Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters mentioned in this story.
They all belong to their rightful owner: Craig Bartlett.
Title: "Blackmail toy"
In the last chapter of "Blackmail toy": Since Arnold and Helga fell asleep together on the bed in the hospital, it gave his parents and cousin a chance to talk a little about what else had happened at that baseball game. Stella couldn't ignore the temptation to take a picture of the sleeping teens though, before they had to wake them up.
To Helga's terror, Aaron seemed to – even if the blackmailing was over – still want to tease her about certain things. There was something odd in their relationship now, when Arnold and Helga had seriously started dating. His teasing almost seemed… brotherly?
Helga and Arnold were forced to answer a couple of questions from the gang, which they obviously had been curious about ever since… well, Aaron had arrived. They swiftly avoided the Aaron topic though, but managed to answer a few things.
At this moment, Helga also ordered Arnold to stay home from school, which meant he wouldn't get to experience the first school day after they had started dating with her, which he couldn't help but pout at. A kiss on the forehead from her, made the frown go upside-down though.
As Helga was on her way home, she ran into a pair of really panicky parents. Not a surprise – it was after all a hospital right behind her – but it was her own parents. They kept asking odd questions, until she finally just got into the car and drove off with them, all the while wondering if things were about to change.
Author's 1st note: Yay! There's been another cover art from my story by Electric-Amethyst on DeviantArt! You can go to my DeviantArt faves and find it easily, or go directly to her account and see it! :D
Oh, and just so you know: I changed the last bit of the chapter a little. Basically, it's not a client who went to tell Big Bob about the baseball game. It was a boy :P
Chapter 39: "This is for all the things you did for me"
"I can't believe it. Helga's acting weird again. Wasn't she all bouncy only yesterday? As bouncy as Helga can be?" Rhonda asked aloud with slight worry in her voice, though she tried to hide it behind sarcasm. It was Friday, first recess and everyone had already noticed Helga's odd behavior, or rather the oddly pensive facial expression on her.
Helga was currently sitting on the ground in the schoolyard, back leaned up against the wall behind her and her knees pulled all the way up to her chest. She didn't look sad, nor did she look mad, she looked… pensive. Just… pensive. Really pensive.
"Ok, Helga, what's going on?" a male voice asked. Helga could feel something brush against her shoulder, when the person sat down next to her. She didn't need to turn around to face him to know that it was Aaron.
Helga sighed. "Uh… I honestly can't tell you." she answered. "… Helga, I know the blackmailing is over – obviously – but… if I can help, I want to, ok?" Aaron inquired gently. She turned to smile a little at him, but that pensive look never left her face doing so. "Y-Yeah, I know, thanks, but… it's not really something you can help with, I… think."
Helga couldn't help but notice the odd facial expression on Aaron's face all of a sudden. "Uh… l-let me see. Based on what I know about you – and I know a lot – then I'm guess it's got something to do with your parents?" he wondered aloud.
Helga frowned at that. "How in the holy hell did you know that?" she asked, but then her frown turned pensive again. "Wait… my parents did mention a young, African boy last night." She pointed out and crossed her arms accusingly. "I'm not all African." He answered with a slight frown. "My dad can't tell the difference, and you just admitted to have something to do with it." She answered with a gleeful smirk. "Spit it out."
Aaron simply shrugged though. "I don't know what you're talking about. On my way to the boarding house, I went past your house and… figured that your parents deserved to know that you were at the hospital." He answered.
Helga cocked an eyebrow at that reply. "You simply told them their daughter was at the hospital? Nothing else?" she asked skeptically. "Hey, I just said you were at the hospital, not why you were at the hospital. It's not my fault if they misunderstood, right?" he asked with a very faint smile.
"Wait… so it's your fault they're acting all clingy now?" Helga asked with a slight frown. "Clingy?" Aaron repeated. "Yeah!" she answered in a loud voice. "They keep asking me how I'm feeling, if I really wanted to go to school today, and… look!"
Helga went into her bag and pulled out a pink box, which resembled a lunch box. "My mom actually made lunch for me." She said as she frowned at it. "I haven't dared opening it yet. I'm sure there's a mouse or a rat in there somewhere."
"Oh, come on, at least… your mom's trying, right?" Aaron asked as he eyed the pink box a little. He looked just as nervous as Helga did about what kind of food she may have gotten from her drunken mother. She turned to look at him. "Are you sure you didn't suggest that I was the one at the hospital rather than Arnold?"
"Hey, I was in a hurry, ok?" Aaron answered, which made Helga smile in disbelief. "I had to go tell everyone at the boarding house that Arnold was at the hospital, so it wasn't like I could stick around to tell them every single detail."
"You… cunning… something." Helga said with an impressed smile. "The pot calling the kettle black." Aaron answered with a smile, earning an elbow from her. "I can't believe you'd trick my parents like that. Now, look what's happened! They actually care all of a sudden." She said and shivered mockingly.
"Is that a bad thing?" Aaron asked which caused Helga to eye him a little accusingly. "Wait… did you… do this to help me?" she asked. He lifted his eyebrows at her, and they kept looking at each other like that for a couple of seconds, as they had a silent conversation. "Hey," he then said with a frown. "I would've been happy with whatever outcome there had been from what I did. Them messing everything up a little or them finally realizing how much you mean to them. It just ended up with the latter; I didn't have any control of that."
"… Liar. You did do it to help me." Helga said, completely convinced that she was right. She knew Aaron's faces by now, she knew when he lied and when he was speaking the truth at this point. He sighed and shook his head in amusement. "I can't control why you think I did it."
Helga couldn't help but start smiling at Aaron. "Thank you." she said in a low voice. He had expected his heart to start beating at those simple words, but… it didn't. Rather than that, he just felt really warm at her sudden gratitude, which he simply casually shrugged at. "I didn't do anything for you, but you're welcome."
Helga snickered a little at Aaron's defensive words. We really do resemble each other… in some ways. "What, are you trying to redeem yourself or something?" she asked as she quirked an eyebrow. "Redeem? Heck no, I don't need redemption." He answered, which made her frown a little at him. "Ok, about the poem, maybe, but I don't regret anything else."
"You're kidding!" Helga said with an amused, yet disbelieving smile. "What about the phony aphrodisiac?"
"Hey, it wasn't my fault you were so easy to trick. Besides, you did get a lot of good things out of it, didn't you? Arnold became your accomplice and you realized the gang actually cares about you."
"Well, yeah, but… what about the skirt thing?"
"Hey, you liked it even if you didn't wanna admit it, and by the end of the day, you felt more confident, didn't you?"
"Well… I have been looking a little at my more girly pile of clothes ever since, but… hey, what about the parties?"
"You had fun at both of the parties. Don't make me say what kind of fun."
"But… what about… uh… the karaoke thing! What was up with that?"
"That was just in good old-fashioned fun, and again; you liked it too. You just needed a push."
"But… I… huh… I can't remember much else at this point."
"You did mention the bigger ones."
Helga sighed in relinquishment and just shook her head in amusement. "You've managed to mess my life up real good, you know?" she asked and then snorted. "Oh, come on, without me, you'd still be monologging about Arnold in secret." Aaron answered and then snorted too at the memory.
"You're such a dumbass!" Helga said and started flapping her hands at Aaron, which caused him to simply laugh at her as he tried to cover himself from her minor attack. None of them knew that there were a few people in schoolyard, who had started to wonder what in the world was going on between those two.
"Is it just me… or have I seen this before?" Phoebe wondered aloud and closed her eyes to try to imagine it. Gerald shrugged, though he felt something familiar about it too. "Oh, I got it!" Phoebe declared and pointed at Gerald. "It's like watching you and Jamie O!"
"Huh?! How in the world is that anything like - - " Gerald said and turned around to look at Helga and Aaron, who was somewhat wrestling a little at this point. He cocked his head to the side. "Huh… m-maybe you're right… but Aaron's in love with her, isn't he?" he asked, which she shrugged at. "Who knows? Maybe he did genuinely have such feelings for her and they have changed, or maybe he misunderstood his own feelings? It can be both things. No matter what, then those two have something close to a sibling relationship now, or at least something resembling it."
Gerald and Phoebe kept gazing at the somewhat odd image… though there was also something that made sense about it. "Helga's really lucky all of a sudden." Gerald muttered as he crossed his arms with a smile. "She deserves that." Phoebe answered with a happy smile. "She really deserves a little good fortune."
Almost as soon as the next period was over, Helga's cell started ringing. She looked down in her pocket in disbelief, before she finally reached her hand down to look at it. I swear, if it's my parents calling to make sure I didn't fall down a cliff, I'll - - Arnold! She almost shouted his name out loud, but managed to answer the call casually. "Uh, h-hi, football head." She stuttered. Well, almost casually.
"Hi, Helga! How, uh, how's school?" Arnold asked on the other side of the line. Huh, I guess he feels a little awkward too… That's normal, I guess. Helga thought as she started feeling a little less nervous knowing that she wasn't alone about it. "It's school, football head."
"All right, fair enough, then… how are you doing?"
"… Ok, that's it, what's going on, Arnoldo?"
"What do you mean?"
"You're obviously fishing for something, but I can't answer whatever it is you want to know, unless you just ask me, and… all things considered, then you can just ask me, ok? I'm… not gonna bite your head off, I promise."
"Promise you won't be mad?"
"… Sure."
"Helga!"
"All right, all right, I promise! Sheesh."
"I… heard a little bird singing about how you were acting a little weird."
"… Is that little bird your cousin?"
"How…" Arnold said in surprise, but then sighed in relinquishment. "How did you know?"
"Because I know Aaron by now; he can't keep his mouth shut, unless he's gaining something from it. Ugh…"
"Are you mad?"
"No. Not at you at least."
"Well, I'm happy about that, but… what's going on Helga? He texted me an hour ago and I've just been sitting and waiting for lunch period to start, so I could ask you about it. Is that ok?"
"Arnold, don't walk on eggshells around me anymore, ok? Things are… different now."
"Even if some things aren't?" Arnold asked in amusement, which made Helga giggle. "Yeah, not all things have to change, but this part will. But, uh… could I tell you about it in person instead? Honestly, I'm even still trying to wrap my head around what's going on at the moment."
"You sure you're ok?"
"I'm fine, you worrywart! It's not like I've caught some deadly disease or anything." Helga answered, and expected an answer from Arnold at that, but he just went quiet. "I don't have a disease, football head!"
"I-I know. It's just… the thought scared me for a second." Arnold answered, and Helga could easily imagine him blushing as much as she did at his words. "Oh… uh, d-don't worry. I'm healthy. I swear. Anything like back at the nurse won't ever happen again."
"You promise?"
"Yes, I do! Sheesh." Helga answered with a giggle and felt like angles were singing in her ears as she heard Arnold chuckle. "Hey, Helga, will you be joining us for lunch?" Lila asked with Phoebe, Rhonda, Nadine and Sheena standing next to her. "Oh, yeah, sure. H-Hold on." Helga answered and was about to talk into her cell phone again.
"Wait! Are you talking with Arnold?" Phoebe asked happily. "Uh…" Helga muttered, feeling more than a little embarrassed about having her friends know that. "Say hello to lover boy from us." Rhonda said teasingly and started giggling with the girls.
"L-Look, Arnold, I seriously need to go before the girls start some sort of riot just because we're talking on the phone together, ok?" Helga said pleadingly in the phone. "Oh, sure… c-can I call you after school?" Arnold asked with hope in his voice.
Helga's eyes went a little wide in shyness. "U-Uh, sure… whoa, I guess you're really bored at home, huh?" she asked aloud, hoping for the girls not to make this moment anymore embarrassing. "Well, there's that… and I just like hearing your voice." Arnold answered with a shy chuckle following.
Helga's whole face went rosy at that statement. "What did he say?!" Nadine asked curiously. "N-Nothing!" Helga answered and tried to push the girls away from her. "Then why are you blushing like that?" Sheena asked teasingly and tried grabbing the phone. "I'm not blushing!" Helga screamed next to her phone, causing Arnold to cringe a little.
I guess the other girls are standing right next to her… Arnold thought a little embarrassed, but not enough to hang up. "Hear what you just started, Arnold?! Now the girls are gonna tease me all day! Y-You're really amazing, you know that?!" Helga answered at the other side of the phone in something resembling both sarcasm and honesty.
"Well, I gotta match you in some ways, right?" Arnold answered teasingly and couldn't help but chuckle at the almost choky sound which came out of Helga when he said that. "Did he just say what I think he said?!" one of the girls shouted near Helga shrieked, though he couldn't hear who it was. "Sh-Shut up! T-Talk to you later, f-football head!" Helga said as gently as she could, but it was obvious that she was struggling against the other girls.
"Yeah, talk to you later, Helga. Bye." Arnold answered and hung up. I feel a little bad for her… and I'm probably gonna be treated the same way by the boys on Monday. Maybe this whole staying at home today wasn't such a bad thing after all. He thought as he jumped out of the bed; there was no way he could sleep anymore today anyway.
As Arnold went out of his room and down the stairs, he noticed his mom talking to someone. "That's a great idea! Oh, I'm sure Arnold be really thankful for that." she said, but there was no answer. Is she on the phone? He wondered as he continued his way down, but slowly, since he was a little curious about the conversation.
"Yes, I'll tell him right away, so he can call Helga immediately." Stella answered, Arnold finally able to see that she was indeed on the phone with someone. What's this about me and Helga? He wondered and then his curiosity finally got the better of him. "Mom? What are you talking about?"
"Oh, hi, Arnold! Yeah, he just got down. I'll tell him about the plans, ok?" Stella asked, but then frowned a bit. "Oh, are you sure?" she asked. Arnold frowned as his mom started to nod, though the person she was speaking with couldn't exactly see her. "Well, all right then, that's your choice. Sure, I can just say that. Bye."
Then Stella hung up on the phone and turned to look at Arnold with a big smile. "Come with me into the living room, honey." She requested and went on her way herself. Arnold blinked in confusion, but did as asked. "What's going on?" he asked as he sat down on the sofa, as his mom sat in the chair.
"Well, since Aaron will be leaving us tomorrow, Miles and I figured we should take him out to dinner with Phil and Gertie too, of course." Stella explained happily. "Oh… uh, sure, I guess I…" Arnold muttered, but didn't exactly feel like going out tonight. "But, of course, you don't have to come along, all things considered." She continued.
Arnold was a little surprised at that. Stella usually didn't want him to do rude things, even if he was a little under the weather. To be completely honest, it was the going out thing he wasn't fond of. If it had just been inside the house, it was no problem. He just had a minor headache and was a little dizzy, but it wasn't like he was incapable of doing anything.
"But… shouldn't I go too? I mean… Aaron has been sleeping on my couch all month, and been going to my school and he's my cousin. Shouldn't I go along too?" Arnold asked out of kindness mostly. "Arnold, are you nervous about being alone?" Stella asked. "Huh?" he muttered with an eyebrow quirked.
"Well, because if that's the case, then you can always ask someone to come over? Besides, we're going to that restaurant at the other of town. You know, the one where you got food poisoning?" Stella asked, which made Arnold cringe on the inside. That hadn't been a fun night. He wasn't even sure what he had ordered. "Well, I really don't wanna go there…" he answered.
"See? Therefore, you could just ask a friend to come over. You'll be having the boarding house almost all to yourself until tomorrow morning too." Stella explained. "Huh? Why?" Arnold asked in confusion. "We're going to the other side of town, Arnold. We'll be late, so… we figured we'd probably just rent some rooms in a cheap hotel and go home tomorrow morning." She explained casually, though her shivering lips suggested she was trying to hold down laughter.
Arnold frowned a little at his mom's odd behavior. "Uh… ok, I guess. So I'll… see you tomorrow?" he asked, but didn't stand up or anything. He had a feeling that she wasn't done talking or that he had missed something. "Yes, you will. So, you'll be having the boarding house all to yourself through the whole night." She answered, hoping for him to catch the suggestion.
Arnold's eyebrows just stayed furrowed. The house all to myself? Well, I don't see much point in that, so why does she look like she's trying to tell me something? He thought, before he noticed Stella sighing. "Arnold, I don't want to worry about you being alone here, so could you please invite someone to stay over?"
"S-Sure, I guess I could ask Gerald to come over." Arnold answered, not really sure why his mom almost started to look angry at him. "My God, you're worse than your father…" she muttered, which he only heard few words of. "It's Friday, right? Don't you think that Gerald would rather spend his Friday evening with Phoebe? His girlfriend?"
"Uh… I guess?" Arnold wondered, still not really catching his mom's drift. "His girlfriend, Arnold. He'd rather be with his girlfriend." Stella repeated. "I get it!" he answered with a slight frown. "No, I don't think you do…" she muttered, her eyes showing nothing but frustration at this point. "So, who would you like to invite, since Gerald's gonna be with his girlfriend?"
"Well, who else can I…" Arnold started, but then looked towards the floor in a pensive way. All alone, all night with girlfriend… His eyes went wide and his cheeks reddened darkly. Oh, finally! Stella thought with a small smile. "W-Well… one name does come to mind." He answered as he started to scratch the back of his head.
"Good!" Stella said happily and stood up. "You go and invite her - - or, uh, him to come over tonight, ok? It's rather short notice, so the sooner you call, the better."
Arnold simply nodded, as he stood up and started walking like a zombie. Stella shook her head in amusement, before she pulled out her own cellphone and went to call her husband to tell him of her plans.
A-All alone… all evening… all night… with… Arnold stopped in front of the phone, as he could feel himself choking on his breath. Calm down… It's pretty innocent at this point, right? I-I don't have to ask her to stay over, j-just to come over for tonight, and then… th-th-then we'll just see what happens, right?
Arnold took a deep breath, before he grabbed the phone in his hand. He put it up to his ear, and pushed the numbers for Helga's cell phone in and waited patiently. It took a little time before she answered. "Wh-Whoever this is, then it's really bad timing! Would you girls shut up already?! It's not Arnold!"
"S-Sorry to disappoint you, Helga, but it is me." Arnold answered with a slight chuckle. "Arnold?!" Helga shrieked on the other side, and he could hear the laughter of other girls around her. "W-Why aren't you calling from your cell phone?"
"Um, I'm not sure… I just went straight for the home phone, I guess. I-Is this a bad time?"
"Uh… c-could you give me two seconds, so I can get away from the hyenas?" Helga asked as she even tried to push Lila away from her physically. She could hear Arnold chuckle on the other side of the phone. "Sure, Helga, I'll hang on." He answered.
"Thanks." Helga said and laid her cell against her chest. "You guys must have been vultures in another life!" she yelled at the girls around her as she ran out of the cafeteria, leaving the laughing girls behind her. Sheesh, I didn't know that everyone knowing I was capable of being in love would mean the girls would be all over me like this!
Helga stopped when she was sure that no one was around in the hallway and then put her cell up to her ear again. "Arnold, you there?" she asked. "I told you I'd hang on, didn't I?" he answered with a chuckle.
"Yeah, yeah, just…" Helga muttered with a sigh. "Those girls are killing me… So, what's up? I thought you'd call after school? Or, what, couldn't you wait to hear my voice again?" she asked sarcastically and gave a snort.
Arnold laughed on the other side. "Well, there's that… but I also wanted to a-ask you something." He answered with a slight stutter, which Helga took notice of instantly. "Oh… well, Arnold if it's about why I've been acting weird or whatever, then I promised I'd tell - - "
"I-It's not that." Arnold interrupted quickly, but felt himself choke on his breath again. "Oh… well then, what is it? Is something wrong?" Helga asked worriedly. "Oh, no, not exactly. Um… I-I was just wondering if you'd like to… to, uh…" he muttered, but then lost his courage again. How can I still be nervous about this? We're dating, for heaven's sake! Just… say it!
"Arnold, you're not making any sense." Helga said in her cell phone, still a little worriedly. "Uh… Oh, right! Helga! W-We technically have our first anniversary coming up, don't we?" Arnold asked, still with slight panic in his voice.
"Huh?" Helga muttered in surprise and felt her heart beat violently against her upper ribs. "An-Anniversary?"
"Yeah! I-In a couple of hours, we've been dating for about 24 hours, right?"
"You've been counting?!"
"And we still haven't seen each other! W-We haven't even been on a proper date! Th-That's not good enough; we need to change that!" Arnold finally said, as he felt the panic slowly fade away and the embarrassment taking over. Oh, where am I even going with this?!
Helga was in complete and utter shock. To hear Arnold's panicky rant end up with something as simple as wanting to ask her out… she couldn't help but start laughing. "O-Oh, my God, Arnold! You-You planning to give me a heart attack this time?! Oh, God, you crack me up! A-All that ranting just to… to… Oh, God."
"S-Sorry… I think I know what one of your panic attacks feels like now." Arnold muttered as he started to scratch his neck in embarrassment. "You know, you could have just said you wanted to go on a date with me, right? However, I don't really mind you saying it like this… Anniversary, huh?" Helga said in a dreamy voice and then sighed happily. "I like the sound of that…"
Arnold smiled instantly. Ok, so his way of asking had been less than perfect… but Helga seemed to like even his clumsy side, so who cared about perfection at this point? "So, Arnold, what do you wanna do on our one day anniversary?" she asked teasingly, but he could hear the lovesickness in her voice.
"Well… I was wondering if you'd like to come over to the boarding house? Make dinner together and just… you know… h-hang out?" Arnold suggested as he tried collecting enough courage to mention the absence of almost everyone at this particular night.
"S-Sounds good, football head, but, uh… It's not like I mind making dinner, but would Gertie and Stella let us do that?"
"Oh! Uh…" Arnold muttered, smiling a little, since Helga had just given him the perfect segue to mentioning them being alone. "They won't be here… actually."
Helga blinked a couple of times in silence. "Oh… uh… where… where will they be?" she asked, as she felt her heartbeat quicken. "Out… at some restaurant with… with my grandpa, dad and… A-Aaron too." Arnold answered, and then just waited for her to realize.
It took Helga a couple of seconds, before she managed to create any words in her mouth. "You mean… besides the other boarders… then you and I… will be a-alone?" she asked with what Arnold suspected was nervousness and hopefulness. "Uh, yeah… is that… ok?" he asked gently. "I-If it's not then that's totally fine. We can meet up at some other - - "
"I'd love to come!" Helga interrupted, while she held a fist against her heart, as if she could somehow grab and make it stop beating so painfully hard against her chest. "Huh?!" Arnold exclaimed, feeling oddly surprised at how eager she suddenly seemed. "Y-You sure? You did catch on to the fact that we're gonna be alone, right?"
"I know… I know… and… yes… I want to come… U-Uh, I mean I-I wanna be there!" Helga quickly corrected, realizing the suggestive way she had just phrased her reply. Way to go, brain! She exclaimed inside her head as she smacked her palm against her face. "O-Ok…" Arnold muttered, also having heard the slightly suggestive comment in a usually innocent answer. "S-So it's a date, right?"
"Y-Yeah! Wh-When do you want me to come - - b-be there?!"
"U-Uh, I-I don't know w-when the others will leave, s-so - - " Arnold answered, feeling completely embarrassed at this point. "Sweetheart! We'll leave at around 7pm, ok!" Stella yelled from outside the kitchen, having heard only bits pieces of her son and girlfriend's conversation. "O-Ok! Y-You heard that, Helga?" Arnold asked. "Yup! 7pm. I-I'll be there at 7pm then, ok? Then I can also say a quick hello, before we… b-before they leave!" Helga answered, before she smacked her forehead against the wall as if trying to bang some sense into it.
"I-I'll see you tonight then?" Arnold asked. "Yeah… see you tonight." Helga answered in a tired voice, though she couldn't help but smile. "Yeah… tonight." She repeated in a more happy voice, followed by a content sigh. He couldn't help but smile at that himself. "Bye." He whispered. "Bye." She answered, before they both hung up.
Both blondes kept staring at their phones as the conversation ran through their minds once again. It's gonna be tonight… They both thought at the same time and then started squealing happily. "Yes! He asked me to come over!" Helga yelled happily, as she bounced. "Yes! She said yes! She'll be here tonight!" Arnold yelled at the same time, also bouncing like a fool.
"Well, someone's happy." Someone said to both Arnold and Helga at the same time, though it was obviously not the same person. "Mom!" Arnold said in a chastised way, but that still didn't wipe the smile off his face. Helga, on the other hand, was frowning at the person in front of her. "Yeah, I'm happy; what's it to ya?" she asked and crossed her arms.
Aaron copied Helga's motion and simply smirked at her. "Nothing but curiosity, I guess, but, meh, I don't really care all that much." He answered and walked past her. She stood still for a couple of seconds, wondering if she wanted to ask him about this or not. In the end, her curiosity won and she turned around to face him. "Aaron!"
Aaron turned around to glance at Helga over his shoulder. "Yeah?" he inquired. "Do you… know what's gonna happen tonight?" she asked as vaguely as she could. He cocked an eyebrow at the odd question. "Uh… no? What are you talking about?"
"Huh…" Helga simply muttered. I guess they wanna surprise him then? But why are they leaving Arnold home alone? Well, not completely alone, I guess… Oh, who cares? I'm gonna have my first real date with Arnold tonight! And we're gonna… we're gonna… Oh, be still, my beating heart, hush my distempered breath!
"Well, never mind then." Helga managed to say with a casual shrug, despite having her head completely wrapped in things, which would usually make her giggle in happiness. She had a lot of practice at hiding such feelings through the years though.
"Hey, no fair! You can't just say something like that and just walk off. What's going on?" Aaron asked with an amused smile as he walked behind Helga. "Nothing really! I'm just saying that your family might surprise you tonight, so get a clue and don't ask me more questions about it!" she answered him, hoping he'd rather want the surprise than to question her anymore.
"Oh, ok, I guess so." Aaron answered, but kept walking next to Helga. "I guess it must have something to do with me going back to New York tomorrow?"
Helga stopped short at those words. "Oh, right. A month has passed and you're going home…" she said thoughtfully. Aaron stopped in front of her as he wore a smirk. "What? You think you're gonna miss me or something?"
"I highly doubt that…" Helga answered, though it wasn't seething with sarcasm, Aaron noticed. He blinked a little in surprise and leaned back. "Well, I'll sure miss you. You've been fun to be around, Helga. You sure made this stay memorable."
"Yeah, because I was your personal blackmail toy through the whole damn thing." Helga answered with an amused smirk. Aaron chuckled as he shook his head. "Not completely. Well, yeah, that part was fun, but also just getting to know you. You're… interesting… fascinating… one of a kind. I've never met anyone as twisted as me."
"Now, don't put yourself up on a pedestal, bucko, I am way more twisted than you." Helga answered with a confident smirk, which caused Aaron to laugh and her to laugh along with him. "… I… do have something I'd like to do before you leave though." she added and looked at him innocently.
Aaron's eyebrows furrowed a little at that. "Uh… ok? What, uh, what is it?" he asked. She shifted a little uncomfortably at her feet and then smiled slightly at him. "Close your eyes." she requested, which made his eyes pop open. "Uh…" he looked like he was about to question her intentions, but then he simply shook his head, as if saying no to himself, and then closed his eyes.
Aaron didn't know what to expect whatsoever. It was Helga after all; she could do just about anything to him right now. He promised himself though, that no matter what she did, he'd let her do it. Therefore, when he could hear the wind swish next to him, he simply stood still.
"Ow!" Aaron exclaimed and stumbled backwards. "That was for every fucking thing you did to me during this month!" Helga announced and let her fist uncurl. He lifted his hand to his nose and gave a disbelieving chuckle. "I can't believe you actually punched me on the nose…" he muttered, which she just cocked an eyebrow at, as he straightened his back. "I guess I deserved that."
"Yeah, you did." Helga answered and walked a couple of steps closer to Aaron. "I think you broke it." He pointed out with a chuckle, though the pain was actually really bad; as expected from Helga Pataki. "Oh, please. Let me see." She simply answered and grabbed his cheeks to turn him around to face her.
Aaron let his hand fall down, as Helga studied his nose. All things considered, then he still trusted her even after that punch. He knew that he had deserved that at some level; even if she didn't know all of the truth yet.
Helga lifted her hand and laid her thumb and index finger around Aaron's nose. "This will hurt." She warned. "Huh? What are - - Argh!" he exclaimed, when she twisted his nose to one side and then let go off him. "Ow! What was that for?" he asked as he rubbed his nose a bit. "Your nose was crooked; I actually helped you this time around." She explained and crossed her arms.
"Huh… Thanks, I guess." Aaron answered and tried to shake the pain off. He then noticed that Helga was smiling a little bit. "As I said; that was for everything you did to me during this month." She said as she walked closer to him again. He leaned back a little this time, still remembering clearly, what she had done only moments ago. Her next words though, made his eyes open wide. "And this is for all things you did for me."
As soon as Helga had said those words, she stretched her ankles a little bit to reach Aaron and then laid her lips against the tip of his nose. He just… froze. Indeed, you could never expect anything from Helga Pataki. When she leaned back again, she simply went past him, her blonde hair brushing against his bare arm and went through the hallway.
Aaron sighed a bit and then just shook his head in amusement. I'm gonna miss that feeling of never knowing what to expect from that girl… Oh, well. He thought in his head and went through the rest of the hallway as he eyed Helga walking away over his shoulder.
Author's 2nd note: Ok! Let me explain a little bit about the ending from this, before ANYONE goes crazy xD I was sitting here, thinking: "Hmm, some people hate Aaron and will love the punch, and some people love Aaron and will love the kiss… Now what?!" So, I decided to meet everyone halfway there: I did both things, obviously.
Also, that works the best for me and for how I imagine their relationship. Helga doesn't really love Aaron, because she also hates him. (Where with Arnold it's only love :P) She does consider him something between a friend, brother or enemy. A… bro frenemy? xD So, just wanted to explain that before anyone went all crazy, saying stuff like that: "Whoa! That punch was so not deserved!" or "Ew! Why would she kiss him?!"
We all have the right to our own opinions, as long as we remember that we don't always share them :P I didn't create Aaron for anyone to love, nor hate, I created him as something you could create your own opinion about. So, no one is incorrect for neither loving or hating him. End of story :P (Well, not this story, we still need a few chapters xD – plus an epilogue! :D)