A/N:
Here's the final chapter before the epilogues—read and review if you can please. Thank you!
April 2nd
Chapter 12:
The Last Dance, Part 2
As soon as Arnold burst through the school doors to enter the cool night air he was grateful to see that Principal Wartz and Mr. Simmons were still chasing Curly and the animals around on school property. That meant Arnold could stick with them and the walkie-talkies would still be in range. He pulled his walkie-talkie out of his pocket and pressed the button. "Helga? Can you hear me?"
There was a moment of silence and then the walkie-talkie crackled to life with Helga hissing from the other end, "Yeah, I can. And Wolfgang's going to hear you too and you'll blow our whole plan unless you clam up! I'll press the transmitter on my end as soon as I've got him where I want him. Give me fifteen minutes max. Just stay in range and don't blow it."
Arnold couldn't help rolling his eyes with a small smile as he pressed his button once more. "Good luck to you too, Helga." He put the walkie-talkie in his pocket and then raced to join Principal Wartz and Mr. Simmons.
"Arnold?" A haggard Mr. Simmons smiled at the sight of the familiar student (as Principal Wartz continued to chase the cow-riding Curly around in circles). "How very special of you to come out here and check on Curly. But where's Helga?" He raised an eyebrow then frowned. "Is everything all right? Do you need one of us to come back to the dance?"
"Oh, uh, no…not yet!" Arnold put on his most helpful smile. "I mean, Helga went back to the dance and I thought maybe I could help you two with Curly. He listens to me…sometimes…a little."
Such a relieved smile came to Mr. Simmons face. "Oh Arnold, that would be wonderful! Thank you!"
"Simmons!" Principal Wartz called as the chase came closer now. "I need some assistance!"
"The animals will not be silenced! Rhonda, baby, my display here is a testament to my love to you! Come see what Curly has to offer!" Curly finished with a maniacal laugh as the cow bellowed a great moo.
"Mr. Gamelthorpe, get down right now or there will be serious consequences to your actions!" Principal Wartz yelled back at him.
Mr. Simmons frowned. "Principal Wartz, remember, patience and understanding. Curly's a very special little boy!" He turned back to Arnold with a panicked look and whispered quickly, "Arnold, please help fix this—please!"
Arnold nodded. "I'll do my best, Mr. Simmons." And then Arnold took a deep breath and just hoped his instincts would let him figure out how to prolong Curly's escapade (without letting it go completely off the rails) until Helga could radio in at just the right time for Mr. Simmons and Principal Wartz to hear a certain confession from Wolfgang about what was going on at the dance right now. But Arnold had to smile as he approached Curly, because he knew that if anyone could help him complete such an impossible task it was a girl as amazing as her.
Arnold ran alongside the cow and called up to Curly. "Hey, Curly? It's Arnold! Could we maybe talk for a second?" Mr. Simmons and Principal Wartz raced up on either side of Arnold.
Curly looked down at his friend and sighed, losing his crazy tone for a moment. "Not now, Arnold, I'm trying to impress a lady—you know how that is." He winked with a grin, then gave a sprightly kick to the cow's sides to send it racing on another lap around the school as the geese and chickens followed.
Arnold just stood there, wide-eyed and blushing, as Principal Wartz and Mr. Simmons stopped beside him to catch their breath.
Principal Wartz finally sighed with a dry look. "Well, Mr. Shortman I certainly hope you have some better strategies for dealing with your colorful classmate. Otherwise I'm going to have to call the authorities."
"No!" Arnold snapped out of his embarrassment and put back on his best reassuring smile. "I mean, it'll be okay, really. Curly just needs some time with these things. I can handle him, I promise."
Principal Wartz gave him a wary look. "Fine. You have fifteen minutes. Then I'm calling animal control and his parents, and that's just for starters. I don't understand why your class gets into these shenanigans." He turned and started trying to run after Curly, though at this point he was going slow and huffing and puffing. "Mr. Gamelthorpe!" He panted. "Cease and desist!"
Just as Arnold was about to head after him, Mr. Simmons touched his shoulder. "Arnold," he smiled down at him, "if you'd rather go back inside and enjoy the special night of your dance, it's really okay. I'll make sure Principal Wartz doesn't do anything rash. I know Curly needs special attention."
Arnold smiled. "Thanks, Mr. Simmons. But, uh…I really do want to be out here making sure things are okay. Besides, I could use a break from the dance."
Mr. Simmons frowned a little. "Arnold, if it's all right for me to ask, what did Curly mean when he talked about impressing a—"
"FREE THE ANIMALS!" Curly suddenly passed between them, his cow at a gallop and the geese honking while the chickens clucked.
Slowly, a panting Wartz brought up the rear. "You are…in violation of…multiple school codes." He jogged after Curly again.
Mr. Simmons and Arnold watched them go with wide eyes. Then, blushing slightly, Arnold cleared his throat and smiled up sheepishly at his teacher. "We should probably get back to helping Principal Wartz." He took off to continue the pursuit of Curly.
Mr. Simmons watched his student go with a concerned look but then ran to catch up with him and the others.
While Arnold had been arranging things outside, Helga was taking charge in the gym. She looked around at all of her classmates and their current disjointed attempts to distract and stand up to the fifth graders. Their efforts had succeeded in letting Arnold sneak out of the dance, but now a new strategy was called for.
Helga didn't waste any time. She climbed on top of the one snack table that wasn't overturned, put two fingers in her mouth and gave a loud, piercing whistle.
Everyone turned to look at her, fourth and fifth graders included.
Helga glared down at the crowd. "All right, listen, you chuckleheads—and I mean the fourth grade chuckleheads, not the fifth grade ones. What the heck happened here? Football Head and I left you people alone for five minutes, and somehow you managed to let the fifth graders destroy our dance! Crimeny, we outnumber Wolfgang's little posse two to one in case you haven't noticed! So everyone quit running around like chickens with your heads cut off and put up a fight!"
Wolfgang glared at Helga as the other kids remained silent in awe for a moment. Then he pointed at her and yelled to his friends. "Grab her and give her a swirly!"
"I'll do it!" Edmond yelled with a grin and charged forward.
Helga's glare deepened but then faded as Brainy seemingly popped out of nowhere in front of Edmond, startled him, and sent the fifth grader tumbling into a large pile of streamers and balloons on the floor. Helga smiled down at her friend. "Hey, nice work, Brainy!"
"Uh…thanks." He smiled.
"I'm ever so certain Brainy's just shown us how right Helga is," Lila announced, coming to stand on the floor to one side of Helga's table. "If we work together and help each other, we can fix things."
"Agreed." Phoebe came to stand on the floor on the other side of Helga. "We just have to organize and we'll be fine."
"Yeah!" Gerald called out from the crowd with a grin. "Listen to the ladies!"
Helga grinned down at both girls then looked out to her classmates again. "So, what do you guys say?" She smirked and crossed her arms.
The fourth graders all smiled and cheered, pumping their fists in the air…until the fifth graders started pushing them around again.
Helga scowled firmly once more and called out instructions. "All the boys except Brainy and Geraldo, gang up on Wolfgang and his friends! Phoebe, you and tall hair boy supervise and suggest strategies! As for the girls, use the snack table as barricades and move them forward to drive the fifth graders to the door! Lila, you seem to have your head in the game today—make sure they're doing it 'ever so' right!"
"Of course, Helga!" Bright eyed, Lila dashed over to one of the tables as the girls gathered there.
Phoebe glanced up at Helga and whispered. "Helga, I think your plans are the soundest we could employ right now, but I'm also certain that we don't have the power to drive out the fifth graders. The best we could hope for is a stalemate."
"I know," Helga replied in a low voice, "Actually I'm counting on Wolfgang eventually overpowering us." When Phoebe raised an eyebrow, Helga hopped down from the table and grinned at her friend. "Trust me, Pheebs—Arnold and I know what we're doing." She pulled her walkie-talkie slightly out of the pocket of her cardigan for a moment and winked.
Phoebe's eyes met Helga's and she nodded with a trusting smile. "I'm glad to see the two of you working so well together again, Helga." Then she turned and headed off to join Gerald and the other boys.
Helga blushed a little bit as she watched her friend go. And then she blinked at the familiar sound of wheezing suddenly cropping up behind her. She turned to see Brainy there, of course.
"Uh…did you need me?"
Helga smiled. "Actually yes. I've got a very important job for you, Brainy. Probably the most important job of all…" She got close and quickly whispered to him the goal of her and Arnold's plan. Then she took the walkie-talkie out of her dress pocket. "Brainy, you are a ninja at sneaking up on people. And I've also got all the attention on me now at this point for organizing everyone. So I'm going to lead the charge and egg Wolfgang on. And when it looks like he's about to blow with gloating, I need you to get as close as possible to him and hit the transmitter. Think you're up for it?"
Brainy looked down at the walkie-talkie as she placed it in his hands. Then looked back up at her, still wheezing as usual. "Uh…yeah."
Helga nodded. "Perfect. And hey, if you do get caught and Wolfgang tries to pound you, I'll make sure I'm nearby to clock him one before he can get you. It's about time I used a good sock to help you instead of to hurt you."
"Uh…" he blushed a little, "thanks."
Helga blushed a little too and cleared her throat. "You know, um…after all this is over, you and I should probably talk later or something…"
Brainy's eyes hazed warmly.
Helga raised part of her brow at first but then shook her head and scowled. "All right, all right, enough mushy stuff. You have your orders so get going! I've got a lot more to do!" And then Helga dashed off into the fray, trying not to think about things like whether or not Brainy had a Helga locket or if he wrote poetry about her or even had a shrine. She'd had enough major emotional crises to deal with lately.
Arnold was also nearing a crisis of his situation. Curly had given up making laps around the school, but now he was cheering and laughing maniacally as Wartz and Simmons tried to approach his restless cow but always ended up jumping back at the last moment as the cow kicked and flailed.
A few feet away, Arnold finished catching his breath. Truthfully, he knew how to get Curly off the cow and back inside right away, but timing things just right for whenever Helga could broadcast Wolfgang's confession was feeling more and more difficult. He thought about reaching out to her again but hesitated, worried he might blow everything by revealing their plan. Helga had said to give her fifteen minutes to get the confession; Arnold checked his watch—still two minutes to go.
"That's it, the authorities are getting called now! And Mr. Gamelthorpe, you are suspended!"
Arnold blinked and looked up at the sound of this announcement from Principal Wartz. He raced forward. "Wait, Principal Wartz!"
"You had your chance, Mr. Shortman," Principal Wartz announced with a scowl as he moved past Arnold. "Now step aside." He walked over to a payphone near the sidewalk and started digging around in his pocket and mumbling to himself. "Do I have a quarter? Darn this suit jacket, I'm never sure what I have in the pockets."
Arnold frowned in distress and put a hand to his head as he tried to think.
He blinked when Mr. Simmons touched his shoulder. His teacher smiled down at him. "Arnold," he said quietly, "I know you have a very special connection with your classmates and a very special role as a leader with them. So if there's something else bothering you besides Curly getting in trouble, you can talk to me about it and I'll do what I can to help."
Arnold looked up at Mr. Simmons for a moment but then swallowed and glanced down. "It's…complicated."
Mr. Simmons sighed and crossed his arms. "Does it involve Helga by any chance, Arnold? You're special relationship has seemed a little strained the last few days—and I've never seen you two yell at each other until tonight. And Curly did make that remark about you and a girl…."
Arnold blushed, his eyes a little wide. "I…" He took a deep breath. "What's going on right now is more about all of the other kids actually. But there might be something with Helga too—something private. Either way though, Helga's part of the other kids and she needs me and they need me." He hesitated but then looked to Mr. Simmons again and added in a low voice, "Something happened at the dance."
Mr. Simmons smile dropped. "Is anyone hurt?'
"No. But we're worried that if Principal Wartz sees what it is without proof that we didn't do it, all of us will get in trouble. But Helga should have the proof soon." He considered. "Mr. Simmons, I'll get Curly down from the cow now, but I need you to help me stall Principal Wartz with getting him back inside to the dance. Please?"
Mr. Simmons smiled a little again and nodded. "Okay, Arnold. I'll do my best. You just get Curly down." Then he dashed over to the payphone just as Principal Wartz finally fished a quarter out of his suit jacket. "Principal Wartz, wait, he's coming down!"
"Ha, fools!" Curly cried. "Why would I ever abandon my impressive noble steed?"
Arnold shrugged and smiled up at him. "Because Rhonda's not here to see you riding it?"
Curly froze.
Arnold sighed. "Curly, Rhonda's inside. You can't prove your love to her if you're apart from her. And the cow can't fit through the gym doors. And Rhonda needs your help right now actually. So why don't you come down and—"
Curly instantly jumped off the back of the cow and landed on his feet beside Arnold with a worried look. "Rhonda baby, I'm coming!"
"Wait there!" Principal Wartz dashed with a scowl and blocked Curly from the building. "You are still in very big trouble, young man!"
"But my Rhonda needs me!" Curly whined, trying to get around him.
Mr. Simmons cleared his throat and stepped forward. "Erm, Principal Wartz, maybe we could all just take a moment outside to reflect on the situation calmly."
"Oh, I'll show you calm, Simmons." Principal Wartz looked down at Curly with a scowl. "Mr. Gamelthorpe, you have detention after school and on Saturdays for the remaining weeks of the year. And if you or any of your little friends perpetrate just one more shenanigan for the remainder of that time, so help me I'll put your class on super double probation for all of next year! And I'm heading inside right now to inform the fourth grade about just where they stand!" And with that he started to march right to the school doors.
However, by doing so, he had to pass by a wall of the building that made up the gym. And even though the window was too high up to let him see inside, several loud crashing sounds did suddenly meet his ears.
Principal Wartz blinked and looked at the window. "What in the blazes?" He glared at Arnold. "What are you kids doing in there?"
Arnold raced forward. "Principal Wartz, wait, I can explain! Just listen!"
"Principal Wartz, maybe we should hear him out." Mr. Simmons raced forward to join Arnold.
"It's okay, Rhonda baby, Curly's coming to save you!" Curly raced to the wall, managed to find footholds in a few bricks, and got himself in through the window.
Principal Wartz clenched his fists. "That's it, I'm calling all of your parents. This dance is over. And with the report I'm going to make about you kids to your future teachers, you'll be lucky if you even get a senior prom."
Arnold tried not to get distracted by the fact that the first thought to pass through his mind at Principal Wartz's comment was not getting to take Helga to any more dances…including their prom. He shook his head. "Wait, Principal Wartz, you don't understand…"
"And what could you possibly say to explain whatever is going on here tonight?"
And then like a miracle the walkie-talkie crackled to life…
…But all that came through at first was…wheezing?
Principal Wartz raised an eyebrow. "Son, are your pants wheezing?"
"I…" Arnold took the walkie-talkie out of his pocket and raised an eyebrow. He pressed the button and whispered, "Helga?"
"Uh…no…
Brainy.
Arnold opened his mouth to speak again but before he could, Brainy said one more thing. "Shh…"
Principal Wartz, Mr. Simmons, and Arnold listened closely.
Back inside, the war between fourth and fifth grade had been brutal. The gym was in shambles and all of the kids were a mess. A few fourth graders stood on the sidelines, recovering from the struggle, but far more fifth graders were down for the count and starting to look a little annoyed.
"Wolfgang, maybe we should just get going. This dance is kind of lame anyway."
"Yeah, and I still don't get what the point is of being here."
"It's Saturday night—we could be hitting on sixth grade girls at the movies."
Wolfgang, looking particularly worse for ware, glared at the other fifth grade guys, his fists at his sides. "Shut up! We're not walking away and letting the fourth graders beat us!"
"I'll stay with you Wolfgang." Edmond came to his side and smiled.
Wolfgang just rolled his eyes. "Not now, Edmond."
The other fifth grade guys started to mumble to each other.
"Hey, Wolfgang!" Helga grinned as she came forward, her pigtails frizzed and pink bow half undone. "Maybe you should listen to your other buddies! I mean, just what was your big plan here? Because I'm seriously still trying to find a point to all of this!"
"My plan…?" Wolfgang replied, turning a dark look at her.
Helga smirked more.
"My plan," Wolfgang went on, "was to humiliate you like the bunch of wimpy losers you are!" Suddenly he came forward and grabbed a shocked Helga up by the collar of her dress. "But you ruined it!"
The other fourth graders gasped, and a few chairs and a table fell over as some of the kids tried to approach but were held back either by some of the remaining fifth graders or their fellow fourth graders trying to keep them out of harm's way.
Wolfgang went on as Helga tried to maintain her scowl. "I always thought it was just the stupid football head kid who always tried to show me up, but it's you too, isn't it?"
"What are you talking about?" Helga raised part of her brow.
"You know what I'm talking about!" he spat. "And just so you don't forget, I say we end the night by giving this little troublemaker that swirly I mentioned before! I say we give ALL the wimpy fourth graders swirlies! And then we'll throw you in the pool! What do you say, guys? A final tribute from the fifth grade to the fourth grade!"
A few murmurs left the other fifth graders at first but when Edmond starting cheering on Wolfgang, the others eventually joined him. Edmond went over to the gym's back door (now unlocked after he and Wolfgang had snuck in their friends), stepped into the equipment room, and held his hand over the button to open the pool.
"Oh Crimeny, not again." Helga closed her eyes with a scowl then opened them. "Look, just wait a minute, Wolfgang, because—"
"Oh, I'm done waiting!" Wolfgang smirked as he held her higher, which made Helga flinch in surprise. "I had to wait while I called all the other fifth grade guys and got them on board with this plan, I had to wait while I convinced Wartz to let me and Edmond help chaperone you fourth graders, I had to wait until him and Simmons finally left the room, and I had to wait for you to be done with all your wimpy fourth grade plans to fight back. If you had just let us have our fun all we would have done is destroy your dance and get you in some trouble. But now I'm going to get back at your whole class once and for all! And there's nothing you can do about it!"
Helga gulped as the other fourth graders cried out in protest.
Edmond pressed the pool button.
Then…a miracle.
"Wolfgang, put Miss Pataki down this instant! And as for you other fifth grade ruffians, step back from the other fourth graders now!"
The cold voice of Principal Wartz made Wolfgang's eyes widen and all color drain from his face (meanwhile, Edmond pressed the pool button again, though a small crack had opened in the floor leading to the hidden pool).
Helga blinked a few times and looked past him to see Principal Wartz and Mr. Simmons and… "Arnold…" she whispered and smiled.
Arnold glanced at Helga and gave her a small smile in return.
Principal Wartz came forward to Wolfgang as he finally released Helga. "I wouldn't have believed such defiance and delinquency if I hadn't heard it with my own ears."
"Your own ears?" Wolfgang gulped. "But…but how…"
Brainy stepped out from right behind him holding the walkie-talkie and smiling. "Uh…hi."
Arnold smiled sheepishly and held up his own walkie-talkie.
Principal Wartz put his hands on his hips. "Now then, every fifth grader here will be receiving detention every day including Saturdays straight through the end of the year, and will be attending one week of summer school to learn a little something about respect. And I'll be calling all of your parents to inform them of your punishment and to pick you all up. So march to my office, now."
Wolfgang just stood there in shock as the other fifth graders shuffled past him, murmuring complaints about the whole night and his stupid plan.
As Edmond passed him, Wolfgang held out his hand. "Edmond?"
Edmond frowned. "My mom said I'm grounded for the first week of summer if I got in trouble at all for the rest of the year. I told you that before we came, Wolfgang. Not cool."
Wolfgang just sighed and slumped forward then trudged out of the gym, giving the fourth graders a final glare before he left.
Principal Wartz turned his attention to the kids. "And as for you students…."
The kids all swallowed and looked at each other uneasily.
Principal Wartz cleared his throat. "I'm…sorry I invited an element in that ruined your dance because I didn't trust you not to ruin it on your own."
The kids started to smile.
"But," he went on, "I'm afraid the rest of tonight's dance must be cancelled."
A collective moan of disappointment came from the kids.
Principal Wartz shrugged. "This place is in shambles." He glanced around. "We'll have to get a clean up crew in here. Plus there's no food, no decorations, no music…"
"Hey," Helga finished straightening her pigtails, crossed her arms, and grinned with determination, "it's our dance and we can make it work for the rest of the night. Just watch us." She proceeded to give orders. "Rhonda, hit up the art room for decorations—Phoebe, Lila, go with her to make sure she stays somewhat down to earth and within the laws of physics. Harold, Sid, Stinky—raid the cafeteria kitchen for some snacks and drinks. And Brainy…" her eyes brightened as she looked to her friend, "if I remember right, you DJ'd that cool party at Arnold's house. Why don't you get on music?"
"Uh…" Brainy smiled, "okay."
"The rest of you, fix up the chairs and tables!" Helga yelled out to the rest of the kids. "I'll supervise, and Football Head will provide moral support."
"Actually," Arnold came forward, "Helga and I will clean. I'll go get us a mop and broom."
Helga scowled for a moment but finally rolled her eyes. "Oh fine." She lost the scowl when Arnold's smile turned into a warm half lidded gaze. By the time he came back from the janitor's closet with the mop and broom, she was even smiling herself.
On the sidelines, Mr. Simmons smiled as well. "You see how special this class is, Principal Wartz? Look at how well they're working together."
Principal Wartz just sighed. "Yes, I suppose. You stay here and enjoy watching them cooperate, Simmons—I'll deal with the troublemakers." He left the room following the final fifth grader, and Mr. Simmons continued to look on as the fourth graders slowly rebuilt their dance better than ever.
By the time things were all set, there was only a half hour left in the dance, but the class was determined to enjoy it.
Arnold and Helga approached Gerald and Phoebe near the punch table. "Hey," Helga shrugged, looking a little sheepish. "Uh, look, we just wanted to say we're sorry for jumping all over you two earlier."
"Helga…" Arnold lowered his gaze.
Helga sighed. "Okay, I'm sorry for jumping all over you two. Anyway," her gaze softened, "we just wanted to make sure you're still having a nice time—since I'm still not sure exactly how much was real and how much was fake about you two wanting to have a perfect date here tonight."
Phoebe blushed slightly though she smiled as Gerald just crossed his arms and shook his head with a grin. "Mmm, mmm, mmm…Helga, enough about us—let's talk about you and, Arnold." He cleared his throat and raised his voice to address the room. "In fact, everyone, now that we're all together and we have a moment let's tell Arnold and Helga what you guys have been wanting to say for a while now."
The other kids stopped dancing and talking to look to Arnold and Helga with sheepish frowns and reply in unison, "We're sorry."
"Truly, Arnold, Helga," Rhonda added, "none of us meant to cause you so much undue social stress."
"Yeah, and we didn't mean to make you feel bad whenever you were around us either," Harold added.
Arnold and Helga blushed slightly.
"Oh, uh…yeah, well, you know—thanks, I guess." Helga managed.
"Thanks everyone." Arnold smiles warmly. "That means a lot to us."
Helga cleared her throat and turned her attention back to Gerald and Phoebe. "Anyway, we'll leave you two to finish your night together. I'll just go see what Brainy's up to."
"Yeah, and I feel bad for abandoning Lila—I should probably go see what she's up to too," Arnold added.
"I'm ever so sure we're right here and fine, you two," Lila announced as she came up beside Arnold.
"Uh…yeah…" Brainy added as he suddenly popped up beside Helga.
Arnold and Helga raised eyebrows at their dates.
Lila smiled. "I'm ever so sure it's nice of you both to think of us, but I was going to sit this next song out—I'm oh too tired from rebuilding the dance. And I believe Brainy wants to keep DJ-ing."
"Uh, yeah…" Brainy gave a thumbs up.
Lila nodded. "So I'm ever so sure the two of you should just finally dance, especially now that everyone's apologized and you know they won't tease you anymore."
"Oh, uh, well…" Arnold and Helga stuttered together.
"It'll be good for you two, you should dance." Gerald grinned.
"I concur." Phoebe nodded. "You two have been avoiding each other far too much lately."
Arnold frowned a little, his eyes down. "I'm not sure if it's a good time…"
"I…maybe…just one dance."
Helga's words made Arnold's eyes widen. He looked over at her. "Really?"
Helga nodded, meeting his gaze. "Yeah. Just one might be okay." She smiled a little. "Come on!" Then she grabbed his arm and pulled him out to the dance floor.
Gerald, Phoebe, Lila, and Brainy watched them go with smiles.
Arnold and Helga found a place quickly and stood before each other. Helga kept her voice low. "We can hold onto each other but we keep at least a foot between us. And if people start staring and pointing at us, I'm getting out of here. Nothing personal, I'm just too tired to deal with it."
Arnold nodded, raised his hands, then blushed and hesitated for a second.
Helga sighed and rolled her eyes with a scowl. "You're such a Football Head." She grabbed his hands and placed them above her waist then put her hands on his shoulders.
The two of them swayed a little to the music.
"It's only been a week—did you really forget how to hold me?" Helga mumbled.
Arnold blushed but smiled a little. "No. But this is the first time I ever tried in public though. I'm a little nervous."
Helga blushed slightly too. "Yeah, well, speaking of that, let's see just how much people are noticing us." She hesitantly looked up and glanced around the room.
But the other kids were just chatting and dancing together and having fun. An occasional glance came their way, but it ended in a friendly smile and wave before whoever cast it went back to what they were doing.
"Huh?" Helga raised part of her brow. "I guess they meant it about leaving us alone."
"They did." Arnold's smile warmed. "They're our friends, Helga, and they're good people even if they do make mistakes sometimes."
"I guess." Helga turned back to him, her eyes down a little. "And speaking of mistakes, I'm…you know…sorry—for being a bit difficult lately."
"You? Difficult?" Arnold almost smirked.
Helga scowled. "Don't make me sock you."
He chuckled. "You weren't being difficult, Helga. You were just…caring for me in the best way you could think of. I'm starting to understand that now." He frowned a little again. "I'm sorry for pushing you so much…and for lying to you about how much keeping things a secret was bothering me. If we have a problem we should always talk about it—not keep secrets. And I'm sorry I was stubborn about doing whatever I thought was the right thing for us even if it was upsetting you."
"You did your best too." She almost smiled a little. "You were trying to care for me too. That wasn't so bad."
They shared a small smile.
Then Helga sighed though her smile remained. "So, where do you want to go from here, Arnold?"
He chuckled. "Well, I think the fact that you're calling me 'Arnold' again is a good start." He shrugged. "Actually, maybe we could sort of start over? I think we might have gone a little too fast after FTi."
"Well, I did end up sleeping on top of you about a week after I confessed, so, yeah, that's a possibility…"
"Helga…"
"Hey, I'm agreeing with you." She smirked playfully. "So, a fresh start now that we know what we're getting into. Okay. And we could take our time and see what works as we go along…"
"Yeah." Arnold nodded. "By the way, I'm Arnold—it's nice to meet you."
Helga snickered. "You are so corny. But fine, whatever—I'm Helga. Pleasure to meet you too."
Arnold chuckled. "Do you come here often?"
"To school? Uh, yeah, as a ten-year-old kid that's pretty much an obligation of mine."
"What a coincidence, it's the same for me. It's nice that we have that in common."
Helga chuckled a little too. "So, Arnold, do you always expertly flirt with girls at dances or is tonight an exception?"
Arnold blushed. "I haven't had much experience trying but…with you it doesn't feel like trying. It just feels right."
"Ooo, very smooth." Helga's eyes hazed.
"Thanks." Arnold's eyes hazed and he shrugged.
"Maybe we could hang out sometime outside of school? For example, I like movies." Helga looked into his eyes.
Arnold nodded. "I'd like that. And I like movies too. Then maybe we could get ice cream after?"
"Sounds like plan." She nodded in return. "It's a date then, Football Head."
They laughed softly together.
Helga swallowed. "And about the other kids…" Arnold raised an eyebrow in interest as she went on, "maybe they'll be kind of cool about it if they see us together like they're being right now…especially if we go more slowly." She looked into his eyes. "But whatever happens, now I know I'll feel better going through it with you."
"Me too…" Arnold blushed a little. Then his smile picked up on one side. "You know, I'm okay with standing a foot apart, Helga, but during the April Fool's dance we tangoed all over this gym and no one said anything about it. Maybe by next year we'll be able to have a little more fun dancing together at one of these things?"
"Why wait?" Helga took his hand to lead and gave them a quick turn.
Arnold laughed and got them back up, standing close.
But then Helga's heel caught on the open crack in the floor over the pool, and she started to fall backward. Arnold caught her with one arm around her waist. They stayed that way for a moment, eyes wide and Helga dipped back.
They finally blinked a few times and glanced around—the dance hadn't stopped or anything, but a few more people were definitely looking at them with interest.
Arnold and Helga straightened up and resumed their standard foot apart as they danced.
"Slowly—gotta remember slowly…" Helga said quietly with a nervous laugh.
"Yeah," Arnold added sheepishly.
They finished their dance together, talking and smiling.
Not long afterwards, Arnold and Helga exited the school doors for the cool night air. They chuckled at the sight of the farm animals casually grazing on the school's front lawn then turned back to each other.
"Do you think anyone will say anything about us leaving early together?" Arnold asked with an eyebrow raised.
Helga shook her head with a smirk. "No, I think they actually do feel guilty enough not to bother. Besides, some other people definitely left before us—like Gerald and Phoebe. And I don't blame them. Dealing with our shenanigans must be exhausting."
They shared a laugh as they came to the steps down to the sidewalk then paused, eyes wide at the sight below them
There on the sidewalk near a streetlamp stood Gerald and Phoebe sharing a hesitant kiss.
When she could finally speak again, Helga whispered to Arnold with a smirk. "Wow, I guess they did get to have a good date night after all."
Arnold blushed. "Should we go thank them for all their help?"
"Nah." Helga grabbed Arnold's hand and pulled him off to the side. "Come on, we'll sneak off on our own." Helga climbed over the stone rail leading up to the school and Arnold followed.
The second Gerald and Phoebe separated they both gasped and blinked.
"Sorry!" They instantly said at once, blushing.
They tilted their heads, eyebrows raised.
"You're sorry? Why?" they said at once again.
They each blushed more and sighed.
"I just, um…" Gerald rubbed the back of his neck, "I know that was kind of out of the blue. And I know you're kind of shy, babe. I hope that wasn't too much or anything."
"No, it wasn't." She frowned a little. "And I know the speed of Arnold and Helga's relationship has been a little overwhelming to you, and tonight was a little more stressful than either one of us imagined. I hope I haven't made you nervous."
"You, um…you didn't." Gerald swallowed. "Actually, that was kind of nice." He smiled a little.
Phoebe's eyes widened then she smiled too. "I concur."
He shrugged. "Want to walk home together and talk more about it before Arnold and Helga leave that gym and rope us into another crazy scheme?"
She laughed softly. "I would like that very much, Gerald. Let's go." Her smile grew a little as she took one of his hands and led them down the sidewalk.
Gerald soon kept pace with her, smiling even more.
Arnold and Helga went around the back of the school, laughing quietly. "So does 'going slowly' mean you'll still walk me home, Football Head?" Helga smirked and held out her hand to him.
Arnold grinned, his eyes hazed, then bowed low and took her hand. "Of course. I'll walk you home from as many dances as you want, Helga G. Pataki." He leaned down to kiss her hand.
Wheeze, wheeze…
Arnold and Helga's eyes widened and they turned to see Brainy standing in front of them.
"Uh…hi." He waved, smiling.
Arnold released Helga's hand with a blush then pouted a little. "Hi Brainy."
Helga raised an eyebrow at him then shook her head and looked to Brainy. "Uh, hey, Brainy." She blinked then sighed. "Earlier I said we should talk later, didn't I?"
He just stood there, wheezing.
Helga took a deep breath, walked up to him with a determined look, then put her hands on his shoulders. "You are an all right guy, Brainy. But I'm just not into you. And you deserve someone who is into you. You get that, right?"
He wheezed again. "Uh…yeah."
"And we're friends—you get that too, right?"
He wheezed again. "Uh huh."
"And you get that I'm gonna sock you less because everyone knows it sucks to like someone and not to have them like you back, right? I can't help the ones where you surprise me, but the ones where you don't surprise me…I'll do my best. Okay?"
Brainy nodded.
Helga let out a relieved sigh. "Good." Then she stepped back and gave him a small wave with a smile. "Have a nice night, Brainy."
Brainy waved. "You…too." And then he disappeared into the shadows on the other side of the school.
Helga smiled in satisfaction and rejoined Arnold who was just looking at her with a blush and an eyebrow raised. "Whew, glad that's taken care of. Now, you're not going to get all passively jealous on me like you did about Arnie, right?"
Arnold blinked then smiled. "No… I mean, maybe at first I was when I realized…" He cleared his throat. "Brainy…likes you?"
Helga shrugged with a sheepish smile. "Guilty."
Arnold blushed a little more but went on. "Anyway, maybe for a moment I felt jealous. But then when you said that thing to him about how bad it feels when you like someone who doesn't like you back…that was really sweet, Helga. You're really sweet, Helga." Then he took her hand, bowed again, and kissed the back of it.
Helga giggled and swooned in a way that would have utterly humiliated her to do in front of anyone else.
Arnold straightened up, his eyes hazed. "So, I was just about to walk you home, right?"
"Hmm, sure, Arnold." She moved close alongside him so their arms touched as they started walking down the street together.
After a moment, Helga came out of her daze enough to just enjoy the moment. She smirked a little at her beloved by her side. "So going slowly means I don't go back to your place tonight, right?"
Arnold blushed and rolled his eyes. "Probably not. But, um…maybe you could come over for dinner after that movie and ice cream we talked about." He squeezed her hand.
"I'd like that, Football Head." She squeezed his hand back. Then she rested her head against his shoulder and whispered, "I missed you, Arnold."
Arnold rested his head a little against her shoulder and whispered back to her. "Yeah. I missed you too."
They stopped for a moment then turned to each other.
Eventually they shared a simple kiss then went back to walking home, no need to say anything or do more. There was a whole summer ahead of them to be together and finally explore their new relationship properly. It was the start of something new and beautiful and happy for everyone.
A/N:
Epilogue(s) next. I hope you like how the story ends!
~Azure129
