Learning to be Helga

by Azure129

What could be more amusing than taking two hundred thousand words to make Arnold realize he loves Helga? Taking EIGHT hundred thousand words to explore in detail how this newfound relationship is working out! Sequel to Tutoring Arnold! Let's do this! FINISHED!

23. Endgame

A/N:

Hey, everyone! Okay, so, in general, I try to give you guys one update per month with this story, but since October got skipped and the last update got posted early this month, I'm doing a second one for this month :) I hope you guys enjoy it! This wraps things up pretty much with Helga and Arnold 'going public' and after this is three chapters of their one month anniversary ^w^ Anyway, please enjoy! And review if you get the chance! Thank you! :D

LEARNING TO BE HELGA

Chapter 23:

Endgame

---

"Alright, alright, fifth graders, move in and duck and cover—the Football Head is up to bat!"

Helga had made it to the big baseball game just on time after leaving the school, of course. And she had smiled upon seeing Arnold and he had smiled upon seeing her, and to heck with what anyone else thought of that. And then the game had commenced (with Wolfgang not just pitching like a man on fire but like a scorned man on fire), and things had gone this way and that way…which had led to fourth graders having 11 and fifth graders having 12 in the bottom of the ninth inning with two outs at this moment in time and Eugene on base…and it had also to Helga's little cat call to her beloved just now as he was heading up to bat.

And Arnold, as he reached the plate and to take his stance, turned to Helga upon her completion of making this sarcastic yet playful announcement to the crowd with a little smile on her face and a little giggle underlying it. She was just walking past him behind the batter's box to head back over to the dugout with the rest of their classmates after having scored a run for the team courtesy of the run Eugene had just managed to bat in (the ball had hit is helmet, it ended up being technically fair, and then somehow after some scrambling Helga had ended up safely at home plate, to make a long story short).

Arnold couldn't help but give her a look and an amused yet inquisitive smile as she went by. "Helga…"

Helga's response was merely to shrug and lower her voice a little as she got up close behind him, smiling innocently. "What? I would have said 'Back up because the most wonderful, talented baseball player on the planet is up to bat and I'm sure he'll hit a home run though he also might take a piece of one of you with him but forgive him because he's my Arnold' but where's the fun in that, Football Head?" She winked at him. "And besides…" she added (and she spoke a little more loudly now so that anyone could hear if they felt like it—she really was getting a lot better about being observed talking with him affectionately), "…It's a baseball game—there's supposed to be a little cat calling and jeering, Football Head!" She finished walking over to the dugout full of fellow fourth graders eagerly waiting for the outcome of the game (and as interested in Arnold and Helga as ever for their own varying reasons, of course) and took her seat, right between Phoebe and Lila.

Meanwhile, back at the plate, at Helga's last comment to him, Arnold dropped his stance for a second and called over to her playfully in correction, "Cat calling and jeering against the OTHER TEAM, Helga!"

He watched in amusement as she just shrugged again from where she was sitting, her smile continuing, and then called back to him, "Hey, if I don't publically point out your many flaws how the heck are you ever gonna get the motivation to fix them, Football Head? Not everything can change, today after all!" She winked at him to top it off.

Arnold just laughed to himself and sighed and got back into batting position, winding up his bat a little. 'Yes…at least some things won't ever change…' he couldn't help thinking sentimentally. Suddenly noticing Wolfgang about to wind up for the pitch though, Arnold quickly turned his thoughts away from his girlfriend and back to the game at hand and did his best to focus on the ball about to be coming down the line.

"Okay, you little fourth grade loser, prepare for a serious hardball…" Wolfgang scowled wickedly at Arnold…which he had been doing every chance he got during this game for certain reasons, even when Arnold wasn't at bat…And Arnold was very much aware.

And so was Helga…"Yeah, yeah, just throw the pitch, Wolfgang!" her voice suddenly called from the dugout in a mixture of impatience and sarcasm and distrust (she knew Wolfgang's temper and she really did not want him and her beloved to have to be in the same vacant lot for much longer together), "Some of us would like to end this thing before it turns into a fifth graders versus sixth graders game, if you know what I mean!" She rolled her eyes and smirked a little and was happy that some laughter couldn't help but come from her fellow fourth graders at her comment, regardless of their respective opinions about herself and Arnold, to back her up a little.

"Oh whatever!" shot back Wolfgang with a brief scowl in her direction (and a noticeable coloring of red coming to his features). He then focused back on glaring at Arnold and pulled the ball just a bit closer to his chest as he prepared to throw.

Suddenly there came the wind up and then pitch and…

"Strike one!"

Arnold hadn't felt like the pitch was good enough to even attempt a swing at and yet the umpire called out the judgment of a strike just the same. It was the Jollie Ollie man, actually (he was the only adult both teams had agreed upon could be totally nonbiased as umpire—after all, as he had said when they had brought the proposition and their concerns about it up to him in the first place, "Sure I can be fair—I hate all of you kids equally! B-Besides…I guess I sort of still owe the football headed kid one anyway from that whole career day thing…But I have to be done by five to do my shift with the truck because I'm still on probation for selling you little ingrates half price ice cream last month and if I'm late I'll get fired! Oh and you all better keep that promise about all of you buying a Mr. Fudgie Bar a day from me for doing this!")

Meanwhile, at the Jollie Ollie man's call, the sounds of mixed cheers and boos could be heard around the field from the different dugouts.

And of course Helga's voice was heard above all as she scowled at the Jollie Ollie man and held out her arms in disbelief. "Aw, what, are you blind, Jollie Ollie Man? Sheesh, I haven't seen anything that 'outside' since last year's cheese festival in the vacant lot up the street!"

Once again, despite the whole 'Arnold/Helga' thing, what Helga had just said was kind of funny and so again she received the laughter of most of her fellow fourth graders to back her up, which helped Helga to smirk confidently at the Jollie Ollie man in a way that said he had better start making some better calls because not just her but most of the fourth graders were getting a little peeved.

Arnold, meanwhile, the determined look on his face firming up a bit, just did his best to ignore the sounds around him and to focus on the next pitch…though he took a bit of comfort in Helga's support of his decision not to swing at least.

Wolfgang's pleased smile only grew, meanwhile, at the call going in his favor. "Okay, let's get on with ending this…You're going down, short stuff…" He sneered and wound up and threw and…

"BALL ONE!"

Once again, mixed boos and cheers from the crowd around them…though their sources were reversed this time around.

"There we go! FINALLY, a decent call!" came Helga's sarcastic yet playful and supportive voice once more over the clamor of the crowd.

The Jollie Ollie Man stopped things for a moment and lifted his umpire's mask and glared in Helga's direction for a second. "Hey, don't think I won't boot you out of this game if you keep it up, kid!" he called over to her passionately. "I'll do it! Oh I'll do it!"

Helga just rolled her eyes and smirked at him a little, waving him off. "What, you're going to kick me out in the bottom of the ninth with two outs a man on third and a one-one count? Oh yeah, I'm terrified!" That comment not only got some more laughter from the other kids but even a few high fives from some of the guys to one another.

"Helga…" Now Arnold's voice came calmly, normally, kindly over the other sounds of the game, and indeed he had broken his stance again to look back at his girlfriend and address her with a grin, "…Not that I don't appreciate all the supportive comments and stuff but…I'm not done batting yet, you know…And I really think I need to focus so that we can win this…" He tried to give her a slightly serious look though it was obvious he was fighting back a big, amused smile.

Helga just sighed and rolled her eyes and smiled a little more at his sudden (and vey cute, in her opinion, reply to her). "Yeah, yeah…okay, get back to winning the game for us, Head Boy, and I'll try and sit tight." She scowled playfully and crossed her arms over her chest as she added, "But hurry up, would you? It's almost five and we're all starving for celebratory ice cream and your inevitable home run is holding us up!"

Arnold had to laugh quite a bit to himself again as he turned away from her once more and resumed his batting position. "I'll try and make it quick, Helga!" he called to her over his shoulder.

"No pressure, Arnold!" she called back in his direction, and he couldn't help but smile even more…and maybe even a little more goofily at their cute, public banter together like this.

"Hey, enough!" Wolfgang scowled again, glaring from Helga to Arnold. "There is no way a bunch of wimpy still-fourth-graders are going to beat a bunch awesome almost-six-graders! Now…" he looked to Arnold, "Prepare for another strike!"

Arnold narrowed his eyes a bit and tightened his grip on the bat, holding the ball in his sights. He didn't say anything back, he just centered himself and focused…

The Jollie Ollie man just growled and rolled his eyes at the scene and turned back to the task at hand of calling the remainder of the game.

Wolfgang wound up, and…

Arnold swung.

"Strike TWO!"

The crowd exploded. Arnold closed his eyes and took a deep breath before automatically tapping the plate with his bat and then resuming his batting stance, trying to ignore the sounds around him and the fact that he had just swung and missed, and instead doing his best to focus on the next pitch…and whatever it might bring. 'Don't think about it…It's not important…And even if you don't win, well…it was a close game and either way you…you have summer to look forward to, you have your friends to look forward to, you have ice cream at Slausens after this to look forward to…and you have the most perfect girl for you in the world to look forward to…' And suddenly the next pitch really didn't matter all that much…He would still try his best of course to hit it, but…there really were far more important things in life (though at the back of his mind, of course, Arnold couldn't deny that it would really be very cool to actually win this game on top of all those other cool things…)

"Come on, Football Head! I know you can do this—now clobber 'em!" Helga's voice (calling out supportively rather than sarcastically or playfully this time) to him from the dugout made Arnold blink and then look over at her with a little appreciative smile. She caught it, obviously, and smiled back, shouting, as she brushed her hair back behind her ear to get a clear and full view of him, "And, hey, don't worry about conking one of these losers in the head, Mr. Dangerous Lumber—we could all use a week with Wolfgang bedridden!" Laughter erupted once again this afternoon from the fourth grade dugout. Hey, regardless of the whole 'Helga/Arnold' thing, Helga was on fire right now and the other kids were eating it up! (And there were even some fifth graders laughing too, all of them silently aware of how… 'difficult' Wolfgang could be…pretty much all the time.)

"Oh yeah!" Wolfgang called over to the younger kids, scowling again, and glaring daggers right at Helga once he realized that it was her of all people heckling him again. "W-Well…Well…we'll just see who's laughing when we finish beating you!" He turned his attention back to Arnold. "It'll be us!"

And then he threw…

"BALL 2!"

Arnold hadn't swung at this pitch at all, and in fact the ball had come quite close to his face.

Our football headed hero took a second to shake his head and recompose himself. Not that he hadn't almost been hit by a baseball before in his life but still it was always a slightly uncomfortable experience having a flying object nearly collide with your head.

"Hey, Wolfgang, COULD you have cut that one closer! Crimeny, this is BASEball not DODGEball! It's a simple difference, Wolfgang—most kids figure it out by the first grade when they start playing games like this!" Helga couldn't help but supply in defense of her boyfriend from the sidelines, actually standing up from the dugout bench, a scowl of anger on her face…mixed with a lot of worry that she was no longer afraid, consciously or unconsciously, to show in front of other people.

Though Arnold really just wanted to move past things and focus, now he couldn't help but feel a touch of sincere appreciation for Helga's care about him. 'She's just getting used to being very public about her feelings…And besides…it's…sort of nice to have a girl root for you…' His smile went the tiniest bit goofy though he did his best to hide it and just really focus on his stance and Wolfgang, gripping up on the bat.

Meanwhile, Wolfgang was turning a little red in the face and obviously about to shoot something nasty and sarcastic back at Helga when—

"Okay, okay, enough 'witty banter' out of you kids!" the Jollie Ollie Man called out impatiently, interrupting things. He focused back on Arnold and Wolfgang. "This game is almost over and then I can finally get on with my life and my crummy job so let's just go already!"

With a growl of frustration at Helga's continued egging and the Jollie Ollie Man's bossiness, Wolfgang turned back to Arnold with a sneer and then suddenly threw a bit of a wild pitch to let off steam!

"BALL 3!"

Arnold had actually had to drop completely to the ground to duck this one. He took a few breaths from his place half on his back in the dirt until the call from the umpire finally sunk in, and then he was about to stand up when...

"HEY!" Suddenly both Arnold and Wolfgang had to turn their faces as Helga G. Pataki practically stormed out of the dugout and onto the field. "If you're trying to hospitalize someone then why don't you pick on someone your own size, you big jerk! I'd be happy to take you on and give you a personal introduction to old Betsey and the five avengers!" And then before Arnold knew it she was by his side, helping pick him up from the ground, and glaring at Wolfgang the whole time. Succeeding in getting him standing though she turned her attention now entirely on him, a look of concern in her eyes. "You okay, Arnold?"

Arnold certainly had not expected this somewhat extreme reaction from her…but then it occurred to him that if she had been at bat and Wolfgang had nearly hit her in the head with a baseball in frustration, he would have rushed out to her just as quickly and with just as much worry. And so, Arnold blinked a couple of times in surprise at her sudden arrival but then couldn't help smiling warmly as he replied sincerely and appreciatively, "Uh, yeah…don't worry about it, Helga. He didn't hit me. I'm okay, just a little dusty." He chuckled a little as he brushed some dust and dirt off of his shirttails.

An obvious look and smile of relief instantly melted away all of the worry and anger on Helga's face. "Oh…good." She swallowed and glanced away from him and backed up a step as she recalled the other people all around them, and realized how tender this moment might look to them (and Helga always needed time to deal with easing into sharing the 'more tender' moments in front of other people who came to find out about her and her beloved's affections for one another). "I-I mean…" a faint shadow of what was left of her defensiveness added, "I just wanted to make sure we weren't entitled to a free walk…" But then she swallowed and her heart added as she looked to his eyes, "And also, well…I'm glad you're okay."

Arnold's smile grew a bit and he was about to respond to her with something appreciative and sweet when suddenly the sound of Wolfgang laughing raucously from the pitcher's mound interrupted their little public exchange, and he was even pointing at them! "Ha, ha, ha—aw, does the wimpy fourth grader need his cranky little girlfriend to kiss his boo-boo and make it better?" He burst into laughter again and this time was joined by the other fifth graders as well as a decent amount of the fourth grade class (hey, the fourth grade might have had all day so far to get used to Helga and Arnold suddenly seeming on good terms with one another, and most of the fourth grade might have even been admiring Helga quite a bit this afternoon for her jeers against the other team, but still when you got right down to it the idea of Arnold and Helga like-liking (or pretending to like-like…or whatever the heck Rhonda was going with…whatever floated anyone's boats, really) each other still had the capacity to strike most of the ten-year-olds present as hilarious! And now the actual terms 'boyfriend' and 'girlfriend' had been thrown out there—oh it was like a humiliation buffet and who could resist just a little indulging!).

Helga instantly locked up and her face turned bright scarlet. Arnold couldn't help his eyes going wide and a touch of a blush coming to his own face as well. Yes they'd been teased a few times today but this was about as public as you could get…the center of a big multi-grade baseball game.

Meanwhile, Wolfgang was becoming aware that he had the audience's favor now and that he was seriously getting not only to the kid who could take away a fifth grade victory from him and who had also all but cowed him in front of half of his grade earlier, but likewise to the girl who had been taking cheap sarcastic shots at him intermittently throughout this game and who had basically romantically spurned him in front of half of his grade earlier. And so the fifth grade bully decided to push things a little bit more… He dropped his glove and ball to his side and glared with a smirk at Arnold and Helga as he announced for all to hear, "No seriously, I want to see you two give each other a little smooch—come on, if you're about to lose the game for all of your friends the least you could do is give them a little entertainment! Although, football head, how anyone could stand dating someone with a mouth like that on her is beyond me!"

At this new set of much more intense comments, not only were the fifth graders practically rolling around on the ground in their dugout, but the laughter from the fourth grade sidelines grew even more as well!

Suddenly Harold Berman's voice called out above the others in a sing-song voice (he…really had not forgotten about the whole altercation Helga had caused him to have with Curly at recess…and he really was still a little 'miffed' about the whole thing), "Arnold and Helga…" instantly other voices joined in at the familiar lines of, "Sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G…" Then they all just burst into some more laughter again. Arnold and Helga kissing…if there was ever a mental image that could make the group of ten-year-olds (the ones less inclined to be immediately understanding and supportive) smile it was that…And besides, if Arnold and Helga were going to insist on pushing this whole 'we like-like each other, really!' thing then could certain other people really be blamed for not resisting the chance to have some fun with it while it lasted? These same 'certain people' didn't think so, and besides which, really…Arnold and Helga…KISSING? What a weird image…right? "F-First comes love! Then comes marriage…" Arnold and Helga kissing…Any boy and girl their age kissing…Themselves kissing… It was a lot to think about…which was why the small group participating in this little sing-along in the fourth grade dugout continued to sing as a way to avoid these weighty thoughts. "Then comes the baby in the baby carriage!" Harold, Stinky and Sid all burst into laughter as their little verse concluded, holding their sides and trying not to die! Arnold and Helga…BABY! Oh that was a good one—it would have a football head and one eyebrow and it would pound you to a pulp as it told you the right thing to do! Literally, the three boys couldn't breathe anymore, their faces bright red with humor!

"Guys, shut up! You're acting like babies!" Nadine finally sighed and had to admonish them with a scowl, though they were all too distracted by their laughter to notice much.

Now, all of this was very humiliating for a certain football headed little boy and a certain pink-wearing little girl…And especially that song…Let's all agree that that song is the bane of every child's existence until about, oh, age 13 when everyone finally has to accept the fact that people date each other and that girls aren't 'full of cooties' and boys aren't 'icky' and don't 'go to Jupiter to get more stupider'. But until then, yes, if the vernacular can be pardoned, that song sucks.

However, despite the deep humiliation of it all, Arnold had enough internal peace and enough of an ability to calm himself and enough of an awareness that it did not matter what others ever thought or said about you, so long as you did the right thing and were a decent person, that he managed to brush off the singing with a little shake of his head and to just focus on addressing Wolfgang about one 'quick thing' before returning to his batting stance. After all, Wolfgang HAD just taken a pretty rude shot at Helga…her having a 'big mouth' and being un-dateable… He looked to the fifth grade bully with calm…yet slightly narrowed…eyes… "Wolfgang, don't talk about Helga like that! She's just being a good friend and a good person, and besides you could really hurt someone pitching like that! It's no wonder she was worried about you almost hitting me…If she had been up at bat instead, I would have come out here to help her out and check up on her too!" Arnold finished firmly and very earnestly.

"Aw, what, is the football head going to stick up for his girlfriend?" Wolfgang shot back sarcastically and then broke into laughter again, on fire and not about to back down. "You're probably just stalling because you're one strike away from getting creamed, you little wussy fourth grader! Now, shrimpy, why don't you try to get back to batting and I guess I'll try not to hit that face of yours even though it's a pretty wide target…" He looked smugly around him at the other fifth graders in the field and they all backed him up with some laughter.

Meanwhile, now Helga (who had been taking a moment to get her searing scarlet blushing under control after getting put through the song, which had basically been a regular part of all of her 'my secret gets exposed!' nightmares ever since she could remember) scowled and turned to Wolfgang herself. Hey, she may have been upset but she had HAD it with Wolfgang and his stupid macho, male ego picking on her beloved in particular during this game! ( 'Besides, it's MY job to bust Arnold's chops at public events!') "Hey, Wolfgang, you just keep in mind that if the football head can't play for some reason, I'll be the first one to fill in for him and if you think he has it in him to randomly bean people, you haven't seen me up at bat angry and with a score to settle with the pitcher!" She glared at him, her passions on fire in defense of her beloved.

Wolfgang couldn't help but blink a few times at the threat (Helga really was rather intimidating whenever she really wanted to be, even regardless of her shiny blond hair sweetly and softly framing her face at the moment), but then he cleared his throat and determined himself not to lose the crowd or to be put on the defensive, and so he just laughed again and waved Helga off as he quipped, "Ah, give your 'boyfriend' a hug and get back to the dugout, pinkie!"

More laughter came from both sides of the field. Really, this was better than a movie! Better than a soap opera! You couldn't BUY this kind of entertainment!

And then it didn't help that a few familiar fourth grade voices could slowly be heard one by one rising up above the din of chuckles… (if the three boys in question can be pardoned a little though…just a little…Harold still had his small grudge about the playground thing, Sid was still feeling a little 'funny' (and not in the best of ways) about nearly flirting with Helga this morning, and Stinky was such a sweetheart that he never had been good with going against too much peer pressure unless the situation was a really important one…and all three of them could be said to be falling victim to mob psychology. For a definition of that term, a dictionary or especially the Vile Village book in the "A Series of Unfortunate Events" series by Lemony Snicket is highly recommended).

Anywho…

"Oh boy howdy yeah, let's see them hug!" announced Sid before suddenly bursting into uncontrollable laughter again!

"Yeah," chimed in Stinky's voice, "I reckon the hand holding and all those little lovey dovey things they keep makin' each other say to each other are dang near unbelievable but the two of them wrapped in each other's arms would be dang near hysterical!" And then he burst into laughter too. Oh if Arnold and Helga pushed their gag THAT far, it would be the craziest thing in neighborhood history (at least from a ten-year-old's perspective).

"Guys come on, cool it!" Gerald's annoyed voice suddenly chimed in. Lila might have been too polite to ever interrupt someone to make an announcement, Phoebe might have been a little too intimidated by all of the attention and jeers going back and forth stand up herself just yet, and Brainy might have been so anxious about this whole thing that he was wheezing up too much of a storm to get up and say something at the moment, but, darn it, Gerald was officially ticked off! "Can we all just get on with the baseball game already! Please! Thank you!" He rolled his eyes and sat back down with tired scowl, rubbing his temples with one of his hands. 'I knew this was going to be a screwy day…But, really, even I accepted the whole 'Arnold/Helga' thing faster than this!'

"Aw, why? You and Phoebe wanna hug in front of everyone first?" asked Harold suddenly before bursting back into laughter again, not really remembering at the moment the whole 'we all know Gerald and Phoebe are an item but we don't tease them because he's Arnold's friend and Gerald's the keeper of the tales and Phoebe's super nice' thing! And also, Gerald and Phoebe had been so very obviously together today.

Helga and Arnold were a little too distracted with embarrassment right now to be paying much attention to anyone else's problems, but they figured Gerald (and Phoebe) must be sharing in quite a bit of blushing themselves as this comment from Harold seemed to silence any further attempts at defense from their friend.

Meanwhile, Wolfgang continued to enjoy his little public revenge on Arnold and Helga, laughing raucously as the scene progressed! "Oh man, this is hilarious—the fourth grade has a cutest couple and they're about to riot over them or something!" The fifth graders joined fully in his laughter and of course a fair handful of fourth graders couldn't help the continuation of some stifled and not-so-stifled chuckles to go along with it.

Arnold could hear the pounding of his heart in his ears. He wanted to defend himself and Helga…or for Helga to defend him again…or something! Anything! But it was so much…They had never been the center of attention to the degree that they were right now and Arnold was starting to understand once more in his life why Helga had indeed kept her love for him a secret for all of those years…and especially since for all but the last half of a year she had had the DOUBLE fear to deal with of not only receiving public ridicule for her emotions but of himself not being there to support her…not loving her back…

Indeed, Arnold felt so flustered at the moment that he just couldn't move or think or even breathe, and he just wished he could have a five second break from it all or something to gather himself and calmly and reasonably find a way out of this.

However, instead our football headed her got…

"Come on, everyone!" Wolfgang suddenly announced to both sides of the field, just glorying in the attention he was getting for starting this and also a chance to postpone the possibly fifth grade loss considering Arnold's awesome batting average and a three-two count…and not to mention there was that glorious 'revenge' thing again. "And a one and a two and…" He led off a second round of the song… "Arnold and Helga sitting in a tree…"

"K-I-S-S-I-N-G!" everyone with nothing better to do and no better thoughts to have on the situation at the moment couldn't help but yell in unison upon which they all suddenly burst into little fits of laughter again!

"Ha, ha!" shouted Harold after the chorus was over. "Hey, maybe Awnold really does like Helga! Look at how much he's blushing around her now!" He winked to the other guys and then called over to Arnold. "Hey Arnold, don't worry, none of us have told Li—uh, 'you know who' about your plan to win her back! Keep it up—this is great!" He winked and then burst into laughter again.

"Harold, I'm ever so certain that perhaps it would be better to leave Arnold and Helga alone right now, and that goes for you two as well, Sid and Stinky," Lila suddenly managed to chime in with a touch of shyness yet also in a tone somewhat firm before she could lose her nerve.

Lila, of all people, speaking up about this situation made all three boys stop laughing for about one second, faces blank…and then they just burst into doubled laughter again!

Lila frowned at them but was at a loss for what else to say at the moment.

Meanwhile…

"Y-Yes, yes, it's a plan, a silly plan and a silly joke and…Oh…Ugh…" Rhonda. At the start of that statement her voice had been oddly high-pitched and chipper (complete with an extra creepy smile). At the end of that statement she had just sunk down in dramatic 'despair' with a hand to her temple and a small groan. "Oh just forget it…" she grumbled to herself, though a little audibly, whether she meant to or not, considering her tendencies toward the dramatic, "The second I get home I'm booking a two hour session with masseuse and asking Mummy for a trip to a Paris spa as my summer getaway…"

"Ooo can I be your special masseuse of love, my darling Rhon—"

"CURLY!" Rhonda snapped, her eyes instantly popping open, a scowl on her face and her hands clenched at her sides. The first thing she did was remove her shoulders from his hands (which had suddenly and creepily managed to get on them) very forcibly! She whipped around to face him and screamed on an impulse! "GO AWAY! I HATE YOU, DON'T YOU UNDERSTAND? I don't care how you tried to help me with my mother's stupid coat last month…" she hissed the last sentence harshly under her breath and then finished, loudly and with tears nearly in her angry eyes, "I HATE YOU!" And with that she stood up and stomped off, found a bit of space between Nadine and Lila on the bench (both girls had been watching this sudden exchange intently, while Gerald and Phoebe were busy blushing and still feeling a little embarrassed about having been called out on their feelings before, and most of the other kids were still into the Arnold and Helga thing), squished herself between them, and sat down with her arms crossed over her chest, and fire…and something else…in her dark eyes.

Nadine instantly focused a look of concern on her best friend, though Rhonda didn't seem inclined to respond much to it, seeming very upset.

Curly was upset too…and that's where Lila's look of concern went.

All he did (black eye from the fight with Harold, and all) was blush a little and clear his throat and nod once and cross his arms over his chest and then look toward the game like an average spectator.

But Lila knew that normalcy was not a good response for Curly to have to one of Rhonda's rejections…Maniacal laughter, yes, unflappable determination, yes, a crazed grin and spouting words of hope, yes, but not this…

Lila let out a small sigh with a little frown. 'I'm ever so certain that Arnold and Helga are only the beginning of romantic things that need help in our class….'

Meanwhile, with three certain boys…

"I-I s-still can't believe she read that love poem for Brainy in class today…" Sid, holding his sides in mirth.

"I-I just can't believe that this last day of school as been so dang crazy!" Stinky, with a lot of grins and laughs as well.

"I just can't believe that Helga made herself look like a girl to go through with all of this!" Harold, recalling that whole thing where Helga had made herself over for one of Rhonda's girly sleepovers…and maybe feeling another touch of revenge for the incident that had occurred afterwards involving himself and rope and a chair and nail polish—an event he had made all of the other guys swear never to bring up ever again under penalty of pounding.

And then Wolfgang had one final thing to add before he got around to delivering his last pitch of the game and winning a victory for his friends (and thus erasing the little scene of humiliation he had had to endure today in the hall in front of most of them). "Oh please. You know, if the football head and the loud mouth want to be together then let's just all let them…it's not like the shrimpy one'll know what to do with a girl even if he's got one, and it's not like the loudmouth one could keep a guy for more than five seconds with that butch temper of hers. Arnold and Helga, what a joke." His eyes narrowed a little and his smirk grew. "Now, let's play bal—"

"THAT…TEARS IT!"

Helga had never spoken so forcefully in her entire life (even how she had spoken to the boys on the playground earlier that afternoon about teasing Brainy hadn't quite reached the level of utterly disgusted and ticked off that she was at right now.) And her cry made the whole entire field of kids blink and then look to her curiously…and with just a touch, intentional or not, of reverence…and a few actually gulped in a slight touch of fear…including Arnold even, on a sort of reflex built in by a good six years of threatened poundings.

However while everyone else was content to look at each other curiously or with worry or with shock…Arnold blinked and snapped out of it and came back to all of his senses including his true deep down belief that nothing mattered, no humiliation or social degradation, so long as he had his Helga…and his Helga had him…He looked at her with wide, concerned eyes. She was bright red with blushing and fury and who knew what else. Her scowl and eyes were dark with anger in a way he didn't like, and her breaths were shallow and staggered, and her whole frame seemed to tremble in little bits and from no good reason. He couldn't help but feel pained at how much she had suffered over these last few minutes…and what was worse he felt such guilt at having been so paralyzed and terrified and shocked during it all that he had barely been able to help her. But now he would do his best to make her better. He spoke softly and carefully to her... "Helga…?" He reached forward slowly to put a hand on her shoulder. "It…it's okay, don't worry about it. Let's just get back to the game. Who cares what they say or—" As his hand made contact with her shoulder though, he was cut off by the feeling of her body tensing up and then jerking away…just like she used to in the old days when he had still been trying to get her to talk about her confession and she had wanted no part of it…or even before she had confessed and he would hug her or something and she would always shove him away…and her reacting like that right here and now left Arnold even more concerned for her at this point, to say the least. His worry was indescribable.

"No…" Helga stated firmly under her breath. She whipped around to face him…something…indescribably not-to-be-messed-with present in her eyes… Her voice rumbled with dark emotion and something inside of her had very obviously just snapped. She went on… "All of this subtlety and the hints and me trying to keep my temper under control…all a mistake. All one big mistake courtesy of stubborn, stupid, screw-up me who insists upon making a million mistakes about all of this before I do anything right about it. I went about this whole thing with us all wrong…" Suddenly she removed her hair ribbon and began to hastily put up her hair in its usual pigtails. "I tried it and half our friends are idiots and so it didn't work. So now we go back to doing things my way…the one of a kind Helga G. Pataki way…"

Arnold couldn't help the touch of sadness and very sincere and genuine worry and distress that came to his face, not because Helga seemed to be abandoning her plan to act like her true self, though, but because her attempts to do so today, part of the reason of which having been please him and as part of her one month anniversary present for him, seemed to have left her so unhappy now, even despite the attempts of their few close, supportive friends and especially Arnold himself to comfort her and help her and to make this transition today go alright. 'It…It was all too soon and too much…I knew it…I should have tried to stop her, even if she really did want to try telling everyone about us today. It's too soon… But I just…I just love when she's open and smiling and warm like she was today…But I should have put how all of that might make her feel first instead of how it makes me feel…'

Arnold took a step toward her, all apology in his eyes. "Helga, I'm sorry, I—"

However, he was rather abruptly cut off from continuing with any further words of sorry and support by Helga suddenly sticking out a hand in front of his face in a silencing gesture. She spoke instead of him. "No…I'm sorry, Arnold. But…" He saw a touch of the softness come back to her face once again before the scowl resumed, "I know it doesn't matter what they all think or what they all say, and I know we shouldn't have to tell them anything unless we feel like it, but for crying out loud I just can't ease my way into this anymore…not at this point…It's just not my style…and I have to finish this." Her voice was pure determination. "So now I'm going to do it and even if it all blows up in my face for a while at least it'll be done, cut and dry, and then we can all get on with our lives…I should have learned that in the first place from telling you, Arnold…Sometimes you just have to…go out with a bang…"

Arnold's look of concern changed to one of confusion at these words and even a touch of fear (Helga's dramatics had never really gotten this cryptic and she really did sound like she was just about to burst from the stress and humiliation she was enduring, or something…) but he didn't have the chance to ask Helga what she was talking about because she suddenly stormed off in the direction of the fourth grade dugout, her pigtails in tact, her scowl set, and looking just as fierce as ever.

She stopped before them. Let out a deathly sigh through her nose. And…began…

"Alright…you've all finally picked up on the fact that sometimes I do nice things for the little Football Head over there along with all of the name calling and the mocking and the empty threats. Good job!" she added sarcastically with an eye roll, crossing her arms over her chest. "I only had to try my hardest for a full six hours straight to make it publically obvious before you chuckleheads caught on!" The full-on stern scowl returned. "Oh but it looks certain people still just CAN'T accept it! Well, to those people may I just say that you're in luck because if there's one thing I have experience with, it's how to confess to dense people so that they get it once and for all. And speaking of that, luckily for you all, I've got a confession all prepared…" Though the scowl remained she paused and took a deep breath and closed her eyes for a second now…and then she opened them…clenched her fists to her sides…and then she said just what was on her mind and in her heart!

"So…So maybe I don't hate the football head as much as I thought, okay? Maybe I even kind of like him a little…or a lot…a whole lot…And maybe I have for a while! So? And so what if I walked with him to school today and held his hand and sat with him at lunch and was nice to him all day and then got ice cream with him and stood up for him just now—which he needed, by the way, because Wolfgang almost took his head off! So what? And if anyone DOES have anything to say about me and Arnold, just keep in mind that despite my hair or my poetry or my smiling, you'll be saying it to the person who is still sole owner and proprietor of Old Betsey and the Five Avengers!" She held up her fists and glanced from side to side at the shocked faces before her. "What, no one? Okay then…I'm gonna sum things up loud and clear—I lo-…like Arnold…I LIKE like Arnold…H-He's the b-boy of my d-dreams…" Yeah, that last part came out through gritted teeth because, well…you try saying something like that publically to about a third of your elementary school. "Oh and for the record Arnold is JUST FRIENDS with Lila and Brainy is JUST FRIENDS with me! Accept it, deal with it, and move on!" And now having delivered the dénouement of her speech, she let out a deep, satisfied sigh, stomped into the dugout and resumed her former seated position between Phoebe and Lila. She remained scowling for a moment longer…and then a…a satisfied smile came to Helga G. Pataki's face and she finished, in a tone…not unhappy sounding, "So now that that's all out of the way finally let's just play BALL already, for crying out loud because I have a dinner to get to later and I am NOT going to be late, and yes," she whipped around again, scowling once more, and looking specifically in the direction of Rhonda and Harold, Sid and Stinky, "…it's a dinner with the Football Head for anyone who's interested! It's a DATE! And sue me! At least I CAN GET a date! Honestly, I am SURROUNDED!" She rolled her eyes, actually chuckled a little about how…ridiculous all of this was, if you thought about it…so utterly, utterly ridiculous…What in the world had she ever been so worried about? She felt…about as brilliant as she had felt after pouring her guts out to Arnold on the roof of FTi! Oh yes, she had done the right thing—she could feel it in her gut. And then finally, a fully satisfied Helga turned her attention back to her beloved, grinning with happiness as she added for his benefit in a sincere tone, "Anything you want to add, Arnold, or do you think that covered it?" She crossed her arms over her chest.

Arnold…rather…surprised by…all of that, to be exact…literally every single word Helga had just said to everyone about everything…just blinked once at her address to him now…and then he couldn't help the half smile that came to his face, and then he added to everyone, doing his best not to chuckle, "Uh…I like Helga, too. LIKE her, like her too…"

That sweet little straightforward response made Helga smile. It was so like Arnold—sweet, simple, to the point, the honest truth. And it was extra sweet of him to take her cue and not throw out the big 'L' word…Not just yet in their lives in front of everyone, at least. They would know when the time was right to throw out that particular word. She just sighed and chuckled, looking at him with a grin. "Not the most poetic confession, Football Head, but I'll take it." She winked at him.

"Actually…" And then suddenly Arnold had stepped out of the batter's box for a moment and he was now walking over to the dugout. He stopped right in front of her…his eyes narrowed and a smile on his face… "I am completely gone about her…Helga…Helga G. Pataki…and she is some kind of woman to be gone about." Then he leaned right down into her wide-eyed face…and then he reached out and took her hand (and she was RATHER surprised at the moment to say the least). His grin picked up on one side and he gestured to the bat in his other hand with his head. "This one's going to be for you, Helga…" He winked right back at her and even chuckled a little.

Oh at all of this Helga barely knew what to do and she just blushed a lot and also smiled and…even gave a small giggle. A very tiny one, considering that she was sort of conditioned to only letting those slip out when she was alone with Arnold. And then she managed to say back to him with an eye roll and a touch of playfulness and sarcasm, "O-Okay, okay, rope it in, Casanova. And nice job one-upping my little confession just now. Now good luck and don't worry about this pitch—just…have fun with it…and if things get too 'tense', well, you can always 'relax' later!" She winked and Arnold had to seriously fight back a blush at the wording. "And remember," she added sweetly, "…win or lose at least we'll have a lovely dinner tonight to look forward to together at the boarding house, Arnold!"

Arnold had to smile as he released her hand and took his bat in both hands again. He nodded to her. "Yeah, at least we have tonight…a very… 'relaxing' night. Thank you for reminding me, Helga." He did his best not to blush too much again at the idea and just chuckled a little more to himself, feeling so much better about just everything, and then with that he turned and went back over to the batter's box to get this thing over with so that he really could get on to the lovely…and unforgettable…and tension-relieving…evening he had planned for his brave little love.

"H-Hey, just make sure that my one month anniversary present tonight is stellar, bucko! Nothing on the cheap!" Helga managed more shakily and almost giddily than at all sarcastically, and really for a moment after he left her after this little exchange, Helga was just so…overcome by his little show of public forcefulness, nay flirtation, that she could barely control her blushing or smiling or the desire to swoon. And it only added to the effect when her eyes, as she glanced to the side shyly, happened to fall on some of her fellow fourth graders sitting near her on the bench and she saw Nadine and Sheena and Lila all smiling at her.

Lila giggled and nearly swooned herself, clasping her hands over her heart. "Oh Helga…" she spoke quietly so that the boys on the other end of the bench wouldn't overhear too much (though of course they had caught sight of Arnold and Helga's random little romantic moment…), "It's just ever so romantic that Arnold's dedicating his last hit of the game to you."

Nadine nodded as she and Sheena giggled at Lila's phrasing of things. "Yeah, Helga…Wow. You're so lucky. I didn't think things like that happened until girls were in high school. And," she blinked, a new realization suddenly occurring to her, "It's your one month anniversary? Congratulations, Helga!"

Sheena nodded in agreement. "Yes, Helga, that's quite a milestone! And Arnold's so cute with you! You two seem just lovely together!"

Helga blinked a couple of times, for a moment barely able to take in all of this sudden public praise about herself and Arnold. But then she just smiled more and shrugged a little, something a touch humble actually coming to her features. "O-Oh…th-thanks, guys…Y-Yeah, one month, heh…A-And he always was a loopy one about baseball—dedicating a hit to me. Silly little knucklehead." She giggled a tiny bit again, unable to help herself and then glanced to her other side where Phoebe was sitting.

Of course she was met with her best friend smiling with warmth and support and happiness at her.

"Ph-Phoebe…" Helga started quietly, sweetly, even, her grin never faltering, "P-People are s-saying things to me about A-Arnold and me a-as a couple a-and I-I'm smiling and I feel happy…Wh-What the heck's wrong with me, Phoebe?" Helga chuckled a little more, unable to help it, as she looked to her best friend for an explanation about this strange, new phenomenon that had befallen her so suddenly.

Phoebe just shrugged and replied back, simply and kindly, "You've accepted the fact that people know, Helga…and that not all of them will persecute you for your feelings. You've conquered one of your greatest fears. Of course you're happy. And I'm very happy for you too, Helga, and very proud. I think you handled things just now with your public confession brilliantly."

A touch of pride came to Helga's grin, causing it to pick up on one side, and she looked to her best friend appreciatively. "Thanks, Pheebs…A-And, yeah, about that whole 'little explosion' of mine, I guess I just…well…not that easing them all into the whole 'me and Arnold' thing today wasn't probably a good way to go about 'going public' for starters, and like Arnold and I said to each other before we shouldn't have to 'scream everything' at them just because some of them can't accept what's right in front of their faces, but come on, Phoebe, you know me—when you get right down to it, it's just not my style to be so indirect…at least not permanently. And man, outside of the urge to just deck them all which is something I'm really trying not to do anymore, I have been dying to burst like that and get it all out in the open all day…heck all MONTH. Just like with Arnold—much better to lay the cards all out on the table and work through them one by one than to keep more secrets…" She crossed her arms over her chest and winked confidently at her best friend.

Phoebe chuckled and nodded. "Very wise, Helga. I'm very impressed…" Then Phoebe blushed a tiny bit and looked down with a smile and whispered quietly so that only her best friend would hear, "Now Gerald and I just have to find our own way of going about 'confessing'…"

Helga blinked and looked to Phoebe with a shrug, whispering quietly as well. "You could tell them all right now if you want to, Pheebs, as long as Gerald's cool with that too."

A small sigh escaped Phoebe and she shook her head and whispered back to Helga, "I'm afraid not, Helga. It's…complicated…and all a little unclear at the moment."

Helga looked at her curiously and even with a touch of concern and was about to ask her further about this when all of a sudden the attentions of both girls (as well as of most of the other fourth graders on the bench) were turned back to the baseball game once more as Wolfgang, having nothing better to do (and now that Arnold was back in the batter's box and ready to go), started to speak up again in an attempt to have a little fun at his batter's expense. "Aw, it's the itty bitty fourth grader's one month anniversary tomorrow!" He gave a raucous laugh.

A few chuckles and snickers were heard in response, though mostly from the fifth graders (as half the fourth graders thought Arnold and Helga having a one month anniversary was kind of sweet, and the other half were in…shock, to put it bluntly. Like serious 'possibly-in-need-of-medical-attention' shock at the very notion, regardless of whether they were fully buying the 'Arnold and Helga as a couple' thing yet.)

The chuckles and snickers stopped entirely though at Arnold's simple, perfect reply to Wolfgang's teasing.

"Wolfgang…" our football headed hero began calmly and with a proud, confident smile on his face, not breaking his stance and even winding up his bat at little, just because he felt like it, "Just…shut up…"

Wolfgang's eyes went wide.

They went even wider at the follow-up statement to this reply from Arnold, courtesy (naturally) of one Helga G. Pataki (who was feeling like a million bucks at the moment and ready to take on the world!)

"Yeah, Wolfgang, put a cork in it! And hey, at least the football head can GET a girlfriend!"

By now both fourth…and quite a few fifth…graders were snickering and chuckling with Wolfgang suddenly as the target of their derision.

Wolfgang's surprised eyes now flew to Helga for a second at her sudden attack but then they instantly flew back to Arnold as he heard the football headed kid add, still with a smile on his face and still with his batting stance all ready to go, "You're not scared, are you, Wolfgang? Of me hitting the ball? Is that why you keep putting off pitching to me…?" It wasn't even said sarcastically—more like Arnold was just casually trying to diagnose a small problem he saw in Wolfgang.

And how legitimate the observation sounded coupled with Arnold's smile and just something in his stance couldn't help but make Wolfgang blink and elicit many much-more audible snickers and chuckles from both sidelines. And now the bully fifth grader knew that he had lost the crowd…and that the only way to gain ground again would be to strike out this 'shrimpy little fourth grader' and win the game for all of them. A familiar scowl and determined look returned to his face then and he got into pitching position. He spoke directly to Arnold, a lot of anger underlying his tone (as usual), "Okay, fine then…Enough jokes…Let's do this…"

Wolfgang wound up and there was heavy tension in the air…sweat on both batter and pitcher's brows…

Wolfgang threw…

And…

CRACK!

And Arnold was off like a shot around the bases and the entire fourth grade was standing up in their little dugout and cheering wildly!

"Come on you losers, someone catch that pop fly!" Wolfgang yelled from the pitcher's mound as he watched Arnold's ball soar upward. However, despite his advice, most of the fifth grade outfield was more than aware of Arnold's tendency for dangerous lumber problem and so they were all pretty much pulling a duck and cover drill right now. At the sight of them, Wolfgang growled and rolled his eyes. "Grr! I have to do EVERYTHING for you babies!" And then he went chasing after the ball.

"Yes! Go, Arnold, go!" Helga couldn't help yelling among the crowd's cheers with her eyes lit up in excitement. She even jumped a few times in anticipation and joy at her beloved's progress! And at the back of her mind all she could scream to herself in hope was, 'Please don't let Wolfgang catch that ball! Please don't let Wolfgang catch that ball!'

Eugene had already more than made it home (thus tying up the game) and Arnold was rounding second and now well on his way to third.

Helga, her anxiety about the success of this play getting the better of her, decided to turn her attentions back to antagonizing Wolfgang just for a second since he seemed to be the only one in the outfield more concerned with getting her beloved out than with avoiding a concussion. "Uh…hey, Wolfgang!" she quickly called over to him, summoning up all the sarcasm she had though her desperation couldn't help but peek through a little bit as well. "H-How does it feel to know that even if you win there's still a fourth grader out there who got a girlfriend long before you did! And, last I heard, at least sixty percent of people entering the sixth grade have already been kissed—how does it feel to be on the minority end of that one?"

That got quite a bit of laughter from both fourth and fifth graders… And Helga had absolutely picked the right nerve of Wolfgang's pride to strike. He blinked then scowled with fire at her! "Oh you just wait until this game is over, you little loud mouth!" He kept backing up and backing up as he had been doing before to line himself up under Arnold's ball to catch it, though his attention still remained focused on Helga rather than on looking up at a certain round projectile…that was descending… (and meanwhile Arnold was rounding third and making a mad dash for home…) "I'm gonna…"

The fifth grader was instantly and abruptly cut off by first slamming into the brick wall of the building forming one of the borders of Gerald Field (and toward which he had been backing up). As he slid down the wall in a daze, half mumbling something, the second thing to cut him off arrived in the form of the ball coming down and conking him right on the head… just as Arnold slid into home…

"SAFE!" yelled the Jolly Ollie man loudly and clearly. "Fourth graders win!"

Gerald Field was silent for exactly one second…

And then the entire fourth grade burst into cheers and suddenly stormed the field in an enthusiastic mob, all heading in Arnold's direction! The kids surrounded him, picking him up from the ground and happily shaking his hand and some even half trying to lift him up on their shoulders and just celebrating in a big group in general!

And in an instant, just as Arnold's acceptance of the fact that he had scored the homerun they had needed to win the game finally sunk in, leaving him with an ear to ear grin, Helga worked her way right to the center of the crowd where he was and got him all to herself.

"Football Head!" she suddenly called out with a big, proud, overjoyed smile on her face. "You did it!" And she then without any hesitation whatsoever, to heck with being in the middle of a mob of their peers, she launched forward and caught him in a vice grip hug that practically lifted him off the ground and she didn't stop!

Arnold's eyes went wide for a moment and he had to blink several times before he could really process what she was doing but then as he accepted it all and started to enjoy it he just had to smile and laugh. "Whoa, Helga—now who's giving people Olga hugs!" He smirked at her just a tiny bit, another little playful chuckle then escaping him.

And interestingly enough, though people noticed this happening, obviously, no one went into shock about it. In fact they kept celebrating…

Meanwhile, Helga just pulled away from him slightly and laughed warmly at his little joke and he laughed warmly…and she didn't let him go…and then with a sudden small burst of passion he suddenly hugged her right back in his classic, adoring way, much to her surprise and delight.

The mutual hugging did manage to get people's attentions a little of course…After all, it was one thing to see a peer hug another peer in random happiness over something cool like winning baseball game…It was another…very new…sight to see a boy and a girl amongst them actually locked in a mutual and tender embrace. Very new indeed.

Of course, Helga and Arnold were oblivious to all of this and loved being that way. Who the heck cared? It was summer! They had just won a baseball game! They were in love! And anyone who had anything to say against that last thing could just stuff it!

Naturally though, despite Helga and Arnold's newfound comfort with being 'public', they weren't about to let this mutual hug turn into some epic thing of falling to the ground together and snuggling and kissing and never stopping. There was something to be said for decorum and privacy, after all. And so, after a few seconds, Helga managed to pull back and Arnold managed to pull back as well.

They both just stared at each other with smiles and rosy faces.

Helga chuckled, hands clasped shyly in front of herself. "Congratulations, paste for brains. I knew you could do it with a little encouragement…My hero." She winked at him, her grin increasing on one side and a playful little half of a giggle escaping her as she gave him a soft little punch in the shoulder.

A small goofy chuckle had to escape Arnold at that…and at the blush on her face…the little giggle…All she had done for them today…Just herself in general… even her little punch… "Thank you…" he mumbled out warmly in reply.

Helga just gazed at the enamored look on his face. She loved that look. It was a look she had longed to have directed at herself for six years straight…And now she finally really and truly had it…and in public as well as private…and it was so beautiful she could have just cried.

She let them remain just gazing at each other like this for a few more seconds…and then she summed up some courage deep inside of herself…and just to top off her public confession in the best way she could…in a way echoing how she had topped off her private confession to Arnold so many weeks ago…she took a small breath and then swiftly leaned in and place a little kiss upon his cheek, upon which she pulled back with a ton of coy blushing and smiling.

Arnold was frozen. His eye sockets wide, his heart pumping wildly, lips almost trembling a little, having never expected…And then he smiled…and something warm and playful came to his eyes…and then he reached out and took Helga's hand and lifted it up and gave it a gentle kiss in reciprocation before allowing it to return to her side.

Oh it was the most perfect response he could have given, in Helga's opinion, and she just about swooned on the spot and could have just…just…Her lips were trembling too, to say the least.

But then with a deep breath in and out, Helga recalled, of course, their location at the moment and not to mention how maybe some parts of their new universally known 'togetherness' were better off private just for intimacy's sake. Besides, they had just let each other's lips touch each other in public in a non 'we're just acting' setting—that was MAJOR progress in her book.

She glanced around quickly to see just how 'public' things had gotten and sure enough her eyes were met with some sympathetic but also some rather shocked faces of her classmates around her, who were still twenty percent celebrating though the fact that two people and specifically Arnold and Helga had been locked in each other's arms in front of them…and how now just started giving each other little congratulatory kisses…was dividing their attention considerably.

With a slight small chuckle to herself at the sight (and how silly it now seemed to her to have ever been worried about the possibility of it in the past), Helga looked at Arnold lovingly (as he looked at her) for a moment longer and then she took a breath and looked around at their half distracted classmates, crossed her arms over her chest, and made another announcement today, albeit in a much calmer and more confident tone than that in which she had made the last one. "Okay, okay, everyone, enough ogling all of this 'Arnold and Helga' stuff…So, to recap, the new reality of the situation is that Football Head and I are an item and, yeah, we just hugged each other and, yes, I might have…kissed part of him and he might have kissed part of me…" she went by that part a little quickly, unable to help herself, "…a-and yes, we have a date tonight and our one month anniversary is this weekend which shows just how observant you all are by the way." She had to roll her eyes at the notion but then just chuckled a little to herself and shook her head and went on, waving them off and uncrossing her arms. "Eh, but enough epic emotional breakthroughs…" And then suddenly she reached up and removed her ribbon and ran her fingers through her pigtails to put her hair back down again. Then she firmly secured the bow atop her head once more and with a satisfied smile (and a flip of her hair over her shoulder so that both of her bright, happy, sassy blue eyes could be seen), and now with her hands on her hips, announced, "Now come on, you geeks—we just won our last baseball game against the fifth graders, it's the first day of summer vacation, and ice cream awaits! I know you all still want to gawk at 'Arnold and Helga' but let's get going to Slausen's so that you can at least do it while I'm stuffing my face because I for one am starving!" And with that and a wink and a grin and a grab of Arnold's hand she began to triumphantly lead the way to their victory ice cream party!

The rest of the fourth grade just stood there for a few seconds, some dumbstruck, some awed, some very satisfied with the whole thing, all just absorbing the real reality of all of this new information and Helga's new attitude…until, that was, they saw Gerald and Brainy and Phoebe and Lila all look to each other and shrug and then start to follow after Arnold and Helga in the direction of Slausens…followed by Nadine and Sheena and Eugene…which caused the rest of the fourth graders to snap out of it and also to recall their rumbling stomachs and how Helga really had made a very good point about how if they were going to have anything to say about she and Arnold 'like-liking' each other, it might as well be done while stuffing their face full of sundaes and yummy toppings.

"Hey, wait for us!" Sid was the first one to call out upon which he ran after them, and it wasn't a second longer before all the other kids either shrugged or nodded or threw in a 'Yeah, wait up!' and then all raced to catch up with Arnold and Helga and the rest of their friends, slowly resuming their mutual celebrating and cheering along the way to the ice cream parlour…and perhaps the walk would give them some time to absorb and accept and work out some new things in their young, urban reality.

---

"Hey Arnold, great hit!"

"Yeah, boy howdy, you clobbered that ball! And Wolfgang!"

Sitting in a booth in Slausens not too long after their triumphant victory, Arnold stopped drinking his milkshake (any flavor but strawberry, of course) for a moment and turned to Sid and Stinky (who were looking at him with sheepish and somewhat apologetic smiles, and obviously intending this compliment to him as a start to an apology to himself and Helga for several things today) with an appreciative smile and nod. "Thanks, guys…I do feel a little bad that I hit him though but I figure it wasn't really because of my Dangerous Lumber so much as because he wasn't paying attention. But I am happy that we managed to win."

Sid and Stinky nodded—same old Arnold, worried about the welfare of even one of the biggest bullies on the planet…and then suddenly it struck both boys again that Helga's welfare was pretty high on Arnold's priority list too…and she was sort of a bully. It was kind of funny and also ironic…but they were starting to get used to it. After all, you must really care about someone when you're either the shyest guy on the planet or the toughest girl on the planet, and you go and take a public break from that to give the other person a little kiss.

Then Harold, who happened to be just behind the two boys, stepped forward now as well and nodded with a smile (though his was much more abashed looking and he rubbed the back of his neck humbly as he spoke). "Eh, I'm sure Wolfgang's fine, Arnold, and, yeah, like they said," he gestured with his head to Sid and Stinky, "…that home run was great!" he added as his own start to an apology (as he did his best to still manage to look Arnold and Helga in the eyes, his acceptance of everything going slowly though steadily as well).

"Yup," added in Sid with a nod. And then he turned to Helga (who happened to be sitting in the booth as well and right across from Arnold, just finishing up a banana split, as a matter of fact), "A-And, Helga, uh…you know, the way you insulted and then distracted Wolfgang—you were great o-out there… I don't think he's ever going to live that down!"

Sid laughed (genuinely as opposed to out of fear of getting pounded) and Stinky and Harold joined in with him, likewise from the same motivations of comedy.

At being addressed, Helga just shrugged and reclined back a little in the booth and glanced at the three boys with a small smile, pushing some hair back behind her ear. "Hey, just doing my part for the team. Besides, that big jerk had it coming, right, Football Head?" She turned to Arnold with a smile.

Arnold chuckled slightly to himself and smiled back at her. "Well, I don't if it was the most right thing to do teasing him like that…but after all the teasing he started up in the first place, I guess it was only fair…" He gave her a little nod of approval.

Helga's eyes lit up and her grin grew at his concordance with her. "There you go, Football Head." She dug him with her spook and took a satisfying bite of her nearly done banana split. "Sometimes you just have to play hardball with people!" She winked and he couldn't help but laugh a bit more.

"Uh…well…" Harold's voice interrupted their little exchange, causing Arnold and Helga to look over to him in a touch of surprise at his sheepish tone. Indeed, he was glancing down and kind of grinding one foot into the ground…and it seemed that maybe a full and official apology wouldn't have to wait until Arnold and Helga's wedding or something. "Yeah…speaking of teasing…a-about all of the teasing before, uh…sorry for going along with Wolfgang a little…a-and sorry for giving you guys a hard time on the playground today and not believing you…We were just surprised, you know? We really thought it was a joke. After all…Arnold and Helga?" He grinned a little but then cleared his throat and glanced down apologetically again. "Uh…sorry again…"

Sid then took on a sheepish look as well and cleared his throat, bringing his arms behind his back. "Yeah, we're sorry about any stuff earlier and at the game we didn't mean to take sides against you guys or anything and for the fifth graders…it's just…well, you know, you and Arnold suddenly being together like this and for real, and then the hair and the poems…it's just a little different," he couldn't help smirking slightly, "…and funny…" Helga glared at him just a little and the smirk instantly left his face and he held up his hands defensively, speaking very seriously and sincerely once again. "But we didn't mean anything by it! Promise! We were just getting used to things! O-Okay?" He blinked several times, looking from Helga to Arnold hesitantly.

"Yeah, what Sid said…" Stinky suddenly added as well, looking almost ashamed as he spoke to his two abused classmates. "I reckon we just needed some time to figure this whole thing between you to as real and as sweet more than funny…but I reckon we shouldn't have gone so far with everything and made you have to yell out the truth at Gerald Field like you did, Helga, and that we shouldn't have not believed the two of you when you told us you were together, because, Arnold, you've always been a plum good friend to us all, and, Helga, you've been right nice sometimes and especially when people really need it like last month with that poetry project so…we're sorry, right fellas?"

Sid and Harold cleared their throats and nodded along with Stinky in agreement.

"Yeah…" Sid swallowed once again, "A-After that speech Helga gave and the parts you added to it, Arnold…and the…hugging and…k-kissing junk…" he cleared his throat a little again, "…w-we…we get it…and, um, if you two are boyfriend and girlfriend now well that's cool…right guys?"

Harold and Stinky nodded and all three boys smiled at the two ten-year-old blonds, whose smiles had grown more and more as this little apology had been delivered.

Helga was the first one to open her mouth and reply to it, just looking at the three boys before her. She spoke calmly, understandingly, and diplomatically. "Hey, don't worry about it…I'm just happy my speech at the end there finally got it through your thick heads…a-along with the 'other stuff' at the end…" She chuckled a blushed a little and rolled her eyes and couldn't help but add with a little smirk in Arnold's direction, just doing her best to lighten the mood, "Don't feel bad—Arnoldo needed the same thing to get a clue…I'm just going to assume it's a guy thing." She laughed warmly to herself a little (and especially at the shy little smile and eye roll she got from Arnold in return), and then sighed and turned back to the three boys and waved them off casually, her tone sincere. "Why don't we just call what happened at school and the game payback for some of the stuff I've put all of you through over the years?" The three boys smiled at her appreciatively, though the smiles quickly fell for a moment and were replaced with blinks and gulps as the blond girl resumed her usual scowl for a moment and added… "The random teasing and songs and mocking better not happen anymore at all EVER of course, though, or I'll make sure you three are sucking mystery meat through a straw come September…" She punched a fist into her open palm causing all three boys to swallow hard at the sight (Harold swallowing hard and rolling his eyes to the side in frustration and mumbling under his breath something about 'Madame Fortress Mommy')…. Seeing the satisfying (and intended) effect she had on the three boys, Helga's smile resumed now as she went on with, "But for now why don't we just say we're all even and just enjoy the summer." She smiled more to herself and took another last bite of her sundae. "Besides I'm in too good of a mood to pound anyone…No more school, an epic baseball win, ice cream, some time with my favorite Football Head and no more secrets…Yup, a perfect day!" She closed her eyes and reclined back in her booth a little, seeming truly at peace.

Arnold, having watched his girlfriend deliver her acceptance of their friends' apology with pride and amusement, had to laugh a little at her playful finish to the whole thing, and then he turned to their friends, who were still just smiling down at them. "Thanks for understanding, guys…." Arnold added on his own behalf with a nod…and then he reached forward across the tabletop and took one of Helga's hands in his own (causing her to open her eyes in surprise for a second and then to settle into a content smile as she fought back another blush). "We really appreciate it." Arnold squeezed Helga's hand a little and looked sincerely up at his three friends.

Helga just sighed and smiled widely in Arnold's direction, adding with a little chuckle under her breath and a little squeeze of Arnold's hand from hers, "Oh yeah—BIG time!"

The three boys just first looked Arnold and Helga…smiling and touching…laughing…together, and did their bests to absorb it as a new normal part of their lives. The looks on their faces were a little funny, curious, almost threatening laughter and yet…leaning more toward being intrigued…

Then, of course, all three of them just let out sighs and shrugs and glanced at each other. It had to be accepted, one way or another, didn't it? Might as well get a head start on doing it now. "Well," Harold started, turning back to Arnold and Helga and giving them a small wave, "See you guys later, I guess."

"Uh, yeah," Sid added with a smile and a nod at the prompt he took from Harold's goodbye, "See you, and…have a good date together tonight. Arnold, don't do anything I wouldn't do!" He pointed at Arnold and gave him a wink, causing our football headed hero to blush a tiny bit and roll his eyes but still smile back at his friend nonetheless.

"Bye, Miss Helga!" added Stinky with a big, happy grin and wave. "Oh and by the way your hair really does look right pretty today!" he added with a polite nod to her.

Helga chuckled a little and rolled her eyes as her beloved had done. She grinned at Stinky. "Thanks, Stinkeroo!"

Stinky nodded with a smile growing. "You're welcome, Helga. Bye!" He gave her a final wave and so did Sid and Harold and with that the three boys were about to depart back to their booth, when…

Helga cleared her throat. "Oh and hey, fellas? Just to clarify one other quick point…"

The three boys paused and turned back to Helga with smiles and curious eyebrows raised.

Helga smiled a little more and sighed and rolled her eyes to the side. "Uh…all those 'love poems' by anonymous that get read in class…and by the way next year you won't have to worry about them because I'll be putting my actual name on them…anyway, they're all by me…and they're all about Arnold. NOT Brainy…Arnold…"

"And…uh…that poem last month…the one about Helga…Brainy didn't write it…He just said he did to help us out while we were still working some things out…I wrote it. For Helga, about Helga…because I…like her very much…" suddenly came Arnold's quiet, shy, humble voice in addition to Helga's and he squeezed her hand the entire time he was speaking.

Helga blinked at his little addition and glanced over at him with a proud smile. "Uh…" she went on to the three boys. "Y-Yeah, what Arnold said…" Another little giggle managed to escape her on this day and she turned back to the boys in question. "So, yeah, just wanted to clear that up. And please don't tease Brainy, guys. Seriously, he's been through enough trying to help Arnold and me, and Lila's been great about all of this too and…oh…" She looked at the boys, not even with threat or sarcasm in her eyes but with a sincere seriousness, "As a personal favor, leave Gerald and Phoebe alone. If you've got some teasing that you just have to get out of your systems, fine, bring it to me and Arnold, we can take a lot. But…just leave Gerald and Phoebe alone as a personal favor to me…to pay me back for the poetry tutoring thing, alright?"

None of the three boys had ever heard Helga ask for something in a way like this. They all instantly nodded in agreement, not out of fear but out of having no innate desire to really truly ever hurt a friend.

"You got it, Helga," Sid replied. "We'll cool it with all of them, we promise."

"Yeah," added Harold with a nod, "We don't want to make anyone really upset anyway, we just like teasing and having some fun is all…But we won't if it means that much to you guys."

Stinky nodded as well. "Of course, Helga, Arnold…We won't say nothing more to them about it."

Helga smiled appreciatively. "Thanks, guys. Now, hey, come on, I bet your ice cream's starting to melt! So enough mushy talking, let's all get back to celebrating clobbering those lame fifth graders and knowing that we're going to be much more awesome fifth graders than they ever were." She winked at them and laughed.

Harold, Sid and Stinky laughed as well, nodding in agreement.

"Okay! See you, Helga and Arnold!"

"Yeah, see you guys!"

"Yup! I reckon I'm hungry for more ice cream anyway!"

And with that the three boys departed back to their own booth to finish pigging out on ice cream and talking over the many events of the day.

Their departure ended upon which Helga had to roll her eyes and chuckle a little more to herself. 'Eh, they're not so bad…Maybe we all really can be friends…'

"Helga, that was really good of you…Making sure no one else would get teased and even offering to get teased yourself in their place."

Arnold's sweet and almost lovesick sounding words met Helga's ears and she blinked and turned to him. And indeed he was sitting there across from her still holding one of her hands in one of his and his other hand was propping up his wide head as he rested it there and gazed at her with a touch of boyish adoration.

She giggled a little, looking back at him with a dreamy smile of her own. "Uh, thanks, Mr. Goody Two Shoes but…what's up? You look particularly enamored of me right now, if I do say so myself."

Arnold just gave a goofy chuckle and shrugged. "I…I think…I think I'm attracted to…watching you do the right thing in front of other people. I…I-I mean, over the years I always really really liked whenever you did that but now it…you glow a little when you do it and…I like my 'good girl'…a lot…" He chuckled a little more.

Helga blushed fully and glanced down in utter coyness. "A-A-Arnold!" she squeaked out with giggles. "Y-You're too cute, my beloved…b-but please t-try to save it until tonight…wh-when I have you all alone…Please…" And then she reached out with her foot and half wrapped her leg around one of his under the table much as he had done to her at a certain dinner at her parent's house nearly four weeks ago.

Arnold really almost lost it at her doing that—he was between passing out or just pouncing on her from how good it felt to have that long, pretty leg so close to his own on top of everything else…But he just barely managed to notice something, or rather someone, or rather a few 'someones', approaching their table out of the corner of his eye and he managed to get himself under control and stable enough just before they arrived.

"Hey Helga…great job distracting Wolfgang today to get him back for trying to hurt Arnold!" said Sheena thankfully first.

"Yeah and that was a great hit, Arnold!" added Nadine with a smile. "You really conked him on the head with that one!" She chuckled a little.

"Yeah, gosh, you two really made a great team out there with helping us get that last run!" Eugene added enthusiastically, likewise with the two girls.

Helga (just barely having managed to take herself out of 'dazed and in love' flirting mode herself) blinked and smiled very happily her three peers…who had actually been very cool to her today despite the fact that over the years she could definitely recall a time or two…or a few…when she had maybe made their lives a little unnecessarily hard at times. "Oh, well…th-thanks, guys."

"Y-Yeah, thanks," added Arnold, smiling very happily as well, and still doing his best to keep himself firmly planted in reality, "And, um…" he gave Helga's hand another little squeeze across the table, "Thanks for believing about us like-liking each other even before Helga's 'confession'…It was really nice of you and we really appreciate it."

At his words Helga nodded very sincerely, looking to the three of them and softening her playfulness into mostly sincerity. "Yeah…You guys, that was very…very cool of you. I-I mean, I never thought that anyone would ever just…right away accept me and Arnold, and…it meant a lot to me and to us so…thanks for that." She gave them a very grateful nod as well.

The three of them just smiled down kindly at Helga. Nadine spoke for the group. "It's alright, Helga…and, well…I think that it's kind of hard to not accept you and Arnold right away, to be honest. You two are…cute together…and sweet too. Actually it reminds me of that night you two were together at Chez Paris and you had me bring over my cockroach collection. Even afterwards when you two were fighting over going back and telling the restaurant the truth, you two still seemed very nice together." She chuckled a little at the memory.

Helga blinked at first, genuinely surprised at this observation from Nadine…and then her warm smile returned. "O-Oh…well, I…even back then you…uh…Nadine…I…thanks. Just…for all of that…and for not…I-I mean, that…Thank you. That's nice of you to say." She smiled up at her very gratefully. 'She…back then…and she could have…b-but she didn't…' And suddenly Helga felt like she had just discovered another secret friend in her life on top of Brainy, and she really liked the feelings.

"You're welcome, Helga," Nadine replied back simply and kindly, understanding what Helga was saying and doing her best to let her know that they didn't have to go into details or anything if Helga didn't want to. Besides, Nadine would never have used her observation about Arnold and Helga from that night against Helga. Though Helga had always feared over the years that, save for Arnold, they didn't exist, Nadine really was a better person than that.

A still smiling Helga nodded…and then she considered for a moment…and then an idea popped into her head and she figured… 'Why the heck not?' "Oh and hey, uh…if you and Sheena are free, my big sister's back home for the summer and she's, uh, 'insisting' upon throwing some big girly slumber party for me and Phoebe and Lila…You two should stop by." Though she was trying to sound casual she couldn't help but look up at them both very hopefully…After all, she had never invited multiple people over for something like this, and with how infrequently she herself had been invited to things like this, she was worried that—

However, all of Helga's doubts were erased as Nadine and Sheena's eyes lit up at the friendly invitation—so very unlike Helga who over the years had barely ever had anyone over even for a birthday party! Both girls nodded eagerly. "Yeah, thanks, Helga! That sounds great!" Nadine replied.

"Yeah, that's really nice of you!" added Sheena. "We'll definitely come!"

A touch of pride came to Helga's smile. "Really? Uh…boss! Well, I'll…I'll let you know details later then…"

Both girls nodded.

"Sure, Helga."

"Yeah, sounds good."

"Yeah," Helga replied back with another nod, still disbelieving things a little, "O-Okay then."

"Alright then, well, we'll leave you and Arnold to your ice cream," Sheena offered politely, giggling a little at how sweet Arnold and Helga eating together and holding hands was. "Oh and congratulations on your one month anniversary!" she added in a chipper tone.

Eugene nodded in agreement. "Yeah! Gosh, that's a big milestone! I hope you two have fun on your date tonight. See you!" Eugene waved and so did Sheena and they both started to head back over to their booth.

Nadine waved after them with a smile. "I'll be right there, guys!" Then with a small sigh she turned back to Helga. Then, much to Helga (and Arnold's) surprise, she walked over to and leaned in toward Helga and started patiently whispering something in her ear. Helga let go of Arnold's hand and sat back a little in her side of the booth, listening intently.

Arnold observed the expressions on Helga's face change as Nadine told her whatever it was she felt the need to tell her. Helga appeared surprised at first in general at Nadine's sudden confidence, then she blinked a few times at what she was being told…then she got a very pensive look on her face…then as Nadine pulled away she turned to look at her with part of her brow raised in curiosity. "Nadine…" she started, just curiously, "…Are you sure you can't just tell me what her reason is? Do I really have to wait to hear it from her?"

Nadine nodded. "Sorry, Helga…I can only tell you that I think she has a reason…a really big and good one…for how she's been acting today…But she's my best friend and I can't get too specific without violating her trust. Plus I still don't know for sure if I have all the details worked out right. But I think at this point she wants to tell you pretty badly so I'm sure she will. But until she does, please be a little forgiving with her, Helga. You know how she is…Just very stubborn sometimes and a little self-centered but she means well enough." Nadine looked to Helga with a hopeful smile.

Helga took in Nadine's words and nodded understandingly. "Alright…Patience, I promise. But I hope she tells me soon because now I have to know." Helga half smiled, rolling her eyes a little about all this secrecy about why in the world exactly Rhonda had been acting like the biggest spazz of all about the whole 'Arnold and Helga' thing today.

Nadine nodded appreciatively. "Thanks, Helga." Then she glanced at Arnold (who had one of those now somewhat rate puzzled/dense looks on his face). "And, uh, sorry, Arnold, about being a little secretive right now. I was just talking to Helga about something with Rhonda…Sort of a girl thing." She gave a little shrug and then gave a farewell wave to the couple. "Bye, guys. Have a good anniversary date! Helga, I'll bring by the cockroaches if you need them." She winked and chuckled and then left to go back over with Sheena and Eugene.

The first thing that happened was that Arnold looked to Helga…still looking so very dense.

Helga glanced back at him and shrugged. "What?"

Arnold blinked then raised an eyebrow in curiosity. "Well…are you going to tell me anything about what she said about Rhonda?"

Helga blinked and then chuckled, grinning at him and speaking with a touch of sarcasm. "Football Head, I am 'shocked' at you. You know I can't do that—it would be betraying a confidence…no matter how adorably curious you look right now." She winked at him. "Besides she didn't tell me too much…though she did throw out a key word or two." Her tone went from playful to understanding. "Look, I promise I'll fill you in as soon as I have definite details…which, according to Nadine, should be soon since Rhonda's ready to burst or something…and then, as long as Rhonda says it's alright, and I'm sure she will because you're the most trustworthy person on the planet, I'll tell you the whole overly-complicated, and, if I know Rhonda, overly-dramatic explanation. Okay, darling?"

A still dense and looking Arnold observed her curiously for a moment longer as he took all of that it, but then he smiled too and nodded, taking a final sip of his shake and then putting it aside. "Okay, Helga. I trust you. And you're right—it's probably something sensitive and personal and no one should get to know about it without Rhonda's permission…" Arnold's grin couldn't help but pick up as he added playfully…something of that lovesickness and flirtiness from before coming to his countenance again… "You really are just so very good at doing the right thing…Helga loves being like Arnold…" he couldn't help but tack on in the same little singsong voice he had used to her on the playground earlier that day.

Helga giggled at little at him and then rolled her eyes and waved him off, taking a final bite from and then pushing aside her now empty sundae dish as well. "Yeah, yeah, I have a moral compass and a conscience—just don't let it get around…Loose lips sink ships, you know…Luckily, though, of course, I know how to nip the 'loose lips' problem in the bud." She winked at him, giggling a little more…rubbing her leg a little against his under the table (she might have let go of his hand but she wouldn't give up that leg of his for anything).

Arnold chuckled warmly and goofily some more and was about to pursue this little light path of flirting that their conversation had suddenly taken…in the hopes that it could act as a lovely little precursor to their evening together…and she really had just never seemed cuter or more attractive to him than she was on this afternoon…

…when who should shuffle over to their table and interrupt things but Rhonda.

She was looking down…and something in her face was just…pitiable. "Um…hi, Helga…hi, Arnold…" she mumbled softly.

Arnold and Helga came out of their moment of affection and turned to her…and both had to look in sudden sadness on the sight of her. She seemed really really upset about something and no matter what she had put them through today she really was just such a pitiable sight at the moment. Helga even pretty much released her leg wrap around Arnold, her attention was so focused on the sad sight of their peer at the moment.

There was quiet for a moment. And then Helga let out a soft sigh and addressed her first. "Hi Rhonda…are you alright?" It really was a good thing that Nadine had talked to her, Helga realized, otherwise she would have been far more prone to sarcasm and anger at the moment and…Rhonda definitely looked like she couldn't take much of that right now.

Rhonda swallowed, still looking down, a rather abashed frown coming to her face. "I…No…I…I don't believe so." She cleared her throat and then managed to hesitantly turn her gaze upward to look at Arnold and Helga. She let out a sigh and spoke simply and sincerely. "I just wanted to apologize for not believing the two of you about your feelings for one another and for any trouble I might have caused you. I'm sorry. I barely know what got into me." She had her hands clasped in front of herself very contritely as she finished this apology. Then she looked hesitantly to Helga. "A-And…um…Helga? I…I know it's none of my business but I couldn't help but overhear you telling Sheena and Nadine something about a…sleepover soon? If…If you didn't invite me, of course I would understand…I don't really deserve it after today and it's…it's not like I've been very 'forthcoming' to you with invitations for my own slumber parties over the years. But if you did invite me, I would be very grateful for it. And I would be on my best behavior. I promise." She looked to Helga with total and complete sincerity in her eyes. "And also, for what it's worth…I think what you did back at Gerald Field…outright confessing like that…I think it was very brave."

Helga was finding this all very interesting…Intriguing…Touching, really. "I…uh…" She swallowed and cleared her throat and then assured Rhonda with a small, understanding smile, sensing that she really needed this, "It's okay, Rhonda. Of course you're invited. Anyone who wants to come is invited. Just, uh…m-make sure you bring a really fancy, extra chocolaty and gooey dessert, okay? Not all of us are made of money, princess, and it'd be nice to have something to snack on besides box brownies and Yahoo sodas and whatever froo-froo stuff Olga might whip up." She winked, doing her best to soften the moment with this little playful addition.

An undeniably sincere and grateful smile came to Rhonda's face. "Thanks, Helga. A-And sure, heh—I'll get cook to whip up something." She winked back at her, seeming twice as happy as she had been just seconds ago, and very very appreciative.

Arnold had just been watching this whole exchange with a smile bursting more and more with pride. Helga was being so nice, so caring, so helpful, and to someone who had been almost a ringleader in trying to make her worst fears come true today…He really was about as proud of her as he had ever been. Proud…and attracted. He almost had to chuckle to himself. 'I'm really going to have to get used to dealing with being attracted to her in public a lot now, aren't I? Oh well…' Honestly, of all the consequences of their 'going public', that one seemed to have by far the most perks. "I'm sure you two will have a really nice time at the sleepover," he observed kindly, and then he turned to Rhonda and added, "And thank you for the apology, Rhonda. We both really appreciate it. It was very nice of you."

Rhonda just nodded, crossing her arms in a touch of shyness and uncertainty over her chest. "Yes, well…it was the least I could do of course. Anyway…" she smiled to both of them again, "H-Have fun on your anniversary date tonight. You deserve it." She smiled at them more and seemed about to leave the table when…she paused for just one more moment. "Uh…guys?"

Arnold and Helga just raised eyebrows and looked at each other and then at her. "Yes, Rhonda?" Arnold prompted.

Rhonda cleared her throat and swallowed, her eyes falling away from them again. "Uh…has this…mutual thing between the two of you seriously been going on for a month?"

Arnold and Helga looked to each other with confusion on their faces. Helga then shrugged and then turned back to Rhonda. "Uh…yeah. Just like I said…One whole month of couplehood bliss." She smiled a little again.

Rhonda didn't quite seem satisfied yet though.

"And…if it's alright for me to ask, it just…randomly started one day?" she queried further hesitantly.

Helga couldn't help but give Rhonda a touch of a scrutinizing look, totally not seeing where she was going with this. "Well…why don't we say that I might have liked Arnold a little longer than that but he only admitted to liking me back a month ago."

Arnold nodded in agreement with this assessment.

Rhonda seemed to consider for a moment. Then she replied in a quiet tone betraying nothing of what the source of this sudden curiosity of hers might be, "I see…" And then she glanced specifically at Arnold once more this afternoon. "So then…Arnold, your feelings for Helga came randomly out of the blue four weeks ago?"

Arnold blinked at the question, considered a little himself, and then responded carefully but sincerely, "Why don't we say that I…probably liked Helga a little longer than that but just didn't realize it until a month ago…" He smiled at her again.

"Oh…Hmm…" Rhonda seemed to be genuinely considering some more.

Helga and Arnold just gave each other confused looks again. Helga turned to Rhonda once more, deciding to gently prompt her a little. "Uh…something you need help with, Princess?"

"Huh?" Rhonda blinked and looked up to both of them. "Oh, uh no…just…just surprised that my gossip radar didn't pick up on anything before you both went public on your own. Uh, see you guys later…" And with that quick 'explanation' she gave them a final smile and a nod and a small wave, then was off again back to her own lone booth in the ice cream parlour.

"Uh, see you Rhonda…" Arnold called out to her curiously as she left.

"Yeah…see you…" Helga called out, equally confused-sounding.

For a moment, Helga and Arnold just remained with perplexed looks on their faces. Then Helga turned back to Arnold, resting her head on one of her hands and pushing some hair behind her ear with the other one. "Football Head…our friends are really weird sometimes, aren't they?" she had to observe perplexedly.

Arnold had to smile and almost chuckle a little at the actually fairly accurate assessment of things she had just given. He sighed and had to nod. "Yeah…" His smile picked up a little. "But at least that makes it easier for us to be a little 'weird' too, right, my true love that I found at only ten-years-old?" He winked at her.

Helga giggled at the cute little reply. "Good point, Arnold." Then she smiled and glanced briefly at all of the other occupants of the room, all laughing and eating together, and then back to her beloved, resting her head on one of her hands. "Well, all of that…the ice cream and the apologies and the conversation…certainly hit the spot after a day like today, don't you think, my love?" She smiled more…just from the happiness of how truly okay everything had managed to work out.

Arnold sighed with satisfaction as well. He smiled at her and nodded. "Yeah…I think we both needed that—all of it." He rested his head on one of his hands as well, likewise smiling and just looking at Helga as she looked at him.

"Hmm…" Helga smirked a tiny bit. "Yes, a new look for me, walking to school together, sitting next to each other, lunch together, my poetry reading, my confession about you, your confession about me, and a bunch of apologies from our friends…and then we'll finish it up with a wonderful anniversary weekend to start out our little summer of love." She giggled and blushed a tiny bit, putting a little flirting into her words to him now once more.

Arnold's smile picked up, and he just looked at her with a goofy grin and nodded his head, letting out a lovesick sigh. "Yeah, it's been a pretty full day so far, Helga. I almost can't think of anything else we could do before our date to make the day more memorable…"

Helga sighed again and shrugged like she was trying to think of something. Then she shrugged and suggested casually, the smirk never leaving her face, "Wanna dive onto the table together and make out?"

For just a second Arnold's eyes went wide like he was going to go into panic mode again today at the idea of him and Helga kissing like that in front of all the others…Oh sure he could handle the little peck on his cheek before but…his shyness was going to need some time until he could ever—

"Oh, relax, you worrisome little thing, I'm joking!"

This phrase accompanied by a giggle met Arnold's ears and made him blink and snapped him out of his thoughts and back to reality. And then he realized, of course, that she had been joking. He let out a small, relieved sigh and smiled and just did his best to sound casual and not blush too much. "O-Oh, of course…I-I knew that, Helga. Nice one." He did his best not to laugh. 'Besides, l-lots of kissing like that in front of everyone…I don't think I could expect her to do that for a while…I don't even think I expect that from me for a while!'

Helga just sighed and rolled her eyes, still grinning. "Yeah, having one of our little make outs in public might take us both awhile…" He grin grew. "But in the meantime I guess we can just sneak little lip locks when no one's looking." She winked and then suddenly stood up in her side of the booth and called out to everyone (though her eyes never left her beloved), "Hey everyone look over there!" She pointed to the windows on the opposite side of the ice cream parlour. "The Jollie Ollie Man's getting pulled over by his boss again! Just like last month for that whole 'half price ice cream' thing! Probably in trouble for being late after umpiring our game—oh man, it looks like he's really gonna get it this time!" Her words instantly caught everyone's attentions and in barely a second the entire opposite end of Slausens had kids crowding around the windowing and searching eagerly for the sight of everyone's favorite 'love to hate him' irate ice cream truck driver in a shouting match with his boss again.

Arnold took a second to process this strange sudden announcement from her and then raised his eyebrow and was about to question her about it when she suddenly leaned across the table, grabbed his collar with one of her hands, and pulled him in for a quick and deep kiss on the lips during which she let out a very satisfied moan and sigh. "Mmm…."

"Mm…mmm…" Arnold moaned softly back in utter surprise, his breaths through his nose shallow and his eyes wide as could be in surprise!

Not more than a second or two later she let him go with a smack of her lips and satisfied smile on her face, and sat back down in her own side of the booth, breathing a little heavily and a touch flushed but otherwise just doing her best not to look as casual as could be (hey, that Jollie Ollie excuse wasn't going to keep the other kids from looking over here forever). "There we go! Now THAT definitely made the day just a little more perfect. I told you earlier, Football Head, no spontaneous making out in school but slipping you a quick one in Slausens when no one's looking seems fair enough to me now that everyone knows about us and they're even being cool about it all…and, well, I've gotta say it feels pretty good to just pull you aside and plant one on you instead of wrangling some physical contact with you by dumping whatever's at the bottom of you milk shake cup on your head shoving you to the floor and calling you a geek!" She finished with a giggle and a wink.

At all of that and her wonderful kiss, Arnold couldn't help the rosy blush or the dreamy smile that came to his face. He chuckled and just looked at her with all of the love and attraction in the world. "I…think I can live with that…" He couldn't help laughing to himself and then adding with a goofy looking smirk as he just kept gazing at her. "Helga…did anyone ever tell you you're a great kisser?"

She had to laugh and roll her eyes, giving him and all of his loopy, flirty cuteness a nod. "Yeah, I think someone brought that up to me once…Now, let's see, which of my many admirers was it? Hmm…" She put a hand to her chin and faked like she was genuinely trying to think of the name.

"Hey the Jollie Man isn't out there, Helga!" Harold's voice suddenly called out from across the ice cream parlour with a touch of annoyance.

"Yeah, Helga—I don't reckon anyone's out there! Are you trickin' us?" Stinky asked suspiciously.

A few murmurs of agreement sounded from the other kids.

Arnold didn't take his eyes off of Helga's…and he cleared his throat and called out to the others. "Oh, uh, I think she meant he was fighting with his boss by the windows in the back over there, guys!" He pointed behind him at some windows…and added, barely managing to keep a straight face, "I'm Arnold—would I lie to you?"

Instantly, the entire student body, at the obvious answer to this question (and Arnold wasn't 'technically' lying right now—he had started with 'I think', after all), shifted over to the windows in that direction, eagerly searching the sidewalk and street beyond them again. And Arnold didn't waste a second before suddenly chuckling and then standing and leaning over the table just as Helga had done the moment before, only to grab her head, burying his fingers in her soft, loose hair, and pull himself in for a deep, tender kiss upon her pretty pink lips. He let himself go for a few seconds, smiling the entire time he kissed her…and then gently he pulled his lips away from hers, savored the feeling of his hands in her warm hair for a moment, and then let her go and sat back down in his side of the booth. He took a few heavy breaths and then looked to her and replied to her little sarcastic questioning about her 'many admirers', "I…think it was the same admirer who you said wasn't such a lousy kisser himself." He crossed his arms over his chest and just did his best not to let his blush consume his face entirely as he smirked at her a little.

The comment coupled with his bold little action just now made Helga blush considerably, her eyes wide with fluster…until she let out a small swoon and giggled playfully at him. "Oh…just cool it, you big, romantic jerk." And then she was leaning in close to him and there was something passionate and inviting in her tone…and really the risk of doing this under everyone's noses was so very…thrilling! "Or I might have to grab you and pull you under this table and just—"

"Hey, the Jollie Ollie Man's not fighting with his boss over here either!" Sid's voice suddenly called out from he other end of the ice cream parlour, and it was accompanied by several words of equal agreement and disappointment from other members of their class.

Helga just sighed and shook her head. Yeah, it was annoying getting interrupted right now but it was probably safer overall and also it really was just a little amusing. By Arnold's own sigh and the smile on his face, she figured he felt the same. The two grinned at each other for a moment and then called back to their friends at the same time, "Sorry! Guess we were wrong." They chuckled warmly to each other. Then they both let out sighs and decided to be content with just being near each other and happy for now.

"Hey guys! Great hit, Arnold!" Gerald announced, suddenly coming over with Phoebe, Lila and Brainy in tow, big smiles on all of their faces at having been very happy to have seen so many of their classmates just now coming over and apologizing to and making things up with Arnold and Helga.

"Yes, and very clever retorts to Wolfgang's taunts Helga!" added Phoebe with a smile, holding Gerald's hand.

"Oh yes, I'm ever so glad you two are being so open about your relationship now. It's just ever so nice to see you so both ever so happy!" Lila beamed with joy.

"Uh…" Brainy was going to try for something short and sweet but then just rolled his eyes and took out the inhaler, took two puffs, put it back into his pocket, cleared his throat and looked to Arnold and Helga with a smile. "That entire situation was handled absolutely brilliantly. I have never been more proud of either of you. And, er…a few people even apologized to me and said hi too, so…thank you both. And have a lovely anniversary." He looked at them with all of the sincerity and happiness in the world.

Helga smiled gratefully and with a light blush. "Thanks, Brainy. That's sweet of you…but I owe a lot of having the courage to do it to you though, of course, and I'm just happy that everyone realizing the truth about Arnold and I means that they won't tease you about you and me anymore."

Brainy smiled with a touch of humbleness and blushed lightly as well. "Thank you, Helga. That's very kind of you to say…"

Helga just smiled at him. "No problem, Brain boy." She winked at him and then she let out a sigh and surveyed the group. "So, I take it none of you fell for the 'Jollie Ollie Man going a few rounds with his boss again' bit, huh?" She rolled her eyes to the side.

Gerald chuckled and rolled his eyes too, shaking his head a bit. "Yeah, no, we all looked right at you the second you all said to look away—we know you both too well by this point." He smirked at them a little and Arnold and Helga couldn't help smiling and blushing a bit. Gerald just sighed and crossed his arms over his chest. "Luckily for you two though, to distract everyone from questioning that whole suspicious stunt of yours too much, Phoebe suggested to everyone that they all head over to the counter and pitch in and order one of those Titanic Sundaes that feeds a dozen people. Are you two in…or can you really not keep your hands off each other for just a few more hours?" He smirked a little more.

Arnold and Helga blushed a little more and then shrugged and nodded. "Yeah, yeah, alright…We'll be there in a sec, Geraldo…" Helga answered for both of them, glancing at her beloved with a little smile and then back to their friends.

Gerald, Phoebe, Lila and Brainy all nodded. "Alright then—I'm ever so certain we'll save you some scoops!" Lila added cheerily. All of them smiled and nodded, and then the group departed from their friends.

As they left, Helga just sighed in a small touch of disappointment and then turned back to her beloved with a smile. Then she stood up in her side of the booth. "Well, looks like 'private flirting making out time' is over for now…Guess we'll just have to wait for our dates this weekend."

Arnold let out a sigh and nodded and stood up as well, smiling back at her. "Yeah…no more kissing until tonight…" He laughed to himself and added with a private little smile of love, "I guess I'll survive…"

Helga giggled and blushed a little extra, turning her head to the side and letting some of her hair fall over part of her face coyly. "Oh, quit being such a baby and let's just go pig out more, Football Head." She grabbed his hand and walked out of the booth and pulled him along with her in the direction of the other kids.

Arnold followed her, laughing warmly and looking to her with love. "Whatever…floats your boat, Helga." He blushed a little more.

Helga giggled more, her own blush going a tiny bit darker at his cute little reply. She glanced at him over her shoulder before they reached the other kids. "Ooo, good one, Football Head… And hey, keep up that attitude tonight about pleasing me and I think you'll end up very pleased yourself, my Arnold…"

She winked and then had to laugh as that statement brought a brief look of confusion to Arnold's face followed quickly by that blushing and embarrassed…and eager… look of his that she loved so much. "O-Oh…wh-whatever you say, Helga..." came Arnold's standard little default reply.

"I can't wait, Arnold…" she whispered to him quickly and sweetly. "It'll be a weekend we'll never forget."

Arnold didn't need Helga to tell him that last thing though—for some time now he had already had a small plan to make that statement absolutely true.

---

In the middle of everyone eating and sharing the Titanic Sundae, Helga was just looking around, smiling and enjoying herself (and trying not to giggle too much about how Arnold had adorably made very sure to ask the guy behind the counter to put any strawberry ice cream specifically on one side of the sundae because his girlfriend had allergies). Anyway, it was while she was here, eating and things were winding down that she saw a sight she couldn't recall ever seeing before.

There were other kids and people in this ice cream parlour of course besides the fourth graders…and a new, younger looking girl had just walked in…and walked over to Brainy.

And she and Brainy were talking together. And she seemed smiling and shy and he seemed content and kind.

The girl had dark, chestnut-red hair and little freckles and thick glasses and she was dressed in green. She had some books in her hand and…once she even said something that made Brainy laugh a little and she seemed to just light up at doing that.

And Helga knew that 'lighting up'. It was the same way she had always 'lit up' over the years whenever she had managed to do something to make Arnold genuinely happy, upon which he had usually hugged her and sent her into bliss for three to five seconds that felt like an eternity of happiness.

Helga smiled. "Interesting…" she mumbled quietly to herself under her breath.

She continued to watch the little exchange and then eventually the little girl gave Brainy a small bow goodbye (pushing up her glasses back onto her nose after doing so, which made Brainy chuckle a little again and made her glow a tiny bit once more), and then the little girl departed with her books, leaving Brainy to go back to eating a little scoop of vanilla from the big sundae dish.

Helga didn't waste any time and walked right over to him. She got up behind him actually, smirking the entire time, and took a few light breaths right by his ear. "Uh…hi!"

She did her best not to burst into total chuckles, especially as Brainy actually jumped and turned around half in fright and then turned to her and blinked a few times…and then smiled and chuckled a lot himself. "Helga!" He took a moment to catch his breath, pulling out his inhaler and taking a puff and then putting it away again. "That wasn't funny…" He smirked at her a little.

Helga just smirked right back at him and crossed her arms over her chest. "Spoiled sport. Actually though I probably should have thought that through more—what if you'd backhanded me, huh?" She chuckled a tiny bit at the idea.

Brainy just sighed and smiled and shook his head. "Don't be ridiculous—you know I could never harm a lady, even on reflex."

Helga sighed and nodded. "Yeah, yeah, I know, Mr. Gentleman…And…speaking of 'the ladies'…" Brainy was leaning back against the edge of the counter and Helga chose to join him, leaning back right next to him. "Who was that girl you were just talking to?"

Brainy blinked, looking at her curiously for a moment. "Girl?...Oh!" He looked back toward the door that she had left by and then looked to Helga again with a smile. "That's Siobhan. She's…well, she got moved to the sixth grade for part of the year but then she decided to go back to the third grade. She likes it better there. We've been going to the same doctor for our sinuses ever since we were little and…we've just known each other ever since then. We talk sometimes too on the computer or on the phone about things. We actually have a lot in common. She's a very nice kid. Actually, because I went to the baseball game today, I missed the usual appointment we both have at the same time at our sinus doctor's office and I guess when she saw me in here with everyone she just wanted to make sure everything was alright. She knows I don't like big crowds..." Brainy chuckled a little...but then he stopped and blinked. "What?"

Brainy's question was due to the look on Helga's face. She was just eyeing him and smiling and smiling more and more until her grin was ear to ear and couldn't go unnoticed anymore. "So…all these years…you've been 'cheating' on me with Siobhan, huh?" She couldn't resist.

Brainy's eyes went utterly wide and he nearly stumbled back against one of the stools at the counter. "Wh…I…Helga! Helga, don't be ridiculous!" He straightened himself up and cleared his throat, glancing to the side with a light blush of fluster. "How could you even…Sh-She's a child, Helga!" He gulped and crossed his arms over his chest, still not able to look at her.

Helga scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Okay, first of all 'Methuselah', she's not an infant and you're not some college boy—she's nine and you're ten. Sheesh…And second of all…Brainy…come on…you're the most observant person on the planet…do you really need me to point out to you that she…you know…about you…" Helga looked at him very meaningfully.

Brainy blinked a few times, glancing up at her hesitantly. "I-I really don't know what you're talking a-about…I…"

Helga gave him a look. "Brainy…" she merely said, very flatly.

"This is absurd, Helga," he replied back, equally flatly…though there was something unsure in his tone.

Helga shook her head, her smile returning a little, as she replied back quite simply, "No, it's only absurd if you don't realize how much you feel the same way."

Brainy started to scowl just a tiny bit. "Helga...you're bugging me...Please drop it..."

Helga had to let out a stifled chuckle. "You sound just like Arnold right now...Come on...at least admit she's cute?" She looked at him pleadingly.

Brainy sighed, putting hand to one of his temples and closing his eyes. "W-Well, yes, of course she's c-cute...b-but that's not the point! I cannot...pursue her, Helga…" He seemed like he might have gone over this with himself before.

Helga didn't let up though. "And why not?" she asked point blank.

And before Brainy could realize the flaw in his logic, he had replied like he always had replied to himself about this matter, "Because I am a gentleman and a gentleman is monogamous in my opinion, and I'm already pursuing yo—…" He stopped completely, breathing, speaking…His eyes went wide…then blinked a few times. And then he seemed utterly stumped with himself.

Helga blinked as well…and then replied quietly… "So then…you…have…thought about…her…like that...before…"

Brainy blinked several more times at the observation/question and then instantly he was backing up, tugging at his collar. "I…W-Well, alright, I'll…admit, the question has…and she is a girl and...a-and, of course, I'm not pursuing you anymore, so…B-But still I…A-And what would she even say? She probably thinks of me as a big brother or something! N-Not that I care but…H-Helga, come on, this is silly, I…I would rather not talk about this right now, I…I told you before I don't want anybody new y-yet. I-I should go home and…and think…a-and rest. And..." a deep sigh, "Helga, isn't Arnold the one you're supposed to mercilessly bother in particularly?" He managed a small chuckle. "A-Anyway, speaking of the 'big crowds' thing, this place is starting to get rather full. A-And as I said I should probably be returning home anyway. Erm…goodbye!" And with that and a smile and blushing he quickly dashed away.

Helga just watched him go curiously…and then smiled softly to herself. She sighed. 'Let me finish up this anniversary stuff with Arnold…and then I'll see what I can do about this…Oh and it's so cute…' She giggled a little to herself and then went off to go find her beloved so that they could walk home together so that he could get ready for their first anniversary date tonight…and so could she.

---

A/N:

Alright, that's all for now :D Oh and extra super special thanks to KASUKapl for reminding me about Siobahn. Anyone who's read the Hey Arnold! book called "Arnold's E-Files" will know who she is (and she actually does get paired with Brainy a bit in that book : 3 ), but for anyone who hasn't read it, she's the little girl at the end of the ep "Phoebe Skips" who gets promoted from the third grade to the sixth grade :) Her name is pronounced 'Sha-von.' Anyway, I hope you all liked this and please review! I'll try and get you guys a December update, of course, but then after that things are going to get tricky. I'm starting grad school in January and I'll be working so things are going to be very busy but I'll try and keep up with stuff as best I can ;) Thank you guys for your patience! And Happy belated Thanksgiving to everyone in the States!

Happy Reading!

AXH FOREVER!

~Azure129 aka Jenna