Chapter Text
Freshman, University
It had been three weeks since Helga had seen Arnold. No glimpses in the halls or in the dorms…and definitely not for meals. Which sucked, considering they were both living in Patterson Hall at UK and it only had three freaking floors.
It had been lonely at first, but they had both held steadfast to their promise of keeping away from each other for the first month in order to meet new people. It wasn't so much that they didn't want to hang out with each other. They were just afraid they would only hang out together and never meet anyone else. So, on the flight over, and before the shopping spree of finding things for their dorm rooms, they pinkie swore to branch out. Then, after that first month of mingling with others, they could hang out as often as they wanted to, bringing both group of friends together that they would have. Not making friends was an option.
It had been a smart move at first, until they realized just how much it royally sucked. But they eventually were able to meet people and quickly found a group of friends that didn't bite as much as their forced separation. It definitely helped having roommates that weren't assholes or stuck-up. Although she would never admit it, Helga had been terrified her roommate would be the worse kind of person. Maggie was no Phoebe, but she was nice, kept her own shit on her side of the room, didn't snore, and was overall an OK chick.
Maybe just a little girly and pushy sometimes though. Like tonight.
Helga sighed at Maggie, looking at her through the mirror as her roommate put on her makeup. "I really, really don't want to do this. Why am I doing this again?"
She grinned at Helga as she put on her necklace. "Because you're the best roomie ever. And because you know that I like Tom and you would never leave a girl hanging on her first date." Helga rolled her eyes and folded her arms over her chest with a huff.
"You know, I was a real bitch in high school and every year before that."
"Well it's a good thing you're in college now, doll." Helga cringed at the nickname but didn't say anything. "Now, are you going to get ready or what?"
She frowned and looked down at her shirt. "What's wrong with what I'm wearing?"
Maggie scoffed and turned towards her. "You are not going on your date like that."
Helga gritted her teeth. "This is not a date, Snow White. This is a favor so you can take this or leave me the hell alone."
Maggie scoffed again and stood, crossing her arms over her chest and narrowed her eyes. She knew that she could never win a glaring contest with Helga, but she could try. "You know the terms. You do this for me, playing the most kickass wingwoman ever, and you get any favor out of me. That includes looking nice for Bert."
Helga groaned and fell backwards on her bed. "What kind of name is Bert anyway? Is he some kind of fucking Muppet? God, he's some dweeb, isn't he?"
Maggie smiled at her friend and turned back to finish her makeup. "He's a really nice guy, Helga. I know you're going to really like him."
Helga groaned again and covered her face with her pillow. Why do people always do that? They know you for a minute and then think they've got you pinged and before you know it, they're showering you with you're going to love this movie! and it's some stupid comedy that is not even in your town let alone up your alley. "I don't need any nice guys."
"So…you want a bad boy?"
She scoffed and tossed her pillow at Maggie half-heartedly, completely missing. She just laughed in response. "I know what you meant. But really, he's pretty awesome. And fun. Tom wouldn't be bringing him along if he didn't think he was a good guy."
"And how would you know? This your first date!"
Maggie gave her a look in the mirror. "Class, duh."
Helga made a face. "Don't you realize just how incredibly awkward this is?"
"Psh, whatever. What's the worst that can happen?"
"Oh fuck, you really said that. I can't believe you just said that! Don't you ever watch horror movies?"
Maggie laughed again, putting away her makeup. "Shut up."
Helga was quiet then, frowning in contemplation. Was she really going to go through with this? She swore off guys. She hated them all.
Well, almost them all. But Arnold didn't really count as a "guy" anyway. He was her best friend.
"I'm not changing my clothes. I'm not there to impress anyone, anyway. Besides, why the hell do you need me to come along if this is supposed to be your date?"
"This is college!" came the repeated answer. Maggie seemed to have a habit of repetition, whether it was identically repetitive or if it was the same thing said in another way. "Everything is done in a group." The girls shared eye contact for a brief moment before bursting into laughter. "Ok, almost everything you freaking perv!"
"Helga, you really do look nice. But you'd look nicer if you smiled." Helga sent a nastygram to Maggie when she said that, causing Maggie to look away. She knew she looked nice, especially after changing from her torn band shirt into a thin tank top, revealing a little too much skin but at least her chest was covered. Maggie had desperately tried to convince her to cut the shirt to show off the girls, but oh hell no. Not only was she keeping them in their beds, all tucked in nice and cozy, there was no way she was purposely ruining her clothes.
She felt like she was being pimped out.
"This really means a lot to me. You being here. I really appreciate it." Maggie smiled at Helga, who sighed in defeat. So much for keeping up a tough act.
"Fine. I'll be nice. I won't hit anyone unless they deserve it. But this is the only time I'm going to do this."
Maggie grinned and hugged Helga tightly. "Oh, thank you! Thank you!"
"Yeah, yeah, enough of the touchy-feely." Helga pushed away a still-smiling Maggie and rolled her eyes.
Suddenly, Maggie grinned and jumped up, waving her arm idiotically. "Tom! Over here!" Helga sighed and buried her face in her hand, not able to watch this. If anyone were to see her now from school, well from Hillwood, her reputation will be absolutely tarnished forever. All those hard years of keeping up an image would be for naught. They would laugh off all of her accomplishments. No, it couldn't be that Helga Pataki. All those bad things must be a typo. All because of this little brat from Oklahoma. Her only redeeming quality was that she didn't use Helga's stuff. And kept her side clean. And her taste in music was badass.
Maggie was suddenly giggling as Tom hugged her and it wasn't long before she was being pulled from her seat, having parked it there at the bowling alley as soon as they walked in. "Tom, this is Helga. Helga, Tom."
Helga tried not to scowl as she connected eyes with Tom and nodded at him. He looked exactly like someone she would be interested in. Blonde, athletic, and wearing an Obey shirt. Unconsciously, she sent her attention to the guy standing next to him who she assumed was Bert. He was also blonde. And had green eyes. Very familiar eyes. Eyes that were laughing at her. Eyes that she hadn't seen in almost a month. Eyes who did not belong to an uptight gay puppet. Helga jerked back in surprise. She hated surprises. "The fuck!"
Maggie gaped at her. "Language!"
Bert, whose real name obviously wasn't Bert, just grinned and fought back his own laughter as he slipped his hands into his pockets. "It's ok, Maggie. I just have that affect on women."
Helga, now recovered, scowled in response and put her hands on her hips, glaring at that comment.
"Listen here, Bert. What the fuck kind of name is that anyway?" She frowned over at the suddenly wide-eyed Maggie, when the sudden realization that she could totally fuck with Maggie's mind hit her like a ton of bricks. This could be her payback for dragging her to this charade. Helga scoffed and then folded her arms across her chest. "I thought you said this loser wasn't a blowhard."
Tom shifted in discomfort but Helga ignored him. "Well, actually Bert couldn't make it so-"
Arnold chuckled and either intentionally interrupted him or he hadn't heard his attempt to explain. He hadn't taken his attention away from her once. "Oh, no, I definitely don't want to blow anyone. But if you want to come back to my place instead of hang around here…" He waggled his eyebrows at her with a huge grin. It was a rare occasion that anything could make Helga speechless and this was definitely one of those times. Since when had sweet Arnold gotten so crude? Surely one month here couldn't corrupt him when four years with her hardly did a dent!
"Arnold!" Tom was looking at him in shock and Maggie looked extremely uncomfortable.
"Mm, sorry for you, but I think I'll pass. I don't want to catch any diseases, Football Head."
"Helga!" They both ignored Maggie.
Arnold gasped in mock shock, putting a hand over his heart. "I'll have you know that my mom thinks I'm still a virgin. Besides, based on how you're dressed, you look like you can use a little…excitement in your life. Helga." The ass actually had the nerve to give her that look and the way he said her name, his voice low and, goddammit…husky, it sent a shiver down her back.
She scowled, refusing to let him get under her skin. Instead, she mentally brushed it off and advanced to him with a finger poking him in the chest. "I've got enough of that in my life, bucko, so don't even start to tell me what I do and don't need. Especially from football-headed, goody-two-shoes, brown-nosing, busy-bodied dweebs like you. And if this is your way of hitting on amazing chicks like me, then the only way you're ever going to get laid at this university is if you crawl up a chicken's ass and wait."
Helga could hear a gasp come from Maggie and she didn't need to look at them to imagine the horrified look they were both probably receiving.
Arnold just barked out a laugh and sandwiched her face with both hands, squeezing her cheeks. "You have no idea how much I missed you!" He kissed her forehead, sloppy and loudly, the sound of smacking lips against skin echoing around the stunned silence of their respectful friends. He wrapped his arms tightly around her, pinning her arms to her sides and squeezed.
It took everything she had to not squeak out as a result of his hug and instead rolled her eyes, fighting down a laugh. "Oh my god, get off of me!"
"Never, never, never! You don't know what I've had to deal with these last four weeks…all alone and lonely!"
"Stop exaggerating, Meo. And seriously, I can't breathe!" She shouldered the side of his head and forced him to release her and pointedly scowled at him when he pouted.
"What's going on?"
"O…M…G! You're Arnold, Arnold!" With an hmph Arnold found himself suddenly in a Maggie hug, which wasn't too unlike what he had just given Helga.
With a nervous chuckle, Arnold nodded, slightly embarrassed that he had forgotten about these two during his excitement at seeing Helga again. "I guess?"
"Helga has told me so much about you!" Now that a few moments had passed and the surprise wore off, Maggie let out a squeal and a laugh towards Helga, who just crossed her arms again and rolled her eyes. "Seriously, what are the odds! I totally thought that Bert was supposed to be here and look, it's your soulmate!"
Helga scowled and couldn't help the flush that heated up the back of her neck. "Hardly."
"So…you two already know each other then." The three blinked at Tom and Helga's scowl deepened.
"Observant, aren't you."
Tom had the decency to blush and scratched his shoulder, an obvious nervous tick. "You know, Helga's not a very popular name, and Arnold has talked about you before. I should have put two and two together... We're roommates." He offered his hand and after a moment, Helga shook it.
"I'm Maggie's. She dragged him here with a promise she could be my slave for a month."
"What!"
Helga smirked at her. "Oh yeah, for the semester. I forgot."
Maggie groaned but didn't deny it. This was obviously a conversation she was going to have with her roomy when they got home.
Arnold grinned at Maggie. "She must like you, then. I can't tell you how many times I've had to beg and grovel to get her to come out to places that are half as uncomfortable as a blind date."
Helga smacked his shoulder and he chuckled, rubbing the spot. "Watch it! She doesn't know she's on the cool list, yet!"
Maggie giggled. "Well thanks, Helga. I was worried there for a bit you were going to clean the toilet with my toothbrush."
"Nah, the toilet is cleaner than your mouth, so that wouldn't work."
Maggie laughed again and didn't deny it. After a few more minutes of getting to know each other, now that the proverbial ice had melted and evaporated into nothingness, they routed their attention to getting a lane.
As a true gentleman, Arnold didn't put up a fight when Helga paid the first round and claimed the dinner check afterwards (as they were putting on their bowling shoes; the girl didn't miss a beat!). He knew better than to even suggest to split it. If it had been anyone else, it wouldn't have been up for negotiations. But if Helga said she was paying, he agreed.
It was great being able to hang out with Helga again. Having not heard anything from her since school started had been miserable. It was the longest he had ever not heard anything from her, be it text or on the phone. He had talked about her constantly and the guys that he had come to call friends often thought that she was his imaginary girlfriend. They teased him about it, but he didn't take to heart. After all, just as Maggie had said earlier, she was his soulmate. Maybe not romantically, but he had not doubt at all that their friendship was deeper than the vast majority of others. And if high school and being apart this long had taught him anything, it was that nothing could tear them apart.