A/N: Hey guys! It's been awhile since I've updated this story and I assure you that I intend on finishing it. I've had a difficult time writing this story, especially in combination with the real world and writing my other fanfic. As a result, I put this story on the sidelines temporarily for a couple months.

However, I've decided now's a great time to pick back up on writing this story, especially since I've found a renewed inspiration on how to write it. This chapter is kind of short, but I hope you enjoy it none the less.

Thanks for being patient guys, and will keep you updated very soon.

Chapter 5: Small Steps

Several months had passed since Lila's little talk with Phoebe, and Helga was still refusing to even acknowledge her. Even though they hung out in the same group, the two barely said a word to each other, especially since Lila knew that at this point there was probably nothing she could do besides wait and hope Helga truly got over Arnold... which didn't look like it was happening anytime soon.

Arnold was walking with Lila after school, and both of them had grown more comfortable and accustomed to the idea of walking together to the bus. They were developing a close relationship, one that continued to prosper with each passing day. It was a bit cold today, but not to the point where it was snowing. It was enough, however, to cause Lila's cheeks to glow a faint light red; a physical reaction to the cold that Arnold thought made the girl appear even more attractive.

"So Lila, what do you think of freshmen year so far?" Arnold questioned, breaking the silence between them.

"Good, I guess. Not nearly as exciting or hyped as I thought it would be."

"Yeah, my thoughts exactly, how your grades looking for this semester?" Arnold already knew the answer, but he asked anyway.

"Um, straight A's so far, you?"

"One B in math... I hate that class."

Lila chuckled, "Why? I don't think math's that hard."

"Says the one who's ahead of most people our grade." Arnold added.

Lila nodded in agreement, "Guess your right on that one."

"So what are you planning to do over the holidays, spend time with family maybe?"

"Um..." Lila paused, thinking about how to answer his question. Meanwhile Arnold waited in anticipation, hoping that his question wasn't somehow too personal. He actually knew hardly anything about her family; he never asked. But judging by the few times Lila mentioned her parents, he could make the assumption that her father was a kind, gentle, but very protective man, who would do absolutely anything to keep his little girl safe. Her mother on the other hand... She never talked about her, and Arnold was curious as to why.

Lila's eyes wandered around as she finally came up with a response.

"Probably just spend Christmas with my Dad, how about you?"

Arnold turned his head towards her. "Eh, probably just celebrate it with my grandparents and the rest of the tenants, by the way how about your mom? I've never heard you talk about her."

Lila stopped and sighed, catching the proclaimed football head by surprise. Was his question a little to personal?

"Well... Arnold... she..." Lila paused, but decided that she couldn't answer his question, not now anyway, "maybe some other time." He could tell that a painful memory manifested up in the girl's head the minute he brought the topic up. She was close to tears, and that nearly tore Arnold apart. One minute she's content, the next minute she's instantly depressed, all because he asked a question about her mom.

He hated seeing Lila in such a gloomy state, but at the same time it also showed how much of a caring and fragile person she was.

Taking responsibility, Arnold immediately tried to comfort her.

"Hey Lila, I'm really sorry, I didn't mean for that question to offend you" He placed his hand on her shoulders. She looked up at him, her eyes ready to release the water that was slowly building up. She moved her hand to meet Arnold's, her strangely warm palms soothing him in the process. "It's fine... It's just something I'm not comfortable talking about, but don't worry about it, ok?"

Arnold shook his head, "But... I didn't mean-"

Lila placed her finger in front of Arnold's mouth, gently signaling him to hush. "Don't worry about, ok? I appreciate your concern though." She was staring up into his eyes, and the way she treated him was... strange.

It felt intimate, and not in the corny sense either. The gentle girl turned away spotting a familiar vehicle headed towards the school's pick up zone.

"Hey look, our bus is here early," Lila pointed out.

They boarded, and like always, sat together on the same seat. As the bus traveled through the city streets, the two found themselves chatting about random things, and just enjoying each others company. Winter break had finally arrived, causing everyone to be in an ecstatic mood, especially since it meant that there would be no school for weeks to come.

Arnold was especially grateful, and even though his classes weren't too difficult, he hated the burden they imposed on him. How Lila managed to maintain straight A's while taking difficult classes was beyond his understanding. But there was also something else that was perplexing him, something that felt out of place. During the few times he had hung out with Lila during school, he'd also had significant interaction with her group of friends. For the most part all of them were talkative, nice, friendly, and very welcoming towards Arnold, all except one.

Helga, it seemed, was completely ignoring him, as if he was something she wished to forget. There were a few times he had caught the blonde giving a grudging look towards the red-headed girl, which in return seemed to tone down Lila's usually cheerful mood. He was sure there was some drama going on between them, but he wasn't sure what it was all about. He'd never asked Lila or anyone else, and Rhonda, the gossip queen, didn't even make so much as a hint to what it was. He shrugged the thought off, glimpsing at Lila for a split second. Sensing his gaze, she stared back, and smiled.

Minutes later, the bus suddenly made a loud screech, signifying that they had come to their next stop. Arnold looked outside, semi-depressed that they had already arrived in Lila's area. This might be the last time he would see Lila for the next three weeks, which wasn't long at all, but he wasn't going to take any chances.

Lila also seemed a little gloomy when her stop came and she turned to the blonde boy and sighed, "Looks like this is my stop, see you after break Arnold."

Just as she got up and headed towards the exit of the bus, Arnold interceded her pathway.

"Hey Lila, if you aren't... you know too busy over winter break, maybe we can hang out?"

The red-headed girl looked perplexed, a bit stumped by the boy's sudden offer. Her mood suddenly changed, causing her to switch her facial expression and beam at Arnold as she attempted to walk past him.

"Of course Arnold! Just text me if anything. I'll probably be busy though once Christmas and New Years come around though. But other than that I should be free."

"Alright. Will do then, see you round Lila." Arnold said before she moved off the bus, waving back at him as she went.

She gently replied back with a voice that would cause any normal persons heart to melt.

"Bye Arnold."

"So... how are you going to spend your break Arnold?" Gerald questioned as they walked home.

"Probably just chill, you?"

"Eh, probably the same, you know, spend time with Phoebe, the usual." Arnold's friend mumbled.

"Sounds alright... say do you know any good places to take a girl out, that's not um... not too terribly romantic or overly dull?" Arnold wasn't sure why he asked Gerald out of all people, but he assumed that since he was dating Phoebe, he had to have known some decent spots.

Gerald glared suspiciously at the blonde boy, "This about Lila?"

"Well sorta, kinda, not really... yeah," Arnold stuttered.

He chuckled lightly, "well I knew you had it in ya', hmmm... well you could always just take her to eat somewhere, I don't know, maybe watch a movie?"

"Meh, I don't know where to eat, and I'm not sure about the whole movie thing... that's a little too cliché for my tastes"

"Well, I can't help you there then. I'm sure you'll figure it out anyway."

The boy sighed, "I hope so, anyway here's my street, hit me up over break Gerald."

"Alright man, just let me know if you got anymore girl problems"

Arnold rolled his eyes and grunted; what the hell was Gerald talking about? Him having girl problems? Absolutely preposterous. Besides, Gerald was the one kept on a leash, not him.

Walking up to his door step, he reached into his pocket for his keys, when he suddenly felt his phone vibrate. Too lazy to check who it was, he opened the door first, promptly walked upstairs too his room, and crashed onto his bed. School had really gotten to him, and he was thankful to have three weeks off. Grabbing his phone from his pants, he checked who had texted him. It was from Lila, making him go from dead tired to nearly full of energy.

He opened the message.

"Hey :D"

"Hey Lila! What's up?" he replied back.

Several minutes passed before he received another message.

"Nothing much, just at home on my computer, how about you?"

"Pretty booked, I'm just glad this semesters over, idk how you do it Lila."

"Haha, well it's not too bad. If you need help studying, I can always help you."

Well, that was an offer he couldn't refuse. He'd keep that in mind for future reference.

"Really? Hmmm, maybe. That's of course if you're ok with it."

He sent the message, and she replied back only seconds later.

"Of course I don't mind Arnold. Um, hey I have to go help my dad move some furniture and stuff around the apartment, I'll text you back later."

And there it was; an opportunity he couldn't refuse.

"Did you and your dad need some help?"

Lila didn't reply instantly like she did before, and he began to wonder if he came off a little to strong. Several minutes passed, and she still hadn't reply, making him believe that his assumption was correct. After about nearly an hour later, his phone vibrated, and he sporadically got off of his bed to check who it was.

"Um... sure, if that's alright with you. Also sorry for the late reply, I had to move around some clothing and books. I asked my daddy and he said it's fine. Btw if you change your mind and don't want to help, it's fine."

"Oh no worries, and I'll be there tomorrow for sure, I'll ask my grandpa to take me down." Arnold eagerly replied back.

Several seconds later, his phone went off again. "Ok cool, see you tomorrow Arnold, I'll text you what time. Anyway I gtg help my dad out, ttyl! :D"

"Cya Lila." He texted back.

The blond boy was beyond excited, his winter break was already kicking off to a good start. He quickly dialed Gerald's number, wanting to tell him the good news as well as get some input from him. Gerald may not have been the greatest at relationship advice, but he did have his moments.

The phone line rang for about two seconds before Gerald answered.

"Yo what up man?"

"Bro, guess what just happened." Arnold questioned.

"Um, I don't know you tell me."

"I'm going to Lila's place to help her move furniture!" He blurted straight into his phone.

The phone line went silent for a second, followed by a surprised voice "Seriously? But you're still only moving furniture..."

Arnold wasn't going to let Gerald kill this moment for him, and he quickly came up with a response to back up his seemingly unreasonable excitement. Too everyone anyone else, it was just him giving a lending hand to Lila, but to Arnold, it symbolized something much more than that.

"Yes man, seriously, and does it matter? She's actually letting me into her place!"

"True, true, is it just you and her?"

"Eh, nah, her dad will be there too but that's fine. Now's my chance to meet him anyway."

"Bummer, but hey, small steps right?"

"Yep, small steps." The boy mumbled to himself.