Disclaimer: I don't own Hey Arnold or any of the characters from the show.
Note: Takes place in the future, when the gang has all gone separate ways and are now in college. Oneshot. Hopefully not too much OOCness.
Author's note: Should be working on papers right now. Here's a quick little drabble/oneshot to Hey Arnold!
Summary: No matter where their feet take them, they always end up back home... It's Thanksgiving break and the gang is all back from their respective colleges.
Side Streets and Alleys
By: Lost-Remembrance (Red Tail)
It's Thanksgiving break and sure, they could be off the coast of Florida right now or partying it up in Mexico like it's a pre-game for Spring Break, but they aren't.
There's something about home cooked food, about family and friends, and about these old streets that they used to roam. Each alley and side street has a memory to it, just like every vacant lot and mom and pop store.
Some of them know that there isn't much to come home to-a mom who drinks too much and a dad who rages too much, parents who hover and helicopter and expect too much from already overachieving children, or really no family at all. But it's the thought that counts, the fact that even if they don't really have a family, they still have a family somewhere.
They all came together on these streets and grew together on this cracked asphalt. They bled, cried, taunted, and bullied each other. They had cat fights and fist fights. Still, they all turned out relatively all right.
At nineteen and beyond they had all flown the coop and moved on to the next stage in their life. Some went to community college, some went to state, out of state, or Ivy, and some just didn't at all.
When they meet up, there's a brief discussion of how life is, who is in what major now, who is with who, and how school is going, what it's like, and other conversation. Some have been best friends since they can remember, some remain in limbo, and some forgotten. The awkward silence lulls talk of the present before it slips to safe nostalgia. As they sit around and discuss the old times, reminisce on notable memories, and laugh at old jokes, they forget any past prejudice or unease at the lack of contact some of them have. And then it's just like the good old times.
They can sit around and joke like they're kids again. They can ignore the blushing and oblivious blondes, forget about the distance that comes between them every year before and after these small moments. It's Thanksgiving and secretly or out loud, they can all admit they're thankful for what they have and have had. Because in the end, no matter how far their feet take them, no matter how scattered they are, or out of touch they stay for the year, they always find their way back home.
FIN