A/N: oh hi, thanks for checking in, I'm STILL A SLOW UPDATERRRR xD

In all seriousness, sorry for not updating this fic. School has been draining my energy. I'll try to write as much as I can this summer.

Also yes, I did change my username. I used to be heyarnoldfangirl15, and now I'm shortakifeels.

Let's get into chapter 8 :)

"I thought about it. I'll let you tutor me." Helga said quietly.

"Really?" I asked quietly, catching on to Helga's hushed tone of voice.

"Yeah, I wouldn't tell you that if I wasn't certain, football head." Helga remarked with the same volume as before.

"You wanna do it today?"

"Yeah, sounds good."

"I'll meet you outside once I say goodbye to Gerald."

"Okay."

After our little conversation, Helga walked over to the entrance door and walked out, her combat boots clacking on the marbled floor.

"What were you guys talking about?" Gerald asked.

"Oh, nothing..." I answered nervously. "I'm not sure if I'm allowed to say what it is."

"Oh, gotcha." Gerald stated with a wink.

Being a teenager, I knew just what Gerald was alluding to. An unwelcomed blush crept to my face at the realization. I felt more embarrassed about the fact that I was blushing at it than the fact that Gerald implied something indecent in the first place.

"Gross bro, get your mind out of the gutter! I am just tutoring her, okay?" I called out to him.

"In chemistry?" Gerald quipped with a smirk forming on his face.

"No, Gerald," I sighed. "What's up with these comments all of a sudden?"

"Your're my best friend and I want you to be happy."

"Okay, fine. I think I like Helga. But it doesn't matter. I doubt she would even like me back. To her, I'm probably just her football headed friend who is easy to tease."

There was an awkward, somewhat gloomy silence following my response. I couldn't believe I had said that out loud so soon. I guess a part of me did like Helga more than a friend. But I didn't want those feelings to become too deep. I felt like I had to suppress them. It was a hard thing to do, but it wasn't the first time I'd attempted to do that...

Even though I was only three years old, I developed a crush on Helga the day we met in preschool. Those types of feelings were short lived because I suppressed them when Helga took over the preschool and built walls around her. If I could manage to do it then, I could do it now.

"I have to go. Bye Gerald." I said.

I walked away from the lost and found where my best friend was at, and pushed the front door of the school which led outside.

I walked outside to to see the back of Helga's golden blonde hair which fell down to a few inches above her waist. She was standing by the outside of our school entrance with her black knapsack draped over her right shoulder.

Once I walked outside enough to where I could see Helga's face, I noticed a small cloud of smoke flying out of a cigarette which rested in between her right index and middle finger. Helga was clutching a red lighter in her opposite hand.

"You know that's bad for you, right?" I asked in concern.

"Don't tell me what to do. You can't stop me." Helga asserted.

"Well, can you at least keep smoking to a minimum? I care about your health." I asked.

"No promises."

"Well can you consider it?"

"Alright, Doctor Shortman."

"So, who's house are we going to?"

"We can go to my house. But first, we're going to the pet store. I have to get cat food for Betsy. I can't feed her chicken all the time."

Helga threw her cigarette in a nearby trash can and put her crimson lighter in the left pocket of her ripped, dark blue jeans. I was more concerned about her smoking than I had chose to show her.

Helga and I made our way to sidewalk and walked to the Hillwood pet store. Our neighborhood wasn't incredibly spacious, so it wasn't that far of a walk. We treaded across the sidewalk before arriving at the pet store about twenty minutes later.

Once we arrived inside, a few different aisles met my sight. The first one we arrived to was the pet food aisle. After picking up a bag of dry cat food that would last Betsy a while, Helga picked up a small bag of these cat treats called Temptations.

"I think she'd like some treats..." Helga suggested. "Oh, and she probably wants a toy, too."

"You really do care about this cat, Helga." I pointed out warmly.

"Okay, fine, I really like and care about this cat." Helga admitted.

"Busted, Helga Pataki." I said jokingly.

"You can't tell anyone. Besides, this is an animal, it's easier to care about them. People are stupid."

"Why do you always act like you don't care?"

"Why do you need to know so bad? It's not even just about this. You're always meddling."

"Sorry, I'll stop asking..."

"Good."

Yeah, she was right. Years later, I was still meddling. It was that very form of interaction which caused Helga and I to start talking again. That savior complex of mine was stronger with Helga, despite her acting like the least expected or worthy person of that. I always helped her and ended up going back to her. I gave her more advice than I'd gave anyone else.

It wasn't certain how I felt about Helga in elementary school or even in middle school. But in that moment, I knew I had caught some feelings for her. I didn't know how long I had them for, I just knew they were there. I couldn't believe I had caught feelings for a bad girl. But why couldn't I shake the feeling that was merely a label? I had to be careful with those thoughts, though. I couldn't rely on my intuition all the time, and I couldn't become delusional. But I had to suppress these feelings. That's what I felt like, at least. Not because of Helga's bad girl reputation, and not because of what people would say. But because I assumed that she didn't feel the same way about me. Like I told Gerald earlier, I was probably just her football headed friend who used to be her frenemy.

A few days ago, things in my life were simple and decided. But now, things felt complicated.

But still, it felt a bit surreal that a so called good boy like me had caught feelings for a so called bad girl like her.

"What are you thinking about?" Helga asked, snapping me out of my angsty thoughts, making me jump subtly.

"Oh nothing..." I dismissed sheepishly.

"Can I ask you something?" Helga asked.

"Sure." I answered, making contact with her ocean like eyes. I felt like such a cliche boy for finding the cool toned irises appealing to my own. She'd probably think I was a sap for that as well.

"Why do you act like you care so much?" Helga asked. I could immediately connect the dots, realizing she was referencing my recent yet repeated question to her.

I sighed lightly before smugly replying, "I just do, Helga. I just do."

After our conversation, Helga and I continued our mini shopping trip at the pet store. After going to the treats aisle and then the toys aisle, we went to the cashier and cash register to pay for the items for Betsy the cat.

I took my backpack off my shoulder to zip up the smallest compartment so I could obtain my wallet from it. I then laid some dollar bills on the counter.

"Careful with that money football head, I just saved you from getting it stolen yesterday." Helga teased wittily.

I lightly rolled my eyes, but in a way that was playing along with the teasing.

We picked up our bags with the stuff to take care of Helga's new little furry calico friend. After that, we walked out of the pet store.

I didn't learn much about Helga that day yet, but I sure did learn something big about myself.