Chapter 10: Did That Just Happen?
The next morning came, and they were awoken by a knock on the door. "Hey Shortman! Shortman's Girlfriend! It's 7:30. Don't you have school today?" Phil asked.
Arnold jumped out of bed, shaking Helga anxiously. "Helga! Helga! We're late for school! We've already missed the bus!"
Hearing what he said, she jumped up to get dressed, her only concern for the morning being tardy for class.
The two of them raced downstairs with eyesight bearable hair and dirty clothes. Helga raced for the door as Arnold found Phil and said, "I need the car grandpa!"
Not waiting for his response, he took the keys, and the two of them made a break for the garage. Helga's heart was pounding, not wanting to be late, as Arnold's only concern was how upset she may be if she was.
They made it to school at 7:55, not caring to follow the speed limits on the way. Helga ran inside, not thinking to say goodbye to Arnold. He was a bit disappointed, but didn't blame her for wanting to make it to class on time. As Helga raced through the halls, Rhonda stopped Helga in front of the other girls to say, "Oh look, it's Helga! I heard you and Matt had quite the escapade, yesterday!"
Helga rolled her eyes as she snapped, "Save it princess!"
"Oh, watch it now. Wouldn't want to show Matt your true colors." Rhonda said, not caring how mad she made Helga.
Arnold was approaching the same part of the hallway they were in as he heard Rhonda teasing Helga. He expected Helga's insecurities to get the best of her. Instead, she responded.
"Yeah, well Arnold's my boyfriend so it doesn't matter what Matt thinks of me! Now shove off. If I'm late to class, I'm wringing your neck!" Helga scowled as Rhonda's jaw dropped and a smile formed on Arnold's face like it never had before. He couldn't wait to see her at lunch to tell her once again how much she meant to him.
Helga made it to class just as the bell rang. Her anticipation turned out to be somewhat pointless, as the teacher appeared to be nowhere in sight. Just then, Helga was tapped on the shoulder. She looked up to see Amanda standing behind her with a note. "What's this?" she asked irritably.
"Matt asked me just ever so nicely to give this to you." Amanda said.
Helga rolled her eyes, as she took the note and waved Amanda off. I truly enjoyed our kiss yesterday. Perhaps I'll be waiting by your locker again soon!"
Helga gulped at the sight of those words, just as the teacher walked in.
"Hello class, sorry I'm late! Yesterday I believe we were discussing unrequited love."
The class nodded their heads, uninterested in what was about to be said.
"Unrequited love is one of the most painful things a person can go through. People don't realize emotional pain can be as terrible, if not worse, than physical pain. If you're a sensitive person, rejection is one of the most petrifying feelings a person can experience. To avoid the thought of such an experience, some people may find it easier to hide their true feelings from a person. They think to themselves, imagining the possibility what they want happening is better than knowing the reality of it not happening." the teacher explained as Helga gave her full attention to the lecture. While she finally felt a connection with Arnold, it was nice seeing there were others out there who experienced the same emotional conflicts she struggled with.
Lunch time came, and Arnold anxiously headed for the cafeteria, passing Gerald on the way.
"Whoa buddy! Where's the fire?!" Gerald asked, knowing who his friend had to be rushing to see.
"Oh, hey Gerald. I'm just meeting Helga for lunch." Arnold said, not quite being able to bring himself to a halt.
"Uh huh… Well tell her not to go all out, if I'm buying for everybody!" he pointed a finger at Arnold, not understanding what could be so exciting about having lunch with Helga.
Meanwhile, Phoebe was approaching Helga in the cafeteria. Advancing closer, she noticed Helga to be a bit disconcerted. Her body trembling excessively, her feet tapping against the hard cafeteria tiling profusely, her fists clenched into one tight wad.
"Helga?" Phoebe questioned calmly as she could. It did no good however. The moment Helga sensed any motion, she felt as though she was about to leap out of her seat.
"Huh?!" she gasped.
"Are you alright, Helga? You appear to be so tense?" Phoebe gazed at her nervous facial expression, as she pulled up a chair to sit beside her best friend.
"I..I.. kind of have a problem, Pheebs." Helga muttered, unable to relax her body.
Looking at the despair in her best friend's eyes, she didn't hesitate to ask, "What is it?"
Helga unclenched her fists to show Phoebe a crumpled up note...
I truly enjoyed our kiss yesterday. Perhaps I'll be waiting by your locker again soon
Not having been told about Helga's unpleasant encounter with Matt, Phoebe asked, "Is this from Arnold?"
Helga held a hand to her face at the stress of it all, and replied, "No! It's from Matt!"
Nearly dropping the note, Phoebe looked at Helga in astonishment and asked, "So.. you and Matt have…Does Arnold know?"
Still staring at the table, Helga let out a deep sigh as she answered, "Yeah, yeah, he earned himself a front row seat to the disastrous debut!"
"And he was okay with it?" Phoebe continued on with her questions, still razzled by the whole situation.
"Oh yeah Pheebs...he absolutely loved it….No! He wasn't okay with it! Sheesh!" Helga snarled in disbelief at her question.
"Did he not do anything to stop it?" she demanded, losing her politle sense of tone.
"I told him I didn't appreciate the way he always tried to fight my battles for me. That it was one thing to ask me to show my sensitive side, but I couldn't just be flat out defenseless, like he was imposing I should be. Then Matt was waiting for me at my locker. I told him to leave me alone, but he grabbed me to kiss me and wouldn't let go. Arnold didn't feel right butting in, because I told him to stop trying to defend me." Helga explained as her tone grew lower and more shameful.
Phoebe gave her friend a sympathetic look as she simply said, "He knows you love him Helga. If you feel vulnerable around Matt, just keep Arnold next to you."
Helga's eyes shot up at the accusation of her experiencing any type of vulnerability whatsoever. It was then she realized, just earlier that day she held tight to both her emotions and reputation. As she told Rhonda off that morning for making fun of her, she proudly admitted to loving Arnold while doing it. She no longer felt defenseless now that she wasn't walking around all dolled up. She could let her reputation show to anyone who messed with her about anything she did not approve of them messing with her about.
As Helga was pondering this information, Arnold and Gerald walked up to the table. "Hey Helga! Hey Phoebe!" Arnold addressed them both happily as he sat down next to Helga.
Gerald sighed at the crowd in front of him. He didn't see them as a group of friends. He saw them as three extra mouths to feed. "All right! What's everyone having?" he asked depressingly.
"I'll go with you to get the food Gerald. You can't carry it all." Arnold insisted, as they waited for the girls answers.
"I'd be happy with a simple salad." Phoebe requested with a loving smile on her face. Arnold looked over to see Helga staring off into space, as he asked, "Helga? Are you alright?"
"Huh? Oh yeah fine." she answered, hoping he wouldn't ask what was bothering her.
"What would you like us to bring you from the lunch line?" he asked hesitantly.
She put her hand to her head, not in the mood to answer questions. "I'm really not hungry, Arnold. You don't need to get me anything."
Before Arnold could respond, Gerald dragged him along and said, "Great! One less mouth to feed!"
Phoebe sat there, feeling Helga's inquiry had been taken care of. However, thoughts continued racing through Helga's mind, all narrowing down to, My mind won't be at ease, until Matt confronts me again, and I'm able to prove my publicly known feelings for Arnold can't stop me from punching that sucker's face in!
As the two girls waited patiently for the boys to return, Arnold and Gerald were waiting for the line to start moving. "I know I swore I wasn't going to eat pizza again any time soon, but it's the cheapest thing on the menu." Gerald thought to himself out loud.
Feeling a bit of sympathy for his friend, Arnold put a hand to his shoulder and said, "You know Gerald, Helga's not eating, and I can pay for my own food. That just leaves you and Phoebe to worry about." Gerald's distraught look immediately turned to one that screamed Here's my credit card, get ready to swipe!
"Well in that case, after I get my lady her salad, I think I'll get myself one of those big steak sandwiches they always got waiting at the end of the line!" he exclaimed, imagining himself already digging into it.
"You know Gerald, your speech is at the end of the week. You don't want your stress getting the best of you." Arnold said holding his hand behind his neck.
Gerald crossed his arms, pouting at the floor, knowing Arnold was always right. Arnold felt as though Gerald had been given a coupon for a buffet, and he had just pointed out the expiration date to him.
"Look at it this way. Just make it through Friday, then the pressure's off, and you can eat whatever you want!" Arnold smiled softly at him, hoping it would have some sort of impact on him.
Gerald turned to look at him with an appreciative look, as he said, "Thanks man. We still going to the gym this afternoon?"
Arnold looked back at the table where the girls were sitting, knowing something had to be bothering Helga. Seeing she was in the same position he left her in, elbows on the table, staring off into space, not speaking to Phoebe. He felt he owed Helga a special night after their movie was cancelled.
"Uhh sure, sounds good. I guess if you and Phoebe want to stop by my place after school, Phoebe can hang out with Helga, while we go to the gym." Arnold suggested as the two did their secret handshake.
Finally, they were back at the table. Arnold with a club sandwich in his hand, and Gerald with two salads. "Here you go babe!" Gerald said as he placed Phoebe's salad in front of her. As she looked over to see what he had chosen to eat, she couldn't help but comment, "You're eating a salad too?"
"Yeah. I had my eye on that steak sandwich, but Arnold here set me straight." Gerald sighed at the salad while smiling at Arnold, with a hand on Phoebe.
She gave him a supportive smile, which made him all the more confident he had a chance at winning the election.
Arnold took a seat next to Helga, her eyes still wondering around the room. "Here Helga. I got you a soda. You can have some of my sandwich too, if you decide you're hungry."
Her fingers brushed Arnold's as she reached for the bottle. Her heart then fluttered as she saw him smiling at her, and for a moment she forgot about Matt. He scooted closer to wrap his arm around her, as she drank her soda. With her soda in her right hand, she laid her left hand on top of Arnold's hand to put on her right shoulder. Rubbing it back and forth, she thought to herself I don't like being rescued, but I love the feeling of protection he brings to me. The comfortability that surrounds me whenever he is near.
"This salad is exquisit!" Phoebe exclaimed, seeing Gerald did not concur. His facial gesture towards his salad was quite similar towards the one he made when he saw Arnold trying to feed Helga.
"Are you sure you're not hungry, Helga?" Arnold asked, worriedly.
"I'll be fine, Arnold." she said annoyed, while not letting go of his hand.
Half way through his sandwich, he couldn't stand the idea of Helga not eating something. "Please just take a bite!" he begged her, as she gave him an absurd look.
"I'm not a baby, I don't need you to feed me!" she scowled.
Arnold gave her a half lidded stare as he leaned closer to her with the sandwich in her face and said, "Apparently you do."
As she looked into his eyes, she forgot for a moment there were two other people at the table with them. She put down her soda and put her hand up to his face, smiling at the idea of how much he cared about her. She had always felt safe with Arnold, but this was the first time she had ever felt comfortable. Hundreds of other students were around, but all that mattered to her was the warmth of his love and care. Her mind melted into the idea of him always being there to take care of her until her thoughts were suddenly interrupted…
"Will you two just finish that sandwich before I throw up my salad!" Gerald commanded, snapping Helga out of her daze.
"Oh fine! Give me a bite." Helga opened her mouth, as Arnold set it inside. She struggled biting off a piece, as big as the sandwich was. When Arnold saw how hard it was for her to break off a piece, he couldn't help but say, "Let me know if you need help chewing that."
Helga quickly guzzled down her Yahoo soda, so she could scowl, "Hey! It's not my fault that bacon was extra chewy! Glad I didn't let you get me anything! Sheesh!"
Arnold rolled his eyes at her pride, then wrapped his arm around her waist. Holding one of her hands in his, he leaned in closely and said, "That's okay. I saved you some dessert!"
Her eyes widened as his lips nearly reached hers, their noses resting on each others. Arnold thinking back to the moment in the hall when she proudly scowled at Rhonda they were an actual couple. He then removed his hand from her waist to behind her head, and laced their fingers in their hands. At last their lips met, and although part of Helga's mind was reminded they were around several other students, the other part melted at sharing this moment with him.
Phoebe kept her mind on her salad, not caring about the chemistry sparking at the opposite side of the table. Gerald however, tried to intervene. "You do know they have a janitor's closet for that type of behavior?"
Neither of them paid attention. As Arnold sucked her tongue harder, Helga began to moan. She felt every urge to jump into his lap, as butterflies filled her stomach. Chills began to run up her back, feeling him start to run his hand up and down her arm.
Arnold slowly released her tongue, giving them both a chance to catch their breath. Not removing their faces from each other's, he examined her flushed cheeks, and trembling lips. Feeling the constant vibration in her arm, he slowly whispered to her, "Are you comfortable with this?"
Her eyes darted from each corner of the cafeteria. Some people were enjoying their lunch, looking away with their own conversations. Others were facing in her direction, sending awkward facial gestures, while whispering to their peers. As she was about to have second thoughts, she looked back at Arnold and melted into his eyes. The love of his concerned look for her, the warm touch of his arms around her, the sweet smell of his hair she had longed for so many years to know the shampoo for… This possession of the love of this one amazing boy, was worth more than the respect of the entire student body.
She smiled back at him and responded, "I'm more than comfortable."
Gerald rolled his eyes as he dropped his fork, pushed away his salad and said, "Well I'm not!"
Helga reached for Arnold and locked lips with him once more. As she wrestled with his tongue, his body stiffened and his mind froze. She's comfortable with this? Hoping he hadn't done anything to manipulate her, he finally felt the urge to relax his nerves and pull her in closer. Her chest was now pressed against his, as he moved his hands further up her waist.
Phoebe finally lifted her head, to see Gerald dropping his jaw in astonishment at the two love birds. While she simply smiled at the idea of her best friend having the courage to not let their peers run her life, she noticed Gerald's petrified reaction. She reached to cover his mouth when she noticed he was about to say something to interrupt their special moment.
Rolling his eyes at Phoebe's sweet gesture to look out for their friends, Gerald turned to whisper in her ear, "Will this lunch never end?" She giggled at his remark, understanding how he felt.
Helga then slowly removed her lips from Arnold's and began to ask, trembling "Ar..Arnold?"
Looking at her with lovesick eyes, he asked "Yes, Helga?"
"Do..do you think we..we took things too far?" she asked, hoping he didn't regret anything.
"I'll say you did!" Gerald snapped, as Phoebe kicked him, hoping to send him the message this wasn't the time to intervene. Helga was at last becoming comfortable with the idea of showing her true feelings for Arnold around their peers.
Arnold rested his lips against hers without kissing them, as he whispered, "I'll never regret anything I do around anyone with you."
As she felt her heart begin to pound, she let out a lovesick sigh. Just as he was about to lean in for another kiss, the bell rang. Gerald jumped out of his seat, "At last! Well my lovesick friend, meet you in the hall!"
Arnold just waved, not caring to take his eyes off Helga. While he sighed at the idea of having to leave her, he could still feel her warm lips on his.
"I guess I'll meet you outside, after school." he said to Helga, as she batted her eyelashes. "Sounds good football head."
The two of them got up from the table and headed in opposite directions to their classes. Arnold saw Gerald all the way at the end of the hall. Although they weren't in the same class, he did enjoy walking with him. "Hey Gerald! What's your hurry?"
Gerald stopped to wait for him, as he turned to Arnold and said, "I don't know what you did to get her to open up to you in front of everyone like that man, but I wasn't going to stick around for the sequel!"
Arnold began to blush as he looked and thought Maybe we did take things too far in there? "Sorry Gerald, I just got carried away. She's FINALLY okay with admitting to everyone she's in an open relationship with me!"
"Congratulations, but that doesn't mean the physical part of it has to be 'open' to everyone!" Gerald pointed out to him.
"I know, it's just that…" he began, as Gerald listened, hoping they wouldn't be late to class.
"We overslept this morning, so all Helga could think about was making it to class on time. We didn't talk in the car, hold hands, or do anything." Arnold explained.
"Sounds awful" Gerald said wittingly, raising an eyebrow.
"Then when she raced inside without me, I made it in to see Rhonda pestering her about Matt." Arnold cringed his fists at the idea of Matt coming onto Helga
"Mm..mmm….mmmm. How'd that turn out?" Gerald wondered.
"Helga shouted that I was her boyfriend, and Matt's opinion of how she acted didn't matter." he told Gerald, trying not to smile too big.
"Well, looks like you finally got your wish buddy!" Gerald said, with a bit of relief.
"Yeah, I just hope she meant it." Arnold said, sighing at the ground.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Gerald asked, as he raised an eyebrow, wondering what problem his friend could be creating for himself now.
"She could have just been trying to get Rhonda off her back. I mean she was worried about being late, so she didn't really have time to stop and think about what she was saying. Plus, saying stuff she doesn't mean to look tough is kind of her thing. Then again saying she likes me is the one thing she hasn't been able to make herself say to anyone, because it WOULDN'T make her look mean…" Arnold went on rambling until finally Gerald intervened.
"Arnold! What is wrong with you?! This overthinking of yours is the whole problem standing in the way of your relationship!" Gerald exclaimed.
Snapping out of his troubled mind state, Arnold looked over at Gerald and asked, "What are you talking about."
Gerald stopped walking to get Arnold's undivided attention. As he turned to face Arnold, he said in a regretful voice, "I know this goes against everything I just told you, but THINK about it! Helga told you she's been in love with you since grade school. However, basically all that stands in the way of her allowing you to… act out that sick lunch time performance from earlier every day of the week…. Is the fact that she cannot stop thinking about other people's opinion of her. She finally gained your interest, but couldn't stop thinking about how that may affect her reputation. Now here she is reaching out to you, and all you're thinking about is finding some sort of lame excuse as to why she could be doing this. Every time you two get what you are craving, you think to yourselves, 'there's got to be a catch to this.'"
Arnold's head fell to the floor as he let Gerald's information, which he had been blind to, sink in. "I'm sorry Gerald. It just doesn't seem possible that I could have such an amazing girl, be this interested in me."
Gerald began walking again, placing a hand on Arnold's shoulder as he followed. "Whatever you say, buddy."
When they went their separate ways, Arnold walked into Calculus, uninterested as always. Even with the stress of what could have truly been behind Helga's reason for releasing those meaning words in the hallways that morning running through his head, he could still feel the warmth and love from her sweet lips pressing against his.
Leaving class without bothering to take any notes, Arnold headed for the front door as soon as the bell rang.
With Arnold on her mind, Helga had forgotten about Matt's threatening letter. Not needing to stop by her locker, she raced through the front doors, anxious to see Arnold. Instead, she saw Rhonda, chatting with Nadine and Lila.
"Out so soon Helga? I thought you'd take a few extra moments to spend with Matt." Rhonda giggled and Helga clenched her fists and said, "No, but maybe I could send him your number. I'm sure you two would hit it off just great, Princess!"
"I can hit it off with any guy Helga, I'm just that good!" Rhonda replied, as she flipped back her hair with a wave of confidence.
"Really? Because I'm pretty sure Curly still writes your name all over his books. Want me to give him your number?" Helga asked wittingly.
After seeing Rhonda's angry glare and no response, Helga proudly turned away. She then bumped into Matt. Her eyes wide with terror, while his hand laid on her with pleasure. "Hey babe, I didn't see you at your locker?" he flirted with her, not caring how uncomfortable it may make her.
"I didn't need to go. Now shove off!" Helga replied, feeling great to have some ammunition back in her personality.
Arnold was exiting the school as he saw Matt grabbing Helga at the end of the sidewalk.
"I'd rather shove you on me!" Matt pulled her close, not letting her escape.
Helga struggled with fury as she screamed, "Let me go geekbait!"
Arnold's face turned bright red as he saw Matt begin to rub her waist, and place his head on hers. As Helga tried to defend herself, she wasn't strong enough to fight Matt's grip.
As Matt was about to place his hand across Helga's chest, he felt someone grab his fist tightly. He loosened his grip on Helga, to turn around and see Arnold ready to punch him.
"Let...Her...Go!" Arnold demanded, as Helga backed away, not caring at that point who the hero was.
Matt laughed at his anger, as he responded, "You're shorter than I am. What makes you think I'm afraid of you?"
Helga's fist clenched at the idea of anyone making fun of her beloved.
Knowing he had a point, Arnold responded, "If you ever come near her again, I'll go straight to the principal's office!"
Rolling his eyes, showing he wasn't the slightest bit scared, Matt began to say, "What makes you th…"
With that, he fell to the ground in front of half the school. Arnold turned to look at Helga, still holding up her fist in fury, as she screamed to what may or may not have been a conscious student, "NO ONE MAKES FUN OF MY BOYFRIEND LIKE THAT!"
Listening to her, Arnold couldn't decided what was more shocking to him... seeing her punch Matt, or hearing her announce Arnold was her boyfriend...and in front of half the school!
Finally able to set her fists down, she turned to Arnold and said, "Well football head let's get going. Pheebs and Geraldo will be at your place soon."
She reached out for his hand, not thinking twice about who was watching them, as Arnold said, "Oh..um..right Helga!" Arnold looked back at Matt still laying on the ground, not being able to help feeling a bit sorry for him. Helga continued walking, as though she had forgotten he was even there.
After walking in silence for a bit, considering everything Gerald had told him, Arnold finally felt the need to question Helga's motive.
"Hey, um… Helga?" he asked hesitantly, wondering how big of a mistake he was making.
She turned to look at his troubled face, wondering what could possibly be wrong. "What is it?"
"Do you really feel comfortable calling me your boyfriend? Are you sure it wasn't just a heat of the moment ordeal. I mean, you were in a pretty big rush to get to class this morning. Then, Matt was being a jerk to us." Arnold continued to question the logic of the situation, hoping there was no need for it.
She smiled at his suspicion and said, "So this is really how it's going to be? I open up to you… then you pull away from me."
"What? NO! That's not what I meant at all! I just didn't want you to feel pressured into doing anything you weren't comfortable with!" he gasped, trying to explain the reason behind his questioning.
"Relax football head. I know it was shocking, and to be honest. I'm still probably not as completely comfortable with it as you are. I'm realizing that announcing my feelings does come with a sense of relief. I can still stand up for myself and have a sensitive side. Like you said, it's okay to be sweet and sour." She winked at him as he turned to kiss her. Before she bent down, she couldn't help but say, "Yeah, it does suck that you haven't grown much since school. That you're just now my height."
He straightened up to glare at her, sighing as he said, "Whatever you say, Helg.."
No sooner had he finished his sentence, she turned to kiss him, running her fingers through his hair, and her tongue alongside his. Before she straightened up, she whispered to him, as she released their lips, "You're perfect, just the way you are."
His face turned red as she caressed his cheeks, rubbing her soft hands against them. He thought to himself, Do I REALLY have to go to the gym tonight?
Before they knew it, they were back at the boarding house. Helga stood back as usual when Arnold opened the door. "I think Abner's starting to like you Helga." Arnold smiled as Helga snorted and said, "He's smarter than he looks, evidently."
The two of them passed by the kitchen where Phil was playing checkers with Oscar. "Hey grandpa!" Arnold waved.
"Hey shortman! How was school?" Phil asked, as Oscar moved two of the pieces.
"Well it was..." Before he could finish, Helga butted in.
"Arnold knocked some poor sucker right on his butt! He fell to the ground in front of the entire school. Kids screaming! It was a real riot!" Helga yelled with anticipation.
"Arnold, you did what?" Mr. Kakashka asked, as Phil raised his eyebrows in disbelief.
"No, I didn't punch anyone! I was defending Helga, when Matt wouldn't leave her alone! Then, uh… she kind of… punched him. That is, when he started making fun of me." Arnold lowered his head, feeling a bit of embarrassment.
"You let your girlfriend beat someone up for you?" Phil questioned.
"Grandpa! I did not LET her… we were helping each other out." Arnold tried to explain, as Helga held back a laugh.
"Anyway, Gerald and I are going to the gym tonight. Phoebe will probably be staying over a while to hang out with Helga if that's alright." he explained.
"Guess if you need your girlfriend to fight for you, it's not a bad idea to go to the gym!" Phil insisted.
"Grandpa!" Arnold left annoyed as he dragged Helga upstairs, still trying not to laugh.
The two of them made it to his bedroom, as Arnold threw his book bag near the computer and Helga took a seat on the bed as usual.
"So, you didn't want to be the hero in the story?" she asked, still messing with him.
"You know I'm not that kind of person Helga! Arnold sighed, as he went through his dresser, taking out his work out clothes.
Still smiling, Helga watched him take off his clothes, as she responded, "Yeah, we both know that's true. I can't believe you ever thought you could defend me."
Only having his shorts on now, Arnold walked over to her and asked, "What's that supposed to mean?"
"It MEANS football head, you're about as mean as you are tall! You're not aggressive!" She scowled as he approached her in his shorts. Her eyes grew as he crawled on top of her to say, "Are you sure about that?"
"Pre..pretty sure." she hesitated, as he pressed his nose against her.
Not moving his face away from hers, he said softly, "Let's find out!"
He held her head tight, sucking her tongue as if the moisture that came from it was the air he needed to breath. Not long after he started, she began to moan, thinking about how badly they both wanted this closeness in the cafeteria. As he heard her moan, he began rubbing their parts together. He lifted her up to gain more pressure, until he couldn't take it anymore. He took off his shorts, along with her pants, hoping to get a more extreme feeling of passion stimulating.
As he rubbed faster, he lifted his hands under her bra. Feeling the closeness of his soft hands against them made her nipples stiffen. Suddenly, they heard a knock on the door. "Hey Arnold! It's us man!" Gerald knocked as Phoebe stood beside him.
As Arnold jumped off Helga, panting for breath, he said, "Gi...give us just a mi...minute Gerald."
Gerald put a hand to his face when he heard this. He then crossed his arms and looked at Phoebe, "Dare we even ask?"
A moment later, Arnold opened the door, with a red face and short of breath. "Hey...hey guys! Come on in."
"Mmm...mmm..mmm!" Gerald shook his head as Phoebe giggled, walking in with a stack of papers. She saw Helga (red as well) sitting nervously on Arnold's bed. "Hello Helga! I brought some flyers to put the finishing touches on while the boys are working out."
"This election may be easier for him to win than you think Pheebs!" Helga smirked, gaining back her confidence.
"Why is that?" Gerald asked, lifting his eyebrow.
"We suckerpunched Matt for you! Fell straight to the ground! Blood everywhere! No need to thank us!" Helga said confidently, while Arnold rolled his eyes at her exaggeration.
"Oh my! That sounds terrible!" Phoebe exclaimed as Gerald dropped his jaw.
"Helga, that is not what happened! Yes, he did get hit. Yes, he did fall to the ground." Arnold tried correcting her.
"But…" Gerald said.
"There was no blood, or rioting." Arnold finished.
"Even so man, I can't believe you hit someone! Gerald exclaimed.
"I didn't, it was Helga. Matt wouldn't leave her alone, so I went to help her." he began.
"Sounds like she ended up helping you." Gerald said wittingly, as Helga and Phoebe laughed.
Arnold sighed irritably approaching the door. "Whatever you say Gerald. Come on, let's get to the gym. We'll be back soon guys."
"Take your time football head! We can take care of ourselves...I'm not so sure about you." Helga teased as their two friends laughed along.
Arnold and Gerald then left the room as Phoebe looked at the wide smile on Helga's face, and said. "It seems you're finally content with the way things are between you and Arnold."
"Yeah Pheebs, I'm starting to see this open relationship thing isn't such a big deal. Every now and then I come across someone who needs a fist thrown in their face for throwing an unnecessary opinion my way. Aside from that, it's been good." Helga sighed, still smiling.
"I suppose we won't be needing to put too much effort into these posters and flyers then. That is, if Matt won't be recovering any time soon." Phoebe questioned, looking at the stack of papers on the bed.
Helga shrugged her shoulders at the question as she replied, "The heck if I know Pheebs. I just know when my fist meet his face, his face met the ground, and the two of them met my back."
Trying not to giggle, Phoebe tried pushing for more information., "So, what exactly was Matt doing to you?"
Not wanting to reveal the information, Helga sat silently for a moment. Seeing the miserable look on her face, Phoebe put her hand on Helga's shoulder and assured her, "I'm always here if you need to talk."
Helga looked in her direction, thinking to herself how lucky she was to have a friend like Phoebe. "I raced outside to find Arnold after school."
Nodding her head in an understanding matter, she replied, "I'm not surprised after that 'tasteful' lunch the two of you shared."
"Oh give me a break Phoebe!" Helga scowled, rolling her eyes.
Still smiling at her friend, she said, "Sorry Helga. Please continue."
Quickly getting over Phoebe's remark, Helga went on to say, "Rhonda stopped me as I exited the school, to pester me about Matt."
Sending her friend a puzzled look, Phoebe asked, "How does Rhonda know about the two of you?"
Helga shrugged her shoulders, frowning at the floor as she explained, "Apparently her and several other students saw him shove his tongue down my throat. I guess I'm not surprised. We were in the hallway when school let out."
"So, what did she say to you about it then?" Phoebe asked anxiously.
"Basically, she told me to pretty up my act if I didn't want to lose him. I told her earlier this morning, Arnold is my boyfriend, and I could care less about Matt." Helga tried keeping it short.
"That's amazing Helga! You finally admitted your feelings in front of the school!" Phoebe said full of joy as she hugged her best friend.
"Yeah, but that didn't stop her from pestering me. That is, until I embarrassed her with the idea of offering to give her Curly's phone number." Helga smiled, as she began to laugh.
"Anyway, no sooner had I turned away from her direction, I bumped into Matt. He held me tight, trying to feel me up." she began to feel more comfortable explaining as Phoebe asked, "Oh my, what happened then?"
"I threatened him to leave me alone, but I wasn't strong enough to break free. Just when he was about to hit second base, Arnold walked up. At that moment, I really didn't care who told him off. Then, he made fun of how short Arnold is. He's not the midget he was in grade school, but he's still not approaching six feet like the other guys.
I felt my rage building up inside me. Without thinking about it, I punched his lights out and warned him never to make fun of Arnold again." Helga finished, shaking at the thought of everything that had happened that day. She had announced Arnold was her boyfriend, let him feed her, made out with him, and held hands all in front of the school.
Seeing Helga was still overwhelmed by all of this, Phoebe patted her friend on the back and said, "I'm proud of you...and you should be too!"
Meanwhile, Arnold and Gerald had made it halfway to the gym. "So, tell me some more about this fight Bruce Lee!" Gerald laughed.
Arnold rolled his eyes, knowing he wasn't going to get any more lenience from Gerald than he did Helga about the situation. "I walked outside and saw Matt with his arms around Helga."
"Kind of like the first time you saw them together...but decided not to pull out your ninja moves." Gerald said jokingly.
"He was trying to feel her up Gerald! She was threatening him and shouting for him to let go. She just wasn't strong enough to get away. Luckily, I stepped in before he could take things too far." Arnold said irritably as he thought about Matt with his arms around Helga.
"All she needed was your permission to punch him. That or for you to cause a distraction, so she could be the one to punch him." Gerald said, still not being able to knock off the jokes.
"You might as well say that." Arnold sighed.
Gerald looked at Arnold's depressing face and said, "Cheer up man! It's like having your own personal bodyguard!"
"I just wish I could do that for her. When Matt made fun of me, she punched him and said 'No one makes fun of my boyfriend!' But the best I could do for her was threaten to go to the principal." Arnold sighed as Gerald stopped in front of the gym.
"Arnold! You got Helga G. Pataki to announce her feelings for you! Trust me man, you've done enough." he said, as the two entered the gym.
As the boys entered the building, they walked down the hall, passing the auditorium. Gerald looked around and said, " .mmm. This place sure brings back memories."
"Yeah, like the time the boarders and I were on Fighting Families." Arnold recalled, as Gerald rolled his eyes and said, "I'll say, the sight of your family made everyone want to scream 'commercial!'"
"Thanks Gerald." Arnold responded sarcastically, as Gerald patted his back to say, "Don't mention it buddy."
When finally approaching the end of the hall, they entered the gym. "This place hasn't changed a bit!" Arnold said, looking at the rusty bleachers, the poorly painted walls, and the clock hanging that was still off by three hours.
"The only good thing about it, is Coach Wittenburg is nowhere in sight." Gerald said, as he and Arnold went to lift some weights. "So, I guess with Matt out of the way, you won't have anything to worry about on Friday." Arnold said, as he tried picking up a fifty pound weight.
"If I'm lucky, he won't even show. Then they'll have no choice but to make me class president. No speech necessary." Gerald said, watching Arnold struggle with the weights.
After an hour of lifting weights, and debating on whether or not Matt would even show up at school the next day, the two of them headed back to the boarding house. "Man, I can't wait to show my new muscles to Phoebe!" Gerald exclaimed.
"Uhh… I don't think they've formed just yet Gerald." Arnold sighed, rubbing the back of his neck.
"You always have to be right about everything don't you." Gerald said, feeling his fun had been ruined.
"Well yeah, so I might as well ask, you're not going to go home and have ice cream, or anything else 'fun' to eat are you?" Arnold pointed out.
Gerald rolled his eyes in disbelief at Arnold's ability to think that far ahead, yet he wasn't surprised. "No, man I promise!"
When the two made it back to Arnold's, they went to his bedroom to find Helga and Phoebe hadn't moved from where they were left.
"Oh, you boys are back so soon?" Phoebe asked, as she saw them entering the room.
"It's only been an hour, and you smell like you've been gone a week." Helga scowled, as Gerald walked over to Phoebe. "Come on babe, let's go home. Maybe we can stop for desert!"
Arnold immediately crossed his arms as he glared in best friends direction, "Gerald!"
Passing by him, he patted Arnold's shoulder and said, "Just kidding buddy. We'll see you two at school tomorrow."
"See ya Pheebs!" Helga waved, as did Arnold to Gerald.
Closing the door, Arnold turned to face Helga and hear her say, "So, you think you're strong enough to protect me now?"
Feeling tired, Arnold gave a weak smile and said, "Probably not. I'm going to take a shower. Care to join me?" Not thinking about what he had said, she looked up at him and asked, "What did you just ask me?"
They had done it one before. Much like their other big first time intimate situations, they considered it a 'heat of the moment.' After all, neither of them wanted to leave the other that night they got the hotel.
"Ohh..umm..I..uhhh...I mean. You're welcome to come. You know, if you want. Like you said though, you can take care of yourself. It's me who needs protection." Arnold said, trying to think of a good excuse for what he had just asked her.
Helga gave a blank stare, thinking to herself for a moment, We'll we've already seen each other naked. What's adding a little hot water to the situation going to hurt?
Her eyes then fell into a half lidded gaze as she forced herself to hold back a lovesick sigh. "Sure football head! I mean, you could probably use someone tall to reach those top spots on your head, am I right?" she smirked.
Arnold rolled his eyes as he said, "Very funny Helga, You know we're the same height now, so I can't be that short. I'll be back with the towels."
Before he could walk away, Helga shouted, "Arnold wait!"
To his amazement, he turned sharply and asked, "What is it?"
"Umm… as much as I want to. Don't you think your parents might find it awkward. You know, seeing us come out of the shower together?" she began to blush as she let out her question, while picturing the two of them walking the hallway in nothing but their towels.
"You do have a point, but everyone's asleep. My grandpa might be downstairs. Every once in awhile, he'll be grabbing a snack out of the fridge. My parents are never wandering around in the middle of the night, however." Arnold said, hoping to put her mind at ease.
Helga began to relax her muscles as she said, "Well okay then Arnold."
Having finally caught his breath from the workout, Arnold's mind began to run more clearly. He then turned to Helga and said, "We could just change in the bathroom. The towels are already in there, if you'd like to just go ahead and follow me?"
She sat up casually, hoping to hide her nervousness as she said, "Whatever floats your boat football head!"
The two of them walked quietly down the dark, empty hallway. While Arnold's mind was at ease, Helga couldn't help but sense someone may at some point catch them. Upon arriving at the bathroom door, Arnold slowly turned the knob as Helga practically shoved him aside and raced in with anticipation.
Arnold stepped in with her as he said wittingly, "Don't worry, I'm sure no one heard that loud thump you caused me to create by shoving me into the wall."
She turned to glare at him, as she said, "Hey! If we get caught, you'll be joining Matt on the ground tomorrow hairboy!"
Arnold turned on the hot water as Helga began getting undressed. She didn't understand what there was to be so nervous about. Every night for the past week, they had made love. Perhaps it was just the idea of someone catching them that had her so frazzled. Her mind was suddenly distracted as she felt warm hands wrapped around her waist. With the two of them completely undressed, Arnold whispered to her, "I'm sorry I couldn't protect you."
Helga immediately turned around to look at Arnold. She kissed his lips, that tasted as sweet as he was. He began to pull out her hair ties, as he watched her golden locks wave gently across her face. Not letting go of her lips, he reached over to check the temperature of the water. As he felt the steam from the shower rising, he pulled away from her to say, "I think we can get in now."
She was already in with him in her own mind, as she began to blush and said, "Okay." He helped her step in, as she felt the rush of hot water pour on her skin. It was nothing compared to the avalanche of water that smoothed out his two broad fields of hair. Steam poured from behind him, as she stood there, not knowing what was keeping herself from melting along with it.
He reached behind her, not thinking about her blank stare. He returned in front of her with a bar of soap and a bottle of Aveda Shampoo. Looking into her wide blue eyes, he handed her the shampoo and suggested, "I'll wash your body while you wash my hair."
Not receiving a response from her, he poured the shampoo into her hands, as he rubbed the soap across her breasts. After setting the bottle down, he pulled her face close to kiss her. Melting into his mouth, as well as the moment, she began running her fingers through his hair. As he ran the soap over her, front and back, she scrubbed his head tighter. Making sure to run her fingers through each strand of hair she could find.
When he let her lips loose, she rested her head against his. Breathing in the intoxicating aroma of the shampoo she had always been hypnotized by. Her eyes opened when he began rubbing his soapy hands along her private area. Her heart leapt with joy and a tingling sensation scattered throughout her body. When he was finished, Arnold pulled her head off his to whisper in her ear, "Ready to switch sides?"
She gulped as he stepped out of the way of the hot water, so she could rinse the soap off her body. He then handed the soap over to her, and poured himself some shampoo to do her hair.
When she was barely able to make herself speak, she asked, "One..one.. Question?"
He kept a smile on his face as he asked, "What is it?"
"Umm… how are you going to reach my hair?" she asked, trying not to ruin the moment.
Giving her a puzzled look he asked, "What do you mean? I'm your height now?"
She couldn't see that however. She stood there thinking back to when they were kids, and the boy she fell in love with. Not being able to remove that image from her mind, she replied, "No...I'm pretty sure I'm still taller."
Not wanting to upset her, or ruin the moment anymore than she did, he replied. "Hmmmm…. How about you sit down, while I stand beside you and wash your hair? You can do my body afterwards." He winked at her.
Nearly fainting after hearing that, she slowly sat down in front of him. As she faced the wall, she could feel his shampoo filled hands running through her long silky hair. She sat there with her eyes closed, focusing on the insanity of it all. Never had she thought they would end up together. Now here she was, sitting in his steam filled shower, with his moisturizing hands working wonders on her tender scalp. Even in the hot shower, chills took over her body as she then felt his soapy hands travel from her hair, to her shoulders, around her breasts. He rubbed them softly with his cleansing hands, until he moved back up alongside her shoulders to her hair. As she was on the vurge of passing out from a combination of relaxation and denial that this could be reality, there was a whisper in her ear, "I think I'm done now."
She opened her eyes and turned as he helped her to stand under the hot water. He watched her scrub the soap from her hair, entranced by the suds that fell along each lovely part of her body. When she finished washing it out, he handed her the soap and said, "Guess there's just one thing left to do." winking at her.
Her hand trembled as he placed the soap in it. She began running it up and down his arms, then all along his front side. As she was doing this, an electric shock filled his body. Butterflies were gathering in his stomach, as she neared his lower region with the soap. It was then, he pulled her in and kissed her passionately. She began to lose focus scrubbing him, as he pressed their parts together. Before they knew it, she was on top of him on the shower floor. Both of them were too wrapped up in each other, emotionally as well as physically, to notice how cold the water was getting.
When he finally released their lips for oxygen, Helga looked down at his entrancing eyes. "Ar..Arnold"
Forgetting for a minute where they even were, only thinking of her, he responded, "Yes, Helga?"
"I think we're clean now." she pointed out.
He then stopped to consider how cold the water was beginning to feel, and noticed the goosebumps forming on her skin. Taking one last look at her beautiful drenched body, he began to sit up. "You're right. Let's get out." he said.
She stepped off him to turn off the faucet, as he stepped out to grab their towels. No sooner had she turned around, he was standing in front of her, ready to wrap a warm towel around her. As he dried her off from head to toe, the chills from the cold air that ran up their spines could not outweigh the warmth from the love each of them felt from the other.
"I can't put those dirty clothes back on, so I'll step out first. You're welcome to redress before coming back to the room, or just wait until I've been gone a few minutes." he suggested, as he kissed her head.
Helga sat alone in the bathroom with hair towel pulled up over her chest. She thought about how much the love she felt for Arnold had progressed over the past week, not knowing it could advance anymore than it was when they were kids. While the secret love she felt for him as kids was utterly romantic, the open-heated relationship she now shared with him was utterly relieving. No longer was she torn between hiding her passion behind her reputation; her mind was at last at peace.
After a few moments of considering how lucky she was to have reached a new point in her love life, she headed for his room. Hearing someone approaching the end of the hallway, she moved quickly toward his door. Just as she began to turn the knob, she heard, "Hey Shortman's girlfriend! Having some wet fun with a certain someone?" Phil winked at her.
Helga's face turned bright red, as she put a hand behind her head. "What do you mean?"
"Well we wouldn't want Arnold slipping and hurting himself in the shower, now would we?" Phil laughed, not caring about what might have happened in there, as he turned and walked away. Helga quickly raced inside before anyone else caught her.
Arnold smiled at her as he saw her enter the room, listening to her say. "Well, you were right about your grandpa!"
His face dropped as he asked, "Did he catch you coming out?"
"Worse! He knew we were in there together! AND he joked about me being in there to protect you?" she scowled.
Arnold shrugged his shoulders as he said, "Well, at least he wasn't upset. He's pretty lenient about that sort of thing. My parents wouldn't have been so forgiving. They also wouldn't have been as suspicious as him however. It's kind of a win lose situation."
She rolled her eyes as she said, "Oh well, as long as he can keep a secret, no harm done I guess."
He walked over to her, kissing her softly as she was still wrapped up in her towel. He held his hand against her wet hair, picturing running his hands through it. After he was through sending shivers through both their bodies with his tongue, he said to her, "Go put on you pajamas. You must be freezing!"
She walked over to the bed to replace her towel with her nightgown. Even after drying off, they were too cold to sleep naked that night. He crawled into bed next to her, as the two of them got into their usual sleeping positions. She set the clock for the next day, while he turned out the lamp. Before passing out, he ran his fingers through her wet hair once more and said, "I love you so much, Helga."