And now, time for the next chapter! Anyway, enjoy!
As the kids were dancing around Arnold and Rhonda in celebration (or maybe some of them were mocking the fact that they were together. Arnold and Rhonda weren't too sure), they looked around as Arnold laughed, "Okay, yes, get it out of your system, we're together."
"Wow, so... when were you going to reveal your little girlfriend to us, Arnold?" Gerald smirked at his best friend.
Arnold groaned as he held his head. "I was going to explain it... at the right time..."
"Well, you certainly picked the right time." Harold smiled as he turned to Rhonda. "I mean, I knew you had standards, but I never thought that Ah-nold would meet yours!"
"That's something we haven't heard you use in a while..." Rhonda sighed before retaining her smile. "You know, we'd love to hang out some more, but me and Arnold have to get going to home. And look, here's our ride now!"
Everyone turned to see Rhonda's parents's car nearby as Brooke waved over to the kids. Rhonda then snatched Arnold's hand as Arnold nodded, "Well, maybe we'll catch up later!"
"Bye, lovebirds!" Harold laughed as Stinky and Sid held in a chuckle.
"Congratulations, you two!" Lila smiled as she waved good-bye to the couple as the two got into the car.
As the car drove off, Stinky paused as he said, "Willikers! Who'd have thought we were right all along?"
"Heh, you know, after everything Arnold went through, I'm happy for him." Gerald smiled as he crossed his arms. "I just can't believe he actually won Rhonda's heart."
"Indeed, it is most puzzling, but I'm sure that these mysteries are never meant to be solved." Phoebe said... as she giggled. "Aren't those two completely adorable though?"
Everyone (save for a disgusted Helga, who just walked away, and a TRULY livid Curly, who stomped off) laughed a bit as Sid said, "I know we are all equal, but how will this change the dynamic we have now?"
Everyone paused as they thought about it... as Sheena came up with something, "Maybe we should just wait and see what happens. I mean, just because Arnold and Rhonda are a thing now doesn't mean we can't treat them like we usually treat them every day..."
Everyone paused as Gerald frowned, "That's a good point. Just let the newlyweds be for now."
"Newlyweds? You do know that term applies if they got married, right?" Phoebe raised an eyebrow, turning to Gerald.
Harold answered for her, "Look at it this way. If they keep going like this, they may be married after high school!"
Everyone paused as they chuckled a bit, imagining that scenario.
"Mother, Father, it's quite a surprise to see you guys turning up, but why?" Rhonda asked her parents as Arnold looked up in curiosity as well.
"Oh, I know you said you and Arnold were going to walk together after school, but we just couldn't resist." Brooke smiled. "We figured you might have still been here, and turns out you were! You're lucky we caught you just in time."
"Yeah... really lucky..." Arnold groaned as Rhonda looked at him apologetically. Arnold then looked up to Rhonda's parents as he asked, "So, why pick us up?"
"Well, we were just on our way to your grandparents' place. Just wanted to catch up, is all." Buckley smiled.
"Really? I thought you wouldn't want to be near the place after... well, since you... er..." Arnold paused awkwardly.
"Went poor? Oh Arnold, yes, we were upset that we lost our belongings and riches for a while, but just because we're starting over again doesn't mean we don't want to remember what we did. Yes, I worked with one of your boarders, but the way I see it, you have to start at the bottom to work your way to the top." Buckley explained.
"Oh." Arnold said as he turned to Rhonda, who nodded.
"So, what was with all your other classmates talking and dancing around you like Muppets?" Brooke asked.
"Oh, well... we had to tell them we were in a relationship. We figured that, well..." Arnold started to tell the truth as he looked over to Rhonda.
"...since we knew this would have to come out in public sooner or later, we had to tell them after school, so that way, they knew what we were doing together for a while." Rhonda blushed a bit.
"Awww..." Brooke smiled. "I understand. Letting your friends know that you're off the 'single' list."
"M-Mom!" Rhonda blushed as Arnold did as well. "You know just as well as we do that... well, uh..."
"Oh, I'm just kidding you again, you sweet girl." Brooke smiled as the car arrived at the boarding house. "Well, here we are."
As Arnold and Rhonda gathered their things and got out of the car, their parents followed closely behind as Arnold opened the door, and looked around. He guessed that his grandfather let all the animals out already or they haven't came back in yet. With no complaints, Arnold and Rhonda came in as they saw Phil peeking from the kitchen.
"Ah, Shortman, I see you arrived with your girl!" Phil laughed as he noticed Rhonda's parents coming in. "And the in-laws already?"
"GRANDPA!" Arnold slapped his own forehead in frustration as Rhonda looked down in embarrassment and Brooke and Buckley laughed.
"In-laws? Well, we're flattered, but in order for that to happen, our daughter needs to marry your grandson, Phil." Buckley chuckled.
"DADDY!" Rhonda said in shock.
"We're kidding!" Phil, Buckley and Brooke laughed as Arnold picked up his book bag.
"Well, we'd love to be further embarrassed by you three, but we have a lot of homework to catch up on." Arnold said as Rhonda slung her book bag over as he said, "Come on, sweetheart."
"Coming darling." Rhonda said in a sing-songy voice as the two grabbed hands and started going up.
"Leave your door open!" Phil laughed as the three watched the two go upstairs. As soon as they noticed they were upstairs, Phil paused as he turned to Brooke and Buckley, raising an eyebrow. "Okay, you said you had a few questions regarding... the subject?"
Brooke and Buckley nodded as Brooke asked, "It's okay if you don't want to talk about it, but we're just curious to know."
Phil paused as he motioned the two over. "Grab a seat, you two. This may require a long explanation."
Rhonda's parents nodded as they followed Phil into the kitchen.
"So, let's just put this in my tombstone now. 'R.I.P. Arnold, he lied to his friends about a relationship he never had in the first place'." Arnold groaned as soon as he and Rhonda were in his room.
"I'm sorry, but what else could I have said with my parents's car right there?" Rhonda said. "I don't want to lose you... as a friend."
Arnold sighed as he looked down. "Strangely, I was thinking the same thing. I didn't want to lose you as a friend either. But you're right. If we had told the others the truth, your parents would be furious and accuse me of taking advantage of you."
"But you're not!" Rhonda groaned. "But now that everyone thinks we ARE in a real relationship... I don't know if I can tolerate the teasing that comes with being a couple!"
"Hey, Rhonda, don't worry." Arnold said as he put a hand under his chin. "Sure, things may look bad now, but... maybe we can keep this going for longer than a week."
"How much longer?" Rhonda asked. "Two weeks?"
"...it would give us some time to think up a new plan." Arnold paused. "But we need to be extremely cautious here. One wrong move and we may be threatened..."
"Or worse, one of us gets painted in a bad light." Rhonda sighed. "And I don't want that to happen to you..."
"Neither do I." Arnold said... as he sighed. "Okay, here's the deal. Once everything simmers down after two weeks, we'll do a break-up without making the other person look bad. Does that sound like a deal?"
"I guess so, Arnold. But what are we supposed to do?" Rhonda asked.
"Well... we got the holding hand part down. And I know enough experience with Lila and a couple other girls that I know what to do on dates..." Arnold explained.
"I've had some good experience in that department too..." Rhonda said... before pausing. "I wonder, do you think we can kiss a couple times, just to make the part convincing?"
"Wait, what? After that surprise kiss you gave me in front of my grandparents that night?" Arnold asked.
"Don't worry, they'll be short ones, not like that long one I did... and besides, you said so yourself I wasn't a bad kisser..." Rhonda smirked.
Arnold paused... as he gave a nod. "Okay, sure. Every once in a while, if someone asks, we'll give each other a kiss."
Rhonda smiled as she said, "We're going to be the best pretend couple we can ever be!"
Arnold paused as he gave a smile back. "And once everything's over, we can explain to our best friends what REALLY happened that night. But... I'm still going to feel guilty about this."
"I promise, Arnold... it'll all work out in the end." Rhonda said as she leaned over and gave Arnold a soft kiss on the lips. Arnold returned the kiss for a few seconds.
Little unknown to the two was that a shadowy figure had just peeked into the glass of the window ceiling and gasped as that person saw the couple kissing. That same person growled as the person started to stomp off in anger and gave a loud scream.
Arnold and Rhonda ended the kiss as they heard the scream as Rhonda asked, "Did you hear something?"
"Yeah... but considering the neighborhood, that's pretty normal." Arnold said. "How did I do on the kissing department?"
Rhonda paused... as she gave a thumbs-up. "Perfect."
And I'll end the chapter here! How did you guys like it? Next time, Rhonda and her parents return home, but as Rhonda is getting ready for bed, someone will not be giving the Lloyds a good night's sleep. The question is... who would that person be? Anyway, read, review, criticize and suggest, everyone!
