Giant chapter for a giant ending to an awesome fic (if i do say so myself;))

It's been SO FUN writing this and exploring all those similarities between Romeo and Juliet/Arnold and Helga that I've always oozed over since they first aired the "School Play" episode :)

Please review and enjoy!

SHAMELESS PLUG: If you liked this, go check out my next fic: "Spanish 2 Was All For You" I really think it will be my best fic to date.

It isn't too far in yet, but I update regularly and I have the WHOLE STORY mapped out so I won't stop updating or anything until its done ;)

Personally, i think it is a really different story than a lot of things I've read and seen, so give it a look/read/review/subscribe! it needs some love :)

enjoy!

Holy hell. Had yesterday happened? The whole thing seemed like such a blur. I rolled over in my bed, my sheets a mess. Reaching over for my phone, I saw that I had woken up mere minutes before my alarm was set to go off.

I hated when that happened.

But a message popped up on my phone that made the whole morning worth it.

-Good morning, beautiful

Oh yeah, I could get used to that.

Dressing myself in a hurry, I rushed out of the house without eating and made my way to my car. After turning it on and letting the engine run for a few seconds, I sped away in the direction of Hillwood High with one thing on my mind.

Arnold.

I couldn't wait to see Arnold.

Even if we DID have to pretend we'd broken up but had never been dating before.

The lie was getting complicated.

Friday was full of the kind of commotion you would think it'd be filled with. Not to mention, we were about to have a 3 day weekend and everyone was pretty psyched up about it. In fact, if you were to eavesdrop on any given group of friends, you would hear them planning their big trips to the city for shopping or for band shows or anything else one could do with an extra day off from school.

Making my way towards my first class of the day, a college philosophy class, I saw him.

Nobody knew any better to look at the two of us as we exchanged a smile and a nod. Nobody knew any different than what we had decided to show everyone. We were safe.

I spent most of my class time doodling in my notebook. I must have drawn countless spirals and made endless hearts all over the page in lieu of taking notes.

Finally, FINALLY English rolled around and I couldn't get to the classroom any faster. I was one of the first people in the damn doorway.

Arnold was, oddly enough, already there. But he was over talking to Mrs. Otten, and I was immediately intercepted by Rhonda once I stepped through the doorway.

"Helga? Helga, I have to talk to you." She nearly ran up to me and I stumbled to a stop.

"Uh, alright Princess. What's so damn important?" I crossed my arms as she blocked me from moving any further or taking any more steps towards my desk.

"You see, I was thinking all day yesterday-"

"That's surprising. You okay?" I retorted with a smirk, but she shot me a glare.

"I'm trying to say something NICE here, Pataki. So just listen up."

Impressed by her sentiment, I zipped my lips and nodded for her to continue.

"ANYWAY," she emphasized before continuing, "I wanted to... to, APOLOGIZE for my actions these passed two weeks."

I watched with my brow raised, completely soaking this up to commit it to my memory. Rhonda Wellington Lloyd was APOLOGIZING. To ME.

"Really, now?" I asked, and she dramatically put her hands on her hips.

"Yes, REALLY. And I wanted to tell you that... that I had false information. Arnold never," she leaned in and quietly whispered, "cheated on you," then returned to her normal voice, "like I said he did. So you should probably forgive the poor kid or whatever. He was kind of a wreck after you left."

"Yeah, I'm aware." I stated simply, walked around and passed to her get to my desk and set my things down beside it.

Rhonda followed me.

Great. She has more to say. I thought, my eyes wandering to where Arnold was still standing and talking to Mrs. Otten who was nodding her head enthusiastically with a big smile on her wrinkled face.

What was he doing?

"Look, I'm trying to say something here, Helga."

"I get that, Rhonda. But if I were you I would skip to the part where you get to the point and save me the trouble of having to listen to you talk any longer than I have to."

She sighed and sat down next to me, crossing her legs as she did so. "I know you're mad at me. You should be. I was... I was a bitch, alright? But after watching the scenes you two did... and after what happened on Wednesday, well," she looked around her as if someone was listening, and she leaned in to talk quietly while she finished her schpeel. "I guess I hate to admit it and all, but... after watching you two act in our project, I for one think the two of you make a... a weird but nice couple. There's some definite chemistry between you two that oddly enough I NEVER saw before. Anyway... I uh- I'm sorry I broke the two of you up."

I searched her eyes for a moment, waiting for the punch line, but she remained quiet as she sat in front of me.

"It's, uh, it's fine Prince-" I stopped myself, taking a breath and changing my word. "Rhonda. It's fine."

"But it isn't. This whole... THING, is my fault. I feel... guilty." She made a facial expression that to me could only be described as the 'I just ate the hotel soap thinking it was candy' look. "I don't do WELL with GUILTY."

I smirked. "Right. Well sleep well tonight knowing Arnoldo and I are doing swell."

"You mean...?" She began to ask, but I finished for her.

"Yup." I popped the 'p' at the end of the word. "We're doing peachy. We're just like those kids in the 50's PSA's. No worries."

"Well that's... that's good." She decided on, now seeming slightly less interested in our conversation.

"Can I ask you something though?" I wondered, her attention redirecting to me.

"What could you possibly want to know?"

"Why didn't you tell anyone? After it all happened?"

"Isn't it obvious?" She asked, but at my lack of confirmation in my expression, she elaborated. "I felt bad. Goes with the whole... guilty... thing."

"Well, thanks. For... for not telling anyone."

"And you're still keeping it a secret, I take it?" She asked seriously, and I nodded my head a few times.

"That is, if you decide to help keep it that way." I gave her a look, her thinking for a moment before agreeing.

"Fine. I'll keep your little secret. But on ONE condition."

I shrugged. "Sure. Why not."

She leaned in close to me then, pointing a lone index finger at me as if her acrylic nail was a tiny little dagger with it's sharp tip aiming directly at me; ready to go for the jugular. "You NEVER speak a WORD of Harold and I and that closet ever EVER again. Not to me, not to Arnold, not to ANYONE."

With a smug smile, I crossed my arms as she continued. "Understood, Pataki? Like you, I have a reputation to uphold and I am NOT about to let you go and RUIN it."

I held my arms up in a surrender pose and smiled. "Consider it forgotten, Princess."

"Good." She dropped her arms and shrugged her shoulders back to her normal stance.

The clear monotone bell rang through the room, and everyone quieted down as Mrs. Otten emerged from her desk; Arnold leaving it as well to make his way to our pod of desks and sit beside me. I reached into my back pocket to pull out a pack of gum, grab a piece, and shove it in my mouth before leaning in to Arnold.

"What were you up to?" I whispered over to him, but he didn't answer; his attention instead glued to Mrs. Otten at the front of the room.

"Alright everybody, settle down, settle down." She called, the conversations dying out so we could hear what it was our teacher was about to say. "As you know, your modernization papers are due TODAY, but we start presentations right off the bat on Tuesday when we return from our long 3 day weekend."

Some excited chattering began to comment on the joys of having 3 days off in a row but Mrs. Otten shushed them immediately.

"Guys. I know it's exciting but only a little more of me talking and then you have almost the rest of the period to work on those projects, okay? Now. One group has elected to go first today at the end of class, due to a partner's absence on Tuesday for a-"

Rhonda piped up. "Vacation to Scotland. Mommy and Daddy surprised me with a little 5-day holiday, if you will. Starting tomorrow." She shrugged her shoulders and flipped her hair back with a smug grin.

Criminy.

"Right." Mrs. Otten said slowly. "Anyway, so the Romeo and Juliet group will be doing their presentation at around 15 minutes to end of class. Ready to get crackin'?" She clapped once and allowed talking to resume.

I looked at Rhonda.

"And just WHEN were you going to inform us of this, Lloyd?" I spat.

"Well gee, I DO believe I mentioned something about it yesterday, but...well... you didn't happen to be here."

I scowled.

Moment, schmoment.

Even if we'd just had a sappy moment between the two of us mere minutes ago, a THOUSAND sappy moments wouldn't take away how much she truly, TRULY drove me insane.

"We even MISSED a day cause of Eugene over here. And now we have to present TODAY? Seriously? What gives?"

Arnold smiled and I could feel his hand on my leg under the table.

"We'll be fine. The video is all edited and I even turned it in already. I know you're done with the paper, so what's there to worry about? What would we work on today anyways?"

I crossed my arms over my chest, but a mild blush began to creep into my cheeks. "Uh... final touches? Like... like knowing what to say."

"But if you look at the grading scale, I'm ever so certain all we need to say in front of the class are the answers to the following questions:

What was the hardest part of modernizing your particular Shakespearean work?

What liberties did you have to take to achieve a realistic modernization?

Were there any parts that were difficult if not impossible to modernize?

What thoughts do you have on the story now? Any musings or sudden realizations? If so, explain."

Lila turned the page over with all the instructions on the project and smiled.

"So who's taking what questions? C'mon guys we have like 20 minutes before we gotta do this thing." I blurted out anxiously.

"Why are you so nervous, Helga? Arnold edited the video just PERFECTLY! I'm sure we'll get a great grade!" Eugene sing-songed but I wasn't having any of it.

"I'm not NERVOUS, I just... I hate presentations. Especially GROUP presentations."

Arnold chuckled. "And just why is that? I've never known you to have stage fright."

"I don't have STAGE FRIGHT, Hair Boy. I just don't like standing up there with a bunch of other dorks and waiting my turn to answer some dumb question like I'm in some pretty pretty princess pageant or something."

"Pageants aren't all bad, Helga. In fact, if I do recall- there was one pageant I was in that I loved just ever so much. My dress-"

"This is my point." I said, pointing my thumb over to where Lila sat. "Right here. This is why I don't like pageants."

"I for one think you hate pageants because you know you could never win one. I mean, please. Helga G. Pataki in a BALL GOWN."

"As if it's impossible or something?" I asked, smacking the gum I had been chewing more and more viciously as our conversation went by.

"We've seen Helga in a dress before, Rhonda." Arnold muttered, thought she ignored his comment.

"Pageants aren't everyone's cup of tea. I'm just ever so certain that there are plenty of activities Helga enjoys that I wouldn't be that fond of."

I laughed. "PLEN-TY of 'em, Lila."

Reaching over, I swiped the paper from her hands to look at the questions she'd read off. "Fine. If you dorks won't pick which questions you'll answer, I'll pick for you. Let's see, let's see. Lila, you take question one. Eugene- you got two. Rhonda you go ahead and take 3 and I'll-"

"How about Arnold takes the fourth question?" Lila suggested out of the blue, and I shrugged without much thought.

"Uh... fine? Whatever. Guess I can skip the question part since there ARE only four questions... I'll just have to do an overview of our paper or something so I can rack in those 'participation points.' Got it? Good? Game plan?"

"Sheesh, it's an oral presentation not playmaking time in the locker room." Rhonda grumbled but I was done wasting time on this project.

Even though it kinda sucked that we had to go earlier than everyone else because SOMEONE was too filthy-stinkin'-rich and going SCOTland over our 3 day break... it was still encouraging because AT LEAST I'd be done being in this weird little five-some.

Then it could ALL go right back to normal.

Class seemed to speed by. Probably because I wasn't in any hurry to show everyone the video we'd made. What if everyone saw the 'chemistry' between Arnold and I like Rhonda had been babbling to me about? Criminy... I'd never live this down.

I found myself zoning out on the mess of words on the paper of questions for our presentation. They blurred together into a jumble of black on the white sheet. And it wasn't until it was too late that I zoned back into reality at Mrs. Otten's alarming words.

"So it's about time for our Romeo and Juliet group to do their presentation. You all ready?" Her eyes flitted over to us and I swallowed the lump in my throat as we all stood up from our pod to approach the front of the class.

"Where's the dvd?" I asked, but Mrs. Otten smiled as she sat down on the chair at her desk.

"Already loaded and ready, Arnold dropped it off before class began. Why don't you guys first start by telling us who did what for your project."

Arnold nodded his head and nudged me into action.

"Well, we uh- we started our project by picking out parts." I bumbled out, but before I could get into the swing of things, Arnold chimed in.

He smiled and turned to look at me and then back out at our class. "It's kind of funny, some of you were in Mr. Simmons' fourth grade class back in PS 118 and if you remember, we did Romeo and Juliet back then."

"Right. And by some WEIRD chance of FATE or something, here we are again doing the same roles. Cripes." I continued for him.

I looked over to Eugene and urged him to explain what he did for the project; trying to hurry this along.

"I wrote the script, which came in handy for when I missed school the other day last week. Oh! And I had the joy of portraying Tybalt! But we had to double up on a few of the roles, so I had to play Mercutio too." Eugene bragged, and I smirked.

"Which was a joy to edit." Arnold grinned, "I edited the final video."

Mrs. Otten nodded her head and gestured towards Lila, Rhonda and me. "How about you ladies? What did you do in our project?"

I cleared my throat. "Well, I wrote the essay accompanying this fun little project. And I also got to reprise my role of Juliet, much to Princess over here's dismay. But I had to wear the stuff she picked out for me so I guess we're even in the 'unhappy' department."

"Oh hush. You looked wonderful THANKS to me. I did the costumes." Rhonda said with an upwards tilt of her chin and a purse of her lips.

"And I put together our list of necessary props and scene changes. Rhonda and I also portrayed some background people at the party Romeo and Juliet attend when they first fall in love. It's just ever so romantic."

"Yes, it truly is. One of the greatest love stories ever told." Mrs. Otten oozed before refocusing and pulling out her sheet of questions.

"So," she began, pulling her cheaters onto her nose so she count read off her paper, "What was the hardest part of modernizing your particular Shakespearean work?"

Lila smoothed out her black skirt she was wearing and took a breath, saying the words she'd thought out during work time today. "I believe the most difficult part of our project in modernizing Romeo and Juliet just had to be the technology. If you really think about it, just oh so much has changed in the passed thousands of years and to modernize a work such as Romeo and Juliet which is full of passion, tragedy and the world of bias based solely on one's relations is a foreign topic to us in the 21st century."

Show off.

"Very well put, Lila." She scribbled down something on her grading worksheet before picking up where she left off on the list of questions. "Now, what liberties did you have to take to achieve a realistic modernization?"

Eugene grinned at his chance to answer a question. "Well when I was working on the script, I found that social cues were completely different from what we do now. First off, it isn't very easy to make a ball, so we changed that to a house party. And we changed the balcony scene to the fire escape last minute-"

"We... we did?" I asked, suddenly confused with what he was talking about.

"What Eugene means to say is we THOUGHT about changing it to a fire escape... But that was too dangerous." Arnold quickly said, and I shot him a look.

"We filmed that scene with a green screen ya dope, because RHONDA wouldn't let us over to ruin her perfect castle."

"I didn't want you over because our maid hadn't been in to clean and the place simply looked ATROCIOUS." Rhonda sneared.

I rolled my eyes, and after a moment Eugene continued.

"Anyway... things had to be adjusted to fit with the times!" He smiled and nodded his head once to signal that he was done.

"Wonderful." Mrs. Otten mumbled while jotting down her notes for Eugene's answer and then shuffled a paper around before continuing again. "Were there any parts that were difficult if not impossible to modernize? Rhonda is next I assume?"

Rhonda straightened her posture as she took a breath. "Well, PERSONALLY speaking, Romeo and Juliet is pretty easy to modernize. Minus the fact that they could get married at age 14 back in the day which is positively ridiculous. I mean, who even wants to get married that young?"

Mrs. Otten looked at her skeptically. "So you thought it was an easy transition besides the marriage?"

She shrugged and crossed her arms. "Yes, that's exactly what I'm saying."

"Alright, well... good!" She finalized, grading her on the sheet and then focusing her attention on Arnold. "Finally, what thoughts do you have on the story now? Any musings or sudden realizations? If so, explain."

Arnold smiled warmly to her. "If its alright with you, could I answer the last question AFTER our video? I think it would really be... beneficial to the project."

I narrowed my eyes in his direction. What was he DOING?

"Of course, Arnold. That's fine with me! Ready to start the video?"

We moved to sit back in our pod; Arnold going to turn the lights off. Mrs. Otten used her remote to turn on the projector, which after a moment of slowly turning on, illuminated the blank screen ahead of the class.

I leaned in to Arnold who finally took his seat beside me. "What are you doing?" I whispered.

"You'll see." He answered, right as the music from the exceptionally edited video signaled the beginning of the video.

I had to admit, all that work Arnold put in to editing our project had REALLY paid off.

I mean, criminy, if the kid wanted to run off and do it for the big time he probably could- the thing looked professional!

Each scene smoothly transitioned to the next. The video quality was super clear and he even had music on in the background to make each scene really pop.

And IN each scene, all I could see was that chemistry that Princess was referring to. It's funny, back when we did Romeo and Juliet the first time, I was SO damn focused on kissing Arnold and loving Arnold and obsessing over Arnold... I never even took five seconds to step back and see what it was Rhonda had pointed out.

But she was right.

I'd never TELL her that... but the damn Queen of Hillwood High was right.

I found myself glancing around the room practically begging for attention to draw towards me for what was happening on the screen... but nothing ever happened. No one even glanced my direction.

Once again, the world did not revolve around Helga G. Pataki and her freakish love affairs. Reality check.

The music transitioned again, and I directed my attention towards the screen. We were on the balcony scene- not only my favorite scene in all of Romeo and Juliet, but I LOVED the liberties we had taken with it.

That had been the only scene I really put any input into ideas-wise. Oddly enough, it was Rhonda who suggested some 'mild animosity would be fun to watch- everyone loves sexual tension!' And while I figured it was only one of her attempts to try and get Arnold and I to crack, it had turned out really well.

The only BUMMER was that we had to use a damn green screen.

Who even DOES that?

The camera pans over a gorgeous scenery (one we definitely stole from online somewhere) finally transitioning to a large apartment building where Juliet leans on a railing (in front of a very juvenile green screen depicting doors that led inside) to what appears to be a fire escape from the (fake) penthouse the Capulets live in.

Criminy. Arnold did a pretty good job on that too... I thought, even though I found the green screen to be a bit cheesy. I never understood why we couldn't just use a REAL fire escape- it isn't like Hillwood isn't chock full of them.

But then again... we DID have EUGENE in our group- so maybe the green screen was for the best.

Juliet gazes out to the sky, her attention clearly on the moon and stars (the corner of Eugene's ceiling) as she dreams about the kiss she shared with Romeo at the masquerade party (Rhonda nixed the 'Halloween Party' idea because it was 'too overdone'- yeah... right). She's completely lost in her thoughts of her love for her enemy.

Romeo, who has been wandering around, looks up and sees a figure on their fire escape (more looking up at nothing).

"Is there somebody up there?" He asks.

Juliet continues to look out at the stars, but Romeo's face lights up (insert swoon here) as he realizes just who it is. "Juliet? It's Juliet!" He says to himself in disbelief.

Juliet doesn't hear him, but he continues anyway. "If only she knew how beautiful she is- the way she looks out at the sky like she's talking to the stars." His attention is locked on her. "The way she speaks with her eyes... those gorgeous eyes. She doesn't even know, she doesn't even see." He glances down to his feet momentarily, only to look up once more when Juliet sighs (incredibly loudly might I add- that camera has the shittiest sound quality) from up above.

She begins to talk to herself as well, (sound familiar?) "Romeo... Why does it have to be ROMEO?" She's distressed. "Why does he have to be a Montague? What even IS that? It's just a name anyway...just a silly little name. And what does a name say about who you are? It doesn't dictate how wonderful and amazing somebody- even a Montague -can be and is."

Juliet spun around to rest her back against the railing. "If he were named ANYTHING ELSE would it even matter? He would be just as wonderful, just as gorgeous, just as... amazing as he is now- only without the name."

The camera switches to Romeo who is still watching her from below. "Should I say something to her?" He wonders as she continues to talk to herself from above.

"If he just didn't have that name, that silly stupid name, maybe we could... we could be together."

He calls up to her (mostly just yells into the air at nobody, a few people were out of their windows to watch the crazy kids from below them) rather boldly, "We could, ya know. Be together."

Juliet spins around on her fire escape to lean over the railing and peer down at him (the carpet of Eugene's living room) "Who's there? What are you doing yelling up here at me? Who are you?"

"If I tell you who I am, will you send me away in hate like your family?"

At the realization of who it is she is talking to, she softens her tone. "Romeo?" She asks.

"Hi, Juliet." He smiles (that goofy, gorgeous grin of his that makes me weak at the knees) up at her.

"You can't come up here, they'll... they'd kill you. And it isn't like you can CLIMB or anything... We live in the penthouse."

"Doesn't mean we can't talk. They can't keep our words out, or threaten death. Can't kill love."

"Yeah, but they sure can kill YOU."

It was becoming increasingly obvious to me just how alike Arnold and I were to Romeo and Juliet. Granted, we weren't about to run off and get hitched the way they did, but we were in love.

Maybe not at first sight.

Maybe it had been for me, but not for him.

Maybe it had taken him years to finally realize he loved me too.

But all those googoo eyes he was (kinda) giving me up on that screen were real.

It was like the words he was saying were real, and it wasn't Romeo and Juliet we were showing the class up there... it was Arnold and Helga- a love story unlike any that anyone had ever seen.

One to last the ages.

Romeo shakes his head carelessly. "Let them. I'd rather die than live my life wondering what could have been."

"I don't know what I'd do if they caught you."

Romeo shrugs his shoulders, a smile toying on his (remarkably soft) lips. "Don't worry about me. It's dark out, they can hardly see me."

"And how exactly did you find me anyway?" Juliet asks.

We had done all of the scene really weird: first I did all my lines, Arnold reading the cues to me so I could react to him and whatnot. Then, we switched and he did his from down on the street. He said it would be easier that way to splice it all together and make it look seamless.

And so far- he had achieved that.

"I asked a guy who knew a guy who told me where to find you. It wasn't that far, but I'd go anywhere to find you."

Juliet smiles, a faint blush illuminating her cheeks (which was real... he had said it with such a genuine look in his eyes; even as he only stood in front of me next to Eugene who was holding the camera), "That's... awfully sweet of you to say." She chews her bottom lip for a moment, as if thinking deeply (I had forgotten my line, why would he use this take?) about his words. "You probably heard everything I said, didn't you?"

She sighs in defeat at his lack of response. "I can't believe you just heard what I said," She mutters to herself, before continuing.

"Look, don't go taking what I said as some compliment and only that, because I meant it all and, and... I want to know if you like me to? Don't tell me you love me because you think you can get with me. I'm not the kind of girl to go running around with just anyone. But if you do... say it and mean it."

It was like watching our very relationship unfold on the screen; the scenes hiding our secret love from the audience who watched, completely captivated ahead to the modern twist on the classic tale.

I waited for Arnold to say his next line... but the camera held on him, though he said nothing.

He doesn't respond (Why isn't he responding? He's supposed to respond!) Romeo turns to face the camera (?!)

"Most fire escapes look the same." He says. "Probably not this one, because we used a really bad green screen."

Quiet mumbles begin rumbling through the class as Arnold very obviously breaks character in our video.

I sat frozen, my eyes glued to the screen.

"But the alley I'm in right now, it's my own alley at the boarding house. See?" He points up and the camera pans with his finger to show the fire escape and beyond to where a large sky window sits at the top.

"Balconies... fire escapes... Romeo and Juliet can be transposed in any way you want- it's given time or the 70's, the 90's, now, the future. It's one of those love stories that transcends generations and lives on forever. The tale of true love, hindered by those who know no better. Can you believe the nerve of some people, trying to keep others apart from each other?" He asks the camera directly, giving a moment before continuing.

"I can. I've lived it. Still am, I guess."

I was drawn to the screen like a bug to a light. It was both endearing and incredibly frustrating, only because I was suddenly aware of what it was Arnold was doing.

That football-headed weirdo who I had adored and loved all of my existence... was outing us.

I should have guessed that was what he had been up to this whole time, Mr. What's-the-point-of-hiding-it-when-we-have-each-other-to-lean-on and all that other positive nonsense he was always spewing.

Not that I didn't LIKE when he spewed that positive nonsense... it was adorable.

But that's not the point. The POINT was that here was Arnold, up on that screen, outing everything I was afraid of telling people. AND I bet Lila had helped him with the whole thing.

Criminy! It was all becoming so damn clear now. Crystal clear.

He was doing everything I had told him NOT to do and I was suddenly shaking from a weird combination of fear and anger as I sat beside him.

"Helga..." He leaned over and whispered, but I shook my head.

"Don't EVEN, Arnold. You're on some hot water right now." I almost-whispered back; some of the volume stuck behind my clenched teeth.

"I've always kind of thought life chooses you. I don't really know if Romeo's character thought like that, but from reading the story and acting it out TWICE, that's what I've taken away from it." He continues, the camera follows him as he climbs up the fire escape.

"Romeo and Juliet, they were like fate. And fate is really weird. Fate, or whatever you want to call it, brought me to Hillwood from San Lorenzo. Fate kept me here. Fate enrolled me in Urban Tots pre-school where I met most of you wonderful people." He swings his head underneath a bar and then up to stand on one end of the fire escape. "Fate brought most of us back in our classes at P.S. 118. Fate cast me as Romeo in 4th grade with Helga as Juliet after a really unlikely run-through of understudies. And now here fate has brought us to those very same roles once again in the very same tragically romantic story we all know like the back of our hand."

The murmuring continued throughout the room, and Mrs. Otten shushed everybody from where she sat watching at her desk.

"And every time I've encountered this story, I always find myself wondering just what would have happened if everyone had listened instead of fighting and given their love a chance."

He knew I wondered that question all the time...

He climbs up a ladder, the camera shakily following as he climbs (how was Lila doing this even?) up to just below that big sky window.

"Here's the crazy thing... I never knew I would get the answer to my question in a school English project. Fate maybe?" He shrugs his shoulder, a smile on his face.

He looks up and gestures to the sky window. "See this window? Most of you know it as the window that leads to my room. And this fire escape is a great way to get to it too. A fire escape is the equivalent to a balcony, I think. A modern day one at least."

He was rambling, I could tell. I shifted, suddenly feeling antsy in my seat as I watched him on the screen.

He takes a deep breath, shaken almost. "Guess you could say Juliet and I have been doing a little extra credit when it comes to character development."

It was those words that finally attracted all the eyes I had been waiting for in my direction. Heat flooded my cheeks, and I was suddenly very grateful for the pitch black that filled the room.

I swallowed the lump in my throat as Arnold's voice continued from the video.

"My question for the assignment is," he pulls out a sheet of paper from his pocket, unfolds it, and begins to read, "What thoughts do you have on the story now? Any musings or sudden realizations? If so, explain."

With a smile, he refolds the paper and tucks it carefully back into his pocket. "I guess my answer is that I've had a lot of sudden realizations and musings, the biggest one being I'm tired of living life like some secret because I think it will cause peace between everyone- my friends."

This was true. My reasoning made sense, not wanting to be picked on and all. But Arnold only ever seemed to want one thing- for everyone else to be taken care of and happy. Maybe it WAS time for him to think about himself and make ARNOLD happy.

I made him happy.

"Romeo and Juliet shows perfectly what happens when people are not accepting and hell-bent on keeping things the way they like them. In their case: Montagues against Capulets. In mine... Helga versus me."

The class is quiet now, silent really, and I'm suddenly thankful that I can breathe again seeing as I hadn't been for nearly a whole minute now.

"Maybe you don't think I'm serious. Maybe you think that 'Arnold is just being Arnold' or whatever it is you guys think, but you're wrong. Helga and I have been Romeo and Juliet twice now- once as classmates, and now once again but as boyfriend and girlfriend. And I'd like to keep it that way, except without the judgment or teasing that comes along with us being together."

I looked over to Arnold who had been watching me the whole time. I raised a brow at him with a small smirk, allowing him to take my hand in his under the desk.

"I don't want us to be Romeo and Juliet anymore. I think its safe to say this is our uh... our final bow. It's time to just be Arnold and Helga now- not football-head and his bully or her five avengers or any of that... just us."

He nods his head once, slowly making his way down the fire escape to reach the alley (Lila following him with her magic fire-escape hopping skills... guess gymnastics had paid off for her.).

"And in case you thought I was kidding, if you thought all of this was just a cheap way out of our project..." He focuses his attention back up (to where it should have been in the first place) where Juliet is (appears to be) still standing, and clears his throat to say his next line.

"Helga G. Pataki," (nope, not the next line AT ALL) "It's been six months... and I know you think I'm crazy and I'm being just some 'weird football-head' by doing this so early..."

Holy cripes... he isn't...

"But as a gesture to prove my feelings are real, and WE are real... I want to ask you to be my date to prom. But not just to prom- to prom and every dance in between."

I hadn't noticed, but Rhonda had left her desk behind us and was up by the lights at the front of the room, switching them on and momentarily blinding the class. The movie paused, and suddenly 20 pairs of eyes were watching me from where I sat dumbfounded at my desk.

"Stop caring about everyone else." Arnold whispered to me in my ear before he stood up.

I tried to yank him down but he wasn't having it. He gripped my hand tight and bore into my eyes with his; a bright red blush illuminating my cheeks as he did so.

"So?" He asked, his eyes locked on mine.

I felt the eyes on me, of everyone else. But I tried to remember what Arnold had whispered to me moments ago.

I tried to remember each and every moment Arnold had known me better than I knew myself. I replayed every time he saw in me the things nobody did and never gave up on that Helga that was hiding inside the ever-threatening Helga G. Pataki.

Memories flooded me, memories of laughs and fights. Silly things that 'fate' had given to us. There'd been projects like being parents to an egg or living in a bio-zone that flooded like crazy. There'd been crazy random happenstances like meeting at the same beach over summer, running into each other literally at almost every block's corner, finding each other in woods while camping. There were holidays- Thanksgiving, Valentine's Day, Christmas (though he still never knew about that), even that crazy July 4th a couple years back with the fireworks show... the show where I first caught Arnold looking at me without attracting it first.

There was that party at Rhonda's with the bottle, there was our first school dance where I made him dance with me and then our seventh grade dance where he asked me- willingly.

And finally, there was Romeo and Juliet. Twice now.

But it had always been Arnold and Helga. Even before he knew I loved him, and much MUCH before he realized he loved me.

I blinked back the hot tears that had undesirably formed in my eyes at his words and at each memory.

"Well, Helga? Are you going to leave the boy hanging, or what?" Rhonda asked, a smile hinting at her expression.

"I...I-I.." I looked around at the class as they all watched me intently.

Stop caring about everyone else. He had said.

My eyes danced around the classroom, terrified. All the while, it was Arnold's hand that held me from running as I confronted both inner Helga and Helga G. Pataki in one fowl swoop.

Who was I going to let win?

"I..." I took a breath and let it out. "Yeah."

"Yeah?" He asked, a smile lighting up his face.

I nodded my head and smiled with him. "You better believe it, football-head."

"Thanks a lot for letting me use our presentation time for that, Mrs. Otten." Arnold thanked after the bell rang and people were leaving the room.

"Not a problem, Arnold. I couldn't say no to Romeo and Juliet playing out in my own classroom..." She held her hands over her heart all sappy-like and I rolled my eyes.

"What happened to our ACTUAL project then?" I asked, looking at Mrs. Otten before finally setting my gaze on Arnold.

"I turned it in. This one was just for show." He winked.

I swooned inside.

Or was that outside?

By the feel of his hand lacing with mine, I wasn't sure there was an 'inside and outside' anymore.

"Well, you are certainly free to go to lunch! Job well done on the whole project, not just this. One of the best I've seen in all my years of teaching."

"Thanks, Mrs. Otten." We replied in unison, and turned to make our way to lunch.

"We're... we're holding hands." I commented as we entered the hallway together, the masses heading for lunch.

"Sure are."

I found myself looking around to see if anyone had taken notice.

But as usual, the world doesn't revolve around me.

"Is it weird? For you?"

He shrugged, his attention focusing ahead on the traffic jam at the end of the stairwell. "Not weird. Natural."

"Natural? You're kidding. I'm freaked."

"That's because you're not being you."

I looked at him and frowned. "What did you say, Hair Boy?"

He chuckled and squeezed my hand as he held it; pulling me in one direction to exit the swarm and stand by some lockers for a moment. "The REAL you, the you I know, loves holding my hand."

"Yeah, but-"

"And the REAL you, the you I know, loves being with me."

"I do, Arnold it's just-"

"And the REAL you, the you I know, loves kissing me and hugging me and-"

"Stop RIGHT THERE, bucko." I scowled for a moment before lightening up and batting my eyes a few times before looking at him. "The real me?"

"The one I love. Just be her. You don't have to hide it anymore. No one is going to pick on you."

My eyes diverted from his to watch the steady stream of students push their way to food. "And if they do?"

He reached up and brushed a piece of hair just behind my ear, then gently resting his hand on my neck. "Let them."

"L-let them?" I stuttered, my guards being knocked down by his touch.

"Yeah, Helga. Let them."

"How come YOU always get to give the advice, huh?" I asked playfully, raising a brow.

He shrugged. "Nobody else ever gives it I guess."

"Can I?"

"We saw how that went last time, Helga..."

"Hey! I'm serious here, don't ruin it." He shrugged and nodded his head, signaling me to continue. "You want some advice, Arnoldo?"

"Sure, Helga."

"I think you should kiss me. Right now."

His eyes widened at my sudden bold attitude. "Really. Thought you were afraid someone would see."

"A wise, incredibly weird-shape-headed-boy once told me to stop caring what everyone thinks. And I hear he's pretty good advice so..."

He leaned in to gently press his lips to mine, lingering for a moment before pulling away with a goofy grin on his face. "Love you, Helga."

"I love you too, Arnold." I wiggled my brow for a moment. "Or should I say ROMEO."

He pulled us back into the slightly-smaller group of people going to lunch. "I'm so done being Romeo." He said with a laugh.

"Rather be football-head?"

"Are you ever planning to stop calling me that? Even now?"

I shook my head defiantly. "Fat chance. I think it suits you."

"Well you did give it to me."

"And you can't tell me you don't like it... even just a little bit."

"Maybe when you say it affectionately."

We neared the cafeteria, Phoebe and Gerald waiting by doors leading to the loft where you could sit in bean bags and eat food. Usually they were all taken up, but our two best friends had done well by saving spots for us.

"So whattya think about Tall Hair Boy and Pheebs, huh?"

"What, you want to set them up?"

I nodded my head. "Doi. They're like totally in love with each other."

"Playing matchmaker are we?"

"I call them as I see them." I waved at Phoebe who waved back, Gerald giving a slight head nod in our direction. "This whole being public thing... it's not-not so bad I guess."

Arnold was happy about this. "Really? You mean that?"

I nodded my head. "Yeah. Next stop- cutest couple, right? They can just call us the next Romeo and Juliet... bully and a weirdo."

He laughed, leaning over to kiss the top of my head softly as we finally reached Gerald and Phoebe for lunch. "Whatever you say, Helga. Whatever you say."

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And DON'T FORGET TO CHECK OUT MY OTHER FIC: "Spanish 2 Was All For You"

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until next time

xoxo

Polkahotness :)