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Chapter 9

The next day Helga and her mom went to Arnold's house. Helga was worried, but she knew Arnold would always be her friend no matter what.

Stella and Mirium sat in the den while Arnold and Helga sat in the kitchen with a snack.

"So..." Helga said, picking up a gram cracker.

"Arnold—"

"Helga—"

They smiled and tried again.

"You go first—"

"You go first—"

They smiled and Arnold said "why don't you go first, Helga?"

"Okay. Well...Arnold you already know that I like you a lot, but, well...that not really a strong enough way to express what I feel. I can't think straight when I'm around you, and my stomach feels like it's full of butterflies, but in the best possible way, and...I...I love you, Arnold. I love you. I know it's weird, and most people think that we're too young to understand love, but that's the only way I can describe how I feel."

"I love you too, Helga."

"Really?"

"Yeah. I agree that most people probably wouldn't agree, but it's true. I know it is. You're always on my mind, and I can't help but smile when I'm with you. When you do stuff like hold my hand...I...I get a little dizzy, but it's a good dizzy."

"So, even though us being together might be the most difficult thing we do as kids, you still want to try it?"

"I do. Things might be hard, but the best things in life are worth fighting for."

"Oh Arnold!" Helga jumped up and ran around the table to wrap her arms around him. Arnold hugged her back and placed a kiss on her cheek.

"Ehm," Stella made her presents known by rather obviously clearing her throught. Both Arnold and Helga jumped a little and quickly released each other.

"If you two are ready, we'd like to talk to you."

"Yeah, we're ready," Arnold said. He laced his fingers with Helga's and gave her hand a small squeeze. 'It will be okay' his squeeze said. 'I know' Helga's said back.

"Okay," Stella said once they were seated in the den, "So—"

"I love Helga, Mom," Arnold said. He blushed a rather bright shade of pink, but he had wanted to say that so she knew they weren't just a 'schoolyard crush'.

"Okay. And Helga?"

"I...I love Arnold too. We both know we're young, but that doesn't mean we don't understand love." Helga was blushing too, but Arnold's hand still laced through hers made her feel better. Like no matter what happened, he would be there for her.

"It is true that you're young," Miriam said, "But Stella and I talked about it, and we've decided..."

"...To let you try it," Stella finished.

"But with some ground rules, okay?" Miriam added. Both kids nodded; a few rules sounded more than fair.

"Keep everything appropriate. Hugging is fine, and kisses on the cheek are fine, but nothing more, okay?" Miriam asked. They nodded.

"And when you two go to parties I've decided to lift my ban on dancing, okay Helga? But just remember that I can always put it back if problems arise."

"Really?" Helga asked eher mother excitedly. Miriam smiled and nodded.

Helga's head was spinning with all of this good news! She could have easily kissed Arnold right then, if not for the fact that their mothers were sitting right in front of them and had just made a rule that they were to wait on the kissing for a few years (of course, Helga intended to find ways around that rule).

§

A few weeks later Arnold and Helga were on another morning interview show, this time about the buzz surrounding a new episode, Summer Love (a.k.a. Beach Story).

Helga sat a folding chair getting her hair done and fiddled with her dress hem. She had on a white dress and pink leggings, but part of her wished she could just wear her pajamas. 'I hate mornings' she thought to herself. She got up from the chair and began to walk over to get her makeup done, only to bump into Arnold.

"Hey beautiful," he whispered, pulling her into the shadows so they could have a little privacy.

"Hey handsome," she whispered back. Arnold smiled and kissed her nose.

"Are you nervous about going out there?" he asked, nodding in the direction of the stage.

"A little," Helga said, "But you're here, so I'm pretty okay."

"Same. I just wanted to give you something for luck."

"Arnold, you didn't have to get me anything!"

"Well, actually it's two things, but I only bought one of them. Close your eyes." Helga did as he asked and felt something being fasened around her neck. She looked down to see a small, heart-shaped locket. She looked at Arnold, who pulled a similar locket out from benieth his shirt and opened it to show her the picture of her inside.

"This way you're always with me," he explained.

"Arnold! This is so cute! I'm going to put your picture in mine as soon as I can!"

"I thought you might say that, so I cut out a picture for you," he said, gently pressing the small picture into the locket.

"Perfect," Helga said. "Oh, what was the other thing you wanted to give me?"

"This." Arnold gently placed a hand on her shoulder to steady himself and kissed her lips. This was the first time they had been able to secretly break the rule of no kissing since said rule had been established.

"O-oh..." Helga breathed.

"Ten minutes everyone, ten minutes!" called a stage manager.

"I still have to get my makeup done!" Helga panicked.

"Don't worry, you have plenty of time," Arnold assured her, "Here, I'll walk you. Just like how we met, huh?"

Helga tripped over a cord in surprise and landed in Arnold's arms. He set her upright and chuckled.

"Are you okay, Helga?"

"Y-you remember that day in the rain?"

"What? Of course I do, Helga. It was the day we met, and I remember thinking that you looked like you were having a bad day, and I wanted to do anything I could to help. I...I also thought you looked really pretty," Arnold blushed a little.

"Oh, uh, thanks," Helga said, tucking some hair behind her ear.

§

"And we're back with two kids who, along with the rest of their charming cast, have become stars in one of the most popular kids shows in America. Give a big "Hello" to Helga Pataki and Arnold Shortman! So you two, the social media sites are blowing up with rumors about the next episode of your show, which apperently is going to have another kiss? Everyone went wild for that first one, so tell us: is it happening again?"

"Well, our new episode is called Summer Love (a.k.a. Beach Story), and we're actually going to shoot on location at the beach for most of it, so we're pretty excited. As for any kissing, I'm not allowed to give away any possible plot lines. You'll just have to wait and see," Arnold said.

"Aw come on, give us a hint?" the interviewer begged.

"Sorry, Matt, but our lips are sealed!" Helga laughed.

"Oh, okay. I guess we'll just have to wait until it airs. So, how about something a little more real? Even bigger than the buzz around your show is the buzz around you two. Tell me, are you two a thing?" both kids blushed, but Arnold managed to speak first.

"Um, well, yeah, I guess you could say that."

"Really? How sweet! How did it happen?"

"Well, um, we met the first day of filming and became good friends, and then at that party a while back I think we just kind of clicked in a way we hadn't thought of before," Arnold said.

"Aw, that's wonderful! So, what was your first thought when you met each other?" Helga blushed brighter; she knew what Arnold had really thought. Would he say it on TV? Part of her wanted to keep that just between them.

"Well, it was raining, and I could tell she was lost, and all I could think was how lost I felt the first time I was on set. I remembered wishing I had someone to show me around, so I decided right there to help her out."

"Be the knight in shining armor, huh? How sweet. And Helga?"

"Oh, um, well I was lost, like Arnold said, and I was scared that I wouldn't be able to find my way back, and then when I saw him...I wasn't scared anymore."

The studio audience "awww'd" and Matt smiled like they were the cutest thing on the planet since puppies.

"Well I think I speak for everyone when I say I hope you two have a wonderful relationship, and we can't wait to see you next time. We'll be right back after this commercial break!"

"And we're clear!" someone called from off stage. Arnold and Helga stood up from the couch and headed back to the green room.

"So, we leave for the beach tonight, huh?" Arnold said once they were alone, dropping into a chair.

"Yeah. It's going to be weird staying in a hotel with all the other girls, but I think it's going to be fun."

"I know what you mean. It's a good thing everyone gets along, or it could be really hard being in such close corters with everyone."

"Yeah. I'm really happy we're going to the beach. I love walking on the sand and feeling it between my toes. I hope we'll have some time to just have fun."

"I'm sure we will."