Hey guys! I know I left you at a cliffie, but don't worry, the answer to the question you, and Helga, have been waiting for :)
Chapter 11
"Um, yeah, I remember," Helga said, trying to swallow the fear in her throat.
"Well, I was doing a lot of thinking lately, and I realized something..."
'No, no, please no. Don't be what I think this is. No. Oh Arnold, please don't say—'
"...I don't just love you. I'm in love with you. Does that make sense?" Arnold asked.
Helga stared at him for several minutes with her mouth open before finally just giving his shoulder a gentle shove.
"Arnold Shortman don't scare me like that! I thought you were going to break up with me or something!" Helga took a deep breath to try and calm her racing heart.
"I'm sorry, Helga, I didn't mean to scare you like that. It's just that I wanted to tell you, but I wasn't quite sure how. That's part of why I asked you to come for a walk with me." Arnold pulled Helga into a hug.
"It's okay, Arnold, I know you didn't mean to. Anyway, yeah, I understand what you mean. I'm in love with you too. I have been since...well pretty much since as long as I've known you."
Arnold smiled and kissed her cheek before whispering "I was just too blind to see it until now."
§
"I'm really glad we took this walk, Arnold," Helga said.
"Me too, Helga. Hey, look!" Arnold pointed at the star dotted sky at a streak of light. Helga barely saw it, but it was there.
"A shooting star!"
"Make a wish, Helga." Both kids closed their eyes and made a wish.
"Arnold," Helga said suddenly, "I just thought of something. If the stars are out...what time is it?"
"Um...9:15! How did it get so late?" Arnold exclaimed.
"Curfew is in fifteen minutes! Arnold, we're going to be late!" Helga panicked.
"No we won't, not if we run. Come on!" Arnold squeezed Helga's hand, and together they ran as fast as they could back to the house.
They got back just in time, closing the door behind them at the same moment the clock ticked 9:30.
"That was too close," Helga breathed.
"Yeah, we'd better be more careful next time," Arnold agreed.
"Well, I guess we'd better go to bed; we have to be up early for filming. Goodnight, Arnold," Helga said. She gave him a hug and whispered "And thank you for our starlit walk. It was wonderful."
"You're welcome, Helga," Arnold whispered back. He kissed her cheek before giving her a little wave and heading to the boy's room.
Helga sighed happily and practically floated up to the room she was sharing with the rest of the girls, but as soon as she opened the door she was drowned in questions.
"Is it true you and Arnold were out on the beach alone?" Rhonda asked.
"Why did you get back so late?" Nadine asked.
"Did you guys—" Helga held up a hand to cut everyone off.
"Guys! Keep it to a dull roar, okay? Let me get my pajamas on and I'll tell you some of what happened. But not all. Some of it's just between me and Arnold."
§
"So, Arnold, what had you out so late that you almost missed curfew?" Curly asked the moment Arnold entered the bedroom.
"Huh? Oh, um..." Arnold blushed brightly; he hadn't mentioned asking Helga to go for a walk with him to any of the other boys for exactly this reason: questions.
"Yeah, Arnold, it's not like you to be late to anything, especially curfew," Eugene chimed in. Arnold sighed and grabbed his pajamas. When he returned from the bathroom he sat on his bunk and surveyed the many faces looking at him expectantly.
"Alright, guys, you got me. I asked Helga to go for a walk with me on the beach..."
"Oooooooooo!" several voices chorused.
"...but, that's all I'm going to say," Arnold finished, climbing under the covers. Despite the pleas of his roommates to elaborate on his walk with Helga, Arnold merely smiled and went to sleep.