Escalating Love 1 2-3

"Not this way! Come on!" Helga quickly pulled Arnold aside into the opposite direction.

"Why, what's wrong?"

"News flash, no one knows we came here together and are seeing each other, and therefore will know we...ya know, lied." Helga hissed.

Arnold realized, and gave a slow nod in understanding. "Oh, right..." That would be when the teasing would start up all over again, and their classmates would never let them live it down.

The sad part was, they would be partly right this time.

Arnold looked and saw that Rhonda, Nadine, and Lila, apparently having just joined them, were walking toward them. They managed to duck behind a giant Swiss cheese cardboard cutout, effectively hiding from their classmates, or at least enough so as not to be spotted by the girls.

"And so THEN I said to her 'Penelope, if you're going to be wearing blue pumps with that peach dress, you may as well turn yourself in to the Fashion Police'. I mean really, who wears a hideos combo like THAT?" Rhonda was saying.

"Well I do have to admit, the colours don't go so well together..." Lila agreed. "But I'm ever so certain that some people just have different tastes."

"Oh, you have much to learn, dear, naiive Lila." Rhonda said solemnly. "But that's exactly what I'm here for."

Once the girls were out of sight, Arnold and Helga emerged, both sighing with relief.

"That was too close, football head. If we'd been caught by the infernal Fashion and Gossip Queen, we would've been toast by Monday." Helga said.

"No kidding." Arnold agreed. "Um...do you want to play a game first?"

"Sure." Helga said nonchalantly.

They made their way through the crowds, looking around for a game they might like to play, and also keeping a close look out for any of their classmates.

Arnold looked around, and suddenly spotted a certain game stand not too far away, and he grabbed Helga's hand to stop her, and pointed over to the stand. "How about that, Helga?"

Helga looked over, already being able to hear the man running the stand yelling out over the russle and bussle of the crowds.

"Come on down! Only one dollar for three balls! Knock down the milk bottles and win a prize! Come on down! Anyone can play!"

Helga rolled her eyes at the man, but smiled at Arnold nonetheless, and shrugged. "Sure, why not?"

He smiled at her, and they made their way closer to the stand, him still holding her hand so she wouldn't get lost in the crowd.

They made their way to the booth, and the man addressed them animatedly, "Hello there! Would you like to try knocking down the bottles? Only one dollar for three tries!" He grinned at them. "You can't lose!"

Helga shook her head at the man, and Arnold just smiled politely and produced a dollar bill from the back of his pocket. "Uh, yes, I'd like to buy three balls, please."

Helga came forward, and got out her own dollar, slapping it down on the counter. "Count me in too." She grinned.

Arnold looked over at her, and blinked. She didn't look back though, not noticing his look.

The man grinned at them, and eagerly took their money, grabbing out six balls from underneath the counter and placing them before the two kids. He stepped aside, gesturing to the two sets of three milk bottles all topped on top of eachother.

Arnold picked up his first ball, stuck his tongue out in determination, brought his arm back, and then threw.

And missed.

"Oh no, the football head missed!" Helga giggled, picking up her first ball then, smirking deviously. "Watch and learn, hair boy, this is how we pros do it."

She threw her arm back, eyes straight on the target, the three milk bottles, and then threw the ball.

And missed.

Helga stared, dumbfounded, as if to say "How could I miss?" while Arnold snickered from next to her.

"You were saying, Helga? No really, go on. I think you were saying something about being a professional?" He crossed his arms, smirking at her playfully.

"Ohhh, shut up! That was just a warm up. I can knock 'em dead." Helga picked up her second ball, concentrated, threw her arm back and tossed the ball.

Success! She knocked down the bottles.

"Winner!"

"Told ya. Think you can beat that?" Helga smirked, leaning against the counter.

"I thought you'd never ask." Arnold smiled, taking her challenge. He picked up his second ball, reinstigated his previous pose, and threw the ball.

Success! He too knocked down the bottles.

"Winner!"

"Well, football head, you think you can still knock them down if we throw at the same time?" A twinkle flashed in her eye.

"At the same time?" He blinked, and then smiled. "Sure, let's give it a try."

They both picked up their last ball, gave each other a nod, and threw their balls. Upon missing, their eager faces melted into disappointment.

"Well criminy, what's it going to take to win that crocodile plushie, or even that adorable puppy? Sheesh." Helga shook her head, crossing her arms. She glanced at Arnold and shrugged. "C'mon Arnoldo, let's go find something else to do."

Arnold was about to comply, but when he saw the look in Helga's eyes, the way she just wanted to have fun and try to win something, he felt a tug at his heartstrings. Seeing her a little upset wasn't what he wanted her to feel, even if it was no big deal and she'd be over it in no time. Maybe he could keep trying, trying to attempt to make her happy.

Taking out a few dollar bills from his pocket, Arnold went back to the counter and slapped them down. The man was surprised, but then gave him nine balls. Helga looked on with amazement, feeling her heart leap in her chest as she visibly lit up at his sweet gesture.

"I'll win them for you, Helga." He told her with a smile, taking one of the balls.

Oh my gosh, what an angel, just stepping up and trying to make me happy like that! Helga thought, marveled. She shook her head and regained herself. "You didn't have to, football head."

"I know, but I want to. I want to make you happy, and have a good time here like any other friends would." Arnold turned and tossed the ball, successfully knocking down the bottles.

"Well...okay, whatever floats your boat." Unseen to him, she beamed happily with a loving look in her eyes.

She watched as Arnold tossed ball after ball, sometimes missing, other times knocking them down. So far, four misses and three hits, there was one ball left. He took it in his hand, threw his arm back, sticking out his tongue in determination, and then took a chance, tossing it to the milk bottles. The man rang a little bell, and handed over the crocodile plushie and the stuffed puppy.

"Here, Helga." Arnold smiled and handed the toys to her.

"Oh...wow...um, gosh...thanks, Arnold..." Helga blushed unwittingly, taking the stuffed animals from him. "That was pretty nice of you."

"You're welcome, I wanted to make you happy, like any good friend would." He said sincerely, his hands behind his back.

Helga smiled back and then kissed him on the cheek before she could stop herself from doing it. Reality set in and she blushed, walking off toward the Tilt-O-Whirl, motioning for him to follow. It would be okay, if he asked, she could simply say that sometimes the girly reaction was that the girl would kiss someone who won them something, in a totally friendly way. Yeah, she'd be just fine. He wouldn't suspect a thing.

Arnold followed behind her, his eyes wide as he touched the spot she'd kissed. Unseen to her, a dreamy, lovesick smile came to his face as his eyes went half-lidded and his smile grew.

"So football head, what say we go on the Tilt-O-Whirl and see how long we can go without throwing up?" Helga grinned, turning to him.

Snapping out of his reverie, he nodded and smiled. "Sure, Helga. Let's go!"

"Hey, is that Arnold over there?" A voice suddenly said.

"Criminy!" Helga cursed, and hurried off into a crevice between a fortune-telling tent and a dunking booth.

Nearly about to call her back, Arnold was then greeted by Sid, Stinky, Harold and Eugene.

"Well hey Arnold! We didn't know you were here, how's it going?" Eugene asked.

"Wilikers Arnold, didn't think you'd be comin' all by yourself." Stinky remarked.

"Oh, well, you know...sometimes you just want to be able to do what you want without really having to worry about anyone..." Arnold said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Boy howdy, you're a real bold kid Arnold! Hey, you want to come with us? We're going on the bumper cars!" Sid offered.

"Yeah! I can't wait to crash some cars! Vroom vroom CRASH! Aw yeah!" Harold hooted.

"That's okay guys, I was just about to...go get some cheese." Arnold replied. "But thanks for the offer."

"Aw, well that's too bad, Arnold. Maybe we can ride something together a little later." Stinky offered, still wearing a smile.

Eugene nodded enthusiastically, and as he was distracted, the other three began running away from him in the direction of the bumper cars.

Arnold blinked, looking past Eugene and seeing them all racing away from him.

Eugene lost his smile at his strange look, and turned to see everyone running away from him. He smiled again, racing after them. "Hey! Wait for me guy-OOF!" He tripped, falling face first into a puddle of cheese whiz, the can laying over by a trash can not too far away. He groaned, lifting his head up slightly to yell out, "I'm okay!"

Arnold sighed, and looked around, then inconspicuously wandered over into the crevice Helga was, to see her standing there with wide, panicky eyes. He smiled at her, now standing right in front of her. "It's okay, Helga. They're gone now." He went to take her hand, so he could lead her out of her hiding place, but she quickly withdrew her hand from his reach, and sighed. "Look, Arnold, I really am having a good time, but..." She sighed again. "this is all really risky. I mean, what with all our classmates running around. Maybe it would be best if we just... stopped all this. It's crazy, and I really don't want another repeat of that stupid 'Arnold loves Helga' situation. So..." She turned slightly, still looking at him. "Maybe I should just sneak out the back way, and then we can just go back to our seperate lives. I'm the bully, and you're the do-gooder. So..." She sighed again. "Bye." She started walking out the back, but was surprised when Arnold suddenly grabbed her hand to keep her from going, and her ears were met with a panicked yell of, "NO!" She turned to him with wide eyes.

Realizing his actions, Arnold cleared his throat, and pulled her a little ways back by her hand. "Helga, I... it's just... don't you think you're being a little paranoid? The cheese festival is huge. The odds of us running into them again are... well, I don't know exactly what the odds are. I'm not Phoebe. But they have to be pretty low, don't you think?" He smiled at her in reassurance, though it came off a bit more nervous than he would have liked.

Helga blinked at him, considering his words with a slightly pensive look. Suddenly though, she smiled at him again. "Okay, fine. Maybe I am being a little paranoid. It is a pretty big festival. It's just... we've already had two pretty close run-ins with Rhonda, and her crew, and the idiots." She frowned. "Plus, I don't have the best luck in situations like this." She rubbed the back of her neck a little with her free hand.

Arnold frowned, feeling that she was once again reconsidering. "Helga, I... I invited you here because... well, I like you, and I'd like to spend more time with you, and I don't want to let our classmates get in the way of that. I'm sure things will get better. The girls were heading in the opposite direction of the Tilt O' Whirl, and I happen to know that the boys are all heading for the Bumper Cars. So the only people we could possibly run into if we went, would be Gerald and Phoebe, and they already know that we're here together." He smiled, feeling that his reasoning was pretty good.

Helga stared at him, considering what he'd just said, before smiling, and sighing slightly in the amazement of him. "Okay, fine. I mean, what's the worst that could hap-..." She stopped herself, shaking her head. "No, I cannot say that. Every time someone says that, things always get worse." She smiled at him. "Well, let's go. With any luck, we'll run into Pheebs and Geraldo, so we can embarrass the living heck outta them for going together and not telling us." She laughed.

Arnold smiled, and began leading her out of the crevice, and back into the crowd.

They began shifting through the crowds, still holding hands as they made their way towards the Tilt O' Whirl. They got in line, and it was about then that they both realized they were still holding hands. They both blushed, and let go, remembering that this was supposed to be a friends outing.

They waited in line, and Arnold noticed Helga leaning against the railing that was seperating them from the ride. He smiled at her, and she smiled a little back, looking very casual at that moment. He copied her actions, and stared up at her. "So, we've got a little time to kill. Anything you wanna talk about?"

She stared at him, her eyes looking slightly pensive, before she smiled suddenly. "Sure, where'd ya get that awful cologne?" She smirked at him.

He frowned, sighing a little at being caught. "I just got it at some store. It's not important, really." He looked away, feeling a little insecure.

She chuckled a little. "Remind me never to shop at that store." She smiled slightly, mockingly. "I'm flattered you felt the need to splash on some vile concoction just for lil' ol' me. I didn't know you liked me that much." Her smile widened a little. Though she was only joking, she couldn't help but squeal inwardly at the thought of Arnold caring of what she thought he smelled like.

Arnold blushed, his eyes widening a little, not realizing that she was joking. "Uh... well, it was just... I was... and you were..." He gulped, trying to gain back his composure.

Helga's eyes widened a little and she snapped her eyes to him. "Wait a minute... you really did put that junk on because you wanted me to think you smelled nice?" Her eyes widened a little more, and a faint blush began to appear on her cheeks.

Had she been joking? She had to have been, why else would she not have questioned it further, and reiterated back to the cologne? Arnold gave a sigh of relief and nodded as they moved a little further along the line.

"Oh...well, yeah. It's nothing really." He said, rubbing the back of his neck. "I just felt like doing that for the fun of it. Having something nice to smell...or terrible in this case, would be a little bonus."

"Really?" Helga smirked playfully, her hands on her hips. "Because you know, Arnoldo, boys rarely ever put on cologne unless it's...oh, what's that word again? Oh yeah. A date! Gosh, and here I thought this was a 'just friends' thing." She used air quotations for emphasis.

Arnold blushed a bit, his hands behind his back as he rocked nervously on his feet. "W-Well...friends can go do something together and wear perfume or cologne, right?"

She snorted. "Whatever you say, Arnold." She took her stuffed crocodile and poked Arnold's nose with its snout. "Raarrrgghh, the big bad Croc wants to eat you!"

He looked at it cross-eyed and laughed, gently pushing it away. "Very funny, Helga. But I don't think a crocodile would find me very tasty."

"No, you're thinking of sharks." Helga said, shaking her head. "Your head would be enough for the croc to tear you to pieces so it could eat you up in one bite."

"I also heard that an alligator's tail has enough strength to break human bones, but I guess that works better if they're full grown and big."

"The football head does his homework! Well I'm appeased. Ya know, maybe one of these days we should go to the reptile house they have downtown, go see these guys. Sure most of the time they just sit there like logs, but they're so boss. It'd be cooler at those zoos where they have the trainers go down in the pit and make them move and eat things."

"That sounds like fun." Arnold gave a smile, and saw they were further down the line, almost at the ride. "We should go."

"Wait, what? Seriously?" Helga was caught off guard. "You'd want to go, walk around staring at reptiles behind glass, talk to the experts where you can pet a baby gator or a snake or a lizard? With me, no less?"

He nodded and looked at her then. "Well, yeah, Helga. Like I said, I like you and I really want to spend time with you. If you want to go to the reptile house with me, then we'll go. That'll be a great way to spend an afternoon. It'd be fun. Well...if you would like to go, I guess you were probably just joking, and I'll understand if you don't want to, but..."

She grinned giddily for a moment, and then kept it casual and cool. "If you put it that way, sure, why not. We'll go sometime then. I'm uh...not doing anything next Sunday, maybe we can go then."

"All right, then we'll go next Sunday. I'm not doing anything either, we can go then."

"Good, then it's a date. Or should I say, outing between friends?"

Arnold laughed heartily. "Call it whatever you want."

Helga smirked. "Maybe I will call it a date then, just to kick it up a notch. I'm Helga Pataki after all, and I live to torture."

"If calling it a date is torture, then chain me to the wall."

Despite that he turned a silly joke into something with truth behind it, they both laughed and then were soon at the front of the line. They went in, and climbed into one of the "pods", and held onto the safety bar as they waited in anticipation for the ride to start.

"Don't you throw up on me, Arnoldo." Helga warned. "You're not gonna get queasy, are you?"

"No, I won't." Arnold shook his head. "Are you?"

"Well doi, of course not! Like I told you before, I've got a stomach of steel! Now, grab the hold on to this or you're gonna die bar and let's get this show on the road!"

Arnold laughed, taking hold of the safety bar, or the 'hold on to this or you're gonna die bar' that Helga playfully called it. "Whatever you say, Helga."

The ride started, lifting up several feet into the air and then spinning around and tilting, causing some of the passengers to scream in both terror and delight. Helga grinned wildly and threw her arms up, laughing loudly. Arnold couldn't help but melt at her display of having so much fun, reminding him once more that she was letting herself loose and being who she really was. He couldn't help but throw his arms up in a fit of joy and laughing along with her. At least he didn't have to worry about her throwing up or anything.

Unconsciously, they grabbed each other's hands and shouted happily as the ride progressively accelerated. As it turned out, they held hands during the rest of the ride.

Helga talked him into riding it twice, which this time they yelled and shouted random things only for it all to be drowned out by the other screams and shouts and the noise of the ride. After the second round, they headed off into the eatery section to get some cheese, not even realizing that they were still holding hands.

"Man, this is really cheesy." Helga said, and snickered.

Arnold smirked playfully and chuckled. "I told you you loved my cheese puns."

"Oh shut up!" She laughed. "Hey! There's Geraldo and Pheebs! Oh, this is just too perfect."

Arnold looked over, and indeed saw Gerald and Phoebe sitting at a table, a plate of diced cheese between them, and looking to be having a very pleasant talk. Arnold couldn't help but snicker a little at the sight, as they walked a bit closer to them.

Helga suddenly came up, and sat herself right in front of the couple, her eyes wide and holding false-friendliness. She grinned at them, as Arnold sat down beside her. "Why if it isn't Geraldo and Felix. Wow! Felix sure does look a lot like my best friend." She grinned at them a bit wider, and Arnold couldn't help but chuckle a little.

Phoebe blinked at her in bewilderment, and looked over at Gerald's blushing face. "Gerald, who's Felix?"

"No one." He uttered distractedly, and then looked under the table, then back up at the couple, now with a face that had them confused. "Hmmm, Arnold, I thought you said that you and Helga were just going as friends. But you're holding hands."

The two blushed, and immediately released eachothers hands. Arnold frowned at him a little. "Yes, but at least I told you I was going with Helga."

Gerald blushed, and frowned back at him, sighing. "Sorry. But you would've given me one of your knowing looks with one of the stupid little smiles. Ugh, I don't want that, man. Even from you, it's still embarrassing."

Phoebe looked offended. "You find this embarrassing?"

"Uh, Pheebs," Helga cut in, "sorry to burst your bubble there, but you told me you were coming alone."

Phoebe's eyes widened then, and she blushed a little. "Uh..."

"Ah HA!" Gerald exclaimed, giving her an accusing look. "I knew it. You're embarrassed too."

Phoebe sighed. "Okay, fine. But I like to be inconspicuous about these things." She shrugged a little, looking up at him.

Gerald smiled, and nodded a little. "Yeah, I know what you mean." He looked over at Arnold. "Sorry I didn't tell you."

Arnold smiled at him in forgivness, and shrugged a little. "It's okay. I knew you were coming here with Phoebe anyway. Your cover-up wasn't very strong." He laughed a little, and both he and Helga got up and walked away wordlessly.

They walked over to the vendor, and smiled at him, looking over at the menu. "What would you like, Helga?"

She put a hand to her chin thoughtfully, as she looked over the menu items. "Hmmm... how about a yahoo soda, and some of those cheese cube things. They looked pretty good." She smiled at him a little.

Arnold smiled back, and paid the vendor, then walked over to a table with their food. He sat the plate of cheese cubes between them, and the two yahoo sodas, and then sat down. Helga sat beside him, and grabbed up one of the little cheese cubes by the stick. She ate it, and tossed the stick back onto the plate carelessly. "Mmmm, gotta love cheese. It's no wonder they dedicated an entire festival to it." She giggled a little, but then forced down the remainder her giggle, feeling it was embarrassing.

Arnold picked up a cheese cube by it's little toothpick, and ate the cheese, setting the toothpick back down on the plate. "Yeah, I love the cheese festival. It's pretty cool." He smiled at her, swallowing silently.

She nodded, staring at the plate of cheese. She sat her head in her hand, her elbow resting up on the table as she stared. "This is so weird..."

Arnold blinked at her, and looked from the cheese to her. "What's wrong with the cheese?"

She shook her head a little absently, and looked over at him instead. "I mean, being here, with you. I mean, only about a week ago we both probably would've vomited at the thought of coming here together." She laughed a little, thinking of what a lie that was. Well, half-lie. She would've been squealing and giggling in delight, but he... well, she didn't want to think about it anymore.

He frowned at the thought, and took on a pensive look. "Yeah, it is weird to think about." He shook his head a little, and smiled at her. "But we're friends... so it's not that weird NOW." He shrugged, playing with one of the cheese squares with his toothpick.

She smiled at him. "Yeah, except of course how we hold hands, and you put on cologne for me." She laughed a little, eating another cheese cube.

He blushed a little, and looked away. But then he looked back at her with a slightly amused smile. "Well, yeah. But you put a little effort into this too." He smirked a little.

She blinked at him, looking a bit bewildered. "What are you talking about? I'm not wearing some foul smelling perfume."

He shook his head, his smirk still set on his face. "No, but you did put your hair down, because you know I like it." He smirked, leaning in a bit. "Admit it, you cared about my opinion of your appearance."

She rolled her eyes, her head still resting in her hand. "So I was too lazy to put it up in it's usual pigtails. That's called lack of effort, Football Head." Her eyes grew a little then, and she smirked. "And what is this about you liking it?" She raised one side of her eyebrow at him cunningly.

His smirk dropped, and he blushed again. "Um, well..." He looked away, still blushing. "It's... well, it's nice." He shrugged, looking away with a nervous look.

She giggled a little, and sat up straight then, waving one of the cheese cubes in his face to attract his attention. "Awww, you think my hair looks nice, you put on cologne for me, you ask me to the cheese festival. Geez, if you keep it up, I'm gonna start thinking you have some kind of crush on me." She laughed a little at the thought, and popped the cheese cube into his mouth suddenly, the stick sticking out from his lips.

Blushing furiously, not just at her gesture but at her comment. Once more, she was right. Did she suspect that he had a crush on her? Or was she just playing around some more? Was it THAT obvious? Sure, he put on cologne, gave her a daisy, and asked her to the Cheese Festival, not to mention holding her hand a lot, and then complimenting her on her hair.

Friends did that, right?

Keeping his composure, Arnold smiled and removed the toothpick, before taking another cheese cube and holding it to her face, making her eyes follow it wherever he moved it.

"Gosh Helga, whatever would I do if that were true?"

"I don't know, you tell me. Dance for joy? Throw pie in my face?" She made a grab for the cheese with her mouth but he pulled it back. "Hey! Gimme!"

"What's the magic word?" Arnold smirked playfully, waving the cheese in her face.

"Abracadabra. Now gimme." Helga pouted.

He chuckled and placed the cheese in her mouth, the toothpick sticking out between her lips. She smiled, and he took the toothpick from her. All of a sudden, her eyes went wide and she flew out of her seat, ducking under the table.

"Helga? What are you doing?" Arnold questioned, surprised.

"Shh! Classmate alert!"

"Well well, look ladies, it's Arnold!" Came the voice of Rhonda. "And he's here all alone."

"Um, hi Rhonda, Lila, Nadine, Sheena..." Arnold said nervously. "H-How's it going?"

"Oh, it's going just ever so great, thank you for asking!" Lila smiled. "Are you here all by yourself?"

"Oh, yeah, you know...kind of wanted some time to have fun on my own for a change." Arnold lied, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Really? Well that's funny, we heard you talking to someone awhile ago." Nadine said.

"Yeah, and I'm oh too certain that I saw you with Helga earlier." Lila added.

Arnold gulped, but managed to keep his composure. He knew he was a lousy liar, but he tried. "W-Well...I did run into her and we talked a bit...then I went and saw Gerald...it's nothing really."

"Well gosh Arnold, you sure got over her quick." Rhonda smirked. "But anyhow, we're off to get our faces painted. Care to join us?'

"That's okay Rhonda, I'd rather not."

"Suit yourself. Come ladies, let's be off."

"I hope you have a nice evening, Arnold. If you want to hang out with us, you're oh too welcome to." Lila offered.

"Thanks Lila, I'll think about it." Arnold nodded.

The girls walked off, talking amongst themselves. Arnold released the breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding, just in time for Helga to emerge once the girls were out of sight and earshot.

"I swear, you could get a tooth ache spending just five minutes with Lila." Helga muttered, returning to her seat. "Come on, girls can be sweet but no girl could be THAT sweet on a daily constant basis."

"Like you said Helga, there's a first time for everything." Arnold smirked lightly.

She blushed wildly and waved it off. "Oh be quiet. Who asked you?"

"You did."

Helga rolled her eyes, taking the last cheese cube and eating it. "Mmm-mmm, good cheese. So Arnoldo, what do you propose we do now? We just ate, and while I do have a stomach of steel, I fear it will be a bad idea to go on a fast ride, since you might throw up and all."

Finishing his soda, Arnold looked around, and came to see the Tunnel of Love not too far away. He blushed at the idea of it, wondering if that would be such a good idea. It was a slow, easy ride. You didn't have to be in love to ride it, it was just for romantic atmosphere.

"Um...we could go on the Tunnel of Love if you want. I mean, you know, friends can ride it." Arnold shrugged, seeming cool and casual about it, despite that he was blushing furiously.

Helga raised one side of her brow, and gave a light smirk. "Well...so the football head wants to go on the Tunnel of Love with little ol' me. All right, Arnoldo, let's go on it." She batted her eyelashes at him flirtatiously.

Arnold blushed a little more and got up from the table, unconsciously taking her hand and going over to the Tunnel of Love. Thankfully, neither of their classmates were in sight. The line was short, so they didn't have to wait too long.

"Well, you know, no reason friends can't ride it, right?" Arnold rubbed the back of his neck with his free hand.

Helga snickered. "Then would you mind explaining to me as to why you're blushing, flustered, and holding my hand?"

"Huh?" He looked down at their joined hands and then hastily let go. "Oh, sorry."

"Gosh Arnold, given all the blushing, flirting and hand-holding, now with the Tunnel of Love, it almost seems like we're on a date." She joked, though deep down she wished it were true.

"Do...you want it to be?" He asked softly.

Her eyes widened. "What?"

"N-Nothing, nothing. Look, it's our turn, we can get on now."

He stepped onto the boat, feeling it sway a little underneath him. He stepped over, and held out his hand for Helga.

She almost slapped it away out of instinct, but then realized how silly that would be at this point. So instead, she simply took his hand, and stepped in hesitantly, feeling it sway a little in her enterance.

They both sat down then, and Arnold let go of her hand after a moment, blushing a little.

She blinked at him, as the ride started, and their little swan boat entered into the dim, though quite romantic tunnel. Helga blinked, looking around at the surroundings with mild interest, for most of her interest was going to what she was seeing out of the corner of her eye. Arnold was sitting beside her, wringing his hands out of nerves, and glancing at her every few seconds. She blushed at all this, and couldn't help but be silently grateful that it was too dim in there for her blush to be fully visible. She cleared her throat, leaning back in the boat casually and speaking somewhat quietly, as was the effects of the atmosphere, "Um, Arnold, don't look so nervous. We're just friends here. There's really no reason to be nervous." She cursed herself silently, at realizing how nervous her voice actually sounded there.

Arnold took a deep breath, and leaned back also, trying to relax. "Sorry, Helga. It's just..." He looked away nervously.

She blinked at him, and scooted a little closer to him to put a hand on his shoulder hesitantly. "Arnold, it's okay. I know it's a little awkward, but you were the one to say that friends could do these sorts of things." She smiled, squeezing his shoulder reassuringly.

He looked over at her, and felt a smile tugging at his lips after a moment. "You're right, I did say that... because it's true." He added the ending quickly, blushing a little again, before regaining his smile. "This is just a friends thing."

She smiled back, nodding. "Of course. Friends thing ONLY." She leaned a bit closer, unconsciously letting the hand resting on his shoulder drop.

Arnold smile softened and he nodded slightly, leaning a bit closer. "Because we are only friends."

She leaned a bit closer, feeling greatly intoxicated by his aroma... she really did have to find out what kind of shampoo he used sometime. She blinked away these thoughts, and leaned a little closer. "Mmm-hmm,"

He rested his hand in the space between them, and leaned over a bit more, their lips only inches apart. "Yup,"

They both leaned a bit closer, and their eyes began to drift shut...

Before long, their lips brushed.