30.

Arnold had been optimistic and hit record as he and Gerald climbed into the Packard. But all that meant was that he caught about 17 minutes of updates on every podcast Gerald was listening to or wanted to listen to.

"I am also thinking about starting one of those live-play D&D campaigns." Gerald said as they pulled up to the Arcade.

The old place had a large neon sign lit up on top. A spaceman, a ringed planet, and several stars adorned the sign. The old arcade had changed ownership a few times, but each new owner appreciated that it was the Arcade and to change that would be blasphemous. But the current owner did make some additions. They had made a great effort to acquire the laundromat next door to add a full pizza kitchen and dining room - and a few more pinball machines. It was a great improvement - everyone agreed.

"You don't play D&D," Arnold argued.

"Yeah but each season has like 70 episodes. And I'm tired of running through shit so fast!" Gerald reasoned.

"I think you have too much time on your hands," Arnold chuckled, but Gerald didn't. He just proceeded inside. As Arnold followed behind him, he started, "So have you spoken to -"

But Gerald had other plans.

"I heard from Fuzzy Slippers today." Gerald sat his stuff down at a booth and turned back to Arnold. Arnold put his stuff down too and they both headed to the counter for their customary extra large fountain drinks before heading over to the air hockey table.

"Oh - sure. Wh-what did he say?" Arnold said, surprised. There was a knowing look on Gerald's face as they ordered their Yahoo's. For a moment, Arnold truly thought the plan would be cut short.

"Well some of the usual - you know, Who's hooking up with who. Who did and did not get into college. But there was one little tidbit I found really interesting."

"Yeah?" Arnold was starting to feel heat rising up his face.

"Yeah - something about how you have been spending a lot -" Gerald had squared himself to Arnold, blocking his way to the air hockey table. "Like a lot a lot of time with Helga G. Pataki." He said every syllable of her name carefully and Arnold held his breath. In the silence, Gerald inferred that this wasn't incorrect.

"What is his network of information like?" Arnold asked suddenly. This figure always confounded him.

"Arnold!" Gerald prompted.

"I mean, sure! We both have been really concerned about you and Phoebe -"

"No no no - my man Fuzzy Slippers is saying that this has been going on since before that. At least since the party. Like you left the party with Helga!" Gerald didn't look mad but he did look surprised and he did look like he was demanding further information.

"I mean - yeah! I did," Arnold admitted, realizing this meant the plan was in the clear and this is a different line of questioning. One Arnold was even less prepared for.

"And - There apparently have been multiple reports of post school hangouts."

"Yeah - we've been hanging out. Got dinner a couple of times this week -"

"Dinner? A couple of times?" Gerald was feeding quarters into the machine and not trying to keep his voice down at all. "Man, are you dating Helga?"

"What? No!" Arnold said reflexively. "No - we haven't been calling them dates, or anything."

"Be straight with me, man."

"I am!"

"No - do you, like, have a crush on Helga?" Gerald put the puck down but didn't hit it yet. He just stared at Arnold. And Arnold - well - in that moment, he realized he had not put any words to any of the things he had felt over this whole week - which was most uncharacteristic and unhelpful. Arnold puffed up his cheeks in a big exhale and said -

"I don't really know." Gerald hit the puck gently to begin with. "But I would also say that - I may or may not be feeling some - feelings." Arnold hit it back and they began a volley. Both boys shifted their focus down to the puck while continuing to talk.

"Feelings. Man - what feelings?"

"I don't know!" Arnold hit the puck with weight. "Feelings! It's weird and I -"

"Describe the feelings." Gerald said plainly. He was getting focused in on both the puck and this insane turn of events.

"Ok - um - like her smile -" Arnold started.

"Her smile - ok. What about it?"

"I keep trying to make her smile. I don't mean to try - or like, I find myself trying, if that makes sense." Arnold said.

"Ok - wild," Gerald said with a quick zip of his wrist. He scored first.

"Nice one." Arnold said, picking it up. Gerald looked at him, not letting him off the hook.

"What do you feel - when you make her smile?" It's not that Gerald was mad about this possibility - but it was surprising. Yes, Helga was Phoebe's best friend, but he always thought it was a lopsided friendship. Though the one time he had expressed this, it did turn into one of the biggest fights of their relationship. Mostly - Gerald had left the subject of Helga G. Pataki alone. But over the years, even though he didn't always like Helga's methods or agree with her on just about anything - she proved herself to be a fierce friend to Phoebe. He always knew he could count on her to be there when it mattered. Even if Phoebe kept some things to herself.

Arnold had been quiet while they spit the puck back and forth and he thought about his answer. For the record, Arnold had all but forgotten the plan in this moment, so that's great.

"It feels like - it's nausea -then like excitement."

"You sure you aren't just relieved she isn't hitting you?"

"Very funny. No. I like making her smile - it's like I feel close to her."

"This is wild, man." Gerald sunk another point. Arnold just stood up straight and stared at him.

"Why? What is so wild, Gerald?"

"You have a CRUSH on HELGA G. PATAKI!"

"Will you be quiet!?"

"Oh - what? You ashamed?"

"No! No - she's just private. And I don't know -" Arnold started rambling. His nerves were sparking and he wasn't sure why he wanted him to be quiet - he just knew that too loud felt dangerous. "I know that - if I do - if I tell her that, she'll probably freak out and run off. And I don't want that. We have been having such a nice time - and I like hanging out with her. She's funny and really smart and wicked strong. And I just like making her laugh and talking to her about - stuff - " He thought back to asking her to homecoming, thinking it was for her, not for him. He thought back to holding her in hiding in the library, thinking it was just a high adrenaline moment. He thought back to earlier that day when she had called him lover boy, and his stomach did a flip. "Oh my god - I have a fucking crush on Helga G. Pataki." He dropped the little hockey thing and put his hands in his hair and turned away from the table.

"Wow - " Gerald just watched as his best friend paced around. He understood that Arnold didn't know this about himself till just now. He also understood that this wasn't a joke - something was really happening. After a minute or two of Arnold just staring off into space, looking concerned, he came back, picked up the puck and hit it. He sunk it for a point with a satisfying thwak!

"You know - when we were hanging out at the party last weekend - she said something that…" Arnold trailed off a little.

"What?" Gerald prompted, setting the puck back on the table and letting it drift.

"We were talking about the whole Erica thing," Arnold said. Gerald nodded at the familiar summer girlfriend topic - a girlfriend who did not deserve Arnold, according to Gerald, not by a long shot. "And I told her the stuff Erica said to me - and Helga said, without missing a beat, that she was wrong and that I wasn't too much. That anyone who says so - they're shortsighted and unfair. Or something like that." Arnold paused as he felt his chest tighten a little. "She made me feel like who I am isn't just for other people - like I didn't have to change."

Gerald kept on nodding - hoping he would just continue. They volleyed the puck in silence for a few beats.

"Hanging out with her - just spending time with her - I get it. People think she's too much too. Hell, I've thought that. I think people expect her to reign herself in all the time. And I realized that that would be a shame. I don't want her to change either." Arnold spoke a little more freely. "And she is so much more than the stereotype she plays, you know. And we just - it's easier and easier to be with her every time we hang out."

"So this isn't another 'I can save her,' kind of crush, then?" Gerald asked carefully. They'd had talks about this mentality a lot in the past. Arnold seems to be endlessly capable of romanticizing a girl's problems as reasons to be with her. Quests to prove himself worthy of her. Ever the knight in shining armor.

"No - no. She would beat me back with a stick if I inserted myself into her business. Do I want to help her? Yes. But does she need me to save her? Absolutely not." Gerald had to agree with this statement. He had always said that Arnold needed someone strong, not one of these waifish little girls. Arnold needed, in his opinion, someone as bold as he was, someone who could go to bat for Arnold, should the need ever arise.

Then Gerald's mind started wandering elsewhere. "So - you're like also - attracted to her, then?" Arnold was shocked by the question and let another point crash in.

"What?"

Gerald was laughing now. "You like making her smile - she makes you excited sick or whatever!" Arnold rolled his eyes at him. "But are you attracted to her?" Arnold felt a blush rushing up and Gerald couldn't help but read it on his face. "OH MY GOD!" Gerald laughed harder.

"I think she's very pretty," Arnold stammered. Why was this hard? He felt so young and childish. "She's got -"

"A great smile! Yes, I know. We've covered that." Gerald cackled.

"AND she has beautiful eyes!" Arnold was trying so hard to gather his words. "And she's, like, really confident and comfortable in her body. And her hair - I don't know!" The simple answer was yes and he found it was hard to say.

"She has a nice ass!" Gerald offered.

"Hey!" Arnold snapped out of his daze.

"Oh, you don't think so?" Gerald spat.

"No! I mean, yes! I do. I mean she does!" Gerald collapsed in wracks of laughter on the table. "Alright! Can we just - "

"I'm sorry -" Gerald was trying to catch his breath. "Ooh! Wooooh. Wow. That was funny."

"Not that funny…" Arnold said, one hand gripping at his brow. "Why does this feel weird?"

"Ha - 'cause it's Helga." Gerald said loudly. But he could see his best friend was struggling. "It's ok. When it's weird, confusing, and exciting all at the same time - it's usually a good thing." Gerald looked at his best friend for a long time, trying to communicate his support somehow.

"I've never felt quite this… flustered." Arnold said, coming back to his side of the table. "Is that weird?"

"No," Gerald said, calmer now. "No, strangely, it isn't weird at all."

"Yeah. Yeah, I think so too."

Gerald won the game, but Arnold felt pretty damn good.

31.

Helga and Phoebe spent the rest of the afternoon talking - like really talking. Phoebe finally shared just what she was feeling. She talked about how much Gerald had helped and how afraid she was that he didn't think she could manage school on her own. She went into great detail about the strength of the sports management program of both Quinceton and Perkley. It was clear, to Helga at least, that Phoebe was truly concerned that her mental health might be the reason Gerald didn't get the education he deserved. She had been carrying that guilt for close to a year now and Helga could see what it had cost her. Helga never felt the need to talk about herself through it all - which is saying something.

Helga also got to glimpse the joy still present in Phoebe's relationship. Helga managed to get Phoebe talking about her last few dates with Gerald, about the plans they made when they lay together at night, about how he will sneak out to be with her if she ever calls him panicked. Helga had to admit it, Geraldo was good to her best friend. A swell of affection rose for him, gratitude for how he has taken care of Phoebe.

As they stumbled from store to store, scrounging through the pathetic gown options left on the racks, Helga found time to grab Phoebe's hand and walk comfortably with her. They were laughing easily, pushing and punching at each other, and having fun. They both noted how long it had been since they last enjoyed each other's company like this.

After several hours and several mall snacks, the two best friends found themselves in front of a sad little temporary store, full to the brim with tulle and sequins.

"Oh god - this looks less than promising." Helga said as she shielded her eyes from the glitter.

"Beggars can't be choosers, Helga. It is literally the last store in the mall." Phoebe said matter-of-factly.

"I know - but - of course these are all that's left. They look like clown couture!" Helga gestured wildly at the window.

"I'm sure there is a less frilly diamond in the rough, just waiting to be discovered." With that, Phoebe dragged Helga into the store by the scruff of the neck.

It took a while and a lot of duds, but when they left, the sun was down and they were happy with their find. Helga thought Arnold would like it. Phoebe agreed.

Across town, air hockey battles turned into a skee ball contest, then a Road Brawler tournament, then a dance-dance-dance dance off - until Arnold and Gerald found themselves speaking passionately about fears, love, and the future over pizza and Yahoo.

Gerald had tears in his eyes, not for the first time that night, as he said "I'm so afraid that I've smothered her - that she doesn't want - ."

"No, Gerald. Seriously." Arnold said. "You've seen her work through the last few panic attacks so much easier. She said that you helped her do that - you have to trust her when she says she loves you."

Arnold could feel that this is exactly what Gerald needed - a chance to unload and say all the things he'd been keeping in to stay strong.

They were good at being best friends, Arnold thought proudly. He knew that Phoebe and Gerald were going to pull through and it took everything he had not to just spill the whole plan to him right then and there. The possible look of disappointment on Helga's face helped him stay resolved. So, instead of ruining the surprise, Arnold just listened, letting Gerald feel everything he needed to, and just tried to be there for him in this simple way.

As they drove home that night, they came back to jokes and laughter. Arnold pulled up to Gerald's house around 9pm. Gerald turned in the seat.

"Thanks for today, man." Gerald held out his fist and thumb for the ooo-wooo handshake. Arnold met it with his own.

"Of course, I am happy to kick your ass in Road Brawler any time!" Arnold laughed.

"That is literally the only game you won tonight!

They both laughed loud and big. Then Arnold said "I love you, Gerald."

"I love you too." Gerald said immediately. They smiled and took a relaxed breath together. "Alright - guess it's that time." Gerald was gathering his things. But before he opened his door he said, "Now we just gotta figure out what you're gonna do about Helga."

"Ha! Yeah - yeah this will not be easy." Arnold said sternly.

"Fuck no! This is not a journey to embark upon lightly!" Gerald was chuckling happily as he opened his door. "See you tomorrow, lover boy."

"Night, Gerald!" he called as Gerald slammed the door and took the steps up to the door two at a time.

Arnold pulled away and drove home. Now alone with his thoughts, his mind turned to Helga. A Crush, he thought. What am I? 9 years old? With that came a memory of a young girl passionately yelling about love and long held secrets into the night.

Then another memory - of Helga's lips parting a little in shock as they were pressed together in the library.

He pulled into the garage behind the house and pulled out his phone.

Phase 2, he texted Helga.

Complete, she replied right away.

Arnold's thumb hovered over the screen, twitching as he considered keeping the conversation going. Asking how her night was. Asking what she was doing now.

But he shook his head and chickened out.

See you tomorrow

For Phase 3!

He went inside to lay in bed - awake for several more hours.