A/N: Sorry it took me so long to update, been busy with summer school and work.

As a quick side note, I am greatly aware of the controversy surrounding this couple, and I did so knowing the risks of posting a fanfic about them.

Besides, if you do not like this story, don't read it, it's that simple! I apologize for this brief message, and thanks to anyone and everyone who is reading/reviewing/following/supporting this story.

Chapter 3: One Step Forward

Arnold found himself in his bed, unable to sleep. He had just finished unpacking his room, moving everything to their exact places before he moved. He must admit, he truly missed his old bedroom, especially the panoramic sunroof that gave him a beautiful view of the night sky above. It always seemed to always simmer him down, even if he had a rough day. He was glad he came back to Hillwood, and equally grateful that his first day went so well.

The fourteen-year-old Arnold's mind ran rampant as he tossed and turned constantly in his bed in search of a comfortable position. It still bothered him how he left Lila without saying much, even if they were only friends. Of course he was back now, but he had left her for four whole years, who knew how she felt during all that time.

Even though Lila had blatantly admitted to him that she didn't 'like-like' him during elementary school, that didn't stop them from bonding together and becoming close companions. But now that they were older, the fact that she turned him down didn't matter, after all, the concept of a relationship back when they were younger were far different from the ones that formed now. It may have just been high school, but this is where many people are molded, and where the notion of a finding a significant other truly starts. Lila had gotten so overwhelmingly gorgeous, especially when taken into consideration that she was only a freshmen. He couldn't help but stare every time he was with her, and luckily for him, she either didn't notice, or didn't mind. In all actuality, she was probably used to it by now, and it surprised Arnold how she remained so pure and innocent, especially since she possessed such a stunning figure and seemed to attract guys like bee's to a flower. But he knew Lila wasn't the type of girl to fall head over heel's for just some random boy; she was much more mature, much smarter than that. As he pondered with his thoughts while staring at the night sky, he began to feel his eyes slowly shut until he finally descended into a deep slumber.

Things were looking up for the boy, and he couldn't wait to see what is in store for him in the future.

...One Month later...

Hey Arnold! Hey Arnold! Hey Arnold!

Arnold lazily fell out of bed as he tried to shut off his rather annoying alarm. God, why did I decide to put you out of my reach, Arnold thought to himself as he attempted to pull himself up, finally silencing his clock. After he took a shower, he found it difficult to decide what to wear today. His tastes in clothes have become rather urban, and he grew fond of brands such as Stussy and Supreme. After ages, he finally decided to wear his favorite blue sweater and a plaid undershirt, having wasted far too much time searching through his rather large wardrobe. He checked his clock; 6:20am, and the bus left at 7:00am, leaving him more than enough time to catch some breakfast since the bus stop was only a five to ten minute walk from his house.

Walking down stairs, he ran into Grandpa Phil, who was busy hanging up picture frames on the walls.

"Going to school already Short man?"

"Um yeah, gotta catch the bus remember? Anyway I'm going to get some breakfast then head out, see ya round Grandpa."

Phil turned and nodded, causing one of the picture frames to fall violently on the ground. "Good for nothing, stupid pictures frame, stupid!" The irritated man's voice faded away as Arnold entered into the building's kitchen, which was surprisingly empty, it's other tenants still sleeping. To Arnold's and his grandparents astonishment, all the original boarders that they left were all still living here, which made adjusting back to Hillwood city all the easier. Guess something's never change Arnold thought to himself.

Grabbing a pop tart, he dashed out of the building and paced towards the school bus stop, eating his breakfast on the way. He was somewhat excited to go to school now a days, especially since he was beginning to meet new people, and catching up with old ones, particularly Lila. For the most part, his time back in Hillwood was sound, but one thing still constantly aggravated his mind. Despite Lila begging him to shrug it off, Arnold was growing an immense grudge toward Wolfgang, especially since he constantly harassed Lila. He couldn't tolerate the bully's rude behavior and inappropriate sexual remarks, in a matter of fact, there were a couple times Arnold nearly punched Wolfgang straight in the face, but his attempts were always foiled by Lila.

One of these days Wolfgang was going to get what he deserved if he kept this up.

As he approached to the bus stop, he was greeted by Gerald, who was already waiting idly by for the bus to arrive.

"What up Arnold?"

"Nothing much Gerald, how's you and Phoebe?"

"Good man, good, how's you and Lila?"

Arnold blushed, "Dude I already told you we're just friends!"

"Yeah, whatever man." Gerald already knew something about their relationship that Arnold was either denying or couldn't figure out.

The bus pulled up, and the two friends quickly rushed aboard, eager to sit at their usual spot in the front of the vehicle. Finding nothing to talk about, they sat for several minutes until the school bus stopped to load in more students. As the young group of teens scampered to find seats, Lila's group of friends passed by, all of them greeting Arnold with the exception of Helga, who for whatever reason discontinued calling him football head. In a matter of fact, she seemed to be ignoring him all together, and appeared to be a little depressed, which was highly unusual considering the girl's character.

"Morning Arnold!" Lila said brushing by while she beamed a bright smile. As selfish as it may have seemed, Lila was probably the only reason why Arnold was even slightly excited about going to school, stirring up a multitude of negative and positive consequences.

Since Lila was highly intelligent and polite, Arnold attempted to impress her by trying to ace tests, participate in class, and turn in all his homework. It's not like he wasn't already going to try and be one of the top student's in his class, it's just that Lila seemed to motivate him more, especially when she gave him words of encouragement and support.

However, Arnold also began stirring up unnecessary conflict with several guys around the school who attempted to 'get at her' so to speak. He honestly didn't mind her having guy friends at all, especially when he knew that all of them would be friend zoned, a fate he hoped he wouldn't have to endure, that is, if he really did like Lila. But the others he couldn't stand, for many of the guys who were flirting with her were just trying to get into her pants, especially Wolfgang, who he held a total grudge against. But fortunately Lila re-assured him that she would never go for such degenerative people.

Almost instantly, Arnold perked his head up. "Hey Lila." he greeted back, her presence already making him feel warm inside.

Today was going to be a great day, he could feel it, especially since it was Friday.

After a long, but bearable day, their last class finally ended, marking the official start of the weekend. It would also, or so Arnold was hoping , be the day where he finally mustered up the courage to ask Lila to hang out with him outside of school.

They had been talking to each other for about a month now, and Arnold still hadn't brought up the topic to Lila. He wasn't sure if it was because he was nervous, or because he was confused about his feelings towards her, but at this point he was finally going to ask, regardless if he liked her as more than a friend or not. Arnold was reluctant to confess to himself that he like-liked her because he had only talked to her for a short amount of time, and he wanted to be totally comfortable with her before he finally admitted to himself the obvious truth.

As Arnold and Lila walked outside of the class room, the blonde boy finally mustered up the courage to ask Lila his question.

"Hey Lila... um... what are you doing after school?"

"Um, nothing?" She said hesitantly answered back. "Why?"

"Oh, well I was just wondering if you wanted to... maybe hang out after school?"

Lila thought about it for a minute, she really wanted to hang out with Arnold, but she wasn't sure, especially since Helga was a little more down than usual. Helga claimed that it was family problems at home, but Lila knew better. Her friend's strange behavior all began when Arnold and her started talking, which made it obvious that there was a correlation between that and Helga's despondent state. Lila tried to talk to her about it, but Helga either changed the topic or flat out ignored her. In all honesty Lila wasn't sure what to do, and even Rhonda and the others couldn't figure the tomboy out. She had an internal battle raging within her; either she deny his offer, or accept it, risking possible conflict with Helga.

Then, as if something took control over her body, she responded.

"Of course Arnold, where?" She did it, there was no turning back now.

"Um, maybe at Gerald's house? He's bringing along Phoebe."

"Hmmm ok, I guess we'll just get off at the same stop as Gerald then. Let me call my daddy and tell him first ok?"

Arnold nodded, walking away so that Lila could make the call.

After Lila called her dad and talked to him for several minutes, she finally returned, bearing great news. "Daddy say it's fine, I'll meet you at the bus stops ok? I have to catch Phoebe first."

Internally, Arnold breathed in a sigh of relief, for a second she thought her father was going to be one of those overly strict parents who would refuse to let their daughters go out anywhere without them.

Finally, they would be have a life outside of the school.

"Dude, I got Lila to hang out with me after school at your house!"

Gerald smirked, about damn time. "Finally, maybe you two can make out or something."

"Dude... we're not even like that", Arnold frowned.

"Mhm, keep lyin' to yourself Arnold."

Arnold comprehended Gerald's words, was he lying to himself? That's impossible, he'd have to at least talk to her for another few months, maybe even a year or two before he would know definitively if he like-liked her or not. Of course she was drop dead gorgeous and had a warming aura around her, but as of now he considered her as only a friend. After all, they were only freshmen, and he didn't believe in love at first sight, yet alone love at such a young age, and he knew Lila didn't either.

As they waited near the bus stop, the girl's finally approached them, Phoebe and Lila dispersing from their group. They were chatting about something, but Arnold and Gerald could hear none of what they were saying.

"Hey Phoebe, do you know why Helga's been so well, sad lately?" Lila questioned as they got closer and closer to the boys.

Phoebe faced a concerned Lila "Well, she told me it was family problems, but she didn't really get into specifics."

"That's what she told me to... but I think it's more than that..." She felt slightly guilty about what she was doing, even though in reality there was nothing morally wrong about it.

Hastily walking towards Gerald and Arnold, Lila looked back at her group of friends who were all busy chatting, all except for Helga. The blonde girl was staring at her in silence, her vivid blue eyes glaring somewhat coldly at the red-headed girl, who's level of discomfort was increasing by the second. Then, much to her relief, Helga turned away to join the conversation with her group of friends. Now it was clear that there was something going on in Helga's life, and she was pretty sure it had to do something with Arnold. But right now that would have to wait.

"Hey Lila!" Arnold greeted giving her a hug.

"Hi Arnold, I guess we'll just sit together on the bus behind Phoebe and Gerald since we're all getting off at the same time."

Perfect, the blonde boy said to himself mentally. Of course he meant that in sort of a weird friend kind of way, after all he didn't even like-like her yet.

Or so that's what he told himself.

As they found themselves situated comfortably on the bus, Arnold noticed that Lila was acting a bit strange, like there was something bothering her.

"Lila, everything ok? Is it stupid Wolfgang again?"

Lila faced him, her light green eyes sparkling in the sunlight coming though the bus window. "Not at all... just, um... deep in thought, but thanks for asking."

"Ok, just remember if anything..."

"Shhh.." the girl hushed unsuspectingly.

Arnold suddenly found his mouth shut and his body instantly relaxed. The way she got him to quiet down was strangely... intimate.

About ten minutes later, the bus pulled up at their stop, and Gerald and Phoebe who were sitting in front of them instantly got up.

"Time to get off Arnold and Lila, let's go." Gerald said as he stretched his arms up into the air.

The four exited the bus, stepping onto the sidewalk below them. Gerald's house was about a fifteen minute walk from their location, assuming they didn't make any stops on the way.

"So what are we going to do at your house babe?" Phoebe questioned as she rose her face close to Gerald's.

"Hmm... good question, why don't you ask Arnold and Lila?" he purred back, quickly pecking her lips with his.

"Oh god Gerald, you do know I'm behind you right?!" Arnold exclaimed.

"Well if it bothers you that much, why don't you do the same with Lila?" He joked back, kissing Phoebe once again.

"Um..." Arnold blushed, he cursed Gerald under his breath for making things so awkward! Lila chuckled quietly, having witnessed Arnold's face instantly transform into an intense, almost burning red from Gerald's little comment.

"Aw stop it babe, your embarrassing him!" the Asian girl intervened, before whispering something else into his ear. "Besides... I'm not sure if that's the wisest thing to do... you should know."

Gerald perked up. "But I thought she was over him...?"

Phoebe smacked Gerald straight in the back of the head.

"Ouch! What the hell was that for?!"

"Over who?" Arnold interrupted from the back.

"Oh nothing, just talking about some random stuff, you know!" Phoebe added quickly in order to draw away any suspicions.

They turned the last block, completing the journey to Gerald's place, which was evidently remodeled compared to when Arnold last saw it.

"Finally." Gerald muttered, quickly grabbing his key and inserting it into the door.

The four friends entered into a medium sized living with a large LCD screen hanging on the wall, several couches situated in an 'L' shape around it, and a charging laptop in the middle that was on the coffee table.

"Make yourselves at home, I'll go get some food in the kitchen, any of you guys wanna come with?"

Lila and Arnold sat next to each other on the main couch, and Phoebe sat on the other main couch just to the side of them.

"No, we're fine, I'll stay here with Arnold and Lila." Phoebe answered back.

"Suit yourself babe." Gerald said disappearing into the kitchen room.

Trying to break the awkward silence, Phoebe spoke up "So... Arnold, how do you like your first month back in Hillwood?"

"It's been great so far, I mean a lot of things have changed but I can get used to it."

"Yeah... a lot has changed, some for the worse... but a lot for the better."

"I've noticed... I also see Wolfgang's still an ass hole."

"Language Arnold!" Lila hit him gently on the leg, "I thought I told you not to worry about him!"

Phoebe sighed, "Eh, Wolfgang has always been like that, just don't pay attention to him and you should be fine."

Arnold was about to keep the conversation going when Lila gave him a sudden death stare, giving him the queue to drop the subject. Even though they were just friends, they sure did act like they were a couple at times, and this was just one of the many examples.

Phoebe heard footsteps, and twisted her head to see what Gerald was carrying. Judging by how much time it had took him, he must be carrying a sizable amount of food for all four of them.

"I'm back with chips!" Gerald interrupted, carrying a bowl.

Guess not.

"Are you kidding me? It took you ten minutes to get chips?" Phoebe mocked.

Gerald brushed his shoulder, "Pshhttt, unless you want to get some food yourself go knock yourself out."

Phoebe sighed, it's not like she was hungry anyway.

"So now that that's settled what you guys wanna do?"

Phoebe face palmed herself. "And you don't even know what to do in your own house?! You're unbelievable!"

"If I'm so unbelievable, why are you dating me?" He smirked.

"I hate you." She pouted, knowing that he won the argument.

Meanwhile, Lila was busy searching through the files of movies while the two pestered each other, providing Arnold a sense of entertainment. Her searching finally pulled off when she reached out for a movie, causing Phoebe to immediately gasp. "Oh my god! I love that movie!"

Arnold turned to Blu-Ray Lila was holding, on the cover it read 'A Walk To Remember.' He'd never seen the movie himself, but he sure heard about it a lot, especially among the girls around his school.

"Gerald, can we watch this?" She asked ever so politely.

"Um, sure why not, how bout your Arnold? It's super over-romantic, and it's all gushy, I don't think you'll like it."

"Oh shut up." Phoebe interrupted.

"He's just saying that because the last time he saw this movie he started crying, and may I add, he cried more than once."

"I did not!" Gerald protested. "I had something in my eye! Plus it was allergy season!"

"Yeah, sure, ok, whatever." The Asian girl interjected.

"It's fine Gerald, go ahead and put in the movie, I'm pretty sure that's what Lila would like to watch." Arnold responded back, causing a delighted Lila to stare back at him.

Now Arnold knew that Phoebe was telling the truth.

About almost an hour later, Gerald was totally submerged in his cinema experience, making side comments, and even tearing up at several of the scenes. He was cuddled up with Phoebe, who was busy falling asleep on his chest.

How she was able to fall asleep amidst Gerald's sniffing was beyond Arnold.

Unbeknownst to Arnold, Lila had scooted up against his side during the first half of the movie, and he could feel the side of her leg touching his. He turned to stare into her face, which seemed to be pretty deep in thought as the scenes of the film kept rolling by. She appeared so calm and gentle, her undisturbed gaze seemingly examining the movie's plot, puzzling all of it together.

He diverted his attention back to the movie, finding it quite interesting. From what he could tell, it was about a popular high school kid who is forced to participate in after school activities, which causes him to meet a girl he ultimately grows closer and closer with. It was only about half way done, and he couldn't wait to see the rest of the film unfold.

It was at this moment he felt something warm lay against his body.

Somewhat stunned, he found that Lila had rested her head on his shoulder and that her body had moved up against the side of his for added comfort. None of them said a word, and Arnold dared not speak for fear of ruining this perfect moment.

Lila stared up into his eyes and smiled, causing Arnold to warmly smile back.

He was enjoying every second of her warmth, he'd never felt so soothed in his entire life. Of course he was still young, and he knew experiences like this would become more common and common as he grew, but he couldn't help but feel that this was something, for lack of a better word, unique.

There current physical stature caused the boy to re-evaluate his relationship with Lila. Now he was certain that he had feelings for her, but he still wasn't sure to what extent.

The movie ended after nearly two hours.

During the course of this time, Gerald had went through an entire box of tissues, and Phoebe was now just waking up, tired from her hard classes. Arnold asked several times if his friend was ok, but he insisted that it was allergies, or that something got caught into his eyes. In fact, Gerald was too busy sobbing away that he hadn't notice that Lila was quite literally snuggling comfortably up against Arnold.

"Well that was a depressing ending." Arnold muttered, Gerald's sniffing echoing throughout the room.

"How? I thought it ended on a happy note!" Lila perked up. "I mean think about it, Landon was originally headed towards the wrong direction, but when he met Jamie, he changed, eventually entering medical school." she paused, Arnold never turning away from her. "And even though Jamie dies of leukemia, her and Landon would always be connected, even after death, and that's what the movie is ultimately about."

Arnold initially didn't see the movie that way, but now that Lila put it into perspective for him, it made sense. Her level of understanding and maturity intrigued him, and it felt as though Lila was actually older than she physically was.

Lila abruptly felt her phone vibrating, causing her to remove herself from Arnold's shoulder, much to his dismay, and answered the call.

"Hi Daddy." she responded instantly on the phone.

Arnold could hear the muffled voice of Lila's father.

"Oh, um, ok... Bye daddy, see you soon." She hung up the phone as she glanced at Arnold and then towards Phoebe and Gerald.

"Sorry guys, dad wants me home, he's been really paranoid about me staying after dark lately."

Even though Lila's father for the most part was very lenient with his daughter, when it came to safety, he was very protective, and at times over-bearing.

"Aw, well that's fine Lila, see you at school."

"Yeah, see you then." The farm girl promptly lifted herself from the couch seat, and gave everyone in the room a quick hug. When Lila finally came up to Arnold, she held him much tighter and longer than everyone else in the room. She was significantly shorter than him, which resulted in her head being nicely placed on his chests when she tilted her head downward.

"So your dad's going to pick you up?" Arnold questioned as she let go of his body.

"Nope... I have to walk."

Lila walk alone? This was something he simply could not allow, especially in her part of the neighborhood. Sure, it was still sunny outside, which is why her father wanted to start coming home now, but Arnold wasn't going to take any chances. The thought of the red-haired girl potentially being stuck after dark and becoming a victim of some horrible crime haunted him.

"Seriously? I'll call my grandpa and he can drop you off at your house."

Lila's eyes widened at Arnold's offer. "Really, are you sure it'll be fine with your grandpa? I mean if it's-"

"Yeah, it'll be fine, besides I don't want you walking out there alone when it gets dark." Arnold interjected.

"Aw, well thanks Arnold, that's very sweet of you."

Arnold pulled out his phone and searched for his grandpa's number. "No problem, I'll call my gramps, be right back."

"So your name is Lila right?" Phil asked as the girl entered the back of the old green Packard.

"Um, yes, thanks for the ride once again."

"No problem, so your the famous girl Short Man here always talks about!"

"Gramps!?"

Phil winked at Arnold, who was sitting at the front. Arnold cringed, he basically set himself up for embarrassment.

"Well," the old veteran briefly glanced back at Lila, "I wouldn't mind my grandson getting with a pretty young gal like you."

Arnold peeked at his rare view mirror, spotting a fidgety but blushing Lila.

"Excuse my grandpa," he grunted towards Phil, "his humor can be a little dry sometimes."

"It's not a joke if it's true." Phil added, creating an awkward silence in the car for the remainder of the ride.

Several minutes later, much to both of the high school student's relief, they finally arrived at Lila's apartment.

"Thanks for the ride" she waved at Phil as she exited the car, "and bye Arnold, see you at school."

Arnold watched as Lila walked up the steps to her apartment, which appeared to be in serious need of repair, but still in better shape than her old place. After she unlocked the entrance to her apartment, Lila turned around and waved off to them one last time before disappearing into the building.

Phil grinned, "you two should set date."

"Grandpa! We're just friends!" Arnold quickly defended.

The old man pushed on the acceleration of the car, "Whatever you say Short Man, whatever you say..."