Fanfiction - Hey Arnold! - Trying - Chapter 11
Title: Trying
Fandom/Universe: Hey Arnold!
Character(s): Helga, Arnold
Rating: Teen
Chapters: 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8 / 9 / 10 / 11 / 12
“Yes, officer. I’m sorry I wasn’t much help. Please let me know if you find her - I’ve been worried sick. Thank you so much. Take care now.”
With that last goodbye Phoebe Hyerdahl gently closes the front door to reveal Gerald leaning against the wall behind it. His arms are crossed over his chest and he refuses to look at her.
“You should have told them the truth.” He says darkly, eyes narrowed.
Phoebe sighs and reaches for his arm.
“I couldn’t do that.” She says softly, rubbing small circles on the back of his hands with her thumbs. “And you know it.”
“Bah!” He shouts throwing up his arms. “All I know is that they took my baby!”
Phoebe winces.
“I fear that was probably Helga’s idea.” She sighs, “But it’s really not the end of the world. Her note says --“
“-- How am I supposed to get around?! How am I supposed to live?!” Gerald whirls on his wife and grips her arms, panic creeping into his eyes. “Phoebe, what if they hurt her?!”
“Oh please.” Phoebe says shrugging him off. “Calm down, you big baby. It's just a car."
Gerald pulls back and stares at her as if he cannot believe what he has just heard.
"Just a..." He swallows. "Just a car?" He squeaks.
"Ugh," Phoebe says turning from him. "If you're going to be like this then I have to go clean something instead. Seriously, Gerald - grow up.”
“Easy for you to say! I mean, what am I going to do now? How am I supposed to get around - Phoebe, how am I going to get to work and back? This is a disaster!” He complains, throwing up his arms in anguish. Phoebe just rolls her eyes at him and keeps walking. Then, she turns and smirks at him.
“Guess you’ll just have to take the minivan.”
“Not funny.” He says.
“It’s not a joke, Gerald.” She adds with a smile as she begins folding the blankets Helga had left behind on the couch from the night before. “You’re really going to have to take the minivan to work.”
Gerald lets out a soft, broken sound.
“Anyway,” Phoebe adds, ignoring him as she moves about towards the kitchen counter. “You’ll just have to make due for now.”
Suddenly Gerald’s face turns serious. He walks over to where Phoebe is busy rifling through cabinets.
“Phoebe.”
“Mmm?” She says reaching for a box of Cheerios.
“It’s not just about the car.” He leans against the counter and pulls out his cellphone. “I have to cancel the credit cards. This is… it’s a big deal Phoebe. You offered a car and they just… mixed that up, but you didn’t tell Arnold to take my wallet. They crossed a line, Phoebe.”
She puts her hand over his.
“No.”
“Phoebe, I want to trust them. You know I do. But we can’t just ignore the possible ramifications here. Lying to the police? After they took our car and my wallet? Phoebe there’s just… I’m having a hard time justifying this. I feel like we’ve been scammed. I know you trust Helga and I really want to trust Arnold, but it’s been ten years. He’s changed.” He slides his thumb along the keys of his phone.
“No.” Phoebe repeats. Her voice is firm and her words sound final. She pushes ever so slightly on his hand, causing him to close his phone.
They stare at each other over the counter both looking to the other to back down. Finally, Gerald sighs.
“Fine.” He agrees. “I won’t cancel the cards.”
“Oh, Gerald.” Phoebe begins as she reaches out her arms for him. He pulls back.
“This isn’t a permanent free ride for them Phoebe. They have two days and then I’m pulling the plug on the cards. That’s it. And if we don’t hear from them within the week…” He trails off. “They could be in trouble.”
Phoebe sighs.
“I know this is hard.” She says softly as she leans back against the kitchen counter. “I mean, she’s my best friend Gerald. I’m so scared for her.” Her voice cracks.
“Phoebe…” Gerald says gently as he walks into the kitchen and scoops the small woman into his arms.
“I’m scared, but this isn’t about me.” She says as she wraps her thin arms around his stomach. “We both tried to talk them out of this and they didn’t listen. They’ve made up their minds and even though I’m terrified - even though I want so badly to tell the cops how to find her so that they can drag her back home - I have to trust her. I have to believe that in the power of Arnold and Helga together.”
“Yeah.” Gerald agrees. “Those two… if it were anyone else it would be impossible. But Arnold and Helga?”
He takes Phoebe’s face in his hand and smoothes his thumb over her cheek, brushing away tears.
“They’re gonna make it.” Phoebe says firmly.
“I guess I can give them three days before I cancel the cards.” Gerald says with a slow smile.
Phoebe reaches up onto her tiptoes and pulls him down into a gentle kiss.
“You’re the best, Gerald.”
---
“They’re going to cancel the cards and you’re going to get us caught.”
Helga sticks out her tongue at Arnold as she drops back into the driver’s seat of Gerald’s stolen Jag.
“What do you think?” She asks as she models her brand new sunglasses that she had just finished charging to Gerald’s visa account along with a fresh tank of gas. “Too much? I know they’re kind of big, but I think they’re cute. A little too tacky, but hey - they’re gas station sunglasses! Plus the rhinestones form little hearts on the side - cute, right?”
“Helga.” Arnold says taking her hands in his. “Listen to what I’m saying to you - you are going to get us caught. No more purchases and we need to get out of this car before Gerald and Phoebe wake up and call the police!”
“Calm down, Footballbrain.” She laughs, tugging out of his grip and turning her attention back to starting up the car. “Phoebe’s my best friend and you and Geraldo used to be pretty gay for each other or whatever. There is no way they’d rat us out to the cops. Besides, didn’t Phoebe tell you it was cool to take a car.”
“She said to take the minivan. I don’t think Gerald is going to be happy when he finds out that we took -“
“Oh, quit worrying. A car is a car and Gerald should learn a lesson about materialism in all of this.” Helga says with a wave of her hand as she pulls out of the gas station lot and heads back into the heavily trafficked highway. “We all win here.”
“What about the credit cards, Helga? I somehow doubt Gerald said it was cool for you to take his wallet.”
“Hey! I made sure to leave him all the important stuff. I just took the credit cards and some of the extra cash. Anyway, if you’re that worried about the cards being cancelled then why don’t we stop at an ATM and pull out a bunch of money now.” She offers as she pulls into the far left lane and begins zooming past the rest of the cars to her right.
“What? No! Helga, this is a terrible idea. We’re stealing from Gerald and Phoebe!” Arnold yells as he grips his armrest, fear suddenly tugging at him as Helga breaks 80 mph. “And slow down! We’re going to get pulled over and get in even more trouble. Helga!”
“Fine! You are such a baby. All this speed and class and you don’t even want to try it out.” She pouts.
“We’re trying to not draw attention to ourselves!” Arnold shouts, completely exasperated at this point. “You’re being reckless!”
“And you’re being a worrywart.”
“Helga!”
“Arnold!”
He glares at her while she smirks at the road laid out in front of them.
“Anyway,” Helga says breaking the angry silence, “I don’t even know where I’m going. What the hell are we supposed to do now, huh?”
Arnold sighs and digs around in his pocket for the clipping from Ward.
“This masquerade ball is happening tonight. It’s probably the best opportunity I’ll ever have to get a hold of the Green Eye’s Book of Healing. The problem is that I still don’t know how to get in. I mean, I’m sure it’s by invitation only and the only way to get into the ball without an invite would be if you were rich and important enough to override the invite. But neither of us has that kind of social power and even if we did get in we have very recognizable faces right now. I’ve got a whole slew of faceless villains chasing after me for reasons I’m still not sure of and you’ve got the entire Hillwood police force out looking for you. How on earth are we supposed to just waltz into the ball?” Arnold groans and leans back into his seat, knocking a fist against the car door in anger. “It’s impossible. This is stupid. This might be my only chance to snag the Book of Healing and there’s nothing I can do about it.”
Helga silently lets all this information settle on her. She hasn't really taken time to consider how difficult getting into a private ball would be. After all, she had always somehow managed to bend situations to her will when it really mattered. Her father's wealth and influence gave her some semblance of power over various situations, but when it came down to it she still wasn't a Wellington-Lloyd or a Smythe-Higgins.
And even if her name was powerful enough to allow her access to the event, she'd probably have to deal with the ramifications of having been "kidnapped" upon entering.
So being Helga G. Pataki is currently useless.
And maybe that is the important part.
“I think I have it!” She says suddenly. “Hold on tight, Arnold! We’ve got a little side trip to make.” With that she quickly cuts back across the highway and just barely managing to make it to the turn off for the next exit.
“Helga, what the hell?!” Arnold shouts as he holds on for dear life.
“Trust me!” She shouts, grinning wildly. “It’s a good thing I snagged Gerald’s credit cards, because we’ve got some shopping to do!”
Together they head into the city.
---
“May I escort you inside, my lady?” A tall, well-dressed usher asks as he holds out his arm.
Helga smiles demurely and quickly slips her arm into his.
“Please walk slowly, my good sir. I twisted my ankle playing tennis at the club last week and I’m afraid I’m a little weak on my feet.”
“Fear not, madame.” The man says smiling at her. “I shall not let you fall.”
“You are too kind.” She says with a nod of her head, careful not to move too much for fear of having the diamond tiara slip out from the tangle of curls artfully arranged on the top of her head.
Together Helga and her escort slowly make their way to the top of the stairs where a man with a long, pointed nose is peering over a list of names. Her long skirts rustle gently behind her. When they reach the top of the stairs the man with the pointed nose looks her over skeptically. Helga nervously adjusts the mask covering her eyes.
“Your name, madam.” He prompts Helga. Helga’s escort winks at her. She lets out a small sigh of breath before screwing up her courage and announcing her name for all to hear.
“My name is Helga van Büren.”
a/n: Probably I should be working on not-this, but ehhhhhhhhh. This chapter's been a long time coming and it's not even that long! I've mostly just been dicking around because there's a lot of Phoebe/Gerald banter and even though I love them I find them sort of boring to write for. I had a lot of fun with that last little snippet of a scene and yes, they'll be more explanation coming up in the next chapter about what Helga is up to and possibly you will get to find out where Arnold is!
This is why I wanted to know about the whole "van Buren" issue! IT IS IMPORTANT TO MY PLOT!
I am so ready for it to be two weeks from now. :(
ps I totally forgot to watch Victorious, but honestly I do not really care. Was it any good? WAS TRINA AWESOME (haha trick question - TRINA IS ALWAYS AWESOME)?!
Fandom/Universe: Hey Arnold!
Character(s): Helga, Arnold
Rating: Teen
Chapters: 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8 / 9 / 10 / 11 / 12
“Yes, officer. I’m sorry I wasn’t much help. Please let me know if you find her - I’ve been worried sick. Thank you so much. Take care now.”
With that last goodbye Phoebe Hyerdahl gently closes the front door to reveal Gerald leaning against the wall behind it. His arms are crossed over his chest and he refuses to look at her.
“You should have told them the truth.” He says darkly, eyes narrowed.
Phoebe sighs and reaches for his arm.
“I couldn’t do that.” She says softly, rubbing small circles on the back of his hands with her thumbs. “And you know it.”
“Bah!” He shouts throwing up his arms. “All I know is that they took my baby!”
Phoebe winces.
“I fear that was probably Helga’s idea.” She sighs, “But it’s really not the end of the world. Her note says --“
“-- How am I supposed to get around?! How am I supposed to live?!” Gerald whirls on his wife and grips her arms, panic creeping into his eyes. “Phoebe, what if they hurt her?!”
“Oh please.” Phoebe says shrugging him off. “Calm down, you big baby. It's just a car."
Gerald pulls back and stares at her as if he cannot believe what he has just heard.
"Just a..." He swallows. "Just a car?" He squeaks.
"Ugh," Phoebe says turning from him. "If you're going to be like this then I have to go clean something instead. Seriously, Gerald - grow up.”
“Easy for you to say! I mean, what am I going to do now? How am I supposed to get around - Phoebe, how am I going to get to work and back? This is a disaster!” He complains, throwing up his arms in anguish. Phoebe just rolls her eyes at him and keeps walking. Then, she turns and smirks at him.
“Guess you’ll just have to take the minivan.”
“Not funny.” He says.
“It’s not a joke, Gerald.” She adds with a smile as she begins folding the blankets Helga had left behind on the couch from the night before. “You’re really going to have to take the minivan to work.”
Gerald lets out a soft, broken sound.
“Anyway,” Phoebe adds, ignoring him as she moves about towards the kitchen counter. “You’ll just have to make due for now.”
Suddenly Gerald’s face turns serious. He walks over to where Phoebe is busy rifling through cabinets.
“Phoebe.”
“Mmm?” She says reaching for a box of Cheerios.
“It’s not just about the car.” He leans against the counter and pulls out his cellphone. “I have to cancel the credit cards. This is… it’s a big deal Phoebe. You offered a car and they just… mixed that up, but you didn’t tell Arnold to take my wallet. They crossed a line, Phoebe.”
She puts her hand over his.
“No.”
“Phoebe, I want to trust them. You know I do. But we can’t just ignore the possible ramifications here. Lying to the police? After they took our car and my wallet? Phoebe there’s just… I’m having a hard time justifying this. I feel like we’ve been scammed. I know you trust Helga and I really want to trust Arnold, but it’s been ten years. He’s changed.” He slides his thumb along the keys of his phone.
“No.” Phoebe repeats. Her voice is firm and her words sound final. She pushes ever so slightly on his hand, causing him to close his phone.
They stare at each other over the counter both looking to the other to back down. Finally, Gerald sighs.
“Fine.” He agrees. “I won’t cancel the cards.”
“Oh, Gerald.” Phoebe begins as she reaches out her arms for him. He pulls back.
“This isn’t a permanent free ride for them Phoebe. They have two days and then I’m pulling the plug on the cards. That’s it. And if we don’t hear from them within the week…” He trails off. “They could be in trouble.”
Phoebe sighs.
“I know this is hard.” She says softly as she leans back against the kitchen counter. “I mean, she’s my best friend Gerald. I’m so scared for her.” Her voice cracks.
“Phoebe…” Gerald says gently as he walks into the kitchen and scoops the small woman into his arms.
“I’m scared, but this isn’t about me.” She says as she wraps her thin arms around his stomach. “We both tried to talk them out of this and they didn’t listen. They’ve made up their minds and even though I’m terrified - even though I want so badly to tell the cops how to find her so that they can drag her back home - I have to trust her. I have to believe that in the power of Arnold and Helga together.”
“Yeah.” Gerald agrees. “Those two… if it were anyone else it would be impossible. But Arnold and Helga?”
He takes Phoebe’s face in his hand and smoothes his thumb over her cheek, brushing away tears.
“They’re gonna make it.” Phoebe says firmly.
“I guess I can give them three days before I cancel the cards.” Gerald says with a slow smile.
Phoebe reaches up onto her tiptoes and pulls him down into a gentle kiss.
“You’re the best, Gerald.”
---
“They’re going to cancel the cards and you’re going to get us caught.”
Helga sticks out her tongue at Arnold as she drops back into the driver’s seat of Gerald’s stolen Jag.
“What do you think?” She asks as she models her brand new sunglasses that she had just finished charging to Gerald’s visa account along with a fresh tank of gas. “Too much? I know they’re kind of big, but I think they’re cute. A little too tacky, but hey - they’re gas station sunglasses! Plus the rhinestones form little hearts on the side - cute, right?”
“Helga.” Arnold says taking her hands in his. “Listen to what I’m saying to you - you are going to get us caught. No more purchases and we need to get out of this car before Gerald and Phoebe wake up and call the police!”
“Calm down, Footballbrain.” She laughs, tugging out of his grip and turning her attention back to starting up the car. “Phoebe’s my best friend and you and Geraldo used to be pretty gay for each other or whatever. There is no way they’d rat us out to the cops. Besides, didn’t Phoebe tell you it was cool to take a car.”
“She said to take the minivan. I don’t think Gerald is going to be happy when he finds out that we took -“
“Oh, quit worrying. A car is a car and Gerald should learn a lesson about materialism in all of this.” Helga says with a wave of her hand as she pulls out of the gas station lot and heads back into the heavily trafficked highway. “We all win here.”
“What about the credit cards, Helga? I somehow doubt Gerald said it was cool for you to take his wallet.”
“Hey! I made sure to leave him all the important stuff. I just took the credit cards and some of the extra cash. Anyway, if you’re that worried about the cards being cancelled then why don’t we stop at an ATM and pull out a bunch of money now.” She offers as she pulls into the far left lane and begins zooming past the rest of the cars to her right.
“What? No! Helga, this is a terrible idea. We’re stealing from Gerald and Phoebe!” Arnold yells as he grips his armrest, fear suddenly tugging at him as Helga breaks 80 mph. “And slow down! We’re going to get pulled over and get in even more trouble. Helga!”
“Fine! You are such a baby. All this speed and class and you don’t even want to try it out.” She pouts.
“We’re trying to not draw attention to ourselves!” Arnold shouts, completely exasperated at this point. “You’re being reckless!”
“And you’re being a worrywart.”
“Helga!”
“Arnold!”
He glares at her while she smirks at the road laid out in front of them.
“Anyway,” Helga says breaking the angry silence, “I don’t even know where I’m going. What the hell are we supposed to do now, huh?”
Arnold sighs and digs around in his pocket for the clipping from Ward.
“This masquerade ball is happening tonight. It’s probably the best opportunity I’ll ever have to get a hold of the Green Eye’s Book of Healing. The problem is that I still don’t know how to get in. I mean, I’m sure it’s by invitation only and the only way to get into the ball without an invite would be if you were rich and important enough to override the invite. But neither of us has that kind of social power and even if we did get in we have very recognizable faces right now. I’ve got a whole slew of faceless villains chasing after me for reasons I’m still not sure of and you’ve got the entire Hillwood police force out looking for you. How on earth are we supposed to just waltz into the ball?” Arnold groans and leans back into his seat, knocking a fist against the car door in anger. “It’s impossible. This is stupid. This might be my only chance to snag the Book of Healing and there’s nothing I can do about it.”
Helga silently lets all this information settle on her. She hasn't really taken time to consider how difficult getting into a private ball would be. After all, she had always somehow managed to bend situations to her will when it really mattered. Her father's wealth and influence gave her some semblance of power over various situations, but when it came down to it she still wasn't a Wellington-Lloyd or a Smythe-Higgins.
And even if her name was powerful enough to allow her access to the event, she'd probably have to deal with the ramifications of having been "kidnapped" upon entering.
So being Helga G. Pataki is currently useless.
And maybe that is the important part.
“I think I have it!” She says suddenly. “Hold on tight, Arnold! We’ve got a little side trip to make.” With that she quickly cuts back across the highway and just barely managing to make it to the turn off for the next exit.
“Helga, what the hell?!” Arnold shouts as he holds on for dear life.
“Trust me!” She shouts, grinning wildly. “It’s a good thing I snagged Gerald’s credit cards, because we’ve got some shopping to do!”
Together they head into the city.
---
“May I escort you inside, my lady?” A tall, well-dressed usher asks as he holds out his arm.
Helga smiles demurely and quickly slips her arm into his.
“Please walk slowly, my good sir. I twisted my ankle playing tennis at the club last week and I’m afraid I’m a little weak on my feet.”
“Fear not, madame.” The man says smiling at her. “I shall not let you fall.”
“You are too kind.” She says with a nod of her head, careful not to move too much for fear of having the diamond tiara slip out from the tangle of curls artfully arranged on the top of her head.
Together Helga and her escort slowly make their way to the top of the stairs where a man with a long, pointed nose is peering over a list of names. Her long skirts rustle gently behind her. When they reach the top of the stairs the man with the pointed nose looks her over skeptically. Helga nervously adjusts the mask covering her eyes.
“Your name, madam.” He prompts Helga. Helga’s escort winks at her. She lets out a small sigh of breath before screwing up her courage and announcing her name for all to hear.
“My name is Helga van Büren.”
a/n: Probably I should be working on not-this, but ehhhhhhhhh. This chapter's been a long time coming and it's not even that long! I've mostly just been dicking around because there's a lot of Phoebe/Gerald banter and even though I love them I find them sort of boring to write for. I had a lot of fun with that last little snippet of a scene and yes, they'll be more explanation coming up in the next chapter about what Helga is up to and possibly you will get to find out where Arnold is!
This is why I wanted to know about the whole "van Buren" issue! IT IS IMPORTANT TO MY PLOT!
I am so ready for it to be two weeks from now. :(
ps I totally forgot to watch Victorious, but honestly I do not really care. Was it any good? WAS TRINA AWESOME (haha trick question - TRINA IS ALWAYS AWESOME)?!