Title: Can't Help Falling In Love

Pairing: Gerald/Helga

Prompt: "Have you ever loved someone so much you actually ached? It sucks. Especially when it's someone you used to hate."

"Hey!"

"I said 'used to', didn't i?"


AN: I wanted to write a series of love themed one-shots for Valentine's Day. I used prompts from Pinterest and tried to create a story from them. This one has been my favorite to write of the series. I've never written Gerald/Helga, but from the first time I read a pairing of these two I was hooked. Well, Happy reading, this one is a little on the longer side.


"If you had asked me growing up who I would end up with, I would've said the best friend. However, somehow, I ended up sleeping with the enemy and all of those labels just became so blurred."


Helga, Arnold, Phoebe and Gerald got on the plane together to San Lorenzo—laughing, joking having a great time, but on the return flight Arnold's presence was definitely missed. Helga knew that they went to San Lorenzo, partly for a class field trip but their main objective was to find Arnold's parents.

Arnold never once mentioned wanting to stay in San Lorenzo if they were found, until—they day before the class was set to leave.

"I love you." Arnold admitted, the words that Helga had been waiting to hear for years. He leaned in and gave her a kiss, "But this is something that I have to do."

Helga watched him walk out of sight, struggling to hold back tears. They weren't even a couple and they were just a pair of fifth grade students but she was heartbroken. She wondered if she would ever see him again.

The flight home was difficult, Helga wouldn't talk to anyone—and if she did she would respond very shortly.

"Helga—Helgaaaaa!" Gerald remarked trying to get her attention once they landed at Seattle International Airport.

"Gerald, I'm not in the mood." Helga responded, picking up her pink bag from the carousal and heading out of the airport.

"Wow!" Gerald remarked, Phoebe intertwined her arm with his.

"Don't take it personally Gerald—she's hurting." Phoebe remarked, pulling him in the direction of a different exit. Gerald hadn't noticed how hurt she was until he realized that she didn't refer to him as Geraldo or Tall Hair Boy—she referred to him simply as Gerald—and for some reason that bothered him.


"Kentucky? That's like a thousand miles away!" Gerald exclaimed, throwing himself onto his twin sized bed. He looked up at his girlfriend with sad eyes.

"Actually, it's approximately 2,200 miles, depending on your starting and ending routes." Phoebe responded, Gerald gave her an exasperated look, "But that's irrelevant."

Gerald tried to remind himself that she wasn't moving until the end of the school year and it was only April—but the two months flew by faster than he could have ever expected. Classmates went to Phoebe's house to see her off—but Gerald and Helga stayed until her car was loaded up and they were heading off. Helga gave her a hug first and they made promises to write. Gerald gave her a lingering hug, they were so close they could feel each other's hearts beating. He gave her a gentle kiss on the lips and wiped the tears that were falling down her face. He wanted to cry but he needed to be strong. He watched as she got into her car and Mr. Heyerdahl drove away. Helga looked as though she was holding back tears, he reached over and pulled her into a brief hug before they wandered off into their separate directions.


For the next few years, Gerald and Helga barely spoke to each other. Their groups of friends in elementary school had started to divide into various cliques in middle school. However, when high school rolled around—their circles began to intersect again.

Gerald joined the school football team and to his surprise, Helga joined the cheerleading squad. He never pegged Helga as the cheerleading type, but she'd been dancing since she was five so the fundamentals of cheerleading came naturally to her.

They both joined the Student Government Association and somehow both set their sights on Class Treasurer. This would begin the first of many power struggles between Helga and Gerald. Gerald scoffed when Helga was elected Treasurer over him, she won by two votes—he demanded a recount.

Next, they both joined their respective basketball teams—Gerald took great pride in seeing that every week he was the school's leading scorer and Helga Pataki was stuck in second.

The final straw was when they both joined the track team. This time they were side by side in several races. However, they had a personal competition to see who could run the fastest mile. After practice, the rest of the team had gone home but Helga and Gerald stuck around to settle the score once and for all.

"On your mark." Gerald yelled

"Get set." Helga shouted

"Go!" They cried in unison, both of them leaving the line and racing around the track. They were going at about the same speed when one of them tripped and fell into the other one.

"Great going Pataki." Gerald shouted, attempting to rub dirt out of his now skinned knee. His legs intertwined with Helga's.

"Oh no Geraldo—this is not my fault. You're the one that tripped back there running into me." Helga responded, clutching her elbow.

"I know that you hate me, but do you have to try to kill me in the process!?" Gerald's voice boomed.

"I don't hate you—I never hated you." Helga screamed in exasperation, "I might have hated your stupid tall hair but I never hated you."

"Bullshit." Gerald whispered and for some reason their faces were dangerously close to each other, neither one backing away. Gerald didn't know why, but he leaned in and closed the gap between them—his lips falling onto Helga's. It felt wrong but right at the same time.

"I've got to go." Gerald said, getting up and grabbing his duffle bag leaving Helga behind.

Both of them resigned from the track team the next day.


That summer, they attended many of the same parties but for some reason made special efforts to avoid each other.

When sophomore year rolled around, Gerald was once again on the football team—and Helga rejoined the cheerleading squad. Gerald of course, was dating the most popular girl in school—Rhonda Lloyd and Helga was dating a football player: Torvald Williams.

Gerald and Helga also found themselves in the same AP History class—sitting right next to each other and even though they sat only a few feet away from each other, they didn't speak to each other besides hello and goodbye until November.

Helga was caught behind Gerald as him and Rhonda shared a kiss before he walked into the classroom.

"Jeez, class is only fifty-five minutes Geraldo. I'm sure the princess will be able to manage." Helga remarked, rolling her eyes before taking her seat.

"I don't want to hear it—isn't Torvald a little old for you!?" Gerald asked, raising an eyebrow in her direction.

"What does it matter!?" Helga retorted.

"I mean he's got no substance. Jeez Pataki, you're too smart to be involved with a meathead like Torvald. I mean, he's eighteen in the tenth grade, come on!" Gerald argued.

"Oh, you're one to talk, Geraldo. I know that you're not with Rhonda for anything other than her looks. I've heard your conversations—I don't know how you haven't died from the boredom yet." Helga grimaced.

Both relationships were over within two weeks.


James Erikson, an incoming senior, threw a massive party the summer before Gerald and Helga's junior year. Gerald saw Helga before she saw him. He was surprised at how much she had changed over the summer. Her tall, lean figure was beginning to fill out in the all the right areas. He compared her beauty to Rhonda's. Rhonda was gorgeous but she put a lot of effort into it. He looked at Helga, wearing a pair of leggings, a simple white top, and a sloppy bun on top of her head and couldn't take his eyes off of her.

"Truce?" Gerald asked, handing Helga a red solo cup. She looked into his dark brown eyes and saw something in them that she had never noticed before—it gave her heart a slight flutter. She placed a hand on his toned shoulder before grabbing the red solo cup. When did Gerald get so muscular? She thought to herself.

"Truce." Helga responded, "Although, I maintain that I never hated you."


Gerald had become quite popular in high school but he still didn't have a true friend he could confide in. Helga became that person for him and Helga felt the same about Gerald. Their friendship evolved into the type that talked about everything from politics to comic books and everything in between.

Before winter break Gerald started dating Nadine. She was petite and gorgeous. Her blonde ringlets perfectly emerged from her head with little effort. Helga couldn't help but to feel a pang of jealousy when they started dating.

Spring break rolled around and Helga had found herself a suitor, Lorenzo Rodriguez. He was rich, tan, and handsome—Gerald was annoyed every time Helga brought him around.

By the middle of summer, they were both single again.


Rhonda threw a huge party the week before senior year began. Gerald and Helga walked in the party together at around 10 pm.

"It's a little awkward being in here—having to look at that." Gerald said, motioning towards a drunken Rhonda making out with an hopefully intoxicated Harold.

"That's a sight that I wish I could erase from my eyes." Helga responded, "Let's find the bar, you know Rhonda always has the good stuff at these things."

Before they knew it, they had found their own secluded area on Rhonda's rooftop, sharing a drink from a single red solo cup, chatting about life.

"What did you ever see in Rhonda anyway?" Helga blurted out, her drinks finally catching up with her.

"She was pretty—I don't know." Gerald responded, taking a sip of the concoction they had created and passing the cup back to her. "I mean, you dated Torvald—he could legally buy us alcohol now."

"He's not that old." Helga responded, "Plus, he was pretty."

The duo exploded with laughter. Her hand landed on Gerald's thigh and took another sip of the cup passing it back to Gerald, never removing her hand. Gerald looked into her eyes, becoming glossy from the intoxication. He reached over and rubbed her face gently. He thought about kissing her, but he didn't have the nerve.


Gerald looked over at Helga, sprawled out on his floor. Gerald was sprawled out next to him, propped up on his elbows looking down at the book in front of him. Helga couldn't help but to notice their arms were touching, for some reason it sent tingles down her spine.

Gerald and Helga ripped open the most important of their response letters in each other's presence, as they promised to each other they would.

Helga's eyes widened when she saw the print.

"I got in!" She exclaimed.

"Me too!" He cried out, they wrapped their arms around each other—neither one of them wanting to let go.


Graduation had come and gone and Rhonda was throwing another party. Everyone was going their separate ways, except for Helga and Gerald—who found out they were going to the same school. They grabbed a few drinks from the makeshift bar downstairs and eventually ended up back on her rooftop, it seemed to be their favorite place at her parties.

They were both laughing at some inside joke, when her head landed on his chest. She looked up at him and looked into his eyes.

"What are we doing?" Gerald questioned.

"I don't know." Helga whispered back, their faces were close. Their hearts were racing. Gerald ran his fingers through her hair and she grabbed the base of his neck and pulled him close. The kiss was gentle but eager at the same time—once it started neither one of them wanted it to end.

"Should we—head home?" Gerald asked, raising his eyebrow and Helga shook her head in agreement.

Their faces barely separated on the Uber ride home. When they arrived at Helga's house, it was empty and he carried her up to the room he now knew like it was the back of his hand. Their hands anxious to explore each other's bodies, clothes were lost as the night continued on. Until they were both naked, Gerald's body resting on top of Helga's. Gerald in the back of his mind was silently wishing that he'd never lost his virginity to Rhonda because this was what he imagined his first time should have been like. Helga on the other hand was grateful that none of her past relationships had gotten to this stage. Something about giving herself to Gerald, just felt right. Natural.

Gerald Johannsen woke up next to a naked Helga G. Pataki, her body tucked into the crevices of his body. He couldn't help but to think they fit together perfectly.


"You two are such a lovely couple, how long have you been together?" A woman asked on the subway.

"It will be ten years next week." Helga responded. Wondering at where the time had gone.

"How did you two end up together?" The woman inquired. Helga had a modest diamond ring with a matching band on her left ring finger, her husband's hand was sitting comfortably on top of hers.

"Well, let's put it this way, have you ever loved someone so much you actually ached? It sucks." Helga asked, "I mean, especially when it's someone you used to hate." Helga asked with a teasing tone of voice, a look of confusion washed over the older woman's face.

"Hey!" Gerald chuckled at the inside joke between the two, nudging her slightly.

"I said 'used to', didn't I?" Helga giggled.