Gerald skidded to a stop on his skateboard outside Arnold's house. The
thought of what he was going to tell Arnold in a couple of minutes made him
smile for the hundredth time that day. The irony of it all! All this time
his pal had been moping around for a girl whom he thought wasn't aware of
his existence. And now, he finds out from Phoebe that Helga had been
obsessed with him all the time.
After a few hellos with the other boarders on his way up the stairs to Arnold's room, he finally reached the door and opened it. Not seeing Arnold, he closed the door behind him and upon turning around, he sees his best friend in the worst condition imaginable. His room was full of pictures of Helga; every inch of Arnold's carpet had Helga's face on it. Gingerly, Gerald walked over the Arnold's bed, making sure not to step on any of Helga's pictures. "Arnold?"
"Eh?" Came the muffled reply from Arnold from under the covers.
"Hey, Arnold, where'dja get all these pictures from?" Gerald asked. He picked up a picture of Helga and... why was her face in the picture so wrinkled?
"Oh, I just snapped some when she wasn't looking. You know how Helga is. She doesn't like people taking pictures of her."
"Yeah. Hey man, listen. I gotta tell ya somethin'." Gerald let the picture flutter to the floor. Arnold watched it float down to the soft aqua colored carpet. He looks sad, Gerald thought with feeling.
"Ya know, Gerald, maybe I should just start a new life again." Gerald was confused but decided to listen on. "It's Helga, man. I mean, sometimes she'll act like she's a real pal and sometimes she'll just shrug me off. She'd act like she's not interested in me in the least bit."
Gerald proceeded to open his mouth and relieve his friend of his misery. "Arnold, Helga-"
"No, Gerald, let me finish. I've thought about this. I know, this'll be hard. But I've given this a lot of thought and I think I should move on. Helga probably won't ever love me. I know her, probably more than anyone else, I think. I know she's truly a gem from the inside but the way she acts around me, I dunno. It's like I bug her or somethin'."
Gerald rolled his eyes. He saw Arnold walk towards his window. He held on to the patterned metal designs on his window and jutted out his hip. Gerald raised one of his eyebrows. "You know Arnold, if I wasn't seeing Phoebe or if I had THOSE kinds of feelings for a guy, I'd think that pose is really sexy." Arnold didn't reply, lost in his own thoughts.
Gerald sat down in Arnold's chair next to the computer table and let out a huge tired sigh. He closed his eyes and rubbed his temples. "You know, Arnold, if you knew Helga just as well as you said you do, you'd know that Helga is madly in love with you."
And the next thing he knew, he was half lifted from in his chair and his neck felt a little strangled. His eyes flew open and found a wild-eyed Arnold holding him up by the lapels of his jacket, breathing crazily.
"What did you just say?!"
"Hey, man! I just bought that jacket two days ago! You're wrinklin' it man!" Arnold seemed to have gotten some sense back as he calmed own and released Gerald's jacket.
"But how? I mean... you're not joking are you, Gerald? 'Cuz this is not funny." He turned around to face the window and stood in the same position as before.
"Would I lie to you about something as serious as this? She's heads over heels. Phoebe told me all about it! And Arnold, don't stand like that, man. It's, uh, embarrassing."
Arnold whirled around and found Gerald ironing his jacket on Arnold's ironing board. "Phoebe?"
"Yeah. Phoebe told me all about it," Gerald replied. He carefully smoothed out a wrinkle on the very side of the zipper and grinned at his accomplishment. "She told me that she's been in love with you since we were, like, three. Some umbrella story, or somethin'."
Arnold remembered that day. The first girl in his pre-school class he'd seen. She was all muddy and the rain was pouring down on her and he had lent his umbrella to her.
"So anyways, Phoebe told me about it. Helga confided in Phoebe. I told Phoebe today how badly you've fallen for her and she told me the whole story. So-"
"I need to tell her. I need to tell her now!" Arnold started frantically, already pulling his arms into his own jacket.
"Hey Arnold, remember to take it SLOW. Might not wanna do somethin' crazy and just jump at her. She might just-"
Arnold had already flown out the door.
Oh well, Gerald thought, ironing one of his sleeves.
"Sure, Pheebs. How does tomorrow sound? Cool! Meet me at the mall tomorrow at 9. See ya." Helga hung up the phone and let out a big sigh. She was feeling a little creative all day and was itching to write in her little pink book about Arnold. But all these distractions kept coming up and she couldn't get to it. Criminey, maybe now I can get some work done, she thought, a little irritably.
Just then the door bell rung. CRIMINEY! Her mind screamed. She walked to the door in long strides and swung the door open, hoping to scare off any sales person who dared interrupt her Arnold-dreaming.
She wasn't expecting this. There stood in front of her, at the door, her Arnold, all breathless, bent over, his hands on his knees. Of course, as always, she'd never let her voice betray her innermost feelings. "What's the matter, Arnoldo? You just run a huge marathon or something?" She asked jokingly, with a smirk playing on her lips.
She wasn't expecting this either. Arnold leaned over and touched, just touched and brushed Helga's lips with his own, so softly. It lasted only a few seconds. When he leaned back he didn't look confused or smug about what he did. He looked serious. Even if he did smile a little at Helga's shocked expression.
"Criminey..." She whispered.
Arnold reached out with his arms and held the sides of Helga's arms. "How long have you been hiding this from me, Helga? Did you think I'd just turn my back on you? Did you think I'd just avoid you?" He asked, with a frown on his lips but love in his eyes.
"You sound like I'm pregnant, Arnold." Helga replied, trying to smirk but giving more of a coy smile.
"Gerald told me everything." Arnold said, without smiling at Helga's remark.
"I guess I have to kill him too after I kill you, then." Helga said. Her eyes fixed themselves on one of the buttons on Arnold's jacket.
He had seen plenty of movies. Where the guy comes up with a number of romantic stuff to tell the girl. Now, however, his mind was a complete blank. He couldn't even convey his own feelings to the girl he loved with his heart, dammit.
Arnold leaned forward and kissed Helga again. This time Helga kissed back. She circled her arms around his neck pulling his head closer to hers. He did the same by putting his arms around her. They kissed before Helga pulled away, but was still in his arms.
"What's your problem, pervert? You like feeling girls, don't you?" Helga asked softly, looking into his eyes.
"Only if the girl's name is Helga G. Pataki. Doi!" Arnold replied, pulling her closer. But there was something in his chest he needed to get off. He wanted to tell her. And he decided to just do it. It's now or never, Arnold thought. "Helga-"
"I love you, Arnold." Helga said, her eyes filling with tears. This time, she practically jumped onto him and they nearly fell into the poison ivy next to Helga's door. They continued to stay in their embrace until finally Arnold pulled back and looked into her beautiful brown eyes.
"I love you too, Helga. I love you too."
The End :)
After a few hellos with the other boarders on his way up the stairs to Arnold's room, he finally reached the door and opened it. Not seeing Arnold, he closed the door behind him and upon turning around, he sees his best friend in the worst condition imaginable. His room was full of pictures of Helga; every inch of Arnold's carpet had Helga's face on it. Gingerly, Gerald walked over the Arnold's bed, making sure not to step on any of Helga's pictures. "Arnold?"
"Eh?" Came the muffled reply from Arnold from under the covers.
"Hey, Arnold, where'dja get all these pictures from?" Gerald asked. He picked up a picture of Helga and... why was her face in the picture so wrinkled?
"Oh, I just snapped some when she wasn't looking. You know how Helga is. She doesn't like people taking pictures of her."
"Yeah. Hey man, listen. I gotta tell ya somethin'." Gerald let the picture flutter to the floor. Arnold watched it float down to the soft aqua colored carpet. He looks sad, Gerald thought with feeling.
"Ya know, Gerald, maybe I should just start a new life again." Gerald was confused but decided to listen on. "It's Helga, man. I mean, sometimes she'll act like she's a real pal and sometimes she'll just shrug me off. She'd act like she's not interested in me in the least bit."
Gerald proceeded to open his mouth and relieve his friend of his misery. "Arnold, Helga-"
"No, Gerald, let me finish. I've thought about this. I know, this'll be hard. But I've given this a lot of thought and I think I should move on. Helga probably won't ever love me. I know her, probably more than anyone else, I think. I know she's truly a gem from the inside but the way she acts around me, I dunno. It's like I bug her or somethin'."
Gerald rolled his eyes. He saw Arnold walk towards his window. He held on to the patterned metal designs on his window and jutted out his hip. Gerald raised one of his eyebrows. "You know Arnold, if I wasn't seeing Phoebe or if I had THOSE kinds of feelings for a guy, I'd think that pose is really sexy." Arnold didn't reply, lost in his own thoughts.
Gerald sat down in Arnold's chair next to the computer table and let out a huge tired sigh. He closed his eyes and rubbed his temples. "You know, Arnold, if you knew Helga just as well as you said you do, you'd know that Helga is madly in love with you."
And the next thing he knew, he was half lifted from in his chair and his neck felt a little strangled. His eyes flew open and found a wild-eyed Arnold holding him up by the lapels of his jacket, breathing crazily.
"What did you just say?!"
"Hey, man! I just bought that jacket two days ago! You're wrinklin' it man!" Arnold seemed to have gotten some sense back as he calmed own and released Gerald's jacket.
"But how? I mean... you're not joking are you, Gerald? 'Cuz this is not funny." He turned around to face the window and stood in the same position as before.
"Would I lie to you about something as serious as this? She's heads over heels. Phoebe told me all about it! And Arnold, don't stand like that, man. It's, uh, embarrassing."
Arnold whirled around and found Gerald ironing his jacket on Arnold's ironing board. "Phoebe?"
"Yeah. Phoebe told me all about it," Gerald replied. He carefully smoothed out a wrinkle on the very side of the zipper and grinned at his accomplishment. "She told me that she's been in love with you since we were, like, three. Some umbrella story, or somethin'."
Arnold remembered that day. The first girl in his pre-school class he'd seen. She was all muddy and the rain was pouring down on her and he had lent his umbrella to her.
"So anyways, Phoebe told me about it. Helga confided in Phoebe. I told Phoebe today how badly you've fallen for her and she told me the whole story. So-"
"I need to tell her. I need to tell her now!" Arnold started frantically, already pulling his arms into his own jacket.
"Hey Arnold, remember to take it SLOW. Might not wanna do somethin' crazy and just jump at her. She might just-"
Arnold had already flown out the door.
Oh well, Gerald thought, ironing one of his sleeves.
"Sure, Pheebs. How does tomorrow sound? Cool! Meet me at the mall tomorrow at 9. See ya." Helga hung up the phone and let out a big sigh. She was feeling a little creative all day and was itching to write in her little pink book about Arnold. But all these distractions kept coming up and she couldn't get to it. Criminey, maybe now I can get some work done, she thought, a little irritably.
Just then the door bell rung. CRIMINEY! Her mind screamed. She walked to the door in long strides and swung the door open, hoping to scare off any sales person who dared interrupt her Arnold-dreaming.
She wasn't expecting this. There stood in front of her, at the door, her Arnold, all breathless, bent over, his hands on his knees. Of course, as always, she'd never let her voice betray her innermost feelings. "What's the matter, Arnoldo? You just run a huge marathon or something?" She asked jokingly, with a smirk playing on her lips.
She wasn't expecting this either. Arnold leaned over and touched, just touched and brushed Helga's lips with his own, so softly. It lasted only a few seconds. When he leaned back he didn't look confused or smug about what he did. He looked serious. Even if he did smile a little at Helga's shocked expression.
"Criminey..." She whispered.
Arnold reached out with his arms and held the sides of Helga's arms. "How long have you been hiding this from me, Helga? Did you think I'd just turn my back on you? Did you think I'd just avoid you?" He asked, with a frown on his lips but love in his eyes.
"You sound like I'm pregnant, Arnold." Helga replied, trying to smirk but giving more of a coy smile.
"Gerald told me everything." Arnold said, without smiling at Helga's remark.
"I guess I have to kill him too after I kill you, then." Helga said. Her eyes fixed themselves on one of the buttons on Arnold's jacket.
He had seen plenty of movies. Where the guy comes up with a number of romantic stuff to tell the girl. Now, however, his mind was a complete blank. He couldn't even convey his own feelings to the girl he loved with his heart, dammit.
Arnold leaned forward and kissed Helga again. This time Helga kissed back. She circled her arms around his neck pulling his head closer to hers. He did the same by putting his arms around her. They kissed before Helga pulled away, but was still in his arms.
"What's your problem, pervert? You like feeling girls, don't you?" Helga asked softly, looking into his eyes.
"Only if the girl's name is Helga G. Pataki. Doi!" Arnold replied, pulling her closer. But there was something in his chest he needed to get off. He wanted to tell her. And he decided to just do it. It's now or never, Arnold thought. "Helga-"
"I love you, Arnold." Helga said, her eyes filling with tears. This time, she practically jumped onto him and they nearly fell into the poison ivy next to Helga's door. They continued to stay in their embrace until finally Arnold pulled back and looked into her beautiful brown eyes.
"I love you too, Helga. I love you too."
The End :)