A/N:

NintendoGal55: Hello and welcome back everyone! :D Now our heroes are stuck in the elevator! Oh NO! Whatever shall they do? Well, read and find out in this story!

Azure129: Hi guys! Oh boy-post confession Arnold&Helga locked in a small space with nothing to do but talk-you know that's like my favorite scenario for this series, right? Hope you guys like how they start trying to cope! Please R&R!

Disclaimer: Hey Arnold is the property of Craig Bartlett, Nickelodeon and Viacom. So support the official release and stuff. ...Man come on, why do we even need to state the disclaimer? We'd have to be high on sugar, crack and TCP if we thought we owned HA!/Me owning HA! is about as likely as Stinky being a vampire...o, er,NOT being a vampire...That ep ended a little ambiguously didn't it? Anyway, point is that I DO NOT own the show!

HAHAHAHAAHAHA

...

"HEY! LET US OUT! OPEN THE DOORS!"

"HELP US!"

For what seemed like hours, they pounded their fists against the elevator doors, seemingly unheard by the outside world. Somehow they didn't notice the "Out Of Order" sign posted near the elevator, and as a result, faced its malfunction of getting stuck between the first and second floor. And no one seemed to hear their cries for help.

Arnold stopped pounding on the doors since his hands were beginning to hurt, and went over to the key pad, trying out the emergency phone. Holding it to his ear, and clicking on the hang-up pad, he was dismayed to find that the phone was also dead.

"LET US OUT DARN IT! I SAID LET US OUT! HELLO? CAN YOU NOT HEAR US OUT THERE? WE'RE TRAPPED IN HERE AND WE'RE GOING TO DIE!" Helga yelled, still pounding on the doors.

"Helga." Arnold said, trying to get her attention.

"WE'RE GOING TO DIE IN HERE IF YOU PEOPLE DON'T GET A MOVE ON AND GET US OUT!"

"Helga!"

"THE WALLS ARE CLOSING IN! THE AIR IS ESCAPING FAST! LET US OUT ALREADY!"

"Helga!"

"WHAT ARE YOU PEOPLE DEAF? LET US OUT!"

"HELGA!"

"WHAT!" Helga scowled toward him.

Arnold blinked, a little surprised at her finally turning around, but quickly regained himself and recalled what he had to say. "Helga…um, I know that being trapped here is kind of…unexpected… but don't you think you're getting a little…carried away?"

Helga blinked and swallowed and instantly shot back in an obviously nervous voice, "I don't know what you're talking about!"

Arnold just sighed at this reply and leaned against one of the walls of the elevator…actually kind of trying hard not to smile to himself at this point at her slightly overdramatic hysterics. "Well, no matter what you think I don't think we're going to DIE in here, Helga. I'm sure some night janitors or a watchman or something will probably come by and notice there's a problem. And if worse did come to worse, people come to open up the stores and the mall itself pretty early so the longest we'd have to be in here is overnight. And as for air well…" he jerked his thumb up toward a corner of the ceiling, "There's a vent right there so we can't suffocate. And as for everyone 'being deaf', I think the problem is just that we're trapped between two floors along with the fact that people are leaving for the day so it makes sense that no one can hear us right now." He then let out a breath and sat calmly down on the floor, and smiled at her. "We should just wait here for someone to find us, or at least wait until later to try pounding on the door again. It's just a waste of energy to keep at it now."

The argument was sound. The argument was logical. Yet it did little to calm Helga though she tried to act like she'd accepted his more than sensible points. She swallowed and stepped to the side and then back, all the while keeping her gaze on him with wide eyes. "Uh…okay…I-I mean, yeah, that…that makes sense, Arno—Football Head. We just…" she tugged at her collar, "We just wait." And then she sat upon the floor, pulling her legs close and doing her best to look 'very' interested in some of the scuffs on the floor right near her.

In point of fact, Helga hadn't really been panicked at the idea of actually 'dying in an elevator' (well…not MUCH, at least) so much at the reality hitting her that this wasn't going to be some ten second 'slightly awkward' elevator ride with Arnold, who she could then avoid talking to one-on-one like the plague for the rest of their lives if she felt like it. This was…indefinite. She was trapped in a small room with Arnold…for who knew how long. 'Okay, okay…' she tried to reassure herself, 'Just stick with silence and insults. It's never taken more than a few well-placed jabs to get Arnold to leave you alone. It's fine, it's okay…Heck, he'd probably be more than happy to not start up a conversation with someone who's bullied him since preschool—"

"You know…it was really nice of you to do what you did for Phoebe back in that store, Helga…"

"Huh?" She blinked and started, coming out of her panicked thoughts.

Arnold blinked at the strange response but chalked it up to her still feeling a little panicked about the broken elevator and cleared his throat, clarifying. "How you made her feel good about the dress and then let her go off with Gerald like that. It was a…nice thing to do." And honestly Arnold hadn't been able to be help but feeling just a little stuck on these two actions…and how they had reminded him of something he'd always felt: that Helga wasn't so bad deep down. Right now, though, he couldn't help but note a slight warmth threatening to creep into his cheeks as a parallel thought suddenly popped into his head. 'But deep down she also…about me…' Once again his thoughts on the matter shut down. He was going to be in here with her for a while and the last thing he needed was to be unable to even make eye contact with her thanks to his embarrassmet. 'Besides, talking like this might get her mind off of being trapped, and also…well…' And also, well…Arnold was kind of hoping that if he could be the one leading the conversation that he could make them avoid talking about the whole April Fools thing. As to the OTHER major thing that there was to avoid, he certainly had no desire to go into it, let alone here and now, and with how Helga had been acting ever since FTi, she didn't seem too keen on the idea of 'elaborating' either.

"Oh…" Helga's somewhat surprised sounding 'Oh' brought Arnold out of his contemplations, and made him bring his eyes to her again…and he had to squint just for a moment as it almost seemed like…was she blushing just slightly? "Well, um…I mean…" he watched as she swallowed and glanced down nervously, then took a deep breath and did her best to resume at least a weak scowl as she looked back to him, "Well don't start thinking I'm becoming some kind of Mr. Goodie Two Shoes like YOU or anything! I only did those things because…um…"

She hesitated and the interesting thought couldn't help but occur to him, 'Is she…trying to come up with an excuse…just for being nice?'

"…Well, I told Phoebe that dress looked great on her because it DOES! Your best friend even said so! And as for going along with this little impromptu Gerald/Phoebe date, that was only because you suddenly railroaded my best friend away from me and it was either go with it or look like a self-centered jerk!" she finally finished, crossing her arms over her chest and turning away from him with a darker scowl. "Crimeny—I'm having a semi-decent time at the mall and then you have to come along and ruin it with your butting in and your loopy date ideas and your…your…Football Headed-ness!" Yes, it was a lame finish but he HAD caught her a little off guard there with that compliment about her being 'nice.' And nice led to interesting and interesting led to secretive and secretive led right to 'Arnold I love you, I've always loved you!' It was a slippery slope in other words and she was NOT about to take the first step down it now!

As she finished her well-chosen response she just heard Arnold sigh and mumble in his usual complacent voice, "Whatever you say, Helga…" Glancing at him out of the corner of her eye, she could see a small smile on his face…and he seemed to be glancing down as though in thought or a daydream.

She allowed her gaze to remain on him…

…And felt her nervousness building as the small smile remained…and then grew a little…and then this strange look came into his eyes…and then even a slight chuckle escaped him. He was daydreaming about something and though Helga could have no idea what it was somehow it made her uneasy. She couldn't help but feel like it was something about her—about what she'd just said (or maybe something she'd once done…not too many weeks ago), and somehow him being off in his own little world about it couldn't help but make her feel just a little defensive and vulnerable.

"Hey, paste for brains! Take a picture, it'll last longer! And quit looking like such a moron! Crimeny!"

Her words seemed to snap him out of something and his eyes instantly looked up and…was he…blushing?

Helga couldn't help involuntarily pulling her legs just a little closer to her body and eyeing him cautiously. 'Okay I don't know what's up with him or how the heck we're ever going to get out of here but one thing's for sure-this whole situation is just a powder keg waiting to blow!'

"Oh, um...sorry, Helga, I was just..." Arnold swallowed, trying to gather his words.

"Just what? What are you gawking at? That's pretty bad, when even give Helga G. Pataki the creeps. So what's with you? Jeez, I forgot I had 'Please Stare At Me' plastered across my forehead. Yeah, thank you so much. Did you forget how I said that it's not polite to stare? I mean really Arnoldo, I didn't think you actually had an edge of actual bad manners!"

What she said only seemed to make his blush seem to make itself more prominent, now causing Helga to raise one side of her eyebrow. Just what was going on in that football-shaped head of his?

"Sorry Helga," He apologized once more, getting her attention. "I was just thinking of something, and I was a little lost in thought."

"Mmm...something like what?" Helga questioned, now disobeying her earlier command to keep silent and jab insults if needed.

Sure, sometimes even Arnold was a little elusive to what he was thinking about, but she guessed that it usually was because it was about her, and knew that she knew it wouldn't result well. Even if he was pretty much right nine times out of ten about her, a lot more than she was willing to outwardly admit. Another reason was, because hey, even he had to have his own set of private secrets he wasn't quite willing to share. Understandable, he was human. Everyone had secrets.

But it didn't stop her from being curious. Even if right now was definitely not the best situation, being trapped in an elevator with little to no way out for a few hours or worse, overnight, and most of all, just some time, a few weeks, after she finally revealed the truth of her feelings to him. So basically, she was trapped, with no way out, no way to hide, other than with silence, with the one boy she loved and still loved, who knew how she felt.

The Gods of Irony were probably having a field day with this one.

It wasn't the best time, but on a brighter note, as Arnold would likely say even in a case like this, at least no one was around to hear them or see them. Not until they were discovered by a janitor or watchman, or an employee either tonight or the next morning.

Wait.

That particular factor seemed to make Helga's blood run cold. It was a perfect situation. No one was around to hear or see them, especially no one they knew. They were alone in an uninterrupted place, and neither of them would be able to hide or run off. Her only defence would be to stay silent, and even that wasn't very effective, not like this.

If Arnold caught on to this, and she was sure he would, he would have full advantage and have her cornered, even more so than he did back on the rooftop of the FTi building when he confronted her about being Deep Voice and why she was helping him over material gain.

Helga was trapped. A lot more than she was willing to admit.

This was bad.

"Never mind, I'm sorry." Arnold said, snapping her out of her reverie. He decided, despite that he was an honest person and didn't like to hide things from others, unless the circumstances were different, not to tell her what he was thinking about. He was walking on egg shells around her enough as it is, and the last thing he wanted to do was to make their current funk, being trapped in an elevator for who-knows-how-long, with nowhere to run or hide, even more awkward than it already was.

No, he had to keep it low for now.

Before he could wave it off further, realization struck him like lightning and he looked at her, a lightbulb going off in his head. "Wait a second. Helga, the mall is closing soon, so then that means Gerald and Phoebe might head home soon."

"Gosh Arnoldo, I had no idea they would do that. I thought for sure they would camp out in the parking lot under the stars." Helga said dryly, rolling her eyes.

As much as he ignored her dry remark, he couldn't help but find himself wanting to laugh a little at her witty sarcasm, but now was not the time. "Actually, what I mean is, Gerald will try to call me, and/or Phoebe will try to call you. But we won't be home, right?" Before she could answer, he went on. "So, this might confuse them a bit, and maybe not for long, but as it gets later, and considering the mall will be long closed by then, and we haven't shown up at home yet for dinner, and hadn't contacted anyone on top of that, they might get worried."

"And then send out an epic search party, and suddenly see we're at the mall trapped in one of the elevators? Real smart, football head. And just another reminder how you should have arranged to meet with Geraldo after this was over, so that they'd find out AHEAD of time that we're missing."

Realizing what she was saying, Arnold gave a sigh and nodded. She was right. And yet, to be fair, he hadn't known that this would happen, and he DID want to give his best friend a little more time with Phoebe, but maybe he should have...

Shaking his head, there was nothing either of them could do about that now. They just had to wait and see if their respective best friends, his grandparents and her parents, would soon come to see something fishy going on with their absence and no contact.

"Whoa! Hold the phone." Helga stood up then, catching Arnold's attention. She pointed her finger upward to the ceiling, toward the emergency escape hatch. "I think I just found our ticket out of here."

"Through the emergency escape hatch?" Arnold asked, standing up too. He hesitated upon seeing the distance of the height from the floor to the ceiling of the elevator. "I don't know, it's really high up."

"Um, hello? That's what we're going to do about it! You're going to climb onto my shoulders, since I'm a lot taller than you of course, and you're going to reach for the escape hatch." She then cut him off before he could say anything. "And NO, relax, football head, I'm not going to let you fall. Jeez, I want to get out of here, we can save the good stuff for later. So go on, get onto my shoulders." She crouched down so that he could get up on her.

"Um...are you sure, Helga?" Arnold looked at her with uncertainty.

"YES, I'm sure, otherwise I wouldn't have suggested it in the first place! Now get up on my shoulders, slow poke! We could be out of here by now!"

"Whatever you say, Helga." Arnold nervously stepped toward her.

"Darn right, whatever I say. Now hurry up, football head!"

Carefully, Arnold managed to step up onto her shoulders, feeling her thin frame tremble under his weight, but still holding strong. She started to slowly stand up, and he placed his hand on the nearby wall to help achieve balance and not fall. He looked up at the ceiling, seeing the height increase as she stood more tall.

"Jeez you're heavy, Arnoldo! Maybe it's time you cut down on your ice cream intake." Helga quipped dryly, gripping his ankles to support him. She tried to stand straight, but his added full weight on her shoulders wasn't helping, and caused her to sway a little. "C'mon, hurry up!"

"I...I can't reach it!" Arnold uttered, reaching up as far as his arm could go up toward the escape hatch, struggling to reach further up, but with no success. He wasn't even an eighth of the way close to reaching it.

"What? Oh come ON! You have got to be kidding me! Reach up higher, football head!"

"I'm trying, Helga! But I can't reach it! Neither of us are tall enough, even put together."

Arnold continued struggling a bit to reach the hatch, not really seeing the point but wanting to at least try a little bit more to humor the grumpy girl below him. And at the same time, well…he was also kind of enjoying the distraction from that little moment before of her catching him looking off into the distance at her like that.

Not that Arnold had been daydreaming about anything that embarrassing…in fact he wasn't even sure why he'd refused to tell her what it was. 'I guess I just…didn't want to upset her anymore… She seems kind of…on edge.' Then again, though, he had to admit to himself that maybe at least part of his reason for keeping quiet had been for himself… After all, he HAD been thinking of all the times in the past when he'd tried to point out something decent Helga had done only to have her deny it and yell something sarcastic and defensive back at him…and realizing with amusement that she might have said all of those things not because she meant them but because she was trying to excuse the fact that she really was a nice person. He hadn't even been able to imagine the biting insult she would have shot at him if she'd found out he'd been thinking something like that…

…And then, more than a little lost in his thoughts, he might have also started drifting off into the idea of what it would be like if Helga was just…nice all the time. If all those decent, caring things he caught her doing every once in a while weren't covered up with anger and insults that she probably didn't mean anyway…If she'd quit being so silly about everything and just…

"Hey, Football, Head! You taking a nap up there or did hunger and the slowly dwindling oxygen supply in this stupid elevator finally short out that football brain of yours!"

Arnold instantly blinked and realized that, unbeknownst to the girl below him, he had just been doing it again... He'd been thinking about her. And the result was that he had all but completely stopped trying for the emergency hatch at this point.

"Arnold, you who—anybody home?" came her sarcastic voice again from below.

Arnold sighed and closed his eyes for a moment, and then shook his head and cleared his throat. "Sorry, Helga. My, um…my arms were just a little tired…" He then reached up once more just to humor her…and considered why he had once again lied to her…and why in the world he was finding the idea of Helga G. Pataki being nice so interesting…and also, maybe, trying to avoid the fact that it probably had something to do with the last time he'd truly seen her being nice…'nicer' than he'd certainly ever thought she could be. He swallowed hard, pushing the specifics of the memory away yet again. 'I…I really hope we get out of here soon. Or that she keeps coming up with ideas to get out of here that we can try…' He tried his best to think that he wanted this to happen in order to increase their chances of escaping this elevator as soon as possible, and to maybe give Helga an outlet for her anger about him. However, the fact that it would also mean much less of a chance of finding her suddenly grabbing him and shoving him against a wall while she confessed for a second time her undying lo…lo…love (he'd been having a little trouble with that word) for him was a consequence he was NOT unaware of…

"It figures I had to get stuck in here with the shrimpiest guy imaginable, otherwise we could probably be out of here by now!"

Arnold let out another (and much more annoyed sounding, this time) sigh at the freshest insult to meet his ears. He made another reach, shaking his head to clear it of his former thoughts. 'Yeah right…Helga acting nice all the time…What was I thinking…' "Helga, it's just too high for two kids. We need something else to stand on…"

He heard her scoff. "Oh yeah, let me just grab some of those conveniently placed boxes in the corner or the ladder I've had in my back pocket this whole time!"

He rolled his eyes, giving one final reach up as high as he could. "Yes, Helga…" he said in a dry voice, starting to get a little annoyed with her hyper-defensiveness, "I know we don't exactly have any stilts anything…But I'm just saying that we can't make it up there without something like that." 'Why can't she just accept that we're trapped in here and make the best of trying to get out like I'M trying to do? How is yelling at me going to make things any better…' He continued looking toward the hatch, glancing to the side as he now tried to see if there was anything on the wall he could maybe get a grip on to climb up there a little.

A second of silence passed.

"S-stilts…?"

Arnold had to completely pause in his endeavors now and raise an eyebrow at this single word to come from below…because since when did Helga Pataki ever sound…nervous. "Helga, are you oka—WHOA!"

CRASH!

"OOF!"

"ARNOLD!"

Silence reigned for several seconds as both kids took in what had just happened…and what was happening now.

Because it seemed Helga, for 'some reason' had suddenly fallen (or collapsed might have been a better word considering the fact that, unbeknownst to Arnold, her knees had indeed gone weak and basically given out from under her)…and her being Arnold's support had caused him to come crashing down to the floor as well.

Helga's sudden exclamation (or rather scream) of Arnold's name, by the way, had come from the fact that upon opening her eyes from this sudden fall, Helga had found herself staring directly into her beloved's…as she was currently on top of him.

"Helga?" She watched in panic as Arnold shook his head for a second and opened his eyes…and then froze up completely as he obviously suddenly took in the fact that he was directly underneath her. Her blue eyes watched his green eyes go wide.

'Oh…oh boy… He's gonna say something…' Helga felt the panic setting in. 'Oh…darn it, why did he have to say 'stilts'?' She couldn't help but recall how her Deep Voice costume had indeed relied upon stilts heavily… making it so that, in her already nervous state while holding up her beloved before, she hadn't been able to help sort of spazzing when that word had suddenly hit her ears. 'And how much do you want to bet that means at most he's been going over every intimate detail of my confession in his head this entire time, and at least he's got it on his subconscious like crazy? And now we're…' She really had to try not to whimper in fear…after all her heart was pounding like crazy…and her heart was also right against his heart…. What if he could feel it? He…he was going to say something…she just knew it…and the possibility was almost paralysing her in fear.

"Are you…okay, Helga?"

She blinked and came out of her personal panic at these words from Arnold (who had taken a deep breath before finally managing to speak them in a quite sincere (if not quiet) voice).

Still feeling quite panicked, Helga hesitated for a moment…and then could only nod her head, still looking wide eyed at him. 'I…I can't speak…not when I'm…laying on top of him! I'll end up screaming that I love him and kissing him and never letting him go! I'll—'

"Oh…good."

Arnold's voice made her breath catch in her throat and her eyes lock back fully onto his, her thoughts cutting off.

"Well, then…" And then to her COMPLETE and UTTER shock…he actually kind of smiled and continued with, "Could you move off of me…and then maybe we can come up with another way of getting out?"

At a total loss as to how to respond to the fact that rather than passing out or freaking out or screaming in panic at her to get off of him (considering how nuts she'd acted the last time they had been so close), her beloved was…kind of half grinning, and sounding quite calm indeed. She merely swallowed and slowly managed to shift herself off and to the side of Arnold in response to his request (looking completely away from him and feeling herself blushing like crazy). 'I cannot believe I just let myself get frozen while I was on top of him. If there was ONE thing I should NOT have done if I wanted to keep the conversation away from my confession, it was THAT!' She took several breaths, trying to calm herself… and then another thought occurred to her. 'But why the heck did he SMILE of all things?'

Getting back a bit more of her courage, she glanced to the side to check up on her beloved. Now, though (and once again to her interest) he was just sitting there, straightening his sweater a little and (kind of obviously) not making eye contact with her as well. And she was fairly certain (and she gulped at this fact) that once again there was just a trace of a blush in his features.

'What the heck is up with him?'

Meanwhile, as Arnold regained himself, blushing considerably at the close contact they'd had just moments ago, he tried not to look at her, since he knew that would lead to...whatever would happen. He had felt her heart beating, and boy he knew now that it was not just out of a rush of adrenaline or nervousness.

This was it, wasn't it. He was stuck in an elevator with no chance of getting out in the next little while. He was stuck in that said elevator with Helga G. Pataki.

Helga who tormented him on a daily basis.

Helga who was always hiding her true self beneath a rough and tough exterior.

Helga who was in love with him, and hiding it.

This wasn't going to end well, was it?

Just as Arnold regained himself, that was when Helga's voice interrupted his train of thought.

"So then Arnoldo, any other bright ideas lodged in that football-shaped head of yours?"

HAHAHAHAAHAHA

"Well, looks like we better get going there babe, the mall's closing in less then ten minutes now." Gerald said, looking at his watch.

Phoebe blinked, for once not having quite kept track of the time. She'd been having quite a nice time with Gerald in picking out his suit and some shoes. They had lucked out, finding a really nice three-piece tuxedo set that consisted of a black jacket, a dress shirt that was white but with a blue hue to it, black pants, and they had found him a new pair of matching black loafers that although were casual, worked just fine with the setup and were very comfortable. The suit contrasted well with her dress, as well as his perfect size, so it was all good to go. They were more than ready for the dance the next evening.

Now oblivious to the predicament of their respective best friends, the two of them headed out of the store together, holding their garment bags over their arms, and holding hands, as per usual.

"It looks to be that we lucked out." Phoebe remarked, smiling toward him. "That suit was indeed a perfect pick."

"You're tellin' me! I didn't think we'd find one like that, but you were right about looking around the back end there Phoebe, it was brilliant!" Gerald praised her.

Blushing, Phoebe giggled a little. "Thank you Gerald, I didn't think we would have to resort to searching that particular section, but I suppose that's where the term 'Diamond in the Rough' comes into play, don't you think?"

"Couldn't have said it better myself, babe." Said Gerald, and they walked past a row of payphones, where he paused. "I don't know about you, but it'll take quite a while lugging these things home like this. What say I call my Mom and have her come pick us up?" He searched his wallet, and saw he was out of quarters. "Um... heh heh... I hate to ask this babe, but would you mind lending me a quarter?"

"Oh, go ahead, Gerald. I want to give Helga a quick call before I head home anyway." Phoebe dug into her pocket and took out her wallet, taking out two quarters, handing one to Gerald.

"Thanks a ton." He grinned at her, making her blush, and then went to one of the pay phones to use.

Phoebe took the receiver of one of the other pay phones, dropping the quarter into the slot and dialling Helga's number.

"Hello! Pataki Residence, Award-winning teacher Olga Pataki speaking!" Came a bright, bubbly, cheerful voice on the other line.

Surprised by the sudden volume, Phoebe had to hold the phone away from her ear for a moment, taken aback slightly. Olga was in town? When did that happen? Granted, Helga didn't like talking about her sister much, but she never failed to mention she was in town. Most of the time, anyway.

Bringing the phone back, Phoebe cleared her throat and spoke into the mouthpiece to the older Pataki sister on the other line. "Hello Olga, this is Phoebe Heyerdahl speaking. May I please speak to Helga, if she came home by this time?"

"Helga?" Olga repeated, sounding genuinely puzzled. "Why, she didn't even come home yet, the silly goose! And it's almost dinner time! I was going to surprise her with my visit for the long weekend! Mummy told me that she had gone to the mall with you! Isn't she with you?"

Phoebe's eyes widened in alarm. "No, there was a change of plans some time ago. You mean she didn't come home? I would have thought she'd be home by now. Did she call?"

"Not even a phone call, no!" Now Olga sounded worried. "Why Phoebe, you don't suggest that something could have happened to her, do you?"

"Of course not Olga, not at all." Phoebe said quickly, though her voice was laced with uncertainty. But there had to be a perfectly logical explanation. Helga may have gone to the park, or maybe went to get ice cream, or just went somewhere else before heading home. Maybe Arnold was walking her home and she decided to purposely take the long way so she could walk with him longer.

Either way, she wasn't sure.

"I'm sure she may have just gone out somewhere before heading home." Phoebe added. "I'm still at the mall, and I will be heading home soon. Would you have her call me at my house when she gets in."

"Absolutely! I'll be sure to pass the message to Baby Sister when she walks in. Thank you for calling Phoebe, and have a lovely day! Toodles!"

"Goodbye Olga, and thank you." Phoebe said politely, and hung up the phone, just as Gerald did the same.

"All right, Mom said she'll be here in a few minutes. So we should go out front and wait for her to-" Gerald began, and then noticed Phoebe's worried look. "...Hey, what's wrong?"

"I just phoned Helga's home, and her sister answered the phone, saying that Helga hadn't gotten home yet, or had even called." Phoebe said, biting her lip. "Now I'm sure there's a perfectly logical explanation for this, she could just be out for a while before going home. However, I just have a funny feeling...I can't explain it properly."

"It ain't a funny feeling babe, you're just concerned for your best friend and because you don't quite know where she is, that ups it a little." Gerald assured her. "I wouldn't worry about it, like you always say, she's a strong gal. She'll be just fine. Wouldn't be surprised if my Saint of a best friend Arnold offered to walk her home." He chuckled at this. "Wouldn't be surprised."

Phoebe managed a little smile and giggled behind her hand. "I suppose you're right Gerald, I think it's just the uncertainty of where she is that is getting to me. I'm sure she may have just gone to the park or even the arcade, or had Arnold walk her home. Olga promised to have her call me at home when she arrived anyway."

"That's the spirit! C'mon, let's go outside and wait for my mom." Gerald took her hand again and lead her to the escalator leading to the ground floor.

Nodding, Phoebe followed along with him, feeling a little more at ease of the situation, but still a little puzzled. Was she right? Or...was there something else going on that she didn't know?

After all, a situation could go either way if you weren't sure.

HAHAHAHAAHAHA

Pretty much out of options by this point, Arnold and Helga sat on opposite sides of the elevator, each of them staring off into space or at the floor, walls, ceiling, anything but each other. This wasn't going well at all. It reminded Arnold of the time he and Eugene had been stuck on a roller coaster, and stuck in a tree.

Only now, he wasn't stuck with infamous jinx.

He was stuck with his own personal bully.

Once more, he concluded that this wasn't going to end well. If he upset her enough, he would have nowhere to run.

Meanwhile, Helga wasn't doing so well herself.

Though she had been reminding herself over and over ever since this elevator had broken down of the danger of this situation of being trapped with Arnold, at least there had been some hope before with pounding on the doors, and then trying the broken phone and then trying to get to the hatch that they might be able to get out of here…but there was really nothing they could do, was there? She was trapped with him. Really and truly trapped with him. Totally against her will. There was no way out of this small room. And if he said anything, ANYTHING about her secret…she really WOULDN'T be able to run and hide or brush it off… She'd have to sit there and hear him say anything he wanted to say…every horrible word about how he didn't feel the same way and how it just wouldn't work and how he'd still hope that they could be…ugh, 'friends'…even though he'd probably be thinking the whole time that if he never had to get near her and her creepy obsessiveness again it would be too soon!

Helga took a breath. 'Okay, okay, I know Arnold would never actually think something that mean but still…I wouldn't blame him if he did…For crying out loud I KISSED him on that building! What the heck was I thinking? I went and tossed him back and wrapped my arms around him and planted a fantasy kiss right on his mouth! Yeah, THAT'S not gonna make a guy run away in terror! Ugh, crimeny, I'm such a basketca—'

"Helga?"

"Huh?" she started, and then turned to him with wide eyes, taking a few deep, startled breaths. "Uh…what?" she finally managed lamely.

"Uh…" she watched as Arnold rubbed the back of his neck, glancing down a little nervously, "Well…I was just…thinking and…" He let out a breath and finally just said it, however unhappy it might make her. "I just don't think there's a way for us to get out of here…So maybe instead of trying anything else we really should just wait for Gerald and Phoebe to realize we're gone or for someone from the mall to find us in the morning. I know that might take a while but I think it's the safest thing we can do…I mean, at least we're fine right now but one of us could have really gotten hurt with that fall we just took and then things really would have been bad." And then he blinked, a thought coming to him…and kind of a weird feeling accompanying it. "You didn't get hurt or anything, did you, Helga?"

She blinked…and couldn't help the feeling of her heart practically stopping. The way he had asked what he'd just asked…it wasn't like some kind of formality. It was like he actually truly cared. She swallowed. "I…I'm fine, Arnold…" She was still feeling a little on edge to say the least. "Are…" she did her best to remind herself that they were indeed alone so it wasn't like anyone was going to hear her ask this, "Are you okay?"

Arnold blinked, not exactly having expected that question from her. He gave her a curious look, and then glanced down at himself just to double check. He looked back up at her. "Uh, yeah…I'm okay…" He had to half smile. "Thanks, Helga." And then he couldn't help that half smile sticking around as he realized that he was smiling again because he'd just recognized in her something that he'd recognized in her just for an instant not too many seconds ago when she'd fallen on him and he'd felt her heart beat like that. She liked him. Yes, getting away from the lo-love stuff for minute…she at the very least liked him and cared about him. So she really WAS a good person no matter how much she tried to hide it.

Arnold stood up and took the few steps toward her, and then held out his hand to her to help her up.

He watched with interest as she glanced, wide eyed, from him to his hand, then back to him and then back to his hand.

And then her familiar scowl returned. "Hey, who said I needed you to help me stand up? I told you, I'm fine, paste for brains, so go peddle your 'knight-in-shining-armor' shtick to some other 'damsel in distress'!" She scooched away from him and stood, dusting herself off and then crossing her arms over her chest, her scowl continuing.

At the sound of these words from her and her movement away from him, Arnold suddenly found himself blinking several times and actually putting a hand to his head, coming back to reality. 'But why…why do I even care that she likes me…? So she asked me if I was okay… That doesn't even really mean that she likes me…. That's just something anyone would have done…' He sighed…tried really hard to consider his feelings for a moment, and then blinked at the interesting conclusion he came to. 'Maybe it's different because it was HER…because even though anyone else would ask anyone else who'd fallen down if they were okay…SHE'D probably only ask that to ME…wouldn't she…?'

"So, you're going back to square one and suggesting that we just wait things out, huh?"

Helga's biting tone brought Arnold out of his contemplations and made him glance up at her. "Oh uh…" he recalled his suggestion before about them not trying any more escapes just to be safe, "Um…I guess so, Helga. Like I said, it just seems safer." And then he walked over to a wall and leaned against it, casually crossing his arms over his chest.

He watched as Helga, her arms still crossed in front of her, just sighed in exasperation and rolled her eyes. "Well, I guess you might have a point, Football Head. Last thing I need is having to play nurse to you if that wide head of yours gets a 'boo boo'." She made air quotes. And then without another word she stomped over to a corner (the farthest corner from him, Arnold couldn't help but notice), and proceeded to sit down with a huff. She looked like she was distracting herself by playing with one of her pigtails.

Arnold slid to the floor and let out a breath, resigning himself once again to the fact that he was stuck here alone with Helga…and just feeling thankful that she was taking out her anger in insults rather than by pounding him…

RING RING

"Hello, Johansson residence, Gerald speaking…" Gerald said in an obviously disinterested voice, not particularly caring for the way his parents preferred for him to answer the phone when they were around.

"Gerald…It's Phoebe…" came the familiar, quiet voice of the girl he'd just spent the afternoon with on the other end of the line.

Gerald felt himself freeze up for a second. He then glanced from side to side to make sure that neither his brother or sister were around to overhear anything, and then quickly turned his attentions back to the phone receiver. "Uh, hey, Phoebe…What's up?"

He was trying to sound casual…but the note of worry in Phoebe's voice was obvious and quickly brought him out of his nervousness. "Gerald, have you heard from Arnold at all ever since this afternoon at the mall?"

Gerald blinked…and now couldn't help but feel a touch of worry come over him as well at this question. "No, sorry, babe… I just figured he'd gone home and gotten dinner. I'm guessing you haven't heard from Helga yet?"

He heard Phoebe swallow. "No, Gerald…and I'm starting to get rather worried. I've done my best to cover for her with Olga for now just in case it really is nothing so that she won't get in trouble but…I'm still rather worried. What if something happened to her and Arnold?"

Gerald considered, and then tried to do his best to comfort her. "Well…maybe she just went over to Arnold's house for dinner or something… Do you want me to call him and check?"

"That's very kind of you, Gerald," Phoebe replied with gratitude, "But I've already tried the boarding house and he hasn't gotten home yet either… I spoke with his grandmother and she sounded like she was going to go out looking for him, but before I could give her any details about their whereabouts she hung up. Gerald I…really am starting to feel worried."

Now Gerald couldn't help but feel seriously concerned as well. His best friend had last been seen with the school bully he'd pranked into a pool not too long ago…and it was getting late. Then again, though, he hated the idea of getting any adults seriously involved in this, which might lead to people getting in trouble. (Gerald wasn't really counting Arnold's Grandma for the moment, as he was pretty sure she was probably just sneaking around the city with burnt cork under her eyes and a black ski cap, as usual). In addition, he also wanted to keep the outside parties being brought into this to a minimum because of, well… the 'other' option about what might be going on right with Arnold and Helga suddenly taking off alone, together, in the evening that was slowly changing over into night…

Needless to say, after watching Arnold with Helga at that April Fools dance…Gerald had some…'suspicions' about some things about his best friend. That boy had taken 'distract Helga' to a whole, new…and very out of character level. He'd spun her around, pulled her close, dipped her more than once…and had been smiling very VERY strangely the whole time. Like he was ENJOYING it all or something! And, honestly that was why Gerald had found himself remarking to Phoebe back at the mall that he wouldn't have been surprised if Arnold had offered to walk Helga home. Because there was definitely something going on there…and Gerald hadn't been able to help but wonder lately if it had something to do with Arnold…possibly crushing just a little on Helga G. Pataki ('Though where the heck got the crazy idea to try something like THAT from is still beyond me!' Gerald had to add to himself.)

"Gerald?" Phoebe's concerned voice returning brought him out of his thoughts.

Gerald blinked, considered, and then went back to his phone call. "Oh, uh, sorry, babe—zoned out there for a second. But hey, listen…let's wait another half an hour for one of them to get home and if it doesn't happen then meet at the bus stop near Slausen's and we'll try and figure something out. Maybe go look for them ourselves or something, okay?"

"Okay, Gerald." Her voice sounded a little more comforted. "I'll wait until then to double check with Helga's house, and then call you to confirm and meet you at the bus stop if she's still missing."

Gerald nodded. "And I'll double check at Arnold's house before we meet too."

"Thank you, Gerald." Her normal, happy tone was back. "I'll talk to you in a little while then."

He half smiled. "Yeah, see you, babe." He heard her giggle as she hung up.

Hanging up himself, Gerald let out a sigh and dragged a hand down his face. 'Oh man…what has that bold kid gotten himself into now? And with Helga G. Pataki of all people?'