(A/N: Look! I posted on time this time~ Unfortunately the chapter is smaller than normal... but the reason being- this is actually more of a chapter 11 second half? I wanted to make them 1 whole chapter but when I saw last chapters length, I decided against it. So here it is! Can't wait to start on chapter 13~ Will it be unlucky? Who knows! I hope not, actually o.o)
In front of the studio, Mr. Johansson had engaged Phil into some talks of politics while Gerald rested his back up against the Packard, legs and arms crossed with an expression of pure annoyance. He had expressed his feelings to his dad more than once that morning about how he didn't need to accompany them; however his father had completely disagreed the moment he saw which street they'd be on. It was luck that Arnold's grandpa would be there as Martin Johansson would have attached himself to the kid every step of the way.
"And can you believe what the governor is doing?" Martin asked as he rested his forearm against the car's door. "As if this city wasn't falling apart at the seams, she is just letting go half of our state's major contractors!"
Phil shook his head. His wife had always kept him up to date with everything going on with the world and this wasn't the first of him hearing such news. "Yeah… it's a shame everything is going to waste now. Back in my day, everything had such color and flare. You could see life wherever you went and now…"
"Now the whole city is becoming a waste land." Martin said, finishing Phil's sentence. "More and more shops are closing up and moving away due to the high cost of rent. Small mom and pop shops can't seem to stay open anymore! And it's the same for neighboring cities as well."
Scratching his bald head, the elderly man gave a grim expression before sparking back to light. "Hey! Why don't you run for governor then?" He asked inquisitively.
"Me?!" Mr. Johansson took a step back in shock. "What makes you think I could do something like that?"
"Well you have all these really great ideas so why the heck not?" Phil said half jokingly. "If you really want something to change, your next step is to make efforts and if your efforts aren't getting ya anywhere then… why not climb on into the big boy's chair?"
Martin pondered a moment, taking the suggestion into heavy consideration. The man's words were a compliment, however he couldn't help but think of the major consequences' that followed such a power of position. "No… I couldn't do that. I have to make sure my family is well provided for first before I could sacrifice my time like that." He responded to Phil, looking over at his still agitated son. "Family must always come first."
"Of course they do but wouldn't you be helping them in the long run?" Phil mused, now just entertaining the thought. He had known Martin for a long time as he was his grandson's best friend's father. He knew that Martin was all about family and responsibility but he also knew that he had a good understanding of his own limits. He wasn't the type of man who would bite off more than he could chew.
"Sadly, I'll have to decline your offer Phil." The middle aged man smiled. "However I appreciate the thought." With an exasperated sigh, Martin looked down the dirty street in front of them. "I'll just have to continue writing letters to congress in hopes someone will listen."
"There ya go." Phil nodded. "Someone some where's gotta be getting them." He encouraged half heartedly.
Gerald let out a groan and straightened himself back up. "Will you just go now?" He whined. "As you can see Arnold's grandpa is here to 'chaperone' us. You can go home and write that letter. Whatcha say, Dad?"
Adjusting his glasses, Martin looked sharply down at his son. "I'll say that you need to start speaking to me with respect, young man." He scolded. "I made it clear the moment we got here that I'd be sticking around. No young children need to be roaming around this part of the city, especially unsupervised. It's great that Phil is here and I'll accompany him in waiting for you all to be done. Is that clear?" His face was stern as well as his body unmovable.
"Yes sir…" Gerald sulked and began to walk away from them both. Sticking his hand in his pockets, he looked around to see where Phoebe might have gone. After they had parked, she took the liberty to find their friends however no one had resurfaced.
Walking around to the side of the building where he knew the entrance would be, Gerald spied his girlfriend coming back his way. "Where have you been?" He asked confused.
His voice startled the nervous girl as she still hadn't normalized from the sight she had scene. "Oh… I was just… umm…" She mumbled as she got close to him, catching his hand and leading him back towards the front of the building. "They said they would be right out and to wait here!" Phoebe spat out quickly, her face turning red.
Noticing her abnormal behavior, Gerald raised an eyebrow and looked down at her. "Uh huh…" He replied, looking her over. "What's got you all flustered all of a sudden?"
"N-nothing!" Phoebe stuttered, as she stopped once they were in the clear of the door. "Nothing at all… heh." She finished with a nervous laugh.
Very sure that something was being kept from him; Gerald furrowed his brows and became upset. It seemed like everyone had been deciding to keep him out of the loop with one thing or another and it was becoming a vicious trend. Did no one trust him? Wasn't he the keeper of all that went on around him and his friends? It wasn't as if he was gonna go blab it all out to everyone. Gerald knew well how to keep secrets and yet it seemed lately that he was the last to know about a lot of things. Wanting nothing more than to yell in frustration, Gerald knew it wasn't right to take it out on his girlfriend, especially today. Channeling his feelings into something more productive, he forced himself to calm down and focused on her thoughtfully. "Are you feeling any better?" He asked, recalling that she had had a rough start to her morning.
Phoebe nodded. "Yes. Fortunately the pain has passed…" She then frowned as she looked down at her stomach, "Though I would really like to know what's causing these nightly stomach aches."
"How long has this been going on?" The boy asked. He had wanted to ask her about all of this earlier however his father had been pressing them for time, assuming they would be late to this gathering.
Thinking to herself for the moment, Phoebe hummed. "A little less than a week, I'd say." She answered. "I've been considering telling Mother about this, however I also don't want to needlessly worry her either. I'm sure it's just a stomach bug or something and will pass in time." Phoebe forced a smile and turned back to him. She could see that he was worried about her and it made her feel a little fuzzy inside.
Scratching the back of his freshly groomed head, Gerald could see that she was doing her best. "Alright then… But if this continues you really should let your parents know." A faint pink color emerged on his tanned cheeks and he turned his head to look at something irrelevant. "I don't know what I would do if it wound up being something… serious."
"Oh…" Her faced mimicked his with a blush and her warm fuzzy feeling grew.
As the awkwardness ensued, it was eventually interrupted by Arnold finally emerging from around the side of the building with a hurried look on his face. Everyone's attention turned to the young man who looked like he had just escaped something horrible.
"Hey guys!" He called out panting, acting as if everything was alright with him.
"Uhh… Hey man." Gerald called back, reverting back to his regular demeanor. "You guys done in there?"
The question was innocent enough, however Arnold's face flushed as he could only imagine that Phoebe had told him what she had seen. He turned to the Asian girl with a panicked face, but she shook her head and smiled, giving him instant relief.
"Y-yeah! We cleaned the place pretty good!" He replied, hoping she had given him some sort of excuse for their absence in there, and figuring the truth would ease his conscience. "You two should see!" Arnold then looked around and noticed that neither Rhonda nor the girl had arrived yet. Pulling out his pocket watch, he looked at the time. It was well passed 1pm and yet their meeting was for Noon. "Where is Rhonda? Didn't we all agree to be here like an hour ago?"
"Sorry we were late…" Gerald breathed out, unsure if he had any business explaining their situation since it was personal.
Phoebe nodded and blushed with embarrassment. "It was my fault, Arnold." She admitted. "I was feeling a little sick and everyone had stalled for me. I apologize."
Giving a small smile, Arnold nodded. "That's okay. Are you feeling better?" He asked with genuine kindness.
"Yes, much better." Phoebe's color turned to her normal tone and she smiled back, glad that her friend understood.
Arnold extended his arm and gestured them to around the side of the building to the entrance. Both of his friends looked to one another to make sure everyone was on the same page, then followed Arnold inside where Helga had decided to organize things a little to pass the time.
Noticing her audience, the pigtailed girl turned around and crossed her arms. "Took you all long enough! We were so bored we practically scrubbed the place clean!" She howled. Realizing that it was only the four of them assembled, Helga gave them all a questioning look. "Where is little miss princess and her friend?"
Everyone gave a small shrug in response, making Helga feel a little uneasy. "She didn't pull one over on us and make us all come here for no reason, right?" She asked mostly to Arnold with a death glare.
Feeling her hostility, Arnold frowned. "I…I don't think so." He replied before turning to look out the door again. "I mean, I hope not anyway…"
"That would be quite unlike her." Phoebe added. "I'm sure she is just fashionably late, as she would put it."
Letting out a loud whine, Helga sat herself down on the stage; gazing up at the multi colored lights. Everyone gathered around her and sat down as well, figuring they might as well make do with the time they had and just chit-chat until their guest either arrived or enough time had passed for them to give up hope.
Luckily for them, it only took a few more minutes until they heard a car pull into the small driveway by the door. With haste, Arnold jumped up and ran to it making sure it was who he thought it was.
The car was no ordinary car but a hot red 1965 Ford Mustang convertible. In the driver's seat was a tall, intelligent looking man with slicked back black hair, glasses and a suit and tie. The man glanced over at Arnold, before turning to his passenger and whispering something into the girl's ear. The girl passenger giggled, then promptly opened up her side of the door, gathered some of her belongings and walked towards Arnold.
The young woman was taller than him, however only slightly. Her brown hair had gotten a little longer than when he had seen her in Rhonda's picture and was being worn down to the right side, with her ear exposed. Although she was wearing thick square framed glasses, he could clearly see her bright blue eyes which matched with her blue and orange checkered flannel shirt; accompanied by an off white shirt which was tucked into her high cut jean shorts; with threads hanging out of the cut legs. Her smile seemed warm and welcoming as she got only inches from him. "Hello! You must be Arnold!" She said with her hand out for a shake. "I'm Marcy!"
Arnold took her hand and shook it softly. "Yes! It's nice to meet you Marcy." He replied, letting go of her hand and looking back at the street. "Where is Rhonda?"
"Hmmm…" She replied, turning the same way he had. "I'm not sure. She told me she would be here but… maybe something had come up?" Marcy suggested, before turning to look back at him. "Will it be a problem if it's just me?"
Hearing concern in her voice, Arnold violently shook his head from side to side. "No! No not at all!" Stepping to the side to give her entrance, he smiled. "Right this way."
Marcy smiled back and gave a small giggle before obeying his words and walking through the doorway. Arnold looked back at the man in the car, who simply gave him a thoughtless look and turned back in front of himself. "Who is that?" He asked, catching up to her.
"That's my manager, Paul." Marcy replied as she stopped and noticed the other 3 people in the room. "He's also my Dad. Go figure."
"Oh…" Arnold could feel himself getting tense as if that man would cut anyone who laid even a finger on her. His demeanor was icy enough that he could feel it miles away.
Everyone got off the stage and introduced themselves, shaking her hand one by one.
"It's really nice to meet all of you. You guys seem pretty chill." Marcy greeted as she looked each one of them over one by one. "Unfortunately I can't stay too, too long but we can make the best of the time we have." She finished with a small sad sigh.
"Alright sister, then let's cut to the chase." Helga said as she pulled out two nicely shined beepers. "These are for you to wear and show off and be all flashy with, got it?" She then handed them to the girl who gladly accepted them. Placing one on the rim of her jeans, Marcy then pulled out a hair band which she secured the other one to, before tying it into her hair but keeping it to her right side. Helga rolled her eyes at the girl's bubbly personality. "Criminy, we're not taking pictures yet. You don't gotta get all flashy right now…"
Ignoring Helga's attitude, Marcy looked at the stage. "So this is where we're gonna shoot?" She asked, placing a finger to her lips and examining it thoroughly. "It's pretty small but I suppose that's fine. Are the pictures going to be posted on the world wide web or in a Zine?"
Gerald pulled his camera off from around his neck. "We were probably going to put most on the internet but maybe make a flier out of one or two." He replied. "Whichever brings the most publicity"
Marcy nodded and continued looking the place over. "Alright. I assume you guys will be taking the pictures?" She asked, stepping onto the stage and positioning herself wherever she felt was right.
Phoebe turned her camera on and looked through the lens. "Correct. We may not be professionals but I am fully convinced that our skills are good enough for our objective." She replied as she turned to her boyfriend and gave a thumbs up.
Arnold could feel confidence well up inside of him and all his ill feelings prior seemed to float away. His friends were taking their roles very seriously and even Helga didn't look as annoyed as he figured she would be. "Thanks so much for this, Marcy." He called out to her, "You have no idea how much this means to us." He spoke for them all.
Looking down at the small boy, the older girl gave a grin. "Don't mention it. Let me know when you are all ready and I'll start posin'!"
Helga snorted and sat down in a folding chair. She glanced over at Arnold and swooned over his goofy looking grin that had planted itself on his face. I'm so happy this is all working itself out for you, my love… She thought as she rested her head on the palm of her hand. But if you continue to smile like that at her, I'll probably kick you in the shin. She finished her thought with a scowl.
Arnold could feel her eyes on him but did his best not to look her way. Keeping himself occupied at what was important, and not letting himself get distracted by his own weaknesses, he turned to Gerald and Phoebe. "You guys ready?"
"Camera's are loaded, my man!" Gerald replied as he showed Arnold his camera's red little light, indicating that it was on.
"Ready when you are." Phoebe chimed in with a determined voice, as she pointed her camera at the girl who seemed to be already posing.
Placing his fingers together in a rectangle shape and placing it up to his eyes, Arnold placed the girl front and center. "And… Action!"
The photo shoot was lasting longer than Helga had expected. Sitting there, only mildly entertained by her friend's attempting to act professional, as well as the stupid poses of their new idol, she sighed to herself. She began to tap her foot on the ground, looking over at her beloved who had taken the role in which Rhonda was supposed to fill, suggesting places her to stand while she posed in a way she felt appropriate. His attention to the girl began to get on Helga's nerves but she did her best to quell her feelings, reminding herself of why he was doing this in the first place. Thoughts of her family moving back into her old house began to fill her head and she found herself smiling a little. Will this really work? She asked herself in silence. What if this does actually work? What if that adorable little football head actually pulls this off and I can finally move out of that dusty piece of crap closet? Thinking of her proud lair down in the basement, Helga frowned. That means I'll have to dismantle my room of operations… that sucks. I put a lot of hard work into that; utilizing all those tv's that I found unused in the closet and even managing to fix that old computer? Phoebe helped me with all of my tapes and records too… But as she continued to ponder all her hard work, she continued to watch Arnold. Images of him falling on top of her and his reactions began to brighten her cheeks. I guess I won't be needing those things anymore… though. She thought with a flustered face. No more needing to monitor Arnold, stalk him day and night and record all of his generous deeds… Because I'll be there with him… Helga was reminded of their talk in his room almost a week ago. He had told her that he hoped she wouldn't hide anymore and rather she'd stay by his side out in the open. Her heart began to pitter patter in her chest lovingly as she watched him move and conduct, and she began to rock her chair back and forth. It's… hard to believe this is all real, She confessed to herself. My Arnold… I can't believe he looked at me with those eyes of longing; his half lidded gaze penetrating my soul… Oh how I long to be in that position once more, my dear! Could I possibly fathom what went through your oddly shaped mind during that moment? What had you wanted so desperately to do? Could it have been… to kiss me?! "Ohhh~" she moaned out loud before tipping her chair back far enough to make it fall over along with her, causing everyone in the room to stop what they were doing and turn to her.
"Helga, are you okay?" Phoebe asked as she put the camera down and rushed to her friend's side to help her up, but was pushed away.
"Yeah, yeah I'm fine! Give me some space, will ya?" Helga shouted back as Phoebe stepped back to let Helga pick herself up. "Are we done now? This snooze fest had me sleeping so hard I fell out of my seat."
Marcy giggled at the little charade and jumped off of the stage. "I suppose it has been some time…" She mentioned as she looked over at her watch. "Do you think you have enough shots of me with these beepers?" She asked Gerald who was looking through his shots.
"Yeah. With a little editing I think these will be great!" He then looked over at Phoebe with Helga. "How about you babe, got some good photos?"
Phoebe blushed with a smile at his term of endearment and nodded earnestly, turning back to Helga. "Do you think it's possible to edit these in your lair? You have far better equipment for this than anyone else here."
"Lair?" Arnold asked as the term piqued his interests.
"Yeah! Helga has this really cool place in her basement-" Gerald started but before he could finish, he felt daggers on his back and looked at Helga who looked as if she was going to murder him.
"I think you mean my DAD has a lot of digital equipment in the basement of the Beeper Emporium." The angry girl corrected with a hiss, shutting up Gerald further. Waving off Arnold's interest, she continued, "It's just a bunch of security software he had installed when he got all paranoid that someone would break in and steal his precious loot. It's nothing to be interested in. Just dusty old computer screens in a cramped basement…"
Marcy could see that the friend's were having a moment and quietly began to gather her belongings. "Well it was fun guys, but I better be heading off now." She spoke happily as she approached Arnold and took him off guard with a hug. "You guys were pretty awesome, especially you Arnold."
"M-me?" He asked, feeling awkward about the sudden embrace out of nowhere from a stranger.
Letting him go, she backed up and folded her arms in back of her head. "Of course! You have talent in directing. Don't let it go to waste, ya know?"
Helga growled and walked to the side door to open it up. "Don't go making his football head swell up with confidence, lady. It's already big enough as it is."
"It was very nice meeting you." Phoebe said as she placed her hand out for a shake between girls, which was gracefully accepted.
"Likewise," Marcy responded with a shake. "I hope the pictures come out hot!" She then removed the beepers from her attired and handed them to Helga.
Finishing their farewells, Marcy waved one last time before exiting the building. Everyone could hear as her father's car revved its engine before speeding away down the street. "Wasn't she charming?" Helga asked sarcastically, closing the door.
"I dunno, I thought she was pretty nice." Gerald replied after turning off his camera, along with Phoebe's.
"Sure, if you like prissy little show offs with a perfect figure and no taste." Helga retorted with a huff.
Everyone frowned at her statement as they all disagreed but knew there was no point in arguing with her. Suspecting her ill mannered temper was due to Arnold's attention to the girl, Phoebe changed the subject. "I wonder what happened to Rhonda. I hope she's alright."
A spark of surprise lit up in Arnold's eyes as he remembered that she never showed up. Doing his best to not be pessimistic on the subject, he cleared his throat. "I'm sure something important came up."
"Important?" Gerald asked with a raised eyebrow. "What could possibly be more important than a fashion show to Rhonda Wellington Lloyd?"
Knowing his best friend was right, Arnold gave a fake smile. "Surprise family gathering she was forced to go to?" He suggested.
Having zero interest in what could have possibly happened to the stuck up rich girl, Helga took the liberty of leaving the building first. "Come on, Phoebe. I gotta get some fresh air. This place is mustier than a cemetery crypt."
"Coming!" The small girl replied before looking at the two boys and following her friend.
Somehow surprised that it was still daylight out, on account of the windows in the studio being boarded up and losing track of time, Phoebe squinted her eyes up at the sun which shined happily at her. She could hear her friend stomping away and followed in that direction.
Kicking the nearby trash can, Helga growled in frustration. "I can't believe that girl had the nerve to hug him. She doesn't even know him!"
Feeling sympathy for her friend, Phoebe adjusted her glasses and frowned. "I agree that it was rather bold of her to hug someone she just met like that, however we also don't know her either." Phoebe spoke softly, attempting to calm down her blustery friend. "It's possible that where she's from, it's common and acceptable to show affection outwardly to just anyone."
Phoebe could see that her words weren't doing any good as Helga kicked the trash can again, causing it to fall on the ground and spill its contents. Figuring it was probably better to give Helga something positive to focus on, she nervously remembered what she had interrupted earlier. "S-so… What happened before I showed up?" She asked as she fidgeted in place.
Hearing the question alerted Helga immediately. "H-huh?" She yelped, "I have no idea what you m-mean, Pheebs…" She finished and began to whistle innocently.
"Oh Helga, spit it out." Phoebe said with a scowl, feeling as though she wasn't being appreciated for the effort she was putting in to make Helga feel better. "You know I wouldn't normally ask, however seeing you too… like that… was rather odd. I can only assume you perhaps made… progress?" Phoebe felt her face get hotter as she was uncomfortable with the subject but knew it had to be brought up. Despite it not being any of her business, walking into such a sight was beyond a shock and as much as she would love to give Arnold credit on being gentlemanly, she was also aware of Helga's passions and hoped whatever went on was mutual.
Looking around to make sure no one was in earshot of their conversation, Helga grabbed Phoebe's hand and led her behind the building into a cramped space. "H-helga I highly doubt anyone can hear us…" Phoebe whispered. "But if you insist on speaking here…"
Willing herself to not explode into dramatics, Helga took a deep breath. "I- I don't know what happened exactly…" Helga finally said in a low tone. "We were cleaning up and everything was pretty normal. Then he tripped on some can and I happened to be right next to him and he fell on me"
Seeing her friends face turn a dark hue of red, Phoebe knew there had to be more to it than that and wondered why the girl wasn't spilling her guts all over the place like she normally would. "That's… all?" She asked with a skeptical voice.
Helga nodded with a straight face but when she saw that her friend wasn't buying it, her façade collapsed and she let out a loud whine of passion. "No! I mean, yes but no!" She yelled out, causing some birds to fly away in the process. "Yes that is all that happened basically but no that's definitely not all that happened, Phoebe!" She could see that her loud voice hadn't shaken the girl, so she continued. "His eyes, his face, his…. essence? It all just completely changed! At first he was normal goody-two-shoes Arnoldo and suddenly…" Helga placed her hand on her chest and could feel her heart racing, giving Phoebe somewhat an understanding. "The way he was looking at me made me feel like my skin was on fire, Pheebs. Never in my whole life of watching him from afar and even gazing upon small little personal moments have I ever seen Arnold have an expression like that."
Phoebe listened in closely and could feel herself being drawn into Helga's passion on the subject as her heart began to race too. "What was it like?"
Helga closed her eyes and shook her head. "I can't even describe it. It was like… he wasn't all there. Like his body was there but his mind was somewhere completely different." She said, analyzing her memories for any sort of description. Suddenly she remembered watching a documentary in class last year about lionesses stalking and hunting prey for their Pride. "It was like he was a wild animal who had just found prey…" She spoke seriously, then realized how silly she sounded and chuckled, "If you want to get really descriptive, I guess."
The thought almost frightened Phoebe to think of Arnold looking at her best friend in such an animalistic way, however seeing as she was speaking of it in a positive manner, Phoebe ignored those feelings and nodded in at least somewhat understanding.
"Then you walked in and poof! He jumped off of me and kinda sulked in the corner." Helga recalled with a frown.
"Oh. I'm sorry, Helga. I didn't mean to interrupt the… intimate moment." Phoebe frowned back.
Placing her hand on her shorter friends shoulder, Helga smiled. "It's alright, Pheebs." Her mind then went back to the moment. "I tried to talk to him about it because he really seemed like he was beating himself up about it. Said something like he couldn't control himself ever since he had some dream."
"Dream?" Phoebe asked.
"Yeah." Helga nodded and crossed her arms, going back deep into thought. "I guess he had some weird dream the other night about us being locked up together." She gulped and could really only imagine what the dream had meant, but didn't want to go that far into the explanation as that seemed a little too personal to be blurting out. Knowing that her friend was way more innocent than herself, Helga continued so that way she wouldn't have to explain further. "It was all so sudden, so weird but so… I dunno, oddly passionate?" She finished with a questioning glance at her friend, who gave her the same look back.
Hearing the studio door open and assuming the boys had finished turning off the lights and cleaning up, Helga gave a nervous look to her friend and they slowly maneuvered out of their hiding spot and waited for the coast to be clear before finally emerging and nonchalantly following them to the front of the building.
Phil had noticed the children and abruptly stopped his conversations with his passenger. "You kids done?" He asked joyfully.
"Well that was sure fast." Martin commented, looking at Phil for an agreement but to only get a grim face back.
"Maybe to you. Felt like a decade to me." Phil replied to the man before looking back at his grandson.
Mr. Johansson exited the Packard and walked over to his son with his hand out for his cameras. "You took good care of them, I hope?" He asked with a stern look.
Gerald smiled and removed the memory from both devices. "You really gotta learn to trust me, Dad. When haven't I taken good care of your stuff?" He asked honestly, bringing the memory cards over to Helga and dropping them in her hands with a wink, that only caused her to scowl at him.
Martin gave a low thoughtful sigh and took back his possessions. "I guess so." He then turned to the rest of the adolescents. "Everything work out for you guys?"
Arnold nodded and walked up to the passenger door, which Martin still stood next to. "Yep! The model was really nice and didn't even seem to mind where the location was."
"That's surprising." Phil replied as he started his engine up. "If it were me, I would have taken one look at the place and ran straight for the hills. Who knows what I would have been walking into?" He shuttered with bleak thoughts. "But I'm glad she didn't." He finished with a warm and loving tone towards his grandson who was still smiling at the old man despite his words. "Now let's all leave this dreadful place before one of us gets shot at."
"I second that…" Helga commented from afar.
Looking at his son and his girlfriend with a startled expression from the old man's comment, he rushed over to his own vehicle. "Let's go, Gerald, Phoebe."
Giving Arnold their signature handshake, Gerald beamed at his friend. "See ya man." He said before taking his girlfriend's hand and leading her to his father's car. "Catcha at school?"
"Sure." Arnold nodded, giving his friend permission to leave comfortably before turning to his own intended who stood there awkwardly by herself. He wanted to put his hand out as Gerald had done with Phoebe but knew that she'd only react in a Helga type of manner. Instead, he gave her a small meek smile and signaled her to the car.
Waiting until her friend had secured herself within her boyfriend's family car and they had driven away, Helga eventually walked herself to Phil's car and jumped in the backseat. It was then that Arnold had recalled that their day wasn't finished, and he began to sweat a little.
"You two have fun?" Phil asked warmly as he put his car into reverse, getting ready to leave that horrid street.
"If you call sitting there forever while some pretty girl shows off for fun, then sure." Helga spat out with a note of humor.
Phil laughed and looked over at his grandson, expecting to see his usual happy face but only to see a very nervous one instead. "Woah, you okay there Arnold?" He asked concerned before driving away. "You look like you gotta use the toilet or something!" Phil then gasped in horror. "You didn't eat raspberries did you?! Oh you know how they wreck our family from the inside out!"
Knowing that his grandpa was only trying to get him to cheer up, Arnold forced a smile. "No, Grandpa! I'm fine." He said cheerfully.
Phil gave a disapproving noise and turned back to focus on driving. "Well okay, if you say so."
What do I do? Arnold thought in terror. I promised Helga that we'd go on our first date today and… how can I properly face her after what happened back there? Looking out the car window and watching as the buildings and pedestrians quickly passed by in a blur, the young man sulked. Do I call it off and reschedule it to another day? No… That would probably just upset her further. She didn't seem too bothered by what happened but I also know that she's really good at acting. Arnold then remembered how she had hugged him in an attempt to console his feelings. That hug was reassuring though… maybe it's all just in my head. What's wrong with me? Mustering up all of his positive feelings and drinking them in, in an attempt to drag himself out of worry, Arnold turned to his grandpa.
"Would you mind dropping us off at the park, Grandpa?" He asked innocently; his elder turning to him with a shocked expression. "It's gotten fairly nice out and I think it would be a good day for a walk." He then turned to Helga for confirmation. "Right?"
Crossing her legs and looking as if he just asked her the most tiresome question ever, Helga brushed him off. "Whatever floats your boat, Football head." She replied, although on the inside remembering exactly what they had planned for today just days earlier and secretly becoming nervous.
Arnold turned back to Phil. "Would that be okay?" He asked eagerly.
Phil looked the boy over before grinning from ear to ear. "How could I say no to such a nice suggestion? Of course I'll drop you kids off at the park!"
Giving his grandpa another smiled, Arnold began to plan his next few hours accordingly while both of them secretly dreaded the conversation that they both were to have.