Chapter 1: What's On Your Mind?

Obviously Arnold was a bit, oh what's the word, razzled when he heard Helga confess her feelings for him on top of the FTi building that night. What exactly do you believe was going through his head that night after hearing her say all those things?

Let's back up a moment and think about everything she said…

Who else do you think has been stalking you night and day, building shrines to you in a closet, filling volumes of books with poems about you? I love you Arnold, I've always loved you! Ever since I first laid eyes on your stupid football head! And from that moment, every moment since, I've lived and dreamed for you! Dreamed of the moment I could finally tell you my sacred feelings! To grab you and kiss you….

Okay then. Had she not been put under the pressure of him insisting she reveal the real reason as to why she did a pretty amazing thing for someone she claimed to hate, she probably would have toned it down a bit.

He just kept pushing it though, so he got a pretty amazing answer! Pretty amazing, and pretty shocking!

After reciting her passionate, outspoken, monologue to her beloved, he wasn't given much time to process this. She ended it dramatically by grabbing him and kissing him hard enough to hopefully show she meant every word of what she had just said to him. Hopefully showing to him none of the hurtful, tormenting acts she had performed their previous years spent together related to how she truly felt about him.

As he stood there, being held in the arms of what he had always thought to be his biggest rival, he thought to himself...

Did I hear her correctly? Did she just said she LOVES me?

After feeling she had made her point, Helga released her beloved to listen to him express his thoughts. "I'm confused. Did you just say you love me?"

Not much time was given to explain how this happened or for Arnold to process his true thoughts about this. After all, their neighborhood was about to be torn down. They didn't have time for a serious conversation when a serious task such as that needed to be taken care of.

This dilemma couldn't be ignored forever however. Just because Arnold had decided that day to allow Helga to pretend everything she said never happened didn't mean he had forgotten about it.

Two weeks later. P.S. 118

Hallway

"Well man, things are back to normal!" Gerald said, thinking about how happy everyone was to have their houses being fixed and the neighborhood being put back together.

"Yeah, I guess so." Arnold said, shutting the door to his locker.

Gerald examined what appeared to be a distracted look on his friend's face and asked "What's with you?"

As Arnold began to rub the back of his neck, he replied nervously "I've just had some things on my mind recently."

"What kind of things?" Gerald raised an eyebrow, digging for more information.

Arnold couldn't just flat out reveal what had happened between him and Helga that night on the FTi building. As embarrassing as it was to him, it would be ten times worse for her.

"I was thinking about asking Helga out." he said softly, knowing how crazy his friend would think he was.

"Helga? Man what's gotten into you?" Gerald wondered as his eyes lit up with surprise.

"I just wanted to thank her for helping us. She's the reason we saved the neighborhood." Arnold blurted out without remembering one tiny detail.

"She is? I know we never figured out who Deep Voice was, but something tells me it wasn't her." Gerald said wittingly, while Arnold let out a small gulp.

"Well, the thing is…" Before he could think of an excuse, he felt himself being shoved out of the way of the hallway…

"Out of my way, geek bait!"

After watching his friend being shoved into a stream of lockers by the class bully, Gerald offered Arnold a hand up and said "Oh yeah. I'm sure she'll say yes if you ask her out."

Rolling his eyes at the remark, Arnold headed towards the classroom to find Helga had taken her seat beside her best friend.

Classroom

"Do you have any plans for this weekend Helga?" Phoebe asked curiously, while seeing the unamused look on her friend's face.

"Not unless you consider listening to Olga bang on my door every ten minutes while I'm trying to write in my...Arnold!" Helga screamed, seeing her secret crush turning in his desk to look at her.

"Hey Helga." he smiled nervously, trying to think of the right way to ask her out. He had a feeling she would turn him down if he asked her out in front of everyone. There weren't a whole lot of options when they were at school however.

"I mean, what do you want football head?!" she scoffed, leaning back in her chair with her arms crossed.

Before Arnold could continue with his thoughts, the class heard Mr. Simmons walk in.

"Hello class! Today's going to be a very special day!"

As Helga propped her head in her hand on her desk, knowing she wouldn't be interested in anything her overly enthusiastic teacher had to say, she noticed a note being passed back to her.

Her eyes widened as she slowly blinked in bewilderment. Why is he passing me a note? He probably just wants to politely ask me to stop shoving him in the hallway. Oh brother!

Helga at last snatched the note as she quickly opened it to read…

Will you please go out with me tomorrow? I want to thank you again for helping us save the neighborhood.

Helga's hands began to shake as she continued holding the note. All sorts of mixed feelings went through her mind after reading it…

He...he wants to go out with me? My beloved is asking me out? Oh Arnold! Only you my love could look past the treacherous and tormentive behavior I've shown to you all these years!

After falling into one of her dazes, she thought to herself…

Wait a minute? He said this was just to thank me. Plus, he already said he knew I hated him. He couldn't be asking me out on an actual date. How could I say no to him after all he's done for everyone though?

After giving it some thought, Helga nervously tapped him on the shoulder. Normally she'd shoot a spit wad at him to get his attention. She hadn't fully recovered from her shock of being asked out by the love of her life however.

As Arnold anxiously grabbed the note, he turned back in his chair to read…

Okay. Don't expect me to be nice to you until then though, football head.

Just the fact he had gotten her to say yes made him start to believe everything she had said to him that night was true. Now that he was almost positive of how she felt, he had to really start considering how he felt.

When the bell for lunch at last came, Helga immediately stomped past Arnold, not wanting to give him the opportunity to draw anymore attention towards them.

After watching the angry girl march out the door, Gerald turned to his best friend and said "Something tells me she said to take a rain check."

"Actually, we're going out tomorrow."

Shaking his head at the idea, Gerald replied "Mm, mm, mmm! You're a bold kid Arnold."

Cafeteria

"That's wonderful Helga!" Phoebe exclaimed, after hearing about her friend's big news.

"Shhhh! Not so loud Pheebs." Helga said, hoping to discuss her emotions without Arnold hearing anything.

"Has he shared any useful information with you? That is, anything indicating how deep his feelings for you truly are?" Phoebe asked anxiously, too excited to pay her lunch any attention.

Helga sat with her arms folded on the table in front of her, not caring to humor herself by opening up her usually empty lunchbox.

"Not really. He just said he wanted to go out to thank me for helping them save the neighborhood."

"Well, the fact that his gratitude for what you did hasn't left his mind since then must indicate something's been going through his mind." Phoebe insisted.

Helga let out a deep sigh as she glanced over at her soon to be date who was standing in the lunch line with his best friend.

"So, you and Pataki? Got any idea as to where you'll be taking her?" Gerald asked, while moving through the line with his best friend.

"Not really. I guess we could go out to dinner at Chez Paris." Arnold thought out loud, not noticing the crazy look on his friend's face.

"You do remember what happened the last time we were all there together don't you?"

"Well, do you have any ideas?" he asked, walking towards a table, on the opposite side of the room from the girls.

"Just take her to the movies. That way you can say you did something nice for her without actually having to talk to her." Gerald said wittingly.

"I want to be able to talk to her though." Arnold was beginning to grow a bit frustrated, having not yet told his friend about his moment with Helga.

"What for?"

"Never mind." Arnold sighed, knowing the only way his friend would understand would be to confess. Would it be worth humiliating Helga however? Why did he even care if it upset her? She wasn't his girlfriend. Whether or not he believed it, she had insisted she hated him. Why wouldn't she expect him to do something like that?

"Whatever you say Arnold."

Classroom

Having discussed things with Phoebe, Helga sat in her desk the rest of the afternoon, wondering what her date with her beloved would be like. Would they go out to eat, see a movie, shop together, stay at his place? Her mind was racing with thoughts.

When the bell rang, Arnold realized he had never told Helga when he would pick her up for her date. He didn't want to risk being scowled at by confronting her in front of everyone about it however.

After seeing her march past him with Phoebe, he stood in the hallway a moment, not caring to head for his locker. Gerald took one look at his frozen friend and said "Just because you're out of class doesn't mean you're home. You're going to have to move eventually."

"Huh? Oh I just needed to say something to Helga. I don't want to do it in front of all these people though."

"Not to disappoint you man, but this is a public atmosphere. You're not likely to have the place to yourself."

Rolling his eyes at the remark, Arnold sighed and said "I've got to go. I'll see ya later."

"Later."

"Shall we head over to my place to finish the assignment Helga?" Phoebe asked, knowing other things would be mentioned while they were there.

"I guess so." Helga sighed until she saw Arnold approaching. "Arnold!"

"Hey guys. Phoebe, could I talk to Helga alone?"

"Why certainly Arnold." Phoebe nodded her head, excited for her friend.

Helga nervously stood there, hoping he wouldn't bring up anything pertaining to her confession.

As Arnold began to rub his neck, he said "I uhh realized I never told you what time I'd be picking you up tomorrow."

"Oh right." Helga said, as she began to feel herself shaking…

Criminy! Hurry up so we can get out of here before we get caught speaking to each other!

"Is noon okay? Maybe we could have lunch somewhere." he asked, not sure of what her schedule would be like.

"Umm sure." she gulped heavily, anxious to end the conversation.

"Great. See you tomorrow."

Seeing her best friend still standing nervously there after Arnold walked away, Phoebe returned and said "Is everything alright Helga?"

"Uhh yeah. Let's go." she insisted.

Boarding House

After having left Gerald to walk home alone, this gave Arnold time to be alone with his thoughts. Where was he planning to take Helga for lunch? More important, what was he going to say to her when they went? He couldn't just be so blunt as to say "I know you were serious when you said everything to me that night we saved the neighborhood. You might as well just admit it."

Even if he did have the guts to do such a thing, this was Helga. Helga - G. - Pataki! How easily would she admit to it?

Once Arnold opened the door and watched the stream of pets pour past, he entered the kitchen to see Phil reading his paper.

"Hey there shortman!"

"Hey grandpa." Arnold sighed, taking a seat at the table.

"Oohh bad day?" Phil asked.

"I asked a girl out and I'm just wondering what to do for the date." Arnold said, propping his head in both his hands.

"Is it your little friend with the big pink boy and the one eyebrow?"

Arnold couldn't help but roll his eyes. Phil had been saying for years Helga liked him. Now here was his chance to gloat.

"Yeah, it's her."

"Haha what'd I tell ya shortman!"

"I don't know what I'm supposed to do? She told me she loves me and started blurting out all these crazy things she's done in the past. Then we were both so nervous, I basically told her to just forget about it. I haven't been able to though."

"Why the heck would you tell her to forget about it?! She finally unloads her feelings and you just try shovin' 'em back inside her? Some therapist you'd be." Phil said, seeing Arnold roll his eyes yet again.

"I'm really stuck grandpa. If I tell her I know how she really feels, I know she won't admit to it."

"Not after the first way you handled it." Phil said wittingly.

"Grandpa…"

"Arnold, did I ever tell you about the day your grandma first told me she loved me?"

"No?"

"That's probably because she never said it. I had to MAKE her say it." Phil replied as Arnold eagerly listened.

"What did you do?"

"After our first few weeks going out, she was still mean as could be. I knew she had to have some sort of feelings for me though. Why the heck would she keep going out with me if she didn't? Any who... One night I was supposed to pick her up for dinner. When I went to pick her up, she was in one of her usual cranky moods. I listened to her complain about how terrible the restaurant was until finally I said…'I think we should see other people.'"

Arnold's eyes lit up as he asked "What did she say?"

"Her eyes grew the same size yours just did. She stood from her chair and screamed 'Fine!' Before she could go, I asked 'Is that really what you want?' Took some doing but I eventually got her to admit that was the last thing she wanted."

As Arnold sat, thinking about how this would relate to him and Helga, he listened to Phil add "Just remember shortman, not everyone's upfront with their feelings. At least not their sensitive ones. Hehe."

Phoebe's House

"What do you suppose you'll be wearing Helga?" Phoebe asked anxiously. Although she knew her friend was nervous, she found this to be just as exciting as Helga did frightening.

Sitting against the bed with her legs pulled to her chest, Helga nervously ran her finger across the floor as she said "I don't know Pheebs. He's got to be up to something."

"What do you mean?"

"Think about it Pheebs! He was the one who said this should just be 'the heat of the moment.' Now here he is asking me out pretending to thank me. He must just be trying to freak me out as badly as I did him that night."

"I don't see Arnold as being the vindictive type. If I'm recalling correctly, one of the many things you love about him is his ability to turn the other cheek on people's hostile behavior towards him." Phoebe reminded her friend as they sat in her room together.

Helga glanced over to smile weakly at her friend and said "Thanks Pheebs."

Arnold's Room

Later that evening, as Arnold was preparing for bed, he was still having trouble deciding exactly how he would address the topic he had planned his date with Helga for. It was going to be awkward enough going on a date with her. Even going out in a group of friends had never seemed that normal. Dinner at Chez Paris for instance. It was highly unusual seeing her act so sophisticated.

Thoughts raced through his mind as he once again thought about the things she had said to him on FTi…

When did she stalk me? Stalking means to follow someone without them knowing about it. I guess that might explain why she was on my fire escape that night? Maybe that parrot I found was hers? That would explain why she tried swinging her umbrella at it. If that locket I found was hers, it would explain why it was missing when the lights went out downstairs. I do bump into her a lot….

Arnold sat up to shake his head as he thought out loud to himself "I must be crazy. There's no way any of that is true."

Despite how scattered his mind was, Arnold did eventually drift off to sleep.

Helga's House

While Arnold's mind had been able to be put to rest, Helga's was nowhere near there. She sat in her closet, gazing at the recent shrine she had made of her beloved as she said to him…

Oh Arnold! What horrendous condition has my lucid tongue lead us to? Shall I stand by your side tomorrow, willing to hear the words of which you speak. Or shall I spare you the chance of another misguided confession?