'"Opted out- but every choice has consequences. Some more than others…"
"Don't start. You're gonna have to accept my choice."
Jacob gazes deep into Bella's chocolate brown eyes.
"You can love more than one person at a time. I've seen it, with Sam, Emily, and Leah…"
"I'm not a wolf, I can't imprint..."
"It's not about imprinting. It's about feeling something for someone. And I know you feel something for me. I can sense how I make you feel. Physically. I make you nervous."
Jacob pulls her closer into his chest as she snuggled in his arms.
"Jake, come on…"
"Don't worry. I promised I wouldn't kiss you again till you asked."
"You'll be keeping that promise a long time, Chief Jacob."
Bella smiles at him, and he smiles wider back.
"Oh, just kiss him already, Bella! You know you want him!" Helga throws a handful of popcorn at the television in Rhonda's living room. The elementary school gang's girls are lying upon their sleeping bags, memorized by the movie, The Twilight Saga: Eclipse, playing on the large, flat screen television. Helga and Phoebe sit next to each other, admiring Jacob and envying Bella. Nadine giggles with Lila and Rhonda, who are finishing putting on their cucumber facials. Sheena hides under her sleeping bag, secretly texting Eugene while munching on popcorn. All of the girls, covered in cucumber masks and with freshly painted toenails, watch the famous love triangle unfold on-screen.
"Sounds awfully familiar, doesn't it, Helga?" Rhonda smirks from the couch as she dips the last of the cucumber facial mixture onto Lila's temples.
"What are you suggesting, Princess?" Helga replies, turning to face Rhonda.
"I think what Rhonda is suggesting, Helga, is that the romantic complication between Jacob and Bella is similar to a situation you are having." Phoebe adds, reaching for another bite of popcorn.
"You should listen to your best friend more often." Rhonda flashes a sickly grin, and fixes Lila's braids after placing the spoon and the bowl into Nadine's hands.
Helga rolls her eyes. "Princess. Phoebe." She turns to glare at her best friend. "I do not have any "romantic complications.""
"I think every student at P.S. 121 will fail to agree with you, Helga, as well as every viewer of my blog. Have you forgotten your little "moment" with Arnold? You could practically make the front page of your own damn newspaper."
Helga laughed at Rhonda's attempt to stifle a joke. "Please. Arnold and I? That's completely ridiculous. The football head and I are just friends."
"Oh, really, Helga? I think everyone here agrees with me in that this past summer and this school year, you and Arnold have developed quite the friendship." Giggling, Rhonda nods to Nadine, who hands her a bottle of Rhonda's parents' wine.
"So I can't have a guy friend without the entire student body thinking we're dating? Rhonda, darling, if anyone knows about that, it's you." Helga's eyes follow the wine bottle.
Rhonda takes a swig of the wine and hiccups. "We're not talking about my romantic rendezvouses here, Helga. We're talking about yours. If you'd actually had any, you would know that you and Arnold are obviously into each other. You always have been actually since the fourth grade. Everyone knows about your childish crush on Arnold."
'Why did Gerald have to tell…?' Helga sighed to herself.
"That was in fourth grade, Princess. As in, like seven years ago? Times have changed, and so have I. I'm not the same girl I was back then. The new Helga isn't obsessed with Arnold whatever his last name is." Helga gestures to Rhonda to hand her the wine bottle.
Rhonda takes one last sip before passing the bottle to Helga. "Feelings like that don't go away, Helga. You're still into Arnold, and you always will be!"
Phoebe reached out to touch Helga's shoulder, but she pulled away. Helga growled as she pressed her lips to the bottle of wine and allowed it to escape down her throat.
"Say what you want, Rhonda. Post what you want on your stupid blog. I don't love Arnold, and I never will again."
"I beg to differ, Pataki." Rhonda slowly stood up from the couch and stumbled her way around everyone's sleeping bags to approach Helga's pink duffle bag.
"Hey, what do you think you're doing?" Helga asked as she hastily climbed to her feet to attempt to stop Rhonda from what she was about to do.
Rhonda's hand opened and proceeded to dig through the duffle to finally find a gold piece of jewelry she was looking for.
"Aha!" Rhonda held up Helga's locket from freshmen year; Arnold's freshmen year picture fresh in it. "I knew you still had it. After Nadine saw you freshmen year with it behind a trashcan talking to yourself, I knew it would make a great blog post. I never posted about it though; I would need the full story. But you, Helga Pataki, were still in love with Arnold then, until you came back sophomore year, completely changed…" Rhonda lectured to the entire room of friends, them trying to keep their mouths closed.
You could hear the girls' sickening screams outside as a wine bottle crashed into pieces against a wall, almost hitting Rhonda Lloyd in the head. The wine trickled down, and silence snuck its way into the living room.
Rhonda could only laugh as she met the old Helga's eyes, present and alive, here in the new Helga's body.
