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": Helga got hit by one of her more extreme panic attacks, when Aaron forced her to deliver one of her poems to Arnold. She didn't write her name on it, but the chances of him figuring it out were too high for her to handle. That's why she reversed right back to the only self-defense technique she knew: Anger.

Feeling hurt by Helga's words about not being worth a love poem, Arnold threw the poem down in the trash. She blamed herself, but also felt horrible knowing that the poem didn't mean enough for him to fight for it.

Aaron felt like bumping both Helga and Arnold's heads together when he heard how his blackmailing mission had turned out. No matter how much fun he'd figured he'd have with blackmailing her, he'd never meant for it to turn out like this. That was also why he went after her, after hearing Arnold's version of the story.

Author's 1st note: Now, ain't this a surprise? Two chapters in one day xD Usually, if I finish a chapter this early, I don't upload it until next day… I kinda feel like if I do that, then it wouldn't be as… uh… "steady"? Sorry, can't think of a proper word, anyone got any ideas? xD Anyways, finished this early, decided to upload it (figured people wouldn't mind that – but don't get used to it! xD) Warning! Drama develops! OwO

Since I uploaded two in one day, then please don't expect chapter 23 until Thursday. That one's taking slightly longer :3

Chapter 22: "I am so disappointed in you"

"Helga!" Aaron yelled. "Hey," he said and put a hand on a random student's shoulder. "have you seen Helga Pataki? Blonde girl with pigtails?" he asked. "I know who Helga is, everyone does. She ran through the hallway, pushing everyone who stood in her way." The student answered and walked off.

Aaron ran through the hallway and looked around. He finally found Helga on her way into the girls' bathroom. "Helga!" he yelled, just before she got in. She stopped dead in her tracks and turned to look at him. She scowled. "I do not want to talk to you!"

"Well, I want to talk with you!" Aaron answered and walked towards Helga. "Too bad!" she answered and went inside the girls' bathroom. "Like Hell if that'll stop me." He muttered and walked inside. She whipped her entire body around in shock. "Are you insane?! Get the fuck out!"

"Not until you agree to talk with me. Arnold just told me his side of the story. Are you a moron? Talking about your own poem like that! How about giving the guy a chance to figure out it was you first?"

"I don't want him to figure out it was me! Now, get the Hell out of her!" Helga shouted and pushed Aaron roughly. When he was out, she closed the door and held the doorknob tight in her hands. "Helga!" he yelled and tried forcing the door open, but he figured she was even using her foot to hold it closed. "When you're done in there, then can we please talk? Seriously."

"… Go away." Helga answered and let go off the door. For a second, she was sure Aaron would just barge in again, but he didn't. "If you won't talk to me voluntarily, then I have no choice but to force you." He said in a voice that indicated, that he wasn't proud of it.

Helga swung the door open with a bang. "You've got a lot of nerve to use blackmail now." She said with a low growl. "Yeah, and I'm not proud of it, but I need you to listen to me." Aaron answered. "Fine. Talk." She said. "Uh… f-finish your business first. I'll just wait." He suggested and started leaning on the wall next to them.

"I don't have any business to take care of! I went in there to get the Hell away from everyone, so I wouldn't bitch slap the entire school," Helga answered and slammed the door roughly behind her. "so be careful what you say!"

Aaron gulped a bit and then took a deep breath. "Ok, first of all… I… did not think that Arnold wouldn't realize that poem was written by you. I didn't think he was that dense, but then I realized that you didn't sign it! Why the Hell not?"

"Why not?! I didn't want Arnold to know, that's why not, you fucking idiot!"

"Why? Why are you this scared? I don't understand!"

"Because… Because that's none of your business!"

"Tell me!"

"Hell no!"

"Helga…" Aaron said with a voice and a look, which Helga already knew far too well. Her eyes narrowed and she gritted her teeth. "You are such a low human being." She growled. "Takes one to know one, Helga. Now, tell me why you are so scared?"

Helga's breath was hitching and she was looking around, almost as if she didn't know the answer herself. She pulled a hand through her hair, wiping a few strands away from her face. Aaron kept looking at her, while she seemed to be gasping for air. Then she finally spoke, or rather she shouted. "Because I don't deserve him!"

Helga's answer caught Aaron by surprise, and his eyes went wide. Her breath seemed to slowly calm down and she sighed a bit, making sure not to look at him. "Can we talk somewhere else?" she asked and sniffed a bit. "Sure." He answered, grabbed Helga's shoulder and started walking with her.

Not too long after, Helga and Aaron stopped at the end of the hallway, knowing that no one would be using the classroom next to them. "Ok… please enlighten me. You say you don't deserve him?" Aaron asked. Helga nodded without looking at him. She was staring at the tiles beneath her.

Aaron sighed. "I'm guessing that you're saying that… because you haven't been the nicest girl to him through the years?"

"Nice detective work, bucko. Can I go now?"

"No. We're gonna talk until the bell rings."

"Oh, brother. Look, why do you even care?"

"That doesn't matter right now! Ok, so, you're no saint. Big deal."

"No saint? That's a huge understatement."

"Maybe, but that doesn't change the fact that you're not that girl anymore. I've seen you around him. You're sweet, funny, honest - "

"I'm not honest… I lie to him all the time. I hide myself from everyone around me, even the most trustworthy boy in the whole world, the boy I'm in love with. I snapped, when he started talking about that poem… It wasn't even a new one, but it still felt like I gave him a piece of my heart, and he… threw it away."

"Because you told him to. Why did you do that?"

Helga shrugged. "I'm not sure… Phoebe says I tend to ruin things for myself."

"Sounds about right. Did Arnold seem unhappy with the poem or anything?"

"… I didn't notice."

"Then why did you - "

"Look! I…" Helga stopped herself and sighed, finally looking up at Aaron. His eyes went wide. Her blue eyes were moist and were sparkling with the tears pressing on. "I don't know why I talked like that… Phoebe says I tend to involuntarily ruin things for myself, so… m-maybe my subconscious wanted to test Arnold or something. I don't know! I… I just know that… if there was any part of Arnold who hoped or believed that the poem was from me… then him throwing it out was a pretty clear answer… Happy?"

Not one bit. Aaron answered inside his head and sighed. "So, what, you're just gonna give up because of one minor setback?" he asked. Helga whipped her head around in shock. "One minor setback? You have any idea what kind of courage it takes for a normal girl to give her heart away like that? Imagine how I must feel!"

"You still don't know how he feels!"

"I do know! I've always known… Arnold cares for me, like Phoebe cares for me. He feels bad for me, he insists that he sees something in me that no one else does, but if that's true, then how come he hasn't realized the most obvious thing in me?"

"He's… He's dense." Aaron answered, honestly trying to help. Helga banged her head up against the locker behind her and shut her eyes tight to stop the tears threatening to run down her cheeks. "There's dense, and there's denial. Arnold doesn't want me to love him. He never has…"

"How do you know that?"

"… There's one story, I never told you back at Mighty Pete."

"… And what's that?"

"To… To make a long story short… I actually did once tell Arnold, that I loved him." Helga admitted and chuckled at the bittersweet memory. Aaron's eyes went wide. "You did? But… then how come you didn't - "

"He… looked so freaked out. Almost scared of me… He didn't know how to act around me, what to say, what to do… Then he asked if I… really meant it? Or rather… 'You didn't really mean all that, did you? You don't really love me, right?' Those words hurt so much, because it just made me realize that he had never thought about me that way at all… You know… when he suggested that it all was just in the heat of the moment… I was so sure that he did it to help me, and that made me feel a little happy…" Helga said with a tense smile.

Aaron felt his heart twinge a little at seeing Helga being so melancholic. She chuckled with a slight gasp. "But as I got older… I realized he wasn't helping me… He was helping himself. It was the perfect way to get out of having to hurt me, because that's something Arnold can't do… I'm not even sure if he believed me for even a second, or if he wished so desperately that I didn't feel that way about him…"

Helga leaned forward and gasped for air. Aaron heard her breath hitch in her throat a couple of times, before it went permanently unsteady. He just kept looking at her, while she straightened her back a little, her head still tilted forwards, hiding her face behind her lose pigtails.

"You sure I shouldn't talk to her now?" Arnold asked Gerald nervously, while they walked through the hallway. "I'm sure. Give her some time to think, to calm down and then talk to her." Gerald answered, secretly praying that Phoebe could find Helga already and talk with her, before Arnold lost his mind.

"I just don't like it. I want to set things straight as fast as possible."

"You won't be able to set things straight, if you do it while she's angry."

"You say that, but - " Arnold stopped walking, when he noticed something odd to his right side. He and Gerald had been just about to pass a crossing hallway where no students were supposed to be, since the only classroom at that end was Biology and it was closed off at the moment. Some kid had managed to wreck it completely.

Yet Arnold saw movement at the far end of it, and when he narrowed his eyes a bit, he recognized a certain blonde girl with a certain mulatto guy. "Hey… is that Aaron and Helga?" he asked, hoping it was his own eyes playing tricks on him. "Hmm?" Gerald mumbled and looked in the same direction. "Uh… yeah, that looks like them."

"… What could they be talking about?" Arnold asked nervously, making sure to keep his eyes at Helga and Aaron's every movement. "He's… He's probably just bothering her, you know? Trying to take advantage of the fact that she's pissed at you." Gerald answered, but feeling rather unsure, given the fact that Aaron was just looking at Helga, while she looked at the ground.

Arnold frowned. He didn't like it. He was too far away to see their facial expressions and if they were talking or not. "Come on, Arnold, let's go." Gerald said and tried pulling at Arnold. He followed him for a few steps, until he saw Aaron lifting his hand.

Arnold stopped at the corner immediately and stepped to the side, so only part of his head was visible. "Come on, Arnold, this is ridiculous." Gerald tried, starting to feel that if Arnold stayed here, he would see something uncomfortable.

Arnold watched, as Aaron slowly lifted his hand. He hesitated. Badly. What am I… doing? He wondered in his head, as he felt his hand land gently on top of Helga's head. At first, she didn't react, except for simply standing completely still. Then she turned her head just a bit to gawk at him. "Wha… What is with this awkward pat on the head?"

"I… I'm not… sure." Aaron answered, as he patted Helga's head just a bit. He caressed her head, as if she was a cat. She kept gaping at him, not moving an inch. What the heck is going on…? This is the first time anyone has ever patted my head. What a weird thing to do. Is he trying to comfort me or… something? Wait. Seriously, is he?

Arnold felt his heart break a little. "Why isn't she pushing his hand away?" he asked, as if Gerald was in any state of answering. He was in more shock than Arnold was, because Arnold felt more sadness than surprise. What the Hell, Pataki! What are you doing? I thought you hated Aaron's guts!

Then Helga did something, which surprised all three boys: She chuckled, and she kept chuckling. Aaron kept his hand on her head as he ogled at her. "What the Hell! What kinda person tries to comfort someone by patting their head?" she asked, loudly enough for Arnold and Gerald to hear.

Helga's chuckle erupted into laughter, and Aaron was forced to let go off her head, because she was bending forward while holding her stomach with laughter. He felt himself blush a little bit and started scratching the back of his head. "Well, it worked, didn't it?" he asked embarrassed.

Helga straightened her back, as she kept laughing. She nodded. "Yeah, it did. That's probably weirdest thing I have ever experienced. What the Hell!" she answered with a shriek and kept laughing.

Aaron glanced at Helga, still feeling rather embarrassed at his odd reaction to her sadness. Comfort her…? Was that what I was trying to do…? He wondered, before he snickered a bit. She heard it and turned to look at him, still chuckling a bit herself. When he started chuckling though, she erupted into laughter again. This time laughing with him.

Arnold shut his eyes tight and ran down the hallway. "Arnold!" Gerald called and was about to run after him, but then stopped to think. Should I stay so I can tell him, what Helga and Aaron will talk about after this…? He wondered, but quickly threw that thought away, when he noticed Arnold falling next to a locker. Shit! He thought before running towards him.

When Helga finally felt like she could talk, without having to stutter all the way through it, she let the back of her head rest against the locker behind her. She glanced at Aaron with a small smile. "Thank you." She said in a low voice.

Aaron felt his heart stop for a second, but then just smiled back at Helga. "You're welcome. Glad I could help, since this is technically my fault." He answered. She cocked an eyebrow. "Technically?" she repeated.

"Fine. It's entirely my fault. You being too damn scared about admitting your feelings to him had nothing to do with it." Aaron corrected and gave her a skeptical look. Helga looked away with a small frown, looked back at him and sighed. "Touché."

"So… does Helga Pataki have a plan?"

"… She's… thinking. For now, it might be a pretty valid guess to say she'll just leave Arnold alone."

"So she's being a coward?"

"She's being realistic."

"Helga - "

"No." Helga interrupted and removed herself from the locker. "I need time to think… Besides, why do you care this much anyway?" she asked. "Hey, I'm not the Devil himself. I am capable of feeling sorry for someone." He answered. She gave a dramatic gasp and held her hand to her heart. "You are? Sure fooled me!" she answered with a slight smirk and started walking, as the bell rang.

"I think you'll be fine, Helga Pataki." Aaron said and followed Helga. "Oh, and why do you think that?" she asked with a sad frown. "I don't think so, I know so. Wanna know why?" he asked. "I just asked you that, you buffoon!" she said. "Because Helga Pataki is a strong girl, who stands on her own two feet and don't give up so easily." He answered.

Helga's eyes went wide and she felt her heart tug a little. That was the first time another boy besides Arnold had praised her. "Uh, thanks… I guess, but… how can you be so sure about that? You've only known me for, what, twelve days?" she asked. "Oh, please," Aaron answered and patted her head again, mostly to mock the situation from before. "I knew from day one what kind of girl you were."

Helga swatted Aaron's hand away with a small smile. "Yeah, because you overheard me talking about Arnold." She answered. "That… and that you actually used the words 'cut my tongue out and wrap it around my neck'." He explained. "I swear, if I hadn't just heard you talk like someone from a Shakespeare play, I would've been scared of you."

"Well, that just proves my point: Everyone would start treating me differently, if they found out about my feelings for Arnold." Helga muttered under her breath, but Aaron heard it anyway. "So? Maybe that'd be a good thing." He pointed out with a shrug. "I'm… not ready for that." she explained and went inside the classroom. He sighed a bit at her reply, but then followed her inside.

When the class started, Helga of course noticed the absence of Arnold instantly. She looked around to make sure that he wasn't just seated somewhere today, but there was not just one, but two empty seats. She glanced over at Phoebe, who noticed her eyes a few seconds after. Helga tilted her head towards the empty seats. Phoebe looked in the same direction and frowned. She looked back at Helga and shrugged. Fantastic. Not even Phoebe knows where the Hell they went…

"Excuse me, teacher?" one of the students, whose name Helga had never tried to remember, asked carefully while putting her hand up in the air. "Yes?" the English teacher answered and turned around. "Out of curiosity… have you any idea where Gerald and Arnold have gone? I saw them earlier today, and now they're both missing. They don't usually skip class, so I'm a little worried." The girl answered.

Helga frowned. The Hell…? Why is she worried about Arnold missing? And Gerald, for that matter, but still! She thought to herself, but all her angry thoughts disappeared in an instant as the teacher answered. "Oh, yes, a student was sent from the nurse with a note. Arnold fell during the recess and Gerald took him to the nurse's office."

"What?!" Helga shrieked and stood up from her seat, earning everyone's attention. "Helga, please sit down." The teacher asked, but she didn't listen. "Is he all right? What happened?" she asked in a frenzy.

"Arnold simply fell and bumped his head on a locker. He'll be just fine. He should even be back in a few minutes. He's simply having his head examined just in case. Now, please sit." The teacher answered with a stern look.

Helga sighed, sat down and kicked at the empty chair in front of her desk. "Stupid football head, it's because your head is so ridiculously wide. Who else bumps their head on a locker?" she muttered in annoyance. The people around her laughed at her comment, though she just gave them a harsh look and then they went quiet.

Great. Now I can't focus, because I'm worried about Arnold. What is wrong with me? This boy took over my life by the age of three and hasn't let go ever since… I'm gonna love him for the rest of my life, aren't I…? she thought sadly and let her head down on her palm. This… fucking… one-sided love.

Only a few minutes later, as the teacher had predicted, Gerald and Arnold came inside the room. "Oh, there you two are. We were quite worried about you, Arnold." The teacher said with a smile. Gerald and Arnold walked inside and when Helga saw Arnold, she gasped.

Arnold's head was wrapped in a white bandage, covering his entire forehead, right above his eyebrows. It wasn't a major injury, but Helga still felt her heart sink at seeing him in such a state. It was nothing compared to how she had seen him from time to time in San Lorenzo, but back then, it had almost broken her heart.

Arnold heard Helga's gasp and turned to look at her. When green eyes met blue ones, the air became thick with tension. The former events soared through between them in unison, and Arnold's face fell a little. Not a lot though, because he couldn't help but noticing the very worried look on her face. Is she really that worried about me…? Truthfully? He wondered with hope in his mind.

"Are you gonna be all right?" the teacher asked, interrupting the two blonde teens' moment. Arnold kept looking at Helga. He couldn't tear her eyes off hers, because they were big like a deer's, obviously hoping for a positive answer from him.

"Uh, yeah. I'm gonna be just fine. I don't even have a concussion." Arnold answered, briefly glancing at the teacher. When he turned back to look at Helga, she had her eyes closed and was taking a deep breath. She let out a sigh in relief, still refusing to open her eyes. Thank God… Thank God. She thought and smiled a little.

Helga's relieved reaction didn't go unnoticed to Arnold, and he had to smile dazedly at her. She was really that worried about me…? It's really just a bump. Is she a closet worrywart? He thought with a small chuckle.

"Glad to hear that, Arnold. Please sit down, you two. We need to continue the lesson." The teacher pointed out and turned around to face the board again. "Yes, ma'am." Gerald answered and went straight to his seat.

Arnold also started walking towards his seat, which was behind Helga. When he got closer to her, he remembered that heartbreaking image of her head being caressed by none other than Aaron. She still had her eyes closed, but then she felt a strange force on the top of her skull.

Helga opened her eyes, feeling Arnold's hand brush over her head in a small caress, before it disappeared, gliding down the back of her head. Did… Did Arnold just… she didn't get to finish her thought, before her ears started ringing with the sound of her heartbeat. She could still feel the place, he had touched a few moments ago. She wanted to touch the spot, but decided against it, since she wasn't exactly alone.

Helga wanted so desperately to turn around and look at Arnold for any sort of confirmation, explanation, even just a clue. She didn't get to, because when her chin reached her shoulder, she chickened out.

Arnold watched Helga, as she stayed put with her neck crooked like that. He knew, she wanted to look at him for one reason or another. He wanted to know why, but when she finally turned her head to look forward again, he simply sighed a little and decided to ask her later during lunch. That was also when he'd apologize and explain.

As soon as the bell rang, declaring the lunch period, Arnold stood up from his seat. Helga stood up at the same time, and he put his hand on her shoulder. He felt her whole body tense under his hand, but he simply took a deep breath. "Can I talk with you?" he asked.

"… W-We have lunch period." Helga said in a pathetic attempt at getting out of talking with Arnold. She still felt hurt and angry about the events this very morning, and she wasn't ready to look him in the eyes again.

"Yeah, but can't we talk during that?" Arnold asked, frowning a bit in sadness. Please, Helga. I just want to explain. He thought in his head, and was about to say those thoughts out loud, when he felt her shake his hand off. "I'm eating out today." She explained and then ran outside.

"Helga!" Arnold called and took one step, but then hesitated. Should I wait until after school? Why won't she talk to me? She should let me explain! I… I… his thoughts started to distract him from the task, when he felt a hand push him forward.

Arnold only stumbled for a second, before he started running after Helga. Thanks, Gerald! He thought gratefully, thinking Gerald had been the one to give him the final push. "What the Hell are you doing?" Gerald asked the one, who had actually pushed Arnold.

Aaron turned around with an indifferent look. "What do you mean?" he asked. "Why did you push Arnold to go after Helga? Isn't those two fighting a good thing to you?" Gerald asked. "Hey, don't misunderstand." Aaron said and walked to the door to walk out with the other students, but he turned his head over his shoulder to look back at him. "I'm not helping Arnold, I'm helping Helga."

Gerald's eyes went big. "Why?" he asked. Aaron smirked and shrugged. "I guess I'm… compensating." He answered and walked out in the middle of the swam of other students. The Hell…? Gerald thought in his head, but just shook it in confusion.

"Helga!" Arnold called outside in the hallway, seeing her walking away in a fast pace. "Hey, please slow down. I may not have a concussion, but I'm still a little dizzy." He said in an attempt at lightning the mood. It didn't work, but Helga did slow down her pace without thinking about it. "Then don't follow me. I… I need to get to the place I want my lunch on time, or else they'll be closed."

"Can I walk with you? I'm not really hungry, so I don't need to go to the cafeteria anyway."

"No thanks. I need to be alone right now."

"Why?"

"Because I just do, ok?!" Helga shouted and turned a corner. Arnold stopped for a second, again questioning whether he should push her any further at the moment. Then he remembered the push at his back and ran to catch up with her again. "I know why you're angry at me!"

Helga stopped dead in her tracks and felt like she had just been zapped with a freezing-gun. She could feel Arnold's presence right behind her. "You… You do?" she asked carefully. He walked around her and looked at her with a small smile. "Yes… I do." He answered.

Helga felt her heart start to beat again, and rather fast even. "O-Oh, and… s-so what?" she asked, removing a lock of hair from her face. Arnold smiled, happy that she was finally willing to listen to him. "Listen to me… that poem, right?" he said carefully. She gulped and nodded for him to continue. "It means… absolutely nothing to me, ok?"

Helga's shoulders dropped, and she felt like he had just ripped her heart out of her chest. "Uh… ex… e-excuse… me?" she asked. Arnold just kept smiling though, thinking she was just surprised at this little confession. "That poem means nothing, all right? I don't care!" he explained happily. "So… can we just pretend it never happened, and go back to normal?"

Helga kept staring at Arnold, feeling her lips go dry from not closing it in shock. She took a deep, unsteady breath and closed her eyes. "… No…" she answered slowly. Arnold's eyes went wide and he gasped a little. "W… W-Why not? Why can't we go back to normal?"

"We just… We just can't!" Helga answered and looked up at Arnold in shock. "How can you… How can you expect that of me…? You think that… little of it?" she asked. "Well… yeah. I mean… it doesn't matter, right?" he asked. "Doesn't… matter…? How… How can you say that?!" she screamed at the top of her lungs, some students hearing her very clearly.

Arnold backed away in pure shock. "Do you… Do you have any idea how much… courage something like that takes?!" Helga asked in anger. "I-It's like… giving a piece of your heart away, and then you just… just… oh, God."

Helga lifted her hand to cover her fact with it. Arnold struggled to find the right words to correct this, but it was hard. Yeah, I'm being harsh to that girl who wrote the poem, but… shouldn't Helga be happy about me not being interested…? Wait! Maybe it's like Gerald said, that she feels like this girl did something she never could, and now I'm looking down at someone, who could do something she never could?

Helga's thoughts on the other hand were just one big mess. I can't believe this… I knew he would never love me, but to say it doesn't matter… To say he wants to go back to 'normal' with such an innocent smile on his face… Oh, God, my chest hurts so much…

"H-Helga, please… Let me explain…" Arnold said gently, not noticing they now had an audience. He lifted his hands to touch Helga's shoulders, but when he did, she shook them right off. She still refused to look at him and were hiding her eyes behind her hand. "No… I don't to hear your explanations… I've had it… I've had it!"

Arnold felt his heart break at the sight of Helga so miserable because of him. "I am so disappointed in you." Helga said in a shaky voice, as a teardrop ran down behind her hand over her cheek. He gasped at her words. "No… No, Helga, please - "

"I can't even look at you right now." Helga whispered and started walking past him. "No, wait!" Arnold begged as he took her hand in his own. He heard her make a sound between a gasp and a growl for a second, before she turned around, her free hand up in the air.

The students around them gasped as the smacking sound echoed through the silent hallway. Arnold looked at Helga in utter tremor, as he felt the sting of her hand spread across his cheek. She was looking at him with so much pain in her eyes, that he could've started crying from the agony in his heart and not on his cheek.

When a small red mark, shaped like the form of her hand, appeared on Arnold's cheek, Helga's eyes went wide. What…? No… I… I-I didn't just… I couldn't have… her thoughts jumbled around each other, while he lifted his free hand and touched his cheek gently.

Arnold felt Helga's hand start shaking heavily and he looked up to see her with tears brimming in hear eyes. She lifted her hands up to her mouth, as her whole body started shivering. She looked terrified.

For what seemed like forever, Helga and Arnold just stood there, gazing at each other in anxiety, ache and astonishment. At least until Helga closed her eyes, let the tears fall down her cheeks and herself fall to the ground on her knees. "Oh, God…!"

Author's 2nd note: Yes! Cliffhanger! I am cruel! I'm not gonna say much in this second author's note, since I think I'll start talking too much about the next chapter or something, so just stay tuned.

Please do review and tell me about Aaron: Has your view on him changed throughout this story? What do you think about the actual heartfelt moment between him and Helga? And do you think his intentions has changed? :)

One more thing: I do NOT believe that this was the reason for Arnold to suggest 'the heat in the moment' thing! I believe he wasn't ready to be loved by any girl (he was just a ten year old boy, for crying out loud) and Helga wasn't ready for him to know it yet. That's the simplest explanation of what I believe on this matter, don't wanna start a whole debate about it :P