And now, the final chapter of 'Smart Minds Think Alike', and after that, the results for next month's story! Anyway, enjoy!
Outside the school, right as the one o'clock mark had hit, everybody was departing from the school, carrying their science projects out as they seemed to be talking excitedly about what they were going to do for the rest of the day. Some of them decided to dump their projects in the nearby garbage can, while others took them to the car where their parents were waiting so that they can stockpile some of their work in their rooms for keepsakes. However, as the crowd thinned, only two people were walking out, some of them carrying their project as Phoebe looked visibly upset.
"I can't believe we lost." Phoebe said in a deadpan voice.
"I'm with you, Phoebe." Arnold frowned. "Some child genius with a robot dog won with HIS invention, and he doesn't even GO to our school!"
As the two were sitting in front of the steps, waiting for their ride to get over, Arnold couldn't help but note Phoebe looking upset. Feeling a little bad, he put down his part of the science project aside and patted Phoebe on the back. "Hey, don't feel bad. At least second place is nothing to sneeze at."
"I know... I just really wish that I done something different, you know?" Phoebe sighed. "That kid with the weird hairstyle, he looked like he knew EXACTLY what he was doing! Who was he, anyway?"
"I have no idea." Arnold blinked. "But he seems to be into science fairs quite a lot. Anyway, don't let it get you down. You totally would have won with your project."
"Do you really think so?" Phoebe asked as a car pulled up.
"Of course." Arnold said as the car window rolled up to reveal Phoebe's mother looking out.
"Phoebe, honey! We're here to pick you and your cute little boyfriend up!" Reba smiled, before noticing her daughter's depression. "You okay, honey?"
Arnold got up as he looked over at Reba. "Mrs. Heyerdahl, we were a little close to winning, but we managed to get second place."
"Ah, that's not too bad. Second place is nothing to sneeze at." Kyo Heyerdahl, who was behind the wheel, said as Arnold and Phoebe looked in.
"Hello, Mom, Dad..." Phoebe said, feeling a little depressed.
Arnold looked over to the sad girl, wondering what he could do to make her better... before a thought occurred to him. Before Phoebe could open the door to enter inside, Arnold grabbed her hand. "Er, don't enter just yet. Mr. and Mrs. Heyerdahl, if it's all right with you, could I take Phoebe out somewhere for a while?"
Phoebe looked a little confused as her parents looked at each other, sharing some smiles as Kyo said, "As long as you bring her back before five."
"No worries." Arnold smiled as he opened the car door and put in the science project. "Just put her science project in her room, she can arrange it when she gets back."
"Arnold, where are we-" Phoebe started before Arnold put a finger towards her mouth.
He leaned towards his ears and whispered, "It's a surprise..."
Without any further words, Arnold took Phoebe by the hand and gave her the motions to follow. The girl could only look confused as she followed behind Arnold, but not turning to her parents's car and waving good-bye before going off.
As the two watched the sweet kids go off together, Reba gave a small smile as she said, "You know something, Kyo? I can't imagine our little girl going out with anyone else other than that nice boy."
"You said it, Reba." Kyo gave a small laugh. "Arnold sure knows how to calm our little girl down..."
Both parents gave a slight laugh before heading off on their way back to their home.
"Why are we at the park, Arnold?" Phoebe asked as she raised an eyebrow in confusion, Arnold leading her towards the park.
"I just thought you needed some place to have a little quiet, just the two of us together..." Arnold explained as he and Phoebe stopped by the small lake. "Here we are."
Arnold then sat down as Phoebe joined him as both of them looked out the lake together as Phoebe looked around. The place that Arnold selected to sit by the lake was a pretty one. A few birds were making their calls, a couple fish were seen jumping out and in the water a few times, but the best part is, the place was pretty quiet. And the smart, bespectacled girl felt more relaxed as she turned towards her boyfriend.
"Oh Arnold, this is a nice place." Phoebe smiled.
Arnold gave a smile as he explained, "Sometimes, when I need a place to just have some quiet, away time from the others, this is one of the places I usually go to collect my thoughts and think about the toils of life. I figured that this was a place you need to be to cool down after the loss."
Phoebe gave a sigh before looking towards her boyfriend. "You know, it really is. Thank you, Arnold."
The girl then kissed Arnold on the cheek as he blushed a bit as the two sat down towards the lake and just watched it as the bird sounds and fish splashing was heard.
"Say, Phoebe?" Arnold looked over towards the girl.
"Yes?" Phoebe asked.
"Have you ever imagined that you would be in this sort of situation, with me?" Arnold asked, out of curiosity.
Phoebe paused as she thought about it. "Not at first, but now that I've actually done it, I'm thinking that I sort of like it. Maybe we should go out to the lake more often... maybe not for a quiet moment, but maybe for a small picnic together... just the two of us."
Arnold grinned a little as he stroked his girlfriend's hair. "You know, I was thinking the exact same thing."
As Arnold pulled Phoebe closer, she paused as she looked over towards the football headed kid with a small smile. "Arnold... have you ever tried a yukata before?"
"No, I don't think I have." Arnold blinked as he turned to Phoebe. "Why do you ask?"
"It's a Japanese sort of thing." Phoebe giggled. "Sometimes, my father and I wear them to respect our heritage. Even though I was born in Kentucky, I still respect the Japanese traditions."
Arnold smiled towards the girl as he said, "You know, I always wanted to at least try a Japanese tradition at least one time."
Phoebe looked up in interest as she giggled. "Then I better get you into a yukata and we can celebrate together."
"Hmmmm..." Arnold laughed a little as he patted his girlfriend on the head. "I can imagine that."
"I can probably show you a lot of traditions that my father can do... and my mother as well, since we have some Kentucky traditions as well. Floating lanterns, chicken on Christmas, sentos..." Phoebe started to list.
"What's a sento?" Arnold raised an eyebrow towards the girl.
Phoebe blushed a little as she giggled. "Nothing you need to worry about yet."
Arnold smiled as he pushed Phoebe a little bit. Phoebe playfully pushed him back as she said, "Oh, you..."
The football headed kid paused as he gave a small sigh. "You know, Phoebe, now that we're a couple, I can't help but wonder... will we even last? Would this be okay, just the two of us?"
"Well..." Phoebe paused as she looked over at Arnold. "I can't really say for sure. But I do know one thing. You're a loyal and sweet friend, and possibly the most wonderful boyfriend I could ask for. Heck, you even took me to a quiet place in the park to help me collect my thoughts. If that doesn't scream 'romantic', I don't know what does."
"I guess that's a sign I did such a good job." Arnold grinned as the two of them looked at each other before finding that their faces were leaning towards each other.
And then... their lips met as both of them closed their eyes, with the kids holding each other in their arms happily. Once they broke the kiss, Phoebe gave a giggle as she blushed. "Arnold... that was so amazing..."
"You're amazing too..." Arnold smiled a little as he heard a gurgling sound. Arnold chuckled a little nervously as he rubbed his stomach. "Er, right. I forgot we didn't get lunch."
Phoebe could only grin as she got up and offered her hand. "Say Arnold, how would you like to try a new Japanese tradition now?"
Arnold raised an eyebrow in curiosity as he took Phoebe's hand and got up. "Sure. What's the first tradition?"
"Well... I know of a good sushi restaurant in town somewhere around here, so... why not go there and I'll teach you how to use chopsticks?" Phoebe grinned.
"I've always wanted to know what sushi tasted like..." Arnold smiled as he and his girlfriend started to go on their way.
As they walked out of the park and out into the streets of Hillwood, both kids looked at each other romantically as one thought was on their mind... that no matter what the circumstances, they would never let go of what they have right here...
Orange Ratchet Story
"That's All, Folks!"
An Orange-Ratchet Fanfiction
And with that, this story has reached the conclusion! How did you guys like it? Okay, my final thoughts on this story
Wow, well, this is probably the only Arnold x Phoebe story I've done so far, but I'm glad I was able to get this one out of the way. This one was suggested back to me in 2015, and I figured I'd take on that suggestion. However, with that story came a few difficulties. I tried to revive it once, but then it teetered out a little bit... until the story won the Misfortune Poll for the month, and when I looked back on it, I figured out the perfect way I could wrap up the story as best as I could. That said, writing Arnold x Phoebe stories is not all that easy, especially since I'm more used to Arnold x Rhonda stories, or Arnda. But I did at least try what I could with what I could work with. And I will admit, it was quite the story to play out! For fans of this story, I thank you for being patient in waiting so long for this story to be updated... and now, this can rest on the completed pile! Will I do another Arnold x Phoebe story in the future? Unless I have a request for that type of story, I strongly doubt I'll do another one. I've already set myself up as an established Arnda fan, so why stop what I love?
And now, June's next story for my 'Complete One Incomplete Story a Month' challenge... the winner is... 'Unrequited Love', a Peanuts story that I've been wanting to get back to for a very long time, but never could do it. Thankfully, this project won't take long at all for June... but for now, as for May's projects, there may be an update on 'They Grow Up So Fast!', but that's about it for May's section.
Anyway, thank you all for reading, and have a very wonderful day!