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Dependents	By : DancingBear Category: +G through L > Hey, Arnold! Views: 6520 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 2
Disclaimer: I do not own Hey Arnold, nor any of the characters. I do not, and will not make any money from this story. (Original creator: Craig Bartlett)

Chapter List
- 1-Dependents
- 2-Lean
- 3-Steep
- 4-Long
- 5-Hold
- 6-Slouch
- 7-Arch
- 8-Turn
- 9-Fall
- 10-Drop
- 11-Gift
- 12-Balk
- 13-Spill
- 14-Pay
- 15-Scrap
- 16-Warm
- 17-Sink
- 18-Stoke
- 7
- 8
- 9
"You've been busy." Arnold sauntered into the kitchen.
Helga gulped, she hated it when he wandered around without clothes on… OK, so he wasn't naked, but he was topless. He even had a sweatshirt in his hand, so why wasn't he wearing it?
"They're for tonight." She forced a quick smile before turning back to her icing.
He chuckled "Another date with the silver fox?" She swallowed her sneer… Screw him, if he's going to be a dick. She caught a movement in the corner of her eye…
"Don't you dare." Helga spun to face him, the spoon in her hand flicking icing on the floor.
He pouted, drawing his hand back from the cupcakes. "Oh c'mon! There's heaps here, and they look so good." He flashed her a winning smile.
But Helga shook her head. "I made enough for you guys as well, don't worry, but you can't eat them un-iced! They're naked!"
He grinned. "All the best things are…"
Helga blinked. Arnold had been acting weird all week. Super friendly, almost flirty one second, then aloof the next… it seemed that flirty Arnold was out to play. She growled. "Leave. Them. Alone." She pointed her spoon at his hand, which was edging to where the cupcakes were cooling.
He threw up his hands in defeat. "Fine."
Helga turned back to her icing while Arnold put the kettle on. He made her so flustered… and why hadn't he put his top on yet? It was all she could do not to watch him. He had the nicest back… and chest… and that trail of hair that ran down from his navel… and those grooves at his hips…
Damn him… PUT YOUR FUCKING TOP ON.
She bit the inside of her cheek, furiously mixing the icing. She focussed on getting all the little lumps of butter mixed smoothing into the sugar, and tried not to think about the skin of the guy standing next to her… she sighed with relief when there was a knock at the door.
"That's probably Steven." Helga wiped her hands on a tea towel, "He's early though."
Arnold was already in the hallway, tugging his sweatshirt on as he padded down the hall. Finally.
"Hi." That was Arnold.
"Is Nina home?" Helga grinned, that was Maddy.
Steven laughed. "Sorry about that, she's overcome with excitement. Is Helga in?"
Helga stepped out into the hall, smoothing stray hairs back off her face. She felt suddenly scruffy. Steven caught her eye and smiled. "Hey."
"Hi!" She found herself grinning… blushing almost.
"Is that Maddy?" Nina's squeaky little voice chirped as rapid footsteps pattered on the floor above them. She came pelting down the stairs, her Star Wars bag in her hand. She and Maddy launched into a high-pitched, rapid conversation, Helga put her hand on Nina's head.
"Sorry I'm early, it seems supermarket shopping takes about half as long when Maddy's looking forward to something." Steven smiled, his eyes on hers.
Phew. She liked the way he looked at her. It wasn't lecherous, but… sustained.
"That's fine, Nina's been ready to go since breakfast. Do… do you wanna come in and have a tea or something?"
His eyes flicked to where Arnold stood at Helga's shoulder, then back, he smirked. "I'd love to, but I need to get the food into the fridge. We should get going."
Helga nodded. "I'll just get my keys, Nina'll need her seat."
"Come on girls, we're off." He tapped Maddy on the head. "I have an extra seat." He said to Helga. "It's already in the car."
And what a car it was. A massive, sleek, dark grey Jaguar. Helga just stopped herself from letting out a whistle when she saw it. She fretted about letting her kid in it, but when Steven opened the door for her, the backseat was littered with colouring books and empty chip packets, just like her shitty Honda.
"It rubs, Mum!" Nina twisted in her seat, craning her neck away from the seatbelt that was sawing at her skin.
"I know sweetheart, I'm just trying to fix it…" There was a slide thing to lower the belt, but she couldn't get it to budge.
"Here, let me." Steven's voice was low in her ear. He reached in quickly and lowered the knob within a second. "Better?" Nina nodded, happy again. He turned to Helga. "There's a trick to it." He said simply, but Helga's brain had shorted out. He was so close. Her back was against the open door, his arm on resting on the top of the car, facing her. She smiled, falteringly, and struggled to find something to say.
"So, dinner at seven… is that suitable?" His voice was low, his smile was… suggestive. She nodded. He stepped back. "I'll see you then." The look on his face said it all… she bit her lip, holding in a giggle. It felt good to be wanted.
… "You better not be touching my cupcakes!" Helga crowed, dancing down the hallway on tiptoes.
"But your cupcakes are just so enticing!" Arnold's voice came mockingly through from the kitchen.
Helga grimaced. She had no idea how to react to this aggressive pseudo-flirting. She'd just tried to ignore it so far, but it didn't seem to work. She knew that he was taunting her, and she hated it.
She didn't have to deal with it just then though. "There's a coffee on the bench for you." He grinned before breezing past her and up the stairs.
He confuses me. She sighed to herself. She looked at the clock. Ten past eleven in the morning… she had hours to herself… it was unthinkable.
She iced the cupcakes as best she could, put half in a container to take to Stevens, and half under a tea-towel for the flatmates. Chores done for the day, she now had hours of uninterrupted alone time… she couldn't have been more excited.
Putting a cupcake on a serviette, she trotted up the stairs and knocked on Arnold's door.
"Hold up." His voice was muffled. She waited patiently as he scrambled around.
His door opened. Topless again. Helga managed to keep a straight face, managed to keep her eyes above his neck. "Cupcake!" She beamed, presenting the little pink delicacy in her open palm.
He grinned, pushing his shaggy hair out of his face. "Why Helga, you've never called me that before!" His eyes sparkled cheekily as he took the gift from her hand.
"Har har." Helga rolled her eyes.
He just kept grinning, leaning against the doorframe. Goddamn it! She couldn't not react to him, all long and lean and… ARGH. She could feel her cheeks reddening. "It smells awesome, Pataki."
"It's a bribe." She tried to keep her voice light.
"Yeah? What do you want from me?" The corner of his mouth curled up. What has gotten into this guy recently?
"To peruse your bookshelf?"
He stepped back, his smile suddenly genuine. She could have sighed with relief. "Sure, you don't have to bribe me for that!"
She made her way around the room and crouched in front of his low bookshelf. "Any recommendations?"
He sat on the bed just behind her. "Uh, depends. Any particular genre you're into?"
She shook her head. "Nah… it's been so long since I picked up a book that I have no idea what I feel like reading."
He chuckled. "Uh, you work in a bookshop…"
She blushed, pushing her hair back. "Well, yeah… but I work while I'm at work. I've looked through some poetry and short stories when it's been quiet, but I don't get the chance to read novels or anything."
"Still into the poetry, huh?" His voice was lower, closer, as he leaned forward.
She nodded. "Always."
"Still writing?"
How does he remember this shit? She gulped. "Nah, no time."
"Pity." He sighed. "Well… if you want to nerd it up, there's the Song of Ice and Fire series, what the Game of Thrones TV show is based off…" He pointed to a row of five thick, dog-eared paperbacks. "The series isn't finished yet."
"Is it hard going?"
Arnold laughed "Yeah, but it's worth it. The third one in particular is so hectic." His hand brushed her shoulder as he leaned forward further, reaching to take a book from the shelf. "These two here are the first in a trilogy, and they're awesome." She could hear the smile in his voice. "The Kingkiller trilogy, they're really, really good."
"Magic and dragons?" Helga smirked, Arnold had always been a dork.
"Magic and daemons." His correction was stern, but he was laughing. "Seriously though, if you want something easy to read, but stillgood…"
Helga waved a hand. "Yeah, yeah… you've convinced me." She took the book from his fingers. Its pages were worn, the cover bent. "Uh… do you mind if I read this in the tub?" she opened the book, ran her fingers across the text.
"A bath, aye?" Arnold moved back from her. "How decadent of you… yeah, sure. I do it all the time."
She sighed, struggled to her feet, brushed off the seat of her jeans. "Thanks, Shortman. Enjoy the cupcake."
"I will…"
She closed the door behind her and had to resist the urge to swoon against it in a fit of nostalgic melting. You're an adult, act like it. She scowled at herself. But she couldn't help it.
She hummed as she ran her bath, throwing in a handful of bath salts that Amy had passed along to her: "I don't know what Mum was thinking, I hate rose-smelling shit."
She let out a little groan as she stepped into the hot water. Nothing beat a bath. She lowered herself in carefully, wincing when the water touched the back of her thighs. She sunk into the water, let her hair fan out, loose around her head…
… "The bathroom smells like girls." Arnold plopped down on the sofa, his thigh pressing against her feet through the blanket he had over her legs. She smiled up at him, perfectly content.
"Is that a good thing?" She peered over the top of the book.
He nodded "Sure… how's the book?"
"Living up to the hype." He was right, it was awesome. Huge though, she had barely made a dent in it.
"Good." He smiled, squeezed her foot through the blanket, making her squeal. "Sorry…" he laughed.
She humphed, snuggled further into the sofa, drew her knees up a bit more. Part of her wanted to tell him to shut up and let her read, but part of her liked having his attention. She watched him pull the bookmark out of the paperback he had brought with him and settle back into the cushions to read.
She relaxed and curled up to focus on her book. This is nice. Late autumn sunlight slanted across the floor from the windows. The room stilled, quiet as both her and Arnold immersed themselves in their novels. The world outside the room seemed to disappear, the traffic noise faded to nothing, making Lucy's soft snoring and the rustle of turning pages the only noises in the universe.
"Mmmm, move." Arnold's voice was sleepy. Using one hand, he lifted her feet, and the blanket and shuffled beneath them. He made a little noise. "Hmmm, you're all warm."
Oh god. Adrenaline spiked through her. She could feel her body tense, totally unsure of what to do. She was lying on a sofa with Arnold, her feet in his lap - it was her every adolescent fantasy come true… except with more clothing. She wanted to relax, she wanted to becool about it… but she felt like a guilty teenager. She tried to stay still, resisting the urge to press her feet against his legs, to feel the rough denim of his jeans against the skin of her legs…
He shifted, leaned over her. Her back stiffened. What is he doing? She turned her eyes to look up at him as he bent over her, a sleepy half-smile on his beautiful mouth. Bracing himself on one hand, he leaned right into her.
"Arnold?" Her voice came out small, shaky. Panic rose in her throat, her hands clenched into fists. Whatthefuckisgoingon? His face stopped about an inch from her neck, and with heavy-lidded eyes, he drew in a deep breath.
"I knew it was you." His voice was soft. He sat back up, nestled back to his original position. "You smell like roses." He said simply, like he hadn't just turned her into a quivering mess. She turned her eyes back to her page and stared, unblinking, not seeing the words…
She lay there, her stomach churning, while Arnold settled back into his book. Doesn't he feel that too? No, of course he doesn't… he doesn't see what he does to me… or he wouldn't torture me like that…
She stared at the page, tried to slow her breathing…
As the thrill of fear subsided, the undertone of… desire remained… and as Arnold sat back, unaware of how he affected the girl lying next him, she imagined how it would have felt to arch her back to him, to close the gap between them… she imagined that he wouldn't have baulked, but would have grasped at her ribs, pulled her closer… kissed her.
That soft, warm ache started to build low in her belly…
… "Oh god, Helga… I've been looking forward to this all week." Steven groaned against her skin, pushing up the fabric of her sweater with one hand, while the other held her close.
She whimpered when his hands found her ribs, gripped her skin. She had been waiting for this for hours… for someone to ease her tension. The image of Arnold, his sleepy eyes smiling into hers flashed into her mind… but she pushed the thought away. She didn't want to think, especially about him, she just wanted to be close to someone. She wanted to lose herself in the mindless stroking of fingers, the sound of breathing…
Her hands found the hem of Steven's shirt, edged it up to run her fingers up the hollow of his spine. Her eyes were closed, her skin aching to have hands against it…
"Just touch me."
- 7
- 8
- 9
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Dependents