A/N: So, I came up with this story a while ago, but I couldn't get it out of my head, so I decided to write it. After disappearing for three years, Helga reemerges at Hillwood University, having gone through some drastic changes, but over the course of three years, so has Arnold. Can Arnold love the new Helga, can Helga love the new Arnold? Read to find out where they have been!
Arnold sat in the lecture hall, already bored out of his mind. But comparing it to the last few years of his life, it was probably better that way. He sat in his seat in the back, slumped back in his chair, cheek being mashed into his fist for support, with what he was sure was a dull expression on his face. Geez, ten minutes into the first day of this class and I'm already bored out of my mind. Stupid general education crap. After meeting with his adviser over the summer, he had agreed to take mostly general education, along with a few courses pertaining to his actual chosen major, and luckily enough, intro to geological studies was next on his schedule, but not before two horrendous hours of what Arnold thought was the most monotone man on the face of the earth.
His mind had a lot of memories to flash back to. Lord knows he's been through enough for any one person in the past three years. But this time, his mind had taken him back to a night he had, much to his dismay, had no such luck forgetting.
FLASHBACK:
As he made his way slowly through the congested main foyer of the Lloyd home, he still had a firm mind set of finding her. He took advantage of his six foot one height and looked over the top of the crowd to see if he could spot her, just a blip of blonde in a sea of drunken, recently graduated teens. After scanning the entirety of the room with out spotting her, he made his way through the crowd again. After more than enough 'excuse me's' and 'pardon me's', he got to the living room and began to search. After scanning the faces of the mostly either lip locked couples, or people simply sitting in random locations taking rather long swigs of what ever alcohol they could find, he still couldn't spot her.
After searching through each room, he finally made his way out onto the balcony, where yet another throng of people were dancing to the music being blared through the sound system in a massive heap of gyrating limbs. He went over to the side and leaned over against the railing, trying to avoid the people trying to pull him into the crowd, until he finally spotted her. Sitting on a bench, arms and legs crossed, alone, gazing out over the small pond, she was practically begging him to come talk to her.
Ignoring his first instinct to jump the side, he made his way outside, and over behind the bench to wear he saw her sitting, and where she still was. "Parties aren't any fun if you spend the entire time alone, you know." He said, surprising her, but still not managing to make her crack even a fake smile. She simply whipped around, took recognition of who it was, and turned back around.
"Yeah well, I spend the majority of my life alone, why should tonight be any different?" She asked.
"Because tonight, you're suppose to be having fun." He replied, coming to stand next to her, but still not moving to sit down next to her.
"I've never been one to follow status quot, Arnold." She said in an emotionally blank voice.
"Are you rebelling against society for telling you to have fun, or against Rhonda by not drinking all of her parents booze?"
"What ever statement you think I'm making by sitting out here is yours and yours alone. You can take it and run if you want, but don't expect me to start any rally's." Her voice was still void of emotion, or maybe there was a hint of sadness she was trying to cover up. Either way, he still wanted to talk to her.
"Mind if I sit down, or do you prefer to protest alone?" She looked up at him with a raised eye brow and slid over. He sat down, and placed his hands in his pockets before setting his gaze out onto the small body of water in front of them. "I liked your poem yesterday at the Assembly. I forgot you wrote poetry."
"Not exactly some one worth remembering, Arnold."
"And what makes you think that?" He challenged her.
She turned to look at him with a raised eye brow, as if to ask him if it wasn't obvious. "Come on, Arnold. You of all people should know. When was the last time we conversed? Fifth, sixth grade maybe?"
"Doesn't mean I forgot about you."
"Not exactly like you remembered either."
A pang of guilt ran through him. Maybe they had drifted apart in middle school, but that's what happens sometimes. You meat new people, and the old people meet new people, and you just... drift apart. "Well, how bout we make up for lost time. Hi! I'm Arnold." She eyed him sarcastically, and looked down at his extended hand, and after a moment of pause, she reached over, rather awkwardly and shook it, with no response. "And you are?"
"Patronizing me will get you nowhere."
"Well, neither has being nice, and that's always worked for me." She eyed him again, and he quickly corrected himself. "Well, maybe not always. But I figured it was worth one more shot. But for what it's worth, I really did like your poem yesterday. You deserved to win the contest."
"There were only eight people who entered, and I didn't even enter it myself. My english teacher did it on my behalf with out my consent and didn't bother to tell me till I was being told I had to read it."
"You know, Helga, some people take the good things away from life, instead of clinging to the bad."
"Well, when one comes along, I'll make sure to snatch it up."
"Come on, there has to be something in your life that's not half bad. What about Phoebe? Aren't you two best friends?"
"Phoebe started taking all AP courses freshman year, so I never got to see her. And after a while we just, sort of stopped trying."
"No reason you can't start again now."
"Oh yeah, other than the fact that she's going to Yale and Gerald is tagging along, while I'm stuck here."
"You're not going to college?"
"Can't afford to."
"I thought your dad was the cell phone czar or something."
"He might be. I couldn't tell you. Haven't seen him in about five years."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, if you must know. Circuit Central moved into the mall, and Bob couldn't keep up with their prices, and started lowering his to get back customers. But eventually, they bought him out for fifty grand. He closed up shop, took the money, along with all our savings, and ran off. Haven't seen him since. Meanwhile, Miriam is still trying to drink herself to death, and Olga still can't cope with the fact that her father is a complete scum bag, and refuses to believe that he's never coming back. So she's a struggling, out of work actor in LA. And I on the other hand have to take on as many hours as I can get at work just to keep our apartment. So no, I don't think college is really an option."
"Wasn't it one of your dreams to travel the world? See Paris?"
"The pleasure of a dream is that it's fantasy. If it actually happens, it was never a dream."
He leaned forward and slowly put a gentle hand on her knee, which caused her to eye him curiously. "That doesn't mean you can't do it."
"Hate to break your fatal optimism streak, Arnold, but I can't even afford three meals a day, let alone a trip to the other side of the world."
"Maybe some day. You never know what the future holds, Helga."
"Maybe not, but I don't think the powers at be would take too kindly to me thinking on the bright side of things for a change."
"I remember when Helga G. Pataki didn't let any one or anything control her."
"I also remember when I had a uni-brow and wore a pink bow. Times change, Arnold."
A thought occurred to him. Could I really bring that up? Maybe I could catch her off guard. "I also remember when you used to be madly in love with me." He threw on a smirk, but she remained unshaken.
"Yeah well, I realized a long time ago that life wasn't going to turn out the way I had it planned out as a ten year old little girl with a crush. So I decided to stop fooling myself into thinking it was, start seeing things for what they really were. And that's exactly what that was... a crush, nothing more."
"Helga..." He placed a hand on her shoulder and urged her to look at him. "If it... means anything to you, no one's ever kissed me as passionately as you did that day on that roof."
"I don't need you to pity me, Arnold. I was ten, I'm over it." She said, but her eyes had still not left his.
"What if I'm not?" Arnold realized they had been moving closer, slowly drifting toward one another, their voices growing to a harsh whisper the more they spoke.
Helga's eyes darted down to Arnold's lips, that were now an inch away from hers. "Than I'd call you a liar." She whispered.
"It's me, Helga. I never lie." Arnold was breathing rather heavily, and he could feel his heart thump against his chest. What am I so nervous about? It's just Helga.
"Prove it." She said, just before she crashed her lips against his. Arnold responded instantly, pushing against her, and at the same time, reveling in the softness of her lips, and the faint scent of her shampoo. Apples, he thought to himself as he reached up and placed a hand on her neck. She reached up and snaked her arms around his neck, and pushed against him even harder to deepen the kiss further as Arnold opened his mouth against hers, and sucked in her bottom lip.
PRESENT DAY:
Arnold shook his head, trying to dislodge the events of that night from his head. But to his demise, they continued. How passionate she had kissed him, and how equally passionate he kissed her. How they found themselves crashing against the door of one of the bedrooms in the Lloyd mansion, and falling gracelessly on to the massive bed. His body still ached every time he thought of that magical night. It was the last time he had felt... at peace, since then. He still has the note that she had left for him, bidding him goodbye, and how he gave her one chance to feel loved. She disappeared after that, phone was disconnected, apartment was vacant, and no one knew a thing. That night still haunted his dreams, how the sheets were tousled and the pillows were thrown about, the slight buzz from the alcohol making it seem like the room had been shaking. How they had let each others name tumble from their swollen lips at climax.
He has had a lot happen since then. But one thought still ate away at him. Where did she go? She just... disappeared. No phone calls, no emails, not even a letter. It's as if the only place she ever existed was in his dreams. He can still remember how beautiful she was lying underneath him, how gorgeous she looked with nothing but a silk bed sheet covering her. On nights where he treats himself to one too many shots, he'll dig out her note and read it. But it's been a while.
He found himself absentmindedly writing the contents of her note down in his spiral bound notebook. He looked down at his scribbles at the one sentence that he has committed to memory. You stole away my heart at first sight, so it's only fair I take it back at the last one. It hasn't been the same since. She may have intended to take her heart back, but she stole his in the process. Now, three years later, and in his first year of college, back home at Hillwood University, his stolen heart still ached.
"Now, your first assignment will come out of your text books, on page 45, questions one through three." The professor droned on. The door opened on a burst, startling both the professor and the entire class. The girl, out of breath, and now sporting a some what sheepish smile, straightened up, gently closed the door and took an empty seat in the front.
Arnold felt something shift inside of himself at the woman's entrance. She was about five foot nine, shimmering blonde hair that looked sun washed, a light, healthy, natural looking tan, and absolutely captivating. But there was something... extraterrestrial about her that Arnold couldn't place. She had her hair back in a pony tail in the middle of her head, she was wearing a white undershirt tank top, with a long sleeved shirt tied around her waist, with a pair of denim jeans that hugged against her hips. She brushed a hand behind her ear to replace a stray strand of hair that had fallen out of her pony tail, and moved to get her text book out of her backpack. Upon turning to look inside her bag, Arnold noticed she had blue eyes, but they raptured his attention so much that Arnold's mind went blank. That hair, that body, those eyes... it couldn't be...
Class went on, and for the next two hours, Arnold spent the entire time closely studying this woman. He had become hyper-vigilant, a sort of heightened awareness that had come of his recent activities. She was right handed, and from what Arnold could make out, she had very neat hand writing. She wrote in a purple gel pen. Her notebook was pink, along with her running shoes she had on, and her backpack, as well as her hair tie that was keeping her pony tail together. She seemed still a bit antsy, after her sudden burst into class, as she was nervously drumming her fingers against her desk and bobbing her right foot up and down in a rapid pace. He couldn't see the top right corner of her notebook for her name, to confirm his suspicions, but he shot a quick glance over to the clock behind the professor, and saw that he only had five minutes left of class. Thinking ahead, he put his books back in his shoulder bag, and buckled it. The professor dismissed the class, and it roared to life, with the students getting up out of their chairs. But Arnold'd attention remained glued to the blonde haired girl he was determined to discover the identity of. He quickly weaved through the students and down the steps of the lecture hall, to the woman just getting up and slinging her back pack over her tanned shoulders.
He stopped and tugged on his field jacket, and approached her. He cleared his throat and tried to muster as much courage as he could. This woman seemed to suck it all right out of him. "Excuse me." He said in a small voice.
The woman whipped around at the sound of his voice, a surprised look on her face, and her deep blue eyes lit up with recognition. "Arnold?!" Her mouth held agape with a smile.
"Helga?" He asked in a whisper. He felt himself heat up inside as butterflies erupted in his stomach.
"ARNOLD!" She yelped as she jumped forward and flung her arms around his neck and hugged him. His body stiffened at the surprise, but then soon relaxed. He wrapped his arms around her mid section and held her to him tightly, unwilling to let her go, breathing her in. After three years, she still smells like apples. It feels so good to hold her. "Oh my god, what are you doing here?!" She let him go, but kept her hands on his shoulders.
"I just started here. What about you?"
"Yeah, me too. Oh my god, it's so good to see you!" She jumped up and hugged him again. And Arnold wasted no time in hugging her back, burying his nose in the crock of her neck.
"Helga..." He pressed against her. "Where have you been?"
She smiled sheepishly and looked down at her feet. "Are you busy? It might take a while to explain."
"Uh, no. My next class isn't for another two hours. I've got time." For you, I've got all the time in the world.
"Great. You want to grab a cup of coffee with me then?"
Arnold smiled brightly back at her. "I'd love to."
They walked across campus to the coffee shop, and Arnold took this time to take in her presence, now confirming that it was Helga. She had a content smile on her face, she looked genuinely happy. She walked with purpose, head held high, with a confidence he hadn't seen in her. Not even when she was his childhood bully she wasn't this confident. She looked over to him and smiled brightly, but he quickly averted his gaze, and blushed slightly at being caught staring at her. She flung the door open to the cafe and went up to the counter, and ordered to regular coffees. They picked up their orders and Helga walked over to an empty table along the wall and sat down across from him. "It's so great to see you again, Helga."
She laughed and looked over to him. "Same here, Arnold."
"So, uh... big mystery. Where've you been for the past three years?"
She looked down at her coffee and paused for a moment. "I uh..." She looked back up at him with a confident smile. "I joined the peace core."
Arnold stopped for a minute to gather his thoughts around this new piece of vital information. "You what?" He asked, rather surprised.
"Yep. I joined the peace core."
"So... for the past three years you've been in..."
"Africa. West Africa actually. Living with a small tribe there."
"Wow. I'd never thought that you'd join the peace core. How'd it happen?"
"Well, my mom died a few days before graduation. I knew it was coming but, she was the only thing keeping me around. After she passed, I just needed to get away, and the peace core seemed like the best option. They fly you to another country and have you live with people you don't even know. At the time, I was just doing it to get away from the world, away from... everything. But, after a while, I started to realize that... my problems meant nothing. These people had to walk seven miles to the nearest source of fresh water, and ten miles to the nearest school, and the nearest hospital was about a two hour trip by car. But, these people were still happy. I mean, the day I landed, they came running up to me and hugging me. It was a big wake up call for me. I just realized that I may have not had the easiest life in the world, but compared to these people, it was a breeze. Sure my dad ran off, and my mom couldn't form a coherent sentence, but at least I had parents, and a bed to sleep in, water to drink and food to eat. I may have had personal problems of my own, and might have degraded myself, and been depressed, but... at least I had a home to go to. But after three years, I got nostalgic, and a bit homesick. So I hopped a plane home, and the core said they'd pay for part of my education, and I managed to get some scholarships in the process. So... here I am."
"Uh, wow! So... um... when did you leave?"
"The day after graduation." She's avoiding the topic of Rhonda's party. I need to bring it up with out forcing it.
"Did anybody know?"
"No. Who would I have told?"
"What about your sister, Olga?"
"I sent her a letter once I got settled. And she responded, saying how she was 'so proud of her baby sister!'. We exchanged letters a few times, trying to keep in contact with the little family I have left. But other than her, no body knew."
"So, um..." Might as well put it out there and get it over with, get through the awkward part. "That night, at Rhonda's party, when..." Arnold let his sentence fall.
Helga smirked, and chuckled in response. "Yeah, I was going to tell you but, at the time, it wasn't the first thing on my mind."
"Right," Arnold leaned back in his chair and took a sip of his coffee. "I understand."
"I would have sent you a letter, but I didn't know how you'd take it."
"No, really, it's okay. I probably wouldn't have gotten it anyway."
Helga's look changed from a bit guilty to confused. "Why is that? Where have you been the past three years?"
Arnold smile and looked down at his cup. "I joined the military."
Helga spurted out her coffee onto the table, and began a coughing fit. "You what, now?"
