Arnold lay on his bed with his arms behind his head, silently gazing out his skylight as the first rays of sun began to touch the sky. He had had a difficult time sleeping last night and had finally given up at four in the morning, opting to just get dressed for school and think instead as he had done so many times before. Nothing had gone right for him over the past several months. First his grandmother had lost her fight with the bacterial infection and had succumbed to her disease, then Kathleen had decided that after nearly two years of being in a relationship with him that she wanted different things. He knew that she had broken it off with him simply because she didn't know how to handle the cruelness of reality. The day that they had attended his grandmother's funeral, she had just sat there as still as a china doll, visibly uncomfortable at all the grieving and quite unsure of what to do. When Arnold had broken down shortly after the burial, Kathleen had simply walked away, opting to ignore the situation rather than realize that yes, bad things did happen to good people.

Over the days following the funeral, Kathleen had avoided Arnold at a time when he really needed her support. She just didn't seem to know how to handle this depressed version of Arnold, having been so used to his optimistic, bright-sided ways. Finally, nearly a month after the funeral, she broke his heart. He remembered the day well. It had been directly after school and they were walking home together. Her brown, curly hair was blowing in the wind and her black heeled boots click clacked against the cement as they walked hand in hand. Right before they reached the Sunset Arms boarding house, Kathleen looked down at Arnold with her chocolate eyes and said, "Arnold…I, I can't do this anymore." She ripped her hand from his and placed it on her left arm, nervously rubbing it up and down. "You're just, you're not you anymore. I know that you loved your grandmother and that she was a great woman, but I just…" a sigh escaped her lips as she searched for the right words to say.

"You just can't handle the real world? Is that it?" Arnold said with an acid tongue.

"No! Well, gosh I don't know," she said as she swung her arms up in the air in exasperation. Then she rapidly went, "You're not the boy I fell in love with anymore and I think we should break up."

"I'm not the boy you fell in love with anymore? What were you expecting me to do after she died? Grieve for a few days and then return to my old sun shiny self? She wasn't just my grandmother, Kathleen, she was the woman who RAISED me! Who taught me to look up when things were at their worst and even though I feel like the world is falling all around me without her here, I've been trying really hard to find something positive out of all this. I can't though and you haven't been helping me much. Actually, you haven't been helping me at all. You're my girlfriend, Kathleen. You're supposed to be there for me not only at my best times, but also at my darkest." He hunched over after this sudden burst of emotion, visibly wrecked by the sudden turn of events.

Kathleen gave him one last look full of pity before she walked away saying, "Not anymore."

It wasn't a memory that Arnold liked to bring up often, but it was one he was beginning to get over. Gerald had been the one shining light during this bleak time and had really helped him over the past three months. He had always been sure to visit Arnold frequently and was constantly trying to put at least a small smile on his friend's face.

Arnold felt like things were about to start turning around. He couldn't quite explain it, but he was starting to feel better about everything. Leaping out of bed, he grabbed his backpack and adjusted his omnipresent blue cap atop his head before dashing out of his bedroom. Before leaving he peered into his grandfather's room and saw him lying in bed, his chest slowly rising and falling in even breaths as he slept. His mind put at ease knowing that his grandfather was still alive, Arnold trekked downstairs and out on to the sidewalk where Gerald greeted him with a grin and their regular handshake.

"What's happening my man?"

"Didn't get much sleep last night," Arnold blearily replied.

"Why? Something bothering you?"

"Not so much anymore since I mulled over it a lot last night. I was thinking about that time leading up to when Kathleen broke up with me. You know, I still don't understand why she couldn't handle the situation and be supportive. You think you know someone, and then they just turn around and stomp on your heart. It hurts." Gerald nodded in agreement. "I feel like though that things are going to start getting better. I remembered something my grandma sang once. 'When skies are dark gray, things gone astray, don't hide away, look up!'" A small smile spread across Arnold's face as he remembered the fond memory of him and his grandmother singing on the roof of the Sunset Arms as balloons floated into the skies all around them. "So, I'm done being depressed. It's not what she would want, and I'm sure she's up there looking down at me and thinking that I'm acting ridiculous being so sad."

"Well, you're allowed to be sad. Anyone would be in your situation."

"I know, but I'm done being down and ready to start returning to my old self. Besides, it's such a beautiful day out!" Gerald laughed as Arnold gave a wide grin.

"Finally the old Arnold is returning!" He patted him on the back as he said this. Gerald then felt a familiar buzzing in his pants pocket. Reaching in he pulled out his phone and read the text from Phoebe. "Aw man…" he mumbled under his breath. Unfortunately Arnold's hearing picked it up.

"What's wrong, Gerald?"

"N-n-nothing. Don't worry 'bout it. Hey, so what're you doing Valentine's day?"

"Considering I'm single now, nothing. Why?" Arnold suspiciously raised an eyebrow and peered over at Gerald.

"How would you like to go on a blind date at Chez Paris with…" Gerald paused as he tried to think of a positive adjective to describe Helga. "…with a feisty young gal?"

"Um…Gerald. I don't think now is the time for me to be diving into a new relationship. I did just say that I'm done with being broken hearted. Maybe I should be taking baby steps back into the ocean rather than diving in head first?"

"But that's how you get used to the cold fastest! Come on, man! At least you'll have fun! It doesn't have to turn into a relationship if you don't want it to. Just think of it as a fun night out on the town with a savvy girl." Gerald shot him a suave smile and a wink to drive his point home.

"Well, I guess I could use some fun at least. Do I know this girl?" Arnold asked quizzically.

"Erm, yes. But I'm not telling you who it is!" Gerald frantically waved his arms at this as they walked up the steps to Hillwood High's entrance. A chuckle escaped from Arnold at the sight of his friend in a panic.

"All right, all right. I'll go. Besides, what else am I going to do righ-?" It was at this point that Arnold slammed into Helga as he rounded the corner to reach his locker. He rubbed his head and started reaching around for his books, trying to avoid eye contact with her. Unfortunately this failed as his green eyes accidentally found her blue ones.

"S-sorry," she faintly mumbled before bolting in the opposite direction. Arnold knew that Helga was avoiding him and had been since…well since their last major encounter. As good as a stalker she had been when they were younger, she was equally skilled in the art of making herself disappear from existence around him. He sort of wished that she wasn't. Maybe in addition to returning to his old self, he'd try to rekindle their former friendship. Besides, he was over the whole ordeal anyways considering that it had been years since it had happened.

"Geez, that girl is all kinds of crazy," Gerald mused as he helped Arnold up.

"Don't talk about her like that. You know as good as I do that she is a genuinely kind person."

"Then why did you two stop being friends so suddenly?" shot back Gerald. Ignoring the question, Arnold swung open his locker and grabbed his books. Gerald simply sighed and accepted that he would probably never find out, well at least not in the near future at least. He texted Phoebe, "Arnold's in. I sure do hope you know what you're doing."

A/N: Hope you guys enjoy this chapter! Thanks for the continued feedback! :)