A/N: Okay, this is probably the longest chapter I have ever written ever. o_o I thought about breaking it into two chapters then changed my mind. It just seemed like the sort of chapter best served in a full course, and that's how it's presented! Also thanks much for the reviews, favorites, and follows. You guys rock for the kindness you show me here(And the criticisms too. One can always grow and I really appreciate them)! It means a lot that you guys actually like my writing. Hope you all enjoy chapter 4! (:

"Well, well, welllll," Jamie O said, leaning on top of Gerald's head with his arm, pushing his hair forward. "Look at my little bro all dressed up prim and proper. What's the occasion? Hot date?"

"Jamie O," Gerald said with heated anger in his voice. "Leave me alone."

"Has to be a date," Jamie O said, ignoring his brother's plea for freedom. "There is no way you'd wear treads like this for anybody else." He laughed in an obnoxious way.

"So what if it is? Now let me go before I'm late."

"So what's her name?"

"Do I look like I'm going to tell you that?"

"If you want to be on time…" Jamie O said, in a slight sing songy voice.

"It's Phoebe," Gerald said, in a low voice.

"What was that? I couldn't really hear you."

"It's Phoebe! Now can you please let me go?"

Jamie O laughed and freed his brother. Gerald frowned, fixing his hair a little bit. He went back into his room, to double check his reflection in a mirror. Everything seemed to be the way it should be. "Stupid Jamie O. If I wind up being late to 'Pop Daddy on Ice' I'll…" He shook his head, and took deep breaths. This was exactly what Jamie O wanted. To get under his skin.

He left his room and made sure he double-checked his pockets for the tickets. They were there. He quietly left his home and was thankful that there wasn't any more interruptions from Jamie O or even from his younger sister Timberley. He had been looking forward to this day for a long time, and he wasn't going to let his brother spoil that completely for him. Plus, he'd be going with Phoebe. It was shaping up to be a lovely evening in the long run. He couldn't stop the smile that was beginning to grow on his face. A very lovely evening indeed.

Phoebe stared at her best friend worriedly. They had both decided to get ready at Helga's house. The thing was Helga was acting strange. She'd go from acting dreamy, to nearly hiding herself away in her closet. Right now she was back in 'hiding in a closet' mode.

In all honesty, Helga was starting to hyperventilate. Today was the day. Her date (he had called it that more than once *swoon*) with Arnold. She felt so sick inside, and her stomach was in knots.

"Um, Helga?" Phoebe asked tentatively.

"Not now Phoebe! Ugh, why oh why did I ever agree to this?" Clothes went flying in all directions. "Maybe I should call and cancel. Yeah, I think that's what I'll do." She briskly walked over to the phone.

"Helga, haven't you always dreamed of this?" Phoebe asked, knowing now what to say to get her to calm down at least for a moment. "Are you really going to back out now when you're so close? I didn't think Helga G. Pataki was a quitter."

"I'm not." She said, her voice down an octave. Her right hand was suspended over the phone.

"Then let's find something for you to wear…together." Phoebe said with a smile.

Helga took a deep breath and released it, dropping her hand slowly. "O-okay Pheebs."

Phoebe looked through Helga's drawers, while Helga browsed her closet for an outfit for the night. "What do you think of this?" Phoebe asked, pulling out a dress and showing it to her.

"No." Helga stated bluntly.

"Why not?" Phoebe asked perplexed.

"Olga bought that for me, and so I say thanks, but no thanks. Find something else Pheebs."

"But Helga I think Arnold would appreciate you in this outfit. It's beautiful," she decided not to add that Olga obviously had good taste. She knew it would make Helga mad. Well, more than she was currently.

Helga bit her lip and looked at the outfit Phoebe was holding up. She had vowed never to wear it, and stuffed it deep into one of her drawers where it was eventually forgotten. She probably would have gotten away with it too, if it weren't for Phoebe making a small amount of sense. Everything else she had, Arnold had seen her in, and she wanted to wear something that would surprise him.

"Hand it over, and you speak of this to no one else." She stated bluntly, holding out her hand.

"Forgetting!"

She sighed, and put it on. It was on the frou frou side, but not by much. It was a pink dress with white stripes and a front ruffle. She grunted as she studied herself in the mirror. It didn't look bad at all on her.

"You look beautiful Helga," Phoebe said, beaming. She had opted to keeping her usual garb on for her outing with Gerald. It wasn't technically a date, so there was no major need for her to go far and beyond…yet. They were young and she didn't mind waiting. She'd much rather help her friend at this particular moment.

"Yeah, yeah," she said, frowning at Phoebe. "Olga may have done one thing right, but this changes nothing."

"Hey, Helga. Why don't you try not wearing your bow for once?" Phoebe asked.

"Don't wear my…bow?" Helga blinked.

"Yeah, just this once."

"Um, I guess…" she removed the bow from her ponytail. It felt like something was missing almost immediately. She wore the thing to bed for goodness sakes.

"I knew it! You look amazing!" Phoebe exclaimed.

"Okay, okay. I'll leave it off then."

Just then a knock on the door had both girls looking at each other. "He can't already be here right? It's not even five thirty."

"Five thirty? Gerald!" Phoebe exclaimed. "I forgot the show starts at six. He was going to come and pick me up at that time."

"Better get a move on then Pheebs. I'll follow you down to see who's at the door."

Her dad had apparently answered the door and was talking to whoever was on the other side. "Phoebe? Yeah, I think that's what her name was. She might be upstairs with Olga."

"Okay, okay, that's enough Bob," Helga said, shooing him away. She was surprised to see that the visitor was Gerald. "What are you doing here tall hair boy?"

"Phoebe's mom told me I could find her here," he explained. "And there she is!" He said, smiling. "Are you ready to see 'Pop Daddy on Ice'?"

"Most certainly. Sorry I wasn't at home." She said, blushing.

"Oh, it's fine." He glanced at Helga, looking her up and down, and then he smirked. "I think Arnold's going to have a fantastic time today." Phoebe giggled.

"Har, har. Just get out of here would ya?" Helga said, slamming the door as they began laughing. "Sheesh, just a bunch of chuckleheads."

Helga went back into her room doing her best not to panic again now that Phoebe was gone. She could do this. She was a Pataki for goodness sakes. One date shouldn't be all that hard to endure, but she could feel her resolve slipping every time she looked at the clock and it moved closer to six. At five forty five she got up and began pacing.

"Perhaps it's not too late to back out…" she murmured. A knock on her front down made her stomach butterflies act up. She went downstairs and opened it, her dad nowhere to be found now. Probably watching The Wheel.

"Hello," A small girl around six maybe with two pigtails said, with a smile. "Would you like to buy some Girl Scout cookies?"

"No thanks," she said, shutting the door immediately. Thanks to that her nerves cooled just a bit.

Not even two minutes later someone knocked on the door again, thinking it was the Girl Scouts she opened the door aggressively.

"Criminy! Now what?" She asked annoyed. "I already told you-Arnold!" She sucked in a huge gust of air and blushed. "Er…sorry about that. I thought you were somebody else."

Arnold blinked. For a moment he had thought that her anger had been directed towards him. He had begun wondering if perhaps he had come late, but he was glad he had been wrong in his thinking. "It's fine," he said finally smiling. Then he noticed the outfit she was wearing. "Wow," he said, taking her all in. "You look…nice."

"Oh, this old thing?" She said, trying to play it off. "Don't worry about it."

"Whatever you say," he continued to stare at her and she began to blaze under his scrutiny. "Something's missing," he said, but it just seemed like he was just trying to place what it was to himself.

"Oh, I decided not to wear my bow," she told him.

"Ah, that's definitely what it is," and he frowned. "Why aren't you wearing it?"

"I wanted to try something different. Do you have a problem with it?"

"Actually…yes."

"What do you mean yes? You didn't really expect me to wear it did you?" She crossed her arms.

"No, but that's only because it's sort of a constant with you, not something I ever really needed to expect. It kind of, you know, comes with you, sort of like my hat." He explained.

"Do you want me to put my bow back on Arnold?"

"Only if you want to." He blushed. "You still look really nice without it, I just really like your bow."

Helga had a quick flashback of a time when the two of them were in Pre-K. "I like your bow because it's pink like your pants." He had told her then. She swooned. Did he really still like her bow, and on top of it he wanted her to wear it on their date? Her heart began to soar.

Arnold noticed that Helga was daydreaming about something. There was a wistful expression on her face, and she wasn't staring at anything in particular. "Um, Helga?" He waved his hand in front of her face. "Helga?"

"Yes, my love?" She asked, her eyes focusing on him again.

He blushed, from the unexpected, but welcome nickname. "Are you…um, ready to go?"

She shook her head. "Um, yeah, heh. Let me just go and grab something really quick."

She raced up to her room and quickly fixed her bow on her head. She smirked at her reflection. It did kind of suit her at this point. She raced back down the stairs and back to a waiting Arnold. She hoped she wouldn't lose it and start acting like a basket case. That was a sure fire way to scare him off. When he took in her appearance again and noticed the bow, the rewarding smile he gave her had made the decision all worth it.

"Pop Daddy's taking you downtown today," Pop Daddy said in his deep low voice, skating with the bad guy in tow. The audience cheered as they exited the ice rink. Some even gave a standing ovation.

"That was a pretty great ending wouldn't you say?" Phoebe asked with a smile, as she turned to look at Gerald who was holding his head down, a few sniffles coming from him. "Gerald, um, are you…crying?"

"N-no. I just...I have a little something in my eye that's all." He rubbed his eyes, avoiding her gaze. She decided to leave him alone about it.

"That was certainly riveting." She said, thinking back to the show's performance. For the most part the actual actor's took part in the ice show, something she thought was a nice touch.

"Wasn't it amazing!" Gerald exclaimed, beaming suddenly. "When Pop Daddy tripped that clown and he fell into his own pie..." He shook his head at the memory. "That made me very happy right then I can tell you that."

Phoebe giggled. "It certainly was nice to see the bad guy get his 'just desserts'."

Gerald laughed hard. "I see what you did there Phoebe. Honestly I didn't think you had it in you."

"I've been known to tell a few jokes every now and then. Probably due to my time hanging around Helga."

"Pataki isn't a 'feel good joke' kind of person, more like a 'my words will always hurt you' kind of person."

"She's had her moments. What about the talent show?"

"Yeah, sure that was good, but it was still at the expense of others."

"But everyone was laughing," she pointed out. "She was just stating what was true about our friends, and she didn't mean it in a hurtful way."

"If you say so Phoebe. So does she really like Arnold?" He asked, changing the subject, and staring at her.

"Best friend confidentially." She said, adjusting her glasses.

"Oh, come on, it's not like they aren't on the road to dating anyway."

Phoebe hesitated. "That may be true, but in that case it should be obvious."

"So she does?"

"I can't say."

"I guess that's fair." He sighed. "Well the day's still young. Do you want to stop and get some ice cream before you high tail it home?"

"Now that I can agree to," she said with a smile.

"So what do you want to do?" Arnold asked Helga as they stood on her stoop.

"I don't know. Isn't that the guys job to pick?"

"I don't really care what we do as long as I get to spend some time with you." He shrugged.

"Arnold, that's just…I feel the same way." She said, her hard demeanor crumbling from hearing his words.

They both smiled at each other. "Shall we just go to the park then?" He asked.

"Sure." She agreed. It was nice enough for it.

They walked next to each other in comfortable silence until Helga's hand slightly brushed against Arnold's. His face immediately turned pink. Should he try holding her hand? Would she try to murder him if he did? Or did she want him to? He looked at her face to see if it would give him a hint, but she just looked content, a face he rarely saw. He had to smile at that. She turned his way, and then immediately scowled.

"What?"

"With your bow in your hair you look beautiful." He said, giving her that look she saw almost everyday before she went to sleep. She sighed, her scowl disappearing, and stared at him lovingly.

"Thanks Arnold."

He decided to play a bold move and grabbed her hand. She looked surprised, but otherwise didn't do anything except look at their hands and smile.

"I'm actually kind of hungry." She said, once they had entered the park. She was so nervous about this date that she had forgot to eat.

Arnold felt so silly for forgetting about food, and then he remembered something he had pocketed earlier before he left. He rummaged in his pocket and pulled out a Mr. Fudgey bar.

"I know it's not much, but you can have it." He said, blushing.

"That's, um, kind of you Arnold," Helga said, blushing. She reached out to take the bar of chocolate, but before her hand could wrap around the treat, another hand quickly grabbed it out of Arnold's hand.

"I'll take that."

Both blonds turned to see a boy in a blue shirt and brown shirts covered in chocolate drooling over the chocolate bar.

"Chocolate Boy," Arnold said, looking at the boy with disapproval.

"What? You were just giving it away so I took it," he held it close to his chest. "Mine."

"But-"

"Just let him have it Arnold," Helga said, sighing. "He's obviously more hard up for chocolate than we are. I saw a hot dog stand just over there. Let's get one of those." She then turned a hard, cold stare at Chocolate Boy. "But pull a stunt like that again, I'll make it so you'll never be able to taste chocolate ever again."

"Understood," he gave a short nod, and ran off quickly, probably before Helga had a chance to change her mind.

The evening was beautiful. With the sun setting and a light breeze blowing, Helga found herself enjoying the night. It also helped that she was sharing it with a certain football head too.

"Two hotdogs with ketchup and mustard please," he told the vendor.

"That'd be two forty nine," Arnold handed over the appropriate amount of money and grabbed their hotdogs. They found a bench and set down with their snack.

"You know what?" Helga asked, taking another bite out of her hotdog, a bit of ketchup sitting on the edge of her lip. "I think Chocolate Boy did us a bit of a favor. This is pretty good."

"Yep," Arnold agreed, eating the last of his own. "Definitely better than a Mr. Fudgey."

He looked over at Helga and noticed the ketchup near her mouth. Not thinking twice, he swiped it away with his finger leaving her frozen. Her eyes were open wide and she had stopped chewing her food. He stared at her worried suddenly.

"Helga? Are you okay?"

A slight blush tinged her cheeks. "Yeah, I'm fine, haha." She said, fanning her hand at his question. "Never better." She finished her hotdog in silence, but kept glancing at Arnold every now and then.

"Hey, Helga?"

"What football head?"

"Isn't this the same bench we sat on back when we had that egg project for Mr. Simmons? We eventually found our missing egg under it."

"You know what? I think you're right. That was a horrible experience." She grimaced.

"Yeah, sorry about that," he rubbed the back of his neck.

"What are you apologizing for?"

"I was terrible to you. Just like you said, I didn't listen to you even try to explain yourself. I attacked you before you made your case."

"Oh, brother. Stop this wallowing in your self-pity," she rolled her eyes. "That's all water under the bridge now. Our egg eventually hatched and we got a superb grade on it."

"That's true." He looked down then glanced over at her. "Helga did you mean it when you said you loved me since you were three?"

She gawked at him. "When the heck did I say that?"

"Hmm, back when your other side was more outgoing."

She crossed her arms. "What would you do if I said yes?"

"I don't know. It's just…weird to think about. Since you've been bullying me pretty much that whole time. If it's true it's just strange I guess."

"I'm not about to tell you now either." She paused. "If it's even true. That I love you."

Arnold looked at her curiously. "Oh, I'm pretty sure it's true."

Helga blushed. "What makes you think that?" She couldn't help but ask.

"It'll kind of explain a lot." He said. When he didn't elaborate, she frowned.

"Explain what Arnoldo?"

"Just some things." He smiled at her and she couldn't help but feel a bit worried. Was he really putting the pieces together or was he just saying that? "It doesn't matter if you admit it anyway." He shrugged.

"It doesn't?" She asked, not expecting that response.

"No, just that you do." He smiled and her heart fluttered.

They realized it was getting rather late. Neither of them could believe how fast time had flew by, and they also didn't want the day to come to an end. Arnold was surprised that he could have as much fun as he did with Helga. She wasn't that bad when she wasn't teasing him constantly. Helga on the other hand couldn't help but find Arnold charming. She found herself staring at him more and just being more open around him in general. She wondered if that had to do with the fact she used to monologue out loud to him or not.

"I think I ought to get you home," Arnold said reluctantly.

"Yeah," Helga said, feeling sad suddenly that it had to come to an end.

They walked back to the Pataki home in silence. Unlike earlier, both wished that the night could go on just a little longer, but for Arnold he also found himself nervous for another reason and that reason was that he wondered if he should give her a kiss goodnight. On the one hand he wanted to, he really wanted to, but then on the other he wasn't sure if they should even be kissing in general. They were only ten. Even if for that age he couldn't help but think that Helga was a pretty darn good kisser.

Before long they reached her house. Arnold walked her all the way up to her door, his hands in his pockets. "So…" He said, glancing up into her eyes.

"So…" she repeated, staring at him expectantly. She knew exactly what she was expectant of, and she hoped with all of her might that her wish would come true. It'd be the cherry on top of what had been a wonderful day.

"I guess this is goodbye," he said, looking back at the sidewalk.

"Yes, I guess it is…"

"I'll see you Monday?" He asked, as he began walking backwards, leaving, causing her to frown.

"Um, Arnold?"

He stopped walking. "Yeah?"

"Was this really…a date?"

He tilted his head and studied her curiously. "Yeah…of course."

"And you do really like me…right?" She asked, her voice shaking.

"Uh huh," he had no doubt about that.

"Then why…" she struggled to phrase what she wanted to ask just right. "What happened to the goodbye…kiss?" She knew she was blushing. She only hoped it was dark enough now that he couldn't tell.

"Um," He was at a loss for words. He had inevitably chickened out. When he thought of being the one to actually kiss her, he suddenly had a case of stage fright. He couldn't go through with it. Now he could hear that she was hurt that he hadn't taken the initiative. He really hoped this wouldn't begin to make things shaky between them again, as it had been going so well.

"Never mind. Forget I said anything," she said, her voice still unsteady. She turned to begin opening her door. It was now or never he knew. He took a deep breath and made his choice. Growing more determined by the second, he walked up her stoop and over to her then placed a hand on either side of her causing her to jump. He wasn't going to let her go into that house thinking whatever thoughts she was having right then. Last time he left her upset, the next day he was covered in tapioca pudding.

"You set a beautiful table senorita," Arnold whispered in her ear, feeling very bold at that moment. Darn it if she didn't have her moments of being irresistibly cute. She spun around as best she could, caged in between her front door as she was, and looked Arnold in the eye.

Helga could feel all of her willpower leave her from doing so. She had no idea what the heck he was going off about, but it sure did sound good coming out of his mouth. Not to mention that look in his eye. They were full of mischief and...something else she couldn't quite place. She probably would have even started monologing if he hadn't placed a finger against her lips right then.

"I don't know how you think I feel about you, so let me just tell you again. I really like you Helga, and sure I'm not sure if I can call what I feel love quite yet, but I feel things for you I have never felt for anyone else. You are the one who makes my heart race, you're the one who makes me want to do the kissing thing, though I don't know if we should considering our age, and you're the one who has been in my thoughts when I wake up and before I go to sleep. And while I would hope this time you understand how I feel, I'll tell you again, and again, and again until it sticks, and you understand just how crazy you drive me sometimes," he chuckled softly. "In a good way."

He smiled wolfishly all of a sudden, his eyes dropping down to her lips. A blush was beginning to grow on her cheeks, spreading up her entire face. She had no idea what had gotten into him all of a sudden, but she'd be lying if she said she didn't like it. His smile grew just a bit. He never tired of seeing her soften up due to the things he did or said.

He leaned in slowly and hesitated for a second. Then he softly pressed his lips onto hers. As their lips touched, a feeling of absolute happiness went through through the both of them. He had expected to make it a quick kiss, just to put a period on his point, but Helga had obviously decided she wasn't going to let him lead anymore. She pulled him in closer and deepened the kiss turning it into one of her signature lengthy ones.

When they finally broke apart both had dazed, but love struck, looks upon their faces.

"Arnold...I have no idea what has gotten into you my amazing little love god, but I wouldn't mind that side coming out a bit more often."

He chuckled sheepishly, a huge blush coming on as he thought about his actions over the past few minutes. "I probably wouldn't get used to it. I think I was just at my breaking point…Kinda like you and your own 'other side'."

"Arnold darling, I'm always at that point. I'm just good at hiding it." She said, fluttering her eyes.

He smiled knowing that was true. "Well, I guess I'll see you on Monday..." He said, not making any move to leave this time.

"I guess so..." She said, unable to look away from his eyes. Why did it seem like the more she was around him, the more deeply she fell for him?

He kissed her softly once more, causing a soft moan to escape her, then he backed away slowly, a lovesick grin on his face. "Bye Helga."

"Bye," she said, unable to make a move to go in her house. She wanted this moment to last as long as possible. He tripped a little on his way down the stairs, causing a blush to flush his entire face. She giggled, and he smiled self-consciously.

After he was gone, she entered her house and slid down the back of her front door a girlish lovesick sigh escaping her.

"Hey, Olga is that..." Bob walked into the walkway and stared at her. "Know what? I'm not even going to ask," he said, shaking his head and going into the den. "Oh, but good night." He said, peeking back around quickly.

"Night dad," she murmured, skating on a high she never wanted to come down from. This was so going to inspire poems for a long time to come.

A/N: Well, I do hope you all enjoyed this. I think I accomplished what I was going for. *nods* I'll see you all next chapter! ^^