A/N: Hey guys, gals, and non-binary pals! I hope y'all enjoy this chapter! It may be a bit longer but oh well lol. This one is gonna be a bit of fluff, not too much drama...maybe. Who knows? I'm horrible like that :)
Disclaimer: I don't own Hey! Arnold... doy!
Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock.
The incessant ticking sound of the alabaster white clock mounted on the wall above Hugo's seat dredged its way through the teen's ears. He chewed irritably on the tip of his pencil. The hands of the clock taunted "11:30" at the senior, causing him to groan inwardly. Hugo's morning had been long and slow, and he wanted nothing more than to burst out of his seat to head to lunch. The whole class seemed to share his eagerness to leave as it buzzed with students noisily packing their bags as Mr. Simmons' lecture drowned in the sea of teenage chatter.
Once the bell rang, Hugo darted from his seat and bounded towards the door. He smiled when he realized his small female counterpart had followed quickly behind him. Phoebe returned the smile as they walked to the cafeteria.
This feeling of familiarity with her filled his heart with a warmth he hadn't felt in many years. He wouldn't admit it too outwardly, but his spirit soared to know he had his best friend back in his life. Their respective love interests greeted the two, and small blushes filled both of their faces, and the two boys fell in line beside them as they wandered over to the cafe line. After scouring the room for an empty table, the four settled down at one near the back of the cafeteria.
They chattered amongst themselves, discussing the classes of the morning. Hugo watched Arnold prattle away about his morning at Sunset Arms. His words melted into a swirl of noise as a pair of blue eyes traced the corners of Arnold's face. Hugo felt all too familiar butterflies flutter in his chest; a contour painting of his love formed behind his eyes as the blonde desperately tried to rememorize every inch of his beloved.
As the four finished their meals, Hugo's eyes perked up at the sight of tapioca pudding sitting in the corner of his tiny friend's plate. He smiled excitedly, pointing at the little cup, "Dude, I love that stuff! Is there more over at the lunch line?"
The petite girl gave a slight nod, to which Hugo clambered out of the seat. Arnold stood up with him, "Wait up! I'll go grab one with you."
The shorter blonde cast a soft grin at Arnold, "Hurry up then, Football Head!"
The nickname made Arnold's heart twist in a knot, but he couldn't help but smile. It had been years since he had heard that sobriquet fall from his love's lips, and the sound of it lit up a million little sparks in his stomach. The familiarity of the way Hugo spoke the words fell upon unnotic ears. For the most part, that is.
"Oh, my God..." Gerald turned to his girlfriend with wide eyes as the two boys stepped out of earshot.
The petite girl looked up at him, "What is it, Gerald?"
"Babe, that's Helga," he said curtly, his voice a harsh whisper. The girl's eyes widened as she fumbled for a response.
"N-no, his name is Hugo," Phoebe swallowed dryly.
"You and I both know there's one person in this world that would come up with somethin' like 'Football Head.' Plus, Hugo even kinda looks like Helga...," he knowingly looked at his girlfriend as she tried to divert her gaze, "But you already knew who he was, huh? 'Course you do."
She sighed and looked up at him through hesitant eyes, "I knew almost from the get-go, but it wasn't my secret to reveal. I think you should ask Hugo for the details yourself, maybe. Just know he's the same person we loved in junior high... he's just more himself now. He's Hugo."
"Alright, babe. I may not understand it all, but who am I to judge? I assume Arnold doesn't know," he paused as her eyes grew wide with panic," but I won't tell him. Hugo can tell Arnold himself."
She sighed in relief and mouthed a ''thank you'' to him, slipping her hand into his as Hugo approached them. Hugo smiled at them as he approached, plopping back down into his seat, tapioca pudding in hand.
"Arnold popped into the bathroom for a bit," he worded around a mouth full of dessert.
Before Arnold returned to the table, Gerald moved to sit next to him and put his hand on the scraggly blonde's shoulder. Hugo turned to face his, surprised by the sudden contact, "What's up, hair boy?"
"Ha! It is you, isn't it?"
The blonde looked at him, puzzled. Gerald smiled at him warmly and pulled him into an unexpected hug. He spoke lowly so that only the other boy and Phoebe could hear him, "It's good to have you back, Pataki. We missed you."
Hugo felt his breath hitch in his throat. Pulling away, he looked bewilderedly at the tall boy and then to his tiny friend across the table, "Wha- How? Phoebes?"
"Phoebe didn't tell me. I figured it out on my own just a moment ago."
"Has my face just not changed that much?" He ran a hand across his face, feeling the heat of mortification warming his cheeks.
"Nah, man! You've changed a lot. Your personality... that much is still the same. That, and your goo-goo eyes for Arnold," he smiled widely and nudged the boy's shoulder with a laugh.
Hugo smiled sheepishly and rubbed his arm, "Heh, yeah. Testosterone doesn't change everything, I guess."
As Gerald moved back to his spot, their football-headed friend returned to the table. Gerald quickly spoke up, "I do wanna ask you some questions later, though; is that okay?"
Hugo nodded with a small smile of approval.
"Questions about what?" Arnold inquired with a curious brow.
"Oh, uhm. Just about our poem for English! Phoebes and I needed a little help with the project."
Arnold groaned, "I forgot about that. Maybe we could meet up sometime tomorrow to work on it together, Hugo?"
The scrawny blonde flashed him a smile, "Ah, yes. The love poem..."
He scooted closer to the football-headed boy and teasingly scratched under his chin, "I'm sure you and I can come up with something lovey-dovey together for Mr. Simmons."
Arnold's face flushed scarlet as he swatted Hugo's hand away from his face with a laugh. He met those searing blue eyes with a grin, "It's a date then."
Hugo swallowed hard and gave a curt nod, forcing down the swoon trying to escape his lips. Hiding his giddiness with his usual sardonicism, he barked back with a smirk, "You goin' all homo on me, Football Head?"
Arnold rolled his eyes with a wide smile and a light blush spread across his face, "You know what I meant, dude."
Pungent smells of chemicals perforated the air of P.S. 218's chemistry lab as students clustered together to work on that period's assignment. Around one set of flasks and sample tubes stood Arnold, Gerald, and Hugo as they worked on their group lab assignment. The three happily chatted as they worked, two pouring chemicals into vials while another read the instructions aloud.
As he read the instruction paper the teacher had given his group, Hugo furrowed his brow in confusion. The other blonde noticed and peered over him before placing his hand on Hugo's opposite shoulder, causing his cheek to brush against Hugo's as he bent down. The skinny boy swooned in delight as his beloved's warm breath and proximity were almost too much for him to handle. Hugo was broken from his stupor when the football-headed boy spoke up, "Well, that's confusing."
Gerald quirked an unimpressed eyebrow before snatching the paper from Hugo's loose grip. The blonde inwardly squealed as Arnold's hand remained on him despite no reason for him to stay put.
Gerald snickered to himself at the ever-clueless Arnold and his violently blushing companion before reading over the step they were confused about. After a moment, he looked up at them with a blank stare, "I have no fuckin' clue what this means."
"I'm gonna go ask the teacher about this next step, then. I don't want us to fuck up and burn the lab down," chortled Hugo.
"I can go," Arnold smiled as he grabbed their instruction packet back from Gerald. Hugo gave a grateful smile to the football-headed boy before he sauntered off to the teacher across the room but felt a twang of sadness when the familiar hand on his shoulder disappeared.
A warm, fond feeling bubbled in his chest as he stared dreamily at Arnold. He was thrown out of his stupor by a chuckle and a hard pat on the shoulder from Gerald, ''Hugo, my man! You could not make your feelings for him any more obvious, could you?"
A deep blush burned the blonde boy's cheeks as he stumbled over his words, "I, uh, don't know what you're talking about, Hair Boy!"
Gerald rolled his eyes at Hugo, leaning back on his elbows as he coolly propped himself upon their work desk. He spoke with an all-knowing smirk plastered to his face, "Look, Pataki. You know he still loves you, don't you? Why don't you just tell him?"
He sighed deeply, running his slender fingers through his hair, "He doesn't love me; he loves Helga, and Helga is gone."
"That's where you're wrong," he planted a finger into the boy's chest, "He loves you. He never cared about what was on your outside. Right before you left, you looked like shit-"
Hugo quirked a scathing eyebrow, crossing his arms. The other boy ignored his irritated glare and continued, pulling his hand away, "Arnold didn't care, man. That boy loved you in jeans like he loved you in dresses. He loved you when you were angry or happy, girly or tomboyish, outgoing or reclusive. With every way you've ever expressed yourself, he loved you. And I should know, the boy never shuts up about you."
Hugo cast his eyes towards the floor, gripping his shirt hem tightly as he fought off the tears that threatened to prickle in the corners of his eyes. He choked out a chuckle, "Damn it, Geraldo. You're gonna make me cry."
He looked up at his friend with glassy eyes, "You think he could still love me, even like this?"
"I may not know much, but I do know one thing: Arnold Shortman will always love you, no matter what."
Hugo's face warmed, and butterflies threatened to erupt in his chest as he thought of Gerald's words. He glanced at the other blonde boy walking back to the group with tender, blue eyes before quickly turning to the dark-eyed teen with a pleading look," I need you to promise not to tell him who I am. Please. It has to be me who tells him who I am."
Gerald nodded understandingly as Arnold made their way into earshot. With a hushed breath he assumed Arnold wouldn't hear, he spoke gently," I promise I'll keep your secret from Arnold, Hugo."
Arnold stepped between the two, his voice chipper and curious, "Who's got a secret?"
The other two boys shuffled their feet and cleared their throats awkwardly before Hugo piped up, "It's nothing important, Football Head. Don't worry about it."
Arnold glanced at his best friend, expecting an explanation, only for the boy to disappoint in his response, "Uh, yeah. What Hugo said, man."
The football-headed boy furrowed his brow at the two but decided it would be best to hide the amount of what he had heard and quiz Gerald on the secret after class.
The rest of the period passed by quickly as the three completed their assignment with ease. However, an awkward air clung to the group as they carried on in near silence. Finally, the class ended, and Hugo stayed behind to turn in their work while the other boys cleaned up their station.
As the two walked away from their table, Arnold turned to stop Gerald, placing a hand on his shoulder. Gerald looked at him, an eyebrow raised questioningly at him," What's up, man?"
"It's about Hugo. What was the secret thing all about?"
Gerald adverted his eyes, "It was no big deal, Arnold."
"I heard you say my name, Gerald," he seethed.
"Oh," he clamped his mouth shut, calculating his response carefully. Finally, he smiled softly, "Yeah, I did. He's got a secret he doesn't want you to know yet. But you'll find out eventually."
Arnold sighed in exasperation, "You're really not gonna tell me?"
"Not a word," the boy grinned.
The blonde slung his backpack over his shoulder grumpily before grumbling in defeat as the two walked down the hall to their lockers. As the two strode down the hallway, the buzzing thoughts and questions circling Arnold's mind began to drown out the buzzing of chattering students ready to leave the school grounds.
As Hugo and Phoebe strolled out into the parking lot, thankful that the school day was finally over, the two noticed a group of girls chatting amongst themselves at a picnic table outside the school's entrance. Out of curiosity, the pair approached the group. As they grew closer, Hugo noticed a certain dark-haired girl sitting in the middle of them all, chatting excitedly about something Hugo could not care less about.
He felt an anger boil in his chest at the sight of her perky, preppy face yammering about something.
His hands curled into fists, his black nails piercing the skin of his palms. The boy could not bite back the harsh growl that erupted in his chest, "Lloyd! You've got some fuckin explaining to do!"
"Oh, boy," squeaked Phoebe as Hugo pushed through the group of bewildered girls. Before she could stop him, the boy had his hand wrapped around the girl's collar.
"What the hell, Hugo?" she cried out.
"I know it was you that told the whole school," He seethed, his teeth grinding angrily against each other.
"I'm certain I don't have any clue what you're talking about," her eyes nervously darted to the angry hand he had lifted against her chin.
His voice came out in a hiss, "Don't play dumb, you bitch. You told the whole fucking school I was gay."
"I didn't tell the whole school. I only told a few people, and, well, word got around P.S. 218. Heh," she smiled sheepishly at the boy. He lifted her angrily, leaving her feet to dangle underneath her.
''It wasn't your business to tell people that, Rhonda."
She cast a solemn glance at the floor; that was the first time Hugo had ever seen her look genuinely guilty for something.
"I know...," she sighed, "I'm sorry."
"What?" he barked, flabbergasted.
"I'm sorry, Hugo. It wasn't my place, and I get that now. As much as I love the juicy gossip, I shouldn't be spreading that sort of business around the school."
Hugo lowered her back onto her feet but kept a suspicious eye on the girl, crossing his arms stiffly.
She looked up at him with pleading brown eyes, "I heard what happened with Harold. That sort of behavior is something I didn't expect from telling."
'Yeah, well, you should have."
"I know, Hugo. I hope you can forgive me for taking that from you and causing you so much drama during your first week here."
He frowned at her, still slightly unconvinced as Lila piped up from the crowd, "I hope you can forgive all of us for spreading it, too. It was ever-so-wrong of us."
Hugo looked at the girls in front of him with slitted eyes. He figured that because they could not undo what they had already done, it was best not to continue to hold on to it. With a sigh, he contended, "Fine, fine."
Rhonda smiled happily at this, clapping her well-manicured hands together, "Oh, that is wonderful! But just to be sure we're on good terms with each other, why don't you two come to my sleepover tonight?"
He raised an eyebrow at her, "You want me, a boy, at your little slumber party?"
"Yes, darling! It's not like you'd hit on any of us anyways!" she grinned.
He rolled his eyes before casting an unsure glance at Phoebe. The small girl looked at him with an assuring smile, "Rhonda is right. It might be a fun experience and a decent way to get on good terms with each other."
He shrugged his shoulders, "Alright, what the hell. It couldn't hurt."
The roaring of the motorbike's engine flooded Lloyd Manion's driveway, drowning out the chatter in the adjacent room downstairs, where a group of girls sat amongst themselves. Hugo killed the engine of his sleek black Harley and kicked the stand down before helping his petite friend off the bike. He stared up at the giant mansion with wide eyes, his neck careening as his gaze trailed to the top.
Hugo swallowed hard before Phoebe slipped her small hand into his, giving it a squeeze of reassurance. He still wasn't sure why he had let her convince him to come. As he lifted his hand to ring the doorbell, the alabaster door swung open to reveal a room of teenaged girls, with Rhonda front and center. The raven-haired girl eyed the pair up and down before smiling wildly at them, "Welcome to the party!"
Rhonda swung the door open for them, and the girls behind her disassembled to go back about their business. The two stepped in hesitantly as the chatter resumed inside the room. Hugo's piercing gaze studied the elegant room adorned with expensive artwork and fancily crafted furniture. He huffed, unimpressed as Rhonda studied his expressions, to which he earned a warning nudge in the side from his petite friend.
The girls wandered further into the house towards a large room that Hugo assumed to be a guest space made for events like Rhonda's girly social gatherings. It was emptier than a bedroom and much larger than one but looked furnished for the same purpose. He slung his worn black bag onto the floor next to the flashy begs the others had set aside, making sure it landed with an obnoxious thud. He sniggered to himself at Rhonda's unamused expression at the noise.
The evening went on much too slowly for Hugo's liking as the girls chatted about hair, boybands, makeup, and many other things he had sworn off years ago. While femininity didn't bother him too much, he felt out of place sitting amongst his female classmates. His whole life, he was pushed aside and unincluded from events like class sleepovers because he was never deemed "girly" enough by his peers. Even though he had figured out why he never fit their mold, Hugo felt farther away from this group there than he had cast aside all those years ago. He realized that the only reason he had even been considered as someone to invite was that he was a gay guy and, by their understanding, should be just as feminine as they were.
He huffed, unamused at the irony of it all. He laid back on the couch, pulling himself from his thoughts to glance at his small friend. She sat on the floor next to Nadine, nerd-ing out about something or another, no doubt, as the latter painted her nails an obnoxious blue that made Hugo cringe inwardly. It made him happy to see her happy, though, which was all that mattered to the boy.
Rhonda must have noticed the placid, unamused look on Hugo's face as he stared around the room. She piped up harshly, "Not enjoying yourself, Hugo?"
"Hmm? Oh, it's not that. I'm just not into this sorta stuff, is all," he said flippantly, leaning forward to inspect the bowl of green mush some of the girls were applying to their faces. He scrunched up his nose at the mystery avocado paste.
Rhonda let out a huff, "Aren't you gay?"
"Uh, doy. I literally just yelled it to all of P.S. 218 the other day," he retorted, cheeky sarcasm dripping in his voice.
She rolled her eyes at him, "What I mean is, aren't gay dudes supposed to enjoy this sort of stuff?"
"Not necessarily. I like some girly things, like my earrings or my nails painted. I've never been much of a makeup guy or anything."
"The girliest thing Hugo likes is boys," Phoebe chirped.
Hugo let out a cackle, and a few of the girls giggled at her remark, "Very true, Phoebes. I do like boys."
This seemed to cause some gears to turn in Rhonda's mind as she suddenly sat up with a smile. She giggled excitedly before ushering the girls to quiet down around her, "That gives me the most brilliant idea, Phoebe."
Hugo raised a confused and slightly concerned eyebrow at the pompous girl sitting in front of him. She delightedly spoke over his thoughts, "Why don't we play some Would You Rather?"
Hugo groaned outwardly, "And what does that have to do with boys?"
"You'll see, Hugo. I promise this will be something fun for all of us."
The group gathered around in a circle on the floor, with Phoebe nestling up on her friend's lap. Secretly, it made Hugo happy that his friend still felt comfortable enough with him to do such a thing. The game rounds started very calmly, with Lila and Phoebe asking innocent questions about mundane things. A few questions later, it became a game of "Would You Rather kiss who or who." By the time it had reached Rhonda, however, Hugo had begun to get nervous about the provocativeness of the game.
"Alright ladies," Rhonda paused with a wicked smile, "and gent. Time to spice this game up, don't you think?"
The girls around him began to giggle and let out little "oohs" of excitement. Hugo cringed inwardly as the raven-haired girl directed her gaze to him, "Hugo, darling."
"Whoopie, my turn," he responded unenthusiastically.
Her smile grew wide as she formulated her question, "Would you rather fuck Sid or... Arnold."
He frowned at her with a wild blush threatening to cover his face, "Do I have to answer?"
"Yes, Hugo! It's your turn to answer, so you gotta!" chimed Nadine.
He sighed defeatedly, covering his red face behind his hands, "Criminy, okay. Uh, Arnold then."
The teens erupted into wild chatter and laughter at his response.
''I bet it's 'cause he thinks Arnold is hot!" laughed Sheena.
"I bet he has a crush on Arnold! They're always together, too," Lila said bubbly, "It's ever-so-sweet."
"Do you like Arnold, Hugo?" questioned Nadine, a curious smile on her face.
Rhonda edged the questions on, leaning closer to the blushing boy on the couch, "Yeah, Hugo. Do you have a crush on Arnold? I can tell by the way you're so flustered!"
Hugo buried his head in the crook of Phoebe's shoulder, letting out a grumble of defeat. The girls took this as a definitive yes, which led to a chorus of happy awes and ooohs.
The rest of the evening's chatter centered around boy talk and Hugo's feelings toward the flaxen-haired boy in their class. Oddly, he felt happy to get it off his chest without receiving the backlash he assumed he'd get. It was comforting to gush about the boy he loved out loud, too.
As the night ended and everyone settled into their respective beds or sleeping mats, the blonde boy made his way to the bathroom. He flicked on the light dimmer to a low setting so as to not disturb anyone in the next room. He put the sleep clothes tucked away under his arm onto the marble countertop, wincing at the cold that grazed his fingertips. As he pulled off his shirt, his eyes traveled to the reflection that stared back at him in the mirror, just as he had done many nights before.
He smiled softly to himself as he admired how the low lighting made his frame look sharp and his jaw masculine. He traced the lines he once carved into his skin with a delicate finger as if skimming the memories of his self-growth. Hugo's smile widened as he shifted his eyes to the scars that proudly adorned his chest, dark in contrast to the white lines across his arms. He was finally himself.
No, he thought. The mirror finally reflected what was there all along.
If this was the boy who was here all along, then maybe Arnold loved this boy all along. Perhaps he could still love me this way like Gerald said.
Blocks away, Arnold and Gerald sat sprawled out on the former's bedroom floor, surrounded by bags of chips and bottles of Yahoo Soda. Rock blasted from the stereo that settled on the wooden shelf as the two boys clacked and tapped mercilessly at their videogame controllers. As the older teens fought valiantly at their 8-bit foes, Arnold's mind could not help but wander back to their conversation from earlier today. Despite what Gerald had told him about Hugo telling him his secret eventually, he still itched to pull some sort of hint or confession from his friend about their new-found companion.
Gerald piped up as if the boy could read his mind, his hazel eyes still glued to the screen, "I know what you're thinking, man. I'm not tellin' you what Hugo said!"
Arnold fumbled in surprise, resulting in his character's death from a fatal, pixelized blast of fire. He groaned in exasperation, falling on his back and tossing the controller to the side. Gerald rolled his eyes at the teen's dramatics, pausing the game with a sound of disapproval, "It's not your business, Arnold! And I promised him I wouldn't tell. That shit's sacred, dude."
"It is my business! It's a secret about me, Gerald!" he cried, sitting up and waving his hands in obvious distress, "Plus, you're my best friend! You're supposed to tell me everything."
Gerald sat back against the wall, his arms crossed amusedly, "What are you gonna get out of me telling you this, anyway?"
Arnold paused a moment, unsure of how to answer. He chewed at his lip in thought, "I guess I'm just worried about what he thinks of me, and I thought maybe it had to do something with that. Like, maybe he doesn't like me or something."
Gerald couldn't bite back the laugh that erupted from his lips, "I promise you don't gotta worry about how he feels about you then, man."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"He likes you, dude. Like, really likes you."
"You don't mean...?" an odd feeling began to stir in the blonde's chest as Gerald stared at him with wide eyes.
"I, uh. Yes. I mean, no. No. I didn't say that," Gerald fumbled over his words, scratching the back of his neck as he averted his gaze.
"That's what you meant, isn't it? He likes-likes me?" a smile etched onto his face, which Gerald pleasantly noted.
"You sound happy about it, dude," the brown-eyed boy amusedly quipped.
"Yeah! I mean, no! I, uh...," a hot blush flooded his cheeks with scarlet red, "I just mean that I'm happy I managed to get you to tell me his secret?"
"Mhmm. Whatever you say, Arnold," he paused, grateful that the real secret didn't slip from his lips. He still felt guilty for telling Arnold as much as he did. Hopefully, this slip-up would help bring his two friends back together, he thought. He looked back at his flustered blonde friend, smiling goofily to hide the hopefulness in his eyes, "Just promise not to make it weird between you two, okay?"
Arnold nodded all too enthusiastically before turning his attention back to his videogame controller. Gerald took the hint and pressed resume on their game. The two played on until the moon climbed into Hillwood's light-polluted night sky. As Arnold settled down for the night in his bed, he did his best to convince himself that the pounding of his heart was from the shock-filled horror movie the two had watched before deciding to sleep.
Yeah, definitely just the movie.
It was dark. Way too dark, Arnold thought.
As he looked around, he tried to find an ounce of light in the surrounding blackness. The dark room nipped at his skin with a sharp coolness, and the air around him seemed thin as he stumbled through it. His arms extended in front of him as he swatted at the nothingness, Arnold called out with trembling disparity, "Hello? Is anyone out there?"
Silence screamed back. He felt his heartbeat quicken as his steps became more frantic. He called out once more, "Hello? Someone? Please!"
A brief pause passed between him and the darkness before a voice called back to him, much to his excitement. It was a young girl's voice; a familiar, grave voice, "Hey, Arnold!"
"Helga?" he smiled ecstatically.
"Hey, Arnold!" the darkness repeated, hauntingly distant.
The boy felt his feet move beneath him despite the fear that still rang through his mind. He followed her cries through the darkness until he felt a ghoulish presence waft past him, like a cold breath on the back of his neck. Frantically, he looked around, only to make out a slowly approaching figure in the darkness; a silhouetted frame barely distinguishable by its light from a familiar pair of striking blue eyes.
The air around him grew warmer the closer he moved towards it, and the brighter the world became. He could slowly make out more of the figure the closer he approached; it was definitely Helga. A furrowed brow and proud pigtails greeted him in the approaching light as his fear melted into pure joy. He was within arm's reach of her now. He pulled her close, embracing her tightly. Tears of ecstasy prickled at the corners of his sea-green eyes as he felt her hold him tightly as she had years before.
But something was wrong. No, not wrong, he thought. Something was different.
The frame he held was different from the soft frame of his once beloved. The person he held was taller, stronger, and more sturdily framed. The same smell of Helga's vanilla and strawberry shampoo clung to their hair, the same gentle hands cradled his back and ran their fingers through his hair, and the same gentle heartbeat pounded in tandem with his; despite these similarities, Arnold knew this wasn't Helga...right?
He pulled away slowly, his arms still draped over the shoulders of the familiar stranger, and his favorite pair of ocean eyes stared back at him from a face he would have never expected to see in his dreams. Looking at him with a cocky smirk that twinged his heart and a half-lidded gaze, Hugo whispered with a sweet coo, "Hey, Football Head."
Arnold sat up in bed with a start, his heart pounding in his chest like a drum. Cold beads of sweat dripped down his brow as he ran a shaky hand through his flaxen, unruly hair. He sucked in a deep breath before looking at the alarm clock seated next to his bed.
6:00 A.M.
Just minutes before he had to get up for school. And see Hugo.
"Oh, boy."
A/N: Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! Let me know what you think, I really appreciate all the comments and take advice to heart! First to comment on this chapter gets added to special shoutout list that will be posted in the A/N of every chapter!