Disclaimer: I do not own Hey Arnold!

"Okay, got everything down in your head?" Gerald asks, looking at Arnold squarely. "If you mess up tonight, you can kiss Helga goodbye."

"Don't be so dramatic," Arnold tells him. "If I screw up, I'll still have tomorrow, and the next day and the next. I'm not going to let her get away that easy," he says, firm resolution in his eyes. "Besides, if she does end up going for Alex," saying that makes his insides boil. "I'll wait. If I could wait for Lila all those years she kept rejecting me, then I can handle this."

"If you say so," Gerald backs off, not wanting Arnold to blow up in his face. "Just remember; don't go overboard. If she likes you already, then it's because of who you are not who you're trying to be."

"That's pretty wise, Gerald," Arnold comments, nodding his head in approval.

"Don't be surprised," he says and checks his reflection in the mirror. "I've got sixteen years of practicing how to woo women up my sleeve."

"Sixteen years, Gerald?" Arnold says and gives him a look. "Really?"

"Okay, maybe not that long," he admits and shrugs. "But long enough. If I could think up this plan, how could you possibly doubt my expertise?"

"I won't doubt it anymore if it actually works. I'll let you know at the end of the night."

"Then let's get the evening started already," Gerald says and open his front door. "Ma, we're going now!" he yells in the direction of the kitchen.

"Okay, have fun you two!" Arnold hears a female voice call out. "Don't stay out too late or I'm locking you out like last time, Gerald."

"Yeah, yeah I won't. Bye!" he says and closes the door. "One late night party and a year later, and she still won't let it go. Mothers." Gerald rolls his eyes and shakes his head. Arnold smiles as he remembers the party Rhonda Wellington threw last year. It definitely wasn't boring. "You remember that one, Arnold? It was wild. I almost kissed Phoebe that night, too," he says, a dreamy look on his face.

"You mean Harold pushed you against her when he tried making his way to the serving table."

Gerald gives Arnold a look that says, "Don't mess with me, I'm trying to help you here."

Noticing, Arnold raises his hand in surrender and says, "So you almost kissed Phoebe, huh? How come you didn't go through with it?"

"I didn't think it was the right time," Gerald says casually, pretending Arnold never made the earlier comment. "I mean, I didn't wanna catch her off guard or anything. When I do kiss her, I want her to see it coming."

"So you're gonna plan the whole thing? Lighting and all?" Arnold scoffs at the idea.

"The mood you set for the first kiss is important; it determines how the relationship is going to be. So, I'm planning to make it all romantic and cool; just my style." Gerald could hear a soft snicker coming from Arnold. "Don't laugh; this piece of info might come in handy when you're trying to sneak your first kiss with Helga."

Arnold thinks about that carefully. Then he remembers something. "I have kissed her before."

"When?" Gerald asks incredulously.

"Romeo and Juliet? Remember that play Mr. Simmons forced us to do back in fourth grade?" Arnold says, thinking back to that time all of those years ago. Come to think of it, that kiss was dramatic. I guess that explains the situation I'm in now.

"That doesn't count," Gerald dismisses it with a wave of his hand. "It was forced, not something you both wanted to do. Plus, it was planned. Not cool."

"Wait, isn't that what you're trying to do with Phoebe?"

"That's different. She doesn't know I'm planning it," he says with a shrug. Arnold doesn't even try to comprehend the logic behind that. But then there was that time on the FTi building… but Gerald doesn't know about that one. That kiss was dramatic, too. Does that count?

"What about when the kiss was unexpected, but one of parties didn't like the idea of being kissed?" he asks uncomfortably, thinking that he didn't really have feelings for Helga then. Or did I? "You know, hypothetically."

"I guess it qualifies as a first kiss," he considers. "But not an awesome one." Arnold thinks this over as they continue walking. "You know," Gerald suddenly says, a thought striking him. "If your first kiss really happened like that, then the second kiss has to be epic! So you won't really remember the first one, especially if you didn't want it to happen. Instead, you kiss her again, only this time you make it so memorable she'll see that one as the real first kiss. Which in a way, is sorta true."

Arnold's face is blank, not really grasping what Gerald just said. "Just kiss her again, properly this time and things will be perfect," he simplifies. "We're here." They stop in front of the Coffee Bean and glance at each other. "Should we knock or something?"

"Try it."

"You try it, you're the one who wanted to come here so badly."

Arnold gulps and steps up to the door. He gives a few sharp taps and takes a step back. After a few moments, someone opens the door and gives them a look once-over. "Got the tickets?" the tall, lanky man asks. Arnold pulls them out of his back pocket hastily and shows it to him. Without any further enquiries, the man steps aside and lets them in. "Enjoy the show," he says, though Arnold could sense a hint of sarcasm – or is it distaste? – in the man's voice.

The place is more crowded than Arnold expected it to be. I didn't know so many people liked poetry in this town. Scanning the room for a pair of familiar faces, he and Gerald uncertainly make their way to an empty table near the far right of the café. Before they could sit down, though, Gerald catches sight of a dark-haired girl with rimless glasses; a girl he knows only too well. "There they are," he says to Arnold and starts walking in their direction. Following Gerald's lead, he finally spots them sitting near the middle of the café. "Well hello, ladies," Gerald says casually and makes to sit down when he notices the girls aren't sitting by themselves.

Arnold stops just behind Gerald who is frozen stiff, but doesn't understand why. "Gerald, what's going—" he stops mid-sentence, realizing who's sitting next to Helga. His fists ball up and he resists the urge to punch someone. "Hey, Alex. Didn't expect to see you here."

"It is a small world, after all," he says and smiles wanly.

"And here I was thinking it was just gonna be the four of us," Gerald says, almost under his breath.

"Yeah, funny story," Helga jumps in, laughing nervously. The boys' not-so-friendly reaction to Alex set alarm bells ringing in her head. "You see, when his mom heard that I was going to Sheila Canton's show, she told me that Alex was a huge fan too—"

"Much to my embarrassment," Alex adds, combing a hand through his hair.

"Anyway," Helga continues, a slight edge to her voice now. "She insisted that he came along. But of course I told her he couldn't because there were no more tickets." She turns to Phoebe. "Or so I thought."

All eyes move to Phoebe now and she reddens. "That's where my parents step in. We stopped by Helga's to pick her up and that's when they mentioned that they accidentally purchased an extra ticket—"

"And that's when he jumps at the chance to go," Gerald finishes for her, not impressed. "What a coincidence. You must be one lucky guy, uh, Alex was it?" he says, pretending like he didn't know the name of the guy sitting right in front of him. "It's not everyday that you get a chance to see a show like this."

"Oh, that's right," Phoebe says, realizing. "You two haven't met before. Gerald, this is Alex and Alex; this is Gerald."

"A pleasure," Alex says and nods his head in acknowledgement.

"I'm sure it is." Gerald says and finally takes a seat. Only then does he notice that Arnold hasn't said anything else since they got there. "Hey Arnold, you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm good," he nods and stares at the stage. Tough break, man. Gerald resists the urge to pat him on the shoulder in sympathy. So much for Operation Woo Helga, it's not gonna work with this guy around. As if Arnold could read his mind, he gives the slightest shrug and a look. A look that says, "Oh well, maybe next time."

Helga looks at Arnold, a worried expression on her face. "Arnold—" she begins, but stops when the lights suddenly dim and the curtains open. Her head turns sharply, eyes bright with excitement. The show is starting.

Arnold couldn't focus on what's being said on stage. He couldn't stop himself from looking at Helga from the corner of his eye. He couldn't help but notice how every now and then Alex would lean over and whisper something in her ear that would make her smile or giggle. He could feel nothing but anger; anger that's boiling up deep inside of him at the sight of those two together. Sharing something that he knows he could never do with her, not without making himself look like an idiot, or making her feel exasperated with the limited amount of knowledge he has on poetry or her favourite poet. He can't share with her the one thing that makes her seem so delicate and sweet, as opposed to the tough demeanor she always puts on in front of everyone else. Everyone except him; when they're hanging out, just the two of them. When she knows no one else is looking and judging her, she lets her guard down and acts like herself; her true self. A side of her that Arnold is sure she doesn't show to anyone else, except maybe Phoebe. And most probably Alex now, too. His fists ball up again at the thought of it.

He's not taking her away from me, not after what we've been through all these years. Arnold suddenly remembers that night on the FTi building. He remembers that Helga had spilled her guts out confessing her love to him but all he did was stare at her and back away from her touch. Now all he feels is regret. Regret that the day after, he had convinced her that she didn't really mean what she said, that it was the adrenaline talking. Regret that he didn't take her confession seriously; instead he set it aside and denied it ever happened. Regret that his actions have probably erased all of Helga's feelings for him, and made everything that happened between them meaningless.

His heart is breaking and he knows it's all his doing. I'm sorry I've been so blind all these years, Helga. I guess it's too late for me now.

I know it's a huge cliffhanger, and even I don't think it's fair to leave it like this, especially since I haven't updated in a few days. (has it been a few days? I'm not sure anymore) BUT, (here's where you start yelling 'noooo') I really don't know when's the next time I'll be updating. I'll just let your imagination run wild at his last few sentences.

Thanks again for all the reviews! :D You guys crack me up. XD