There had always been a special place for Helga in his heart. He might have not noticed at first, but when that weak-kneed feeling he had did not go away as he stopped being afraid of her, he just knew it must be something else. He took special notice of any actions from Helga. No matter how small, in fact those were the best ones, because big were her displays of anger, loud and clear for any bystander. The contrast was clear when a flood of emotions came over her whenever a poem by 'anonymous' was read. Or that bewildered look she'd often carry around only to quickly mask it with the ever-present frown.
Even when more people came and left to join their cliques, the 'urban tots' group somehow never truly drifted apart. They grew up together, went to every school together so without meaning to, they stayed close and thus saw how the blonde never truly changed. Small, spontaneous, bursts of emotion, quickly covered up. How the disguise came was the only apparent change throughout the years first with anger, later with annoyance, and more recently with apathy. Astounding how the boy paid attention to her, looked at her, unconsciously so.
Never did he hide the fact that he found her attractive, when not scowling of course, but never shouted it from the rooftops either. Yet, when he'd accepted to be her hired boyfriend, well he'd surprisingly grew very fond of her ample and deep range of emotions, frown and all. Too bad Helga rejected any and all of his affections with such brash words.
"Look, Stinky, it's not gonna work not now, not ever".
Funny how time proved wrong those two little words at the end of her statement. Now here he was pulling his sweater from under Helga's pillow, the same one that got him where he is now. At the same time noting how much of a softie she really was. Not only by keeping the sweater, after all it had been the first of many small gifts, but by keeping it near her in such an intimate place. Folding the garment, and placing it back, Stinky's thoughts reminisced on the development in their relationship.
He of course heard about it, seen it even, the beginning of the end of 'Arnold and Helga'. Yet knew better than to ask directly and only knew the bits everyone else was familiar with. After freshman year Helga went to some fancy art camp and Arnold went to San Lorenzo with his parents. While it wasn't unusual for them to spend time apart, especially during the summer given their travels, camps, and friends, what was unusual is what Arnold did. The whole family did not come back when they said they would be. Arnold was supposed to be back two weeks before the tenth grade yet the summer break preceding junior year is approaching and the only sign that Arnold is still alive is the monthly postcard that Gerald and his grandparents get and vaguely mention. After four years of relationship to be disrupted that way he did expect for Helga to be upset, it was only natural. He saw it in the way her eyes dimmed some, the way she had an angry outburst more frequently and intensely.
November to be specific, or so Stinky supposed at least that's when he first saw it. He was accustomed to her ways, as well as the rest of the original P.S.118 gang, who knew to keep their distance. So he did, until one strong cold front struck Hillwood early December. It came out of nowhere for everyone except by him, he felt something coming. It became a sixth sense for him ever since farming rose to the forefront of his interest. So when waking that morning he knew what to expect. That day, he layered some shirts and topped it with a warm green hoodie and began his walk to school. Except he stopped when he saw a very irritated Helga walking across the street from where he was, stomping away in just a t-shirt and some jeans. The only thing about her outfit that seemed to fit the weather was the beanie on her head. Without hesitation he began to take action when the idea of what to do came to him. He took off his hoodie and began walking towards her before stopping as a realization hit him. She was proud, too proud to accept the hoodie off his back so he clumsily stashed it on his backpack and called out to her. "Hey, Helga!" as she began to turn around with a glare and a "what? I don't have all day you know", he reached her.
Then as he began to pull the sweater off his bag to give her, the expression on her face indicated where his intentions were headed. "Here, Miss Helga you are sure to freeze if you stay like that" as she was about to tell him to 'shove off', a strong gust of cold wind stopped her. Accepting his hoodie with an uncharacteristically meek "thanks Stinky" she put it on and immediately knew what he did, the sleeves were somewhat folded in, and the warmth and smell that engulfed her gave it away. Yet she decided to not mention it to keep some dignity. However there was something surprising to her, how much she found herself liking everything about it. The cologne he wore did not honor his name, it was nice, intoxicating almost, and the feeling of being looked after was pleasant to say the least. However the slight pang of guilt she suddenly felt was not pleasant, and brought her sulkiness back and made her continue her walk to school in heavy steps with Stinky silently walking to her right, putting himself between the passing traffic and her.
Stinky despite the lack of engagement from the angry girl, never left her side in fact went to her first class where he said his goodbyes. The country boy wouldn't have said it then but he found himself liking the way the hoodie looked on Helga, which was partly the reason he stuck with her until he couldn't, sneaking glances on how loose it fit and consequently adorable. Definitely not something to be telling her if he liked breathing through his nose. Being smart enough he kept quiet all the way. When they saw each other again it was the end of the day, she was on her way to return his sweater.
"No way am I gonna let ya give it back while it's still cold out there. keep mah sweater" as a scowl was beginning to form on her face he continued "I'll go with ya to your house and when we get there you can give it back. how bout it?" She raised a threatening finger up to his face but stopped with a defeated sigh. Lately she had no energy to get involved in any type of fight and it was Stinky, harmless Stinky. She could handle him, they had known each other for the entirety of their lives and never had he been more than a slight nuisance whenever he made a flirty comment. She wasn't oblivious to them but knew better than to think he had been chasing after her for years. After all they ran in the same circle of friends and the multiple dates he'd been on were very much public knowledge as was the fact that nothing truly serious ever came of it. Helga almost felt bad for him, he wasn't a jerk and could make a good partner, while others, namely her, could be hard to deal with yet had a long fulfilling relationship with the object of her young affections, Arnold. Not that she was living the 'happily ever after'.
What wasn't public knowledge was the uncanny similarities in which he was rejected from going further. As sweet as Stinky was he shared little to no chemistry with any of the girls he ever saw. Resulting in never receiving the 'boyfriend' title, despite the amount of dates and goodbye kisses. In a way he understood after all he never 'loved' any of the fleeting crushes. The tall boy thought that love was something that grows with care and nurture just like with his first pumpkin. At least, that's what he learned after the first time he threw that word at someone. Yet here he found himself beginning to care and offer support to that same someone. And without really expecting for anything to come of it, damn did he have a soft spot for her.
That's how it began that day, on the walk to her house he learned of why she wasn't wearing a jacket. Apparently she had stormed out of her house after an argument with Miriam after Helga found an unopened bottle of liquor in the bathroom cabinet, her mother who explained to Helga she only bought it, had not drank from it and intended to return it. Had it been three years ago she might have believed her mother but with the slips Miriam has had, she could no longer believe that. And Helga in a fit of rage smashed the bottle on the floor after the emotional exchange and ran out. The relapses Miriam experienced weren't often but were able to put Helga in the most irritable mood. Usually Arnold being the ever considerate guy, would then make sure people stayed safe away as well make some grand gesture that would provoke every girls' envy. What seemed most effective in bringing Helga to a better mood however, was simply a supportive presence which the keen observant that was Stinky noticed and decided to do just that. The days following that incident he made sure to distract Helga with any outing he encountered, starting with the upcoming Christmas gatherings among the group. Yet for all his worth, when the break came and the 25th approached, Helga became on edge and so he tried harder, was simply present and did not fish for any details.
The season of parties and gatherings eventually ended, which led him to take it upon himself to create these outings which naturally were more intimate as it was only the two of them. He would be lying if he said that it was only out of concern, her presence was enjoyable even when she complained, all in all by late January they had certainly become great friends. So close in fact that their circle of friends had become accustomed to seeing them everywhere together and thought nothing of it. Which helped in keeping the sudden change in their relationship private to even their respective best friends. The change came about between them when their weekly meetings at the movies presented them with a limited choice for showings. It was after all February and the choices became limited to dramatic romance and at best action romance either way it could be said that 'romance was in the air'. The next set of events happened so fast there was no clear timeline to what exactly took place. All the same, there was a different type of eye contact shared between them, one which carried tension, some caressing, and some blushing after an inevitable mutual kiss.
Neither dared to acknowledge what happened, yet it didn't stop it from happening again, and again, even without the buffer of a movie or activity.
Be it attraction, familiarity, hormones, or feelings, they could not give an explanation of why it was happening. Helga however was the first to bring it up, about two weeks before her birthday she gathered the courage to ask a question with the power to change their dynamic. It was during an 'outing', this one being a picnic at the park. "Stinky, is… this a date?" Her question did have reason, after all since their first shared kiss both found themselves putting slightly more effort into their appearance. Also more daring comments became common from both parties only accurately described as shameless flirting, not to mention their bouts of affection. Now as far as the current picnic was concerned the whole thing seemed over the top, especially with the flower bouquet her 'friend' had brought her. As for Stinky Peterson, he was a daring guy but not stupid, he answered in a way he conveyed his newfound hopes but in a playful manner if he required an escape plan. "Why, Yes sweet darling" and finished with a wink. Helga seemed to take this answer without objection. Hence by the end of the now 'date' the 'couple' had now established to each other their newfound relationship.
They were a private couple, not keen on public displays of affection, however they didn't actively avoid it either. When it finally happened peoples' first reaction was to be skeptical, after all both are avid pranksters and it was April 1st. Except the incident repeated itself and speculation began to replace the initial skepticism. Confirmation came from Peterson, he was the more approachable party, it was the safest more reasonable choice. The news traveled fast as did, the collective approval of said development. Not that they needed it, their relationship only involved them both and everyone else can 'shove it' as Helga nicely expressed it.
However, the past month since the big reveal, it had been nice to not deal with rejection and subsequent drama, if the situation unfolded differently. The happy couple was now enjoying the air conditioning in Helga's house on this hot day of May. Smiling at the memories Stinky took notice how Helga was taking too long to come back to her room to join him. Figuring she might need a hand he began to make his way downstairs, when the doorbell rang as he neared the ground floor. Helga was now in the main hall in view of the door and now Stinky, balancing a bowl of popcorn and some drinks. Smiling at her, Stinky almost as if reading her thoughts said "I'll get it, my pet"
Helga rolled her eyes at the random use of the endearment term, but gave no other sign of disapproval and simply responded "yeah, yeah, move it Stinko"
As the front door opened a football headed guy came into view and the hopeful look he first carried quickly morphed into a displeased one. Arnold's eyes narrowed and with uncharacteristic disdain only said "Stinky"