And now, the fluff chapter that I usually skip to in other people's fics! :3333

TY for reading!

Arnold fidgeted at his chair in the dining room. It was Saturday, 2:37 p.m.. He knew that he needed to call a cab in an hour or so.

Helga hadn't been showing up to their usual spot during breaks ever since he had interrupted their music session in an attempt to talk to her instead. And he had been beating himself up about it all week. Despite her claims that the fundraiser had been occupying most of her time, Arnold was certain that he had scared her off somehow. Maybe he had come off as a creep when he asked her to hang out when they hadn't actually spent that much time together before then. Maybe she was just extremely private and didn't appreciate his request to tell everything that had happened since elementary school.

It was to his surprise that she responded a few days ago to revise her original answer.

But if she was so determined to avoid him, why agree to see him today? It puzzled him. He had called Gerald about it shortly thereafter.

"I think I really frustrated her before. But if that's the case, her texts don't add up."

"It's a woman thing, man." Gerald assured him, his voice being one of those voices that didn't sound like his own over the phone. "She'll avoid you until the date, play hard-to-get and all that, to try and build up anticipation. Make you like her more, somehow. It's counter-productive if you ask me."

"That doesn't sound like something Helga would do."

"Why do you say that? She's manipulative enough to try it."

"Well, I dunno. She's not like the stereotypical girl, I guess. And she's not big into romance."

"At least to your knowledge. Who knows, dude? She could be datin' a bunch of already graduated dudes and no one knows it because we don't see anything at school."

"That... also doesn't sound like her."

"How well do you actually know Helga, man? Isn't not knowing much about her the whole reason you asked her out?"

"You got me. But... maybe let's not refer to it as a 'date.' Or 'asking out.' This is just about becoming better friends."

He could hear Gerald try to contain his laughter. "I ain't your grandparents, man, you don't have to hide nothing from me."

"Gerald."

"I'm just messing with you, lover boy. You don't like her, right?"

"…"

"Arnold? Oh my god."

"Well, I don't know! That's why I wanted to see her again. So I could find out."

"You don't know?"

"I'm kind of on the fence, yeah. But I might."

"I just… don't see it, dude."

Arnold joked. "Of course you don't. You're a sucker for geeky types, right?"

"Hey, Phoebe is so much more than that, man. Dude, I cannot believe you like the girl who has literally bullied you for years."

"But she's not like that anymore. She is so much more chill now. And she's in charge of a lot of stuff at school. Neither of those things applied to the Helga that bullied people."

"Okay, okay, I trust you. Just don't be too surprised if she starts that old shit again."

Gerald wasn't always the best with advice, he thought. Especially when it came to girls. In fact, some of the worst advice he had gotten about dates and women had come from his best friend. It hadn't taken long for him to stop following it.

Though, to Gerald's credit, Arnold actually seemed to go on more dates by taking that same advice. They never went well, but they happened. Arnold couldn't seem to even initiate a date with most girls by being straightforward and honest instead. And it did bum him out after a while. Ever since high school began for them, he had refrained from dating. So far, no one had approached him. Either no one was interested, or he was just too dense to notice.

"Shortman!" Grandpa entered the kitchen carrying an enormous cardboard box. "I thought you were working at the video store today!"

"Nope. I got the day off today."

"That's wonderful!" He dropped the absurdly large box on the table in front of him, dwarfing the surrounding furniture. "Then maybe you can help me break these bad boys in!"

"What are they?" Arnold inquired, standing up and trying to peer into the box as Grandpa rummaged around in it. He was still too short to see.

"Metal detector shoes!" He emerged with a pair in each hand. They were silly looking sandal-shaped devices with thick soles and straps (going up to what appeared to be mid-calf) that held the large battery pack. "There was a sale on television and I couldn't resist. Just came in today!"

"Grandpa, how many of those did you buy?"

"Just the two pair. Box is mostly full of bubble-wrap. But that's the best part, isn't it?"

The sound of the door could be heard opening and closing loudly. Grandma's voice rang out. "The Chinese is here!"

"Perfect timing, Pookie, I'm starved." Grandpa said, tossing the shoes back into the box.

Arnold lifted the box off of the table to make room. It was lighter than he originally thought. As he set the box down, he could see Grandma as she entered. She was dressed (rather authentically, he thought) in traditional Chinese robes and hair ornamentation. She often made a big deal of picking up food at restaurants, dressing in whatever traditional garments were associated with the style of food served there.

She set the many take-out boxes on the table and bowed at the group. "Shàn yǒu shàn bào."

"Back at you, dear." Grandpa pat her heartily on the back. "So, what do you say, Arnold? Aren't those shoes just the bees knees? We can try 'em out after we eat!" He sat down at the table and broke open a box of noodles.

"Actually, Grandpa, I have plans. I'm gonna go meet someone pretty soon."

"Ooohh really? Well that's too bad. Guess I'll just have to coerce Mr. Hyunh into trying them out with me." He leaned in real close to Arnold and whispered, "Don't tell anyone, but I actually got these to check the cellar tunnels for my grandfather's, your great grandfather's, buried fortune."

Arnold put a finger to his lips and nodded. He didn't intend to. He was well aware of the chaos that would ensue between the boarders if they thought there was treasure underneath the Sunset Arms. He could see Grandma in her pirate outfit already.

He stood and pushed his chair in. "Save some wontons for me. I better go call the cab."

"A cab? Why don't you just take the Packard, boy?"

"I-I dunno about that, Grandpa…"

"Come on! You've got your license, don'tcha?" Grandpa fished out his keys and tossed them to Arnold. "Do it, it'll be good practice."

He caught them, the worry in his gut starting to build. Arnold never liked driving. He was always anxious behind the wheel, especially if Grandpa was there trying to teach him. He had barely passed his driving exam the second time he had taken it. Driving the Packard was especially difficult due to how wide it was, not to mention that it was a stick-shift.

"I know you don't like it, but you've gotta get used to driving or you won't be prepared for when you really need to. Now, have it back by 10." He left the room with a take-out box of noodles and a pair of chopsticks.

Grandma flipped open a paper fan and held it in front of her face. "Zài jiàn." she said, before following suit.

Arnold nervously started the car. It rumbled to life, the headlights coming on automatically. The Packard was certainly a nice car. And he felt honored that Grandpa wanted him to have it one day. But driving it in the city's fast-paced, urban streets intimidated the hell out of him.

Taking a deep breath, he adjusted his mirrors and backed out of the driveway.

Thankfully, Helga didn't live too far away. Arnold had to force himself to remember to manually shift gear. He checked the clock. It was 3:45. The traffic hadn't quite hit rush hour yet. And though the traffic was never too bad in his neighborhood, the trip to the boardwalk would be more of a challenge, as it was just outside of downtown. If he had known he would be driving today, he would've opted for a closer attraction.

He pulled up to the blue-bricked Pataki residence, thrilled that there was enough room on the street for him to easily parallel park. He did so. Should he honk? No, that would be rude. It was probably best to just go up to the door and knock.

He had already unbuckled when he realized he wouldn't have to get out of the car. Helga was already out the door. He scrambled to unlock the passenger side for her.

"Pretty punctual, football head." She swung open the door and got in. "Thought you were getting cab. This is still pretty cool, though." She twisted around to check out the interior of the Packard.

Arnold stared. He couldn't help but think that she looked… really nice. Her hair was in a ponytail, something he had never seen Helga do. She had clearly put on some degree of makeup, though he didn't know what the names were for anything she was wearing (Maybe mascara? That was the only kind of make-up he really knew about.) Her dress was casual: dark navy blue, kind of short, with a halter neckline (something he could describe from being around Rhonda all these years.) A grey sweatshirt, black knee-high socks, and sneakers kept the outfit tomboyish.

"… Something wrong, dude?" Helga had noted his gaze. He shook his head as if emerging from a daydream.

"No, I'm good. Everything's good." Arnold realized he hadn't dressed in anything nicer than his school clothes. He glanced down at his white T-shirt and flannel button up, hoping he didn't look too sloppy.

"I hope so, since you're the one driving."

He chuckled. "No, I'm good to drive. You, ah… look really nice tonight, y'know." He felt his cheeks flush as he said it.

"… Thanks. You could use a shave, though."

He looked at her, not expecting that response.

She buckled herself in, smiling. "Just kidding, let's go."

He felt his jawline. Yeah, he could've shaved. Arnold shifted into drive and pulled into the street.

Driving in the city was of the few things he disliked about living where he was. He had been able to practice once in his cousin Arnie's rural hometown and loved it. There was only the occasional other driver, and those country roads didn't have nearly as many intersections to stop at. One road could go winding on for miles without anywhere else to turn, save a few houses. It had been so peaceful.

And just about the opposite of where he was now. There was a street light every block and cars in front of and behind him. It was all he could do to make light conversation with the person he was out here to be with.

"How's the... fundraiser going?"

"Oh, you know. Pretty good. Selling junk food to kids who are starved on crappy school lunches. They're almost throwing money at us, sometimes."

"That… would be hilarious to see."

"It is. The stoners are the funniest. Stinky gets the munchies so bad."

"Wow. I can see that… about Stinky."

"Are you sure you're okay?" He could sense Helga lean over to look at him better. "You keep… pausing like this in your sentences."

"I-I'm sorry. I'm just focusing." Arnold said as he wedged his way into a turn lane.

"You nervous about driving or something?"

"Just a little."

"Don't be. Getting psyched out will make you a worse driver."

"That… makes me more nervous."

"Criminy, Arnold…"

He glanced over at her for a split second. "Hey, you said it!"

"Said what?"

"That word. You always used to say that."

"Wha- 'criminy?'"

"Yeah. You would literally always say it when you were frustrated or something. I got really used to it because you were frustrated so often." He laughed a little. "You don't say it so much anymore."

"Yeah, I guess you're right."

"Does that mean you're less frustrated?"

"No, I think I just stopped using it."

"Hm." Arnold turned onto 2nd Street once the light turned. They weren't far now.

"Now that I think about it." He continued. "There's a lot of things you don't do now that I remember you doing when we were kids."

"Maybe that's because we're a lot older now? And not kids?"

"I'm just saying. I remember your pink bow the most, though."

He sensed Helga looking at him. "Oh really?"

"Yeah. I liked it a lot."

"It was a pretty awesome bow."

"Why'd you stop wearing it?"

"Because I'm not a fucking Christmas present."

Arnold laughed earnestly at this. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw what he hoped was a smile.

They found a convenient parking spot near the beach. Finally, they had arrived. Arnold felt the tension leave his body as he turned off the engine.

"See? You managed." Helga said as she left the car. "You only have to do it once more today."

"I am so encouraged." Arnold approached her, noticing now more than ever how she was still taller than him. But just barely.

"I could drive on the way back, y'know. You looked really stressed out. And I'm a pretty damn good driver. No one has to know."

"I don't think you should. I mean… if it were a car of my own, sure. But this is the Packard."

"Yeah, you're right. You wouldn't want to miss that Saturday night traffic."

"Hey! Not helping."

She smirked as they began walking toward the boardwalk.

It had grown significantly in recent years. What was once a cheesy sort of place with corndog stands and cheap amusements had turned into a decent place to spend an evening. It was cleaner and more manicured. Attractive storefronts had popped up beside the boardwalk, selling mostly summer clothes and baubles aimed at tourists. And while the weather hadn't warmed yet, the chill had given way to a comfortable 65 degrees. Just nice enough for the place to be active.

There was a bowling alley, an arcade, lots of food vendors, even bumper cars. Carnival-esque game booths could be found every so often. A mini golf course was set to open up in a few months.

"Dude…" Helga marveled at the newer attractions. "I wish we had shit like around this when we were little."

"We kinda did. Just not all in one place."

"Yeah, like the Cheese Festival does some of these things, but it's only biannual."

"Oh man, they have that game where you try to knock the bottles over!"

Arnold walked up to the booth. In true festival style, plush animals were hung about the canopy of the booth as examples of prizes. The man operating the tent appeared bored out of his mind. Exactly the way it should be, he thought.

Helga followed behind, arms crossed casually. "This is the first thing that excites you. You must be a really interesting person."

"Don't test me. I will win you a stuffed animal if you do." Arnold grinned.

She seemed taken aback. "Wait… No, you don't need to do that."

"Nope. Doing it."

"Five bucks for one ball." The man in the stall disclosed in perhaps the most indifferent tone ever. Arnold slipped a five dollar bill from his wallet and handed it to the man, who exchanged them for a baseball.

"Really, Arnold."

"Hm? What was that?"

"It's rigged. They always are."

"So?" He gave the most well-meaning smile he could muster.

She didn't look at him. If he wasn't mistaken, Arnold would have said she was blushing.

He gave the stack of milk bottles his best throw. Of course, he only managed to knock down two of the pyramid. He knew the bottles were weighted and would only lead to a losing outcome. But he wanted to do it for Helga. It was stupid and cliché and he loved it.

"Pity prize." The man muttered. He handed Arnold a small purple stuffed bunny that fit in the palm of his hand. It was shoddily and clearly mass-produced, but also kind of cute.

"Check it out." He held it up to Helga. "It's adorable."

Helga had her face covered with her hand, peered out at him only when he handed her the prize bunny.

"Oh my god."

"What? Did I embarrass you?" Arnold suddenly remembered how she had reacted to his friendliness before. He realized that maybe this wasn't the best thing to do for her.

"No. It's just… so dumb." She stifled a laugh.

"The bunny?"

"That you spent five dollars on."

"It's fine, though. It was fun. And now it's yours." He offered it up.

Helga took it into her hands, peering at it. She hid her smile and shook her head. "… So dumb."

They started walking farther down the boardwalk. Despite her objections, Arnold saw her tuck the pity prize into her coat pocket. He felt satisfied.

Helga chose the next activity, gesturing eagerly to the video arcade.

"This one will actually be fun." She chided. They tried out all of the new games they hadn't had the chance to play. And there were so many new ones. Arnold hadn't realized how long it had been since he had been to an arcade. Helga turned out to be supremely skilled at Space Invaders. However, they decided to call it quits when they realized they had spent over 20 dollars trying to make progress in Gauntlet.

"It's so damn hard." Helga groaned.

"It really is. That high score the other guy had doesn't seem real."

They eventually came across a nacho vendor that looked pretty appetizing. Helga quickly darted in front of him in line. He assumed it was so she could pay for her own order and keep him from paying for it instead. This let him down just a little. Mostly because he would have.

They found a clear edge to the boardwalk that hung out over the beach far enough away from the bustle of the main boardwalk no to be occupied and sat there to eat. The sun wasn't quite setting yet, but it was getting close to the horizon.

"Why is the sun so much brighter around sunset than the rest of the day? It's killing my eyes." Helga shielded her vision from the glare of the star.

"I don't think it's brighter. It's just at eye-level. So you're forced to look directly at it if you're facing west." Arnold reasoned. He, too, was shielding his eyes.

"Sounds valid." She concluded, biting into a nacho.

They ate in silence for a moment before Helga spoke up again.

"This isn't a date, is it?"

Arnold looked at her, surprised. He didn't expect such a straightforward question.

"Y-... No. Not if..."

Helga raised one eyebrow at him. "Not if I don't want it to be?"

"... Yeah."

"Hm. Fair enough."

Arnold felt as though he had just lost points with Helga. Since she was asking questions, he figured he could ask one too. As much as he wanted the night to go well, he also really needed to know. He needed to figure out where he had went wrong before.

"I, um... meant to ask you something before. Are you doing okay?"

"What?" She looked at him with a confused expression. "Yeah, I'm fine. Why? Why are you so worried?"

Arnold firmly met her gaze. "I'm worried because you stopped coming to the bench after lunch... I-I dunno. I felt like I scared you off by making you talk to me, so I've been wary about being too friendly to you. I mean, I actually don't know if that's the problem, but…"

She raised her brow at him. "I… dude, it's fine. There isn't a problem. I've… actually had a lot of fun with you. You're not 'too friendly' or anything."

He felt relieved. "So I don't make you uncomfortable?"

"No!... well…"

He was anxious again. Arnold turned his body toward her, pleadingly.

"Helga, please tell me the truth."

She held the gaze for a while longer, incredulous. Then she turned away from him to look at nothing.

"I-I guess I wasn't really ready to open up to you." She spoke after a brief silence. "A-and I wasn't really sure where all this interest in me came from. I figured, y'know, after middle school, you would want nothing more to do with me. Hell, after the FTI tower thing, I pretty much assumed you were more than willing to cease communications. So I just… let it happen.

"So when you suddenly show up out of nowhere after so much time has passed, wanting to talk and share music… I guess I got overwhelmed. Needed to think it over."

"Really?" He pressed.

"Yup. That's the truth. Swear."

Arnold raked his hand through his hair. "… I'm really sorry."

"It's not your fault, dude. I was just being private and unapproachable. The usual stuff. Don't even sweat it."

They sat there beside each other for a while. The sun was officially setting. Their skyline partially featured the furthest edge of the city. Buildings in the distance stood silhouetted against the sliver that the sun had turned into.

"Guess I really am too friendly." He attempted a joke, hoping to lighten things up.

"You could stand to be more of an asshole, sure." Helga picked up on it. There was a brief smile before she returned to gazing at the waters.

Helga was reclining leisurely, her arms propping her up on the boardwalk planks, her legs dangling below. Arnold admitted to himself that the scowl and backwards baseball cap, now absent, did a lot for her intimidation factor. Here, like she was, she seemed so harmless and natural. And more human than he had ever perceived her.

And yeah, with the warm glow of dusk hitting her at this angle, she was really pretty.

She must've caught him staring, though, because she promptly sat up, adjusted her dress, and checked her phone. Arnold quickly looked away for the time being.

Helga was only checking her phone to appear busy and disinterested. Especially after she noticed him… what was he doing looking at her like that? Checking her out?

And yeah, it made her feel a little awkward. But she couldn't shake the intense butterflies that had developed in her stomach. She needed a distraction.

The only message to check was that of Cordelia's, sent about an hour ago.

Found the perfect dirt on Marie Beth to keep her from talking about things she shouldn't! :) You won't believe what freaky shit this chick gets up to in her spare time.

Helga found this amusing and tucked the phone away, planning to respond later. She had never told anyone of her plans with Arnold, not even Phoebe. And though she was likely to find out from Gerald, she withheld that information on the off-chance that he wouldn't tell. So if things went really sour tonight, (almost) no one would have to know, and she could live on with minimal reminders of it.

But so far, she had actually been enjoying Arnold's company, for the most part. There was the issue of his staring. But that could be avoided if they got up from this pier and did something else.

She spoke up after a minute or two. "Hey, you wanna explore that part of the shore that's usually below the tide?" She pointed to a rough patch of the beach underneath one of the docks.

"That might not be safe." He cocked his head.

"Nah. Used to come down here all the time looking for goodies." She looked down over her knees. The sand below wasn't such a long drop that she couldn't make it from here. She slid off the side of the pier and landed softly on the beach.

"Hey!" Arnold exclaimed, surprised. Helga started making her way over to the underside of the docks. She could hear him land in the sand behind her.

The area was lacking for dead fish, for which Helga was grateful. But it still had that soupy ocean water smell to it. She loved lonely places like these and made a hobby of exploring them.

"What sort of 'goodies' do you normally find?" Arnold caught up to her.

"All kinds of shit. Sometimes valuable things like watches and rings. I even found a revolver one time."

"Oh my gosh."

"Yeah. It's amazing what just gets deposited out here when the tides roll out. Look."

She kneeled down in the sand, picking something up out of it. It was an old metal key, now horribly rusted.

"See? Just random things! It's awesome." She dug around more.

"Who knows who these things belonged to?" Arnold kneeled down to join her.

"Yeah. That's what makes it so interesting."

"My grandpa has some metal detector shoes we could've totally used here."

"I'm sorry?" She shot him a bewildered look. "Metal detector shoes?"

"Yeah. I don't know why he bought them." He shrugged. "It'd be just as efficient to get a normal metal detector."

"Actually, the shoes would be more efficient." Helga thought about it in earnest. "You have a pair of them, right? So you can cover twice as much surface area at once."

"Huh. I didn't think about that."

"Course you didn't, hair boy." She smirked.

"Hair boy… it's been a while since I've heard that one, too."

"Oh… should I not call you that?" Helga asked with precaution. She hadn't considered whether or not those names bothered him

"No, it's cool. It's actually kind of nice now. More like a nickname."

"… Why is that?"

"Because you don't mean it as an insult anymore."

"Ha. You don't know that."

Arnold gave her a light-hearted push, almost making her fall out of her kneeling position. Helga retaliated by pushing him back. Only, he didn't manage to catch his balance like she did.

He fell over, making a loud thunk noise when his head hit the ground.

"Shit." Helga scrambled over to where he lay. She hadn't meant to push him that hard. "You alright? Do I need to call someone?"

"Nope… No." He was rubbing the back of his head, which had connected with a rock at the base of one of the pier's pillars. "I just got thumped. Everything's good." He smiled as if it were proof that he was okay.

"Lemme look." Helga kneeled over and made him turn his head so that she could see the injury. There wasn't any blood, at least.

"Uh… okay. Don't know how to check for concussions. Just... don't go to sleep for a few hours."

"Thank you, Doctor Pataki." The sarcasm was good-humored.

Now that Helga was looking at him… actually examining at him, and not just making eye contact because they were talking, she found herself surprised at how little she had noticed Arnold mature. She had certainly noticed the deeper voice and increased height (though it wasn't a big change from her perspective; she was still taller,) she hadn't noticed other things. Like how he was just… bigger all around. His shoulders were broader, his feet and hands had grown. He hadn't bulked up like some of the other boys had. In fact, he was still pretty skinny by comparison. But definitely not as skinny as he used to be. It was jarring, having not really paid attention for so long.

Now, though, he almost looked… hot? Especially with the way he was propped up on his elbows. Was that the right word to use? Maybe attractive. No… no, he was definitely hot. Helga didn't want to try and speak. She would only get flustered and embarrass herself.

"Helga? You okay?"

She only nodded.

Arnold sat up, looking concerned. "No, really. Is there blood? Did it bother you?" He felt the back of his head again.

"No… no blood. Nothing's wrong."

"Okay, good."

She made a noncommittal hand gesture. "Blood wouldn't have gotten to me anyway, dude."

He grinned. Helga gave an embarrassed smile before looking away.

It was only them sitting under the docks. The sun had gone down, leaving the world in a cool dusk, the edge of the skyline tinged with orange. It was really nice. She was glad she had agreed to this.

She was about to tell Arnold so when she turned back to him. His eyes met hers. And he was giving her that same look he had been giving her on the pier. It was a thoughtful, soft look. Helga felt her heart racing out of her chest. She knew her cheeks were bright red, and she couldn't hide it.

"Helga, I…"

His cheeks had also reddened. He didn't finish the sentence. She hadn't realized until then that their faces were so close.

She didn't even register that it had happened.

They had leaned in and kissed each other.

And it was the softest, most wholesome thing of Helga's life.

He was so gentle. Incredibly gentle. Helga could feel his hand at her back pulling her into him. His warm breath was fervent and staggered, betraying how ardent he was. She leaned into him, returning his kiss with the same enthusiasm. And, god, he smelled amazing. Like clean linens and sandal wood.

There was so much care in his movements that Helga had never felt more wanted. He traced the edge of her face, lightly gripping her wrist. He was savoring this. And she couldn't get enough of it.

She didn't know how much time had passed when their lips parted.

"H-He…" Arnold was clearly breathless. "You… uh…"

Damn, she thought. He's more flustered than I am. It's really cute.

She noticed he was still holding her hand.

"You… are a really good kisser…"

"Really?"

"Y-yeah… I didn't anticipate…"

She took her hand back, crossing her arms in mock offense. "You didn't think I'd be very good, huh?"

"No, not that. I just didn't know it would be… like that."

She gazed at him. "Well… it was. So you'll just have to deal with it."

He grinned. "Fine by me."

They were quiet for a moment. It took Arnold some time to realize that it had gotten dark, and had been for a while.

He rose from the ground "Oh, geez, what time is it? I should probably get you home."

"You don't need to rush or anything. I don't really have a curfew." She stood also, brushing sand off of her legs and his.

"Oh really?" His attention was piqued by this. Helga stammered, trying to retract that statement. Arnold snickered over her, already walking out from under the pier. "Come on."

It was a pretty tame drive home. Helga wasn't sure of what to talk about or what to think, and so their conversation was very idle. It was probably for the best, she thought. Arnold could focus more on the busy nighttime streets.

He pulled up to the Pataki home. Cars had filled up the side-street parking, leaving only one tight space Arnold could've parked in.

"I, uh, could make the block. See if someone leaves."

"Dude, just park and put on your hazard lights." She leaned over to the dash to hit the red triangle button. "I'm leaving, anyway."

"Hey, wait. I want to tell you something."

Helga, already half out of the vehicle, slid back in to hear what he had to say.

"I had fun with you tonight. A lot of fun. And I really like you." He looked her square in the eyes, a determined expression on his face. "I want to see you again, if that's okay."

Helga returned his look meekly. She knew this typical sort of goodbye was going to happen, but there didn't seem to be any avoiding it.

"… I could do that." She said.

"Would you say it's a date now?"

"... I'll still need to think on that one."

Helga saw his playful expression fade. Shit. Why am I so damn cold? She couldn't take back the words; they were true, she really still wanted to think about it. But there was something she could do to remedy things.

She allowed herself to almost completely exit the car before she darted back to Arnold, giving him a quick parting kiss that even he wasn't prepared for.

"Goodnight!" She called, shutting the door and running up the steps to her home. She didn't give herself the chance to look back at his face to see his reaction.

She flung open the door and closed it behind her.

Finally inside, she let out a huge sigh and slumped against the door.

She reached into her coat pocket to feel the plush bunny toy he had given her. Fuck. I guess I like him now.