Author's Note: Thank you for tuning in! I am so excited to share this new chapter with you! Like always, Hey, Arnold! and ALL characters mentioned belong to Craig Bartlett and Nickelodeon.

Disclaimer: This chapter contains semi-explicit descriptions of sex and lovemaking between two consensual adults. I know! Two back-to-back chapters with smut? Bring it on! It also seems like you guys enjoy this content. Let me know.

Okay, ONWARDS!

'thoughts'

Chapter 9: Climb You Like a Tree

One Month Later:

It did not take long after the events of Christmas for the whole school to come to the realization that Arnold and Helga were dating. The two had become inseparable and no matter how much effort Helga put into keeping their relationship private, it was an easy feat to guess they were an item.

No matter how much she scowled, refused to hold hands, and kept him at arm's length, Arnold would always slip up one way or another. She chastised him for giving her too much attention, for following her around, for stealing kisses mid-sentence while she lectured him about keeping distance in the hallways.

"Listen here, Arnold-o. I pride myself for keeping an air of mystery, capisce? You gotta' stop following me around like some sick puppy." Helga scowled while she pointed a finger at her boyfriend, who'd innocently offered to hold her books for the 100th time this month.

"But Helga, we have the same class next, and you are my girlfriend-."

"SHhhh!" She reached over and covered his mouth. "Do not say the G word while we are at school! And stay at least 3 feet away from me while we walk!" Helga frowned when she realized he was trying to say something, but his voice was muffled by her hand. She retrieved her hand and stepped back, letting him speak.

"I said, could it be that you don't want others to know about us because you are ashamed of me?" Arnold looked down at her, a hurt look in his eyes.

"W-What?" Helga uttered. She could not believe the words coming out of his mouth.

'Me? Ashamed of Arnold? Ashamed of the only light in my world and the only boy who makes my heart quiver in ecstasy?'

"You think I'm ashamed of you?" Helga asked dubiously. The fiery look in her eyes made Arnold step back a bit.

"Well, why else would you want to hide our relationship? I understand we both thought it best to hide it from others while you got used to the whole idea when we were 10, but now we are 18…and well…I'm confused." He explained while he rubbed his neck.

Helga stared at her handsome boyfriend in disbelief. Sometimes she could not believe just how clueless he could be about her feelings. No matter how wise and smart he was in other areas of his life, when it came to understanding the depth of her feelings, he was always one step behind. Phoebe and Gerald had teased the couple about it. He tended to express what he was feeling in the moment, while Helga reserved her intensity for when they were alone, often catching him off guard. Off guard was an understatement to what she was about to do.

She looked around, making sure no one was looking their way, and grabbed Arnold by the arm. She dragged him down the hall, opened a small janitor closet, and pushed him inside. She closed the door behind them after doing a double take to make sure they hadn't been seen and pushed him against the wall.

"Helga what-." He was caught off guard when her lips met his, assertively pressing herself to him. It took him a few seconds to register what was going on. They were inside the small, crowded closet. The room was completely dark and his girlfriend was currently trapping him between the wall and her body. He could smell her sweet vanilla scent all around him. Her lips were eagerly exploring and now nipping at his neck. He thought he'd go crazy at the overwhelming amount of information entering his brain. He was losing a battle with his senses, the proximity of her body was intoxicating. She finally pulled away and grabbed his collar, pulling him down to her level.

"Do you think it's easy for me to stay away from you? Criminy! Every time I look at you I can't think of nothing else except climbing you like a tree! I've filled out three books of poetry since we've started dating. I can't focus on work or at school. I'm going crazy here and it is completely your fault, football head!" Helga cried out.

Furiously blushing at her colorful choice of words and unexpected show of affection, Arnold stared into her eyes. She was now equally as red as him. The sound of their breathing became audible in the heavy silence that followed. She took a step back, cursing herself for losing her internal battle.

"You get it now? This is why we need to keep our distance." Helga crossed her arms, looking away. He was still quiet. Still observing her.

'Great. Now I scared him away. Nice going, Helga.'

"You want to keep me away because you are afraid of what you will do to me?" Arnold asked, awestruck.

"Geez, Arnold-o, if you say it that way…well, yeah." She sighed and dropped her arms in resignation, looking away from him.

Arnold stared at his girlfriend with disbelief. He knew she was passionate and intense, but he felt completely out of her league sometimes. He felt a deep sense of admiration at her vulnerability and her bravery opening up to him. He understood her shyness and hesitancy, and even enjoyed teasing her because of it. Even so, he was always caught off guard at her passionate displays of attention. Even as kids, he knew she was full of fire and feelings. Though she preferred to express them when they were alone, like now. Thinking of all this, he felt she deserved no less than to become vulnerable to her himself. He had a lot to learn. He was conventional and she unraveled him, leaving him completely bared to her. After a few moments of silence, he made up his mind and followed his instincts, his heart.

"My girlfriend is very intense." Arnold narrowed his eyes and murmured in contemplation. He smirked as he reached and wrapped his arm around her waist, pressing her against him.

She gasped at his sudden movements, placing her hands on his chest.

"And you think you are the only one, huh?" He questioned, grinning. His half-lidded gaze focused in on her. He grabbed her bottom and lifted her slightly off the ground until she was tippytoeing, making sure their bodies were flushed together. "It's been a month and every night since then I've wanted you. What are you doing to me, Helga?" He asked, lowering his voice to a husky whisper.

Helga looked nervously around, overwhelmed at his sudden response. "A-Arnold. We are late to class-!"

She couldn't finish her sentence as he captured her and eagerly possessed her lips. He carried her over to a nearby stack of boxes. He settled her down and positioned himself between her legs. They continued their passionate exploration with their tongues. Her hands reached down to his pants, caressing his erection. He groaned into her lips and helped her unbuckle his belt. She helped him free himself from his trousers and then she stood up for a short moment and removed her pants and undergarments. Neither of them broke contact from their passionate embrace as she sat and straddled his legs once more.

"Helga. I didn't bring any protection." He cursed as his fingers found her center and rubbed in circles. She was ready for him.

"I've been on the pill for a month now. It's okay." She assured him, moaning into his ear as his fingers entered her core

"Helga, you are so wet." He groaned. "So ready."

"Please" She begged as his fingers thrusted, in and out. He complied and replaced his fingers with his member. Both gasped at the intensity of their union. "Fuck. You fit me so well." He groaned in her ear. He begun to speed his tempo, his hips thrusting over and over. Their joined bodies found a steady rhythm, her legs wrapping around his waist. Both lost themselves in the ancient rhythm, coming together and holding on to each other, as if holding onto their last thread of sanity.

Later that day, Arnold retrieved his books from his locker and was about to make his way to his last class when Harold approached him.

"Hey, Arnold. I need your help man." He pleaded, blocking his path.

"Hey, Harold. What's up?" Arnold responded. He noted his friend looked out of breath.

"There's this girl." He started. "Hey! What's that on your neck?" Harold asked and Arnold, looking frantically around, tucked on his collar.

"Umm, mosquitos?" He offered with a hesitant smile, hopeful that his friend would follow along.

"HA! Arnold has a hicky!" Harold laughed out loud and reached to tuck down Arnold's collar. Some students paused to stare and some girls giggled.

Arnold glared and continued walking, yanking his collar away from Harold's grip and concealing the proof of his earlier rendezvous with Helga.

"Man! Who'd of thought you and Helga would be getting' it on! Is she any good?" Harold asked while elbowing his side. Arnold stopped walking and looked angrily at his friend.

"Okay, Okay…sorry, that was rude." Harold held up his hands.

Sighing loudly, Arnold continued walking, looking annoyed. "You were saying?"

"Ah, Yeah! There's this girl. Do you remember Patty? Big Patty?"

"Patty? Yes, I do. What about her?" Arnold asked.

"Well…A while back we crashed into each other and found that we still had a lot of things in common…I visited her dorm and we ended up getting carried away, Catch my drift?" Harold sputtered.

Arnold raised his eyebrow in accusation. It was not surprising to hear of Harold flirting around, but actually going all the way and betraying his girlfriend? That was a new low. "Aren't you dating Rhonda?"

"That's where you come in! I kinda told Patty me and Rhonda are no longer together! And I wasn't lying, technically! Me and Rhonda were going through a break at that time! Anyway, now Patty thinks we are dating and Rhonda invited her to her birthday party this weekend! I need your help to keep Patty away from Rhonda." Harold pleaded, hands together in prayer. "Please, Arnold?"

"No way, that is something that you have to fix yourself." Arnold wrinkled his eyebrows, storming into the class. Harold grabbed his arm and pulled him back out, stopping him from going in all the way.

"Please Arnold, I can't do it! Do you want to see the girl find out the hard way? The party is this Saturday and I have to be there too! Patty will die if she sees me with Rhonda! She's totally in love with me." Harold tucked on Arnold's arm. Arnold looked around, feeling embarrassed for his friend.

"Why don't you talk with them before the party?" Arnold frowned.

"Because! Rhonda is turning 18 and I don't want to spoil it for her! And Patty might get so upset and I'm afraid she'll beat her up! Rhoda could never win a fight against Big Patty! Just…please do this for me?" Harold continued to plead.

Sighing in resignation, Arnold nodded, "Fine. I'll see what I could do. But that was a pretty messed up thing to do, Harold. Both girls deserve an explanation from you. You have to talk to Patty and Rhonda as soon as the Party is over."

"Thank you! Thank you! And, sure! I will talk to them both, I promise!" And with a start, Harold ran back down the hall.

As Arnold joined Helga, Phoebe, and Gerald at the back of the class, Helga leaned over to whisper to him, "What was the Pink Boy talking to you about?"

Arnold made a displeased face and sighed, "I'll tell you later. By the way, did you get the day off to come to Rhonda's birthday party this Saturday?"

"Oh, I almost forgot about that. Umm, sure I'll ask the big boss." Helga nodded.

After school, the group of four friends sat around the table at Begal's Café drinking coffee and eating pastries.

"So, Rhonda invited us to perform at her birthday party." Gerald announced to Phoebe and Helga.

Phoebe clapped excitedly and reached to kiss her boyfriend on the cheek. "I'm so proud of you guys. You and Arnold are the most musically talented people I know." She commented.

"Who would've thought we'd see the day when the four losers of PS 118 made a rock band. So, who's going to play what?" Helga jested, taking a bite from her chocolate croissant.

"We all agreed that Gerald was going to be our frontman and keyboardist. I'm the guitarist, Sid is our bassist, and Stinky is on the drums. We've been practicing for a few months now and found this to be the best arrangement. We are still experimenting with sounds and stuff. We mostly lean towards rock and jazz." Arnold explained, automatically leaning over to wipe the chocolate from the corner of Helga's mouth. His action made her blush and scowl at him, flashing her fist at him. Arnold smirked and put up his hands in defense jokingly. As much as she warned him about constant public displays of affection, he still had a hard time keeping away. Besides and much to her annoyance, he seemed to savor her reactions.

Phoebe giggled as she witnessed the couple's contrasting shows of affections. So opposite and yet somewhat so right. She couldn't deny the pair complemented each other.

"Have you guys thought of a name for the band yet?" Phoebe asked.

"Nope. We thought of a few but nothing is definite yet." Gerald responded before adding, "I just can't believe Rhonda Lloyd would let us play at her birthday party. She seems like the type who'd hire an orchestra or something. Not a rock band. AND She is turning 18, so it's gonna be a big one!"

"We're not that bad, Gerald. And I think she trusts us when it comes to parties." Arnold responded proudly.

"I can't wait." Helga sputtered, before realizing her tone sounded more excited than she'd meant to lead on. Her friends looked wide-eyed at her, holding back their laughter. She looked at them with a threatening scowl, as if challenging them to laugh at her.

Arnold gave a knowing smile to Gerald and Phoebe, signaling silently to ease up on the teasing. His girlfriend struggled to feel safe enough to express her feelings, but it was becoming easier to get her to open up, at least around their small group of four. He wanted her to continue to feel safe.

When Helga arrived at her house, she was surprised to find Olga and Lila sitting in the living room.

"Baby sister! You didn't go to work today? Would you like to join Lila and I? We are about to head out to the movies!" Olga exclaimed excitedly.

"Hi, Helga." Lila waved shyly.

Helga sighed and turned around towards to stairs. "You two have fun. I just came to shower and change. I'm gonna go to work in an hour."

"Wait, Helga!" Lila shouted, "Umm, can I talk to you for a moment?" Lila stood up and headed to join the blonde at the foyer.

Opening the door to her bedroom, Helga signaled the auburn-haired girl to come inside and away from her inquisitive sister.

"So? We're alone now. What is it?" Helga asked as she sat on her bed, looking at the pretty auburn-haired girl. Staring at her now, she couldn't deny feeling a pang of jealousy towards her. She imagined her sitting around with Arnold and his parents surrounded by delicious food at a festive thanksgiving table. She frowned when she recalled Arnold's account of a drunken Lila. He'd told Helga he let her rest in his bedroom after her drunken adventures. Helga couldn't help but imagine Lila laying on Arnold's bed. She shook away her intrusive thoughts and focused her energy on what was happening now.

Lila stood in the center of her room and looked around nervously, unsure of where to start.

"I know that you and Arnold are a couple. I just wanted to apologize for what happened on thanksgiving. I mean, I was drunk… and I didn't know that you guys were together and all." Lila explained.

Helga froze at her words.

'Helga girl, keep calm. She probably just means that she made a mess at the dinner table and as a result, Arnold took pity and offered her some time to rest in his bed. Yeah, that's it'

"Oh, yeah. Arnold told me the story. You got drunk and all, what happened again? I forget." Helga tried to keep a calm demeanor, lying and softening her voice, egging Lila to keep going.

"Yeah, and well, I was feeling terribly alone and with Arnold being such a good friend and all, I got a little carried away. But he was so gallant, Helga! Just ever so gallant to reject my uncalled-for advances. I am ever so sorry I caused you both harm." Lila looked down at the floor, closing her eyes.

Helga stood up and started pacing around her room. She couldn't deny feeling rage towards the girl and her 'uncalled-for advances' towards her yellow-haired prince. She felt resentful towards her boyfriend for omitting this important piece of information, but also couldn't help but admire him for staying true to her, despite the history between him and Lila. After a full minute of pacing around and breathing deeply, Helga resolved that she would not blame him for Lila's actions. She stopped in front of the girl, taking pity on her.

"I appreciate your words. Feel better at knowing that we weren't official yet." She placed her hand on Lila's shoulder.

Lila was caught off-guard by the kind gesture. "Thank you ever so much, Helga! I always knew you were kind!" She smiled big and headed towards the door. "I gotta head out before we miss the movie. Your sister is setting us up with two handsome firefighters."

Helga nodded, "Oh, and Lila? If you ever try to get cozy with him like that again, you will meet Ol' Betsy. Got it?" She added nonchalantly, throwing herself on her bed.

Lila looked wearily and nodded in agreement. "O-of course, Helga."

The rest of the week flew by and besides attending school, Helga had spent most of her time working late nights.

After her promise to Arnold on Christmas eve, Helga had taken the initiative to talk with Olga and asked her to get a part-time job to help their family. Olga made a promise that she would start looking for work. It had been a month since then and she tried to be patient with her older sister. The only sign that Olga had finally begun to change was the fact that she'd traded in her Mercedes for a more economical car. Other than that, Olga continued her leisurely life, seemingly oblivious to their struggles.

Helga also tried to discourage Arnold from picking her up every night. Between schoolwork and band practice, Helga knew that Arnold was busy. She felt grateful for his help but also wanted to ease him from the burden of picking her up so late every night. She had promised that she would reduce her workdays from 6 days to 5 days at most, but until Olga got a job, she still had to continue working almost 6 consecutive days per week.

To Arnold's displeasure, he had no choice but to accept that her home situation was out of his control. He continued to pick her up against her wishes and encouraged her to speak up whenever her family was being unfair to her.

"Thank you for picking me up, Arnold. I mean, I should beat you up for not getting your full 8-hours of sleep every night, but you wont listen to me, will you?" Helga reached to pinch her boyfriend's cheek playfully.

They were parked in front of her home on Friday night, and as usual, they started to chit-chat and catch up about anything and everything for a few minutes until they kissed goodnight.

Arnold grinned at her playful gesture and leaned down to kiss her hand. "Anything for you, Helga. But tell me, how are you feeling? Finals and college applications are coming up. Are you going to be okay?"

"I'm fine. Once Olga gets a job, everything will be back to normal and I'll have time to do all those things. You're looking at a Pataki. I'm stronger than you think." Helga winked.

Arnold hesitated but decided it was best to trust his girlfriend. "Come here." He prompted while unbuckling his seatbelt, leaning over to kiss her deeply on the lips. He deepened their kiss and then started to trail kisses down her neck. Helga froze at his passionate display and gently pushed him away.

"I'm all sweaty…" She protested weakly.

"I don't care." He responded huskily, leaning back down to her neck.

"A-Arnold, It's almost 1 am." Helga continued to protest.

Arnold stopped and stared at his girlfriend. "I'm sorry. You are right. You must be exhausted." He smiled reassuringly.

"N-No! I mean, It's not that." Helga blushed furiously. She felt at a loss for words. She was not used to him taking initiative as often as he had in recent days. "I mean, we are in your car!" She exclaimed indignantly while looking around nervously.

Arnold couldn't help but grin wide at her innocent reaction. "So? There's plenty of space in the back seat." He lifted his eyebrows suggestively.

Helga reached forward and punched him playfully on the arm. "You tryin' to kill me, football head?" She laughed.

"Unless you don't like a little challenge?" he teased, his charming smile alarming and awakening her senses.

"Bring it on!" Helga exclaimed while jumping into the back seat. She turned and grabbed his collar, dragging him to the back seat with her.

Author's Note: Phew! I am so happy I was finally able to share my idea of Arnold and the guys forming a rock band. What can be more perfect? I almost want to have an art piece commissioned of them together playing. I feel like Hey, Arnold! Was always centered around music and Arnold loves music, so it just makes sense to me.

Also, this chapter was sort of a build-up to Rhonda's birthday party, which will take place next chapter. Please look forward to that one next week!

Like always, review so that I know you are liking it. Follow, favorite, and share with others because our fandom is small, and It would mean a lot! THANK YOU.