A/N: Wooo, finally I got some free time on my hands. Actually I really didn't, but I decided to procrastinate on my 3 projects for now just so I can finish up this story. I cannot believe I've been writing this since two summers ago, haha. That's pretty crazy. For all of the readers who have been reading and reviewing from the start, and even those who just started reading two chapters ago, this last chapter is dedicated to all of you. Enjoy!

"Rhonda and Lila…" Arnold mumbled under his breath, feeling a mix of emotions build up inside him. He wasn't sure whether he should run and hide just to avoid them, or if he should just stay and face what ever trouble he was about to get into. "What do you want?"

"It's all around school, kid." Rhonda began, "you know, you and Pataki."

"Me and Helga? Yeah, we're friends."

"Don't try and play dumb with us, Arnold. Everyone knows. Everyone has heard. Curly told us he saw you two walking together, holding hands."

"I would normally say that it was oh-so cute, but seriously, Arnold. Helga Pataki?" Lila shouted incredulously, a clear look of disgust on her face.

Rhonda sighed, stepping closer to the boy who was now almost sweating from nervousness. "I didn't want to believe it, doll. In fact, I didn't believe it until I heard that little conversation you had going on there with Gerald seconds ago."

"You were eavesdropping?"

Lila laughed now, tossing her head back and making her laugh look sort of forced. "Silly, Arnold. I thought you knew we were the sources of gossip at school. How else do you expect us to get our information?"

"I don't know--"

"That's not the point," Rhonda interrupted, "the point is, when you wrote that fake letter to Helga, you weren't supposed to all of a sudden fall for her and make her life complete. The whole purpose was to give the girl a taste of her own medicine, make her feel some of the pain she makes others feel. But now you're going on and making her the happiest girl alive!"

"So, what's your point?" Arnold inquired, "I know you think Helga isn't worthy of having anyone fall in love with her, Rhonda. But that's where you're wrong."

"Oh God…" Lila trailed off, her eyes widening, "she didn't do some like, weird spell on you to make you fall for her, did she?"

"Stop it!" Now, Arnold was fuming, as he could feel his face burning up only slightly, "No, she didn't do any kind of spell on me. It just so happens that I know her more than you guys will ever know her."

"She's a bitch. What more is there to know?" Rhonda chuckled, "I mean, she goes around bossing everyone, punching innocent people like me for no apparent reason, purposely giving teachers a bad attitude…wow, Arnold. You're right. This girl is deep."

"That's exactly what I mean. There's more to her than just the mean façade that she puts on for people to see. I have seen that side of her, Rhonda…I've seen it more times than you could ever imagine."

"Look, Arnold," Lila sighed, now becoming clearly impatient as she rolled her eyes, "you can't like Helga. Being with her will completely ruin your reputation and you know it."

"The last time I checked, I didn't need approval from people on who I can and cannot fall in love with."

"W-wait a second, so you are in love with Helga?"

An awkward silence passed through the three of them as Rhonda and Lila both stared at Arnold intently, waiting for an answer. "Let's just say…I guess my reputation is going to be ruined." Arnold smiled at them, waving as he started to walk away. "I'll see you guys around."

As Lila and Rhonda watched Arnold walk away, staring after him absolutely dumbfounded, Lila asked Rhonda in utter disbelief, "so, what do we do now?"

"Pity him. That's all we can do." She shook her head, walking away from her friend angrily, stomping her feet as she went along her away.

"Now class, I recommend you take very clear and neat notes while you view this movie, because you never know if I'll give an open notebook quiz on what you saw," Arnold's biology teacher, a woman in her 40s, very plain but not in the least bit unattractive, advised everyone as she pressed play on the DVD player, switching off the lights.

'Yeah, like I'll even be able to concentrate on this movie…' Arnold thought to himself as he held a pen to his notebook, just in case the teacher glanced over in his direction. He stared at the screen intently, however he was in a complete daze, Helga being the only thing on his mind. 'What if she doesn't believe me when I tell her how I feel? Will she trust me enough? …Maybe I should just keep it to myself. No, bad idea. It'd slip out eventually anyway.'

"Arnold, pay attention." His teacher instructed, noticing the dazed look in his eyes.

"Oh, uh, sorry Miss Smith." He ignored the turns of heads in his direction, as he began to pretend to take notes in his notebook. His thoughts about Helga were once again distracted when he felt a tap on his shoulder and saw a folded up piece of paper on his lap. His glance cast sideways, only to see Gerald looking at him smiling while mouthing, "read it."

Arnold looked at him with a look of confusion on his face, but regardless, he unfolded the note and studied it as if it was a study guide for a test next block. The note read: 'Make good "notes," man. It make come in handy. Give the "notes" to Helga, too, since she might not be excused from the "movie" when she comes back.'

Looking back at his best friend, the confusion on his face now even more clear, he mouthed "what?" and pointed to the note.

Gerald simply mouthed back, "just think about it, oh dense one."

Suddenly, as if a light bulb appeared over his head at that exact moment, Arnold smiled widely at the boy next to him, giving him a thumbs up.

Walking to the park was torture. It's not that she didn't want to see Arnold, but she knew what hardships could be facing her when she arrived there. She stopped in front of the bench where Arnold was supposed to meet her, but he was o where to be found. 'Criminey, it's 5:10. I thought I was the one who was gonna be late. He couldn't have forgotten…'

Helga sighed, sitting on the bench slouched down very low. 'Or…maybe he had no intentions of coming here at all…' She felt the tears well up in her eyes at that thought, but quickly shook her head hoping that would stop them.

'You're just being paranoid, Helga. Give it another five minutes…he'll be here.'

"Give this to Helga…don't stop for chocolate. Give this to Helga, don't stop for chocolate…" she heard a voice repeating from close by, only to look up and see Chocolate Boy standing in front of her. 'What the hell…'

"Chocolate Boy? What are you doing here?"

"I was told to give this to you, and not stop for chocolate. It was hard, but it was for a friend." He smiled hopefully at her, holding out an envelope and his other hand, as if to receive something in return.

"Oh, uh…thanks…" Helga took the envelope from his hand, and looked at him, wondering why he wasn't leaving. "Oh, um…" She reached into her pocket, pulling out a semi-melted chocolate bar, "here ya go, kid. Thanks."

"Aw, you shouldn't have." He smiled, even though thy both knew he had expected some sort of reward for doing someone a favor. He scurried off, not wasting a minute in devouring the chocolate.

"Now what could this be…" Helga said to herself, opening up the envelope and pulling out a neatly folded piece of paper. "Who in the right mind would…" She stopped, once she recognized the handwriting almost instantly:

Helga,

Before you get mad, I didn't forget about you today. How could I forget about you? Just continue reading this and hopefully you'll understand the reason.

I made a lot of mistakes lately. I broke your heart, lied to you, led you on, purposely avoided you. I thought for sure the first time I hurt you, that you would never talk to me again. And for some reason, that killed me. I was determined to gain back your trust, and I had no idea why, but when I finally did, I felt more alive again.

Then, you spilled your heart out to me at the park. That day scared me, because I didn't know how to handle it all. You were devastated, and again, it killed me. All I want is to see you happy. And then, I kissed you. And I did tell you I took the whole heat of the moment thing back. And I really do. I don't regret that night, or last night for that matter, at all.

I've seen you go from an innocent pre-schooler, to the bully of the school, all the way to the nicest most down-to-earth girl I've ever met. And that's the side of you I believe. It's the side I guess you only show to the people who you can trust, who you know won't walk all over you.

What I'm trying to say is, I've fallen in love with you. It took me so long to realize it, and I curse myself for being so stupid and dense back a while ago. All the good times we've had together, and all the bad times we've been through…they've all been worth it, because they finally got me to this moment. I know people won't handle this very well at school, but if I'm being honest, I can care less. Because being open with your feelings to someone regardless of what others think is the right thing to do.

Love, Arnold

P.S. This isn't a fake again. Look up from reading and you'll see.

At that very moment, she didn't know what to do. Laugh? Cry? Scream of happiness? 'Oh right, look up.'

Glancing up from the letter, she only saw Arnold standing there in front of her, looking at her timidly while shuffling his feet. "A-Arnold…I-is this…?"

He reached his hand out to her, pulling her up from the bench and bringing her body closer to his. "Every word is true, Helga. Please, trust me." There was silence, which was enough to make Arnold have a sudden panic attack. "Please, Helga. Forget Lila and Rhonda. Forget the past. Just know that I'm in love with you, and I know that your feelings didn't change, either."

Helga, for once in her life, looked Arnold straight in the eyes, a wide smile coming across her face. "No truth or dare game behind this, this time?"

"Never again."

"Because I swear, Arnold, if you--"

She was shushed once he placed a finger on her lips gently. "Never again, Helga." He removed the finger from her lips, leaned in closer, and kissed her once again. This time, there was no tension. No truths being hidden. No secrets being kept. There was no questions going on through either of their minds this time, just one word.

Perfection.

Once they separated, Arnold smiled brightly. "I love you."

"I love you too, Arnold."

A/N: Gosh, I hope that wasn't too mushy, haha. I seriously had an amazing time writing this, and I hope everyone enjoyed this. Thanks to everyone who has supported. I'll try to make new stories very soon. (: THE END. :D