Arnold shuffled his foot nervously as he stood outside the theater. He didn't know why he was nervous though. He had been to the movies with Helga more times than he could count. As a matter of fact, it had once been their Monday night ritual. Something that Arnold had come up with himself to shake Helga out of the gloom of another long week of school. But now was different. Arnold could feel how different this was. He spent a good two hours getting ready. Showering, picking out just the right pair of jeans and t-shirt (trying to be casual enough to not alarm her, but still impress her), and a solid hour doing his hair. Every ten minutes he would glance nervously at the clock, terrified what would happen to him if he was so much as five minutes late.

But he ended up arriving at the theater in good enough time which led him to his current state of nervous excitement. Butterflies danced in his stomach but it also felt happy. Hopeful even. Even if nothing came of their "hanging out", he was still spending alone time with her.

"S'up Arnoldo? Waiting long?"

Arnold's heart jumped at the familiar and much missed nickname and turned around with a huge smile. He could see that Helga also went the casual route with her outfit. But she still looked amazing. Tight low-cut jeans hugged her hips, the heavy metal t-shirt she wore had been ripped into a midriff, and her hair was messily tousled, falling almost but not quite to her shoulders.

"Hey Helga," Arnold's voice came out breathless, he cleared it quickly, "um, glad you could make it. So what movie were you thinking about seeing?"

"That new space fantasy certainly looks interesting."

Arnold blinked and realized that he hadn't even noticed Phoebe standing there too. He did his best to keep his smile on his face and not look disappointed, but by the growing smirk on Helga's face he knew that she had done this on person.

"Well if you think it might be good, then we should see it," he made a point to smile at Phoebe in order to not to be rude.

At the ticket window, Helga and Phoebe both reached for their money but Arnold gave the cashier his money first. Phoebe thanked him politely and Helga rolled her eyes. Once inside he headed straight for the concession stand and found Phoebe standing with him while Helga hung back.

"Arnold, I want to apologize for intruding on your rendezvous with Helga," there was a twinkle in her eyes when she said the word rendezvous like it was a secret code or something, "I hope you understand though that Helga's been a bit... wary of hanging out with people lately."

Arnold nodded and tried to be understanding. He knew Phoebe was talking about the guys that had started pestering Helga post hair change. Guys that hadn't looked twice at Helga, or had to only to call her something nasty. He wondered what Helga might have confided in her best friend.

"Phoebe, you know I'm not like those guys, right?" He glanced over at Helga who was looking at her phone impatiently, "I care about Helga. I always have, you know that right?"

"Hmm, I don't know about always..."

Arnold turned to her in shock but the line moved up and it was suddenly his turn to order. He felt proud that after all this time he still remember his and Helga's usual. A large tub of popcorn, a box of Reese's pieces to mix, and a large cherry cola. After Phoebe bought herself a soda, they met with Helga and entered the screening room where their movie would play. Inside, Arnold felt a flutter of nervousness that Helga or maybe Phoebe herself would try to prevent Arnold from sitting with Helga, but he was please and relieved when Helga ended up sitting between them. The trailers were just starting so the theater was still filled with whispered conversation and phone flashes.

"Hey," Arnold whispered to Helga, holding up the popcorn and the Reese's', "Still your favorite right?"

Helga's lip twitched up in a reluctant but very much there smile, "You remembered?"

"Of course," He chuckled, "I remember it being the weirdest thing I ever heard of."

Helga's lips drew together, "Says the guy who puts hot sauce on mangos."

"You loved it and you know it!"

"I admit, it's not the strangest thing I've ever eaten in your house."

Someone impatiently shushed them from behind. Helga started to raise her hand to give them a middle finger salute, but Arnold quickly covered her hand with his own, trying to smother down a laugh while Phoebe whispered an apology. Helga allowed Arnold's hand to remain on hers for a total of three seconds before pulling her hand out from his. It was dark in the theatre so Arnold couldn't be sure, but he thought he saw a light blush on her face.

The theatre dimmed after the last trailer played and the movie began. The popcorn and candy mixed together created a sweet and salty and nutty taste that was pretty addicting. In the past, Arnold remembered that he and Helga would sometimes be close to fighting over this delicious treat, and now he could see that it was no different. Every time he took a handful, she was quick to take some too. Arnold threw her a look and shoved another handful in his mouth. Helga returned his look with a raised eyebrow and shoved another handful in her own mouth. Both of their mouths were full, but it was as if they were afraid if they stopped eating for too long, the other would eat all the salty, chocolatey goodness first. It actually happened to Arnold once, he had been more invested in the movie than eating and missed out.

"You too are going to choke if you keep that up," Phoebe whispered over to them.

"I'll stop when he stops," came Helga's muffled reply.

"You stared it," Arnold whispered back, but slowed down his chewing.

Helga did the same and, probably falling on old habits, gestured towards the drink on in Arnold's cup holder. He didn't think anything of it when he handed it to her. They usually shared drinks when going to the movies together. But when she handed the drink back to him, he did notice the faint line of shiny pink around the straw. She was wearing lip gloss. Arnold nearly melted. He didn't know how he didn't notice it before, but Helga was wearing lip gloss for him. He refused to believe that there was any other explanation. Helga had told him before that she hated makeup and the only girls who wore makeup were the ones trying to impress guys.

I guess she's trying to impress me then. Arnold grinned at the thought (Helga actually wanted to impress him!), but also it made his heart shrink a little. He didn't want Helga to think that she had to do something she hated just to impress him. Still, he couldn't resist leaning closer to her.

Oh God, she smells so good! Arnold quickly snapped back to his original position, feeling the blood rush to his face. Vanilla and some flower. Not too sweet but subtle. He didn't know if the scent came from her hair (looking soft as always now) or if she was wearing perfume. What he did know though, was that now he had a sudden urge to wrap his arms around her and bury his face in her hair. He had to laugh a little at himself at that fantasy. Even when they were close friends Helga had hated affection. The closest he ever got was tugging on her pigtails like a second grader.

"The CGI in this is crazy, isn't it?" Helga's whisper next to his ear made him jump. He noticed the movie for the first time in a while and saw that one of the characters was on some futuristic space bike thing and was careening wildly though a futuristic city. The camera tracking and heavy CGI made everything look blurry and unstable to Arnold. Phoebe looked enraptured but Helga's blue eyes glinted in amusement.

"I feel nauseous," Helga chuckled, "They should have given us barf bags."

"I've seen Gerald play videogames with better graphics than this," Arnold whispered back.

Helga giggled and this time it was Phoebe who shushed them. Arnold mouthed "sorry" to her, but he felt anything but. Helga settled down again as the action settled down again. The two heroes of the movie, a guy and girl police officers get separated and the guy desperately searches for the girl.

"Hey," Helga whispered and nudged Arnold's arm, "how much you wanna bet that they end up together because of this?"

"What do you mean?" Arnold whispered back.

"You know," Helga rolled her eyes and gestured to the screen, "the girl is in danger (even though she's supposed to be a no-nonsense sergeant), the guy has to save and realizes that he was in love with her all along."

Arnold laughed. Helga's expression showed exactly what she thought about that old trope. Arnold though, being a romantic, was a little more forgiving.

"Well sometimes it takes something big to make someone realize they truly care about someone. I think it just proves how much he's willing to go through for her."

"But he should be trying to save them because she's his partner, not because he wants to get into her pants."

Feeling a bit bold, and maybe a little crazy, Arnold allowed himself to lean a little closer to her and winked, "Maybe he just loves her."

Helga rolled her eyes and pushed Arnold away from her, "You're such a sap."

"You know you love me."

Arnold meant it as a joke, but Helga's face suddenly changes. It isn't a big change, and in the dimness of the theatre he almost doesn't see it, but he does. It's the subtle way her lips thin that tells him that he said something he shouldn't have. He wants to ask, to apologize, to figure out what he did wrong, but Arnold knows Helga well enough that the best move would be to only make a mental note of this and change the subject.

"It's almost like watching two separate characters, isn't it?" He asked, "In the beginning of the film she's smart, skilled, and efficient and now she can't even see that she's about to get eaten and needs to be rescued?"

A small smirk perked up Helga's lips and her eyes flitted back to him, "We both know that real strong females are too intimidating for main stream audiences."

This time Arnold spoke deliberately, "I like strong females."

He was completely caught off guard by her swift and secretive punch to his arm and he barely managed to suppress his yelp of pain. But just as Helga smirked triumphantly, she had to suppress a yelp of her own as Phoebe pinched her.

"If you two don't stop whispering," Phoebe whispered harshly, "I'm walking out of this theater right now."

To be honest, Arnold didn't think that'd be such a terrible loss (he could spend all day with just Helga and not need anyone else), but he whispered yet another "sorry" echoed by Helga.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

After the lack luster ending (of course the guy and the girl got together) and the credits finished rolling, the three of them stood outside in the cooling weather. As waiting for Phoebe's ride, she gently berated them for their constant talking.

"I swear you two are impossible to watch a movie with," Phoebe huffed, "Helga, you've always been bad, but Arnold you seem to exasperate the problem."

"I'm really sorry Phoebe," Arnold tried to sound genuine but he felt too giddy to be really sorry.

Helga though, was much less apologetic, "Oh, relax Pheebs. This has been the most fun I've had all week. Give us a break."

"Hmph, giving. But only because I haven't seen you smile like this in a while," Phoebe's eyes took on a knowing glint.

There was a soft beep down the street and they turned to see Mrs. Heyerdahl waving at them and pulled up to the curb. Phoebe opened the door and looked back at Helga.

"Would you still like a ride, Helga? Or..." Her eyes flickered over to Arnold, "Do you perhaps have other plans?"

Helga glanced at him and Arnold felt his heart speed up hopefully. But then Helga dawned her teasing smirk, "Nah, let's go Phoebe."

Arnold tried not to look too disappointed and smiled at them both, "You two have a great night."

"You too, Arnold," Phoebe laughed, probably at his expense. There was no telling what she and Helga would talk about when he was out of earshot. Helga only returned his farewell with a wave.

As the Heyerdahl car drove down the street and disappeared around the corner, Arnold started home in the opposite direction. He counted the night a success despite the few hiccups. He made Helga laugh, that was important. And he did his best not to just hit on her like the creeps who had been hovering around her lately. The only thing he wished was that he could walk Helga home alone. Arnold was confident that if could be alone with her, they'd really be able to talk. That's probably what he missed most about Helga, their long talks that would hover between soulful or playful at the tip of a hat. Suddenly his phone vibrated and Arnold pulled it out to see a new text message from Helga.

Helga: You're still a football head. XP

Helga: Don't think I haven't forgotten about our movie bet.

Helga: You owe me a burger.

Arnold smiled. He didn't feel the need to point out to Helga that their "bet" hadn't been a real one, just a figure of speech. But he did seem to him that Helga wanted to spend more time with him. Happily, Arnold replied.

Arnold: Whatever you say, Helga.

A/N- I'm a bit rusty but I'd thought I'd give this story another go. Please review and tell me what you think and PM me if you have any suggestions. I could use all the help I can get on finally finish this story and add plenty of fluffy Shortaki along the way. Thanks guys.