"Phoebe, why would I want to go see some crappy horror film with you and Geraldo? Despite what you might think, being a third wheel is not my life's dream."
"Well, Arnold will be there too."
This information made Helga pause. Arnold had been dating Lila Sawyer throughout much of 4th and all 5th grade, but they had broken up over the summer. Now the gang was in middle school. It was a new era and Helga intended to show Arnold a new side herself: more grown up, kinder, more sensitive. But in order to do that, she would need to actually hang out with him. If the beautiful, sweet, sincere, and recently single Arnold Shortman was attending this movie, Helga Pataki needed to be there.
And thus, the following day found Helga, Phoebe, Gerald, and Arnold at the movie theater to see Evil Twin II. Phoebe, always a great wingwoman, sat at the end of a row so Helga wouldn't seem weird when she sat in the seat next to Arnold.
As Helga suspected the movie was terrible. It was the same unoriginal plot about a nice man being framed for serial murders by his homicidal twin brother. Helga started to enjoy herself more when she began imagining Arnold as the main character - a suave young man trying to prove his innocence and keep people safe in the process. Obviously, she envisioned herself as his tall, blonde, gorgeous love interest. The evil twin and his lover/sidekick reminded her a lot of Arnie and Lila.
As cliché as the story may have been, the movie did manage to be a bit scary. Helga would probably have nightmares for weeks after this. But sitting next to Arnold for two hours was worth it. She tried not to be too jumpy. Coming across as frightened wasn't good for the image she'd been trying to project since preschool, but maybe this conflicted with the new self she wanted to show Arnold.
She was still debating this when the grinning face of the evil twin suddenly filled the screen. She gasped and instinctively reached for Arnold's hand.
Arnold smirked and leaned over. "Are you scared, Helga?" he whispered.
She tried to cover. "What? No!" Still, she didn't pull her hand away.
Arnold laughed. "That's okay. This film is kind of freaking me out too. Maybe next time we should see a comedy." He gave her hand a reassuring squeeze before letting it go.
Helga sighed internally and sat back in her seat, turning her attention once again to the characters on screen. After knocking his evil twin unconscious, the lead male was finally sharing a passionate kiss with his love interest.
Maybe Helga wouldn't have nightmares after all.