Hello!

Well...I guess the normal things to say apply here.

Hey Arnold! doesn't belong to me.

I'd appreciate any comments/reviews that could help me solidify this story. I think I know where I want to take this but I haven't written anything in a long time...I'm in a graduate program, my son was diagnosed with ASD last year, so I'm still a bag of emotions and frustrations and...well, you get the point. I want to be more diligent with my writing as I think it's a wonderful therapy for me, so hopefully I can keep this story up. Anyhoo, onward!

"I don't think you understand what you're asking." Her expression was neutral, clear eyes a striking blue, indicating no emotion.

But Arnold's face displayed several at once: confusion, anxiety, and maybe a little fear. "Uh, I'm asking you on a date. Seems pretty straight forward…"

"You don't know me, Arnold.. I'm not someone you'd date. No point in wasting your time and mine." She stated it the way a person comments on the weather: factual and with casual indifference.

This wasn't going the way he expected, though he wasn't entirely sure what he did expect. Everything he knew about Helga was from observations he had collected over the years. He knew the girl before him wasn't one to blush easily. She didn't giggle or flip her hair as he'd seen many other girls do. She didn't get embarrassed easilyt and though her childhood was marked with a temper not unlike a hurricane, he hadn't heard her raise her voice in years.

Maybe that was her point.

"Look, okay. We don't know each other very well. That's true. But I think I like you. And getting to know each other is even more of a reason to take you out."

Helga laughed then. A chuckle that could have been either pitying, or worse, a brush off.

"Arnold, whatever you're feeling will fade the more you get to know me. It's cool. Just, ya know, don't tell me things that won't hold weight down the line."

She turned away from him then, her bag slung over her shoulder, and began to walk away.

Arnold was left alone, his mind blank before he was bombarded with millions of thoughts and emotions. He leaned against the closest wall, sliding down to the floor, trying to make sense of everything she just said.

Was her dismissal of his feelings for her a reflection of himself? Was she commenting on the girls he dated and broke up with? He thought on that, going through the long list of girls he dated. No one lasted longer than a few months, but he wasn't the one who ended things every time. Come to think of it, most girls broke up with him. They always said he was too nice, too polite. One even accused him of being artificial, living up to his reputation as the resident do-gooder as if he was trying to make up for some past misdeed as penance.

He had dismissed that break up easily, thinking maybe he had misjudged the girl in question. After all, she wanted to be a psychologist and was clearly reaching.

But was she?

Arnold shook the thought away. He wasn't focusing on the conversation that just ended. He needed to get his thoughts straight.

Okay, Helga didn't think that his feelings would be the same after he got to know her. But did that mean that she wouldn't give him a chance? She didn't exactly say that. She did say that they didn't know each other. So...maybe a good old fashioned courtship was in order. He liked the idea of that.

He didn't understand the way relationships happened now. He was considered a prude because he didn't jump in bed with every girl he dated. He did date, a lot, but nothing physical ever happened. He was waiting for the right girl.

Okay, Arnold. You can't date Helga. But maybe you can be her friend. She basically gave you an invitation! He grinned to himself then. He always wanted to be Helga's friend. It was no secret that the girl was fiercely protective of her friends. Her loyalty to her two best friends fell off her in waves. Though she never raised her voice (anymore), she was quick to raise ol' Betsy in defense of her friends.

She never instigated fights, and often forced older bullies to retract their threats because they quickly understood that beneath the seemingly calm exterior of Helga G. Pataki lay a fierce woman. He'd seen her take down Wolfgang their freshman year when the upperclassman thought it would be amusing to humiliate Brainy in the cafeteria where almost the entire student body was present. Arnold didn't see exactly what had transpired but had heard that Brainy somehow ended up in the cafeteria with much less clothing than he arrived to school in. At the height of their peers laughter, Wolfgang had ended up on the ground, Helga's knee deep between his shoulder blades, his arm painfully gripped behind his back.

He saw that Helga was whispering something in his ear. Wolfgang's face, once red and clenched in pain, turned completely white, and he was nodding his head, seemingly to agree with whatever she was telling him. Phoebe had Helga's jacket in her hands. She had wrapped Brian in it and sneaked him out of the cafeteria with barely anyone paying attention. All eyes were on Helga, tiny compared to Wolfgang's 6 foot frame.

She solidified her reputation then but every so often, someone would pick on Phoebe and Brainy just to see what kind of response they could get from her. She didn't retaliate in defense of herself, choosing to remain silent and impassive unless the would-be tormentor attempted to get physical. They always regretted it.

Arnold had admired her for her courage and strength ever since preschool. These were traits he was well aware that he himself didn't always display, especially now that he was a teenager. He thought then on his own intent. He was interested in Helga romantically, that was true. And he wanted to be her friend. But there was a clear difference in what they considered to be the purpose of dating.

Well...let's not get ahead of ourselves. I like Helga. So, let our courtship begin. He couldn't help the cheesy grin that suddenly appeared. This is going to be fun.