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

They all belong to their rightful owner: Craig Bartlett.

Title: "Blackmail toy"

In the last chapter of "Blackmail toy": To Helga's immense surprise – and horror – her very last blackmail mission was to have lunch with Lila, the girl who was her polar opposite. After some awkward, useless banter, she finally admitted to Lila that this lunch thing had been Aaron's idea.

To the blonde's surprise, Lila admitted to have gone against Aaron to tell him not to get in-between Helga and Arnold, earning a kudos from Helga. To both girls' surprise, they managed to bond after that, both realizing that they did in fact have a few things in common; even if it was sometimes in an opposite way. At least Helga now had an accomplice, and perhaps, in the near future, a new friend.

Author's 1st note: Oh, we're getting so close! I'm not gonna say how many chapters there's gonna be left because, then you'll know when it's over! Ha! xD

Chapter 35: "I'm not just in love with Helga"

"That… is… probably… perhaps undoubtedly… the weirdest thing… I have ever seen." Gerald said with a purely shocked expression, looking much like Arnold and Phoebe, who were sitting next to him. The small group of friends were currently starring in total disbelief at their common friend Helga, who was laughing along with Lila, the girl she had hated ever since 4th grade.

"You think she's acting or something?" Phoebe asked, also in total shock at the view. "I'm… not sure. I mean… Helga's a good actress, but is she that good?" Gerald asked, his dark brown eyes wider than ever. "What do you think, Arnold?"

Phoebe and Gerald turned to look at Arnold, who was sitting in front of Gerald at his usual seat. "Arnold?" Phoebe asked gently, him being obviously the more shocked one. To their surprise though, his shocked expression turned into one of something resembling slight anger. "I can't believe it… Lila went from being hated by Helga to be her new best bud in fifteen minutes!"

Gerald frowned in confusion and looked towards the two girls again, trying to figure out why Arnold seemed so mad at that fact. After a few seconds, it hit him. He rolled his whole head around, since rolling only the eyes hadn't seemed dramatic enough.

"Arnold, Lila's a girl. It's not the same thing." Gerald said, leaning a little closer to him to show Phoebe, that she was supposed to pretend not to hear what they were talking about. "What does her being a girl have to do with it? She still went from zero to… five in only a few minutes! I've spent years getting to where I am now! What have I done wrong?" Arnold asked in a whispering frenzy.

"You've been dense, is what you've done wrong!" Gerald whispered with a scowl. Arnold groaned at the back of his throat. "Years being in love with Helga, not having the guts to tell her… and then Lila strolls in and changes her relationship with her just like that…" he muttered in a childish way and banged his head against the table.

"Are you jealous of Lila?" Gerald asked, while gazing at Phoebe, making sure that she was listening too. Arnold growled as he nodded awkwardly, since his forehead was still laid against the table. Phoebe rolled her eyes. Now you know how Helga felt back then.

"Well, Arnold, if you wanna change your relationship with Helga, all you have to do is to change it." someone suddenly chimed in. Arnold lifted his head from the table to scowl at the person, knowing exactly who it was by the voice. "Easier said than done."

"The hell it is! Look at them." Aaron gestured towards Lila and Helga, making the whole group looking at them again. "Lila went from hate to… well, friendship, I'd guess, easy enough, right? All she did was being honest with Helga, which you should have done a million years ago. How about following her example?"

Arnold turned to scowl at Aaron again. "What? Is that why you made Helga have lunch with Lila? To throw some kind of moral in my face?" he asked. Aaron crossed his arms. "You know, Arnold, I could also have done it, because I figured out they could be friends, and was I wrong?"

"No, you were right. Obviously."

"But you're right; you realizing that one's relationship with Helga can be changed just through a few words might have been a bonus. So, are you gonna finally man up and tell her that you've been in love with her since you wore a fucking diaper?"

Arnold just kept glaring at Aaron, not caring about the fact that Phoebe was probably listening – He figured she had realized his feelings towards her best friend by now, she was observant after all. He then sighed and laid his chin in his palm.

Aaron rolled his eyes and ended up looking at Gerald, who was doing the same thing. The two boys got eye contact, both realizing the other one's thoughts: that Arnold need a serious push. Aaron grabbed the collar on Arnold's shirt and lifted him up from the table.

"What are you doing?!" Arnold shouted, grabbing Aaron's wrist, though he involuntarily kept walking behind him as he was pulled along. Aaron didn't answer; he just kept pulling him through the cafeteria, earning a few stares from some of their peers. At least until they got out in the hallway.

"What are you doing?!" Arnold repeated as he pulled his collar out of Aaron's grip. "Trying to get some facts into that thick, wide skull of yours!" Aaron answered with anger in his voice. Arnold growled at that answer. "And what is that?!"

"Oh, come on! I know you are dense, but this is getting ridiculous! What's holding you back? Huh?! After everything that's happened between you and Helga, you're still unsure about her feelings?! Are you fucking kidding me?!"

Arnold blinked in shock at Aaron's sudden anger, but his own anger just got worse because of that. "Hey! Helga's a tough girl to read! She's got a wall around her heart, you know!"

"Oh, 'tough girl to read' my ass! Sure, she doesn't wear her heart on her sleeve, but neither do you! Lila does; that's why she was able to do what she just did!"

"Yeah! And Helga gave her a chance, because you forced her to! You forced their relationship!"

"You can't force feelings, you moron! You can only blow a little to the flame, and I'm starting to think that a little blow is not enough for you; you need a fucking windstorm or something!"

"Oh, yeah! Speaking of blow; what the fuck were you thinking that night at Helga's party?!" Arnold asked, having realized how he still hadn't confronted Aaron about that. Aaron rolled his eyes. "It was an accident!"

"Oh, so you went to a shop buying Viagra by accident?!"

"No, you moron! I bought them with the intention of giving you that push in the right direction, but I was hoping I didn't have to use it! But no, you just had to play hard-to-get that night, so I had to do something! My God, are you even a man?!"

"Yes, I'm a man! Yes, I have drive! But no, I did not want it to happen like that!"

"You didn't seem to hate it happening though."

"Not the point! It's not the action, I hated, it was the fact that it happened because of you! We didn't do it because we were in love and wanted to! Again; you forced it!"

"You do realize that if I had slipped that pill to any other guy, then she wouldn't have done that, right?"

"I know that…!" Arnold answered, starting to pant a bit after yelling so loudly. Aaron panted a bit too, trying to catch his breath again. He had never felt so frustrated about any person in his whole life; not even Helga had made him go this crazy, and she was a frustrating girl in many ways.

"Why, Arnold…?" Aaron asked, finally taking one last deep breath to calm himself. "Why have you still not told her anything? Aren't you tired of hiding it by now? Isn't it eating you up on the inside? I know it'd frustrate me to the very core of my body, if I had hidden my feelings for that long."

Arnold still panted a bit, remembering how Aaron also had feelings for Helga. "You're hiding it too, aren't you?" he asked. "Gerald told me… that you look like you're in pain, when you see me and Helga together. You're hiding your feelings too."

Aaron sighed. "No, I'm not… I've told Helga a long time ago." He answered. Arnold's eyes went wide. "W-What…? Just like that?"

"Yeah, just like that! It was easy, because… I knew what her answer was, so there was nothing to be scared about." Aaron answered and then gave an annoyed look. "Which should be the same reason why you should be able to confess too! You should know her answer by now!"

Arnold's eyes were wide in shock. He couldn't believe it; was he really that slow? First Lila, then Aaron. Did everyone have the guts to tell Helga exactly how they felt except him? "When… When did you tell her?"

Aaron lifted his hands in disbelief. "Uh… after the aphrodisiac incident. I took her out to dinner, we talked, and then I told her. Simple as that." he answered, a little annoyed that Arnold cared this much about it.

"… What did she say?"

"Nothing! She said nothing, Arnold, because both she and I knew what her answer was! Words were unnecessary!" Aaron answered in frustration. Arnold still just kept staring at him, still unbelievingly dumbfounded. Confessing to Helga; to him it seemed like the scariest thing in the world, but Aaron had done it. Just like that. Because… Because he knew her answer? "What do you mean you knew her answer?"

"Oh, my God! Helga's right; you need to get your priorities straight! Dense idiot. My turn to ask the question. Why haven't you told her yet? You've had a million chances to do so through just this one fucking month! I can't imagine how many chances you've had through the years… so once and for all: Why… haven't you… confessed yet?"

Arnold and Aaron kept gazing at each other, Aaron waiting for Arnold answering, and Arnold unsure of what to say. He started biting a few at the flesh inside his mouth, as he turned to glance away. That motion was all it took for Aaron to grab his hair in repressed frustration. "You know what? Forget it. Be like that; miss your chance for the rest of your life, you moron. I guess your feelings for Helga aren't even strong enough for you to try."

That made Arnold's head whip right back up, his eyes wide before he turned around to gawk at Aaron. A couple of seconds passed, before Arnold's face turned into one of pure rage. "You can say what you want about me…" he started before walking slowly towards Aaron. "Call me dense, call me slow, call me a moron… but do not belittle my feelings for Helga!"

When Arnold and Aaron's faces were merely inches from each other, Aaron pushed at Arnold's chest. "Then don't let me! Do something! Prove to me that you love her, which is already so fucking obvious! And she loves you too, it doesn't take a genius to see that! Dense and slow moron!"

Another few seconds of tense silence passed, before Arnold started biting at his lower lip. "And what about you?" he then asked. Aaron rolled his eyes and placed his hands on his hips. "What about me?" he asked.

"… Would that be ok with you? You have feelings for Helga too, don't you? Wouldn't you - - "

"Arnold… my God. Listen to me; you're a really nice boy, nicer than anyone should be able to be, but you need to stop thinking about everyone else for just once in your life. Think about yourself for once… and Helga too. You've been waiting for way too long to be together. She's been waiting for too long! Forget me, forget Gerald, forget Lila, forget Phoebe, forget all of your peers, your family, the boarders… Think about yourself and Helga now, and do the right thing as you usually do."

Arnold and Aaron kept looking at each other, a strange sense of determination in the air. Aaron then started walking, not towards Arnold, but rather past him. Arnold kept standing in the same position for what felt like forever, while Aaron's last words repeated themselves in his head. Then, and he didn't know when, but a look of strong willpower appeared on his face.

"Oh, Helga, so that was why you wore that skirt that day? Well, I must say, as mean as it is to force you to wear something you're ever so uncomfortable with, then it did suit you." Lila said with an honest smile. Helga laughed at that. "Yeah, thanks, I actually kinda liked it a little myself. I just… you know."

"Yeah, I know, and I understand that too. I'd kinda wish I would dare to wear these black net gloves I once bought at the mall, but I just can't imagine what people would say. They would be ever so shocked!"

"You own a pair of black net gloves? Do you have any clothes to match something like that?"

"Well… I do own one pair of black jeans?" Lila suggested. "You own anything not colored?!" Helga asked in mock surprise, causing Lila to giggle. "Yes! Same way that you still have that skirt at home, I presume?"

"Meh, you got me." Helga admitted. "Hey… how about we, one day… like, went out to a mall and bought clothes with each other? Maybe we could encourage each other to try something different, you know?"

"Helga! That sounds like ever so much fun! I'd love to go shopping with you! Oh, I'm ever so excited already!" Lila exclaimed giddily. "Calm down, Mary Sunshine, but… yeah, I'll look forward to it too." Helga said with an honest smile, not believing how easy it was to talk with Lila. Having a really girlish friend, in a way her polar opposite and yet not, might prove to be a really therapeutic thing for her.

"I can't believe how easy it is to talk with you, Lila…" Helga muttered to herself, but Lila heard it anyhow. "Really? You're ever so serious?" she asked with big, hopeful eyes. Helga felt like blushing at the way that girl was staring at her. "Yeah! So stop looking at me like that, please, you look like a kitten begging to get pet."

"I am just ever so delighted to hear that you feel that you can be honest with me." Lila answered and then laid her hand against her heart, ready to swear to something Helga figured. "I swear, if there is anything troubling you in the future, please do come to me and talk about it. I'd be ever so delighted to help you."

Helga did blush this time. Lila had some odd power to make her do that; perhaps it was because she was terrifyingly honest, which she was a tad envious of. "Yeah, thank you, uh… y-you too, me too, whichever's grammatically correct… Oh, whatever, come to me too if you have any problems you think I can help you fix, all right?"

Lila did her very best to keep her giddiness at a minimum, though she found it very hard to do so. "Thank you ever so much, Helga! I'll do that. Speaking of things to be fixed…" she answered and leaned a little closer to Helga. "Are you certain that the blackmailing is over?"

"Oh, yes, Aaron is a lot of things, but he's not a liar. I'd also say that ten blackmail missions are enough, don't you think?"

"Oh, gee, ten, really? Well, I am ever so happy for you that it's over… so do you think perhaps that you should tell Phoebe about this too?"

Helga's eyes went wide. "Oh, yes! Phoebe! I need to explain these things to her too. Now that it's over, I don't have to worry about her getting pulled into it." Helga answered with a big, relieved smile and sat up in her chair to look towards her usual table. "Phoe… Hey… where's Arnold?"

Lila looked in the same direction as Helga, also noticing that only Phoebe and Gerald were sitting together. Alone. "Oh, yes… wherever could he have gone off to?" Lila wondered aloud, lifting her index finger up to her mouth in a pensive position.

Helga frowned a bit as she also noticed the absence of Aaron. "Aaron's gone too… Lila, you don't think that Aaron could've been lying after all?" she asked with slight worry in her voice. Lila turned around to look at her with panic. "You think he's telling on you or something? Oh, no! That's not the way Arnold should find out!"

"Exactly… L-Let's go find them." Helga said, standing up. "You want me with you?" Lila asked with a smile on her face and stood up as well. "If you don't mind." Helga answered with a crooked smile, already starting to walk. Lila followed her as a puppy, almost bouncing with happiness from being able to bring courage to Helga.

The two girls strode through the cafeteria. "Where should we look first?" Lila asked as they reached the door. Helga turned her head around to look at her, as she answered her. "I guess we should go to the schoolyard first." She answered and opened the door, still looking at Lila. "I mean, that's where I'd - - "

"Helga!" Lila shrieked, just before Helga bumped into something, falling down to the tiles beneath her. "Ow!" she shouted and grabbed her head, feeling it beat against her fingertips in pain. "Helga! I'm so sorry!" a male voice said. She opened her eyes and saw Arnold in front of her, sitting in the same position as her, as he had done many times through the years.

"Uh, that's ok, football head. I should be used to it by now." Helga answered and rubbed her head a bit. Arnold quickly stood up and held out his hand to her, as it was his custom to do. She grabbed it a little shyly, knowing far too well that Lila of all people was standing right next to them.

"Uh, actually, I wanted to talk with you for a second." Arnold said as he pulled Helga off the floor. She blinked at him in slight surprise, gulping a bit as she remembered her former reason for panic. "Uh… s-sure." She answered and turned to look at Lila for a second. "S-See ya later, Lila."

Lila simply lifted her hand to wave, not having time to answer before Arnold was already pulling Helga along with him by the hand. They were walking rather rapidly, she noticed. His grip around her hand was also tight, as if he was trying to squeeze it in either discomfort or anxiety.

"What's going on with those two?"

Lila turned around in a swift motion to look at the one approaching her. "Oh, hello, Gerald, Phoebe. I am not entirely sure." She admitted but then turned to look at the still open cafeteria door. "But I have a feeling it's something good…"

"Yeah?" Gerald inquired with a smile and gazed in the same direction. "Lila, would you mind joining Gerald and me for lunch?" Phoebe asked with a smile. "We're a little curious about you and Helga, as you may understand."

"Oh, yes, I'd be ever so delighted to, and I understand your curiosity. I'll go grab my food tray first." Lila answered and went to skip towards her table. "I can't believe we're doing this…" Gerald muttered as he watched the giddy redhead going for her table. "Don't tell me you're not at all curios to what they talked about?" Phoebe asked.

"Well, obviously I am, or else I wouldn't have agreed to this little plan of yours." Gerald answered. "I mean, I don't mind Lila, but… just look at her. Helga's right; She's Mary Freaking Sunshine."

Phoebe giggled at her boyfriend's small joke. "But Helga suddenly likes her, so there must be something you'd probably like too, you know?" she pointed out and grabbed his hand. "Let's go back to our table and wait for her, ok?"

Gerald simply obliged Phoebe, and followed her to their table. They sat down next to each other and only a few seconds later, Lila came skipping back and seated herself in front of them. "So, what did you want to ask me?"

"Well… first of all, why you and Helga suddenly have become all buddy-buddy." Gerald answered, earning an elbow into his ribs from Phoebe. "Not the way I would've phrased it, but…" she sighed and looked up at Lila again. "Yes, that is pretty much it."

"Oh, well, that's easy; Helga simply asked me if I wanted to eat with her and I happily accepted." Lila answered with something resembling a naïve smile. "… Just like that?" Gerald asked in disbelief. He noticed Lila's face tense a little bit. "Well… it wasn't… completely unmotivated."

"Would you mind explaining, Lila?" Phoebe asked, before she lifted her hands in a soothing manner. "We don't want to interrogate you or anything. We're simply curious, that's all."

"Oh, yes, I understand that. I'm just not sure how much I should tell you, since it's mostly Helga's business after all… but I should be able to tell you this; Aaron was the one to tell Helga to speak with me."

Phoebe and Gerald blinked a couple of times, before they turned their heads to look at each other. "Aaron told Helga to…" Phoebe started. "… talk with Lila?" Gerald ended the question with and the couple turned to frown at Lila again. "Why would he do that?"

"W-Well… I may have spoken with him yesterday, telling him… I told him some things that made him think that she and I have ever so much more in common than we thought and so he suggested her to talk with me about those… things." Lila answered, hoping she had been successful in her attempt at being vague.

She had. Gerald and Phoebe simply kept frowning, trying to wrap their heads around this peculiar situation. "But… that still doesn't explain why Helga would talk with you. She wouldn't take Aaron's advice without a reason." Gerald observed and turned to face Phoebe, noticing how pensive she looked. Almost as if she was on to something. "You have a clue, babe?"

Phoebe glanced at Gerald for a second before she looked back at Lila. The two girls kept eye contact, as they made a silent conversation. Lila could see that Phoebe had a clue to why Helga would do what Aaron told her; she had been having a clue for quite some time after all.

"If… we ask Helga… then she'd be able to explain this to us, right?" Phoebe asked, her eyes a little narrowed, studying Lila's facial expression and next words carefully. She nodded. "Yes, she told me she wanted to actually."

Phoebe smiled at that, happy to hear that Helga would finally admit the truth to her. "Thanks, Lila. I've been waiting for her to do that." she admitted, earning a smile from the redhead. "You're ever so welcome, Phoebe. Helga's been wanting to tell you about it too, but she had a good reason not to, I promise."

Gerald had kept looking back and forth between the two girls as they had talked, until they finally went silent and he had to frown. "What? What are you two talking about? Is this some kind of girl sorcery?" he asked.

Phoebe and Lila giggled together. "Not fair! Phoebe! You obviously know what's going on all of a sudden! Tell me!" Gerald begged, but the girls simply smiled at him and lifted their index fingers in front of their mouths. "It's a secret."

A few minutes earlier, Helga had been jogging behind Arnold, being pulled by his hand. She kept looking at the back of his head, having no trouble admiring his blonde locks as she often did when he wasn't looking, even if she did feel rather nervous about whatever he wanted to talk about. She had an odd feeling in her chest though; as if he wanted to say something… but that he wouldn't say it just yet. It was the way he was pulling her. With determination, but also patience. What on earth could that feeling mean?

Arnold finally found a place he figured would be ok to talk in. It was simply an empty classroom, but far enough away from the cafeteria for them to be alone. When he had pulled her inside, he let go off her hand to close the door behind him.

Helga, not really knowing what to do, where to stand or what to say, went towards the window for one reason or another. When Arnold turned around, she had positioned herself on the windowsill, both her feet up on it and her knees bend, fitting perfectly in front of the window.

Arnold just kept looking at Helga, noticing how the soft glimmering from the spring sun was making her skin glow, her golden locks almost shining. She was beautiful, as she always was and it both terrified and intrigued him.

Arnold took a couple of steps closer to Helga, making sure to take a steady breath every time he did so. When he reached her and she turned to look at him, he looked away instantly, a slight blush on his cheeks, though she didn't notice that.

"You… looking forward to the game Thursday?" Helga asked, hoping that her second attempt at talking about school would work better with Arnold than it had with Lila. He turned to face her, a look of surprise on his face. Then he realized she was trying to make the tension go away, so he smiled as he nodded. "Yeah, I think it's gonna be our best baseball game yet. I… really hope we can win."

"You seem more determined about it than usual." Helga noticed with her head cocked a little to the side. Arnold smiled a little at that very true observation. "I am." He admitted, starting to look out at the window over her knees.

"Why?" Helga asked a little curiously. She noticed how Arnold's chest got bigger, as he took an inaudible deep breath. "Because… I have something motiving me a little more this time." He answered.

"And what's that?" Helga asked with a small smile. Arnold started to gaze at her, his green eyes shining in the sunlight. It made her heart beat at her ribcage. "Because if we win this baseball game…" he started simply. "… then there's something I wanna tell you."

Helga felt something in her body; something she couldn't quite identify. The air between her and Arnold was thick with something, as they kept gazing at each other. She wanted to ask him what it was, question why they had to win before he'd tell her, but she just smiled a little instead. Somewhere in heart, she already knew the answers to those questions.

"Well… I guess we'd better win then." Helga answered and swung her body around to let her legs hang lazily from the windowsill. "Yes… Please do your best." Arnold requested, still smiling a little bit. "I was gonna do that anyway without you telling me to, Arnoldo." She answered before she jumped off the windowsill, landing gently on the floor.

Arnold smiled at Helga's usual attitude, which reminded him of one of the million reasons why he was in love with her. She took a couple of steps towards the door, but then stopped, intertwining her hands behind her back. "But, uh… like you said yourself…" she said and then turned her head and upper body around gently and gave him a warm, heartfelt smile. "Now I have a little more motivation."

Arnold once again felt a content silence in his heart, as he gazed at the girl he adored. The way she smiled at him, the way her blue eyes sparkled in the rays of sunlight, reminded him of yet another reason why he was in love with her.

"I'm glad to hear that…" Arnold answered, still with a comfortable smile on his face. Helga kept gazing at him for a couple more seconds, before she lifted her hand giving a motionless wave. "See you… Arnold." She said, something in her voice telling him that she somehow knew what he would tell her on that faithful day.

Arnold lifted his hand too, copying Helga's still wave. "See you… Helga." He answered. She smiled a little more at him, before she turned around and sauntered towards the door. She grabbed the door handle, opened it gently, gazed at him for two seconds and then went out of the classroom.

Arnold sighed, feeling his heart starting to beat again. He turned his head around, starting to gaze outside of the classroom, admiring that grassy field where he, his classmates and Helga most importantly would be having the match against the seniors.

He closed his eyes, letting his mind wander. Different images of Helga popped up into his mind, from back in preschool and through all the years he had known her. Without even choosing to do so, his mind automatically began to enumerate words that popped into his mind, when he thought of her. The reasons why he felt this way bout her… Her determination, her kindness, her fiery attitude, her passion, how she could turn his world upside down with a few words, how she was so twisted and yet so perfect…

Aaron's right… Arnold thought with a smile, as he opened his eyes again. I'm not just in love with Helga… He knew far too well how those simple words were so very true. He wasn't just in love with her; he loved her.

Author's 2nd note: What EVER could Arnold possibly be planning to tell Helga after the baseball match…? Hmmm, that's a difficult one… Can't you just feel the sarcasm seething through me? xD

Anyhow, I just realized something, as I browsed through some random Hey Arnold related art. I noticed how a lot of people draw covers for their stories and for other people too, and I was like… Man, I'd love to see some sort of cover art for my story. The problem? Can't draw worth shit xD Like, really, I try to draw a cow and it'll look like a fucking rooster xD This is the only time EVER in my life I wish I could draw! All the different ideas in my head for a cover OwO Oh, well, I can hope someone would try to draw something based off on this story at some point, right? xD Yes, I'm hinting so fucking much – sue me! XD