It's About Us

Necessary Talk

Arnold sat in the kitchen, alone. He had a bag of frozen peas on his face, trying to keep the swelling down. His father went to hang with his parents, leaving Arnold to his own thoughts. He felt like an idiot for fighting Chad. If his emotions provided him reason to be aggressive, maybe he should bury them back down deep.

The front door opened and he heard his mother's voice. "I'm back!"

There was sounds of shuffling and movement from the hallway. Arnold also could hear voices, but was unable to hear what they were saying. Arnold leaned his head back and closed his eyes. He just listened to the low murmurs that echoed off the walls.

When the murmurs died down, what replaced it was the sound of someone walking into the kitchen. Assuming it was his mother, Arnold didn't lift his head or opened his eyes. He kept his relaxed pose and went to greet whoever was there.

"Welcome back. Where did you go?" Arnold ask who he assumed was his mother.

"Wow, you really did fight Chad." The voice of an unexpected person answered back.

Arnold jump to stand up and popped open his eyes, dropping the frozen bag. "HELGA!"

Helga walked over and picked up the bag, looking at the matching shiner. "That looks awful."

"What are you doing here?" Arnold flinched when Helga placed the bag back on his face.

"Your mother came to talk to me and saved me from Chad. She thought it was a good idea that I stay here until my parents return." Helga held the bag for Arnold.

"What do you mean saved?" Arnold glared at her statement.

"Chad told me about how you 'attacked' him and when I showed more concern for you than him, he got angry. I told him I'd like to reschedule our date to check in on you. Which caused him to demand that I owed him for getting hit for me. When I told him I no longer wanted to see him, he got really angry and told me I wasn't special because I was...inexperienced. Which he said he planned on rectifying." Helga listened to Stella and was honest.

Helga could see Arnold get angry before he yelled. "I'm gonna kill him!"

Helga held him back with a smile. "Easy Tiger, there's no need. He left trying to act like we didn't hurt his pride. We won't be seeing him anytime soon."

Arnold relaxed and looked at Helga's hands that were placed on his chest. He couldn't deny that he was enjoying the contact. Helga could see him staring. She wanted to keep holding on, but they needed to talk more before she could give in to her feelings. She removed her hand and heard an audible sigh.

"So, you're not seeing him anymore?" Arnold was happy to hear that.

"Yeah. I needed to be true to myself and he wasn't the person I wanted to be with." Helga felt shy sharing her feelings.

Arnold smiled like a goofy kid. "Then who do you want to be with?"

Helga could hear his smile even in his voice. "I don't know, but when I find him, I'll know."

Arnold's smile fell. For a moment, he thought that she would confess that it was him she wanted to be with. Like always, he jumped to conclusions. He didn't know what else he needed to do to convince her.

"I guess you're staying for a while?" Arnold tried not to sound upset.

"Yeah, your mother didn't like the fact that I was all alone." Helga passed the bag back to Arnold and went to leave. "Sorry, I guess I'll be around for a few days."

Helga left the kitchen to move her bag to the spare room. Arnold wanted to tell her that he didn't mind her being there, that he actually looked forward to it. This might be his last chance to prove to her that he was the one for her.