Chapter Text
“OH BABY SISTER!”
Helga felt like she was about to hock up a hairball. Visits from Olga were always bad omens, dreadful signs of horrible things to come. She was grateful her older sister was usually too busy passing college with flying colors to visit more than a handful of times a year, counting Thanksgiving and Christmas. But those visits were perfect compared to when Olga just ‘stopped by’. It always meant Olga wanting to bond with her without actually getting to know her, all while performing her perfect little song and dance for their parents. She was trying to cut down on her use of the word ‘hate’ but if anything qualified for that word, it was Olga.
Helga choked as Olga enveloped her in a too tight hug, her face already burning with embarrassment. “Criminy, Olga, let me go! What are you even doing here?” She shouted, trying to shove Olga back, but her big sister simply wrapped her longer arms around Helga and squeezed, expelling the air from her younger sister’s lungs.
“It’s summer vacation, baby sister!” Olga explained, lugging in a bag which Bob was all too quick to pull up the stairs to her room. “I’ve been stressing out a bit about my extracurriculars, so I thought I’d return home for the entire summer and spend some time with my family.”
As Bob and Miriam seemed to just immediately morph into the perfect family right then and there, Helga froze, still as a statue. Olga? Here? For three entire months? She could only barely swallow down her scream of panic. She slowly tried to back out of the awkward situation, trying to bolt for her room without attention being brought to herself. But as she was trying to ascend the stairs, Olga piped up.
“Oh, baby sister! Are you still wearing the same outfit that you did when you were nine?” She asked innocently, or what most would interpret as innocent, but Helga knew better.
“Yeah, what’s it to you, Olga?” She growled, crossing her arms. She knew what Olga wanted, and on her name as Helga G. Pataki, it wasn’t happening.
“Well, I figured your wardrobe could do with an update, so I thought we could go to the mall and spend some time giving you a few new outfits!” Olga clasped her hands, smiling wide, but Helga’s face merely froze in horror.
“Absolutely no way! Criminy, I’m not some dumb barbie doll you can dress up! You try that and I’ll be throwing every single crummy dress in the dump!” Helga scowled, now stomping up the stairs, uncaring about a clean escape.
“Hey! You get back here Missy!” Bob shouted, but Helga merely snarled and kept moving, entering her room and slamming the door before Bob could properly reprimand her. She could hear Bob grumbling and Olga simpering and she just didn’t want to deal with it. So she stomped over to her bed and flopped on, grabbing her phone and firing off a text to Phoebe.
‘Olga’s here. Apparently staying for the entirety of summer vacation. Kill me now, sister.’
The reply from Phoebe was a little delayed, but Helga didn’t mind. Her best friend was likely reading a book about quantum physics for fun. ‘Stay strong, Helga.’ That was her Phoebe alright. She was quieter now as she headed for her closet, locking the door behind her just in case Olga decided to try coming into her room to convince her. Her latest Arnold-themed shrine sitting there, a wonderful reminder of the light in her life. This one was small, composed primarily of paper mache for the body, buttons for the eyes, a hand-made paper mache hat, and needle-felted hair. Being close to it tended to calm her anxiety whenever the real Arnold wasn’t available. As she fired off another text, she ran a hand over the small sculpture’s felt hair with a smile.
‘She wants to take me clothes shopping. Gag me with a spoon. I just know she’s going to insist on a makeover. Hair, nails, the whole nine yards. I think I’d rather have a date with Harold.’ Helga gagged at the very thought, sneering in derision.
‘Not to pressure you Helga, but is that really so bad? Last week you were complaining that many of your dresses are starting to not fit. You’re growing Helga. You need new clothes now more than ever.’ Helga groaned at the reply.
“Leave it to Phoebe to start refuting my melodrama with something as absolutely abominable as facts.” She groaned. Phoebe was right of course, she always was. Helga had experienced quite a growth spurt, shooting up to a respectable five feet, six inches tall at the age of 15, and already the clothes she’d bought the previous year were starting to feel tight and restrictive. And yet she still stuck to her simple pink dresses and white shoes. She quickly put out a reply to Phoebe, thumbs flying over her phone’s screen.
‘Yeah, I need new clothes, but I’d rather go with Miriam than with *Olga*. Olga’s going to try and change my whole look to try and make me like her, and there’s no WAY I’m doing that.’
‘Some experimentation with your style could do you some good, Helga. Are you really going to look the same as you do now forever?’ Phoebe asked, and Helga could detect the hint of annoyance in her tone. She really didn’t deserve a friend like Phoebe, so she simply sighed and banged out a reply.
‘I can try. Tell ya what Phoebs, since you want me to ‘see reason’ so bad, I’ll make you an offer. I’ll give you three chances to give me one reason, JUST ONE, I should accept going along on this trip to the mall, and I’ll buy you the Secret Shame Special at Big Al’s.’ Helga couldn’t help but let a smirk crawl across her face as she continued to text. Helga had her secret she’d only shared with Phoebe, and her best friend had of course done the same for her. Of course, Phoebe’s secret didn’t involve a certain tall hair boy, but rather…
‘The…the Event Horizon Burger Challenge?’
‘The very same. However, if you fail, not only will I not go, you’ll owe me lunch, and I’ll order the Event Horizon, and you won’t get a single bite.’ Helga’s smirk slowly grew into a maniacal grin, her machiavellian maneuvering was sure to get her friend off her back. Instead…
‘I’ll take that bet. Reason one: Arnold would say it’s the right thing to do.’ Helga froze at that, her mind flitting to an image of her boyfriend, giving her that gently scolding smile, telling her it’s not so bad to spend a few hours with Olga. She cut off a lovesick sigh with a snort.
‘Please, you really think I couldn’t get Arnold to see my point of view if I tried my hardest? He’s the nicest guy ever, but he’s not perfect. If I really tried, I would never have to hear him talk about my family again.’ Her fingers shook as she tried to keep her composure. That was a close one. ‘Strike One, Phoebs.’
Phoebe’s next text took a minute to come, and Helga took that time to make her heart start furiously thumping against her chest quite so hard. When it came, Helga was prepared. ‘Alright, my second reason: If you decline, you’ll need to go to the mall by yourself and pay for your clothes by yourself. She’ll need to drive you, so you won’t need to take a bus. You can insist on clothes you’re more comfortable with in addition to any…exotic purchases. Any embarrassment due to haircuts or manicures will be temporary. It’ll be like you’re doing your back to school shopping for free.’
Helga snorted. ‘That’s the best you got Phoebe? You know I’d rather go shopping at a thrift store if I can help it. I’ve been saving my allowance for Back to School like I always do. And I’d rather go to the dingiest shops imaginable and pinch pennies instead of going with Olga. Strike Two! Last chance. Make it count, sister.’
Phoebe’s reply was nearly instant. ‘Free. Trip. More money saved means more dates with Arnold.’
Helga blinked, face turning red as she weighed the options in her head, furious at the smug aura the text was radiating. Sweat began to manifest down her brow, her upper lip trembling as she tried to find a way out of that simple statement.
‘Dammit.’
‘So I’ll see you at Big Al’s on…saturday at 5?’
‘Don’t get cocky, Phoebs.’
The summer sun beat down on Arnold as he watched Helga play catcher at Gerald Field, as usual. The heat was very close to being unbearable, but the shade provided by the buildings surrounding the old vacant lot and the semi-frequent breeze kept the gang cool. They had been playing baseball all week, and Helga had gotten quieter and quieter as the days had passed by. Her usual jeers from behind the catcher’s mask had slowly faded away to what most would call ‘toxic silence’, and it was starting to freak everyone out.
“Wilikers, Helga’s even scarier when she’s quiet, I reckon.” Stinky muttered as Helga merely grumbled out a “Strike two, ham hock.” at Harold, who looked like he’d rather be anywhere else but directly in front of her.
“There’s definitely something up with her.” Rhonda muttered, hand on her chin, and Arnold couldn’t help but notice Phoebe stiffen. “An opportunity for some juicy gossip, maybe?”
“She’s like a stormcloud, ready to throw down lightning on whoever’s caught in her path.” Sid shivered, looking around anywhere but at Helga, who seemed to growl any time someone made eye contact with her.
“Yep. When Pataki’s on the warpath there ain’t no stopping her.” Gerald muttered, watching as Helga shouted at Harold as he struck out, which made Harold retaliate with loud obnoxious shouting of his own, but the instant Helga got out of her catcher’s crouch to square up to him, he backed off. “Welp, nothing to it but to do it. Arnold, you go talk to her.”
Arnold almost jumped in his skin as almost everyone looked at him. “Me? Why me?” He asked, eyes wide.
“Um, because you’re dating?” Rhonda asked like it was the most obvious thing in the world. Arnold blushed and averted his gaze.
“Heck, I reckon even before you were dating her, you were good at helping Helga see reason.” Stinky nodded solemnly. Arnold sighed and stood up, knowing he was not going to win this one.
“Hey Arnold, it ain’t so bad. Maybe you’ll even get a chance to kiss her.” Gerald added with a smile.
Arnold gave him a withering look that any one else would be terrified of, but it only made Gerald laugh. “I thought I was the one who looks at the bright side of things?”
“Hey, when you can’t, I will!” There were a few chuckles, but Helga glanced their way and everyone went silent, and Arnold didn’t have the heart to tell them that such an act only made them look more suspicious. Taking a deep breath, he trudged through the grass over to Helga, who was leaning on the fence and glaring at them all.
“Hey, Helga.” He greeted her with a smile. Helga raised an eyebrow and kept her arms firmly crossed. ‘Okay she hasn’t yelled at me, called me football head, or started crying. Good start!’ “Um…do you wanna talk?”
Helga turned her head and spat into the dirt, an act that got Arnold’s attention. He knew Helga enough to know that she acted tough when she was upset. “I dunno, Arnoldo, do I?”
Arnold simply chuckled. “C’mon, I’ll buy you a Mr. Fudgy bar.” He offered, extending his hand. Helga looked at him, and he could almost tell her eyes were examining him framed by the summer sun, the way his hair waved in the wind, and he could almost see the poetry writing itself. He loved that about her, the way beautiful words could just…pop into her head.
“How about a Mr. Double Fudgy Bar?” She asked, taking his hand with the smallest, sweetest smile, and he couldn’t help but let his smile grow into a massive grin. He gently led her away from Gerald Field and down the street to the Jolly Olly Man’s truck, and everyone sitting on the bleachers at Gerald Field breathed a sigh of relief once they’d turned the corner.
“Okay, so what do we do now that Madame Fortress Mommy is gone?” Harold asked. “We don’t have enough players for baseball now that she and Arnold have split!”
“How about we head down and see if the basketball courts are free?” Gerald offered, and slowly approval was given and they wandered off.
Helga and Arnold sat on the roof of the boarding house, licking at their own ice cream. Arnold having cookie dough and Helga with her Mr. Double Fudgy bar. Arnold had thought the stoop would’ve been fine enough, but Helga just climbed the fire escape like she’d been doing it every day of her life. Despite her terrible mood, Helga shot Arnold a small smile, the treat and proximity to her beloved helping soothe the storm inside her. “Thanks Arnold, I don’t deserve you.”
Arnold rolled his eyes. “You’ve proven you do several times over, Helga.” he chuckled. “But I think everyone is gonna be happy to see you relaxed. So, you promised, we’d talk, so what’s on your mind?”
Slowly, Helga took a bite of her ice cream, leaning back on the edge of the roof and sighing deeply. “Olga’s visiting. And she says she’s going to be here for the rest of summer vacation.” Before Arnold could talk to her about how she should try to get along with her sister, she held up a hand, silencing him. “I’m going to go to the mall with her tomorrow. She apparently got some fancy schmancy bonus at her part time job and wants to spend it getting me a new wardrobe.”
Arnold took a second to take stock of the situation. He’d been involved in Helga’s relationship with Olga enough to know that their relationship was…tumultuous at best. “I imagine it’s more than just the threat of spending time with her that’s got you so…riled up? Even Stinky noticed you were in a bad mood.”
Helga snorted a bit at that. “Damn, I guess I’m really not as smooth as I thought I was.” She sighed. “Olga and I are…different. She’s always been…I want to say perfect, but that’s not right. She’s always been…pretty. And it’s not just about her face, or her body, her fashion sense has to be just as perfect as her smile.” She glared at the wooden stick remains of her ice cream, her mood only kept from descending due to Arnold reaching out his hand to her shoulder. “I just know how this is going to go. I’m going to spend all day in stores I hate, trying on clothes I hate, getting a haircut I hate, because all Olga thinks of, even in relation to other people, is herself. She’s perfect, so she’s already got all the right opinions on everything, and other people’s tastes are just suggestions. She’s a trendsetter, a model, so of course I’m just being rude if I say I don’t want to look like her.”
Arnold listened to her, not interjecting, just…sitting there, idly licking his ice cream. “So…why are you going?”
Helga’s eyes looked down in mock-bitterness. “I bet Phoebe that she couldn’t convince me to go. Since Olga’s footing the bill, it’ll save me a ton of money. And I really can’t pass that up, at the very least.”
Arnold nodded slowly, and Helga wished she had a camera to capture the sight of him looking off into the distance with the sun slowly setting around them, bathing his features in yellows and oranges with just a tint of blue. “Well, just remember to fight for yourself, Helga.” He said with that kind smile she’d written reams of poetry about. “All of our friends are friends with YOU, not Olga.” He blushed a little, but didn’t avert his eyes. “I’m in love with YOU, not Olga.”
Helga’s face turned a shade of red that was usually associated with extreme sunburn. “Y-You…!” She choked out.
“S-Sorry, but I just felt like…it was the right time to say it?” Arnold gave her a shy smile, and Helga’s smile quickly turned wavy and lovesick.
But she quickly shook her head. “When did you become such a sap, football head? You’re gonna make me go into conniptions with all this mush!” She snickered, lightly punching him in the arm.
Arnold laughed, the noise practically pulling Helga out of the black quagmire of negativity she’d been sitting in all day. “I became such a sap when a pretty young girl confessed her love for me.”
“A-Arnold!” Helga squeaked out, and Arnold just swallowed the last of his ice cream and leaned in to kiss her, Helga letting out a muffled swoon when he rested his hand on her cheek.
With Arnold by her side, Helga really felt like she could face anything, even a day of shopping with Olga.
The mall was too big, too loud, and above all, too Olga for Helga to really appreciate it. Every store was either too flashy or too loud for her. Not to mention it brought back memories she’d rather not think about, of a certain smug Englishman and his idiotic obsession with the past. But Olga wasn’t there for that, and Helga really didn’t have the patience to tell her about it. ‘Patakis don’t talk about our feelings. We sweep ‘em under the rug!’ Her father had told her, and it definitely applied to how she interacted with Olga.
“Oh baby sister, this will look great on you!” Olga cheered, holding up a sundress in yellow that looked absolutely revolting. Olga seemed to have no sense of what Helga liked, and just plucked anything she thought was ‘cute’ off the rack to try and bully Helga into trying on.
“You need your eyes checked Olga.” Was Helga’s simple sneering reply. She already had a few bags of clothes she liked, and even a new pair of shoes. As much as she liked the color yellow (in terms of her boyfriend’s soft hair) she despised it on her clothes. “I may not be a fashion student, but I know that yellow doesn’t typically go with blonde hair. Did you hit your head and your education fell out?”
Olga’s face softened and Helga almost felt bad for her sarcasm. Almost. “Oh, you’re right, baby sister.” Helga’s hands clenched into fists. “I wasn’t thinking. Maybe it’s time we move away from clothes and onto other things? How about a new hairstyle? You’ve been wearing those pigtails forever!” Helga ran a hand through her hair protectively. It was her trademark, and she hated to have some overly fancy hairstyle it would take forever to maintain every morning like Olga’s bob.
“Leaning towards ‘no’ on that one, Olga.” Helga tried so hard to keep her tone even. Olga stepped forward and began toying with Helga’s hair, an act that made her freeze in shock.
“Oh but baby sister! You have no idea of the possibilities! It doesn’t have to be a full haircut, just try something new, Helga!” Olga pleaded, and Helga closed her eyes so hard she thought it would bruise them. The idea of a free trip, free clothes, and lunch was quickly being overwhelmed by Olga’s touchy-feeliness. She wanted nothing more than for the ground to swallow her whole. But Phoebe and Arnold’s words kept echoing in her head. She wanted to be better, and if that meant giving Olga the benefit of the doubt, she’d do it.
“...Fine. But I have veto power.” Helga had snarked, but Olga was too busy grabbing her arm and dragging her to a hair stylist. Helga hated being dragged, but she bit her lip as Olga explained that they wanted to experiment with different styles. The dresser had her hair washed and then began moving her hair, experimenting with different looks. When the hairdresser smiled and gathered her hair into a loose ponytail, Helga’s heart thumped against her locket. It felt…nice.
“Oh baby sister! You’ll look amazing with this! But we really should get rid of that ratty old bow–” Olga reached for her bow. Helga’s heartbeat quickened. Faster than she really thought she could, she’d spun the chair and grabbed Olga’s wrist in a flash. The pair looked into each other’s eyes, Olga uncomprehending as Helga’s narrowed in anger.
“The bow stays.”
“But baby sister–”
“If you touch that bow I will never speak to you again.” Helga’s tone was full of venom. The hairdresser stepped in between the two sisters, putting her hands on her hips. Olga gulped and sat back down in her chair.
Satisfied that the conflict was settled, the hairdresser kept speaking to the younger Pataki. “If you ever do want to consider leaving the bow, have you considered a hat? Something small, like a beanie or a bandana, just to add some weight? I think it would look great on you.”
“I’ll consider it. For now, the bow stays.” Neither Olga nor the stylist asked why it was so important, and Helga kept it clenched in her fist as the split ends and wild hairs were trimmed, making her look much more even and put together. Helga wasn’t about to tell them even if they did. The pink fabric did look frayed and old, but Helga would be the one to decide what was going to be done with it. It was thanks to this bow that Arnold had paid attention to her, that led her to be admittedly over the moon obsessed with him, and ultimately what had brought them together. Moreover, it was hers, not Olga’s.
The one thing Olga couldn’t have.
The one thing Olga couldn’t take.