[5]
The wedding band had taken a break, and a DJ was playing a song that unsettled Arnold, for some reason. He and Helga were still on the dance floor, inexplicably—neither one seemed to want to let go.
Swaying room as the music starts
Strangers making the most of the dark
Two by two their bodies become one
Then he remembered. Senior prom, eight years ago. No one had expected Helga to come, but she, always one to defy expectations, arrived on Harold's arm, looking thoroughly disgusted with the entire concept. She wore not her signature black, or the pink of her younger days, but a slinky red dress with a dangerously plunging back that no one else had the figure or the guts to pull off.
I see you through the smoky air
Can't you feel the weight of my stare?
Of course Harold had been stuffing his face the whole time, and Helga had been sitting at the table next to him, looking incredibly bored, when Arnold asked her to dance. He wasn't really sure why…but he and his date had gone just as friends, and there was no reason he couldn't dance with Helga.
So she'd said yes, to his surprise, and they'd danced. And they hadn't said a single word. And then, suddenly, prom was over, and she was gone. And Arnold wondered why he hadn't asked her to dance sooner.
You're so close but still a world away…
What I'm dying to say
Is that I'm crazy for you
Touch me once and you'll know it's true
I never wanted anyone like this
It's all brand new
You'll feel it in my kiss
I'm crazy for you…
Arnold bent his neck a little, dropped his lips to Helga's ear.
"Did you mean it?" he asked. "Would we really never work?"
Helga stiffened slightly. "I…I don't know, Arnold," she said finally. "I don't think so. I mean…you hurt me, you know? A lot. And I've spent so long getting over you…I don't think I could let myself undo that again in one fell swoop."
"Does it have to be one fell swoop, though?" he pushed. "Couldn't we sort of…stick our toes in? Do we have to jump into the deep end all at once?"
Helga sighed. "You know better than that," she said, still not looking at him. "It's always been all-or-nothing with us. It can't ever be anything else." She paused. "And you didn't come back."
"You told me you didn't want me to."
"I lied."
"I wanted to come back." He stepped back, tilted her chin up so that their eyes met. "I thought about you every day. I didn't see anyone…afterwards. I couldn't."
"Neither did I…" she whispered, looking like she was about to cry. She looked away, frustrated. "Why are you doing this, Football Head?"
Football Head…so she'd forgiven him…somewhere in her heart.
"Because I love you," he told her.
Trying hard to control my heart
I walk over to where you are
Eye-to-eye we need no words at all
Slowly now, we begin to move
Every breath I'm deeper into you
She stopped dancing. "What?"
"You heard me."
Soon we two are standing still in time
If you'll read my mind
You'll see I'm crazy for you
Touch me once and you'll know it's true
I never wanted anyone like this
It's all brand-new
You'll feel it in my kiss
Slowly, he bent his head and touched his lips to hers. Feather-light, pristine…but a kiss. The first honest one they'd ever shared.
You'll feel it in my kiss
Because I'm crazy for you
Touch me once and you'll know it's true
"Arnold, it would never work," she said when they parted.
"Why not?" he asked again.
"It…it just wouldn't," she sighed impatiently.
"Could we fix the hurts?" he asked. "Could we start anew? Could I maybe…maybe bump into you by the desert table in a few minutes? And I'd ask if you were one of Phoebe's friends. And then we'd maybe get to talking…until I asked for your number."
Helga looked away. "Don't do this, please…"
I never wanted anyone like this
It's all brand-new
You'll feel it in my kiss…
"And I'd probably call you tomorrow, all nervous, palms sweaty, and ask you to coffee. And then we might have an amazing time, and discover…discover all the things we had in common. And I might find out that I love the way…the way your hair falls across your neck, the way you bite your lip, the way you say my name…"
"Arnold…"
"And then maybe someday…my best man, your maid of honor, could talk about how we met again for the first time at a wedding. And we could dance to this song…and we could dance forever."
Helga's face crumpled. "Why do you have to do that?" she demanded, half-angrily. "Why do you have to…to be so you?"
"Is that good or bad?" he asked her.
"I don't know!" she replied, crying outright now. He wiped a tear away.
"Please don't cry."
She didn't listen. "And what if it doesn't work?" she wanted to know. "What if we hurt each other worse than before?"
"You won't take that chance?" he asked. "The Helga Pataki I knew wasn't afraid of anything."
"Except you," she whispered.
They were silent for a long moment. "Well?" Arnold asked.
Helga shook her head, tightened her arms around his neck. "Let's just…keep dancing," she said finally. "Then…we'll see."
I'm crazy for you…
Fin, finis, finito! You likey? Hatey? Lemme know! Hope it was worth the wait…
-PI