Based on Hey, Arnold! characters created by Craig Bartlett. Author claims no copyright.

Growing up in Hillwood, Eugene Horowitz wore casts and bandages more times than he could remember. He fell off his bike. He tumbled down the stairs. He got attacked by chickens in the outfield when playing baseball. One thing after another. Eugene was convinced he was jinxed. Maybe because he was born on Friday the 13th.

Unlike his supposed jinx, there was something Eugene was not as keen on publicly admitting as a kid: He was gay.

Sheena, his friend since elementary school, was interested in him. Unlike their classmate Helga, who kept her feelings for Arnold a secret, Sheena openly expressed fondness for Eugene short of kissing him. She thought maybe she should wait until puberty got him interested. When he asked her to the homecoming dance in high school that time seemed to have come. But it turned out to instead be an opportunity to come out to her. While a bit disappointed, Sheena understood and even sensed that he could have been gay all along.

After Sheena, the first person Eugene came out to was Arnold. His football-headed friend and classmate was the kindest and most trustworthy person he knew. Arnold discouraged him from staying in the closet. Fortunately for Eugene, coming out to more of his friends was not as hard as he thought. Their fourth and fifth grade teacher at PS 118, Mr. Simmons, was also gay, so they had been down that road before.

When he turned 18 Eugene went down to Los Angeles in pursuit of acting gigs. Theater was the one place he experienced the least amount of injury and misfortune, and what most deemed him to be good at. He scored some minor, one-to-two line roles on episodes of a few sitcoms.

Acting didn't turn out to be the cash cow Eugene had hoped it would be. To make ends meet, he worked as a bartender, at a few establishments near where he lived in West Hollywood.

At the same time, not being able to live on acting allowed Eugene to later find his other dream job: writing for Nickelodeon Comics. Nick was where stories of his favorite superhero, The Abdicator, were published. Eventually he got a gig at Nick writing the Abdicator and a few other characters in the Superhero League such as Quailman and the Crimson Chin. Eugene also co-wrote the screenplay for The Abdicator live action film, the star of which was a much nicer guy than the one on tv Eugene met when he was nine.

Things came full circle for Eugene while working for Nick. It was there that he met his future husband, Carlos Reyes. Their first encounter was when Carlos, then a marketing executive, caught Eugene to stop him from slipping on wet paint on the lobby floor.

After three years together, Eugene proposed to Carlos on their favorite hike, in the hills near the Hollywood Sign.

A photo of the two on the hike- Eugene with his red hair and freckles, Carlos with his tan skin, black hair and stubble of a beard, was sent by Eugene in a group text. A brass ring was visible on one of Carlos' fingers.

The group text that received the photo was titled 'PS 118 Gang' on Eugene's phone. It included his group of friends from Hillwood since their elementary school days. Arnold and Helga Shortman. Gerald and Phoebe Johanssen. Harold and 'Big Patty' Berman. Rhonda Wellington Lloyd. Stinky Peterson. Sheena. Nadine. Sid.

EUGENE (text with photo)

Were engaged!!

RHONDA (text)

OMG! So excited! Congrats!

STINKY (text)

Mighty congrats Eugene!

HAROLD (text)

Grinning emoji.

ARNOLD (text)

Way to go Eugene and Carlos!

HELGA (text)

Hooray!!

PHOEBE (text)

Wow! So happy for you two!

GERALD (text)

"Arnoldo you know I can't drink! We both love Eugene but what are you trying to do to me?!?" The Shortmans had just got the save the date invite card to Eugene and Carlos' wedding in the mail. Helga had not had a drink in over ten years. In that decade plus of sobriety her life had changed for the better. Fears of going back down to rock bottom motivated her to stay dry. That and the 12-step program she had gone through and now preached in AA.

"Helg, keep it down while the kids are asleep," said Arnold. "I know. The last thing I want is for you to roll back all the progress you've made. But I talked to Eugene about it. Yes there will be some alcohol but he'll do what he can to make it so you're not uncomfortable. Trust me, if you were still in recovery, no way would I say you should go."

"Let me sleep on it, football head," said Helga.

Her father-in-law Miles and mother-in-law Stella gave Helga a vote of confidence that she could handle being around champagne toasts and other libations. But what sold her was when her best friend Phoebe assured her that, "Gerald, Arnold and I will keep eyes on you. But that won't stop us from having a good time. It wouldn't be if us Fab Four were not all there." "Oh ok. I'm in," said Helga.

An extra sell was that now that Helga had her life together they could use this occasion to make up for when the Fab Four actually did get married- under limited celebrations.

Helga and Arnold dressed up and signed papers at the Hillwood County Courthouse followed by a sober gathering hosted by Stella and Miles. The only guests being best man Gerald and maid of honor Phoebe. Rhonda had correctly predicted that the two would get married, but it was far from how Helga saw it in fourth grade. Helga felt that she was not removed from rehab enough yet, and part of that trepidation remained.

The Johanssens eloped on a getaway to Las Vegas. Gerald felt too pressured to put on extravagant gala for his parents, brother and sister, who were all opinionated. But they did have a low-key family and friends gathering after the elopement. He didn't have to worry about pleasing his family this time.

The Shortmans had Phil and Amber stay with their aunt Olga and cousin Donny while being out for the wedding.

The Johanssens had Gerald Jr. spend the weekend with one of his friends from school as he was invited to. Twin daughters Ellie and Kellie were to stay with Phoebe's parents, Kyu and Reba Heyerdahl.

Sid, Harold, Big Patty, Gerald, Phoebe, Helga and Arnold all took the same nonstop flight from Hillwood to LA. Harold and Patty didn't have to worry about sitters as they did not have kids.

Helga and Arnold sat bathing-suited in the jacuzzi at the Malibu Sea Ranch, where the wedding was to take place. The rehearsal dinner had just ended. By virtue of Arnold being a groomsman they had been put up at the ranch since the night prior. Gerald was to be a groomsman as well but he and Phoebe were instead staying with his older brother Jamie O., who was a movie producer living in LA.

Arnold wrapped his arm around Helga's shoulder while bubbles pumped from the jets. His hand was touching the shoulder tattoo Helga got of the heart-shaped locket with his portrait that she carried.

"In this situation it's kinda counterintuitive but think of this as exposure and response treatment," said Arnold, "I try to suggest it to clients. Don't hide from that fear or obsession that ails you. Then you let it win. Like being able to be around the booze without drinking it in this case. I mean famous people have learned how to do it. Dino did in his better days."

"I'll try, Arnoldo," Helga said as she laid her head on Arnold's right cheek. "One night down, one to go."

The next day began with fog but it dissipated by the afternoon, just in time for the ceremony. All guests were seated on the hill of the ranch overlooking the beach in Malibu.

Eugene was raised Jewish and Carlos Catholic. Neither of them were still practicing but they worked some of both faiths into the procession.

Harold, one of the groomsmen that was also Jewish, read a bit from the Torah. One of Carlos' two sisters followed with words of benediction.

Both grooms gave vows by recounting their stories of when they first met and their journey to the day, ending with words of lifetime commitment to each other.

As they kissed and then walked down the aisle, "Come and Get Your Love" by Redbone played from speakers. The crowd cheered and clapped.

Everyone then headed to the converted greenhouse where the reception was to take place. Table assignments and names were displayed in front.

All of the PS 118 alumni were seated at table #2. Some of them knew each other all the way back to preschool. But it was in Mr. Simmons' fourth and fifth grade classes at PS 118 where most of their friendships really took off.

Before they got seated Eugene walked by to pose for a picture with all of them and him crouching down in front. It was posted to some of their Instagrams under #PS118gang.

In between walking over to the food trucks for tacos or lobster rolls, the PS 118ers caught up with one another.

Harold and Big Patty took over Mr. Green's butcher shop in Hillwood when the latter retired. It was renamed 'Berman Meats' and converted to kosher.

Stinky, who played with Gerald on the state-champion South Hillwood High basketball team, had made it to the NBA after college at Duke. He had met his wife Ann-Marie while playing for the Montreal Monarchs when she was a cheerleader for the team. Recently retired after ten seasons, he had just started work as a TV analyst. His trademark line "this really bites," made its way into broadcasts.

Sheena and her husband Roger were working as high school English teachers in Seattle.

Bug aficionado Nadine had become an entomologist for the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. She and PS 118er Sid had dated briefly in high school.

Sid was now a zookeeper, running the frog exhibit at the Hillwood Zoo.

Rhonda was living near Eugene in LA as a fashionista and had founded Wellington Lloyd, her own couture line. She had a few boyfriends she had all dumped.

Arnold and Gerald filled the gang in on their married lives in Hillwood. While they did Helga went to the bathroom and was followed by Phoebe. "Obviously it's a good thing that the drinks scare you. Did it help when Arnold pulled you into the photo booth after you walked past the bar?" asked Phoebe as the two stood next to the mirror and sink. Helga, as she was panting, said, "well yeah. Maybe Rhonda shouldn't drink either but I doubt she would change. She's always been a snob. No guy can put up with her." "What else is new?" Phoebe said.

Before walking back out to the floor, having recovered from the panic attack, Helga checked her phone. Olga had sent her pictures of taking Phil and Amber to the Hillwood Chocolate Factory. "This reminds me: is Chocolate Boy, he would be Chocolate Man now, single? He and Rhonda would really hit it off," Helga joked as she showed Phoebe the pics. Laughing, Phoebe said that she hadn't heard from Chocolate Boy in a long time.

As Phoebe and Helga came back to the floor Eugene and Carlos were waltzing in their first dance to the Dino Spumoni lilt 'Smashed.'

Carlos' brother and two sisters then said a few words in toast. They talked about how even though he didn't speak much Spanish and came from a different place, Eugene seemed perfect for Carlos seeing how he made him happy. Helga held onto Arnold's hand while glasses were raised.

Then Arnold let go and made his way to the mic next to where Eugene and Carlos were seated. It was his turn to say a few words.

"First of all," Arnold began as he took the mic, "It took a little convincing for me to get here. You see, my wife is a fully recovered alcoholic and she is hell bent on not relapsing."

Helga gave an embarrassed stare. Then Arnold winked at her.

"But Eugene knew just how hard she worked to get sober, and that she would be ok here. So far so good. He also knew how much our friendship meant to him. Us and the PS 118 gang have known him for a long time. That just speaks to who Eugene is. He never gives up on himself or anyone else. No matter how accident prone he is, he always reassures us that he's ok. I don't know Carlos nearly as well but I do know that he got lucky with Eugene. He'll never give up on you. I don't have any bubbly on purpose, but I'll give a drink-less toast to Eugene and Carlos!"

All the guests clapped as Arnold hugged the grooms. Then he walked back to his seat where he and Helga smooched.

Soon after the toasts guests started hitting the dance floor. Then one of the first songs to play was 'I'm Nuttin' Without You', which Arnold and Gerald had helped Dino Spumoni write with his longtime collaborator Don Reynolds.

Gerald and Phoebe danced hand-in-hand, playfully. Arnold did the same with Helga while lip syncing the lyrics to her.

Without Sacajawea, Clark would still be in Duluth…..I'm nuttin'! I'm nuttin' without you!!

Then Eugene fell down. Carlos had to carry him on his shoulders as he had done something to his ankle dancing. He took him out to the convertible parked outside adorned with 'just married' lettering on the back.

'How did we not see this coming?' asked Gerald to Arnold as they both left with their spouses. "We were a little naive not to," said Arnold.

Snorkeling on their Caribbean honeymoon a while later, Eugene got stung by a jellyfish.