Chapter 6: Rhonda's Party

Note: If I made any typos in my last chapter of this fanfiction, please forgive me because I am writing this through my cell phone. Also, I meant to say the party is this Saturday, not next Saturday.

Disclaimer: You know I don't own Hey Arnold :)

Helga Pataki walked through the hallway trying to find her next class. She stopped walking however when she felt someone tap on her shoulder. When she turned around, there was no student or anyone behind. Facing forward, she saw a football-headed boy standing there with a smug grin. Helga immediately jumped back in shock.

"AH! Arnoldo! Don't scare me like that!" She said while holding a hand to her chest.

He rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Sorry Helga. I didn't mean to startle you. I wanted to see if you needed any help with anything."

Helga blushed. "Well...I guess I need help finding my next class."

"No problem. What room number?"

"Er...115?"

"Hey I have that same class c'mon!" He said and started to run while grabbing one of Helga's wrists. While she was running behind him, she swooned inwardly knowing that her true love was holding her wrist. It wasn't her hand necessarily but she imagined it was. Her thoughts were cut short when they stopped running.

"This is it. Ladies first." He said while holding the door for her.

"Why thank you, kind sir." She joked and walked into the classroom. They sat in their assigned seats and waited for the last students to come in. Their teacher, Mrs. Clark greeted all of them. Halfway through class she stated that in two weeks, everyone will be randomly paired up in partners for a project about making a diorama that showcases the other's personality. It has to be creative and meaningful to get full credit. Soon enough, class was over and she wanted to get home as quick as possible.

"Hey Helga, wait up!" Arnold said to her.

"Huh?" She turned around to look at him.

"I wanted to ask if you were going to Rhonda's party this weekend."

"Oh well I haven't really made up my mind yet."

Arnold blushed and looked down to his feet. "I might go just to see how it's like. Maybe I'll see you there."

"Maybe...well anyways I have to go Arnold."

"Okay, oh and Helga-" he said with his hands dropping down to his sides.

"Yes?"

"You look nice today."

"Thanks Arnold. So do you."

With that, she walked away to get her things and left the building.

It was 4 in the afternoon when Arnold heard a knock on his bedroom door.

"It's open."

Grandpa Phil walked into his room to see that Arnold was laying down on his bed doing homework.

"How's the homework coming Shortman?"

"It's okay I guess. Nothing too difficult." He said shrugging.

"Well that's good to hear...I guess."

Phil moved his way over to Arnold's bed and sat down next to him.

"So...how are things going with your friend?"

Arnold sighed and closed his eyes. "We had a bit of a fall out during lunch today."

"What? I swore you and Helga were getting along great yesterday."

He raised a brow at his grandpa. "Huh? Me and Helga are fine."

"Then who-"

Closing his textbook, he sat up and folded his arms. "I was talking about Gerald."

"Gerald? What happened?" His grandpa asked.

"I don't want to talk about it." Arnold said and looked away.

"Ohhh, well then, suit yourself." Phil said chuckling to himself.

"Fine! Since you HAVE to know! Gerald has this whole wacky idea that I have some sort of crush Helga when I don't! Think about it, me and Helga? That's insane! She would never go out with me. Not in a million years."

"Shortman I think you left a very important question out of this."

"What?"

"Would YOU ever go out with her? If she had asked you to go out with her, would you say you never would in a million years? Your buddy Gerald probably wasn't even talking about the concept itself. He wants to know your side of the story."

Arnold's face softened to just confusion. "But...what makes him think that what goes on between Helga and I is his business?"

Phil sighed and stood up. "You didn't have a problem discussing Lila or Ruth with him did you?"

"No. But-"

"And he told you about his crush on Helga's friend Phoebe...right?"

"Yeah-"

"So why do you feel the need to hide this from him when he doesn't hide anything from you? Sounds like to me he's just worried about you."

Arnold sighed and looked at him. "I never really thought about any of that...I'm such a terrible friend-"

"Don't say that Arnold! It's not true. Sometimes friends have their arguments. At the end of the day, I know that you and him will be fine again."

"I guess you're right Grandpa. I'm going to call him and apologize."

His grandpa patted him on the top of his head. "Well good for you Arnold, I'm going to go help Pookie make supper. Good luck Shortman." he said and walked out of the room.

Taking a deep breath, Arnold closed the door and went over to his cell phone. He scrolled through his contacts until he found the name 'Gerald Johanssen' and pushed the call button. The sound of the ringing tone made him feel anxious. 'Who knows if Gerald will pick up? I hope he's not too mad at me.'

Gerald was busy doing his homework when he heard his cell phone ring next to him. He picked up the phone and looked at the caller ID to see that Arnold was calling him. He sighed, "I hope I'm not going to regret this..."

Arnold's eyes widened when he heard a voice from the other end.

"Hello?"

"Gerald!" He exclaimed.

"Uh, hey Arnold."

"I wanted to apologize for the way I acted today. I wasn't thinking and I pushed you away when all you wanted to do was be my best friend."

Gerald started to smile a little in relief on the other end. "It's all good. I'm sorry too for being so nosy."

Arnold shook his head. "No you weren't being nosy, I get why you said what you said. I realized that you've told me how you felt about Phoebe, and I've told you about the girls in my past except for Helga. I'm sorry."

"I forgive you Arnold. Also one more thing buddy."

"If you do end up liking Helga, I'll support you man. Take all the time you need to think."

Arnold blushed pink and nervously laughed.

"Okay. I'll do that. Friends?"

"Until the end my brotha!"

Both boys said goodbye and hung up the phone. Arnold smiled and continued to do his homework as did Gerald. The next day at school they walked through the hallways chatting like friends again making Helga smile as they walked past her. She overheard them talking about going to Rhonda's party and decided that it couldn't hurt to go.

"Hey Pheebs?" She asked as Phoebe and her walked out of school.

"Yes Helga?"

"Uh, what do you think about going to Rhonda's party?"

"Hmm, I'll most likely attend if you're with me."

"Well after I thought about it some, I decided there's no reason why we can't try and go-whoa!"

Phoebe grinned and grabbed Helga's wrist, running in the direction of the mall.

That Saturday came quicker than she imagined. The next thing she knew, she was getting her hair done by her best friend.

"Oh Helga, this is going to be wonderful!"

"I agree. As long as there is some food and music that won't bore me to death." She stated rolling her eyes.

After finishing with the curling iron, Phoebe told Helga to go look at her hair in the mirror. Her eyes widened in awe seeing the way her blonde hair was styled. It was curled down her shoulders and shined so bright that it could make the angels sing.

"Ph-Phoebe this is amazing! I can't even describe how great it is!"

Phoebe giggled behind her hand. "Thanks Helga!"

"No problem Pheebs, now it's my turn to style your hair."

Her best friend nodded and sat down while Helga began to curl her dark hair. As soon as she was finished, Phoebe looked into the mirror and smiled in approval. "Helga, this is so beautiful. Thank you."

"No problem, we better get ready. It's 3 o'clock and the party starts at 5 P.M."

"Right."

They both went into different bathrooms to get dressed. Phoebe put on a short solid royal blue dress with spaghetti straps and blue heels. Next, she applied a light amount of blue eyeshadow and lip gloss. Her nails were painted dark blue to match her outfit.

Walking upstairs into Helga's room again, she sat down on the bed and called out to her.

"Helga! Are you finished yet? We leave in a half hour!"

"Almost, give me a sec!" A female voice said from inside the bathroom.

A few minutes passed and she said she was finally done. Phoebe braced herself to witness Helga's final look. The door opened slowly to reveal the blonde haired girl. Her friend blinked her eyes rapidly, adjusting her glasses to make sure this wasn't a hallucination. She wore a long red spaghetti strap dress with a v-neck, red high heels, light pink eyeshadow and mascara. She had on red lipstick, blush, and flower earrings. Of course, her pink bow was situated on the top of her head to complete the look.

"I know what you're going to say, it's a bit too much isn't it?"

"Helga!"

"Oh my gosh, you look awesome Phoebe!" Helga said with her jaw dropping.

Phoebe ran over hug her. "Me? HELGA YOU'RE GORGEOUS."

Helga blushed. "You're just saying that..."

"No, I really mean it."

"Oh...okay. Thanks...I guess."

"No problem."

A car honked from outside. It was Phoebe's parents and the two girls hurried outside to the car.

Meanwhile...a football headed boy and boy with tall hair just finished dressing up themselves. Arnold looked at himself in the mirror with a smile. He was wearing a white dress shirt, a black bow tie and solid black dress pants. He wore white sneakers to match his outfit. His best friend wore a red dress shirt with white pants and red sneakers.

They both smiled at each other and did their signature handshake before leaving the boarding house. Arnold's grandparents had drove them to Rhonda's house. Seeing the two boys arrive, Rhonda smirked.

"Well you two look charming tonight, come on in."

Both of them muttered a simple thanks and walked into the party. To their surprise, a lot of there classmates were there already. Arnold and Gerald ran up to greet them and make conversation. A few minutes later, Arnold felt Gerald tug on his sleeve and looked at him in surprise.

"What is it?"

Gerald covered his mouth and pointed over to Phoebe, who was getting herself some punch out of the bowl.

"She looks so amazing man!" He whispered.

Arnold chuckled and whispered back. "Why don't you go talk to her?"

"What do I say?"

"Ask her how's she's doing or talk about something you both have in common."

Gerald nodded and took a deep breath. "Okay." Without another word, he made his way over to her.

When she saw he was walking over, she sat down her punch and gave him a bright smile.

"Hi Gerald."

Gerald blushed and smiled shyly. "Hey Phoebe...y-you l-look really nice tonight."

Phoebe blushed as well. "Thanks Gerald, so do you."

Arnold watched them from afar and smiled. He couldn't help it. Seeing them together made him feel happy, but then he felt a pang of disappointment because he didn't see Helga anywhere in the room.

'Maybe she was busy or had something else to do.' He thought.

His thoughts had subsided when he heard a flush from a toilet and the sink turn on. He heard a familiar voice echoing until the door opened.

Turning completely in that direction, his heart began to beat faster. His jaw dropped all the way to the floor in awe, his legs were about to fall from beneath him, his eyes grew wide, face filled with blush. In his mind, the girl was walking out in slow motion with her curly blonde hair blowing in the wind. Her face couldn't get more beautiful, and her eyes...

"Arnold?"

"Sweet blue ey-I-I mean hey Helga!" Arnold said with a nervous smile plastered on his face after snapping out his trance. "You made it!" He put his hands behind his back.

"Arnold? Are you feeling alright?" She asked with blank look.

"Y-Yeah? Why wouldn't I be?"

She chuckled and shook her head. "Whatever you say Arnold."

Before she could walk off though, Arnold gently grabbed her wrist and asked her to wait.

"Is something wrong?" Helga turned to him.

"No, I was going to ask if you wanted me to get you some punch." Arnold said.

"I do want punch, but you don't have to do that Arnold I can handle that myself."

Letting go of her wrist, he put his hands in his pockets. "I know I don't HAVE to Helga, but I want to. I'm just trying to be a gentleman."

"Well, you're doing a great job at it. So whatever floats your boat I guess." Helga said with a grin. Arnold nodded returning her grin and walked off to get them both some punch.

On the inside, Helga was a nervous wreck and very happy all at once. She couldn't decide whether or not puking or screaming for joy was what she was on the edge of doing. A few minutes later Arnold had came back with their punch and clicked their cups together. There was a long moment of silence before Helga cleared her throat.

"Hey Arnold? You remember that eating contest you did a couple of years ago?"

Arnold shivered at the memory. "Ugh, don't remind me. I didn't like the idea of eating for a while after that, though of course I had to or I wouldn't have been here."

Helga giggled, rolling her eyes. "You're a real comedian pal. Anyways, I wanted to make a little bet."

He looked at her with an eyebrow raised, crossing his arms. "It's not illegal is it?"

"No, it's very legal. I promise."

"Okay. What's the bet?"

"If you can chug down a glass of punch faster than me, then you..." She thought for a moment then continued "I'll buy you some ice cream down the block at slausens one day after school or the next time we hang out. And if I win, you have to dance with me and buy me ice cream."

Arnold blushed on the inside but tried to keep cool as much as possible. "Deal." He said shaking her hand.

They both picked up their glasses of punch and braced themselves for the challenge. He grinned as they counted down from 3.

In 3...

2...

1...

Drink!

Instantly they both started chugging their punch with a handful of their classmates noticing and cheering them on.

"DRINK! DRINK! DRINK!" They all shouted.

Rhonda took out her cell phone and started filming the competition.

Gerald cheered for his best friend while Phoebe cheered for hers.

"GO ARNOLD!" Gerald cheered cupping his hands over his mouth.

"YOU GOT THIS HELGA!" Phoebe shouted.

Helga finished her punch first and set it down hard on the table.

Arnold finished a half second after in shock to see that she had already won.

"WOOOOOOOOO! I WIN! TAKE THAT FOOTBALL HEAD!" Helga shouted. Rhonda had stopped recording and continued talking amongst her friends. Once the noise had dialed down, the football headed boy stared shyly at her.

"So...I guess I owe you that dance huh?"

"I-If you're feeling uncomfortable doing that we could just stick with the ice cream thing only." Her voice had a little bit of sadness to it.

"Who said I didn't want to dance with you?" He asked and slowly took a hold of her hand. She blushed a bright shade of pink even though he couldn't see it because the room was dark and had disco lights.

"You mean...you don't mind dancing with me?"

"Of course not. Also I've heard that your a good dancer."

"Well uh gee, thanks Arnold." She said and they made their way over to the dance floor. Hesitantly, Arnold moved her hands to rest on his shoulders. He gently placed his hands on her waist and began to slow dance with her. All eyes eventually were on them but for once in her life it didn't bother Helga. All she cared about was getting to dance closely with the guy of her dreams. As for Arnold, he was a bit nervous at first, but witnessing the serene smile Helga kept on her face made him feel more comfortable by the minute. Feeling confident now, he looked up and met her eyes.

"Helga?"

"Yes?"

"I know you heard it many times before tonight, but you look really beautiful a-and nice. Your hair, that dress, everything about you is so beautiful. Sorry if that sounds really weird coming from me. I just can't help it."

"Aw, even if it was corny, that meant a lot coming from you. I'm flattered. Also you look kind of handsome tonight. Bet you never expected me to say that football head."

"True, but hearing that from you is better than that food competition I was in a few years ago" he joked jerking his thumb behind him.

"Wow. That sounds lovely." She replied, making them both laugh in unison. To her surprise, Arnold had twirled her around and dipped her like he did on April Fools Day, except less rough. When he pulled her up however, their faces were a closer proximity than before. He didn't notice that his head was inching closer to hers until their lips barely brushed and he pulled away excusing himself to the bathroom. Helga walked off the dance floor and sat down biting her lip.

"What the heck just happened?" She whispered to herself. Luckily everyone else had been too distracted by the music blasting through the speakers and dancing to witness her slight embarrassment.

"What...is...wrong...with...me?" Arnold said in the bathroom as he splashed his face with water. Then he pinched himself to make sure this wasn't some type of dream. It wasn't. This was real life. His lips actually brushed hers! It wasn't really a kiss though. Maybe they just got close to being carried away by the music. He wasn't sure how he could face her without freaking out or running away. On the other hand, he knew that running away wouldn't solve anything and the best thing for them is to talk. Sighing he left the bathroom and went to find Helga. Helga was staring down at the ground and chatting with her best friend Phoebe. Seeing him come over, she stood up and wished her friend good luck, walking back over to Gerald.

Arnold sat down next to her without saying a word for a few minutes. The silence had been to much to handle so the blonde haired girl broke it.

"Sheesh football head, are you even breathing?! I can hear myself breathing, but how come it's the opposite with you?"

Letting out the breath he had been holding inside for a while, he shifted in his seat to look at her in her ocean blue eyes. "I'm sorry about what just happened back there. I swear I didn't mean to make you feel weirded out."

"Oh Arnold, if I was weirded out, I would've pushed you away. Though I guess the music got to us a little. Can we just agree that what happened was mutual and just move on from it?"

She said in a slightly exhaustive tone.

Arnold let out a breath of relief and nodded. "Definitely. So...we're good?"

Helga giggled and nodded. "Doi!"

They both mimicked Arnold and Gerald's handshake, which made Gerald march over there with his hands on his hips. He narrowed his eyes darkly at Arnold and pushed his finger into the outside of his nose.

"Don't make me UNFORGIVE you, football-head!" He said while intentionally mocking Helga.

Helga gasped. "Aye! No one gets to call him that except for me!"

"Serves you right for stealing OUR handshake." He smirked.

"Whatever you say."

Arnold narrowed his eyes at her this time, crossing his arms.

In response she shrugged knowing full well what she did.

"What? What'd I say?"

Arnold pointed to himself, still narrowing his eyes. "That's my line. Get your own."

"Fine Arnold...Criminy!" Helga said and they all bursted into laughter.

After eating and dancing for what seemed like an eternity, everyone was getting ready to leave the party. As the kids walked out the door, Rhonda stood at the door wishing everyone a goodnight and thanked them for coming.

Since everyone's house was kind of close by, they decided to walk home. Before leaving, Arnold had asked his grandpa if he could walk Helga home and his grandpa agreed. Phoebe's and Gerald's parents were okay with Gerald walking her home and they left. Arnold and Helga were the last ones to leave but that didn't stop Rhonda from talking to them for a moment.

"Before you guys go home, could I ask you something?"

They both looked at each other in confusion and simply shrugged.

"Are you two...together or something?"

"Huh? N-No of course not!" They both said together.

Rhonda chuckled. "I was just asking. Seeing you two dance together made it seem like you both had evident feelings for each other."

Of course they both denied it and she shrugged, saying goodnight.

Walking down the street the two eleven year olds couldn't stop blushing. They made small talk, yet still were evidently nervous around each other. Soon they reached Helga's house and stopped walking.

"Well...this is it." His voice had a touch of disappointment. Neither of them wanted that night to end but unfortunately it had to at some point.

Looking up at the door, she sighed sadly at Arnold and made her way up the steps. Reaching the top, she was stunned to find herself suddenly wrapped in a tight hug. Almost instantly she hugged back and smiled at being in his arms. He pull back from her a little to see her face expression. Beaming, the girl placed a light kiss on his cheek and went to open her door. Before she closed the door, Helga turned around to him and smiled. "Thanks Arnold. For making this a night to always remember."

His smile grew wider. "Same here Helga."

"Good night Arnold. Don't forget about the ice cream football-head."

"I won't. Good night Helga." He said with his eyes now half-lidded and smiling.

Quietly, Helga closed the door and he began to walk off in the direction of the boarding house. He told his grandparents goodnight after telling them how fun Rhonda's party had been. It went better than he'd expected and part of him wished she'd host another one just as lively.

In his pajamas, he layed in his bed and reminisced about the best moments of the party. Next thing he knew his thoughts were filled about Helga Pataki. He blushed at the thought of his lips brushing against Helga's when they had danced. Then his entire face heated remembering that she actually kissed him on the cheek. He sat up in his bed, suddenly sitting up quick with his hand on top of his cheek.

In the middle of the night, Arnold's Grandpa Phil was disturbed from his sleep hearing noise within the boarding house. He put on his fuzzy green slippers and came out of bed not looking too happy. The noise appeared to be coming from the kitchen and Phil frowned.

"Why Kokaschka you no good meddling ra-"

He turned on the lights to to find it was his grandson making all of the racket.

"Arnold?! What are you doing here in the kitchen? It's the middle of the night. And why are you messing up the kitchen drinking a whole gallon of orange juice?!"

"Because! I..."

"You what?"

"I- I have a crush on Helga! THERE I said it!"

Phil was taken aback and went to sit on the floor next to Arnold. He patted his grandson on the back and sat down with him in silence. After a while, Arnold sighed and sulked his head down to the ground.

"And I don't know how to tell her..."

Stay tuned for the next chapter! This one was delightful to write. It's also my longest one for this fanfiction so far!

~Chapter 7: Feelings and Ice Cream.~

Coming soon...