I'm back again :) Sorry this chapter is a little short, but last night I was struck with an idea for the next chapter, and I didn't want to divide it between this on and the next. It will be up ASAP. Promise :) Thank you all for the reviews! Every time I see a new review I get all excited and happy, like a little kid on Christmas! Reviews are like presents! Thanks again!

P.S.

I added some poetry to this chapter, and I don't usually write poetry, so please bear with me :)

Disclaimer: We know this by now, right? ;)

Chapter 8

"And then, right after he introduces me to the borders, his grandma comes in and calls me Eleanor!" Helga was on the phone with Phoebe, relaying the previous night's events (she had been too consumed with her writing to have called when she got home), as well as the ones of earlier this morning.

"She mistook you for someone else?" Phoebe questioned.

"No, Eleanor is what she called me when I ended up in Arnold's kitchen that time I was sleepwalking. I'm just glad ol' Football Head didn't seem to remember that little detail; I have no idea how I'd have got out of that one!" Helga cringed again at the thought of having to explain why Arnold's grandmother was calling her by the same name she had used for someone who was supposedly in their kitchen.

"My, Helga, it sounds like you did have quite a close call!" Phoebe said, "I certainly hope you had no other near disasters?"

"Hardly!" Helga scoffed, "Not long after we started eating, Arnold and I accidentally reached for the lemonade pitcher at the same time, and it sort of looked like we were holding hands, and some of the borders started teasing us about it. But Suzie Kokoschka got them under control pretty quick. I swear, that woman could make Bob be quiet!" Helga laughed at the mental image of Suzie Kokoschka standing up to Big Bob like she did the borders, "Anyway, after we cleared the table, which was an event itself when Arnold tried to insist I shouldn't help because I was the guest. I swear, that boy can be too nice sometimes! So we cleared the table and went back up to his room, and he starts telling me about this time his grandma taught him to dance, right? Well then the song they used comes on his sound system, and I actually asked him to dance with me!"

"Gosh, Helga! Wherever did you get the courage to do that?" Phoebe asked in amazement.

"Heck if I know! But the best part comes next: he said yes!"

"Oh Helga! That's wonderful! What was it like?"

"It was amazing, Pheebs! It was like nothing I've ever experienced before! It was even better than April Fools!"

"That's wonderful, Helga!"

"Just wait, Phoebe, there's more!"

"There's more? My, Helga, you had quite the evening, didn't you?"

"Oh yeah! He walked me home, and we snacked on some of the best chocolate chip cookies ever along the way, and when we got there he wiped chocolate off my lip! Then he hugged me! And today he brought me more cookies just because I said they were good!"

"Oh, Helga, it sounds like something out of a dream!" Phoebe gushed.

"Except in your dreams it's you and Tall Hair Boy, right Pheebs?" Helga chuckled.

"Helga!" Phoebe turned bright red at Helga's remark and started sputtering, "I...I mean...I don't...well maybe I...that is..."

"Oh come on, Phoebe, I know you like like Gerald! Heck, I'd have to be blind not to know!"

"Really? You don't think Gerald knows, do you?!" Phoebe gasped.

"Relax, Pheebs, Geraldo is even more dense than Arnold. You could write on a truck "Phoebe likes Gerald" in glowing green letter with martians shooting off fireworks, and he wouldn't know." Phoebe let out a small laugh, content that Helga didn't think Gerald knew about the fact that she...liked him more than she wanted to admit (the poor girl could barely admit it to herself, let alone Helga or...Gerald!).

After Helga got off the phone with Phoebe she sprawled out on her bed with nothing to do. Her mind began to wonder, and soon turned to memories of the previous night. a dreamy look came on her face, and she began reciting a poem unconsciously.

All my life, every day I wait

for you to ask "how 'bout a date?"

And though not spoken in so many words

the request was asked, the meaning heard.

Nervous tremors shake my core,

as I step up to your door.

pacing 'round, up and down the walk,

I doubt that I could even talk.

Suddenly the door opens wide,

and you invite me to step inside.

My heart speeds up, and I feel queasy.

Yes, I know this all sounds cheesy.

Your blue eyes twinkle as we climb the stairs,

and I float along without a care.

but once inside, I begin to shake.

What if I misspeak, or make a mistake?

While Dino sings a calming tune,

you speak calming words that send me over the moon.

We both admit nerves, though yours unneeded,

but your advice is heeded.

Such fun we have throughout the night,

I can not help but feel alright.

The dance we shared was like a dream,

in perfect sync, like a life long team.

At my home later, you hug me tight,

the perfect end to a perfect night.

Helga blinked and sat up, "Wow, that was pretty good. Not my best work, by far, but not bad." She pulled a pink book from under her mattress and wrote it down, all the while dreaming of the next time she and Arnold could hang out. She was extremely proud of herself for being (mostly) civil the entire time she was there, even when things got awkward. 'Maybe talking with Dr. Bliss is helping' Helga thought happily. She had kept up her sessions with Dr. Bliss after the first few times that she had been forced to go, and she was happy to have someone to talk to that was sworn not to tell. Phoebe was all well and good, but when you got down to it she was only nine, like Helga. Helga enjoyed having an adult who could give her advice on difficult matters. And speaking of Dr. Bliss, Helga glanced at her clock and realized that it was time for her first session since she got back from the beach. Normally Dr. Bliss would only have had sessions with Helga during the school year, but they had agreed that Helga might benefit from summer sessions once a week during the second half of the summer, as opposed to their traditional two during the school year.

Helga stashed her book back in it's hiding place and grabbed her shoes. She raced out the door and down her normal secret course to Dr. Bliss's office.

Helga made it to the office building without running into anyone she knew just in time for her session. She raced up the stairs and practically threw the door off it's hinges when she opened it.

"Dr. Bliss!" she exclaimed, "I am so glad to be back here!"

"Hello, Helga," the therapist replied with a smile at Helga's enthusiasm, "How was your vacation?"

Helga closed the door (more gently than she had opened it), and sat herself on the long couch opposite the chair Dr Bliss currently occupied.

"It was AMAZING! Well, at first I thought is was really going to bite, since Bob and Miriam were the same as always, but then I found out that Arnold and his family were staying at the same beach house as us! So then..." Helga relayed the whole story to Dr. Bliss, who simply nodded and asked the occasional question while making notes on her paper.

After almost half the session was gone, Helga finished her story with "...And then he hugged me! Of his own free will! I didn't even ask, not that I could have if I wanted to. And he brought me cookies!"

"Well Helga, it sounds like you've had quite the eventful summer so far!" Dr. Bliss chuckled.

"Oh yeah, it's been great!" Helga responded happily.

"So how do you think this is going to continue?" Dr. Bliss asked.

"What do you mean?"

"Well," she began, "Are you and Arnold going to continue to be friends once school starts, or are you going to revert to your old defence of being hostile?"

"Um..." Helga thought for a moment. She hadn't thought about school starting, but Dr. Bliss had a point; summer wouldn't last forever, and school wasn't far away. What would happen to her and Arnold?

"I don't really know. I'd like to stay friends, but...the other kids, they'd eat me alive if..." she couldn't finish.

"Helga," Dr. Bliss started, "You are a very strong, very brave girl. If the other kids reacted negatively, I think you could stand up for yourself and Arnold if you needed to. And in time, I think they would accept it as a new fact of life; these things tend to blow over pretty quickly."

"Really?" Helga asked softly.

"Really. That's all the time we have for today, but I'll see you next week. And Helga?"

"Yes?"

"Try not to worry. Whatever happens, I know you will figure out the best way to handle things. And I'm very proud of how you acted at Arnold's house; it shows just how much you've grown since we started meeting."

"Thank you, Dr. Bliss. For everything."