Greetings, everyone! Umm, I apologize for the very, very long delay. Like I've said on the Fanfiction message board I didn't really expect to take this long on writing part 1, especially on the last chapters. Again, I apologize to everyone. I'll try to write fast on the other chapters.

My dearest, dearest editor: Muchos gracias, salamat, arigato, and thanks!

Thanks to all those who've been waiting and those who've read my stories. Enjoy!

DISCLAIMER: Hey Arnold is the property of Mr. Craig Bartlett.

Chapter 5 Experiencing the Aftermath

~Saturday, 8:15 am

Arnold wiped his forehead as he tried to recharge for a little while. He could hear various shouts all around as players tried to outmaneuver the opposing team. He was the quarterback for the school team, but after the coach saw him fumble as he tried to catch the ball he ordered Arnold to take the bench. It was, after all, only a practice game.

A feminine hand carrying a water bottle came into his view. Arnold slightly turned around to see a brunette cheerleader. He smiled his thanks. In response to this she giggled uncontrollably and cheerfully left.

Arnold drank from the water bottle. It was very refreshing. He then shook his head. Arnold didn't understand why the coach had to schedule an all-day practice today. They had been practicing for the past three months for the championship game to be held next Friday. The least he could do for them is to give this Saturday as an off day.

He sighed. 'Oh well.' He might as well try to see what they had been doing wrong. The home team couldn't break through the opponent's defenses but the good news was the opponents couldn't also break through theirs.

For the first few minutes he focused all his attention on the ongoing game but a nagging thought came to him. Now wasn't the perfect time to analyze his problems, but the thought became so persistent he was forced to follow it…

~Olga's wedding reception

He smiled to himself as he watched Helga looking at the wedding reception from her sit on the balcony. Her blonde curls swaying gently in the breeze. She had a dedicated look on her face as she watched the Barton-Pataki family dance together. She gave a small smile as one of her aunts roughly took Calvin's bachelor uncle to the dance floor all the while smiling coyly at him. The breeze became stronger and he began to worry, wondering if she was warm enough up there.

Arnold stopped as he realized the meaning of his thoughts. He felt something spill on his hand and remembered that he was carrying two glasses of punch. Stopping at an empty table, he took out his handkerchief and began wiping the spill. Meanwhile, his thoughts tumbled and tossed.

When had she become this important to him? Yes, there had been a hint here and there. Helga was very fun to be with. She had this ability to make you loosen up. Her tactics may not be considered nice but the results were the same as the gentle prodding. She was funny, nice, temperamental, and sarcastic. She was also great friend. He smiled as he remembered how she had yelled at him when he had failed one of his midterms. 'Criminey! That was just a midterm, football head! A fraction of your grade! That's not a valid reason to feel like it's the end of the world. You're a smart person. Remember, you beat me in the state spelling bee contest. Now, stop looking like a painting of Picasso's and let's play at the arcade.'

She was loud, but that didn't matter to him. Whenever he recollected her lectures he always laughed at himself and as a result he rarely made the same mistake twice.

'You can always tell what she's feeling, which is very refreshing since people often hide their feelings. Alicia and the others avoid her when they see a deep frown marring her face or whenever her fists are clenched. Other times they talk and tease her. And don't forget to add that she's one of the most beautiful women in the world.'

He could feel his temperature rising.

'Wait a minute! Where did that thought come from?'

Arnold recalled how she had looked when she first entered. She was extremely sexy, with a perfect figure, and also… he forced his thoughts to stop there since they were heading in a dangerous area. Her hair was in curls like her sister's, but it was pinned at the back. And, she had the most serious, dedicated, and sophisticated air around her.

She was all these things to him. Maybe…maybe he loved her. He gave a small smile as he looked up…

And saw Logan's firm hold on Helga.

"Tell me why he's much better than me. I know I'm far cuter than he is. I'm nice and friendly. And I know you like me. We've been getting along fine these past two years, unlike your relationship with him. You always get ticked off with him and you constantly fight with each other. Now, tell me why do you still favor him over ME?!"

Arnold looked on very confused. What was happening here? Even though he was puzzled he could see that Logan's hold on Helga was tightening. Arnold saw Helga wince, but did and said nothing to stop it.

"He's a know-it-all, insensitive jerk that kept you hanging..."

He saw her eyes widen.

"...He may be an all-around athlete but he's also full of himself. And the way he sticks his nose into other people's business, it's as if he's the ultimate savior; that we can't make a single mistake without him lecturing us..."

Logan's description of the guy Helga was supposed to love was beginning to dawn on him. It was him. Wait a minute, Helga loved him?! It couldn't be…

Helga wasn't doing anything to show whether or not she agreed with Logan's accusations. She probably considered him only as a friend. His thoughts were stopped as he felt a different atmosphere. He continued to watch silently.

Her eyes narrowed at Logan, but then later on acted as if she was in a trance. Arnold saw Logan change his hold on her and felt very uneasy. Helga was very close to Logan now. Arnold's hold on the glasses was beginning to tighten. He began to feel both hot and cold.

Helga then sensed what was happening to her. She quickly tried to wiggle away from Logan but he held her close to him. Then she tried to remove his hold on her, but his hands were clamped tight.

"Maybe..."

He was going to do something to her. Arnold could feel himself getting angrier. If he dare hurt her he'll…

"Maybe if I kiss you you'd change your mind."

Now that riled him even more. He could feel his temper rising. Arnold was about to step forward when he saw Helga kick Logan in the groin. He winced slightly as Logan fell forward. And, as fast as lightening, Helga spun around and kicked Logan right on the chest. Arnold watched Logan fall in the opposite direction and saw that he was knocked unconscious as he hit the side of the balcony. He was out.

Arnold felt relieved. But why would he feel relief? He had just witnessed Helga knock Logan unconscious. Logan was his friend.

'But he tried to take advantage of Helga,' a side of him pointed out.

'Helga took good care of herself. She didn't need me anymore.'

'You're still worried about her. And even though Logan's your friend it doesn't mean he has to flirt with your girl.'

'MY girl? Helga's not my girl'

'You love her don't you? A while ago you said you loved her.'

He didn't want to reply at that comment.

He forced his swirling thoughts to stop as he felt her eyes on him. Their eyes met and he felt like she was searching him. Arnold immediately left. If he had stayed one second more Helga might have found out the truth from his eyes.

~Present

"Hey Arnold, watch OUT!" a male voice shouted.

"Huh? What?" Arnold barely had time to return to the real world before a football was thrown to him at an extremely fast speed. The impact of the ball was enough to push him back and off the bench.

The home team and the opponents crowded around him checking to see if he was all right, but all the coach could say was "Good wake-up call, Briggs! But next time try to aim the ball at the end zone."

~Bleachers

It was a perfect day. The shining sun didn't give too much heat nor too little. There was a gentle breeze blowing and plenty of birds were chirping, probably communicating with each other on how wonderful the day was. What made the day even more perfect was the fact that there were no classes.

There was a loud cheer.

Even though the day was perfect for relaxing outside, it had also proven to be the perfect day to watch football. And, that was what Patrick and the rest of the group, as well as some other females were doing.

Patrick looked away from the beautiful scenery and turned his attention back to the game, or more specifically the 'practice' game. The alumni football team had volunteered to help the current team in practicing; so far they were tied.

Another loud cheer, which sounded more like high-pitched squeals, went up. His poor right ear was about to pop at the intensity of the shrieks emanating from Chelsea and Alicia. It was a good thing that Helga and Tish were quieter in their cheers; he couldn't take this anymore. Don't get him wrong, he enjoyed watching a good football game, but the passionate cheering wasn't very pleasing to his poor ears; and add the fact that the game was taking too long, well... Patrick guessed that by the end of the game he would be tone deaf.

He went back to watching the football game. Suddenly, from the far right side of their group Alicia yelled, "KICK their butts off!! Throw that pigskin in the END ZONE!!!"

To which Chelsea added, "YEAH!! What she just said!"

Patrick hung his head and sighed. 'All this for a practice game?'

He turned to his left and wondered what happened to the silent duo. Tish was watching the game very closely, almost as if she was scrutinizing every detail. And Helga was looking very bored. At the beginning, she had been ardently watching the game and a specific player, but now she was just bored.

The coach blew the whistle, which signaled the end of the game. 'Finally.'

Helga stood up and began to go down. Patrick and the others followed her down the bleachers, but instead of approaching a certain football headed player like the others did, she stopped and waited at the end lines. Patrick noticed her just looking at the person they were waiting for. He focused his eyes on Arnold and found him being surrounded by the entire cheering squad and a platoon of female admirers.

"Did you see that, Helga? Arnold just threw the ball from the farthest line!" Chelsea said. Helga just nodded.

"Yes, according to the school records nobody has ever thrown something that far," Tish added.

'Oh, so that's why she was watching the game so intently,' Patrick thought. He decided to add his two cents in.

"From among all the sports he's joined, I would say that he's more of an expert in football."

Helga smirked. "At least the shape of his head proved to be good for something else other than making him weird." They all laughed.

"Thanks for waiting, guys."

They all turned around to see a sweaty Arnold wearing a very dirty sleeveless T-shirt and shorts. In the corner of his eyes, Patrick saw Helga give a disapproving frown. "You are not joining us like that! Why don't you go to the locker room like the rest of your teammates and take a shower? You stink!" She pushed him in the direction of the showers. "Just meet us at the tree when you're finished."

Arnold hid a grin. "What tree?"

Helga pushed him again and rolled her eyes. "The one where we usually meet! Doi!"

Arnold feigned realization. "Oh, that tree!"

Helga immediately scoffed. Without saying a word she began to walk to the back of the school. The rest of the group silently followed her.

Patrick gazed at the four females in front of him. Helga was fuming, Tish was cold, Alicia appeared to be deep in thought, and Chelsea had a very serious expression on her face. Today was a perfect day, but unfortunately it didn't feel like it to the group, they were still experiencing the aftermath of the last couple of weeks.

Two and a half-weeks had passed since Arnold, Helga, and Logan attended Helga's sister's wedding. Something had happened between the three of them, but they had remained silent about it. Whatever it was that occurred between them it had a great impact, although it appeared very subtle to the group.

For the first week Logan had rarely joined their group outings. It, hadn't been a big change, Logan sometimes did that. But, just last week Logan stopped coming all together, and Chelsea discovered that he was with another group, his classmates from journalism class.

Also, Arnold had been acting cold toward Logan all of the previous week. In all the years that Patrick had known Arnold, he had never seen him be cold to anybody, not once. Arnold was friendly to everyone even those that were despised. Logan must have done something extremely unpleasant in order to make Arnold behave this way. But what could have happened to cause this?

As for Helga, she avoided talking to both as much as she could. She would either retreat into herself or talk to the others, most often with Tish. It seemed she chose to be impartial by not communicating with either of them.

But, when Chelsea reported that she had just seen Logan plan an outing with another group, both Arnold and Helga had slowly begun to change. Helga began to talk to him again and he even tried to tease her, something he hadn't done before.

Nearly one week had gone by and Logan still hadn't come back to the group. Arnold and Helga still bickered as usual, but never in the same way as before. These changes affected the remaining four as well. Chelsea didn't smile as often and Alicia was worried about everybody else.

'If only I could help her- . . .'

"You're thinking about them again, aren't you?" an unemotional voice broke through Patrick's thoughts.

He lowered his book and looked down at Tish. She was laying on the grass, looking up at him.

"Yeah."

She went back to looking at the clouds. "You wish there was something you could do, but there isn't. You're frustrated that they won't tell you anything."

He nodded, even though she couldn't see it.

"I feel the same way."

Patrick looked at her incredulously.

"Chelsea may not be cheerful as usual, and all Alicia can talk about is 'what might have happened to them', but we handle this problem in our own way. We handle it by keeping to ourselves and trying to find the solution." She looked up at him with a small smile on her face.

"Forgive me for prattling on like that. My thoughts just seem to tumble non-stop."

Patrick smiled at her. "Hey, we all handle problems in our own different way." Tish grinned.

A newly bathed Arnold quickly walked to the back of the school. From an observer's point of view he looked like he was late for a very important meeting, with his brisk walk and serious expression on his face. A couple of male students greeted him but he just passed by them. They looked at each other in brief confusion and then shrugged their shoulders. Both continued on their way.

He didn't notice them; he was too deep in thought. It was what he had been doing ever since Olga's wedding. Sometime he would find time for analyzing, like right now, and sometimes the problem would present itself on inopportune times, like earlier during the practice game. But in al cases he kept this from his friends. He wanted to solve it for himself. And a good way to solve a problem was to analyze the situation.

Arnold forced the memories back and looked around. He was thinking so deeply that he had forgotten where he was walking. He gave a small grin as he recognizes the familiar sight of the parking lot. This was where he'd met Helga when…

Darn! Couldn't he stop thinking about her for just a second?

"Hello, Arnold!" An older female voice greeted.

He spun around and saw a short female carrying a stack of papers. Arnold noted that she had a smile on her lips, sparkling green eyes, and an extremely big stomach.

"Do you need help?" he offered.

She shook her head and smiled. "No, thanks. I can handle this pretty well." She paused. "I'm sorry. I haven't introduced myself. I'm one of Helga's former teachers, Mrs. Lecuyee-Thatcher. Helga told me all about you when she was in my class."

She stopped and gave a girlish giggle, "Actually, she didn't tell me about you per se, she just kept mentioning your name in almost all our conversations." Her eyes held a serious look but still had a twinkle of amusement. "Helga seems to hold you up high in a pedestal. She follows every advice that you have given her."

Arnold felt a slight blush appear on his face as he slowly shook his head. "Helga's just exaggerating, Mrs. Thatcher. She doesn't follow all my advice. Most of the time she scoffs and ignores them."

"Ah, but not all actions speak louder than words. She follows them through and through. Helga just doesn't want you to now she abides by them."

He shook his head but gave no further comment on the subject. "By the way. Mrs. Thatcher, how did you know I was the person Helga was talking about?"

"Oh. Well, I've seen you two walk together lots of times. Sometimes with a group of people." Mrs. Thatcher sighed. "I always wanted to meet Helga's friends, but I must confess I didn't have the courage to ask Helga. She seems a bit… err… closed."

Arnold nodded. "In all the time I've known her, Helga has always detached herself from others."

"Yes, but lately I've noticed that she's beginning to open herself to others, to you and your friends." She gave a small smile. "You've done a great job, Arnold."

He shook his head, "I didn't do all the work. Patrick and the others also helped." She just nodded.

Silence.

"Forgive me for being rude, Mrs. Thatcher, but do you still work in your condition?"

She laughed. "No, no. I just stopped by to pick up some papers to check. Being six months pregnant can sometimes be boring." He smiled.

"You were very serious a while ago. Do you have a problem you need to work out on?"

He shook his head. "It's nothing, Mrs. Thatcher. You said you had something to tell me."

Mrs. Thatcher sighed. "I wasn't going to tell you. It seems like you have a problem and I don't want to burden you in anyway, but since you asked, I just wanted you to talk to Helga. Toronto has been persistently asking the faculty to convince her to transfer there." Arnold scrunched his eyebrows.

To answer his look she replied, "For the past three years the University of Toronto has been 'courting' Helga. They want her to transfer there, its been going on since she graduated from high school. She refused their first offer flat out. She told me that she had to take care of her grandmother. They were silent for a year, but when they found out about her grades they asked her again. Each year they're becoming more persistent, but she keeps on refusing all their offers."

Mrs. Thatcher smiled at him. "I'll sound like a traitor for saying this, but the University of Toronto is one of the best universities in Canada. She'll benefit more from the professors there than here." She stopped and looked at his eyes.

"Could you talk to her for me? I know her grandmother is pretty strong for her age, and Helga could always visit her on her free time."

Arnold nodded. "Sure. I'll tell her that."

She smiled. "Thanks so much, Arnold! Oh! Could you walk with me to my car? I have something for Helga."

He was curious as to what it was. "Okay."

Mrs. Thatcher grabbed one of his arms and led him to her car.

Patrick watched Helga check her watch for about the fifteenth time. He could hear her mutter, "If he doesn't show up in the next five minutes I'll storm in without any warning."

They were still laying down on their spot, enjoying the cool shade. He was positioned near the bottom of the tree and a little bit downward Tish sat watching the clouds role by, a peaceful expression on her face. Helga, who was sitting next to Tish, was frowning; next to her sat Alicia, who was listening to some music on her portable CD player with her eyes closed. Chelsea just laid there on the grass next to Alicia.

Patrick sighed.

This had been pretty much the case since Logan had left. They had rarely had lapses of silence before, but now… Patrick sighed again. They were missing him.

His thoughts stopped as he felt a small but sharp pain in his leg. He looked down and glared at Tish. She calmly answered his glare.

"You have been sighing for quite some time now. The first few times can be tolerated, but after fifteen minutes of the same hopeless and dejected sighs it's beginning to get irritating."

Silence again.

Patrick looked at the females. This was getting to be a bit unnerving.

"Umm, anybody read a good book lately?" he asked, only to be replied with a round of groans.

Alicia took off her headphones and sat up. "If you're going to start a conversation you better do it right."

"That has got to be the lamest topic," Helga put in.

He was about to burst out when Tish said, "It is quite noble of you to cover this silence with conversation but your choice of topics leaves something to be desired."

"Yeah, like my upcoming graduation!" Chelsea cheerfully declared.

Groans again.

"Not again, Chels. We have been talking about your graduation for the past month now. Can't we talk about something else?"

Chelsea pursed her lips.

"How about an upcoming baby shower?" a new voice added. They all looked up and saw Arnold. They sat up and made room for him. He sat down near to where Helga was.

"I didn't know Helga was pregnant." Alicia said. She was rewarded by a backpack being thrown in her direction. "Ow! What was that for? And what is in your backpack? Heavy machinery?" A scowl answered her.

Arnold tried to ignore what just happened as he gave Helga a peach colored envelope. She looked at it quizzically. "It's from your former teacher Mrs. Lecuyee-Thatcher."

Realization dawned on her. She accepted the envelope and sat up. As she was opening the envelope she said, "You sure took your sweet time." Arnold smiled at her even though Helga was focused on reading the card.

After a few seconds Helga looked at the group.

"Ms…. I mean Mrs. Thatcher just invited us to her baby shower on Friday. Can all of you come?"

"Mrs. Thatcher? Is she the one teaching Biology?" Alicia asked. Helga nodded.

"Oh. I've had her." Alicia paused. "Just one question, why did she invite us? We were never that close and she never met the others."

Helga shrugged. "I don't know. So, are you guys, coming?"

Patrick shook his head. "Aren't baby showers only for females?"

"No, they're becoming more modern nowadays. I remember attending one last year and there were guys present. It was really fun, especially when I joined a contest where you try and guess the flavor of the baby food," Chelsea stated.

Alicia, Arnold, and Patrick looked at her disbelievingly.

"Eew…" Alicia muttered.

But, Chelsea wasn't daunted. "I know. Well, except for peaches. Mmm, they tasted sooo good!"

The trio looked at her in a weird way. "Well, umm okay." Patrick stopped as he turned to face Helga. "Now I really don't want to go."

Helga just shrugged. "Okay." She turned to the others, "What about you guys?"

"Count me in!" Chelsea cheerfully replied. Tish and Alicia just nodded.

Arnold shook his head. "Sorry, I have a game to attend."

"Oh my gosh! You're right!" Alicia exclaimed.

"Don't worry. You guys attend the baby shower and I'll root for him," Patrick uttered.

But Alicia was still uncertain. "Well…"

Patrick went near to her and put his arms around her. "I'll try to borrow my brother's camcorder. You can see how Arnold wins the game."

She looked at his face for a minute and then sighed. "Okay."

Chelsea cheered.

"You're all certain that we'll win?" Arnold asked.

Helga grinned maliciously at him. "Who else would believe that a football head like you could win the game?"

"Har de har har."

"So when and where will this shower be?" Tish cut in.

"More importantly, do we have clothes to wear?" Chelsea asked. Helga rolled her eyes as she gave Tish the invitation.

"Don't you roll your eyes on me missy. We might be the youngest at the shower and we have to look our best."

"I have a few decent clothes at home," Helga replied.

"We have a different meaning of 'decent'." With a tone of finality Chelsea continued, "On Wednesday after classes we're going to hit the mall!" Alicia smiled brightly.

Amidst the two happy females, Helga noticed Tish groaning. "What's the matter?"

"A shopping spree with only these two is an event that you would never want to happen to you," was her only reply. Helga looked at the jubilant two and wondered what would happen on Wednesday.

~Wednesday

Four tired but happy females plopped on various areas around the living room of Chelsea, Alicia, and Tish's condo. Well, to be more specific all where tired, but only Chelsea and Alicia were happy. Tish sent a knowing look to Helga that seemed to say, 'I told you so.'

Helga's answer was to sink further into the love seat she was sitting on, her four paper bags on the floor near her feet.

Chelsea must have caught this little exchange and haughtily said, "For someone who's known to be physically fit you sure tire easily during a shopping spree."

A muffled voice replied, "I don't exercise non-stop for five hours."

Her only answer was a 'humph!'

"Anyway, I wasn't the one who prolonged our shopping. I'm not the one who insists on wearing dull and dark colors…"

"I happen to like those colors, and if you're going to say that it isn't 'in' let me tell you that I don't very much care what society thinks," Tish vehemently exclaimed.

Chelsea just sighed and continued on talking. "…And there was a matter of visiting five stores until she found the right tone. And then we had to go over the cycle again and again for the other three attires."

Helga's muffled voice responded, "I told you before that I don't usually shop. I am very picky when it comes to clothes."

"You said it!" Alicia muttered. A pillow flew and hit her on the face. "Must you always throw something at me when I say something you don't like?" A hand shot up with a thumbs-up sign. Alicia groaned.

No one talked to each other after that. The only sounds heard were groans.

Suddenly Chelsea stood up and happily said, "Let me get you guys something to eat."

The remaining three looked at Chelsea as she disappeared into the kitchen. Then they looked at each other. "Have you happen to notice that Chelsea's been unusually lively for the past month? Even more so when Arnold gave the invitation to Helga." Alicia asked. Nods came from Tish and Helga.

"It might be because she's envious of Arnold and Helga's relationship, or probably because of the idea of Helga's teacher and her husband. She might have been trying to hide her sadness by being unusually happy," Tish concluded.

"In either case, it all leads to Logan moving away. What can we do to help her?" Alicia asked.

No one was able to answer her since Chelsea arrived with sodas. She put them on the table and everybody took one. Chelsea was about to sip her soda when Helga spoke up.

"You should tell your friends when you have a problem you can't seem to find a solution to. Keeping it to yourself isn't going to help."

They all stopped drinking and turned to look at Helga. "Well, that's one way of helping her," Tish uttered.

Chelsea looked at Helga then at the rest of her friends. She could see that they were all concerned about her. She looked down at the soda she was holding. There were a few bubbles appearing.

"It hurts," she whispered.

When she looked up at them they could see that she had tears in her eyes and a sad smile on her lips. "A few weeks have already passed, but it still hurts. Logan leaving the group, I mean."

"Have you ever considered that you love him?" Alicia asked softly.

A cruel laugh answered her. "I considered it along time ago. I've known I loved him since we were Juniors." Tish and Alicia looked at each other, confused and surprised.

Chelsea took small sip of her drink. "It really wasn't entirely his fault, Helga. You were the first female to ever turn him down." She looked at Helga. "And knowing you, you turned him down with a little bit more than words."

Now Helga was the one surprised. "How did you know?"

Chelsea just shrugged. "I know him and I know he likes you. Logan has only one thing he's passionate about and that's females. Only one thing could have made him move away from the group he's been with ever since middle school."

"He must have made a move on you during the wedding, and judging by how the three of you have been acting I would have to say that Arnold saw you two. I don't know if he left before or after you 'turned Logan down' but he was deeply affected."

Helga was about to open her mouth but Chelsea cut her off. "Don't apologize, Helga. I know it's not your fault. Logan wasn't capable of handling a rejection. He took your constant rejections as an insult to his ego and that's what made him use force on you."

Tish nodded. "Most of the females he's met have been very much subjected to his charms. I must confess that I had a crush on him when I was young. He must have sensed my feelings of infatuation and I unknowingly bolstered his idea that no female could resist him."

Alicia smiled sheepishly. "We were neighbors and playmates when we were just children. I had the tiniest crush on him then."

Chelsea scoffed. "Tiny? You followed him around like a lost dog! Your mom scolded you when she saw you were about to enter the bathroom he had just gone in."

Alicia reddened while Chelsea and Tish laughed. Helga smiled at the group, but she felt a bit bad that she had to break the warm atmosphere. She had to remind them of the real problem. "Since we're all confessing the truth here, could you tell us why did you hid this problem from us?"

Chelsea shrugged again. "Well, I decided to handle this on my own. It is my love life and I felt like I was depending on you guys for every problem that I have."

Alicia gently slapped her on the arm. "That's what we're here for! You're getting more brainless with each year that passes." She sighed dramatically. "Well, it's a good thing this is your last sem. At the rate your brain cells are deteriorating you wouldn't be able to graduate next year."

Chelsea was about to shrug again when she caught the meaning of Alicia's words, "What do you mean?"

To answer her Alicia just muttered, "See!"

Chelsea huffed indignantly.

~Graduation day

Helga gave a small smile as she watched the graduation. Her smile grew a bit bigger as she saw Chelsea smiling brightly among the throngs of graduates.

"With the intensity of her smile one would think that she graduated as a Magna Cum Laude or something," Tish whispered at her left.

Helga faced her and grinned. She also took a peek at her other friends, who were all watching the ceremony. Alicia, who was beside Tish, was clearly focused at the ceremony. Patrick found the whole event quite amusing; he kept distracting her by asking various questions. As for Arnold, he was like Alicia, focused on the ceremony but he sometimes would take a peek at Chelsea.

Finally the ceremony was over and all the graduates threw their hats. Unfortunately, Chelsea threw hers a little too hard and ended up hitting somebody when it landed. Helga grinned as she watched Chelsea profusely apologize to her 'victim', who just waved the whole incident off. Chelsea resumed greeting and hugging everybody.

Helga approached the happy graduates while watching Chelsea hug a fellow graduate. She smiled as she noticed that the said graduate looked at Chelsea as if she was nuts. 'Her enthusiasm has led her to hug every single person, even strangers.' And so she removed her eyes on Chelsea and began to search for another graduate.

One would call her crazy if they found out whom she was searching for. Why would someone find the person who nearly took advantage of them? Well, she would. After all, he was once a friend. But, even though she searched for his face her feelings were still mixed-up.

Her eyes stopped on a guy who was being wrapped in the arms of a girl. And as quick as lightening the girl kissed him on the lips. He was shocked, but he smiled as she let go and went among the other graduates. Helga bit her lip and worriedly looked at Chelsea. She gave a brief sigh as she noticed that Chelsea hadn't seen anything.

Helga then faced him again and found that he was looking at her. She was still for a moment. She wanted to congratulate Logan, but she still couldn't forget what had happened. So she mustered up all her courage and gave him a sloppy grin. He smiled at her and went to her.

Helga began to rub her arms. "Well, I just… I just wanted to say 'congratulations!'" She tried to maintain looking at his face as she said those words and waited for his reply. She wanted to say more, like ask what he would do after graduation, but found no voice. All her strength was focused on keeping her eyes on her face.

Logan smiled, and much to her surprise hugged her. For the first few seconds she wondered if he was taking advantage of her again but she soon loosened up. Helga could only feel friendship in this hug. Upon discovering this, she hugged him back. She could feel him loosening up too.

'He must have been wondering if I was still mad at him.'

He let go of her and gave her a kiss on her forehead. She looked up at him, a bit perplexed by his actions, but he just smiled at her one last time and walked away. She was still confused, but realization set in. He was saying goodbye to her. Helga smiled as she silently bid him farewell.

"What were you doing?" a very irritated voice hissed in her left ear.

Helga turned around and saw Arnold with his eyes narrowed down and his arms folded. She narrowed her eyes back at him as she replied.

"None of your business." She didn't wait for his reaction and quickly went to the others who were already greeting Chelsea.

He took a quick glance at his digital watch, it read 9:06. He resumed his focus on the road, but his mind was elsewhere. He had just left the congratulatory party of Chelsea at their condo. Patrick was still there, but he was very drunk and he doubted that Alicia would allow him to leave in his condition. Helga had left the party thirty minutes ago with the excuse she had to go home to be with her grandmother.

Arnold frowned as he recalled how he had acted during the party. He was the complete opposite of a party animal. Meanwhile, Helga was her old self, although she completely ignored him. Darn her! It was all because of her that he was like this.

Why did she have to go and look for him of all people? Why did she have to smile at him and allow him to hug and kiss her? His grip on the stirring wheel tightened.

The traffic signal turned red. He stepped on the brake and sighed. What was happening to him? He hadn't become this angry when he'd seen Lila with his cousin. What's the difference between his feelings for Lila and his feelings for Helga?

The traffic light turned green again.

He drove on.

For some unknown reason Morticia's speech came to his mind, 'We inherit love from our earliest ancestors, because of this when man feels this primitive emotion it may bring out the worst of him. He may feel aggressive and possessive. But, unlike the primitive man, the modern man learns to suppress these feelings, whether from the pains of first love or from another man's experiences…'

Until now, Arnold had never thought that the lessons he had learned in school would be applied in real life. Tish was right. He had never felt this way before. His emotions had been very confused when he had seen how Logan was so close to his Helga. He had felt his anger flare up, but he hadn't known what his true emotions were then. Now, he realized he felt pure jealousy.

When he had seen Helga purposely go to Logan and willingly accept his hug and kiss he had felt... empty... like he had died. He had approached her with anger, but he wasn't angry at her or Logan, he was angry with himself. He had lost his chance with Helga.

He had lost.

Arnold saw the familiar blue-gray building. He was only a block from his dorm. When he got there he would probably just plop down his head and watch TV. He sighed. How pathetic.

He was about to make the turn that would lead him to the underground garage when he stopped. Arnold glanced around the street and saw no cars in sight. He quickly made a u-turn and drove in the opposite direction.

It just occurred to him how ironic everything was. When it came to other people he would tell them to be brave and do what their hearts told them to do. But, when it came to his own love life he was a pathetic and dejected man. A grin finally came to his face. He should've listen to himself in the first place. He began to drive to her house. Maybe there was still time.

Arnold beheld the sight before him in silent wonder. He had been watching her from the front gate for the past five minutes. Helga had her arms folded up on top of the table and she was resting her head on top of her arms. He couldn't see her face since she was looking up at the night sky. Her hair was let loose from its usual ponytail and it tumbled across her shoulders. She looked so innocent and carefree. He suppressed the grin that came to his lips; right now she was so unlike Helga. Arnold knew she was awake since he could hear her sigh form time to time.

But, that wasn't the main reason he couldn't come inside. Okay so watching her was a major reason, but he was also scared. He was about to make a confession to her and whatever her answer was... well, he was afraid to find out.

He shook his head. No, he couldn't continue living with only what-ifs. He had to find out what she felt for him. He had to take this like a man. He mustered up all the courage he had and went to open the gate; only to find it locked.

He muttered a curse and decided to just jump over the fence. When he was finally inside he looked at her again and saw that she still hadn't noticed his presence. He wiped his now clammy hands on his pants and walked up to her. She must have been deep in thought, since he was now in front of her and she still hadn't said anything.

He could see her face now, it was set in determination. Her eyes were directed up at the sky as if looking for something. Then he heard her mutter a few words.

What should he say to her?

He couldn't just begin with 'I love you'? Helga would probably be shocked and scared. She might push him away without hearing him out first. But, what could he start with? Oh yeah…

"I'm sorry, Helga."

He heard his voice become soft. He was sorry for throwing his anger on her. Maybe if she forgave him it might be easier to confess. He swallowed a lump in his throat and looked at her reaction. Helga just looked at him as if she was trying to figure him out.

'Does this mean she's still angry with me?' He looked down at the ground. Maybe this was a hopeless cause. Arnold was about to mutter a goodbye when he heard her soft voice ask, "Why don't you sit down?"

He immediately looked up and focused his eyes on her. He was so surprised by the tone of her voice. But he remembered her offer and slowly climbed the stairs and entered the balcony. She straightened up as he sat beside her. He looked at his hands.

"Arnold, you don't have to worry about me. I took care of myself. You saw me kick his butt right?" She tried to add humor, but her voice was still soft. "He just said goodbye to me a while ago. He wont hurt me again."

'Goodbye?' His heart lightened. He still had a chance with Helga! But his happiness was brief since he remembered how sad she had looked before. She might be heartbroken by Logan's departure. He couldn't help himself and said, "I thought I'd lose you."

He looked at her face and saw confusion. "What? You must have misunderstood something. Logan didn't try and push me off the balcony. Even if he did I would probably only have suffered a few broken bones. But, the point I'm really trying to make is that I wasn't going to die, Arnold."

He shook his head. "It wasn't that." He paused and tried to sort out all the thoughts in his head. Could he tell her that he was scared of losing her, that he loved her too much and that he couldn't live without her by his side?

But he took too long in thinking up the right words to say since Helga had decided to lighten the mood. "Don't worry, you know I'm not like those other females that just screams and does nothing. I don't spend my free time kick-boxing just for nothing." She acted as if she was thinking. "Now, I know I've mastered it already maybe I'll try boxing," For added effect she mimicked a few boxing moves with her hands.

Arnold smiled at her movements. She was trying to cheer him up. He noticed that she looked at him and grinned when she saw his smile. "Then when some jerk tries to take advantage of me again I'm going to be like Muhammad Ali." She made her voice high-pitched like many of the actors who imitated the famous boxer. "I'm going to float like a butterfly and sting like a bee." She looked at him again and then added. "But he might just run away from me thinking I must have just come out of an institution."

Arnold chuckled and Helga laughed along with him. She put her arms around him and continued, "So you see, my dear, I am not like other females who wait for their prince."

His smile slowly vanished as he felt their closeness. Helga calling him 'my dear' wasn't helping matters either. Arnold had to say those words now.

But, when she removed her arms from around him his strength faltered. He missed her warmth. As for Helga, she folded her hands in a prayer-like position. She then began to sing Snow White's song, "some day my prince will come…"

Helga looked into his eyes as she sang. Maybe it was because she was a great actress or maybe it was because she did actually love him, whatever the reason, when Helga looked into his eyes he could see hope and love.

"…Some day we'll meet again

And away to his castle we'll go

To be happy forever I know…"

Her voice was heavenly and he wondered how come she didn't sing as often. And while she was singing her eyes had a teasing glint and she smiled. Arnold felt his heart perform somersaults. She was imitating Snow White, but somehow to Arnold she became a siren. She was luring him to her; and he hoped that at the end he wouldn't be like the Greek sailors, who met their end when they found out it was all an act.

"…Some day when spring is here

We'll find our love anew

And the birds will sing

And wedding bells will ring

Some day when my dreams come true."

He continued to watch her as she sang the words. And at the last stanza she closed her eyes as she sang the last words. Her voice may have stopped but the song kept replaying in his ears. He was drawn to her, and looking at her soft and beautiful face he couldn't resist the temptation.

He kissed her.

It wasn't really a kiss, just the touching of his lips with hers. And at the contact he could feel her eyes on him. He opened his eyes and slowly drew away from her feeling regret, shame, and (he couldn't help himself) hunger for more. He was doing this while he was looking at her eyes. Arnold was trying to find out what she felt when he kissed her. The only emotions he could see were confusion and... wait a minute! He could see a glimpse of love. Did he see it right? Did she really love him? He didn't have time to further ponder the questions since her eyes seemed to welcome him and her lips looked inviting. He kissed her again but this time he intended it to be much longer.

For the first few seconds she gave no response, but little by little he could feel a slight pressure on his lips. She was kissing him back!

The kiss became even deeper.

As they kissed, Arnold felt her pull closer to him and he felt her finally relaxing in his arms. And after that... he couldn't remember what happened after that. All he remembered was Helga in his arms, his rapid heartbeat, and his tumultuous emotions. When her lips first touched his he felt numb, and then suddenly, as if his emotions were bottled up for a long time, they burst forth and flowed continuously.

The kiss continued on and it seemed that both didn't need any air, only each other.

Finally, Arnold slowly pulled back. He wanted the feeling their kiss gave him, but he couldn't kiss her forever. He could only love her forever. He saw her open her eyes and tried to breath again all the while looking at him. Arnold could see a slight tinge of red on her face and a glazed look on her eyes, but he also saw a light confusion.

Arnold looked at her, feeling very lightheaded. When he was finally able to catch his breath he blushed.

"I couldn't resist you."

Helga blushed a much darker shade than he did. He knew she loved him back. He could feel the intensity of her love in the kiss they just shared, and now looking at her face he briefly wondered how she had been able to hide such a strong emotion.

He looked deep into her eyes, even though he was still blushing. "I... I came here to tell you the truth. I came to tell you that I love you."

Arnold heard her gasped. He saw doubt as she looked into his eyes and was slightly hurt. But he pushed this emotion away; he was going too fast for her. He had to show her that he truly did love her. He could start by telling her the truth, the real reason behind all his actions.

"When I saw you with Logan on... on that day, I was so confused. I was feeling so many emotions that I couldn't sort them out, but mainly I was feeling something I've never felt before-pure jealousy. He had you in his arms while I didn't. And then..." he paused and shook his head as if clearing a memory. "If you hadn't kicked him away I would have separated both of you myself." He looked down. "And Logan wouldn't get off with only an aching head."

"And today when you hugged Logan and let him kiss you on the forehead I felt like I had died. I thought that you loved him and I couldn't handle that."

Arnold felt her place her hand on his so he looked up. Helga shook her head. "It isn't that."

He nodded. "I know." She looked at him very much confused.

Arnold gave a small smile and he felt a slight warmth in his face. Why? He was remembering an earlier event. "I felt it in your kiss."

Helga must have also remembered the kiss and blushed as well.

Silence ensued.

It was quite weird, but suddenly the couple felt shy with each other as both tried to look at everything but the other. Arnold finally broke the silence by asking, "So does this mean we're a couple?"

He was answered by a smack on the arm. He rubbed the sore part and looked at her. Arnold saw humor in her eyes, "No, it means we're arch-enemies. Doi! Of course we're a couple."

He couldn't help but grin at her. Helga truly wasn't the ideal girlfriend. Like she had said earlier, she wasn't a soft and frail girl who depended on another. Helga was strong and independent. Her tongue could be sharp at times, but there were times when she would be soft and have a need for someone to help and console her, that's when he would be the strong one, the one who would chase all her fears away.