Harold and Heather is one of the few “friendships” I wish was expanded upon in TDA.
Now, the geek and popular girl duo has been done numerous times before, usually poorly and unrealistically. Almost always it has a self-deprecating underdog nerd trying to win the heart of a popular, but nice queen bee. Harold and Heather take the “give geeks a chance” trope and throw it down the septic tank.
Harold is one of the very few contestants who treats Heather as a person with actual feelings. When she’s upset or been wronged, he lends her a supporting hand, whether Heather likes it or not. But the real kicker is that Harold doesn’t do this for a stereotypical geeky reason like “Ooh she’s hot, she’s out of my league, but I wanna get laid”. Harold sees a girl whose mean but in need of a true friend, and that’s all that matters to him. The fact that Harold thinks that Heather may have feelings for him is a nice subversive touch as well. This duo caught my attention because it’s one of the few where the geek isn’t intimidated by the popular girl. Not once does Harold see himself as the inferior one in his relationship with Heather. Major respect, Harold.
As for Heather, her view on the alpha-nerd is little harder to see. On the surface, it looks like Heather is just manipulating the guy into an alliance. But Heather acts differently with Harold than she’s does with anyone else. Sure, she acts cold and is still annoyed by him, but she talks to him like he’s a irritating person than just a tool for the competition. That barely muttered “thank you” after Harold saved her is something I can’t imagine her saying if it were anyone else. It’s all in the subtle ways Heather acts, and she’s probably not even aware of it. Like teasing Leshawna’s weave together, or having an immature slap-fight over a locked safe. But the best part is when Heather secretly tries doing some Num-Yo tricks. Whatever Heather’s opinion on Harold, it’s more playful than antagonistic.
Now all we need is a fanfic about Harold giving Heather a pack of glitter glue pens for her birthday and I’m set.