A/N: No, I didn't abandon the story like I did last year. Not only was my schedule really hectic, but I also had a hard time deciding what I wanted to do with this. I had a few ways that I could've went, but I finally decided, and I hope it's the right choice, haha. One good thing about not making the spring play is that I'll actually have time to work on this. With the fall play, I practically had no life. Oh well. After this chapter, there's just two more chapters to go. Enjoy!
Arnold sat at a table for two at Slausen's, fidgeting with his fingers as he waited for Helga to arrive. He glanced at his watch anxiously, and noticed that it read 6:59. 'Calm down, you just got here a little bit early. She'll be here any minute.'
As if on cue, the door swung open and Helga entered. Suddenly feeling more nervous, Arnold sat perfectly upright in his seat and made a hand signal for Helga to come over.
"Jeez, Arnoldo, how long were you waiting here for?" The blonde girl asked while sitting down.
"Uh...not long. I was just...well, I guess I didn't realize that I left my house a little early---"
"That excited to see me, huh football head?" The light blush that appeared on Arnold's face instantly made Helga laugh wholeheartedly. "I'm kidding, relax."
"Oh, uh, I knew that." 'Smooth, Arnold, real smooth.' "So, you're coming back to school tomorrow?"
"Nope, I still have one more day. Can you believe it? All I did was sock Rhonda, and I had a good enough reason to do so. I swear, it's like that creep principal has it in for me."
Arnold knew that the reason why Helga hit Rhonda was because of what she said. The "who could ever love you" question that made him angry to even think about. "Yeah, well...you know she doesn't accept violence..."
"Oh sure, Arnoldo. Go and defend Princess now."
"N-no, I'm not defending her! I mean, she should've gotten some kind of punishment too..."
She scoffed, "thank you, captain obvious."
"...I just wish you hadn't gotten suspended."
Looking up into his eyes in bewilderment, Helga tried her best not to sound too happy about that statement. "W-why?"
"Because...the only time I ever see you in school anymore is in gym class. I know I've told you this, but...I miss having you in all of my classes like you were last year."
'Keep it together, Helga. Don't cave in just yet.' "You miss having spitballs thrown at you?"
Arnold laughed, remembering how annoyed he used to get everytime he felt paper rip from behind him. "Not that in particular. But...you know, working on projects together--"
"Please, you never wanted to work with me on anything. Everytime it was like we were forced to work together."
He nodded, "I know, but even though we never got along during, well, any of those projects...we did always get the best grade. We're a good team, wouldn't you say so?" Arnold inquired, while smiling the whole time.
'That smile is worth dying for...' "I-I...oh, stop being so corny, football head!" The disappearance of the smile on Arnold's face made Helga immediately regret her choice of words. "I-uh...sorry..."
"No, it's okay." His smile reappeared again after he saw her expression soften. 'She's really pretty...why haven't I ever realized that before?'
Their conversation was interrupted when a women, maybe in her late 20s, stood by their table. "You guys ready?"
"Oh, uh, yeah...I'll just have a chocolate milkshake." Arnold replied.
"Same as him, oh, and with a bendy straw. And make it snappy, too."
"I-I'll get it here as fast as I can, ma'am." With that, the women took their menus and scurried off.
Arnold couldn't help but laugh. "You sure do have a choice with words, Helga."
"I know, I know. That's what makes me special." Helga said smugly, a smirk appearing on her face.
'There's a lot of things that make her special...agh, stop it!' "Hey um, I was wondering...do you maybe want to...uh, I don't know, go for a walk or something after this?" Arnold really hoped that she would say yes, because what he needed was to spend as much time with her as possible.
'YESS!' "S-sure, Arnold...I'd love--I mean..." She had to think of a snappy comeback, and fast. "didn't I tell you Wrestlemania was on at eight?"
"W-well, yeah...but..."
Helga cut him off once again, "whatever floats your boat, football head."
His face immediately lit up, but he didn't exactly know why. "You will?"
"Yeah, whatever. I guess it's the least I can do for you since you miss me so much." Once again, that same blush came across Arnold's face, and Helga's heart fluttered. "Crimeny, Arnoldo! I'm kidding!"
"Oh, uh, right." He chuckled, and suddenly realized that he couldn't keep his feet still. He was jittery, and he couldn't do anything to control it. He wasn't sure if he even wanted to.
"So, are you going to be afraid of seeing Rhonda once you come back to school?" Arnold inquired, kicking a tiny pebble on the sidewalk.
Helga chuckled and rolled her eyes. "Arnold, Arnold, Arnold. Do you not know me at all? I'm a Pataki, and Pataki's are not afraid of anything."
"Last time I checked, you were petrified of rats."
She cringed, and playfully, (but roughly) hit Arnold on the shoulder. "Shut up, Football Head! Rats are disgusting! Who doesn't hate them?"
"I know they are," he laughed, rubbing the spot where she had just hit him, "but still, there's something you're afraid of."
"I'm not afraid, Arnoldo. I'm just disgusted by them, that's all."
"So, being disgusted by something causes you to squeal and panic?" He had that flirtatious grin on his face, the grin that Helga wanted to despise, but couldn't.
"You better quit while you're ahead, Football Head! Besides, that was fourth grade. I've...matured."
Arnold laughed once again, shaking his head slightly. "Please, I bet if we saw a rat right now you'd be scared out of your mind."
"I told you, Arnoldo. I'd be disgusted out of my mind."
"Nuh-uh." Arnold teased her playfully, poking her on her side.
Helga squealed out loud from both surprise and from being extremely ticklish. But despite that, she found herself giggling uncontrollably, and poking him back in the same playful manner. "Don't you ever poke me like that again, you dork!"
Arnold jumped back a bit, laughing uncontrollably, as well. "Based on your laughing, you don't seem to mind."
"Yeah, well...I do mind."
"Well then, that's too bad." He smirked deviously, this time tickling her slightly on her side and running away like a little kid. But to Helga, it was one of the most adorable things she had ever seen him do.
"Get back here, you Football-headed dweeb!" She shouted after him, still laughing, as she began to try to catch up with him. But much to her dismay, she found herself tripping over a high crack in the sidewalk and falling directly onto the ground by the edge of the grass.
Arnold turned around quickly, and without hesitation ran back to her as quick as possible. "Helga, are you alright?"
"Yeah, yeah. Never better. Now just help me up," she demanded while holding out her hand.
Without even considering what might happen next, he reached out to her so she could grab onto his hold. But as soon as he saw the devious glare in her eyes, he knew he had made a mistake. "Helga, don--ahh!" Arnold's words were quickly cut off as Helga pulled him down to the ground with her and playfully pinned him down to the grass.
"That's what you get for even thinking about tickling me like that, Arnoldo!" She smirked as she began to tickle him just as he did to her.
"Helga, stop!" Arnold laughed hysterically as he began to tickle her in return, causing her to stop for only a split second. And that's all they did for the next minute or so: have a continuous tickle fight until either of them could barely breathe.
Their uncontrollable fits of laughter slowly started to turn into simple giggles as the two blondes unknowingly laid in the grass in each other's arms. Helga was actually the first to notice this, but she did not dare to change it.
Arnold chuckled, looking into her sapphire eyes. "Wow, that was fun."
"Yeah..." Helga's voice trailed off, feeling the butterflies forming in the pit of her stomach.
Soon enough, Arnold noticed that they were both in each other's grasp. But for some reason, he found himself not wanting to move from his position. He liked the feeling of Helga's hands on his body, and he liked the fact that their faces were only inches away from each other. He remembered being in that scenario before, and at that time, he was startled by it. But at this point, he was enjoying it, and he wasn't quite sure why.
"Hey, Helga. I guess you didn't care much about watching Wrestlemania." Arnold teased once more, knowing that his statement would cause her to become flustered.
"Oh...yeah, that. I-It was a repeat, anyway..."
"I somehow doubt that."
"Oh really? Why is that, Arnoldo?"
"I just know you, that's all." He smiled, inching a bit closer to her, causing Helga to instantly tense up.
"Arnold..."
He interrupted, "you know how I said that the kiss at the park the other night was just the heat of the moment?" Helga didn't respond, she simply nodded. "Well, I wanted to take that back."
He wasn't sure why he said that, but he knew what was about to happen next, and he knew that's what he wanted. No, he wasn't too sure about why he wanted it to happen, either...he just did. He searched Helga's eyes for any signs of approval or disapproval, and he quickly found himself getting lost in them. Arnold had found nothing but timidity, anxiousness, hopefulness, and most of all, love. At this, he wasted no time slowly placing his lips on hers once more, savoring the taste and feeling the warmth.
And this time, he didn't want it to end.
A/N: Ahh, I know I absolutely suck at kissing scenes, I'm sorry! But as soon as I got the image of the tickle fight in my mind, I knew exactly where I wanted to go with it. And this isn't the end, even though for some it may seem like it. I'm not exactly sure yet whether I want to write one more ling chapter, or make two shorter ones. I guess I just have to decide exactly how I want to end this story. But I'm definitely excited for it. I'll definitely have the next chapter posted as soon as possible, (I'm thinking by the end of this week, if not earlier.) since I have absolutely nothing to do on break, haha. So I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Make sure to review and leave any feedback you may have. Thanks!