VII. Learning to Fly

Friday was here. The entire day went in a blur for Arnold. He sat in the lunch room, the untouched tray of food before him. Someone slid into the seat next to him and he glanced over. Shayla sat there, taking a sip of her soda.

"What is going on with you, sweetie," she asked. "You've been walking around in a fog all day and you look like you're walking to your...oh...oh!" She covered the grin forming on her mouth. "Tonight's the night, isn't it?"

He just nodded. The dark skinned girl patted his hand.

"Oh baby, why you looking like you're a virgin in a sacrifice, then? You know how this games played. What's the problem?"

He looked over at her, sighing. "I don't have a problem with that. If anything I think I might be too excited."

She frowned in confusion. "What guy isn't excited about the idea of sex?"

"It's not just sex."

"Oh. You think you might be getting...feelings for her." she clarified. He shrugged.

Shayla scooted closer to him at the table, putting down her soda. "Okay, first, how do you know this isn't any more for her than a means to an end. She has a problem, you're the problem solver."

Arnold frowned. "It isn't like that. You don't know her. She isn't like that. And from what I've heard, it's more than a problem she needs solving."

"Then what you have to think on is what you want. Do you want more than this weekend? Do you want every weekend, a FWB, if she's even willing. Or do you want an actual relationship." she smiled. "And if you do want the relationship, how the hell you gonna deal with your jealous boy toy when he finds out who you're dating."

Arnold fought to hide the grin. "How do you know he'd be jealous?"

"Baby, Gerald may be dense, but I ain't. I knew the minute you decked him in the hall. I saw how she stepped up to protect Phoebe and Tad from him. And I saw your reaction."

Arnold bit the inside of his cheek, thinking. "You think I'm stupid?"

"Nope. But I do think you're brave." she retorted, taking a sip of her drink. "That girl is a force. Either you learn to step up or you gonna get blown away."


"So, this weekend..." Gerald said on the other side of his locker. Arnold leaned against the closed locker door next to Gerald, waiting for the teen to finish so they could leave school.

"Don't worry about it." Arnold told him.

"The thing is, Shayla wants to go away for the weekend, and I figure I'd make her happy and maybe get out of the doghouse." Gerald explained, shutting his locker. Arnold waved off his explanation as they headed towards the exit of the high school.

"Don't worry about it Gerald. Remember? I kind of got plans this weekend anyway." he said. Gerald grinned at him.

"Right, with the girl you were hanging out with on Wednesday?"

Arnold nodded. Gerald slapped his back.

"Way to go, bro! So, there is a potential of getting laid this weekend."

"Oh...that potential is very possible." Arnold admitted.

"Play on player!" Gerald joked, fist bumping Arnold as they two walked outside. Arnold chuckled.

"Not quite sure about the player part, bro."

"Arnold, my man, this is the just the beginning of your playerdom." He glanced over to see Shayla walking out with her friends.

"Oops, there's Shay, gotta go." Again they did the handshake that had followed them since grade school. "Have fun Arnold."

Arnold watched as Gerald jogged across campus to meet up with Shayla, before walking in the opposite direction. He had some things to pick up before tonight.


Around seven that evening, Arnold arrived on the Pataki's doorstep, carrying two plastic bags full of stuff, and knocked on the door.

After a few minutes, the door opened and Helga stood there wearing a tee shirt and jogging shorts. She looked at him, then leaned back and looked at the clock on the wall.

"I didn't expect you until later." she said, opening the door and backing up a bit to let him in. "And what the hell did you bring?"

"Food." Arnold said, stepping into the brownstone and heading towards the kitchen. A moment later the front door closed and Helga followed him. She stepping into the kitchen as he was putting the ice cream into the freezer.

"Popcorn, ice cream, cheese puffs..." she muttered, digging into the bags. "Did you buy out the junk food isle?"

"Ha, ha...very funny. I figured we could use some snacks." He pulled out a couple of movies. "Besides, you can't watch movies without popcorn."

"Okay, wait, I'm confused. I thought..."

Arnold put up the last of the ice cream, closed the freezer door, then turned around. "Well, I don't know about you, but I can't go a straight twenty four hours."

Helga blushed, ducking her eyes, and leaning against the kitchen counters. "I...I didn't mean..."

He walked over to her, his arms, planting on either side of the counter. "Unless, you just plan on using me and kicking my ass out."

She jumped slightly, her startled eyes raising to look at him. "No! I mean... well hell, I didn't mean it like that."

He looked into her eyes; startled, wary, nervous. He smiled, then leaned in to kiss her, one hand leaving the counter to rest at her waist. She kissed him back, her hands sliding around his neck, pressing against him.

As quick as that, he broke the kiss, pulling away slightly. She blinked up at him, her arms still around his neck.

"I want you to be comfortable Helga." he told her softly. "Me walking in here, and pushing you against the wall and taking you isn't going to make you very comfortable."

The blush returned to her face. Her hands slid down his neck to his chest and she pushed.

"Got it. No ravaging me in the foyer." she muttered, sliding away from the counter. She picked up the two movies sitting on the kitchen table.

"So, which one of these do you wanna watch first? I'll make the popcorn."


She chose the horror movie first. The movie was half finished, and she was leaning against him, her legs covered with a throw. The popcorn bowl was sitting on the coffee table, along with their empty glasses.

Arnold's attention was on the killer on the screen methodically slaughtering the screaming and running teens. He was also very aware of Helga pressed against his arm and side. Her legs were curled next to her, her arms wrapped around his one arm and her chest pushing against his side. Every once in a while, she'd bury her face in his shoulder, peeking through the screen of hair.

On the screen, two girls ran through the woods, as the killer stepped out of between the trees. Helga jumped slightly, her face going into the curve between his shoulder and neck. His body froze. He felt her freeze also, her head lifting slightly from his neck.

"Sorry," she whispered, her face inches away from his. She bit her bottom lip, and he groaned softly, leaning forward to kiss her, his other hand moving to cradle the back of her head. Helga's hands moved off of his other arm and slid around his neck, leaving his other arm now free. His now free hand slid down her hip to her legs, urging them out of the curled position they were in, and she maneuvered her legs to the floor. He pushed her back onto the couch, following her down, his lips not leaving hers.

His hand slid back up her bare leg, past her hip to slide under the tee shirt she wore. She moaned softly, her nails dragging against the material of his tee shirt. She slid her hand down, grabbing the bottom of the tee shirt and tugging. Arnold moved, pulling off his shirt, leaving her mouth long enough to pull it over his head. Her fingers slid over his chest, making him shiver.

He pulled away further, reaching over to put up the remote control and turn off the movie. She lay under him, watching him silently. He bent down, kissing her once more.

"Let's finish this upstairs." he said quietly. She nodded. He sat up, grabbing his shirt. She sat up, pulling a shaking hand through her hair. Taking a deep breath, she stood up, holding a hand out to him.

Surprised, he took her hand and got off the couch, following her up the stairs and down the small hall to her bedroom. She opened the door and led him in, shutting the door behind her.

Arnold looked around. The medium sized bedroom was feminine without being overly girly. Shades of pink and purple accented the cream walls. A small bedroom lamp was turned on giving the room a hint of light without it being overly bright.

He felt a tug on the shirt he held. He loosened his grip on the shirt and turned. Helga was tossing the shirt over a desk chair. She looked at him, licked her lips hesitantly, then pulled her own shirt over her head. Arnold's jaw dropped. She wasn't wearing a bra.

"Jeez Helga." he gasped. She grinned, walking towards him. Her pulled her to him, crushing his mouth against hers.

Not leaving her, he maneuvered them to where he thought the bed was. The back of his legs hit the mattress and, with her against him, he lost his balance, falling onto the bed, taking her with him. She landed on him, her chest pressed against his. He groaned, his hands sliding up her bare back and rolling on the bed so she was under him.

His hand slid up to cup a naked breast and she moaned in his mouth. The sound drove him nuts and unlike two night ago, there was nobody to stop them.

His other hand slid slowly down her stomach, over her hipbone to the middle of her shorts, sliding to that warm spot between her legs. Helga gasped, her body raising, her nails digging into his shoulder blade. His mouth left hers, trailing down her neck to her breast, latching onto a nipple, his other hand sliding into her shorts, running his fingers across the cotton panties. She gasped again, a low guttural moan ripping out of her throat.

He slid his other hand over her shorts, sliding them down. He lifted up, kissing her once, then moved to slide off her shorts and underwear.

And promptly froze.

On her hipbone, was a tattooed pink ribbon. It was about three inches long, waving from one point of her hipbone to the other. He stared at it, his fingers brushing against the colored design.

"I did say you would probably be the first person to see it." Helga said quietly. Arnold looked up at her; blond hair mussed on the pillow, the tiny pink butterfly still in her belly button and the pink ribbon adorning her hipbone. A small smile fell across this face.

"I like your ribbon," he said. "It's pink, like your butterfly."

She grinned at him. "You're insane." she told him. "I'm completely naked and you're making comments about my tattoo."

His eyes raked slowly down her naked body, then back up to meet her blue eyes.

"You're incredible. I'm just stunned." he told her. "It's completely amazing to me how you don't know how beautiful you are."

Her grin softened, and she rose up, her elbows holding her body up.

"I appreciate the sentiment." she told him, then eyed his partially clothed body. "But, you're wearing more clothes than me. That needs to be fixed."

With a lopsided grin, he climbed off the bed. Digging into his jean pockets, he pulled out a couple of small packets and placed them on the nightstand. His hands went to the fly of his jeans, unbuttoning and unzipping them. Sliding them down, he kicked off his socks, then slid the jeans off. He climbed back into the bed, wearing only the boxers.

"Sorry, you're just going to have to take those off yourself." he teased her, bringing his lips back to hers.

She moaned into his mouth, her body raising up to mold against his. Smaller hands glided down his chest and stomach to the waist band of his boxers. She hooked her fingers underneath the waistband and slid them down. He kicked the boxers free, then gasped as one of her hands grasped him. She felt so good against him, his mind automatically shut off and let his body take over. A hand slid lightly down her stomach, brushing against the butterfly, then over her hip where the tattoo was, finally over her thigh and the juncture where her legs met. A finger slid across the soft warm folds there, and Helga's mouth ripped away from his to let out a gasping cry. His mouth latched onto her neck, licking and kissing as he moved his fingers, making her gasp and cry out.

"Oh God...Arnold...please..." she stammered, her breath coming in short pants. Her body jerked, and her back bowed, her eyes shut tight as she cried out, her nails digging into his shoulder blades.

He moved, reaching towards the nightstand as her body fell back onto the bed, her eyes still closed, her body still shaking. Ripping open the small square package, he fitted himself, then adjusted himself on her body, a hand brushing her cheek.

One last shuddering sigh, she opened her eyes, looking into his. He smiled, his half lidded eyes staring into hers.
"Better?" he asked, brushing his lips across hers. She sighed contently, her eyes narrowing.

"Wow." she sighed, her arms tightening around him and reaching up to kiss him. He kissed her back gently, then pulled his face away enough to speak.

"Ready?"

Biting her lip, she nodded.

Smiling, he lowered his head to kiss her once more, settling himself between her legs. He watched her face carefully, ready to stop if she looked like she wasn't ready.

Her eyes opened wide as he slid into her, her muscles tensing.

"Shhh...relax." he whispered, nuzzling her ear. He moved again and encountered the barrier. Pulling back, he looked into her eyes. She looked back up at him, blue eyes clear. Taking a deep breath, he sunk in, feeling the flesh tear. Helga cried out, her body raising up, her eyes closing, her nails digging her fists. He stopped moving, trying to ignore his own bodies needs, waiting for her.

Her body relaxed, her eyes opened. He lifted a hand, wiping a tear from her face.

"You okay?"

She nodded. "It hurt." she whispered back. She moved slightly and his eyes closed, his fingers grabbing the covers, trying to control the impulses. He heard her against his ear, her breath brushing the hair by his face.

"Move Arnold."

That was it. He finished sinking into her and she moaned, her leg lifting up to rest against his hip. He pulled away, his eyes opening to catch hers. She smiled at him briefly before her eyes closed again as he slid back into her.

Her hands came up to capture his face, pulling him down to kiss her. Her tongue slid into his mouth, and he opened returning the kiss as he moved in her. Her hands slid into his hair, digging into the scalp. She pulled away from his mouth, her body moving against his in an ancient rhythm only just discovered. He buried his face in the nape of her neck, a hand resting against her hip as he moved. Her breathing was deepening, her gasps getting louder. He could feel her body tensing. He was almost on the brink, he could feel the edge coming.

Pulling away from her neck, he kissed her forehead gently, then rose up, moving his body to slide in deeper.

Helga screeched, her fingers clutching the sheets around them, her body shaking as she fell over the edge. He felt her body tighten around him and that was his end. He groaned, falling back on her, his own body shaking as he fell over the edge with her.


Arnold opened his eyes. He had no idea how long it'd been. Rubbing his face against the crook of her neck and the pillow, he braced himself and rose up to look down at her.

Her eyes were just opening and she wore a smile he'd never seen before.

"You okay?" he asked.

Blue eyes flicked up to meet his. "Crimeny." she breathed. He grinned.

"Okay. I have to move. You ready?"

"Ready for...gah!" she gasped as he slid out of her and rolled on the other side of the bed. He pulled the used condom off and threw it into the trash can.

"I can't move." Helga muttered. "My legs are jello and my lower body hurts in a good way. I didn't think it was possible to hurt in a good way."

He climbed off the bed, and walked around the other side to pull her up.

"Come on. We have to get you into the shower and probably change the sheets."

"I don't wanna move." She griped as she moved off the bed. "And why do I have to change the...oh shit." She said, finally spying the messed up sheets with a small blood stain in the middle. "Dammit, I'm gonna have to wash those before Bob and Miriam get home."

"Wash later, shower and food now." He said, pulling her out of the bedroom and into the bathroom next to her room.


Two hours later, they'd finished watching the last twenty minutes of the movie and had finished off another bowl of popcorn, three sodas and a half a quart of double chocolate chunk ice cream.

"God, I'm starving." Helga said as she licked the remaining ice cream off her spoon. Arnold just shrugged, digging his spoon in for another scoop.

Helga dug out another spoonful, licking it thoughtfully.

"So, how many condoms did you bring?"

Arnold stopped in mid-bite. He finished off the ice cream and looked at her. "I'm not sure, maybe a half a dozen, why?"

She glanced up at him, casually licking the remainder of double chocolate chunk off her spoon. "Just curious. We gonna use them all?"

His eyes didn't move from hers. "Depends. Although, it does give us a goal to shoot for."

A slow smile spread across her face. "I wouldn't want you to think I'm a poor sport."

He returned her grin, plucking the spoon from her hand. "Oh no, I'd never think that."

He reached over, his lips barely touching hers. His tongue slid out, licking the side of her mouth.

"You had a little bit of chocolate just right there." he muttered, before her lips crashed into his, the ice cream forgotten.


Morning slid into the room, slowly peeking through the curtains to crawl over the bed. Arnold rolled over, his arms sliding over the smooth skin of the person next to him. He opened his eyes, looking at the sleeping figure. Helga was sprawled on her back, her arms thrown over her head, the new sheets covering her body. He rose up on an arm, watching her sleep.

If someone had told him two weeks ago, he'd find himself in bed with Helga Pataki after an entire evening of really great sex, he would have told them they were on some serious drugs. Yet here he was, laying in her bed, watching her sleep.

He brushed his fingers lightly over her skin. She frowned, rolling towards him. His fingers continued to brush up her arm, and he lowered his head, gently kissing her shoulder.

Blue eyes met his when he lifted his mouth from her skin, one hand covering her mouth as she yawned.

"Morning." she said, still yawning.

"Morning."

Her hand went up, pulling him down to her mouth to kiss him. He felt his body respond immediately.

She rolled over, straddling his body. Reaching over him, she grabbed a small packet, and sat back, the covers pooling around her hips. He watched her, not sure what she was planning. Reaching forward, she kissed him again, then rose back up, a gleam in her eye.

Wait, what are you..."

She slid down his body, mouth trailing down his chest, stomach, and finally...

"Gah!" he gasped as her mouth wrapped around him. This was supposed to be about helping her, not...

His mind went blank as her mouth took him completely in. His hips lifted as he gripped the covers. She left him, ripped open the package and covered him. He blinked, looking up at her.

"Helga," he rasped. She smiled, raising up over him. He blinked again, distractedly noticing how the sunlight glinted off her hair.

Angel, he thought briefly right before she lowered herself on him, then he didn't think anymore.


Arnold blinked his eyes open, looking blearily around the now empty room.

"Helga?" He called out. Stretching, he climbed out of bed, picking his jeans off the floor and sliding them on. He walked out of the bedroom, still buttoning them.

"Helga?"

He heard voices downstairs and froze for a moment, listening. One of the voices sounded like Helga's, but the other didn't sound like the patriarch of the Pataki family. Which was good, because Arnold really wasn't sure how the hell he would survive if Helga's boisterous father had come home early.

The front door closed, and footsteps walked across the foyer towards the kitchen. Arnold came down the stairs, crossing the foyer and walking into the kitchen. Helga stood there, clad in a tee shirt and shorts, pulling paper plates out of the cabinet. She glanced over at him as he entered the kitchen.

"I was going to give you about another two minutes then come wake you up." She said, placing the plates next to the pizza boxes. "I ordered pizza."

His stomach growled before he could answer her and she grinned, opening one of the boxes and pulling out a couple of slices.

"I'm starving." he muttered, walked passed her to the boxes. He pulled out two slices and picked up the plate to go sit at the kitchen table. He took a big bite and hummed in enjoyment at the hot cheese and pepperoni.

"Thank you." he said, his mouth full of pizza. Helga smiled, taking a seat at the other end.

"No problem." she said, taking a bite.

The rest of the afternoon went by quickly. They finished the second movie. Helga made comments about it, and Arnold threw popcorn at her which turned into a full out popcorn war. Then they spent two hours cleaning up all the popcorn. He sat on the couch silently watching her as she paced across the living room floor agitatedly as she spoke with her father to assure him that yes, the house was still standing, no, nobody had stolen his TV, and no, she wasn't having any wild parties. He covered his mouth to stifle a laugh when she dropped onto the couch, threw her legs across his lap and insisted to her father that no, there were no boys in the house.

He gave her a mock stern stare as she clicked the phone off and tossed it onto the coffee table with a small growl.

"Lying to your father Miss Pataki." he teased. "Shame on you."

She blinked twice, looking the picture of innocence. A look he was well acquainted with. "I didn't lie. He asked if there were boys in the house. There aren't. There's only one boy in the house."

"Semantics."

She shrugged. "If he want the right answers, he should ask the right questions."