Escalating Love 2 1-2

It had been an interesting few first days. Arnold's cousin Arnie had come over for a visit, and Arnold, as expected, had to baby sit him for a little while. But then suddenly, Arnie started going out with Lila, and before he knew it, he hardly ever even saw Arnie. It was a dream come true, and the whole arrangment seemed to make Lila pretty happy. Arnold was happy for them, though he still couldn't figure out what Lila saw in him. Oh well, it didn't matter... until...

Arnie had been watching Helga very closly it seemed. He'd watch as she'd play hopscotch, jump rope, and even just eat her lunch. Arnold hadn't noticed... not until...

"Lila," Arnie began, looking at Lila with dull, listless eyes as he blinked one at a time.

"Why, yes, Arnie?" She asked sweetly, setting her gift for him aside and giving him all her attention.

She never saw it coming. Neither did Helga...

"Hey Helga,"

Helga looked in the direction of the voice, and her eyes widened. "A-Arnie, what a... pleasant surprise." She said sarcastically, scowling slightly, and setting her half eaten sandwich aside and giving Arnie an impatient look. "Well, what is it, Taco Head? I don't have all day ya know."

"I love you."

And that was when it all started.

Arnold sat at his table near where Helga was sitting with Arnie, looking utterly mortified as he announced how he wanted them to spend every waking moment together. Arnold blinked at this, and looked over to Lila who currently had her head resting on the table, looking very sad. He probably would have gone over to try and make her feel better, if he wasn't so distracted with Arnie seemingly making a move on Helga. He knew that he didn't have anything to worry about. Helga had no interest in Arnie whatsoever... right? He obviously wasn't the coolest guy around. Or the most attractive. Or the most interesting. But... Lila obviously saw SOMETHING of value in him, and if someone like Lila could see it... then there was no doubt in Arnold's mind that Helga could very possibly see it too. Maybe not now of course, since he could just see by her expression that she was already plotting her escape, but who was to say that she wouldn't eventually start... liking him... a lot?

Arnold stiffened at the idea, gripping his sandwich a bit harder than necessary. He knew he was probably being a bit paranoid... but still, this was... this could be... very, very, very bad. Could anyone really blame him for wanting to be a little extra cautious?

Stinky came over suddenly, and sat down, staring over at Arnie as he was practically planning their wedding with Helga. "Well, gosh, Arnold. Looks like Arnie's takin' a likin' to Helga."

Arnold simply stared at them, mustard beginning to squish out of his sandwich from his unecessary squeezing.

Stinky though, didn't notice, and continued. "Helga sure doesn't look too happy about it though. In fact, she looks down right mortified. Although, did you see how lovesick Miss Lila got over Arnie? It makes ya wonder if Arnie is going to do the same thing to Helga."

Arnold sat his sandwich down, and stood from his seat, walking over towards the new "happy" couple.

"Hey, Arnold, where'r'ya goin'?" Stinky questioned in his usual southern drawl.

Arnold answered, not even looking back at him as he continued walking. "Just going to set some things straight."

Stinky blinked, but then shrugged. "Okey dokey."

"And I have a lucky pile of dirt. I even named it," Arnie snorted. "it's name is... lucky pile of dirt."

Helga pursed her lips together tightly, her eyes wide as her poor brain was still trying to process what was happening to her.

Arnold walked over to the table, and put his palms down on it, looking between the two. "Hey, Arnie," He looked to Helga. "Helga, um..." He looked back at Arnie as he spoke. "What's going on here?"

Arnie answered dully, snorting. "I was just telling Helga more about myself. We're going to a movie tonight too." He blinked one eye at a time, and snorted once again.

Arnold blinked at that, and looked back over to Helga's stiff form. "Is that true, Helga?"

She didn't answer, just sat there, unblinking.

Arnold became a bit concerned, and he waved a hand in front of her face. "Helga... are you okay?"

She blinked finally, and looked over at Arnold, her eyes still wide and almost frightened. "Uh... I don't know... I might have a pretty busy schedule planned out for tonight." She laughed nervously, looking away from both football headed boys.

Arnie looked over at her. "That's not true, Helga. I asked your dad what your plans were for today... and tomorrow." He snorted. "He said that you weren't really doing anything."

Helga stiffened again, and shut her eyes tight this time. "Oh did he?" She asked slowly with an obvious edge to her voice, clutching at the table.

Arnie snorted again. "Yeah..."

Arnold blinked at all this, looking between them in a distressed fashion. "Uh... okay, then... I guess I'll just... go." He stayed for another moment, before reluctantly turned around, and walking back over to his table.

"Huh, what's with him..." Arnie watched after his cousin for a moment before looking back at Helga. "Where was I... Oh yeah, I like plain flavoured gum, I like to count things, I like to read the ingredients at the back of packages, I collect lint..."

This was bad, VERY bad. The taco-head of all people was convinced he was in love with her! This was NOT good! Helga scooted further out of her chair, trying to get away from all this while plotting a good escape plan.

Back at his own table, Arnold tried to pay attention to his food, but his appetite was decreasing faster and faster by the second. He couldn't believe it, Arnie of all people had to fall in love with Helga! The same girl that tormented him all these years. The same girl that he immensely enjoyed hanging out with. The same girl he now had a huge crush on.

He looked away for a minute to try not to think about it, figuring to just brush it off as nonsense. It WAS nonsense, after all. There's no way Helga would ever like Arnie. She had to have much better standards than that. A girl as pretty, as talented and interesting as her had to be a lot more demanding. Arnold sighed, now holding a juice box, staring at it with a bit of a distressed gaze. So why was this getting to him so bad? Besides the obvious of getting a little unnerved when someone else put the moves on the girl you liked, of course.

Arnold sighed, and looked back toward the table Arnie sat at with Helga, and to his horror, his cousin was leaning toward Helga with his lips puckered. She let out an angered yelp and jumped up from her seat. His eyes widened and then narrowed angrily, his hand squishing the poor juice box so hard that the juice all flew out from the straw. That was IT! He stood abruptly from his seat, knocking his chair over, clenching his fists. He wanted to punch Arnie then, even though he hated inflicting violence on people, especially family members. But putting the moves on Helga AND making her uncomfortable by trying to kiss her were just crossing the line.

"Mmmm mmm mmmm. Man Arnold, what's with you? You look ready to kill something!" Gerald suddenly said, coming up to the table with his lunchbox in hand.

"Not now, Gerald." Arnold said in a low tone. "I have to set Arnie straight."

"Say what?" Gerald followed his best friend's gaze, now seeing Helga angrily walking away from Arnie, who was casually following after her. "Ohhhhhhh. What happened to Lila? Wasn't he hangin' with her?"

"Apparently Lila wasn't good enough was she..." Arnold said through clenched teeth, and was about to follow after them when Gerald grabbed his arm.

"Whoa whoa whoa there, Bruce Lee, you mind calmin' down here? You look ready to punch his lights out!" Gerald said, picking up Arnold's chair and sitting him down on it.

"That's because I am." Arnold got up again, but Gerald sat him back down.

"Arnold, you have got to calm down. Listen man, I know you're jealous and all, trust me, I'd feel the same way if some other dude was puttin' the moves on my Ph-"

"Jealous?!" Arnold cried in surprise, his anger melting away, now replaced with surprise. "Gerald, I'm not jealous! I just...well, I'm concerned, that's all."

"That too, but man, you are clearly jealous. Why else would you be willin' to just go and knock the living daylights out of him?"

"No! I'm not jealous! It's just that Helga can do so much better than him, and he was making her feel really uncomfortable, she doesn't deserve that. He even went as far as calling her dad and asking if she had plans tonight and tomorrow." Arnold sighed and let his head fall on the table. "I just got a little too concerned and upset by his actions, that's all."

"Arnold Arnold..." Gerald shook his head. "Okay, let me make it clear for you, man. You like Helga, right? Ya know, like her like her?"

Arnold blushed. "Yes, I do."

"And you're not too happy with Arnie putting the moves on her?"

"No."

"You're nervous about her possibly liking him back."

"Yeah..."

"And you get upset if he makes a move on her and she gets uncomfortable."

"Yes."

"And you'd be devastated if she DID like him back."

"Yes."

"Well Arnold, as the Master, I have one diagnosis result: You. Are. Jealous."

Arnold lifted his head from the table, realizing that Gerald was right and he sighed heavily, palming his face with both hands. "I'm a real basketcase."

--~~--

Later on outside, Helga was now reduced to hiding behind trash cans just to avoid Arnie. This was ridiculous, how could he possibly be in love with her?! They had barely exchanged more than two words since he'd been here, he found counting things and a date with a girl equally as interesting, and he knew nothing about her!

"Yeeesh, what is WITH him?!" She muttered to herself, sinking lower behind the row of trash cans. "Just because he thinks he's Arnold's cousin that I'm gonna fall for him. Yeah RIGHT!"

She sighed then, and took out her locket, her discomfort and anger immediately melting as she looked at the sweet photo of her beloved.

"Oh Arnold my love...don't ever believe for one second that I would EVER consider your lame-o cousin...you my darling are the only one for me. Why would I dream of shoving aside what we have for HIM?" She kissed the photo, and then opened the inside, where she kept another photo in there to have with her at all times, along with a little inscription she recently had a jeweler engrave into it.

Arnold my soul, you are always in my heart. Love, Helga G. Pataki

The other photo tucked inside was a small print photo of the two of them from two Sundays ago when they'd gone to the reptile house together. They'd sat during a Hermotologist's presentation lecture and he showed the group a 10-foot Indian Python (Python molurus). He offered to take pictures of the people with the gorgeous snake, and Helga immediately went for it, dragging Arnold along though he wasn't protesting. The photo had the two of them standing with the snake drapped across their shoulders, Helga was laughing and grinning widely toward Arnold, who was laughing too with his eyes blinked shut. The snake had its head come around Arnold's head, laying its head against his cheek as if it were trying to get into the photo too.

They'd had a lot of fun that day, despite the accidental escape of a 15-foot Saltwater Crocodile, where they ran for their lives all the way to the lizard exhibits. Even with the scare, they had laughed heartily.

"There you are, Helga."

"AH!" Helga quickly shut her locket and put it away, looking to see Arnie peering over the trash cans at her. "Will you just go away?!"

He snorted. "I wanted to talk to you."

She groaned, and stood up, glaring at Arnie with her fists clenched at her sides. "Listen here, pal," She pointed a finger in his face. "I don't like you, you don't like me," She pointed her thumb to herself. "and none of this ever happened." She put her hands back on her hips, and continued her iron stare at the shorter boy. "Is that clear?"

He blinked one eye at a time, his eyes utterly lifeless. "Yeah."

She humphed, and stalked off to find Phoebe. She spotted the small girl not too far off, sitting on a bench, and reading. Helga stalked up to her, and hocked a loogy onto the ground. "Hey Pheebs, you up for climbing on the jungle gym?"

Phoebe looked up from her book, and blinked, seemingly looking past Helga. "Oh, will Arnie be joining us too?"

"Huh?!" Helga's head snapped behind her to see Arnie standing there, looking at her blankly.

"Hey," He greeted with a snort.

Helga growled, turning full around to yell at him, "Criminy! I thought we had an agreement!"

He simply blinked, left, right, and stared at her.

She groaned, but then regained her usual commanding appearance, pointing far off. "Leave..." She growled lowly.

Arnold sat perched up on the jungle gym, watching as Helga repeatedly yelled for Arnie to go, though he didn't go of course. Although it was extremely annoying that he kept forcing himself on Helga, the girl HE liked, it was a bit comforting how she seemingly wasn't going to have any of it. It put his mind at ease somewhat, though the display that Arnie was putting on was making him want to pick him up and throw him in a garbage can himself. Arnold sighed, feeling tired of it all. He jumped down, and sauntered over to the couple.

He tapped Arnie on the shoulder, and the slightly shorter male turned to look at him dully. "Uh, hey Arnie." Arnold greeted wearily, as Arnie simply blinked at him. Left. Right. Arnold smiled best he could, which wasn't exactly the best of smiles. "What are you doing?"

He snorted. "I've been trying to tell Helga that I like her dress." He explained tonelessly.

"Oh, well once you've told her, will you leave her alone?"

"No."

"Well, why not?" Arnold asked a bit irritated now, with his hands on his hips.

"Because I want to spend time with her." He snorted.

Helga grunted, and slapped a hand to her forhead, attracting attention from the other three. "Look, Taco Head, I don't love you. I don't like you. I-" She stopped, her entire demeanor changing to amazement and shock. For a second there, she actually thought she could see a flicker of emotion in his eyes. That had never happened before. And the emotion she saw... heart-break. This idiot actually did have feelings didn't he...? She gave him a weary look, shifting her eyes away. He actually FELT things?!

Arnie snorted, though it was a more quiet, conserved snort. "Oh..." He blinked... both eyes, and began walking away. "Okay."

She watched him walk off, looking even more dead than usual. Arnold watched too, wondering what exactly was going on.

Helga gulped, feeling a tinge of actual guilt. She loved Arnold, but Arnold... that she wasn't so sure of. This was about the same situation, in a way. Arnie loved her, but she didn't love him. Unrequited love. Oh boy, did she know what that felt like. It was a horrible feeling. It made her cringe a little, when he ran right into a pole, and fell down. Oh, how was she supposed to expect ARNOLD to give her a chance, if she couldn't give Arnie one. The thought made her want to vomit, but still. The guy looked so pathetic as he laid on the cement, not even bothering to get up. She knew how that felt too. To just want to give up completely. Arnold was what got her up everyday... but Arnie. She sighed heavily, and rubbed her eyes. "Please tell me I'm not gonna do this." She muttered to herself miserably, before letting her hands drop from her eyes and walking over towards Arnie.

Arnold blinked at this, following her with his eyes. "Helga, what are you doing?"

She didn't answer, just continued walking.

Arnold watched as she helped Arnie up, and awkwardly talked to him about something, rubbing the back of her neck in a cute manner. His eyes widened when Arnie actually hugged her. Helga seemed utterly repulsed by this, but she didn't push him away. That made Arnold scowl a little. She ALWAYS pushed him away! He hardly ever got to hug her for more than five seconds! And there Arnie was, hugging her up. Arnold growled a little, watching as Helga pulled away from him awkwardly, and they both walked off together. Arnold felt his insides become jumbled. Was she... giving Arnie a chance?!

Arnold stiffened at the mere idea of it. "No, no, no." He turned to Phoebe, who was simply watching the two from her seat with a bewildered look. "Phoebe, what's happening?" He had to make sure.

Phoebe looked at him, then to the couple, then to him. "It appears that Helga has had a change of heart."

"Change...of heart?" He repeated, his tone dropping.

She nodded. "It appears so."

"Hey Pheebs, you want to go on the swings with-WHOA!" Gerald exclaimed as he came up to them. "What is Helga G. Pataki doin' with Arnie?!"

"I believe she has had a change of heart and is willing to give him a chance." Phoebe told him.

Gerald's eyes widened, he looked at Phoebe, over at Arnie and Helga, who were sitting on a bench together now, with Helga looking incredibly bored, and Arnie, equally listless, but was talking about something neither of them could hear. He then looked at Arnold, who was watching the couple with a horror-stricken and incredibly sad look on his face. His best friend then walked off, and sat down on another bench on the other side of the playground, staring sadly a the ground in a manner he usually did whenever his parents were brought up.

A light frown crossed his face, but then turned to sympathetic as Gerald looked at his best friend, and then over at Phoebe.

"Mmmmm mmmmm mmmmm. Man, he's more jealous than I thought." He said.

Phoebe gave a soft sigh. "I have to concur with you, Gerald."

Gerald looked from the "happy" couple to Arnold a few times and gave a sigh, then took Phoebe's hand, leading her to the swings. "Man I wish I could say somethin' to help him out..."

"Perhaps you should just leave him alone for a bit." Phoebe suggested. "He needs time to think about this on his own."

"Mmm, you're right, Pheebs." Gerald agreed. He got onto a swing, and she got onto the other one. "This must really be hard. I can't believe I'm sayin' this, but man, he really loves her. Trust me, I can tell. The Master knows it all."

Phoebe couldn't help but giggle at that, and then grew serious as she nodded. "You're right, Gerald. Though I can understand why he was hesitant to express his feelings."

"Mmm mmm mmm, no kiddin'. It's Helga we're talkin' about. A little too scared of being rejected."

"Oh, I think she would have given him a chance."

Gerald looked at her. "You think so?"

She nodded. "She did give him a chance the first time, didn't she?"

"True..."

Gerald thought about that for a moment.

--

Over where Arnold sat, he felt as if he'd been punched in the stomach. Almost on the same level as how he would feel when the day October 5th came around. Of course, that was a different story and situation altogether, a whole new kind of sadness, but it was still just as strong and hurtful.

It wasn't like when he was rejected or found he had no chance with all the other girls he'd liked. Sure, he would always be disappointed and pretty bummed, but he would get over it and move on within a day.

Not this time. It hurt. Really hurt.

Reaching into his pocket, he took out a strip of photobooth photos, and his own copy of the photo he and Helga had taken with the Python that was drapped over their shoulders like a big thick patterned scarf. He couldn't help but give a small smile as he looked at it, the way Helga looked ecstatically happy with laughter and how he looked to be enjoying himself too.

The strip of photobooth photos were both hilarious and cute. The first photo had Helga stretching her lips with her index fingers, exposing her teeth and her eyes wide with him laughing in the background. The second one had Helga pulling down her lower eyelids and sticking her tongue out, and he was joining in, doing the same thing she was doing. The third one had Helga pressing her cheeks in, making her lips pucker like a fish, and he had his hands to his cheeks with his mouth wide open and his eyes all wide and scared, imitating The Scream painting. The fourth one had them looking normally, and were giving bunny ears to each other. The fifth one had them leaning their heads against each other, looking toward each other shyly. The last one and Helga wrapping her arms around his head and shoulders, hugging him tightly with her eyes squeezed shut and a big smile on her face, while he was blushing and smiling shakily in a lovesick manner.

Arnold sighed sadly and tucked them away. Fantastic. He worked to try to win Helga's heart, and then Arnie shows up and within a few days, she gives him a chance. He couldn't believe it. Now Helga would fall in love with Arnie!

This was the worst day ever.

"Arnold?"

Snapping out of his reverie, he came to see Lila standing near him. "Oh, hey, Lila."

"Whatever seems to be the matter, Arnold? You look upset."

Arnold sighed, looking back toward Arnie and Helga. "It's nothing, Lila."

Lila followed his gaze, coming to see what he was looking at. Her eyes widened, and she looked from him to the couple, realizing what was going on.

"Arnold...are you jealous of Arnie and Helga?"

"No! ...I mean..." Arnold said, and sighed again. "...Yes, I am."

"Oh... I'm ever so sorry." Lila sat down next to him. "I know how you feel, Arnold."

"Yeah, you like Arnie, don't you?"

She nodded. "Yes...I'm ever so in love with him. He's that oh too special someone I've been looking for..."

Even though Arnold didn't understand it, he decided not to question it.

"But gosh Arnold...you really do like Helga, don't you? I mean...if it's a secret or something, I won't tell anyone."

He gave her a sad smile and nodded. "Yeah, I do like her like her, a lot. In fact, I think I love-"

The bell rang loudly, cutting him off.

"Oh, well I understand, Arnold." Lila said, getting up. "Don't worry, I won't tell anyone."

"Thanks, Lila. Well, I'll see you in class I guess." He gave a weak wave and went off across the playground to get inside.

--~~--

The rest of the day had been a nightmare.

For starters, Helga threw no spitballs, nor did she trip him on his way to his seat, in fact, she pretty much ignored him.

She'd sat next to Arnie at the back of the glass, and he sat up front with Gerald. Every now and then he would glance back to see Arnie holding her hand. Jealousy would rise within him and he felt ready to punch his lights out, but he dared not. For one, they'd been in class, and two, no matter how jealous and heartbroken he was, he could never interfere with her happiness. If she was happy with Arnie-she was doing a great job at hiding it-, then there was nothing he could do.

Now he was walking home, with Arnie, who was going on and on about Helga and their date tonight. Arnold tried to tune him out like he usually did, but it wasn't working. He just walked with a blank stare, trying to keep his jealousy and resentment in check.

The more he listened to Arnie rattle on, sounding very bored, about Helga, his face took on a scowl, something that didn't happen very often. While he agreed with Arnie's listings of Helga, hearing them from another person's mouth, especially his, was NOT sitting well with him.

"So we'll go to the movies. And then get gum. Plain-flavoured gum. I even called her dad and asked if she would be busy on the long weekend, so I'll ask her to come visit me. I can show her my lint ball collection. And my lucky pile of dirt."

That did it. He'd just about had enough. First practically making sure she was available to take her out tonight, and now arranging for her to VISIT him?!

"Arnie...shut up." He snarled.

"Okay." Arnie said listlessly, and gave a snort.

--

It was dinner time now, and everyone was staring at Arnie as he ate. It was a very disturbing sight. He ate loudly, smacking his lips, and eating quickly, food getting smothered all over his mouth and face.

They all stared at him, as Arnold simply ate, attempting his best to forget all about Arnie even existing.

Suzie cleared her throat, and gave the strange boy a patient smile. "So Arnie... how was your day?"

"Good." He answered listlessly with a snort, continuing to eat his food.

Arnold held back a growl at that, digging his fork into his meat loaf, and silently pretending it was Arnie's face.

Suzie blinked, but continued her smile. "How's that sweet little girl you've been hanging out with been? The one with the braids?"

"I broke up with her." He snorted, finally meeting her eyes dully.

Ernie groaned at that. "Ah, why'd ya do that? You're never gonna get another girl now."

Arnold snorted at that, and everyone turned to look at him. He didn't look up from his plate though, just continued to dig his fork into his meat loaf with an edge.

Arnie blinked, one eye at a time. "No, I broke up with her for someone else."

They all gawked at him, and Ernie asked, "Who?"

"Helga."

Everyone turned to look at Arnold, who had answered for him with dark eyes.

Ernie scrunched his eyebrow down. "Who's Helga?"

Arnie answered this time. "Blonde hair, pigtails, blue eyes, pink dress, and she's really feisty." He snorted. "I love her."

Everyone's eyes widened at that, and Arnold stood up from his seat, eerily calm. "I'm done." He announced, walking into the kitchen. After a moment of silence, a loud, angry yell was heard from the kitchen.

Arnie stood up right after, completely uneffected from the yell. "I'm going out." He walked out of the room then, and everyone blinked.

"What the heck was all that about?" Oskar asked, annoyed that Arnie had eaten all his food and left none for him.

--

Arnold sat at the table in the kitchen, his head buried in his hands. This was all so infuriating. How could Arnie fall in love with HELGA?! Ugh, he couldn't blame him, but he definitely wanted to. But of all people, why her? HER! The exact girl HE liked... possibly loved. Why couldn't he have stayed with Lila? She wasn't so bad. She had nice hair, and she was sweet. Arnie was lucky to have gotten her. But no, he couldn't just settle for Lila. He had to go for the gold. Helga.

Arnold growled again, before deciding that getting all worked up over it wasn't going to do anything. He sighed, standing up from his chair and walking back into the dining room, where the chatter had finally picked up since Arnie was gone. Arnie was gone?!

"Hey, where'd Arnie go?" He asked, standing in the doorway.

"Oh, he said he was going out. He didn't say where though." Suzie explained.

"Yeah, what a weirdo!" Ernie hollered, and everyone broke out into a chatter in agreement.

"He is very... CREEPY!" Mr. Hyun said to no one in particular.

Arnold groaned a little, and walked up to his room, hoping to get some peace and quiet. He knew where Arnie was. He was going out to the movies... with Helga. The thought made his stomach churn, and his heart ache. This was awful. How many official dates had Arnie and Lila gone on before she decided she loved him? Arnold could remember that one evening he'd gone out to the movies, and saw them cuddling. Arnold was a bit surprised to see Lila there. He thought she didn't seem like the type to like scary movies, and by the sounds of her horrified screams during the movie, he could tell that she obviously didn't. But if she didn't like horror films, then why did she go? It was Arnie, wasn't it? She went there because Arnie was there. He remembered hearing her say something about love to Arnie, as he had spotted Helga, and they'd watched together a row or two in front of them. Wait a minute... so Lila had loved Arnie from the first date?!

Wow.

He still didn't understand what a girl like Lila saw in a boy like Arnie, but if he made her happy, why not? Sure, Arnie was weird and creepy, but above all, pretty harmless.

Sighing heavily, he lay on his bed, looking up at his skylight with disdain. This was the worst. His own COUSIN was putting the moves on his girl. Okay, maybe she wasn't his girl, but he still liked her!

'How could Arnie like her...until today, they barely exchanged even two words.' Arnold thought. 'He doesn't know Helga like I do! There's no way he could possibly love her. It's just a crush. It has to be.

Another groan escaped him, and he sat up, taking a photo album that was sitting on his shelf. He took the photos from his pocket and placed them back inside. He'd always carried them around, but what was the point now? If she gave Arnie a chance, when before she was utterly repulsed by him, then who's to say she wouldn't...fall in love with him?

Looking down at the photos in the album, he couldn't help but feel both more torn inside and yet softened up. The album wasn't full, but it had a few pictures, depicting that of good times they spent together in the past few weeks. He laughed a little at one of them, it was a photo of Helga sticking her head up the wide opened mouth of a life-like model of an Anaconda while they'd been at the reptile house that one Sunday.

Turning the page, he laughed at the photo of them wearing matching crocodile hats that they'd bought together at the gift shop. He looked up at a hook on his shelf, seeing the hat hanging there. Another photo this time showed him with half his body inside the mouth of a lifesized crocodile model, reaching out toward her and looking as if he were yelling "Help!"

Arnold sighed, closing the album and laying back on his bed, holding it to his chest as he stared outside at the descending twilight. He closed his eyes, feeling his thoughts drift...

--~~--

"Whoa! Did you see that?! It was coming RIGHT at us!" Helga cried, holding her stomach as she was panting heavily. "I thought for sure we were goners!"

They had just come from the crocodile and alligator pens, having run all the way to the lizard exhibits when the saltwater crocodile had accidentally escaped from its pen when the trainer was opening the door to go feed it. It had come out of its enclosure, and immediately noticed Arnold and Helga, letting out a growl and having gone for them. But they ran off as quick as their legs could carry them and the trainer managed to apprehend the crocodile before it could chase them further.

"It's a good thing we ran when we did, and the trainers caught it in time." Arnold agreed, trying to catch his breath.

"Y-Yeah...yeah! But MAN! Whoa! The way it just went all 'RARGH!' and came crawling after us!" Helga began to laugh. "It was like something out of those killer crocodile movies!"

"No kidding." Arnold began to laugh along with her. "Th-that was...crazy!"

"I know!" She laughed, leaning against the wall and holding her stomach. "Why the heck are we laughing?! We almost became the croc's next meal!"

"I don't know..." He uttered, still laughing as he leaned his hand against the glass of a look-in lizard pen. "At least we're okay."

"Yeah...you're right, you're right." Helga wiped the mirthful tears from her eyes. "Come on Arnold, let's go look at the lizards!"

Regaining himself, Arnold nodded and smiled at her adoringly. "Sure, Helga."

--~~--

"So football head, what movie do you want to see?" Helga questioned, her eyes browsing the posters.

Arnold browsed them too, scratching his head thoughtfully. They'd already seen the Evil Twin movie that was playing, there was an action movie, two romantic comedies, and...one caught his eye.

"How about that one? 'Tales of Ninjas', I heard about it, it's about two kids who find a strange jewel that brings them to an alternative universe that's a world of ninjas. And that there's this strange lizard-like woman who wants to kill them." Arnold suggested.

"Huh, a fantasy adventure...interesting. Hey, why not? Sounds like a plan. Let's go."

--~~--

Placing his photo album back on the shelf, Arnold sighed again as he once more couldn't stop thinking about all their little "dates" together. This was torture. He'd never felt so strongly about a girl before, so to make matters worse, she didn't like him back AND was giving his COUSIN a chance.

Sighing sadly, he lay on his bed again, feeling ready to...cry.

"Knock knock, short man!" Came Phil's voice as he opened the door and came into the room. "What's with you tonight, Arnold? You've been acting all weird."

"Grandpa, I..." Arnold sat up and heaved a sigh. "It's nothing."

"Oh come on now, you can tell your ol' Grandpa what's wrong!" Phil said, and sat beside him on his bed. "So what's wrong? Is it about Arnie and his date with your little friend Helga?"

He nodded miserably.

"Ah, that's what I figured! A little case of feeling jealous!"

"Grandpa..." Arnold groaned. "Not now."

"Okay, okay, I gotcha, short man. So I guess you feel pretty upset, since you like her so much, eh?"

Arnold nodded again. "I think I love her, Grandpa."

"Ho ho! Love, huh? Well Arnold, aren't you in for a world of angels and music and-"

"Grandpa!"

Phil chuckled spiritedly, as Arnold simply sat there, blushing darkly. "Oh, Arnold." Phil grinnned at him, but then noticed his obvious misery. "Oh, Arnold, you can't possibly be jealous of Arnie, for lands sakes."

"But Grandpa, he's going out on a date with Helga. She's giving him a chance! They hold hands and everything, and Arnie is practically planning their wedding!"

Phil quirked his mouth to one side, giving Arnold knowing eyes. "Arnold, it's Arnie. The little freak has a lint ball collection. You really think Helga is going to go for that?"

"Well... Lila fell for him after only one date. Lila's a smart girl."

"Yeah, but Helga's smarter, ya gotta admit." Phil countered, "Well, I can't really say that. I've never met this Lila girl, but Helga seems pretty sharp. Very demanding. I don't think she'd go settling for second best." He smiled.

Arnold groaned a little, then sighed. "I know, but... but... I don't know. Arnie is always getting girls. Don't you remember that one time we went to visit him, and he had that one girlfriend. I guess they broke up, but still."

"Oh, yeah..." Phil looked off, rubbing his chin thoughtfully at the memory. "She was pretty."

Arnold buried his head into his pillow, muttering into it, "You're not helping, Grandpa."

Phil frowned. "Come on, Arnold. I told ya before. That girl likes ya. It's obvious. And you're much more interesting than Arnie. Also better looking. You don't have anything to worry about." He patted him on the back, as Arnold lifted his head from his pillow to look at him.

"But, Grandpa. If Arnie could get all those girls before... then who's to say that he won't get Helga too."

Phil blew some air out from his mouth, feeling that he was at a loss. "Fine, Arnold, if you're so worried, then why don't you just follow them on their date and ruin everything. That way Helga will lose interest, and she'll be jumping back into your arms!"

"Grandpa... I can't do that. If Arnie is what makes Helga happy, then I should just... let it go." He rubbed his eyes, trying to hold back the tears.

Phil frowned. "Arnold, you're too good for your own good." He stood up. "But now you're going to be all sad and mopey."

Arnold gave him a blank look. "As long as she's happy."

Phil sighed, but gave him a smile and patted him on the back. "Good luck, Shortman. I'm sure everything will be just fine. Helga likes ya. I know it, and you should too." He smiled, and walked towards the door. Before he walked out though, he hesitated, looking back at Arnold. "Ya gonna be alright?"

Arnold smiled at him a little. "Yeah." He lied.

"All right then Arnold, we'll be downstairs if you need anything. And remember, never eat raspberries!" He winked at him and then left the room, shutting the door behind him.

Once he was gone, Arnold slumped back into his misery. What else could he do? He just had to accept the fact that Arnie was winning the girl HE liked too, and that Helga wanted to give him a chance.

At least they could still be friends, right?

Wait.

She had ignored him all day since she had given Arnie a chance. Even when he said goodbye to her after school when he passed her locker, she didn't even look his way.

The phone rang then, snapping him out of his reverie. Helga? Could it have been her? Changing her mind about Arnie?

Motivated by the possibility, Arnold ran to the phone next to his couch and answered it. "Hello?"

"Hey Arnold, it's Gerald. You all right, man?"

"Oh, hey Gerald." Arnold immediately deflated like a balloon, falling onto his couch. "Yeah, I'm fine."

"You don't sound so good, man. You still upset about today?"

He sighed heavily. "Yeah. I am. Arnie left some time ago to go out to the movies with Helga."

"Ouch, man. Who knew she'd actually give him a chance?"

"I know." Arnold sighed. "Then again, Lila is a smart girl and she fell for him after their first date. Who's to say Helga won't..." His voice trailed off.

"I don't know...Helga's pretty demanding, and considerin' your cousin there... come on, he can't even rate second best! Don't you think she'd have better standards than that?"

"Then why is she giving him a chance?! If Arnie is so much of a downput, then WHY would Helga of all people, who definitely would be more demanding in guy standards, give HIM a chance?! Why?!" He shouted angrily. "...I'm sorry, Gerald. I didn't mean to yell like that. This whole thing is just getting to me."

"Hey, I understand, man. And to answer your question, lemme give you a fact. It's because HE likes her."

"What do you mean?"

"Arnold, when a guy likes a girl, and the girl knows it, she will latch onto that. Especially when they got nothing goin' for them in the guy department! Think about it, man. Why else would Helga even think to give him a chance? She's latchin' on to the fact that he likes her, and wants to be in the presence of someone who actually likes her!"

"Isn't that...kind of mean? That'd be kind of leading him on. I know it's Arnie and all, but still." Arnold hesitated.

"She ain't doin' it to be mean, she just wants to be with a guy who likes her...and maybe try to fall for him too and give him a chance, to see how she likes him."

Arnold's heart sank again.

"But hey man, Arnie's goin' home on Sunday, right? It ain't like he's gonna be here forever! After he's gone, Helga will be all yours again!"

"But what if she likes him by then? She'll want to stay in touch and even go visit. Gerald, she ignored me today. I know we kind of have a 'hush hush' basis at school, but she didn't even throw spitballs at me."

"Mmmm mmmm mmmm. This is more serious than I thought. I think you might be in serious trouble, man."

He fell silent.

"Arnold?"

A tear ran down his cheek.

"What was I thinking..."

--~~--

What was I thinking?! Helga thought.

She was at the movie theatre, watching a horror movie that was playing. With Arnie.

And she was not having fun.

In fact, she was regretting ever giving him a chance. He may have been in love with her, sure, but he was as interesting as watching paint dry! She couldn't even hold a good conversation with him. Anytime she tried, it was always nonchalant, listless responses that sometimes were only one sentence.

Arnie was chewing plain-flavoured gum, occasionally reaching up to spin the propeller of his beanie copter. But other than that, he just sat there, staring boredly at the screen, blinking left and right, and snorting.

'Criminy, this is BORING! I know Arnold can sometimes be quiet, and maybe he doesn't love me, but at least he's fun to be around and has a good time with me...'

Arnold...

Who had she been kidding? Thinking that Arnie would be a good source in getting rid of her feeligns, but it only made her want Arnold even more. Just because Arnie liked her didn't mean she had to...

Having seen the heartbreak in his eyes when she turned him down, it made her realize that he knew how it felt to be in love with someone and they don't love you back. So she decided to be nice and give him a chance.

Wait.

Then that meant...

"I'm going to the bathroom." She said, getting up from her chair.

"Yeah, okay." Arnie responded.

"I'll...be back...and stuff."

"Yeah, okay."

"Want me to get more popcorn?"

"Yeah, okay."

Helga uttered a growl under her breath as she made her way out of the row of seats and into the aisle. She left the theatre and headed to the Girl's bathroom. Thankfully, no one was in there. She released a breath and leaned over the sink, looking at herself in the mirror.

"What was I thinking?! This whole thing was stupid! I'm practically on a pity date with Arnold's creepy stupid cousin! What the heck am I doing!?"

She pounded her fists against the counter, growling angrily, and then panted, gripping the counter.

Once she regained herself, she took her locket out of her dress and leaned against the nearest stall.

"Oh Arnold my love, what was I thinking, even CONSIDERING that I could love Arnie, when he is nothing compared to you! You with your kindness, your sweet emerald pools for eyes, the way you smile... Oh my darling, how could I have been so stupid? Why did I have to witness you giving me the saddest of eyes today? Why did I have to ignore you?"

Tears ran down her cheeks as Helga clutched her locket to her chest, her shoulders shaking.

"Arnold...I know you don't love me, but at least we have fun together, right...?"

She closed her eyes, sighing in pure bliss as she recalled their past date, their time at the Cheese festival, the reptile house, the movies, and all the past times they'd just simply exchanged greetings in the halls when no one was looking.

She frowned, thinking of her time with Arnie now, and sighing to herself. "I've got to do something." She proclaimed dramatically, walking out from the bathroom with her head held high. On her way back to the theater room that their movie was playing, she grabbed up a half-full tub of popcorn that was sitting atop all the trash in the trash bin. She walked back into the theater, and sat down in her seat beside Arnie, handing him the popcorn.

"Thanks." He said dully, already beginning to eat.

Helga turned to him with a serious expression, and whispered, "We need to talk."

--~~--

Outside of the theater, Helga and Arnie stood, Helga still giving him a stern expression. "Arnie," She addressed seriously.

He snorted, looking at her.

She sighed. "Look Arnie, I don't think this is working out."

He blinked, focusing his gaze on her. "What?"

"I said, that I don't think this is going to work out. I mean, you hardly talk, and..." She sighed. "Look, you're an okay guy, I guess, but..." She stopped there, looking away awkwardly with her hands entwined together.

It was silent, and she finally looked over at him to see what he was doing. He was standing there, actually looking... sad. "Oh,"

She blinked, feeling bad once again. "Look, Arnie, it's just-"

"No, Helga, it's alright." He looked down.

She frowned, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Oh come on, don't look so sad. I'm not that great, and you've still got Lila."

He slumped (more than usual), and nodded, beginning to walk away. She could practically hear the sad violin music playing in the backround. Her eye twitched.

--~~--

"Thanks for giving me a second chance, Helga." Arnie snorted, as they were walking back to the boarding house.

She sighed, but attempted a fake smile at him. "Yeah, whatever, Arnie." She looked away.

They walked the rest of the way in contended silence... well, one sided contended silence. Helga just felt bored, but she didn't say anything.

'Yeesh, I can't believe I let myself fall victim to his heart break! Even I wouldn't stoop that low to make Arnold give me a chance...Helga G. Pataki doesn't do pity dates! ...That's what this all is, isn't it. A pity date. Some guy loves me "oh so" much and I feel bad for him because I know how it feels...and so I give him a chance because I feel sorry for him. What was I thinking?! Criminy, I'm a stupid idiot.' She thought.

She let out a deep breath.

'At least it's only for a few more days. He'll be gone home and then I'll be home free! Then Arnold will be all mine again.'

"You can come visit sometime." Arnie then said, interrupting her thoughts.

Helga stared at him incredulously. "What?!"

"You have a long weekend coming up next week. I asked your Principal about it." Arnie let out a snort. "Your dad said you weren't doing anything. You can come visit. I'll show you my lucky pile of dirt. And my lint ball collection. And we can have gum. Then we can count things."

She was too stunned to answer. Just what was he thinking?! This wasn't sitting well at all. It made her want to barf up her dinner and popcorn. She held back from gagging, and then looked up to see the boarding house come into view. Much to her relief.

I can't believe he asked me that! And even went to make sure I wasn't doing anything! Darn it, and I wanted to ask Arnold if he wanted to go see Wrestlemania with me that weekend!

Sighing heavily, she was about to give an ambiguous answer, but then stopped short as they approached the boarding house. Much to her surprise, Arnold was sitting on the front stoop, playing with a ball of clay. Very roughly. Like he was mad at it. She cracked a smile. It was pretty amusing to watch him do that.

"We're here." Arnie said, as if she needed to know.

"Yes, I know." Helga muttered, her mood instantly dropping again.

Arnold looked up as they approached, his gaze becoming blank and neutral as he saw his cousin. A flash of jealousy came to his eyes, but it was gone as quick as it came.

"You made it back in time, Arnie." He said, trying to keep the edge out of his voice.

"Yeah. By 24 minutes and 12 seconds. I counted." Arnie said listlessly.

"Good to know." Arnold then looked at Helga, and visibly lit up. "Hey, Helga."

She blushed a bit, and offered a smile. "Hey, football head. What'cha doing out here?"

"Grandpa wanted me to keep an eye out for Arnie when he came back." Arnold said with a shrug.

"Oh. What's with the clay?"

"Nothing really, I wanted something to amuse myself while I-"

"Arnold, can I talk to Helga for a minute." Arnie interrupted.

"...Yeah, sure." A flash of anger came to his eyes, but it also soon faded away. "I'll let Grandma and Grandpa know you're here." He stood up, went inside and shut the door.

Arnie snorted and turned back to Helga. "I have a question."

Helga gave a sigh. "What is it?"

"Are you in love with Arnold?" Snort.

Her eyes widened at his question, paling visibly. "W-What?! Wait...that's crazy! What the heck gave you that crazy idea?!"

"You stare at him in class when he's not looking. You keep photos of him on hand. You light up when his name is mentioned. Today in class you wrote his name 54 times in your notebook, I counted." Arnie listed, snorting again.

Helga was shocked at this. Was her love for Arnold THAT obvious? How could he have known?! Yes, it was obvious she didn't return his ador, but how could he have figured out the true reason behind it? Then again, how many times did people look her way when she was sure no one was looking?

She couldn't give in, not here, not now. Not to him.

"Well you're full of-!" Helga scowled. "I couldn't care less about that football-headed geek! No, I don't love him! He's...he's just a friend, okay?! I don't have to stand here and listen to this! I'm out of here!"

Arnie watched her listlessly as she stormed off down the street.

Then he went inside the boarding house, and upstairs to Arnold's room. Arnold was already in there, getting into his pajamas.

"Arnold, I have to ask you something."

"What?" Arnold pulled his PJ top down over his head.

"Are you in love with Helga?"

Arnold's eyes bulged, and he jolted around in a flash to look at Arnie in shock.

Arnie didn't even flinch. Simply blinked, one eye at a time.

Arnold gawked at him. "Why w-would you think something like that?!"

Arnie snorted. "You light up when she's around, you have a photo album full of exactly 23 pictures of you and her together... I counted, you're jealous, and her name is written exactly thirty-seven times in your notebook with little hearts." He blinked one eye at a time.

Arnold's snapped his mouth shut, and twiddled his thumbs together. "Oh, well, um..." He paused then, his eyes widening. He put his hands on his hips, and gave Arnie an annoyed look. "Wait a minute, you went through my stuff?!"

"I was looking for a blank piece of paper." He snorted.

"For what?!"

"It was so I could write down Helga's phone number."

Arnold's eyes darkened at that, and a scowl was starting to show on his face.

"You're jealous." Arnie observed.

Arnold's face dropped at that, and he just gave him a blank look. "Look, whether I like Helga or not, is none of your concern."

"Okay." Arnie snorted, and walked out of the room, in search of a bathroom.

Arnold sighed, putting a hand to his forehead in exhasperation. This was too awful. Not only was Arnie visiting AND dating Helga, but he was also looking through his personal belongings... so he could write down Helga's phone number, so they could chat for hours on the phone about how much they liked eachother!

Arnold felt his heart sink, and his anger rising at the same time. He clenched his fists, and growled to no one but the room. He threw himself onto his bed, and threw the covers over him, wallowing in his misery.

He'd never really hated a family member before. But as Helga would always say...

There's a first time for everything.