Dinner AND a Show!

by Azure129

What happens when a bunch of people, some of them sort of romantically involved, start lying to and confronting each other only to end up eating dinner together at Chez Paris? Please find out by reading this story. HaroldXPatty and AXH. FINALLY UPDATED!

7. Trouble Brewing

A/N:

Alright, guys, hopefully a very brief note from me here because I am very sleepy at the moment XD I'm sorry for a lack of updates, I've been working a lot, I just finished my Masters degree (thesis on the educational benefits of fan fiction to be posted soon on my fiction press account), and I've been trying to start working on my own original writing projects, which has been a transition for me but it's finally starting to look up a little. Anyway, anyone still keeping up with my stories I just want to thank you for your patience. This will hopefully be my last batch of updates, and from now on I'll just try to update one thing every month or two until I wrap up my in progress stories entirely so that I can move on to some new things.

Anyway, here's the basic schedule. This fic is getting an update tonight along with April 2nd. The next thing that will be posted shortly will probably be a lengthy update to LTBH (finally, lol), and then another chapter to this story (the original chapter draft I wrote ended up too long so I had to make it into two chapters).

At the end of the last chapter I mentioned something about a fire coming up. That will be occurring in the next chapter instead now due to me having to split up the chapter.

I hope you guys enjoy these updates, in particular to this story. I've enjoyed writing this story very much.

Dinner AND a Show!

Chapter 7:

Trouble Brewing

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Rhonda Wellington Lloyd was really starting to feel ill at this point in the evening from suppressing her natural instincts to pry and gossip. Honestly, she really was not a bad person, she really was not trying to be selfish, and she really was not trying to disrupt her friends' evening…She just wanted to understand what was going on! She liked exploring how people interacted with each other, she liked the creation and proliferation of fresh situations between individuals, and she hated when people just clammed up and swept things under the rug and kept it all to themselves and never confronted the problems in their own lives and between each other. That was all she really wanted to do—facilitate human interaction (and…maybe also gather just enough information to weave and present a really juicy story to her faithful friends later on for the sake of entertaining them and winning their attention). In short, Rhonda was really just a girl who liked a good story, so could she really be blamed for being so bothered by the fact that not only were her four friends at the table across the restaurant leaving her out of their stories, but that they were acting all stubborn and frustrated and refusing to do anything with those potential stories in the first place? It really was not fair, and Rhonda decided, here and now, as she dug into her second helping of chocolate mousse, that she was going to have a talk with Patty and with Helga (and even with Arnold and Harold, if necessary) to get to the bottom of this and make them all stop acting so ridiculous once and for all!

"Rhonda, darling?"

Rhonda blinked at the sound of her mother's voice addressing her from across the table. "Yes, mummy?" she asked, doing her best to half smile.

Rhonda's mother smiled back at her, snapping shut and putting away a cell phone she had just been talking on. "That was the country club about the fashion show that got rained out earlier. Apparently, if we're going to try to put the show on there again tomorrow, they need me to come back there again tonight to help sort out the gowns and the catering. And your father has to look over some of the damage to the garden from the rain so that he can have our head landscaper go out there early tomorrow to tidy things up. Would you mind if Daddy and I left now and took the town car to do that and sent the limousine to come get you in about twenty minutes? The bill's already been paid, so you can just finish your dessert and wait until limo driver comes, or you can order something else if you'd like or maybe even treat your little friends to something. The one's across the restaurant—that Patty girl and the others. We'll leave you a check. Buckley?"

Rhonda's father was already writing out a check and signing it, and her mother now tore it from the checkbook and handed it to Rhonda. "Blank, darling—just fill in whatever you need if you need it. Is that alright?"

Rhonda's father smiled and added, putting the checkbook away. "We would take you with us to the country club, dear, but it's already getting a bit late, and we're not sure how long we'll be. "

Rhonda smiled at the offer, taking the check and folding it up and placing it inside her small, leather Cabrini clutch. "That's alright, Mummy, Daddy. I'd rather stay here and finish dessert anyway. Plus, I love riding around in the limousine on Saturday nights. And thank you for the check…perhaps I will treat my friends to something." Rhonda smiled more, glancing over her shoulder towards the table where her friends sat in a foursome. Come to think of it, it would be a nice gesture on her part…maybe she could buy them dessert? That would certainly help smooth things over and show her sincerity, and also help to apologize for any distress she might have caused this evening…and it might even make it so that she could have the opportunity to get a clearer picture of what was going on with the four of them. Still glancing over her shoulder, Rhonda couldn't help a touch of concern coming to her face. She was focusing in on the features of her friends' faces that she could see, and at the moment they all looked a little uncomfortable, a little quiet, even a little upset…

"Alright then, Rhonda." Her mother's words and the sound of both of her parents standing up from the table barely interrupted her thoughts.

"We'll see you at home, kitten. Have a good night," her father's voice added.

"Uh, yeah…Bye Mom, bye Dad," Rhonda tacked on absentmindedly, giving them a glance with a smile and nod but otherwise turning back to look at the other table, her thoughts continuing. Yes, those four people, her friends, didn't look too happy at all. But at least three of the four of them were trying to take a sip of soda or rearrange their napkins as something polite to be doing—Helga, on the other hand, was just sitting there with her head propped up on her hand looking just…tired. Rhonda frowned more. Was it because of her that Helga looked so sad? She really hadn't meant to bother her so much. It was just…oh come on, Helga and Arnold? It was funny a little. Rhonda really hadn't been sure whether or not she could take the notion seriously, of course, but she had just been ribbing Helga the same way Helga always ribbed her. That was their relationship: she would call Helga uncouth and Helga would call her a princess, she would throw a soiree and avoid inviting Helga until the last minute in the hopes that Helga would have other plans and Helga would moan about how stupid her parties were and then show up anyway and try to put a kink in the night's atmosphere with her somewhat outlandish ways, she would imply some questionable judgments about the way Helga chose to dress (a jumper and a big bow and the color PINK—hadn't anyone told Helga that hair ribbons had gone out with the jazz age and that lavender was the new pink?) and Helga would try and snip the tags out of her designer clothes. It was a catty relationship and kind of fun, in Rhonda's opinion. Sometimes it went too far of course, one of them being to blame or the other, but they were still friends. So Rhonda had just figured she would dig at Helga a little about this Arnold business, and then maybe Helga would forge a fake love note from her and give it to Curly or something, and that would be that. It was dramatic, it was exciting, it was fun! What a great night to be had, much more interesting than another fabulous five star dinner with her parents, or Helga, Harold, Patty and Arnold averagely eating together here tonight like they might do any day in the cafeteria.

But right now Helga should have looked smirking and sarcastic as always, and instead she looked…well, just tired was the only word Rhonda could come up with to describe it.

And, of course, as Rhonda had already observed, the other three people at the table looked a bit defeated as well. And Patty was her best friend besides Nadine, and Arnold was one of the nicest and most decent guys around, and Harold…was…alright. Rhonda grimaced a tiny bit, glancing away from the table. She really tried not to think about Harold too much, it made her a little uncomfortable at times. He was nice too, and she had liked him. She had no idea why really, but she had for a bit. Not really 'true love' or anything so much as a temporary infatuation. He was just so uncouth sometimes, it was almost crazy, and it couldn't help but arouse her interest. Rhonda sighed and rolled her eyes, swallowing another bite of her second chocolate mousse for the evening. "Don't tell me—I'm going to end up being one of those rich heiresses who goes for the most non-upperclass guy I come across." She smiled a little, unable to help herself. "Honestly, as long as I don't end up Mrs. Rhonda Wellington Lloyd Gamelthorpe my dignity will at least remain in tact." Rhonda really didn't mean to avoid the subject of Harold, in other words, because she had any lingering feelings towards him—it just embarrassed her to think of how she had acted sometimes with him. She had wanted a boyfriend—the first girl in their grade to have one, how posh would that have been? Now, however, she was more than content to flaunt the 'rich, available heiress' thing she had at her disposal.

Anyway, Rhonda felt bad for all of them, she really did, and she was going to do her best to make it right she decided with determination, swallowing another bite of mousse.

"Hey, I can take the empty mousse glasses away for you now if you want, Rhonda," a familiar voice suddenly interrupted her.

Rhonda blinked and glanced up from her dessert (which she realized now she had indeed finished) to see Torvald standing near her and holding a tray with a few other used glasses and silverware on it. She smiled and nodded. "Yes, of course. Thank you, Torvald. I appreciate it." Rhonda even picked up the glass and held it out to him, she was feeling in such a good mood right now.

"Sure, no problem, Rhonda." Torvald took the glass and smiled—well, actually, Rhonda realized, he had already been smiling quite a bit from the moment she had set eyes on him. This fact aroused her curiosity a bit, though she kept herself in control to a degree. She didn't even speak until Torvald opened his mouth to do so, thus continuing their conversation of his own free will. "Oh, your parents are gone—are they waiting for you outside?" he asked curiously.

Rhonda shook her head. "No, no, they had to head to the country club for a bit. The big fashion show got rained out this evening and they want to put it on tomorrow instead, so there's a lot of last minute organizing to see to. They're sending the limo for me after I finish my dessert."

"Oh, sweet." Torvald grinned. "Well, can I get you anything else while you're waiting?"

Rhonda shook her head. "No, nothing for me, thanks. But, um…" she glanced back at her friends' table again. "Torvald, could you give me the bill for their dessert?" She gestured over her shoulder with her thumb. "I'd like to pay for it. Oh and, hmm…could whip up and add on something special too for them if it's possible? Oh, what about that delectable bananas foster cake that the chef makes?" Rhonda looked at Torvald eagerly.

Torvald smiled and nodded. "I could definitely do that, Rhonda. Oh, but, uh, when Helga ordered dessert she asked for whatever was quickest to make." Torvald shrugged. "I guess they're in a rush. Anyway, the chef usually likes to take a bit of time with that cake."

Rhonda, however, just looked at Torvald with that suave, capable look she could get when she wanted her way and knew it was just a matter of snapping her fingers to get it. "Don't worry about that, Torvald." Then she sat up straight and indeed actually snapped her fingers. "Garcon!" she announced firmly.

Instantly, the maître d' was right over at their table (he had kept himself close by most of the evening in order to provide the quickest service imaginable for the Wellington-Lloyds.) He bowed to Rhonda. "Oui, Mademoiselle Rhonda? Your parents have informed me that you will be finishing dessert by yourself this evening. How can I help to make your final experience as pleasant as possible?"

Rhonda turned to him and cleared her throat, speaking in a voice that presumed control. "You see that table over there with the four young people, the two blondes and the two brunettes?" She gestured with her head in the proper direction.

Jacques glanced to where she indicated. He realized where she meant and turned back to Rhonda with a slight turning up of his nose. "Oui, Mademoiselle. Are they bothering you? Would you like me to eject them from the restaurant?" He couldn't help smirking at little at the idea.

Rhonda blinked and looked at him very firmly. "Of course not, garcon! They are my friends. I have just been informing your wonderful bus boy here," she gestured to Torvald with a pleased smile, "that I will actually be paying for their dessert with the funds my parents left me, and on top of that I would like to surprise them with one of your famous bananas foster cakes. However, unfortunately, their party seems to be in a bit of a hurry, so I would like a rush job put on the cake. Toute suite!" She clapped her hands quickly twice.

Jacques sighed at first, a little disheartened at losing his chance to throw out those four potential troublemakers, especially that blond girl. But, still, it was his job to make Rhonda happy. He bowed, his demeanor growing very serious. "Oui, Mademoiselle Rhonda. I will have the chef put everything aside to fulfill your order to a tee."

Rhonda smiled pleasantly. "Thank you so much, Jacques. I'll be sure to tell my parents how accommodating you were. And I'll be sure to have Daddy thank the restaurant owner when they play golf next weekend at the country club."

"Merci, Mademoiselle Rhonda, Merci!" The waiter bowed again before slipping off to get dessert order and preparations in motion.

Rhonda watched him go with a satisfied smirk and turned back to Torvald with a shrug. "Piece of cake." No pun intended.

Torvald couldn't help but look a little impressed. "Wow, Rhonda, even at my most threatening I could never get anybody to jump through hoops for me like that."

Rhonda just shrugged 'humbly'. "It's a gift. Anyway, don't tell any of them over there about my surprise, alright?" she gestured with her head back to the table.

Torvald nodded. "Sure thing, Rhonda." He then shifted his tray of used plates and utensils to his other hand and smiled. "Anyway, I've gotta get these back to the kitchen. Enjoy the rest of your dessert!"

"Oh, wait, Torvald…" Rhonda couldn't help stopping him before he left. She looked at him with a touch of seriousness. Again, she knew her friend had told her to butt out but she was concerned, and if that meant running the risk of a few more threats from Patty then so be it. "Um…" she went on, choosing her words carefully, "have you had a chance to talk to Patty about Harold yet?" She smiled with innocent interest.

Torvald, pausing, looked at Rhonda and then shook his head. "No, I haven't had a chance. It's been a little busy for me, and actually I'm getting off in a few minutes and my girlfriend's waiting for me out front." Torvald gestured toward the front door with his free hand, that funny smile on his features returning. "I'm gonna see Patty tomorrow though, so I'll just talk to her then. I'm sure it's nothing."

Rhonda just sat there for a moment with wide eyes, her gossipy mind clearing working a mile a minute. Then she blinked a few times and asked in a touch of confusion, "Your, uh…girlfriend is waiting for you out front?"

Torvald blinked at how strangely she had looked for a moment, but then continued smiling and nodded and went on. "Yup. Almost on our two week anniversary now, actually. She's a sixth grader, so I don't think you guys know her but, man, is she cool. You know, a lot of girls we go to school with, they're so smart and so quick about things, and they're fun as friends but one-on-one I'm not so good with. I just have some trouble keeping up." He shrugged sheepishly, but then smiled warmly and added, "But she's just kind of sweet and simple though, and nice for me. I really like her."

Rhonda blinked a few more times at this further information. Then she smiled sincerely and spoke sincerely as well. "Torvald, I think that's just simply wonderful. I'm certain she's very nice. You, uh…you should bring her around to our fourth grade baseball games or to one of my soirees sometimes. I'd love the chance to meet her."

Torvald's eyes lit up, and he smiled very appreciatively at this offer. "Really? Wow, thanks, Rhonda. Thanks a lot!" He rubbed the back of his neck with his free hand. "You know, I've been wanting to bring her around to some of our fourth grade stuff more often, but I've been worried that since she doesn't know anybody in our class too well that she won't have a good time. But it's nice for you to invite her. And a party might be a good place to start meeting people. The next time you have a get together, I'll mention it to her. I'm sure she'd like to go. I think she might have even popped by your last one, come to think about it—that one where you invited a few people from different grades."

Rhonda nodded, recalling the party—Harold and Patty had met at that party, come to think of it, hadn't they? Anyway, she filed that bit of information away for later, and right now smiled brightly up at Torvald. "The pleasure's all mine, Torvald, really. Oh, and, um…" she was very careful about her words again, "since you're so busy, then, yes, I-I would definitely wait until tomorrow to talk to Patty, heh…" She swallowed, hoping he would agree.

Luckily, Torvald nodded with a grin. "Yeah, you're right. Anyway, I don't want to interrupt their dessert, especially if they're all in a hurry like you said."

Rhonda smiled more again and nodded. "Y-Yes, that's just exactly what I was thinking too."

Torvald readjusted his tray again, and with his free hand gave Rhonda a little wave. "Well, anyway, I'll see you Rhonda, and have a good rest of your night." He turned in the direction of the kitchen.

Rhonda waved back at him. "See you, Torvald! You have a good night too!"

As soon as he was out of sight Rhonda let out a deep sigh of relief. "Perfect, he won't talk to Patty until tomorrow, that'll give me time to talk to her first!" And, indeed, Rhonda knew she HAD to get to Patty before Patty got to Torvald or Torvald got to Patty. Right now Patty was clearly under some sort of romantic impression regarding her relationship with Torvald, and Rhonda needed to let her know that Torvald had a girlfriend. After all, not that Rhonda had all of the details of the situation yet, what if, for example, Patty wanted to confess her affections to Torvald or something? How embarrassing would that be for one of her best friends to do only to end up told awkwardly by Torvald that he didn't have any attraction to her and was dating someone else? Or what if Patty thought Torvald 'like-liked' her and she wanted to confront him about it, and then had to face the awkward reality that he felt nothing of the sort for her and that she had been totally mistaken?

A firm look came to Rhonda's features, and she gently struck her first into her hand in a decisive gesture. "No, I can't let that happen to Patty. She's too dear a friend to me. I'll just have to pull her aside and let her know the situation, no matter how upset with me she is right now or how many death threats she wants to give me."

Of course, Rhonda might have had just a little less confidence if she had known that Patty's anger toward her right now did not just stem from Rhonda's innocent intrusions tonight but now from the knowledge that Rhonda had had a thing for Harold not too long ago, which neither Harold nor Rhonda had felt like informing Patty about.

But, Rhonda had no clue about this circumstance as of yet. And so with one last swig of Pyrenees spring water and a determined look set upon her face, Rhonda looked over at Patty and Helga and Harold and Arnold's table and prepared to wait patiently for their dessert (minus the cake since that really would take at least a few minutes longer) to be delivered. Once it was, she would go over there. After all, dessert would provide just enough of a polite distraction to get everyone relaxed and ready to open up, and to give the other three people at the table something to do while Rhonda talked to Patty.

---

Meanwhile, as all of this stuff with Rhonda and Torvald had been coming to pass, Helga, Arnold, Harold and Patty were still sitting kind of awkwardly at their table and waiting for dessert. A lot had happened so far tonight, and despite that the downs had been roughly evened out by the ups, it was still a weird evening for all involved.

Harold ended up being the first to break the ice. He wasn't sure why but something popped into his mind and then out of his mouth—a question directed to Patty precisely. "Hey, um, Patty? Speaking of walking home…" since Arnold had just asked that of Helga, "…can I walk you home tonight?" He swallowed, looking down and blushing a little. "Maybe we could talk a little…"

Patty blinked at first at the question, unexpected considering their fighting tonight and also unexpected because Harold had never really asked to walk her home. Sometimes he walked her home of course, but he had never asked like this. She swallowed as well and shrugged. "I guess…" she mumbled, still feeling a little mixed up inside. But, still, she knew talking was what needed to happen about all of this Torvald and Rhonda and secret tutoring stuff, and besides she did want to set a good example for Helga—after all, if she refused Harold's offer then Helga might back out of letting Arnold walk her home, and Patty didn't want that.

Harold swallowed and nodded. "Okay. Thanks…" He really wanted to spend some time alone with Patty to try to figure out what was wrong between them and what was going on in general. He felt a little confused to say the least. Why was Patty getting so upset about an old crush from before he'd even known her? And even if Patty had been spending a few days a week getting tutored by Helga (Harold supposed he could have laughed at Helga writing poetry, but honestly he was just happy to hear she was part of the reason for Patty's recent absences and that she really had managed to help Patty), that still didn't explain all the Torvald stuff…And maybe he did need to explain to her the Rhonda stuff a little. After all, he and Torvald were clearly 'distanced' at the moment, but at least they were only kind of average friends. However, Harold knew Patty and Rhonda were really good friends, and he didn't want anything to hurt that.

There was awkward silence again now between the members of the foursome.

Honestly, the members of the group wanted to talk…but they wanted to talk alone with their respective 'dates' for the evening at this point…and that meant 'alone' alone, not in a gap of a few minutes while one other couple was absent, not in stealthy whispers underneath the table, and not tucked away in a bathroom alcove of all places.

Still, there was at least dessert to get through. Someone had to do something.

Helga decided to take a crack at something. The evening was practically shot anyway so why the heck not take her last wind and do something fun with it.

"Hey, Patty?" She glanced at her fellow female dinner companion. "Listen, I know your schedule's been a bit full lately and that it would be nice if you had time for other things besides tutoring, but I was wondering…you wouldn't want to hang out sometime would you? Whenever's fine for me…" Helga gave a small smile.

Patty blinked at the request. Wow, this was improvement for Helga—she seemed so closed up and secretive usually. But she really wanted to hang out, just as friends? Patty smiled. "Um, sure, Helga. I'd like that. Any idea what you'd like to do?"

Helga shrugged, taking a swig of what was left of her soda. "Oh, I don't know. We could throw rocks at some dumpsters, goof on some people. I could look at any more poetry you might have, if you wanted. You could give me some arm wrestling tips." She smiled more and then finished politely but also sincerely, "Any other interests you have?" And she actually was interested. That comment Patty had made on Friday at school in the bathroom, something about going to charm school…Helga realized there really was a lot she didn't know about Patty, and that they really were similar people. It might be nice to get to know her…and it might be nice to have another friend around whom she didn't have to pretend to almost violently hate Arnold.

Patty smiled more too. She didn't often get asked about herself by people. It felt nice. "Oh, well…I like cooking and cleaning and sewing. I don't know if you like any of those things…or if you don't yet, maybe I could try teaching some of them to you." Patty didn't even feel like blushing about admitting those parts of herself to Helga—she liked Helga, respected her, she really did. And it might be nice to have someone to do activities like that with, especially since Rhonda was often too busy with lessons and other friends to hang out with Patty too regularly.

Helga blinked at this information. "Really?" she recalled now, though, Patty indeed mentioning something about interests like that last Friday at school too. "Well, I don't know, none of that stuff's really my speed." She shrugged. "I mean, my big sister Olga does most of the cooking when she's home—she's done her best to drill all the culinary stuff into me, and I can do it when I have to, but frankly I'll pretty much eat anything that gets thrown in front of me. She also takes care of the cleaning, thankfully, though I've usually gotta pick up the slack for Bob and Miriam when she's not around. And sewing…" Helga sighed deeply, rolling her eyes back. "I don't' like to do any more of that than I have to." She smiled a little to herself. She could recall the mad rush she had gone through to stitch together the outfit she was currently wearing way back last Valentine's Day. Not that it wasn't neat to know how to do something like that, but still it wasn't an experience she wanted to make a hobby of.

"Helga…" came Arnold's voice gently all of a sudden, and with a touch of a nudge in it.

Helga blinked a couple of times and sat up straight to look at him, her brow raised in curiosity. Usually when Arnold said just her name like that she knew what he was gently rebuking her about. Right now, though, she was in the dark. "Uh…yes, Arnold?" she asked curiously.

Arnold just looked at her with a little, almost all-knowing half smile. "Helga…really," a touch of smugness came to his features, "I mean…I could see your sister teaching you how to cook, and everyone cleans sometimes, I guess, but have you ever actually sewn or are you just trying to be sophisticated again?" He smiled more, tried not to laugh actually. He'd had half a mind to call her 'Helga Van Buren' upon finishing the question.

Helga blinked, her jaw falling a little, and then she leaned closer to him, speaking with both shock and defiance. "Of course I've sewn before, Arnold. Sheesh," she rolled her eyes, "what, do you think that EVERYTHING about myself that comes out of my mouth is just part of some lame attempt to impress y—…" she remembered, Harold and Patty (especially Harold) were also at the table, and quickly corrected herself to, "I-I mean, um…that it's part of some lame attempt to, um…show off, heh?" She cleared her throat, smiling sheepishly for a moment before continuing on in her former proud and serious tone. "Anyway, the point is I'm not going to say I can sew or say anything else about myself unless it's the truth…" She considered for a second, then added, "well, unless it's mostly the truth…or unless it's an emergency or something and I have to lie to save the two of us…or a neighborhood…" She mumbled the last three words in a very low tone, glancing down and playing with her napkin.

Harold and Patty just watched the sudden exchange with piqued interest, Patty especially. And they watched Arnold look particularly surprised and confused for a moment…then he seemed to think about something…then he frowned a little and almost looked a little embarrassed. He swallowed and spoke up. "I'm sorry, Helga." He was very sincere and caring in his tone and words. He smiled hopefully and added slowly with a little swallow, "So…you sew? Well, um, that's nice to know." He looked genuinely interested.

And Helga noticed this fact. She looked to his eyes again. "Thank you, Arnold. And yes, I sew." She straightened her napkin a little and added professionally (and for good measure), "Tease me about it ever and you die."

Arnold really almost laughed, but he knew that would embarrass her and make her angry, so he refrained. He managed to suppress it by just wearing a small grin on his face as he replied gently, "Whatever you say, Helga."

Helga smiled with a touch of satisfaction at the familiar reply. And then she sighed and turned back to Patty, returning to their conversation. "Anyway, sorry about that. Now, where were we, Patty…Oh, trying to find something to do together. Yeah, so, um…cooking, cleaning, sewing—not huge priorities on my list so maybe we could find something else to do, if you wouldn't mind? Oh, but if you're really looking for a companion for those activities, I should introduce you to Lila—she likes a lot of that stuff. I think you two would hit it off as long as you could stand the constant sugary sweetness she's got going." Then Helga really couldn't help herself—she made it sound as joking and playful as possible as she turned toward Arnold and added, "Arnold's pretty familiar with that. He's frequently very fascinated by Lila, aren't you, Football Head?" She grinned warmly at him and her tone really was casual as could be.

Harold was the one who added, not meaning to make things awkward but just adding for the sake of observation, "Oh, yeah, Arnold, you 'like like' Lila, right?" He refrained from laughing and pointing of course—he was very grateful Arnold was so accepting of himself and Patty, after all. Still, though, he had to at least point out the fact.

Patty blinked and really almost kicked Harold under the table again.

Helga cleared her throat, glancing away a little though still half smiling.

Arnold blushed a tiny bit. He considered fighting with Helga more about teasing him, but then abandoned the idea. And Harold didn't seem like he was really teasing him so no need for a gentle lecture there. No, now wasn't the time for confrontation. So Arnold gave a small half smile and merely directed his reply to Patty. "Helga's right, Patty—Lila likes a lot of those things, so I'm sure you two would get along. But she is a little cheery, and if you don't like that, like Helga doesn't, you might get a little impatient with her. But she's nice, and that's what matters most." He swallowed a mouthful of soda and added, looking down a little, seemingly to no one in particular, "She's just a friend of mine. Sometimes I spend time with her, sometimes I spend time with Gerald, sometimes I spend time with Harold…sometimes I spend time with Helga." He glanced up and noticed Helga was watching him with interest, though, upon his making eye contact with her, she quickly swallowed and looked down sheepishly and shyly. Arnold smiled more—she really cared about whether or not he still 'like liked' Lila, didn't she? It couldn't help but make something warm come to his features…couldn't help but make him add to Patty, though he was still looking at Helga, "You'll like spending time with Helga, Patty. It's always…interesting."

"Arnold!" came Helga's voice in a soft, reprimanding whisper as she looked up at him with wide though frustrated eyes.

Despite the interjection, Arnold could see Helga trying to hide a smile. He was almost going to laugh and say something sort of nice and reassuring back to her when…

…who should add something but Harold now. "But Helga, Arnold's right. You're pretty fun to hang out with." Harold smiled as the other three people at the table all blinked and looked at him with interest. Harold went on. "Like that time when we got lost together after the Yahoo factory trip and we went on those crazy adventures and ended up going to WrestleMania together. That was great!"

Helga smiled, losing some of her shyness. It was nice to get compliments from someone whose very existence DIDN'T make your heart want to fly out of your chest. "Oh yeah, I remember. Yeah, that wasn't half bad, Harold." She laughed, looking toward him. "Well, except for the homicidal midget clowns," she added with a smirk and an eye roll. "But otherwise, yeah, not a completely horrible adventure." She grinned at him.

Patty and Arnold just looked at each other, having the exact same thought at the exact same time. 'Homicidal midget clowns?' Possibly the only weirder random topic than when Arnold and Helga had been talking about 'eating brains' earlier.

Harold, meanwhile, just laughed and nodded at Helga. "Yeah, it was pretty fun even if the clowns were a little scary. Oh, and my cousin Fervo said he could sneak me and anyone else I want down to the front of the arena for any other WrestleMania stuff. I was thinking, if we wanted, we could try going again," Harold suggested with a shrug as he recalled his thought on the bus Friday afternoon after Helga had stood up for him that he wouldn't have minded doing something cool with her again sometime soon.

Helga's eyes brightened at the suggestion. "Seriously? Hey, you're on, Berman!" Helga looked to Patty. "Patty, you want to go too? Come on, I know there's a WrestleMania fan that's gotta be inside of you somewhere."

Patty blinked at the offer (she was a bit surprised by the whole exchange, actually), but then smiled a little and shrugged. "Well, not really. But Harold was sort of introducing me to it a little, and I guess it's been growing on me a bit. It'd be nice if the three of us could go to something like that together though, Helga." And indeed, Patty was very pleased at the idea. Honestly, she had never seen Helga and Harold actually act like they liked each other…at all. Not that they appeared to be mortal enemies or anything (Helga tended to save that much passion and attention for Arnold), and not that Helga seemed to dislike Harold as much as she disliked, say, Rhonda (another unfortunate occurrence since Patty was pretty sure that the two girls were similar enough to really hit it off if they tried), but still Patty usually saw Helga and Harold either exchanging scowls and light insults or not exchanging anything at all. So she was very glad to hear that her two friends actually shared a common interest and even some common enjoyable memories together.

Helga, meanwhile, at Patty's agreement, nodded and smiled more. "Okay, the three of us—that'll be great!" Then she glanced around the restaurant and rubbed her hands together. "Now where's Torvald—I've got a second wind, and I'm ready for dessert."

Patty and Harold almost felt a little awkward and even frustrated again at the mention of the name of the particular figure they were still having a slight disagreement over…but somehow the mood had been lightened enough and calmed enough now that they could actually manage a glance or two looking for him, and even small awkward smiles to each other upon making eye contact again.

Meanwhile, across the table from Helga, Arnold, despite how polite he could be, was tired of trying to make eye contact with Helga (as he had been trying to do to get her attention for about the last two minutes ever since somewhere in the middle of the WrestleMania conversation). And so now he added distinctly clearing his throat to his efforts.

Helga finally did look at him now, just half smiling at him and pushing some hair behind her ear, taking another sip of soda. "Hmm? You say something, Football Head?" she asked with a mild degree of interest.

Arnold blinked a few times, his mouth opening a bit, though he remained silent for a moment as though unsure of where to begin. Then he rolled his eyes and started (not really sounding truly annoyed as much as just that 'ever so slightly annoyed but not really' which Helga always strived for in her efforts to bug him), "Well…WrestleMania—maybe I'd want to go to that too, Helga. Maybe all four of us could go together." Arnold blushed—he really couldn't help it. He was aware he had just kind of asked Helga out on a second double date…but he was also aware that it was just the principle of the thing! Why would she exclude him? After tonight was she going to start avoiding him again? No, he wouldn't let that happen…or at the very least he would make sure to express himself as completely as he could to her on their walk home tonight before it did.

Helga blinked at the announcement. Then she grinned and laughed, she even rolled her eyes. "Oh come on, Arnold, we all know you don't like wrestling. You'd probably want to jump into the ring and tell the two guys ready to beat each other's brains out to 'talk out the problem' and 'work through their differences.'"

Harold couldn't help a small chuckle. Patty couldn't help a gentle nudge to him with her foot under the table.

Arnold frowned a little bit at Helga. Annoyed was winning out over ever-so-slightly annoyed now. "I could like wrestling. You don't know everything about me, Helga, even if you think you do." He crossed his arms over his chest, starting to get a little frustrated. "And even if I don't, I could maybe try to take an interest in it." He gestured with his head to Patty. "Patty said she was only just starting to like it because Harold introduced her to it."

Helga just plain looked at him with curiosity and then deep interest (while Patty and Harold watched on with a bit of interest themselves). "You…" what a novel and strange notion… "…you would try to learn how to try to like wrestling…for me?" There was a pause, and then Helga blinked and swallowed and added with an awkward grin, "I-I mean, for us! I-I mean, not 'us' in the sense of y-you and me," she gestured back and forth between herself and Arnold quickly, "b-because, um, why would there ever be an 'us' like that, heh? I just meant for 'us' as in for me and Harold and Patty! Yeah!" She swallowed and gulped down the last of her soda in one shot. 'Basketcase, you are a basketcase, basketcase, basketcase…' Then she just sat there a little awkwardly, too concerned with her own blushing right now to take much notice of Arnold's.

Arnold, though blushing, was more concerned with trying not to smile. He didn't want to be inconsiderate, and yet, still…when Helga got all nervous and flustered around him it was sort of neat to him…not in a malicious way or anything but just very interesting, and it made him like her more…and he was starting to be okay with that idea. He nodded, gazing in her direction. "Sure, Helga…I wouldn't mind trying to like wrestling for 'us.' After all, if you can turn out to be able to sew, who's to say I can't turn out to like wrestling?" He shrugged, one of those normal, simple sweet optimistic looks coming to his features. Then Arnold swallowed and glanced at the other two people at their table, "As long as you guys wouldn't mind if I tagged along with you to the next WrestleMania thing."

Patty just smiled very happily. "I think that'd be nice, Arnold."

Harold just nodded eagerly, always happy for more company. "Yeah, sure, Arnold—that'll be a lot of fun."

Arnold smiled in return. "Thanks, guys." Then he looked forward and down a little before making some kind of eye contact with Helga again.

Helga just let a small, lightly amused laugh escape her and shook her head, making eye contact with him a little too. She had no idea what was up with him just now with the wrestling thing…But, oh…why not? "So, Arnold maybe liking wrestling, huh? I guess wonders never cease." She shook her head a little.

Arnold's smile picked up on one side a tiny bit more. "And Helga G. Pataki maybe liking sewing…I guess there's a lot that we both don't know about each other."

"Hey, I never said I 'liked' sewing, just that I could do it," Helga correctly him firmly and yet somewhat smilingly. Then she just swallowed and shrugged, looking down a little again, playing with the end of her hair. "Yeah, well…we never really talk much," she mumbled, unsure of what else to observe.

Arnold swallowed too, playing with a thread on the tablecloth. "O-Or spend time together…like this…for talking…"

Helga was panicking a little. She was feeling very fluttery inside and knew she was blushing. Why was he saying kind of sweet things like that and in such a kind of sweet tone? Talking about spending time with her almost like… Oh well, no way to figure it out now. Time to hide in plain sight. "What, Arnold, like a date?" Oh why not—she was feeling bold this evening, and her luck had been great so far anyway, all things considered.

Harold had to chuckle again and Patty was too surprised to bother reprimanding him.

Arnold blushed a very distinct scarlet at first, then he just let out a deep sigh and rubbed one of his temples. She was doing this because of earlier when they were alone he had called the things they did alone together 'dates', wasn't it? "Helga…" he started in that stern little way of his.

She almost laughed as she replied with a smirk and a shrug, "What, you're the one trying to put the moves on me to get me to go on a wrestling date with you." She grinned more.

Okay, that did it. Forget being calm and complacent. He wanted to fight with Helga Pataki a little again. He frowned at her a bit, his eyes narrowing. "It's not the same, Helga…" He emphasized her name a little again, as he had done earlier that night about the Cecile thing, and his response was mumbled, suggesting he was addressing only her (even though clearly everyone at the table could hear him).

Helga just swallowed and rolled her eyes, mumbling back, "And how exactly is it any different, Arnold?" 'What, every other crazy situation we get ourselves into has been a date, but Arnold insisting upon escorting me to a public event isn't? Yeah, right.' She was not going to let him off the hook that easily—she wanted to watch him squirm a little.

Arnold blinked at the excellent point. And then he realized he genuinely didn't know how to respond. She had him there. Darn it. He just sighed deeply. "Whatever you say, Helga…" he replied simply, sitting back in his chair a little, not in the mood to try and explain the difference anyway…The difference between how a foursome having fun together was kind of date like, but to him a real date would have been much more like last Valentine's Day, for example—two people eating and talking in private. 'Don't fight her, don't fight her, it's only going to make things worse. Talk first…then fight her as much as you want.' Oh yes, Arnold had decided, if fighting Helga G. Pataki felt right, he was indeed going to do it, just as he had always done it throughout their lives here and there, only now he would embrace it completely. He thought that kind of release might even be good for both of them.

"Wh-Whoa, whoa, um…Arnold, Helga?"

Patty's voice interrupted Arnold and Helga's moment of frustrated silence and caused them both to blink and turn in her direction. Strangely, she and Harold both looked a little flustered and awkward. "Um…" Patty continued, "guys, Harold and I…none of this or the wrestling is a 'date' for us exactly. We never meant for it to seem like that." Patty just couldn't handle yet putting that label and her and Harold's time spent hanging out, yet Arnold and Helga had just been bandying about the word 'date' like it was no problem. Patty wanted to see them together, of course, but she just didn't want the labels and stuff seeping into her and Harold's relationship …friendship…thing.

"Y-Yeah, guys," Harold added with a touch of embarrassment, trying to smile but failing a little. "Um…you know, because dating's…well, for old people, heh…" Harold attempted awkwardly, unable to think of anything else.

Patty blinked a few times at this response from Harold and then glanced down and shrugged, speaking softly to him. "Um…I don't know, Harold. A lot of people in sixth grade date actually." It was true and she couldn't help herself.

Harold swallowed at that and looked at her and replied simply and innocently, "But I'm in fourth grade."

Patty let out a small sigh, rolling her eyes to the side. "You're still thirteen Harold, just like me."

Both kids were silent and blushing for a minute.

Helga tried so very hard not to smile at the sentimental scene.

She could see Arnold opening his mouth, probably about to apologize, maybe even explain their little private 'date' joke. Helga, having a better idea, cut him off before he could start and began herself. "O-Oh, you guys thought Football Head and I were serious? Heh, no, no, we were just joking around. Of course it wouldn't be a date, doi! No one should start dating unless they really want to anyway, not because someone could argue that something they're doing is date-like." She looked at Arnold. She made sure to catch his eyes with her own. "Don't you agree, Football Head? If two people are on a date…they should at least agree that it's a date for it to actually be a date?" She clasped her hands together on the table, waiting for a reply.

Arnold looked back into her eyes. She was trying to say something about the two of them along with saying something about Harold and Patty, wasn't she? He was getting a little better about reading between the lines when it came to her. He had to think about it for a few seconds, though, but then he replied back to her thoughtfully, "Well…yes, Helga, I think that's fair. But…" he swallowed, clasping his own hands together neatly on top of the table, "That also means that two people really need to talk at some point to decide what's going on between them…" He blushed a little and hoped she understood.

Helga did, of course. She couldn't figure out the motivations behind it for the life of her, but she understood what he was getting at nonetheless. And she sighed and looked a touch frustrated at first, but then she shrugged and replied, trying to act like she didn't care, "I guess so." Helga cleared her throat and glanced back at Patty, smiling a little. "Ignore Football head and me—we always take things a little too seriously. Four friends going to WrestleMania together sounds perfect. And thanks again for the invite, guys."

Arnold blushed a little more but realized that, for Harold and Patty's sake, he and Helga really did have to lighten up a bit now, and maybe save the big stuff for later. And at least now she was sounding like she might be willing to talk with him a little bit instead of ignoring him the entire time he was walking her home or something. Arnold looked back to Harold and Patty too, likewise smiling a little. "Helga's right. And thanks again, you two," he supplied sincerely.

Harold and Patty's smiles relaxed a little. They even managed to share in a small laugh with Arnold and Helga.

"Hey guys, sorry about the delay. Here are your desserts—chocolate mousse: the quickest thing to make. I just had some things to take care of before I could pick up the order. Oh and there's something else coming for you guys too, 'on the house'!" Torvald, who had finally arrived back on the scene again, winked as he finished dashing around the table and placing chilled glass of mousse after chilled glass of mousse in front of each person.

All four members of the dinner party blinked in surprise at being interrupted (finally) with dessert. Helga and Arnold managed somewhat genuine smiles at Torvald though, Patty managed a half way decent one followed by a light blush and looking away, Harold at least managed not to frown too much. They all mumbled 'thank yous' to Torvald.

"You're welcome, guys," Torvald replied (particularly) brightly. "And is it okay if I bring you guys your check soon? I'm sorry, I don't mean to rush you or anything but I'm off at 8 and that's in a few minutes, and I've got someone waiting for me just outside. I'll drop off the bill and you guys just call Jacques over here so you can pay it whenever you want." Torvald smiled more and chuckled and added with a little eye roll, "He's a lot more free now since Rhonda's parents left. Now it's just her finishing up her sparkling water before the limo comes to pick her up since her parents had to leave early to head to their country club or something."

Everyone nodded to Torvald's request. (Everyone except for Arnold, that was. Arnold just sat there with very wide eyes and his jaw dropped a little. He had just remembered about the movie. Gerald must be expecting him. Arnold swallowed—if he didn't show up, Gerald would probably just keep watching the movies and then stop by the boarding house later, right? He wouldn't…possibly come to look for him at the restaurant, right? Oh the last thing Arnold wanted to try to explain to an already suspicious Gerald was why he had indeed managed to end up eating dinner directly across from Helga this evening when he had specifically told Gerald yesterday that there was no way in the world he would end up eating dinner directly across from Helga this evening. Gerald was already getting suspicious enough about some things as it was…).

Meanwhile, as Arnold's nervous interior worry continued, Patty spoke up, addressing Torvald directly on behalf of the table. "Sure, Torvald, that'll be fine. Um…thank you." She shrugged and looked down. Ever since the idea of Torvald maybe having feelings for her had really started to cross her mind this evening, she was finding it harder and harder to talk to him like normal. It felt so awkward, all of a sudden. But then she bit her lip—he was going to leave soon for the evening and part of her felt like she couldn't bear him going without talking to him first, without knowing what the situation was between them. He was about to step away and she held up her hand to get him back. "Um, Torvald, wait, please."

"Yeah, Patty? Anything else you need before the bill?" Torvald smiled at Patty.

Harold crossed his arms and frowned at Patty and Torvald.

Patty swallowed. Suddenly she was so aware of the three other people at the table. 'Helga's probably felt like this all night…In the spotlight and everything.' Yet, still, she had to know. She had to find a resolution to all of this. But how to ask? "Um…Torvald…I…w-well…" She was starting to blush, and she had always hated blushing.

"Hello, darlings! Mummy and Daddy had to leave to take care of some things at the country club for the new fashion show tomorrow—you all wouldn't mind if I joined you for dessert would you?!" Rhonda Wellington-Lloyd, having all but sprinted across the restaurant (as quickly as she could considering she was also dragging a chair with her) as soon as she had seen Torvald come to the table with dessert, finally made it to her destination and made this announcement with such a bright, cheery smile that it looked like her face would crack. She then plopped her seat right between Patty and Helga, and tried to look suave as could be as she sat there, catching her breath and straightening her hair. "Torvald," she addressed him cheerfully, "get me a café au lait to drink while everyone else eats their dessert, please." She looked at him as politely as possible, though inside she was so anxious for him to leave so that she could talk to Patty that she felt like she could burst!

Torvald just smiled at the table's sudden new addition and shrugged. "Sure thing, Rhonda. Be back in a sec you guys!" And then he dashed away.

Rhonda, finally all relaxed and calm and having caught her breath, wedged herself further between (a still shocked) Patty and Helga. "Anyway, you guys, I really appreciate all of you letting me finish the night with you. You don't mind a fifth wheel do you?" She looked from Helga to Patty and back again. She knew that it was primarily their approvals that she would have to secure to be allowed to stay at the table. Harold probably wouldn't care either way and Arnold would be too polite to refuse her.

Both girls blinked and then scowled and opened their mouths at the same time.

Rhonda cut them off quickly though, still doing her best to look as polite and sweet as possible. "Up bup bup, now, ladies, please, I know we got off to a rough start earlier, but I promise I'm not over here to make any trouble." She looked from Helga to Patty, pleadingly this time. Then she sighed, trying to level a little with them to gain their trust further. "Look, my parents left, I'm all alone at my table, the limo's not coming for a little while. Humor me. Please." She added the please rather emphatically, making eye contact with Patty specifically as she did so.

Patty's look relaxed a little because she and Rhonda really were good friends and she did ultimately trust her…though she did grimace quite a bit and glance down: she did not like thinking about Rhonda liking Harold…at all. It was going to make their friendship funny now, wasn't it?

Meanwhile, Helga's look of suspicion toward Rhonda relaxed a little because she knew intuitively when people were trying to silently communicate something very important, and she had a pretty good feeling that's what Rhonda was trying to do right now. For one thing, Rhonda rarely ever said 'please', and the fact that she had said it both to Torvald about the 'café-au-whatever' and now to herself and Patty about staying meant something important was probably up.

Helga sighed and rolled her eyes and grimaced a little but shrugged. She tried to look at Patty to get her opinion on the situation, but Patty was too busy looking downward and looking uncomfortable (an understandable reaction considering the 'Rhonda/Harold' stuff), but she didn't look upset about the idea of Rhonda sticking around. And so Helga looked back to Rhonda and announced simply, "You can stay for dessert." Then she scowled at Rhonda, making very direct eye contact with her. "And don't make me regret this."

Rhonda just smiled in obvious relief, turning back to her blond friend. "Thank you, Helga." She looked back at Patty. "Patty, is that alright with you too?" She wanted to be polite after all.

Patty nodded, though she still looked away. She just didn't have it in her to fight her on this…and she was quite afraid of losing her temper a little if she did, considering the circumstances. "Alright, Rhonda." Then Patty swallowed…and pushed out her chair and stood up. "Um…can you guys excuse me for a moment?" She was glancing over to the cappuccino maker. Torvald was over at the cappuccino maker…and he was alone. "I just have to, um…talk to—whoa."

She was about to move away from the table when suddenly Rhonda's hand reaching up and pressing (very firmly) on her shoulder managed to make her (almost) sit down again and with a surprised blink. "Heh," Rhonda started, looking a little nervous now as she removed her hand from Patty, "U-Um, right now, Patty? Uh…d-don't you remember how Madame Parvenu always told us it's rude to excuse yourself in the middle of a course of a meal? Don't you boys agree? And you too, Helga?" She looked at Harold and Arnold, who both just kind of blinked in surprise at being addressed and then shrugged unsurely, and then at Helga who just looked confused and intrigued by this sudden resistance to Patty's wishes on Rhonda's part.

Rhonda just rolled her eyes at the lack of help from all three of them, and then looked back at Patty. "Patty, darling, um…why don't we both head to the bathroom instead? I think we need to powder our noses!" Then she was standing and trying to start pulling Patty from the table and in the direction of the bathrooms.

Patty, however, scowled a little and did not budge at all. "Rhonda, didn't you just say it was rude to leave a table in the middle of a course?" What was she up to? Trying to get her alone to pump her for more gossip information maybe?

Rhonda blinked, then smiled nervously again. "Heh, well, um…y-yes, I did, um…and it is rude unless…u-unless it's a fashion emergency or for the sake of looking your best or something. Yes, that's it! So let's go!"

But before Rhonda could try dashing off again and try taking Patty with her, Patty just put her hand on Rhonda's shoulder and pressed down firmly, causing Rhonda to sit down rather abruptly.

"Sheesh, princess, what bee got in your bonnet?" Helga couldn't help but crack at Rhonda, crossing her arms over her chest and smirking a little. She was also observing Rhonda very closely. What the heck was really going on here…?

Rhonda took a deep breath and turned to Helga, trying to seem a little calmer. "J-Just trying to be fashionable, Helga."

Patty just sighed and rolled her eyes. 'I really do need to start hanging out with older friends…' "I'm going to take care of something, guys. Be back in a minute." She began to step away from the table.

Rhonda's eyes went wide and she turned and opened her mouth and half stood up.

Patty just turned back and scowled at her though, and added firmly, "And no one is going to follow me."

"Where are you going exactly?" Harold said that. And he didn't look too happy. He had seen Patty's gaze over at the cappuccino maker, and he had seen that that was where Torvald was at the moment.

Now Patty scowled at him. She wasn't in the mood to be resisted, and she wasn't in the mood for the third degree. "Somewhere. I'll be back soon." That was all anyone was getting out of her.

She started to go and Rhonda was literally about to dive and latch onto her to keep her away from Torvald…when Torvald himself suddenly popped up right behind the two girls. Apparently Rhonda's café au lait was done, and they had all been so distracted with Patty's announcement of leaving the table that they had failed to notice Torvald had left the cappuccino machine area a few moments ago. "Here you go, Rhonda." Torvald put the small cup and saucer of creamy, caramel colored liquid in front of the dark haired girl in question.

Patty sat down again, much to Rhonda's relief, and Rhonda sat back a little in her seat, letting out a happy sigh. "Oh, yes, thank you Torvald." She took a sip. She needed it to help ease the tension of her current position.

"You're welcome," Torvald smiled.

"Torvald, I know you have to leave work soon, but I was wondering—" Patty suddenly started.

"Uh!" Rhonda stood up instantly, both cutting off and addressing her good friend at once. "Patty was…w-well, we were all wondering, um…c-cake's coming soon, right Torvald?" Rhonda smiled nervously.

Torvald's smile brightened. "Oh, you told them about the surprise, Rhonda? Yup, just saw the chef, cake'll be out in just a few minutes."

Rhonda's grin grew. "Thanks, Torvald dear."

"Rhonda…" Patty suddenly started, and she didn't look or sound too happy as she spoke to her 'good friend', "I—"

"In fact…" Torvald really was a little distracted by his after dinner plans. Too distracted to take note of Patty's low-toned addressing of Rhonda, it seemed. He checked the watch on his wrist and then glanced back over toward the doors to the kitchen. "Let me check, the cake might be done now. Either way I have to pick up some stuff from the kitchen to take home, so I'll do that for a few minutes and then bring out the cake and the bill before I go. See you in a few, guys!" Have gave them a glanced and a little wave and then dashed off again.

Patty paused and blinked. He was gone again. She scowled down at Rhonda again. "Rhonda…" Her tone was stern and she was tapping her foot on the ground and had her arms crossed over her chest. She was able to make eye contact with Rhonda now at least, but in a way that action infuriated her all the more. Rhonda was starting to cross a line, and Patty was moving from annoyed to angry very very quickly.

"Cake?" Harold suddenly asked though, gaining everyone's attention for himself for a moment and distracting from whatever was going on with the girls. "Who ordered a cake?" He looked stumped.

Rhonda blinked and smiled and gave a little wave with her fingers, happy for any change of subject away from Torvald and her own strange behavior. "Um, guilty. Heh, I just…well, I wanted to make it up to you guys for interrupting your dinner earlier. I even told Torvald to put your dessert on my bill. So, um, truce, everyone?" She glanced at all of their faces, settling on Arnold's last (she knew if anyone would accept her attempts at apology it would be him.) "Second chances, Arnold, right?"

Helga sighed deeply to herself. A 'second chances' appeal to Arnold? Yeah, Rhonda was staying and for the long haul, no question.

Arnold opened his mouth to reply but Helga beat him to it, wanting to wrap this up and quickly and as neatly and as free of wishy-washy stuff as possible. She rubbed the bridge of her nose and waved Rhonda off. "Alright, alright, second chances and you are buying us a great dessert, but you have to just sit there and sip your fancy coffee—no meddling, got it?" Helga glared it her a little.

Rhonda swallowed. She considered then replied. "Helga, I promise I won't do anything to cause any trouble." She glanced over at Patty, speaking a bit more meaningfully. "I'm just trying to help." She swallowed and then leaned in to Patty, speaking in a low tone. "Patty, we need to go talk by the bathrooms. Now."

Patty just sighed though and looked down with frustration, playing with her mousse. "Rhonda, not now, please." Patty did not trust herself to be alone with Rhonda at the moment, and she really didn't want to be either way. She just wanted to eat her dessert, pay the check, and talk to Torvald sometime before she burst.

Rhonda blinked. Her look became a bit hurt and bit more serious. "Patty, please, I—"

"Rhonda, I said no!" Patty snapped at her a little, her scowl darkening.

Rhonda blinked and flinched backwards a little in surprise. She had never heard Patty speak to her like that, not since they had started being friends at least.

"Hey," Harold knew it was maybe a bad idea sort of (Helga, looking directly at him and practically shaking her head vehemently, knew it was a horrible idea) but he couldn't help it. "Patty, you don't have to yell at Rhonda like that. She didn't do anything." Yeah, Harold stood up for Rhonda.

Helga just let out a deep sigh and rubbed her temples, shutting her eyes. 'And here we go…'

Arnold looked a little uneasy. Even he could tell Harold maybe should have let someone else address the Rhonda thing all things considered. He would have gladly helped out, for instance.

Patty paused for a moment. Then she glared very darkly at Harold. Then she stood up, tossing her napkin down to the table. "I'm going to go talk to—"

"But, Patty!" Rhonda was desperate, practically ready to latch onto her dress as an anchor to weigh her down to this table. "H-He's um…i-in the kitchen right. Y-You can't go in the kitchen, heh."

Patty didn't even look at Rhonda as she spoke to her firmly. "Then I will wait outside of the kitchen for Torvald," she glared at Harold as she finished for emphasis, "who I need to talk to." Then she looked back at Rhonda once more. Her tone was not to be reckoned with. "Rhonda, you wanted to stay at this table, then stay at this table. I will be back soon. Goodbye." And then she walked away.

Harold looked so frustrated. Arnold looked surprised. Helga looked curious. Rhonda looked panicked.

Rhonda bit her lip and then did the only thing she could think of in an attempt to appeal to the person left at the table whom she felt would understand the situation best and would possibly be able to help the most. "Erm…" she swept her hand across the table between herself and Helga in a dramatic though 'seemingly' accidental way, knocking both of their napkins to the floor. "O-Oh my, Helga, um…our napkins are on the floor. Perhaps we should get them." She gestured to the floor with her eyes desperately.

Helga blinked. Seriously? Oh alright. She let out a deep sigh. "Sure, Rhonda, let's go get the napkins." She smiled, clearly showing an understanding of Rhonda's attempt to get them alone for a moment. Rhonda smiled gratefully and nodded and then ducked under the table. Before following suite, Helga glanced at Arnold with a grin and said in a playful, quiet voice, "You see, Football Head—someone who actually gets the whole 'dropping something on the floor' thi—whoa!" Helga was now under the table courtesy of Rhonda grabbing her arm and pulling her under there.

Arnold and Harold just watched where the two girls had disappeared. Then they looked at each other. A curious look came to Harold's face and he opened his mouth, but with a sigh Arnold just shook his head. "I don't know either, Harold…"

From underneath the table, there was the sound of a single whisper. Then the sound of Helga exclaiming, "WHAT?" Then the sound of Rhonda saying "Shh!" followed by some more whispering.

Harold closed his mouth and the two boys just sat back for a minute or so, eating their mousse a little here and there and hearing indistinct whispering continue underneath the table for a bit.

---

Underneath the table, Helga and Rhonda really did have a lot to talk about.

"WHAT?"

"Shh, Helga, not so loud!" Rhonda begged quietly.

Helga's tone quieted, but the shock and confusion still remained in how she spoke. "What do you mean he has a girlfriend?" Helga exclaimed in a whisper, her eyes wide in surprise. "Why didn't you say anything, Rhonda? I know we didn't tell you any details about what was going on with Patty and Harold and Torvald tonight, but even you could still see that the situation's been a train wreck!" Helga scowled at Rhonda.

Rhonda rolled her eyes and whispered back quickly, "I didn't say anything because I didn't know Torvald had a girlfriend until a few minutes ago when he mentioned it at my table."

Helga sighed in frustration, and then looked at Rhonda with a scowl. "Well, what are you going to do about it?"

Rhonda scowled a little in return. "What I've been trying to do about it—stop Patty from talking to Torvald before she completely embarrasses herself! I have to tell her he has a girlfriend! But I can't just say he has a girlfriend in front of Harold—that would be even more awkward."

"Oh, you think?" Helga whispered back sarcastically with an eye roll.

Rhonda sighed, shaking her head and trying to keep from getting into another catty fight with Helga G. Pataki. "Helga, this is serious—I need to talk to her but Patty looked like she was going to hit me or something if I went to stop her again. Is she really that angry about me butting in earlier?" Rhonda looked to Helga with confusion.

Helga blinked and then blushed and then looked down. "Ummm…yeah…there's maybe something you should know about that, heh…" She played with her hair nervously.

"What?" Rhonda raised an eyebrow.

Helga let out a deep breath slowly. "Patty…." she mumbled quickly as she explained, "might have found out about your little early fourth grade crush on Harold." Helga looked to Rhonda nervously, expecting the worst reaction.

Rhonda just knelt there with her jaw agape and eyes wide, a little squeak escaping her.

Helga sighed, needing Rhonda to come out of this now and focus. "Look, Rhonda, it's not a big deal. And I'm sorry, okay—it was bound to come out eventually. It just came up in conversation, how was I supposed to know you had never told her about—"

"YOU told her?" Rhonda squeaked.

Helga stopped speaking and nodded, looking a touch sheepish and guilty. "Um…yeah."

Rhonda blinked. Then she kind of panicked and scowled and went to grab Helga. "Helga G. Pataki, I am just going to—ooo!"

Luckily. Helga managed to pull back in time and then she just kind of knelt there, her head pushed against Rhonda's forehead to keep the girl at bay while Rhonda continued to grab at her. "Helga!" Rhonda yelled.

"Rhonda, FOCUS!" Helga yelled back.

"You're dead, Helga G. Pataki!"

"Um…is everything okay down here?"

Both girls stopped what they were doing and turned to see Arnold's head peeking underneath the table loth at them. He looked curious, concerned and a little confused. "Sorry, I don't mean to interrupt." He added for good measure. "I was just getting worried a little…" Then he blinked and blushed a touch and added, "H-Harold too…Both of us, w-worried…a-about both of you, heh…" 'You only came under here to check on them because you heard Rhonda yell at Helga like she was going to hurt her or something, and you know it.' Arnold did know it, and he felt embarrassed about it.

Helga sighed. "Just a sec, Football Head." She turned back to Rhonda and scowled and took her shoulders. "Rhonda," then Helga gave her a quick shake and said very firmly, "Snap out of it!"

Rhonda blinked a few times then seemed to relax a little. Her eyes came back into focus and she looked at Helga and Arnold. "Oh…um…we were…y-yeah, yes, okay, focus." She put a hand to her temple.

Helga let her go. "Good." Then she turned back to Arnold, half smiling, arms crossed over her chest. "Just having a little girl talk, Arnoldo. Nothing to get excited about."

"Um, what are you guys all doing down here?" And now Harold had popped his head under the table.

Helga just rolled her eyes and sighed in frustration. "Great. What's the point of the 'ducking under the table' thing if everyone follows you under here?" Then Helga let out a deep breath, scowled and took on a very commanding voice. "Alright, that's it, I'm taking control of this lead zeppelin before we all go down in flames. Harold—" she looked at him, "Back up top: you don't want Patty to think all of us ditched her right?" Harold blinked and then instantly went back up to the top of the table. Helga turned to Rhonda next. "Rhonda—get in your seat and stay put, you're only going to get Patty angrier and make her more stubborn if you come after her when she specifically told you not to. Just…distract Harold or something. Talk to him about the Patty thing, anything, I don't care! I'll take care of the Patty stuff." Helga took Rhonda by the shoulders and gave her a little pop back up to the table. "Arnold—" she looked at Arnold now, "Okay, look, I know you're horrible at following orders unless you know what's going on, so to save me having to deal with a bunch of questions from you before you'll finally just accept that I'm right and do what I ask, here's the super short version. And DO NOT tell anyone else that you know these things, Football head." She counted the facts on her fingers as she listed them. "Patty has been spending some extra time with Torvald. Harold is very jealous, but he won't admit that he's head over heels for her because men at your age are absolutely clueless about their own feelings, at least in my personal experience. Patty just wants to be friends with Torvald. But now Patty's been wondering if he's got 'like like' feelings for her. We weren't sure if he actually did or not, so I guess now Patty wants to talk to him about it. But Rhonda just found out that apparently Torvald has a girlfriend and she's waiting for him outside. Rhonda has been trying to warn her about this but Patty's still too ticked off about Rhonda's crush on Harold to listen to her. So now this is what we have to do—stop Patty from talking to Torvald until she's knows that he has a girlfriend, otherwise she might completely humiliate herself. So Harold needs to stay at this table and not interfere, Rhonda has to keep him here. and it wouldn't hurt if they talked a little. I have to go fill Patty in before it's too late since I'm the only one she might listen to and the only one at this table who can be more intimidating than she is. And you," she grabbed his collar and pulled his face close, causing Arnold's eyes to go wide, "You need to go up there, get that cake from Torvald the second he comes out of this kitchen and offer to deliver it yourself and then get him focused on his girlfriend and the heck out of here before we have yet another major scene to contend with at this restaurant! Now, if you understood everything I just said and can follow my orders, nod, Football head." Helga was breathing rather heavily at this moment and she looked a little flushed—the explanation had taken a lot out of her.

Arnold was just wide-eyed and blushing slightly. She looked…and he had never heard her sound so…um… Then he blinked and snapped out of it and managed a small nod. He watched Helga lose the sternness and breath a sigh of relief. "Good." She let his collar go. Arnold still didn't bring his head back up to the top of the table though.

Helga noticed and looked at him with a curious scowl. "Well…Arnold, what are you waiting for?"

"Sorry," Arnold blushed a little more. "It's just…is this kind of what you go through whenever we come here? All the stress and the planning and stuff?"

Helga blinked at the question. And then she just couldn't help answering him truthfully. "Arnold…all of the stress and the planning and stuff is what I go through pretty much every other week of our lives."

Arnold's eyes went wide at that statement. "Really?" He actually got off of his chair, coming more under the table now.

Helga looked to the side, grimacing a tiny bit, and shrugged. "Well…yeah. Heh," she managed a half smile, "I only make being me LOOK easy, Football Head."

Arnold still looked very curious. "Is all the stress and planning stuff about things like this? O-Or, me?" He cleared his throat, blushing a little more. "Y-You know, romantic things…?"

Helga blushed much more and shook her head, looking away. "N-No, doi. I can stress and plan about other stuff—stuff about my sister and about my parents and about some of the other bozos in our class and about stuff at school. Not even everything about you that I stress over is r-romantic, sheesh." She rolled her eyes, trying to sound less nervous than she felt. Why was he doing this to her, why was he getting her alone in strange places and asking her strange things? "What, you think that's all your good to me for, F-Football Head—some outlet for my budding preteen girlish heart?" She swallowed and managed to scowl and little again and shrugged, "I mean, saving the neighborhood involved you and that wasn't exactly all mushy." 'Three days of running around in a trench coat nearly catching my death of cold—yeah, love was just in freaking bloom during all of that.'

"Some parts of it…were…" then left Arnold's mouth in a little mumble.

Helga froze. She just looked at him. Eyes wide, face blushing, she just looked.

Arnold sort of looked back at her and sort of didn't. There was this attempt at an awkward smile and then a touch of regret, and… then he just went back up to the top of the table quickly and waited for Helga.

Helga came along a few seconds later. She looked a little funny. Then she let out a breath, though, and seemed to move on to matters at hand.

She looked at Rhonda and Harold first to make sure that the both of them were indeed doing what they needed to do. She was surprised to see Rhonda with her mouth open as though in the middle of being about to say something and Harold frowning a little but blushing a tiny bit too. Both of them were paused now, though, in whatever interaction they had been having, and both even looked a touch embarrassed about Helga and Arnold's sudden appearance. At least that was a sign that they must be really talking about things now though.

Arnold tried to give them a smile and a little wave. Helga just rolled her eyes and stood up from the table. She grabbed Arnold's hand. "Arnold and I have to take care of something. You two wait for the cake. Rhonda," Helga looked at her, "if Arnold gets back to this table before me you do not pump him for information—we all know he can't tell a lie." And with that she dashed off swiftly and took Arnold with her.

As they moved across the restaurant, Arnold processed Helga's warning to Rhonda and then scowled a little. "Hey, I can lie, Helga," he couldn't help but assert. And why was it so important to him to insist to officially the strangest girl he had ever known that he could do something so wrong, so devious, so un-Arnold-like? Well…he wasn't sure, but it just felt like it was about the principle of the thing. He wasn't such a wet blanket like she always tried to peg him to be.

Helga rolled her eyes, slowing their walk a little (no need to bring too much attention to themselves or risk tripping…especially since Helga could see, from a corner of the restaurant as he took another table's order, Jacques eyes glancing in their direction). "Oh please, Arnold," she replied with a sigh.

Arnold frowned a little, resisting her pulling a bit to take control of their pace a little for himself. "You don't know everything about me, Helga. I mean, I'm not necessarily proud of being able to lie but I'm capable of it." He rolled his eyes now and added, almost smiling again, "I don't take it to extremes of course and dress up as people from foreign countries to get someone to spend Valentine's Day with me, and I don't use cockroaches to get out of paying a bill, and I don't walk around in trench coats using voice boxes, but I still lie. Everybody lies a little." He shrugged.

Helga stopped their walking for a moment: just paused the whole plan she was in the middle of. Then she glanced over by the kitchen doors—Torvald still wasn't out yet. Good. Then she moved herself and Arnold quickly out of sight right near the bathroom alcove. "Arnold," she looked at him, speaking very seriously, "Look, we're not going to start doing this. No. Not going to happen. I'm stopping it before you even start." She glared at him…he still looked clueless about what she might be talking about, and so she added to make it clear, "My 'feelings'," she used air quotes and looked at him dryly, "are not going to become a new inside little joke between us. We are not going to giggle about it, we are not going to make comical and ironic references to it, we are not going to use it as a basis for becoming best secret buddies. Oh, and you are not to bring up or try to figure out things I've done in the past regarding these 'feelings' anymore—one, because it bugs the living heck out of me. Two," she leaned in a bit, looking a bit fiercer and her voice lowered, "because you could not even imagine half of the things I've done just to deal with my stupid lack of hatred for you. And they haven't all been as amusing as tonight, Arnold…" Something sad was there, something very sad though she was trying to hide it, "Some of them haven't been amusing at all." Then she sighed and crossed her arms over her chest and turned away from him with a scowl, leaning back against the wall.

Arnold just looked at her with a sincere frown. He hadn't meant to hurt her feelings, bring up bad memories. He had just been trying to get her to laugh and relax with him, like she had started doing already a few times tonight. But he understood better now that he was asking for a lot, maybe pushing her too quickly. And either way she really did seem to be under a lot of stress now. He spoke to her very quietly and kindly. "I'm sorry, Helga. I didn't mean to upset you. I won't make jokes like that anymore if it makes you uncomfortable. I just…wanted you to laugh, not to feel embarrassed."

Helga's arms went down to her sides. She laid flat back against the wall, head looking up, eyes closed, and she let out a sigh. She spoke much more calmly now. She even sounded a little like 'Cecile' to Arnold right now, minus the parts of last Valentine's Day when she had really laid on the French accent. "It's okay, Arnold. I've been giving you a ton of mixed signals tonight, I know that. I'm sorry. I'm a bit of a complete basket case about this whole thing, actually." She almost smiled a little as she added, "You know, that's part of why I try to keep you away from me, Arnold, and part of why I've been avoiding you lately. When I'm around you too long I get a little loopy. Can't exactly think straight, and not that it isn't a giddy little time for me, but honestly I hate letting myself get that distracted." She sighed softly, her eyes opening, though she still looked up. "It's awful to keep all of that emotion all bottled up, Arnold. It's just awful." It wasn't said sadly exactly—just as a soft fact that she had learned and now chose to express. She could even smile a little more now actually. One good thing about Arnold knowing everything—she could confide in him, she could unbottle things every now and again, however much she might regret it later. She was happy for that.

Arnold…blushing, eyes wide, mouth almost a little agape, Arnold…could not think of a single time that he had ever heard Helga speak so eloquently except perhaps for a certain rainy morning on a rooftop. There was a complexity in her words, something elaborate and crafted, and the intriguing tone of her voice wove all the pieces together into something you wanted to listen to. He confused her, and that was what she didn't like. Or part of it, at least. And he made her feel like hiding, and she didn't like that either.

Arnold hesitated midway, much as he had done last Valentine's night, but then he hand came to rest gently atop hers (much as it should have done last Valentine's night had he not gone off to deal with Ruth first). He felt tension go through her arm, a sort of compulsion to pull away…but then a light resignation. She swallowed and looked down, appearing a touch embarrassed. "A-Arnold…" she tried to start.

He started instead though, very gently, "Helga, I don't want you to feel awful. You shouldn't have to feel like that. You…" it really took him a lot to say the word, it really did, but he was willing to do it for her, "You love somebody. That shouldn't be a bad thing. That should be a wonderful thing…At least, I always thought it should be. Um, so…if you need to ever talk about anything with it or need to express yourself, you can come to me, Helga. I won't laugh at you or tease you. I won't make it awkward at all. I-I might blush a little," he did blush a little and smiled too, "but you can tell me whatever you want about this and I promise I'll be here to listen. And in between those times, when you don't want me to mention it at all, I can do that too." He moved a little closer to her and made sure to add, "But I can't pretend like none of this ever happened, Helga. I'm sorry, I just can't. And that means that even if I'm not bringing all this stuff up to you directly, I can't exactly act the same around you as I always did." He smiled a touch sheepishly and shrugged, "You know, the 'dates' and the kiss and how you feel—you make me a little confused too now, Helga. So I might be a little different around you now, but if you can be okay with that and if you'll let me be there for you if you need it about this, I think we'll be okay. Alright?" Arnold squeezed Helga's hand and looked tenderly into her eyes. "I told you, Helga. I like you…I don't mean to be a pest about all of this or to bug you too much. I just like you…and I want to help."

Those blue eyes gazed back at him, so wide, so curious. It made him smile more.

Such kindness, such perfection she saw in those green orbs before her, and Helga felt like her blood was racing and her insides were shaking. He was so unbearable and so beautiful. She was amazed he never seemed to realize it.

Helga just sighed softly, releasing some of what she was feeling. She still looked into his eyes, though now her own were soft and mellow. She even savored the touch of his hand in her own. She spoke calmly to him. "Arnold. Thank you. I appreciate that, all of it. There are still some complicated things, though, that doesn't really cover, but it was, um…very decent of you to tell me all of that just the same." She smiled a little, and she noticed how it made his own smile brighten. She almost rolled her eyes—he really did care about helping everyone and making everyone happy so very much.

"You're welcome, Helga," Arnold replied back softly and happily. 'Hey, I actually said something right to her! I-I didn't lose my nerve or say the wrong thing or anything. It just felt right so I said it and…Okay, I definitely have to remember this for later, when I'm walking her home—just say what feels right, do the right thing.' He felt so much confidence in everything working out all of a sudden, more than he had in days...

Helga giggled again this evening. She just couldn't help it. Her sweet, optimistic little Arnold, doing his best even if he really had no idea what he was doing. Yet, his offer had been…insightful…and interesting…and even though all of this was more complicated than just 'talking' it felt like a right step in a new direction. She could work with self-expression like what he was offering. She could. "Arnold, just do me one more favor for now about all of this, okay?" Her grin picked up on one side a little.

Arnold looked at her curiously. "Yes, Helga?"

Helga blushed a little, glancing to the side, trying to seem a bit casual. She was feeling better again now though. Maybe a little joking here and there wouldn't be such a bad thing. She barely looked at him. "For the future, Football Head, if you're going to be really really nice to me like you were just now, try to make sure we're in a public place just like we are now because…" she swallowed, still half grinning, "quite frankly it makes me want to kiss you again, you little shrimp." She sighed, still seeming casual and lighthearted as she managed full eye contact again, "And we all know how uncomfortable that makes you—and how mortified that makes me—so we can't have that, now can we?" She shrugged. Arnold was blushing quite a bit and looking a little shy and awkward. She knew he couldn't help it. She went on. "A-And it's okay if we make jokes in private sometimes, just so you know," she added with a half smile.

Arnold had to blink and then he smiled a bit too, despite his blushing. "Thanks, Helga." Then he smiled more and squeezed Helga's hand and gently pulled her back out to the restaurant floor. "Come on…Let's go save dinner." He laughed a little.

Helga blinked but then laughed too and rolled her eyes, keeping up pace with him now. "Whatever you say, Football Head." She knew they were in the middle of such a stressful thing but she felt better than she had in a long time. And Arnold had helped. So she decided to give him a little something as they made their way back to the center of the restaurant to get a view of and a clear walk to the kitchen doors again. "Hey Arnold?"

"Mmm hmm?" Arnold glanced over his shoulder at her with an interested smile.

Helga looked down a little speaking very quietly, slowing their pace. "Um…speaking of kissing, I-I'm…sorry if the last time I kissed you I made you very uncomfortable at all. You really did seem a little…upset during parts of…" she swallowed, wanting to wrap things up. "A-Anyway, I didn't mean to, y-you know, take your f-first kiss from you or anything, and I promise, even if I did talk to you about anything, I'd keep myself in control and not make you uncomfortable like that again." She thought that was a fair offer on her part. After all, if Arnold really didn't like her, if he really would never like her and they weren't meant to be, it hadn't been fair of her to just take a real, genuine, sincere kiss from him like that. If some random guy had come up to her confessing love and then had taken a kiss from her without asking, it would have upset her to no end. She just wanted him to know that he didn't have to worry, for the future—she had gotten a fair amount of it out of her system. She would respect his wishes for his sake.

Arnold blinked, blushing softly. He just looked at her, taking in that unexpected offer. Then he blinked and looked down with this small, kind of wobbly smile on his face. He did his best to speak normally. "O-Oh. Um…thanks, Helga, th-that's very considerate of you."

Helga smiled a tiny bit more. "Y-Yeah, well, I-I just don't want you freaking out again or nearly fainting like last time. No need for all of that."

Arnold swallowed and shrugged. "Thanks." They were quiet for a moment.

Then Helga swallowed and cleared her throat. "Y-yeah, well, anyway, back to Torvald and Patty, heh." Helga glanced toward the kitchen…her eyes went wide. The kitchen door was opening and Torvald was coming out. "Football head, we've gotta move! No time! Let's go!" And then she was the one dragging him along the restaurant floor as they raced to help their friends.

Arnold just blinked but then instantly did his best to match pace with her, seeing that they were indeed running a little late for helping fix this night. As they went, though, Arnold has another thought on his mind mow…And he considered, and it made him nervous and it was maybe stupid but…

"Okay," Helga let his hand go and pointed to Torvald, "You get him and the cake, I'll take care of Patty. And thanks for following orders, Football Head." She smiled at him, looking flushed and alive and ready for action.

Arnold just nodded, trying to look optimistic despite his worries about all of this working out. "Okay, Helga, I'll do my best."

Helga nodded and was about to go, when Arnold stopped her by taking her hand again. Helga turned back to him, part of her brow raised. "What?"

Arnold took a deep breath. Then he looked her right in the eye and said simply and truthfully to her, "You don't make me uncomfortable. I promise." Then he let out a deep breath and turned away and walked swiftly toward Torvald. Suddenly, even though all he had wanted was to talk to Helga, he was grateful for this big social distraction. Besides, pulling this off was a big important thing to Helga… 'Um, a-and to Patty too, heh…' he added mentally to himself as he approached Torvald.

Helga just blinked and watched him go, looking confused…and then she blushed and looked a little curious…and then she just sighed and shook her head. "Crimeny, he can be a cryptic little thing when he tries. A-Alright, focus, old girl, time to pull off another one. Don't let any loopy Football Head distract you." 'What, does that mean he WAS comfortable when I—Ugh, that loopy little thing.' And then with a sigh of her own Helga went off to talk to Patty and to majorly distract herself from Arnold for the moment.

---

By this point in the evening, the guys (as in Stinky, Sid and Gerald) were all now loitering by the fountain outside of Chez Paris, Gerald looking pretty average, and Sid and Stinky wearing big grins on their faces and stifling laughter.

"Guys, WHAT is so FUNNY?" Gerald stopped and turned around and asked them (for the third time now ever since their brief retirement from the movie theatre between features) with an exasperated sigh and a hand on his hip. Seriously, Sid and Stinky had been practically giddy the whole walk over here but had refused to say anything about why. He just wished they would tell him already and get it out of their systems already. He was getting really (and understandably) sick of the inside joke.

"N-Nothing, nothing, Gerald," Sid assured once more tonight, though he smiled more and faked clearing his throat to hide a chuckle as he did so. "Really."

Gerald raised an eyebrow at him in disbelief, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Y-Yeah, Gerald," Stinky added, also clearly stifling laughter still, "n-nothing at all."

They two boys were then quiet for a few seconds while Gerald just glared at them a little. And then they burst into laughter, falling to the ground together this time and holding their sides.

Gerald sighed and rolled his eyes. "Guys! We have like fifteen minutes to grab Arnold and head back to the theatre for the second Evil Twin movie—what is going on?!" He held out his hands in a dramatic gesture.

Sid and Stinky just kept laughing though, practically crying now and making half attempts at standing but failing miserably as they fell to the cobblestone ground all over again. Finally, some half sentences started to breathlessly escape them.

"H-Harold…and B-Big…"

"F-Fancy restaurant…!"

"Kiss!"

"All dolled up…!"

They laughed and laughed even more. The image was just too funny, the concept too out there. Sure, they had just made peace with Harold only on Friday about the stuff with Patty, but to think he might actually be in there right now trying to have a fancy, romantic, mushy French dinner with her—priceless! Arnold was there, that did put a kink in the image in their minds of Harold and Patty out for some big, goofy, romantic dinner for two. But Harold and Patty could just be using him for cover or for advice about something—who knew? The important thing was that there was a definite chance they could walk in on Harold and Patty dressed up and out for a date, possibly kissing! It would be hysterical!

"Okay, that's it!" Gerald had had it. He walked over to the two guys now, grabbed them both by the collars and did his best to get the both of them standing. Not that Gerald didn't enjoy a good laugh himself, but whatever this was about was obviously completely immature and also looked like it only stood to ruin their movie night. "You guys wait out here, I'll go inside and get Arnold and maybe some appetizers if I can. Just try to calm down by the time we come out, alright?" He rolled his eyes, and gave them both a look just saying 'please get over it and work with me here, okay?'

Sid and Stinky were still in their giggle fit, but finally they started to sober up a little from it at this announcement from Gerald. He was going to go in alone? Oh no, no, no way they were getting left outside and missing out on seeing this one!

They tried to play it cool.

"N-No, no, Gerald, we're cool, we promise. We'll come in with you!" Sid assured, doing his best to smile normally and really seem alright.

Stinky nodded in agreement. "Yup, um, I-I reckon we're alright now, Gerald. Really." He did his best to look as sincere as possible.

Gerald, of course, still eyed them skeptically though. "Okay…" he let out a breath and started slowly, "But if you're going in there too then first tell me what's going on. Seriously," a touch of concern came to his features, "In case you guys haven't noticed, Arnold's been under a lot of stress from Helga lately, and he went on this dinner out to relax and get away from it all. If you guys are getting ready to go in there and laugh at him about something, I can't let you do that. He's my best friend." He looked at them seriously.

Sid and Stinky had caught their breaths now and were really ready to talk. Sid started, holding up an assuring hand. "Oh, no, Gerald, we promise, it's not about Arnold. It's about, well…um…"

"It's about Harold, actually," Stinky continued, rubbing the back of his neck. "You see, on Friday we saw him talkin' with Big Patty, and then she gave him a kiss on the cheek." He almost started to laugh again but managed to go on normally. "So we teased him about bein' her boyfriend."

Sid nodded. "Yeah, but he denied the whole thing, then he got really angry,"

"Yeah, and then Helga hit us," Stinky added, rubbing the spot on his shoulder where Helga's backpack had slammed into him.

Sid nodded again, rubbing the side of his head, which had undergone the same experience. "Yeah, with her backpack. Anyway, after that we let it go and said we believed him. But then we asked him if he could hang out tonight, and he said no because he had to go shopping with his parents for his cousin's Bat Mitzvah present." Sid's eyes lit up a little. "But then you said that Arnold was at this dinner with Big Patty and some other people so…" He grinned brightly in anticipation.

Stinky smirked a little and finished, "Sid and I reckon maybe Harold lied to us, and that the real reason he couldn't come to the movies tonight is because he's at Chez Paris right now having a big romantic dinner with Big Patty!"

The two boys snickered and then suddenly were laughing again.

Gerald blinked, looking back and forth between the two of them at this explanation. Then he came forward and shook his head. "Okay, that's it, you two are definitely staying out here." He took their arms and led them a few feet away to the bench by the fountain.

"Aw, Gerald!" Sid complained. "Why?"

"Yeah, Gerald, we just wanna see Harold and Big Patty being all fancy together for ourselves!" Stinky tried to explain again.

Gerald sighed and shook his head, letting them go and looking at them. "Look, guys, it's Saturday night, and I don't know about you two but I just want to enjoy myself, Arnold wants to enjoy himself, and I'm sure Patty and Harold and whoever else might be in that restaurant right now just want to enjoy themselves too, and that's not gonna happen if the two of you go in there and make fun of Harold and Patty. That's just gonna make the two of them upset and make all of us late for the movie. Plus, you know how Arnold's always gotta be the peacekeeper whenever anyone has a problem, so then he'll have to waste time and energy doing that to make things better between you two and Harold again, and he doesn't deserve to have to be responsible for that tonight. So please, you two, I am begging you," he looked at them seriously, "Just stay out here, I'll get Arnold and maybe some mozzarella sticks, and we can all go and enjoy the movies. I'll even spring for popcorn for everyone. Just for the sake of my sanity stay out here."

Sid sighed at the request and finally sat down on the bench. "Okay, okay…Sheesh, Gerald, don't have a cow."

"Aw, but Sid…"

Stinky looked at Sid in disappointment, but Sid just gave him a bit of a look and elbowed him low on the side. "Stinky, it's fine. We'll stay out here…okay…?" He did his best to give him a bit of a look secretly.

Stinky looked confused for a second, but then something lit up in his eyes and he smiled a bit, then cleared his throat and turned back to Gerald, now trying to look sheepish and apologetic. "Oh, um…yeah, okay, Gerald. I reckon we'll stay out here.

Garsh, even if we did go in and make fun of Harold it'd just be a joke, but if it means that much to you…" Stinky took a seat as well.

Gerald just eyed them both closely for a moment. He wasn't stupid. But he sighed and decided not to bother accusing them of anything and to just make one final sincere plea to them. It had been a long week for him, after all, trying to save Arnold from walking right into a beating by Helga G. Pataki. He rubbed one of his temples and spoke to them in a bit of a tired voice. "Guys, I'd just like one event that occurs at this restaurant to not turn into a fiasco, for me or for Arnold, okay? Also, all this week I've been having to do everything I can to keep Arnold from getting himself killed by Helga and, frankly, I need a night off because I have a feeling he's gonna put me through another week of it again starting Monday." He stepped away, heading toward Chez Paris. "Anyway, I'll be right back. And hey," he smiled, hoping he really had gotten through to them—if threats and orders didn't work, Arnold had taught him that sincerity and kindness usually did the trick, after all, "popcorn's still on me. Thanks, guys." And with that he dashed off to the front doors of the restaurant.

Sid and Stinky just sat for a minute or two on the bench amidst the light trickling of the fountain and the faint sounds of dinnergoers eating and talking amidst the violin music of the two French restaurants on either side of them.

Then, of course, they looked at each other and smirked a little bit.

They were up and sneaking over to Chez Paris for a peek at the situation inside of there barely five minutes after Gerald had asked them to please just wait outside.

They would have headed inside immediately too if Sid had not let himself be distracted and held up by a particularly cute girl standing in the doorway whom he actually recognized from one of Rhonda's parties: tall, red hair, very pretty barrettes, and a nice red dress on. A sixth grader, in fact. Sid stopped and grinned at her, which caused Stinky to stop and wait for him near the doorway. "Hey, babe. Nice night, huh? Hey, haven't I seen you somewhere before?" Sid asked as smoothly as possible.

Ruth P. McDougal sighed and replied with a disinterested shrug, "Oh, hi. Uh, like, maybe. I don't know. I don't really hang out with younger kids much." She reached into her purse and pulled out a compact and checked herself in the mirror.

"Sid, come on—we gotta sneak in the restaurant to see what's up before Gerald comes back!" Stinky urged in a loud whisper.

"Yeah, yeah," Sid waved him off for the moment though. Then he cleared his throat and went on talking 'suavely' to the girl. "Anyway, my name's Sid, and I lost my phone number—can I have yours?" He grinned (in the background Stinky actually smacked his palm into his forehead and dragged it down his face).

The girl was actually playing with her cellphone right now as Sid delivered this line which, in his mind certainly, sounded very 'hip' and 'with it.'

"Um…I don't think we can both share a number," the girl merely replied with a shrug though, clearly not getting his intention as she continued to play with her phone. She finished whatever she was doing and then closed the phone and put it back into her purse. "Besides, I get way too many calls and messages to use the same line as another person." She shrugged, glancing toward the front door.

Sid blinked and looked a touch embarrassed. Stinky did his best not to laugh.

"Um…yeah…" Sid started, rubbing the back of his neck and not really sure where to go with this, "W-Well, um…anyway, maybe you and I could go somewhere and talk about this number thing some more?" he suggested lamely as a last ditch effort.

The girl sighed, putting a hand on her hip. "Actually, I'm waiting out here for my boyfriend. He's getting off work in a few minutes."

And now, being shot down entirely, Sid just sighed and turned back toward Stinky. "Never mind, have a nice night," he said to Ruth flatly over his shoulder. He looked to his friend dryly. "Shut up, Stinky."

Stinky just sighed with a half grin and held up his hands. "I didn't say a word, Sid."

The boys went inside (roughly ten minutes now after Gerald had).

---

A/N:

I hope you guys enjoyed this installment, and, once again, another update to follow shortly, and then I think there'll just be one more chapter to this fic plus an epilogue before it wraps up. Thank you very much for reading, review if you can!

Happy Reading

~Azure129 aka Jenna