Chapter 8

I don't own Hey Arnold characters, because they are real people and really live in New York! ***insane grin***

Last time Helga and Arnold were being shy and careful about how they handle their feelings for each other.

Arnold sat fidgeting at the lunchroom table. Gerald looked up from his protein shake and salad, he always ate this to keep him in good shape for sports. Arnold hadn't touched his nachos he had bought.

"Something up Arnold man?" Gerald said and snagged a nacho from Arnold.

"Well, it's Helga." Arnold said. Gerald laughed.

"I figured as much, Phoebe and her ran off with something important to talk about. Is something going on?" Gerald asked. Arnold nodded and started to eat some of the nachos. "Something good or bad."

"Not quite sure. We aren't sure if last night was just a thing or something." Arnold spoke as he looked around the lunchroom hoping to catch a glance of her maybe somewhere. "So we said if something happened tonight then it's really something."

"Damn Arnold, this is more confusing then that Lila 'like-like you' crap that went on for years. Why can't you just go for it? Hey if it's not true love, at least you two can have fun dating for awhile. Not everyone finds their soul mate right off the bat." Gerald said, Arnold gave a chuckle.

"Are you and Phoebe soul mates?" Arnold asked and raised an eyebrow. Gerald got a smug look on his face.

"Of course we are, I am the great Gerald. I always get my way." Gerald said with a snicker. Arnold and him then burst into hysterics. When they stop laughing Gerald leaned over toward Arnold and whispered. "What you need to do man is if Helga says she loves you and you obviously feel the same, make it happen tonight."

"Make it happen?" Arnold swallowed hard and looked at the perverted grin on Gerald's face.

"Don't tell me you didn't want her last night when she was in that sheet regardless if it was a joke or not. I mean if she is willing…" Gerald said. He reached into a small pocket on the inside of his gym bad and palmed something then slid it over to Arnold's hand.

"What's this?" Arnold asked.

"Take a look man." Gerald said and leaned back. Arnold looked under his hand. His eyes bugged out and he started to blush.

"Gerald, what the hell?" Arnold said and started to push it back. "Helga isn't like that."

"Trust me, Helga is like that she likes you. Just take it man, if the occasion arises, you have to have protection, that's the guy's job." Gerald said and smiled. "Plus Arnold, you need some, you are too up tight."

"Thanks Gerald." Arnold said with a small laugh.

"No Problem man! Ever need love advice, you just come to Gerald!" he said and looked over to see the rest of the guys coming over.

"Let's keep the Helga thing between you and me okay?" Arnold said. They slapped hands and then did the little finger handshake deal. "By the way, I never found out what you had to show me that you came over to last night?"

"Oh, I went and got my car's seats redone, now all the headrest have the number 33 on them." Gerald said. Arnold rolled his eyes, Gerald could be really be very vain at times.

"Helga! You have to make a move!" Phoebe said as they strolled the path along the large grass courtyard at the back of the school. "You have waited years for Arnold, now it is all in your hands."

"I know Pheebs, you think I don't know? I mean, I had the courage to do that stuff last night, but what am I suppose to do tonight?" Helga said and kicked a small rock as hard as she could. It flew through a crowd of students and managed to find Eugene's head. Helga frowned, he was still a jinx.

"Well, do you have anything, well to say, sexy in your wardrobe?" Phoebe asked. Helga looked down at her pink lace top, it was about the sexiest thing she owned, and it wasn't even low cut.

"Not really, I buy stuff that looks cute, not trashy." Helga said, "I couldn't stand to be one of those girls who walk around with skin tight jeans and their chest hanging out their tops, reminds me too much of kids back there in California."

"Well, why not drop Arnold off at the boarding house after school and we'll go shopping for something." Phoebe asked.

"No Phoebe, I want Arnold to like me for me. Remember that time I dressed up like Lila to impress him? I don't want to be something I am not." Helga said. "I am Helga G Pataiki, I never got where I was being someone else."

"What about the whole Cecille thing?" Phoebe said. Helga growled.

"Okay, I will tell him about that." Helga said and groaned as the bell rung to end lunch. The rest of the school day went by slowly for Helga. She had been getting weird looks from Rhonda, an eerie smile. But she shook it off and continued to watch the clock.

Arnold glanced up from his French book at the clock again, two minutes to go. He started to pack his stuff up. He looked over at Phoebe, who kept giggling every time he tried to talk to her. It was clear she knew what happen last night and knew something else for that matter, since she wished good luck tonight. She looked back at him and started to giggle again. Arnold just picked up his bag as the bell rung to let school out.

Helga was leaning on her bike. She was nervous; this would be the first time she would ride with someone with her. She had to practice it in motorcycle school, but no one had ever been on her bike with her beside the dummy she practiced with at class. She saw Arnold walking out of the school. She put waved to him as he walked up.

"Hey Helga!" Arnold said. She started to smile and got on the bike. Arnold stopped and took a look. There wasn't that much room for him on the bike, so that meant he would have to be awful close to her. He climbed on behind her, he was right, very close.

"There are no handles so you are going to just have to hold on to me." Helga said. She can't believe this, Arnold would be clinging to her, the wind whipping through their hair, and they would be alone.

Arnold gulped. "Hold on to you? Umm, Where?"

"My head, you idiot! Where do you think? You've ridden on a motorcycle before; you know how it works, around my waist. Like this!" Helga grabbed Arnold's arms around her waist.

Arnold held on as the bike pulled out of the parking lot. Helga's hair brushed against his face. It had that great scent in it still. As his arms held her he could feel that she most work out a lot, her abs were as hard as rocks. His hand accidentally rubbed them a little too much because Helga took notice.

"Hey, it's not a smart idea to tickle someone driving you on a motorcycle, Football Head." Helga said laughing a bit. Arnold laughed and refrained from letting his hands wandering.

'How do I feel about Helga? She is absolutely amazing now that she let her shields down. But I kind of like it when she is feisty, nice change from all the other girls who were so concerned with popularity and social status. I mean, she is kind of like me now, outsider from the sports and clubs.' Arnold thought.

'How do I feel about Arnold? He has hardly changed since I left him, except the fact no one really looks up to him as much as they use too. He seems interested back. But what if we get together and it's nothing like the dreams? What if I see him for real and I lose that perfect image of him?" Helga thought and pulled the side into the side street near the boarding house. She stopped the engine and sat there for a moment. About a minute passed and neither her nor Arnold had moved an inch. His arms still wrapped around her. Of course neither of them noticed this because they were so deep in thought.

Helga snapped back and realized they had been sitting there for about 5 minutes. "Arnold, the bike stopped."

"Oh it did?" Arnold said with a flush of embarrassment and released Helga from his arms. They got off the bike and Helga threw a cover over it. They walk silently to the front door.

Helga's mind was racing. Memories flooded back of all of forth grade and how Arnold was the only boy who was ever interested in learning about her true side, though he only found it recently. How all the other boys in her life either feared her or tried to take advantage of her. 'Helga, this is your only chance to make yourself happy. To be with someone who will actually love you for you, not because you are Olga's little sister.'

Arnold opened the front door and held it open for Helga. They walked into the main hallway.

"Hey Helga, you okay?" Arnold asked as Helga had a blank expression on her face. She shook her head and blinked a bit to regain herself. Her eyes meet his.

"Arnold, do you want there to be something between us tonight?" Helga said. Arnold was shocked that she was so forward, but what else would Helga be?

"Well, I mean, I am not sure. I mean I really like you. And I would like there be something more. But I am unsure, seems really fast." Arnold said. Helga smiled and leaned in toward him.

"So do you like me, or like-like me?" she said in a sweet imitating voice of Lila. Arnold snickered at this.

"Oh I ever so much like-like you Helga!" Arnold said batting his eyelashes. He laughed a bit and looked up expecting to see Helga laughing, but she had a dumb founded look on her face.

"You like-like me?" Helga said blushing and looking down at her feet shyly. Arnold panicked. He didn't know what to say. Should he say what he felt? Helga said she loved him last night. He was pretty sure he felt the same way.

"Well, I mean, last night after you said you loved me, I started thinking and……" Arnold said. Their eyes caught each others and the conversation stopped. It was one of those moments where staring into someone else eyes seems like something you could do forever.

"And?" Helga broke the silence. Arnold put his hands on her shoulders and gently pulled her closer.

Arnold begun, "Helga, I lov…."

"ARNOLD! IS THAT YOU!? I HAVE CHORES!" Grandpa called from inside the kitchen. Arnold scowled and turned toward the kitchen and yelled back.

"NOT NOW GRANDPA! I'LL DO IT IN A FEW MINUTES!" Arnold yelled back. Normally he would be happy to help Grandpa, but lately he had really bad timing in asking for favors.

"Sorry Shortman, it needs to be now, I got angry tenets and broken water pipes!" Grandpa said. He was coming into the room. Arnold and Helga quickly put some distance between them before Grandpa could see. He was soaked head to toe, obviously he already tried to fix the broken pipe.  "Not that big of a job, you'll be done by dinner."

"Alright Grandpa." Arnold said. He glanced over his shoulder at Helga, who was already making her way up the stairs. He really hoped he hadn't missed his window of opportunity. He started his long walk down to the basement to fix the pipes.

A few hours later, Arnold laid on his bed, dead still, been that way for about an hour. Every muscle in his body was tight. He had worked for three hours on those damn leaks and breaks. Finally he fixed them all. Since then he came up to his room and flopped down on his bed. Too weak to even get himself down to the dinner table. He would be sleepy, if his arms didn't hurt so much to keep him awake. A knock came at the door.

"Who is it?" Arnold shouted, not even lifting his head.

"It's me." A sweet angelic voice called from behind the door. Helga.

"Oh come on in." Arnold said. Still not moving from the bed as Helga walked in.

"Oh man, you like your dead." Helga said. "All you need is your tongue hanging out."

Arnold laughed and turned to face her. She was carrying two bags. One looked like to be a take out bag from a restaurant and the other was a little brown bag from grocery store.

"What's in the bags?" Arnold asked. Helga smiled.

"Just some stuff I went and picked up for you." Helga said and placed the bags down. Arnold sat up a little.

"You bought me something?" Arnold asked.

"Yeah, well I saw you walking up here an hour ago looking like something the cat dragged in, so I figured I would reward my handyman for giving me running water." Helga said. She reached into the brown bag and pulled out a bottle with Chinese writing on it. "This is some herbal medicine I used a lot in Kung Fu, works great on sore muscles and bruises. I found it at the little Chinese corner market few blocks down."

Helga opened the bottle. A strong sent of herbs filled the air, Arnold gagged a bit. Helga just laughed at this. It wasn't a bad smell, kind of smelled like soy sauce and herbs really. But it was just overwhelming strong smell.

"Don't tell me I have to drink that!" Arnold said. Helga laughed.

"No! You rub it on your muscles were it hurts and it loosens them. Now where does it hurt?" Helga asked.

"My arms, shoulders, and back mostly." Arnold said. Helga poured some of the liquid into her hands and rub it around a bit.

"Okay take off your shirt." Helga said. Arnold coughed a bit in shock and looked at her with bugged out eyes. She looked up and caught this expression. "Damn it Arnold, I am not some pervert trying to get my jollies! I am trying to help you now take off your damn shirt!"

"Okay." Arnold said and took it off. Even though she said she wasn't trying to be a pervert, Helga couldn't help but look. He wasn't buff, but he was tight. He had six pack and all. He then spun around on his bed so his back was facing her. She started to rub in the medicine. Within a few minutes of rubbing it up and down his arms and back, Arnold felt at least 75% better. Not to mention Helga rubbing him made him feel better in other ways.

"Feel better?" Helga asked. She was in a blissful state, she just got to rub Arnold for a good solid five minutes. She had sort of a devilish smile on her face.

"A lot better!" Arnold said and turned to face her again. She had brought a wet washcloth to wipe her hands of with and then started to remove plastic take out box from a restaurant. "Hey that smells good. What did you get us?"

"French food." Helga said. Helga had bought it at the restaurant where she had pulled off the Cecile hoax. (For the love of God I can not remember the name of the restaurant and no one else on the net can either it seems-P.E.) Arnold recognized the logo of the bistro.

"I know that place, didn't we go to dinner there with Phoebe and Gerald? You know when you won that prize for the essay?" Arnold said.

"You remember that?" Helga asked. Arnold nodded as he bent down and picked up one of the dinners. Helga took a deep breath. "Did you ever eat there any other time?"

Arnold thought for a minute. He knew he ate there again, with his mystery girl, Cecile. He still thought of her off and on when ever he passed the restaurant. But should he tell Helga? He looked up at her. He could tell he waited to long because she was giving him a suspicious look.

"Nope!" Arnold said with a giant fake smile. Helga giggled.

"Not even on Valentines?" Helga asked. Arnold froze.

"How did you know that? Unless……." Arnold said and looked at Helga closely. Helga smiled. "You must know who Cecile really is?! Who is she? A friend? A cousin?"

Helga sat there nervously twitching. She raised her hand and smacked Arnold up side the head.

"You moron! I am Cecile!" she said and flip some of her hair over one of her eyes. Arnold gasped.

"Now way! That was you?" Arnold said. Helga nodded. Arnold looked at her closely. It was her, why he never noticed it, he was speechless. Helga got up leaned over and kiss him on the lips. He took her once again into his arms. Neither knew at this point that Helga would be spending another night in Arnold's bed……….

Another cliffhanger, damn me! Mwha hah hah hah! The more reviews I get the more motivated I get, so if you want the next chapter soon…..