Escalating Love 2 2-2

The next day, Arnold walked to the school with Gerald, all the while trying NOT to rant and rave about Arnie, who had left early to walk with Helga to school. So Gerald tried to keep the subject on something neutral, like baseball. Something that would get his mind off of things.

"So man, you thinking of going to the game this weekend? I heard it's gonna be radical!" Gerald exclaimed. There was a baseball game at the stadium going on that weekend.

"Yeah, I definitely want to see the game." Arnold said with a nod. "I wanted to ask-...." His voice trailed off and he sighed.

"You-know-who?" Gerald looked at him.

"Yeah. But she'll want to go with Arnie."

Gerald gave him a sympathetic gaze and patted his shoulder. "Aww, sorry man. Okay, bad subject. Let's see.... Oh! Sid, Stinky and Eugene wanted to know if we wanted to join them at the Arcade after school today. You want to go?"

Arnold thought about that. Maybe he needed time to escape, time to have fun and try not to think about this whole predicament. Having fun at the arcade with "the guys" sounded like a plan. "Sure, Gerald. I think that'll be a good way to get my mind off all this."

"There we go! Now that's my man." Gerald slapped his back. "So I hope you don't mind if I invite Phoebe. Ya know, to show off my moves."

Snickering, Arnold shook his head. "I don't mind. I'm sure she wouldn't mind a little date with friends."

"Oh yeah, she's pretty cool like that and has fun even when we hang out with-wait, what?! Arnold, it's not a date! We're just two buddies!"

Arnold smiled deviously, laughing a little. "Come on Gerald, anyone who looks at you two automatically think you're a couple. You guys hold hands, you flirt, you give her this look, you spend a lot of time together, and you're really comfortable with each other."

"A-Arnold! I told you, we're buddies!" Gerald blushed as red as his usual 33 sweater. "Sure, Phoebe's great and all and I sure do like bein' with her, but we're not dating!"

"Come on Gerald, the cat's out of the bag. Why are you so embarrassed to admit that you have a crush on Phoebe?"

Gerald gave a sigh. "I don't know, man. I guess I'm kinda scared she won't like me back. I know I flirt a lot with the ladies, but Phoebe, well, she ain't like the other girls. She's real special and I like her a lot! If she didn't like me, man, I'd no longer feel like the Master of wooing a lady."

"Don't say that, Gerald. I have a pretty good feeling that Phoebe likes you back. Besides, you guys have had a lot of changes to spend more time together since Helga and I...." His voice trailed off again and he looked at the ground miserably.

"Aw man, it's like everything we say reverts back to your girl. I'm sorry man, I didn't-"

"It's okay, Gerald. I just have to learn to accept the fact that she's with Arnie now. It'll just take time."

"That's right man, and hey, like I said, he'll be gone soon! Besides, not like they're getting married or nothin'. So don't worry."

Arnold took a deep breath. "Maybe you're right, Gerald. Maybe I'm just overreacting a little."

"Nah, you're just in love with her. And I mean big time love. All those other girls turned you into a lovesick moron, but man, Helga...she's done a real number on you! It's no wonder you're ten times more jealous and ten times more intensely crushin' in on her."

The slightly shorter boy's green eyes widened at this.

They then came to P.S. 118, with the students all going inside or sitting around on the front steps of the school. Just as Arnold and Gerald were heading inside, that was when the horror struck.

Arnie was walking hand-in-hand with a very bored-looking Helga. But that wasn't exactly the horrifying part.

She was wearing her hair down.

This made Arnold stop in his tracks, his gaze stricken with horror. Not because she was wearing her hair down, no way. He liked it when she wore her hair down. She looked really nice. But the fact she was doing it special for Arnie, who no doubt found her more attractive for it, was what hurt him then.

Gerald noticed this, and came up to his best friend, a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"So sorry, man."

Arnold just sighed, picking up the books he hadn't realized he'd dropped and walked off to class early, with Gerald following closely behind him.

In class, Phoebe was already there, along with Curly sitting in the back, obviously scheming something, and Eugene was there too, humming happily to himself as he sat patiently in his chair. Gerald grinned and took the seat next to Phoebe.

"Hey, babe." He greeted.

She giggled and smiled, blushing a bit. "Hi, Gerald. How are you this morning?"

"Mmm mm, I'm fine and dandy, and I feel better now that I got my best girl buddy in my line of vision!"

The petite Asian girl giggled again, and despite everything, Arnold smiled warmly at the display and then went to sit a couple of rows back in order to give them some time to talk with each other. He sat down, laying his cheek against his hand, drumming his fingers against the surface of his desk.

Arnie was leaving on Sunday. And it was only Wednesday. This was going to be a very long week.

That was when the happy, or rather, one-sided happy, couple made their entrance. Arnold tried to avert his gaze so he wouldn't have to face it, but too late, he couldn't. They walked by his desk, and much to his surprise, Helga actually looked down at him and gave him a smile. His heart leaped and his gaze turned lovesick, staring straight ahead with his head in his hands.

Okay, maybe it wouldn't be so bad after all.

Arnold shook his head, and looked over at Gerald, who was currently crafting a paper football carefully.

"Hey, Gerald."

"Yeah, man?" He asked, not looking up from his very concentrated work.

"I've got to know. All that stuff you told me last night. Where did you get that knowledge?"

Gerald stopped in his construction, and looked over at Arnold with a smirk. "Because I'm the master on ladies, man."

All the girls were heard laughing insanely in the back all of a sudden, the words 'Gerald', 'ladies man', and 'oh, please' among them.

Gerald groaned a little, and turned in his seat to shoot a pistol at Phoebe smoothly, who blushed and giggled in return. He turned back around then, a contended look on his face. "See, man?"

Arnold rolled his eyes, and Gerald sighed. "Fine. I told Jamie-O something like that for a girl situation he had, but he told me it was the dumbest, most idiotic thing he'd ever heard. So I just told you the exact opposite of what I told him."

Arnold blinked, becoming a bit concerned. "Is that very accurate?"

"Well, I don't see why not. It makes sense doesn't it?"

Arnold blinked, thinking on that for a moment, before smiling and shrugging in his direction. "I guess it does..." His gaze became down-cast.

Gerald blinked at this display, and patted him on the back. "It's okay, Arnold. I'm sure today won't be nearly as bad as you think it will be."

--~~--

"You were right, Gerald. It's worse than I thought it would be."

It was lunch time now, and just across the cafeteria, were Helga and Arnie. But the fact that they were sitting together, was the least of his problems... they were... FEEDING eachother!

Arnold growled, the contents of his cheese sandwich squishing out the back of his sandwich at how hard he was gripping it.

Gerald looked at him in alarm. "Arnold, cool down. You killin' your sandwich!"

"Why don't I give ARNIE a sandwich then. A knuckle sandwich!" He stood from his chair, but Gerald quickly pulled him back down into it.

"Arnold, listen to yourself! You've gone mad! You need to calm down, and chill. It's not... that bad." He winced as he observed that Helga had started feeding Arnie grapes... though to the trained eye, her movements were almost mechanic, like she was doing it only because she had to. But of course the boys didn't catch it. Not even Arnold, as he was too blinded by jealousy.

Arnold listened to Gerald begrudgingly, and opted to simply glaring at Arnie in hatred.

Gerald shook his head. "Mmmm mmmm mmmm, man. This is getting outta hand. Maybe you should just tell Helga you like her. If she gave pity to Arnie, who's to say she won't for you. She likes you better anyway..." He saw out of the corner of his eye, that Helga was allowing Arnie to kiss her cheek. She didn't really seem to notice it though, she looked so bored. But nonetheless, Gerald winced at the display. "...I think. Phoebe even said that she'd give you a chance."

Arnold's heart lept, and for a moment, he forgot about killing Arnie. "She did? Helga likes me enough to give me a chance?"

"Hey, hey. Don't get excited yet, buddy. I'm just telling ya what Phoebe told me."

Arnold bit his lip. "I don't know... It sounds risky. And I'm not sure I could handle rejection from her. She'd probably laugh in my face, or yell at me for looking into our friendship too much. You've gotta admit, the thought of Helga actually liking me sounds really dumb." He said glumly, slumping a little.

"The thought of you actually liking Helga G. Pataki was dumb too. But here you are. Who knows? Maybe she's fallen for you too. Besides, what's the worst that could happen? She says no? That's weak. There are plenty of other fish in the sea."

"But I don't want any other fish." Arnold groaned, letting his head rest in his hand as his elbow was perched up on the table.

Gerald sighed. "Then I don't know. I still think you should tell her. If she's as nice as you say, then I'm sure she'll either be kissing you up, or letting you down gently." He patted him on the back, before standing up to throw out his food.

Arnold just blinked dully, his eyes half-lidded, before looking over to Helga, and gaining a dazed, lovesick expression. Arnie had gone off somewhere, so Helga was just chatting with Phoebe while she could. He smiled loopily, as he stared at her, completely forgetting about Arnie for that one fleeting moment... before Arnie did come back and planted a kiss on Helga's cheek again. Arnold snapped out of his dreamland, and scowled, feeling his insides burning with jealousy and hate.

--~~--

The day had been progressing horribly. First Helga's hair down debut, then the lunch time catastrophe, then the fact that they'd been holding hands EVERY SECOND, and to top it all off... Helga looked just peachy with the whole thing! Of course at lunch, she'd seemed very bored and listless, but afterward... she'd looked fine, even almost... happy. Arnold just wanted to pound his head into some lockers. His worst nightmare was actually coming true!

Arnold hung his head sadly as he opened up his locker, and placed his books inside, before just leaning his head against the lockers. He sighed, feeling that his heart was just going to be completely torn to shreds by the end of the day. He just wanted to... he didn't know what he wanted to do. Maybe just fall off a cliff or something. It seemed much more appealing than watching Arnie and Helga being all wrapped up in eachother. He felt completely miserable... and in his miserable state, leaning against the lockers, he was only able to conclude one thing...

Love sucks.

He sighed heavily, before sucking it up, and concluding that crying over it wouldn't solve anything, especially in public. So he just began grabbing out the books he needed, thinking to himself, 'This is ridiculous. I need to do something before they DO end up getting married. And they'll want to come over and visit me too. And I can't handle seeing them kissing and all when I'm there, all loopy over Helga. I can't take it anymore!' He slammed his locker shut, and began walking up the hall, this time talking to himself, as there weren't many people around to hear him anyway. "Maybe I should just take Gerald's advice. She's so sweet (...Well, sometimes). I'm sure she'll give me a chance, or at least lighten up on the Arnie love around me. That's it. That's what I'm doing. I'll just march right on up to Helga, and tell her that I think I lo-OOF!"

He jettisoned backward, but then hearing a feminine groan, his eyes snapped up to see Helga rubbing her head. He brightened, and a warm feeling swept over him. "Helga! I'm sorry for crashing into you. I was actually just looking for you." Before he could stand though, he was suddenly grabbed by the upper arms and looked at through desperate, pleading sapphire eyes... really pretty ones too. He would have melted, if he wasn't so shocked.

"Arnold! This is no time for pleasantries! I'm so glad that I ran into you!" She checked their surroundings and after concluding that they were alone, she hugged him tightly.

His eyes widened, but he soon felt himself giving in and hugging her back, his heart pounding in both surprise and affection. "Calm down, Helga. What is it?" He asked softly, enjoying the feel of her against him.

She pulled back, once again with the desperate eyes, and still held him by the arms. "Arnold! Your cousin is driving me CRAZY! I can't take it anymore! I'm gonna get sent to the insane asylum if you don't help me get outta this!"

He gawked at her, his eyes extremely wide in incomprehension. "W-What?"

She shook him violently. "Don't ask me questions, Football Head! I need to know how to break up with the little freak without hurting his stupid feelings!" She stopped shaking him, and simply gave him pleading eyes.

Managing to finally comprehend what she was saying, he blinked his eyes and couldn't help but feel his heart leap with joy. So Helga didn't like Arnie after all! Maybe he had a chance after all? Whatever it was, he was just glad this wasn't the case. Admittedly deep down, he did feel a little bad for Arnie, since being rejected by someone you liked was never fun. Well, Arnie was a trouper...in a way, he'd be fine.

Keeping himself composed, Arnold placed his hands on her shoulders and thought for a moment about what to say. He could focus on his inner joy later, right now, someone needed help. And that someone was the girl he liked, which only added to it.

"Well Helga, have you tried talking to him?" He asked.

Helga sighed, nodding her head. "YES, I have. And every time I do, it's like he...I don't know! Finds some way to just rope me back in! I know it's stupid and just a pure pity thing, going way against what I stand for but...agh, darn it! I'm such an idiot for even doing that!"

"You're not an idiot." Arnold told her firmly but gently. "It's true that pity dates and pity love is definitely not the right thing to do, but I can understand why you did what you did."

"That I pretty much just went for him because he liked me?"

"I guess so. But the point is Helga, you were trying to give him a chance, to do the right thing and see what you were in for, to see if maybe you could possibly feel the same way. Maybe trying to be with someone because they like you isn't the best thing to do, but it least it helps you realize and think about it, right?"

"...Yeah, I think you're right." Helga sighed and looked away for a moment. "Maybe I was just doing that. Latching on to something good because I've never had it before."

Arnold nodded in understanding, and then brought his hand to her cheek, gently guiding her head to meet his gaze. He smiled sweetly, and couldn't help but think how cute she looked when she blushed. "I can understand that. Well Helga, if you want to do the right thing, you will have to hurt Arnie's feelings in all of this. You just have to tell him that you're sorry, but you don't feel the same way. Just be assertive and let him know how you really feel. Tell him you want to be honest with how you're feeling and don't want to lead him on or give him false hope. The truth hurts sometimes, but at least you'll be doing the right thing, and that's what really matters. And hey, you have a bit of a lucky break here considering he lives all the way in the country and only visits a couple of times a year. So you won't have to face him on a daily basis, just until Sunday. In the meantime, I'll help make sure he leaves you alone."

She blinked at him, her hands moving up to his shoulders. "Really...? You'll do that?"

"Of course, Helga. You're one of my best friends, and if Arnie being around you like that makes you uncomfortable, then I'll help you to keep him at a distance since you're clearly not interested. You know I'll do anything to help you when you need it." He lowered his hand to lightly brush through her hair for a moment and then lowered his hand down her arm, holding her hand in his and gazed up at her lovingly.

"Arnold...I...." Helga blushed more, unable to contain just how inwardly joyful she felt. Oh, the way he was looking at her right now! It made her want to jump and squeal for joy, not to mention how sweet and helpful he was being to her, something he never failed in doing. Now thanks to him, everything was going to be okay.

'How could I have even thought to move on from such a wondrous, sweet boy? Maybe he doesn't love me, but at least we can still have fun together like a couple of buddies... If I can't be with him, at least I can be around him! Who knows, maybe he could fall for me over time... Oh Arnold my love, my Knight in Shining Armor! You're my savior once again! My darling, I will bestow upon you a well-deserved reward!' She thought. 'I have to do this or I'll explode!'

"Who am I kidding, thanks so much!"

Before he could respond, Helga grabbed him to her, gently but with force, bringing her arms around his head and neck, kissing him fully on the lips. Arnold's eyes widened, his books falling to the floor as his entire body went limp and heated up. His eyes closed on their own accord and he melted into the kiss, bringing one hand to her shoulder for balance, and the other played with her soft hair as he kissed her back.

His reciprocation was not lost on her, because just as she was going to pull away, he had kissed her back. He was kissing her back! Helga couldn't help but prolong the kiss a little longer. After all, no one was around to see it, and he was kissing her back, so why not? The circumstances were perfect. Well, almost perfect. Their location wasn't exactly ideal, but hey, for the moment, beggers can't be choosers.

To her utmost surprise and delight, his tongue gently traced her lips, in a way that even his own tongue was asking for permission ever so nicely! Helga giggled and opened her mouth giddily to welcome his addicting taste and tongue, playfully wrestling hers with his.

He wasn't exactly sure why he'd done that, it was part of his instinct and curiosity, that maybe for a change he wanted to give it a try and initiate deepening the kiss a bit. Sure, French kissing was a little out of his league, but the couple of times they'd tried it, he couldn't help but...like it. Finding it a new way to express how much he liked a girl. In the past, it was unlikely, since the thought of even kissing a girl, let alone French kissing a girl was awkward. But now with her having been his first, not to mention experiencing it a couple of times, it wasn't so scary. It did still overwhelm his insides and senses, but he was growing to like it more and more.

It was the perfect end to a pretty lousy day, on both their parts.

The lack of oxygen was getting to them and they pulled away, their eyes hazed with pleasure and wonder. Unable to help herself, Helga lay her forehead against his, feeling her heart beating like a jackhammer as she felt herself loving him even more. If that was possible.

"Friends don't kiss, football head." She said affectionately.

Arnold chuckled a bit, playing with a strand of her hair absently. "I know they don't. Actually Helga, what I wanted to tell you before you found me first is that I l-"

Snort.

They both froze and paled.

"Come on Arnold, let's get home." Arnie said, now suddenly standing near them.

"Oh, uh, yeah, right." Arnold nodded. He picked up his books. "Um, I'll see you tomorrow, Helga."

"Yeah, tomorrow." Helga said nonchalantly.

The minute both cousins had left and gone outside, Helga looked around once more to make sure no one was around, and squealed happily with joy, taking out her locket and hugging it to her. She fell up against the row of lockers, and sank down to the floor with a lovesick grin on her face.

--~~--

The same lovesick grin was present on Arnold's face, so much so that he barely even heard Arnie speaking to him.

"I saw you kissing Helga in the hallway." He said amiably.

Snapping out of his daze, Arnold blinked and looked at his cousin. "What? You saw us?!"

"Yeah. You kissed for one minute and twenty-two seconds, I counted."

His eyes widened. "You watched the whole time?! Arnie, that was-"

"You kissed my girl." Arnie said listlessly, blinking left and right.

Arnold frowned lightly. "I did not. She kissed me."

"You kissed her back."

"Well, okay, yeah, I did, but I-"

"I know you're jealous, and that you love her. But she's my girl."

He was about to tell Arnie then that Helga wasn't interested in him, but decided not to go there. That was for Helga to talk to him about.

For the rest of the walk, they were both silent, and Arnold couldn't help but find the quiet to be very tense. He wasn't sure how Arnie felt. He didn't really have any expression on his face... like always. But Arnold felt tense, and guilty... but also giddy. He got to kiss Helga! One part of him wanted to blow morals and call her up right then and ask her out... but the other half, his better half, was feeling very guilty.

And then there was a small part of him, wondering why Helga had kissed him in the first place. Of course, he could just list it off as "heat of the moment", but this time he wasn't so sure. He needed to ask, no matter how awkward that conversation might be... it could seriously end as the beginning to something he really, really wanted.

He felt bad, though, for the whole thing, and the fact that he didn't regret any of it, only made the guilt worse on him. He felt guilty for what he'd done, but he'd never take it back, and that made him feel like dirt. But he'd gotten to kiss his crush. Who would really want to ever take something so memorable like that back? Certainly not Arnold, but he still felt bad for it.

After a very quiet, awkward (And in the boarders case, horrific) dinner, Arnold was standing in his room at only about seven thirty, with Arnie still giving him the silent treatment. He was used to it though. Arnie rarely ever said anything unless provoked. So Arnold tried to ignore the guilt altogether, figuring it was pointless, and tried to think about anything else... anything.

Helga. Oh yeah, there was something. The very center of his guilt at the moment. Also the very object of his affections and desires, of course, which was why he would never even dream of taking back that precious one minute and twenty-two seconds of beautiful contact. It made him ache for more, which disturbed him a bit. He knew he liked her, but the whole kissing thing was a bit extreme... and he liked it too... a lot. He liked her a lot. It made him wonder... did he actually LOVE her? He had been going to tell her he thought he did, but what if he was wrong? And what was he thinking?! A crush was one thing, but LOVE?! Even if he did love her, he couldn't just walk up to her and say, "Oh, hey, Helga. So how was your day? Read any good books lately? Oh yeah! I almost forgot to tell you. I love you." Oh no. That was dreadful. She'd probably never speak to him again, and he really didn't want to turn into Curly. Unreqited love could do a number on you, and Curly was the prime example of that. Helga had cracked a joke not too long ago, about how if you looked up the word crazy in the dictionary, Curly would be there with one of his wild grins. It made him shiver at the mere thought of turning into some lovesick psychopath. No, telling her straight up that he loved her, was definitely out. Baby steps. He'd told her just today that he considered her to be one of his best friends, but what he'd left out of that was how much more he wanted her to be to him.

And that made him wonder... why had she kissed him in the hall? What possibly could have provoked her to do that? He knew he'd been treating her kindly, and he could remember feeling really loopy in affection for her at the time. Maybe she saw how he was looking at her?

He sighed, sitting on his couch and picking up the telephone. If he wanted answers, then he was going to have to go straight to the source. And quickly, because Arnie was only gone to use the bathroom, and although Arnie always took a fair amount of time, he still didn't want to take any chances.

"Hello? Oh, hi Mr. Pataki. Is Helga there?"

--~~--

Hair of wheat, of fine, fine gold

A story so sweet, it never gets old

My perfect prince, ruling over my heart

He may be dense, but he's a work of art

Helga groaned at the words on the paper, feeling that she was uninspired. Curse that darned Arnie! He sucked all the inspiration out of her!

"Olga! One of your little friends is on the phone!" Bob hollered from downstairs.

Helga growled a little, and picked up the phone by her bedside. "Got it, Bob!" She threw herself back onto her bed, relaxing a little. "Phoebe?"

"Uh, no. It's Arnold."

She bolted upward in a flash. "Arnold!" She shrieked, startled, before clearing her throat and regaining her composure. "I mean, hey Football Head. Why are you calling me so late?"

"...It's only about seven thirty, Helga."

"Oh..." She winced. "Well... that's late for me. So what's up?"

"Oh, um... well, I actually was just calling to ask you... about the um..."

Helga sighed. "Spit it out, Arnold. It can't be that bad."

"I just wanted to know about...um...." For some reason, his voice lowered to a whisper. "What happened earlier and-"

"Why are you whispering?" She couldn't help but ask.

"Well, I didn't want anyone to overhear in case they came in." He whispered. "Anyway, um...I wanted to ask....and it's just because I'm curious, that's all. Why did you...um...kiss me today? I mean, don't get me wrong... I'm not complaining about it or anything, I'm just wondering because it was kind of out of the blue."

Eyes wide, Helga nearly dropped the phone out of her hand. Somehow, she should have expected this, or then again, was hoping they wouldn't quite bring it up yet. Then again, maybe it was better to somehow get everything out on the table without revealing too much of the truth. Yeah, she could do that. He did have a right to be confused and curious, and it took quite a bit of guts to ask her about it.

Normally she would have dismissed it and walked off, not to mention throwing in a slamming insult. But those days were over. At least for the most part when they were away from the prying eyes and ears of their classmates. No, he wouldn't buy it and would likely feel bad. She didn't want that now.

"Um....well...heh heh...funny you're asking me that...heh heh....well, you know, there's a lot I can say about it really. I uh...was pretty grateful for you willing to help me out and get Arnie off my back and all. Plus we're friends and all...and we did kind of kiss before so it was nothing too new...." She blushed heavily, wrapping her finger around the phone cord nervously. "G-Guess I wanted to show you my thanks and...friendly affection...a little further...I guess... Heat of the moment, too! Yeah! That's also it."

"Oh, okay." She could swear that his voice sounded almost disappointed, but it was gone as quick as it came. "I guess I can understand why you would-oh, wait, what was the homework for tonight? Pages three through six and page eight and nine of our mathbooks, right?"

Helga raised one side of her brow. "Arnold, what are you talking about?"

"No one, Arnie." Arnold suddenly said off the phone on the other line, and came back on. "Thanks for your help, I'll see you tomorrow, Helga."

Click.

Helga stared at the phone for a moment while the dial tone sounded, a little weirded out.

"What the heck was that about?"

--~~--

"Why were you calling Helga?" Arnie then said.

"Like I said, asking her about homework." Arnold responded. "She may be your girl..." It pained him to say that. "But she's also my friend. I can call her if I want to."

"You were whispering."

"Sometimes I whisper on the phone." Arnold shrugged, getting off his couch and going to lay on his bed.

"Okay." Arnie said listlessly, and went to leave the room.

"Where are you going?" He questioned.

"Taking Helga for ice cream."

Once Arnie left the room, Arnold rolled over and buried his face in his pillow.

'Stupid Arnie...' Arnold thought miserably into his pillow... but that was when his mind flashed. Helga didn't like Arnie. Helga was going to break up with Arnie. Arnold lifted his head out of his pillow then, and jumped up. "WHOO HOO!"

--~~--

Phil took a sip of his drink, but then heard something from upstairs. He blinked, straining his ears. "YES!!!"

Phil chuckled a little, sitting his cup down, and commenting to no one in particular, "Sounds like young Arnold is having a good night."

"You are correct, sir!" Gertie saluted in the doorway, wearing an all camo military uniform with a serious look on her face.

--~~--

Helga tapped her fingers against the table, with an impatient look on her face. She sighed a little in aggrevation, and looked over to see Arnie finally coming back with their ice cream. The pale boy sat her double, chocolate sundae in front of her, and sat down.

Helga unwrapped her spoon, and blinked at the boy, one side of her eyebrow raised at him. "Aren't you going to get some ice cream?"

Arnie snorted. "They didn't have plain flavor."

Helga rolled her eyes, scooping up some of her ice cream. "Whatever."

He blinked, one eye at a time, and spoke dully, "We need to talk."

Helga's eyes instantly shifted upward at that, and she snorted herself. "Talk? Since when?"

"Since you kissed my cousin."

Helga nearly choked on her spoon, and she sat the utensil down, coughing a little and pounding her fist against her chest. "You saw?" She wheezed.

"Yeah," He snorted.

She gave him a weary look, but then sighed, her arms on the table. "Look, Arnie, I'm sorry about all that. I didn't mean to-"

"I think we should break up."

Helga froze, her hand suspended in mid-air in gesture. She stared wide-eyed at him, and then laughed slightly. "I'm sorry?"

"I think we should break up." He repeated, blinking one eye at a time.

Her jaw dropped. "You... want to break up... with me?" She blinked, a blank look spreading across her face. "You can't possibly be serious."

"I am serious." He affirmed with a snort.

"...It's because I kissed Arnold, isn't it?" She couldn't help but ask.

"You love him."

Helga sighed and slumped miserably. "Yeah, I do. ...But he doesn't love me back."

Arnie snorted in response.

"Well, anyway," Helga looked back up again. "Guess if that's how you feel, then, well, I guess that's the 'right thing to do' as Arnold would say. But you know, I'm...sorry." She looked away.

"It's okay."

She looked at him with surprise. "...Wait, what? It's okay? That's all you can say!?"

"Yeah."

"But...why? Why?! You can't possibly be that cool and calm about it! Sure you're...Arnie and all, but still!"

"I know you don't love me. It's okay."

"I...." Helga gave up and sighed. "Well, fine then. I guess we all react differently." It was strange, considering how even one little rejection sent the boy into heartbreak. Now he was so cool about it? She didn't get it. Then again...no one understood Arnie.

She finished her ice cream in silence, and then stood, and Arnie did too.

"Guess I'd better go." She said. "Um, see you around, I guess."

"Sure."

"Okay, okay, are you SURE you'll be fine? Seriously Arnie, because if you go all 'I'm heartbroken, date me' all over again, I will NOT fall for it!"

"I won't." Arnie snorted.

"...Well, okay." Helga shrugged. "Whatever floats your boat."

They exited the ice cream parlour, where they parted ways, going in opposite directions on their way to their respective (at least in Helga's case) homes. So things didn't quite work out, and sure Helga felt glad to know that she no longer had to keep being attached to him when she clearly was nowhere near interested, although she did feel a bit bad about breaking someone's heart, even if it was Arnie's, it was for the best.

It was better to break someone's heart than to string them along. It wasn't always easy to do, and she knew that well.

Still, it did help a little bit, didn't it?

Best of all, she smiled at this, she even got to kiss Arnold again.

Maybe this whole ordeal wasn't so bad after all.

--~~--

Sometime later, Arnold was doing his homework in his room, when Arnie came in, looking just the same as he always did. Arnold glanced up for a brief moment, and then went back to his work. He wondered around what had happened, whether or not if-

"I broke up with Helga." Arnie suddenly said.

Arnold's head snapped up to his cousin, his eyes wide with surprise. Despite he did see it coming, since Helga was trying to break it off with him, it was pretty surprising to hear straight out in black and white. Deep down he felt giddy and wanted to do a dance, but he held himself back. After all, at the same time, he did admittedly feel bad for him.

"Really? ...I'm sorry, Arnie."

"It's okay. I knew it had to end. So I broke up with her." Arnie snorted and sat on the couch.

"Well, I guess sometimes that-...wait, you broke up with her?"

"Yeah."

"...Why? I thought you loved her."

"I do."

"So why did you break up with her?"

"She didn't love me."

"...Oh."

Arnie snorted in response.

Despite how great the situation was, especially since Arnie was actually the one to end things, Arnold did still feel that sense of guilt deep down. Especially over feeling so jealous. It was understandable, he knew, but it still didn't feel right.

"Arnie, listen...I'm sorry for the way I acted. I guess I was pretty jealous. A little too jealous." Arnold said, looking at his cousin then. "I'm really sorry. And I'm sorry that I kissed Helga too."

"It's okay." Arnie said dully, snorting.

"Still... I feel like it's my fault you had to break up with Helga. And I'm sorry for that."

"It was one-sided. Wouldn't have worked anyway."

"True, but still, I-"

"Don't worry about it." Arnie cut him off. "I'm cool."

Arnold stared at his cousin for a few moments longer, and went back to his homework. Oh well, at least everything was going back to normal and falling into place.

Well...almost everything.

--~~--

"So, guess Arnie told you we broke up, huh?"

"Yeah, he did. I have to admit I was pretty surprised about it, considering he was the one who ended it."

"Hey, I know! I didn't see it coming, let me tell you."

It was the next day, and Arnold and Helga were at the library doing their homework together after school had been out. It was actually Arnie who told Arnold to invite her to do something like that, and she'd accepted. After all, it was refreshing to have time alone together where they could be themselves (for the most part) without the prying eyes and ears of their peers.

"But I guess it was for the best." Helga went on, shrugging a bit. "One-sided love relationships never work out. Besides, he wasn't my type."

Arnold looked up at her then, feeling a sense of hope. "He wasn't?"

"Nope. Not a bit." She looked at him casually.

"Well, I guess that's understandable, considering how he is...but I guess he must have something if Lila saw love in him. Um...well, if you don't mind my asking, what is your type?"

"My type? Um...well I uh...." She blushed a bit, not sure how to respond to that. The answer was obvious; her type was a boy just like him. "I guess... um...well...I like nice guys, yeah."

"You do?" His eyes lit up.

"Well, yeah. I mean, you wouldn't want someone who is exactly just like you, would you?"

Arnold paused, thinking of that.

"The point is, I think, a good relationship comes from having a good balance of common ground and differences. If you have too much of either, forget it."

"Good point." Arnold murmured thoughtfully. "I never thought of it that way before."

Helga shrugged. "Hey, it's common sense."

She did make a good point, now that he thought about it. Helga was a lot like him in a way, considering the nicer side of her personality and how they shared a lot of the same interests. But then there was her stronger, more aggressive side and the way she viewed life, being realistic and able to keep his head out of the clouds. At the same time, he could help calm her down and inspired her more to come out of her shell and be herself.

Amazingly, he realized, they were really good for each other.

He wondered if she thought that too.

"I guess you're right." He looked back at her and smiled. "Well Helga, I know you'll find someone who meets that criteria and is your type." 'I hope so, at least.' He placed his hand on top of hers, his eyes nor smile never leaving her face.

Helga's heart beat fast and she managed a smile. "Yeah...you too, football head." 'Man I wish...'

For a few moments, they just sat there, smiling at each other and lost in each other's eyes, both silently thinking how much they loved the other, without the other's knowledge. Of course, anyone who looked at them and not knew who they were would assume right away that they were a couple. The intense chemistry between them was just too much to come off as friends.

At another end of the library, Gerald and Phoebe were also doing homework together. Or rather, Phoebe had wanted to come and Gerald decidedly went with her to spend more time with her. They couldn't help but occasionally glance at their respective best friends.

"Okay, when's he just going to ask her out already?" Gerald snickered.

Phoebe giggled. "I suppose it will happen when it happens."

"Guess I'd better be prepared for the three-hour-long sessions of him going on about how awesome she is." Gerald playfully rolled his eyes.

"Oh Gerald." Phoebe giggled more. "I'm sure it's not that bad."

"Nah, I've lived through all his crushes... And if you think that's bad, well, I ain't seen nothing like him being in love." Gerald glanced at them again. "Makes me want to hug a thousand kitty cats and lose my lunch all at once."

Phoebe laughed. "Gerald!"

"I'm just sayin'..."

--~~--

Meanwhile, in another section of the library...

"Um, hello there, Arnie..."

"Hey."

"Listen, I know we're no longer together...but would you mind ever so much if I sat with you?"

"Go ahead."

"Oh, thank you!" Lila happily sat down with Arnie. "So how are you?"

"Fine. Those shelves of books there has one-hundred and twenty-nine books, I counted." Arnie snorted.

Lila giggled. "Your accuracy in numbers is every so astounding."

"Thanks. It's my hobby."

He looked back at his cousin far across the library, and snorted again.

"They've been staring at each other for three minutes and twelve seconds."

"That long?"

"Yeah."

"Arnie, would you mind ever so much going to see a movie tonight? Just as friends?"

"Sure."

Arnie may have been Arnold's weird cousin, but he maybe he wasn't so bad after all either.