A/N:

Hello, lovelies! 8D Aw man, I've been so crazy busy and I've missed writing like crazy, lol! Anyway, here's a sequel I've been dying to do for a while and I hope you all enjoy ^w^ Especially you, KASUKapl ;) This is totally for you, lol! And as for everyone else, if you don't want to refresh yourself on the first part of this story by having to read the 10,000 word first chapter, you could always check out KASUKapl's comic again for a quick refresher ;) I'm putting the link below! Just take out the spaces! ^w^ And as always please, please, please review! Thank you!

http : / / kasukapl . deviantart . com / art / Trapped-on-a-locker-182302107?q = &qo =

~*TRAPPED IN A CLOSET*~

"U-Um…Helga…? Are you sure I can't at least carry your books or something? I-I just want to help…"

Helga G. Pataki let out a deep, frustrated sigh and rolled her eyes away from Arnold with a scowl (and did her best not to blush too much at the eyes of their classmates she could trailing right behind her and her new little companion, looking at the two of them and maybe giving an eyebrow raise or a quick whisper or two at the strangeness of the sight of Arnold and Helga actually together…and Arnold looking so…chipper about it!) "No," she began firmly, instantly pulling herself away from her fears about public humiliation to try and shut Arnold down yet again this afternoon ( 'Crimeny, slamming against the back of that locker this morning must have rattled his brains or something! Idiot…who I love so! Ah!'). "Stay the heck away from my books and stay the heck away from me, Football Head!" Helga growled to him as firmly as she possibly could, scowling right into his bright, happy, green eyes.

About her fifth refusal so far to him ever since the bell had rung ten minutes ago signaling the end of class finally did succeed in making a little frown come to Arnold's features for a moment…but in the end it certainly did not deter the optimistic smile from then quickly returning to his face or him from continuing his perusal of his sudden desire to be 'Helga's special helper' or whatever was going on with him right now. He even chuckled a little as he replied, still walking right up close beside her, "Helga, you're funny sometimes. And well, okay, if I can't hold some of your books or walk you home or maybe do some homework with you," (these had been some of his small requests so far during their journey down the hall together), "…could I maybe, um…sit with you on the bus? O-Or at least walk you to it?" He looked at her very sincerely, his stomach secretly all knotted up inside just as it had been while waiting for her response to every request he had made of her so far.

They rounded a corner in the hall and Helga could practically feel herself shaking with anger and passion at his continued persistence in this public display! On the one hand she was FURIOUS that Arnold wasn't taking the hint that him randomly doting all over her in the hallways (and after the two of them had more or less been seen to enter the classroom together this morning, no less) was a very suspicious thing and that he needed to cool it before any of their classmates started getting any 'ideas'…any 'Arnold and Helga sitting in a tree…' ideas…But on the other hand, with how he was acting right now…it was almost, well…boyfriendish. He wanted to walk with her and hold her stuff and he kept smiling and acting happy around her…It was like how he had been acting with her ever since her confession and up until that 'locker' thing this morning but in hyper drive! It was like…dare she think it…he…was sort of…smitten with her…a little…maybe… (The word 'smitten' was about as far as Helga would let her thoughts go for now…). Anyway, though, she figured that the very real chance of their peers suspecting something between them was a LOT more important than her pursuing a longshot chance of Arnold actually liking her…like liking her…a little…and so she just continued to go with her plan of harshly persisting in her refusal of his advances. 'He's just being nice…He's just being nice…And if he wants to be nice the next time we're alone or something then that's fine but NOT NOW, for Pete's sake!'

Helga looked over at his eager countenance with a scowling look and answered back to his question about walking her to the bus or sitting with her on it (in a tone she was at least trying to keep more firm than harsh for his sake), "ARNOLD! For crying out loud, what part of leave me the heck alone are you not getting! What, do I have a sign on my back or something that says it's national 'kiss Helg—' uh… ' k-kiss up to Helga' day? Sheesh!" She resettled some books under one of her arms and turned away from him with a, "Hmph!" Inside she was a nervous wreck. 'You almost said 'National Kiss Helga Day'…You're an idiot.'

As for Arnold, meanwhile, his sixth flat out refusal from Helga for him to be allowed to have ANYTHING to do with her life not only prevented him from consciously catching that little slip of the tongue she had just made about kissing, but it also caused him to finally stop following at her heels for just a moment… A deeper frown came to his face as he watched her still stubbornly walking on. But then he just took a breath, did his best to put his smile back on his face, and instantly raced to catch up with her again. He knew at this point that he probably really was bugging her a little but…Well, was it so wrong to want to spend time with a girl whom you had just admitted this morning to liking? 'N-Not like liking of course…Heh…' Arnold reminded himself. But he had indeed told her that he liked her this morning before they had entered the classroom and so, after thinking about it all a bit during the day, now that the final bell had rung Arnold had come to the conclusion that maybe…since he liked her…and there was no harm in that…maybe they could spend more time together…And he really did want to make it up to her for pushing her buttons a little bit lately…and for kind of…using her affection to maybe take some liberties with her…And also he…well, he…There were…things…and…feelings…and…he…Arnold let out a little determined sigh and pushed his slightly deeper than usual thoughts about the girl at his side away from his mind yet again today.

'I just want to walk a girl to the bus…sit with her on it…maybe walk her to her door…and maybe hold something if he needs me too…a-and if she invited me inside for a snack or something I probably wouldn't exactly say no…That's completely normal and fine and doesn't mean…whatever it is other people might think it means if they knew about it…!' With this reassurance to himself Arnold was finally now back walking beside Helga again, a look as bright and hopeful as ever back upon his face. And yet, though he had reminded himself why he wanted to do this even if it meant a lot of rejection before Helga might finally say yes, Arnold likewise had to recall that his helpful requests didn't seem to be winning many points with her…Why couldn't she be like other girls and eat up things like that? 'But…Helga's not like other girls, I guess…That's part of why I like her…So…if being extra nice to her isn't working then…' Arnold really considered, then blushed a little as a quick thought occurred to him…but then thought about it some more…And then he let out a sigh, cringed a tiny bit, and prayed inside that she wouldn't kill him for going out on the limb he was about to go out on.

"Um…Helga?" Arnold addressed her again…this time a lot more nervously than optimistically.

Helga just sighed and looked at him with a scowl yet again. "What? And DON'T ask me another stupid question about getting all chummy with me, geekbait!"

Arnold hesitated for just a second more and then, getting a pace or two ahead of her (and summing up ALL of his courage), he stuck out his foot as they turned another corner together, causing Helga to trip forward over it and completely onto the floor!

"Whoa!" Helga exclaimed as she hit the ground…and then she…blinked a few times…saw her books all scattered around her, saw her hands pressed against the floor that her face was mere inches from, felt her legs spread out behind her…in short she realized her new current position…and then her mind clicked to the memory of a millisecond BEFORE she had ended up like this and she realized what had caused it all…And then an utterly shocked and confused Helga G. Pataki looked up at Arnold with wide eyes and a dropped jaw.

"U-Um…wh-whoops…how, um…how clumsy of you…? Heh…" was all the young boy in question weakly and with a touch of terror said back to her, blushing quite a bit and tugging at his collar and looking all nervous and barely making eye contact with her at all. His heart pounded and he chalked it up to fear alone…though he knew there was something else there too.

"Oooooo…" now came in chorus from the kids all throughout the hallway who had just witnessed this spectacle and who had likewise pretty much frozen in their activities in wonder at it.

And then all of these peers instantly burst into laughter.

Helga's face took on a jolt of scarlet in humiliation and then instantly she was up and, acting on total survival instinct, she whipped around and then grabbed Arnold by the collar and practically hoisted him up from the floor.

Her eyes were darkly narrowed in a scowl.

The hall went quiet in wonder and curiosity again…

"I…am going to KILL you…" she hissed acidly, right into his face!

Arnold's eyes were just wide. He didn't say a word. He didn't breathe. He just hoped…

Helga knew that, just like with this morning, she would now have to drag Arnold's scrawny and problematic butt into a private place to make a show of 'beating him to a pulp'. 'I am getting SO sick of this! Crimeny, I have better things to do with my time than cleaning up his stupid messes!' For a moment, her mind threatened to suggest that she herself could probably stop these annoying and awkward moments of having to pretend to pound Arnold if she would just own up to the fact that she loved him in public…but of course right now she was in NO mood for a lecture from the faint voice of her conscience (especially since that voice had always had a habit of sounding just a little like Arnold's).

For a split second Helga was going to go for a locker again for Arnold's 'beating', her own being conveniently right near them considering that last corner they had turned/she had tripped around, but then of course she recalled the semi fiasco that THAT decision had led to this morning and had to reject the idea completely. 'No, I need a different private place—somewhere with enough space that nothing awkward can happen and distract me from really just ripping into him about this since using kissing this morning to teach him a lesson about bugging me apparently didn't stick—just my luck! …Yeah, I need somewhere less intimate and somewhere that doesn't belong to one of our friends so we can't randomly be interrupted, and most importantly somewhere that WON'T lock us in when I shut the door behind us!' Still scowling and still holding Arnold hoisted up, she scanned the hall really quickly and then her eyes fell on a solution to her dilemma. 'Janitors closet. My old office. Perfect.' And then with an almost malicious smile she proceeded to drag a still in-shock Arnold across the hall in the direction of this new location for his second pretend pounding of the day (with all the eyes of P.S. 118 thankfully glued to her and her beloved thus allowing her to narrowly save her reputation once more, she mentally noted to herself with satisfaction!)

Reaching her destination, the determined blond girl hurled open the janitors closet door, ripped her companion into the little room right along with her, and finally made sure to slam the door shut (though not before checking with a quick twist of the knob that it would indeed not lock on them), and then Helga, still gripping Arnold by his collar with one hand, reached up with her free hand, grabbed the pull cord for the single overhead light bulb, gave it a yank, and then turned around to face her beloved/victim and pushed him up against the inside of the door, the back of his head going against the frosted glass on the upper section that only allowed the dimmest shadow of white light from the hall to press into the little room to accompany the light from the bulb now shining down on them.

Arnold, right now, and ever since the hallway actually, wasn't really feeling afraid so much as curious…and he now realized this fact as being pushed against the door jarred him out of his initial shock about this whole thing a little. Indeed, he recalled that he knew Helga wouldn't hit him. Ever. Even for something as stupid as that 'maybe since she pushes me around to show she likes me, she'll get that I really like her if I push her around too' stunt he had just pulled… Yes, she simply wouldn't hurt him: he could feel it. So really mostly he was just curious right now about what she would do next…and also very cautious, choosing not to say anything until she spoke first.

"WHAT is WRONG with you, you little shrimp?" Helga instantly growled right into his face, not wasting any time and looking about as angry as he had ever seen her get in their lives.

Arnold (wisely…very wisely) figured that right now was probably not the time to respond to her with anything cute or anything vague or anything stupid…He probably needed to just come completely clean with her (because, even though he knew she wouldn't hurt him…he couldn't deny this sort of fear he had of her like this right now…Not really like she was a danger to him but more like she was someone he was supposed to please and she was very very displeased right now and he would be in very very big trouble if he didn't ' 'fess up' to everything and fast!). "I…" he gulped and found his voice more, his eyes still totally wide and unblinking and looking right into hers. "I was…just…trying to be nice to you. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to...I…it…But then you kept getting angry at me when I was nice so I figured you might like something, um…a little rougher…instead. Heh…" He gulped again…His heart pounded (and he tried not to think about it…too much…).

Helga's jaw opened. A little squeak escaped the back of her throat. The scowl was still dark and narrow. She blinked a few times. It was like she was so furious she couldn't even begin to form the words!

Then…

"UGH!" The young lady in question suddenly let out this yell of disgust and frustration and anger and instantly pushed her captive even more roughly up against the door! She just ranted in anger and rage! "I HATE YOU, YOU STUPID FOOTBALL HEAD! WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU? DO YOU THINK THIS IS SOME KIND OF STUPID GAME? 'ANNOY THE HECK OUT OF HELGA TO SEE IF I ACTUALLY CAN GET HER TO HIT ME!' IS THAT IT? 'OH LOOK AT ME, EVERYBODY, I'M ARNOLD—I THINK JUST BECAUSE I'M SO NICE AND GOOD AND HOPEFUL AND SWEET AND GORGEOUS AND IRRESISTABLE THAT I CAN DO WHATEVER THE HECK I WANT AND IT'LL ALL WORK OUT IN THE END! I THINK THAT ALL I HAVE TO DO IS LOOK AT HELGA WITH MY HOT AND SULTRY GREEN EYES AND BRUSH MY FINGERS THROUGH MY ENTICING UNRULY TUFTS OF YELLOW HAIR AND SMILE AT HER IN THAT CHARMING WAY OF MINE AND ACT ALL INNOCENT AND I CAN PUT HER THROUGH ANYTHING I WANT AND IT'LL ALL JUST BE FINE AND DANDY!' IS THAT IT?" she demanded of him!

Arnold was just…his eyes were fully dilated, his heart was pounding, heat seared his cheeks (partly at how worked up he was getting as she got worked up…and partly at…all those compliments she had strewn in among her screaming… 'enticing tufts of hair', 'charming smile', 'irresistible', 'gorgeous'… 'hot and sultry green eyes' …He gulped. She still had him in her grasp and that scowl on her flushed and angered face told him she expected an answer to her accusations…and now. Arnold was currently feeling such a mixture of shyness and confusion and shock and fear and guilt and wonder though that at first he only managed a breath or two (he realized now that somewhere in everything she had just said he had genuinely forgotten to breathe…)…But then… "N-No, it…" his voice squeaked and cracked but finally came out to answer her, "I…just…I like you and…wanted you to know…I-I'm sorry, Helga…I didn't mean to…I…I just like you. And, um….And…you look pretty in pink." Arnold really was in total honesty mode at this point and…somehow that last little observation of his managed to make it out of his mouth. But really…with her face so close and flushed with pink…her lips looking pink as ever from the extra passion of her anger…and that cute little pink ribbon on her head in that bow of hers sitting there in such ironic sweetness when contrasted with the current and nearly constant ire of its wearer…It was practically smacking him right in the face how nicely that color and her went together! How could he help but note it!

Meanwhile, Helga's breath just stopped. She blinked several times, looked at Arnold strangely. 'I…likes me…pink…pretty…m-me?' She felt her grip on his collar slacken…She was practically numb with just…she didn't even know what to call it. And he was just before her and in her grasp and looking at her with what appeared to be fear…and yet of course, as always, sincerity. In part she just wished she could leave this whole situation. Just…leave it. It was so conflicting and contradicting that her head just couldn't work it out. But…there was no way to do that, of course: this situation really was happening in real life right now, and he had just said some things to her and it was her part to respond to it all to give the whole thing some kind of finish. But she was just so confused…so tired and confused…and so in denial about…Arnold…Arnold actually…maybe…

Helga pulled back from the thoughts again. 'No…I can't think that…because if it's not true then…' She sighed inside: bottom line, it was going to be disappointing enough whenever Arnold worked up the guts to give her a flat out rejection…but to build herself up from a mild acceptance of her love possibly being forever unrequited to actually believing that he was suddenly in love with her, and THEN to have him say no…The entire thing would be just unbearable.

Helga felt so sad inside for a moment thinking of all of this…and that made flicker at the back of her mind for a moment the last time she had been happy, and she even smiled a little. It had been in the locker this morning, ironically enough…her heart pounding in wild ecstasy as she and Arnold had consumed each other in kisses. Her heart fluttered again inside her chest…and then she knew…she just didn't have it in her to give him a lecture right now…In fact, all she really wanted, she realized, confused and torn as she was at the moment…was just some 'comfort'…just a little comfort and happiness…like this morning…just to help with it all for now…Just one more dose of it for the road…Then she would quit for good…definitely…maybe probably… Okay, right, that was the plan: take whatever brief bit of happiness she could get right now… And besides…after all of this…she sort of…wanted to take this opportunity to maybe gage some things like she had promised herself she would do from now on with the little Football Head… She wouldn't entirely dismiss maybe entertaining the idea of him being in love with her now, but before she let it gain even an inch more in her heart she wanted some cold, hard evidence. Lecturing him on his stupidity and risky behavior could come later, but now would be comfort and happiness and observation. 'That's the plan. Brilliant, Helga.' She almost smiled to herself at having come to this decision.

And now, her mind made up, Helga let her grip on Arnold's collar finally release and she lowered him gently fully back to the floor. She took her hand away from him. She glanced down, a rather bland look upon her face. She let out a breath and then spoke lightly. "Oh Arnold...Arnold, Arnold, Arnold…" Her gaze just barely came up to meet his, her body tilted gently to the side, arms behind her back, the bland look still upon her face.

Arnold meanwhile was just sort of watching her…head turned to the side a little…blushing growing brighter…There was something about her standing like that…soft yellow light glowing over her…that something almost coy in her stance…the way she spoke…He gulped and his heart actually…fluttered…and he just waited…still really unsure of how all of this was going to play out. He had been lucky with the locker this morning but…would his luck hold up in the closet? ' 'I guess I just…keep getting 'lucky', Gerald…' ' Arnold mentally recalled his little private pun this morning and tried not to blush or feel too humiliated at having really been that suggestive in regards to the girl before him, even if he had been the only one getting the joke.

The nervous young boy completely from his thoughts and compelled to look up by the sound of Helga letting out a little sigh… He watched her closely.

And then Helga G. Pataki reached up and gently clasped the light cord delicately between her index finger and thumb. "Oh Arnold…" she said once more, giving another little sigh…and now she let her eyes travel up to meet his for just a moment, still looking so bland…and yet…intriguing… "Don't you see…that this is why I hate you so…?" She whispered it. Then she gave the cord a little pull.

CLICK

The pair was put into the darker part of semi-darkness.

Arnold, blinking and with a nervous gulp, could really only see Helga as a shadowy figure just barely outlined in the faint glow of the hall light barely trying to shine in through the thick frosted glass of the upper part of the door behind him. The shadowy mystery of it all reminded him of the Deep Voice stuff…which reminded him of other things…just like being in here alone with her in a small dim space together reminded him of other things…from this morning…in a locker…He…He couldn't move…maybe didn't want to move…but at the very least couldn't…

And then the silvery outlined shadow of a girl came closer. She paused directly before him to the point where he could feel the warmth coming from her body…and he had already been feeling himself warm enough in here at this point as it was.

Helga let out a soft breath near her beloved…wondering how far he would let her push this…Wondering lots of things about him, lately. And now with how he looked here before her with the light on the other side of the frosted glass glowing around him…making him look like a real angel with a real halo…her little angel…she just couldn't stop now even if she wanted to.

"Arnold…" she whispered, moving her head just slightly closer…

Arnold only gave a little nod at first but then recalled the darkness. "Y-Yeah?" His voice cracked and that fact made him blush even more.

"Hmm…" a soft giggle met his ears… "Maybe I…spoke too hastily…You're not…really all innocent and perfect…are you? No, not all innocent and perfect at all…" Her heart pounded.

Arnold's heart practically thundered out of his chest. "H-Huh?" he asked with another little squeak, his eyes going even wider in the darkness…And then he found his eyes falling a little…trying to keep an eye on her lips…or maybe…trying to beckon them. Who could tell anymore?

Helga just smiled to herself. "Shh…" she merely whispered…and then she gently lifted her hand to touch one of the enticing tufts of his unruly hair and began to slowly wind it around her finger… "Don't worry…There's no need to be afraid of the dark, Arnold…" 'Yes, Helga…make it all slow but steady…Give him plenty of chances to get out if it…And if he doesn't take any of them then…then…maybe…' She still dared not fully voice the thought in her mind…

"Mm…" This tiny little squeak of a groan meanwhile escaped Arnold at the feeling of her finger gently twisting that piece of his hair. Something about the action was just…practically making him shake inside. It was like she was wrapping him and not just his hair cozily around her finger. A flash went through his mind of the memory of her hands fully in his hair back in the locker and he really almost collapsed at the intense recollection and at the idea of it ever occurring again…or perhaps even occurring right here and now.

"So dark…my Arnold…" 'And now…for the kill…'

Arnold had no time for collapsing though as, suddenly with these simple words, Helga was at him! Her arms wrapped around every inch of him she could get, her fingers pressed and burned into his body and against his hair (just as he had been imagining and yet even better than even his wildest fantasies and imaginings could have ever hoped to have been), her lips consumed his…though (even though Arnold didn't realize it due to being so overwhelmed at the moment) this time in their lives Helga was trying to be more gentle and tender and slow than fast and passionate and heated with her kissing of her beloved. Those 'heat of the moment' times between them were…fantastic, of course, but who had time to think during them? No, no…now she…wanted him to think…wanted him to realize his compliance in all of this…she wanted to tempt and tease him…she wanted total control and she wanted him to say…to say the words…wanted him to do it so very badly…if they really were in him… "Mmmm…." She snuggled up against him, cradled him more warmly, pressed her lips more deeply, moaned more richly, just to make the effect complete. 'Oh…Oh darn it…' Helga's initial plan right now had been to sort of flirt with him, give him a very nice (though ultimately more tempered than her last ones to him) kiss, and then to pull apart from him gently, to reprimand him a tiny bit for some of the stuff he had been putting her through lately…and then, if things really did go well with this kiss, to ask him gently but firmly before they left this closet what was going on with him about her, upon which they would have a talk…a big, grown up, serious talk…and she knew it could go either way but darn it she had SUCH confidence in it going HER way with how he was responding to this little experiment of hers right now!

But now of course she was all caught up in kissing him and she wasn't about to stop and end it early for ANYTHING! 'Screw it, we can have our 'talk' later… For now I just…Mmm….He tastes so good!' She squealed a tiny bit and stroked his shoulders and twirled his hair around her fingers and just let herself have her fill of him for as long as he would have her. Besides, maybe another unending kiss like this would bring him permanently over to the 'dark side' of things right along with her…and there really was something just so very attractive about that bold, daring, rough, little dark streak in him. 'Making out with me in closets tossing me in a pool on April Fools Day, tripping me in the hall…So bad, Arnold…' She giggled at the back of her throat a little as their kiss went on. 'I love that side of him too right along with everything else about him!' And she proceeded to continue on 'loving' everything about him as she took everything from his lips she could get!

And Arnold just…during all of this…oh he practically shuddered! His eyes had long since rolled back into his head and then shut, he had long since lost the feeling in his legs and was just being held up by Helga pressing him against the door…and against her…and in response to her long, lengthy moans he could feel little moans of his own of both pain and pleasure coming from the back of his throat almost involuntarily…Pain for how much of a shock all of this was to his system…Pleasure for…well…obvious reasons… 'Oh…' And she had been so…captivating…No fire, no passion…but still something alluring about her approach this time. 'What is wrong with me…?' he thought to himself in vain. 'Maybe I've gone crazy…Maybe I'm imagining all of this…Maybe I hit my head climbing up to the FTi building roof and I've been knocked out ever since…' Still though he knew that none of that was the truth…He knew that this was all real…So very real…so very warm and soft and real.

And…part of his mind started to suggest…hadn't something like this…like kissing a girl, his heart pounding, her arms around him, intimate and alone…kind of been something he had sort of always wanted in his life? After all…all those random crushes of his over the years, going all goofy for women who never wanted anything to do with him…He didn't care that he was a boy and only ten and that most guys his age still treated girls like they had cooties or something. He LIKED girls! He always had! They were pretty and nice and soft and cute and smelled good! And he WANTED a girlfriend and kisses and blushing and…and… 'L-Love…I…I always thought it'd be nice to be in love with a girl…and to have her love me back…' The sweet, sentimental thought managed to break through into Arnold's mind as Helga continued to tenderly hold him and press into him and tilt her head to the side and kiss him so completely. 'Helga…loves me…' He knew it was the truth…just like, despite all of his denial, he had known it was from the moment she had told him on the roof of FTi. And well…that was half of his fantasy complete, right? Half his romantic dream come true…There was a girl who loved him…and he… 'But I don't...don't, um…I just…just...' He felt even more of his body go numb, heat seared his cheeks, Helga was everything and he felt himself giving in to that sweet fact. He recalled…almost admitting it before…back in the locker…what he was trying to avoid admitting now… 'I love…this…I…I love…I love….' Oh, in his last moments of having any control over any of himself before he just passed out from all of this he was ready to reach up to Helga's shoulders, rip her searing lips from his for as long as their mouths could manage to endure the separation, look her right in eye, say something along the lines of, 'I love you, Helga G. Pataki, alright! Stop toying with me because I admit it, I love you! Oh I love you!' and then to dive at her with kisses, no longer holding back anything and finally giving in to his side of this thing between them!

MWUACK!

Arnold was stopped though, darn it, by Helga suddenly desperately ripping her lips from his all on her own. He heard her taking deep, heaving breaths and the sound suddenly made him aware that he had been so blinded by the burning in his heart that he hadn't even noticed the burning in his lungs for a new breath that felt like it must have been going on for quite a while. Instantly his eyes snapped open and he took a sharp, ragged mouthful of air into his empty chest!

FWUMP!

And then there was a sound and Arnold felt disoriented for a moment and then he blinked several times and looked down and around and realized all of a sudden that Helga, in taking a breath and ending their kiss, must have pulled her body away which had left him, his legs still tingling and numb and like jelly, to drop completely to the floor in his physical weakness at her physical action. And it hit him then…the fact that there was a girl in the world…who could make him weak enough to collapse…with a simple kiss alone. 'Helga…' He thought her name and it made his heart pound and pound and pound again. And he just…he just…

CLICK.

Light flooded the room again. Helga must have turned on the overhead bulb once more, he realized.

And indeed, Helga, after kissing Arnold so intensely and for so long that she had felt herself get positively lightheaded, had broken from the kiss for the sake of a swig of sweet, sweet air, moved herself away from her beloved lest she be tempted to go for another kiss with him and thus make this awkward moment even more awkward, and her first action had been to turn on the light again (things seemed…much less likely to happen between them in the light than in the darkness). She took several more breaths, hands resting on her thighs, just regaining herself. Now she straightened up, trembling all over. She wasn't even bothering to try and look at Arnold, her eyes just gazing dully at the floor. 'Why…is it so freaking good doing that with him? Even when he's not trying, even when I'm the one doing all the work…it's SO good…' She let out a little shuddery sigh. It wasn't fair: it wasn't fair that she knew he was the one for her but he couldn't see her as the one for him. 'But, hey, who the heck knows…' she thought to herself between breaths, 'Maybe…a few more kisses like this…and he will…Or at least he'll realize that he really could never have feelings like that about me and let me know so I can just get on with my life…' The latter option sent a shade of sadness through Helga again today but honestly at this point she just wanted some closure even if it wasn't the kind she was looking for. 'For now though…I guess the only thing close to that we can have is a few minutes together trapped in a locker…or a closet…' She let out one very deep sigh and then cleared her throat and walked around Arnold who was still on his hands and knees on the floor (she wondered briefly why he was down there like that and why he hadn't gotten up yet) and then she paused in front of the closet door. "W-Well, um…" she began to sort of stutter. 'Oh for crying out loud…some generic threat, some generic threat to exit on…Think of one, Helga! NOW!' "Y-You're a Football Head! Bye!" 'Oh that was just BRILLIANT, Helga!' She growled a little in frustration at herself and rolled her eyes as she reached for the door handle.

She was delayed in her action though, to say the least, as Arnold, in a fit of desperation at her sudden words of departure, took in a sudden breath and was instantly on his feet, upon which he turned around and did the only thing he could think to do in that moment to…keep the only girl in the world who could drop him to the floor with a kiss from getting away again.

"Ahh!" Helga gasped sharply and her hand went from being about to grip the door handle to jerking away and up from the object a little. She breathed once…and her lungs expanding and contracting against the arms around her now proved it as a fact…Arnold was holding her from behind…again…just like when they had escaped from the locker this morning and he had pulled with her to get the door open. Oh she was just paralyzed. He had her right now, clasped in his warm embrace, just like he had always had her heart for all of their lives together…only now he had her heart plus everything else too: literally.

Arnold, meanwhile, just clung tightly around Helga, not knowing what he was doing…but wanting to do it just the same. It was just…she just couldn't keep doing things like this to him and then just leaving him, and he…he was…going to try and work up enough courage to stop it…right now! If he would actually have the courage to actually talk to her about things…everything…everything she kept making him feel…he wasn't sure. But he was at least going to make sure SOMETHING happened besides them just kissing and pretending it was nothing and then going their separate ways and never speaking of it all again. That had happened with FTi and that had happened with the April Fools dance and that had happened with the locker this morning and he was sick of it! He couldn't handle it anymore! SOMETHING had to give…at least a little!

He felt Helga breathe against his arms again. She remained quiet. Then she let out a final breath…and practically trembled…and it made him tremble a little too.

She spoke. Whispered really…so very nervously. "This…This better be important, Football Head…What do you want?" She didn't turn to face him.

Arnold had straightened up a bit now…readjusted his grip on her a little so that it was more gentle and he could be sure he wasn't hurting her or anything. His breath was slowing. He didn't know what to say at first. Something of nostalgia about holding her like this back in the locker touched him though and he replied, likewise in a whisper, "I...um…want to…help you open the door…"

Helga just blinked a few times, so unsure. What was he talking about—helping her open the door? "I…This…This door's not locked, Football Head…D-Duh…" she managed to reply shakily. She didn't know what else to say to get him to stop…to stop…holding her…filling her with a million feelings…making her almost unable to judge clearly. "W-We…don't need to pull it…" she finished quietly and unsurely.

"Oh…" was all Arnold replied lightly. He still didn't let her go though. To be honest, along with wanting her to stay with him for a moment longer he was sort of getting very comfortable with his arms around her like this, just holding and hugging her. It suddenly occurred to him that he had found himself hugging Helga before in his life…and often, actually, as more and more memories of doing so started to resurface in his mind. 'Weird…' was all he could think in regards to this interesting new observation. Still, though, except for in the locker this morning he had never hugged her like this…from behind…for a very very long time…suddenly aware of the little shivers that went through her from his touch. He…wondered something.

"Y-Yeah…" Meanwhile, Helga took in and released another shaky breath…and she knew her voice had been unintentionally be light and airy when she had spoken this time. "We can…get out whenever we…want to…" was all she could think to repeat again. And then… "Ahh….Oh…" She practically swooned…as Arnold's chin and head now came to rest upon her shoulder, just like back in the locker…his breath hitting her neck, tempting her with kisses.

He actually nuzzled her neck a little, gently and shyly. "Mmm hmm…" he sighed out with a little nod (partly a nervous reaction, partly for an excuse to himself to keep up the nuzzling motion via his nod…but really the skin of her neck was so soft, how could he resist?). "Whenever…we want to…" he whispered sweetly near her ear. Arnold knew now the best way to keep her here—begging wouldn't work, trying to reasonably convince her wouldn't work…love would work though. Even if he wasn't…sure yet…Although… Arnold inhaled through his nose and let out a shuddery sigh. 'She smells so nice…Like flowers and sugar…' He let his nuzzling go up near her hair and found it to be the only thing softer in the world than her skin. "Hey…Helga?" he asked before he could chicken out. After all, if she really would stay here for a bit more with him…and then if they could really find a way to control themselves alone with each other…maybe they really could finally talk and settle all of this stuff between the two of them once and for all.

Helga G. Pataki gave the slightest nod to Arnold's address to her and it made her even more aware of her physical contact with Arnold right now as her face brushed more against his. "Y-Yes…?" she whispered, feeling her lips quiver and her knees buckle and quake. 'It's just not fair! It's not fair that he affects me so!' She waited and both hoped and feared he would whisper 'I love you' into her ear…It would be a dream come true but she was also pretty sure she would pass out from it and start monologuing about their wedding in her sleep. But whatever happened she just wanted it to happen already before she burst from all of this tension!

Arnold sighed once more, still holding her so lovingly in his arms…still nuzzling a little…as he whispered more into her ear. "If…If you think about it…maybe we should, um…probably wait to leave here…until everyone else goes away…since I'm supposed to look like I got pounded for tripping you…but I don't really…" He knew it was bold. But he had been bold the last time he had held her like this…and now was like a second chance to do what would have come naturally this morning had Brainy not interrupted them. At the same time, Arnold knew he was losing sight of the point of all of this…he was letting himself get caught up in the heat of the moment again, all the romance and passion…Not an ideal situation for having a reasonable adult talk about feelings and stuff. But… 'Just for once…can't I not be the reasonable one, the responsible one, the level headed one, the wet blanket…Would it really be so wrong of me to just let us have this for a little while longer?' He recalled Helga's words from this morning… 'Let Dark Arnold come out…' He smiled a little more. 'Well…if I do have a dark side…it certainly only likes to come out with her…Loves to come out with her, actually…' As he nuzzled and hugged her he let his lips brush her skin here and there and almost shook at all of the potential available to him to just…to love her…like she loved him… "Don't you think we should stay in here for a little longer too, Helga…?" he prompted again in the lightest, teasing whisper.

"O-O-Oh y-y-yes…" Helga whispered back shakily, practically melting under his nuzzles and low voice and the fantasy of his kisses and his arms holding her so snugly and those little places upon her neck and collar where she could would swear she could feel the touch of the moisture of his lips now and again. "Uh…I…I mean…" she tried to save face at least a little…even though she had already decided they were not leaving this closet just yet at all... "I-I mean, right…we should stay…so no one sees that you're not pounded… I-I mean, at least…at least last time you looked…" she blinked a few times and then recalled exactly how Arnold had looked upon exiting the locker with her this morning and also exactly WHY he had looked like that and for a moment she blushed furiously…though she was still mostly caught up in his charm and touch… "Uh…you looked…you know," she finished quickly. "So maybe…until the other kids are gone so that they can't see you…we should just wait…here…together…"

She was about to turn around. About to finally face him, his arms still around her, and to look at him not with a scowl or an eye roll and not even dreamily and goofy- like but…just as a girl ready for a kiss… 'Oh who cares how awkward it all gets? I just need him…I need to kiss his perfect li—'

CLICK

Before she could completely turn around though, Arnold, sensing from the slight shift of her body that she was about to indeed turn to face him had suddenly realized with a gulp that he did not have it in him to look her in the eye before…whatever was going to happen with them now actually happened…And so on instinct before she could complete the action he had quickly reached up and before he could stop himself or think better of it grabbed the light switch and pulled it, sending them into darkness again!

Helga gasped at the sudden change in atmosphere and quickly completed the action of her turn so that now she was facing Arnold as he held her in his arms. She then blinked a few times and finally fully realized the darkness around her…and then she finally fully realized that her beloved must have sent them into it! Her heart fluttered and she almost swooned. It was so…romantic. Oh she wanted him right now!

Arnold meanwhile was just gulping and still holding her and blushing and feeling thankful that the dark was hiding all of his apparent nervousness…and he just didn't know what to say. He had used the little influence he had on her to keep her around and now…it was time to follow through on his flirtations. And though he wanted to more than anything else in the world right now, he was still just a scared and nervous ten-year-old boy somewhere deep down inside…alone in the dark with his arms around a girl. So, yes, if his head wanted to be kind enough to come up with what to say to her next, he was more than open to any ideas.

Luckily though Helga took care of this problem for him by choosing to speak herself.

"Arnold…" she whispered quite delicately…quite meaningfully…in the darkness, "You're still holding me…." She felt her heart thump faster.

Arnold gulped again, didn't know what to say still…but then felt his own heart thump faster too…and something told him what to say… "And you're…still letting me…" he replied back shyly…almost smiling a tiny bit to himself…his eyes falling downward…the direction of Helga's lips he soon realized. The little smile grew.

And then Helga took in a breath and let out a breath and he saw that mouth ask…in a quieter voice…with just a touch of a more serious tone… "Arnold…do you want to…stop…before it's…too late?"

Arnold blinked several times and then realized she was serious. She was…giving him an out, wasn't she? 'Really?' And then he just smiled even more—silly thing, didn't she realize he didn't WANT an out? That he had jumped up from the floor and clung to her to keep her in here mere moments ago because he was actively avoiding an out? He took a little breath, felt thankful again that the darkness was covering all of his blushing and then pulled Helga closer in a bit of a bold move, causing her to gasp and tense in his arms at first. "Actually…" he whispered sincerely back to her, "…don't you think we should…START before it's too late…Helga…?" Saying her name made a little shudder go through him again. He recalled back in the classroom, all those spitballs from her all day long…and imagining them as real little kisses on his head and face and neck…He wanted that…

Helga took in one last shuddery breath of happiness. She had even given him a final chance at escape just to…just to really make sure that he wanted to be here with her and he hadn't taken it. And he wanted to start! There really was a chance, wasn't there! A chance that he…oh that he… Her smile beamed.

And instantly that did it!

"Oh I absolutely can't stand you, you stupid Football Head—MMM!" Helga just shouted in romantic glee and instantly she threw her arms around Arnold's form and dove at him and found his lips with her own, and quickly she was moaning and just letting all the built up stuff inside of her go! She just held him and savored and never stopped! Oh it was all so wonderful and all so worth the insanity he had been putting her through lately!

"MMM?" came a sound of surprise from Arnold's shocked mouth meanwhile at this first bold advance of Helga's, but then after toppling back a bit he managed to use his hold still around her body to steady himself and he gripped at her jumper more for extra balance, and then he closed his eyes and really did just let them have this for once…this… 'whatever it was' between them… "Mmm…" He moaned consciously this time, enjoying the push and pull between himself and her while they did this, the warmth that came from holding each other, the fact that she was back like this for him again…

The two children kept struggling back a forth a bit with this whole 'extended kissing at the same time thing' but then eventually found a rhythm and just managed to work with each other to keep it going, doing their bests to take half breaths through their noses as they moaned and sighed and learned how to kiss together, just loving this closeness so much…

And then Helga, finding her desire for intimacy with Arnold, rather than being relieved, only growing even more insatiable as her experience of it continued felt a sudden urge for something 'more', and instantly planned to rip her lips from his only to then kiss all over his perfect cheeks and chin and nose and neck… She wanted to mark him as hers in every way she could while she had the chance! Wanted to see his warm, smiling face as he walked down the hall and to know that secretly her lips had been upon every perfect inch of it! 'Oh Arnold, at last…you really will be more mine than you have ever been before!'

MWUACK!

She pulled their lips apart, as per her new intended course of action, and took a second to just re-firm her grip on her beloved and catch her breath…so many breaths…

But then oxygen coming back into her brain started to remind Helga of exactly what she was doing here with Arnold and how far they were letting this go and also, even though she was happy for a confirmation that he seemed to be genuinely progressing in the 'feelings department' when it came to her, the more involved this whole thing right now got the more likely it was that their 'big talk' really would happen right here and right now! 'Oh…Oh…There's…There's going to be no way to take it back now, is there? No, I…I can't do this right now! Having this actually be the moment when I found if…if he…and we…!' It might have seemed silly after seven years of LONGING for this moment and after previously thinking that here and now might actually be a pretty good time to take them around to talking everything out, but now that the actual moment felt so suddenly and spontaneously fully here it was just too much and she was panicking and feeling like she had no control over the situation anymore all because she had let herself lose control with Arnold! She had to stop this! Had to give it a reason for happening that they could go with so that she could silently communicate to him that now…right now just…just couldn't be the time! "Okay, time out!"

CLICK

Helga had reached up and turned on the light again (figuring that getting them out of romantic darkness would definitely be the first right step in breaking the spell they were under). She was fully prepared to then proceed to weave whatever excuse she could come up with on the spot to seriously get them out of having to talk about this 'we BOTH actually WANT to kiss EACH OTHER' moment…and the stuff about Arnold's true feelings toward her that it must lead to…

"Arnold I—"

Helga froze.

Her eyes went wide and her jaw fell…

The look on Arnold's face…She had never seen…Well, at least she had never seen it at this level before.

…The enamored smile, the flushed cheeks, the posture slouched just because of how overwhelmed he obviously was with passion, and the eyes…hazed and warm and…and also she suddenly realized that his arms were wrapped around the upper and lower parts of her back rather snugly and intimately and almost roughly and—

CLICK!

The light was off again and Helga was just left blinking with spots before her eyes and trying to convince herself that she really had just seen what she had seen…That look…It was how Arnold looked at girls he liked…like liked…but there was something else there too. Something so passionate and fiery and gone that she almost couldn't bear it. 'A-And…why did he turn off the light again?' She almost shivered at the idea that he had done so to go right back to kissing her—the idea that the mouth making that practically intoxicated smile would be upon her own once more. And yet no renewal of kissing happened as the next few seconds passed and although she felt some small disappointment at fact she also couldn't help feeling a degree of relief as she wasn't entirely certain how she might have handled it if he really had just started mauling her again without a word.

And then, as the spots before her eyes cleared, Helga recalled a millisecond of an image that had come to them just before the small room had been plunged into darkness once more…Yes, that look on Arnold's face had…shifted dramatically for just a second, though all Helga had had time to observe was his smile disappearing and jaw dropping and those green eyes of his going wide as could be before she had heard the 'click' of the pull cord, and then—

CLICK!

And now suddenly the light was back on and Helga blinked a few times once more as her eyes again adjusted to the brightness, and then her gaze went directly to Arnold's countenance…and then she blinked few more times and even raised part of her brow, feeling a little stumped to say the least.

Arnold was now just grinning casually, almost nervously, some of the flushed look was still in his features but otherwise his eyes and mouth were back to normal and his arms had even gone back into a normal hugging position around her body instead of that…romantic hold he had had on her just seconds ago. "U-Uh…" The young boy cleared his throat, unsure of what to say. And his heart was still hammering away in his chest, just as it had been doing ever since he had processed Helga unexpectedly stopping their kiss and turning on the light a second ago! 'She…The light…she turned it on and saw….' He blushed even more! In the darkness…as long as they had been getting carried away with the kissing, he'd…he'd just let EVERY inhibition go! He had let himself go all goofy looking, let his arms wrap all over her, let himself go crazy! And then she had seen how he looked! What if she thought…knew…thought he…He was so shy to have been seen like that!

"Okay, Arnold? First of all…" A touch of sarcasm was back in Helga's voice and that plus the fact that she was suddenly speaking again caused Arnold to look up. He blinked at the sight of her scowling a little (which made an interesting contrast with the fact that she was still panting a bit and looking rather flushed from what they had just been doing together), "No more 'musical lights', for crying out loud. This back in forth with the darkness is killing my eyes!" Arnold just blushed a little extra and glanced down and hoped she wouldn't ask him to explain pulling the light cord on and off just now while he had…roped himself in a little. "And second of all…" she went on…and then she let out one or two more pants and then seemed normal again. She looked into his eyes, firmed up her hold in his shoulders a little…her scowl faded…. "And second of all…A-Arnold?" She addressed him cautiously now.

Arnold gave a tiny gulp…tried not to just collapse at her hold on him tightening, and then barely managed to glance up into her eyes, likewise done catching his breath now. "Y-Yes…Helga?"

Helga (who had come to a decision) took in a breath, let out a breath, then shrugged and said as normally as she could, "Uh…go with me on this…for why we're, uh…you know…you knowing…a lot right now…" Helga just…just needed things for today to wrap up…and to remember for the next time she got close to Arnold that perhaps it was better to take things a bit slower when you wanted something serious to come out of it. Passion was fun but…one day she really did want to cement things between them with Arnold one way or another in a real, serious, talked out way…Not just…in the heat of a moment in a closet full of used mops and generic bleach… That felt so tacky and so beneath her feelings for him. Maybe instead someplace…romantic…yes, someplace romantic and real and warm and special and smelling like tropical flowers and life…when they were ready…but not here and not now. "Uh…" she went on with her explanation, "I…think we're you knowing because we both know that even if we think everyone's gone home already there could still be a few people we know roaming the halls because of detention and stuff…So we need to, um…make you look…kind of beat up…for when we leave…just in case anyone sees us…But of course I-I don't want to really have to hurt you to get that effect, so…you know…" She shrugged a little and her wide eyes looked at him shyly, waiting for him to get where she was going with this…

And of course at first her dense little Arnold only blinked and looked puzzled, waiting for her to go on.

Helga, summing up all of her patience, just sighed and tried not to smile too much at his sweet obliviousness and then prompted further, "I don't want to hit you to make you look beat up, and last time 'whatever we might have done' back in the locker managed to make you look scuffed up enough to pass for beat up…so maybe that's why we're, uh, reliving our little locker moment right here?" She tried not to blush too much as she finished.

Arnold blinked and then blushed as it all sunk in and then he quickly nodded and cleared his throat a little and managed to reply, starting to see…what she wanted right now…where she was leading them…And honestly he was…okay with kind of putting off things…BIG things that would have to get said between them soon…for just another day at least… "Oh…I…guess you're right, Helga. I-It's probably important for me to look beat up…just in case…to keep up…your…your, um…reputation. And if this is the best way then…" He just nodded a little and added…trying not to blush…or smile…too much. "Guess that's…something we'll have keep in mind for the next time I annoy you and you have to 'pound' me, huh?" He couldn't even believe he'd let himself say that…but who cared. They had both decided again today that this particular moment of heat didn't count for real life so…why not silently acknowledge that he wouldn't entirely be opposed to a few more times like this until he really figured out his feelings and they really settled everything once and for all? "You're good at making people look beat up, Helga…" Adding that last thing sent an extra blush to his cheeks but he didn't care at all about it.

Helga just smiled in relief that he seemed to be getting her and nodded in response to him. "Okay well yeah, so we're on the same page then and I…Huh?" Her eyes dilated and her jaw fell and she tried to process…whatever the heck it was he had just…implied to her! 'For the next time…NEXT TIME! He…' He wanted 'next times'! Kissing Arnold…as a regular part of her life? Helga almost couldn't process…And then… 'I'm g-good at…at…' A jolt went through her and she looked down shyly…at what he had just said to her without actually saying it…That she was…good…at…

"Um…" a totally shy and now practically grinning goofily Arnold started to ask then, bringing her out of her flustered thoughts, "Helga…I know I'm supposed to be the one who looks beat up after all of this so…I'm sorry if it looks like you got a little, um, 'roughed up' too when we're done…kind of like this morning…but…don't worry…I'm sure we'll find some kind of way to explain it away." He smiled even more, just because he felt like it…and hugged her a little more snugly even as he added… "I guess…somehow I'm not so bad at making people look beat up either, huh?" He chuckled a tiny bit at the interesting notion…that he was actually kind of good at…things like what he had done with Helga this morning and what he was doing with her just now…After all, with how she moaned and sighed and silently begged for more…he had to be giving her some kind of good time, right?

Helga didn't say anything to all of that…He was flirting with her and the concept let alone the actual situation was so much for her senses to take in that she could barely feel her body anymore. She just looked even more surprised and her blush deepened. 'Wh…Huh?' her tingling mind could only think to itself.

Arnold chuckled a little more, unable to help himself at that cute little puzzled and flustered look on the face of the girl in his arms. He let out a breath. "I like you, Helga G. Pataki. And you really do look…very pretty in pink…Very pretty…"

CLICK

And then he had reached up and turned off the light.

And then Helga tried not to just die at the feeling of him pulling her in and…and… Her lips had puckered at the last second upon the light going out again in anticipation of him crashing his own into them, but no…Instead he was just…just coating her face and neck and even lips sometimes with tender little kisses just like she had been planning to do to him before she had turned on the light before. And he also gave her more nuzzles like from earlier and hugged her and just made her legs all but give out from under her. "Mmm…." She moaned in such deep pleasure as all of this went on…as she felt herself marked as his…never having thought of that idea before…but loving it…loving it so…. "A-Arnold…?" she barely whispered out his name a few seconds later, her breaths shallow and warm.

Arnold, 'busy' at the moment though still with enough awareness to hear her, stopped his kisses momentarily at the sound of her voice…though with how close he remained the threat of them lingered. The nuzzles into her neck and shoulder continued unabated. "Y-Yes…?" He let out a shuddery sigh and felt that wonderfully smitten look come back to his face again and he just let the kisses start up once more. He had been going to wait until she had said whatever she had to say to start giving them to her again but what the heck—she could talk and be covered in kisses from him at the same time. And it felt so good to give in and just kiss her…everywhere… 'She smells like flowers and the skin on her cheeks is as soft as flower petals…and her lips are the softest of all… Wow…' he thought to himself in joy. 'She'd be some girl to be in love with…And she's some girl to have love you…' And if all of this wasn't even love yet for him…he couldn't even imagine how wonderful it would feel to actually be admittedly totally in love with Helga and to be with her like this…

Meanwhile, Helga, at the return of Arnold's kisses, just let out a shuddery sigh and said with her lips trembling in a smile, "Just…Just don't read too much into this and I won't read too much into this…and we can sort this out later for both of our sakes…okay?"

At those words Arnold just let out a deep warm breath near her ear and stopped his kisses once more to say something. "Helga?"

"Yes…Arnold?" she barely got out, her eyes totally closing in pure bliss.

"Just…" he gave the edge of her ear a tiny kiss more, "Just don't hold back anymore with me. I need to know exactly what I'm dealing with. The whole thing. Please. A-And…And I won't hold back either."

She just nodded, unknowning what else to say. "Oh Arnold…" And then suddenly she took the reigns again and on a rush of adrenaline and love pushed him back against the door of the closet again and this time started covering his head and face and neck with kisses until she met his lips again and then stayed there as their mouths burned together as one in love. And then for who-knows-how-long the two children lost all track of time just burying themselves in denial about their own feelings and their companion's feelings in the sweetest way they could find for the rest of this 'heat of the moment' together.

Fifth grade…

It was an average morning in the halls of P.S. 118 (although it was getting a bit late, which explained why fewer and fewer kids were seen racing through the halls all in their attempts to get to class on time.)

As one hallway became completely abandoned, an observer taking the time to really wait and listen might have heard…a rather strange sound or two coming from…the lockers?

BUMP

CLANG

A giggle, half moaned, half laughed.

Such a deep sigh…and chuckle.

And then finally when there was really not a soul around and maybe ninety seconds or so until the bell was going to ring, a locker door was opened…from the inside.

Instantly a smiling and panting and blushing and joyful looking Arnold and Helga tumbled out, practically falling to the floor from squeezing out of such a confined space together. Upon hitting the linoleum though all they did was laugh and then Arnold, looking down at Helga who had fallen out first (thus putting her beneath him) just sighed and smiled and reached up a hand and gently brushed her now mussed hair from her face. Then he bent down and gave her lips another gentle, soft kiss.

He pulled back eventually. He sighed and looked into her dazed eyes. "Helga…" he started with so much enamoriation, "You know…Everyone pretty much knows about us being together…I mean, they stumbled over us kissing in that supply closet on the plane back from San Lorenzo when Harold led everyone to the back to raid the pantry for snacks… So we don't HAVE to hide in a locker to kiss in the mornings before class…We can just…do it…" He let out a final happy breath and then shifted off of his love and stood and held out a hand to help her stand up as well.

An elated Helga just giggled and let out a happy sigh and then took his hand and got herself up and dusted herself off a little before closing her locker door (they had been making sure to use their own lockers as opposed to other people's for these things ever since the first time with the Brainy incident). "Aw, I know we don't have to hide to kiss anymore really…" she assured him…and then her eyes narrowed and she got close and in his face and added in a sultry voice, "But…you KNOW that dark side of yours is always more prone to come out when we're actually IN the dark, Football Head…Hmm, I swear, when we're just strolling in the park or relaxing up in Mighty Pete or sitting in one of our rooms and kissing you're so sweet and shy…but trapped in darkness with me…all alone and close together…you really do become my sultry preteen…" She winked.

Arnold's smile got all goofy and he got all blushy and he just chuckled and gave a little shrug. "I…I like the dark too, Helga…You, um…You sort of lose control a little too…It reminds me of your confession. I like it." He felt flames dance in his cheeks but he just didn't care…She was wonderful and fiery and the most intense woman he had ever met and he wanted her to know it.

Helga just blushed extra and glanced to the side with a secret smile. "Eh rope it in, lover boy. Anyway, ready to escort me to class, my prince charming?" She grinned and held out one of her arms for Arnold to hook one of his with it.

Arnold nodded and of course hooked them together. "Of course, Helga. It would be my pleasure."

The two in love kids began to shuffle down the hall to class together, fully aware that they would walk in just in the nick of time when everyone would see them, and also fully aware of how they looked between the locker stuff and their blushing and being so close, but they didn't care… No one seemed to be bugging them too much about their obvious relationship so, as Helga had been prone to put it to herself in the giddiness of her finally requited love lately, 'Eh, let 'em look!'

"So…," Helga turned her head and addressed her love at her side as they continued to walk along together, "I take it that as usual right after the bell rings this afternoon I'll be seeing you in the janitors closet across the hall to…finish letting Arnold have his 'dark side' time? And to finish letting me give in to all of my wildest girlish desires about you?" She winked.

Arnold shifted a little closer to her and replied with a little nod, looking down and to the side and still just smiling and blushing away, "Uh huh…Same time and place just like every afternoon…just like we meet to spend time in one of our lockers every morning." He smiled more. "Helga…" he glanced at her, "I like our little tradition with trapping ourselves in lockers and even closets…I've never looked forward to coming to school every day or getting dismissed every afternoon so much in my entire life." He gulped and then leaned up and gave her a kiss on a cheek as they rounded a corner and finally came in sight of the classroom.

Helga giggled again (a touch of something goofy in it thanks to his little kiss) and nodded in agreement. "I like that tradition too, Arnold. And I like it even better that we can do things like that and kiss now just because we love each other and want to, and not because we're scared and unsure about things like back when all this lockers and closets stuff started... It's a nice little piece of the past that we've been able to keep going…and for the right reasons this time." She snuggled her head against his shoulder a little and then gave him a little kiss on the forehead. "I love you, Arnold…" she whispered into his ear, "And I love that some things never change." She giggled and then pulled back shyly.

They stopped walking now as they reached the classroom door and Arnold unhooked his arm from Helga's. "Yeah, some things never change. And speaking of which," he reached out and opened the door and then gestured forward and bowed a little, "Ladies first?" He grinned a little more at her.

Helga giggled and rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah…you and your endless supply of corny chivalry. Come on, let's just go…The sooner we get in there, the sooner we get 'janitors closet time'." She winked and then sauntered in right past him and Arnold walked in behind her (gazing at her the whole time), letting the classroom door shut behind them (and secretly counting down the minutes until 'janitors closet time' himself).

It really was nice that some things never changed like Arnold and Helga's little locker/closet tradition…And yet of course it could also be said that every once in a while it was also nice that some things did change…like Arnold and Helga finally coming out of a locker or a closet together and making plans to do it again the next chance they got instead of stubbornly denying the inevitability of their perfect passion and love. A balance between the old and the new…not dissimilar to the balance between Helga's seven year old love for Arnold…and Arnold's fresh realization of love for Helga.

A/N:

I really hoped you guys liked this sequel, especially you, KASUKapl :) Please review, everyone, and thanks for reading! And as for what of mine'll be updated next, look for the next chapter of LTBH sometime probably in the second or third week of July…and possibly another special oneshot coming from me in that month too ;) After that, look for one LTBH chapter a month plus at least one or two chapters of my other fics as I try to wrap up some of my in progress stuff ^w^ After all, I'm pretty determined to have nothing major in progress and at the very least all of LTBH done…before I start my TJM adaptation ^w^ Soooo many plans have been brewing for that for YEARS, lol!

Anyway, I hope you all of a lovely day :) And for my buddies in the States, Happy almost 4th of July! 8D

Happy Reading!

~Azure129 aka Jenna