Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters mentioned in this story.

They all belong to their rightful owner: Craig Bartlett.

Title: "Leave the lights on"

In the last chapter: After their homeroom teacher had once again reminded them of the trip the class was going on this weekend, Helga went home to Phoebe on her request. Phoebe wanted Helga's opinion about Gerald whom Phoebe had started to develop a crush on. Helga called Arnold to ask his advice, but realized she had caught him doing something no one wanted to be caught doing.

Helga took her chance and went to Arnold's room that afternoon. Things quickly got hot and heavy and if Miles hadn't interrupted them, to ask them to join them for some wedding planning, the two blondes might have gone all the way. But alas, it was not their time just yet.

Author's 1st note: I'm so sorry! Sheesh, this one took longer than forever -.- It's the same excuse as last time though: School, fainting spells, my chronic headache and another thing to add to the list: I had surgery done! Yeah, that was fun experiencing. I had a wisdom tooth that was lying horizontally under my gum so they spent 45 minutes drugging me with anesthetics seven times, cutting my gums open and drilling the fucking thing away. I almost choked on my own blood at one point – what fun! Dx Anyways! It also took a little longer because I wasn't sure how to end this chapter, but I finally made a decision xD So here you, definitely overdue – I hope you enjoy xD

Oh, and thank you to all of you for suggesting places they could go on their field trip. I took 106Eli's suggestion and had them go to Big Bear Valley. The cabin they're staying in is fictive though, there were no cabins that could hold enough people out of those cabins I googled xD

[Please notify me if you notice any grammar mistakes. This isn't my first language, so there's bound to be mistakes.]

Chapter 13: "Damn fleshly appetites"

Helga yawned for what felt like the fifth time and her classmates were starting to notice. "Helga, are you ok?" Phoebe asked worriedly who was sitting in the seat across from her blonde friend.

"Yeah… I just didn't get a lot of sleep last night…" the taller girl asked and looked to her left at Arnold who yawned as well.

"Why did neither one of you get enough sleep?" Gerald asked who sat next to Phoebe.

"Miles and Miriam insisted on going through the wedding plans with us." Arnold explained and looked across the hallway towards Sid, Stinky and Harold who were listening as well. "They forgot we had to get up early today to go to Big Bear Valley… and when they finally remembered, it was already 2am."

"Boy howdy! Why didn't you say anything?" Sid asked in surprise.

"You try getting fiancés to think about anything else other than their wedding and ask me that again." Helga retorted just before her head fell forward. She whipped it back up and then used her hand to stretch her face. "Criminy, I'm gonna get Miriam for this when we get home…"

"Let's look at the bright side, Helga."

The blonde looked at her stepbrother in a lazy way. "What bright side?"

"We're going to California! To Big Bear Lake even; it's one of the most beautiful places in America."

"What good is that gonna do us if we're too tired to…" Helga started just before engaging in a long yawn. "… keep our eyes open?" she asked. Phoebe patted Helga's shoulder gently and the girl shot her a smile.

Arnold looked out of the window, watching as the landscape ran by outside the train. "I look forward to see it. I've always wanted to go. I heard it's really… beautiful…" he said, but nodded off in the middle of his sentence.

Helga shoved her elbow into his arm. "Enjoy the scenery, you big dope." She ordered before looking outside the window herself.

I am. Arnold thought as he looked at her, but forced himself to look out the window. God… After what happened last night, it's all I can think about. Helga seems normal though… or maybe she's just a better actress. She's a better actor no matter what, but… oh, I don't even know what I'm thinking.

Arnold let his head touch the glass as his eyes fluttered closed. He wanted to enjoy the trip to Big Bear as much as he wanted to experience Big Bear itself, but he was just too tired. The sound of his classmates chatting eventually faded into silence as he fell asleep. The last thing he felt was something bumping in his shoulder.

"Come on, Sleeping Beauties." A male voice said and Arnold felt something stab his shoulder.

"Ow…" the blonde boy mumbled and forced his eyes to open even though the sudden light was blinding. He groaned before moving his head away from the excruciating sight, but was met with an entirely different sight.

The feeling of hair tickled Arnold's nose and when he moved backwards just a little bit, he noticed some weight on his shoulder. He looked down and saw Helga who was sleeping peacefully on his shoulder. His eyes barely managed to widen before he heard the soft click of a phone camera taking a picture.

"You two are so adorable!" Rhonda giggled maliciously and showed Nadine the picture she had just taken.

"Wait. What's going on?" Arnold asked, his eyes never leaving Helga's closed ones.

"You and Helga have been sleeping on top of each other since we left the station. I think a million pictures have been taken." Gerald said playfully and pushed at Arnold's shoulder.

Crap. Arnold thought and moved his hand to Helga's shoulder to wake her up. She stirred in her sleep and her eyes finally opened. She didn't fully open them though until she saw the grinning faces around her.

Helga sat up as if she had just been burned and looked at Arnold questioningly. "Why are they staring at me like that?"

"They're staring at us… We've been sleeping since we left Hillwood."

"So?"

"We've been sleeping on each other." Arnold said and could see that Helga was about to question that as well, but then went quiet when she realized what their classmates had just seen. He saw her mouth a quick apology before her face scrunched into one of disgust.

"Shit! Of all the people I could have fallen asleep on, did it have to be my own stepbrother?! Criminy!" Helga cursed and stood up, gesturing at Gerald to make him move. "Out of the way, Tall Hair Boy! It's dangerous sitting next to Arnold."

The African boy frowned at the insult against his best friend. "We woke you up because we need to get off anyway, Pataki. Don't get your panties in a knot." He said, but stood up anyway. He grabbed his suitcase in the room made for luggage above their seats and grabbed Phoebe's bag right after. "Here you go."

"Thank you." Phoebe said in a shy manner before grabbing her bag.

Helga rolled her eyes before grabbing Arnold's luggage and throwing it at him without warning. "Up and at 'em, bro. We've got a long walk ahead of us." She said as she fumbled around for her own bag.

Arnold sighed as he grabbed his bag, silently wondering if anyone else besides Rhonda had taken any pictures… he wanted to see them, have one himself if possible.

The gang descended the train and followed their teacher dutifully. They were all chatting and bantering and in general having a good time. The thing about Helga and Arnold sleeping on each other was already forgotten; their classmates knew they were just tired and it was only funny at the moment. That didn't mean Rhonda hadn't uploaded a few pictures on her Facebook though, tagging Arnold and Helga on it. In the comment, she had written: "They are indeed siblings!"

The joke quickly died though, especially after Helga had threatened Rhonda to break the neck on her phone if they didn't shut up. The raven-haired girl had cursed the blonde's name, but didn't delete the pictures. She had, on the contrary, sent them around to everyone else but Arnold and Helga, which the blondes quickly found out when Gerald showed the pictures to them. Helga didn't break Rhonda's phone, but she did push the girl, which caused snow to spread all over her new outfit, Rhonda claimed was made by Gucci.

"Calm down, all of you." The teacher said and pointed up at the hill. "This is where we're staying. Now, some of you are going to have single bedrooms, but others will have to bunk with someone in a double bed. You have to figure out who is going to do what on your own, but if you start fighting, I will intervene. Remember, it's only for one night."

"I'm sleeping in the living room!" Sid shouted instantly to the surprise of everyone. "Oh, come on, guys! We're on a class trip! We should all sleep together so we can really bond." He added and wiggled his eyebrows in Helga's direction.

The girl visibly shivered jokingly, which earned a few laughs. "All jokes aside though, it might be fun to sleep on random spots in the living room." Helga said, which earned some nods from the others.

"You do whatever you want, kids. Just leave my room alone." The teacher told her laughing students.

Sid quickly caught up with Helga and showed her and the people around them a bottle he pulled out of his bag. "Who is up for getting wasted tonight?" he asked in a whisper to make sure the teacher didn't hear.

"You brought rum?" Arnold asked in shock, looking at the teacher to confirm she wasn't looking. "What are you gonna do if you get busted?"

"What's she gonna do, Arnold? Arrest him?" Helga asked jokingly and smirked at the sight of Captain Morgan on the bottle. "All she can do is take it from him and maybe tell his parents. I have a feeling Sid doesn't give two shits about that."

"So you're up for this?" Arnold asked in horror.

Helga shrugged. "I like rum."

"You're a rum girl?" Sid asked.

"I am more of a scotch girl, honestly, but rum is a close second."

Arnold frowned at the conversation between his stepsister and friend. "Uh, Helga? Can I talk to you for a second?" he asked and pulled gently at her arm. She followed him a few meters away from the others. "Are you sure you should be drinking?"

"Why shouldn't I?" Helga asked in confusion, but then a deep scowl spread on her face. "Oh, you better not be saying what I think you're saying… Is this because of Miriam? You think I'm gonna end up like her or something?"

"N-No! I just don't - - "

"I can't believe you!" Helga hissed before stomping back to the others, deliberately walking next to Sid to chat with him.

Arnold felt crushed. That was honestly not what he had meant. He knew Helga wasn't like her mom and she was entitled to do whatever she wanted. He just didn't like that smile Helga made when Sid showed her the bottle. Arnold joined Gerald who started chatting with him excitedly, but the blonde wasn't listening. How could he when all he could hear was Helga's angry voice inside his head?

It didn't take long before they were at the lodge and Arnold almost managed to forget his last exchange with Helga. "This place is amazing!" he bellowed as he observed the house which defined old world charm with all the amenities you'd want. He ran with his classmates up on the large deck and waited impatiently for the teacher to unlock the door. Once it was open, the gang ran in like wild animals, exploring every corner of the house.

The house was beautifully landscaped on a private wind protected spot of Big Bear Lake and was made of custom granite and tile. It had wooden floors and rusting wood. The master suite was gorgeous and had a panoramic view of the lake. The first thing Arnold noticed was the dramatic floor-to-ceiling native rock fireplace; it also seemed to be what Helga had noticed first since she was already sitting in front of it, starting to build a fire.

Arnold looked around; their classmates were gone so he took the opportunity to talk to Helga alone. He crouched next to her and she jolted when he touched her. "Sheesh, you scared me." She said and grabbed the lighter above the fireplace.

"Um… that thing before - - "

"Sorry." Helga interrupted as she waved the fire under the wood. Arnold blinked in surprise and waited for her to continue speaking. "I know that's not what you meant. After I cooled off I realized that so I'm apologizing. Don't make big thing out of it."

"I… I wanted to apologize too though."

"But I know I was the one who misunderstood."

"Yeah, but the reason I even said that was… was because I didn't like that you and Sid talked like that." Arnold admitted and Helga shot him an incredulous look. "You've been annoyed with him and pushing him away all this time and all of a sudden you become best buddies just because of some rum. I guess I got nervous."

Helga sighed, clearly annoyed with him, but she didn't admit it. "You really think I'd sell myself out for some rum? I'm not cheap and I'm not a pirate… Also, not even my mom would do that." She said and showed him a smile.

The blonde shot a quick look around, confirming everyone else were still everywhere else but here. Then she put the lighter back and touched his cheek. He smiled softly at her and put his hand atop of hers. As soon as he did though, she whipped her hand away, giving him somewhat of a frightened look.

"Sorry…" she whispered. "I just remembered what happened last night."

Arnold's eyes widened as he watched a very small blush spread on Helga's cheeks; it was so small he'd have to be really close to see it. She stood up and dusted her knees off, clearly trying to act casual. She told him they should find the others, but the blonde boy wasn't listening. As soon as her back was turned to him, he stood up and touched her shoulders. She froze, shivering under his touch as his fingers ran down her arms.

"You're just making it worse for the both of us, bucko…" Helga reminded him.

Arnold sighed. "This is torture…"

"Oh, yeah. I'm sure this was a torture method they used back in the dark ages. Perhaps I should consider throwing some leeches down your codpiece?" She joked before stepping away and turning to look at him. Arnold frowned, wondering what a codpiece was, but he never got the chance to ask. "We need to hold back as long as we're here…"

"We?"

"Hey, I'm holding back too, you know." The blonde said and swayed her hips gently. "I was the one who wanted to fuck your brains out."

The joyous laughter of their peers cut the conversation short when the re-entered the living room. The blondes looked at each other for a moment before their attention was forcefully drawn to their classmates. While the girls started talking about who should be sleeping where and if the living-room thing was even something to consider, the boys chatted about going out fishing. In the end, the boys and girls divided and so did the blonde stepsiblings.

It wasn't until it was almost sunset that the boys came back from their fishing trip to find the girls watching the horizon on the deck.

"Hey, catch anything?" Nadine asked when she noticed the boys. The boys shook their heads though.

"Nah, but we weren't really trying anyway." Harold insisted before throwing his homemade fishing rod on the deck and looking at the girls. "Are you watching the sunset? That is so girly. I'm disappointed in you, Helga."

The blonde girl rolled her eyes. "I happen to enjoy a pretty sunset once in a while… and they don't look like this back home." She defended and turned her sight back to the setting sun, which was dappling the sky in shades of gold and crimson.

Arnold pretended to look at the sunset, but what truly caught his eyes was the blonde girl watching it. She was always pretty in his opinion; in her own tomboyish, crude kind of way, but standing in front of something so soft and beautiful which was in complete contrast to her messy hair and the ripped, much too large black dress shirt she was wearing, made her look like a gem among stones.

Arnold stood next to Helga and watched the sunset, listening as the other boys eventually joined the girls as well. "Remember the last time you and I watched a sunset?" he asked in a low voice and looked at the others, confirming no one was listening.

"Yeah, just before we all moved in together…" Helga replied somewhat dreamily, her blue eyes shining in the light.

"It's weird. It's the same sun, but…"

"It's completely different, right?" Helga asked and turned her head to look at Arnold who looked back. There was a content, ethereal silence between them that was only interrupted when Rhonda suddenly shrieked happily.

"Hey, anyone up for some karaoke?"

"Karaoke?" Helga questioned in surprise and looked at the ravenette. "You like karaoke?"

"No, she likes showing off." Nadine teased and rubbed her elbow against Rhonda's arm.

The black-haired girl huffed and flipped her hair. "It's a fun activity, Helga, but I don't expect a girl like you to find it all that amusing. Singing is, after all, an art and, uh… despite your poetry, you're not a very artsy person."

"Helga can sing, Rhonda." Arnold said, hiding the hiss in his voice. The others looked at him in shock and so did Helga.

"Helga can sing?" Sid asked in semi-surprise, but mostly he looked impressed.

"Yeah, I mean…" Arnold said and remembered Helga didn't want people to know about her playing the guitar. "I've overheard her singing in her room and trust me, she can sing." He explained with a smile, but it disappeared when he saw the hateful stare he got from Helga, which the others couldn't see since she was standing with her back turned to them.

"Really?" Rhonda questioned and crossed her arms. "Color me dubious."

"Oh, come on, Helga! Now you gotta sing!" Lila said enthusiastically and bounced happily. The blonde shot her a dirty look, but the redhead didn't notice or maybe she didn't care.

Lila hadn't changed since Rhonda's party, but she had obviously given up on Arnold and after the whole incident died down, she seemed to have more interest in Helga than she ever was in Arnold. What kind of interest, Helga didn't want to know.

"I'm not a performer." Helga insisted and looked back at the sunset, only after shooting Arnold another deathly glare.

"Oh, don't worry, Helga. No one expects you to be good or anything." Rhonda said with a smirk.

The blonde looked at Rhonda, feeling her competitive side boil inside her. She smirked. "Fine. You've convinced me. I'll sing for you." She said, fully enjoying the look of pure shock on the raven-haired girl's face; she obviously hadn't expected Helga to accept the challenge.

"Awesome! Then I'll pull out the booze and we can get this party started!" Sid bellowed happily and ran straight into the living room.

"Quiet, Sid! Our teacher - - "

"Oh, relax, Arnold. She's already in bed." Sid yelled from the living room. "As long as we don't knock on her door, she won't wake up. She's a heavy sleeper."

"How does Sid know about her sleeping habits?" Arnold asked Gerald as they walked inside.

"You really wanna know?" Gerald asked as he wiggled his eyebrows. Arnold frowned instantly and shook his head violently. No, he definitely didn't want to know; not when Gerald was making that face.

"Well, go ahead and choose, Helga." Rhonda said as she threw a cover at Helga, obviously not expecting her to be able to catch it as elegantly as she did.

Helga eyed the songs and quirked an eyebrow at a familiar one. "I didn't think this was popular enough to be on a karaoke list…" she muttered to herself and smiled to herself, which Arnold noticed. "Well, this is an easy choice."

"Which one?" Rhonda asked and looked at the song Helga pointed at. She huffed. "This? This doesn't seem like your style." She stated as she grabbed the cover and started playing with the TV.

"A lot of things aren't my style; like fitting the box inside your head."

Rhonda shot Helga a dirty look at the comment, but didn't say anything. The gang all sat down around the TV, getting comfortable. Some were obviously hoping Arnold was wrong and Helga would sound awful while others were looking forward to be proven wrong.

"Ok, I got the rum! Want a glass before you sing, Helga?" Sid asked and poured a glass before handing it to her.

The blonde grabbed it and drank it all in one go, to the obvious admiration of the other boys. Sid blinked before offering her another glass with a dirty smirk on his face, but she simply smirked as well before pushing the glass back at him. He laughed boyishly before sitting down between the boys.

"This is gonna be fun." Rhonda whispered in Nadine's ear, deliberately loud enough for Helga to hear her.

The blonde smirked to herself. Agreed, Rhonda… she thought and played with the remote on the screen. "Short version, thank you."

The others complained, some sarcastically, but Helga ignored them and bopped her head when the music started. She quickly scanned the lyrics, noticing that the short version wasn't just a short version as much as it just left the chorus by the end and didn't repeat it even once. The song started low and in a semi-slow beat so Helga just moved to the others, holding the mic in her hand and in general avoiding eye contact as she began to sing.

"Here comes the breath before we get a little bit closer… Here comes the rush before we touch. Come a little closer…" Helga sang slowly, almost beautifully and Arnold felt mesmerized from the beginning. He didn't know the song, but he couldn't help but grin while he listened to her. "The doors are open, the wind is really blowing. The night sky is changing overhead."

Helga started smiling as the beat of the song picked up. She shot a quick look in Arnold's direction, confirming that the others were basically looking at each other rather than her, to show the others their surprise. None had expected Helga to be that good so when she shot a wink in Arnold's direction, no one was even looking at her.

"All you think of lately is getting underneath me… All I dream of lately is how to get you underneath me." Helga sang somewhat sensually, but held the urge down. She didn't want to risk someone considering she might be thinking of someone special while singing that.

Arnold, on the other hand, had a hard time ignoring what Helga had just sung. He blushed involuntarily and counted his blessings that the lamps were dimmed or else someone might have noticed. The lyrics seemed to hit pretty close to how he had been feeling since yesterday in particular and he was a little ashamed of it, honestly. He never thought he'd want a girl this much and knowing she felt the same way – which was a foreign feeling to him – just made it all the worse… or better, depending on how you looked at it.

"Here comes the heat before we meet a little bit closer… Here comes the spark before the dark. Come a little closer. The lights are off and the sun is finally setting." Helga sang and pointed at the sky dramatically."The night sky is changing overhead."

Helga's dramatic motion caused a few laughs, but they went quiet again almost instantly as she continued to sing. Rhonda's sour face, which had been painted on ever since she realized Helga could in fact sing, was starting to fade and she was moving along to the beat of the music. The teenagers were all in all starting to have a party of their own while Helga was singing for them.

"It's not just all physical. I'm the type who won't get oh-so critical. So let's make things physical. I won't treat you like you're oh-so typical. I want you close. I want you. I won't treat you like you're typical." Helga sang with more power in her voice, earning some whistles from her audience, especially due to the suggestiveness in her words. "All I want to get is… a little bit closer… All I want to know is… can you come a little closer?"

And then the song ended and Helga smiled as she was applauded. She curtsied sarcastically before throwing the mic away casually and sitting down on the floor. "Ok. Who is next?" She asked before anyone could compliment her on her singing.

Rhonda was quick to take over the mic, but Arnold leaned closer to Helga rather than listening to the black-haired girl. "I really liked that." He whispered.

Helga leaned closer without looking at him to try and gain the least attention to them. "My singing or the lyrics?" she asked with a knowing smile on her face.

Arnold smirked boyishly. "Both."

It didn't take long before the teenagers were sharing the bottle of rum generously with each other. Some of the girls had bought soda for the trip and were sharing that as well for those who didn't want to drink the rum directly, which was a great amount. Sid was quick to find his seat next to Helga and the drunker he got, the more touchy he got as well. He flirted and complimented her in a slurry voice and when she continued ignoring him, he tried touching her thigh, which earned him a semi-sprained wrist that just made him laugh.

Despite Helga's efforts then the more Arnold watched Sid flirt with her, the madder he got. He considered telling Sid to leave her alone, push him away and even finishing Helga's job and break his wrist, but he couldn't do that. He was just her stepbrother; why should he care? Since he couldn't hit Sid, he decided to hit the bottle instead, something he would usually never do. He didn't even like rum, but the more he drank, the happier he got by the thought that his breath smelled like Helga's.

"Could someone take over this drunken fool?!" Helga asked in pure frustration before pushing Sid so hard he fell backwards.

"Drink with me, buddy!" Harold said before hiccupping and grabbing Sid. Sid quickly forgot about Helga and joined his friend in a drinking game only the two of them knew the rules for.

Helga shook her head at the sight of the silly boys and turned her eyes towards a different boy. "Is he ok?" she asked Gerald before sipping from her glass.

Gerald looked at Arnold next to him, who was humming a melody to himself Gerald didn't know. All in all, he resembled the boy from The Boxtrolls when he hummed like that.

Gerald shrugged. "He's always been a lightweight. What's he humming anyway?"

"Why should I know?" Helga asked with a shrug. Maybe because I'm the one who wrote that melody… She thought. "Want me to take over the babysitting?" she asked after Arnold had fallen face first on the coffee table.

Gerald groaned. "Yes please!" he begged and pulled Arnold up from the table. "Dude, where's Helga?"

Helga chuckled before calling Arnold's name and he looked at her. "Come here, boy." She said as if talking to a dog.

Arnold grinned drunkenly as he crawled towards her across the low coffee table. She quickly held her hands out to grab him before he plumbed down next to her on the floor. His face eventually landed on the crook of her neck as if his oblong head was too heavy to carry anymore.

"Is he always this… affectionate when he's drunk?"

"Arnold doesn't usually drink this much so I wouldn't know, but I guess it makes sense for him to be that kind of drunk." Gerald answered before looking towards Phoebe across the room. "Um… Helga, do you mind if I, uh - - "

"Go hit on my best friend? Be my guest." Helga interrupted and gestured dramatically towards the Asian girl. Gerald grinned shyly, thanked her and jumped away. Helga shook her head in amusement. "He plays it cool, but he really likes he, doesn't he?"

Arnold moved his head upwards and his lips touched Helga's earlobe. "I like you…." He whispered almost sensually, but there was a childishly possessive tone in his voice.

Helga felt a shiver go down her spine, but ignored it. "Yeah, yeah. I like you too, Football Head." She chuckled awkwardly.

"You do?" he asked prolonging the last word in wonder. "This is the best field trip ever!"

After Arnold's arms had cheerfully lifted in the air, they fell back down and a hand landed on Helga's thigh. Her leg flinched, but that was all she did. She knew it was a coincidence; it had to be. Drunk or not, surely Arnold wasn't bold or stupid enough to touch her in public?

Then again…

Helga looked around and noticed that she and Arnold were somewhat secluded from the others. Since Sid and Gerald had moved away, the spaces between the blondes and their classmates were unoccupied. This was still risky though; all that needed to happen was one of their classmates deciding to look at them and they would be busted.

Then again…

Arnold was drunk and so were the others. Even Helga felt a little tipsy despite being anything but a lightweight. Surely no one expected her to hit her own stepbrother, like she had hit Sid earlier, even if he was getting a little handy. Not that she would hit him either way. She didn't mind Arnold's touch, but she couldn't show that.

Arnold fell further down Helga's chest and eventually landed on her lap. The blonde rolled her eyes. "You didn't just black out, did you?" she asked and choked down a shriek when he bit on her inner thigh. Ok, you're awake. She declared in her mind and looked at her classmates. "I'll get Arnold to bed. He's too drunk."

"Let him sleep here." Harold suggested.

Helga shook her head though and moved her legs away from Arnold, which caused the boy to whine in disappointment. "He's drunk, which means he will probably snore loudly enough to make an echo in the mountains."

Despite the flawed logic, most of the teens accepted Helga's explanation or didn't care enough to argue against her. Rhonda though decided to speak. "Isn't there anyone who thinks it's weird that Helga is putting Arnold to bed?"

Helga's eyebrows knitted together at the comment, but she ignored it and simply continued helping Arnold standing up.

"Why is that weird? She's not gonna join him or anything." Sheena pointed out, her head swaying from side to side like a drunk bubblehead doll.

"Ew! Don't even think that! That's incest!" Rhonda bellowed harshly.

"It is technically not incest as long as people aren't blood-related." Phoebe informed matter-of-factly, her voice much clearer in comparison to her peers'.

"It's still creepy." Rhonda insisted stubbornly. "Their parents are getting married, the all live together as a family. Imagine if they get another child!"

Helga choked at those words and almost dropped Arnold to the floor. She quickly scooped him back up and shot the others a panicked look. "I hate Olga, I've barely gotten used to Arnold and now you're talking about a third sibling? Shut up!" she shrieked to the clear amusement of her peers.

"Yeah, shut up, Rhonda!" Sid bellowed goofily. Rhonda started scolding him for talking to her like that, but Helga simply grinned at Sid as a form of thank you for taking her side.

The blonde didn't notice that Arnold was looking at them though and was even frowning at this point. He started pulling her along with him or that was at least what he was trying to do. He had a feeling all he managed to do was struggle against her though as she guided him to the bedroom furthest away from their classmates.

"Behave, you drunk idiot. Criminy, this brings back memories." Helga complained, with humor in her voice though.

Arnold growled in displeasure when he imagined the smile Helga had shown Sid just before. "Don't show Sid that." He slurred.

"Huh?" Helga questioned before kicking the door open and dragging Arnold inside. "What smile? What are you talking about?"

"That smile you just smiled in front of Sid! Don't show him that; I'm the only one who - - " Arnold's words were cut short when he stumbled and almost fell. Helga stepped in front of him, saving him from the fall, but he was still not standing properly on his own two feet so it was only a matter of time before she would lose her grip.

"Oh, for crying out loud! I'm getting sick of this delusional jealousy - - Watch it!"

Arnold attempted to take a step, which caused her to instinctively move backwards. Their feet got tangled and they ended up sprawled on the floor. Helga groaned when the back of her head hit the carpet, but she wasn't hurt.

"Arnold?" she said, her voice implying she was asking whether he was ok. He was lying on top of her with his head buried in her hair. "You're squishing me." She said quietly, more matter-of-factly than in a way of ordering him to get off her.

Arnold mumbled something incoherent against Helga's hair to which she asked him what he was saying. He put his palms next to her head and pushed himself up, showing her a somber expression. "Excuse me… for being jealous."

"What?" Helga questioned in disbelief. Is he really going to talk about this right now?

"Excuse me for being jealous… that Sid can openly flirt with you and I can't…" Arnold continued, the slur in his voice still apparent, but his words were comprehensible enough. "Excuse me… for falling in love with you, the probably worst person I could have feelings for… Excuse me for making everything such a mess in our family."

"A-Arnold…" Helga tried to interrupt when she noticed the slight sarcasm in his voice fading and changing into a sob.

The almost weeping boy above her affected her more than she liked and it worried her. She hated when people cried; she never knew what to do and the fact that it was Arnold weeping just made it worse. Great. Now I feel guilty and I haven't done anything wrong.

"Arnold." Helga said gently and put her hands on his cheeks. He looked at her, his eyes shining, but tears had yet to truly fall down his face. "That smile I showed Sid, I, uh… promise I won't smile at him like that again… ok?" she questioned, hoping this was enough to calm him down. Truth be told; she still didn't have a clue what he was talking about.

Arnold's head slumped until his forehead landed on Helga's chest. "That's not it…" he whispered in a strangely serious fashion. She groaned in relinquishment. She was about to ask him what it was then, but she never got the chance. Before she knew what was happening, his lips were upon hers and she gasped in shock.

Helga stared at Arnold's eyelids, unsure of what to do and what to think. The way he was kissing her wasn't with the same passion he had done before. The feeling oozing from his lips wasn't desperation or need; it was despair. He was begging her to understand, to forgive him, to love him back. The guilt started to consume her and part of her wanted to push him away. They were, after all, still on a field trip with their classmates and if they chose to check up on Arnold, they'd both be done for.

But with the way Arnold was kissing her, Helga felt like the cruelest person in the Universe if she stopped him. Great. I'm an asshole if I do and I'm an asshole if I don't… She thought in frustration. So she decided to do what she wanted to do. Damn fleshly appetites. She cursed in her head before using her foot to kick the door until the soft click of it closing echoed in the room.

Author's 2nd note: Yes, I am mean; you're not even supposed to know what does or does not happen between Arnold and Helga here just yet – you'll find out in the next chapter which shouldn't take as long to finish. Please stay tuned! (despite my lateness… xD)

And the song Helga sings is "Closer" by Tegan and Sara. I definitely recommend hearing it! I adore the message behind the music video; you see all kinds of lovers there and it just makes me happy whenever the diversity in our society is shown instead of "just" the straight couples.

The Boxtrolls is a stop-motion made from the creators of Coraline. Adorable movie! The boy from the movie, which I had Gerald somewhat compare Arnold to, is called Eggs. No, seriously xD Well, you kinda need to know the movie to get the reference, but basically Eggs has this thing with the box troll called Fish (yeah, seriously) where they hum to the melody of a music box that used to be inside a teddy bear. They just look so awkward doing it because Fish is a troll and Eggs is just a little baby inside a box xD