AHHHHHH THIS WAS SUCH A CUTE STORY! :D I absolutely adored every sweet and awkward moment. So much. I would have loved to hear their conversation but I think you wrapped up the story very very well. It was really cute too. (: Overall, I loved how everything turned out. I was happy that everything turned out well for Helga. (: You're a great writer and I just wanted to say thank you for satisfying my craving for Arnold and Helga cuteness! 3
eeek Loved this story too! You write the characters so fantastically! and it's impressive how you take one moment and stretch it out, like a grain of sand
Hey buddy! This was also a great epilogue, and reminded me some of "Closing Time." Like I even said in that one, Helga would probably want to get Arnold a few more times before the night is over. But I think this kind of shows how opposite they can be sometimes. Helga loves to play pranks for fun, but Arnold doesn't because he's too much of a do-gooder and doesn't want to hurt others. Of course, I thought Helga went a little overboard with the pranks sometimes, and that she deserved getting blinded by Arnold. I think this should even teach Arnold a lesson: even if you don't like to take revenge, you need to be more assertive and fight back if necessary. Anyway, I also think that what happened the whole day will prepare themselves for future April Fool's Days, especially for Arnold when it comes to Helga and her playful jokes. But even when they're together, her teasing will be more playful and loving. And AFD only occurs once a year, and will bring out the darker sides of them. I kind of like seeing those sides of them, especially Arnold.
Anyway, the dialogue between Phil and Gertie made me think that the same thing probably happened to them as kids, too, like Gertie would especially tease Phil on that holiday. And something that just struck me is that Arnold is in the same spot Phil was as a kid, except Phil loves to play pranks and Arnold doesn't, but maybe Gertie's pranking rubbed off on him and that's why he does it. Now I don't know if that could happen the same way with Arnold, but maybe Helga's ways will rub off on him and he'll see that playing occasional pranks isn't that bad. That's how it is with me. I'm kind of a do-gooder myself, but I love to play pranks and wouldn't miss out on playing a good one. But I would never pull a prank that would really embarrass or physically hurt a person. Heh, I guess I can be more like Arnold than I realize.
So this was a great story again, Jenna! Keep up the good work in the future.
Oh yeah, I can imagine one of Helga's greatest wishes for her birthday would be to have Arnold's love.
Holy smokes, Arnold asks Helga to KISS him? I always thought part of what convinced him that she told the truth about her confession was that kiss. She wouldn't give him such a passionate and forceful unscripted kiss if she didn't love him!
And learning from Phoebe that Arnold planned the whole party for her...how happy could she be? At least she has two people in her life who genuinely care for her, despite the treatment they endure from her (Phoebe being taken advantage of by Helga and Arnold being constantly teased by her). How ironic is that?
Even after Arnold and Helga get together, Phoebe would be happy for them, but I think Gerald would need a little coaxing to get along with Helga, since, like I've said, he doesn't see Helga the way Arnold does. But since he likes Phoebe, and Phoebe knows Helga better than anyone, he can trust her judgment and gradually be glad for Arnold about having a real and serious girlfriend, given all the bad luck Arnold had with girls in the past. I've always even thought that what's also ironic there is that I bet in a way, Arnold would probably be flattered that there IS a girl out there who genuinely loves him, especially one who always claimed to hate him and made him believe she could never like him at all!
Good job! I'm on my way to check out the last chapter.
Man, so much goes on this one! And I always wondered what Helga's reaction would be to a surprise party, namely because she thinks no one cares enough to do one.
I continue to love your interactions between Arnold and Helga. You keep them in character so much, like NintendoGal55 does, that it just amazes me. And the same goes for Gerald and Phoebe. I have wondered what would happen if Gerald actually questioned why Helga was at the FTi building. I'm sure he would think Arnold is nuts for sticking up for Helga, a girl who has picked on him more than anyone else in school for years. He and pretty much no one else just doesn't see Helga the way Arnold does.
Hmmm, looks like you captured Helga's thoughts on her birthday the way I did. Poor kid. :( And that's interesting how you chose the date. "April Fool's Day" mentions her birthday being in the last week of March, but the exact date was never determined. Craig Bartlett said it was "maybe Franny's birthday," and hers is on March 26th. (Heh, my younger sister's birthday is on the 25th.)
I think the whole deal of Arnold learning that Helga loves him, especially after she helps him save the neighborhood, can help him see her in a new light, and that he is right about her being good, despite her constant denial. I mean, come on, if she really hated him, she would NOT do what she did, so that can help him know she was telling the truth.
And I like how you pointed out Helga's thoughts on what it would be like if she ever confessed to Arnold. She surely would be hoping for a reciprocation, but still, I think she knows that's very slim, given how she's treated him for years. She was probably more surprised that he let her take it back, but I think she would be still be worried since he didn't say no, and that when he finally gives an answer, it will still be a rejection.
But it's funny how Helga has teased and pranked Arnold for years and claimed to hate him, yet he never returned the feeling as mutual. I always thought that when he claims her to be a good person right in front of her, that surprises her and strengthens her love for him because he's dead-on correct, even though she refuses to admit it.
Whoa, Helga waking up with Arnold in her room? Oh, man!
Sure, she was a big help with the neighborhood as well, but since she did because she likes Arnold, I'm sure she'd want to keep that under wraps, and even if her dad turned against Nick and Scheck, she'd probably get in trouble for going behind his back.
Also, I knew she came up with the name "Deep Throat" from the Watergate scandal.
Man, this whole bit between them is interesting, especially given how different things are going to be between them from now on (without their classmates getting involved).
Next week, I'm going to be taking a break from just about everything I do, because I have more work cut out for me in school than I thought, so I thought I would use some time I have to read and review some more of your stuff.
Anyway, you're off to a good start here, setting it almost immediately after Arnold saves the neighborhood! I always wondered how soon after the FTi incident April Fool's Day took place so that Arnold knows that Helga loves him, not to mention her birthday. I always had a small hunch that Helga's happy thought at Arnold remembering her birthday hints that it happens after she confesses, because she has not gotten an answer from him and thinks he is finally starting to do something about his feelings.
So what's it gonna be like for Arnold now, being around Helga since he knows the truth, and she knows that she can't really take it back? And how about Gerald? He's gonna want to find out why Helga was at the FTi building, and I love how you keep him in character, showing how even though he's Arnold's best friend, he doesn't see Helga the way Arnold does and doesn't understand how he can think good about her since she picks on him all the time.
Lastly, for Helga's birthday, I always thought of it like a Harry Potter situation for her. Since she's ignored and neglected by her family, she never really looks forward to her birthdays since they probably don't do anything about it. So we speculate she's ten now, and six months older than Arnold.
Now I'm off to check out more, and that's cool you started this on your birthday last year!
I can't BELIEVE I haven't reviewed this yet! Agh! -facepalms-
Anyway...what a way to end it. XD And my computer wouldn't download the last bit after Gerald and Phoebe, so I didn't even know about the, er, "ice cream situation," until just now. So I'll say it a second time: what a way to end it. XD This just makes me want to go all the way back and start it all over, just for the sake of this story being as awesome as it is. Really, the whole thing was one romantic roller coaster tied with a delightfully pink bow.
Lol Another brilliant chapter. It had me in stitches again.:D I love the conversation between Gerald and Phoebe and I was exstatic when I saw you included a conversation between Phil and Gertie! They are underused characters in my viewpoint. The interactions between Helga and Arnold were perfect as always along with the ending.;P I LOVED this story and am sorry to see it ending but you ended it with a promise of things to come for them. Thanks so much for the epilogue. It tapped off this story perfectly.:D
"'Happy April Fools Day, Helga…and Happy Birthday…Arnold was right this morning…' Phoebe briefly recalled the incident in the cafeteria when Arnold had pranked Helga with that small box that he had claimed was to make up for not having gotten her anything for her birthday the weekend prior, '…He really was just a little late giving you your present…'"
Oh my gosh...you know I never realized that! I haven't watched the movie in a while and I'm not sure if it's officially mentioned, but you are pretty accurate in saying that Helga's birthday would be around the same time as the movie.
I'm glad you added the ended with Phoebe and Gerald; definetly added some to that closure that you love so much. And I suspect that Helga and Arnold didn't actually do what Phil 'outwardly' suspected with the ice cream. It was a sweet ending with the grandparents as well.
Once again, the walk home was slightly drawn out...and in comparison, I felt a bit disapointed that we didn't get a glimpse to how their 'talk talk' went and how it led to the ice cream. It's almost like the most important part of their conversation was left out while almost everything else was given too much description. It's just another case of trying to fit too much into too little, espeically considering how most of their conversation is essentially the scenario of "a bunch of stuff happens, but nothing really happens". Not to stretch it though since A LOT happened in your story, but the length of it lacked a bit of a real hard-cored plot other than getting Arnold to love Helga.
Nono, no one has to jump off a cliff or dramatically die for a 'hard-core' plot, of course. Overall your writting style itself and level of thinking through is very well-developed. In terms of your actual thought-process though, you do need to work on toning it down a little. It's similiar to the whole idea of how one kid can score 100% on a test from studying for 12 hours, while another can score 100% just from studying for two. I guess you're the type of author that strives for a 120% huh?
Still, I enjoyed you story! Good luck in any future writting!
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