Chapter Text
The Long Walk Home
It had been a grueling mid-spring week for the students of P.S. 118. With the changing season, the sun lingered high in the sky, pushing curfew back until later in the evening. A wave of collective optimism hummed through the hallways as the final months of the school year drew near. And yet, the rising temperatures only made the classrooms feel stuffier, and staring out the window at the beautiful weather made the school day drag on at an agonizingly slow crawl.
To add to the tension, the Annual Cheese Festival was just around the corner. Word had spread that the city council had heavily increased the festival's funding this year, promising bigger rides, grander spectacles such as a live music stage, and an event twice the size of previous years. It was all the students could talk about. For many of the fifth-graders, the hype only amplified the emotional rollercoaster of trying to ask out their crushes - some triumphantly securing dates, others facing the sting of rejection, and a few opting to skip the drama entirely to go with friends. Arnold knew most of his peers would be there, including his best friend, Gerald. Arnold had spent the afternoon eagerly waiting to hear if Gerald's lunch-break invitation to his crush, Phoebe had been a success. He kept his fingers crossed, though he knew he had little reason to doubt his friend; after all, Gerald and Phoebe had attended the last two festivals together. But with only a few minutes left on the clock, the agonizing wait was finally over.
BRINNNGGGG!
“Hey Arnold!” Gerald rushed to his best friend's locker immediately after the last class of P.S. 118 let out that day, moments after the bell.
“Hey Gerald!” Arnold turned and waved as his best friend approached. “Sorry I didn't get to catch up with you after lunch.”
Gerald took a moment to catch his breath after running over. “No sweat, man.” Arnold couldn't help but notice the massive, unmistakable grin on his best friend's face that practically threatened to split his face in two.
Arnold looked at him with a curious smirk. “So, did you ask her?” He could tell Gerald had rushed over for a very specific reason that went far beyond just being happy to see him.
“She said YES, Arnold!’ Gerald excitedly proclaimed, a few other students at nearby lockers looked at them with raised eyebrows at Gerald's lack of volume control.
“Oops,” Gerald muttered, lowering his voice before spilling the good news he had been holding in all afternoon. “Phoebe said yes, Arnold! I officially have a date for the Cheese Festival!”
“That's great, Gerald!” Arnold patted him on the back as they exited the school grounds to begin their walk home, genuinely proud to see yet another milestone in the slow, steady progression of his best friend's crush on their mutual classmate.
“Didn't you guys go to the last two Cheese Festivals together, though?” Arnold asked, a slightly puzzled expression crossing his face. “What makes asking her this time any different?” He had a strong feeling the answer had everything to do with how much Gerald's feelings for Phoebe had deepened over the course of fifth grade.
“Yeah, Arnold, we did, we did…” Gerald continued, his eyes shining as he fondly remembered the last two Cheese Festivals he spent with Phoebe. “But this time, asking her is special.”
He stepped closer, dropping his voice to a confidential level. “I'm finally gonna tell her that I like-her, like-her.”
“Really? Are you sure?” Arnold tried to mirror his friend's enthusiasm, but a small hint of skepticism lingered. He knew exactly how many times Gerald had claimed he was going to make his big move over the past year.
“Mhm! I'm definitely going through with it this time, I mean it, Arnold! I've thought it all out, and I'm finally happy with exactly how I'm gonna tell her.”
Gerald leaned in even closer, dropping into a dramatic whisper despite the fact that the sidewalk around them was completely empty. “Thanks for helping me come up with the perfect confession, by the way. I finally wrote down the absolute final version of what I want to say.”
“You did?” Arnold perked up. Hearing that Gerald had actually put pen to paper gave him a sudden surge of genuine hope. It looked like his friend might actually see it through this time.
“Mmmhmmmmm, Arnold.” Gerald stepped back out, proudly counting off on his fingers. “After four... no, five... wait, six weeks of tweaking it, I'm finally happy with what I've got written. Hopefully she'll realize just how much she means to me when I say it out loud!”
“If it's anything like the drafts we worked on over the past few weekends, I'm sure Phoebe will react well,” Arnold said warmly, hoping to give his friend's confidence a final boost. “Are you gonna let me hear the final version, Gerald?”
Gerald shyly looked away, a warm blush creeping up his neck. “Well, uh, I made it a touch more personal since the last time you heard it, so... I think I'll keep this final one strictly between me and Phoebe.”
Arnold smiled with his classic, calm, half-lidded expression. “If you say so, Gerald.” Admittedly, a small part of him was curious, but he respected his best friend's privacy.
“Man, that felt so good to finally tell you!” Gerald exclaimed in relief, rolling his shoulders back in relief before rubbing the back of his neck. “I just hope she likes me back, is all.”
Arnold placed a reassuring hand on his friend's shoulder. “Gerald, if I know anything about Phoebe - and we’ve been in the same class since kindergarten, she’s going to say she likes you back. Trust me.”
“Thanks, Arnold. I really appreciate it.” Gerald returned the favour with a quick, boyish nudge on Arnold's shoulder, and they continued their steady pace.
“So enough about my day, Arnold.” Gerald kicked a loose pebble on the sidewalk, changing topics.
“The Cheese Festival's in two days, obviously I've asked Phoebe out. Are you planning to bring anyone you like, Arnold?” He glanced over, highly curious if Arnold had any intentions of asking someone special out, just like he had in previous years.
Arnold hesitated. He stared down at his sneakers as they walked, understanding the full gravity of what Gerald was asking. Since Gerald had been giving daily romantic updates all through fifth grade about his progress with Phoebe, Arnold realized he had been stone-cold silent about his own feelings regarding anything to do with girls lately. He knew the last time he opened up to Gerald about a girl he liked was over a year ago (or, forever, in fifth-grader terms), when he still had a crush on Lila. Those feelings had long since faded into a distant memory. In truth, there was another girl who had been constantly creeping into his thoughts since the last few months of fourth grade, a whole year now. But Arnold still wasn't sure what to make of those persistent thoughts. It certainly wasn't a crush... right?
“I mean, considering how badly the last two Cheese Festivals went for me, I’m still not completely sure,” Arnold muttered, his pace slowing down. “But... well, maybe there is one person I thought about asking.”
Gerald instantly stopped dead in his tracks, his eyebrow shooting up. “So there is a girl! Man, you gotta spill! You’ve been hiding a secret crush all fifth grade?” Gerald was fully expecting Arnold to say ‘No’ or ‘’Not really' outright, so this was a surprise.
“What? No! Gerald, it's not like that!” Arnold felt his face warm up as he stopped to face his friend.
“C'mon, lover boy! Spill!” Gerald taunted with a wide grin, fully enjoying the chance to dust off an old nickname he hadn't used since last year.
“Okay, okay…” Arnold took a deep breath, braced himself, and finally answered Gerald's question, of which Gerald was now very eager to hear seeing just how flustered Arnold had become over this ‘secret girl’.
“I was thinking of asking Helga.” Arnold struggled to find his voice, swallowing hard before forcing the words out.
Gerald just stared at him. An awkward, heavy silence stretched out between them on the concrete path. It lasted only a few seconds, but to Arnold, it felt like an eternity.
“I don't think I heard you right, Arnold? Who?” Gerald broke the silence, refusing to believe what Arnold had just said.
Arnold sighed, looking down at his shoes at a defensive angle, desperately wishing he could hide the flush rising on his face. “I was going to ask Helga to come with me to the Cheese Festival, Gerald.”
Arnold said that name again, Helga. H e l g a. Gerald just looked at him, completely stunned.
“Helga. HELGA?”
“Yes, Gerald.”
“You mean our Helga, Arnold? Not some other Helga at PS. 119?”
“Right.”
“Our Helga as in Helga G. Pataki, Helga. The girl who throws a hundred spitballs at your head every single day just to torment you? You want to ask that Helga to the Cheese Festival, with you?”
“There are no other Helgas, Gerald!” Arnold rubbed his temples, already slightly regretting opening his mouth, though he couldn't blame his friend for the shock. “Besides, I meant I'd want to go with her as a friend. Not a date like you and Phoebe.”
You say ‘just as friends,’ Arnold,” Gerald countered, throwing his hands in the air, “but we both know the Cheese Festival is the most romantic cheese-themed festival in the entire city!”
“Gerald, it’s the only cheese-themed festival in the city.”
“Right, right! But it’s also the same festival that has the Tunnel of Love, the new Ferris Wheel of Love, and those fancy bespoke cheeses on sticks with the corny lovey-dovey writing!-”
“Gerald, it's just a normal Ferris Wheel and you added ‘of Love’ at the end” Gerald turned to see Arnold staring back, completely unimpressed by his friend's dramatic flair.
“You know what I mean, Arnold! Asking a girl there - and hypothetically Helga's a girl, is practically a date, whether you call it one or not. What happens if she takes it the wrong way? You'll end up with a broken-hearted, angry Helga G. Pataki. Oof. I wouldn't want to be the poor soul dealing with that.”
Arnold paused, genuinely weighing his friend’s warning. “You might have a point there, Gerald. I wouldn't want to make her upset by giving her the wrong idea. But lately, when she's not being mean to me, she's really not bad to be around, you know? Besides, you know Helga. There is no way she'd ever want to go on any of those romantic rides anyway. Not that I had anything like that in mind to begin with.”
The truth was, the thought of riding the Tunnel of Love with Helga hadn't even crossed his mind until this very second. ‘Wait... would a ride like that with Helga really be so bad? No, wait! What am I thinking?’ Arnold quickly shook his head, trying to forcibly regain control of his wandering thoughts.
“Did Helga hit you in the head with a heavy textbook today, Arnold? You feeling okay?” Gerald's light-hearted joke broke through the trance, pulling Arnold back to reality.
“No, I mean it, Gerald. Seriously,” Arnold insisted, looking directly at him with a sudden, quiet intensity. “I’ve seen it in glimpses and pieces. Helga has a sensitive side to her that she doesn’t let anyone else see. And to be completely honest with you, Gerald... I can’t stop thinking about her.”
Gerald stopped dead in his tracks for a second time, his skepticism instantly melting away into profound concern. ‘He doesn't seriously like her, does he?’ he thought anxiously, before speaking aloud. “Arnold... I don't even know what to say to that.”
Arnold let out a massive sigh of relief, the heavy burden finally lifting from his chest. The absolute truth was out. He had been thinking about her constantly since the last few months before the end of fourth grade. He was thinking about her a lot. Like, every other thought a lot.
A deep, scarlet blush covered his cheeks as he confessed, “Ever since we saved the neighborhood from Sheck and Future Tech industries, Gerald... Do you remember that Helga was Deep Voice? It's been a year now, and I still keep thinking about it all, why she chose to help us in secret. To be honest, she’s been driving me crazy!”
Of course, Arnold left out the glaring, neon-colored elephant in the room: Helga's sudden, passionate confession to him on the FTi roof. They had both quickly agreed afterward that it was just 'in the heat of the moment,' and Arnold wanted to respect that boundary. That meant keeping it a secret from everyone, including Gerald, which explained why he had spent the last several months actively avoiding any discussion about his feelings toward her. It had been weighing heavily on his mind, leaving him constantly wondering whether she had been telling the truth about how she felt, or if it really had just been the adrenaline rush due to the stressful situation. Arnold let out a deep sigh.
Gerald’s eyebrow raised, attempting to lighten the mood to ease his friend's obvious distress. “Helga’s always been driving you crazy...”
“That’s not what I meant, and you know it!”
“Yeah, I know,” Gerald admitted quietly, his tone softening. “Even I gotta admit, finding out she was Deep Voice was a total shock. I’ve caught myself thinking ‘Why Helga?’ too. That girl... hoo boy.”
“No, Gerald, I mean I’ve really been thinking about her,” Arnold said, his voice dropping as an embarrassed look returned. “It’s like... you know how busy I’ve been lately with my dad’s journal and trying to map out San Lorenzo?”
Gerald looked closely at Arnold, noticing the sudden trace of sadness in his expression, deeply curious about how his missing parents' maps could possibly connect to Helga Pataki.
“Ah, yeah. Your bedroom still looks like a crime investigation show with all those maps and old articles pinned up,” Gerald noted. “You've been getting a bit obsessive with it, man. What's your point?”
“Right. Well... part of the reason I've been burying myself in my room researching San Lorenzo and trying to find anything relating to my parents is because when I'm not thinking about my dad's map, I just keep thinking about Helga... I know it's probably not healthy, Gerald, and I know I've been missing out on hanging out with you and the rest of the guys more often lately... but I just can't stop.”
The two friends continued walking in an awkward, heavy silence, unsure of where to take a conversation that had just dropped multiple emotional bombshells regarding Arnold's supposed ‘school bully and personal tormentor’.
Gerald let out a deep sigh of his own, suddenly feeling incredibly protective and deeply concerned about his best friend's mental well-being. He hadn't realized just how stressed out Arnold had been keeping himself over the past year. “That Helga is always causing you so much trouble, Arnold. Way more than I ever imagined.”
“You're not wrong there, Gerald...” Arnold agreed, letting out a heavy sigh that matched his friend's. “But still... the more time goes on, I just know deep down that she can be a lot more kind, sweet, and considerate than she makes herself out to be.”
“You're always saying that kind of stuff about Helga, but I have yet to see it firsthand, Arnold. Deep Voice aside... Helga being sweet?” Gerald repeated the word like it belonged to a foreign language. “Man, Phoebe would have gotten a massive kick out of this entire conversation...”
Arnold blinked, caught off guard. “Huh? What do you mean by that? What does Phoebe know?”
“Uh, nothing! Forget I said it. Just a hunch anyway,” Gerald quickly covered, checking his stride. While Phoebe hadn’t explicitly spilled any secrets, Gerald had noticed that whenever anything involving Arnold and Helga happened, Phoebe always got an unusual, knowing glint in her eye. To firmly steer away from accidentally gossiping about what his own crush might know, Gerald pointed an accusing finger back at Arnold. “But let's look at the facts, man. Okay, so maybe Helga isn't entirely evil. You're still talking about the same girl who actively tried to ruin your last two Cheese Festivals. Who's to say she won't ruin this one?”
Arnold paused, a sudden realization hitting him. He had completely forgotten that Helga seemed to have played a role in sabotaging his prior Cheese Festivals. Helga's confession atop the FTi building flickered vividly in his mind again. Was Helga jealous? Maybe he wasn't overthinking things after all. He shook his head violently to clear it. “Well… that's just her picking on me like always. Besides, not everything that happened was her fault. I think....” Mumbling to himself "Wait, was that disaster on the Tunnel of Love with Lila her fault too? I could swear I saw a flash of pink near the ride gears right before the track broke. No wait-"
“I repeat,” Gerald sighed, shaking his head at his friend's clear distraction. “You're seriously gonna ask that Helga G. Pataki to go with you.”
“I don't know Gerald, I guess I was just unlucky the last two Cheese Festivals. So, this time, I think it would be good to go with a friend and actually try to enjoy the festival,” Arnold said, looking slightly guilty as he stared at the ground. “Instead of constantly chasing after my old crushes, I want to just have a good time with a friend.”
“A friend, huh? I don't know if she'd call you that,” Gerald paused, thinking it through. “Nope. Definitely not.” He let out a soft chuckle, scratching the back of his neck. “But look, she's Phoebe's best friend for whatever reason, and honestly... it actually would be nice to have you around. To check in on me, keep me cool in front of Phoebe. Normally I'm fine around girls, but lately, when I'm around her, man...”
Arnold smiled warmly, his internal storm passing for a moment. “That just means she's special to you, Gerald.”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” Gerald mumbled, blushing and deflecting the sickly-sweet comment. “Anyway, I’d feel bad making you a total third wheel, so we can just set it up as a ‘double date’ if you want to call it that.” He used his fingers to make air quotes, smiling. “Just a couple of best friends hanging out at the festival. Nothing to get nervous about. But yeah, if you really want, I can ask Phoebe to invite Helga to tag along with us.” Gerald crossed his arms, leaning into a playful glare. “On one condition, of course: she doesn't completely ruin the festival for me and Phoebe the way she usually does for you.” He gestured broadly at Arnold, who could only offer a slightly awkward, sheepish smile in return.
“Thanks, Gerald, but I think I want to ask her myself,” Arnold said firmly, a small, determined smile replacing the awkwardness. “Just so she knows that I really do want her there, and that we're not just stringing her along as an afterthought.”
They finally reached the concrete stoop of the Sunset Arms boarding house. Arnold stepped up onto the first stair as Gerald stayed back on the sidewalk, giving his best friend one last long look before preparing to head toward his own block.
“You’re a bold kid, Arnold,” Gerald called out, shaking his head with a grin. “A bold kid. Just remember the most important part: tell her not to ruin my date with Phoebe!”
Arnold let out a genuine laugh. “I'll try!” He waved goodbye just as the heavy front door swung open and a chaotic stampede of a dozen neighborhood animals, courtesy of his less-than-normal grandma's habit of sheltering them, came bursting out onto the street, barking and wailing noisily.
A few yards away, completely hidden behind the bumper of a parked car, a very frustrated Helga G. Pataki glared at the boarding house. She had followed Arnold all the way from school, completely ignoring the fact that it was quicker to get to her own home following a different route. She adjusted her pink bow, gritting her teeth in silent rage.
“Darn it! I stayed too far back and couldn't hear a single word that stupid Football Head or Tall Hair Boy said. I should have left class earlier!” she hissed under her breath, watching Arnold disappear inside.