A/N: So I was listening to Beyonce's Crazy in Love from the Fifty Shades of Grey soundtrack while writing and this chapter happened...

Chapter 10

It was just a kiss, but it changed everything, just like the very first time I kissed her.

Now, when I look at Helga she seems so different. She tries to hide it from me, but every now and then, I'll catch her with a particular demeanor. It's a look of innocence. It's a look that is written all over the faces of people who are falling in love for the very first time. It's been so long since I've seen that look on her face, that I had forgotten what it had even looked like. Is this the way we used to look at each other when we were first starting out? When had we stopped looking at each other that way?

It seems like we were carrying the weight of the entire world on our shoulders for so long that I hadn't realized how cold we were becoming to each other and how stony that made our hearts become in return. Tell me, when did we lose sight of our way? The world keeps spinning and we keep getting older, but Helga, I never again want to forget how much you mean to me.

Lately, I find that I'm changing too. Every time she accidentally brushes against me, or even when she gets near, I become consumed with this desire for her, and not just with lust, but an overwhelming desire to dominate the other person's heart. A burning, almost thirsting sensation. It's a longing for warmth; a feeling of intense, parched frustration. All this time, my heart has been searching for hers. Its been searching for a connection which had somehow gotten lost along the journey. Whenever I touch Helga, the sensation of her skin, every fiber of her being beckons to me. I want to savor and devour it all.

I am drowning in this madness called love.

The soft rays of early morning trickled in through the slits in the curtains. A clean, comforting scent filled Helga's nostrils. Still half asleep and drowsy, Helga parted her eyes slowly. Smiling softly to herself, she recalled a particularly good dream she was having last night. She had dreamt that Arnold had kissed her. Helga peered around, not fully registering her surroundings just yet. Blinking to reorient herself to her surroundings, Helga almost fell out of the bed when she spotted the blond man sleeping next to her. Arnold was asleep wearing a white cotton shirt that was completely unbuttoned revealing his toned chest.

So apparently that dream she had had of Arnold kissing her was not in fact, a dream. A part of her felt like jumping out of bed and dancing for joy at the reality that she, Helga G. Pataki, had finally accomplished her life long goal of kissing Arnold. The other part of her was just starting to realize that she was in bed with Arnold and any minute now, Helga thought she was going to start convulsing from the shock.

"Mmm," Arnold stirred in his sleep. He turned over to his side facing her. Helga was so close to Arnold by now that her nose was practically touching Arnold's bare chest.

She continued to stare at Arnold's toned chest, watching it heave gently up and down like waves on the sea as Arnold breathed evenly. She gulped as she felt her heart racing at what seemed to be a hundred beats per minute. If it raced any faster, she swore she would get a heart attack from being this close in proximity to a half-naked man in bed and what's more, when this half-naked man happened to be Arnold!

Helga gazed at Arnold's sleeping figure and she felt her face grow flushed. She remembered all those soliloquies she had made when she was nine-years old of how much she had always wanted to kiss Arnold's soft lips, but it was one thing to fantasize about it and another thing entirely to actually do it. With the onset of puberty and a sudden awareness of the changes in both her body and those of the opposite sex, a certain sense of shyness had developed. That was why Helga had always worn baggy clothing to conceal her burgeoning curves when she was fifteen. Helga realized that self consciousness was heightened now that she had the fully-developed curves of a twenty-five year old.

Helga wasn't afraid to kiss Arnold because she feared rejection, that wasn't the issue anymore clearly. She was nervous to kiss Arnold because despite the fact that her body was supposedly twenty-five, her mind was still at fifteen and fifteen year old Helga had had no real experience with boys, let alone a twenty-five year old man. Helga wondered if she was even doing it right. What if Arnold hadn't liked the way she kissed last night? If she tried again, would he just turn away from her? As much as she liked to think of herself as a tough cookie, she really was just a naive girl when it came to relations between a man and a woman. That's why Helga had always pushed Arnold away when he tried to hug her. It's not that she didn't love Arnold's touch, she just didn't know how to act. It was easier for her to put up her tough-girl facade in an effort to seem confident, even when she was anything but. However, last night they had finally crossed that boundary. They had kissed. But what did that mean? Did it mean that she would have to drop her tough-girl act and start acting gooey? It was so easy to lose herself in the moment last night, but now that she reflected on her actions in the light of day the next morning, Helga found that she had no idea how she was supposed to act around Arnold now.

Helga was so lost in all these thoughts that she didn't even realize Arnold had slowly started to awaken. She gasped in surprise when Arnold wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her to him.

"Good morning, Mrs. Shortman." He said still somewhat groggily, smiling down at her.

"A-arnold," Helga began, stuttering as she noticed the position they were in, "I didn't know you were awake."

Helga pushed against Arnold's chest with the palms of her hands, trying to free herself from Arnold's embrace. "W-well, I should get breakfast started. Y-yup, can't miss those good ol' eggs and bacon in the morning." She chuckled awkwardly.

"What's the rush?" Arnold replied in his husky morning voice. He turned himself over so that in one fell swoop, Helga was trapped underneath him, "We can have breakfast in a minute. Right now, let's just..."

Arnold didn't bother to finish his sentence. His muscles stretched taut as he pinned one of Helga's wrists above her head. With his other hand, he stroked Helga's cheek tenderly. His fingers slid down her creamy skin slowly, tantalizingly. The feeling of Arnold's cool skin against her own reverberated through Helga's body. Arnold's long blonde hair softly cascaded down his face, covering a part of his face. His usually kind and friendly green eyes were now dark and glassy with lust. Helga could hear her blood pulsing over the beating of her racing heart and she knew her entire face must be cherry-red by now.

"A-arnold, wait..." Helga began to protest.

As their faces drew closer Arnold thought uncertainly that Helga might really not want this. He paused for a moment to search her face for any sign of fear or objection. Despite the fact that this fervent craving for her was taking over every cell in his body, Arnold still never wanted to force himself on Helga. He loved her too much to do something like that. When Helga had allowed him to kiss her last night, he had thought it was a signal that it was okay for him to be more affectionate with her. Had he misunderstood? As difficult as it had been for him, Arnold had always been careful to keep his distance since the accident. He was still trying to understand Helga's mentality and he knew that she now thought much more innocently than she did at twenty-five. Even something as simple as a kiss might seem like a big deal to a fifteen year old. So Arnold tried his best to take very small steps toward intimacy because he never wanted Helga to feel afraid or uncomfortable with him. But sometimes it was difficult to remind himself of this fact when Helga still looked so much like her twenty-five year old self.

To his great relief, there was no such expression evident on her face. She just seemed slightly embarrassed with a tinge of pink rising on her cheeks. The sunlight was pouring into their room now, bathing both their skin in soft golden hues. A light breeze blew in from the large french glass window, rippling through the soft cotton of Arnold's shirt and prickling Helga's skin making her more aware to the slightest touch. Without a word, Arnold began to trail soft kisses against her bare flesh starting from the center of her clavicle and up the length of her neck. Each kiss filled Helga with such euphoric warmth that she felt like she was going out of her mind. Arnold gazed at her lovingly, his eyes softening with tenderness before biting her gently on the nape of her neck. Helga took a sharp intake of breath at the unexpected sensation and gripped the bed sheets tightly as her body went rigid with trembles. Arnold's every movement, every touch was filled with a mature sense of expertise. As though her body was clay to be molded under Arnold's knowing hands. It was like he knew her body better than she did, he knew all the secret places to touch that she wasn't even aware of. They were locked in a restless, sensuous tango of limbs with Arnold taking the lead.

Arnold brought himself back up and gazed down at the woman he loved. He drank in the sight of her, her ample chest bobbing up and down as her breathing grew more strained. Her half-lidded eyes, drunk off of pleasure; the way the sunlight reflected off her moist pink lips. Arnold felt a smoldering heat bubbling deep within himself and he didn't know how much more he could take. Arnold tightened his grip on her small waist and pulled her up to him so that she now sat straddling his lap. Through the sunlight, Arnold could see the petite outline of Helga's body highlighted through her thin white night-gown. Biting his lip, Arnold tried desperately to control himself. He was going mad with love and lust. He stroked the curve of her shoulder, gently ran his fingers through her hair and brought her face closer to his. Their foreheads were touching now and Arnold paused for a moment to look into Helga's deep blue eyes. He could see himself reflected in her sapphire irises like a mirror. Their breathing was lulled and shallow and he noticed her lips were quivering, anticipating more. He brushed her bottom lip with his thumb and closed his eyes as he pressed his lips against hers.

Slowly, he let himself get lost in the exquisite feeling of her lips on his. The kiss started out slowly and gently like the one they shared last night, but it soon turned ravenous as he deepened the kiss, his lips demanding. Arnold's breathing quickened as did Helga's. Daringly, Arnold touched the tip of his tongue against her lips, begging for entrance. Surprised, Helga opened her eyes but willingly she parted her lips. She felt moist flesh on flesh as their tongues made contact. Exhilaration ran through her veins. She felt as if though every inch of her body was on fire. Arnold nibbled at her bottom lip, eliciting a soft moan from Helga. The sound pierced through Arnold, down his spine and to a particular region of his lower body. The air around them was all heat and electricity and they heard nothing but the sound of skin on skin as their hands gripped and touched and slid.

"A-arnold!" Helga suddenly yelped, springing back out of his grasp.

Arnold opened his eyes. He saw a shocked Helga staring downwards with her mouth agape. He looked down to see what she was looking at and found that he had his hand on Helga's right breast. Helga turned a violent shade of pink and looked back at him with her mouth agape. Arnold quickly withdrew his hand. He had been so lost in his desire for her that he hadn't even noticed that his hand had ended up there. It used to be so natural to touch his wife that it was like his hand had just guided itself there from muscle memory.

Now it was Arnold's turn to blush as red as a tomato. "S-sorry Helga, I-I didn't realize," he said as reality began to sink in. Helga wasn't thinking like a twenty-five year old right now. Of course it wasn't natural to touch her like that anymore. Arnold felt like an idiot and the magical moment they had been sharing previously was now shattered.

"Um... I guess I should start on breakfast now," Helga said awkwardly, trying hard not to look at him. She rubbed the side of her arm self consciously.

"Y-yeah, I gotta go to work. I should take a shower," Arnold replied.

A cold shower, Arnold thought sarcastically to himself. He cleared his throat and got off the bed, making his way to the adjoining bathroom while mentally haranguing himself for doing such an idiotic thing. As the door closed behind Arnold, Helga found herself sitting on the bed completely unsure of what to make of everything that had just happened. She felt like a whole new world had opened up to her. Of course, it wasn't like she was a little kid. Kids in highschool made out all the time (especially the annoying couples who always made out in front of everyone in the hallways) but she was pretty sure that none of her classmates knew what it felt like to feel what she had just felt. All Helga knew was the clumsy touches and awkward kisses of pubescent teenagers. She didn't know anything of the sensual world of adults. At least she hadn't until today.

It was hard to imagine that lanky fifteen year old Arnold,the Arnold she remembered, would grow up to be well..like this. Helga blushed again as she recalled the feeling of Arnold's hand on her. It all felt like it was going so fast and she didn't know if she could keep up in twenty-five year old Arnold's world. Twenty-five year old Arnold was confident in the way he kissed her and while he was still the gentle, kind person Helga had always known, he had also developed a sense of assertive sexuality. Yet, Helga thought as she brushed her fingers over her lips, she had sort of liked this side of Arnold. Helga smiled to herself. She had had only a taste of this new world but she was curious to know more.

"Alright, everyone! Take five. No actually, why don't you all take fifteen minutes break. You've been working hard, you deserve it." Arnold called out. Beaming from ear to ear he put down his megaphone and walked off to the cafeteria to get himself something to drink.

The day hadn't been going as productively as he hoped, but Arnold didn't care. It seemed like nothing could dampen his mood today. Even though there was that mishap in the morning, it was still a step forward in his relationship with Helga. Helga. Even the thought of her name made his heart do flips. What was he fifteen? Arnold chuckled at the thought. He was acting like a teenage boy falling in love for the first time, but it felt great.

Arnold took out a few crumpled dollar bills from his wallet and fed them into the soda machine. The soda cans made a clunking noise as two Pepsis were dispensed from the slot. He popped open the tab of one the cans and took a long sip, feeling the cool liquid sliding down his throat. He certainly needed cooling off from all the steamy thoughts he was having about Helga. Still grinning, Arnold walked over to the music production room where he found Gerald listening to some tracks. He set down the other can of soda next to Gerald.

"Oh hey, Arnold," Gerald said, spinning around in his chair. He took off the headphones he was wearing and looked up at him, "What's up?"

Arnold leaned against the soundboard, "I took your advice about putting the romance back into my marriage," he said as he took another sip of his Pepsi.

"Yeah?" Gerald cocked an eyebrow, "Did it work?"

"I guess you could say that," Arnold grinned.

"I knew it! If you smile any wider, you're going to look like the Joker," Gerald laughed and leaned back in his chair, putting his arms behind his head. "So you finally got lucky last night didn't you?"

"Not exactly," Arnold smiled, "We just kissed. That's all."

"You just kissed?" Gerald said, bursting into laughter, "Arnold, you're this happy about a kiss?"

"Well, it's kind of like this Gerald, you know when you love someone so much that you're just happy that they seem to love you back?" Arnold folded his arms across his chest, "It's sort of like that. I'm just happy that Helga seems to be opening up to me. I don't care about the physical stuff. If she's not ready for that, I can wait. I can wait forever as long as I know she loves me."

"Watchu talkin' bout, Arnold?" Gerald said as he gave Arnold his best Gary Coleman face.

"Never mind." Arnold chuckled as he rolled his eyes, "Look, the point is, I'm just really happy right now Gerald. I feel like we're newlyweds again. I mean I've always loved Helga but it feels like we're getting a fresh start and everything that went wrong before won't happen again. I'll make sure of that."

Gerald stood up and walked over to Arnold."Well, I'm real happy for you, man. ", he said as he patted Arnold on the back, "You know maybe it's a good thing Helga lost her memories. Now you guys have a second chance."

"I know. I just can't stop thinking about her, ya know?", Arnold sighed happily as he looked up the ceiling, "I wonder what she's doing right now."

"Oh, Arnold my love!"

If anyone had looked through the windows of the Shortman's villa that afternoon, they certainly would've thought Helga had lost her mind and they wouldn't have been far from the truth. Helga was dancing around in their large walk-in closet, wrapping herself around Arnold's dress shirts. In fact, she had spun around so many times that the dress shirts had gotten entangled around her limbs and Helga quickly lost her balance.

"Oww!" she yelled as she fell to the floor. She rubbed her rear and was glad that the floor was carpeted.

Despite the pain, Helga sighed in happiness as she rolled around in Arnold's clothes. She took a long whiff of his scent on them and hugged them tighter to her. She closed her eyes and began to recall what happened that morning. Even though it had been hours since it happened, it seemed like that was all she could think about that day. Her heart was racing just remembering the feeling of his touch. Squeezing her eyes closed, she fantasized that Arnold was there in the closet with her and that he was on top of her again. She puckered her lips, ready to kiss fantasy-Arnold. Just as she was about to touch her lips to his, the loud noise of her ringtone brought her rudely back to reality.

Helga poked her head out of the closet and spotted her phone ringing on the table. She hopped over to the phone like a rabbit with the shirts still tangled around her ankles. "Hello?" Helga answered, hoping it was Arnold.

"Hello Helga, I'm just calling to check up on you", Phoebe greeted her chipperly from the other end.

"Oh hey, Phoebe", Helga replied as she tried to peel off the remainders of Arnold's shirts off of her legs. "Funny thing, I was actually going to call you today too."

"Did something happen?" Phoebe enquired.

"Arnold kissed me!" Helga practically shouted into the phone. "Then he did something weird."

Phoebe chuckled in all-knowing manner, "Don't worry Helga, it's perfectly normal. Sex is nothing to be ashamed of. It's a natural part of being human and I think it's a beautiful way of expressing love. Gerald and I make love at least once a day."

Helga shivered at the thought of Gerald and Phoebe getting freaky, "TMI Phoebe, TMI" she said, trying to mentally scrub the image out of her head. "Anyway, you've got it all wrong, Arnold and I didn't do that."

"No?" Phoebe said with a hint of surprise in her voice.

"No, he just..." Helga trailed off trying to figure out a way to explain this. She fumbled with the sleeve of her shirt awkwardly. "He just touched me. Like...on my chest"

Phoebe giggled. "Oh, that's all?" she said.

"What do you mean 'that's all'?", Helga said. Jeez, even twenty-five year old Phoebe was weird. The fifteen year old Phoebe she knew would've had a cow if Helga had told her Arnold had felt her up. As far as Helga could remember, Phoebe had always been more conservative than Helga. Now it seemed the other way around. Was this what happened when people got older?

"Well, Helga you have to understand that Arnold is a grown man now. He has certain needs. I'm surprised he hasn't tried anything further after all this time. I'm sure it can't be easy when he's sleeping next to a woman that he loves and finds attractive. But Arnold is ever the gentleman."

"So what do I do now?" Helga continued, "I sort of...rejected him when he touched me. I think I might have hurt his feelings. Plus, things are bound to be awkward now right?"

"Yes I can see how that would be embarrassing for Arnold," Phoebe continued to giggle, "But don't worry Helga. Arnold was always mature for his age and he still is. What he cares most about is how you feel. As long as you don't feel uncomfortable around him, I'm sure he will be fine. Just be yourself."

But what did it mean to be herself? She had spent so many years putting up a front that she didn't like Arnold that it was weird to be without it now. She felt almost naked. Helga sighed and then peered around the room. It was in a disarray from her romping around the closet. Helga made a mental note to clean it up before Arnold came home. If they were going to go for round two of what happened this morning, she wanted to make sure the room was nice and tidy. Helga blushed at the realization that she was already thinking of a round two. Then she noticed the bags of garbage by the doorway. It was usually Arnold who took out the trash on the way out to work but this morning he had been way too frazzled to remember to do it. Helga smirked as she recalled that she was the reason he was so affected.

"Hold on a sec, Pheebs, I gotta take out the trash," Helga said as she picked up the garbage bags.

Putting her phone in her jean pocket, Helga carried the bags out to big garbage bins outside. Lifting up the cover of one of the containers, she spotted something pink. On closer inspection, she noticed it was a laptop that was sitting at the top of the garbage bags. It was her laptop. Helga tossed the bags she was holding aside and took out the laptop. She turned it over carefully in her hands inspecting it for any damage. Seems completely fine to me, Helga thought, Wonder why Arnold wanted to throw it out? Shrugging her shoulders, Helga took the laptop with her inside the house and set it on desk inside of the study.

"Hey, Pheebs?" Helga said as she took out her cellphone from her pocket. She eyed the laptop in front of her.

"Yes, Helga?"

"What do you know about computers?"

"Well, I know a few things. Are you having a problem with your computer?"

"Yeah, I think so. Arnold said my laptop was broken and he'd buy me a new one but I don't know. It looks fine to me."

"Try starting it up first. Maybe he means you have a virus. If it's a simple type of virus, I think I can fix it for you."

Helga pressed the power button and watched the computer whir to life as the screen lit up. So far, so good. Once the computer loaded, it brought her to the dreaded login screen that she remembered she couldn't crack.

"I can't guess the password to my laptop" Helga said to Phoebe, "What do you think twenty-five year old me would put as a password?"

"Hmm," Phoebe paused for a moment trying to think. "Have you tried the name of your favorite poet?"

Her favorite poet? Could it still be the same person as when she was fifteen? She hoped so. Helga typed in the name 'Sylvia Plath', but the screen still remained on the same login page.

"Nope. That's not it." Helga said to Phoebe.

"How about your birthday and name in alternating letters?"

Helga tried at least three different combinations with caps and without but to no avail. None of them seemed to work.

"Oh, maybe it's something about Arnold?"

Arnold? Figures. She did seem likely to make her password about him. I guess that much hasn't changed since I was fifteen, Helga thought with a smirk. She typed in the words 'Football Head' but to her utter surprise, that wasn't the password either. Helga was starting to get fed up. Maybe this really was hopeless.

"Try Arnold's birthdate." Phoebe suggested from the other line.

Arnold's birthday? How cliché. Helga rolled her eyes. This couldn't possibly be the password. But seeing as she had no other ideas she figured she might as well give it a go. Slowly she typed in the correct numbers and was shocked when she was met with the sound of the desktop starting up.