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": Arnold declared war against his own cousin, when he decided that it was time to step it up a notch: He would never give up on Helga. Thanks to his quick thinking, he managed to sneak himself, Gerald and Phoebe in on Aaron's and Helga's shopping spree this very afternoon.

When Arnold and Helga walked into the classroom, hand in hand, Gerald pulled him outside to ask what was going on. After a long awaited talk, Arnold finally admitted his love for Helga to Gerald who took it surprisingly well. He even promised Arnold to help him win her heart.

Author's 1st note: How typical: My favorite number ends up being the number of the chapter, when the first blackmail mission starts: The shopping spree. Isn't the Universe just hilarious? xD Can't even begin to describe how much I've been looking forward to this part of the story. So much lovely rivalry between Aaron and Arnold and so much lovely awkwardness between those two and Helga here. Enjoy! :3

Chapter 11: "You are one cunning girl"

By the time the school day was over, Gerald had been informed of every single thing Arnold thought could come in handy this day. "Just leave it to me, buddy, I'll be your wingman, and I'll be cockblocking Aaron so bad!" Gerald whispered into Arnold's ear as the gang was on their way to Nancy Spumoni's.

Arnold wrinkled his nose a bit. "Thanks for the 'cockblocking' comment, Gerald, now I feel really secure." He mumbled in a whisper. "What are you talking about?" Gerald asked. Arnold creeped a little closer to keep his voice low. "It's not like I measure up to him in that area!"

"Huh!?" Gerald exclaimed a little too loudly, gaining the attention of both Phoebe, Helga and Aaron who was walking in front of them. "You guys ok?" Aaron asked with a cocked eyebrow. "Yeah, yeah, we just, uh… saw a pigeon." Gerald explained weakly.

"A pigeon? Why would you freak out over pigeon?" Helga asked with her eyebrows raised. "Because…" Arnold started and looked around as if the tiles beneath him would spell out the answer for him. "Because I was sure it looked like one of Pigeon Man's pigeons."

"How can you recognize a pigeon?" Phoebe asked. "When you own pigeons yourself, you can." Arnold explained with confidence in his voice. That was after all true. He could recognize his own, though the chance of recognizing all of Pigeon Man's pigeons was rather slim.

Helga stared at them in disbelief for a second before shaking her head. "Weirdos." She mumbled and turned to look at Phoebe again. "Anyways, as I was saying, Phoebs- "

"Nice save." Arnold whispered with an edgy sarcasm in his voice. "Hey, it went just fine, didn't it? Besides, your sudden talk about 'measuring up' caught me off guard! What the hell was that about anyway?" Gerald asked.

"Well, come on, Gerald, Aaron's half African!" Arnold whispered. Gerald straightened his back and cocked both his eyebrows. "Something you trying to tell me, my brother from another mother?"

With that question Arnold was reminded the color of his best friend's skin. "Oh, come on, it's not like I mean anything by it, but I've seen you when we shower after gym. Let's face it, if we tried to compare ourselves to each other, who do you think would win?"

Gerald frowned, and Arnold couldn't help feeling a little proud: It didn't happen very often that he could make Gerald feel embarrassed of all people. Usually Arnold was the one to feel embarrassed.

"You're in a mighty good mood, aren't you, Arnold?" Gerald asked sarcastically and sighed. "Where the heck did this talk come from?"

"Hey, you started with the whole 'cockblocking' thing!"

"You're the one who twisted it into something perverted!"

"How is the word 'cockblocking' not perverted to begin with?" Arnold asked in a form of self-defense. Gerald punched his upper arm lightly. "You know what I meant."

"… Yeah, I do. Sorry, sorry. My thoughts have really been in the gutter lately."

"Lately?"

"My hormones' been running wild…" Arnold admitted, feeling the familiar embarrassment creep up through his spine and into the back of his head. Gerald glanced towards Helga. "And I suspect she's the source of it?"

Arnold nodded as he was also looking at Helga. "It's gotten really bad ever since the food fight."

"Since the… Oh! Yeah, I get why. Landing on top of her like that, and don't think I didn't notice you slipping your mouth between her boobs!"

"That was an accident, I swear!"

"Yeah, yeah, tell your subconscious desires that."

"Well… it's not like I'm complaining but… that's not really the only reason."

"What else is there?"

"We went into the bathroom to clean up, remember?"

"Oh, man, I can't wait to see where this is going."

"Long story short… I kinda saw her in her bra."

"What!?"

"Her pink… bra with… black laces." Arnold described and felt the image roll around in his head. "Careful imagining Helga like that or you'll be having a guy-problem." Gerald whispered into his ear. Arnold immediately shook his head and even slapped his cheeks a couple of times. "I'm fine!" he then declared loudly.

Helga, Phoebe and Aaron turned around again, all of them with equally confused and amused expressions. "Yes, Arnold," Helga said in a calm voice, as if talking to a child or someone mentally disadvantaged. "you are fine, just the way you are." Then her voice went back to her normal tone. "But why did you feel the need to tell us that all of a sudden?"

Before Arnold could think his actions through, he turned to look at Gerald with begging eyes. Gerald frowned and felt like smacking his best friend for the dumb act. Helga started laughing. "What, you have to ask your support teacher first or something?"

Still laughing, Helga turned around again to talk with Phoebe. Gerald smacked the back of Arnold's head yet again that day. "Ow! Why do people keep hitting me?" Arnold asked and started tendering the sore area.

"Because you're an idiot who's dense and doesn't think his actions through before acting!"

"… Seems fair." Arnold decided and let his hand fall to his side again. "By the way," Gerald said and lowered his voice to a whisper. "who took Helga's shirt off exactly?"

"H-Her! She did! Helga did it herself!" Arnold said in a small panicky voice. Gerald laughed a little. "Figures, but I wanted to make sure. Bold move from Helga G. Pataki. So, you thinking it's a good thing?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean do you think that: A, you're so much in the friend zone that she doesn't even care if you see her half-naked, or B, that she - in her own way - wanted you to see her like that?"

"Well, obviously I'm hoping for the latter. No matter which, she was doing it on purpose."

"… Yeah, because, you know, people usually take off their shirts by accident!"

"Not what I meant! I mean, she knew exactly how I felt during the whole thing! She was doing it to tease me."

"… Hmm… that could just be Pataki being Pataki." Gerald mumbled pensively with his eyes closed. Arnold sighed at that reminder. "Yeah, she's been really good at hitting the right buttons when it comes to me. Why would the teenage years be any different?"

"Ok, that's it!" Helga announced all of a sudden, looking at Aaron who was smirking at her. "I don't wanna listen to your talk about finding some short and tight dress anymore." She stopped in the middle of the street, forcing Arnold and Gerald to walk to each side, trying not to ram into her. "I'm walking with these two now, at least their conversation seems to make Arnold react funny."

Helga started walking in-between the two boys, much to Arnold's happiness – it did mean he could avoid any unnecessarily embarrassing conversations with Gerald for the time being – while Gerald got an obvious wingman idea.

"Nice timing, Helga, I feel like talking to my girl right now anyways, so you guys are on your own." Gerald flashed Arnold a quick and secret wink, before picking up his pace to walk between Aaron and Phoebe. He wrapped his arm over Phoebe's shoulder, which made her giggle.

"God, she's a sucker for that boy." Helga observed with a crooked smile. "And he's a sucker for her." Arnold added with a just as crooked smile.

"They're both suckers."

"Yeah, but they're our suckers."

"Can't argue with that, head boy. So, what are you going to be looking after at Nancy Spumoni's?"

"I'm not really sure. My parents insisted that I bought a new tuxedo or whatever I felt like. The old one is getting a little small, so I guess I'll buy whatever I come across."

"I like a boy who knows what he wants." Helga said with a sarcastic dreamy voice. Arnold rolled his eyes. "Well, what are you going to be looking for?"

"A dress, obviously!"

"What kind of dress? Short, long? Frilly, smooth? Long sleeves, sleeveless?" Arnold asked, knowing very well Helga hadn't given a single thought to such things. As he expected, she just shrugged while pursing her lips. Damn, I really haven't thought this through. She mumbled inside her head.

"I like a girl who knows what she wants." Arnold said with a just as sarcastic voice as Helga before and batted his eyelashes at her. She pushed him away from her playfully. "Ugh, fine, you win: I'm just as indecisive as you. Happy?"

"Yes. Wanna know why?"

"I guess." Helga answered with a confused smile. Arnold lifted his arm casually and laid it over her shoulders. "Because then we can be indecisive together." He answered with an honest smile, but couldn't help the teasing glint in his eyes.

Helga felt a serious blush try to creep out on her cheeks. She managed to keep her beating heart in check and just chuckled a bit. "Oh, great, as if that's not a recipe for disaster. We'll be in that damn shop forever."

"We'll be there together forever."

"Yeah, yeah, you love me, Arnold, I got it already. Sheesh!" Helga said with sheer sarcasm in her voice, but just saying those words made her heart beat faster than the pace of her feet on the concrete.

Arnold's eyes went a little big at that joke. This could be the perfect segue. He gulped a little before opening his mouth. "A-Actually, Helga, that's not entirely- "

"There it is!" Phoebe exclaimed cheerfully and pointed ahead. "Oh, my gosh! Come on, Helga!" She reached out to grab Helga's hand and pulled her away from Arnold's arm, not realizing he even had it around her. As the girls ran away, Arnold felt like taking out his anger at Gerald and therefore smacked his back a little too hard.

"Ow! What gives, man?!" Gerald asked and turned around. Arnold leaned close to him to whisper into his ear. "Your girlfriend just cockblocked me!"

"What?! No way!"

"Yes way! I was just about to confess, when she decided to squeal like Rhonda whenever she sees a new fur coat! It was the perfect moment too!"

"Man, I'm sorry." Gerald said and gently patted Arnold's back. He sighed. "It seems to be happening a lot lately. I tried not just once, but three times after the food fight. Every single moment was interrupted by either Aaron, the janitor or Mrs. Smith!"

"… You officially have the most rotten luck when it comes to the ladies, Arnold."

"That's what I'm afraid of, Gerald, but with Helga it's different. I can't lose her the same way with every other girl I happened to crush on in the past. It's simply not an option. You gotta help me. I obviously can't do this alone."

"Of course. I'm with you all the way."

"Except if your girlfriend is nearby?"

"A minor slip-up. Could've happened to anyone."

"Uh-huh, but it had to happen to my wingman."

"Have you guys forgotten that I'm here?"

Gerald and Arnold immediately turned around to look at Aaron who was looking at them with an amused smile. "How long have you been standing there?!" Gerald asked with big eyes. "For as long as the girls went away." Aaron answered. "Did you see me running off with them? No? Then maybe that's why I'm still here."

"Listen here, you arrogant, cocky - "

"Gerald!" Arnold stopped Gerald with a slap on the shoulder before he could start a serious rant. It was their own fault anyway. Aaron hadn't done anything wrong. Except trying to go after Helga, but that wasn't something anyone could control.

"Ok, Aaron, please listen." Arnold said and turned to look at Aaron who was currently putting his hands into his pockets. "Yes?" he asked.

"… We have a problem."

"What's that?"

"I'm in love with Helga, and you're… making your move on her, though I don't really know why." Arnold admitted. It was true: He didn't know if Aaron had feelings for her or if he just wanted her for other reasons. The mere thought of Helga being thought of as a sex object made Arnold cringe on the inside.

Aaron smirked and crossed his arms. "Do I have to explain everything to you?"

"No, you don't, I also don't really care how you want Helga, but let me tell you this: If you end up hurting her in any way… my cousin or not: I will hurt you in return."

Aaron started chuckling. "Oh, look who finally has a set of balls. Congratulations, Arnold," he said and smirked maliciously. "I guess I can take this is a declaration of war?"

Arnold straightened his back. "Yes." He answered with such a serious tone that one would think, he was ready to kill to win this particular war. "Then it's on, but let me warn you, Arnold, I'm not scared of using dirty tricks." Aaron warned.

"Neither are we." Gerald said and wrapped his arm over Arnold's shoulder. Aaron lifted his eyebrows. "Oh? So it's two against one. Clever, Arnold." He said and started to walk towards the shop. "I guess the first dirty trick is yours."

Arnold frowned and looked at Gerald, who frowned back. "Arnold, don't fall for that trick. He's trying to give you guilty conscience. Of course you have me on your side! If this was New York, he'd have his friends on his side!"

"M-Maybe, but… in a way he's right. This is my fight, not yours." Arnold said with a forlorn expression and sighed. He snuck his shoulders out of Gerald's arm and looked at him with a smug smile. "But you are here with your girlfriend, aren't you? Who's to say you wouldn't want to spend as much time with her as possible, leaving her almost no chance to hang all over Helga?"

Gerald gave an equally smug smile back. "You know what, Arnold? Falling in love with Helga has made you quite good at schemes." He said and lifted a fist. Arnold bumped his fist and together they made their old handshake, as they had done since preschool.

"No way!"

Gerald and Arnold looked towards the familiar voice and saw Helga storming out of the shop. She was stomping towards them, as Phoebe tried to grab her hand. "Helga, come on, it's just part of the procedure."

"Hell no! That's way too private! I am not doing that!"

"What's going on?" Aaron asked as he walked away from the shop. He'd been about to walk through the door, when Helga walked out. She was already standing in front of Arnold and Gerald, when she turned around to look at Aaron with Phoebe holding her wrist. "That creepy guy in there pulled out a tape measure and wanted to measure almost every part of my body!"

"Helga, this is a high-class shop. If the dress doesn't look perfect on you, their customers will think they don't know what they're doing. Which means if the dress you want need alterations, they will do it with or without your consent."

"Exactly! In every other clothing store, you can just buy your junk and go home! Why must he know every single one of my body numbers?"

"Why is that so bad?" Gerald asked. Helga turned around with a scowl. "Because it's my body! I don't need random people to know every single detail about it! Besides… it's just too… awkward having a stranger touch me like that. There, I said it. Happy?"

The group was quiet for a second. In a way they all agreed with her. Most people just went on with it anyway, but Helga didn't even want this dress to begin with, so it was hard to think of a way to convince her.

"Well, how about one of us measure you instead?" Aaron suggested with a seemingly innocent face. Helga frowned. "Are you crazy? I'm gonna be standing in my bra and panties only!" she exclaimed. "Pervert!"

Aaron rolled his eyes. "I was thinking of Phoebe doing it, you pervert." He explained. Damn. He thought despite his own words. Helga glanced towards Phoebe. She started smiling. "Of course, Helga, we can measure each other. That way we'll also be done faster."

Helga sighed heavily and then smiled a bit. "Ok. I guess that's better. Fine, let's do this." She decided and started pulling Phoebe after her. Arnold took a huge step forward and smirked at Aaron. "She was right though, wasn't she?" he asked. "You suggested that, so you could measure her, right?"

"You're smart, Arnold. Unfortunately, so is Helga. This would be so much easier if she was dumb as a stump, but then she wouldn't be Helga, right?"

"Way to go, Aaron, not creepy or perverted at all."

"Oh, let's be honest, Arnold, shall we? As if you wouldn't want to take Helga's measurements if she asked?" Aaron asked with a cocked eyebrow. Arnold felt a familiar heat rise on his cheeks and his lower abdomen at the mere image of Helga standing in front of him with a measure tape between her hands, wearing only her underwear and a smirk. He pushed the image away. "I-It's not about what I want. It's about being a gentleman and treat her with respect. She's not a piece of meat."

"No, she's not, but that doesn't mean we aren't hunters." Aaron pointed out and started walking towards the shop again. "Guy's got a point." Gerald observed and started walking himself. "Not helping, Gerald." Arnold answered and started walking beside him.

When they got closer to the shop, Arnold noticed the sign for the first time. It was written with big, curly, almost calligraphic letters. Looked a lot like the font called 'Edwardian Script' you could choose in a Word document.

"I have a feeling this place is way out of my usual budget." Arnold mumbled under his breath and went into the store after Gerald. "Man! This place is huge!" Gerald exclaimed. Arnold stepped to the side and his jaw dropped to the floor. Huge?! He repeated into his head. This place is bigger than the boarding house!

And indeed, Nancy Spumoni's newest shop in Hillwood was the biggest clothing store in the whole city. With two floors, a male and female department, there was no way no one could not find the perfect dress. The décor of the place was in a way a bit dark. Most furniture around them was made of mahogany tree and padded with red fabric. The walls were red like most of the furniture, but there was a sort of black pattern on it. Mostly consisted of endless lines of branches and leaves, with the occasional bird or butterfly sitting or flying around.

"Whoa." Gerald and Arnold mumbled together and stepped inside. "So, guys, I was thinking that you would go to the male department first, since you'll probably find what you're looking for faster than we will." Phoebe said with her hands clasped together. "Then you can come down here and join us, ok?"

"Sounds like a plan." Gerald stated and went towards the escalators. "You girls gonna be alright?" Arnold asked mostly towards Helga. She rolled her eyes with a smile. "This place may be big, but I don't think we'll got lost, Arnoldo. Don't worry." Her words had been sarcastic but her eyes were playful. Arnold just smiled back and went to join the boys.

As Phoebe had foreseen, the guys were already fully finished after 15 minutes and came to join them downstairs. "Excuse me. Where did the cute Asian girl and the loud blonde one go?" Gerald asked the stylist with a teasing smile in Arnold's direction.

"We're in the fitting rooms, tall hair boy!" The 'loud blonde one' answered from across the store. Gerald shrugged. "In case you didn't know 'till now, she is loud, and she's got ears like a hawk." They boys started walking towards the fitting rooms.

"You guys found everything you needed?" Phoebe asked as she stepped out the fitting room. Gerald had been about to answer, when he glanced towards her and saw the dress she was wearing. "Uh… y-yeah…" he just mumbled with big eyes.

Phoebe was dressed in a knee-long, bright blue dress, with a black belt tied beneath her chest. The dress was strapless and shaped neatly in two waves over each one of her breasts, almost as if creating the upper half of a heart. On the right breast, the fabric was shiny, just like the skirt of the dress, but the left one was decorated with tiny diamonds, creating a certain spark to the dress. As a finishing touch there was a white and blue diamond-shaped brooch stuck on the left side of the belt.

Phoebe gave a shy smile. "Him being quiet means it looks good, right?" she asked a little uncertain. Arnold and Aaron looked at Gerald who just kept staring with wide eyes at his girlfriend. After giving each other an agreeing nod, they turned back to her and answered together: "Definitely buy this one."

Phoebe looked like a small girl at Christmas eve. She felt all giddy inside. "Well, then we just need to see if Helga's finished. Helga?" she called. "Uh… I really hate this dress, Phoebs." Helga answered from inside her fitting room. "Really? That's odd. The dress the stylist gave me looks beautiful." Phoebe said and walked to the other fitting room. "Can I peak?"

"Sure, just don't let the boys see me like this ugly thing." Helga inside from inside the fitting room. Phoebe pulled the curtain to the side just a bit to look. "Oh my!" she said in an amused voice. "Told you so! Get out!" Helga shouted and pushed at her hand.

Phoebe pulled the curtain back and turned around, doing her very best to conceal her laughter. She held one arm around her stomach and a hand on her mouth. "Is it that bad?" Aaron asked with an intrigued smile. Phoebe nodded.

"I look like a freaking cotton candy cupcake!" Helga answered from inside the fitting room. "A cotton candy cupcake?" the boys repeated and looked at each other. "This, I gotta see." Aaron declared and walked towards the fitting room.

At his point, Phoebe had tried so very hard not to break down with laughter that she didn't even notice Aaron walking past her and pulling the curtain a bit to the side. "What are you doing?!" Helga shouted and pulled the curtain right back. "Get out!"

Aaron turned around, biting his lower lip. "Whoops." He mumbled and walked back to the guys. "What?" Gerald asked, finally getting over how beautiful Phoebe looked in her dress. "Uh, she was already in the middle of taking the dress off, so…" Aaron started and stopped next to them. "I only saw the cotton candy part of the cotton candy cupcake dress."

Arnold clenched his fists. "What does that mean?" he asked. Aaron smirked a bit. "She had already pulled the torso part down." He shrugged. "Whoops."

Arnold felt like punching Aaron at this very moment, and Gerald could easily see that. "Calm down, Arnold." He whispered and put his hand on his shoulder. "Calm down?!" Arnold repeated in a low voice. "He did it on purpose!"

"I know, but we can't do anything about that now, can we? We just gotta be more careful with this pervert." Gerald said and let go of Arnold's shoulder. Arnold took a deep breath to calm himself and nodded. I'm watching you now, Aaron, I am not gonna let you take advantage of Helga like that.

When Helga got out of the dressing room, she was dressed in her normal clothes again. She was holding a big, fluffy, frilly, frou-frou dress in her arms though. "Tell the stylist to send this hideous thing back to Candy land where it came from!" she asked Phoebe, who took the dress with a smile. "Sending!" she answered and started walking away.

Arnold and Gerald looked at the dress. Arnold felt like frowning and laughing at the same time. In a way, it would've been fun to see Helga in something like that, if only for the laugh. It looked like something from a Barbie magazine.

"Oh, and, Aaron?" Helga said with a sugar sweet voice. "Yes, baby?" Aaron asked with an equal sugar sweet smile. "I'm going to find the most expensive dress in here as punishment for peeking on me. That's ok, right?" she asked and batted her eyelashes. Before he could answer, she was already walking in the same direction as Phoebe. "Oh, Mr. Stylist!"

Arnold and Gerald turned to look at Aaron. "Why is her buying an expensive dress a punishment to you?" Gerald asked. "I'm paying for whatever dress she finds here." Aaron explained casually. "What?!" both boys shouted in unison.

"Why?" Arnold asked. "Because I asked her to this party, she doesn't have enough money herself, and I believe it's common courtesy to pay for your lady in any way possible." Aaron explained with a charmingly fake smile. Gerald frowned. "Not enough money? But Helga's family is - "

Gerald's mouth was immediately covered by Arnold's hand. Gerald removed it and looked at him in disbelief. "What the heck?" he asked. Arnold didn't answer, but just bend forward with a smug smile and looked at Aaron. "You do realize she's just punishing you for forcing her to this party, right?"

"I know. Helga's cunning. This about peeking was just an excuse, I think she was planning to find something expensive here anyway."

"If you knew that, then why did you offer her to buy her a dress?"

"Because I just want her to find a dress she's happy with and then come to the party with me. Besides, I can afford it." Arnold answered with another smug smirk. Arnold frowned. "Helga's not a girl who's impressed with money or wealth. If you don't know that by now, then you don't know her at all."

"She may not be interested in fancy dresses, elegant dining or sophisticated culture, but there are other things money can buy. Like that trip to Paris she's always wanted." Aaron told while remembering Helga's story about confessing her love for Arnold to Dr. Bliss. She'd screamed about how she wanted to travel the world with Arnold, but mentioned Paris in particular.

"Wait, she… wants to go to Paris?" Arnold asked. Why did she never tell me that? Why does Aaron know and not me? He thought and felt his mood fall more and more. "Yes." Aaron answered as if it was obvious. "You didn't know that?"

Before Arnold could answer, Helga and Phoebe came back from talking to the stylist. Helga was walking rapidly, clutching a bright pink dress closely to her chest. "No peeping!" she warned, went into a fitting room and closed the curtain behind her.

Phoebe snickered at Helga's warning and went to stand with the boys. "She wouldn't even let me see what she found." She admitted with a smile. "Really? So, she likes it, I presume?" Gerald asked. Phoebe nodded. "I think so. She found it herself, asked for the price and then took it."

"It's expensive, I presume?" Aaron asked with a smile. Phoebe shrugged. "It's not the most expensive thing here, but it's pretty close. Though, I don't think that's why she likes it." She answered honestly and turned to look at Arnold. His face still looked a little sullen, but he was doing his best to brighten his mood.

After some minutes, the group began to both worry and got impatient. "Helga, are you alright? Are you done changing?" Phoebe asked. "Uh, y-yes." Helga answered from inside the fitting room. When that was all she did, Phoebe took a couple of steps closer. "Can we see you?"

"Uh… w-well…"

"Does it at least look good?"

"That's what I'm unsure of… Could you come in here, Phoebs?" Helga asked with such shyness in her voice, that the group got worried. Phoebe glanced towards the boys for a second, before walking to the fitting room. She opened the curtain and peeked in. "Whoa!"

The boys had a hard time standing still. The obvious excitement in Phoebe's voice indicated that Helga looked stunning. "Whoa good or whoa bad?" Helga asked. "Whoa extremely good!" Phoebe answered. "Helga, this dress looks perfect on you! Well, except for the chest area."

"Yeah, my boobs are practically falling out." Helga answered with a small laugh, but mostly with annoyance. The boys reacted different ways at that statement. Aaron smirked broadly, Gerald rolled his eyes and Arnold felt that familiar heat in his private area.

"Can we see it already?!" Gerald asked impatiently. "No!" Helga shouted. "I-I mean… You'll see it on Saturday anyway! What's the rush?"

"Oh, come on! You guys can't stand there talking about how gorgeous you look in it, and then not show it to us!" Aaron chimed in. "Fine! We'll stop talking then." Helga said with pride in her voice. The boys groaned in defeat. "Damn, she's clever." Aaron mumbled.

Phoebe closed the curtain and went to join the guys again. "Is it good?" Gerald asked. "It's not good. It's perfect. It looks so beautiful on her. I almost feel bad for you guys that you have to wait 'till Saturday." She answered with a teasing smile.

At those words, Helga walked out of the fitting room, still clutching the dress closely to her, covering it with her arms. "Man, you really don't want us to see that dress, do you?" Gerald asked sulkily. "Not after the alterations, no." Helga answered and clutched the dress closer. "I'm going to go the stylist and talk about the changes."

Helga went to walk over to the stylist and left the rest of the group. "Well, I should change out of this dress too." Phoebe announced and started walking towards the fitting room. "That's almost a shame. You look so beautiful in it." Gerald told her with a big smile. She turned around, still walking backwards and gave a big smile back. She then walked into the fitting room.

"Well, I better go join Helga, since I'm paying for her dress. The alterations will be expensive too, so I gotta know how much money I'm spending on this one date." Aaron said with an evil gleam in his eyes. "I'll see you at home, Arnold."

"Oh, no, you won't. I'm staying here with you and Helga. We can walk her home together." Arnold demanded and crossed his arms. Aaron turned around, still smiling. "Stubborn, aren't we?" he asked and crossed his arms too, narrowing his eyes a bit. "Maybe even more than you." Arnold answered, also narrowing his eyes.

"Hey, Aaron, you gotta pay for the… What's with you two?" Helga asked, when she noticed the odd mood between the two cousins. "Uh…" Gerald started uncertainly. "It's… a boy thing. You wouldn't understand."

Helga turned to look at Gerald with a cocked eyebrow. "Oh, now I'm a girl? Back when we were kids, I was too much of a boy to get invited to a girls' slumber party!" she said in incredulity. "Yeah, well… you are still a girl." Gerald answered with a shrug.

Helga rolled her eyes and turned to look at Aaron again. "The stylist wants to talk to you about the price." She said. "Sure, what is the price?" Aaron asked. Helga smirked. "Why don't you go find out yourself?" she asked. He rolled his eyes and went to talk with the stylist.

Helga giggled evilly. "Just wait 'till he finds out about the price." She whispered to Arnold and bit her lower lip in anticipation. They couldn't hear what they were talking about, but it was obvious when Aaron was told the price. He turned around to look at Helga in a mix of disbelief and wonder. "Boy, you meant it when you said you'd find the most expensive one!" he observed and turned around to the stylist again.

Helga giggled in such a malicious way, Arnold and Gerald had to glance a little uneasily at her. "How expensive is it really?" Arnold asked. She smirked as she stopped her giggles, though it was hard. She held up her hand and showed five fingers. His eyes went wide. "Five thousand?"

"Five digits." She corrected with a huge smile. "Helga!" he exclaimed. Gerald's mouth was just formed into a big O, as Arnold had to hold his mouth not to scream at the huge number. He couldn't help but both feel a bit bad for his cousin, but he also couldn't help feeling a little gleeful. "That's not ok. That's way too much."

"Hey! I warned him, and I wanted to punish him. It's him who wants me at this stupid party and offered to buy me the dress anyway. I might as well have a little fun with it, right?" Helga asked and crossed her arms with a smirk.

Arnold shook his head in amusement. "Helga, you are one cunning girl." He stated with a tint of impressiveness in his voice. She turned to poke his nose. "And don't you forget it." She said as if to warn him about the future. And he just smiled at that.

Author's 2nd note: I was planning on showing you guys the dresses I used for reference to Phoebe and Helga's dresses, but FanFiction doesn't allow links, so... I guess if you really want to see them, then go to my profile here on fanfiction, then choose to go to my youtube channel or deviantart account and write me a message there, telling me you want to see the dresses, then I'll sent the links xD