Hello everybody, I've decided to publish a new story! Review and tell me how you like it.

Oh and I have not forgotten about my Sesshomaru and Kagome story. I'm gonna put up a chapter soon.

I love you-


Helga walked into her brand new classroom. And her last year in middle school. Crap that was absolutely fine with her. She had grown sick and tired of the same banter of their, in her opinion, crazed principal Warts and the teachers endless lectures of how 'special' they were.

She looked around at her new classroom. Ms. Williams room. Ms. Williams who had a vase of pink flowers on her desk. Oh criminy, they had a girl Mr. Simmons.

She snorted at the annoying arrangement of flowers on the desk. She scanned the room and spotted a seat in the middle. She sat and propped one foot in the chair opposite her, for Phoebe.

Helga let out a big sigh into the silence of the room. She let her façade fall for a moment. Her last year at Ps. 118. And, she wasn't sure if she would be sent to the same school as all her semi annoying classmates. Maybe that was a good thing. New air and new people.

And no Arnold.

Her fingers clenched her desk frame, surprised at the amount of pain that ripped through her.

Well, he hadn't noticed her in four years; she highly doubted he would if she went to a different school.

The bell suddenly rang and she snapped out of her daydreaming. People started to filter into the classroom and her scowl fell right back into place.

"God Harold, didn't you just eat?" A shrill voice rang out.

Rhonda Lloyd.

"I'm hungry again Rhonda!" Harold Berrman shot back.

Oh god, when were those two finally going to admit their feelings to each other? Helga rolled her eyes at the thought. Rhondas parents would probably flip out and disown her.

"Hey Stinky, want to go frog hopping in the river after school?" Sid asked Stinky Peterson.

Oh god, not these idiots.

"Well Sid, my ma needs me to pick up some hickory spice from the market after school."

Helga immediately was disinterested in the rest of their conversation.

Then two more characters walked in.

Arnold and Gerald.

Helga perked up a little at his presence.

"You know he's going to win Gerald."

"Arnold, need I remind you that he has had a losing streak for many years now?"

"He won a ton last year."

"Yes, his only winning year man."

Helga couldn't bear to listen to them; she couldn't bear to be there in that room with any of them at the moment.

"Listen shorty and tall hair boy, no one gives a flying crap about your baseball obsession."

The boys turned in her direction, as if they were just noticing her sitting there.

"Helga, let's not start off our last year with your sour comments." Arnold said levelly.

Helga wasn't in the mood to bicker with him. Or to throw meaningless puns back and forth. She sighed and leaned back in the chair and looked out the window.

Arnold was surprised when he got nothing back for what he said. Helga would usually be in his face by now, waving ole Betsy in front of him. Instead, she only glowered at him and turned away from the situation.

Odd.

A few more minutes passed by and the classroom was completely full.

Helga realized though that there was no Phoebe.

She leaned to the desk in front of her to Sheena, "Sheena, have you seen Phoebe?"

She turned around to talk to Helga, an odd expression on her face.

"You didn't hear Helga?"

Helga's heart rate sped up, had something happened to her friend?

"Well apparently, she is so academically a head of all of us she got bumped up to ninth grade."

Helga felt like someone had punched her in the stomach, sure her friend wasn't dead or anything, far from it, but it felt like she had. Whey hadn't phoebe told her?

"She got to school today and Principal Warts pulled her to the side."

So, that's what happened.

Helga didn't want to hear anymore.

"Good morning children!"

Helga stiffened at the squeaky, high pitched voice that whistled through the air. She was dying to cover her ears. She looked the young woman over; she was relatively young, probably in her twenties. She was definitely that bouncing, bubbly, annoying cheerleader look at me! Type. Helga did not know how she was going to survive this school year.

"Welcome to the eighth grade children! This is your last year! Aren't you excited?"

Helga snorted.

This caught the teacher's attention.

"Ms…Pataki. Right?"

"Doi."

"Are you happy to be here Ms. Pataki?"

Helga raised her unibrow at her. "Are we going to start discussing my feelings now? I'm not interested Ms. Willard."

"Williams." She corrected the youth.

Arnold was drawn to the conversation between the two women. But mostly to Helga's anger, and why. She seemed very withdrawn today. His eyes scanned her sour face, looking for some form of emotion. And suddenly, it fell for a moment. Her eyes relaxed and she huffed, looking down at her desk. She lightly tapped her fingers on the top of her desk. She looked haunted.

After a moment more of examining her emotions her head snapped up and her eyes caught his.

"Take a picture Arnoldo, it'll last longer."

This pushed him back into the present. He rolled his eyes and turned his head away from her.

And yet, the haunting look stuck in his mind's eye.


Helga endured the entire day without killing someone. Oh boy was she proud.

The bell rang and she hastily made her way out the front door. The bus was running, waiting for its inhabitants to load. Helga decided against taking the public transportation and decided to walk the few blocks home.

She needed some time to think over a few things.

Arnold pushed through the doors, laughing with Gerald as he went.

"Do you want to head to the arcade Arnold?"

"I got to head home to help my grandpa set some things up for grandma, maybe later on tonight though?"

Gerald slapped his hand, "sure man."

Arnold hopped down the steps after his friend departed. He decided against taking the bus, he didn't have time to wait for all the other kids to unload. He promised his grandfather he'd be there by 4. It was lurking close to 3:45.

It was a relatively quiet walk home. His mind kept him company.

He was absorbed in his thoughts and his eyes weren't leaving the pavement, he didn't have time to think before another body smashed into his.

"Oww." He grumbled.

"God Arnoldo, can't you look where the heck you're going?"

Arnold sighed and climbed to his feet, "You know Helga; you slammed into me as well, meaning you weren't looking either. So what's your excuse?"

Helga scowled at him, "I had my mind on other things."

Arnold didn't miss the emotion in that sentence.

"Is something going on?"

"No, and if there was something going on, do you think I'd tell you?"

"I hope so. Maybe I can help you." He offered his hand down to her but she slapped it away.

"Oh please," she mumbled, "I don't need your stupid pity Arnold."

He pulled his hand back, "I do not pity you Helga, and I'm only saying that if you ever need, or want to talk to somebody, I'm listening."

Helga climbed off the pavement, her eyes never losing their menacing look.

"Well football head, listen to this, leave me alone."

She left it at that and stomped off in the direction he had just come.

Arnold watched her go, a nagging feeling in his stomach. He didn't always like Helga, but she had her good moments. She acted like a big bully, but deep down he knew she was different then what she put off to other people. He had seen her soft side, and he had seen her bad side.

Arnold liked to think he was probably one of the few people who actually saw Helga Pataki.


"That stupid Arnold."

Helga would usually go into monologue about how much she loved the football headed boy, the one with a heart of gold. The one with the key to her heart, her soul. But today, she did not feel like it, for some odd reason, every time she looked at him it made her heart sore. Maybe she was finally coming to terms with the fact that Arnold would never love her. He would never want her.

The thought made her nauseous and she sprinted behind a garbage can.

She breathed in and out…in and out.

Slowly. Slowly.

Phoebe had taught her this technique a long time ago. When Helga would start to get angry or eccentric, Phoebe would stop her and tell her to do her breathing exercise, and that it would help.

She wanted to see her friend.

Helga took in a few more breaths and finally crawled out from behind the dumpster.

She rang the doorbell to Phoebe's house and waited for her, or her parents to answer.

In a few seconds the door cracked open.

"Hello?" A small voice squeaked.

"Phoebe?"

Helga nudged the door with her elbow, "Hey, what the heck Phoebe?"

"Helga?"

"Duh, why are you shoving me out of the doorway?"

Phoebe sighed and pulled the door open further, "You can come in."

Helga noticed that her eyes were puffy. Her face was tinged with red streaks.

"What happened Phoebe?"

Phoebe looked at Helga and the tears welled up in her eyes again. Helga's face softened towards her best friend and she went over and hugged her.

"Oh Helga, I didn't want to be bumped up a grade. I even talked to them about moving me back and they said that it was out of the question."

"It's ridiculous that you can't make your own decision."

Phoebe nodded and wiped her eyes. "I sat in my classroom today and just stared down at my desk. Not only am I not in the same grade with my friends, but I'm not even at the same school! It's dreadful Helga!"

Phoebe started to sob then and sat down on the floor by her bedroom door. Helga put her arms around her friend's shoulders.

"Look Phoebe, we can make this work. We can still hang out and I'll try to come over every day after school. And…Gerald."

Phoebe cried harder and leaned into Helga.

"I miss him Helga..I miss him so much."

Helga shut her eyes and sighed. She fully understood how her friend felt, she felt like her heart was breaking every second of every day.

After a few more minutes of crying and of Helga saying soothing things to lighten her worry, Phoebe finally raised her head up and wiped her eyes.

"Helga?"

"Hm?" her friend answered.

"There's something different about you today Helga, is something wrong?"

Helga smiled, "Phoebe, I'm pretty sure today's session is fully about you."

Phoebe sighed and stood up, wiping her eyes again. "No, It's just something I have to work through, It's not like I'll never see my friends again, you guys are right here. It just feels…wrong to be there without everybody."

Helga nodded.

"Now Helga, what's wrong? I can feel it radiate off of you. Did something happen with your parents?"

Helga rolled her eyes, "No, nothing happened with them."

Phoebe tapped her window seal, "I'm waiting Helga."

Helga toyed with the carpet fuzz.

"I-It's..ice cream."

Phoebe nodded and ceased her tapping.

"Phoebe, I think it's time to let go of Ic-Arnold."


R&R