"Helga, why did you rip the page out?" Arnold repeated the question that sent a shiver up Helga's spine.

What am I supposed to say? She asked herself in a frenzy while glancing around the darkened room they were stuck in. I can't just tell him the truth for cripes sake. He'll think I'm crazy. He'll think I'm insane. Opening her mouth to begin her answer, at the last minute, her mind re-routed itself in her plan.

Play dumb, she decided.

"I uh," Helga began before clearing her throat and shaking her head to the blackness. "I don't know what you're talking about, Arno—"

Anticipating her denial, he cut her off before she could finish saying his name. "I know it was you," he said boldly without a hint of fear. "You gave me back the book and there was a page ripped out. Conveniently the page right before your entry. Why?"

Crap, she thought to herself while scrambling for another excuse. "Fine, okay?" The words came out forcefully as she painted the picture of an accident for the determined football-headed boy. "I wrote your stupid yearbook entry, but I screwed it all up grammatically and I just didn't—"

"Why are you lying to me, Helga?" Arnold countered, once again cutting her off in the process of his interrogating. "I know what you wrote in there. I spent the entire summer working to figure out what it said."

A long pause followed his admittance as Helga tried to soak in the new information. "You… you did?" She asked quietly in a state of shock before shaking her head as though erasing her mind like an etch-a-sketch. "Wait, if you already know what it said, then why bother ask me about it? Where's your logic football-head?"

"I'm asking because I think I deserve to know why you ripped it out," Arnold explained matter-of-factly.

Scoffing at his lackluster response, Helga couldn't help but find his reply amusing. "I feel like, given the nature of my inscription, you should be able to figure out 'why' all by yourself, ya dingus."

"Why can't you just tell me?" He fought back with a stubborn attitude that Helga wasn't used to hearing from the boy. "Why did you rip it out, Helga?"

Crossing her arms tightly over her chest, Helga huffed out a half-laugh while continuing to try and re-direct their conversation. "You're such a freak, you know that?" Her words were pointed, though Arnold could sense a twinge of nervousness beneath her tone. "What, you coerced your dad to help de-code my lame yearbook message? I mean, criminy! You didn't have anything better to do all summer? Honestly, football-head, it's me who feels bad for you—"

"Just stop, Helga!" Arnold exclaimed without thought as to the anxious teenagers listening outside the door. "If you can't even tell me the truth then why are we bothering to act like there's a chance for us? If you don't want to be honest with me—"

"Honest with you?" Helga returned immediately while dropping her arms to her sides as her hands balled into tight fists. "Here's a newsflash for you, bucko, I was honest with you at that stupid May Day Masquerade. I've been honest with you. But it's you who doesn't know what's going on."

"At least I had the guts to leave in my yearbook entry so you could read it!" Arnold responded. "So, I'll ask again, why didn't you just leave it in there?"

"I don't owe you anything, Arn—"

"Just say it!"

"I don't want to—"

"Helga!"

"I WAS SCARED, OKAY?" She shouted before pausing to breathe heavily where they stood in the closet. "I was scared, and I didn't…" she repeated while looking down to where her feet should be underneath the sheet of darkness that surrounded her. "After our talk at Rhonda's party and then again on the hill… I don't know, okay? I didn't want to admit how much you hurt me. Why would I want to admit that?"

"Why wouldn't you?" Arnold soon asked in a soft voice that Helga shrugged at before answering.

"'Cause then you'd know just how sad I really was, and I didn't want you to see that." Scoffing in frustration, Helga shook her head to herself before adding, "I knew it was all my fault anyway, you know? The dance, the Lila thing… that's exactly where I just lost it."

"You aren't the only one who's to blame for that, though," Arnold admitted with a sigh. "I didn't help when I knew how scared you were."

"I wasn't scared, Arnold," Helga argued. "I was paranoid. There's a huge difference." As she waited for Arnold to fight her, the only response she received was silence. With their limited time ticking by on the clock outside, Helga swallowed hard in preparation to continue taking ownership of her part in their break-up.

"I spent so long being angry at you," she stated in a hush. "I blamed you for everything. That you should have told me. That Lila should have not been such a chicken. Should, should, should. That everyone else should have done this and that when in reality…" a soft chuckle devoid of any humor came out as Helga finally said what she had been thinking for months. "That line of trust that was between us… it was me who never should have crossed it. The way I acted… the scene I made? I regret that moment more than anything and if I could take it back—if I could take back all of it so we could be together again—I would."

"Helga," Arnold tried while reaching out into the black as if to touch her shoulder, though he couldn't find it. "Helga, it's fine—"

"It isn't though, okay?" She insisted with a frown while stepping backwards into a plush wall of fur coats. "I'm… I'm so-sor-sor," huffing out a deep breath, she tried again, "I'm sorry, Arnold. I'm sorry for the person that I became and that it's taken me basically forever to figure out how badly I screwed up."

"Helga—" Arnold once again attempted to speak, though she merely shushed him to continue with her speech.

"I wanted to avoid you," she then explained while nervously crossing her arms as though the simple movement would close herself off from the world. "But as hard as I tried, I couldn't stop thinking about you and thinking about everything that has happened between us and I just… I hated myself. I hated that person I was. That's why I dyed my hair and changed my clothes and I-I-I," tumbling over her words, Helga instead sputtered out a nonsensical sound before shrugging. "I don't know, Arnold. That's all I've got. I don't know what you want me to say, but there it is. That's it."

Tick, tick, tick, tick.

The seconds continued to roll by as Arnold stood frozen in the closet after Helga's admission. All of the saliva that was once pooling in his mouth felt as though it had dried up in an instant and he struggled to find the right words to say. In a crackling voice, he managed out, "Why didn't you just tell me?" Swallowing more of the dry air around them, he quickly said, "especially after you read what I wrote you, why didn't you talk to me online or something?"

"Right," Helga spat out sarcastically. "Because that's the kind of conversation one wants to have through the screen of a computer. C'mon, Arnoldo."

"It's preferable to now. At Rhonda's party." He turned his head right and left as though to look around the space he found himself in. "In a closet."

"Well, who's to blame for that, now? Because it sure as hell isn't me." She laughed for a moment before saying, "I was perfectly content pretending the yearbook thing never happened, but someone had to get all sappy about it."

"I couldn't just keep walking around without confronting you," Arnold said defensively. "If I kept it bottled up for even a second longer, I thought I'd explode. You made me wait for our entire vacation."

"I was doing it for your own good, Hair Boy," she reasoned. "I mean, maybe a little for my own good too, but a lot of good that did me…"

"Wait," Arnold stopped as Helga's voice trailed off. "So, that's why you went to Olga's? To avoid me?"

"Well, doi!" She shouted while throwing her hands up in exasperation. "Criminy! How is it that even as a teenager you're still the densest human being on the planet?" After a pause, Helga continued with her prior sentiment. "I went to Olga's because I figured that if I didn't get my act together over the summer, there was no way I was going to be able to face you in the fall. I'd fall apart all over again. It'd be embarrassing and just… pathetic."

"Stop right there, Helga. It's not pathetic." Arnold's voice was firm, his sincerity throwing her aback. "What's pathetic is being too afraid to reach out to someone because they don't understand their own feelings."

"Your feelings?" Helga repeated as Arnold took a moment to collect himself before his own admission of guilt. "What do you mean?"

"Well, you talk about how the dance is what you regret?" He began before sucking in a deep breath to help him spew out his thoughts. "For me, the line that I shouldn't have crossed was that kiss at the May Day Masquerade."

Helga narrowed her eyes in the darkness while clenching her teeth and saying lowly, "What."

"No, Helga, not like that," he quickly backtracked in an effort to calm Helga before she lost it. "I don't regret it because I didn't want to kiss you—I did. Very much." Reaching up, Arnold rubbed at the back of his neck while looking downward towards the floor. "I regretted it because it wasn't fair to you to keep putting you through the ringer because I was confused."

"What on earth could you possibly have been confused about, Arnold? They're feelings." Helga rolled her eyes at his seemingly stupid statement. "What's so confusing about feelings? All you have to do is feel them for cripes sake—"

"It's not that easy for me, okay?" Arnold immediately disputed. "You've always known how you felt about me. Or at least, that's what you tell me, anyway. And this… this is all new for me. You… having my parents around… middle school. It's a lot to take in."

"Imagine throwing a divorce on top of that," Helga grumbled, though Arnold didn't seem to notice.

"And even though I was angry at you for what happened at the dance, I still wanted to-to… to be with you." Swallowing hard, Arnold squeezed his eyes shut as though the extra layer of darkness would give him the courage to say what he needed to say. "Helga, I still want to be with you… but… I'm afraid that because we're so young, we'll screw it up."

"Yeah," Helga agreed momentarily before shaking her head in denial of what she'd just said. "Actually, no, Arnold. You're—you're wrong."

"What?"

"If it's one thing that I've learned from being with you, it's that love is all about risks, right?" She asked while staring out ahead of herself to where Arnold stood. "Every time I confessed my love for you, that was a risk, and it was terrifying but if I hadn't done it, you wouldn't have known and kissed me in San Lorenzo, would you?"

"I mean—"

"And think about any romantic comedy movie you've ever seen. Don't the people in those always end up in crazy situations and doing insane things that they mess up time and time again before everything works out in the end?"

"That's just television, Helga," Arnold said softly. "It's not real—"

"I mean, criminy! Look at your parents!" She delivered her final point. "Their stories are crazy, but I doubt they regret them because it led to where they are now. They made a career off of taking risks—risks that led them to falling in love."

"What are you getting at?" Arnold wondered after a moment of silence had passed between the pair.

"Look, all I'm tryingto say is that if you're so afraid of screwing everything up, then you might as well stop wasting our time before it wastes us." She smirked to herself feeling somewhat proud of her impromptu presentation. "Even if we're ancient and in some old folks' home we'll probably still screw some stuff up, but that shouldn't stop us from trying because what if we don't screw it up? I need an answer, kid. You're either with me or not at all. Unless, that is, you're afraid of being happy."

"Maybe I am," he whispered while considering what Helga had passionately said. "Maybe there's just a lot at stake and I don't want us to go through another painful break-up."

"Well," Helga dragged the word out as she offered up a suggestion, "we could always elect a 'we walk' policy or something."

Smirking, Arnold blinked a few times before commenting. "What is that?"

"You know, like an escape clause type deal," she explained while taking a solitary step into the dark space that Arnold resided in. "We get the choice that if it all goes wrong or if things start to go downhill, we can just walk away. No messy break-up, no "it's not you it's me" routine… we just opt to take a step back and walk away."

"You really think we'll need that?" Arnold then asked in a hesitant voice as he too took a step forward into the dark.

"I mean, I know that I won't because I'm not about to ruin our second chance, but you know, if it makes you feel more comfortable to have in your back pocket it might be a good idea. And who knows? Maybe it'll be better this time because all of that stuff happened," she then expressed in earnest. "Think about it. If it hadn't, I'd still be indulging in the jealous-girlfriend trope and you'd be denying your true feelings because they scare you—"

"They still kind of scare me, to be honest…" he muttered, though Helga didn't acknowledge his rhetoric.

"So, how about we skip putting a label on anything this time around?" She proposed with a delicate upturn of her lips. "No pressure. We can just… see where it takes us and, when we feel ready, then we can go all label crazy. What do you think?"

Tick, tick, tick

"I think," Arnold began before boldly saying words he didn't know he had the courage to say aloud, "I don't want to let another second of this seven minutes to go by without kissing you."

Heat shot through Helga's system as blood traveled to her cheeks in the darkness of the closet. Swallowing hard, she grinned before reaching out to easily find Arnold's shoulders where she soon rested her hands. "I thought you'd never ask…"

As Arnold gently placed his hands on Helga's hips, the pair leaned in to instinctively find the other's lips; their mouths melding into one unit as they moved together. It felt like it had been a lifetime that they'd waited for this moment—a reunion that had been hard fought and sorely won.

Together, Helga and Arnold kissed in the closet that now felt worlds away from any party taking place on beyond the door. Even as it opened to flood the small room with light, the renewed couple didn't flinch as they continued to kiss—the only thing disrupting their union being that of gasps and a few miscellaneous comments that overlapped one another in a frenzy of salacious whispers.

"Boy howdy!"

"HELGA AND AWNOLD SITTIN' IN A CLOSET—"

"Mm mm MM."

"—K-I-S-S-I-N-G!"

"Oh. My. God…"

"I knew it. I totally knew it." Rhonda's voice cut through the murmurs of the crowd as Helga and Arnold finally pulled apart to look out at their unexpected audience.

As silence surrounded the entirety of the party, everyone waited with bated breath for the couple's reaction. After a prolonged moment, Arnold merely smiled a sheepish grin as red filled in his cheeks. Helga on the other hand simply raised her brow and glared out at eyes staring her way.

"What are you all looking at?" She demanded before grabbing Arnold's hand; his fingers immediately lacing with hers out of instinct. "You've never seen two people kiss before?"

Narrowing her shadowed eyes, Rhonda watched the pair emerge with a knowing gaze. "That's all you're going to say. Seriously?"

Nodding her head a couple of times while she considered Rhonda's obvious hint, Helga smiled. "You know what? I do have something else to say." With that, she reached out her free hand to lightly tap the startled Queen Bee's cheek two times while saying, "I gotta hand it to you, Princess, you were right. I should thank you."

With that, Arnold let out a small laugh that was soon joined by other partygoers and evolved into the resurrection of excited chatter. As Rhonda stood with a sour expression lining her face, Arnold and Helga made their way through the crowd that dissipated to resume dancing or continue and wait their turn for a shot at the closet.

Though they had spent the entire summer apart, Helga and Arnold had never felt closer than they did after their impromptu closet kiss. As they talked the night away and enjoyed each other's company, the spark that had seemingly gone out between them had flourished into a wild flame that burned brighter than ever before. Their mutual understanding of a relationship without labels allowed them to be engulfed by the passionate inferno that consumed both of the teenagers in a blaze of lovesick bliss.

Despite the odds, they had found their way back to one another.

Nothing felt more right because, after so long, they finally felt like they were home again.

As they left the party to begin the long walk back to their respective houses, Arnold accompanied Helga like he had all that time ago prior to the fiasco at their seventh-grade dance. With each step they took, the tight grip of their hands remained latched to the other's; their interlaced fingers reflecting that of their young lives which had been intertwined in a colorful tapestry of experiences since they were toddlers.

They were home.

Maybe not in the homes where they lived, but the home of another's hand. The home of another's love. The home of feeling tied to someone other than oneself.

Once they reached Helga's stoop, the pair peeled their hands from the knot they'd tied and waited awkwardly for the silence to break. Though their love had seemingly resumed, so had their nervous teenage hormones that halted both Arnold and Helga from speaking the flurry of emotions dancing ballets in their brains.

"So," Arnold finally said while rocking forward on his feet before landing back on his heels.

"So…" Helga repeated while reaching up to brush a stray hair from her face. "Some party, huh?"

Clumsily letting out a soft chuckle, Arnold nodded his head while bringing his hand up to rub at the back of his neck. "Yeah. It uh… it sure was."

"I think it's safe to say that Rhonda really knows how to properly usher in a new school year," she went on aimlessly, unsure of what to say or how to end their conversation from where they stood at the Pataki doorstep.

"That's one way to put it," Arnold noted as blood rushed to his cheeks while he averted Helga's gaze. "She orchestrated quite the night."

"I almost feel bad for that new girl she's trying to corrupt," she replied, "maybe a little more for Nadine though. Poor girl is losing her sidekick to some hippie from Minnesota."

"Hippie?" Arnold repeated with a laugh as Helga crossed her arms and eyed him curiously.

"C'mon, Arnoldo," she said plainly. "You saw her. Frankly, I don't know what potential Rhonda sees there. The girl doesn't really seem her type."

"Neither does Nadine, if you think about it," Arnold countered in a thoughtful tone. "And besides, Nadine and Addie seem to get along fine. I'm sure they'll be thick as thieves by next week."

Rolling her eyes, Helga couldn't help but let out a guffaw at his statement. "Thick as thieves?" She repeated with a shake of her head. "Criminy, Arnold. I think that summer with your dad decoding messages might have had an effect on you."

"What do you mean?"

"You're talking like a cheesy dad," she said with a wink that was quickly followed by a drop of Arnold's smile and a deadpan of her name.

"Helga…"

"Relax Hair Boy. I'm only kidding. Criminy." Letting out prolonged sigh, Helga looked around herself in the dark of the night as her and Arnold remained standing. "Guess I should probably head in," she finally said with a point of her thumb towards the front door.

"Is Olga home yet?" Arnold questioned, and Helga shook her head solemnly.

"Nah, but she says she'll be up next week or something." Another sigh escaped Helga's mouth, though this one felt more somber. "I tell ya, Arnold, the Pataki house is boiling, and I think it's about ready to spill over."

"I'm sorry to hear that, Helga," Arnold said earnestly while knowing there was no need for her to elaborate. He knew that she would… in her own time. Swallowing hard, he then shoved his hands deep into the pockets of his jeans before nervously adding, "You know, you're… you're still always welcome at my house. If it… if it gets too bad here."

Staring at Arnold with a blank expression, Helga observed his demeanor for a minute before nodding her head and offering a small smile. "I'd like that."

"Oh, me too," Arnold said quickly—almost too quickly, and he cleared his throat before trying to dilute his enthusiasm. "Mom and Dad will be happy to see you again. They ask about you all the time. The boarders too."

"…Really?" Helga asked, clearly taken by surprise.

"Sure," he confirmed with a grin. "Grandma always asks how Eleanor is fairing with the royal diamonds…" Arnold laughed while shaking his head to himself. "Nobody is really sure what she means exactly, but we know that you're Eleanor, so…"

Helga smirked while looking past him in the direction of the boarding house. "Crazy woman… I miss her. Your whole family, really."

"So… maybe you should come by. Tomorrow." His words came out so fast that he didn't have a chance to think them through. Once again Arnold beat himself up for coming off too strong given the nature of the casual relationship they had agreed upon.

No matter his eagerness, Helga returned with just as much excitement. "Yeah. Yeah, of course. I mean…" swallowing hard as she too struggled to navigate the newfound waters that she found herself in, Helga glanced down to play with her nails absentmindedly. "I can, you know. If you want me to."

"I do," Arnold said without hesitation and without regret.

In that moment, his hands found Helga's; his touch stopping her from continuing to pick at the cuticles she'd been ripping to shreds. As they stood on the stoop with their hands clasped between them, Helga slowly lifted her gaze to meet the emerald eyes that plagued her dreams most nights.

"I'm really glad you came to the party tonight, Helga." He told her; the teenage girl's body beginning to fill with heat as his words sunk into her consciousness.

"Surprisingly… I am too," she agreed with a small upturn of her lips. "I sure as hell didn't imagine we'd end up here." Her eyes drifted down to their hands and Arnold gave her a light squeeze as he nodded his head.

"Me either… but I'd kind of hoped we would."

"Yeah," Helga whispered as the two began to slowly lean in towards one another. "Me…Me too."

Within moments, their lips found one another's yet again under the soft glow of the moon above. As it shone down on the young couple, their tender kiss filled in the holes that had been left behind from their arguments of the past. Gently wiping away their previous animosities and misunderstandings, their private moment seemed to heal all that had been broken just a year before.

As they pulled apart to look into the other's eyes, goofy grins overtook their mouths while a heavy blush filled in each of their cheeks.

"So, I'll see you tomorrow?" Arnold asked, though Helga was already nodding her head.

"You sure will, Football-head," she confirmed before adding, "Better tell Gertie that I'm returning with the royal goods."

"I'm sure she'll make a feast fit for a Queen."

"Hey now," Helga replied with a lighthearted narrow of her eyes. "Just because I'm a woman doesn't mean that I can't be the King, you know. Don't you go shoving your gender stereotypes on me, bucko."

Nodding his head in agreement, Arnold let out a soft chuckle. "Wouldn't dream of it, Helga."

"Well… good," she finalized before parting from him altogether to reach for the handle of her front door. "Tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow," Arnold repeated before turning around to begin his decent down her stoop. Just as Helga opened her door, she glanced behind her to see that Arnold too had paused at the landing to look her way.

"What?" Helga asked with a smirk.

Shaking his head, he simply smiled. "I'm just really, really glad that we're… well, doing whatever it is that we're doing."

"Don't get all sappy on me now, football-head," Helga teased. "Remember. There's still our 'we walk' policy."

"I know," he answered, though his smile didn't fade.

"So… so tread carefully, bucko," Helga continued though she silently wished she hadn't. "I'd hate to have to use it after this sweet little moment and all."

Laughing quietly, Arnold let out a deep breath. "Whatever you say, Helga," he told her before giving her a nod. "I'll see you tomorrow."


Closing her bedroom door quietly, Helga rested her back against it while closing her eyes and basking in the elation she felt.

She couldn't believe it.

Her and Arnold were back together. At long last!

Every part of her being was overjoyed and she wanted to cry out the passionate feelings that were overflowing from inside. Rather than wake Miriam wherever she may be sleeping, Helga opened her eyes and quickly made her way to the journal that rested on her bedside table.

Flipping the book open to find the first clean sheet of paper, Helga grabbed a nearby pen and began scribbling down words that poured freely from her very soul.

Believe it

Relieved and

It all felt like bliss

Inspired and

Reviled from

Your unexpected kiss

Embraced and

Effaced from

Our love's poignant spell

Intertwined

Feels divine

To be loved by you so well

With a sigh, Helga closed the book and carelessly tossed it to her side before falling to lay down flat on her bed. Happily staring up at the ceiling, she continued to replay the night over and over again in her mind like a movie on repeat. In endless loops, Helga relived their kiss from the closet and the kiss they had shared but moments ago just outside her house. Gently placing her hands over her heart, a hushed swoon escaped her mouth before she allowed her tired eyes to close for the night.

It felt so good to be home again—to be back at home inside Arnold's heart.


MERRY CHRYSLER!

HAPPY HONDA DAYS!

Whether you celebrate a holiday or not, I wish you happy times and days full of love and joy. You all rock and I'm continuously thankful for your reviews, support, and love for this story. As usual, there are a few songs that helped significantly with the writing of this chapter:

- "Who I Am Hates Who I've Been" by: Reliant K (like 90% of their closet conversation)

- "We Walk" by: The Ting Tings (the 'we walk' policy was inspired by this song)

- "Sleeping with Giants" by: The Academy Is… (the kiss in the closet to the end of the chapter)

This chapter may be short in comparison to the last one I posted, but I think the fluff more than makes up for it. I had SUCH a fun time writing this dialogue and imagining this scene. It is so cute and sweet and has such heart. I really hope you all enjoyed it! Please be sure to LEAVE A REVIEW and let me know your thoughts/feelings on this chapter. I can't wait to hear what you think!

The plan is to post the FINAL CHAPTER OF THE SEASON on Saturday, JANUARY 9TH. As always, be sure to check my Twitter/Tumblr under #HelgaUnbound for updates and impertinent information about the story. I will also be posting next seasons post dates there soon, so keep an eye out! The next season will have 5 chapters that run from February to May. I'm very excited about what's to come- hope you all are too!

See you on January 9th!