Stalked

Theme 395: Dress, Theme 376: DIY Projects

Series: At The Mall

Gerald picked up a boxed kit for making your own oven mitts and set it down with disgust. He said he'd go with the mall with Arnold because he was hoping to pick up chicks, but you didn't pick up chicks in here. The youngest girl, for one, was the cashier, and she was at least thirty. And, secondly, what girl in her right mind would be in here? Why was Arnold even in here?

The anticipation became too much and Gerald asked, "Arnold, why are we here?"

"I'm making a solarium for my grandma's birthday," Arnold replied, thumbing through a rack of magazine-like books for such projects.

Gerald raised an eyebrow, "Wouldn't you have better luck at an old folks' home or something like that?"

"Look, I know you're here for girls, so if you want to go, go," Arnold called back, moving on to some shelves behind him. "This is important to me," he said without turning around.

"Hey man, I get it. We both have our motives for being here, so maybe we'll catch up at the food court. And I'll keep my eye out for any solarama whatevers," Gerald said slyly, turning on his heel, "Arnold, why would Helga need a dress?"

The store across the main aisle was a fancy dress shop, the kind only visited by people with girls going to important events. For kids their age, they would just have weddings or school dances. Gerald didn't know about any school dances or weddings, and seeing that Phoebe was with her, he doubted they were there with adults.

Arnold shrugged, "I don't keep up with her business."

"Well she's keeping up with you, looking over here all wild-eyed. I swear that girl has a crush on you," Gerald said, pretending to look at something to keep them from noticing.

"Helga hates me, Gerald. All she's ever done for years is make my life miserable. I've been actively avoiding her for years now," Arnold replied, turning to face Gerald. Sure enough, he caught a glimpse of Helga trying on a tight red dress while a bored Phoebe looked on. Arnold shook his head, "There's no way that's why they're there. Maybe there's a dance with some organization she's with."

"An organization? She's lazy, and I really don't think the Beeper King is big with the mob. I could be wrong though. That is one sassy dress. It's almost like she's trying it on just for you," Gerald hinted.

"She's not," Arnold argued, but he said it weakly. He didn't know either, and, besides, he had a project to look for. He disappeared into the shelves.

"Where'd he go?! You're supposed to be watching!" Helga hissed.

"Sorry, sorry, but you wanted to know how you looked," Phoebe replied nervously, turning so she could see the DIY shop and Helga at once. Arnold was nowhere to be seen.

"He LEFT and you're just staring at me! I mean, that's the point…," Helga said, eying herself in the mirror.

For years she had yearned for her Football Head, but it wasn't until seventh grade that Phoebe truly found out. She'd always suspected, but Helga was always being so mean to Arnold. It made no sense, and it still made no sense, but Helga was Phoebe's only real friend. She didn't want to let her down by not being understanding about her crush.

Helga sighed, "I don't know when I'll wear this, but when I saw he was heading this way, I had to come look. I had to see if one could catch his attention."

"Gerald is still there, so Arnold must be. Maybe I could make a diversion and get them to look over here," Phoebe suggested.

"That's crazy enough to work. Go. I'll be here looking irresistible," Helga smiled, swaying in front of the mirror.

Gerald picked up a box for some sort of quilt kit in disgust. Now that he knew Arnold was being spied on by Helga and Phoebe, he didn't want to leave, but man this place was boring. He studied an ant farm kit, finally something interesting, and pointed it out to Arnold.

"I noticed that, but there's no solarium kits there," Arnold said.

Gerald nodded and looked up, "Uh-oh, Phoebe is up to something."

A crash shook the area and silenced everyone around them. Gerald, with a raised eyebrow, cocked his head towards Arnold to fill him in: Phoebe dove into a dress rack after pretending to swoon. Said dress rack had shattered a plate glass window in front of the store.

Security ran up a moment later. Phoebe looked shaken as Helga shimmied in front of a mirror.

Arnold shook his head, "If that's for me, what's the point? I want nothing to do with her."

"Well man does she want you. Look at Phoebe. You can tell she did it on purpose," Gerald said.

Sure enough, Phoebe was led away by security while the shop owner berated her in a foreign language. A few people clapped when they realized yet another unruly teenager was being removed from the mall.

"Uh-hmm-hm," Gerald said, shaking his head, "I bet she's getting a lifetime ban for that. Lucky for her there's another bookstore downtown."

"I'm ready to go," Arnold said, leading him out. They went to the food court for a quick bite to eat, food they took with them. By the time Helga got out of her dress and out of the store, they were long gone. It was another unsuccessful mission for them both.

~End

A/N: The themes listed at the beginning are from my Infinite Theme List. You can find the full list on my deviantArt profile. As for the series, that began as an Arthur-only collaboration. Now I'm expanding the series to include more fandoms, but I also want to include more authors. PM me if you need more information, and if you have a piece, let me know so I can include it in my community.