Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters mentioned in this story.

They all belong to their rightful owner: Craig Bartlett.

Title: "Lovely misandry"

In the last chapter: After finding out that Wolfgang and his friends had once again taken Gerald field away from them, Helga decides enough was enough and despite Arnold's pleadings, she went to fight the boys. Her classmates watches as she didn't just fight them, but enjoyed it to the fullest. Helga confessed those feelings to Arnold and that her misandry might be worse than they imagined.

In such a vulnerable state, it wasn't surprising that when Zoe told Helga she was being cruel to Arnold by giving him false hope, she couldn't help but wonder if she was right. Helga ended up believing in Zoe's words and told Arnold she didn't want to hurt him anymore and thereby broke up with him.

Author's 1st note: Guest reviewer: "As much as that hurt (for Arnold at least, Helga seemed ok), I'm glad that happened so that they can begin to move on. They didn't have anything together and weren't going anywhere. I have hope that Zac is going to catch Helga's eye more. And Arnold may want to think about joining the Peace Corps. Or the Army."

Oh, anon, I have a hate/love relationship with you xD I'm just gonna say this: If you hate Arnold so much, why are you reading fanfiction with him? No, he's not gonna join the army. No, he's not going to die. No, nothing bad is going to happen to him so don't hold your breath. Also, fair warning; you're gonna hate this chapter ;D

[Please notify me if you notice any grammar mistakes. This isn't my first language, so there's bound to be mistakes.]

Chapter 10: "A treasure"

"Come on in, Gerald."

"Thank you, Mr. Shortman." Gerald answered and walked into Sunset Arms. Miles closed the door behind him and turned to look at him. "I'm guessing he's still curled up like a shrimp in his bed?"

"Sounds about right." Miles said bitterly and crossed his arms. "Has Helga told you her side of the story yet?"

Gerald frowned. "Sort of… I mean, I honestly had a bit of a feeling that something like this was gonna happen…" He answered and backed towards the stairs. "I'm gonna go check on him."

"Sure. Try and see if you can get him to come down for dinner tonight."

"Ok." Gerald answered and hurried up the stairs. He gave a bit of a shiver once he was out of Miles' sight. He really didn't mean to, but he always felt uncomfortable around him. He wasn't sure why. He headed up to Arnold's room and knocked on the door. "Arnold, it's me… Again. Can I come in?"

"Yeah." A weak voice answered.

Gerald walked inside and saw what he had seen yesterday as well; Arnold lying on his bed, listening to some radio station. He still had the look of a dead fish in his eyes. Gerald sighed and went to sit on the couch.

"I talked to Helga today."

Arnold flinched at the name, but sat up and looked at Gerald hopefully. "What did she say?"

"Well… not too much, actually. Just that she felt like she had been deceiving you all this time and didn't want to do that to you anymore."

"She wasn't lying to me. I knew how she felt…"

"She knows that… Thing is, Arnold, I don't think she ever believed her feelings for you were gonna change. So she feels like she lied to you by trying to date you."

Arnold shook his head. "That's just stupid… I knew what I was getting into, that there was no promises."

"I told her that too."

"And?"

"And… nothing. Like I said, she didn't say a lot. It's clear she feels guilty though."

"She shouldn't."

"No?"

"No… I was the one who got my hopes up. She didn't do anything wrong. She tried and I expected too much." Arnold said and chuckled bitterly. "It's not Helga's fault."

"No, it's Zoe's." Gerald said and scrunched his nose.

"What?" Arnold whispered and looked up. "How is it Zoe's fault?"

Gerald crossed his arms. "I… kinda talked to Zoe too because Helga mentioned that they talked after what happened at the vacant lot. Helga didn't tell me anything, but I got a feeling Zoe said something that bothered her… so I went to talk to Zoe."

Gerald told Arnold about the conversation he had with Zoe at school just before he came to Sunset Arms. Zoe and Zac had been on their way home, but Gerald had managed to get to them before they got to their car. Zoe hadn't been too keen on talking to him, but Zac had the car keys and said he wasn't going anywhere until she talked to Gerald. So Zac had stayed behind while Zoe followed Gerald to the opposite side of the parking lot.

"What have you said to Helga?" Gerald had started out asking.

Zoe had blinked, obviously surprised that Helga had told him. "Only the truth… if she couldn't handle it, that's her problem."

"It's not Helga I'm worried about, it's Arnold."

"He'll realize it's better that she breaks up with him now than later when he had fallen even more in love with her."

"What are you talking about? Did you tell Helga to break up with Arnold or something?"

"I didn't tell her to do anything! I just told her what it's like to be the one who has unrequited feelings!"

"You… what? What are you talking about?"

"I've tried being in Arnold's situation! If they kept going they were they were, it would just hurt him more! But that's all I'm gonna say! I don't want to have anything more to do with any of them! I'm done. See you tomorrow."

Zoe had then left Gerald who had decided to go straight to Sunset Arms.

Arnold blinked, processing the information he had just been told. "What the heck did she say to her?"

"Don't know. Wanna ask her?" Gerald asked.

Arnold looked at his phone, remembering that Zoe had forced her phone number on him some time ago, and grabbed it. "I need to know what she said to Helga." He muttered and called Zoe. She answered it after a couple of rings, but she didn't even get to say hello. "Zoe, what did you say to Helga?"

There was silence for a moment before Zoe sighed. "Look, Arnold… I know it hurts right now, but imagine how much more it would hurt in a half year when Helga still doesn't feel anything for you. The longer she pretends to like you the more hurt you'll be when you realize it's a lie."

"Helga wasn't pretending anything!"

"She was dating you, wasn't she?"

"Yes, but not really! She said from the beginning she didn't feel the same way and I knew that! I knew what I was getting into! I know Helga doesn't feel that way about me, I know she has trust issues, but I also know she's working on them!"

"And what if she gets over her issues, but still doesn't love you?"

"Then that'll be that. She won't love me. I can't change Helga's feelings for me, the same way she can't change the way I feel about her. I've been in love with Helga for so long that I can't imagine not being in love with her. It doesn't matter to me how she feels, it doesn't change how I feel about her. I will continue to love her and be there for her even if she started hating me. I won't leave her side until she tells me she wants me to. I just want her to be happy."

"… That sounds really masochistic."

Arnold rolled his eyes. "Well, I'm a cat-lover after all!" he argued and hung up. "I don't know what she said to Helga and I don't care anymore. I just want Helga to know that I'm not angry with her or feel like she lied to me or—"

"You love her." Gerald interrupted, his face shock-stricken.

Arnold looked up at him questioningly. "What?"

"You told me you liked Helga. You told me you were in love with her… You never said you love her."

Arnold felt his cheeks flush red and he scratched his head awkwardly. "Well… I do."

"I know, but… you never said it. Not like that." Gerald pointed out. "Did you just realize that you love her? Or have you started loving her since you started dating?"

"I'm… not sure, but… I did tell Helga I fell in love with her all over again some time ago." Arnold answered. "My feelings have definitely gotten stronger."

Then Zoe was kind of right… Gerald thought, but kept it to himself. It didn't matter if she was right or not.

"I don't know what to do, Gerald…" Arnold confessed. "I want to see Helga, talk to her and tell her she didn't do anything wrong. It was sweet of her to try… That means so much to me, but I feel like if I tell her that she won't believe me… so what should I do?"

Gerald thought for a moment and then went to sit next to Arnold, patting his back. "I wish I could answer that, buddy."

"You're miserable, he's miserable, so what the hell are you trying to do?"

Helga kept her face hidden in her arms, half her body sprawled on her desk. "I already told you…"

"Well, I think it's bullshit." Patty argued and turned the volume up on Helga's radio. "You don't want to hurt him, but now you've hurt him so badly he hasn't been in school ever since. Mrs. Oah is starting to ask about him!"

"Look, what do you want from me, Patty?" Helga asked angrily and finally showed her face, her eyes red from crying. "I already told you what happened! You saw what I did to Wolfgang and his friends! What if something like that happens again? What if I'm actually just some ticking bomb? What if I… hurt Arnold that way?"

"That's not gonna happen."

"How do you know?"

"For a million reasons! But the bigger ones would be that Arnold has never pissed you off like that and you care about him. Wolfgang is an asshole who's had a good beating coming for a long time. Who cares if it came from you or from some bastard in the jail he'll eventually end up in?" Patty answered and grabbed at Helga's arm to make her look at her. "Look, Helga, I get your fear, but I really think that you're making a mistake here. You were making progress and I don't think that breaking up with Arnold will make your progress faster. On the contrary, it was healthy for you to be social with him and the other boys."

"Yeah, look how much that helped!"

"You can't ignore the rest of your progress because of one minor setback!"

"Minor?!" Helga repeated.

"Ok, one major setback, but still." Patty insisted and watched as Helga hid her face again. "What I'm saying is that if anyone out there can handle your misandry and help you through it as a friend then it's Arnold. He's good for you, Helga. He's the exception."

"I'm not good for him though."

"Oh, be a little selfish, would you? Also, I think that's crap. Look what's happened now that he is without you. Gerald had to practically pull him out of bed just to talk to him the first day he visited him."

"He'll get over it… When I think about how better he would have been, if I had just never dated him to begin with, I feel so guilty."

"I don't think he would have been any better." Patty insisted. "Arnold can handle a lot more than you think, Helga. He's not some weak little boy. I know that's how he used to be, but he's grown up. Getting his parents back into his life did wonders to him even though I still kinda think his parents suck."

Helga chuckled. "They are right about me though. I'm not good for him."

"What the hell do they know about you or even their son? They left him for twelve years! Their opinion doesn't matter. Arnold knows you and you know Arnold." Patty said and put her hand on her arm again. "Helga, he is the exception. If anyone can deal with your shit it's him. Don't think so little of him."

Helga was about to say something, but the song on the radio caught her ears. She turned to look at the radio in disbelief. Patty look at it too, smirking at the radio station's timing. Helga groaned and let her forehead smack onto the table.

"Oh, criminy. Turn that off, would you?"

"Hit a nerve?" Patty asked bitterly, but turned the radio off anyway.

"Shut up."

Little did Helga know that Arnold was listening to the exact same radio station at that moment. He hadn't turned off the song though even when he recognized it and felt his heart sting from the words.

"The only exception…" Arnold mumbled and gave a bitter chuckle.

"Arnold, are you coming down for dinner?" Stella's sweet voice asked outside Arnold's door.

"Yeah." He replied and got out of his bed.

Arnold threw on some fresh clothes and met his mom outside. She kissed his forehead and walked with him downstairs until they reached the dining room. They all greeted him fondly and he gave a tired smile back. It wasn't like he hadn't seen them in weeks, but it felt like a very long time when you were as close to your family as Arnold was.

The dinner was quiet for a long time. Arnold could feel that his family wanted to ask him how he felt, if he was planning on going back to school tomorrow or if he had heard from Helga. He was happy they weren't asking, especially his parents. He had hated telling them in particular what had happened. He knew how they felt about Helga and he knew they would blame her for everything. His grandparents had been good at keeping them in check to make sure they didn't just salt his wound, but there was a limit to how long you could make two adults with minds of their own shut up. That limit was reached.

"I knew it was gonna end in heartbreak." Miles muttered, mostly to himself.

"Miles." Phil said warningly, but continued eating his dinner as if nothing had happened.

"No, dad, I need to say this!" Miles said and looked at his son who looked back at him. "I just want you to know that this is not your fault, Arnold. You never did anything wrong at all."

"That's right, sweety." Stella chimed in. "This is all on Helga."

Arnold frowned, but tried to ignore the comments. "You make it sound like Helga's to blame for everything." He couldn't help but argue though.

"Of course it is!" Stella said in shock. "Who else would be to blame?'

"Well, it takes two to tango." Arnold argued. "Also, you guys don't know all the details so just… please let it go, ok?"

Miles was quiet for a moment, but then he shook his head like he just couldn't control himself. "I've always had a bad feeling about that Pataki girl."

"Miles, Arnold asked you to shut up." Phil scolded.

"He did not!"

"He put it more politely, but it's the same thing! Also, he's right. You don't know Helga like he does, so don't talk like you've known her for 16 years when it's only been 3."

"Those 3 years was enough to show me that she does whatever the hell she wants!"

"Stop it…" Arnold begged in a whisper, but Miles didn't hear him.

"She drinks god knows how many times a week and pulls Arnold into those drinking habits. She shows no respect for the people around her, including Arnold, and she doesn't care about anyone but herself!"

"Stop it!" Arnold shouted and instantly started coughing. His throat had gotten a shock from his sudden outburst, but the coughing fit ended soon enough. "Don't talk about Helga! Grandpa is right; you don't know anything about her and you don't know anything about our relationship either!"

"Arnold, sweety—"

"No, don't sweety me right now!" Arnold told his mom and glared at his dad. "Helga tried so hard to do something she was uncomfortable with for my sake. Do you have any idea what she's been through and how hard it was for her to try and date me? No, you don't, because you weren't there! You weren't there when Helga came crying here because her parents were fighting, you weren't there when Helga helped me more times than I can count, but you were there when she helped me find you in San Lorenzo and yet somehow, that doesn't mean anything!"

"Arnold," Miles said sternly. "a few good deeds doesn't make up for—"

"A few?! It was much more than a few! And who says you get to decide that anyway?!" Arnold shouted. He couldn't help himself. He just felt so much anger and rage all of a sudden and he wanted to be polite and keep it in, but he just couldn't. The words poured out of him before he could think. "You don't have any right to return after 12 years and then start telling me who I should or shouldn't be friends with! Don't pretend that you know anything about Helga, me or what we've been through! This is just as much my fault! Would you please just stop blaming everything on Helga all the time?"

Arnold stood up from the chair and walked out of the room, leaving his stunned parents behind him. He had never raised his voice at them, he had never dared. He had been so happy that they were finally back in his life and a part of him had feared that one wrong move would make them leave him again. This time, that fear was forgotten. They had blamed Helga for whatever they wanted before, but this hurt even more than before. He wasn't going to let them think they could say whatever they wanted. Parents or not.

Arnold had been about to fall asleep, with Helga's picture cradled in his embrace, when a knock woke him up. He said it was ok to come in and Phil and Gertie walked inside, wearing their usual, kind smiles. Arnold smiled back at them as they went to sit on each side of him on the bed.

"You know your parents just don't know any better, right, Short Man?" Phil asked.

"I know and I'm not angry or anything… I just didn't want to hear anymore."

"Don't blame you, Kimba." Gertie said and kissed the top of his head. "Human parents don't really know what to do with their cubs. That's why I've learned all my parenting skills from animals! They always knows what their cubs need!"

Arnold chuckled at his grandma's usual crazy banter, but it didn't cheer him up as it usually would have. "I don't know what to do… I want to call Helga, but I don't know if she even wants to talk to me or if I'll just make things worse."

"Actually, Arnold, Pookie and I have talked about going to talk to her ourselves." Phil said with his usual toothless grin. "Maybe she'd listen to us?"

"Oh, no. No, no, no, I'm afraid she'd feel put on the spot if you do that. Thank you, really, but… I don't think it would help."

"Don't be so sure, Short Man. We can be quite convincing." Phil said and grinned at Gertie. "Isn't that right, Pookie?"

"Yes, Popsicle Chin!" Gertie agreed and made an evil snicker while she pulled a rope out of seemingly nowhere and tightened it in her grasp.

"Oh, no, please, you two! Just leave Helga alone, ok?" Arnold begged, afraid of what his crazy grandparents had in mind.

"Ok, Short Man. We'll leave her alone." Phil said casually and stood up from the bed.

"Grandpa…" Arnold warned while his grandma followed. "I mean it!"

"Of course you mean it!" Phil grinned. "Goodnight."

Arnold was about to say something more, but his grandparents were already outside his door. He could hear them laugh to themselves and somehow, he had a feeling they were just going to do whatever they wanted. Like usual.

Helga yawned as she walked out of yet another day of school without Arnold. She was starting to get worried and had been debating all day whether she would be allowed to go and check on him. A familiar Packard caught her eyes though. She looked towards it and saw Phil and Gertie waving at her. She waved back in confusion before she headed towards them. She was about to say hello to them right before Gertie walked behind her and put a bag over her head. Helga shrieked in surprise, but didn't fight against the elderly couple as they threw her into the Packard and drove off with her.

When the bag was finally pulled off Helga's head she glared at Gertie. "What did you do that for?!"

"It was fun, Eleanor!" Gertie excused and put the bag away.

Helga waved her hand in front of her nose. "You could have chosen a cleaner bag though… Where are we?" she asked while Phil opened the door for her. She stepped outside and looked up at the big building in front of her. "Circle Theater? Why are we here?"

"Helga, have I ever told you the story about how Pookie and I met?" Phil asked while Gertie started running around Circle Theater.

"Uh… no?" Helga answered questioningly, wondering why Arnold's grandparents had kidnapped her to tell her an old love story.

"Pookie and I were actually classmates ever since pre-k just like with you and Arnold."

"Really?"

"Oh, yeah, but we were not friends. Gertie used to pick on me a lot. Like calling me names, making fun of me, pulling pranks on me and getting me into trouble all the time!"

"You're kidding!" Helga bellowed and looked towards Gertie who was in the middle of stealing some souvenirs in the form of the posters on Circle Theater. "Actually, that doesn't surprise me that much."

"I really hated her as a kid." Phil said with a far-off look in his eyes. "So when she told me that she actually really liked me when we got into high school, I couldn't believe it!"

"Don't blame you."

"But she was serious and stubborn so even if I told her I couldn't see her like that, she kept following me around. It was pretty annoying to begin with so I told her to stop. Then she apologized to me for the first time in our lives. She apologized not just for following me around all the time, but for bullying me when we were children, the whole shebang. And I was so shocked that I didn't get to move away when she kissed me. After that, I was hooked. It was only a matter of time before I fell for her too."

Phil neighed happily while Helga stared at him in shock. "So… just from one day to the other, you fell in love with Gertie?"

"Oh, no, no, no, no, Helga. It wasn't until we were in our 20s that we went on our first date! To Circle Theater, actually." Phil said and looked back at the building. "I said I was hooked, but that's only because Gertie got me wrapped around her finger! She never gave up on me and she's the kind of woman to get what she wants. She's a good person and good things come to good people who are patient. She waited for me for 20 years… and look at us now!"

"You fight all the time though." Helga pointed out with a smirk.

"That's because she still picks on me!" Phil said dramatically. "Like when she decides to only serve us watermelon for three nights in a row."

Helga couldn't help but give a hearty snicker, but she still had one question left. "But haven't you hurt her a lot over the years? I mean… she was in love with you and you didn't feel the same way for so long. That must have hurt."

"Oh, it probably did." Phil agreed and grinned. "But I'd like to think I made it up for her with the love I've given her since then. You see, Helga, when people love you, they forgive you for your mistakes. That's just how it is. And some people love you unconditionally."

At that, Gertie came running back with the posters in her embrace. She showed them off to Phil excitedly, telling him they had to go and see every show this month in the theater. Phil agreed without question and she kissed him lovingly. Helga watched the entire display and a fond smile grew on her face. She looked at Circle Theater one more time and then asked if they could take her back to Sunset Arms with them. They agreed happily and then got into the Packard.

Once they returned to Sunset Arms, Helga was on her way up the stairs to see Arnold, but ran into Stella and Miles in the hallway. The three of them stayed still, Stella and Miles shocked to see Helga again and Helga uncomfortable in front of Arnold's parents after what she had done. She took a deep breath and smiled at them.

"I'm sorry for everything up till now… I'm young, stupid and I have my demons… but I want to try. And I want to try for my sake as well as for Arnold's. I can't promise anything because I'm not psychic and I can't see into the future… but for the first time, I really believe that I can do this."

Stella and Miles weren't given a chance to answer before Helga had run past them and up the stairs. She felt an odd sort of rush go through her and she didn't calm down until she was in front of Arnold's room. She took a couple of breaths before she knocked on the door.

"Gerald?" Arnold asked from inside his room.

Helga chuckled. "Try again." She answered. Instantly, she could hear scrambling from inside the room and she could easily imagine Arnold rushing to open the door for her instead of just telling her she could come in. The door was opened and the wind blew in Helga's face. She looked Arnold over; he was wearing a blue pajamas, his hair was tussled and his eyes were slightly red. He was a total mess. "Hey, Football Head."

Arnold took a couple of deep breaths before he answered. "Hi…"

The boy couldn't believe it; when he had heard Helga's voice, he would have sworn he was hearing things. Why would she be here after all? Now that he could see her, he suddenly felt very conscious about the way he looked. He ran his hand through his hair and gulped.

"Uh, why—"

"Can I come in?" Helga interrupted.

Arnold looked at her in shock, but nodded and stepped aside to let her in. The girl walked inside and looked the room over in surprise. It was usually so neat and right now it just was not. Still, it wasn't nearly as messy as most teenagers' rooms were on an everyday basis. Helga watched as Arnold walked past her to grab his robe.

"You embarrassed about being in your jim-jams, Football Head?" Helga asked sarcastically.

Arnold blushed at the question, but continued tying the robe around his body. Once he was done, he sat down on his bed. "Are you here to… um, did my grandparents—"

"Put a bag over my head and kidnap me? Oh, yeah."

"What?!"

"Relax, it was fun. Sort of."

Arnold sighed and smacked his face into the palm of his hand. "I told them not to do anything…" he swore. He looked up when he felt his bed move and saw that Helga had sat down next to him.

"Well, you might wanna thank them later." Helga said with a smile. Before Arnold could ask her what she meant, her smile faded. "Your eyes are red."

Arnold rubbed his eyes. "Um, yeah… I haven't been sleeping very well."

"I'm gonna choose to believe that." Helga said a bit sadly and sighed. "Arnold… do you know how your grandparents met?"

Arnold looked at Helga in surprise. "Um… no, I don't think so actually."

Helga smiled. "Well, they just told me the whole story and I gotta say… I don't really like mushy love stories, but that one really touched me."

"Yeah? W—Well, what did they say?"

"Phil told me how Gertie used to bully him a lot… and that he actually hated her for many years, even when she told him she really liked him when they were our age."

"Wow, I… had no idea."

"But Gertie is a stubborn woman so she kept following him around, hoping he'd someday forgive her and maybe even fall in love with her." Helga explained and looked into Arnold's emerald green eyes. "She never gave up on her love for him… even though it took her years. That's kinda amazing, right?"

"Yeah… grandma's amazing." Arnold agreed with a smile. "But, Helga, I'm confused… Why are you telling me this? Or rather, why did grandpa tell you about this?"

"As slow as ever." Helga said while rolling her eyes.

"Well, I'm sorry!" Arnold said dramatically and Helga looked at him in surprise. "I'm sorry I'm so stupid and can't control myself!"

"Arnold, I wasn't—"

"But I can't help it, Helga! I'm in love with you so I say and do stupid things sometimes!"

"What does that have to do with—"

"But it's not your fault and it's not your responsibility!" Arnold said and took a moment to collect himself. Helga also went quiet and waited for him to continue to talk. "What I say, do or feel it not your responsibility, Helga. I have a mind of my own, I make my own choices and I chose to date you even though I knew you didn't feel the same way and might never do. I knew what I was getting into and I'm sorry for making you think you hurt me. You haven't hurt me, not once through all of this… It hurt when you gave up, but it's not something you should feel guilty about ever. You did something amazing for me, you tried to do something most people wouldn't."

"Arnold." Helga said gently, but he didn't hear her.

"I just want you to be happy, Helga… with or without me."

"Arnold."

"But I really hope you can still be my friend. It really won't hurt me to be around you just as a friend, it'd hurt me so much more to never be around you again, so I'm begging you—"

"Arnold!" Helga called again and put her hands on his face.

The boy looked up at her, flinching at her touch. She looked him over for a moment before she moved closer. She could see his eyes growing bigger in surprise, but he stayed perfectly still while she kissed him. Perfectly still was even an understatement, he was terrified of moving. Somehow, he was sure it was a dream. He had to still be sleeping and this whole thing was the universe's cruel way of messing with him.

When Helga ended the tender kiss and leaned back, she smiled gently. "Would you listen to me now?" she asked. Arnold nodded mechanically. "I figured that… if Phil can fall in love with someone who treated him like dirt… I can fall in love with someone who treats me like a treasure."

Author's 2nd note: Ah, l'amour… Not sure why that was the only thing I wanted to write in this author's note xD

Oh, and the song Arnold and Helga were listening to on the radio was The only exception by Paramore.