One Month Earlier

His only good eye narrowed at the door on the screen in front of him; watching. Waiting. Computers quietly hummed throughout the room, fighting against the silence, but barely winning. The immaculate machines were wiped down every Tuesday and Friday at seven forty-five every week to remove all traces of dust and to verify that there were no loose cords or falling screws. The work he had been doing for the last seventeen years relied on this technology and he would be damned if he would lose it because of an oversight.

Just like Francisco. That idiot.

The door suddenly burst open, revealing the one he had been waiting for. He tensed, watching as the man embraced his loved ones before running into the awaiting cab with just a small piece of luggage. He had seen this scene before, but there had been a piece of the puzzle missing all those times before. But now it was finally in place…after all this time.

He grinned. Finally.

The phone was lifted and he dialed a number that had been memorized years ago, but had only been used twice before. He waited patiently. One ring. Two. The line opened but there was no voice on the other end. His waiting of seventeen years was nothing compared to the others. They had waited for so much longer.

He licked his lips and grinned. But now, there was no more waiting. "It's begun."

Helga sighed as she walked into the airport, her tiny carry-on trailing behind her. There wasn't much in it, just some summer clothes, a swimsuit, a sweatshirt for that unlikely cold evening, two pairs of sandals, and lots of cash. Anything else that she may need could be bought when she landed at her destination. Her iPod was safely tucked in her pocket and the sunglasses she had picked up on her way over held back her loose hair on top of her head.

This was it. She was really doing it. Hawai'i!

The cab pulled away from the curb, but she didn't notice it. The only thing in Helga's sight was the front counter of Hawai'ian Air. She was going to check in and then, after a few hours of flying, she would find a hotel and run on the beach. Piña coladas, bahama mamas, mojitos…they all had her name written on them. She had only been drunk once in her life and she had quickly learned her limitation, unlike Miriam, and, unlike her mother, she drank to appreciate the taste of alcohol, not drown her sorrow in it.

Instead, her outlet had been school. Who knew? Phoebe had helped drastically in that department, especially when she found out that Helga had gotten the highest score in their grade, three years in a row on the standardized tests. She would never admit it, but Helga knew that Phoebe had been a bit upset that she had 'only' come in second.

It had taken a lot of convincing and bribery on her best friend's part, but she had turned over a new leaf. At least on how she viewed her education. "Just think, Helga," Phoebe had said and Helga had thought she was finally giving up annoying her with doing better in school, "if you do better for yourself, then you can get a full scholarship to any college you want. Then you won't have your dad dictating where you can and cannot go with his money. And maybe you'll be able to graduate high school early and leave even faster."

That had done it. It had been so simple! Why hadn't she realized that earlier? Good ol' Pheebs, always having her back. So she had thrown herself into school and clubs and volunteering and shit, anything to make herself look good on college applications. And wouldn't you know it, she had gotten accepted into not one, but two colleges with a full scholarship. Three others had been partial and she would have been able to get loans on her own, but she'd rather take the full scholarship. Unfortunately, they weren't in ideal locations. One was at Colville University, a private and really awesome school, but also only fifteen minutes outside of Hillwood. The other was in Texas and she had no interest in being in dry weather with even the slightest chance of tornadoes. So, Colville it had been.

It hadn't been that bad. Randomly she would see students from her high school but she'd never approach them. She knew them, kinda, but had never been friends with them. Even though she had excelled academically, she was still an outcast from the high school cliques. Not that she minded that at all and, in fact, preferred it.

She mostly kept to herself, focusing on studying. Keeping to the same mentality during middle and high school – the faster she finished through school, the faster she'd be able to get out of there – she didn't have the time or the interest to hang out with friends. She just wanted to get that college degree. Once she had that, she could do anything.

Or so she had thought. Her initial degree was in business and she could use that anywhere, but halfway through her second year she had realized she was able to have a double major. Instead of going home during breaks, she had taken extra classes in the summer and winter breaks, giving her a smooth ride to a quick graduation. Five years later, she had degrees in Business and Linguistics and a minor in pre-Columbian cultures. Technically it was Latin Studies, but it was a minor so who really paid attention?

Internships had been handed to her and declined. Professors begged her to join their PhD programs but she turned them down. She didn't want to do anything in or around Hillwood. She needed to get out of there. She had been too close to that damn town for way too long and it was slowly driving her insane.

When she wasn't studying or in class, she was doing odd jobs. She worked in bookstores, cafes, diners…even did yard work and once taught a beginning class in boxing. That hadn't lasted because the fuckers didn't listen to her and kept trying to hit on her instead. What moron did that to their freaking boxing teacher? So she scraped and saved everything that she could, knowing that once she was done with school, she was getting the hell out of Dodge.

The best thing of all, though, was how oblivious Bob had been through all of her education. Colville was a good-enough university in his eyes – although he had bitched and moaned when she had graduated a year later than initially planned because of her double-major – and wouldn't listen to her when she tried to tell him that she had gotten a full scholarship. Instead, he had handed her an account number her freshman year and said that money was only supposed to be used for tuition and not for parties, boys, bail, or drugs. At first Helga had ignored it, refusing to accept anything from the asshole. As the years dragged on and she realized she didn't want to immediately work after graduation, because of the little money she had been making, she had started to eyeball it as the larger picture it was.

Bob had assumed she used it for college and it was just sitting there, so why not use it? She knew that Bob never looked at the account because, if he had, he would have seen it untouched. It was a good thing she had never intended to use it for college either because it was less than her annual tuition and boarding.

So, she made a transfer and let the money sit in a high-earning interest savings account and a quick-earned Certificate of Deposit, never taking anything out. She had an allowance for meals through her scholarship and used that. Between her odd-job salary and the original college money, she would be pretty set up to lay low for a while.

So here she was now, freshly graduated and about to experience summer vacation for the first time since high school. She was going to go to Hawai'i, find some sort of job, rent a house or something, and start a new life far away from her family and Hillwood. It was going to be paradise in the making.

With a bounce in her step, she started for the counter. It had been a literal spur-of-the-moment decision to head to the islands, as in actually decided last night when she was watching "Aloha from Hawai'i" with Elvis and she hadn't even purchased her ticket yet. It would probably cost double or triple the normal price, but she didn't care. She wouldn't stay here another day or hour if she could avoid it. She had initially thought she would rent a car and drive the country, but then she had seen an ad full of black beaches and snorkeling. It had called to her, reaching out and demanding that she answer the siren calls of the youngest state. And now she was almost on her way.

But as she walked through the sliding glass doors from outside, she realized that good fortune was not quite smiling down on her just yet. The line was astronomical. Families of all shapes and sizes weaved in and out of the black rope. Easily a hundred people were in between her and freedom. With a groan, she flopped on an empty bench knowing that there was no way she was going to let her good mood trampled by stressed-out assholes.

So she could wait another hour. Not having a ticket yet, she had no interest in standing next to smelly tourists and crying kids anyway. Maybe if she waited, she could get a late flight and avoid all of the diaper changes and missed naps.

Out came her iPod and she began scanning through her music, trying to find something to keep her mood high.

Stupid people trying to leave the same time she was. What were they thinking? Didn't they have something better to do than leave mid-day on a Thursday? Like work? Or school? Didn't they know that she was so close to a new life in the utopian world of palm trees and beaches?

She really should have known that the tropical islands weren't in her cards.

For the last ten years of her life, things had worked out how she wanted. Fate was bound to interfere at some point. Because just when she thought she would be free, he showed up.

"Helga?"

Helga jumped in her seat, her heart leaping into her throat and looked up, shocked that someone had called her. And who else could it be but Arnold Shortman, the boy of her childhood dreams; the one who always seemed to block her from doing something drastic. She would have laughed, or at least groaned if she hadn't been so shocked.

"Uh…Arnold! Fancy seeing you here, Football Head," she lightly laughed and started to stand, but then Arnold sat down next to her uninvited, dropping his backpack to his feet. She eyed him and scooted over to make a bit more room for him, not really sure how to take this new situation. "Sure…sit down."

What the hell? The last time she had talked to Arnold had been graduation five years ago and maybe only a small handful of times she had seen him since then around town. He had gone to Hillwood University and had never once bumped into him during the rare social events she attended with Phoebe while she was in town during breaks.

At first she didn't realize how tightly her stomach was clenching or how thick the lump in her throat was, but when she did, a frisson of something crawled across her skin, leaving goosebumps from the top of her head down to the bottom of her feet. Who knew that feet could even get those?

Arnold didn't say anything so she took off her headphones, wondering what the hell was going on and if this was some sort of bizarre setup. Her eyes lifted from the boy-now-man to survey her surrounding to see if she could spot his grandparents or Gerald or anyone familiar, although she didn't know why. Who knew if they were still even friends? But there was no one, not even any suspicious cameras or boomsticks.

Scratch the thought of being on Hidden Camera.

Slowly, she returned her attention to her uninvited companion. He looked tense and stressed and something else she couldn't name, but the way he was looking down at his hands as if they didn't belong there caused her heart to pound uncomfortably in her chest.

His silence was starting to freak her out.

Although she had given up on him years ago, he still seemed to have some sort of effect on her. And why not? He was her first love. Weren't first loves always supposed to have some sort of power over you? She had thought about him every now and then, wondering what he was doing with his life and if his grandparents were still kickin' it, although she had little doubt that they probably were. They were fighters and strong-willed and she was willing to bet they'd outlive them all.

So where the hell were they? It was completely bizarre to see him there next to her and so out-of-the-blue and he was just sitting there, not doing or saying anything. What the hell was going on?

She couldn't remember a more awkward reunion. If that was even what this was. And, fuck, no one was even supposed to see her today. She didn't need anyone to blab before they could find out she was leaving.

"I'm going to San Lorenzo," he blurted out. She stared at him, both confused and shocked to hear him mention her favorite professor's favorite country. Many people didn't even know it was a country let alone sought it out as a vacation spot.

"Ok…" What was she supposed to say to that? There were a few, stretched-out seconds of more awkward silence, so she did the first thing she could think of and jerked her thumb to his backpack. "Packing light, I see."

He looked at her for the first time since he sat down and her heart skipped a beat. If she had thought he was good looking in high school, which he had been, he was so much hotter now. Gone was any trace of baby fat and hello to chiseled cheekbones. She had an instant feeling of déjà vu or at the very least familiarity, but she hadn't the foggiest of the why or the how.

But she did recognize that lost expression on his face. It was the same look that greeted her every time she looked in the mirror, this morning having been the only exception.

"You're not going to try to talk me out of it?"

She was surprised at that. "Um…why would I?"

"Because it's stupid and pointless. They're dead, right? I mean, that's why they haven't come back. Because they're dead."

Helga was silent for a moment, trying to think of something to say as realization dawned on her. She had never been close enough to him to know about his parents, but she had been able to put pieces of it together to get a sketchy version of what had happened. What was she supposed to say to that? Well, I don't really know who you are anymore and haven't seen you in five years, but yes, let me talk you out of doing something I know nothing about like I'm supposed run your life or something.

Instead she chose a softer approach. Dr. Bliss would have been proud and, hey, she was still in a pretty good mood. "Maybe. Maybe not. Obviously the embassy doesn't know because they would have given you some sort of notice of something." He continued to stare at her as if waiting for something else. She forced a grin. "Maybe they came across some priceless treasure and they're being held captive, the bad guys trying to get information out of them so they can steal it." It was meant as a joke and her grin dropped as she mentally berated herself for that. Tackless, Helga. Weren't we supposed to be working on that? But he offered a small smile.

"Right."

"Seriously, though, why would you even ask me that? If you want to know what happened to them, then go for it. I'd do it."

"You would?" Why'd he look so shocked?

"Sure. Why not? Even if you don't find anything, at least you'll know that you tried and maybe be able to put it to rest."

"This isn't my first time…" It was a trailed off, mumbled comment and Helga wasn't really sure if it was meant for her to hear or not, or if she even heard correctly, so she didn't comment.

They were silent again and she resumed watching the line that seemed as long as ever. She had hoped the awkwardness would go away, but it was only growing. Here they were, sitting on a bench at the airport, talking about his parents as if it was the most normal thing in the world, as if no time at all had passed…and that they had been friends.

"What about you?" Arnold asked, looking at her.

"What about me?"

"Where are you going?"

She hesitated for a moment, not sure if she should answer him. She wasn't kidding when she didn't want anyone knowing where she was going and even if there hadn't been a severe degree of separation from Arnold and herself, it would still mean that at least one person would know and, if for some reason someone put up a stink, he'd blow her cover.

Sure, she'd tell Phoebe eventually, but the girl wouldn't know she was missing for at least a week. By then, Helga would be somewhat settled. Or settling. Licking her lips, she was resolved to staying with her plan. "I'm taking a solo trip to Hawai'i." What? Did she really just say that? Dammit!

"Oh." There was that uncomfortable silence again. How many times after graduating had she dreamt of seeing him again? Too many to count before she was able to bury all of those bitter memories away, and never had they been anything like this. This was actually painful and that long wait in the line seemed to look better with every harrowing second. "Why did you pack so light?"

She frowned at her bag next to her knee. "For the same reason you did." His stare tore through her and she decidedly ignored it.

"Did you tell anyone you're leaving?"

That earned an eyebrow raised in his direction. "No, actually, and it's going to stay that way, so don't go blabbing to anyone. Not that they'll care." Arnold was frowning at her and she gave him another look. "You better not start with any of that responsibilities shit, Arnold. You're running away, too."

He didn't say anything and continued to stare at her. She looked away, feeling uncomfortable with the way he was doing that, and stretched out her legs in front of her, trying to relieve the tension in her back. This was so terribly awkward.

"It's good to see you, Helga. How's Colville?" She was surprised he remembered. It had been absently commented on that's where she had been accepted one day in class senior year when he asked about it and for a fleeting moment she had hoped he would be going there, too. No such luck. She remembered feeling disappointed, but not heartbroken. He had broken her heart years ago without even realizing it and she had moved on as best as she could. In fact, it had taken being completely removed from his life for it to really do her any good.

"It's fine. I graduated this year."

"Congrats." He didn't seem too enthusiastic, though. She shifted again, wondering who the hell was really sitting next to her. She had changed a lot in college, but it had been ongoing since middle school. This was not the same Arnold she had graduated with five years ago. "What's your degree?"

"Degrees, actually. Business and Linguistics."

He looked at her without holding back his surprise. "Double in two different fields? And you did that in five years? Wow, that's amazing, Helga."

She tried not to be offended and pretended she hadn't seen it from the corner of her eye. "Yeah, well, I'm a pretty amazing chick."

He was silent for only a moment. "So Hawai'i, huh? Are you meeting someone there?" Helga slouched in her seat, not taking her eyes off of the line, willing it to move faster. Maybe she should just go stand there anyway.

"Nah. I've just always wanted to go. White sands, singing palm trees, awesome food; what's not to love about it? I figured I'd spend a few days sightseeing and maybe do some island hopping before figuring out what I want to do. Since I'm moving there and all."

There was only a moment of silence but it didn't seem nearly as tense as it had been a moment ago. "I guess I always thought you would go into the arts. Writing or English or something like that."

"Why would you think that?"

He smiled. "Because you were always writing."

She sat up from the bench, taken aback that he had noticed her at all, let alone what she actually did in her spare time. "That was observant of you. What makes you think it wasn't homework?"

He grinned. "In pink and purple notebooks?"

She lightly laughed but her shoulders were still tense in uncertainty. "Yeah, ok. But still, definitely observant of you. I always thought you were kind of…I don't know. Oblivious, I guess."

"Yeah, I got that a lot. I think high school helped with that. Ya know. Hormones or something."

She snickered. "I highly doubt hormones would make you more observant."

He grinned again. "Maturity then."

"Uh-huh. They say that men don't mature until they're thirty."

"They also say that maturity is more than just an age thing."

"I guess They are just busy-body know-it-alls."

He laughed and she smirked. "So Linguistics. That's surprising but not really, I guess. Since you were always so good with words."

She stayed silent and ignored that her heart started to beat a bit faster. She didn't bother asking how he would know that because, really, she didn't want to know. Instead, she changed the subject. "It wasn't intentional, it just kind of happened. And I thought, why not? Anyway, I minored in Pre-Columbian culture so I've just got all sorts of random things going on." She frowned when she realized she was doing that nervous tick again of rambling.

"That's…different. I didn't realize that was actually a thing." She missed his questioning and calculating look.

Helga just shrugged.

"Does that mean you speak Spanish?"

She nodded as she resumed her watch on the never-ending line. "Fluent, yeah. Even though it's undergrad studies, and I minored, I was pretty close with a professor. I helped him out a lot and eventually started to help him translate papers for his students."

"That's cool. Probably won't do you much good in Hawai'i though." She frowned at his comment. "Are you going to work in the tourist industry?"

Her frown deepened and if she had feathers she knew that they'd be ruffled. "Why the hell would I want to work with a bunch of whiny people on vacation?"

"Sorry. I just kind of assumed that since you have a business degree. And the state really just has that and fruit export…"

After he trailed off, there was that awful silence again. The conversation seemed to have gotten a bit lighter but this was just too painful for her now. Enough of that.

"Well, it was good seeing you again, Arnold, but I should get in line over there." Helga stood up. "It doesn't seem to be getting any shorter. I hope you find something out about your parents."

He nodded and stood up, taking the hint at her obvious dismissal. "Of course. It was good to see you again, Helga." He shouldered his backpack with a smile and Helga couldn't help the slight flutter of her heart. "Good luck on the islands. I hope you find what you're looking for."

"Yeah, you too, Football Head."

And with another smile, he turned and left, leaving her standing there watching him and holding onto the handle of her small carry-on. What the hell was all of that? Seriously, just what the hell was he getting at? Find what you're looking for? Really?

With a huff, she got into line, ignoring the still-screaming kids in line. The only thing she was going to look for was a hotel room and eventually an apartment. And then SCUBA and surfing lessons. Maybe she'd end up being a photographer and writer for National Geographic as a result of it.

Or, maybe, she'd find out that she'd absolutely hate it there because it was a freaking island. There'd be tourists, just like this screaming brat two lines in front of her, and she'd have to deal with all of the entitled attitudes of everyone showing up at whatever job she'll find because what else does Hawai'i have other than tourism? Just like what Arnold said.

Dammit! She had been perfectly fine until he showed up with his perfect hair and perfect face. And he just had to go and burst her bubble with his stupid logic as he always did when they were growing up when she was about to make a bad decision. Why couldn't he just keep his mouth shut and let her do her own thing? So what if he potentially saved her from making a life-shattering mistake.

No, she would go with her plan and do this because it was what she wanted. Arnold could go off and do his thing and try not to fail again at finding his parents, if he really had tried before, and she would be a successful business woman in the prettiest state in the country. She was meant to turn on the TV late last night and watch Elvis serenade his way through the film. She was supposed to make the decision of leaving Washington after talking to the landlady (who really was pretty awesome and very much like a crazy aunt-like figure) and telling her she could do what she wanted with all of her stuff, and leaving her notice. She was supposed to be here, right now, in line to buy her ticket.

Helga was suddenly jerked out of her thoughts when a hand gripped her arm. She pulled it back unconsciously, about to send her elbow up and into the face of the person who caught her off guard, but froze when she saw that Arnold was back. She didn't fight him as he pulled her out of line.

"Do you have your passport?" he asked in a nervous voice that was laced with something like excitement, but with a hint of desperation.

"What?" she frowned at him, still trying to get her thoughts back in order.

"Do you have it? Or are you just using your driver's license as ID?"

She shifted her weight to her other foot, dislodging his hand and took a hold of her carry-on's handle. Of course she had brought it. She didn't want there to be any problems since she looked so young and was leaving Washington for good. She would need federal ID and she didn't have immediate access to her Social Security card. "Yeah. Why? Don't tell me that there's some tracking device in them now." She forced out a laugh but there was no humor in it.

"Come with me."

She stopped laughing and scowled at him. "What?"

"I think you're supposed to come with me," he insisted.

"What are you talking about?"

"I think this was supposed to happen," he continued excitedly, if the slightly pitched tone was any indication. This was more in the line of the Arnold she knew: innocently excited over the stupidest crap and naïvely insane. "I've had this planned for two months and bought a ticket to leave today on a whim. I told my grandparents about it and Grandpa tried to talk me out of it at first. And when I told Gerald he thought I was crazy. And here you are, in the same airport without a real plan." She gave him a look to let him know that she was insulted. She most definitely had a plan! Nothing written down with no idea what hotel she was going to stay at or what she'll be doing after was still a plan. "What are the odds of that happening? Of us meeting right here, right now?"

She stared at him as if he had grown another head and fought the urge to correct him. She was starting a new life in another state. People did that all the time. "You've got to be joking."

"I don't think I've ever been more serious, Helga. Come with me. Maybe they'll let you exchange your ticket. I'll reimburse you for-"

"Don't be stupid, you're not going to do that. Besides, I haven't bought my ticket yet."

He stared blankly at her. "You haven't?"

"No, I haven't. This was a legit, spur-of-the-moment thing." Then he was grinning at her and she folded her arms over her chest.

"See!" he said matter-of-factly, as if this just proved his ludicrous point. Which, she had to admit, it kind of did. She turned and looked at the still-growing line for a moment before back at him, sighing.

"You're crazy, Arnold. I can't go to Central America with you."

"What's in Hawai'i that's not in San Lorenzo?"

"Civilization? Hotels? Potential jobs?" She focused her attention back onto him, scowling.

"This was meant to be, Helga," he repeated. "We haven't seen each other in years and here we are. I know it sounds crazy and maybe I am reading too much into this-"

"You are," she interrupted, but he continued as if not hearing her. Or, as was more likely, just ignored her.

"But there's nothing waiting for you there in Hawai'i. Do you even know what you want to do once you're there?" Her silence said it all. He grinned again and grabbed her hand, forcing her to uncross her arms. "You speak the language, you probably know a lot about the culture," she silently cursed her loud mouth about shooting off her education and pulled her hand back, resting it on the handle of her luggage. "This will help you figure things out, I know it. You've helped me tons of times before. Please help me on more time. Help me find my parents. Come with me."

She continued to stare at the man pleading before her. This was the most ridiculous thing anyone had ever said to her and she could fill books with all of the shit she's heard, but as she looked at him towering over her, with that boyish hopefulness that painfully reminded her of more innocent days, she knew she couldn't say no.

Just maybe she was supposed to be here at the airport and was meant to run into Arnold. Maybe she wasn't meant to go to Hawai'i but to Central America. It had been a bucket list item of hers for years now…seriously, what were the odds?

Her sigh of defeat seemed to echo around the busy terminal. "You're going to regret this, you know."

His impossibly large grin grew even wider and he hugged her tightly. And as she stood there frozen with one hand on her luggage, an immediate feeling of safety washed over her as he squeezed her. And even though, deep, deep down the little girl that Helga had been swooned and fainted, all she could do was wonder what she had just agreed to.