Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters mentioned in this story.

They all belong to their rightful owner: Craig Bartlett.

Title: "Blackmail toy"

In the last chapter of "Blackmail toy": As Phoebe is still trying to convince Helga that Arnold just might be in love with her too, Helga's mind is too occupied with the fact she is being blackmailed, which Phoebe started to suspect when Aaron had been about to ask Arnold "if he knew" something before Helga cut him short.

To Helga's pure misery, the first blackmail mission has already begun, and she is not only going to attend the party of miss. Rhonda Wellington Lloyd. She's also going out shopping with Aaron for a dress.

As all this went on Phoebe started to develop two theories to the odd relationship between her best friend and Aaron: 1. Either he knew about Ice Cream… or 2. He had a crush on her and wouldn't accept a no, just like Arnie.

By the end of that day, Phoebe started leaning more towards the latter.

Author's 1st note: I'm not sure if I made the sentence above me clear in the last chapter (if you go back and read it, you'll see I've changed a line: "Phoebe was starting to lean more and more towards the theory of Aaron crushing on Helga rather than blackmailing her" Before it ended with "more than anything". I wasn't sure if I made it clear enough that Phoebe went away from the blackmailing theory there, so I figured I'd explain it here :P

Oh, and Gerald doesn't know Arnold has feelings for Helga. Arnold's never told anyone :P

Chapter 9: "I can believe on the bright side of this"

When the day was over, Helga barely had the time to put her books into her bag before Aaron wrapped his arm around hers. "Hey! What did I say about - "

"Yeah, yeah, no touching. Who are you? Kuzco from 'Emperor's new groove'? Come on!" Aaron interrupted and pulled her up from her chair. The few people in the class that noticed were Arnold and Phoebe. They stood next to each other as they watched Helga being pulled out of the classroom.

"I don't get it, Phoebe," Arnold said and crossed his arms. "why would Helga put up with my cousin if she hates him, as much as she claims?"

"Maybe she doesn't hate him."

Arnold and Phoebe turned towards the voice that belonged to Gerald. "What do you mean?" Arnold asked with a small frown. "I'm saying maybe she does like him. I mean, can you think of any other reason why she hasn't socked him yet?" he asked and crossed his arms thoughtfully.

Arnold's frown stayed on his face, but a small smirk did appear. "She did practically strangle him the other day though." He corrected and started smiling while remembering her exact words: 'I picked him up by the throat with my arm and held him there for at least two minutes!'

"Oh, so he has been introduced to Old Betsy and The Five Avengers." Phoebe observed thoughtfully. Yet, he still seems interested in her. She thought. Is he a masochist?

"Don't you think she could've lied?" Gerald wondered aloud. Arnold felt like strangling him at that. "What? Why would she do that?" he asked with hurt in his voice. He didn't like the thought of Helga lying to him, at least not about something like this.

Gerald shrugged. "I'm just saying… maybe she likes Aaron, but won't admit it because, you know, she's Helga Pataki, right? Maybe she just claimed that she did that to avoid you finding out the truth." He suggested.

Arnold could feel his breath get caught in his throat and he shook his head. "N-No way. I even saw the bruise on his neck, as she told me would probably appear." He said with a little bit of pride in his voice. He did actually see an obvious mark on his neck the day after. It was gone by Monday, but it had been there.

"You sure, it wasn't a hickey?" Gerald proposed with a suggestive smirk. Arnold turned to face him and slapped him on the chest with the back of his hand. "It was not a hickey!" he said in anger, but there was a little bit of uncertainty in his voice. "I'm going home." He announced, grabbed his bag and went out of the room.

"… Ow." Gerald announced, mostly to remind Phoebe that he was actually just hit by Arnold of all people. Phoebe rubbed the sore spot a little and smiled at him. I'm sorry, honey. She thought to herself. But in a way you deserved that.

While that conversation went on, Helga was in the middle of being pulled through the hallway, before she stopped short and let her left leg out a little. As she had planned, Aaron tripped over her leg and fell face first to the ground beneath them.

"Ow!" Aaron exclaimed and stretched his arms to sit up again. He started rubbing his forehead as he turned around to look at a very smiling Helga. "Was that really necessary?" he asked. She nodded. "Oh, yes. I've been wanting to do that since you decided to make me you escort girl!"

Aaron sighed and stood up, a little wobbly. He knew he wouldn't have gotten out of that class without a bruise, but he didn't expect her to be so childish about it. Then again, could you predict anything about Helga?

"You're not an escort girl, Helga, you'd have to have manners to be that." Aaron corrected. Helga just rolled her eyes. "Well, then it's good I have higher ambitions in my life than being someone's wind-up doll. This is way too close to that to begin with!"

"You're pissed. I get that."

"Oh, you really think so?!"

"Calm down. I just wanted to tell you where to meet me tomorrow." Aaron explained and was about to go on, when Helga lifted a hand in front of her face to stop him. "Yeah, speaking of that. Uh… besides the obvious fact that I hate shopping and I hate the party I'm going to… then I seriously can't afford anything fancy."

That was a huge lie. Not only was the Patakis fairly wealthy – at least compared to a regular family – she also got a generous amount of allowance, so that her parents didn't have to worry about feeding her or giving her clothes.

Despite that, then Helga had no intention whatsoever of wasting her money on some big gown, she'd wear once in her life, when she could spend that money on so much else. Like some of the regular every-day clothes from the new Nancy Spumoni design. Aaron chuckled all of a sudden, pulling her out of her thoughts. "Don't worry about money, Helga, it's on me."

"… Excuse me?" Helga asked in incredulity. "I'm the one forcing you to this party. How would it be fair, if you were forced to buy a dress for it you'll only use once?" Aaron asked and crossed his arms with a smile.

Helga just blinked for a couple of seconds before shrugging. "You make a valid point." She observed. Sucker. She thought and shook her head a little in amusement. "So, where do you wanna meet and when?"

"I'm thinking tomorrow at that new shop that just opened?"

"What new shop?"

"Rhonda and Lila told me about it… Something about a girl named Spoon?"

"Spoon? What are you - Wait! A clothing store that just opened with a girl named… You mean Nancy Spumoni's?! That new one?"

"Yeah, that was it. Man, does that girl have a weird name.

"Now, hold on!" Helga said and put her hands up in front of her in a form of self-defense. "Th-That place is way expensive! Are you insane?!"

"I know it's expensive, but that's also pretty much the only store in all of Hillwood that sells dresses that would match the dress code." Aaron answered and shook his head. "That girls' got quality taste."

Helga felt like passing out again. "I've changed my mind." She stated and turned around. "I'd rather just tell Arnold I love him."

It was at this moment that Arnold stormed out of the classroom. He panted a little in anger and then kicked the wall next to him. "No… No way. Helga wouldn't…" he mumbled to himself, when he noticed some voices not too far away.

"Alright, go on and tell him. That's your choice." Aaron said with a shrug. Helga stopped and turned around to face him again. "What? Wait… is this some sort of game to you? To see how far you can push me before I - "

"I never said that." Aaron answered and put his hands up in mock defense. "I'm just saying that I can't stop you, if you're going to tell Arnold the truth."

The truth? Arnold repeated in his mind and quickly sneaked behind a locker a bit closer to Aaron and Helga. "But… if I told Arnold…" Helga started to say and then gulped loudly. "then wouldn't that mean - "

"I guess it would, but to me that doesn't really matter. It's up to you if you want to keep this a secret or not. I don't really care. It's you who insist on the sneaking around." Aaron interrupted and crossed his arms.

Keep this a secret? Sneaking around? Arnold repeated in his mind and then went wide-eyed. Wait! Gerald couldn't possibly have been right… could he? He felt like he was going to be sick.

"Of course I want to keep it a secret! Arnold would freak if he knew how I felt!" Helga answered in frustration. Arnold could feel the lump in his throat get bigger at that. Helga doesn't really have feelings for Aaron, does she? He felt his head get dizzy and he let his legs give in. He landed softly on the floor, while using the closet behind him as leverage.

"Why would he freak just because you're capable of being in love?" Aaron asked, and Arnold felt like crying. In love?! They've known each other for not only a week! He pulled his hands up to his eyes.

"I'm Helga Pataki, that's why. I'm not supposed to have any positive feelings within me. Especially not for a boy." Helga explained and sighed a little. Aaron shook his head. "Well, that's up to you. So, will I see you tomorrow at Nancy Spumoni's?"

Helga sighed again and then nodded. "Yeah… that's better than having to talk to Arnold about my feelings." She answered and started to scratch her head. "Great. See you tomorrow then." Aaron said and went off.

Arnold could hear Helga walking off too and he started rubbing at his eyes. Don't cry. Don't cry! He chanted in his head. At least wait 'till your home! Where Aaron will be… "Shit!" Arnold exclaimed, grabbed his bag and just ran.

When Aaron could hear rapid footsteps behind him, he turned around. "Oh! Hey, Arnold. Wanna go grab a bite before we - "

"You do that. I'm going home." Arnold interrupted and kept running past him. Aaron turned to look at him. What the hell is his problem all of a sudden? He wondered and then looked back at the direction he came from. Wait, he didn't overhear me and Helga talk, did he?

Aaron pursed his lips and looked at Arnold, who just opened the door and ran outside. "Whoops."

When Arnold came home, he almost forgot about the horde of animals that would usually storm out as soon as he opened the door. "Whoa!" he squawked and jumped to the side when his pig Abner, followed by who knows how many animals, ran out into the streets.

When the hallway was clear of animals, he went inside and closed the door softly behind him. He seemed to have run off the anger and was now left with the sadness. He threw his bag to the floor, before plumping down next to it.

"Welcome home, sweet… Arnold, what's the matter?" Stella asked, when she saw her son sitting on the floor, with his legs pulled close to his chest and his face covered in his arms. He didn't answer, but just made a muffled sound. Stella went to sit in front of him on her knees. "Come on, you can tell me."

Arnold sighed. "Remember Helga?" he asked. Stella smiled broadly. "Of course I remember Helga. If it hadn't been for her, you, your dad and me would still be in San Lorenzo. Why?" she asked. He sighed again. "I think she may be in love with Aaron…"

Stella's eyes went wide. "What!?" she yelped in shock. "Ow!" Arnold exclaimed, lifted his head and put his hands around his ears. "Mom! Don't scream in such a high-pitch voice, please!"

"S-Sorry. It's just… I was so sure that Helga was in love with… well, you." Stella replied honestly. Arnold crossed his arms and let his hands rest on his knees again. "I was… starting to believe so too, but…" he sighed heavily and stood up.

"I'm sorry, mom, I just… I just wanna be alone right now… ok?" Arnold asked with a sincere apologetic voice. Stella also went to stand up, while she nodded. "Of course, honey. Do you want me to bring you something?"

Arnold just shook his head while grabbing his bag. "No, thanks. I just… wanna be alone. When Aaron comes home, could you try and distract him from coming into my room?" he asked. "Yes, I will." She answered with a small and watched her son walk up the stairs.

Stella sighed and went back into the dining room. Miles was currently reading a magazine, but when he noticed his wife's less than sullen mood, he put it down. "What's going on?" he asked. She sighed as she sat down. "Apparently Helga seems to have feelings for Aaron."

"What?! But… B-But I was so sure that she had feelings for - "

"I know! Me too! But something must've happened. He didn't tell me what though. He wants to be alone, he said." Stella answered and groaned. "He's been in love with her for so long… Why didn't he just say anything?"

Miles had been about to give a reply, when a huge crash upstairs interrupted him. They both flinched and turned look outside and up towards the attic. "That… That came from… Arnold's room, right?" he said with a scared voice. Stella just nodded in shock.

"What the Devil's going on?"

Stella and Miles turned towards Phil, who just emerged into the room. "What was that crash?" he asked and looked up. "Probably Arnold…" Stella started. "… breaking something." Miles finished. "What!?" Phil exclaimed. "Why would he break anything?"

"To take out his frustration would be my first guess." Miles answered with a bit of sarcasm in his voice. "Why, of course! How could I be so stupid?! Of course Arnold is breaking things because he's frustrated!" he said with an overly sarcastic voice and then smacked his forehead.

"What your son meant was, that Arnold is a little on the edge today, because he thinks Helga's in love with Aaron." Stella explained. Phil looked like he didn't understand what she said. "Typical," Miles muttered. "when I say something clever or romantic I'm your husband. When I don't, I'm his son."

Stella was about to give a clever reply, when Phil's growingly shocked expression stopped her. "What? How can he think that?" he asked in complete horror. "The girl's been crazy in love with him forever. Why would that suddenly change?"

"That's what we've been thinking, but something clearly made him think she's in love Aaron. But he went up to his room rather than telling us anything." Miles replied and glanced at his wife, who nodded. "Hmm…" Phil mumbled softly and started to walk out the room. "Where are you going?" Stella asked. "Where do you think?" Phil answered while walking up the stairs. "To knock some sense into that son of yours!"

"Typical," Stella muttered in a Miles-like voice. "when he's behaving as usual, he's his beloved grandson. When not, he's our son."

As Arnold went up to his room, he could his own two feet drag across the steps. He could hear some distant voices greeting him, but he didn't have the energy or the will to greet them back. He went straight up into his room and let his bag fall down to the floor.

Arnold walked over to his radio and turned it on to a random channel. "… envy you. I'm a little bit of everything. All rolled into one - " He stared at it in disbelief. "I'm a bitch, I'm a lover. I'm a child, I'm a mother - "

"Oh, you've got to be kidding me…!" Arnold mumbled and immediately changed the channel. "Too young, too dumb to realize that I should have bought you flowers and held your hand. Should have gave you all my hours, when I had the chance - "

Arnold looked up to the sky. "Alright, Universe. One last chance, ok?" he agreed with himself and turned to a different channel. " - I'm living a nightmare that keeps playing over and over again. Locked in a room, so hung up on you, and you're cool with just being friends."

"Oh, come on!" Arnold shouted and lifted his arm. "Left on the sidelines. Stuck - " the song stopped immediately, when he swiped his arm across it and it landed on the floor, breaking. He started panting in pain.

Damn… Fuck! This cannot be happening. This can NOT be happening. Arnold begged in his mind and fell to his knees. Wake up… Please, wake up…

When he heard a static noise, he turned around to look at the radio. "B-But if you got-go-gotta go, then you gotta know that it's kill-i-ing me, and all the things I never seem to sho-o-ow, I gotta make you see-ee."

The lyrics of the song were mixed up with the static noise, but Arnold could still recognize this old song. 'I still love you' by Kiss. With a sigh, he crawled over to the radio. "It hurts so mu-u-ch inside. You're telling me goodbye-bye. You wanna be free and know-know-knowing that you're gone and leaving me behind-hind. I gotta make you see - "

Arnold started trying to collect his radio again. It hadn't been broken completely and could easily be fixed. When it was, he listened to the final words. "I still love you. I still love you. I really, I really love you. I still love you…"

Arnold felt like he'd made a disservice to himself by fixing the radio. He was about to break the damn thing again, when someone knocked on his door. "It's me, short man. Can I come in?" Phil asked on the other side and opened the door.

"You're already in though." Arnold observed sullenly and put his radio down. "Oh!" Phil said and turned around to see the closed door behind him. "Well, what do ya' know. I really am." He observed with a big grin and went to sit on Arnold's couch.

Arnold himself kept sitting on the floor with his legs bend beneath his arms. "So… what happened today, Arnold, since you have gotten the crazy idea that Helga's stopped loving you?" Phil asked with a worried expression.

Arnold sighed. "I overheard her talking with Aaron and… she said, she didn't want to tell me about her feelings for him."

"Did she say those exact words?"

"More or less."

"I'm guessing less."

"Well, Aaron told her that if she wanted to keep this' – whatever this is – a secret or not, he didn't really care. She's the one insisting on sneaking around behind my back apparently. Then she started yelling about how, of course she wanted to keep it a secret to me, because I'd freak if I knew. Then he asked her how her being in love would be such a shock to me. She answered:' because I'm Helga Pataki', and that having to go shopping with him – which she hates – to buy a dress for a party – whose host she hates – is better than telling me about her feelings. Done."

Arnold dared to glance up at his grandpa, who was just sitting there, trying to comprehend everything he was just told. He started scratching his head thoughtfully. "So… Helga's hiding her feelings from you?"

"Yes! Can you believe that? One thing is that… is that of course I don't want hear about her being in love with another boy, but… b-but it also hurts to know that she trust me so little. Thinking I'll freak if I found it she was capable of being in love."

"Hmm… did she ever say that she was in love with Aaron?"

"Huh? Uh, well, no, not technically, but it was pretty - "

"Well then, there you go! You misunderstood what she was saying. Problem solved." Phil declared and stood up. "No! Problem not solved, grandpa!" Arnold disagreed. "Dang." Phil mumbled and started to walk towards him as he kept ranting. "How can you be so sure?! Why else would she hide her feelings from me?"

"Why are you hiding your feelings from her?" Phil asked and sat down again, this time behind Arnold on his bed though. Arnold turned to face him and frowned. "Because she's Helga, that's why!"

"And you're Arnold! Now, that we've established your names, then would you mind answering the question?"

"Because… I don't want to risk losing what we have now, if she doesn't feel the same."

"Ever wondered if Helga's fear is the same, short man?" Phil asked. Arnold's eyes went wide for two seconds. "Well… I-I guess that would make sense, but… but then what's Aaron's part in all of this?!"

"How am I supposed to know? I'm just an old coot, but a guess would be that he knows about her feelings for you."

"Huh!?" Arnold exclaimed. "She would rather tell my cousin than me? No way! She keeps her feelings locked up in that big… gol-golden heart of hers. There's no way she'd just throw it out at a stranger like that."

"Any chance he figured it out himself?"

"How is that possible?"

"Aaron is a bright kid, Arnold. You are too, but you're also dense."

"Gee, thanks."

"Don't kill the messenger! I'd say that Helga being in love with you is as obvious as the sky is blue, and just because you refuse to realize that, that doesn't mean Aaron wouldn't. If not, he could also have found out by accident."

"Accident?"

"People overhear stuff. That might be what happened."

"Then… Then wouldn't he tell me?"

"Maybe he promised to not tell anyone, or maybe he won't spill someone else's secret. Geez, Arnold, you were such a saint as a child. Now, you're all grown up! Expecting people to play tattletale about the girl you love. It's those bad instincts again!"

Arnold laid his chin upon his knees. "I have to blame puberty for that." he mumbled. "Atta boy!" Phil said and smacked his grandson on the back. "Also a part of growing up: Blaming your problems on others."

Arnold coughed a little and twisted his arm around to rub the spot. "You know, for an almost 90 year old man, then you still hit pretty hard…"

"Uh-bup-bup! What did I tell you about mentioning my age?" Phil asked with a pointed finger and one eye closed. Arnold smirked a bit. "Probably: Don't eat raspberries?" he suggested, and as if on cue, Phil's stomach began to rumble. "Ow, my stomach!" he whined and went out of the room.

Arnold chuckled a bit, before Phil stuck his head back into the room. "But the only way you'll really know anything about what Helga thinks and feels… is to talk to her! Tell her your feelings, short man; she just might feel the same!"

With those words left in his wake, he closed the door behind him. Arnold sighed as he could hear the footsteps of his grandpa running down to the toilet. "Easy for you to say…" he mumbled. "It's not like you've ever had to deal with a Helga…"

Arnold's eyes went wide with realization. "Wait a minute. Yes, you have!" He proclaimed and stood up. "Grandpa!" he called and went out of the room. He ran down the stairs as he kept calling for Phil.

When Arnold reached the bathroom, he was about to knock on the door, when a flyswatter beat him to it. He yelped and went back a few steps, only to see his grandma with her usual safari hat on. "Oh, it's just you, grandma. Uh, I mean Bwana."

Arnold's grandma just hushed him though. "I almost have my prey, Kimba. I need to go…" she stopped to aim at the fly in front of her. "for the…" then she lifted her arm. "kill!" she yelled and tried to swat it, but it flew away from her unharmed.

"Good luck with that, Bwana. I just need to talk with… Hey, wait!" Arnold said when he remembered his purpose of coming down to begin with. "Can I talk to you for a second?"

"Of course, Kimba, we should always let the prey feel safe before killing it anyhow." Gertie answered and pulled off her safari hat. "So, what did you want to talk about, dear?"

"Well… did you and grandpa know each other, when you were kids?"

"Oh… yes, yes. We were at the same school. Same class really."

"Yeah? What… was your relationship like?"

"Oh, uh…" Gertie started and then looked embarrassed for a second. An emotion Arnold had never seen on his grandma. "We weren't very good friends actually. I teased him quite a lot."

"Y-Yeah? And… why did you do that?" Arnold asked with a mix of hope and nervousness in his voice. "Hmm, why did I do that…?" Gertie wondered aloud and closed her eyes to think. "Oh!" she exclaimed and snapped her fingers. "That's right! I was in love with him. That was it, yeah."

Arnold could feel his heart start to beat at a ridiculous pace. "Then… why did you bully him, grandma? Why didn't you just tell him that you liked him or just be nice to him?"

"Well, I was quite shy back then. I also already had this rumor of being kinda tough. Being in love didn't really match that image, but even so I couldn't leave him alone, so I figured bad attention was better than nothing at all. Besides, what fun would it be if I made it easy for him?" Gertie asked with a big grin and giggled. "Gotta keep him on his toes!"

Arnold smile picked up particularly at one side of his face. "Huh… I guess that's one way of looking at it." He mumbled, feeling the sadness slowly melt away. "Of course it is, Arnold! What fun would life be without some schemes here and there? And let's admit it:" Gertie said and bend forward. "Your grandfather can get a bit grumpy from time to time. So a little fun will keep him more cheerful."

Arnold just kept smiling and nodded. "I guess life would've been a lot more boring without Helga around…" he mumbled to himself and felt a slight blush across his cheeks. "Thanks, grandma." He said, hugged her tightly for a second and then went on his merry way.

"Oh, and, dear?" Gertie said. Arnold turned around, still with his smile glued on his face. "When you and Eleanor get married, then expect your bachelor party to be full of surprises. I think she and I can make it quite fun." She said with a mischievous smile and walked into a room.

"Huh?" Arnold said, his smile disappearing. "How in the… Grandma! How did you know that - " He was interrupted by the manically laughter of Gertie though, and he just gave up with a shook of his head.

As Arnold descended the stairs, his thoughts were flowing around in his head. If Helga and I are anything like grandma and grandpa… That would mean we would wind up dating someday. A-And not just dating… Getting married, having children, grandchildren…

Arnold shook his head and then clapped himself repeatedly on his cheeks. "L-Let's take it one step at the time, ok?" he begged himself. He nodded and continued his way down the stairs. "Dating would be a huge step in the right direction to begin with. A very welcome step."

When Arnold got into the dining room, his mother, father and cousin were sitting together. "Oh! Hi, Arnold." Stella greeted with an unsure smile. Aaron turned around. "Hey, cuz. Want some ice cream?" he asked and gestured to the box of different types of ice lollies.

Arnold bent forward to browse the ice cream before him. His eyes naturally fell on a blue and pink striped ice-lolly and he grabbed it with a smile. While he unwrapped it, he didn't notice the obvious satisfied smirk of Aaron. Well, didn't take him long to bounce back. I wonder if he's realized already?

"Sweetheart?" Stella asked. Arnold turned to look at her with his mouth wrapped around the tip of his ice cream. She made a smooth hand gesture, begging him to come closer. He bent down and let his ear close to her mouth. "Is… everything alright?"

Arnold gave a big smile and nodded with hesitation. "Yeah, I'm pretty sure it is. At least right now I'd like to believe that I don't have anything to worry about. I can believe on the bright side of this." He answered and turned to Aaron. "Want to come upstairs and play some games?"

Aaron looked surprise for a second, but then smiled. "Sure, cuz." He answered and stood up. "Thanks for the ice cream, Stella and Miles. We'll see you at dinner."

As Arnold and Aaron went out into the hallway, Stella and Miles turned to look at each other. "Well… we were worried for nothing." They declared as in a choir, and then started laughing.

Author's 2nd note: Ok, first things first: The songs.

Meredith Brooks – "Bitch"

Bruno Mars – "When I was your man"

Hot Chelle Rae and Demi Lovato – "Why don't you love me?"

Kiss – "I still love you"

Now that the crediting is out of the picture: As Arnold says in the end, he still doesn't really know what to do about this reawaken uncertainty of the whole thing between Aaron and Helga, so don't start believing he's done feeling a bit miserable. He's just happy about the current turn of events and decided not to dwell upon it for the moment. What good would that do after all? xD