Disclaimer: I do not own Hey Arnold or any of the characters. Hey Arnold is the property of Nickelodeon and Craig Bartlett.

A Broken Heart

Chapter 37: The Cheese Festival Part 3

Phoebe Heyerdahl was at the Cheese Festival with her boyfriend, Gerald Johansson and if you haven't already guessed it, they are on a date.

Since they got here, Gerald won her a teddy bear at some of the games, they ate corn dogs and cotton candy together and now, they were in line for the all-time must have of every couple at places like these.

The Tunnel of Love…

They were in line and only two other couples are between them and the swan boar love experience.

"Just two more peeps and then it's just you and me babe…"Gerald said in a suave voice to the girl whose hand he is currently holding.

However, to his surprise, she was looking away from him, deep in thought.

"Phoebe?...'Gerald questioned, while Phoebe actually is thinking about something.

"I hope that Helga is having a good time with Drake…for her sake…"Phoebe thought as she thought about her best friend who was on, for all intents and purposes, her first date.

"Phoebe? Are you alright?...'Gerald's voice finally managed to get her out of her thoughts.

"Huh? Oh, yes, I am…'Phoebe said in a quick, chipper voice to her boyfriend.

Before Gerald could question her sudden behavior, the last two couples had gotten on board while they talked and now it's their turn.

"I do believe it is our turn, Gerald…'Phoebe said and Gerald blinked, looked and then smiled.

"I suppose it is, babe…"Gerald said and Phoebe giggled as they both got on the swan boat for their romantic ride together.

And even though Phoebe tried to enjoy the romantic atmosphere with her boyfriend, she was still worried about her best friend, whom she hoped is having a good time with the guy she admits that she can come to like.

She certainly hopes that she does, for her own sake…

Meanwhile

"I gotta say, Sanchez...your aunt really is one heck of a cook...that cheese flan had to be the best one yet...'Helga complimented.

"Thanks...so, come on Pataki...we already did the booths, the test your strength game and the bumper cars...let's try something a little more...wild...'Drake said as he pointed to the large rides and Helga grinned.

"Now you are speaking my language...'Helga said in excitement.

They were about to leave...only for someone else to get their attention.

"Helga?...Drake?...'Someone called them, someone who made Helga stop in her tracts.

"No way! There is no stinking way that he is here! Right now!...'Helga thought in momentary dread, before using her strength to turn her head and then saw the last person she wanted to see tonight.

"Arnold?!..."Helga barely let out a squeak.

Thankfully neither he nor Drake noticed her current emotional state right now.

"Hey Arnold…" Drake greeted in a simple, neutral tone of voice.

"Hey guys...I didn't know you both would be here..."Arnold said.

"My first all cheese festival experience...wouldn't miss it..."Drake said and Helga tried hard not to look directly at Arnold, hoping he would say hey, acknowledge their existence and then leave them be.

No such luck. Arnold had the strange need to talk to her again and when he turned to look at her, he noticed her new look.

"Helga? you...You look different..."Arnold said slowly as he saw her new appearance and Helga wished the grown would swallow her up.

"Uh...yeah...I decided to go with a new style for tonight..."Helga said quickly.

"She looks good..."Drake said and Helga blushed at what he said, this is another compliment she got about hr appearance from him.

She's not exactly used to getting compliments from her appearance other than from Phoebe, who had the Best Friend goggles on which were a factor in her opinion.

"Yeah...you do look nice tonight, Helga..."Arnold said and Helga tried not to take what he said too seriously for her own sake.

"He is just being polite...don't overthink it..."Helga thought before answering him.

"Thanks, Arnold..."She said simply.

"So anyway, Helga, Drake...Me and the others are close by...we were all about to take part of the rides...you can join us..."Arnold offered and Helga wondered who "they" are but didn't ask.

She knew what she had to do...but it was probably going to be one of the most painfully awkward conversations she has ever had with Arnold and that's saying something.

"Actually Arnold...I am sort of..."Helga paused, unsure how to say this.

How the heck can she explain to him that she is actually on a date with Drake without her own head exploding?!

"On a date...with me..."Drake said, actually looking pleased to say that.

Helga was stunned by how bold he was and she couldn't deck him for that because he isn't lying and...she...she..

"A date?..."Arnold asked, actually sounding surprised, his own eyes even widened a bit.

The cat was out of the bag and Helga tried to control her own blushing and just get this over with.

"Criminy! I have to stop caring about what Arnold thinks...He just sees me as a friend and he doesn't care who I go out with...Besides, I came here Drake by choice...I have got to stop being a basket case...'Helga thought before nodding.

"Yeah...Drake asked me to come with him to the Cheese Faire and I said yes..."Helga said, looking down shyly.

Arnold looked even more surprised to see her confirming what Drake said. He was silent for a moment and Helga wondered why.

"Criminy, is it that hard to believe that I can get a date?...'Helga thought for a moment, before Arnold finally spoke up.

"O-Oh...I see..."Arnold said, and Helga turned away in shyness, not sure what else to say.

She didn't see the look on his face now.

"Anyway, it was nice seeing ya Arnold but we got a fair to see, right Pataki?..."Drake asked the blonde girl, who snapped out of her thoughts and nodded.

"Right...got to get to the roller coaster before the line gets too long..."Helga said quickly.

"Oh...I see...well...have fun..."Arnold said in a neutral tone and Helga didn't analyze it.

She had to stop caring about what he thinks and feels since she knows he could only ever see her as a friend and nothing more.

"Thanks, see ya Arnold...'Drake said as he took Helga's hand.

"Goodbye, Arnold..."Helga said as she and her date soon left the area and Arnold behind.

Unaware of the look on his face he made after she had left

"Criminy! Helga, get over it already! You are suppose to get over him already! YOU CHOSE TO GO OUT WITH DRAKE AND ARNOLD DOESN'T LIKE YOU THAT WAY! ACCEPT IT AND MOVE ON!..."Helga internally berated herself, furious over letting herself get flustered by Arnold's presence.

She was on a date with Drake and on a mission to let Arnold go forever.

"Want one, Pataki?..."Drake asked.

"Huh?..."Helga asked, only to see Drake carrying two cotton candy in his hands.

"Cotton candy?..."He clarified.

"Oh, thanks..."Helga said as she and Drake sat on a bench together to enjoy the little treat before going on the rides.

As Drake ate his cotton candy, Helga glanced at him and tried to compare him with Arnold.

In many ways, Drake and Arnold are opposites both physically and personality wise.

Physically, Drake is tall, dark haired, brawny and wore attitude like it was a cologne. Arnold on the other hand is short, fair haired and had a innocent, shy and overall sincere disposition that Helga had adored since she was before she even lost her first baby tooth.

Personality, they were too different.

Drake is loud, boisterous, cocky, rude, smart mouthed, competitive, with a swollen ego and a sharp tongue that can rival almost hers and not afraid to use it to show others what he thinks of them while Arnold is gentle, courteous, caring, sweet, innocent, helpful, honest, friendly, polite to a fault, and always goes out of his way to make others feel better.

And yet...Drake is also pretty nice once you get to know him, he may be loud mouth but he is also honest, he respects those whom he feels have earned it, he trains hard and is a real team player, which she learned from their time together on the team, he is also very close and loving to his mom and family, even if he can be embarrassed by them sometimes and he is also very understanding and compassion, not to mention that despite arguing with her, he had her back when she needed someone, like when she broke down in the janitor's closet or when he found out she was trying to avoid Arnold at the movies and didn't give her grief about it and was even a listening ear to her problems and tried to be understand her...

Even more is the fact that for reasons she still doesn't understand, he likes her and she can't ignore that bit and he has been really nice to her every time they hung out together.

So, he is an okay guy, even if it took her a while to see that.

And Arnold...he only sees her as a friend and for all of his good traits, she has become aware of the fact that Arnold has flaws that her supposed "love" for him had blinded her. Okay, she knew she had flaws but she never focused on the fact that he can be really dense when it comes to girls, he gets distracted easy by a pretty face or a sweet sounding voice and the fact that he can be pretty naive, believing that everyone deep down has good intentions, when Helga knows that not everyone is like that. He also lets himself get taken advantage of a lot and has to really be a part of everyone else's business and trying to keep the whole world happy, like trying to fix Eugene's party in the fourth grade, the time he allowed himself to be humiliated just so that jerk Iggy would forgive him, the time he wound up getting suspended along with Harold and tried helping him come back to cool, the time Sid practically stole his room and begged him to go along with it to please Lorenzo, along with a bunch of other stuff. The worst one was that time in fourth grade when Stinky, Sid and Harold all mooned Principal Wartz and Arnold got weeks of punishment just because he wouldn't rat those morons out, who just sat by for weeks until they broke down and confessed to Wartz but not before Arnold spent weeks serving their punishment. Every stinking time, he went along with it instead of standing up for himself and telling those jerks to back off, something Drake wouldn't have been afraid to do and stuff Helga secretly wished he would have done himself instead of letting them take advantage of him.

Sure, things worked out in the end and sure, he had good intentions and his many good traits outweigh his flaws but it was just proof that Arnold wasn't the God she deluded herself into thinking he is for most of her life and honestly, it was really foolish of herself to idolize him in such a way.

Arnold is just as mortal as she and Drake are. He is a good guy but that's just what he is...a GUY!

He is not a God, he is not an Angel, he is not a saint, he is just a regular, flesh and mortal guy who is prone to mistakes, just like everyone else and even if he did love her, he couldn't magically make all of her life's problems go away, like she deep down believed would have happened. He couldn't make her mom stop drinking her stupid "smoothies", he couldn't change her dad from being a neglecting, money grubbing jerk into a loving, considering father who actually bothers to remember her name and he couldn't stop making everyone wish she was more like Olga.

He couldn't make her life perfect since he isn't perfect...

Something she is finally accepting as the truth.

"That was tasty...'Drake said as he finished his cotton candy.

"Yeah...thanks again..."Helga said as she was now done with her cotton candy and her self analyzation.

Drake and Arnold are very different but the fact remains is that Arnold only likes her as a friend and Drake likes her as something more than just a friend and he is a good guy.

She needs to give him a real chance...

"So, Drake...what do you want to do first?..."Helga asked.

"Well...I was thinking that first we could go on the roller coaster, like you said earlier...then the Super Bungee Ball ride and then after that, The Whirl-O-Wheel..."Drake suggested and Helga smiled at that.

Those are some of her favorite rides and the most intense ones here.

"Now you are speaking my language..."Helga said.

Maybe there really is some hope here.

A Few Hours Later

Several hours of eating junk food, riding sick rides, playing mundane carnival games and eating many different type of cheeses, Helga and Drake were leaving the Cheese Fair, both laughing their heads off during the entire time.

"Oh man, did you see the look on the face after you tricked that clown into sitting on that whoopie cushion and made that "who cut the cheese joke"?..."Helga laughed.

"Hey, I had to do something with it since I won it..."Drake said.."Boy, was he mad..."Drake snickered, as did Helga.

"Who knew seltzer could be used as a weapon?..."Helga shrugged as she was rinsed part of her shirt that was still a little soaked but overall, they were unharmed and actually had a good laugh over the whole thing.

"I got to say Pataki, I am glad that I came to this thing...I had a good time with you..."Drake said sincerely and Helga blushed at that, looking away.

"Thanks Sanchez...and...I'll admit, tonight wasn't a disaster..."Helga said.

"Knowing you, that's a compliment..."Drake chuckled.

They soon arrived to the bus stop where they always meet and Helga frowned.

"I forgot how close our homes are to that place..."Helga thought in mild disappointment.

"I guess this is your stop, unless you want me to take you all the way to the beeper store...'Drake said and Helga shook her head.

"Trust me, you don't want to see the hovel I have been forced to live in..."Helga said with her arms crossed and Drake sighed.

"Whatever you say, Pataki..."Drake said and Helga smirked.

"Darn right, whatever I say, Sanchez..."Helga said and Drake chuckled again.

"Well, I am glad you had fun tonight, Helga...'Drake said and Helga actually looked surprised by that.

"You...You called me, "Helga"..."She said in a stunned voice.

"That's your name, right?..."Drake asked with a raised brow.

"Well, yeah..but you always call me "Pataki" ...I almost thought you didn't remember it..."Helga said, feeling so awkward.

Drake, for some reason, sent a smile at her.

"Helga, I think it's impossible to forget your name.."Drake said and Helga was stunned, before her natural defense system against stuff like this kicked in.

"Hey, I didn't say you could get all mushy on me, Sanchez..."Helga said, being stubborn and Drake just laughed again.

"Okay, okay...my bad, milady..."Drake said sarcastically but it was in a playful sort of way.

Despite herself, Helga cracked a smile at that.

"And don't forget it..."Helga said as she couldn't help but chuckle too.

"Anyway, it's getting late...so, I take it that for monday, same time, same place?..."Drake asked.

"Doi..."Was Helga answer, as she simply crossed her arms with the typical, Pataki-esque expression on her face, but Drake knew she was just being playful.

However, something happened that Helga did not expect at all. Drake leaned forward and lightly pressed his lips against her right cheek.

It lasted about a second and a half but it left Helga stunned.

"Did...did he just...."Helga then looked at that, who was still smiling that smile she has seen only a couple of times already.

Suddenly the street lights began to turn on and Drake groaned.

"Aw, crud...I better get home before mom kills me...I'll be seeing ya, Helga..."Drake waved as he started walking in the direction of his apartment.

Helga stood there, frozen in the spot with her eyes wide unable to believe what he just did to her.

'He kissed me..." Helga thought as she touched the cheek he kissed, which was now as pink as the bow in her hair.

It was the first time in her entire life that a boy had been that affectionate with her, not counting the time she bribed Stinky to be her boyfriend and tricked Arnold back in the fourth grade and even then, neither of them had kissed her, or in Arnold's case, by choice.

But Drake did, just now...by his own choice.

Sure, it was a tiny, chase, one and a half second peck on her cheek, but the fact remained that Drake chose to do so. He chose to give her that little act of affection.

She looked in the direction where he left, even though he is no longer here. She continued to stare in that direction, still with a disbelieving look on her face.

'Drake..."Helga thought, still unable to believe what happened tonight.

Or how she felt about it.

Later

Helga soon walked back to the Heyerdahl residence, since that is where she and Phoebe had agreed to meet up after their dates and she told her parents she would be here tonight, not that either cared.

She knocked on the door and discovered that Phoebe seemed to already have finished her own date, since she was the one to answer the door.

"Hey Helga…so…how was your date with Drake, tonight?..."Phoebe asked as she let her best friend in, only to see Helga suddenly slam the door behind them, shut.

Phoebe had a bad moment, fearing the worst…until Helga turned to face her and Phoebe saw the expression on her safe.

The only word to describe it would be…confused…and maybe…hopeful.

"It…"Helga started, trying to figure out the best way to describe her first date with Drake Sanchez.

She thought about the entire night and despite the incident with Arnold and...what happened at the end of it...it...wasn't a terrible night.

Not at all.

So…despite some awkwardness and some confusion, her entire first date with Drake was…it was...

"It was nice…."Was all Helga said when she described her evening with Drake Sanchez, and tried hard not to look at how much Phoebe is smiling at her right now.

-To be continued-

Next time on A Broken Heart

The Transition

A/N(1): Remember that if you have any idea for tropes, to add them to the TV Tropes page for this fic.

A/N(2): Hey there.

Sorry that it has been a while. I have moved into a new town and I no longer have my own PC, so I can't update as frequently as I used to. I am getting by by using my bro's computer, my cell phone and the library's computer. I will try and update at least once a week for at least one story.

Thank you all for your patience and sorry for the inconvenience.

REPLIES to my loyal and totally awesome reviewers:

Kryten: Not that heavy on the drama but it's obvious things are progressing nicely for everyone...except Arnold.

cr8ivelybankrupt87: Not exactly that, but Arnold did looked surprised by them being on a date together...

TXToonGuy1037: Thank you :)

DanteVirgil09: It was not a none-date, it IS a date and yeah :)

Invader Johnny: You and everyone else were right, it was Arnold.

Yenny-1411: Yep, it was Arnold. Also, glad that you are enjoying it so far:)

DeepVoice'06: We will have to wait and see how things go from here...no spoilers...

61394: LOL!

Ezza: How's this?

CocoaMoon: I hope this will do...

anormally: Thank you :)

ElianaSawadaVongolaMadonna : XD

Everyicecream: Ehh...Sorry, but for now, it's Helga and Drake.

:) Till next time beautiful people, remember to read and review :)