Hey everyone! First I'd like to say thanks to everyone who reviewed! It makes me so happy when I wake up and log on to find even one new review for me to read. Second, I started school again today, so I have to apologize that chapters are going to take a bit longer to come up, but the will be up. I will not leave this story unfinished! :) I think that's all, so on with the chapter. Oh, I don't want to give away too much, but this chapter may or may not be the chapter you guys have been wanting ;) Enjoy!

Disclaimer: You know this by now.

Chapter 10

Helga blinked at Arnold. 'He...doesn't want to...forget...' She was dazed, to say the least, but she quickly tried to regain her composure so she could handle this new turn of events.

"Helga, can we please just talk about this? I promise, I'll do everything I can to make this not awkward, ok?" Arnold said reassuringly.

"...ok," Helga said softly, "I guess...I guess I can try. I should have known you'd want an explanation for all of that eventually." Arnold let go of her wrist and walked back to where they had been sitting before. Helga turned and looked at the scene before her: Arnold was waiting for her to sit down and talk with him about...about the beach, and all the things she had done at the beach. 'Well, I guess I should have known I could only get away with so much before he started asking questions' Helga thought. She walked slowly over to her spot on the blanket, and sat across from Arnold with her hands folded in her lap.

"So...uh, whenever you're ready, Head Boy," she mumbled.

"Ok, Helga, I'm...I'm not really sure what happened at the beach, with the movie and all, but...I do know that there wasn't a...a k-kiss in the script. So, I guess my first question is...why did you, you know...kiss me?" Arnold blushed quite red, but waited patiently for Helga to answer.

'Great, he picks the biggest question to ask first! Couldn't he start with something smaller?!' Helga thought nervously. After a few minutes of silence, Helga decided she had better just answer the question.

"Well...you see, that was because...because...Arnold, I'm sorry but I don't think I can do this!" Helga got up like she was going to try to leave; this was not how her wonderful picnic was supposed to go, but things in dreams were much easier to control.

"It's ok, Helga," Arnold said, "I understand. Why don't...why don't you just start by telling me something smaller, and we can work our way up to...more difficult questions."

"Really?" Helga asked. He was giving her a way out of this question (for now)?

"Sure, Helga. I just want to understand all of this." Arnold said comfortingly.

Helga took a deep breath and sat back down. She thought about their beach trip; what could she tell him that wouldn't be too bad?

"Um, well...when I found out we were staying at the same beach house...maybe...maybe I didn't hate it as much as I said..."

"Really?" Arnold asked, though he secretly had suspected it.

"Yeah...and...and remember how I sort of ruined all that stuff with you and Summer for no reason? Well...I...it might not have been "no reason" exactly...I...might have had my own reasons." Helga cringed at actually saying that aloud. 'I can't believe we're doing this here! Now!'

Arnold looked at her thoughtfully, like he was trying figure something out, though Helga couldn't tell if it was about her or himself. Seeing no reaction to what she just said, Helga decided to continue.

"And...and...Arnold, I really can't do this!" she sighed. Arnold reached over and held her hand reassuringly.

"Helga you're doing fine. I know this isn't really something you want to talk about, but I really just want to understand. Would it be easier if we went back to me just asking questions?"

"Yeah, maybe..." Helga mumbled, her face flaming at Arnold holding her hand. Arnold stood up and walked over so that he was next to Helga and sat down, never letting go of her hand.

"Ok," he said slowly, "So, first question: why did my being with Summer bother you so much?"

"...Can we start with something else, Arnold?" Helga asked, almost pleading.

"Of course. Hmm...how about this? When I invited you over for dinner, were you really happy that I invited you, or were you just saying that?"

"I really was happy, Arnold. Really." Helga said quietly.

"I'm glad. And see, Helga, you can do this! Do you think we could try a...bigger question now?"

"...Maybe...how big?"

"...on a scale of one to ten...how much do you really hate me?" Arnold asked tentatively. Helga turned red again, and it took several minutes before she answered.

"...maybe...a three...or a...one...maybe...less..." her voice had gotten progressively quieter as she spoke until the last words were so quiet Arnold almost couldn't hear her.

"R-really? Then...why do you always act like-"

"Because," Helga cut him off, "Because...I was trying to avoid this right here that we're doing now. This whole...talking about...everything."

"Oh. Well, then maybe-"

"Arnold, could we just focus on this "talking it out" thing for right now, and deal with what comes after later?" Helga asked quickly.

"Alright," Arnold agreed, "So...since we've...gotten some of the bigger questions answered...do you think we could go back to the question about me and Summer bothering you? And the one about the...kiss?" Arnold said, blushing. He wasn't sure why, but ever since talking with his grandpa, Arnold had been blushing at a lot of things concerning Helga, the kiss in particular. 'I know she doesn't want to talk about it, but I think we need to. I don't really know what it is, but ever since that talk with Grandpa, things have felt...different. Actually, I think things have been different for a while...I just don't know how.' Arnold thought. In truth, he had been thinking about Helga almost nonstop for a while now, but nothing really made sense to him.

While Arnold was lost in his thoughts, Helga was lost in her own. 'So he really wants me to do this...answer the question. Tell him my biggest secret. I don't think I can do this! What if he rejects me? What if he never wants to see me again? What if he thinks I'm crazy? And who would blame him anyway? I am crazy!' Finally Helga just decided that if Arnold wanted her to answer, she may as well tell him the truth; there wasn't really any way out of it anyway. Screwing up every single ounce of courage she had, Helga turned to look at Arnold.

"Ok, Arnold, you want me to tell you everything?" she asked softly.

"I would really like it, yes, Helga" Arnold said, looking at her with encouraging eyes.

"Ok. I-I'll tell you. Just...please, don't freak out." Arnold merely nodded, so Helga continued, "Ok, so...when I saw you with Summer...it bothered me because..." Helga braced herself, "...because I...maybe I more than don't hate you. Maybe I even...kinda, sorta...like you a little...or a lot, heh." By now Helga had stood up and walked several steps away from Arnold towards the edge of the roof. She faced the street down below and waited for Arnold's response, barely breathing.

"...you...you like...me?" Arnold asked, bewildered. He had always thought that maybe Helga didn't hate him, but he had never thought that she might like him. The idea was...strange, but not bad. Arnold realized that Helga was waiting for an answer, but he wasn't quite sure he could give her one. He stood and walked towards her, trying to come up with something he could say to her.

Helga heard Arnold step in her direction, and she whirled around to face him. Seeing him walking towards her she stiffened and backed farther to the edge of the roof, putting her hands on it to stable herself.

"Arnold..." she trailed off, unsure of what she had been planning to say.

"Helga, it's ok. Really." Arnold said reassuringly. Arnold continued walking towards Helga until he was right next to her. She turned to look out over the street, and then down at her shoes.

"Helga...why did you feel like this was something you needed to hide?" Arnold asked.

"Because...because..." Helga couldn't decide how she wanted to answer.

"Because why, Helga? Please, I...I want to understand."

""BECAUSE IT'S NOT EXACTLY EASY TO TELL SOMEONE YOU LOVE THEM!" Helga suddenly yelled.

Arnold took a step back and blinked in surprise.

"L-love?" he stuttered.

"YES LOVE! I'VE LOVED YOU SINCE THE DAY I MET YOU, OUT IN THE RAIN IN FRONT OF URBAN TOTS PRESCHOOL! YOU WERE THE ONLY PERSON WHO EVER REALLY CARED ABOUT ME, HOW COULD I NOT LOVE YOU?"

"Urban tots..." Arnold said slowly. His dream was starting to make sense; he and Helga had met in front of the preschool on their first day, and later he had given her his crackers.

Meanwhile, Helga was still near hysterical.

"YES, URBAN TOTS! WHAT ARE YOU, DEAF? AFTER ALL OF THESE YEARS OF ME STALKING YOU AND MAKING SHRINES TO YOU AND PULLING CRAZY SCHEMES AND WRITING VOLUMES OF POETRY AND-" suddenly Helga stopped and stared at Arnold, who had been trying to wrap his head around everything. Before Arnold could even blink though, Helga was halfway to the fire escape again.

"Helga, wait!" Arnold called as he broke from his shock and ran after her. He didn't make it to her until she was already on the landing to the fire escape.

"Helga!" Arnold grabbed her hand before she could get any farther away. She stopped, but she wouldn't look at him.

"Helga, please don't run away. Just come back onto the roof, and we can talk about this."

"But Arnold, that's just it! I don't want to talk about it! I've spent seven years hiding it!" Helga said hysterically; Arnold wasn't sure, but he thought he saw tears in her eyes.

"Helga..." he climbed down so that they were both standing on the same level, and pulled her into a tight hug. For once, Helga just let him hug her, and wrapped her arms tightly around him in return.

"You don't have to be afraid, Helga. You don't have to run away." Arnold said, hugging her extra tight to emphasize his words. He pulled away from their hug, but he took Helga's hand again.

"Do you think we can go back to the roof now?" Arnold asked, hoping that she wouldn't run away again. He still wasn't sure how he felt about all of this, but what he did know was that Helga was upset, and he needed to help her.

Helga nodded slowly, and followed Arnold back up to the roof. Arnold looked at the blanket where they had been sitting and thought that it looked...not quite right for the situation.

"Helga?" he asked, "Would you rather go inside, or would staying outside be more comfortable for you?"

"Um...i-if you want to go inside that's f-fine." Helga mumbled.

Arnold nodded and led the way to his skylight. He opened the glass door and helped Helga down the latter that was built into his wall then he followed, never letting go of her hand. Arnold led them over to the couch and sat.

"So," Arnold began, "why didn't you tell me all of this before?"

"Because I was...afraid." Helga whispered.

"Afraid of what, Helga?"

"Afraid that...you would..." she couldn't finish.

"That I would...reject you? Helga, don't you know me better than that?" she just shrugged.

"Helga, I can't say that I love you back," she cringed, "But that doesn't mean that I don't...care for you as...more than a friend." Arnold finished.

"You...you do?" She asked.

"Yeah. I don't know why it took me so long to realize it, but I do. You're funny, and smart, and kind, and...you're really pretty."

"I...I am?"

"Yes Helga, you are!"

"But...but I'm just...me." she said, a little amazed at Arnold's reaction to all of this.

"Helga, "just you" is all you ever should be. You're a really great person, and I wish you would see that."

"So," Helga said, "I have to get this straight: you really like me...as...more than just a friend? Really?"

"Yes, Helga," Arnold smiled, "Really."

Helga, still in quite a daze from all of this, pinched her arm and yelped at the pain that shot through her arm.

"Helga! What was that for?" Arnold asked in slight alarm.

"I...I had to make sure this wasn't a dream. I...Arnold, I've thought about this moment happening so many times, but I never really thought...that you would..." Rather than finish her sentence, Helga threw her arms around Arnold and hugged him as tight as she could. Arnold chuckled and hugged her back.

"Helga, is it really that hard to believe?" Arnold asked.

"Yes!" Helga blurted out before she could stop herself. But Arnold just smiled again and hugged her tighter. After a moment the two separated and just looked at each other; neither was quite sure where things would go from here.

"So...um, w-what happens now?" Arnold asked.

"Well, I don't really know," Helga said, "I...I never really thought about what might happen if you found out my secret and didn't think I was a total loon."

"Well...maybe...sometime, not necessarily right now, you could...show me some of that poetry you mentioned. If you wanted to, that is..." Arnold added quickly.

"You...want to read my poetry?" Helga asked, baffled.

"Well sure. I mean, if you want to. It's obviously something you're proud of, considering you...you mentioned "volumes" on the roof. Anyway, if it's something you're proud of, and you' be willing to share it, I'd love to read it."

"Well, maybe some of it, if you really want to that much. But since it was really just for me I'll have to find some less-embarrassing poems to show you." Helga said.

"Alright, that fine," Arnold agreed. Then, he remembered something else Helga had mentioned on the roof.

"So, since poems are out for now, how about you tell me about those crazy schemes you mentioned?" Arnold asked. Helga went pale, then red...then pale, and then red again!

"Um, well, I...you really want to hear about all of the lunatic things I've done just because I...I...Arnold, after keeping it a secret for so long, I don't think I'm going to be able to say what I think you know I'm trying to say to your face just yet. Maybe in time, but for right now..." she let the sentence dangle.

"That's fine, Helga. And yes, I would really like to hear about all of the things you've done over the years."

"Well, ok. It actually started in pre-K. I thought Ronda liked you, so I may have "accidentally" spilled paste in her hair. That's why she doesn't really like me, well that and other things..." Helga started telling Arnold about most of her crazy plots from over the years, only leaving out the ones that were really embarrassing (like the Cheese Festival sabotages), and Arnold sat and listened with growing amusement as the stories went on.

"And then there was the time I might have...convinced Ronda, Sheena, Phoebe, and Lila all to drop out of playing Juliet in the school play." Helga had been telling many stories (she had seven years of them after all), and she was finally coming to the more current ones.

"You did that?" Arnold asked in surprise, "I wondered why they all quit the part after working so hard at auditions. But, why did you want the part so badly?"

"...please don't make me say it, Arnold." Helga said with the light blush that had been on her cheeks grew considerably. Arnold nodded and waited for her to continue.

"Anyway, there was also the time I found out you had invited Ruth on a Valentines Day date, so I may have snuck into the classroom and taken your postcard from-"

"CECIL!" Arnold suddenly said in a mix of surprise and recognition.

"Um, yeah. Her." Helga said in a voice that clearly questioned Arnold's reaction.

"No, I mean you're Cecil! It all makes sense now! The hair, and the pink outfit, and...and..." Arnold was slightly dumbstruck at realizing that he had known Cecil all along, but had been too blind to see her for who she really was.

"Helga...I...I wondered if I would ever meet someone as wonderful as Cecil, and now I find out it was you all along...Helga...do you know what that means?"

"...no, not really..." Helga didn't show it, but inside she was terrified that Arnold would say finding out she and Cecil were one and the same was a letdown, but she was trying not to jump to conclusions.

"It means," Arnold continued, "that I've been...well I've been pretty much head over heels for you for longer than I thought!"

Helga was speechless! 'Arnold was...which means he...and he's been...head over heels?' Helga very nearly passed out, but she managed to keep herself somewhat composed at she tried to form a coherent answer to this new piece of information.

"So you...over...me?" 'So much for not sounding like a basket case, Helga. Way to go girl.' she thought, mentally smacking herself.

"Yes, Helga. You. I guess I just hadn't seen you looking so beautiful before, so that's why I didn't recognize you." Arnold turned a bit pink at saying this aloud, but he was still far less red than Helga, who now between the stories and the compliment was a rather brilliant shade of bright pink.

"You know," Arnold continued, "You...um, you look...really pretty when you blush, Helga."

"R-really?" Helga squeaked.

"Yeah, really." Arnold grinned.

The two sat in silence for a while, not quite sure what to say next. Finally, about ten minutes later, Helga looked at Arnold's clock sitting by his bed to find that it was getting close to three. 'Wow, I've been here for almost two hours!' Helga noted in surprise. Glancing at Arnold she voiced this observation aloud.

"Hey Football Head, not that this hasn't been the most amazing and stressful day ever, but I should probably head home. After all, I'm sure you have stuff to do."

"Well, I do need to make a list of school supplies that I'm going to need." Arnold admitted. He didn't really want to think about school, because he now knew why Helga acted how she did around their classmates, and he didn't want to go back to that. Not after learning the truth.

"Oh man, I forgot! We start school when?" Helga asked.

"Um, the 29th, so in eight days." Arnold answered, still thinking about how things between he and Helga would change this year.

"Good grief! I've got a ton of stuff to get!" Helga exclaimed, "Let's see, I need notebooks, pencils, a new backpack since mine broke. Hmm, maybe I can just fix it..." she was now talking more to herself than to Arnold, who was just sitting there watching Helga continue to think aloud. When she finally stopped to take a breath, Arnold broke into her thoughts.

"Helga? If you'd like...well, my grandpa's taking my shopping on Tuesday. I know two days is kind of short notice to make a whole list, but if you want you could come with us. Unless you don't want to, or you have plans or something." Arnold said quickly.

"No, that sounds really nice, Arnold. Only..." Helga didn't want to finish her sentence because she knew it would probably hurt Arnold, which was the last thing she wanted to do.

"What is it ,Helga? You can tell me." little did Helga know, but Arnold suspected just what it was she was going to say: she was afraid of people seeing them together.

"Arnold," Helga began, "I really do like you, and I swear this isn't some mean trick I've been plotting all along or something, but...I've spent seven years hiding how I really feel about you from everyone. If someone saw us at the store...they would probably assume that we were...you know..." Helga couldn't look at Arnold, so she just looked at her shoes.

"Helga, it's ok. I though that might be your worry, so what if we, I don't know, come up with a cover story or something? I bet you're great at that!"

"Really, you'd do that for me, Arnold? You'd go along with some crazy story just so that I would feel better?" Helga was surprised and touched that he cared that much. She had been expecting him to tell her that there was nothing to worry about and try to convince her that it would be fine. But he was actually ok with a crazy plan! She could have kissed him!

"Of course, Helga. Whatever makes you more comfortable. If you want us to use a cover story, then we will. No big deal." Helga just sat there absorbing what Arnold had just said, then suddenly threw her arms around him again.

"Football Head, you really are the best, you know that?" she said softly.

"Well, thanks Helga." Arnold said in surprise, "Like I said, whatever you need."

"Ok," Helga said after their hug was over, "So, should we say my parents are busy the rest of the week, and your grandpa was driving you anyway, so I "had" to go with you. Would that be ok?"

"That's fine."

"Ok, so I'll see you on Tuesday?"

"Yep. And, um, Helga?" Arnold asked tentatively.

"Yeah?"

"Could I maybe...walk you home?" Helga almost passed out again! It was like a dream come true! Literally.

"Well, I-I guess, if you really want to. I mean, I could walk home by myself."

"I know, but I would like to." Arnold said sincerely.

"Well, ok then. Shall we go?"

"Of course. But Helga?" Arnold asked as Helga made her way to the latter on his wall.

"Yeah?" she replied, pausing at the edge of his bed.

"Maybe we should take the stairs down instead of the fire escape."