A/N:Yay! Time to finally discover what in the heck is going on! :) For the party section, I usually find myself reading it with some party music playing faintly in the background, it just makes it... I dunno... feel cooler. Lol. And if it helps to visualize what the next chapter looks like, Google Image search "black light party". Oh! And just remember, since it's the gang's first college party, all of them are at least 18 years old.
Final disclaimer: These awesome characters are property of Nickelodeon, created by super cool Craig Bartlett! Story written for entertainment only!
Chapter 3: The Celebration
Arnold stepped blindly into a space with loud music. He was able to smell a faint scent of fog, incense, and liquor, but couldn't see a thing.
The blindfold came off him.
"Thanks," he turned to look at the maid, but she was gone just as quickly as the blindfold came off.
He turned back in front of him to look at the scene that he'd been waiting an hour for...
Right away, he understood the significance of the clothes, the masks, and the paint.
The entire enormous ball room was lit using only black-lights. There were dotted spot lights distributing moving dots of color throughout the room, giving off the look of a colorful mass of stars. The star-like colored lights moved to the beat of the trance music that played in the background.
There was a bar lit with blue neon lights, and masked maids and butlers were serving food and drinks.
All of the guests Rhonda and Curly invited were... unrecognizable. He didn't know it was possible, but he couldn't tell who was who. Many of the girls wore brightly colored wigs, masks, and neon lipstick. They wore either brightly colored tank-tops or bras, and shorts. Many of them looked very similar to each other. He couldn't even tell which girls were in attendance, and if it weren't for being locked in a room with all the guys, he wouldn't be able to recognize them, either. He only noticed they were all wearing white pants, different colored masks, and different types of subtle body painted tattoos. He noticed some of them wore headbands or hats to try to conceal their identities better.
"Yo, Arnold," called someone behind him.
He turned and saw a dark skinned boy in a green fedora and orange tribal-like tattoos on his arms.
"Uh... Yeah?" Arnold answered, unsure of who it was.
"It's Gerald!" he exclaimed.
"Gerald? How...?" Arnold began. He had no idea how all of his hair was able to fit under that fedora without it flying off.
"They took extra time getting me ready. I told them to lay off the hair..." he began, trailing off as if he didn't want to continue the story.
Arnold couldn't help but laugh.
"Find Phoebe yet?" Arnold asked loudly over the music.
Gerald took another sip of his rum and coke that had a decorative light-up ice cube.
"Yeah I found her, she's at the food table... I just hope I don't lose her again..."
They began walking toward the large food table against the opposite wall of the entrance, which, like the rest of the party, had different black light decorations. They approached a group of three girls.
"Fidelio?" Gerald asked a short girl in a neon pink wig, neon purple bra, denim shorts, and white-and-pink striped knee-high socks.
"Um... pardon me?" she asked, confused.
"Oh, sorry." Gerald answered awkwardly.
Arnold laughed.
"I'm gonna go get a drink," Arnold said, as Gerald looked around the area.
"Uh... yeah man, I'll be here," Gerald answered.
The two did their traditional handshake as Arnold walked across the room to the neon bar. He felt himself finally getting into the spirit of the weird night... he had to admit, it was pretty cool.
He noticed a tall, slender girl waiting at the bar for her drink.
Arnold stood next to her and stole a glance at her outfit.
She had long, wavy blonde hair that cascaded down her back. He noticed it wasn't a wig like some of the other girls, but someone had used the neon paint to add some bright yellow streaks in her hair. She wore bright blue denim shorts, neon purple knee-high socks, a neon pink bra, and small painted stripes at random parts of her body. Arnold would have admired her more, but any longer than five seconds felt creepy. Instead, he spoke.
"Hey," he said casually.
She turned to look at who was speaking and jumped slightly.
"Uh... hey," she answered back nervously.
"Crazy party, huh?" Arnold asked.
"Uh... yeah, no kidding," she answered.
He admired her neon-orange lipstick. He couldn't tell with her bright pink mask over her eyes who she was, but he figured that was for the best.
The bartender handed her a cranberry & vodka with a purple light-up ice cube.
"For you, sir?" He asked Arnold.
"Rum and coke," he answered.
The girl grabbed her drink and made to walk away, but something made her move a little slower than she normally would have...
Arnold noticed her leaving and wanted to say something...
"So... did you know anything about the party before you got here?" he asked her.
She turned back to him and stirred her drink reluctantly with a thin black straw.
"Not really," she said, looking at her drink, "I came with my friend. She knew it was gonna be some disguise thing and tried to come up with some weird plan to find her boyfriend. You know, so they don't accidentally cheat on each other or something," she said with a shrug.
Arnold laughed and thought immediately of Gerald.
"That's funny, my friend did the same thing. I'm guessing a lot of people are doing that tonight."
"Yeah, shows Rhonda and Curly," she said with a shallow laugh.
Arnold laughed with her.
This was the first time in weeks that he felt like really smiling. His break up with Lila had put him in such negative spirits, even though he should've been excited to be starting college that week. But he couldn't take his mind off of the fact that he wasn't ready to move on. But something about this girl he met was very refreshing...
"Your drink, sir," the bartender said, handing Arnold his rum and coke with a white light-up ice cube blinking inside.
"So, uh..." the girl began unsurely, "where you headed?"
"Back to the food table to find my..." Arnold began, looking at the table, seeing guys and girls who all looked so much alike that he realized he lost Gerald. (What color was his hat, again?)
The girl laughed at Arnold's sudden end to his sentence.
"Let me guess... lost him?" she asked knowingly.
He chuckled in response. "Uh... yeah, guess so..."
"It's happened to me at least three times already. Guess Prince-uh.. Rhonda and Curly are smarter than we thought," she finished nervously.
"Guess so," Arnold said, searching, not noticing the girl stumbling over her words.
"Come on," she said, grabbing his arm with her free hand, "Let's go find him."
Arnold smiled.
"Sure," he answered.
They went back to the food table but neither could see their respective friends.
"Uh... I don't think my friend is here," the girl said, surveying the area.
"Me either..." he answered, also searching.
It was difficult to make out who was who in the fog, lights, and neon decorations.
"She probably found her boyfriend and went off," she said.
"Actually that would explain where my friend is, too," Arnold said, abandoning his search.
"Wanna just... hang out here on our own...?" she asked tentatively.
Arnold looked at her as he thought about it. Should he follow Gerald's advice and use this night to try to get over Lila...? Part of him felt uncomfortable about it... He watched the beautiful girl in front of him. She stirred her drink nervously... Was she hitting on him...? She looked nervous... He admitted to himself that he kind of liked that.
"Yeah, I'd like that," he answered with a smile.
The two continued to drink and eat a couple of finger foods, joke about the party and watched people try to flirt with other people, and laughed when one person visibly lost another. They were having a great time people watching and finished their drinks quickly.
"Want another one?" she asked.
"What if you lose me?" he asked with a smile.
She laughed.
"You kind of have a very... distinctly shaped head," she answered obviously.
He laughed.
"Fair enough," he answered.
"I'll be right back," she said grabbing his empty glass. He watched her leave with a smile on his face. For the first time in a while, he felt... happy.
"Yo," a dark-skinned boy said right next to him, folding his fist out with one hand and holding a short girl's hand with the other.
Arnold held out his hand- they did their handshake.
Gerald, he thought.
"Soo, who is THAT?" Gerald asked, looking at the blonde girl at the bar.
"That's the funny thing, Gerald. I don't know," Arnold answered with a smile.
"That's my boy! She is fine! Great body on her," he said, teasing Arnold.
Phoebe, who wore a neon pink wig, a neon purple bra, denim shorts and sneakers with no knee high socks (though decorated with a few pink stripes on her thighs) smacked Gerald's arm at the comment.
"Not as fine as you, babe!" he said squeezing her playfully.
"I thought so," she answered with a laugh.
She turned to look at the girl Gerald was referring to. Her hand covered her mouth with a gasp, though the music was too loud for anyone to hear or notice. The blonde girl began to walk back toward them with a drink in each hand. As she got closer to the group, she hesitated slightly.
"You ok, Pheebs?" Gerald asked.
"Yeah! I just, uh... want a drink," she said.
"Want me to get you one?" He asked.
"Sure! But... I'll join you. Don't want to get lost again," she added playfully.
Gerald laughed.
"You're right about that. Catch you later Arnold," he said, walking toward the bar with Phoebe.
Phoebe and the blonde girl exchanged looks as they passed each other.
She gave Arnold his drink.
"I, uh... see you found your friend?" she asked, trying to sound casual.
"Yeah, I guess their plan worked out after all," he said.
"What was their plan, anyway?"
They continued to drink as he explained the Eyes Wide Shut movie reference and how they had been mixed up despite their code word. The girl laughed at the story as she watched a very highly decorated girl on the dance floor with another highly decorated guy. They had very detailed painted tattoos all over their bodies.
"Probably Rhonda and Curly," Arnold commented.
"Can you believe they referred to themselves as 'the management'?" she asked with a laugh.
He laughed too.
"At this point, I'll believe anything." he answered.
He noticed there were a lot more people on the dance floor. There was a mix of trance, hip hop, dub step, pop, and all music that tempted bodies to dance.
Arnold noticed the girl bopping her head and fingers to the music.
"Like this song?" he asked her.
"No I hate it! But it's so damn catchy!" she answered loudly.
Arnold laughed.
"Come on," he said putting his drink on the table, "Let's dance."
She stiffened.
"We can't just leave our drinks here," she said defensively.
"Okay," Arnold answered.
He grabbed his rum and coke, removed the straw, and chugged it. The girl watched in astonishment.
"Whoooa! Big tough guy!" she said, impressed with his bravado.
"Well?" he asked with a smile, wiping his mouth.
"Alright," she said, accepting his challenge, "I'm game."
She followed suit, removing her straw and downing her drink. She patted her mouth dry with the a small nearby napkin and took a deep breath.
"Shall we?" he asked, holding a hand out.
"Let's cut a rug," she said with a smile.
Hm... I feel like I've heard that somewhere, Arnold thought briefly, quickly dismissing the thought as he led the girl onto the dance floor.
At first, the two danced jokingly, doing exaggerated spins and tango moves and old 90s dance moves, laughing hysterically.
As their drinks that they downed started to catch up with them, they danced closer and closer...
As one trance/dub step song came on, almost everyone at the party was dancing. They didn't notice the crowd.
They moved to the music in each others' arms in perfect unison. Gerald was right- she had a great body.
An unfamiliar feeling came over Arnold... He had forgotten what it was like to be attracted to anyone other than Lila. He usually wouldn't dance with any girl at a party like this, but the alcohol gave him a boost of confidence. His body felt loose, and he could tell she felt the same. He admitted that the anonymity of it all helped big time.
She turned to face him and danced in perfect rhythm with the music. Her hair cascaded around her. He couldn't tell if her eyes were open or closed through her mask...
He leaned into her... They were extremely close. The music began to fade. He decided to give into temptation. He leaned into her lips...
"Whoo, I need a break!" she said nervously as the song ended at the exact time Arnold leaned into her.
"Uh, yeah! I was... just about to tell you the same thing! You wanna maybe... get another drink?" He said, feeling slightly stung that she rejected him.
"Good plan!" She answered.
He began to walk through the now-crowded dance floor.
The girl grabbed his hand and held it as they made their way to the bar.
He smiled. Maybe she didn't reject the kiss? After all, he couldn't tell if her eyes were even open, maybe she didn't see him...
"I'm gonna go sit on that couch," she said when they got to the bar.
"Sure," he answered, and she walked away.
Another shorter girl was at the bar waiting for a drink. She looked at him and looked away nervously. She repeated this a few more times unbeknownst to Arnold. The bartender gave her a Smirnoff Ice.
"Uh... hi," she said.
"Hey," Arnold answered back briefly. "Can I get two shots of Honey Jack and two Caronas?" Arnold asked the bartender. He nodded.
"Are you... here alone?" she asked.
"No, I'm hanging out with a friend of mine," he said, unconsciously looking over at the blonde girl on a couch across the room.
The short, pink-wigged girl glanced in her direction to see who he was referring to.
"Oh... okay," she answered simply.
It took Arnold a minute, but he recognized the girl as the one Gerald mistook for Phoebe earlier... They are wearing very similar outfits. Though, if he recalled correctly, Phoebe wasn't wearing knee-high socks, and this girl was.
"Are you having fun?" she asked nervously.
"Yeah, more than I thought I would, actually," he said with a smile, watching the bartender pour two shots.
"Oh. Well... just wanted to know if you were enjoying yourself. I'm sorry to bother you," she said quickly, taking her drink.
"You're not bother-" he began, looking in her direction. But she had already gone. He shrugged and held the two beers by the necks with his left hand, and the two shots in the palm of his right. He made his way very carefully back to the couch where his anonymous blonde date sat. He noticed her talking to another guy. He walked away as Arnold arrived.
"Who was that?" Arnold asked, trying to sound casual.
"Who knows? He was trying to pick me up so I told him to get lost," she said with a shrug and a crooked smile.
He smiled back.
"That's funny, I think that kinda just happened to me," he said, carefully giving her a shot and a beer.
He sat next to her on the couch, their bodies turned toward each other.
"What are we toasting to?" she asked as they held their shot glasses out in front of them.
Arnold thought about all the night's events...
"To a great night," he said with a smile.
She smiled brightly.
"To a great night," she repeated simply.
They clinked their shot glasses and knocked their shots back, chasing the strong whiskey with a sip of their beer.
As the night continued, their shots and drinks added to their buzz. They joked even more, laughed drunkenly, and continued to people-watch. By now, some people had retreated to couches on the walls (almost no corner of the giant room was left uncovered by either couches, a bar, or a food table) to rest, talk, or make out.
"Damn, scandalous," the girl commented, pointing to a boy on a couch who had a girl and a boy on each arm, all making out with each other in random order.
Arnold was surprised to see that, but he had to admit, the liquor and the anonymous identities made people's bravery stronger.
"Whoa, they look ready to sneak to one of the 'management's' guest rooms," she said with her eyebrows raised, pointing to one couple making out hungrily across the room.
Arnold watched silently.
"Yeah," he said, a hint of sadness in his voice.
She detected it.
"What's wrong, Arn-... Ar-Are you bothered by it or something?" she asked, running her fingers through her hair nervously.
"Not really... it just kind of reminds me of something."
"What?" she asked.
"Well... someone."
"Oh..." she said, folding her arms. "Girlfriend?" she asked flatly.
"No," he answered quickly. He didn't want her to think he was cheating or anything. "More like... ex-girlfriend."
"Ah, gotcha..." she said knowingly. "Do you... miss her?"
Arnold looked at her.
"Well... up until tonight, I did," he answered honestly.
She unfolded her arms and looked at him.
"What do you mean?" she asked nervously.
He turned closer and spoke into her ear so she could hear him better over the music... and of course, to be closer...
"Well, for the past few weeks I've been feeling really depressed. But hanging out tonight with you reminded me that... I need to move on. I'm having an awesome time with you... I feel like myself again."
She got goosebumps from his warm breath on her neck.
His heart was beating very fast... he could only guess that hers was, too.
"I'm having a great time, too," she said, speaking closely into his ear.
He got the same goosebumps.
He leaned in even closer to her.
"I never got to tell you this through all the partying, but I just want to let you know that I think you're really cool and really beautiful," he said.
The alcohol forced this sudden piece of honesty out of him, and he didn't regret it.
She blushed a deep pink, though the dark hid it well. She leaned into him, body brushing up against his.
"I think you're really great, too... And, um... I really like you," she said leaning into his neck as she spoke this confession.
He smiled.
"I really like you too," he breathed into her ear.
They were nestled into each other during this private exchange.
Arnold moved his lips very slowly away from her ear and softly grazed them against her cheek.
She didn't move away...
He softly kissed her cheek. He felt her sigh when he did this. His lips continued to graze her cheek, until he felt her lips on his. As soon as he felt the contact, he kissed her lips softly. She sighed deeply through her nose and kissed him softly in return.
He felt his heart drop. Despite Lila only breaking up with him weeks ago, he realized he hadn't had this feeling in a long, long time. Much longer than just a few weeks.
He kissed her a bit more deeply, moving his hand to cup her face. Her body automatically leaned toward his in response, without her fully controlling it. She wrapped her hands around his neck and returned his deep kiss.
He moved his hand down her back and she let out a soft moan that could he could barely detect through the music, but hearing the soft noise cued him to kiss her deeper.
She inhaled sharply and broke the kiss.
They were both breathing heavily.
"Whoa," she sighed, panting.
"Uh... yeah... I'm sorry," he said, also panting, dizzy from the liquor.
"No, no, it's-" she began.
"No, really," he said, overlapping her, "I don't normally-"
"I know," she said, placing a finger on his lips as he cut her off, "I know."
He wanted at that point more than anything to take his mask off and to take hers off, too. At first being anonymous was a nice defense, but now he wanted to know who this girl who so effortlessly stole his heart was. But he could tell that she had wanted to maintain her anonymous identity, and he respected that.
She watched him closely and gave into her drunken desires, and continued to kiss him. Arnold, in his state, didn't object. He felt her hair and her back with one hand and her thighs with the other, and she felt his arms, chest, and back. They continued this way for quite some time until it started becoming increasingly difficult for them to control themselves... They were scantily clad, after all, and with each kiss their desires grew exponentially.
She pushed him away from her, breaking another intense kiss.
"Criminy," she sighed softly. She panted and wiped her hair from her face, leaning back into the couch.
"I'm sorry," Arnold said, unsure of what to say. He had only heard her deep sighs and heavy breathing and took it as a sign that she was overwhelmed.
"No! Don't apolo-" she said, sighing. She couldn't speak clearly.
"Okay..." he answered, resisting the urge to apologize again.
She took one last sip of her now-empty beer.
They sat in silence for a couple of minutes longer.
"Wanna... dance off this sexual tension?" he asked jokingly.
The girl laughed loudly. She appreciated his sense of humor.
"Sounds like a plan," she answered.
The two continued to dance the night away. Sometimes they danced silly, sometimes they danced energetically, sometimes they danced seductively. Their lips met a few times along the way. Eventually, the clock struck 1am, and some people began to disperse.
"Hey man," Gerald called to Arnold on the dance floor. Arnold hadn't noticed Phoebe and Gerald dancing nearby.
"Phoebe's tired, we're gonna find rooms crash in," Gerald said. Arnold could tell they were pretty tipsy.
Arnold nodded.
"Sure," he said, holding out his hand. They did their handshake and Gerald led Phoebe out of the ballroom. Phoebe turned around a gave the blonde girl with Arnold a look...
"Actually, I'm kinda tired too," she said. "Wanna head to a room? I think my friend is already at the room we were gonna crash at..."
Arnold frowned slightly. He wanted to keep hanging out with her, but it was late, and they were both drunk. They needed to get back to their respective friends and rooms.
"Okay," he said finally.
They walked out of the ballroom hand in hand.
In the normal house lights outside of the ballroom, Arnold and the girl got their first clear look at each other. He still couldn't really tell who she was, but noticed her cheeks were flushed and some of her body paint smudged.
"Well... I had a great night... But I should probably find my friend," she said quietly.
"Yeah... me too."
She slowly let go of his hand and began to walk away.
"Wait," he said, grabbing her hand. He took off his mask.
"I just wanted to let you know that this was one of the best nights I ever had," he said.
At this point, he wanted her to know who he was. And he hoped she would follow his lead.
"Me too, Arnold. But... I have to go," she answered quietly.
He frowned.
"Aren't you going to take off your mask...?" he asked sadly.
"I..." she began, motioning toward her mask, but neglecting the action just as quickly as she began it. "I... can't."
"Why not?" he asked, looking at her longingly.
"I just can't, okay?" she said sadly.
He was painfully reminded of a similar moment he had in the fourth grade with a girl he thought was Cecile... In a way, this girl actually sort of looked like Cecile, too... As if the irony wasn't enough for him to handle...
"Okay," he said, experiencing de ja vu. "Will I see you around?"
"Yeah... I'll be around." she said with a smile.
He smiled back.
"There you are, Arnold!" called a girl from a distance.
They turned and spotted Phoebe approaching them. She had removed her mask and wig and was holding them in her hand.
"Gerald just wanted me to let you know you guys are crashing in the upstairs guest room."
"Oh," he said, changing his train of thought. "Where are you crashing?" he asked, noticing she was drunk.
"Downstairs guest room," she said, swaying slightly, "Now, excuse me... I need to go... find Helga." she walked away from the two quickly.
"Which reminds me..." the girl began, "I should find my friend, too."
"Okay..." he said. "I... just wish I knew who you were..." he said, analyzing her.
"Maybe one day you will," she answered with a shrug and a smile.
"Well... we'll always have the 'first Annual Anonymous Ball'," he said, leaning into her.
He cupped his hands around her neck gently and gave her one last goodnight kiss.
She obliged and kissed him back, savoring the sweet goodnight.
She sighed and smiled.
"Goodnight, Arnold," she said quietly before walking away in the same direction Phoebe had.
Arnold watched her go for a bit longer before heading in the opposite direction.
The next morning...
Arnold woke up to a bright room, feeling a bit groggy and tired from the night before.
Gerald was awake and back in his normal clothes. Arnold noticed he had been awake long enough to shower, wash the body paint off, and restore his hair to its rightful state.
"Hey man," Gerald said.
Arnold hadn't given him any details when he got back to the room the night before, but they exchanged a very knowing look.
"Hey," Arnold answered simply.
He began to change into his casual clothes, which were left there from the night before.
Gerald walked downstairs toward the smell of breakfast.
Arnold followed. He went to the upstairs bathroom to wash his face and mouthwash. He turned the handle... locked.
"Occupado," called Sid from inside.
Arnold frowned and made his way downstairs... Hopefully the downstairs bathroom was open. He had no idea how many of Rhonda and Curly's guests stayed over from the night before.
He noticed that there was absolutely no evidence of a party ever taking place the night before. The entire house looked as if it had been untouched.
He turned the handle to the bathroom downstairs, which was unlocked.
He went in, washed his face, and mouthwashed, all the while replaying the events from the night before over and over in his head...
He couldn't stop thinking of his anonymous blonde. He liked her spunk, her charm, her blunt sense of humor, her independence, her free spirit, and the fact that he could just be himself around her... The fact that she was gorgeous and he was insanely attracted to her was just a bonus.
He wiped his face with a towel and sighed.
He wanted so badly to know who she was.
He opened the bathroom door in a daze and walked directly into someone.
"Sorry!" Arnold exclaimed. He noticed he walked directly into Helga Pataki.
"Whoa! Still drunk from the party, football head?" she joked casually, as she continued to walk toward the kitchen.
He chuckled slightly.
I guess everyone got drunk last night, he thought briefly.
Then he caught sight of something familiar...
The bright, blonde streaks flowing in Helga's long, wavy hair.
They looked exactly like...
Arnold's eyes widened as a flood of memories from the night before came rushing to him. He watched Helga continue to walk. She was wearing a tanktop and black capris... Arnold took note of the stray body paint markings on her arms and leg.
Identical.
Oh my God, he thought.
He connected the dots, and then another flood of memories hit him...
Cecile?!
He smiled a wide, bright smile.
"Hey Helga, wait up!" he called after her.
THE END.
;)
The end! My first ever story! I left a lot of it open to your imagination (as far as what the 18-year-old gang looked like physically) and of course the confrontation that happened after that night! Anyway, the idea of reviews make me nervous, haha, but are definitely welcomed :) Although the story was completed before I posted this, lol. Thanks for taking the time to read!