(A/N: Alright guys... This chapter is another surprise since I didn't intend to go this route but... it was gonna happen one way or the other. Sorta gives you an insight on what's to come in the future~ Enjoy the awkwardness!)

The wind had picked up by the time Arnold got close to his house and he quickly held his coat closed before opening his front door and rushing in, almost tripping on the random assortment of animals trying to get out. He shook his head back and forth, causing his hair to go back into place. Immediately he could feel his body begin to warm up as he took off his jacket and hung it up.

"Is that you, Son?" He heard his father call from another room.

"Yeah, Dad!" Arnold called back before searching for him.

Arnold found his parents waiting for him in the living room, both sitting next to each other and holding hands. The sight made the boy's heart warm up, as he could only imagine the love they shared.

"Have a seat, Arnold. We were hoping to talk to you for a while." His Mother said while gesturing to the chair besides them.

He could feel a little concern begin to rise up with in him but he sat down and looked at them curiously. "What's up?" He asked, hoping whatever it was, wasn't a big deal.

They both looked at one another with an uneasy smile, and then turned back to their son. "Nothing much. How was school?" Asked Miles.

Arnold mulled over his day silently before opening his mouth to speak. "It was alright." He replied weakly. "Although, I had a bit of trouble but it was resolved quickly."

"Did it have anything to do with yesterday?" Miles frowned.

"Your Father told me about the incident yesterday, Arnold. I hope everything is alright." Stella added with a look of worry.

"It is, for the most part…" Arnold started, resting his back against the seat. "Helga and I were called to the Principal's office and got questioned, as were a few of my friends… who then sorta blamed us for it." He could see that his parent's expressions only got dimmer as he explained. "But don't worry! I handled it and got everything sorted out. Everyone is okay and friends again."

"Well that's good, honey." Stella said, placing her warm loving hand on his knee.

"Yeah! We're so glad we have such a good and -" Miles started before stopping and choosing his next word carefully, "mature son."

The compliment made Arnold brighten up a little. "Thanks Mom and Dad." He smiled. "That really means a lot."

Stella then patted her husband on the leg and stood up. "I'll leave this conversation to you and help Mom upstairs with the cleaning." She said softly.

Miles gave the woman a look of horror as she began to walk away. "A-alright…" He said with an unsure tone, causing Arnold to tilt his head in confusion. He watched his wife walk out of the room and sighed before stiffening up his posture.

Arnold knew there was something wrong. "What happened, Dad?"

Miles felt his mouth go dry as well as his heart begin to beat rapidly. "Uhhh… how to start…" he whispered to himself. "Arnold," He began strongly, "There comes a time in every boys life when he needs to have a… heart to heart with his old man." He looked to his son and gave an empowered look. "Do you understand, Son?"

Feeling like he knew where this talk was headed, Arnold gulped and nodded. "I guess? But if this is about the bird and the bees Dad, Grandpa already had this talk with me."

A sense of relief washed over the adult male and he exhaled loudly. "Oh thank goodness!" He then glanced over at his son and saw his awkward expression. "I mean, that's good to hear." He corrected himself and straightened his posture again. "But that's not exactly what we're gonna talk about Son. How about we head up to your room to continue this conversation? I know this can be a high traffic area sometimes."

Nodding, Arnold got up and led his father to his room. As they reached the second floor, they passed Stella and Gerty who simply giggled and continued their chores, causing Miles to groan and Arnold to feel even more unsure of himself. What's going on that's making Dad so nervous? He wondered as he pulled the string on his stairs, causing them to gradually fall down.

As they arrived in his room, Arnold sat himself on his red couch and let his father sit next to him. The air was tense and awkward.

"Alright…" Miles started up again; remember the coaching his father had given him a few hours earlier. He turned to Arnold and analyzed his face a moment. "I guess it's time to begin…"

"Dad, if you're not ready we can always talk another time." Arnold said reassuringly as he placed his hand on his dad's shoulder.

"Thanks Son. I appreciate giving me a way out of this but your mother and I have agreed that this needs to happen sooner rather than later…" Miles smiled, "And besides I gotta get used to having these sorta talks soon anyway."

Understanding as much as he could, Arnold nodded and let the man continue on with his topic.

Miles began to look around Arnold's room and noticed the intricate design of it all. He had been in the room many times but now that he was procrastinating, he felt the needs to notice all the technology and work that had went into it all. "I remember when this room was just a crib and some wall decals…" He sighed.

"Focus, Dad." Arnold said, reminding him of his purpose.

"Right, right…" Heaving a heavy sigh, Miles turned to his young son and cleared his throat. "Okay. No more stalling!" He said with wavering confidence. "As I said before, there comes a time when every son needs to have this talk with his father. Your grandpa had this talk with me, his dad with him, and so on." He started again, ignoring his inner voice that screamed at him to stop while he was ahead. "Now, I know you're still young but you're going to be twelve soon…. Very soon."

"Next month." Arnold clarified.

"Yes… Speaking of which," Miles got off track again. "What do you usually do for your birthday? Do you have a big party with all your friends or have some sorta small dinner with your grandparents?"

Arnold sighed as it seemed his dad would do anything to get away from the subject. "Usually Grandma makes my favorite dinner and bakes me a cake. I normally do things with my friends a few days before my actual birthday." He answered calmly. "Now, continue with the topic…"

"Sorry, good to know though!" Miles blushed due to having an eleven year old boy scold him. "So your grandpa already gave you the birds and the bees talk, right?"

"Uh huh." Arnold nodded in response and crossed his arms. "I know how babies are made, Dad."

"Good! Now our topic is of a similar nature… It's about your feelings, Son." His father gulped.

Arnold raised his eyebrow and became even more curious. "What do you mean?"

"I mean…" Miles said before thinking of a simple way to explain. "Everyone has these things called hormones inside their body and they do a whole lot, like make your body grow and make you feel certain ways. Have you learned about them in school yet?"

Arnold shook his head and uncrossed his arms. "No, not yet."

"I suspect you probably will pretty soon as you're of that age where your body starts producing all sorts of different ones. They will start your body in a new phase called…." Miles stopped and closed his eyes as if his next word would be the death of him. "Puberty."

"What's that?" Arnold asked, tilting his head a little confused at why his dad was so nervous about a science lesson.

"Puberty is… when things start changing for you, Son." Miles opened his eyes and faced his boy wholeheartedly. "Both boys and girls get it but we're only gonna talk about us guys because girls are whole other topic we just don't need to get into."

Now far more interested in what his father had to say, Arnold straightened himself up and nodded. "I guess this is why Mom wanted you to have this conversation with me instead of her?" he asked intuitively.

"Correct…" His father replied, feeling betrayed as though his wife threw him into a shark tank. "So when us men hit puberty, a bunch of weird things start happening to our bodies. Our voices start to break like if we had a bad cold and begin to get deeper. We start to have hair grow in weird places like having a mustache or beard…"

"Kinda like how grandpa has hair growing out of his ears?" Arnold asked.

"Exactly! Although that's not from puberty its more from just growing old." Miles said with a laugh. "Aside from the obvious body changes, you'll also start…. Feeling different." He could feel his body begin to sweat and Miles then pulled on the collar of his shirt to get a little cooler.

"Do you want me to open a window?" Arnold asked as he got up and walked towards his half moon shaped window.

"Sure Son, that might be a little helpful. Not sure why it got so hot in here…" He murmured.

Arnold opened the window and peered outside. It had gotten dark and there was a moist breeze that came through telling him that it was probably going to rain tonight. He then turned to his father and smiled. "Better?"

Miles nodded and patted the seat next to him and waited for his son to sit back down before continuing the dreaded talk. "So about these new feelings…" He began softly. "It's safe to say that your friend Helga is your girlfriend, right?" He asked as he waited for Arnolds nod before continuing. "Do you feel anything…. Specific when you're around her?"

Thinking for a moment, Arnold crossed his legs. "Well at first I used to feel pretty annoyed back when she used to pick on me but now…" He continued to think of all those new feelings he had when he was with her. "Now I just get this really warm feeling. Like, I get happy and content sorta like everything is working out. When I see her happy, I get ten times happier! When I've hurt her feelings… like the other day, I get really upset. It's almost as if she amplifies my feelings, if that makes sense." He explained, looking thoughtfully at his dad.

Knowing full well the feeling that Arnold described, Miles smiled. "Yes, it makes perfect sense." He replied. "However, that's not quite the feeling I was getting at…" His voice trailed off causing Arnold to become a little worried.

"That's the only thing I can think of though." Arnold frowned, feeling as though he wasn't helping his father's situation at all.

Seeing his son frown only made Miles feel worse. He had never given a 'dad talk' before and felt as if there was some other way he could go about it without sounding weird. If Stella were the one having this conversation, I'm sure she would have gotten all scientific about this. Science was always her strong suit but I don't know if that would help. He thought as he patted his son on the head, hoping to cheer him up. "Don't worry, Arnold. You'll understand soon enough, I'm sure." He said, feeling himself begin to sweat again but smiled anyway. "The feeling is a lot different than just happiness. It's more like…" Miles pondered of all the things Arnold might understand in comparison. "It's more like going on a roller coaster for the first time!"

This explanation only confused Arnold further. "Huh? But why would Helga make me feel like that?"

Miles hung his head in defeat and let out a soft groan. "Maybe not exactly like that but it's something similar…" He quietly breathed out. "To put it bluntly, she'll make you really excited and nervous but in a way you've never felt before." He then turned his head and glanced at the boy. "Do you get what I mean?"

Arnold gave his father a concerned but frustrated look, then shook his head. "Sorry…"

"Okay, how about this…" Miles said as he stood up and walked to the window for some air. "If your Grandpa gave you the story about the birds and the bees then you're aware of what the bees' purpose is, right?" He asked, hoping this might clarify things a little.

"Sure. The bee's job is to carry pollen to the flowers to make them bloom and it's a man's job to carry his cells to a woman to reproduce." Arnold smiled, hoping his answer was the one his dad wanted.

"And did he explain exactly how a man does this?" Miles squinted his eyes at his son from across the room, nervously.

Arnold brought his hand up to his chin and recalled the talk. "Actually, right when he was about to Grandma walked in and interrupted us. He told me that we would have to take a rain check on finishing the talk but it never happened."

Feeling his knees get weak, Miles stumbled forward a little before regaining composure causing Arnold to stand up alarmed. Putting his hand out, Miles halted the boy and shook his head. "I'm fine! I… was just surprised, is all."

"Are you sure?" Arnold asked. "You could lie down if you're feeling sick."

"No… No. I'm fine." Miles repeated, completely embarrassed at how he was handling this. "Leave it to Dad to completely leave out the most important part of the story though…" Taking in a deep breath, the man let out another groan then walked over to his son and sat down again. "Arnold, do you know the distinct difference between a man and a woman?"

Arnold blushed and replied. "Yes."

"Okay. Are you starting to see why I'm a little awkward with this talk now?" Miles sympathetically smiled.

"Y-yes… I am starting to see where you're going with this." Arnold admitted before scratching his hand and fidgeting.

"To use a… better euphemism, think of us men as a key and women as a lock. We basically unlock babies…. So to speak." Miles sweated and grimaced at his own words.

Arnold's face began to turn a dark shade of red and decided not to speak. His imagination went wild with thoughts he had never had before and he shook his head to make them disappear.

"I'm glad to see my words got through." The father stated, feeling a little giddy at his accomplishment. "It a little embarrassing, I know… Like I said earlier, we all have to have this talk one day and it's never ever easy."

Arnold applied his hand on his forehead and tried to clear his head. "Okay so what does making babies have to do with puberty?"

"It's because of those hormones I told you about before…" Miles explained slowly. "Some of those hormones are made specifically for reproduction and they start forming at around your age." His words caused Arnold's head to shoot right up and immediately Miles regretted his sentence and reacted. "I didn't mean that you would want to start having kids now!" He added. "I mean your body is getting ready for the day you decide you want to have them. So years, years into the future. Many years."

Although he could still feel the panic that had just surged within him, Arnold did his best to understand his father's words and tried to calm down. "So you're saying that Helga is going to make me feel some type of way that makes me want to have babies?" He asked with a hoarse voice.

"It's… definitely possible," Miles replied, turning to not look at his poor embarrassed child. "If not her, then someone else someday."

"And… How will I know?" Arnold asked, beginning to get light headed from the topic and almost regretting the question in fear of the answer.

"Oh don't worry Son… Your body will tell you." Miles said with a high pitched voice followed by a shutter.

This made Arnold more than uncomfortable and he began to slouch in his chair. Silence consumed the two men and both had wished that the talk had never happened.

"Sorry buddy." Miles sincerely said, turning to the awkward boy.

Arnold could do nothing but stare off into space. "It's okay." He managed out.

Knowing that his son was going to need some time alone to sort out his thoughts, Miles got up and stretched. "Do you have any questions before I go downstairs and drowned myself in some ice cream to feel better about all of this?"

It was if his father's words had breezed through him and he shook his head instinctively.

"Alright then, I'm gonna head down. Your mom will call you when dinner is ready." Miles said with a warm tone before exiting.

Unable to keep the images from bouncing around in his head, Arnold got up and began to pace. He had so much to think about and so much he didn't exactly understand but wouldn't force his dad to talk about further. He could only assume that he would understand when all those things mentioned would actually affect him. His voice changing, hair growing and… his body reacting in ways he could only assume and felt really weird about. "I need to distract myself…" He spoke, walking over to his stereo. Just before he could grab his remote and turn it on, his phone rang. At first the loud noise startled him, but he quickly picked it up and accepted this as a distraction instead.

"Hello?" He asked the unknown caller.

"Hey buddy, it's me!" A familiar voice spoke on the other end. "How's it hanging?"

"Oh Gerald…" He complained before forcing his body to sit down again. "Please tell me you have good news."

The other end got quiet as Gerald had now become very suspicious. "Uhhh… Sure man, I got good news. I saw the place we're gonna use to take the photos."

"How is it?" Arnold asked nervously.

"It's…" Gerald hesitated, not wanting to disappoint his friend. "It's a studio. It's small and kinda dirty but nothing a few hands can't fix up before that girl gets here. Not to mention we're not gonna be charged to use it since Fuzzy Slippers is the man. Jamie-O helped too."

Taking a much needed breath of fresh air, Arnold began to relax. "That's great to hear!" He exclaimed.

"What's got you all tense?" Gerald finally asked, "Did something bad happen after I left? You didn't have another fight with Helga again, did you?"

Arnold shook his head, even if his friend couldn't see. "No, we didn't have a fight. In fact, I got a bunch of things off my chest and it felt really good. I even went over to Harold's and confronted him about Helga and everything."

He could hear his friend gasp on the other end. "You didn't get into a fight with Harold, did you?"

The suggestion made Arnold laugh. "No, Gerald. Harold and I actually had a rather productive talk. He's not gonna go out of his way to make fun of Helga or tell everyone in the school about us."

"Wow, how did you pull that one off?" Gerald asked, rather astonished to hear such news.

"I just got through to him." Arnold answered, feeling proud again. "He can be a pretty reasonable guy sometimes."

"Right. Whatever you say, man." Gerald responded flatly. "So if it's not that, then what happened? I know you pretty well Arnold and not much gets you stressed out."

Arnold let out a groan similar to what his father had done earlier and slouched back on his couch. "Honestly Gerald… I'd rather not talk about it, if that's okay."

Gerald got silent again as he considered situations that might have happened. "O-okay man. I respect that. So about this studio…"

Turning to the phones base, Arnold picked up the notepad and pen that rested next to it for notes. "Yeah, could you tell me the address? I'll have my Grandpa bring me over. Also has Rhonda told you the time we're supposed to do this because she hasn't told me yet."

"Nah man, I haven't spoken to her. I figured she would have called you by now." Gerald replied, now a little concerned. Rhonda was always an informative person and for her to not call anyone was strange.

"I'll call her after we're done talking. So the address?" Arnold asked before listening to Gerald's response and jotting down the street. "Got it."

"Hey, I got more good news!" Gerald boasted as he lounged on his bed and put his feet up on his beds footboard.

"Oh yeah? Tell me about it." Arnold responded, happy that his friend was being so helpful in his time of need.

"Well…" The dark skinned boy began as he peered over to where Phoebe once sat; the camera still sitting her place. "After we checked out the studio, Phoebe came back to my place and we hung out a little, even had dinner with my parents!" He gleamed.

"Oh?" Arnold was a little surprised. Knowing Jamie-O's history with girls and his parents, he could hardly believe that the experience was a pleasant one. "Did anything cool happen?"

Feeling the blood begin to rush to his cheeks, Gerald began to replay the scenes of her in his room over in his head. "Yeah. I brought her to my room and we just chatted…" He replied wistfully.

"You… just chatted?" Arnold replied, a little skeptical considering his friends reaction.

"At first I was really nervous, Arnold." Gerald continued. "I've never had a girl in my room before, well besides my family, and it was just…" He thought of his choice words. "It was crazy. Of course Timberly had to barge in and ruin it all but before that…" He let out at sigh, "My heart was pounding and I just felt… sorta weak, if that makes sense." Gerald finished, a little embarrassed that he had just admitted his intimate feelings with his best friend. The trust the two had between them was solid and Gerald knew he could count on Arnold to be discreet.

Gerald's description puzzled Arnold a bit. "I guess."

"Come on, man. You've had Helga in your room before." Gerald said, as he forced himself to sit up and concentrate. "You can't tell me that you didn't feel even a little bit nervous."

Thinking back to their union on the project, he did his best to recall even one situation when he felt what his friend had just described and frowned when he couldn't think of a single one. "The only time I felt nervous was when I was having a sensitive talk with her about… well, us. She can be pretty hard to talk to."

Gerald let out a laugh. "Well yeah, she's Helga. Not the easiest going person in the world. I'm surprised you'd able to have sensitive talks!" Gerald replied before laughing out loud again.

Ignoring his friends comment, Arnold continued to think about what Gerald had described, curious on if it had anything to do with his dad's discussion. "So what made you nervous about Phoebe being in your room?"

Gerald could feel his heart begin to pound at the question. "I dunno, man." He responded. "We were alone, in my room, Door shut, no one around, the girl I like is sitting next to me…" He explained, imagining what could have happened if Timberly hadn't interrupted. "I almost never get privacy in this house, let alone with her. Normally when we hang out, it's in a public place. Even our project was done in the public library." Suddenly a thought dawned on him, "You're telling me you've never felt nervous or awkward being alone with Helga? Are you sure you like her, man?"

"Yeah…" Arnold said as he thought of the moment's he had been alone with her, as well as the few kisses they had shared. He could feel his heart begin to beat faster as well as a warm calm wash over him. "I'm sure I like her."

"Didn't you guys work on the project at your place?" Gerald asked, now even more concerned.

"Yeah, so?" Arnold replied, knowing full well that his friend knew the answer to that question.

"And you mean to tell me, the both of you being alone in your bedroom didn't make you feel nervous or anything?" Gerald pressed on.

"Is that… bad?" Arnold asked, now also beginning to feel worried about his own feelings. "She makes me feel calm and happy, I thought that was normal."

"Well yeah it's good to feel calm and happy but…" Gerald wasn't sure what to say to his troubled friend. He had had many pep talks with his older brother about girls and feelings before and remembered that Arnold didn't have a relationship like that to lean on. "You've never just wanted to be alone with her, like purposely?"

"Only when we need to talk about private matters." Gerald heard his friend respond sadly.

Beginning to feel like there was no hope for his troubled friend, Gerald rolled over on his stomach and stated at one of his basketball posters blankly, thinking of ways he could explain better. A deafening silence consumed the phone and Gerald knew that their conversation seemed to only make Arnold feel worse, rather than better. "Don't worry about it, Arnold." He said, trying to console his best friend. "I'm sure you'll understand soon. I'd explain it better but… I dunno, it's just kinda hard. It's more like something you gotta experience."

Now completely certain that his father's topic and Gerald's feelings were linked, Arnold could only feel like he was missing out on something very important. "You mean like an excited and nervous urge you just have with her that you can't explain?" He suggested.

"Yes! Exactly!" Gerald jumped up. "I knew you understood what I meant!"

"I gotta go, Gerald. I'll talk to you later." Arnold said sadly, becoming overwhelmed with depression.

"Huh? What? Why?" He could hear how confused his friend was on the other end, but decided it was best not to continue forward.

"I just have a lot to think about. Sorry Gerald." Arnold replied and he hung up the phone.

Arnold's head began to spin and he felt as heavy as lead. All of his feelings started to just become confusing. Was he weird for not understanding what both his father and best friend said? Would being alone with Helga really make him feel some unexplainable feeling of being excited but nervous? If so, what would he do? How would she react? Was it a good or bad thing? All these questions were never ending and finally Arnold turned on his music to lull him back to sanity before having to call Rhonda.

What was only intended to relax him, made Arnold fall into a deep sleep. Curled up on his couch, he began to dream…

Sitting at her desk two seats in front of him, Arnold watched as Helga scribbled on her paper. He could see she was frustrated and presumed it was probably the school work. Looking around them, he noticed that oddly no one was in the class room with them. "Where did everyone go?" He asked her as he rose from his seat and walked next to her desk. She didn't respond and he looked at what she was doing. On her paper looked to be a poem of some sorts, however before he could actually read any words, she snatched it away from him and scowled.

"Hey! I never said you could read this!" She yelled, placing the paper where he couldn't see.

"Sorry, Helga. Why are we here alone?" He asked as he looked around again.

"I don't know, Football head, this is your dream." She replied in her harsh tone, before folding up her paper and slipping it in her desk. "And don't you dare think to go in my desk, either!"

My… dream? He wondered, looking at her as if she could answer his question. He then walked over to the classroom door and attempted to open it, however it wouldn't budge. Using all his strength, he began to tug at it harder and harder.

"It's not gonna open, stupid." He heard Helga say from behind him. "Its locked."

He turned his head to her to see she was no longer wearing her usual attire but adorned in her gym uniform. His eyes fell on her body and he silently admired her small curves through her tight clothes.

"Why don't you take a picture, it'll last longer! Sheesh!" She grunted as she stood there and crossed her arms.

"Why are we locked in our classroom? And why did you change clothes?" He asked, now becoming increasingly confused.

"Do I look like I have all the answers? Why don't you figure it out for yourself…" Helga said as she stood up and walked over to him.

He watched as she moved quietly across the room and stood next to him. He could feel his heart began to beat as well as becoming increasingly nervous. "What's wrong? Cat got your tongue?" She asked in a smooth voice with a smirk on her face.

"We gotta get out of here." Arnold suddenly began to panic and ran over to the window. Outside he could see a bunch of his friends playing and he attempted to open the window, but to no avail.

"Criminy, you really are stupid aren't you, Football head." He heard her say but made no attempt to look at her.

What's wrong with me? Why do I want to get out so badly? He wondered; his heart picking up its pace as he could hear her walking towards him. Suddenly he felt her arms drape around his neck and she pulled her body close to his. He could smell the sweet scent of her shampoo and although it soothed his mind, it only made his heart pound harder. "I think I'm sick…" He mentioned quietly, not wanting to alarm her. "Y-you should probably stay away from me… for now…"

He could feel her nuzzle her head inside his hair. "Why are you fighting this so hard? The only reason we can't get out is because you don't want us to." She whispered in his ear, sending tons of nerves to react throughout his body.

"Helga… I really think you should go sit in your seat." He suggested nervously, feeling as though he was going to lose his mind or something. "I don't think I'm well."

"Oh you're perfectly fine!" She laughed; not moving an inch. "I thought this is what you wanted?" She said in a taunting voice.

"What? You're not making any sense. Why would I want to be locked in the classroom with you? Why would I want to feel sick?" He asked as he began to sweat. "I just don't want you to get sick too."

Feeling her hands move onto his chest, Arnold closed his eyes and focused on staying sane. "Please stop…" He begged.

"But I'm already sick." She spoke into his ear, "If that's what you wanna call it…"

His body began to feel as though he was sweating a fever, and the more she spoke, the worse it got. "Just accept it, Arnold. Just relax and give in…" She spoke in a loving manner, still holding him close and making circles with her index finger around the middle of his chest. "You don't really want me to stop, do you?"

Arnold swallowed hard, as he could feel his muscles begin to tense up. None of this makes any sense… what is she saying? What are we doing?! He thought deeply, desperately resisting something he couldn't quite describe. I gotta get out of here… He decided, putting his hands on top of hers to make her stop. He forced Helga to release him and turned to face her, however the moment he gazed into hers, his mind went blank.

Helga wrapped her arms around him again, pressing her chest up against his, causing him to take a step back and get pressed up against the window. He could feel the cool glass pressing against him and shivered. "Helga, what are you doing?!" He asked, finally regaining composure. "We're still kids!"

"Kids, huh?" She smirked, looking down at him. "I thought your Dad said you were old enough to feel… this way?" She then placed her finger under his chin and traced it down to his neck before pulling at the collar of his shirt. "Gerald understands… Why don't you?"

Her words began to echo in his mind. He understands? He asked himself as her finger trailed further down to his chest. He could feel his breath becoming shallow as he looked into her eyes then down towards her lips. Suddenly, an overwhelming desire to kiss her struck him, but being with tremendous convictions, he still resisted. "We can't do this…" He whispered.

"This is just a dream, Football head. We can do whatever… you… want…" She replied, putting less and less space between them.

"It's… just a dream…?" He questioned, letting his resistance break down bit by bit.

Helga grabbed both of his wrists and pinned them to the windowsill. "That's right, bucko. What do you want to do?"

"What I want… to do?" His mind became heavier and heavier the longer he stared longingly at her lips. They'd already kissed many times and although most were forced by her, he never disliked it. Just let yourself go… He could hear himself say on the inside. It was if another entity had emerged within him. It's fine, right? He asked himself. "Its… fine?" Arnold spoke aloud, feeling a hunger grow inside of him he had never felt.

But before the last wall could crumble, Arnold was awaked with a holler by the sound of his grandmother coming into his room and turning off his music.

"You alright there Tex?" She asked him with a look of deep concern. "Looks like you were having a nightmare! I'll bet Calamity Sue was at it again, wasn't she?"

Quickly pushing the dream out of his head, Arnold got up and wiped the sweat that had formed on his brow. "Y-yeah Grandma… It was a nightmare…" He replied, deciding that that was the closest thing his dream could be called at the moment.

Placing the back of her hand on his forehead, his grandmother smiled. "Doesn't seem like you have a fever." She then backed up and headed to the door. "Dinner is ready, you better come down before the cattle wanders off." She said kindly then exited.

Still short of breath, Arnold looked around; a little disorientated. Just what was that dream, and why did I have it? He asked himself, sitting down briefly. He then noticed his phone and remembered the call to Rhonda he still had to make. I better make this short and sweet; I know how much she likes to talk. He thought as he picked up the phone and dialed her number.

The home of Rhonda Wellington-Lloyd was quiet as she sat up inside her bedroom, scrolling through a new website she had discovered with people posting fashion ideas. As she scrolled, she made noises of interest before stopping at a picture of a woman in a dress. "My Gosh!" She yelled in horror. "How can you wear those colors together?! Orange and yellow? Really?" She then continued to scroll past the image with disgust. "Some people have absolutely no taste." Eventually she happened on a few more pictures she liked, which she quickly saved and placed in a folder she called "Fashion Ideas".

Suddenly she heard her cell phone go off, and she wheeled across her bedroom and quickly answered it. "Arnold! Darling! How are you?" She sang into his ear.

"Uhhh… Hey, Rhonda. I was just wondering what time that model was coming tomorrow? I also have the address of the studio we booked." He replied in his normal tone.

"Oh yes! Right!" Rhonda had actually forgotten all about their plans, as her mind was elsewhere at the moment, and she quickly rolled back over to her computer to pull up a conversation she had, had with the girl which stated the time she'd be in town. "Marcy says that she plans on being in town around noon-ish. Tell me the address so I can send it to her."

Arnold then grabbed the notebook and read off the address while Rhonda typed it into the chat bar. "Alright, done!" She proudly stated, pressing send. "Anything else you needed?"

"No, that was about it. Thanks, Rhonda." Arnold said shortly, ready to hang up.

"So… You only called for that one thing?" She asked dully, a little disappointed that he didn't want to talk.

"Yeah. I'll see you tomorrow." He replied, hoping she would accept the end to their conversation.

"Wait!" The posh girl called to him before he could hang up. She remembered Nadine telling her about a fight that had happened in front of the school and figured if anyone knew about it, it was probably Arnold. "Did you hear about that fight after school?! I heard it got pretty heated."

Arnold frowned, knowing that gossiping with her would take the rest of the night. "Yeah… I was sort of a part of it…"

"YOU?!" Rhonda was shocked. "But you don't fight with anyone! Well… except Helga Pataki on occasions…"

Arnold rolled his eyes. "It was just an argument, Rhonda. Nothing big."

"That's all?" She insisted, doing her best to pry out more information. "I heard fists were thrown."

"Well you heard wrong, sorry." He was becoming annoyed. "It was just Sid jumping to conclusions like he normally does. I gotta go, my Grandma is calling me for dinner. Goodnight, Rhonda." Arnold said quickly before hanging up on her.

The moment she heard the call end, Rhonda immediately looked at her phones screen and scoffed. "Wow, how rude!" She hissed before wheeling back over to her computer screen. "Some people just have absolutely no manners! And after I'm doing him a favor?! Ugh!" She then looked back at her phone. "I must absolutely call Nadine and tell her what he said!"

Arnold went down to dinner and was welcomed by all of his house members. One by one he greeted them before sitting down next to his mother.

"Dinner is served!" Gerty yelled as she clanged a metal rod against her triangle. "Dig in!"

Everyone at the table began to pass around dishes and talk amongst themselves, except Arnold who kept to himself in silence. After everyone had had their fill, excluding Oskar who whined about seconds and was immediately thrown out of the dining room my Phil, they all began to clean up. Stella placed her arms around her son and gave him a big hug unexpectedly.

"You okay, honey? You've barely said a word all night." She asked before letting him go and proceeding to grab his half empty plate.

"Yeah Mom. I'm alright." He sighed, not looking up at her.

She knew the talk his dad had with him earlier wasn't the easiest thing, but didn't think it would affect him in such a manner. "Do you wanna talk about it? I may not look like it, but I can give pretty great advice!"

Arnold watched as most of the boarders exited the dining room as Miles gathering the dinner plates that Stella was handing to him. "No thanks…" He replied quietly.

This only caused her to frown along with him. "I know I may be a girl but…" She started as she pet his hair softly down. "I can understand being confused too."

He knew she was trying to be nice, but Arnold simply shook his head. "I think this is something I just have to figure out on my own." He replied, hoping she would understand. Seeing his mother worry about him broke his heart just as much as him letting down his father. "Don't worry, Mom. I'll be fine."

His reassurance forced Stella to smile back at him before picking up the rest of the plates and heading towards the kitchen. "Well if you change your mind, you'll know where to find me." She spoke with a determined voice before heading out.

Phil then walked back into the dining room, mumbling something about Oskar before noticing the table was already being disassembled. "Awwww!" He whined. "Dinner is over and that blasted Oskar made me miss it." He then gasped dramatically when he saw Arnold still sitting in his seat with a melancholic look on his face. "What?! What are you still doing here, Shortman? I thought you'd have run up to your room by now? And what's with the long face? Did someone steal your meat and potatoes?! It wasn't Oskar, was it?" He asked, trying to cheer the boy up.

"No, Grandpa. I'm fine." Arnold stated, now pushing himself away from the table and getting up. "I was just lost in thought."

"Oh? About what?" Phil asked, as he followed his grandson out of the dining room and into the front of the house.

Arnold stopped as he got to the stairs and looked at the old man. If there was anyone in the whole world the boy trusted, it was him. "Dad had a talk with me and it left me feeling really… weird, Grandpa." He admitted, feeling safe.

"Uh oh… it wasn't the talk was it? That one I tried having with you last year but then your Grandma distracted us and I never got back to it?" He asked, knowing full well what the talk was about.

"Yeah, Grandpa… that talk." Arnold shrugged, looking away still feeling really awkward about the whole thing.

Phil listened a little to the background noise of his house mates and decided it was alright to continue the conversation where they were standing. "Yeah that talk isn't the easiest in the world… Had your dad feeling pretty weird too, if I can recall." Phil said, resting his long and skinny arm on the stairs railing. "Why I remember his face turned so red, he nearly fell over!"

Arnold couldn't help but laugh as a similar thing had happened upstairs while he was trying to explain it himself. He began to imagine a younger version of his dad doing the same thing.

"Oh he wouldn't talk to me for days after that one. Reacted a lot worse than I imagined he would, which left me feeling rather lousy…" Phil continued. "I had hoped he would ask me questions since he was so confused but instead he harbored it all to himself until well… the inevitable happened."

"The inevitable?" Arnold asked, now intrigued at the old man's story.

Phil smiled and shook his head slowly. "Yep! And when that happened, it all became clear to him and suddenly all was well in the world…"

"What was the inevitable, Grandpa?" Arnold asked again, hoping this time he would get an answer.

Phil nervously chuckled. "Your feelings start to get the best of you and you start thinking irrationally. You start to get angry more often and suddenly girls no longer have cooties!"

"That's what the hormones do, right?" Arnold was beginning to feel a little less awkward as his grandfather seemed to have a way with words.

"That's right, Arnold. They get inside your head and start to give you all these weird thoughts and feelings. Some are icky and some are… well rather pleasant." His grandfather smiled then suddenly became shocked. "Didn't your Dad tell you any of this?"

"Well… sorta." The boy said half heartedly, not wanting to talk down about his dad. "He just really wasn't sure what to say."

"Uh huh. Miles has never been good with words. Why it took him forever to admit he loved your mother! Always falling down and making a fool of himself, or giving up and running away." Phil explained as he scratched the stubble on his neck.

The thought of his dad always being clumsy made Arnold smile and soon his spirits were lifted once more. "Thanks Grandpa." Arnold said from the bottom of his heart. "I'm feeling a little better now."

Phil gasped and looked amused. "I'm glad, Arnold. Don't worry so much about what your dad told you. These things all come naturally and you kinda just… ride the wave! Go with the flow!" He then turned away and began to head back towards the kitchen. "Now you run along and I'll help your parents out with your grandma. I'm sure she's giving them a load of trouble with the 'ranch'" He said, ending with a mumble.

Arnold then ran up the stairs and into his bedroom. "Ride the wave…" He repeated as he gathered his things to take a shower. He had half thought of calling Helga to tell her the information Gerald had given him, but then shrugged and assumed Phoebe probably took care of that. He didn't need a reason to feel awkward again and he knew full well that hearing her voice after that dream would only dampen his mood. Just what was that dream about? He wondered, remembering her words. "Why are you fighting this so hard? The only reason we can't get out is because you don't want us to."

The boy made his way downstairs and into the community bathroom and began to disrobe. Why wouldn't I want us to get out? He continued to wonder as he started the shower. The noise of the water running relaxed him. He got into the water and let its steamy goodness run down his body, recalling something else she had said. "I'm already sick, if that's what you want to call it", what was that supposed to mean? He thought as he grabbed his shampoo bottle and squirted its contents into his hand before lathering it into his thick blonde hair. Did it mean she was feeling the same way I was? How would she know what I was feeling, though? None of his dream seemed to make sense, except one thing. She had stated over and over that it was his dream so he was willing it all to happen.

Arnold washed his body and finished up his shower. Beginning to dry his hair, images of his dream having periodic flashes into his mind every now and again. He could vividly recall how badly he wanted to kiss her and suddenly a dark crimson appeared across his face as he gazed into his own reflection. I wanted all that to… happen? He asked himself through his mind to the him in the mirror. I need to cool off… this bathroom is suffocating! Quickly, he gathered his belongings and rushed back up to his room where it was much cooler. He dropped his dirty clothes by the side of his door and quickly sat on his bed and willed his windows to pop open with a remote, causing this nights cool breeze to grace his skin. It was apparent that things were starting to become different in his mind, but was it a natural occurrence, or was it the work of both his Father and Gerald's influence? "Maybe it's just all in my head…" He said in a hushed voice. "Some sleep might do me some good. Besides, the sooner I sleep means the sooner tomorrow will come and I'll be that much closer to getting Helga her home back."

Although he feared what dream would come next, Arnold turned off his lights and quietly fell back asleep.