It was a Monday afternoon. Arnold and Helga were in Arnold's room at his house. They didn't have a project to do together this time, but were hanging out at his house for a study date, just doing some homework together.

Since Arnold had moved back home from San Lorenzo for his last year of school and got back together with Helga, the two of them hung out together after school almost everyday and did their homework together, whether or not they were doing a partnered project.

Though they got together for these kinds of dates at both of their houses, they usually did it at Arnold's house. Things had slightly improved at home for Helga over the years, but she still preferred being with Arnold at his house with his family, as they all treated her more like family (despite their eccentricities) and were very welcoming to her.

At this moment, Arnold was typing away on his laptop, and Helga was lying on his bed, with her head on his pillow and hands behind her head. She also had her legs placed on the bed in a sit-up position (with her knees bent) and the old gray beanie she often wore was lying beside her.

As she stared up at the skylights on Arnold's ceiling, Helga smiled with a half-lidded expression on her face, feeling so happy right now regarding her relationship with Arnold. She was happy when she and Arnold became a couple in their childhood, as it was the lifelong wish that had finally been granted to her. However, they broke up after a few years and then Arnold moved away with his parents shortly before beginning high school.

But he returned before what would be his last year of high school, and he and Helga made up and both admitted they still loved each other after all that time. They got back together and vowed never to split up again. They had come to realize how much they were meant for each other, more so than when Arnold first realized it when they were kids.

In all, Arnold and Helga were inseparable.

Within the first few days of school, Arnold had caught the eyes of many girls in their grade and even younger ones. They thought he had grown into quite a hottie and still considered him the nicest guy around, which only made Helga jealous.

While their childhood classmates knew that Arnold and Helga had hooked up again, Helga decided to give Arnold hickeys, something she had always wanted to do, so that the other girls would know that Arnold belonged to someone, and not get any ideas.

Arnold's family had discovered the hickeys, but just teased Arnold about it. Helga's family did not discover, and the couple planned to keep it that way, as they were especially afraid they might jump to wrong conclusions, especially her father. When their friends saw the hickeys on Arnold's neck, they knew right away that they had come from Helga, and they didn't make a big deal of it, but they still teased the couple a little.

But Helga's idea had worked because the girls that often starred at Arnold or tried to casually talk to him before stopped following him after that event, because they saw the hickeys on his neck, and they were clear proof that Arnold was involved with someone and they immediately decided to back off, especially when they discovered that Helga was his girlfriend.

It had now been a few weeks since school began and when Helga had given Arnold hickeys, which were now healed and gone from his neck. The couple was now one of the most notable couples in their high school. They weren't exactly the most popular kids at school, but everyone knew who they were and that they were going together.

Needless to say, Helga was pleased, not only because her idea worked, but because she was with Arnold again and knew no one, especially other girls, would come between them by now.


As she thought about everything that went on with them in their pasts, Helga had become so lost in her thoughts that she almost didn't hear Arnold as he looked up from his laptop and asked her, "So, got any costume ideas for Rhonda's Halloween party on Saturday?"

Like Arnold said, their childhood classmate Rhonda Lloyd was having a Halloween party that coming Saturday. Even today, Rhonda still held many parties at her house that were the normal get-togethers for them and all of their friends. They had been invited to the party early last week, and Arnold was stumped on ideas for costumes. But since he and Helga were going together again, they had agreed that they would wear matching costumes or costumes that showed they were a romantic couple.

Still gazing up at the ceiling, Helga put a thinking expression on her face. "Hmm…" After a few moments, she was wearing a sneaky expression and wicked grin on her face as a certain childhood memory came to her mind. "Oooh, I've got a few ideas…"

"You do?"

"Oh, yes, Arnold…darling," she spoke in a seductive way and sat up as she continued grinning.

Darling? Arnold thought quizzically as he wore a puzzled look on his face. I haven't heard her call me that since her confession on the FTi rooftop. He suddenly froze as he realized the tone in which she spoke after saying that word, thinking she must have an idea that he wouldn't like, especially if she had one that dealt with teasing him.

He turned around and looked at Helga, who was still grinning! His face became suspicious. "I don't like that look on your face. So whatever you're thinking, I bet I'm not gonna like it."

Helga stopped grinning and replaced it with a devious smirk. "Well, do you remember back in fourth grade when you and the other boys were part of that synchronized swimming match and you wore those skimpy cowboy outfits?"

Keeping the suspicious look on his face, Arnold slowly answered, "Yeah…"

Helga rubbed her hands together eagerly as the grin returned to her face. "Well, I was thinking that our costumes could be…"


Sometime later, Arnold and Helga were clothed in outfits that were the costume idea Helga had, and it turned out that she had this idea for a while, having the clothes in her backpack, and had only pretended to be thinking of an idea earlier to avoid having Arnold suspect something.

Helga's "idea" was this: she would go as a cowgirl while Arnold was a cowboy. She had been inspired by, as she had said earlier, the event of when Arnold had been in a synchronized swimming match with all the other boys in fourth grade. Their costumes consisted of only a pair of brown cowboy boots, a brown swim trunk that looked more like underwear and had a gold star located in the front, a brown oversized cowboy hat, and a red bandana tied around the neck. The outfits, like Helga had said, were very skimpy and showed off a lot of the boys' bare skin.

Here in the present, Arnold was now wearing an oversized version of the entire costume, and all of the spikes in his hair were now pointing down, like they did when his hair was wet.

Helga was wearing a sleeveless, dress-like outfit that fell a few inches above her knees and had fringes on the bottom. It was tan in color and had a dark brown stripe around the midsection. She had a white cowgirl hat on her head with a pink stripe around the centerpiece, complete with a little pink bow facing the front. She also had on white boots that were pink on the bottom and had pink linings at the top. Lastly, she wore her pink bow around her neck as a choker, with the tied part located in the back of her neck.

After standing back and taking a good look at Arnold, Helga came to stand beside him. She lifted up her left leg, clasped her hands together as stretched her arms out, and looked down at his crotch, with her whole face lighting up in eagerness as she smiled widely and cried out in her happiest tone: "YES!"

Arnold, on the other hand, wore a half-lidded look on his face that only showed dismay. He had only word to say about this, and that was the opposite of what Helga just said. In his flattest tone, Arnold finally said his one-word answer: "No."

Once he said that, Helga's face instantly fell and her arms dropped down to her sides as she put her leg down. But then she lightly slapped Arnold's shoulder and smirked at him. "Awww, come on, football head! Where's your sense of fun and humor?"

Arnold just glared at her. "You think this is funny, don't you? I guess you haven't changed much in the case of the practical jokes and pranks. That's still your way of having fun. You're so clever and not easily fooled." But then his face began to lift as he smiled a little. "But that's part of why I love you."

"And your denseness shows how gullible and easy to mess with you are, hair boy!" Helga remarked, then she began to smile again. "But that's why I love you, too."

Thinking quickly, Arnold grabbed Helga's cheeks, surprising her just then, and he brought her close to him, kissing her deeply and passionately right on the lips. When they broke apart, Helga was too stunned to say anything at the moment.

Smirking at her, while also stroking her cheeks, Arnold said, "So much for how dense I can be! Did you know I was gonna do that?"

Still lost from the moment that had just passed, Helga just looked at Arnold with a slightly surprised and puzzled expression. "Huh?"

Letting go of her, Arnold decided to get back on the subject of their costumes. "Now, come on, seriously, was this really your costume idea?"

Helga, who was now back to normal, just scoffed. "Of course not, Arnoldo! Do you really think I would want us to dress in skimpy outfits for a costume party where everyone can see them and tease us?"

Arnold let out a sigh of relief. "So then why'd you go to the trouble to do this?"

Helga just looked at him, wondering why he didn't get it by then. "Why'd you think? I just wanted to find some other way to tease you and play with your head, and wearing an oversized version of your old swimming competition swimsuit definitely takes the cake, especially now that we're older and things like this can be a bit more…interesting." She smirked lightly and crossed her arms. "Besides, the way we look at each other like this should only be for our eyes. Just like a few weeks ago after we finished our history project…"

Arnold smiled with a half-lidded gaze on his face as he remembered the private time they had after doing their history project together at the boarding house. He walked over to Helga, placing his hands on her shoulders as he gently caressed them, then snaked them around her waist. "Mmm, well, maybe we should do things like this more often, especially if it's private stuff for us only."

"Now you're finally talking my language." Helga giggled, then looped her arms around Arnold's neck as they both leaned forward and kissed each other softly and gently, but still holding passion and love in it. When they finally pulled apart, Arnold looked at Helga as they continued to hold each other.

"So what did you really have in mind for costumes?"

"Just more appropriate versions of these costumes, football head. We'll still go as a cowboy and a cowgirl. I had the idea for a while, but I thought I would tease you with some inappropriate versions of the costumes, especially since I remembered your old synchronized swimming match." Then she shrugged. "I just couldn't resist teasing you about it, now that we're older. But this was just my idea of our private costume fun." She caressed his bare chest a little, then lightly jabbed his shoulder. "Come on, admit it, it was a good idea!"

Arnold just smiled as he shook his head and rolled his eyes. "Well, now that I'm relieved that this wasn't the idea to wear to the party, then yeah, I guess I can say that you had a good idea here in teasing me."

"Yeah, you should have seen the look on your face when you said 'No.'" She mocked his face when she said the last word, then returned her face to normal. "It was funny."

"Well, you should have seen the look on your face after that deep kiss I gave you. How's that for tops?"

"Touché, hair boy!" She pointed her finger at him, then brought it up to trace his lips. "You really are way too easy to mess with, which is why I love to tease you." Then she smiled sweetly at him. "But like I said, that's also how I have fun with you, because I love you."

Arnold smiled back at her. "I love you, too, angel." Then he gently pulled her into his embrace as they kissed again, all while holding each other in the same places as before.

"Now what do you say we try to put together the outfits for the real costumes for Saturday's party?" Arnold asked after they separated.

"Fine by me, Arnold, my darling…"

"Darling" again, Arnold thought, then he lightly smiled. She's still so devious and sometimes unpredictable, but that's all why I love her. And I'm always gonna love her.


Hello friends and reviewers! Here is the story I wrote centered on another work by limey, this one, limey404 . deviantart art / the - best - giddup - evarr - 162191262. (I can't help it; I love her works so much that I wanted to write these stories! :)) I thought I would do it in time for Halloween since Arnold mentions a Halloween costume party at Rhonda's in the artwork. And Halloween is one of my favorite holidays, so I thought it would be fun to do a Halloween story featuring Arnold and Helga.

Hope you like the story and please remember the disclaimer by now.

Special thanks goes to my friend Cassandra (NintendoGal55) for coming up with the idea that Helga and Arnold dressed in those skimpy was just their "private" costume fun. I mean, come on, it makes sense. Do you really think Helga would want them both to dress up like that in front of the others and want them to see Arnold in a spot that would/should be only for her eyes, at least to her? Heck, why do you think she gave him hickeys in the other stories? ;)

Oops, almost forgot: I hope all of you have a Happy Halloween! :D