Beaned 2-Part 2

"Hey Arnold! Hey Arnold! Hey Arnold!" Chanted the alarm clock.

Opening his eyes slowly, Arnold blinked, rubbing his head as he sat up and deactivated his clock. His head hurt slightly, but he was fine now.

"Ugh....what happened? Why does my head hurt...?" Arnold wondered, a little confused. "...Oh, right. I was hit in the head with a baseball. But when and how did I get here?"

"Knock knock, short man! You awake?" Phil greeted, opening the door and coming into the room.

"Oh, morning, grandpa." Arnold said. "...Grandpa? What happened yesterday?"

"Oh right, you had amnesia! Well short man, let me tell you, it was surprising to me what happened! Your little friend brought you home! You know, the girl with the pigtails, bow and the one eyebrow...Helen, right?" Phil asked, sitting on the bed with him.

"HELGA?!" Arnold cried in shock. "H-Helga brought me back!?"

"She sure did, short man! She said she felt responsible for knocking the baseball that hit your head-"

"Grandpa, it was an accident. She didn't mean to hit me with it."

"Oh, but that's not all! She also made you a snack, helped you with your homework and then tucked you into bed! Then she waited until Pookie and I got home, and wow, she's one heck of a girl!"

"She...she did all that...? For me?" Arnold was stunned to say the least. "But why would she do that?" He asked himself more than his grandpa.

"Well short man, like I told ya before, that girl likes you!" Phil winked at him ad went to do the door. "And remember, never eat raspberries! Now get yourself ready for school!" He left the room.

Needless to say, Arnold was pretty surprised at this. He knew Helga did sometimes show how nice she really was by helping others. Like the time when she had first befriended Phoebe back in preschool by fending off Harold, Stinky and Sid when they knocked over the blocks Phoebe was playing with.

She especially helped him in particular...

Then he realized it, it was obvious.

It's because she loves me. That's why she helped me when I apparently had that amnesia. ...Wow, I wonder what it was like. Was she nice? Or was she treating me as she always did? Arnold thought.

He got out of bed and got dressed in his usual clothing, then went down to the bathroom to wash his hands before heading down to the kitchen.

"HYA!" Came the joyful shout of Gertie as she was preparing breakfast...in a Chinese dress with her hair in a bun. She had a cleaver and a spatula in each hand, preparing breakfast at the stove in a Chinese style. "Ah, Kimba! Glad you could make it! You still under amnesia?"

"No, I'm fine now, Grandma." Arnold said.

"Oh, that's nice dear. You know, that dear girl Eleanor was here yesterday looking after you! What a sweet girl..."

Sweet? Sweet? Helga was...sweet?

This was pretty mind-boggling to say the least. He thought about it all through breakfast, unsure of what to say to any of it.

--

Opening the door, Arnold smiled as he released the animals followed by Abner, and then came outside, shutting the door behind him. He was anxious about getting to school and letting everyone know that he was all right. Thought he was unsure of what to do with Helga. Go up and thank her? Ignore her? He wasn't sure what to do.

Now it was raining, and he'd forgotten to-

"Morning, Arnold!" Came a cheery voice.

"Morning, Helga." Arnold said absently as he descended the steps. When it finally registered, he whipped around to face her. "Helga?!"

"You remembered my name, huh? Well good! Glad you're making progress. You feel okay?" Helga asked sweetly.

Arnold was stunned, even more so than when Grandpa had told him what she'd done the day before. Right in the flesh, Helga G. Pataki was being nice. NICE. Very nice, in fact. It was unbelievable. She was behaving just as Hilda did from that one strange dream he had about visiting Arnie.

"Arnold? Darling? You remember your name, right? And what we went over yesterday?"

Darling? Darling?!

He was taken aback by the sweet little nickname you often would address someone you loved. Yes, she'd called him that once, back on the FTI rooftop, but right now?

That's when it hit him.

She thinks I still have amnesia! That's why she's being so nice. Arnold realized. It made sense, given the circumstances. Yet, it was still a bit of a let-down.

Then again, it was really refreshing to see her acting really nice for a change. Maybe he could play along with it a bit...

What am I thinking? I can't do that to Helga! That would be going against what I always do. I can't be dishonest like that, it'd be wrong of me to rope her into being my personal maid. Wait, no. I don't care if she serves me or not. No...it's because she's being nice. Really nice, in fact. And because she knows I won't remember it or bring it all out, and that everyone won't question it since they know I lost my memory...the odds are all in her favour. She can act nice and show her real self to me because eventually it won't matter, and then everything will go back to the way it was. But wouldn't that make her sad? I know how much she loves me now, funny how I didn't know before...wouldn't she feel upset? Is that why she's being nice to me? So that I'll act loving to her, and all she wants is my love?

His heart sank then as it dawned on him. Helga was deep down, a big softie and a sweet girl with a shattered soul and heart, her spirit was begging to be loved, most specifically for his love. She was calling for help.

And he was the only one who could answer that call.

...No, she deserves a little love. And if the only way she'll accept it for now is if I have amnesia, then fine. This is perfect, it'll help me to see the real Helga, and even help me sort out how I feel about her. It couldn't hurt to try.

"Arnold...?" Helga questioned him again, now sounding worried.

"Huh? Oh...uh...hi, uh...Helen." Arnold said, hoping he would sound convincing.

"It's Helga." She chided gently, and opened her umbrella over them. "Come on, let's get off to school before this rain drenches us to the bone!"

Arnold smiled a little, remembering how he'd done the same on the second day she had had amnesia. She then linked her arm through his and they walked off in the rain. At the corner of his eye, he caught the bright look in her eyes. She was really enjoying this, he could tell.

And surprisingly, so was he.

"Listen, um...do you remember what happened yesterday?" Helga suddenly said.

He didn't. But he couldn't tell her that.

"Er...yeah, I do, but go ahead and tell me anyway. I like listening to your stories." Arnold said. In truth, he kind of did. When they actually got along, she sometimes would tell an interesting story that he found hard not to pay attention to. She was quite a story teller.

And she's great with poetry. He thought, his heart skipping a beat. Still surprising how she fills volumes with poems about me...gosh, she has it bad for me.

"Oh, okay. Well...um....thing is, you kinda told me you...ya know...you liked me. You know, a lot." Helga, completely oblivious to the fact that he was pretending to have amnesia, blushed a bit and looked down at her shoes.

What!? I did?! Oh no... "Oh, yeah...well, I guess I couldn't help myself, Harriet."

"Helga." She corrected him, and sighed. "And you know, I never did give you an answer, did I?"

You already did...

"I uh...guess not. But um, if you want to tell me how you feel, I'm all ears."

Helga looked at him. "So I take it that French kiss I gave you wasn't enough, eh, football head?" She smirked at him.

French kiss? Isn't that tongue-kissing? Yeah, I think that's it...but what French-kiss? She never-......oh my gosh. Did she tongue-kiss me last night while I had amnesia?! Arnold thought, a mixture of both shocked and horrified.

He did remember back on the FTI rooftop that she HAD attempted to French him, but had no success since he was scared stiff and his mouth was firmly closed.

But this was huge. Under his amnesia, he'd apparently told her that he liked her, and she had kissed him. And on top of that, her usual insult "football head" was said in a more affectionate tone, like it was a personal pet name instead of an insult in reference to his head.

Whoa...this is all happening too fast! That's a lot to take in when I...no, no, I can't let her know that I'm lying. Play along, Arnold...

"No, I think it told me enough." Arnold said, reverting to the fact he didn't have amnesia, but she didn't notice. "Your kiss told me enough."

And that was true, despite that he wasn't referring to the kiss from last night that he didn't remember. In fact, all three of their kisses that he DID remember, now that he looked back, were clear indications that she liked him, and he was a little too dense to figure that out. At least, for the first two, since they were part of a script. The third was what did it.

"Good to know." Helga then grabbed his arm, pulling him into an alleyway so as to avoid being seen by passerby. Since she'd kissed him last night, she was aching to do so again, and now that she could without him or anyone else being any the wiser, she was not about to pass it up. Nine or not, she didn't care. She had other ways to express her love and devotion.

Holding hands and sitting together at lunch or on the bus were not enough. At least not to her.

Yes, she still ached about the fact the was still memory-loss Arnold, but he was still Arnold somehow, right? She wanted her fill of him while she could. By now, she didn't care. She just wanted to kiss those dear, sweet lips she savoured.

"H-Hel...what are you doing?" Arnold asked in surprise, now being pinned to the wall behind him. Hopefully he could still convince her he had amnesia...

Placing the umbrella aside so as not to obstruct anything, Helga kept him pinned to the wall, holding his wrists on either side of his head. She was not letting him escape this time, he could see that. Plus, she was taller and a tad stronger than he was, even if he knew karate. He couldn't move, and never in his life would he ever dream of hitting a girl, and most especially not Helga.

"Arnold my love, kiss me." She said passionately.

"W-What? Helga I-mmmm!!!!"

His response was cut off when the pigtailed girl leaned down and kissed him passionately on the mouth, a lot more so than she had back on the FTI building rooftop. Or just as much, he couldn't tell which. Now he was, again, stiff as a board while the one girl who had tormented him for years with verbal abuse and spitballs....also the girl who was madly in love with him, kissed him more than most nine-year-olds would do, even in a single kiss.

Is that her TONGUE?!

It had dawned on him then that his mouth had been wide open, and only when her sneaky tongue entered his mouth that he realized it. What was she doing!? Nine year olds rarely ever kissed on the mouth, let alone French-kissed!

Oh yes, he knew it far more by now. She was no ordinary girl his age.

Jeez, what do I do? I can't just sit here and take it, she thinks I have amnesia, so I have to do something! But I can't just go around kissing a girl I'm not being honest with right now, either!

Before he could even think about it, Arnold found himself closing his eyes and puckering his open lips against hers in an act of reciprocation. His tongue darted away from hers to avoid it, but her tongue chased his, obviously enjoying the challenge. At least now they were in a less drastic situation than back on the FTI rooftop, and he knew of her feelings for him, so it was all not so much of a big surprise like it was before.

Still, it was too much, he had to get out of this NOW!

But his inner desires that he didn't even know existed had surfaced, messages from his brain were traveling along his body, telling him he wanted this. His body said yes, his heart was leaning toward yes, but his mind of course was telling him not to give in.

The lack of oxygen was what stopped them, Helga finally pulling away and looking at him with her big, blue eyes. Looking into them then, he never fully realized how beautiful they were. Yes, he'd known they were blue all the time, duh, but he never really took them in. The closest he'd come to that was back on the FTI roof, again with that, and she'd been looking at him with that tender, loving, half-lidded gaze. He hadn't had time to think of it, but he remembered how beautiful her eyes were, the way they were filled with so much love, all directed at him.

They were a beautiful shade of blue, almost like looking at the sky, but a bit darker. They held the calmness and yet indestructible fury of the ocean.

Despite her unibrow, constant scowling, strangely positioned ears, tomboyish style and protruding upper lip, she really was a pretty girl. Not compared to someone as pretty as Ruth McDougal or Rhonda or Lila, but she was pretty in her own way. He liked that she could be herself about her looks, it was proved especially with her unibrow, which most girls even at nine would shave in half. She just rather stubbornly kept it as it was. It made her look meaner, sure, but it just went to prove that she just made herself look the way she wanted and didn't care about beauty standards.

He decided he liked her natural look, or just basically, styling herself the way she chose to on a personal level. He smiled a bit. Not a lot of girls were like that.

Even her name seemed to represent her well. Helga. It was strong, but feminine at the same time. It was an interesting name. German, if he remembered correctly. Not many girls of their generation had that name, that was for sure!

"Arnold..." Helga's voice cut him from his musings. "You know, I know you won't remember all of this, but...if you can hear me in there somehow, maybe just a little, I uh...I want you to know that I don't hate you. I love you, okay? I lied when I was agreeing with you about my confession and kiss were just in the heat of the moment. I-I really do love you."

Although Arnold knew that by now, he still couldn't help but feel touched. Yes, at the time he was admittedly a little more flattered than he cared to admit, given her bullying persona and inappropriate timing and rather advanced kiss and all. But now that they were here, and he knew full well how she felt and that she was indeed lying about taking it back, he felt he could appreciate it more. At first he was freaked out, unsure of what to think, especially when he realized that she was telling the truth about how she loved him. But now, now that he was used to the idea and knew about her feelings, it didn't come off as a huge, freak-out-inducing surprise anymore.

He had to admit, despite how she treated him in the past, which was no picnic but at least he understood and did have chances to see her real self, it was pretty nice to be loved like that. Even if her love went way beyond a simple nine-year-old and fourth grade level crush.

She was also a pretty good kisser, too.

Say something, you dolt! You're supposed to have amnesia! And you have to like her because of it! Yelled a rather Helga-ish part of his mind.

Arnold hated to lie to Helga, especially about his feelings for her, but since he was supposed to have amnesia, it probably wouldn't matter.

"I love you too. I love you." He said sweetly, hoping he sounded convincing.

Strange...it felt kind of nice to say that to her.

Helga beamed, and then picked up her umbrella and held it over them again. "C'mon, we better get to school, darling."

"I'm with you all the way, Hermione." Arnold said, throwing in a different name for good measure.

"It's Helga, football head." She said affectionately.

--

As they arrived at P.S. 118, they came to see Rhonda, Sid, Curly, Eugene, Stinky, Harold, Gerald, Phoebe, Lila, Sheena and Nadine standing near the steps, as if waiting for them.

"Well I'll be! Arnold and Helga walking to school together! Still feeling guilty for hitting poor little Arnold?" Rhonda said in a snobby tone.

"As a matter of fact Rhonda, he still has amnesia, and so I decided to help him out today." Helga said coolly.

Arnold decided to add to the act by taking off his hat and placing it on his nose, grinning like an idiot. This made them all stare weirdly, Phoebe giggled and Gerald cracked a smile.

"Well that's nice and all, but I can take him from here." Gerald said, taking Arnold's arm and dragging him inside.

"Hey! Get back here!" Helga yelled, chasing after them, but Gerald was already inside. Oh well, he'll come back to me later... I hope. ...Oh who am I kidding, I'd better keep and eye on him and THEN take him away!

--

"WHAT?! You mean you're okay now?!" Gerald uttered in surprise.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Arnold said.

"Then what the heck were you doin' out there with Helga G. Pataki?! ...Wait, don't tell me, you're finally getting back at her by making her your personal slave while she thinks you still have amnesia so she won't know? Is that what you're doin'?"

"No!" Arnold said, shaking his head rapidly. "I'd never do that to her!"

"Then what are you doing?" Gerald crossed his arms and stared at him with utmost suspicion.

"Gerald, yesterday, she brought me back to my house, gave me a snack, helped me with my homework, talked to me about stuff, and then put me to bed. Then she waited until Grandma and Grandpa came home before she left! I had amnesia, so I don't remember it exactly, but I guess she told them and Grandpa told me about it this morning."

"Big deal man, she DID hit you with that ball so she decided to take responsibility I see." Gerald snorted.

"It was an accident. She didn't mean to hit me with it!"

"Suuuuuuuuuuure she didn't."

"That's not all of it! Listen, okay?"

Gerald looked at his best friend, wondering if he'd gone crazy or something, but he faltered and nodded, uncrossing his arms.

"Okay, man. What are you doing?"

"Gerald, this morning, Helga was waiting for me in front of the house. She said hi to me, and was really cheerful and very sweet." Arnold blushed a bit as a smitten gaze crossed his face. "She brought her umbrella and shared it with me, and she was really nice the whole time. She thought I still had amnesia, and it was pretty refreshing to see her acting so nice for a change. It was surprising, but in a way I understand because she knows I'll forget all about it when I get my memory back and we can go back to the way things were. It was refreshing to see her acting so sweet and kind. On the way she recited some poetry to me, and really seemed like such a dreamer and-"

"Oh no. Oh dear gosh no..." Gerald suddenly said, his eyes wide, taking a step back. "Please don't talk in that voice!"

Arnold stared at him, confused. "Voice? What are you talking about? What voice? You're not making sense."

"Arnold...you were talking in THAT voice." Gerald now whispered.

"What's THAT voice?"

"Don't you hear yourself?! You were talkin' in that voice you always use when you like a girl! And you had that look on your face! The look you get when you're talkin' about the girl you like!" Gerald said in a loud whisper. "Arnold, please, PLEASE tell me I'm just going crazy and that you do not have a crush on Helga G. Pataki!"

"What?!!?" Arnold cried a litte too loudly. "No no, Gerald! That's not what I'm saying! I don't! I mean...at least I don't THINK I do."

"Okay, phew!" Gerald said in relief. "I hate to be crazy but I'm sure glad that's the case instead of-wait, what?! What do you mean you don't THINK you do?!"

Oops. I probably shouldn't have said that. Arnold realized.

"Er...never mind, Gerald. That was just a slip of the tongue."

"Slip of the tongue?! Arnold, first you start talkin' all lovey-dovey, you get that love-crazed look on your face, and you say you're considering your feelings...all because of Helga G. Pataki! Helga! The same girl who tortured you all your life, called you names, made you feel like an idiot! The same girl who should just jump off a bridge!" Gerald cried in worry.

"Gerald, she's really not that bad."

"You're doing it again! Stickin' up for her!"

"I'm just telling the truth, that's all!"

"No no, Arnold, the truth is...she's the Wicked Witch of the West and you're Dorothy with the Ruby Slippers following the yellow brick road to the Emerald City!"

"Gerald, stop!" Arnold grabbed his best friend's shoulders. "Look, I know you and Helga aren't exactly on the best terms, but...the kindness and sweetness she showed me today has made me realize a lot of things about her. I know she's a good person deep down inside, and I know she has a good heart. She's a good person, Gerald...she just has it very tough and can't come out of her shell very easily. All she wants is to be taken seriously, to be given a chance. ...Seeing her like this in a whole new light just made me realize that a lot more about her. ...So fine, yes, I think I have feelings for her. But I don't know! I can't say for sure."

Gerald blinked, letting Arnold's words sink in. He could not believe what he was hearing, and yet, it was to be expected. Arnold was Arnold, always looking at the bright side, seeing the best in people, pure optimism.

"Okay, man, I'm willin' to consider you got feelings for her. But one problem, she's gonna shoot you down, Arnold! She hates you!"

Arnold was about to reply, when the door opened and Sid and Stinky walked in.

"Ah, there you fellers are!" Stinky said. "Mr. Simmons said y'all was missin'! He sent us out to find ya!"

Sid nodded in agreement. "By the way Arnold, I know you probably don't remember Helga, but I think she's a little worried about you! I don't know how you did it, but man, she's gone soft! It's like she's weak all of a sudden!

"Didn't even threaten to punch any of us...that girl's got some serious issues..." Stinky said, scratching his head. "Wonder why she's suddenly so hung up over y'all's safety..."

Arnold gave a light glare of annoyance, not at all appreciating what they were saying about her, but at Gerald's look of warning, he just feigned dumbness.

"I'm sure she's okay! She's just worried...what a sweet thing for the girl I like so much to do..." He said. "Come on Gerry, let's go to...where do we have to go again?"

"Um, to class, Arnold...that's where we gotta go! And I'm Gerald, by the way."

"Thanks, Gerard."

Sid and Stinky exchanged glances as they watched the two boys exit the bathroom, clearly confused.

"What in the heck just happened?" Stinky wondered out loud.

"I couldn't tell you, Stinky." Sid replied.