"What came was what I didn't expect, you can say she swept me off my feet, And there was more upset but certainly no regrets […] She's got something I'm looking for" — Greg Holden, She's Got Something

Chapter 3: Surprise

I'm down on my knee waiting for an answer. So is everyone else in the restaurant. I become aware of every set of eyes watching us. Helga gets up. "Give me your keys. I'll meet you at the car." I give her my keys and she hands me my phone. I'm dumbfounded. This is not how I expected it to go. I get up and finally put the ring box back in my pocket. I get a few sorry looks from the other diners. I go to pay for the meal and they feel so sorry for me they say it's on them.

I go out to find Helga standing at the trunk of my car, her foot on the bumper tying her shoe. Her heels gone replaced by a pair of hiking boots. She pulls out her phone from her backpack and closes the trunk. "I'm about to leave the restaurant. Be there as soon as I can." She hangs up and pulls some black fabric out. "Close your eyes Arnold." She sounds tired and frustrated. I guess that's good she doesn't hate me. Maybe I just asked a little too soon. She did just graduate.

She ties whatever it is over my eyes. Then she guides me to the passenger's seat. "We should talk about this Helga. I mean will you at least give me a yes or no? You just walked out of the restaurant. I kind of thought that if you would say no, you'd say yes then tell me no or not now in private."

"Arnold. I promise we will talk if you still want when you take off the blindfold."

"Why can't I take it off now?" I say as my fingers begin to tug at the fabric.

"Arnold Miles Shortman, I will not speak to you if you touch that blindfold."

"Fine, but we are talking the second you let me take this off."

"That's all I ask." The dive is tense but not as tense as when we started. She stops and helps me out of the car. She leads me up a mildly rough terrain.

"Helga where are you taking me. I only have one pair of nice shoes, you know."

"Now you know why I changed shoes. I might be fine with a walk in the park with heels but there is no chance I would make it with those shoes. Not unless you'd be willing to carry me back to the car."

"I would carry you back. After we talk of course."

"Just when I think you can't be any nicer to the girl who didn't say yes to your marriage proposal. You make me feel like crap."

"Well, say yes and you won't."

"Do you really want me to say yes out of guilt?"

"No. I want you to want to spend the rest of your life with me."

"I love you Arnold, but sometimes you sound like a girl."

"There's nothing wrong with being in touch with your sensitive side."

"I know. That's one of the reason's I love you. Take a step left, there's a rock I don't want you to trip you look too cute to get all dirty."

"I am pretty cute aren't I?"

"That's my line."

"You've been rubbing off on me." I'm sure that the hike is shorter than it feels but not being able to see makes me cautious the spring air grows hotter. I get a whiff of pine when a cool breeze hits. That would help if I didn't already know we were outside. Still I'm grateful for the breeze and the fact I remembered to put on deodorant.

I hear the breaking of a twig and an owl hooting in the distance. Forest I kind of figured that part out already. Now why would Helga bring me out to the woods at night? I broke up with her I would suspect that she was going to kill me and dump my body out here. It's clearly the opposite of that.

After an undetermined amount of minutes we finally come to a stop. "Can I take this off now?"

"In a second." I hear her walk away, but she comes back quickly. She steps behind me, her fingers start undoing the knot.

"So Helga—"

"It's not off yet."

"Really Helga, what's a few seconds?"

"Just let me undo this knot. I think I tied it too tight."

Then the fabric slips off my eyes and I'm greeted by a bright light. I blink a few times trying to get my eyes to adjust. It's the water tower wrapped in lights. "What the—?" I don't know if it's the lights or if the situation is actually ridiculous but I'm confused. I do a quick scan, the trees, and the dark starry sky. "Why are we at Well's Ridge?" I look at Helga she doesn't looks sweaty, the hike just made her glow. That can't be fair.

"Well I was talking to Gerald about this and the craziest thing that we ever did as kids came up. I know we did a bunch. Honestly it was hard to pick, but getting chased through town by an angry mob thinking we were aliens was the craziest. At least it was the one where Bob almost killed me. We got to be on T.V. I think it would have been nice to know you were planning on pranking everyone with and alien invasion War of the Worlds style. Still it was pretty fun causing mast hysteria and a power outage. Now Arnold Miles Shortman, as you said things with you have always been an adventure, we've raised hell and pulled off some near miracles. I would bend down on one knee but I'm not doing that in this dress. In front of your family and Gerald, will you do me the honor of accepting my hand?" I look around and spot my parents off to the side of the brush standing with Gerald. There's a generator next to them, probably so there isn't a power outage like last time.

"When did my parent's get here?"

"Gerald picked them up. Their flight got in a few hours after mine."

"How long have you been planning this?"

"Probably as long as you."

"You got my parents to come."

"Of course you think I'd propose without them here?"

"I clearly didn't think you would propose. Why is Gerald here? No offense Gerald."

"None taken man." He says still standing with my parents.

"Why do you think I was worrying about the time tonight? My being on your phone or even telling you to leave it on the table. Gerald and you just narrowly missing each other. He would purposely call you five minutes before or after your lunch break so he wouldn't let anything slip up."

Before I can open my mouth we are all startled by the sound coming from the brush. I push Helga behind me and take a step forward. A face pops up.

"Phoebe?" Everyone says as soon as she appears.

"What are you doing here Phoebz?" Helga asks she's probably the most surprised out of all of us.

"Well I was at the restaurant hoping to see the moment my best friend got engaged only you walked out without giving him an answer. You both looked upset so I followed you keeping enough distance between us of course so you wouldn't know I was following you."

"Why were you there in the first place?" Helga asks.

"Much like Gerald was your accomplice in this endeavor I was Arnold's." Clearly she caught the last of that conversation. "Who do you think helped pick out the ring? Knew your ring size? Helped plan your date? Decided burgers would be better than you eating escargot again."

"Thanks Phoebz, but I do like coq au vin as much as the next girl." Helga says pulling her into a hug. "It was a hard proposal to walk away, from but we put so much work into this. There was no chance I was going to leave Arnolds parents in the middle of the woods waiting for me to ask their son to marry me."

"You asked Helga Pataki to marry you in public? You are one bold kid Arnold, one bold kid. I'd be too afraid that she'd say no in front of all those people."

"It was worse Gerald. She left me down on my knee in front of anyone everyone in the restaurant as she walked out."

"That's a tough one man." Gerald puts his hand on my shoulder and just shakes his head.

In the commotion of it all we break up into small groups discussing tonight's events. Almost as soon as it starts we are broken up by a loud, high pitched whistle. We all turn at the same time to look for the source, it's my mom standing next to my dad, his arm around her shoulders. He clears his throat stopping the slight residual hum of our conversations.

"Sorry to interrupt, but we just came to see you two get engaged and neither of you have actually said yes…" My mom stated looking at us with hope.

"Well Arnold what's your answer?" Helga says in her bossy Helga voice. Of course she does, it's Helga.

"I asked you first and I never got my answer like you said."

"I never said I would answer, I said we would talk."

"Fine you implied I would get a yes or no, and I still asked you first."

We stand looking at each other both of us clearly want to be the one who gets the 'yes'. I know neither of us are stubborn enough to wait very long for this particular answer. We stare off for just a few seconds then Helga breaks.

"Okay Football Head, I'll marry you. Yes I'll marry you. Now everyone cheer and celebrate while I get my rock and kiss my fiancé."

I hear Gerald say "You two still act like you're in the fourth grade."

I pull the ring out of my pocket and place it on Helga's long delicate finger. I lean forward to kiss her. She gently cradles my face in her hands. Her lips are sweet almost tentative in their movements. We break apart, she still holds my face in her hands, my arms around her waist. He eyes sparkle with mirth. "Are we really getting married Football Head?"

"I think we are Pataki. You did say yes." Out of the corner of my eye I see my father recording this, hopefully the lights on the water tower are bright enough to get a good shot. I see him place a kiss on my mom's head. Gerald and Phoebe are off to the corner pointing, smiling, holding hands clearly very much in love.

Helga moves so her arms are around my neck. "Do you know what that means Helga?"

"What?"

"It means you'll be Mrs. Football Head." I say before I lean in to kiss her, cutting her off before she say's anything.

Authors Notes: I hope you enjoyed. I am planning a sequel to this, the last part of my Songwood series that I have finally named. If you haven't read it please do so, the parts in order. Hey You Are in Love, and its companion piece When You Changed Your Mind. While these aren't necessary I do recommend it if you want to get the full journey of these two.

I would like to send a special shout out to Victoria who has put up with my random comments on everything and somehow nothing at the same time. She has read and edited everything and put up with me when I go crazy. Victoria you are a saint among Beta's. Thank you.

I do have an idea for a sequel. I might or might not actually go through with it depending on how much interest there is.

P.S. you were clearly right. Helga just seems like the kind of girl who has the guts to pop the question.