Arnold energetically felt agile despite some muscle fatigue. He also felt fully present as he turned to lay on his stomach, watching the three bubbles form in the text thread.

Helga shut her eyes tight, her fingers grazing the screen. She couldn't believe she was texting Arnold, that she had initiated it, and that he was responding.

Helga - Ha. Work is going on. I'm on break

Arnold - Oh yeah? I feel like I just came from a 16-hour workday myself

She had sent a million text messages to boys she liked. What was she afraid of? Arnold was just a guy.

He's just a guy, just a guy.

Helga - Doi, that happens when you hang with 'Larry' and 'Moe'

Helga - And 'Curly' if Stinky was there

She always referred to Harold, Sid, and Stinky as the three stooges in junior high.

Too soon to joke? Minutes went by with no response; Helga inhaled with slight dread.

Arnold - Haha, that's very funny, Helga. Stinky wasn't there

Helga exhaled in relief that he saw the humor.

Helga brought her phone to her chest, squeezing it like a little girl. She had read his replies in his voice, but she shook her head, knowing to keep her emotions in check.

Helga - G2G back on the clock. Go rest up for your next escapade. C U

Arnold - Will do. C'ya

When her annoying co-worker entered the break lounge, Helga's wide grin fell, and she resumed her default work scowl. She threw her empty food items into the trash like a basketball pro.

That wasn't so bad. I can handle that here and there.

Helga tossed her phone into her bag, fighting the flutter in her chest. She couldn't get carried away—this was just Arnold being Arnold. But his texts made her smile… maybe it was nothing.

Arnold's grin lingered as he prepared for bed until sleep overtook him.

Arnold's fingers moved independently to check Rhonda's Instagram; as expected, her page was Arnold-free. It was full of staged glamorous photoshoots and a few candid pictures with her best friend Nadine and all her friends and fans.

Arnold light-heartedly rolls his eyes. He'd been in a few situationships and relationships to know how it goes.

Arnold sighed with a grin when he noticed Rhonda unfollowed him. His finger paused over the unfollowed feature on her page, and then he shook his head. He thought about this from a bigger perspective. From her follower's POV, it looked like Rhonda broke up with him, and if he remained a follower, that might confirm it.

He didn't care about his social media reputation. He knew it meant a lot to Rhonda, and even though he didn't understand that, he respected it. If a stranger were to see her page, they wouldn't know she was going through a breakup. As she said, she's Rhonda Wellington Lloyd, who perfectly crafted and maintained her beauty and gossip girl image.

His mind held visions of sincere laughs and talks with Rhonda. Although he needed to end this relationship, he didn't regret it. He did have good times, and he learned a lot from it. It was a connection he cherished for those reasons.

His fingers continued to move on their own, finding his way to Helga's page. He'd never looked her up online. He scrolled through her photos, only counting four snaps of herself out of roughly 30 pictures. There were many pictures of a French bulldog and a few snaps of her with her softball team.

As Arnold scrolled through her page, he felt a strange mix of guilt and curiosity. It had barely been a week since his breakup with Rhonda, yet here he was, looking at Helga's page. It didn't make sense. Or maybe it did, and that's what unsettled him the most.

She had many text posts, and Arnold read one in particular;

Sometimes, I wish I could go missing for a bit; I bet no one would freak out. That might sound sad, but I actually would welcome it. Then I could come back, and they'd say, "Did you have fun going missing?" and I'd say, "Yeah, thanks." And then I could do that every couple of weeks or so, and it wouldn't be a big deal.

Arnold tapped his chin, thinking about how Helga expressed some vulnerability with a hint of dark humor. He wondered how often she felt the desire to get away. Or if she really thought no one would care enough to freak out. His lips pressed together, thinking about if she wasn't around or, as she said, 'went missing.' He felt a trail of sadness run through him; he couldn't imagine his life without at least some traces of her.

His fingertips hovered over one particular shot of Helga. Her smile with the sun shining down enhanced the color of her hair and eyes.

Arnold paused on the photo, feeling something tug at his mind. He hadn't realized how striking Helga was or how different she seemed from the girl who always had a sharp comeback ready. Was it just the lighting, or had he been missing something all these years?

The photographer must have been someone who admired Helga a lot because they took the time to wait until the light from the sun was just right. He wondered who because they perfectly captured her profile.

Arnold's eyes narrowed, trying to think of who that person could be. Why was he so curious? Helga had always been around, but it was as if he was seeing her for the first time. Maybe that's what unsettled him the most—he wasn't sure why it mattered now.

Considering the circumstances, he felt weird staring at her page for this long. Even though he saw the guy daily, Arnold moved to Gerald's page. Yes, Gerald had an excellent SM page. It wasn't self-indulgent or over the top, but just like Gerald himself, it was cool.

He noticed a new picture of himself with Phoebe eating pizza. His mouth picked up on the ends because he remembered when he first noticed Gerald pining for her. It was back when Gerald was dating another girl. He admired how smoothly Gerald handled it all and how he didn't care about reputation or their differences in social status at the school. He was a guy who liked this girl, and to him, that's all that mattered.

Arnold zipped his jacket up. The wind was much chillier today as he walked through the school's parking lot. He still felt the absence of something or someone by his side. It had been a daily routine for either of them to pick the other up, Rhonda picking out his outfits and those brief moments of spontaneity in the car ride to the school. He couldn't lie to himself and say he didn't miss her, but he knew the relationship would end.

Arnold also felt relieved that all eyes weren't on him and that he could skate under the radar for a change. However, he knew rumors about them were still floating around the school when he saw a few girls whispering while eying him.

Seeing Helga walking at a distance unexpectedly comforted him as he reached the grassy trail.

Arnold noticed her long hair was down for a change and how it blew freely in the wind as she moved. Her nose was in a notepad, and she was writing something utterly unbothered by the chaos around her.

She must have sensed his gaze because she looked ahead and then over at him.

Arnold's eyes met Helga's, and for just a second, there was something in her gaze, a quiet intensity that tugged at him. He couldn't shake the feeling that there was more to her than he'd ever realized. It confused him, but it also sparked some desire to find out.

Helga frowned, probably surprised or weirded out by his momentary bewilderment. Slowly, the corners of Helga's mouth curled up, and she gave him the tiniest head nod before returning to her writing.

As Arnold entered the lunchroom, he glanced at the empty table where he usually sat, shook his head, and scanned the cafeteria. He had been going to the library or the weight room to avoid this, but that got old. He stopped when he saw a familiar face he knew would be welcoming.

"Hey, Phoebe," Arnold said, standing beside her table. "Would you mind if I sat with you?"

"Hey Arnold," Phoebe's features showed surprise, but she smiled. "Of course, have a seat."

The two leaned on the tables, catching up and having small talk. They had multiple classes together and often paired for assignments, so there was a lot they could discuss.

Helga walked in with her food tray and her usual unimpressed gaze. She couldn't believe her eyes when she saw Arnold chitchatting with Phoebe at her usual table.

She sank into the seat beside her best friend, looking at Arnold with one brow raised. "What are you slumping it today?... Ouch," Phoebe pinched her thigh underneath the table.

Arnold shook his head with a half grin. "No, I needed a change of scenery. I hope you don't mind."

Helga drank in his always pleasant demeanor, and, paired with the sound of his voice; she turned away for a second to put on an unbothered expression the best she could. "I mean, I don't own the chairs. You can sit wherever you want. I don't care."

Arnold spotted the part of her pink book in her top sweater pocket. When she turned back to him, Arnold quickly opened and closed one eye at her. "Okay, whatever you say."

Shortly after, Gerald and Curly joined, and even though Gerald sat beside Arnold and sent Phoebe a wink across the table, she looked up at him from behind her glasses and blushed.

"So, uh, Arnold," Curly started peeking at the blonde guy with a squint and a half-grin. "What truly brings you to our neck of the woods, huh?" he asked, earning him an elbow poke from Gerald and Helga. "What? I'm only asking a question," he held up his hands. "Okay, you don't have to answer it, Arnold."

Arnold eyed everyone and then sighed, pushing around at his food. "Rhonda and I broke up." He frowned because he felt a release of sadness when those words escaped his lips.

"Oh, so it is true." Curly declared, receiving two elbow pokes that only made him laugh like a maniac. He nodded, calming himself down. "As a true romantic, I'm sorry to hear that," Curly said, glancing toward his former crush, "I mean no offense to Ms. Lady Lloyd. But I always thought you could have done better. Ya' know what I'm saying..." He made a head motion with raised brows at Arnold like he was trying to send him a secret message. Arnold's brows connected, not having the slightest clue. But he shrugged it off because Curly wasn't ever easy to follow.

His eyes rolled disappointedly behind his large square glasses, but the disappointment faded when his gaze drifted to something he liked. After patting Helga on the shoulder, Curly said, "K. Goodnight, kids." He vacated his seat after seeing Sam writing at another table alone.

Helga froze in the position she was in when he stated they had broken up, and she could feel Phoebe burning a hole in the side of her head. She had a million questions in her head but knew they were inappropriate.

She stared at Arnold as he spoke to Gerald about their upcoming basketball game.

"So Helga," Phoebe began in a low tone, still causing Helga to jump, pulling her attention away from Arnold. "Did you hear that the ice cream is free?"

Helga laughed nervously at Phoebe using their secret name for Arnold. "Shuddup, Phoebe."

Phoebe flashed her pearly whites playfully. "What? Before, you talked about how much you've liked ice cream more lately, so..."

Helga turned her body to face Phoebe immediately, putting on her best glare. But it did nothing to remove Phoebe's joyous expression. Helga's jaw clenched because she knew it was slight revenge for all the teasing she had done to Phoebe when she was crushing on Gerald. "Yeah, I said that, but it doesn't mean I'm ready to indulge any, and who said ice cream wants to be...uh... consumed by me?"

Phoebe closed her mouth, and one corner of her lip curled up. She opened her mouth to speak, but Gerald spoke first.

"What's all this about ice cream?" Gerald asked, rubbing his flat stomach.

"Nothing," Phoebe and Helga said in unison, causing Gerald and Arnold to look at each other and shrug.

Helga started eating and suddenly felt her body temperature rising. She looked up to see Arnold staring at her with an unreadable expression. His eyes seemed to be subtly following her every move. Under his unwavering gaze, she felt vulnerable and jittery.

Arnold only pulled his eyes away because of the familiar commotion around his ex-girlfriend, who flaunted her latest fashions with a suddenly longer hairstyle. And Helga could finally exhale.

Arnold paused on his ex but then cut his eyes and began eating his food, certainly not missing being a part of that circus.

Helga couldn't help peeking at Arnold between bites. At one point, she caught his eye and finally recognized his expression—was it intrigue?

Her whole body warmed and flushed. She felt like she couldn't budge or speak.

Helga tried to play it cool, but her heart raced when Arnold looked at her. Why did it matter what he thought? She couldn't let herself fall into old patterns. But when he gave her that slight grin, she felt her resolve slipping.

It's just Arnold being Arnold ... get it together, girl.

The bell rang, and Helga felt rescued and hightailed out of there, leaving everyone at the table scratching their heads.

After class today, Arnold was assigned to clean one of the boy's bathrooms, the worst one that rarely anyone used.

As he heard heavy footsteps, some of Arnold hoped it was a certain girl. He shook his head at the ridiculousness of that, considering his location. Sid and Harold walked in instead.

"What are you guys doing here?" He asked because only a particular segment of the student body uses this specific bathroom.

"Duh, we have to take a whiz," Harold smartly mouthed and was shoved by Sid. The bigger guy folded his arms stubbornly. "Alright, look, we wanted to apologize for what happened, " he said genuinely.

Sid looked around in disgust. "Yeah. We're sorry for getting you into our mess, so we wanted to help you clean up; that's the least we could do. It's our fault you have to clean this nasty bathroom anyway," he said, rolling up his sleeves.

"Yeah," Harold mumbled, only meeting Arnold's eyes briefly.

Arnold sighed. "I appreciate the apology, but it's not like you forced me to show up there. And I understand you didn't want to get into trouble with the cop." He looked around at the stained walls and dirty floors and half-grinned at them. "But, I could use some help," he answered with a smile, tossing Sid and Harold some gloves.

Sid watched Harold leave and then faced Arnold.

"So I heard about you and Rhonda." He started with his eyes on the spotless floor.

Arnold nodded, putting the cleaning supplies into a cart. "I figured everyone has by now."

"Yeah, I'm in the same boat as you." Arnold frowned, not understanding. "Nadine broke up with me." Sid clarified in a small voice.

Arnold's mouth formed into an 'O' when Sid explained how Nadine was disappointed in how he handled things at the water tower and other moments in their relationship.

Wow, is he about to cry? Arnold spied, his eyes watering up. He hadn't seen Sid cry since someone stole his precious go-go boots, and this memory almost made him laugh.

Arnold covered his mouth when he thought of a joke he once heard Helga say about Sid to Curly between periods. It wasn't even that funny, but something about her delivery stuck with him. He shook his head, realizing how much space she was starting to take up in his thoughts, and focused on the current state of affairs.

Arnold took in the dark circles under his eyes. "Ah, man, Sid, I'm sorry to hear that." Arnold gripped his shoulder. "Are you going to be okay?"

Sid nodded, holding back the waterworks as Arnold squeezed his shoulder before letting go. But he thought of offering some support.

"You, too, seem so good together; I'm sure you can work it out. If you need to talk about it more, I'm here."

A few drops of water fell on his white shirt. "yeah..." He shuffled his feet. "Thanks."

Arnold nodded and watched Sid pull out a tiny comb to smooth back his hair, put his cap on backward in the mirror, and put on his best poker face. He looked over at Arnold with a slight nervousness in his eyes. "Don't tell anyone I, you know..."

The blonde teen half-smiled. "That stays between you and me, Sid."

Sid grinned and pointed two fingers at Arnold. "Cool," He declared in a deeper voice, strutting out of the bathroom.

Arnold stood on the bottom step, his hand in his pocket, seeing the light in Eugene's room. He walked up and knocked on the door.

Since the incident, he'd been going to check up on Eugene and enjoyed being around the guy, so it had become a thing.

The redhead was gleefully singing a song and practicing a dance. However, due to the pain from his minor injuries, he was moving stiffly.

Arnold sat on the bean bag chair, flipping through a comic, when he saw Eugene almost slip over his shoes on the floor. Using his quick reflexes. he broke his fall.

"Eugene, buddy, you have to be careful, " he said firmly and sat back down.

Eugene picked up his shoes and put them in their correct place in his closet. "I know." He chuckled. "Ya'know, Helga Pataki was just telling me the same thing. Just in a not-so-nice manner." He laughed with his eyes closed.

Arnold dropped the comic book on his lap, steadying himself from sliding off the bean bag chair. "Helga?"

Eugene shrugged a little. "Yes, she was just here."

"Why?" He regretted asking this; it's not like he couldn't picture them as friends since she was close with Curly. But at the same time, Eugene and Helga hanging out was something he never saw.

"Oh, she's started helping me get caught up since we have all the same classes. Then we just decided to become study buddies. It's funny because Phoebe has been spending more time with Gerald lately, and I suspect that's why she agreed. But either way, I like the company." Eugene's shoulders shivered some. "I used to be scared of her, but now I think she's a fun girl."

"Hmm," he rubbed the back of his neck with a small smile. "Yeah, she is."

As he left Eugene's house, Arnold repeatedly thought about what Eugene had said. Helga… helping him study and hanging out? He knew they'd grown up together, but why did the thought of Helga spending more time with Eugene bother him? Arnold shook his head, pushing the thought aside. But even as he tried to ignore it, something inside him felt uneasy.

He couldn't get his findings on social media and Eugene's experience out of his mind. When walking down the school hall, Arnold's eyes scanned the crowd automatically. He wasn't sure what—or who—he was looking for, but when he didn't spot flaxen hair paired with icy blue eyes, a strange disappointment settled in his chest. What's wrong with me? He wondered, shaking his head, knowing he needed to keep his head on the game coming up.

He entered the classroom, and Arnold knew one thing for sure—Helga made him feel things he wasn't ready to face.

Phoebe hopped up and down like the lovesick schoolgirl outside Helga's bedroom door. "Helga!' She burst into Helga's pink-filled room.

"Geez, Phoebe, where's the fire?"

"Sorry," She paused to catch her breath and then grabbed at the bottom of her shirt. "You have to come with me to the basketball game tonight."

Helga jerked her neck back. "Why? Since when have you been a basketball fan?"

Phoebe slowly shrugged with a shy glint in her eyes. "I've always kind of have," Helga smirked. "But I don't want to go alone; it'll be boring without you. You don't have work tonight or anything, so please say you are coming. please—"

"Oh, alright, Phoebe! Doi, where did you learn to beg like that?"

Phoebe gave her a knowing look and ran into her closet to find some sporty clothes that could fit her.

Arnold stared at his reflection as he pulled on his basketball uniform. He felt some pre-game jitters, which always happened, but it heightened because he had missed some practices because of his cleaning duties. He did some breathing exercises until his parents called for him to leave.

XOXOXOXOXOXO

Now, on the opposing team's school grounds, he gave his teammates pats and high fives as they walked down the hall. A few early fans were leaning against the wall, primarily girls, watching them, and his nerves increased. But then Arnold looked at a girl in a V-neck jersey shirt and a long ponytail who was making quick chats with Gerald and a few other guys on the team as they walked by. When he got closer enough to brush shoulders with Helga, she laughed and said, "Good luck, Arnoldo."

Helga's words sounded more teasing than she'd intended, but the look in Arnold's eyes caught her off guard. She turned away quickly, her heart skipping a beat. She told herself it was just a joke.

He smiled, and his eyes lingered on her until she was out of sight. Helga's teasing words echoed in his mind, but he pushed them aside, focusing on the game. Still, knowing she was there gave him an edge he couldn't quite explain.

With a flattered half-grin, Arnold walked onto the court; he couldn't shake the feeling that something had shifted. But what? He wasn't ready to explore that thought yet, so he focused on the game instead, determined to keep his head in it.

As Arnold took his position on the court, he couldn't help but glance at the bleachers, searching... His eyes stopped on her, her arms crossed, a smirk playing on her lips. His pulse quickened. For some reason, this game felt like it mattered more than ever, and he now felt the confidence propelling him to do what he needed to win.