A/N:

Alright, guys! Woot! Part 2 of the update :) Hope those of you who've read it already enjoyed Part 1, and once again thanks for being so patient for updates guys! You're the best ;) Please read my closing A/N to see when the next one will be, and as always please, please, please R&R and make it worthwhile that it's now past 3 am and I'm still awake, lol!

(Also, on a side note, we've just exceeded the length of "Tutoring Arnold" and then some, and this story is only just barely half way over ;) I am officially obsessed with HA! Free virtual Bartlett drinks all around, on me!)

Here we go!

LEARNING TO BE HELGA

CHAPTER 13:

We Have to Go Back to School… (Part 2)

Gerald just turned to Arnold, crossed his arms over her chest, smiled…and began to shake his head. "Mmm mmm, mmm mmm, mmm mmm, mmm…"

Arnold felt heat flood his face and did his best to take a breath to try and ease some of his current humiliation. He then swallowed and cleared his throat, and began in an obviously nervous voice, arms behind his back, "So, uh…Gerald. Uh…how…how did your dinner go with Phoebe last night…heh, heh…?" It was the best avoidance tactic he could come up with at the moment.

After a second of surprised silence the question actually got not only a scoff but a full-blown laugh out of Gerald. Getting himself under control quickly, though, he just smiled and put a hand on Arnold's shoulder, shaking his head. "Oh no, man… Nice try but there is no way we're not talking about the fact that me and Phoebe just caught you making out with Helga G. Pataki in the corner of an alley followed by trying to carry her off to who knows where!" He removed his hand and put it to his stomach, starting to chuckle a little again. "Man—'why don't you cork it for me?'" he managed to mock between guffaws. "What the heck was that?" His laughing finally hit full swing again.

Arnold felt a slightly sick twist in his stomach as he realized just how intimate a situation himself and Helga had been caught in. 'I was acting that weird way I keep feeling when I kiss her, wasn't I?' he couldn't help but think to himself now that his emotions had been calmed a little. 'Like that really strange side of myself that Helga's okay with even though I'm not sure if I'll ever get used to it. But it's just…it's just…' A dreamy smile came to Arnold's face as he thought about how he almost couldn't help losing himself a little…or a lot…whenever he was alone with Helga like that because that other side of her…the side of her that loved him…was just so warm and happy and fun and interesting and attractive and so surprisingly and wonderfully different than anything he'd expected from her… And how all of it made him have feelings that were just so intense and crazy and amazing and unavoidable and—and—

"Arnold—you who! Hey, earth to Arnold!"

Arnold was brought out of his thoughts by the sound of Gerald calling his name while snapping his fingers in front of his face. He blinked several times and then recalled that he was still with his best friend and that (though doing it now was probably slightly better than before when he'd been right next to the object of his affections) it still might not be quite the best time or place just yet to go off into romantic daydreams about Helga.

"Oh, uh…sorry, Gerald. I was just, um…" he quickly backpedaled, looking up and to the side as innocently as he could muster, "I was just thinking about something and…I guess I'm just a little tired this morning…heh, heh…" His gaze turned down somewhat and he rubbed his right arm with his left.

Gerald just rolled his eyes and smirked at his best friend obviously trying to save some face with this paper-thin excuse of his. "Right—you're 'tired.'" He crossed his arms over his chest and raised an eyebrow. "It's not like you were, I don't know…maybe thinking about what could have happened here if me and Phoebe hadn't shown up when we did, right?"

Arnold blinked and blushed and took a nervous step away, feeling his insides twist in utter mortification. "Gerald! I…Nothing would have HAPPENED… N-not that much was even, uh, happening to begin with, heh, heh…. We—we weren't really going to play hooky just so we could keep, um…" He swallowed, unable to articulate things further, the pounding of the blood rushing to his face was so distracting. "Just so we could keep…um…."

"Keep…trying to see how long it would take for Helga to get your sweater off of you completely?" Gerald supplied, putting a hand to his mouth and seriously trying to hold back some epic amounts of laughter at how right he knew he was…the evidence being right before him.

Arnold's eyes went wide at the observation and he instantly looked down in total surprise to see just how far indeed Helga had managed to expose his plaid shirt this time around; she'd gotten to within two buttons of his collar! He blushed and looked back at his best friend in worry and anxiety. "Gerald!"

Gerald finally gave into his laughter again, holding his sides with his hands. "Hey, man…" he got out after a few seconds, wiping a tear from his eye, "just pointing it out now so that you don't accidently walk into class looking like that considering how much your lovesick stupor is obviously affecting your normally high levels of common sense!"

While Gerald finished getting in another chuckle or two for the road, Arnold just let out a sigh of humiliated defeat at his explanation and proceeded to do his best to straighten his sweater (though, thanks to some residual nerves about this whole situation, he fumbled a bit to say the least before finally succeeding at his task.)

"Yeah, the hair's a bit obviously out of the ordinary too, Arnold," Gerald then pointed out as Arnold finished with his clothes. "I mean I guess we could say that you got caught in a twister on the way to class but I'm not sure how many people would buy it." He let out a final snort or two at the back of his throat but did his best to keep it all under control considering how embarrassed he knew Arnold must already really be by this whole thing. After all, if him and Phoebe had gotten caught like that…not that he'd ever considered the idea of kissing with her the way that Arnold and Helga kissed, of course… Well, technically speaking, seeing and hearing about Arnold and Helga doing it so much might have implied the idea to him a little but… He shook his head, trying to put aside that particular maze of thoughts and feelings for now.

Arnold, meanwhile, at this newest observation about his appearance, blinked and blushed once more and then reached up to feel his hair which indeed felt just as unusually out of place as his sweater had been. He quickly flipped his head forward and did his best to straighten his hair with his hands, and then finally stood up straight, glanced himself over and then looked to Gerald a bit desperately. "Do you think that looks okay, Gerald?"

Gerald, his mind now fully back on the Arnold situation, just rolled his eyes and shook his head at his friend, his arms crossed over his chest. "You look as mild-mannered as ever, man," he reassured. "I mean…" he then began with a slight smirk, "I don't know how long that's going to last considering the fact that you and Helga can't seem to keep your hands off of each other and that you're going to be in the same building most of the day…I'd recommend ducking into the bathroom and checking yourself in a mirror if any other spontaneous trips to Paris start getting planned, of course…But otherwise I think you're good for now and that you'll probably definitely at least be fine until lunch and recess when you'll of course sneak off and get that 'Arnold+Helga=True Love Forever' tattoo I'm sure you've been thinking about imprinting across your forehead to complete the circle of insanity that is you two not just not hating each other, not just liking each other, not even just like liking each other, but LOVING each other!" And with that Gerald once again could no longer keep himself curbed and practically fell upon the ground in a fit of his laughter.

Arnold, his embarrassment starting to give way to a bit of annoyance at this point, finally just sighed and rolled his eyes at his best friend, giving him a bit of a look and speaking in a level voice. "Very funny, Gerald. Now can we go back to class before we're late?" He held out a hand to help up his best friend from the ground.

Gerald took the hand and stood up, brushing himself off a bit, still smiling ear to ear. "Sure man… And hey look," he spoke sincerely, though the grin couldn't help but still be upon his face, "I'm sorry, but you have to admit, of all the things that Phoebe and I could have walked in on, that was by far the most amusing and awkward." The two boys started walking forward to the street, now that the girls had had a minute or two to get ahead of them. "I mean, even better than the shrines thing!" he added, giving Arnold a quick good-natured elbow.

Arnold let out another deeply frustrated sigh...though it was obvious a tiny bit of a smile was pulling at his mouth at the moment. "Gerald…" he said with much more understanding this time around. Still, though, he wasn't about to actively encourage his best friend to pry into this whole 'being intimate with Helga' thing that had suddenly come into his life… It was a sensitive subject for Arnold, after all, and one he really didn't want to be teased about too much right now, all things considered.

Gerald just cleared his throat, understanding Arnold's tone of voice, and did his best to get under control any present or immediate future desire to break into laughter yet again. "Sorry again, man…" The two rounded the corner out of the alley and proceeded up the street toward the front of the school. "Seriously, I'll cool it for a little while. I know you're probably embarrassed enough as it is about getting caught like that…"

Arnold let out another sigh at this statement and crossed his arms over his chest as he walked, a slightly more frustrated look unconsciously coming to his face…and he seemed to speak without thinking too much about it too. "Actually, being embarrassed's not all that bad… If anything I just wish I'd had a little more time to hold her in my arms while we were all caught up in each other like that and I'd already been brave enough to pick her up in the first place…" He smirked a little bit to himself at that last idea…he could still feel her warmth all along his arms…

Meanwhile, Gerald's eyes went wide at the statement and he actually stopped walking.

Arnold, realizing, after a few steps, that Gerald wasn't following him anymore, stopped as well and turned back to him with an eyebrow raised. "Gerald?"

Gerald just blinked once or twice in Arnold's direction and then responded in a slow voice. "Man…this isn't just Helga wanting to hold you and never let go, and you just going along with it, is it? You…" he almost had to shake his head in amusement at the full realization, "You actually like it all just as much as she does, don't you?"

Arnold blinked at the question at first…but then couldn't help a slight smile coming to his face as he recalled some of the conversation between himself and Helga on Saturday night during their anniversary. He took a deep breath and shrugged shyly, his eyes cast downward somewhat in thought. "Oh, uh, yeah—Helga and I were talking about that a bit and I was a little worried about it at first but she actually kind of helped me feel better about the whole thing. Besides…" he blushed just a little more but at least managed to raise his eyes back to Gerald's again, "I think she really likes it when I'm the one to kiss her for a change every once in a while…" With a slight warm laugh to himself Arnold then turned back in the direction of the school and continued forward.

Gerald remained in shock for another second or two but then ran forward to catch up with his best friend. "You are one bold kid, Arnold…" he had to smile to himself even though he was still a bit shocked by this side of the ten year old guy alongside him. Gerald put a hand on one of his hips as they rounded another corner to bring them out in front of the school. "Helga G. Pataki's boyfriend…you know that should be an Olympic event, right?" he teased good-naturedly.

Arnold laughed a little, starting to feel a little less prone to being flustered and annoyed now that some time had passed and that initial uncomfortable surprise at being 'caught' had ebbed. "Well…" he began in slightly humorous reply, "It does require a lot of energy and patience and dedication and time and love—I'll give you that, Gerald."

Gerald joined his best friend in a laugh and the two boys finally came in sight of the P.S. 118 front steps.

As they reached the stoop and began to climb to the doors of the school Arnold couldn't help but keep smiling and turn to Gerald once more. "Well, now that we're done talking about me trying to carry Helga off into the sunset, I'd ask you about your date with Phoebe but…" he frowned a bit and a notable touch of sarcasm came to his voice, "Like you said last night I pretty much only do what Helga says, and she hasn't given me permission to talk to you about that yet… Hmm, come to think of it, she actually never even gave me permission to leave that alley—maybe I should go back in case she was planning to stop by again." He sighed a bit dramatically, ignoring the total look Gerald was giving him as he opened the front doors of the school for them and the two of them stepped inside, continuing on up the hall. "It's too bad too, because I really did want to find out what you guys did after dinner…" Arnold just shrugged. "Oh well—I guess I could just ask Helga for permission to ask you at lunch since I'm basically 'a sucker for anything sh—' "

"You're hilarious, you know that, man." Gerald cut him off finally, rolling his eyes with a smirk.

Arnold finally broke from his brief bit of sarcasm and gave in to a laugh or two he had been suppressing. "Sorry, Gerald…."

Gerald just sighed as they went on farther up the hall, coming within sight of their destination, and couldn't help a good-natured smile coming to his face. "Ah, don't worry about it…" He tried not to chuckle. "And, hey, if Helga DOES give you permission to ask me about my date, I'll do my best to fill you in at lunch or recess…" He walked forward to Mr. Simmons' door, resting his hand on the handle.

Arnold just crossed his arms over his chest and rolled his eyes. "Very funny, Gerald…"

Gerald laughed and turned back to his best friend. "Hey, just getting in one more for the road, man…After I really do tell you about my date at lunch though, just know right now that talk of shrines will indeed be the next item on the agenda…along with how exactly your date with Helga went, though from what I just saw I think it's safe to say it went pretty darn decently…" He gave his friend an impressed look.

Arnold just sighed and did his best not to give too much away with his face…though he couldn't help at least a small goofy smile coming to his features at the entire concept of last night and how well it really had gone despite that small snafu with the movies. "Sure thing, Gerald…" He then smirked a little once more and looked to his friend again. "I'll just ask Helga if it's okay for me to listen to jokes from you about the shrine first though, and then—"

"Man, just get in the classroom!" Gerald announced with a roll of his eyes, finally opening the door just as the last bell sounded in the halls and giving a chuckling Arnold a push inside.

Once inside the room Arnold did his best to keep his smiling under control, though he couldn't help wanting to laugh at least a bit more at his last little exchange with his best friend. Gerald, meanwhile, still obviously dying to give in to some more chuckles as well, just shut the door behind them and did his best not to shake his head and say his classic, 'Mmm, mmm, mmm…' to sum up the craziness of his best friend's behavior.

Meanwhile, upon hearing the two boys enter the room, Mr. Simmons had turned from the chalkboard he had been about to write upon and was now smiling in their direction. "Oh, Arnold and Gerald. Right on time!" He picked up a pen and wrote something down on a sheet of paper (the attendance sheet) on his desk, and then went back to the chalk and chalkboard. "Now, take your seats, boys, so we can get to the special world of MATH! Isn't that special class?" He turned back to the other kids with a smile.

The few lackluster moans of semi-approval that he received, as per usual, did little to dampen the educator's enthusiasm.

Arnold, meanwhile, just smiled and took his usual seat up front…and did his best not to look to Helga at her usual place in the back because he knew if he did his face would return to its former red tinge, along with his laughter certainly starting up again and his daydreams coming back worse than ever. (Although he was hoping that throughout this particular run of the 'Helga hates Arnold' show he could maybe sneak in one or two little fantasies about the time they had just spent together, and the time they would get to spend together later on…as long as he kept himself from getting too lost in things, of course…) But for now at least, Arnold knew he had to at least start out by keeping himself focused, and so he took out his math notebook from his desk along with a pencil, looked to the board where his teacher was writing and did his best to take a deep breath and focus on the lesson at hand.

It took less than five seconds for the first spitball to hit him. And it took everything he had not to let all the romantic stuff he was supposed to be avoiding thinking about happily overtake him once more.

The seconds passed and slowly but surely a few more spitballs arrived to make his morning interesting until it hit the point that he knew it was his cue to contribute to his part of their 'public relationship.' He took a breath, told himself not to smile or blush (at least, not too much) and then turned back to Helga and did his best to 'glare' at her.

"What?" Helga just whispered with a scowl, shrugging as she feigned her usual innocence.

Arnold managed a sigh in minor frustration, as he usually had in this daily situation between them for almost the past seven years of Helga picking on him in particular…and then he shook his head (trying to seem annoyed with her) and then finally (reluctantly) turned away from her 'grumpy' looking face and back to watching Mr. Simmons…A daydream or two already pulling at his mind… Helga walking to class with him instead of in front of him…Helga reciting her poems right to him in English class…Helga hitting him in the back of the head with love notes instead of spitballs…

It took him a good ten minutes (and quite a few more spitballs and successive thoughts of his beloved) to come up with raising his hand and asking the teacher if he could use the pencil sharpener at the back of the classroom (which would allow him to conveniently pass by her desk…and maybe incite the start of at least one of his daydreams coming true…)

"Come on, Pheebs—let's you and me head to class first and then tall hair boy and Football Head can hang back a minute and then head in after us just as the bell rings so no one'll be the wiser about anything. It'll just look like two pairs of friends barely making it to class on time. Sound good?"

Phoebe just sighed and looked to her best friend with a smile. "Sounding good, Helga!"

Helga's smiled picked up. "Well, guess I'll see ya when I see ya, then, Football Head!" she called over her shoulder with a wink to her beloved, and then she headed forward and rounded the corner of the alley out onto the side street, Phoebe following right behind her.

Helga was moving at a decently brisk pace, which was understandable considering the time and the fact that they had to keep ahead of the boys (and the fact that she was maybe trying to quite literally move along from a certain awkward incident as surely as possible). However, before she and Phoebe got more than half way up the street, Helga suddenly felt her best friend reach forward and give a quick tug back on one of her sleeves. "Um…Helga?" the young dark-haired girl asked just a little hesitantly, pausing in her walking.

Helga stopped as well and then just sighed, having a decent enough idea of what might be coming now. After all, she knew that Phoebe (heck, any normal human being) wouldn't let what she'd just walked in on go without at least some kind of acknowledgment… Granted it wouldn't be nearly as bad as the razzing Helga was sure Arnold would have to endure from Gerald but, still, she knew Phoebe would at least want to talk about the incident in question, or at least apologize for interrupting them.

And so Helga just shrugged to herself and then turned to her best friend, smiling slightly. "Okay, okay," she began in a patient and even slightly humorous voice, "Before you even say anything I'm just going to lay the condensed version on the line for you, Pheebs. I got Lila to get Arnold to come with me back there on a pretext just so I could clear up a few things about our date last night, the conversation ended on the best possible terms, and then I realized we had a few minutes so I pulled him behind the dumpster and then we just got carried away. And don't worry too much about interrupting it…" she rolled her eyes, still smiling, "someone's always walking in or calling or suddenly popping out of somewhere every time we start to kiss. I'm just thankful that so far it hasn't been anybody who would use it against us." Helga shook her head at the ridiculousness of it all and then just looked to her best friend, "So, now that that's cleared up, come on…" she put a hand on Phoebe's shoulder, her smile growing slightly, "Why don't we just head back to class and I'll fill you in on me and Football Head's date at lunch, and then during recess you can tell me all about you and Gerald at Chez Paris and beyond? Sound good?" Helga waited for the typical affirmative response from her best friend.

She was a little surprised, to say the least, when Phoebe glanced away with a slight blush on her face, cleared her throat and replied quietly to her offer, "Oh, well…actually, Helga, not that all of that information isn't very good to know because I was a bit curious about how you two ended up there…and not that I'm not interested to hear about your and Arnold's date and to tell you about mine and Gerald's, but…I…the reason I stopped you, actually, was because we're about to come in sight of the school and you're looking a bit, well…" Phoebe cleared her throat and blushed just a little as she tried to find the right words to describe the situation… "A bit… 'worn out' …"

Helga just blinked at the comment, not getting what was meant by it at all (and almost seeming a little reminiscent of Arnold at his denser moments, to be honest). "Huh?"

Phoebe sighed and glanced around, trying to find any kind of reflective surface to show her best friend exactly what she meant. She smiled as her eyes lit upon a large, glass shop window and she quickly grabbed Helga's wrist and pulled her over in front of it, and then gestured to their pale reflections. "You see, Helga, it appears…a bit obvious…that you were doing something a bit…unusual…before class…" she pointed out with a small smile.

Helga, her eyes turning to the window in question, instantly watched herself blush at the sight of her disheveled outfit and hair (she HAD put it up in a bit of a hurry back there) before her. "Oh…!" she began in an obviously nervous voice, instantly running her hands through her hair to fix up her pigtails. "Uh, thanks Phoebe." Helga tied her ribbon neatly on the top of her head to finish the job. She then commenced to pulling a bit at her outfit to completely straighten the fabric, and then readjusted her jumper straps to their correct positions, and now finally did one last check of her now normal looking reflection before turning sheepishly back to her best friend.

"No problem Helga…" Phoebe nodded and smiled. "Well, I suppose we should get back to going to class then before Arnold and Gerald catch up to us." And with that she resumed walking up the street, followed by a still slightly blushing Helga.

As they proceeded along, a few seconds of awkward silence passed for the young blond girl in question. After all, it was one thing to have someone catch her and Arnold kissing (she'd 'been there and done that' more than a few times in her life)…but it was another thing to have someone really have to point out the fact that her normally modest and polite and sweet little Arnold had obviously gotten a little enthusiastically physical with her during said kissing…and that she'd obviously been okay with it…that, heck, she'd welcomed him going so far with it that she needed to seriously get herself cleaned up before she could go out in public again!

Finally, NEEDING at least SOME kind of small talk to keep her mind off of blushing (especially since she really was going to be in the public eye soon, and if there was one thing the Helga G. Pataki everyone knew DIDN'T do it was BLUSH!), she cleared her throat and glanced to the side at her best friend, her arms behind her back. "So, uh…how did you find out Football Head and I were over here, anyway?" And indeed it had seemed to Helga a strange coincidence that Phoebe and Gerald had just randomly stumbled across herself and Arnold like that in that particular secluded alley.

"Hmm?" Phoebe blinked and then looked up at Helga, processing the question. "Oh…well, I hadn't really seen you or Arnold all morning and I was getting worried about where you might be, and then a few minutes ago Lila approached me and informed me of the favor you had asked of her in terms of the alley and that she was starting to worry as well because you hadn't given any indication that you weren't coming back…So I just got Gerald to assist me just to make sure that you and Arnold were both…I mean that nothing had…" Phoebe's face took on that slightly worried look once again that morning. Always having been as honest as possible with her best friend, she wanted to tell Helga the truth about her worst fears, but at the same time, well…she was sure that Helga (though she hadn't directly said anything on the subject) must already have been feeling quite nervous over the last week or so about the durability of her and Arnold's newfound romance, and the last thing the young Japanese-American girl wanted to do was add to any doubts on her part.

Helga, meanwhile, who had been listening to Phoebe's explanation with a pretty blank face, now just looked at her curiously, genuinely unsure at first of where she was going with this last thing she seemed to be trying to say… Suddenly, though, a phrase Gerald had said to Phoebe upon catching Helga and Arnold before…something about 'and you were afraid they were calling it quits'…flashed through Helga's mind (as did realization). She blinked. "Phoebe…" she began simply, "did you think we were going to break up, or something?"

Phoebe blinked and stopped walking (as did Helga), a nervous look fully coming to her features. "Oh…well, I…that is, I…I wasn't sure what the situation might be since you never called me last night after your date…and then, I mean…with how new all of this must be to Arnold and him having taken in so much over the past few weeks, I just…" She looked back at Helga with slight desperation and almost a little guilt in her eyes for having tried to keep the truth from her... "Oh Helga, I'm sorry. I really do think that you and Arnold are working out wonderfully and that you can keep working out wonderfully for a very long time: I really believe his feelings are sincere and of course yours are too. I suppose I was just nervous that maybe something had happened with your parents or on your date and that a problem had arisen, and I know how much you care about him Helga and what it would do to you if anything…I mean…"

Phoebe stopped her mini confession at the feeling of Helga suddenly putting a hand gently on her shoulder. She blinked a couple of times and then fully looked her friend in the face for the first time in several seconds of speaking…only to see a very warm smile coming from Helga G. Pataki.

Helga let out a breath and then spoke in a kind and understanding tone to the worried girl before her. "Phoebe, it's okay…I get it…" She nodded to add to the assurance of her words. "I mean, you're right—it's all a little…a little…" she considered for a moment, and then just sighed in happiness, "Aw, heck, I'll just say it—a little completely impossibly incredibly wonderful!" A huge dreamy smile appeared on her face and she lost it a little for a second, pulling back and clasping both of her hands together over her heart (or, actually, over the heart shaped locket tucked safely away inside of her shirt) in delight. "Phoebe, he picked me up and carried me! CARRIED ME! Like we were married and he was taking me over the threshold or something!" She sighed and spun in a circle, still almost able to feel the warmth and pressure of his arms under her legs and back. "Oh, Arnold, my perfect—"

Helga stopped her fresh monologue at the feeling of Phoebe instantly clamping a hand firmly over her mouth. Before Helga could really protest or question the action, the dark haired girl then cleared her throat and spoke a bit loudly, like she was trying to be heard by someone. "Oh yes, Helga, I saw that movie on television last night as well. The romance, right?"

Helga just blinked a few times in confusion, Phoebe's hand still on her mouth…until Phoebe gestured with her eyes to the nearby corner of the school property where some sixth graders were hanging out and glancing over at the two fourth grade girls as they heard them approach.

Helga blinked once more and then slowly reached up and removed Phoebe's hand from her mouth. "Oh, uh…yeah Pheebs…" she started, trying to sound and seem casual, "The movie. Uh, pretty decent flick…" 'Oh great—guess my luck's finally starting to run out with the only person ever to overhear one of my monologues being Brainy. Crimeny, I hate change sometimes!'

Yet Helga was still at least a little in luck since, at that final generic statement from herself, the sixth graders (who had actually barely been noticing Helga and Phoebe really, though it was better to be safe than sorry Phoebe had assumed), just turned away again and went back to their own conversations and then back to heading into the school as the warning bell rang.

Helga let out a relieved breath watching them go, and then turned to her best friend, the two girls starting to walk forward again as well as the warning bell didn't give them too much time. "Thanks, Phoebe. Yeesh, ever since Arnold I've just been letting my guard down at all the wrong times, you know?" She actually laughed to herself a little. "Heck, one of these days he's probably going to make it come down entirely and then I'll have no choice but to be…" she gulped dramatically, "HONEST with people." She feigned a creeped out shiver.

Phoebe just laughed a little at her dramatics. "Yes, Helga, that would indeed be a 'horrible' situation," she assured her, likewise sarcastically. "If you had to share your true feelings…all the time!"

"Yeah," Helga's smirk picked up even more, "and if I had to be nice to people who I actually want to be nice to instead of being mean to everyone to maintain my reputation…"

Phoebe nodded. "Or if you had to open up to others regularly…" She was smiling a bit more now as well.

"Exactly!" Helga let out a chuckle as they rounded the corner, now approaching the school's stoop. "Or like if I had to drag Football Head to Slausen's in the middle of a Friday rush on the place instead of in total secrecy after bribing the Jollie Ollie man to give out half price ice cream so we could be sure to have the joint to ourselves…"

Phoebe blinked and turned an impressed smile to her friend. "Oh, so that's what that whole situation was about last week with him getting suspended by his boss." She let out a small chuckle. "I thought it was strange that he would take the chance of selling ice cream at half price just to be kind to us kids..."

Helga laughed, rolling her eyes up with a sheepish smile as the two girls now headed up the steps of their school. "Yup—just another patented Helga G. Pataki scheme…"

Both girls shared another private laugh, memories of patented Helga G. Pataki schemes of the past flitting through their minds.

Helga turned to her best friend once again with a smile as they reached the top of the school stoop. "Seriously, though, Pheebs…" and her tone did sound a bit more serious all of a sudden, catching Phoebe's attention considerably, "About this whole 'me and Arnold' thing…I appreciate that you're looking out for me and I understand why you're doing it…But," her smile fell just slightly (but only just slightly) as she turned her eyes forward in thought for just a moment… "You know…between you and me…" her voice lowered now too, "I HAVE considered the possibility that it could fall apart…" And indeed, Helga had always felt deep down that it would be a one in a million shot that Arnold would ever like her back…but actually maintaining a full blown, long term, mutual relationship with him—that had without question seemed more like a one in a billion shot. She shook her head, trying to move herself beyond these old doubts of hers. "So, anyway, Pheebs, what I mean is…if it didn't actually work out between us it wouldn't just 'out-of-left-field destroy me' or anything…I-I mean, it would hurt…a lot…" she almost cringed slightly but managed to shake it off and go on. "But...I'm as prepared for it as I could ever be…"

Helga extended her arm and pushed open one of the school doors for her best friend, taking a deep breath and considering her next words carefully as Phoebe entered the school and she followed suite. The door closed behind them, leaving the two girls in the empty elementary school halls. "But, Phoebe…" Helga finally managed quietly before they started on the last leg of their journey to the classroom… She was still glancing down in thought as she spoke. "Phoebe, I think that's part of the reason I've been so okay with him reading all of the poetry and seeing the locket and even finding out about the shrines…Because I think the biggest chance of him wanting to stop all of this stuff between us would come from me still trying to keep some secrets from him and him stumbling across them in shock one day, totally unprepared for just how extreme my feelings really are for him." And now she looked up at her best friend with a truly hopeful smile. "But he knows now, Phoebe. He knows everything. We've talked about every possible awkward thing there is about this whole relationship—heck, he even went through Olga's insanity and then also managed to pull off dinner with Bob and Miriam for crying out loud! And can I mention once again that he freaking saw my shrine! And liked the darn thing!" She shook her head in disbelief, her arms crossed over her chest and her grin growing. "Seriously, I'm running out of stuff I could bring up to him that might make him run away in panic! He…he really, really, REALLY likes me Phoebe!" She was so happy, she almost laughed…and then she added quietly once again (recalling quickly that, even though the halls were empty, they were still technically inside of P.S. 118), "He loves me, Phoebe…and none of the other stuff seems to matter to him. Little goodie two shoes just likes that I keep telling him the truth…"

And with this pleasant and amusing thought expressed, Helga slowly began to head up the hall…and a very relieved Phoebe followed.

Just as Mr. Simmons' door came into sight, Phoebe reached forward and laid a gentle hand upon Helga's shoulder, causing the blonde to come out of the mini lovesick stupor she was still currently in and to blink and glance back to Phoebe once again. "Helga," Phoebe started quietly, sincerely, moving forward alongside her as they walked on, " I think it's very wise for you to be so honest with Arnold… It seems to be making you both very happy. And…I truly think it is the best thing both of you could be doing for yourselves right now." If their current happiness was any indication, at least, Phoebe couldn't help but silently add to herself, the image of Arnold smiling and carrying Helga in his arms playing in her mind once more.

Helga smiled appreciatively at the reassurance. "Thanks, Phoebe…and thanks for being there for me with this whole thing." She laughed slightly and specifically lowered her voice to a loud whisper. "And don't tell her I said this but even though Lila's 'pretty good' at taking orders, you're the best assistant by far…and, you know…a pretty decent best friend…" She winked and gave Phoebe a slight elbow nudge, and Phoebe removed her hand from her shoulder and chuckled in response.

The two girls had just reached their classroom door and Helga reached out for the handle, letting out a deep breath. "Well, let's get this show on the road, shall we? Time to become a bully again, I guess…" A grin came to her face, though, as she then added firmly before opening the door, "At lunch, though, I really do want to hear all about you and tall hair boy's first little date…and all the spasmodic things Geraldo did because he was so nervous about going out with a knock out like you." She winked sincerely…but then let out a slight chuckle and rolled her eyes (a thought she'd been meaning to address suddenly coming to mind), "Or, I mean, I'll try and hear all about it, but Arnold isgoing to be within eyesight in the cafeteria, and you know me—give me half a chance and I'll just 'stare at him or a picture of him for hours and hours and—' "

Phoebe couldn't help but break into some small laughter at Helga's reference to one of her joking comments to Gerald last night. "Helga…"

Helga just laughed warmly again and shrugged. "Hey just trying to lighten the mushy mood..." She sighed and smiled and turned back to the door. "Alright, now that I've got that out of my system, like I said, another day of 'Helga the bully' set to begin in three, two, one, and…"

She pushed open the door and met the students and teacher within the room with her usual stern scowl. The other kids, however, currently involved in their usual pre-class conversations, didn't notice her entrance too much. Mr. Simmons, however, did look up from his desk where he was jotting something down on a piece of paper (the class attendance, most likely) and smiled at the sight of the two girls entering. "Good morning Helga, Phoebe… Please take your seats. The bell's going to ring soon and then we can begin our special day."

"You got it, teach!" replied Helga with her usual sarcasm and then went and plopped herself in her desk, conveniently placed, as she had always managed to make it over the years, just far enough from Arnold's seat to be able to throw things at him but not so far that she would have to make too obvious of an effort at it, thus potentially bringing the teacher's attention to one of her favorite past times.

Phoebe, meanwhile, just sighed and smiled at the sight of her best friend resuming her normal routine, and then took her usual desk near Gerald's still vacant one in the front.

About a minute or two later the classroom door opened again, and Arnold entered followed by Gerald just as the final bell rang.

Mr. Simmons, who had stood up at this point and had started writing something on the board, paused in his endeavors at the sound of the door opening and closing, and smiled at the two boys in question. "Oh, Arnold and Gerald. Right on time!" He moved back toward his desk for a moment and used a pen to make two marks on the attendance sheet, and then went back to the chalkboard. "Now, please take your seats boys so we can get to the special world of MATH! Isn't that special class?" He glanced over his shoulder at his students.

Helga just rolled her eyes at the question while a few of the students around her managed some semi-decent moans of concordance (since, even though Mr. Simmons was a teacher, he was, after all, a pretty cool one, and no one ever wanted him to feel too bad about his 'misconception' that schoolwork was so 'special'). And indeed Mr. Simmons' smile brightened at the few 'Yeah, I guess so…' 's he'd managed to get from a couple of students , and he went back to facing the board, eagerly beginning to write down some example equations.

Now that the eyes of her teacher and fellow students were distracted with math, Helga turned her (seemingly blank) gaze forward and to the side just slightly to watch Arnold sit down at his desk in the front row with a smile. For a moment, though, her focus couldn't help but be split at the peripheral sight of Gerald then sitting down at his own desk and quickly directing a smile in the direction of Phoebe and saying a small hello of some sorts to her which he probably hoped sounded smooth and clever, and to which Phoebe replied with a small word or two and a giggle, thus affirming for him that he had succeeded in his endeavor of charm.

Just for a second, Helga let her thoughts on Arnold slide and couldn't help half smiling at the sight of her best friend so happy… though, after a few seconds, her gaze, of course, had to return fully to the back of Arnold's wide and perfect and flaxen head…her old familiar target.

With a nod to herself, she quickly reached inside of her desk and removed her handy dandy straw shooter, and then crumpled a thin strip of paper she'd torn from her notebook into a ball, swirled it around in her mouth for a second, brought the straw to her lips, loaded it with her tongue and then finally fired at her beloved, hitting him square in the back of the head! 'Bull's-eye!'

Arnold had flinched at the direct hit, so Helga knew he had obviously felt it…but she also knew that the standard amount for getting him to turn around on an average day was five to ten such direct hits, and so she happily prepared some more ammo and continued her barrage.

And, indeed, a few spitballs later, Arnold did turn around, though (and she hoped anyone else who might be watching any of this didn't notice) his face seemed far more amused than annoyed.

She rolled her eyes, doing her best not to smile. 'Oh well—just because he's horrible at lying doesn't mean I have to be.' She let out a breath and then just shrugged as usual and looked at him with a scowl. "What?" she whispered both innocently and harshly.

She watched him just let out a breath, shake his head just slightly (once again obviously in a touch more amusement than frustration), and then turn back around. It took all she had not to burst into laughter. The same went for him, by the way.

Mr. Simmons' lecture droned on in the background as Helga continued her spitball barrage intermittently for about the next ten minutes…until she paused as she noticed Arnold raise his hand and ask Mr. Simmons if he could use the pencil sharpener… And then, on an even more surprising note, he got up and made sure to specifically walk by her desk on his way there!

Passing right by her, on the pretext of 'dropping his pencil', Helga watched with curiosity out of the corner of her eye as Arnold, mere inches away from her, stopped and bent down to retrieve the small item on the floor…and, in doing so, allowed a small note of paper to fall into her lap from one of his hands. He didn't make eye contact with her as this drop off took place, but, with a smile, merely continued on to the sharpener, used it very briefly, and then returned to his seat with a smile.

Helga glanced around nervously for several seconds after this incident had finished to make sure no one had noticed Arnold's little covert action. Upon seeing, with relief, that everyone's attentions appeared to be still directed toward either the instructor in front of them or toward just staring off into space in boredom, Helga (making sure that Simmons was still facing the board as he continued to write upon it) managed to slowly pick up the note and quietly unfold it atop her notebook, trying to be as discrete as possible about its existence.

She began to read.

Dear Anonymous:

Thank you for the…I think, 14 spitballs so far. At least, that's the number that have hit me. But your aim's probably pretty good after all of these years so I'm pretty sure that if I felt 14, 14 is the number you shot. I miss you too, by the way. Actually, I was thinking that, if you wanted to, maybe you could come to dinner at the boarding house again sometime soon…maybe even tonight? I really wouldn't mind spending every day after school with you, to be honest, and I know Grandpa and Grandma and everyone would love to see you again, and also…as for it just being dinner tonight instead of another 'movie date'…well, even though we both really like doing the, um…the 'other thing' that we talked about Saturday night during our anniversary (you know, that 'thing' we did in the alley before), I think it'd also be nice to just spend an evening together talking and getting to know each other better just for a little while...like we did a little between our confessions. And also, you know what they say about too much of a good thing…even if it really is a…a really REALLY good thing… Possibly the best thing I've ever felt or done with another person in my entire life, actually…

Anyway, about back in the alley before…I know this might sound silly but I'm sorry I picked you up like that…I mean, I'm not sorry that I did it, because I really liked doing it of course, but I am sorry if it made you uncomfortable at all. I don't even know what came over me. And I know you'll probably just roll your eyes at me later and say something like 'Yeah, Football Head, I hated being swept up in your arms for a few precious seconds—that's why I went and kissed you while you were still holding me even though our best friends showed up' but still I feel a little strange that I just went and did something like that without saying anything to you first so…next time I'll ask first, okay?

Oh, and before I forget, I was wondering if you'd like to have lunch together today? I know, I know, if we sit together in the cafeteria it won't take too long for someone to say something, but I was thinking maybe we could sneak down to the Cocoa Hut or something and eat there. And even though I know you'll be disappointed I was thinking about using the door instead of the air vents to get there … But if you'd like to try the second choice and you think we'd have time I'd be willing to give it a shot.

Love,

Your secret admirer.

P.S.

I tried really hard to make sure no one would be able to know who this letter was about or who had sent it in case someone ever found it or you lost it, but I'm still getting used to this whole 'secret' thing. Did I do okay? Please let me know at lunch. I'll meet you outside of the Cocoa Hut, my love.

(Oh and also, just so you officially know…when you call me things like 'my love' and 'my angel' and 'my beloved'…I think it makes me love you just a little bit more… And since I already love you just the same as you love me, you can guess what that must be like… I mean, 'amazing' and 'magical' really don't do it justice… I guess I'll have to think of some new words soon. See you later!)

Helga felt herself practically melt into a puddle upon concluding her reading of the cute letter. In fact, she couldn't control a slight giggle coming out of her…okay, a slightly LOUD giggle…which actually caused several of the people around her as well as Mr. Simmons (and as well as a very amused looking Arnold) to turn to look in her direction.

Mr. Simmons raised an eyebrow in concern, pausing in the middle of erasing something from the board. "Helga, did you have something to add?"

Helga glanced from him to the curious faces around her and just tried not to blush as she did her best to think on her feet. "Oh, uh…no, Mr. Simmons. Just, uh…" she faked a cough and pounded on her chest with her fist for show, "Just a frog in my throat, heh, heh…" She folded her hands on her desk and smiled up at him innocently. "I'm okay now. We can, uh, get back to our, uh, 'special' day of learning!" She swung her fist in the air in a show of enthusiasm.

Mr. Simmons just nodded and smiled at her reply. "Okay, Helga, but if you need to get a drink of water feel free to do so."

Helga just gave him a nod in return and finished nervously with, "Uh…you got it, teach!"

The enthusiastic teacher turned to the greater class, still smiling as usual. "Alright, now that our math lesson is done let's move on to…yes, that's right—history! Isn't that special, class?"

Once again, several stereotypically sarcastic moans of agreement that didn't dampen the educator's spirits in the least, and if anything encouraged him even more!

Helga couldn't help but breathe out a sigh of relief as the sounds of everyone opening their desks to switch textbooks filled the room…meaning everyone's attention was off of her again…except (inevitably from now on, it would seem) for one person's, that was… And she noticed this fact as she glanced in his direction…and it made her eyes go wide in a bit of panic.

Indeed, Arnold was still looking back at her and still obviously trying to stifle a laugh at her cute little sigh. Helga just let out another breath and rolled her eyes at him, then took her history textbook out of her desk and gestured to it with her head with a scowl, saying without words, 'Enough lovey dovey looks, head boy—get your book out already before someone notices you ogling me, for crying out loud!'

Arnold laughed slightly at the gesture and look from her (luckily, the sound of everyone still shifting their belongings to change over classes muffled it) and then reluctantly turned back to his own desk to retrieve his own history items, as per her silent suggestion (which, he realized, with a small sigh, was indeed the right thing to do for now).

Helga smiled at being yet again out of danger of his attentions toward her being noticed, and opened her own history book and notebook as she tried to focus as their second lesson of the day began…though, every few seconds, she couldn't help but find her eyes falling to Arnold's little letter (she had it plastered against the inside of her textbook so no one would notice its presence) over and over again. A few minutes passed and finally, realizing that if she just kept staring at it she would probably drift off into a daydream (and who knew what would come out of her blissful mouth for all to hear if that happened, especially considering her track record with slip ups lately), she settled for the next best thing…returning to annoying Arnold.

Mr. Simmons was still addressing the class directly at the moment but a few more seconds passed and then he turned back to face the board to write something…and once again Helga knew that was her cue.

She prepared several fresh spitballs. 'Ah, this never gets old…'

'Three, two, one…' Though he was expecting them so regularly he could practically time them at this point (always starting three seconds after Mr. Simmons turned to write something on the board, and then there would be two or three seconds between each fresh shot), Arnold couldn't help but flinch as he felt Helga's latest spitball hit him in the back of the head.

He sighed to himself, still smiling, and counted to almost three again before he felt the second one hit him. Then the third after a few seconds…and a few seconds later, the fourth…

He was about to turn to give her a look as soon as he felt the fifth one… (a little early for him, he figured, but he was curious to see if she was still sneaking glances at the note he'd slipped her before)…when a slight idea came to mind. 'Three two…' he turned around one second early, quickly popped his blue hat off of his head and caught the spitball directly inside of it! He did his best to give Helga the annoyed look he knew was required of him, though he couldn't help the half smile trying to shine through as he awaited her reaction to the trick he'd just performed.

He watched in amusement as her eyes went wide at his small stunt for a second. And then (after glancing around of course to make sure no one was paying much attention) Helga gave him a slight, impressed smile… She then glanced down at something on her desk and then back in his direction…and her smile grew just a bit more. He continued to watch with interest (after giving a quick glance over his shoulder to make sure Mr. Simmons was still writing on the board, of course) as Helga then seemed to scribble something down on a piece of paper for several minutes (Arnold shooting her occasional curious glances throughout this strange, sudden writing frenzy). Eventually, she appeared to be done and so she folded up whatever she had been working on and then finally and as casually as possible let it drop to the floor beside her. She placed one of her shoes upon it and dragged it to the aisle and then gestured down with her eyes to Arnold who only looked at her in confusion until (after a dramatic eye roll) she pulled her foot back and slid the paper across the floor in his direction! Instantly realizing what she meant, he watched the small folded paper slide up right near his desk and then did his best, after thinking for a second, to casually let his hat 'fall' to the floor a pretext for leaning down to pick it (along with the love note Helga Pataki had just actually passed him!) from the floor.

Arnold sat back up, the hat with the note inside of it now in his hands, and discreetly removed the latter and then popped the former back on his head. He smiled at the small tightly folded piece of paper discretely in his hands, covered in familiar tracings and imprints of Helga's signature purple ink…and then carefully did his best to secretly unfold it and lay it tight against his textbook to read.

Dear 'Secret Admirer':

First of all, nice catch with the spitball! Hey, maybe you should try playing catcher one of these days—you might actually have some potential!

Second, I'd complain about you apologizing for picking me up like that before and making even more of my dreams and fantasies come true, but you did say in your note that you'd ask me before doing it next time, which implies that you're thinking there's going to be a next time so…how could I be mad when I have the feeling of you holding me in your warm, strong arms to look forward to yet again in my life, my beloved? (By the way, glad to hear you finally admitting how much the little terms of endearment are getting to you…Not that it hasn't been obvious from all of the blushing they've been making you do, but…well…I didn't realize they were making you fall even more in love with me. Leaving you at a loss for words… Okay, I'll stop now before I end up silently monologuing to myself. Besides, there's other stuff I need to write to you right now too!)

Okay, well…third of all, however much I don't want to admit it, maybe an evening of dinner with your family tonight WOULD be a good change of pace for us from these little make out sessions. Don't get me wrong, I still expect many of them, both random and planned, to be happening for a good long time, but you're right…the more we do it the less special it'll feel so I'd be willing to cool it for one night…as long as you could resist too, my love…

Fourth, considering the last point I just addressed, I…think the Cocoa Hut at lunch might not be the best idea. Maybe this is just something only the girls know or maybe you're still dense about some things after all, my dearest, but that's…kind of where the sixth graders go to make out everyday. I mean, if you're into that then let's find a dark corner and do it! Although…I have a feeling you really did just have a nice little lunch together in mind (you may have a dark side, my angel, but you're pretty up front about it when things come to that) so, how about instead you and your best friend sit at your usual table and I'll move me and my best friend to the table right next to it in the cafeteria—I'll make some excuse about the cafeteria food fumes smelling too much near our usual table today if anyone asks—and then we can just make sure our chairs are near each other or something. I'll even pull your ex-girlfriend over to our table too so the set up doesn't seem too obvious.

Thank you again, by the way, for putting up with all of this secrecy, my beloved. I know if it was up to you that you'd shout our feelings from the rooftops, and even though I'd like nothing better than to do that myself one day, I appreciate you understanding that, all things considered, I need just a bit more time…

Yours forever,

Anonymous

P.S.

As for how good your letter was as a 'secret' letter…well, I'll have to give you an A for effort and because I like you so much but, seriously…you mentioned where you live, who you live with, the most distinct nickname I have for you… No offense, but I'm pretty sure that even 'pre-confession' you wouldn't have been dense enough to not have been able to figure out who it was from and who it was to. (Notice how I only used generic nicknames to address you in this letter—my beloved, my dearest, etc.—and no real specifics about either of us or anyone we know). Oh well—more writing skills we have to work on for you in the future, I guess. Not bad for your first dry run, though. Not bad at all.

P.P.S.

We're still in the middle of class, in case you forgot, so quit gawking at me every eight seconds and pay at least some attention to Simmons' desert dry lecture, for Pete's sake! Sheesh, if you start failing and get grounded what am I going to do with myself?

Arnold just smiled and smirked in amusement at the page before him as he finished reading. He waited for Mr. Simmons (who was now facing the class again as he talked) to turn to the board once more before he glanced back to Helga…whom he noticed with a slight blush was currently writing something not in her notebook but in a small pink book of familiar style laid flat on top of it that she must have pulled out of her desk in a moment of inspiration while he had been reading. (She had mentioned something about nearly going into an internal monologue about him after reading part of his own little letter… And writing a poem always seemed to help her with things like that).

Arnold just kept watching as she tapped the end of her purple pen twice against her lower lip, as though she was trying to think of a way to continue a line in whatever lovely piece of verse she was writing. Suddenly, with a smile, she started scribbling away as an idea obviously came to her.

Arnold couldn't help but let out a slight sigh at the sight of her creativity in action like that… A sigh which Helga's ears must have picked up on, he guessed, because she suddenly blinked and glanced up at him, and he saw a slight blush come to her face at being unexpectedly caught mid-Arnold poem in class…and by Arnold himself no less!

Helga cleared her throat and instantly did her best to resume her usual attitude with him, lest, once again, anyone who might glance their way notice a change in their relationship. "What?" she whispered sharply.

Arnold just sighed at the familiar question, did his best to give her a scolding look, and then turned back around, shaking his head once more with a small smile to himself…though somewhere in all of that he had managed to get a quick wink to her before doing so (causing her to blush once again he'd noticed before his eyes had completely left her). He resumed writing his notes…a little disappointed that he really would have to wait hours to resume his true relationship with Helga, though he was more than willing to be patient with letting other people know about them if it was important to her… He was more than willing to do just about anything for her to be honest.

Helga, meanwhile, in the middle of praying the scarlet from Arnold's secret wink would fade from her cheeks as quickly as possible, just took a deep breath as he finally turned away from her again, and then quietly slid her pink book back into her desk, too nervous to do anything as risky as writing right now with how many near misses there had already been this morning in regards to people potentially noticing 'something out of the ordinary' about her and Arnold.

Overall, though, despite Arnold having to wait to talk to the real Helga just a bit longer and despite Helga now realizing that keeping this secret of hers (or rather, of 'theirs') was going to be a lot more complicated now that her horrible liar of a beloved was a partner in it…both of them couldn't help but sigh and smile to themselves and have the same thought at the same time that was entirely a statement and in no way a question.

'Somehow…it's all worth it…isn't it…'

Each laughed quietly to themselves and then resumed their studies again.

Gerald and Phoebe, meanwhile, who had actually been observing these antics in bits and pieces over the last hour or so when they could, finally just looked to each other and sighed to themselves, happy that Arnold and Helga seemed to be done flirting for now (and thus done putting themselves at risk for having to desperately hide their secret from the class once again…and inevitably needing Gerald and Phoebe's help.)

Just the start of another typical day at P.S. 118…now, at least.

BRRRRRRING!

The bell signaling the end of classes sounded throughout the halls and classrooms of P.S. 118.

Several minutes later two familiar kids were talking to each other out on the school stoop…waiting for a very specific couple (who had just had to spend six hours pretending that they were enemies).

"So we're walking home and then later to baseball practice with Arnold and Helga to give them cover, right?" Gerald smiled at Phoebe, leaning back against the rail of the stoop a little.

Phoebe nodded in affirmation, adjusting her glasses a little. "Right. We'll be heading out as a group so that they can walk together without being teased as soon as…" And then a small coy smile came to her face as she added, glancing to the side, "…As soon as they, um…finish up inside…"

A small smug smile came to Gerald's face now as well…almost like something Phoebe had just said had brought an amusing thought to his mind. "Yeah, as soon as they're, uh, 'good and ready'…"

Phoebe, being as observant as she was, more than noticed Gerald's slight emphasis on those last words of his and couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. 'Did Helga tell him too?' "Gerald…" she began with interest, "are you aware of what is, uh…currently going on between them at this moment…for the next several moments, probably?"

Gerald blinked at the question but then just smiled even more…and raised an eyebrow as well. "Wait, you know what's up right now too?" 'Wow, when did Arnold find the time to tell her…?'

Phoebe giggled in reply, giving a quick nod, and Gerald chuckled, copying the gesture. And then both of them spoke at exactly the same time with plenty of conviction and a nod each:

"Arnold's waiting in a closet to pull Helga inside…"

"Helga's waiting in a closet to pull Arnold inside…"

Both kids remained just smiling for a second or two after these slightly contradictory revelations of theirs overlapped…

And then they blinked…

And then their faces went blank…

And finally each looked to the other…

"Did you just say…" Gerald began slowly.

"…What I think you just said?" Phoebe finished simply.

Another second of quiet passed…and then Gerald just sighed and dragged a hand down his face. He grabbed Phoebe's hand in his own. "Come on, let's go fix this one…" He turned back in the direction of the doors.

And with an amused smile and a nod Phoebe let herself be pulled back inside by him to do just that.

'Let's see…Phoebe's got the closets on that side of the building…and I'm almost done over here…Let's just check this one—'

"Alright, almost ready—Arnold said he was going to the boys room before we go home. I just have to wait for the sound of him coming out and heading down the hall here, and then I'll pull his gorgeous little self inside, and then…We can not only pick up where we left off outside before, but I can make sure that little daydream he's been having about us in a closet finally comes tru—"

Gerald had just stopped cold at hearing these few sentences (in a familiar bully's voice) meet his ears from behind the closet door before him. And now, without hesitation (and before the person inside could elaborate on her fantasies even more), he opened the door of said closet…and his thoughts cut off completely (as did his breathing, almost) at the sight of Helga G. Pataki currently running a small brush through her undone hair and giving herself a quick spritz of some kind of perfume she'd just pulled out of her jumper pocket.

The light from the hall hitting her, Helga froze…then whipped her head around to the door with happy eyes at first (obviously expecting her beloved)…and then all color left her face and she just stood there wide eyed and shocked looking as she processed the fact that Gerald Johansson was before her instead. "Uh…" She couldn't even begin… This was possibly even worse than the shrine. He'd just caught her planning and primping to shanghai his best friend and give him the kiss of his lifetime (hey, in her defense, that dinner of theirs tonight was supposed to be strictly platonic, so…might as well get in a little action now while they were both still coming off of the euphoria from the making out in the alley before, right?)

Anyway, she was currently just waiting for the tall haired boy in front of her to pass out again or burst into hysterics or whatever so that she could decide what to do next…

Gerald, however, having been slowly getting more and more used to catching Helga and Arnold in awkward positions like this one, just shook his head to snap himself out of it, let out a very deep sigh, and then finally rolled his eyes and reached forward and grabbed one of her arms. "Come on, Pataki!" he proceeded to pull her out into the hallway and then down it…

He just shook his head and rolled his eyes some more as he went through the school like this with a still in shock Helga in tow. 'Man, I am gonna start charging these two for this job one of these days…'

'Hmm…this is the last closet in this section of the hallway… Let's see if—' Phoebe moved forward toward the door before her, reaching out her arm to grab the handle (or rather, to grab the makeshift handle since she realized, upon glancing down at it, that this must be the same janitors closet Arnold and Helga had hidden in a couple of weeks ago during that fiasco with Arnold's poem—the door she'd broken the handle off of). She smiled a bit at the memory and just placed her hand on the cheap and obviously temporary knob to check insi—

"Okay, just…just take a deep breath, Arnold. She said she was going to the bathroom before we walked home with Gerald and Phoebe, and the bathroom's right near here. You'll hear her walk by and she…she did say she wanted you to do this…and you do want to do this…so…" A sigh. "Where's that breath spr—"

He stopped as light flooded his vision…along with the sight of a curious looking Phoebe Heyerdahl. And now Arnold just stood there, eyes wide…and in the middle of being about to spray some minty stuff from a small bottle into his mouth. He blushed furiously at being caught like this, swallowed nervously and then quickly put the spray behind his back. "Uh…." There were not even words. At least if Helga had been in here with him they could have shared the humiliation…or Gerald's presence in front of him as well might have made it not so bad, but…just by himself…just with Phoebe (another girl of all people)… No words. Because, really, how could he even hope to begin to explain how he, Mr. Goodie Two Shoes, Mr. Modesty, Mr. Wet Blanket (as Helga liked to call him), despite having been very serious about a date tonight that was a little less kissing and a little more talking, had suddenly felt the compulsion somewhere in the middle of all the stuff from today to put his daydream in regards to him and Helga and an empty closet into action… And yet the school day had started on a 'high note' after all—no harm in it ending on one too, right?

Anyway, he just continued standing there, unmoving, and waiting for whatever Phoebe would do…and also hoping to an extent Helga would come down that hall from the bathroom very VERY soon to help ease him out of this mortifying situation.

All of a sudden though Phoebe (with a smile, and more than used to dealing with Helga over the years when she used to freeze up like Arnold was doing right now at being caught in little awkward situations) just let out a sigh and rolled her eyes. "Come on, Arnold…" She reached forward and grabbed one of his arms, and quickly pulled him out of the closet and down the hall.

'Hmm…it seems Helga was wrong…' she couldn't help but recall a small joke Helga had made to the other night during her makeover before her date with Gerald, 'Apparently Arnold would not have taken another seven years to even think about trying that closet fantasy he mentioned to her…'

At the corner of an empty hallway Gerald and Phoebe finally met…and so did Arnold and Helga, (both blonde ten year olds still not quite getting what was going on and still in a bit of blushing shock—and that was putting it mildly).

Gerald released his grip on Helga just as Phoebe released her grip on Arnold, and then the two of them stepped away to give their friends some space… Upon which Gerald couldn't help crossing his arms over his chest and giving Arnold and Helga a serious smirk, all things considered. "Okay, the short version—" he began in quick explanation, turning first to Arnold, "Helga was hiding in the closet by the boys room to pull Arnold in for a make out session," his sights went to Helga now, "and Arnold, apparently, was hiding in the closet—by the girls room, I'm guessing—to pull Helga in for a make out session." He sighed and closed his eyes, just shaking his head with a smile. "You know, you guys gotta coordinate better!" He opened his eyes and gestured with his head to the girl beside him. "I mean, me and Phoebe have got our own relationship stuff to worry about now and we won't always be around to save you guys from waiting a few hours in a closet for someone who's not coming. Okay?" He gave them a grin, and did his best to curb any obvious jokes already coming to his mind (he'd already delivered a few well placed shrine jokes to Helga today and he figured his 'patience quota' with her was probably on empty for the time being, even despite the fact that she'd probably owed him just a little back for all of her side jokes she'd made to him in reciprocation about him having passed out in Phoebe's kitchen when he'd heard about the shrine in the first place.

Phoebe now stepped forward as well and just smiled, sighed and nodded with the boy beside her, her arms crossed over her chest now as well. "I concur with Gerald. Coordination is indeed important for any secret plan or scheme. Very sloppy, you two." She smirked just a little herself, finding this whole situation kind of sort of hysterical though she didn't want to hurt her friend's feelings by showing it.

As all of this was being revealed/said Arnold and Helga were just blushing furiously, still wide-eyed and totally unmoving…and they continued to be like that for a few seconds as the information processed…

When the explanation of what was going on finally sunk in for both of them, though, they slowly turned to each other.

Helga took a breath in…and spoke…quite sweetly, actually… "Arnold, you actually…you were actually going to…to do it? Really? Already?" Helga's mouth hung WIDE open in a surprised smile as she finished.

At first Arnold didn't even seem to absorb the question from her….another thought seeming to have caught hold of his mind at the moment from the look of distraction in his eyes. But then he spoke too…and it became clear quite quickly exactly what realization was keeping his mind off of just confirming for Helga what was already pretty obvious about his intended actions. "Helga, you…" his voice was a little shaky, to say the least, "You were planning to…to pull me into a closet…in the dark…alone…to…" And then suddenly he let out a shuddery sigh, his smile going all goofy, "To…to…" His eyes seemed far away again. That was an experience for this afternoon that he hadn't considered at all (he'd assumed Helga had just been trying to motivate him last night, saying she'd do it first if he didn't jump on it)… But oh boy did her version of the closet plan have its appeal! In his version she would have been surprised and flustered, and he would have held her gently and said sweet things to her until she blushed and smiled and giggled, and then he would have gone forward and gently kissed her for however long they both wanted to, in the shadows together… But…but the idea of her (knowing her style) tearing him inside (much as she had done two weeks ago when she'd been furious at him about his poem), pinning him against a wall and just lip-locking him in all of his complete confusion and with all of her perfect passion…all alone in the darkness like that with no interruptions now that they were finally together and could be forever if they wanted to. "To…to…" he just went on in a daze. 'Oh boy… Girls are…they're really great, aren't they?'

Back on planet earth, Helga found herself just giggling like crazy at her beloved's little stupor. "Hey, are you my boyfriend or a broken record, Arnoldo?" She gave him a small nudge in the shoulder, and this action along with the sound of her voice finally made Arnold come off of the word 'to' with a sheepish and an embarrassed grin (and actually even managed to get a chuckle or two out of him at her funny joke, he slowly but surely starting to learn to let his worry over the more awkward parts of their relationship slide a little.)

And then both blondes, just gazing happily at each other and finally over any humiliation, took deep breaths and somehow said at the same time, "You were waiting to pull me into a closet…" They smiled even more at having said the same thing at the same time. "Aw!" came another exclamation in unison, and then Helga (there being no one else left in the school at this point) quickly caught Arnold in a tight hug which he readily reciprocated after a small moment of surprise at her action…And oh boy did it feel wonderful to hold each other like that, especially after having had to avoid each other so strongly throughout the day!

"Oh brother…" The sound of Gerald's voice broke through the 'tender moment', and, still standing on the sidelines, he just smirked and rolled his eyes at the display before him. "Okay, okay, you two—you wanna go all lovey dovey again, that's fine, but let's get out of the public eye and then we'll drop you off at one of your houses or the movies or somewhere else that's private, alright? Because me and Phoebe are NOT spending our afternoon fixing any more shenanigans you get yourselves into, right babe?" He looked to his crush.

Phoebe giggled and smiled, turning to him as well. "Yes, I believe the two of us do indeed have other potential things to occupy ourselves with, Gerald." She blushed a little, only just glancing at him. "Like preparing for next weekend, for example…" She recalled the plans for another outing that they had made last night…just before Gerald Martin Johansson had leaned up and kissed her on the lips, actually… (An action she was very much hoping to have occur between them again come next Saturday night…Or maybe she would kiss him again this time… Or maybe they could try doing it at the same time… She couldn't be sure which of those scenarios might occur but the point was that one of them was bound to happen and that a week to think it all over wasn't as much time as one might think… 'Hmm…kissing each other at the same time… Maybe I'll ask Helga later what that's like…' ).

Gerald, meanwhile, at that slightly suggestive statement from the girl beside him, suddenly went a bit wide eyed and blushed a little himself, remembering some things from last night and being reminded so suddenly again of many more events like it probably to come…like during their outing next weekend for example… 'That reminds me—I've gotta get Arnold aside at some point this week and talk to him about all of this 'girl' stuff again before I mess something up or something like that…' "Um…" pulling himself back to the situation at hand, Gerald just cleared his throat and smiled a little sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck. "Uh, yeah, what she said…" He gestured with his head to Phoebe, and then shook it to clear it, trying to move on from the small moment of flirting. "Anyway…uh, like we said, we'll…we'll help you two get somewhere private if you want, but then we are off the clock for the day, alright?" He focused back on Arnold and Helga.

And Helga, still just giddy with love at the idea of Arnold having been about to go through with his closet fantasy (and also finding the little romantic exchange that had just gone on between Gerald and Phoebe simply adorable) just giggled and looked to her perfect little love god, starting to put up her hair for the walk home. "Well, our date last night did get a little messed up, Arnoldo…And we've obviously both been in the mood to correct that little unfortunate mistake all day…So maybe…" she blushed just a little more, "Maybe we ought to postpone the 'strictly getting to know each other dinner' until tomorrow night, and instead use this afternoon to just give the movies a shot again… You know…how it was supposed to be…" She quirked her mouth to the side just a little and awaited his response to the suggestion.

Arnold, likewise still pretty lost in lovesickness, just smiled in a goofy, shy way at her plan, his hands clasped innocently in front of himself…though it was obvious, despite any modesty, that he wasn't about to turn her down. "Yeah, I guess things didn't go exactly as planned for the first part of last night. And, well…we just missed out on the closet thing…and my grandparents said you could come over to dinner any night you wanted, so…doing the movies now…might be good…"

Helga nodded, moving a bit closer to him (and now done reforming her pigtails and re-securing her bow). "Mmm hmm… And all of our friends would be at baseball practice all afternoon…"

Arnold blinked at the sudden implication from her about how alone they really would be this time around in that theatre (and how close she'd suddenly gotten to him again was a contributing factor too, of course)…but then he just resumed his dreamy look and chuckled to himself. "Yup…" he gazed into her inviting eyes, "A whole theatre to ourselves for 'two full semi-dark hours'…" Quoting her from last night, a glint came to his eye and he moved closer now as well and began to whisper in a low voice, forgetting their friends were right there. "Think of all places we could—" started the ironic sentence.

He was getting that look—that 'here comes Arnold's aggressive side' look—and Helga knew he was a goner. 'Yes!' she squealed inside in delight, slowly but surely no longer feeling the need to absorb that side of him in small doses, and in fact kind of hoping for the experience of it whenever and wherever she could get it.

"Okay, enough flirting! Save it for the movies guys. Yikes!" Gerald interrupted, giving them a disbelieving smirk and moving forward slightly between them before they could dive on top of each other or whatever the heck it was the two of them always seemed about to do to one other!

Phoebe just chuckled at her three friends and added supportively, "And don't worry about baseball practice, you two—we'll make excuses for why both of you can't come. I suppose it's the least we could do," she finished with a small chuckle.

Arnold cleared his throat and blushed just a smidge at Gerald and Phoebe having had to kind of necessarily pull him back to reality a little. Finally, he took a slight (but only a slight) step back from his lovely girlfriend, doing his best to resume his normal demeanor. Helga, for her part, just smiled at Gerald and Phoebe's little very sound interjections, and now, seeing Arnold move, just fluttered her eyes a little and looked down shyly, her arms behind her back.

"Uh…thanks guys." Arnold finally managed, turning to their friends with a smile, his eyes still a bit half lidded. "We really appreciate your help."

"Yeah, thanks you two…" Helga turned to them now as well. "And, don't worry, we promise to keep the public shenanigans to a minimum for your sakes," she joked with a chuckle…before then turning back to her beloved Arnold, her mouth quirking to the side a little again in a small smile. "Well…let's get going then, Football Head!" she offered very very kindly.

"Whatever you say, Helga…" a quite-in-love Arnold replied, just as tenderly and with a half smile.

And then with that the two of them proceeded in the direction of the school doors, trying to look as casual as possible as they prepared to exit the building and reenter the public eye.

Watching them go, Gerald just shook his head. "Mmm, mmm, mmm—some pieces of work…"

Phoebe let out a sigh and put a hand on one of her hips. "I concur, Gerald…I concur…"

A small chuckle escaped the tall haired boy. "Hey, you know, according to Arnold I was right the first time… she jumped him first last night."

A laugh caught at the back of Phoebe's throat. "Indeed…" she glanced to the side at him, "But I do believe she's wearing him down to be the one to take the initiative himself, Gerald…"

A chuckle. "You know it, babe."

He then turned to wink, causing her to (of course) blush a little (an effect he'd been noticing lately that he had had the power to elicit from her).

This little moment passing all too quickly, both Gerald and Phoebe finally just smiled to one another and then (taking in and letting out a deep breath each) proceeded to follow after Arnold and Helga (and to hold hands as they did so, actually …until they got to the school doors, of course, since, well…the idea of everyone finding out that they were dating too didn't seem like a 'swirling vortex of social nightmare' to them like it did to Helga about herself and Arnold, but still…what they did in their private lives was their own business and when they wanted to share it, they were certain they'd work it out and that they would.)

The two happy couples met outside at the bottom of the stoop of P.S. 118 less than a minute later, and then pretended to walk away from the school as a perfectly casual group…

(Oh and just a quick FYI—the 'kissing contest' that inevitably took place during Arnold and Helga's movie date was of course a draw because, really—Arnold and Helga were just too evenly matched…But even though there was no clear cut winner both participants still had quite a bit of fun trying to come up with one! Yes, indeed, Helga almost pulled off a victory at one point when she managed to fake getting scared of something in the movie and then dove into Arnold's arms…which conveniently put her in an easy position to hold onto him…kiss him maybe… push him against his seat with no escape from her advances actually to be honest… Oh but Arnold made up for that and then some when he took the opportunity of having her in his arms at one point to duck with her down to the floor under the cover of the row of seats in front of them (sure no one else was in the theater, but somehow hiding there was just more…more exciting or something!) where they spent the better part of the end of the movie (including the credits) sometimes kissing sometimes just saying cute little things to each other, sometimes flicking popcorn bits back and forth at one another, sometimes just laughing at anything (and, as stated, sometimes…many times, actually, kissing)… And perhaps said contest could have had a winner eventually if only they hadn't been interrupted at the end of their date by the lights coming on in the theatre and a confused teenage usher informing 'the two kids messing around in the back' that it was time to leave already as the film was over and they needed to clean the theatre.)

And more such romantic, amusing and at times downright humiliating dates were indeed in store for our favorite couple as their courtship would continue…

A/N:

Am I insane enough to actually write out the next several weeks of Arnold and Helga's courtship? According to the over one hundred thousand words of drafts about just that, YES! YES, I AM that insane! And it ranges all over the place from fluff to drama to comedy to romance… There's a few in here that I really think you're going to like guys, and I really hope you like what I end up doing with this thing over all :)

Okay, now as for the next update…

*Sigh * So…I'm still working full time at a job I don't particularly care for (but I need the money), I still have ten grad school apps to fill out, I have one more major admissions test in six weeks, a college essay of mine to expand by a good ten pages so I can use it as my admissions paper (on a side note, I have a very strange love/hate relationship with Northrop Frye for any fellow English geeks out there reading this, lol), and I haven't gone to the gym in almost a week and a half because I was doing so many edits on this update, and also the courtship chapters are a little rougher/not one hundred percent fully written out, so… I'm super sorry guys but it's gonna take me at least 6-8 weeks. Once November's over (and thus all my grad school craps' over) things should get more regular but for now sometime in October is the best I can do. Thanks for all of your patience though! I really appreciate it, guys ;)

Happy Reading!

~Azure129 aka Jenna

AXH FOREVER!