Right! So let's continue! Oh, and the bowling...that was actually what I did on my first date. I lost. And there actually is a website about TV tropes that mentions that Sid has the aspects Nicole talks about. Thanks for reviewing, The J.A.M a.k.a Numbuh I, Joyce LaKee, xFilms and Beth (and yes, I meant for Arnie to be observant).

I tried to spend the weekend out of the house. No way did I want to spend any more time around Arnie, and he seemed to have no interest in getting out of the house. I felt a little bit bad for Arnold, who had to be the one giving the most attention to his cousin, but it wasn't enough to make me decide to suffer with him.

On Saturday, I, totally by chance, met Sheena and Eugene at Tina Park. They were practising some new dance routine in a secluded corner, and I'd only gone there to think (I remembered the aptitude test that suggested Eugene would be good at choreography, and although I only remembered one or two scenes in the show, he and Sheena did it quite a lot and didn't care who saw it in reality).

"Oh..." I said. "Hi, guys." I didn't talk to most of the geeks, because I thought they were boring, but I couldn't just not say hi.

"Hi, Nicole!" Eugene said with his usual Pollyanna tone. "We were just practicing this new routine we made up."

"I could tell." I said dryly. "You want me to critique it? I don't have much else to do."

"Oh, that is so nice of you to offer!" Sheena said. So they performed it, and to be honest, I was just impressed that they got through two minutes without injury, so I just told them it was wonderful, and went off somewhere else.

On Sunday, I called Sid to ask him if he wanted to hang out. I still had to tell him that the reason Arnie had been glancing at me was nothing to do with a crush.

I suggested the bowling alley, since I had some money saved that would buy one bowling game. "As long as you buy the snacks." I added on the phone. So that's what happened, and it was a pretty fun date.

"Anyway," I said after the game, "I found out why Arnie was looking at me at random times. It was nothing to do with having a crush on me."

Sid looked totally confused. "So why was he looking at you that way?"

I groaned, and tried to think of a good excuse. "Uh...well...he, um..."

"Are you sure he didn't have a thing for you?" Sid narrowed his eyes.

"He just figured out this secret I had that no one else knew and wanted to ask me about it."

"What secret? If no one knows it, how come he knew? Why haven't you told anyone?"

I sighed. "Sid, drop it. It's more than anything you're thinking of. It's, like, really important." I could see the wheels turning in his head, and said quickly "And don't start trying to come up with some far-fetched conclusion. I'm not a ghost, or a sorceress, and I don't think I was abducted by aliens. And as far as I know, I'm not a government experiment, either."

I immediately wished I hadn't given those examples, because I could tell Sid was taking them seriously.

"It's just a secret!" I insisted. "You know, that information that only a limited number of people know? I don't know how the weirdo worked it out, but I want to keep the people that know to a small number."

"So some people do know it?" Sid asked. He saw my expression. "I can tell you've told someone. Why won't you tell me?" There was a pause. "Who knows?"

I had to be truthful. "Only Arnold, Helga, Phoebe and Lila...and ONLY because I live with Arnold, Lila's my friend, Helga would've killed me if I hadn't told her the truth, and she insisted that Phoebe deserved to know."

Sid paused. "So...why didn't you tell me if you told them?" He sounded hurt.

"It wasn't really an issue by the time we started dating." I said, half-honestly. "It's not even that much of an issue now."

"I want to know!" Sid pleaded. "I won't tell anyone, honest! I don't care what it is – I'll still like-like you. If the others know it, why can't I? I swear, no one will hear it from me."

I sighed. "Fine, but I can't tell you in a bowling alley. Anyone could hear us. And not the boarding house, because the walls are way too thin, except for in Arnold's room. And remember that you promised not to ever borrow it again." I smirked.

Sid's eyes went wide and I swear saw him thinking "Secret agent or spy?" He'd told me a bunch of episode stories focusing on him – the voodoo one, the vampire slayer one, the lifesaving one, but he'd kept back the one about borrowing Arnold's room to impress Lorenzo. Well, he'd mentioned a bit of it, but I'd just demonstrated that I knew more about it than I should.

"Hey, I've got an idea!" I said, another smirk forming. "Why don't we go back to your house? I've never been there before, since you obviously have been avoiding letting me come over, even though you know how my room in the boarding house is cramped and dark."

Sid's eyes had been flickering around, but as I said this, his eyes flickered back onto me. "Um...I haven't been avoiding letting you come over. It's just...my parents are...um, they're...I've never had a girl around my house before, and besides that..."

"Cut the excuses." I sighed. "If you are making me tell you my secret, then you can surely let me see if your room looks the way I've seen it – and no, I'm not a spy, or a stalker. Trust me, you'll have to keep your mind pretty open for this one."

Sid relented, and his room looked just the way I remembered. We sat down on his bed, and I spilled the beans about the TV show and the coming into this world (although I left Lila's wish out of it).

"So do you want proof?" I asked. "Cause I can quote full episodes."

Sid still looked a little shell-shocked, but he recovered quickly enough to say "So, if you can quote episodes, tell me what Harold made fun of Helga about back when she was hanging out with Lila and trying to act nice."

"Which time?" I asked. "The one when Helga smashed her tray in his face, or the one when she laughed at him and you crept off before he'd finished laughing at her?"

Sid's eyes widened, but he said "Both."

I grinned. "Direct quote from the first time: 'Ew, look, it's Helga Pataki and her big hairy caterpillar eyebrows! You're so ugly, Helga! You better not sit anywhere near me, or I might lose my appetite!' Then Helga lost her temper and smashed the tray into his face. The second time, it was 'Ew, look, it's Helga Pataki and her big dumb billy-goat ears! You better not sit anywhere near me, or I might get barf all over the place!' See?"

Sid had just listened to all of this, eyes getting wider and wider. Finally, he choked out "So that means...you know everything about me?"

I laughed. "You're not focused on as much as some of the others. Helga gets a lot of focus. And since the show's named after Arnold, he gets a ton. Gerald too. Phoebe, Rhonda and Harold get a lot. But you got several, especially in the later seasons. Shall I list the ones I remember? Arnold Saves Sid, Arnold's Room, Sid's Revenge, Big Gino, Sid The Vampire Slayer..." I couldn't be bothered to recite any more. "Need I go on? There's some where the focus is on you and a couple of others, like Full Moon (although that's more about Arnold not turning you in to Principal Wartz for your latest prank)and On The Lam, but apart from one or two, I just told you pretty much all of them. In fact," I added a little apprehensively. "I was on a website which picked apart TV shows and elements with TV tropes. Some of yours were very interesting."

Sid was still all wide-eyed, but he was definitely coherent again. "Like what?"

I thought about it. "Um...Large Ham was one of them – that means getting dramatic about stuff. I remember the voodoo episode when Arnold said something about thinking rationally and you were all 'ok, rationally, but remember, I killed Principal Wartz'. Then there was Iconic Item, which refers to your Beatle boots." Sid couldn't help grinning at that, glancing down to admire his shoes. "Another trope was Pet the Dog which means in spite of your flaws, you show goodness on occasion...and I see that side of you on most days." I added with a grin. "Another was With Friends Like These...it's the way you treat Harold sometimes. Remember when he lost that arm-wrestling competition to Patty?"

Sid laughed, just thinking about it. "Yeah, I mean, it was funny! He lost to a girl!"

"And you with another lost to him!" I pointed out. "Harold beat two of you at the same time. Think Patty couldn't beat you, just because she's a girl? She's the strongest person in the school. And also, Harold told you that losing to a girl was no shame, because Patty was simply good at arm-wrestling and a good friend. You know what comes after the words 'with friends like these', don't you?"

"Um...who needs family?" Sid said hopefully. I glared at him, and he quickly showed defeat and corrected himself "Who needs enemies."

I smiled at him. "Kid, you're better than I thought before all this. But you and your group need to stop laughing at everyone else. Pulling pranks is OK, but leave the humiliated people alone." I pulled Sid into a hug. "I still like you-like you."

There was a pause before Sid returned the hug, reajusting our positions so we were lying on the bed. "Like I said, Nicole, I wasn't going to stop like-liking you. I still do, and I swear what you said will not leave this bedroom."

We stayed in that embrace for a moment. Then I laughed. "Feels kind of...mature, doesn't it?"

Sid gave me a confused look.

"Lying on a bed, embracing?" I said. "Your room may not exactly be romantic, but this is where a movie would have us either go much further, or fall asleep in each other's arms."

Sid immediately jumped up, pulling me with him. "I wasn't being serious-" I began, but was cut off by a lips-kiss. This wasn't something we often did, and usually, it felt special when we did do it.

"I was serious about that janitor's closet thing." Sid whispered. "But we'll keep this K-rated until sixth grade."

"K-rated?" I said, frowning.

"Doesn't matter. Want me to walk you home?"

"If you want."

And that's exactly what happened.

Hmmm...you think Sid will tell? How about it? What do you think? Please review!