It's called "Baby, It's Cold Outside", but it's also got some "I'll Be Home for Christmas" too. You'll see why as you read on. I mainly wrote this as a Christmas one-shot, but also because while there are relatively more ArnoldxRhonda stories lately, there are many MORE ArnoldxHelga, the latter of which is, well, not bad, but overrated. Plus, I utterly DESPISE fanfics that portray Rhonda as a completely heinous bitch (unless she has some form of redemption near the end, I absolutely refuse to read it) when she's not even near awful in canon. Especially if she's tormenting Helga, who could mop the floor with Rhonda if she wanted to. Maybe a little annoying at certain times, but far from evil.

So here's a Christmas one-shot of ArnoldxRhonda to add to the small but sorely underrated collection of AxR fanfics.

Rhonda Wellington Lloyd had been very well known for throwing the best parties in class. That's not to say they weren't the only good parties to be had. Others have had their share of playing host. It's just that none of the others were as elegant, or structured, as that of Rhonda's parties. One of the most elegant, however, was her Christmas parties. Rhonda spared no expense setting up the lights both inside and outside her house, as well as cleverly planting mistletoe on certain awnings. And of course, a light supper and dancing. Those were the two most important parts of the party.

And normally that's how it all went. Everyone would leave happy, and Rhonda would have a maid clean up while she plans the next party. And at this point, that was normally the case. By now, it seemed as though everyone had left and gone home for the holiday. Rhonda sighed a breath of relief as she wrapped up yet another night of playing host.

And then Arnold came out from the restroom. At which point she remembered he hadn't been feeling well earlier that evening, and had excused himself a good while ago.

"Oh, hi, Arnold," Rhonda said, "I didn't realize you were still here. Are you feeling better?"

"Yeah, much better," Arnold replied, holding his head, "I dunno what happened. But I'm definitely better now."

"I'm sorry about that," Rhonda replied, "I didn't think you had allergies."

"As far as I know, I don't," Arnold said, "Might be just the weather."

"I hope so," Rhonda said, "I'd hate to think I got you sick."

"It's okay, Rhonda, you didn't," Arnold said.

Arnold grabbed his coat from off of Rhonda's sofa, where he had put it earlier that evening, and zipped it up tightly against his torso. He opened the door to start heading home. But before he could bid farewell to Rhonda, he saw just how bad the weather had gotten. Five minutes ago, when all the other guests had left, there was only a few inches of snow on the ground, with light snowflakes falling down to the streets. Now there were heavy winds and rougher, more solid snow being blown around. Definitely not the ideal conditions for travel.

"Oh my word," Rhonda gasped, "That's nasty weather!"

"Yeah, not gonna be fun walking home in that," Arnold said, staying optimistic as usual, "But I guess it's only a few blocks away, so..."

Rhonda felt bad for Arnold for having to walk in this weather. This wasn't normal for her, but she had a temporary solution. She didn't know why she thought of this. Maybe it was because she always felt bad for Arnold. Or maybe because of the seemingly random times her heart skipped a beat whenever he was near. Either way, she made an offer.

"Arnold, um, it's really no good trying to get home like this," Rhonda said, "Maybe you could stay a little longer?"

Arnold gave her a puzzled look.

"I-I mean, y'know, at least until the weather dies down," Rhonda, "It's just not right to send you out in that terrible storm."

"You sure?" asked Arnold, "I couldn't put that burden on you."

"Arnold, I have several guests here every other weekend," explained Rhonda, "It's no trouble at all having just one. Besides, I like having you here!"

Arnold seemed taken aback by this. It seemed like a pretty bold statement.

"Really?" he asked.

"Arnold, please stay," she pleaded.

Now Arnold had been utterly perplexed. Only once had Arnold ever seen Rhonda beg for anything, and that was during the brief period in which her family was poor when she begged him not to tell anyone. And given all her wealth and popularity, it didn't seem like Rhonda would ever look so desperate for anything in her life. Yet here she was, practically on her knees (not literally, though, unlike last time) asking him to stay over. And of course, Arnold, the resident do-gooder, the boy who always had to lend a hand for others, took pity on her.

"Okay," Arnold said smiling, "I'll stay."

"Yay! Thank you, Arnold!" she exclaimed.

Arnold had been taken by surprise when Rhonda had hugged him, pressing her arms firmly around his torso. She too seemed to realize what she just did when she pulled back.

"I mean, uh, ahem," she cleared her throat and became more proper, "It'd simply be dreadful if you got pneumonia and died."

"Well, uh, that's...pretty far-fetched," Arnold said, "But I'm thankful for your hospitality."

Arnold had sat down on the couch in her living room, warming up by the fireplace, which had been lit by the maid, the last Lloyd employee to go home for the night. Now it really was just Arnold and Rhonda. After a few minutes of getting cozy, Rhonda came in holding two mugs of what appeared to be hot chocolate.

"I don't really know a lot about making drinks," Rhonda said, sitting down next to him, "But hopefully it's good enough."

"Thanks, Rhonda," Arnold said, taking one of the mugs.

Rhonda sat in silence as Arnold took light sips from the mug. She had been worried, judging by the air of silence, that it wasn't to his liking. Until she saw a warm smile slowly forming on his face as he drank the rest.

"You sure you don't know much?" asked Arnold, "Because that came out really good."

"T-Thanks, Arnold," Rhonda blushed, "Say, Arnold, can I see your hands for a moment?"

"Sure," replied Arnold, not sure what it was about.

He put down the mug on one of the coasters set on the coffee table, and held out both his hands. As Rhonda took his hands into her own, she realized just how much softer they were compared to other boys. It made sense, though, he was a rather soft guy. Rhonda hadn't realized how long she had been holding Arnold's hands until he looked up at her.

"Rhonda, is everything okay?" asked Arnold, "Your hands are like ice. You're not sick, are you?"

"No, no," replied Rhonda hesitantly, "It's not really cold in here at all. I mean, really, listen to that fireplace roar!"

"Rhonda?" Arnold asked again, "What's really going on?"

"What do you mean?" asked Rhonda.

"I don't think you wanted me over just because the weather is bad," Arnold replied.

Rhonda should have learned a long time ago that nothing gets past Arnold. If someone is in trouble, he knows it, and he always tries to help. Rhonda loved that about him. And maybe it was just an excuse to be alone with him, but it wasn't like there wasn't something on her mind. So she gave in and told him.

"Every week before Christmas, my parents fly to Wales to visit my father's grandmother for the holidays," Rhonda explained, "But they're always back before Christmas Eve! But I guess we're not the only ones getting bad weather..."

"Wait," Arnold said, "If your parents are stuck in Wales, and your staff doesn't work tomorrow, does that mean...you're alone on Christmas?"

Rhonda gulped and responded, "Yeah. I am."

"Oh...wow," Arnold said dumbfounded, "Rhonda, that's terrible! No one should be alone on Christmas!"

"I know, Arnold," Rhonda said, placing her hand over Arnold's, "I guess maybe that's why I really asked you to stay over. I shouldn't have tried making it about the weather."

"Rhonda," Arnold said, "If you had asked me to stay with you tonight because you didn't want to be alone, I would have done that."

"Y-You would have?" Rhonda asked blushing.

"Of course I would," Arnold replied, "That's what friends are for, right?"

Rhonda felt a pinch at her heart, no, more of a poke, when he said that dreaded f-word. But did she pull back? Not so much. She didn't jump him exactly, but she scooted closer to him to the point where their shoulders touched.

"On a side note, though," she said, "I do hope they're at least having fun. They say Wales is a beautiful country. I know you're not...fiscally well off the way we are, but if you ever get a chance to go, you should take it. You won't be disappointed."

"Actually, if I were to ever leave the country," Arnold said, "I was thinking more along the lines of San Lorenzo."

"San Lorenzo?" asked Rhonda, "Isn't that a jungle?"

Rhonda didn't mean to sound so scornful about it, but if there was anything she knew about jungles, it's that it was filled with wildlife, plants, and bugs. Maybe her best friend Nadine would like it, but not her.

"Yeah, supposedly that's where my parents were last," Arnold said.

And that's when Rhonda realized she was feeling pretty low. She was complaining her parents weren't home for this Christmas, but Arnold had gone his whole life without his own parents.

"Arnold, I'm so sorry," she said, while mentally thinking to herself, Idiot! Why'd you bring up Wales? What does that even have to do with Christmas? Stupid!

"It's okay, Rhonda," Arnold replied, "Grandma and Grandpa have taken great care of me growing up."

"Still, I feel bad for bringing that up," Rhonda replied.

Without warning, deciding to finally suck it up and make it a little more obvious, Rhonda turned her head and kissed Arnold's cheek. He blushed as he felt her warm lips against his flesh. He couldn't tell whether that was natural or from the cocoa. Either way, he couldn't help feeling his heartbeat rushing when she kissed him.

"Rhonda, was that..."

"Maybe I've kinda liked you for a while now," she replied, "Maybe that's another reason I asked you to stay."

Arnold didn't say anything as he let Rhonda rest her head on his shoulder. And maybe he wrapped his arm around her when she did. It's not like it wasn't the ideal position while sitting in front of a fire place, let alone with a girl who could only mutter one sentence about how she really feels about someone.

"This...isn't awkward for you, is it?" asked Rhonda, "Y'know, you, me, kinda just admitting I like-you like-you..."

"I'll be honest, I'm not sure how to feel," Arnold replied, despite having his arm around her, "This is a bit sudden, I..."

In all honesty, he started to put the pieces together. They danced together at the school dance. She practically fawned over him when they shared an umbrella in the rain. They were geography buddies since 4th grade. She put him on her "cool list" while it had still existed. She never seemed to single him out, unlike others, when critiquing a person's attire. In fact, she seemed to like his shirt that people always mistook for a skirt. But most peculiar in his mind was when Dino Spumoni "died", she was the only one who had bothered trying to comfort him. Not anyone else, not Grandpa, not even Gerald. Just Rhonda. And that's when all the little pieces came together.

"...how long?"

"How long what?"

"How long...have you had feelings for me?"

"...I guess...since you helped me and Nadine fix our friendship," she replied, "I guess the more I thought about the two of us, the more I started to toy with the idea and...well, that's when I really started realizing just how much of the ideal guy you are to me. You know, sweet, caring, kind, always helping out, never judging...I mean, I guess that's what everyone says about you, but I mean someone I can stick with...someone who could care about me..."

"Of course I care about you, Rhonda," Arnold said.

"But not enough to like-me like-me?" Rhonda asked, somewhat pleading, "Is that a no?"

"...more like a 'Let's take it one step at a time'," Arnold replied.

So there's hope, Rhonda thought. She held onto that hope as they both sat in silence, listening to the fireplace roar.

Arnold opened his eyes to see the fireplace had simmered down some. From the corner of his eye, he saw daylight shining in through the window. He also saw the top of Rhonda's head. She was still asleep on his shoulder.

I guess hosting parties really does take its toll, he thought.

He rustled his fingers through her hair, brushing it delicately as she slept. He never really thought about Rhonda as a possible love interest until last night. That was always the story, though, wasn't it? The boy ends up liking one girl, only to be rejected, then finding out another girl liked him, who he didn't exactly think of that way. He had spent months pining over Lila, but that had subsided since the Timberly incident. He wasn't quite sure what he had with Helga. He knew she was a good person deep down, but if anything was ever going to come from them, she would have to stop being ashamed of her own feelings...feelings Arnold had been told were just "heat of the moment", but he still thought may have been genuine. Rhonda being in love with him didn't make things any easier. At this stage, he wasn't sure how he felt about her.

But he did know he wanted to be there for her, whether as a boyfriend or as a really good friend, which everyone had come to be over time. Purely in the moment, he kissed her forehead, still warm from the night-long fire, just as he heard a vehicle driving up. He gently placed Rhonda's head on the couch as he looked out the window.

And smiled as he saw the luxurious red sports car that pulled up.

"Rhonda, wake up!"

Arnold shook Rhonda awake as if the Beatles were in town. Rhonda slowly opened her eyes, still shaking off . She looked up at Arnold droopy-eyed and half-asleep.

"Arnold..."

"You've got company," he said.

Rhonda hazily walked to the front door and opened it to see that her parents had just pulled up. They had made it home after all.

"Mommy! Daddy!"

She wrapped them both in a big hug, which they reciprocated as they saw their daughter running out, the happiest they had ever seen her in a long time.

"I thought you were stuck in Wales? You know, the bad weather?"

"The weather in Wales was fine, pumpkin," Buckley told her, "Magnificent, even, I wish you could see it. It was the weather here in Hillwood that kept getting our flights redirected. We had to stop at an airport in Montana, which took us to Arizona, and then to Seattle where we had to take a cab to the Hillwood airport to get our car."

"You did make sure to at least tip the cab driver for his trouble, right?" asked Brooke.

"Of course I did, honey," Buckley said flabbergasted, "I'm not Scrooge! Besides, the poor man was working on Christmas Day!"

As Rhonda listened attentively to her parents, she noticed, from the corner of her eye, walking home. She had a feeling he may not have been comfortable seeing her parents come home safe when his own had been missing for years. Or maybe it was a subtle way of saying no? That he didn't want to be someone special to her? She may have been overstretching a bit, but she had to at least make sure he still remembered.

"Arnold!"

Arnold turned around to look at Rhonda.

"You know you can always drop by," Rhonda said, "There's always a hot mug of cocoa for you here."

"Thanks," he said, "Same to you with...well, whatever my grandma makes, you never really know with her. I mean, if that's not too..."

"I would love to," Rhonda replied, "Merry Christmas, Arnold."

"Merry Christmas, Rhonda."

Arnold walked home as Rhonda went back inside. Though the extra kick in her step and the bright and shining smile on her face did not go unnoticed by her parents.

Did they ever work out? Were they ever an item after that fateful Christmas Eve? Possibly, possibly not. That's a story for another time.

Happy Holidays, readers and followers!