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The week flew by; it was filled with partying, drinking, and discrete planning for the proposal. Arnold was having the time of his life, but he was worried about staying in the hotel for the night with Helga. Helga was warming up to him a bit, but they were never alone. He wouldn't know how she would react. In fact, Gerald and Arnold hadn't even told her what was going on. They were afraid Helga might tell Phoebe.

They had all the things needed; Gerald and Arnold got away during the week to go for everything. When Friday came along, Gerald told Helga and Phoebe that he wanted to treat them all to the fanciest restaurant in the area.

"Ugh, I don't want to go, Geraldo. I'm gonna be the third wheel; just go alone with Phoebe." Helga whined. She was thrown on the couch, channel surfing. They decided not to hit the beach today, instead just lounge around the house since they needed a night to recover.

"Oh, c'mon, Pataki, you won't be alone. Arnold is coming along as well." Gerald argued.

"Yeah, Helga, it'll be great." Arnold chimed in.

Helga said sarcastically, "Oh, just what a joy!"

Gerald rolled his eyes, "We're leaving at 8, Pataki. You best start getting ready. Phoebe is expecting you to go. She is upstairs getting ready, and she wants your help."

Helga picked herself off the couch and sighed.

"I want you to make us late, Arnold. I want for Phoebe and me to leave first, so you and Pataki can stay behind and decorate." Gerald instructed as he made his way upstairs. Arnold nodded and went to his room to kill some time. When he went outside again, still in shorts and without a shirt, and was greeted by Phoebe and Gerald. They were ready to go and looked dapper. Phoebe was wearing a black dress, red heels and her jet-black hair was in loose ringlets. Gerald was wearing some black slacks and red-button up shirt.

"Arnold! You still aren't ready! We're getting ready to go! They will only hold our reservation until 8:15! It's 7:55!" Phoebe whacked him on the arm.

"Sorry, Phoebe, I got distracted. I'll get ready right away. I just need some water" Arnold quickly grabbed a water bottle from the fridge.

"Oh, Gerald, I don't think we'll make it!" Phoebe said as she held onto Gerald.

"How about you and Gerald go ahead and go. Helga and I will catch up; we'll take a cab." Arnold suggested. He looked at Gerald, and Gerald gave him a thumbs-up.

"I suppose that's a good idea," Phoebe picked up her purse and shouted, "Helga, Gerald and I are going. Text us when you're on the way." She grabbed Gerald's arm and rushed out the door.

"Sorry, guys, we'll see you there in 20 minutes." Arnold yelled as the couple sped off in the SUV. He closed the door and walked back to his room, slipping on some jeans and a black v-neck.

"Hey, where'd everyone go? I got all dressed up for dinner, and they leave us!" Helga barged into Arnold's room. She looked beautiful. She was wearing a white hi-low dress and a black blazer, her blonde locks were straightened.

"Helga, we're not really going with them to dinner."

Helga raised an eyebrow at him, "What are you saying, Arnoldo?"

"Gerald is proposing to Phoebe tonight." Helga threw a hand over her mouth and her eyes went wide. Arnold smiled, "Yes, we're staying behind to decorate the place. We have hidden everything in my closet."

"Oh my God! Oh my God! Oh my God! What are we doing? Did you guys plan this all along? We need to give them privacy, Arnold. Where are we going once they come back?"

"Gerald got us a two-bedroom suite at a hotel. We need to get started decorating. We have rose petals and candles."Arnold said as he retrieved bags full of petals and small candles from the closet. "Gerald wanted us to trail rose petals from the front door, all the way upstairs. He wanted us to write 'Will you marry me?' in rose petals."

Helga smiled and grabbed the things, "Let's go start upstairs." They decorated everything the way Gerald wanted and went downstairs to put the finishing touches. They took a seat at the kitchen table and checked their phones, which were on silent. Phoebe bombarded them with messages, but no text from Gerald.

"This place looks great. It has a romantic feel to it. Have you seen the ring, Arnold?" Helga asked as she grabbed a soda from the fridge.

"Yes, it's beautiful. He's been saving for a while for it."

Helga grinned, "I'm so happy for them. Phoebe really deserves the very best, and she's been hinting since my engagement."

At that moment, Gerald sent them a text to leave and the reservations of their suite. They quickly jumped and got some clothing together. They called a cab, and they left before Gerald and Phoebe arrived. Helga and Arnold checked in at a luxurious hotel, a couple of miles from the beach house.

"Do you want to order room service, Helga? I'm starving." Arnold said looking at a brochure that was on the counter.

"How about we go out to eat, Arnold? I mean, we are all dressed up. Let's not let that go to waste. I know the bartender at this restaurant not far from here." She smirked.

"Sure, Helga, it'll be my treat. Let's go." Arnold held open the door for Helga. They walked down to the parking lot and hailed a cab. Helga directed the cab driver to a restaurant not far from the hotel, and told him to be back in an hour. It seemed like a quiet place, compared to all the other places around them. They walked in and sat at a booth by the bar.

"Hey, Helga! How are you? What are you doing here?" A girl with pale skin and dirty-blonde shoulder length hair dressed in slacks and a white shirt appeared.

"Hey, Ava, I'm fine," Helga turned to Arnold, "Arnold, this is Ava. She's my friend from my time in ballet. Ava, this is Arnold. He's keeping me company for the night."

"Why, hello, handsome," Ava smiled, "Anything you guys need, I got you." Arnold blushed.

"Hey, Ava, bring me two shots of tequila to start off with, will ya'." Helga said as she opened the menu.

Ava nodded then went to tend to other customers. Helga downed her shot and slammed the shot glass on the table, and Arnold mimicked her actions. Ava came back, and Helga put in their order, with a margarita and a beer for Arnold. They drank and ate while laughing at their childhood antics. The alcohol was making them feel good and any tension between them disappeared. After their meal, both of them were feeling tipsy. They paid for their meals and saw the cab outside. They barged into the lobby, giggling and shouting as they made their way to their suite.

"Look! A mini-fridge, filled with more booze!" Helga exclaimed.

"Bring it over, Helga." Arnold dropped himself on the couch. Helga walked over to him, with the little bottles of alcohol in her arms and placed them on the coffee table in front of them. Arnold grabbed a bottle from the counter and chugged it. They turned on the radio and hummed along as they guzzled down their choice of alcohol.

Maybe it was the alcohol, but he finally decided that is was time to get answers from his beloved. "Helga, why didn't you wait for me?" he said quietly.

Helga jumped up, and Arnold grabbed her wrist. "Let go of me, Arnold!" She dug her nails into Arnold's arm. He winced at the pain, but refused to let go.

"Answer me, Helga." He raised his voice. Helga was still fighting back. "You're getting married. You're moving on, and I want to do the same, but in order for that to happen, I need closure."

Helga finally stopped, "Closure? You want to know why? I was angry with you!"

Arnold loosened his grip on her, "Angry?"

"Yes, Arnold, I was angry," her voice began to rise, "You left me alone, Arnold. I understood why you stayed behind, but where were you when Miriam went to rehab for 6 months? Where were you when Bob become abusive? Where were you when my parents divorced? Where were YOU when I needed you the most?"

"Helga, I'm sorry, so sorry, I left you alone," Arnold let her go. "But what you did was not any better."

"What do you mean, what I did?" She put her hands on her hips.

"For God's sake, Helga, don't act all innocent! You just cut me out of your life! I wrote to you constantly, and you refused to write back, and when I come back, thinking we can FINALLY be happy together, you're fucking engaged to someone else!" Arnold said as he backed her into the corner of the room.

"FUCK OFF! I don't need to explain myself any further," She pushed him and began to storm away.

Arnold grabbed her arm, "We're not done."

Helga slapped him across the face with her free hand, "I am."

Arnold threw her over his shoulder and dropped her onto the couch, pinning her down, "Don't be so fucking difficult. How could you not tell me you were fucking engaged? You didn't think that it would hurt?"

Helga remained silent.

"Did you want to hurt me?"

She remained silent again.

"Oh, I see. Everyone always said you were mean, cold, and heartless…I never wanted to believe them, but I guess they were right." Arnold released her and began to walk to his room.

Helga ran after him, spun him around, grabbed his face and kissed him. Arnold pulled away and she pressed her forehead against his. "I could never purposely hurt you; I love you." She whispered.

Helga was woken up by sunlight streaming through the window. She sleepily rose and stifled a gasp as she noticed she was nude and not in her room. Oh, fuck! Shit, shit, shit! She wrapped a bed sheet around her and carefully opened the door, peeking to see if Arnold was in the small living room. No sign of Arnold, but she did see the clothing she and Arnold were wearing yesterday. She quietly picked up her clothing and tip-toed into her room, locking the door behind her. She slipped on some pink shorts and a black tank and sat on the edge of the bed. She grabbed the pillow and screamed into it. Did she really cheat on Gavin, her boyfriend of two years, her fiancé whom she was set to marry in about 2 ½ months? Did she really lose her virginity in a drunken one-night stand with her childhood crush? She buried her head into her hands and sobbed silently. How could she face Arnold? What would she tell Gavin? In the middle of her thoughts, she heard a knock at the door. She dried her tears and opened the door. Arnold stood there with tousled hair and his warm-ups sitting low on his hips.

"Good morning, Helga. Did you sleep well? I brought you some breakfast. It's in the kitchen."

Helga avoided his eyes and nodded. They remained quiet for a bit.

Arnold broke the silence, "I think we need to talk about the elephant in the room, Helga."

Helga looked up at him, "What elephant? There is nothing to talk about, Arnold-o."

Arnold furrowed his brows, "You know exactly what I'm talking about, Helga."

"Look, football head, it was a one-time thing. You wanted your closure, consider that your closure, but if you ever speak of this to anyone, ANYONE, I will rip your tongue out and tie it around your neck!" She slammed the door in his face.

Helga collapsed onto the bed, and her phone rang. It was Gavin was calling. Helga took a deep breath and answered.

H: "Hello?"

G: "Hey, my love. I didn't hear from you last night."

H: "Oh, yeah, I was helping Gerald plan his proposal to Phoebe. I'm so sorry, baby. I miss you."

G: "I miss you too, and really? Wow, congrats to them!"

H: "I'll let them know, babe. I'll call you later. I'm going to meet up with Phoebe and get the details."

G: "Okay, baby. I love you. Call me later. I'll see you Sunday morning."

H: "I love you too. Say hi to your dad for me. Bye."

Helga hung up the phone and started to pack. It wasn't hard to act like nothing happened. She could take this secret to her grave.

Helga and Arnold reunited with Phoebe and Gerald, and they spent the Saturday by the pool. The girls chatted about wedding plans, while the boys took a swim. On Sunday morning, they loaded everything up and made their way home.

As Helga got closer to home, her mind began to wander and her stomach was in knots. Would Arnold keep his mouth shut? Would Gavin suspect anything?

"Heeelllggaa, you're hooommee!" Phoebe sang.

"Oh, thanks, Pheebs. I'll see you tomorrow at school." Helga reached over and hugged Phoebe. As Helga was about to unload her bags, Gavin came out and Helga ran to him. Gavin held her in a tight embrace and kissed the top of her head.

"C'mon, guys, I want to get home!" Gerald shouted from the passenger side.

Gavin let go of Helga and walked to the back of the SUV to unload her things. "Hi, Gerald, Phoebe…Oh, Arnold." Gavin quickly unloaded Helga's things and walked to the door. Helga waved as they drove off and walked inside to her room.

Gavin was putting Helga's things in her room, "So, you didn't tell me that Arnold guy was going…"

Helga took a seat, "I didn't know, Gavin. Gerald invited him along last minute."

"Mmm hmm…I don't like him, Helga."

"Why? He has done nothing to you."

"Babe, you all had something…"

"Gavin, there is absolutely nothing between Arnold and I. You're the one that I love." Helga planted a loving kiss on Gavin's cheek.

He smiled, "Absolutely nothing, right?"

"Nothing at all, I swear." Helga kissed him once more.

When Helga first got home from Spring Break, it was easy to pretend nothing had happened, but with every passing night, she felt a sense of remorse that grew and grew.

Oh, c'mon, Helga, ol' girl. That stupid football head won't tell a soul. If he does, I will rip him apart limb by limb. He will not destroy my relationship with Gavin. I love Gavin; He's my heart and soul. What happened with Arnold was mistake induced by alcohol. If I had been in my right mind, I would never have slept with that stupid football head, Helga thought as she laid in her bed late at night. She had been tossing and turning for hours. It had been a week since the night with Arnold, and the guilt was overwhelming at this point. Helga got up and decided to go lay with Gavin; she thought maybe he could soothe her mind.

She slowly closed the door behind her, locking it behind her. She tapped him lightly on the shoulder, "Gavin…Gaaaviiin…BABE!"

Gavin jumped, "Oh, hey, baby. What's wrong?" He moved aside, making space for Helga.

"I can't sleep. I've been tossing and turning for hours." She climbed into bed and leaned close to him.

Gavin rubbed his eyes, "Is something on your mind?"

"No…well, yes…I—I just have a lot of anxiety."

"Because of our wedding?"

"Yes, and because of…our wedding night."

"You know anxiety is bad, babe. Don't worry, and what anxiety do you have for our wedding night?" Gavin propped his head up on his hand.

"Well, you know how I said that I wanted to wait…What if we don't have a good time? What if it hurts? What if I'm not good at it?" Helga nervously said.

"We'll be fine." Gavin kissed her cheek.

"I want our wedding night to be enjoyable…so I think it'd be good to get it over rather than wait two more months."

"Well, when?"

"Right now…"

"Really?" Gavin's eyes went wide.

Helga bit her lip nervously and nodded. Gavin pulled off his clothing and tossed it aside. Helga did the same thing and pressed her nude body against his. Gavin kissed her and rolled on top of her.

A/N: Well, I hope you guys enjoyed the chapters. I have two more done, but I am in the middle of editing those. I kept changing my mind as to how the story would end, but I have an idea now.