Chapter Four: These Friends of Mine
Hey peoples! This is my last chapter before school starts, after that I need you to bear with me.
YourEnchantingDesire: Yeah Helen is starting a form a bond with Aro, not many can resist his charms. As to the boyfriend question, I'm honestly not that sure if Helen will have one right now.
Queensly92: I'm really glad that you like it.
Cutie Bunny: Wait and see...
PrincessDiya: So glad to have the French gal back!
I am always doing things I can't do, that's how I get to do them -Pablo Picasso.
"I consider myself a smart and careful person. I pay attention to the little things and details, I think that's why I'm good at dancing. I also know that somehow Aro found out that I was in the forest, and that it was not me who told him."
Helen knew that she couldn't miss another day of class, she missed dancing and being with her friends way too much. She was never going to let what happened control her life. So today she got up and threw on a pair of blue jeans over her teal leotard and added a white, button down shirt, and a pair of pale grey, ankle length, lace up boots.
She trotted down the stairs to a silent and empty kitchen, she grabbed some Nutella from the pantry and got some bread. Toast sounded good right now.
Helen made herself two slices, got some orange juice, and sat down at the kitchen table.
While eating her breakfast, a strong thought from yesterday came back into her head.
'How did Aro know? Had I told Syd or Aggs, and they had another flirt session with him and spilled? This is so confusing.'
"Hey Nellie," Wesley said in a playful tone, "gonna try again?"
"I think I can make it," she replied, "I just needed a little time to myself."
"Dad and I really wish they had a counselor at your school," Wesley stated while looking at her with sad eyes.
"Can't," Helen shrugged, "it counts as extra help and you only get private sessions if you get a scholorship, which I'm gonna try for next semester."
"Still," Wesley argued, "they should have someone for you to talk to if something like this happens. You're an emotional wreck."
"Wes," Helen warned, "drop the subject, please."
"Okay, okay," Wesley surrendered.
"Good Morning," Henry said while walking down the stairs in his pajamas.
"Hey kiddo," Helen smiled.
"Are you okay?" Henry asked while opening the fridge door.
"Yeah," Helen replied, "I'm better today."
"Aw man!" Henry snarled while closing the fridge door, "Helen you drank all the juice!"
"Next time get up earlier, twerp," Helen said snidely.
"Ah," Richard Hendricks stated while walking in the room, "my two littlest babies fighting, now I know things are getting better."
"Hi to you too, Dad," Helen replied with a grin.
"So," her father said with a nervous tone, "you guys's mother called last night."
Silence and tension filled the area, no one said anything and let their father continue.
"She found out about Helen."
"Oh my god!" Helen begun with a hint of frustration, "did it make international news?! Helen Hendricks, presque violée!"
"No sweetheart," her father assured, "one of her old friends here called her when they saw it in the paper. Which I got chewed out for, because I didn't tell her. Anyway, she's coming for your birthday."
"What!" The Hendricks children said in unison.
"Dad, no, please!" Helen pleaded, "can't she just send a card like usual?"
"Can't be done," he replied, "she feels that this is something that she should help you deal with."
"Dad," Wesley argued, "you know how she gets. She'll act all sweet at first, but then Mom will start getting all critical and condescending."
"Son," their father replied, "I know, and I lived through that before you three were even born. However, I still expect you to be sweet and polite to her."
"It'll be extremely awkward," Helen stated in a sing-song voice.
"More for me than you, though." Richard corrected also in a sing-song tone, "my ex-wife and my current girlfriend will be in the same room."
Repertoire had a much more pleasant tone when Helen walked in. She felt even more relieved when no one stared at her when she walked in. Aro was sitting in his usual chair and greeted her with an affectionate smile. Syd and Aggs were mingling with Maya Rickons when Helen decided to talk to them.
"Morning guys," Helen smiled.
"Hey, Nells," Sydney replied "feeling better?"
"Much."
"So," Aggie changed the subject, "your birthday is coming up and we have heard no present requests."
"My mind has been occupied," Helen snorted.
"Got any plans?" Maya chimed in.
"My mother is coming from Château de Versailles," Helen complained snidely.
"Oh god," Sydney said while exhaling sarcastically, "what a blast this party will be.
"Why is that a problem?" Maya asked.
"It's complicated," Aggie replied.
"Alright ladies!" Ramona drawed their attention. "Talk on your own time, warm up! Rond de jambe! If you forget to breathe, that's your problem!" Helen and the rest of the class quickly scurried over to the barre. Ramona Vasquez started the music and did her usual inspection, and her eyes almost seemed to wander too long on Helen's stitched wound on her left arm. So much for things quieting down.
"Okay," Sydney said as they sat at their lunch table outside, "seriously, what do you want for your birthday?"
"I don't know," Helen replied in an exhausted tone. "What I had wanted most I already have, and with my mom coming, I just feel that no matter what I get the situation will be awkward."
"Do you not want us to come?" Aggie asked.
"No," Helen replied sharply, "I need you guys there so I can have a good time and not try to kill her."
"Okay, okay," Aggie said with a giggle, "Syd and I will think of something." Helen nodded as she took a sip from water from her water bottle. She glanced towards the shaded area and saw Aro talking with Mr. Pruitt.
"Hey guys," Helen changed the subject, her voice shaking, "did the Newspaper that decided to ruin my life mention any details about my 'almost r-card'?"
"Other than the fact that the something murdered the SOB, not really," Sydney replied with a hint of nervousness.
"I didn't tell you guys where I was when it happened, did I?"
"Helen," Aggie said sharply, "what is this about?"
"Okay," Helen lowered her voice into a whisper so that the tables around them couldn't hear "Yesterday, Aro gave me a ride home from school when I decided to leave early. He's made me feel so comfortable and important when I'm around him, so I didn't think much of it at first. An hour later or so, I began working on a new lip-sync for us, and I remembered that he told me not to go into the forest again."
"What's the big deal?" Aggie whispered curiously.
"It happened in the forest," Helen explained, "but here's the thing, I never told anyone I was in the forest. So how did he know?"
"Oh my god," Sydney said in a terrified whisper, "you don't think he had something to do with what happended to the scumbag that tried to do you-know-what?"
"I don't know, maybe I'm just being paranoid," Helen replied.
"Nell," Aggie chimed in, "I could be wrong, but if he knows exactly where you were that night, that usually means something."
"He looks at me like I'm his child," Helen stated in a melancholy tone, "do you think that's a bad sign?"
"Aro probably just cares about you," Sydney assured, "how old do you think he is anyway?"
"Umm," Helen bit her lip, "late twenties, maybe mid thirties?"
"Hello dear one," Aro said happily, appearing almost out of no where, while Helen waited in the parking lot after school, Wesley was once again running late. "How has your day been?"
"Pretty good," Helen replied with a smile, his velvety tone making her worries and doubts disappear.
"I am glad," he beamed, "I really do hate to see tears on your beautiful face, Mia Stella."
Helen blushed at both her pet name and the fact that Aro just called her beautiful. "I hate it when I cry too," she tried not to seem awkward, "it downplays my whole 'brave girl' image."
Aro chuckled merrily, "you don't always have to put on your bravery persona, Helen. I find that bottling up one's emotions causes more trouble than it's worth, but then again I have a...shall we say a knack, for knowing people better than they know themselves."
"I have to be the brave one," Helen explained, "I have to for Henry and Wesley."
"You have a strong bond with them," it wasn't a question, it was a statement.
"I probably could live without them for a day, but any longer and I'd get too lonely," Helen said while Aro's red eyes met her baby blue eyes again. His hypnotic control was returning.
"You are not alone, Mia Stella."
"I won't be in a week and a half, my birthday is coming up," Helen stated while her heart begun to pound.
"Oh!" Aro almost cooed, "how wonderful! A celebration should certainly bring your spirits up!" Helen couldn't tell if he was thinking out loud or actually talking to her, something about him almost seemed a little unbalanced. "To what day is this auspicious event?"
"October twenty-second," Helen replied.
"And you shall be the age of..." Aro questioned.
"Fifteen."
"My word," Aro beamed while placing a cold, delicate hand on her left shoulder, "you're blossoming into quite the young woman."
"Normally, I would be happier that's it coming," Helen snorted, "but my Maman decided to come."
A look of frustration formed on Aro's face. He turned his face and supposedly and silently cursed in another language that Helen could not even remotely understand, it didn't even sound European. Aro then regained his graceful and cheery composure and smiled at her.
"I apologize," He confessed, "but I believe you informed me that she abandoned you?"
"She did," Helen assured, "my mother normally just sends my brothers and I cards for our birthdays. But, in light of recent events, she decided that she 'can 'elp me through my tramatic essayer', and what not."
"I see," Aro nodded, his smile kept but his eyes betrayed him by showing anger and frustration.
"I really wish she wasn't coming, though," Helen said with sad eyes, "I'm her least favorite child. I'm too flawed and ungrateful in her opinion, so I'll get to spend my birthday trying not to fight with her."
"Helen," his velvety voice made always made her heart beat faster, but when he said her name it seemed to make her feel like her heart was going to burst out of her chest, "you are in no way flawed or ungrateful." This time he used his cold hand that was on her shoulder to delicately and lovingly caress her left cheek. Goosebumps formed as she relaxed to his soothing touch, she also closed her eyes as his touch made her feel more and more relaxed. In that split second, Helen felt like the most important person in the world.
"Has she told you that you are such, Mia Stella?" Helen was brought back to reality by both his question and his hand leaving her cheek.
"All the time," she responded with a hint of frustration, "she uses her sickly sweet voice and comments on the littlest of things I do that bother her. I also get no recognition. When I got into the Academy her response on the phone was, 'Rejected by ze American Ballet School?'
Aro's face tightened and his hands formed into fists, "you deserve much better than that," he stated sternly.
"I know," Helen replied, "but you can't pick your family."
"Not necessarily," Aro said with a small grin, "Jane is adopted, as are Felix and Demetri, same situation for Jane's twin brother Alec."
"Okay, how old are you?"
"Thirty-five," Aro replied with a gingerly smile, "but as I said before, I am a bit of an old soul."
"Let me guess," Helen gave a snarky grin. "Married, two kids, and you spoil them rotten?" Aro laughed heartily and clapped his hands together.
"No," he smiled. "Married, no children, but my wife and I are hoping to have a child of our own very soon."
"I wish you the best of luck," Helen assured, "if you treat the kid as well as you treat me and it'll love you."
The corner's of his mouth formed into a very loving and pleased smile, "thank you, Mia Stella." He reached his left hand out again and pushed a strand of Helen's hair out of her face and traced her cheek and jawline, leaving goosebumps.
Helen's heart raced again, and then she remembered something.
"Aro, may I ask you something?" She questioned while calming down.
"Anything, my dear," he replied happily.
"How did you know that I was in the forest the other night?" Her question caused his eyes to go wide while his gingerly smile remained.
"Whatever do you mean, dear?" His velvet voice now held a slight hint of nerves.
"You told me yesterday that it would please you if I refrained from going into the woods," Helen explained, "but the thing is, I never told anyone I was in the woods, so how did you know?"
Aro stiffened but regained his composure, his loving smile never faltered, but his eyes showed fear. "Mr. Pruitt informed me, when Richard Hendricks called the school to inform him about the situation, and that you had been...assaulted. Mr. Pruitt was fearful of the Academy's reputation and in the midst of the moment, sent out an e-mail to the patrons and parents. The e-mail described what had happened and included that particular detail. Why do you ask, Mia Stella?"
"I was just curious," Helen said with relief, "this whole almost 'r-card' thing has really shaken me up. I just want to forget about it."
"You will soon," Aro said soothingly, "just give yourself time."
Helen felt very comfortable that Aro had in fact not had anything to do with the murder of the bastard that tried to rape her. So in the midst of the moment, she asked him to attend her birthday party. Now she would have her mother, Dad's girlfriend, and an incredibly handsome patron all in the same room. Syd was right, this party would be something alright.
She heard the home phone go off while she was in her ballet studio, an unknown number.
"Hello?" Helen asked in a happy tone.
"Hi Helen, it's Des. Sydney gave me your number," Helen was surprised, why was Des calling her?
"What's up?" she asked.
"I know that the assignment for the grand Pas des deux in class from Cinderella isn't very hard," he said in a nervous tone, "but would you mind if we practiced before Monday?"
"No problem," Helen assured, "do you wanna come to my house? I have my own studio."
"If you don't mind," Des said nervously, "would Saturday at three work?"
"Let me check my social calender," Helen remarked snarkily, "good news, I'm free every Saturday for the remainder of time."
Des chuckled, "great, I'll see you then."
"Mmmkay," she responded, "bye."
"Bye."
Dinner that night seemed fairly normal. The Thursday night tradition of Chinese food from Siam's Palace was being upheld, with the Hendricks family ironically eating on nice plates at the dining room table.
"Helen's got a boyfriend!" Henry snickered loudly, earning a shocked look from Wesley and their father.
"What?!" They both said in unison, Wes accidently spit up some of his Kung Pao Chicken.
"I don't have a boyfriend!" Helen argued. "His name is Des, he's my Pas de deux partner, and I was going to ask Dad if he could come over to reherse. Twerp don't you have anything better to do than listen in on my coversations?!"
Henry smirked and was poked in the arm by Helen's fork.
"A boy is coming over to see you?" Her father asked, "I don't like the idea of you dating, Flapjack."
"It's not a date!" Helen protested, "we're just going to work on a assignment for Pas des deux."
"Pas des what?" Henry questioned.
"Pas des deux, it means 'the dance of two' in French. It's the only class that mixes boys and girls together," Helen corrected.
"I know what it means, Helen," Wesley snorted, "'it takes two to tango', I would know, I've 'danced' with a girl before."
"What does that mean?" Henry asked, confused. Helen made a gagging sound, while Richard's face went pale white and distorted with anger.
"HENRY FRANCOIS, DON'T LISTEN TO YOUR BROTHER! HELEN LOUISE, I WANT TO MEET THIS BOY, AND THE INTERCOM WILL BE ON AT ALL TIMES! WESLEY JOSEPH, YOU AND I ARE HAVING A TALK AFTER DINNER!"
"I had never seen my father so mad in his entire life," Helen confessed to her friends as they stretched their legs in Repertoire.
"What happened after?" Aggie asked.
"He ranted about how Wesley better be respecting girls and that if he got a girl he liked pregnant, my Dad would take a knife and cut off his..." Helen's cheek's turned red.
"I didn't think your father could go all parental," Sydney stated.
"So," Aggie changed the subject, "you and Des? He's cute."
"He's just my friend!" Helen protested.
"Okay," Sydney drew a heart in the air with her two index fingers. "Helen and Des, that's either 'Hes' or 'Delen', I like 'Delen' better."
"We're not dating! He. Is. A. Friend." Helen huffed.
'Des is cute, but he doesn't seem to like me like that, right?'
R&R