An alternative ending to "Arnold Betrays Iggy," the episode.
Arnold learns a Lesson
The city was beginning to settle into its evening rhythm as the sun dipped below the horizon, painting the sky in hues of deep orange and purple. The air, still warm from the day's heat, was starting to cool, and a gentle breeze rustled through the leaves of the trees lining the streets. The sidewalks, once bustling with the day's activities, were now quiet, save for the distant murmur of conversations and the occasional passing car.
As it was, Arnold had just left Iggy's apartment, feeling torn about a situation weighing on him. Iggy had given him a sure-fire way to finally get his forgiveness, but it wasn't easy. As he walked, he was busy weighing his options. On one hand, he had the solution that would finally settle things and clear his guilty conscience, but it would also chip away at his self-respect and pride. But isn't it worth it to appease a friend?
As the football-headed kid was rounding a corner, to his dismay, "Oh, I'm terribly sorry. I-" he bumped into the last person he ever expected to see today. "Oh, Helga, it's you."
"Arnold," she dreamily squeaked before shaking off her lovestruck feelings. "Watch it, football head!" she said as she got back on her feet, dusting off her pink skirt.
Arnold sighed as he got back on his feet. "I'm really sorry, Helga. I just had a lot on my mind, that's all." That was true, but he really didn't want to talk about it.
"Yeah, yeah, Bucko. How about you just keep your mind on where you're going and less in the football-shaped clouds?" she grumbled, giving him a pointed look. Arnold just nodded. That was when she took a closer look at him.
Honestly, she could tell when he was anything but the gorgeous hunk of sunshine she longingly stared at from a distance. She saw the deep-in-thought, slightly furrowed expression when he was pressed in a moral dilemma. 'Criminy, this football-headed goof must be stuck in some moral internal conflict again,' she internally groaned. She was about to leave him to stew in his own pit when something on the floor caught her eye.
"Oh well, what's this?" she muttered to herself as she bent down to pick up the black garment bag that had fallen.
That snapped Arnold out of his deep thought. Before he could quickly retrieve the item, he was beaten to the punch by his female classmate. "Helga, give that back," he said nervously, trying in vain to snatch the clothing out of her reach.
Helga was now intrigued. She wouldn't have been so interested in the item if Arnold hadn't been making a big deal out of it, but now that he was, she thought it was fair game.
"Not so fast, Arnoldo," she said, extending a firm hand pressed against his chest to keep him at a distance. "Normally, I wouldn't care about your little nerd doings, but seeing as you ruined my clothing and are frantically trying to prevent me from seeing it, I believe this should be payback," she said with a triumphant smirk. Arnold desperately wanted to stop her from seeing it—either tackle her, jump her to get the bunny suit, or even beg her on his knees—but he realized that it was pointless. 'They'll all see by tomorrow anyway. Might as well get used to the laughter. And Helga will be good practice,' he sighed in defeat, stepping back from her.
Helga felt as if it was a hollow victory, the way Arnold did not even try to beg her, but she shrugged it off as a win anyway. As she opened the bag, she couldn't help but be oddly puzzled by the contents. Inside lay a white bunny suit with ears and cute little faces on the feet. What really caught her eye was that the size was perfectly suited to the football-headed boy, down to the widened head shape.
Arnold, now blushing furiously with embarrassment, hung his head low, waiting for the insults and jabs to fly.
Helga, to her credit, just stared for a few seconds, trying to put two and two together. "Okay, football head, I never pegged you for a bunny man," she chuckled a bit. "What, you suddenly wanted to join the Iggy Bunny Suit Fan Club or what?" she said, trying to stifle her barely held-back laughter as she stared down at the boy.
Arnold really wanted to just fall into a pit and stay there, as his whole face burned with embarrassment. But he decided that he would come clean now to better accept his fate for tomorrow.
He sighed, finally looking the girl in the eye. "The suit is from Iggy," he said, though Helga was staring him down to continue. "You see, I've been trying to get him to forgive me for his secret getting out, but it hasn't been easy. After doing so many tasks and chores, he still hasn't forgiven me. But then he had the idea for me to wear this tomorrow in front of everyone as a way of us being even," Helga then took that instant to speak.
"Excuse me, Bucko, but wasn't it Stinky and Sid who spilled the beans, and not you?" she may have been part of the laughing committee, but she knew well enough that Arnold did not have a single betraying bone in his body. The guy was an idiotic saint, for crying out loud.
He just nodded and continued, "Yeah…"
"And I'm sure, as you are a descendant of Mother fricking Teresa, that you tried to explain to him that you did not spread the news of his style of clothing, right?" He nodded, and she sighed in annoyance. "So why, in the heck, are you going to degrade yourself for someone's forgiveness if it wasn't your stupid fault in the first place?" she asked in disbelief, kind of disappointed in the guy.
"Because, Helga, I don't want him to hate me... and it is the right thing to—"
"Phooey," she said with heavy emphasis. "Criminy, Arnoldo, you are absolutely hopeless. I get that you are the moral compass of the group, but this has taken a completely stupid turn, even by your standards," she said, anger and disappointment in her voice.
Arnold was confused. "What do you mean, Helga? I—It's just what I have to—"
She rolled her eyes. "Yeah, right. You just don't want the drama queen to end up not being your friend or hating you at the very least. Am I hitting a bullseye, pal?" she asked, crossing her arms as she stared him down.
Arnold didn't know how to answer. He told himself he thought he was doing the right thing by apologizing to a guy he had wronged, but hearing what Helga had to say about him not wanting someone to hate or even dislike him made him feel very unsure.
Helga could see the gears churning in Arnold's head. She sighed and decided to take pity on the young idiot. "Look, Arnold," using his actual name again got his attention. "Let's face it. Yeah, you are kind, annoyingly so, but you are also too into people's feelings; you're somewhat of a peacekeeper and people pleaser, and that, in turn, causes you to take their burdens onto your shoulders," she then frowned. "The twerp, Iggy, is too stubborn; and I know stubborn; I live with it," she said with another eye roll before focusing back. "To acknowledge the fact that you must have bent over backwards to apologize for something you didn't do in the first place, which I still find stupid—but meh, that's just me," she shrugged.
Arnold was again shocked, not by the harsh tone but by the point Helga made. He could admit that he deems himself a peacekeeper in his class, someone who cares about fostering unity and togetherness wherever he goes. He could also admit that he doesn't like when people are mad at him, losing him a friend. He had gone above and beyond for a person he thought was cool and his friend, but seeing as he was expected to go through with this...
"It's late; I have to get home," he said flatly.
"W-What…?" Helga didn't get an answer as Arnold just took the garment bag and suit from her, much to her unease.
"Ar—Football head! What are you planning on doing?!" she yelled after him, fearing that his sainthood would not listen to reason.
At a distance, he looked back over his shoulder. "I'm doing the right thing. Thanks, Helga," he said, walking away.
Helga didn't know what to say to that; she just sighed. "Arnold, what a boob. What a cliché line of honor and kindness. How I pity him," she said, but her shoulders slumped in sadness as she sighed. "And yet, I can only hope the guy knows what he's doing." She took out her locket to gaze at her picture of him. "His qualities are what I love about him..." She put the locket away. "Oh well, better prepare for the comedy session tomorrow," she muttered to herself as she walked in the direction of home.
The following day arrived, and outside Arnold's house, numerous citizens of the city were gathered to watch Arnold come out in the bunny pajamas. A red carpet was rolled out for Arnold to walk on as well. At the end of the carpet, Iggy was happily sitting in a lifeguard's chair, waiting for the humiliation to begin.
Helga was one of the people in the crowd, who was less thrilled than the others. She was hoping that the little saint would have changed his mind, but here she was, waiting with the rest of these people to make fun of her true love.
'Ugh, this is torture. If only I had pushed more on this being a completely stupid idea, he wouldn't be in this situation...' she thought as she looked over the crowd and saw two familiar faces standing side by side. She walked over to hear their little conversation.
"Well, I reckon it's just about time for Arnold to come out," Stinky said.
"I guess it is kind of mean of Iggy to make Arnold go through this. I mean, Arnold really didn't spill the beans," Sid said.
"Yeah, come to think of it, you and me kind of pulled the truth out of him," they didn't realize Helga was listening intently. "It was a fluke."
"Yeah, it wasn't Arnold's fault," Sid said with a hint of remorse.
"It sure is a terrible state of affairs," Stinky sighed. "Oh well, let's get to the front of this line," they perked up and left, leaving an angry Helga behind.
"Those little... fine! If they are okay with humiliating their so-called friend, then I will have to do some..." She glanced at another classmate of hers. "…damage control," she smirked as she went with her plans.
Meanwhile, Arnold observed the scene from the window as Grandpa Phil walked over to the kid.
"Are you really sure about this, Shortman? This could potentially change everything about your dynamic and how people will see you from now on," he advised.
Arnold, taking one last look outside, decided it was time. "I'm sure, Grandpa. Thanks for asking," he replied with a smile.
Phil looked at his grandson with an affectionate gaze, feeling even prouder of him. "Atta boy, Shortman," he said as he ruffled the boy's hair.
(-)
At that moment, the door began to open, and everyone, including Iggy, was in anticipation to make fun of Arnold in a bunny suit. But what came out was not what they were expecting. Arnold walked outside, head held high in confidence, wearing his normal everyday clothes with the bunny suit in hand.
"What's this?!" Harold's voice rang out in outrage.
"I thought we were here to see a humiliating show, not this bore!" Oscar's voice added.
As Arnold walked down the stoop, Iggy stepped down from his ladder chair and angrily marched over to confront the blonde boy.
"Arnold, what's the meaning of this?! I thought we had a deal!" he demanded.
Arnold looked at him with a deadpanned expression. "Yeah, we did have a deal, Iggy, but I realized that it wasn't worth it," he said, tossing the bunny suit at Iggy's chest. The suit fell to his feet, much to his shock.
"W-What the heck?!" Iggy said, his anger rising. "You owe me, Arnold. I still haven't forgiven you for—"
"I didn't do anything, Iggy," Arnold said with narrowed eyes and arms crossed. "I'm tired of seeking your forgiveness, even when I didn't do anything wrong to warrant it in the first place. I told you I didn't do it, but you didn't want to believe me. Fine, but that's your problem, not mine. And I'm glad that someone I consider an actual friend," he shot a quick glance at Helga, who pretended to be indifferent before looking back at Iggy, "helped me understand that I can't always bend over backwards to please people or make sure they like me. So, yeah, I guess I'm done. See you later, Iggy," he waved goodbye and walked into the crowd.
Iggy was left there, shocked and humiliated once again. He looked around, not liking the outcome. "Fine, Arnold, I don't need you! Consider us no longer friends!" he shouted, walking away with the bunny suit in hand.
Everyone in the crowd began muttering. Some were happy with the outcome, while the majority were not.
Harold was the first to vocalize it. "Hey! I came here to watch someone get humiliated, and I ain't leaving until that happens!" he demanded.
"Oh, I'm sure I can work that out," at that moment, everyone wondered where that voice came from until they turned their heads upward to spot Curly standing on a step ladder... in a bunny suit.
He gave a maniacal laugh as he said, "Happy Easter, everybody!" and with that, he held up two buckets and dumped their contents on Sid and Stinky.
Both unsuspecting boys screamed in shock, too late to do anything to stop it. The contents of the buckets were mud and feathers.
"What the heck?!" Sid screamed, covered in gunk.
"What in tarnation?!" Stinky exclaimed, mud in his mouth and clothes.
There was a stunned silence before Harold spoke up. "Haha, Stinky and Sid are covered in mud and feathers!" At that point, everyone laughed at the two humiliated boys; even Arnold had a hard time stifling his laughter.
"Eh, you can drop the Saint act for one day, football head," Arnold turned to see Helga by his side, a devious smirk plastered on her face. "You know they deserved it. I certainly do," she said with a chuckle.
Arnold was silent for a second, looking at the scene—Curly dancing about in a blue bunny suit as the crowd cheered and laughed at the two humiliated boys. Arnold, figuring it out, turned to Helga and, without warning, hugged the unsuspecting girl.
Helga was stunned, bliss taking over her body as Arnold wrapped his arms around her. "Thanks, Helga. You're a good friend," he said to her.
Helga quickly snapped out of the trance and pushed the boy away from her. "Who said you could touch?" she said with as much bite as she could muster.
Arnold was not deterred, just smiled. "I mean it, Helga. Thanks for the advice and the little show."
She scoffed, "Get real, football head. I only told you what needed to be said. Sometimes I can't believe you're that dense to not really get the memo. And as for that," she waved a thumb at the spectacle, "I needed a good laugh, seeing as your stunt might be a bore. So, I gave Curly a few bucks to entertain me and these knuckleheads. I did it for me, pfft," she shrugged at him, looking away.
Arnold just happily shrugged. "Whatever you say, Helga. But again, thanks for everything." He gave one more smile before walking back into his apartment with a pep in his step and a sigh of relief.
Helga held her scowl for a few more seconds before leaving with a goofy smile on her face, as she kept reliving the hug she had just received. "Oh, Arnold..." she swooned.
Author's Notes:
Loved and still love Hey Arnold, ever since I was a kid. I got this idea from a certain redditor. I know, I know, again. *sigh* But, I loved the idea and wanted to try it out.
I never really like how Arnold was always self-sacrificing and let people walk all over him. I think Helga was the perfect person to slap some sense in to the boy's head and get him to realize his sense of worth and dignity.
Thank you, ISeemToExistButIDont, hope you enjoyed this work.