Author's Note: Happy New Years! I'm so happy to share chapter 10 of this story with you! Hang on, this one is a rollercoaster of a ride. It is also so apt that I was able to upload it on New Years! Because let's face it, even introverts like me like to imagine going to an extravagant party like Rhonda's this time of year. Like always, Hey, Arnold! and ALL characters mentioned belong to Craig Bartlett and Nickelodeon.

ONWARDS!

Chapter 10: Rhonda's Sweet 18

Saturday Night: Rhonda's House:

"Helga, Phoebe Darling! Come in, Come in!" A very elegant Rhonda, wearing a tight sequin red dress adorned with pearls, greeted Helga and Phoebe as they made their way in.

"Happy Birthday, Rhonda." Phoebe reached to hug her.

"Happy Birthday, Princess." Helga snickered teasingly as Rhonda engulfed her in a hug as well.

"Oh, you both shouldn't have." Rhonda exclaimed as she accepted the small gift bags from her friends and let them both in. "And I must say, you both are looking absolutely killer tonight! Helga, I see you took my advice and went for the red low-cut dress. Very flattering." Rhonda winked.

Helga blushed and ignored her friend's comment, making her way inside the party. The main room of the party was a wide-open space decorated with gold and black balloons everywhere. There were tables on the corners filled with lavish food and there was a dancefloor facing a small makeshift stage in the center of the room. A few guests mingled on the couches laid out around the room and a few stood around the tables while munching on the curious assortment of food.

At Arnold's request, Helga and Phoebe had arrived earlier than most guests and she was now texting him: "Where are you guys? Pheebs and I are here already." As soon as she pressed send, her phone started ringing.

"Arnold? Where are you guys?" Helga asked and Phoebe stood close by, eavesdropping.

"Helga. I need a big favor. The guys and I are running a bit late. Has Patty Arrived?" He asked anxiously.

"Patty? As in Big Patty?" Helga turned and looked at Phoebe questioningly.

Phoebe looked around and whispered, "Negative."

"Nope. Why, football head? Is everything alright?" Helga asked, sensing her boyfriend's agitation.

"Ugh. Thank God. Listen up, Helga. You gotta keep Patty away from Rhonda and Harold. As soon as she gets there, pull her aside. Make sure she doesn't go talk to either one of them. Keep her away." Arnold pleaded.

"Does this have anything to do with the little talk you had with the Pink Boy? You were gonna tell me about that. What you are asking me for is a pretty big favor, football head. You do realize Big Patty is gonna wanna greet the hostess at some point?" Helga paced around agitated, and Phoebe was now alertly observing the guests making their way in.

"Yes, and I know. I'll be there as soon as I can. Meanwhile, just keep her away and I'll explain the plan later. Can you do it?" Arnold asked, pleading.

"Hmmm…Okay. I can do that. You owe me though, got it?" Helga replied smugly, hearing his husky laughter.

"No better way to live than to be indebted to my beautiful girlfriend." He replied, lowering his voice.

At this, Helga snickered, "Yeah, yeah. Say that again when you are on your knees kissing my feet." And she hung up before she could hear another embarrassing reply.

As soon as Patty entered the room, Helga signaled to Phoebe to approach the tall brunette and pull her aside. Helga surveyed the room and spotted Rhonda and Harold holding hands and parlaying with the guests. She could guess that the Pink Boy had probably gotten himself mixed up in a love triangle.

'Oh, Arnold, so benevolent with your friends and so utterly stupid. I could care less about the Pink Boy, but this wont look pretty blowing up here.' Helga thought as she approached Patty and Phoebe.

"Patty! What a surprise!" Helga approached and wrapped her arm around her old schoolmate's shoulder, purposefully turning her away from the couple socializing on the opposite side of the room. Patty looked around while the girls dragged her out toward the terrace.

"Oh, Hi, Helga. It's been a while. Have you girls seen Rhonda? I need to give her present to her." Patty asked as she held up the gift box.

Helga smiled bigger than intended "Oh, Here! Phoebe will take it to her." Helga signaled to Phoebe, who quickly took her present and disappeared back inside the room. "I was just thinking that you were the perfect person to talk to about….college! Yeah, you go to Hillwood University, right? Tell me all about it!" Helga exclaimed with over-exaggerated cheer.

"Oh, well there isn't much to say…." While Patty went off on a detailed description about life in college, Helga struggled to remain composed and occasionally looked around nervously.

'Where is the football head? I'm gonna kill him if he doesn't get here soon!'

For almost an hour, Helga engaged Patty in conversation outside the terrace. She felt Patty's resistance and wanting to get up and do other things, thankfully Phoebe also helped keep the conversation going. Just when it was getting to the place where their intentions about distracting Patty became too obvious, Nadine and Sheena came out to the Terrance to announce that Gerald and his band were about to perform.

Helga stood up and noted the room was full of people now, and Rhonda and Harold were nowhere to be seen. Patty stood up and headed inside, with Nadine and Sheena excitedly following along. With a sigh of resignation, Helga and Phoebe stared at the group of girls already disappearing inside the hall.

"Ah, what the heck. There's too many people in this place anyway. I doubt she'll run into them for now." Helga adjusted her shawl and turned to walk back inside.

"You are right Helga. We did our best for now. I think we deserve to enjoy ourselves a little, right?" Phoebe agreed as she stepped inside the hall.

As the girls entered the main floor of Rhonda's party, they felt an air of anticipation building. People began gathering in the center were the makeshift stage stood. The room suddenly became dark and the stage lighted up. The sound of an electric guitar caught everyone's attention. Suddenly, the guitar and base begun a steady tempo, the lights coming from the stage became bright and illuminated the shadows standing on it. Arnold stood on one side of the stage while holding an electric guitar and strumming his fingers, creating a steady, sensual beat. Sid stood on the other side harmonizing with his base. Gerald's voice and a steady keyboard sound followed the strings, and finally, Stinky, wearing sunglasses, started a passionate drumbeat. Together, they harmonized and created a beautiful, electric performance. Everyone present at the party left whatever it was they were doing and joined close together, drawn in by the melodic rock beat.

Helga stood at the center of the crowd, mesmerized by the man strumming his fingers on the guitar. He had his eyes closed, and his face looked rugged, deep in concentration. He was wearing a black leather jacket underneath his plaid shirt. His black-fitted jeans emphasized his long legs, and his yellow hair glimmered with the stage lights. She felt her heart beating wildly along with the steady rock melody. She relished the man she loved and couldn't believe he was hers in that moment. She reached to pinch herself discretely, and sighed as he increased the tempo, rocking his hips slowly.

After a few minutes of losing herself to the music and standing still with silent admiration for the oblong-headed man on the stage, Helga felt completely frozen in place as he opened his eyes and begun to scan the room slowly. It took a few moments and as soon as his eyes landed on her, he grinned seductively and did not break eye contact. She felt like she'd been caught and surrounded by him all over. It was as though it was only him and her in that room, everyone and everything melted away. Helga was completely bared to him, heart and soul.

'How does he do that from so many feet away? If I were to die right now, what a sweet death that would be!'

When the performance and encore were over, the crowd began to scatter.

'Right, back to Patty!' She thought as she scanned the room.

"Phoebe." She shook her friend, who was still deep in a trance following Gerald's movements on stage. "Phoebe!" She repeated.

Phoebe adjusted her glasses and looked up at Helga. "Phew, it's pretty hot in here, am I right?"

"Never mind that! We have to find Patty! Do you see her anywhere?" Helga wondered, looking around frantically.

"She was just here, next to Sheena a while ago. She must've just left." Phoebe looked around the room. The lights were on again and they could see everyone more clearly. There were couples scattered on the dance floor and people gathered at the punch table, eating finger sandwiches and other delicacies curtesy of Rhonda's palette. "There she is!" Phoebe pointed.

The two friends ran as fast as their heels allowed them. Stopping in front of Patty and slightly out of breath, Helga started, "Patty! What a coincidence. Ehem. Where were you? We have much more to discuss."

"Um, Restroom?" Patty offered quizzically, pointing at the restroom door directly behind her.

"Right! of course! Phoebe and I were about to go out to see the ice sculpt-."

"Patty, dear!" Rhonda interrupted, her voice coming directly behind Helga and Phoebe. Helga facepalmed and Phoebe gulped. In union, they both turned to acknowledge Rhonda. She had her arm tucked under Harold's. Harold stood frozen still.

"What a coincidence, I was just telling Harold that I hadn't seen you yet, right babe?" Rhonda gleamed while Harold still stood quiet.

"Oh, Happy Birthday, Rhonda. It's a great party." Patty offered with a small smile.

"Thank you! Did you get a chance to see the ice sculpture yet? Oh, and of course I had to bring in the chocolate and fondue fountain." Rhonda stated proudly.

"Yeah. I enjoyed your entertainment the most. I had no idea you liked rock." Patty responded.

"I don't. But rock is very in this year. Very Haute Couture." Rhonda explained proudly.

Helga and Phoebe stood by observing the scene. To their surprise, Patty looked completely unfazed. Harold looked like he wanted to be swallowed by the ground. They engaged in small talk for a few more moments, with Harold completely unmoving, until Rhonda was pulled towards another group of girls, Harold trailing along.

As soon as the couple was gone, Patty begun walking towards the terrace.

"Patty, wait!" Patty, in unison with Phoebe and Helga turned towards the voice that called out. Arnold was making his way over to them and as soon as he reached them, he placed his hands on his knees, looking slightly out of breath.

Outside the Terrace, Arnold and Helga stood side-by-side in silence as Patty looked out onto the city night lights. Even though she was good at putting up a strong front, Patty Smith looked distraught, hands crossed over the railing in front of her. After a few moments of silence, she spoke, "I figured there was something going on when you started talking to me about your gastrointestinal problems." Patty looked over at Helga, offering a weak smile.

"I'm sorry, Patty. Helga was just trying to help out. I wanted to warn you about Harold and Rhonda. The guys and I got caught up and I couldn't make it here on time." Arnold spoke apologetically.

"So it was what I thought it was." Helga added.

"Yeah, I couldn't tell you over the phone because I was in the car with the others." Arnold explained to Helga and then paused. "Patty, I'm sorry you had to find out this way. Harold didn't want you to find out like this. He promised he would talk to you if I agreed to help him out and give you some sort of warning tonight, now I realize he might not even plan on doing that." Arnold finished angrily, running his fingers through his hair.

"It's okay, Arnold. I should've known it was too good to be true. To be honest, he hasn't even talked to me in over a week." Patty turned around and started walking, taking a seat on a stone bench. The couple followed along, exchanging glances at each other wearily. "Hey, don't feel sorry for me. I mean, I did really like him. I still do. He was my first everything." She breathed out deeply. "But I'm a lot stronger than I look. And I do look strong, don't I?" She smiled at the couple.

Helga approached and placed her hand on top of hers. "He doesn't deserve you." She stated reassuringly.

"I know. Thanks guys. I'm gonna head out early. Will you cover for me?" Patty stood.

"Yeah, sure." Helga and Arnold replied in unison.

Patty started walking away towards the main room but paused and turned around to face the couple standing side by side.

"I was right. There was something going on between you too. You're cute together." She added with a smile while walking away.

Helga and Arnold stood paralyzed, blushing bright red. After a moment, Arnold turned to look down at his girlfriend. She was a picture of perfection in the red tight dress and high stilettos. The dress hugged and emphasized her curves in all the right places. Her hair was let down in lazy waves around her shoulders.

"Red. Red suits you." He offered while reaching over to trace her dress sleeve. She stood looking at him, her heels allowing her to be almost at eye level, off only by a few inches.

"How did the song go? The one you guys played at the end?" She stepped closer to him, tracing her fingers along his leather jacket. Their bodies naturally gravitated towards each other and closed the distance between. He wrapped his arms around her and begun singing softly in her ear. Their bodies moving in a slow dance.

""Do I wanna know, if this feeling goes both ways…""

They remained outside, dancing slowly to his whispered voice in her ear, their bodies warming one another, their hearts beating as one.

Back inside the main floor, couples and people were dancing enthusiastically to the upbeat music now playing over the loudspeakers. In the stage stood Brainy tweaking at a turntable and playing an 80s mix.

The atmosphere was lively and as the night progressed, more and more people joined the dancefloor and mingled with one another.

"Man, who would've thought Brainy would be a world-famous DJ." Stinky scratched his head while he stood next to the punch table, watching Arnold and Gerald fill up some cups with the fruity drink.

"World-famous?" Arnold raised an eyebrow.

"Well, yeah. On account of he has fans and stuff. I heard he is even negotiating a record deal. I reckon by next year he will be the biggest star that Hillwood's seen." Stinky added with a tone of wonderment in his voice.

"I don't think he is that big a star yet." Sid replied while munching on some finger sandwiches.

"Either way, you gotta give it up to him. A geeky-looking kid like that does have his share of surprises." Gerald commented while walking back to join Phoebe and Helga, who were sitting and chatting, waiting for their boyfriends. When they made their way back and rejoined them, the group of four chatted and looked out onto the lively dancers. It did not take long for Gerald and Phoebe to join the dancers.

As the last lively dance song ended, Brainy started a slow melody, tweaking and turning the turntables to create a soft RnB melody.

Stinky magically appeared by Arnold's side and reached over to touch his shoulder. "This is the song that gained him some popularity in the innerwebs."

Arnold smiled as he observed the tall, gawky man wearing dark headphones passionately tweak at the equipment before him. The robotic voice of a man started to play over the speakers.

"Pink bow

Shining eyes

Kiss me one more time

Under your blue eyes

Tell me how you'd like to ride

To someplace, I don't know how far

I just know that I could die

Punch me again

Tell me how angry you get

When he leaves you again

When he goes again

I'll be here again

Pink bow"

As Arnold listened in on the lyrics, something started to irk him. He couldn't point out what exactly it was about the lyrics that made him uncomfortable. It was as though he recognized a pattern in it, he could picture something very familiar about it. He leaned over to Stinky. "Stinky, what is that song called?"

Distractedly, Stinky answered, "Huh? Oh, something 'Pink Bow'?" and as Stinky uttered those words, it hit him.

All at once, Arnold felt like he was punched in the gut and thrown back to the 4th grade. There was Helga, and sometimes, next to Helga, there was Brainy. Actually, thinking back now, Brainy always seemed to appear near Helga or around Helga. At that time, he never made much of it. She never showed any interest or friendship with Brainy. He didn't even remember them talking. Even so, his mind couldn't stop spinning as he remembered the times he'd randomly appeared. The common factor in all of his unexpected arrivals was her, Helga. He looked over at his girlfriend, who was sitting down on the red couch and seemingly absorbed with something on her phone.

"Helga." Arnold started. She looked up at him and offered a little smile. Her pretty face lighting up at the sound of her name on his lips. Her face looked slightly flushed from the heat of the room, from the bodies moving and dancing all around.

"Yeah?" She asked, her smile fading as she took in his startled face.

"You and Brainy." He stopped. He knew he shouldn't ask. He had no right to ask about her past or what role the boy had in her life.

Helga seemed to notice his resistance and straightened her shoulders, "Brainy? What about him?" She narrowed her eyes.

Arnold pointed towards the ceiling, prompting her to listen in. The chorus and the robotic sounding voice started again. She listened in with him, her eyes growing wider at each line of the song, her mouth forming in a silent 'oh'.

When the song ended, Helga stared blankly at the young, gawky man Dj'ing away at the turntables. The lyrics of the song were swimming around it her head. If Brainy wrote this song, she held little doubt that he'd written it with her in mind. The song mentioned her pink bow, the kiss they'd shared, and the violence he enjoyed from her.

Arnold stood besides her, observing her ashen face. Her face displayed shock and curiosity. What was the feeling entering his heart? He'd experienced jealousy in the past, but nowhere near the unexpected wave of jealousy at knowing his blonde angel had been in another's arm. He counted up to 10 mentally, scolding himself for straining to keep composure and for jumping to conclusions.

'I have no right to feel like this. She's allowed to have a past. Forcing her to speak on the matter would be so wrong.'

Helga looked up at him with a weak smile. After a few moments of silence, she offered hesitantly, "Whoever wrote the song sounds like a masochist?"

"Helga." Arnold tried again and failed. He ran his fingers through his hair. He couldn't do it and he excused himself, walking away towards the terrace.

It was past midnight by now. The early February night sky had picked up a chill and wind. He could hear the slow music playing inside and he felt sickened by it. He turned his back away from the room and observed the darkened sky and dim city lights all around. He leaned over Rhonda's balcony and lost himself thinking about the events of the night, it was no use trying to distract himself from the intrusive thoughts he held about Brainy and Helga.

"Hey." He cursed mentally when he heard her sweet voice nearing him. "You left so suddenly. I wasn't sure if I did something wrong…" Her expression was crestfallen.

"What?…No! Of course not, you did nothing wrong. I…I need some time alone, that's all." He cursed under his breath as he observed the blonde beauty standing before him. Her arms wrapped around herself in an effort to soothe away the winter chill engulfing them.

"Is it to do with Brainy? Because I can beat him up, if you want." She stepped closer until she stood next to him.

He let out a frustrated breath. "I just, I know I don't have the right to ask you…But, come on! I mean, the song?" He turned to face her, his expression of exasperation giving away what he was feeling.

"You want to know if there was something between Brainy and I, is that right?" Helga asked.

"Well, yeah." He dropped his shoulders and avoided her gaze.

Helga looked out into the city, mimicking his earlier stance with her arms over the railing. She stood in silence a moment.

"Well, there isn't much to say. We never went out or anything if that's what you might be thinking. I did kiss him once or twice-."

"I'm sorry, did you say once or twice?" Arnold interrupted.

She rubbed at her neck, scolding herself mentally for her past actions. "Umm, but it wasn't what you think it is!" She started.

"Helga, how else can one interpret a kiss. It was on the lips, right?" Arnold looked at her, confused.

"Well, yeah." She lowered her head. He ran his fingers through his hair, in a motion that revealed his frustrations. She couldn't stop herself from the word vomit she felt building up in her throat.

"What about you, huh? What about little miss perfect cornering you on thanksgiving? Am I the only one who is supposed to turn a blind eye whenever someone throws themselves at you?" Helga placed her hands on her hips, in a show of defiance and frustration.

"What? Wait, what are you talking about?" Arnold faced her.

"Oh, don't play dumb, bucko! I heard all about it from Lila. She cornered you in your room and tried to get all cozy!" She stepped back, feeling angry at herself for not keeping her promise to forgive and forget.

'It is not fair for him to get mad about something that happened ages ago and meanwhile he can't even trust me to tell me about the red-head throwing herself at him!'

"Helga, did she also fail to mention that I stopped her advancements?" Arnold stated angrily, wrinkling his eyebrows and raising his voice more than he'd intended to.

"Of course, she did! She also mentioned how you let her use your BED while she recovered from her oh-so-drunken state!" She turned away and started to walk back towards the door.

"What was I supposed to do? Wait, Helga!" He reached out and grabbed her hand.

She yanked his arm away and stared angrily at him. "So what if I kissed him once or twice? Does that make me a bad person for trying to forget you? And what about you? Don't stand there and tell me that all you did was kiss a girl or two in San Lorenzo when it is obvious you went further than that! You told me yourself!" Her eyes revealed her fury and her hurt. She'd promised herself that she wouldn't go there. That she wouldn't hold his past against them any longer. It was supposed to be a fresh start for them.

Arnold stared at her in shock and before he knew it, she'd already started a speedy march away and out of the terrace. When he reached the main floor, he looked around for her fervently. His efforts were ruined when the crowds of people dancing and crowding around blocked any effort of finding her.

'Great. Nice going, Helga. No matter how much you try and control your anger, we always end up here, don't we?' Helga thought to herself as she hailed a cab and texted Phoebe not to wait up. She felt the regret of walking away so abruptly, but she felt a deep sense of unfairness when her boyfriend had questioned her past actions but couldn't even trust her to tell her about his own.

When she arrived at her stoop, she'd contemplated calling him to ask forgiveness. She looked at her 10 missed calls from him and decided that space was critical. She needed to recover before facing him, in fear of falling apart in front of him or ruining any chance of reconciliation.

'Dr. Bliss warned me about this. My temper could scald if I let it.'

And so, she did the only thing she knew that could help. She wrote.

Amidst turbulent waves

I reached out to you

Are you there with your somber walks and your dreamy eyes?

waiting till the vessels reached shore

I shone my light for you to come

Was it too dim for you to see?

Under waves and through the storm

I call out to you, my love.

1 Day Later:

"Good morning, family!" A cheerful Miles made his way into the dining room and reached over to kiss Stella on the cheek. She leaned in and then secretly signaled him towards Arnold, who was sitting at the round table looking despondently down at his phone. Miles took the seat opposite while Stella finished serving herself a hefty portion of the quinoa pancakes.

"What's wrong son? You haven't touched your pancakes." Miles tried. All his previous attempts to engage Arnold over the last two days had been in vain.

"Whatever it is that you're going through, eating healthy would help." Stella kindly added.

Arnold exhaled and stood up, grabbing his backpack and heading towards the foyer, "I'm going to school. It's alright guys." He looked at his parents, grateful for their attempts to cheer him but unable to voice it. He'd spent the whole day in his room on Sunday and had attempted to contact Helga. At 12am, as usual, he'd waited for her outside her job. When she didn't come out, he had let himself into the diner and asked her boss about her. Her boss had told him she'd left a few minutes before. He had driven through the streets, looking for her until he reached her house. He'd called her and texted her. He never heard back. No matter how much he tried to understand her distance, it was incomprehensible that she'd never texted or called back.

When he reached the foyer, his phone started vibrating. He reached frantically into his pockets and looked at the screen.

'Gerald'

"Hey, What's up Gerald?" He asked nonchalantly.

"Arnold! Hey man! I just got a call from Phoebe! She's at the hospital. I think Helga is sick or something!"

Author's Note: Okay! Wow, sorry to end this one like this! I'm actually kind of proud of the poem Helga wrote?! They are so sweet, We hate to see them fight for real. I always felt like Brainy's past with Helga would somehow find a way to bite her in the butt one day. And I wanted Brainy to have his moment and confess, but to be honest I felt like he would do it in a unique way. It is also amusing to imagine Arnold's reaction. This chapter is the result of all these combined feelings.

Also, what do you think of the whole Patty/Harold/Rhonda thing? What team are you? I like all of them, so I want to resolve this whole mess Harold started.

BTW, GERALD'S BAND FTW!

If you are wondering what song they played at the end and then Arnold lullabied in Helga's ear, it is one of the sexiest rock songs: "Do I Wanna Know" By The Artic Monkeys *swooning on behalf of Helga*