A/N: What blog post of Rhonda's was Nadine dying to delete? Does Rhonda do drugs? What will happen between Rhonda and Harold? All of these questions will be answered, Hey Arnold friends. Until then, until this new and long section. A surprise confession and a fight occurs here! Get ready for some real drama. Thanks for reading!
I Can't Take My Eyes Off Of You
"Have you even tried to talk to her?" Gerald Johansson asked Arnold Shortman the next day at school, after attempting to slam his locker door shut for the now second time. "These lockers never work."
"Trust me, Gerald. I've tried. Every time I try to approach her, she avoids me! Phoebe and Nadine sit next to her at lunch, Phoebe walks her to and from class, and in all the classes I have with her, and she sits on the opposite side of the classroom. She won't even respond to my calls or texts!" Arnold simply smirked at Gerald's attempts to close the locker door.
"Mmm, mmm, mmm. You got it bad, my man. Look, just let my lady handle her and give her space. She'll come crawling back." Gerald finally fixes his locker to where it will stay shut.
"That's the thing, Gerald. Helga doesn't come crawling back. She won't come back at all! I have no idea what to do." Arnold's back sunk slowly among his maroon locker all the way to the floor below him. He started looking to the crowds of children around him.
Gerald plopped down beside him as he tried to think of any piece of advice he could give to his friend in distress.
"Well, I would say ask her to homecoming, but you can't do that without hurting her again."
"Not helping." Arnold groaned.
"Look, go to the dance with Sawyer, ask for a dance with Helga, and explain at the dance. That's going to be your last chance."
"One more chance. That's all I'll need. But, wait. Isn't the theme of the homecoming dance this year Masquerade Madness?"
"Yeah, so?"
"Everyone's going to be in masks! How will I know which one is her? What if she refuses to dance with me?"
Gerald settles a hand on Arnold's shoulder as he shakes his head. "You'll just know. You can't say no to a dance with a handsome stranger."
"I hope you're right. I only have one more chance. One more chance to show her how I really feel."
"Wait… Are you saying…?" Gerald eyes flew open and gazed directly into his best friend's at Arnold's declaration.
"Yes, Gerald."
"I'm in love with Helga G. Pataki."
The bell rang as students sped past the two friends sat along one another to be able to make it on time to their next class.
"How… What… When did you know?" Gerald suddenly stammered, still in shock that Arnold was now admitting his long lasting feelings for one of their closest friends since preschool.
"When she was on that gurney headed into the ambulance. When I thought she was going to die, I knew how much I cared about her. It just clicked."
"I was sure I liked her, but I didn't know I loved her. After Lila trapped me in the janitor's closet and forced me to go to homecoming with her, it wasn't until I made eye contact with her the day after the blog post went up that I realized it. I love her. I always have."
"Instead, I wasted time chasing after someone who doesn't even care about me, hoping that one day she would look at me the way Helga has always looked at me. I just didn't understand it was Helga until I finally looked back at her. It took her almost dying for me to see, which makes me a complete asshole." Arnold smiled. "Yet she still loves me."
"I'm not so certain about that." Gerald lifted his finger to point at Helga G. Pataki herself, once again in another outrageous outfit across the hallway from the two. A cropped, crimson top complimented her black leggings. Her lusting lips were coated with a rusty red, and her heels bore the same shade.
Helga was… He couldn't even believe it. Hot. Smoking hot.
Was she wearing eyeliner?
Where was the pink bow from the day before?
Arnold's hand hurried to stop the rising reaction below his waist.
She giggled at a remark by a mutual friend to both Arnold and Gerald; Stinky Peterson, whose hand currently occupied the skin showing on Helga's waist.
Arnold's eyes were about to jump out of his eye sockets. The girl he had just admitted to being in love with was setting her sights on another man, in which this man had been friends with both of them since their days at P.S. 121 together.
He was drawn to the patch of silky skin being exposed to this predator, or his prey rather, that he had his hand on. How dare he touch her! How dare he touch his girl.
"Arnold?" Gerald asked, watching as his best friend turned from calmly collected to radical rage, his football shaped head practically steaming at the sight of his crush climbing on another choice.
Helga placed her petite hand, now manicured with red nail polish, upon Stinky's shoulder, as she saw that now she had the attention of the boy her heart no longer wished to ache for, even though it still secretly did.
"What were you about to ask me, Stinky?" Helga seductively said, focusing once more of the irises of Stinky's eyes.
"Oh, I'm sorry, Miss Helga." Stinky's grip on Helga inched slowly up her broad back up into her sexy shirt. "How rude of me. I was wondering if you would accompany me to the homecoming dance this weekend."
"Arnold!" Gerald shouted, trying to retain Arnold's attention, whose fingers were clawing at his jeans from the escalading contact between the two.
"Yes, Stinky. I would love to be your date to the dance." As soon as Helga's lips launched to meet her admirer's cheek, it left the mark of a pair of red lips as Stinky's face and body fell to the floor after an attack by another admirer across the way.
"Arnold!" Gerald gasped, getting up immediately to intercede in stopping his best friend from slamming into Stinky.
"Arnold!" Stinky wept, trying to hold back the tears of his friend's desire to fight him.
"This is for Helga, you asshole!" Arnold swung back his arm and fist to meet the cheek framing Stinky's face that Helga had planted her prize on. He smiled in success as blood busted from the blood vessels below to layer the lipstick stained lips.
"Arnold!" Helga snatched Arnold's green sweater from behind and yank him to his feet to spin him around to meet her sad, seeping blue eyes.
Gerald stooped to Stinky's side and shocked at Arnold's damage, saw Stinky's eyes close and not open again. "Somebody get some help!" He screamed, scrambling to hold up his friend's head.
"Helga…" Arnold whimpered, his palm approaching Helga to fondle the face of his newfound love, which simply stole herself away from his trembling touch.
"I'm sorry, Arnold." Helga pushed herself to present Arnold with a single peck of her lips upon his, and pulled away to let her fist find his face.
