Ch. 8 If the Bracelet Fits

Hey everybody! Here it is the eighth and final chapter. Arnold has tried the bracelet on more girls than he can count. He is starting to lose hope in finding his "dream girl". Helga has built up enough confidence to confront Arnold and tell him the truth unaware that Rhonda is willing to sabotage everyone else to get a date with "prince charming".

Disclaimer: I do not own Hey Arnold.

Arnold slowly walked to school staring at the bracelet longingly. He thought to himself, I hope today is the day I find her. I want to find her. Gerald caught up to Arnold and stared at him with pity for minute then said, "Arnold, we've tried the bracelet on almost a hundred girls within the past few days. The dance is only a few days away; I think you should just ask someone and get over this girl who might not even exist."

"Might not even exist?" cried Arnold, "I kissed her and that was the best kiss I ever had. She's real, Gerald. She's just, well, invisible."

"What do mean invisible?" asked Gerald.

"I mean she's there, I can feel it but, I can't recognize her because I never really saw her. I saw her mask and her hair but not her face. All I know about her appearance is that she's blonde and she has small arms" explained Arnold.

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"I am going to the dance with Arnold" Rhonda declared.

"How?" asked Nadine, "You weren't in the closet with him and you don't have blonde hair. How are going to convince him?"

"Simple" said Rhonda, "I'll just eliminate the competition."

"Oh!" squealed Nadine, "How?"

"Well, that bracelet is awfully small right?" said Rhonda.

"Right, but it looks small for you. How are you going to get it to fit you?" asked Nadine.

"Don't jump ahead in the plan, Nadine" Rhonda said, "Anyway, I know that about a fourth of the girls who haven't tried on the bracelet yet are allergic enough to peanuts so that their bodies bloat when they eat even the tiniest portion of peanuts. In this container, I have brownies with tiny bits of peanut. When they bloat from eating the peanut brownies their arms will be too big for that tiny bracelet. Also I paid the janitor to extra wax the floor of the girls' bathroom. Every girl that walks into the bathroom will slip, fall, and break her arms. By the end of the day about most of the competition will be gone raising my chances. I am going to rub soap on my arm so that the bracelet will slip on as though it's mine."

"Wow, that's some plan, Rhonda. Are you sure you're not going too far?" asked Nadine.

"Of course not. Extreme times call for extreme measures" Rhonda said confidently.

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The day went by just as Rhonda had predicted, several girls had left school bloated or with one or two broken arms. Rehearsal was canceled due to the vast number of people of bloating and broken arms within the cast. The only girls left to try on the bracelet were Rhonda, Helga, Sheena, Big Patty, and a few others.

Helga took deep breaths as she walked towards the black top with Phoebe. This is it, she thought, I can do this. I'm going to tell him. Everything will be o-

"What are you doing here?" asked Rhonda.

"Going to try on the bracelet" said Helga, "What's to ya, Barbie?"

"Oh my" said Rhonda sarcastically, "I didn't think bracelets were your thing; I always thought spit balls were."

"Well, guess what?! I am girl. I know you don't even recognize me as human but I am and I'm a girl" Helga said back.

"You're a girl?" Rhonda remarked, "Surprise, surprise. Well, I have to go retrieve my bracelet and my date. So if you excuse me—"

"Your bracelet?!" said Helga without thinking, "FYI, that's my bracelet. Yes, I crashed your little party and planted one on Arnold."

"Really?" said Rhonda maliciously surprised, "More reason to get Arnold because I'll be taking him from you."

"Aren't you going with Iggy? I thought he was the coolest guy in school" Helga said.

"Oh, please, I know all about his bunny pajamas and I know you know. Don't play stupid with me. Plus, I only said yes because he was the first to ask me" said Rhonda.

Rhonda and Helga glared each other with rage.

"Alright, ladies" Gerald announced, "Step right up and see if the bracelet fits."

The remaining girls crowded around Arnold and Gerald anxiously. One by one the girls tried on the bracelet. After a few minutes, only Rhonda and Helga were left to try the bracelet and Arnold was looking more devastated than he was earlier that day.

"Move it!" said Rhonda pushing Helga, "I have a bracelet to claim."

Rhonda walked confidently up to Arnold and Gerald and held out her arm. "I'm ready" she said.

"Ok" said Gerald.

Arnold grabbed Rhonda's arm to put the bracelet on it. The bracelet just barely slid on her arm and stayed on it tight.

Arnold wiped his hand on his shirt, "Why is your arm so slimy, Rhonda?"

"Slimy?" Rhonda lied, "Oh, I'm sweaty because I'm nervous."

She wiped the soap off her arm on her pants.

"It looks like the bracelet fits" said Gerald.

Rhonda turned around to smirk at Helga who was being consoled by Phoebe. Rhonda turned back to the boys.

"Wait minute" said Arnold, "Her arm is turning purple!"

"This thing is cutting off my circulation! Get it off! Get it off!" Rhonda screamed.

"We need to soap it off" said Phoebe.

"I have hand sanitizer!" said a voice from the crowd.

Eugene pushed his through the crowd tripping just as he reached Arnold.

"Thanks" said Arnold as he took the bottle from Eugene and handed it to Phoebe.

Phoebe rubbed it all over Rhonda's arm then slowly slid the bracelet off. Rhonda massaged her arm and sighed in relief.

"Anybody else?" asked Gerald.

Helga hesitated. Phoebe gestured to Helga to step up. Helga took a deep breath and stepped up.

"I'll try it on" said Helga.

Arnold and Gerald exchanged perplexed looks. "Ok" they said in unison.

Helga held out her arm nervously and waited. Just as nervous, Arnold took the bracelet from Phoebe and gently placed it on Helga's wrist. The bracelet rested perfectly on Helga's thin wrist. Arnold and Gerald's eyes widened and murmur was sent through the crowd.

"It fits" said Arnold in surprise.

"Yea" said Helga.

Arnold and Helga stared at the bracelet for a while. The silence was broken when Rhonda pushed her way back to Arnold and cried, "So what if it fits? How do you know it's hers?"

"Hmm, interesting point" thought Gerald.

Afraid Rhonda was going to rip the bracelet off her arm; Helga shoved her hands into her pockets. She felt something at the bottom of her right pocket. She grabbed it and pulled it out. Her eyes widened. The mask, she thought, how did that get in here?

"Here's proof" Helga said holding up the mask for everyone to see, "This is my mask that I wore to the party where I kissed Arnold. Yes, I like Arnold and if any you have a problem with it, you can deal with Old Betsy and The Five Avengers!"

No one spoke. Helga turned back to Arnold. "Well, now you the truth. I'm sorry about all the horrible things I did to you over the years while I was trying to hide my feelings from everyone" she said.

"It's alright" Arnold said blushing.

"I didn't see that coming" said Gerald.

"I did" said Phoebe smiling at Gerald.

Gerald smiled back.

"So, Helga, do you want to go to the Fall Dance with me?" asked Arnold.

"I thought you'd never ask, Footballhead" replied Helga sweetly.

I hoped you enjoyed reading this fanfic as much as I enjoyed writing it. Now go out, take risks, and have fun with it. You never know what will happen or who you'll meet! R&R!