It was a calm, quiet evening at the boarding house. Arnold had invited Helga (who was now one of his best friends) over to study and hang out. Before long, the sound of yelling came from Arnold's room, and the boarders could only listen and wonder what they were arguing about this time.
"Why do you always do this?! Why do you always have to be so damn cruel?!" Arnold shouted, red in the face. "We're not nine years old anymore! You can't just resort to throwing insults and stomping around, Helga!" They hadn't fought like this in a while, but when they did, it wasn't pretty. Arnold was losing control of his temper (which was something that rarely happened). "I want to know why!" He took a step closer to her. Helga's face deepened a shade of red. Her glare was intense.
"You really want to know why?! Huh Arnold?!" All of her mixed emotions came flooding to the surface. She didn't care anymore. Her relationship with him had been going so well; they had been friends for over three years, but she could feel that friendship crumbling under her as she spoke. She didn't care. "You want to know why it always comes back to this? Why I was so horrible to you in grade school? Why I'm such a cold-hearted bitch to you all the time?!"
"Helga-" Arnold never liked to hear her insult herself.
"No! I'll tell you why!" Helga took a few steps toward him, but as she did she could feel herself falter with the weight of the truth. It didn't matter. Trying not to think about what she was doing, she grabbed Arnold forcefully by the shoulders and slammed her lips on his. The kiss lasted about three seconds, and when Helga stepped back, Arnold's face was beet red with a look of utter shock. Helga tried her best to keep from passing out. She wore a stoic expression, but struggled to keep it that way "I've been afraid, Arnold! I've been scared shitless for the past 14 goddamn years!"
Still reeling from the kiss, Arnold managed to squeak out "S-scared of what?" Helga couldn't help but sigh heavily. The boy was smart, but when it came to her, he was clueless.
"Hellooo! Scared of THIS! Of telling you how I really feel! Of spilling my guts and finally admitting that for the past 14 years I've secretly been head over heels over the moon in LOVE with you!" Her chest was heaving and she started to shake. She fought off the waterfall of tears that threatened to spill down her cheeks. "All those years I spent torturing you and making your life a living hell was just to hide that fact!"
She paused and looked down. Was it supposed to feel like this? Like hell? She had always dreamed that the day she finally told Arnold that she loved him would be… magical, surreal, romantic even, if she was lucky. She definitely did not expect it to come like this, nor did she intend to wait this long. She couldn't even remember what had triggered their fight this time. Something small and stupid she guessed, but it didn't matter now. The friendship that she had spent the last three years carefully building with him was over. She was sure of it. She shook her head. "It doesn't matter now anyway. I'm sure you hate me. I've gotta go." Bolting for the door of Arnold's room, she stopped trying to hold back the tears. She suppressed a sob as she tore down two sets of stairs and flew out the door of the boarding house, determined not to let him see her cry.
"Helga, wait!" Arnold quickly snapped himself out of the shock of hearing the truth she had kept from him for so long. He ran after her, his head still spinning. Everything seemed to click into place all at once in his mind. Years of torment, shyness, and awkward friendship finally made sense. He kicked himself for not having seen it before as he dashed after her as fast as his legs could carry him. "Stop!" he yelled as he threw his arm out and clasped his hand tightly around her wrist, catching her just as she reached the sidewalk. She tried her best to wriggle free, but he wouldn't let her go.
"Arnold let go! Please!" Helga pleaded. He kept his grip firm, but his voice was soft when he spoke.
"I always had a feeling you… didn't hate me." Helga slowly turned and met his eyes, cursing herself for crying and making her face a mess. To her surprise, Arnold laughed. "It all makes so much sense now!"
Offended, Helga ripped her arm away from his now slackened grip "Screw you! I pour my heart out to you and you have the gall to laugh in my face?!" Fresh tears began to form. "I'm leaving!"
Arnold quickly regained his composure. "No no, Helga that's not what I meant! I'm sorry I just…" He struggled to find words. Reaching out again, he gently grabbed her hand and pulled slightly to lead her to the stoop of the boarding house. She reluctantly followed him and they both sat down on the cement steps. "It's just… this is… hard for me," he continued. Helga scoffed.
"Hard for you? How do you think I feel, Arnold?" She wiped violently at her eyes. She couldn't contain the venom in her voice, but Arnold was unaffected.
"So, 14 years, huh?" Helga nodded. Arnold paused for a moment. "That means you've liked me liked me since we were… three?" he slipped back into the lingo of their elementary school days. She nodded again, her face flushing pink as a small smile formed on her lips. She recalled their first day of preschool together.
"You gave me your umbrella. And you said you liked my pink bow."
Arnold thought back. "Oh yeah, I do remember that. That was the first time we met. In preschool."
"It was hook line and sinker for me after that," Helga said with a nervous laugh. "You were always so gallant, so compassionate and caring, so… you. And I loved you for that. I… still do," she added almost inaudibly. They sat in silence for a few moments. Arnold fiddled nervously with the hem of his red plaid shirt. For having admitted her long kept deep dark secret she swore she'd never tell him, Helga felt strangely comfortable sitting next to Arnold. Her anxiousness had completely melted away, and a sort of calm wave had settled over her. Whatever worries she'd had about their friendship ending and him being freaked out by her confession had totally vanished. He had always had that calming effect on her, radiating tranquility like a furnace whenever she got close. He was the one silver lining for her in a life of despair, and in a way, he had known that all along.
"What ever happened to that pink bow, anyway?" Arnold finally asked, breaking the silence. Helga reached up to remove the gray beanie she always wore.
"I actually still wear it." Lifting up the beanie, she revealed her old, slightly tattered but still intact, pink bow from her youth flattened against the top of her head.
"Why do you hide it like that?"
"Eh, I don't know. It's kind of embarrassing don't you think? I just keep it under my hat for… good luck I guess." She didn't want to admit to him that it was more of a comfort item for her; sort of like a teddy bear or a blanket for a small child.
"It's not embarrassing at all." Arnold smiled at her. "I still really like it." He reached over and patted her arm gently.
Suddenly Helga's anxiety began to creep up on her again. This was all too much. Had she really just confessed her undying love to Arnold? And he… wasn't revolted by her? The world began to spin and she felt dizzy as the reality of the situation smacked her in the face like a brick wall. Heart pounding, she stood up and began to walk down the steps. "I, I gotta go. I'm sure this is all… way too much to take in all at once, you know? I'll uh… see you tomorrow then."
"No, wait Helga! I-," Arnold trailed off. He hopped down the steps to meet her, again clasping her hand to prevent her from walking away.
"Please, Arnold, I just don't… I don't want you to think that I'm… I don't want to ruin our friendship…" Helga looked at the ground. "Maybe we can just… pretend this never happened."
"But that's what we always do!" Arnold yelled. "Whenever something like this happens, we just pretend it never did and move on, but…" he trailed off. His face suddenly turned pink. "What if… what if I told you that I… liked you back?" Helga's head snapped up.
"What?" She wasn't sure she had heard him correctly.
"It's true Helga. I've been trying to find the right time to tell you." Ever since they had become friends, Arnold had started to fall for Helga, and it only intensified the more time they spent together. He chuckled softly to himself. "Actually, it was right around the time I realized that you were the Cecile imposter who took me out to dinner on Valentine's Day in fourth grade."
"You knew about that?!" Helga gasped.
"Not at first, no. But one day a few years back I thought about that night again for some reason. And it dawned on me. I guess that's when I first started to… like you like you." He took a step closer to her as Helga stared back at him in awe. Her heart was racing and she could feel the blood rush quickly to her cheeks. She felt as if she were floating through space and time within a different dimension. None of this seemed real. Her utter shock kept her from pinching or slapping herself to prove this wasn't a dream, but at this point, she didn't care. This was the best damn dream she'd had in her life.
"This is not going to ruin our friendship, Helga. You don't have to worry so much." He was inches away from her now. She couldn't tear her eyes from his, and his gaze was unwavering. Suddenly she realized he was leaning forward and she couldn't help but close the gap between them. She registered the soft, glorious feeling of his lips as they brushed against hers ever so gently. It was the first real kiss they'd ever shared, and she found herself cupping each side of his face and pulling him closer as she allowed that radiating warmth he emulated to infuse into her very being.
When they finally broke apart, both were gasping slightly for breath. For a few seconds, neither of them could speak; their faces were flushed deep shades of red and the air seemed to tingle around them.
"So… um…" Arnold spoke first. He rubbed the back of his neck absentmindedly, his eyes darting quickly to the ground when he realized he'd been staring at her.
"Yeah…" Helga managed to squeak out a reply to his loss for words.
"So… do you want to maybe… go to a movie or something… o-on Friday?" The question seemed to burst out of him before he could really think about what he was saying. Why was it suddenly so difficult to talk to her? Arnold busied his fingers with the hem of his shirt, waiting for an answer.
"Sure!" Helga blurted. She cursed herself for sounding so eager. "I, I mean whatever. That sounds cool I guess, Hair Boy." She folded her arms across her chest nonchalantly, but inside she was singing and dancing for joy. Arnold had just asked her on a date!
"Great, great! I'll uh… pick you up around seven then." They stood in awkward silence for a few seconds as they contemplated how to move forward. They had just entered some very risky territory suddenly switching from friends to… something a little more, and neither of them knew how to handle it. Finally, Arnold made the move and took her hand for a final time that night. "Come on. I'll walk you home."
Their fingers intertwined and Helga began to feel that calming sensation again that gave her a newfound sense of security as they started their journey towards Helga's brownstone and into a brand new chapter of their lives together.
"Whatever floats your boat, Football Head," she said as a smile crept onto her face. She squeezed his hand gently and he squeezed back. They were going to be just fine.