OK, I've decided to turn this into a series of one-shots. They're not gonna be in any order or have anything impact on any of the others. The only thing that each story will have in common is that they'll all be based on what happens when Arnold and Helga tell their friends about their relationship. Thanks for the encouragement; I really appreciate it!
"So you gonna tell me who she is or what?" Gerald asked with a sly smile. He knew that Arnold was shy about his lovelife, but this was getting to be ridiculous. Whereas most of his junior class would flaunt a relationship any chance they got, Arnold would always be modest whenever he got a new girlfriend. But usually, he'd at least give Gerald her name by the end of the day. This time, it took nearly 2 weeks to get him this close to spit it out, and from the looks of things, it could've been another 2 before he'd finally crack.
"You're not gonna believe me, Gerald. Not in a million years."
"Oh, come on, man! Don't make me turn my room into an interrogation room!"
"All right, fine, I'll tell you who she is…"
"About time!"
"…but you might want to sit down for this."
Gerald began to chuckle. "Aw, c'mon! She can't be that bad, can she?"
Arnold let out an annoyed sigh. "Gerald, I'm serious. You won't believe it."
"Look, whoever she is, I'm sure you two'll make a nice couple. I mean, she's smart, right?"
"Extremely."
"And is she cute?"
"I think so," he replied as his face began to turn red.
"See, she's a winner in my book. I don't know what you're problem is. I mean, it's not like you're going out with Helga or anything, right?" Gerald immediately fell on his bed, doubled over in laughter. The thought of his friend having any sort of interest in the freak that was Helga Pataki was too much to bear. After a moment, he slowly returned upright and looked at his friend.
Arnold was not amused.
"Aw, Arnold… you OK, man?" he asked, still trying to catch his breath from his laughing fit.
"That wasn't funny, Gerald."
"No, it wasn't."
"Thank you."
"It was hilarious! I mean, think about it; You and Helga!" Arnold simply turned away from his friend and nodded.
"Arnold, man, you're not thinking about it! You and Helga!" urged Gerald. Arnold, in return, continued to nod.
Gerald's face suddenly grew very serious.
"You and Helga."
More nodding.
"You and Helga?"
Another nod.
"You and HELGA?!?!?!"
An eerie silence fell over the room. Arnold finally broke it…
"Yes."
Another pause between the two followed.
"No,"
"Yes."
"No!"
"Yes!"
"NO!"
"Aw, grow up, Gerald. Is it really that hard to believe?"
"Yes it is! This is HELGA we're talking about. What could you possibly see in her?"
"I knew I shouldn't have told you," Arnold said in disgust. Quickly, he grabbed his backpack and made a beeline for the door.
"Wait, man! Hold up!" Gerald reached out to grab Arnold's shoulder, but he was brushed aside. "Aw, c'mon! Don't do this to me, man!"
Arnold stopped at the door, dropped his bag and turned to face Gerald. "What?"
"I just want to know…"
"YES?" Arnold was ready to explode. Gerald was treading on thin ice, but he just had to ask.
"Why Helga? Why not someone like… like anyone else? I mean, think about it! Helga's a total…" Gerald stopped there. Or rather, Arnold stopped Gerald there.
With a left hook.
Gerald fell to one knee. He brought his hands to his face to make sure that he was indeed punched, then turned to his bedroom door to make sure that it was indeed Arnold that punched him. And it was. There he stood, huffing and puffing like he was either try to scare Gerald… or hold back. After what seemed like an eternity, Arnold grabbed his backpack and started to leave. Once again, he stopped at the doorway. He turned around to face Gerald, who was still on his knee.
"I love her," he said. "Isn't that enough?"
With that, Arnold left the room, slamming the door on the way out. Another slam could be heard a few seconds later as Arnold left the house. Gerald finally got on his feet and walked over to his bed. He crashed onto the bed and stared into the ceiling in deep thought. He didn't get out of bed the rest of the night.
He had a lot of thinking to do.