questioningly. She tilted her head in the direction of the chute and Arnold's eyes bulged out of its socket, flabbergasted.
He protested. "No, no way. There has to be another way?"
She shrugged and replied, "Nope. That's the only exit we've got till we're surrounded."
Arnold asked as the guards were closing in, "Are you sure we'll fit in this thing?"
Helga replied casually as she headed for the chute sticking her head in, "There's only one way to find out." she went in and slid within the chute.
"Whoohoo!"
Arnold came at the squared hole and sighed hopelessly; "Here goes nothing" He went in and slid through the chute's tunnel.
When Helga exited the chute, she landed into a huge mound of garbage bags. She surveyed the room that was the size of an Olympic swimming pool. She knew she was probably on the bottom floor based on the distance she traveled through the chute. Another thing she noticed was the stench which was unbearable to take.
"Ugh, this reminds me of the time I had to look for Arnold's hat" And as soon as she said that, Arnold came flying by, landing onto a pile of garbage bags as well.
He called for her, "Helga? Helga?"
She responded, "Over here Hair-boy"
Arnold made his way over to her, he said, "We have to go NOW, I'm sure they'll be looking for us down here soon."
Helga nodded and searched for an exit. They crawled over the mound of garbage to find an exit door a few feet ahead. She and Arnold practically dragged themselves in urgency to it. Mostly to escape the overbearing scent invading their nostrils. Arnold stopped Helga short from opening the door.
"Let me go first in case there are guards behind the door."He said.
She looked in his caring eyes and nodded. "Okay, but...um...just be careful, Football-head" she replied with a grin.
Arnold placed a hand on her shoulder and nodded. He then slowly opened the door to check in the left and right direction, the coast was clear. He returned for Helga and they both ran across the lot to the open streets. Once they arrived on the sidewalk, they walked amongst the people trying to blend in. But due to their foul smell they were unable to stay unnoticed. People began to stray away from them, so they hurried their steps in search of a safe haven. Two minutes had passed when they found it: a transit bus packed with people.
Arnold and Helga rushed to the line, their eyes skimming the streets for the mayor's men. They managed only to travel two blocks from city hall. The line grew shorter and soon they were next.
"Yes!"Helga thought as she and Arnold managed to board.
As they entered the bus, they got bombarded with various insulted glares from its passengers as they went to their seats. They settled in only to scope for any signs that the mayor's men were on them.
Looking out the window, they saw them frantically searching and scouring the area amongst the large crowd of people coming in and out of the theater for the movie premiere of Evil Twin: The next generation.
The bus rolled and soon turned the corner, closer to the theater. Helga and Arnold lowered themselves in their seats at that moment, trying to remain unseen. When the bus had passed the theater going on to its next stop a few miles away, they both breathed a sigh of relief. They lost them.
Arnold and Helga stayed quiet for a few moments, gathering their thoughts. Unfortunately, that moment was cut short when a five year old boy in the seat in front of them stood up and turned around to address Arnold.
"Excuse-me Mister?"
Arnold smiled and attempted to speak to the young boy. He always liked kids. "Oh! Hi what's your nam-"
"You stink!" The boy interjected as he pinched his nose and waved his hand in front of his face as if to chase the odor away. Arnold's face turned crimson red in embarrassment while Helga burst in a fit of laughter, holding on to her stomach from the hilarity of Arnold's expression.
She drew glares of disapproval from the people on that bus as well as those situated close to them who were unable to tolerate their stench.
Staring at the laughing woman the boy in turn spoke to her, "You too, Miss, You stink!"
Helga replied still laughing looking to Arnold laughing at her, "Yeah, I know, Hah hah hah hah. Oh man! my stomach hurts."
The mother of the boy took her son away to another seat in the front, disgusted by Arnold and Helga's behavior….and hygiene.
Helga began to calm down after awhile. "Phew. I'm okay." She croaked.
And the laughter began again as she faced Arnold, "I'm starting to sound like Eugene." Arnold joined in the laughter again. In a way, it was a sense of relief from all the running around that they did. A spare moment of happiness from the hardship they just endured.
Minutes passed as the bus drove on, making its stops, and the laughter did as well.
Arnold turned to Helga and spoke seriously, "We...need to find a place to stay"
Seeing his serious expression, she thought it odd and inquired. "What about the boarding house?"
Arnold looked down at his hands and sighed, exhausted at their dilemma, "They're probably staking out my place by now and every other hangout we may know, like our friends' house, your family's condo, anything they can think of that's tied to you…and me."
Arnold ran a hand through his hair, looking overwhelmed.
"So…what do we do? Where can we go?" Helga inquired.
Arnold reached into his pocket for his wallet, he looked in it, and closed it back up, tucking it back into his pocket.
He uttered shyly, "Maybe we could...um…" He cleared his throat "...find a motel or something to stay the night till we can devise a plan on what to do next."
Without a second thought Helga acknowledged. "Okay, let's get a bite to eat first, I'm starvin'."
Arnold smiled relieved and nodded. 'Wow that was easy'
A few hours later, they got off of the bus, on the edge of town where a motel, a diner, and some nearby stores stood.
The area was run down and filthy. It smelled of built up trash like rotten eggs and toxic lingered urine. The lights of the motel sign switched on and off erratically and some of the vacancy letters were missing. A number of stray dogs and cats roamed the place. They were dirty and greasy, and their bodies were like sticks as if they had not eaten in months.
The people walking the streets looked …indiscreet. The women were dressed provocatively in short tight mini cocktail dresses and stood at street corners, waiting for business. The men dressed ruggedly in their fitting tank shirts, black leather jackets, worn out jeans with their sturdy boots, as they gathered near the liquor store, or by motel rooms doors located on the outside. There was gambling, drinking and all sorts of questionable activities done in the shadows.
The blonde couple looked out of place in this town, and all eyes were on them as they crossed the street. In their minds, the journey felt long and dreadful until they arrived on the other side, where they were still being watched. They went on rather carefully, trying to shift the attention away from them.
As they made their way towards the motel entrance, Arnold held Helga closer to him and avoided eye contact with a group of biker men and women assembled outside the place. They both cautiously opened the door to the rundown establishment and entered, both approaching the clerk at the front desk. Checking his pocket for cash left over from their dinner, Arnold counted what was left.
"Eighty-five dollars left, that won't last very long. By tomorrow morning, I might need to find an ATM. If we can get anywhere near one that is" he sighed at the prospect.
Arriving at the front desk, the clerk gave them a smile with teeth, rotten from tobacco, cracked and chipped at odd angles. He was a sweat ridden pudgy man, with brown eyes and ash brown hair which was receding. His chest was lumpy and sagging on his desk. His bulging stomach protruded outward and bounced from the intake and outtake of breath. His breath reeked of ale and smoke as he spoke to them, "Well 'ello there, what can I do fo' ya?"
Both Arnold and Helga took a step back in reaction to the foul smell of his breath, their stench paling in comparison to the sewage like smell he just transmitted. Their eyes watered for a moment and they coughed in response from the irritation in their throats. Helga revolted in thought. "That was so dis-gusting."
Regaining his composure, Arnold puffed up his chest and broke out his deep voice to look tough, like he belonged, and he spoke, "We need a room for the night? Do you have any rooms available?"
The clerk smiled his gruesome smile and replied, "Why my good sir, we do have one room left in this here facility, and I'm sure y'all like it. It's the honeymoon suite a' course." he concluded with a wink at Arnold.
But Arnold stumbled at the insinuation and fidgeted as he faced the clerk, "Um, S-sir...I-I don't think that..uh aren't there any double bed rooms available?"
The clerk shrugged and grinned, "Nope! Honeymoon suite's the only one. It's a bit pricey, buuut I'm sure you won't mind." He licked his lips, suggestively looking in Helga's direction. Helga at that moment shuddered with disgust.
Seeing Arnold's indecision, Helga decided to intervene, "Look no worries we'll take the room!"
The clerk wily inputted. "It seems the young lady here is eager to get started!"
And Arnold rolled his eyes but then looked to her as she lowly muttered, "What are you doing Arnold? You're bringing too much attention to us already! Let's just take the room and go!" She turned back from him to look at the clerk with a fake smile on her face.
The clerk looked to Arnold for confirmation and he nodded in agreement. "Okay we'll take it"
"That will be $65. Will that be cash or charge?" the man inquired.
Arnold withdrew the money and replied, "Cash"
He handed the clerk the money, and Arnold signed an alias name in the log book as the clerk handed Helga the key. He wiggled his eyebrows at the couple and said, "Have fun!"
Arnold frowned, as they both walked away.
When the couple walked outside towards their room, the clerk retrieved the log book from his desk and looked into it. As he read the last entry he saw this: First name: Paste, Last name: For Brains.
His brows furrowed for a moment as he uttered. "Hmm, weird name fo' a guy? Must have some hippies fo' parents." He then shook his head and went to the back room to finish watching the game.
Arnold and Helga walked outside cautiously amongst the crowd before they climbed the stairs to the fifth floor. As they search for their room, Helga stated, "Ugh, I can't wait to get in that room and take a shower!"
At her statement, a wave of anxiety came over Arnold and he gulped feeling uneasy at the realization that he was going to share a room with Helga...for the entire night… and in a motel room of all places.
He groaned as suggestive pictures entered his mind. Now that Helga's back, his feelings for her had increased immensely, and so did his yearning for her. However, right now his priority was her mental state and providing her closure by bringing all those involved in this conspiracy to justice.
They arrived in front of their assigned room #510. Arnold inserted the key card and opened the door. Helga in anticipation rushed past him and claimed the bathroom.
Arnold shook his head at her action, he smiled and muttered, "I guess she reeeeally had to go."
Entering the room, Arnold noticed that despite the decrepit look the outside had…the inside was not so bad.
The furniture and carpet was mostly plush in fabric of reds and whites with the exception of a white varnished dresser and end table. And in the center, exclusively for the honeymoon suite was the heart shaped bed covered in cheap red polyester satin sheets, overflowing with red heart shaped pillows. Arnold's hand ran through his hair as he looked on at the tasteless décor.
Wanting to sit, he made his way to the soft plush chair facing the television. He sat on it and opened the TV surfing the channels until he stopped on the news.
"This is Hillwood's WPNP Channel 13 eyewitness news at 10 pm with Jane Whitmore and Will Barrett."
Both anchor reporters appeared and chorused, "And welcome to the nightly news"
The female anchor took over. "There's a developing story coming live from Downtown Hillwood tonight. Reporting from Downtown Hillwood is junior reporter Kylie Simmons." Arnold sat up a bit, inwardly thinking, "Hey, Mr. Simmons niece"
The junior reporter spoke, "Thank you Jane. Earlier today, around 5 o'clock pm, it appears that there was an assault against Mayor Johanssen. It is believed that two suspects fled the scene right after the assault had occurred. At this time, the suspects' identities are unknown. But local police have set up check points around town for their capture. No further information has been disclosed to us at the moment. We'll give you the story as it develops. Back to you, Jane."
As the news of their escape from city hall unfolded, Arnold muttered under his breath dispiritedly, "We're screwed. He's weeding us out. Great! That's all we need."
The anchor man took over shining his brilliant white smile and heightened his brow as he stated, "On to other news." Click.
Arnold shut off the television with frustration. His mind was stressed at the events unfolding. Just thinking about it made him grip the arm of the chair in anger, but soon he was brought out of his ill temperament when...
Helga opened the bathroom door, shocking him in the process by coming out wrapped up in only a towel, "Haaaaah, I feel sooooo much better." She said as she looked to Arnold whose cheeks reddened at the sight.
His eyes began wavering around the room, avoiding to stare at her nearly bare body. So alluring, so sensuous …. "Focus, Arnold, focus." He thought, his eyes now fixed on the plush carpet.
Helga suddenly realized the extent of how she looked in front of Arnold, who's never seen her so minimally dressed. She was always a tomboy. The girl who wore jeans and the casual shirt. The girl who, when she would try and dress a little sexy for her boyfriend would be sent back to her room to change by her Dad who even though was not so involved in her life would suddenly intervene for fear she would tarnish the wholesome Pataki family image. So coming out like this she realized probably took Arnold by surprise.
She began to feel nervous as she spoke, "Oh, uh…they had...um...no robes…in there so I...um had to wear this until my clothes...you know are dry. You see… I had to...w-wash away the stench from the garbage."
She then looked to the floor shyly, avoiding eye contact as she pointed her thumb towards the bathroom. "Uh... you can use the bathroom now."
Arnold blinked twice, trying to straighten his mind, "Oh… yeah...um thanks" He stood up and kept his eyes low as he passed her, and for an instant his eyes shifted up, catching a glance of her bare glistening wet shoulder. His gaze quickly returned to the floor. No, he can't. He can't think of that now that they're on the run. But the image was already processing through his brain.
And now... it's on repeat. He pondered even further on what else could be revealed. He shook his head vigorously to change this train of thought, and entered the bathroom.
As he closed the door briskly, he leaned on it and huffed, "Man, do I need a cold, cold shower."
Once Arnold was done, he himself came out of the bathroom in only a towel and Helga took notice. The TV guide she held fell out of her hands, the pages were all mangled on the bed, and her jaws dropped in astonishment at how…developed he became.
Looking at him now, she was aware that he certainly was not the boy she knew six years ago. Helga snapping herself out of her apparent gawking, turned herself around whilst hiding her blush. She willed herself not to look to Arnold's glistening, ripped upper torso. She tried to force that picture out of her mind. "OMG Arnold looks so sexy." Slowly, her eyes began to stray in his direction.
"No…no…Gotta... stop... looking!" She muttered under her breath, willing herself to resist the temptation.
Meanwhile, Arnold uttered something to her, but with the war raging on inside her head about turning to face him she had not heard a word he said. Arnold called her name once more and this time she heard. "Okay Helga ol' girl focus on his face…and only his face."
"Did you say something Arnold?" She asked innocently.
Grabbing a pillow from the bed, Arnold set it on the floor and responded. "I said that I'm just gonna sleep on the floor...you know so you can be..um...comfortable." He mumbled the last part feeling awkward having to bring up this subject. He turned off the lights and now only specs of light from the moon pierced through the blinds to gleam into the room.
Helga sat up as he reclined himself down on the floor.
Softly she spoke again. "Arnold….You..you can sleep on the bed...I don't mind...I mean...if...if you want to?"
Arnold gazed at Helga for a moment then he rapidly turned his face to the ceiling as he blushed. "Uh…well, if you don't mind then…uh...I guess I'll sleep on top...of the sheets that is." he concluded quickly exhaling at his save. He then sat himself on the bed, gradually lying back on top of the sheets.
It was unusually quiet, as they both lay on the bed.
The only sound that could be heard was the occasional shifting of the sheets from both parties as they twisted and turned pointlessly.
Fed up with the silence Arnold spoke, "Helga?"
"Hm?"
"How did you get out from the mayor's office?"
She giggled at the thought of what happened earlier, "Well, first I told him off and then I...sort of…squeezed his balls!"
Wincing at the thought, Arnold replied with a chuckle, "Ouch! That must have been extremely painful….for him!"
She chuckled as well, "Yeeeah, I'm sure it was, but…it was all I could do to escape from his office and... run into you." She turned on her side to look at him then, and noticed him staring at the ceiling. "You know Arnold... I never thanked you for helping me while I was at Hillview Mental."
Arnold replied, "You don't have to thank me Helga…I wanted to help. Besides it's kind of my job to do that."
She sighed at his modesty, "I know...but...you went above and beyond the call of duty and I just...wanted to say...thanks, for everything."
Arnold turned on his side to face her, his elbow supporting his upper body. He looked at her with admiration.
A smile reached his lips as he gazed at the humble look she had just then. He reached out his hand and caressed her face gently with his fingertips and she leaned in to his palm as if craving for more his touch. Her skin was so soft and smooth. Even after all these years of separation, he remembered…he remembered the feel of her skin like it was yesterday. With his eyes locked on hers, Arnold lightly and softly brushed his hand in an arc from her forehead, to her cheek. He then cupped her chin. His thumb strayed from his other fingers and moved upwards to her lips and lingered there. He wanted to feel her lips. Oh how he missed them so.
Slowly, he glided his thumb on her lower lip with the lightest touch and at the sensation Helga couldn't help but close her eyes as she smiled, enjoying the feeling.
She thought, "It's been so long Arnold since I felt your gentle touch." And she released a contented sigh.
Enraptured in his actions, Arnold's eyes followed the travel of his thumb, and a desire in him awakened.
Gently, Arnold moved forward and closer to her body. In anticipation, she leaned in closer to him as well. Many years ago, Arnold envisioned their wedding night would be like this, he often thought how special it would have been if it had occurred. He didn't want to ruin it now, but she was here in his arms again. And the temptation was stronger now than it was in his dreams.
He felt her warm breath upon his skin, hitting his face like a warm breeze. Her luscious pink lips were begging him to be wrap it around his. Her ocean blue eyes were transfixed on him, conceding to his unspoken request. He wanted to, but didn't feel it right. Not like this, not now. However, her scent intoxicated him and aroused his senses, rendering a series of jolts and shivers that simultaneously traveled his body. Helga was a phenomenon that enchanted him, led him to her like the Sirens with their songs irresistibly sweet. No man could resist, no man could escape it.
They drew closer, their bodies each emitting off heat. There was an unexplainable amount of energy that heightened their awareness. Helga closed her eyes and took a deep breath and exhaled, relishing the moment with a smile as she returned her gaze to Arnold once again. Wordlessly, they transmitted their untamed desires for each other.
Helga brushed her fingers over his taut chest and abs, feeling the ripples and curves of them. He released a shaky breath at her soft caress and leaned into the crook of her neck to tenderly nibble his way upwards toward her ear. He planted searing kisses along her jaw line, and like an artist, he delicately traced his lips over hers while she forcefully captured his with her own. The passion and longing for her he withheld for six years was too great to resist.
No matter how honorable he wanted to be, he just couldn't deny his greatest desire. It's always been that way with Helga…A constant struggle. A test of will that he had finally succumbed to. He felt weak.
Out of their senses, they began to feverishly make out. His and her tongues were brushing against each other, both emoting pleasurable sounds from one another. Primal instincts were taking over as Arnold made his way on top of Helga. His eyes darkened with lust as he released a feral like sound while ravaging her with his lips. His hands roamed over her without hesitation. He took a hold of her wrists and interlocked his fingers with hers, holding her down to the bed, and then...it happened.
Helga saw a flashback of her rape, and her body started to tremble. Her eyes grew wide when she noticed that the man on top of her was no longer Arnold.
Unable to move, she panicked and whimpered. "No, stop, please, stop."
But the man she knew as her rapist, and now the mayor of Hillwood continued on, kissing her, and caressing her neck. Fear began to set in with every movement he made. Bile rose up from her stomach, scorching her throat. Her eyes began to water and her lips quivered.
With sheer desperation she cried out loud, her whole body convulsing with utter fright, "I SAID NO, GET AWAY FROM ME."
And instantly, Arnold jumped back and off of her. He blinked in shock, speechless, not knowing what was going on and quickly moved away from the bed, his head held down, feeling ashamed.
Helga confused, held the sheets to her tightly, tucking them under her arms as she rocked herself, whimpering "No,no, no,no, no, no..."
Arnold feeling utterly embarrassed, spoke softly. "Helga...I-I'm...I'm so sorry...I didn't mean to-" He gasped, "I-I don't know what came over me! I guess...I…couldn't control myself" he said as he sat on the plush chair, far away from her, holding his head in shame.
Arnold's voice slowly brought Helga out of her state of confusion and she spoke, "NO...Arnold...it's...it's not your fault"
She bit her lip for a moment, trying to gather her thoughts. "...it's not your fault at all. It's not that I...what I'm trying say is that..." She took a deep breath and she murmured, fisting her sheets. "I saw him"
"Huh? Who?" Arnold asked quizzically, his eyes still downcast.
Helga answered, "W-well, while you were…touching me, and k-kissing me...um...I saw him from that day when I was..." she trailed off for a moment "I saw...the mayor" she said hoping Arnold would get the picture.
Arnold's eyes bobbed up to look at her, and then he understood. "Oh!...I-I see."
He returned his eyes downward, and slumped his shoulders as he sighed. He tried to process what happened as her psychiatrist and it made sense. She was not ready for this, even if she did consent to it, she was not ready. "I should've known. What was I thinking?"
Helga, feeling guilty, choked on a sob and whispered, "I'm... sorry Arnold...I'm really sorry."
Seeing Helga hurt, Arnold hesitantly approached her. His hands reached out and retracted twice, for fear that she might reject it. But nonetheless, Arnold embraced her in his arms and calmed her down. "It's okay Helga. It's alright. I'm not mad. Besides, I knew it wasn't the right time."
Helga welcomed his embraced a bit stiffly at first, but she slowly melted against him and cried. Her hold intensified with urgency, as the scars from the past resurfaced once again. The moment replaying more frequently now.
Arnold frowned at that reaction. "Helga?" she flinched, and held on tighter.
He called her once more. "Helga?"
"Just hold me Arnold…Please!" She pleaded, pressing her face deeper into his chest. Arnold sighed and held on to her tightly. He could hear the sniffles and occasional coughs as he soothed her, but it seemed that the pain was just too much for Helga to forget.
He slowly pulled back, and cupped her face. He sadly looked into her eyes and inquired. "Are you…okay?"
Helga shook her head and muttered, her face showing immense hurt and shame. "No" She paused. "No, Arnold…I'll never be okay"
Arnold responded somberly, "I know"
But she replied, "I don't think…you do" She thought. "I have nothing left to give you"
Her eyes were distant now and vacant, and she tried to pull away from him. But Arnold held strong so she gave in. She looked down at her interlocking fingers and played with them for a bit. Arnold waited patiently for her to speak. He knew something was on her mind. It took a few moments of silence until she uttered nervously, "I was…I was a virgin…when it happened."
Arnold's mouth stood agape once again. "NO" He whispered as his head shook in disbelief. He looked at her briefly, her demeanor showing how ashamed of herself she was feeling when she had done nothing…absolutely nothing wrong.
Within moments, he closed his mouth gritting his teeth and clenched and unclenched his fists, trying to withhold his now constant fury. "THAT BASTARD"
With eyes downcast, Helga continued in a whisper. "I was hoping you would come back and…" she paused trying to figure out how to better explain what she was trying to say. "You said that you wanted our wedding night to be… special."
Her voice cracked as she quickly dispelled. "I..I never wanted anybody else, Arnold. Even after you left and I thought…" She sighed and looked away. Arnold's eyes grew wider. "She was saving herself…for me! She was hoping that I would come back for her"
He sighed heavily at the weight of this news. She suffered so much with this rape that he could not fathom the amount of damage this man had done to her psyche. Arnold was angry beyond belief; At Fuzzy Slippers, at Gerald, at the community, but most of all at himself for his cowardice long ago. Things probably would have been different had he the courage to stay and work things out with her. She would've been spared from all this strife, and he would've known then what he knew now, that his feelings for her would never ever change no matter where he went.
He pulled her close once again and carefully kissed her hair. He caressed her back in soothing circles, and she sighed with relief as she fell asleep in his arms. He gently laid her down on the bed, wiping away the tears that stained her face. He stayed there on his side with a forlorn look on his face, and watched her sleep for hours.
He sat up on the bed after awhile, his legs pulled up close to his chest, his elbows resting on his knees, and his hands upon his head. He ran his fingers through his golden hair and thought for a while. He couldn't believe it. He just…couldn't. This whole week seemed like a nightmare that he couldn't wake up from. He fisted his hair in frustration and growled; the man responsible for this was still out there enjoying his life while she was on the run, and constantly being tormented by her past.
Arnold was fed up. There would be no more lying down. He needed to act now! He needed to find a way to bring all the people involved in this to justice. Arnold pondered half the night, trying to come up with a plan to get out of town and regroup, until he too fell asleep next to the woman he loved.
(A/N: I hope you enjoyed the Back to School special chapter!(At least that's what I call it,XD) It's twice as long as the ones I have written so far. Let me know what you think! BTW, I want to thank all those who contributed a review to this fic, bringing it past the 100th review mark! You…are…AWESOME! I appreciated all your thoughts, comments, and witty notes, they always made my day. So Thank You! And I hope to keep hearing from you and new readers as well. Ciao! )