Chapter 2: Hand It Over

The next morning, Arnold awoke with a smile on his face, forgetting for a moment his cousin was coming to town. He was so anxious to give Helga her gift. All he had to do was decide the right place to give it to her.

After getting dressed and ready for school, Arnold went downstairs to eat breakfast. There he saw his grandpa with a stack of pancakes in front of him. "Hey there shortman!"

"Hey grandpa." Arnold said, taking a seat in front of his plate.

"So, when ya plannin' on giving your girlfriend her present?"

"Uhh I'm not really sure. I thought Friday might be a good idea. That way we can go out without school getting in the way. I just have to figure out where to take her."

"Well just don't forget to pick up your creepy cousin on Thursday. You're not leaving me alone with the little weirdo like you did a few years ago! Kid spent all day counting and reading the ingredients on the food packages in the kitchen cabinets while I was trying to read my paper!"

Rubbing his neck as he stood from the table, Arnold replied "Sorry about that grandpa. I'll see you later."

"See ya shortman!"

P.S. 118

Hallway

As he grabbed his needed books from his locker, Arnold listened to Gerald ask him "So, you never did tell me what your surprise for Pataki is yesterday."

"Oh right." Arnold blushed, knowing his best friend's reaction would be just as extreme as his grandpa's.

"Well, when she kissed me at FTi, I didn't have time to think about how I felt about her. Then when you uhh caught us in the jungle, I found something after she ran off with you guys."

"What was it?"

Classroom

While the boys were discussing Arnold's plans for later that week, Helga was sitting in her desk, listening to Phoebe ask "Has Arnold given you any information as to what his surprise for you may be?"

Shrugging her shoulders, Helga simply replied "Not unless you consider 'having to pick it up' a clue."

Before continuing on with the conversation, Helga saw an envelope held in front of her face as she listened to a sweet voice say…

"Here you go Helga. It's an invitation to my housewarming party on Friday. It's going to be oh so sweet!" Lila exclaimed, handing Phoebe one as well.

Rolling her eyes at the perfect girl's excitement, Helga snatched the invitation and said "Pttss...thanks."

Lila then looked up to see Arnold and Gerald entering the room.

"Hello Arnold! How are you this morning?"

"Fine Lila. What's that Helga?" Arnold asked, noticing the note in her hand.

"They're invitations to my housewarming party Friday!" Lila exclaimed, handing one to both Arnold and Gerald.

Arnold's eyes widened at the thought of it happening on Friday. Not only would he now have to worry about what to do with Arnie, but he would have to pick another day to give Helga her gift.

"Man, did you read this thing?" Gerald asked, opening the invitation…

In honor of my new home, I would like you all to join me for cucumber sandwiches, lady fingers, and an enjoyable game that will make this a memorable night.

Shrugging his shoulders, Arnold asked "What's so bad about it?"

Interrupting the conversation, Helga smirked "Well for one thing, the menu selection has Princess' name written all over it."

"Which tells us it may be Lila's party, but she's not the one hosting it." Gerald added, seeing Arnold roll his eyes at his friends' negative assumptions.

Lila finished passing out her invitations just in time to see Mr. Simmons walk into the room.

"Hello class! Today we're going to start another exciting health lecture!"

Be still my beating heart…

Helga thought sarcastically to herself as she propped her head in her hand, gazing at the boy with the corn flowered hair in front of her. As she let out a depressing sigh, not enjoying being separated from her beloved, she noticed him writing vigorously.

Helga lifted her head out of her hand as she cocked her brow and thought to herself…

What is he so anxious about?

The bell for lunch at last came and Helga stood from her seat, ready to be invited to lunch by her boyfriend.

After seeing him taking his time gathering his things, she smirked "Ready to eat football head?"

"Actually Helga, do you think Gerald and I could eat alone?" Arnold asked, rubbing the back of his neck. As much as he hated the idea of not having lunch with her, he didn't want to ruin his surprise.

Whether or not it hurt her feelings, she wasn't about to let him know that. "Whatever. Come on Pheebs."

"Coming!" The young Asian girl chirped, following her demanding friend.

Hallway

"Did everyone receive their invitation this morning?" Rhonda asked Lila, wanting to make sure nothing would go wrong that week.

"I'm ever so certain they did!"

"Perfect! Everyone will go and enjoy your new home's lovely features. We'll treat them to the exquisite food mentioned in the invite. Finally, have them play an enjoyable game to remind them of the fun they're having." Rhonda recapped, filled with pride for an event she had once again taken advantage of.

Cafeteria

With her arms folded in front of her on the table, Helga sighed to herself, not looking forward to the way the week was looking. Her overly optimistic sister was returning, Arnold's incredibly annoying cousin was visiting, and she had been invited to a party her least favorite classmate was throwing.

Phoebe took notice of the troubling look on her friend's face and said "I gather you have some things on your mind."

Rolling her eyes at the senseless remark, Helga said "Oh I'm just peachy."

"Don't worry Helga. Once Arnie's visit it complete, you and Arnold will be free to enjoy your free time together without any interruptions." Phoebe assured her, knowing that had to be at least one of the sources of her troubles.

"That doesn't fix what's going to happen while he's here! Every time the freak shows up, he tries cozying up to me! He's worse than Curly is to Princess! Sheesh!" Helga scowled, not realizing how worked up she was getting.

"I suppose the only way to prevent such an incident from occurring would be to avoid spending time outside of school with Arnold until his cousin's visit is over."

Another depressing sigh released from Helga as she rested her head in her hand, glancing over at her boyfriend, who was sitting with his best friend across the cafeteria…

"Not that Simmons' lectures are worth paying attention to, but what had you so distracted during class man?" Gerald asked, also having noticed the constant movement of his friend's pencil.

Arnold then pulled out the sheet of paper with the ideas for where he thought of giving Helga her gift that week.

The Park

The Pier

Mighty Pete

City Lake

Gerald Field

FTi building

After reviewing the list, Gerald set aside his sandwich and said "No offense man, but I don't see you two having much luck making it past the guards without any spy equipment."

Shrugging his shoulders, Arnold replied "Helga did it didn't she?"

"Whatever you say Arnold."

As Gerald was finishing up his sandwich, Arnold looked across the cafeteria to see his girlfriend staring sadly at the table…

Oh no! I forgot Helga doesn't have anything to eat!

Just as he was about to go over there, the bell rang.

Classroom

Arnold made it back to the room to see his girlfriend already sitting in her desk. Guilt filled his heart, not having thought about her having nothing to eat that day.

Taking his seat in front of her, he turned to face her desk and said "I'm really sorry Helga. I completely forgot."

Watching him place his hand on hers, she simply rolled her eyes at his worry wart attitude and scoffed "I'm not five Arnoldo. I won't starve to death for having missed one meal."

Using his warm hand to rub hers, he said "I still want to make it up to you. Would you like to come over after school?"

Arnold watched a weak smile form on his girlfriend's face as her eyes fell half lidded. "Sure football head."

The rest of the class then entered the room, while Arnold couldn't help but notice the wide grin on Rhonda's face.

"What's she so happy about?" Gerald lifted an eyebrow and asked.

"Probably trying to figure out how to make this an unbearable yet memorable night. Oh brother." Helga smirked, leaning back in her seat with her arms crossed.

Rather than giving his opinion, Arnold watched Rhonda take a seat beside Nadine and listened to her say "Nadine, Lila and I will be shopping for the party tomorrow. We will need your help with the items."

Nadine knew by 'need your help' her friend meant carrying things rather than picking them out. Rhonda wasn't one to let other people make shopping decisions, whether or not it was her party.

"Alright then."

The class finally saw Mr. Simmons enter the room, ready to continue their lesson on parallelograms.

Helga pulled out her math book with her hand made sculpture of her beloved. As her eyes went back and forth from it to the actual thing in front of her, she said to herself…

Oh Arnold! I wait for the chance to be beside you, and how does the world repay me? Shunning my patience and replacing it with my least likely of interests….

Helga sighed to herself, knowing the week would either end with attending Lila's party or seeing Arnold's cousin. All being topped off with her sister returning from her trip.

After moping to herself, class eventually ended. Arnold then turned in his seat to face his girlfriend and said "I'll order us a pizza when we get back to my place."

"Sounds good to me football head."

Hallway

Holding his girlfriend's hand out into the hallway, Arnold turned to his best friend and said "I'm taking Helga back to my place. See you guys later."

Gerald stood there thinking about the gift Arnold had gotten Helga and said "Arnold, can I talk to you a second, buddy?"

Shrugging his shoulders, he replied "Sure. Be right back Helga."

Gerald took Arnold a few feet down the hallway and said "Look man, I think it's cool you did something so extreme for your lady, but don't you think you're pushing it a bit?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Arnold asked, not sure where Gerald was going with this.

"It means...she's your girlfriend, not your wife. Wouldn't you rather sell that thing? "You could finally get that gokart we've been talking about!"

Rolling his eyes at the remark, Arnold turned and said "See you later Gerald."

"See ya."

The Walk

"What was Geraldo bugging you about?" Helga asked, holding her boyfriend's hand down the street.

Arnold began to rub his neck with his free hand as he replied "Oh, he was just wondering what I was planning to wear for Rhonda's party."

Helga cocked her brow at the response, not knowing what she found to be more ridiculous; Gerald even caring, or Arnold's excuse if it wasn't true?

"Did you say Princess plans on writing a fashion ticket for anyone without a reasonable haircut?" Helga smirked.

"No but something I have for you to wear there may have come up." he said, rubbing her hand anxiously. He just couldn't keep a secret as well as she could.

Her eyes began to widen as she watched an almost evil grin form on his face. The look he always gave when they knew she had been bested.

"Uhhh,,, what is it?"

Arnold stopped a moment as he turned to smile at the pretty girl in front of him. Knowing how anxious she was to know brought joy to his heart. Placing a hand on her face, he began to stroke her cheek and said "I didn't tell you yesterday. What makes you think I'd tell you now?"

Watching her roll her eyes at what appeared to be a proud look on his face, he listened to her say "Oh shut up and walk!"

Phoebe's House

"What'd you get for number 7?" Gerald asked, knowing his girlfriend had caught onto their math lesson much quicker than he had.

"I believe the answer is 18m squared. After multiplying 6 and 3 along with each of its variables (m), the answer becomes the product attached to a squared version of the variables to which they originally carried." Phoebe explained.

Gerald shook his head, never having liked the subject. As Phoebe watched her boyfriend write down the answer, she couldn't help but ask "Has Arnold given you any indication as to what his surprise for Helga may be?"

Gerald knew Arnold wouldn't would appreciate him passing along the information. He also felt his could trust Phoebe to keep a secret however.

Boarding House

"If you ever make me mad, I know all I need to do to get back at you is push you in front of the door when you're opening it." Helga grinned, watching her boyfriend open the front door to the boarding house, as the stampede of animals ran past them.

"Very funny Helga."

The two then entered to hear Phil call out "That you shortman?"

Arnold brought his girlfriend into the kitchen to see his grandpa reading the newspaper. "Hey grandpa."

"Hey there shortman! Give your girlfriend her surprise?" Phil winked, watching his grandson blush.

Helga simply smirked with her hands on her waist as she said "No, but that's Mr. Goody two shoes for you. ALWAYS has to do things right."

"Hehe...she knows you well doesn't she shortman!"

Rolling his eyes at their description of him, Arnold said "Uhh yeah. Helga, why don't you go upstairs while I order the pizza."

Phoebe's House

"Oh my! Well, it's a lovely gesture for him to make." Phoebe insisted, surprised by the gift, yet not by Arnold wanting to do something so sweet.

"Personally, I feel a box of chocolates and a couple of sports magazines could have gotten the job done for that girl." Gerald shook his head, thinking his friend may have overdone it a bit.

Yes they were close. To give such an extreme gift showed just how much faith Arnold had in their relationship however. They were both still so young. Gerald also knew how optimistic Arnold was and romantic he could be however. Therefore, he decided he couldn't judge him too harshly for it.

Arnold's Room

Arnold my love! What surprise awaits for me? Nurturer of my being, healer of my heart, light of my life; what more could you give unto me? Oh Arnold I...Arnold!

"Helga?" he asked, seeing her speaking her her treasured item, as she held it up high in front of her.

"I mean uh...that was quick hehe." she said nervously tugging at her collar, quickly tucking her locket back into her shirt.

Arnold simply shook his head at her nervousness and took a seat beside her on the bed. "One day you won't be afraid to say that stuff in front of me."

Rolling her eyes at his encouragement, she scoffed "Reach for the stars hairboy."

"I'm already there." he smiled placing a hand on her face.

Her eyes fell half lidded as she swooned at the remark.

As he began to stroke her cheek, he smiled and said "I'm sorry Arnie's coming this week."

"Don't remind me. Sheesh." she scoffed, rolling her eyes.

As he leaned in to rest his nose against hers, he laced their fingers with his other hand. Letting out a small sigh, he said "I guess I could give you your gift now."

"Really?" she asked, widening her eyes.

"No." he laughed, with an evil grin forming on his face.

Helga began to move back a bit as she smirked "Oh real nice football hea…"

Arnold moved his hand behind her head, pressing their lips firmly together.

Helga began to feel chills running through her body as she felt him slowly sucking her lips. Arnold laid down on top of her, unlacing their fingers. Holding her face in his hands, he began to run his tongue along her lips.

Helga let out a moan, enjoying the moment, yet aggravated they wouldn't have time to spend together that weekend.

Arnold began to tilt his head, hoping to get a better angle of his sweet girlfriend's lips. His hands moves from holding her face to behind her back, pressing their chests tightly together.

Helga could feel their hearts strumming against one another. Feeling this reminded Arnold of what he would be giving her in just a few days.

As she let out another moan, she felt him barely release her lips to whisper "It is hard not telling you."

Having to kill the mood, Helga rolled her eyes and scoffed "You can use your mouth to show me your feelings; just not say them to me. You are such a football head."

"Whatever you say Helga."

As he was about to continue proving her point, they heard a knock on the door.

Arnold quickly turned his head to ask "Yeah?"

"Pizza's here shortman."

Jumping off his girlfriend, Arnold went to open the door, while Helga sat up to straighten her hair.

"Here you go shortman." Phil said, not worrying about asking what they were up to.

"Thanks grandpa."

After closing the door, Arnold took the pizza over to his girlfriend. Just by the way she leaned forward on the bed, he could see how eager she was to eat.

"It's about time football head!" she scoffed, reaching for the box.

Handing it to her, he said "Yeah, I'm really sorry about lunch Helga."

Rolling her eyes at his guilty conscience, she scoffed "If you really felt that bad about it, you'd hand over my gift."

Moving closer as he watched her scarf down the pizza, he wrapped his arm around her and said "I don't think so."

Although he wasn't thrilled about the idea of seeing his cousin, he couldn't wait to give Helga her gift. As anxious as he was for her to see it, he wasn't going to let anything ruin the surprise.