With a ding, the STOP light lit as Helga stood up and walked towards the back of the bus. As she tightened the grip around her black purse, the wheels of the bus began to roll away. Helga walked out from under the grungy bus stop to the cracked steps that led up to her door. Standing on the threshold, she dug through contents of her bag in quick, short gestures until her fingers hooked on the cold metal of her keys. Pulling the keys out she swiftly stepped into the interior of the decrepit building and flicked the lights on.

Big Bob Pataki wasn't home from work yet, and Miriam was snoring on the kitchen table nursing a "smoothie." Helga let out a sigh and placed her keys on a small coffee table next to the door.

"Sheesh." She frowned while trailing a finger through the dust on the vase on top of the table that held withered flowers. "When was the last time these were replaced? 1869?"

She stepped out of her patent pumps and jogged up the stairs and down the hall into her room. Peeling pink wallpaper and moth-eaten sheets greeted her as she threw her purse and jacket on a chair.

A few hours later, in a pair of shiny silver sneakers, pink shorts, a tight ponytail and white short sleeved shirt, she ran quickly down the stairs again. The white railing next to her looked rotten and she kept her hands off it in disgust, and caution. Helga eclipsed the short distance between the stairs and the kitchen before opening the fridge. She was greeted with a block of cheese, old pasta, and half-empty bottles of ketchup, Dijon mustard, and peanut butter. Helga threw a glance at the dirty dishes in the sink, and opened the cupboards in search of a water bottle. Finding nothing but cobwebs and dead flies, she began to shake Miriam.

"Miriam. Miriam. Miriam! Wake up!" Her voice steadily increased until she saw Miriam's groggy, bloodshot eyes open. The mug she was holding wobbled in her hands.

"Ohhh." Miriam moaned with the vestiges of a hangover throbbing at the base of her head. It took her a moment to register the blonde standing in front of her with her arms crossed.

"Oh, Helga. You're home. Wow, you sure have grown. Are you hungry? I'm sure there's some pizza in the freezer or something. I can make you dinner if you want." Miriam slowly began to stand up. Helga put her hand on her shoulder. After biting her lip in anger and frustration, she began to speak.

"Look Miriam, don't worry about it. I had some food on the way home. I'm going for a jog around the neighborhood I just wanted to let you know I'm here. When does Big Bob get home?" She tapped her foot impatiently.

"Uhhh. He shouldn't be home for a couple of hours. I think he just left for work. He won't be back until 7." Helga glanced at the dull tick tock of the clock hanging off the purple wall. 4:45. Plenty of time.

"Fine. I'll be back before then." Miriam nodded groggily, before laying her head back on her arms.

"Oh, and by the way there are no water bottles here, so I'm taking some money out of your wallet to do some shopping." Helga called out from the living room. She grabbed the little purple purse strewn across the sofa.

"Sure, honey." Miriam's dazed gaze strayed towards the door.

Helga called out while opening and closing the front door. "And do the dishes, why don't you woman!"

Miriam looked around; she seemed surprised to notice the garbage and old food laying everywhere.

Sunset Arms, Boarding House.

Arnold, now in his twenties too, walked out of the boarding house with his hands in his pockets. "Grandpa, I'm off to buy some groceries."

"Alright, Shortman."

Arnold wore jeans and a red collared polo shirt covered with a light blue sweater, his outfit was a hark back to the childish clothes he used to wear. He slipped his hands into his pockets as he whistled a tune and greeted neighbors. On his left was Green Meats. It had become a franchise run by Harold as everyone else attended college. It was the biggest supplier of meat in the tri-state area and the number one exporter in the U.S. On his right was the slightly out of shape van of the Jolly Ollie man. Screaming kids flocked the window of the ice cream truck as the aged man doled out sweets.

Wiping his feet on one of those dirty rubber mats Arnold stepped through the sliding doors and into the air-conditioned interior of the supermarket. After slowly making his way through the aisles, Arnold approached the register only to be greeted by the back of an impatient blonde woman.

"Criminey, can't you speed it up a little. We haven't got all day!" The woman spat out at the acne-ridden teenage cashier that resembled an older, oilier version of Eugene. In a nasally voice the teenager responded "Ma'am, please wait your turn, and don't forget to place a plastic divider between your groceries and the groceries of the person behind you."

Helga rolled her eyes and abruptly grabbed a little black rod. She slammed down at the end of her groceries and threw a glare at the man behind her. "Problem, bucko?"

Arnold only tilted his head back and smiled widely. "No Helga. It's nice to see you're as charming as ever."

He started to pull out his keys for the "Shoppers Discount Card," and let her process his statement.

Helga's jaw fell open. "Look her—Ar? Arnold?" She'd trailed off when her eyes widened in recognition. "Arnold! What're you doing here?"

He raised an eyebrow. "Same thing as you are. I hope." He pointed at the objects between them. "Grocery shopping." She blushed, before huffing and taking a deep breath. Slowly, she did a double take.

"Wait. What's wrong with your head?" She blushed even redder when she realized what she'd said. Her hand quickly covered her mouth. "Sorry. That was rude."

Arnold was still chuckling at her statement. He almost couldn't believe that she was still the same Helga Pataki after all the years.

"No offense taken. It's called a growth spurt. I grew into my head during college." She blinked rapidly, let out an ohh, nodded and turned around to face the cashier.

"That'll be 72.56" The freckled boy stretched out a sweaty palm. Helga slapped a hundred dollar bill onto it.

"Soooo. Helga…no unibrow?" His joking tone betrayed his humor.

"Yeah, Football Face it's called tweezers." Arnold smirked, thought 'That's a new one," and let the conveyor belt push his groceries forward. Helga began bagging her food. Arnold began to dig into his pockets for money while watching the total increase. Helga took the opportunity to discretely stretch her arms over her head and yawn. She sniffed her armpit as quietly as possible and let out a silent sigh in relief. 'Oh. Thank God I don't smell terrible.' Her feet throbbed and the back of her shorts stuck to her thighs. She hadn't run so hard and fast in quite a while.

He caught her motions out of the corner of his eye, smirked but said nothing. He quickly handed the cashier his money and walked over to begin bagging his groceries so that she wouldn't be able to run away.

"So Helga, how are you? What brings you back to Hillwood?"

"Oh, so now you ask Foo—Arnold." He raised his eyebrows in surprise but kept double bagging. "Well, actually I'm in town on a little business." Helga wrapped her fingers around the handle of the plastic bags. She braced herself for the weight, what would undoubtedly be a lack of circulation, and grabbed more and more bags until she was laden with all her packages.

"Need any help?" Arnold was glancing at her inquisitively. In her head, Helga, made a biting remark about gender assumptions and the depth of her strength, but outwardly, she bit her lip and shook her head.

"No thanks Arnold. Look, sorry if I was testy. I'm in a rush, I'm hungry and Big Bob is getting home soon. I want to cook dinner to make my stay as pleasant and as short as possible." Helga let out a shaky smile and began to leave.

"Okay, I understand." Arnold was walking beside her. "Look Helga," they were about to head in opposite directions. "I'm glad you're back. Good luck with everything. I know that being home mustn't be the best experience for you, but hey at least it's a home to come back too."

'I see he's still Shines Out of My Ass. I better say something before he gets into a whole schpiel .' Helga grimaced in what was her attempt at a smile. "Arnold. I know. I'll see you later. Hillwood's great. If you're not busy we can meet up some time and catch up."

"Sure, sure. That sounds good." Helga had already begun walking away.

'Thank gosh he fell for that. Bob's gonna murder me. I better get back. Then again…' She hesitated for a second. "Hey! Football Head! Arnold!" Arnold turned to look at her. She was halfway down the block. She put her groceries down on her stoop and quickly walked back to him.

Out of breath she stated, "Give me your cell phone." Puzzled, he handed it over. She clicked a few numbers. "Here's my number. If you really want to catch up some time give me a call." Helga handed the phone back to him, as Arnold stared at her in surprise. She let out a breath, there was a slight sheen on her forehead and her hair was falling messily out of her ponytail but she looked charming nonetheless as she smiled at him. "And Arnold, it really was a pleasure seeing you today. I'm happy we bumped into each other." He smiled back at her. For a split second, she wrapped her arms around his neck and his groceries swung into her hips but by the time, he had realized what happened she was gone. 'Did I just do that? Whatever.'

Letting out a stream of obscenities she ran back to her stoop and fumbled for her keys. She gave him a short, clipped wave and began to take her bags inside. Arnold, dazed, turned to leave. He only had one thought running through his head.

'She's really weird.'

Hey Peeps,

That's chapter 2. Sorry that it's shorter than chapter one, but at this point I ran out of steam and just wanted to get it out there. It's about 4:17 a.m., and I'm wondering why I always publish at such crazy hours.

I had difficulty with the interactions between Helga and Arnold in this chapter and I don't think I'm fully pleased with the way this came out. I might at some point come back and re-edit it. Some of their characterization is due to the fact that yes, they've come a long way since they were 9, but they're still not as mature as I hope they will be by the end of this story. However they do have more growing to do, especially together. If you have any critiques don't be afraid to let me know. I'm not sure how much of my dissatisfaction is because I feel like I'm not writing this well, or because I don't want to rush and change their personalities overnight. Tell me what you guys think, especially the more experienced writers out there. I'd really appreciate advice.

As a novice writer I'm finding it difficult to think of ways of integrating the rest of the cast of Hey Arnold. The show has such a dynamic set of personalities that I think it would be a waste (and a bit tiring) to just focus on Helga and Arnold. There's also their relationships with their families. They're in their twenties at least something must have changed.

Most of all my biggest challenge is getting into Arnold's head. Helga is an easier person to portray because she's always had the opposite problem. She feels too much. She gives you more than enough to work with, and even writing with her is emotionally draining sometimes because she's malleable like Playdough. Arnold on the opposite hand, (at least to me) is more of a Rubik's cube. Yes, he certainly feels but ho

w mature vs how dense is he? Is he too optimisitc? Too kind? I know there's more to him than his kindness, and I know somewhere he's not just some perfect do-gooder and doesn't always enjoy being the angel--sometimes he even resents its, but how do I bring that out? Like I said before I'm afraid to jump too much ahead. I'm also afraid to keep them too immature for too long. There are so many facets to their personalities and its only by bringing these sides out and weaving them together that I think we can truly understand who Helga and Arnold are.

Last but not least I'm afraid of being cliche, even though I know to a certain extent I am. Anyway, sorry for the novel guys. This note is almost as long, if not longer than my story. ;) Just wanted to let you know what's running through my head if you're interested, and where I want to take this without giving too much away. Any, and all advice, and critiques are extremely appreciated. If anyone wants to brainstorm with me, or send me a longer message/review PM me please. I'd love that. :)

I apologize in advance for any grammatical mistakes I've made. I edited this tonight, but I'm afraid I didn't catch all the flaws. I'll go through it again tomorrow and see what I find.

3 Curious Me Em

P.S. I'll be writing and releasing a one-shot soon titled Dys*function-al, or something along those lines. It'll, of course, be about Helga and Arnold and their dysfunctional relationship. Oh, and for those I confused in chapter 1, I apologize. I'll try making the scense switches clearer. In case you couldn't tell the man at the office Helga was talking too wasn't Arnold. It was just some rich old fart.