Decided to write another chapter! Thank you for the reviews and hope you keep reading. I don't know if I did well with this chapter, but I managed. :)

"So how was your parents coming home event?", Phoebe asks me over the phone. I just came back home after having dinner with the family and I feel quite full and tired.

"It wasn't so bad, actually. Olga bought me this gorgeous dress, we went to this fancy Italian restaurant, and my parents didn't treat me like crap for once. So I got that going for me", I respond with a smile on my face. Bob and Miriam didn't act so terrible tonight. They even thought of me to bring me back a souvenir to put on my desk. Miriam gushed over my hair and Bob was happy to hear Olga and me getting along. Of course, this is just tonight. Who knows what things will be like when Olga has to leave tomorrow. For once, I actually don't want Olga to go back home.

"I'm happy to hear, Helga", she tells me. I decide to ask how the chili dogs were with Gerald, and she seems to not want to make me worry about how her lunch date went, but I make her spill.

She hesitates, "Helga, uh... Arnold changed his mind and decided to hang out with me and Gerald. He looked upset about something, but took his mind off of it once he and Gerald catch up... Did he try walking home with you?"

"Y-yeah, he actually caught up with me and asked me to hang out since Lila went home early. Oh yeah! You made her sick to her stomach, Phoebs, she puked her whole lunch out", I tell her. I hear her laugh on the other end. I still can't get over how today went.

"Oh my goodness, Helga, I never thought I could ever do that to anyone!", she cries, still laughing. She stops and continues to ask about Arnold. "So what did you say to Arnold that got him upset? He didn't know about the Lila situation, did he?"

I explain, "No, nothing like that. I just, sorta, rejected him. I told him he has Lila now and I made up some excuse for me to not hang out with him. Why is he getting his panties in a bunch over that?"

"I'm not sure, Helga... Do you think he might actually, you know... Not be happy with Lila? I mean it's been years he's been trying to win her over and he was a kid back then. Now that he has her, it might not be what he was expecting? And that he may actually have feelings for-"

"Nah-ah! I don't want to hear it, Phoebe. I want to leave this Arnold business alone. It's not worth me getting worked up and going back to my old ways", I cut her off saying. I did think Arnold might like me in that way, but he never said anything to me. Lila was the one to say how she felt towards him before I did. That good for nothing, red-headed twat!

"Okay, Helga, I understand. I guess we should start heading for bed now, we've got another long day", she says with a tired voice. I agree. My first day could have been better, but it only drained me in the worst way possible. Olga wants to take me to see a play with her tomorrow, too. She says it may fit my liking, but I don't see how. At least I can do something with one last time before she leaves tomorrow night.

"See you tomorrow, Phoebs. Good night", I tell her before hanging up the phone. I've been talking to Phoebe for quite some time now, that I didn't notice I had a voice mail message on my phone. I listen to it and did not expect to hear a voice mail from Arnold.

"Hey Helga, I just wanted to check on you. Hope things went well with the family tonight! I know your dad can be such a jerk, but still hope you had a good time... I'll see you at school tomorrow, I'd love to have lunch with you. Lila will be with me of course, but I want to spend some time with you. It feels like a million years since we had a fun time together... So, goodnight! See ya tomorrow...", Arnold says awkwardly and kindly. Why does he care so much? I try not to let Phoebe's thoughts get to me, he possibly couldn't be into me. He probably just needs a friend, I guess. Lila's probably cutting him off from his friends that he can't hang out with them much. Oh well, not my problem! I delete the voice mail and start getting ready for bed.

Arnold's a sweet guy, but he's not mine. The kind of attention he's giving me should be towards Lila. She beat me to the punch. I'd be worried if I were Arnold, who knows what thing she could do if she found out he's sending me messages like this. I'd be scared to be around her if she was one of those people that would snap in any moment and go on a rampage because who she wants doesn't show her much appreciation. I'd be sorry for the next guy if Arnold decides to leave her one day. Again, not my problem!

I lay back on my bed settling to sleep. I set my alarm and keep trying to think of other things besides Arnold's voice mail to me. It's a stupid thing, I tell myself. I shouldn't get worked up over it. Suddenly my eyes close and I drift onto sleep...


I am standing in my old classroom at P.S. 118. The classroom is empty and every corner of the room is a tint of rose. I face the board behind me and see a huge heart written in it "Arnold loves Helga". "What the hell is this? I shout to myself. I hear someone coming in the room. I see that it is Arnold, and he's holding a piece of chalk? Did he write this instead of me?He drops the chalk on the floor and paces towards me.

"Helga, my dear. It is you who I want, not that wretched Lila. I was wrong, so wrong! Will you ever forgive me?", he asks kneeling in front of me grabbing my hand.

I hear myself say, "Of course, my love! Of course I forgive you! She is nothing but a fragile little girl, and I am all woman!" He gets up and pulls me against him, giving me a heart-warming kiss. The best kiss I ever had.

"I love you, Helga! And I never want to let you go!", he shouts to me.

"I love you, too, Arnold! Never let go!", I shout back. We continue kissing as he pushes me against the teacher's desk. He lifts me on top of the desk and starts kissing my neck. I hear myself moan and tug on his hair. I pull him on top of me and try to pull down his pants. I stop and notice he's staring at me with those beautiful green eyes of him. He just stopped moving and I didn't know what to do.

"Arnold... What's wrong?", I ask him. Within a blink of an eye, Arnold morphs into Lila. I scream and push her off of me. I climb off the desk and see her getting up. She looks so menacing at me. She begins to laugh at me.

"Oh Helga, did you really think Arnold would really love you like he love me? You must be really foolish if you believe that", she says to me with a smirk.

Angrily, I shout back at her, "He never said he loves you, either! He just "likes you likes you" like he always had."

She laughs again. "I'm the one that has him, Helga. Not you, and you never will. Not now. Not ever."

I look at the door seeing that another Arnold, the real Arnold comes into the classroom. He walks over to Lila. She looks back at me with a dirty look on her face and starts kissing Arnold right in from me. I hear myself screaming so loud the classroom cracks and fades away from me...

I wake up so quickly as if I'm gasping for air. I look at the clock and it's barely 5:30 in the morning. I wipe the sweat off my forehead and go downstairs to the kitchen to get some water. Everyone is still sleeping and I try not to make a sound. I gulp down my glass and place it on the table. I go back upstairs quietly to my room, closing the door quickly so it wouldn't creak.

I lay back in my bed and begin to question my dream. "What the hell was that all about?", I ask myself. I don't know what that means for me. Would I really forgive Arnold that easily if he ever left Lila for me? Did he actually care about me, like more than a friend? Am I really letting Lila get to me like this? Like she won and I'm the sore loser in the fight for Arnold's love? I didn't know what to do or think. The worst came to me and I think I know what I have to do so I can untangle myself from this mess.

I have to tell Arnold to back off for his own good. Especially mine.

It's already lunch time at school. I tell Phoebe about my dream as we get out lunch, and she's as shocked as I am. "My gosh, Helga! This whole Lila+Arnold thing is getting to you that it's invading your dreams. What are you going to do?", she asks me.

"The one thing I can do, Phoebe. And it won't be pretty. It hurts me so much that he's with her. But I need to do the right thing for myself, which is tell Arnold to leave me alone. Focus on that princess of his. He has no right to ask me to be with him when Lila's not around. It's pretty demeaning to me. It would kill me to tell him to stop talking to me, but maybe it will do me good and get me out of this hell hole", I tell her sadly.

We finish picking out lunch and walk to our table that Gerald saved for us. Also sitting there was Arnold and Lila. Arnold gives me a wide smile as we sit at the table. Phoebe looks at Gerald, giving her an awkward smile. I stare into my food and begin to eat quietly avoiding eye contact with anybody.

"I'm ever so grateful you let us join you for lunch today, Gerald. So generous of you to invite us to sit with you", Lila says to Gerald. She was still scared to look Phoebe in the eye, but clearly didn't want to make this an awkward situation more than it already is. The put a grin on Phoebe's face. She didn't look so innocent to Lila anymore and that made Phoebe feel a bit powerful over her.

Arnold then asks me, "So how was everything last night, Helga? Did it go okay?" I look up at him slowly and see him smiling at me. I also notice Lila looking at him disapprovingly. I respond, "Uh, it was alright Arnold, not much to talk about."

"I'm sure there's more to the story, Helga", he giggles at me. I notice Lila again, she rolls her eyes at him just by laughing with me. I'm I the only one noticing that little bitch's attitude towards Arnold? How I felt like jumping over this table and wrapping my hands around her pretty little neck. I couldn't take it anymore. I finish my lunch quickly so I can get out of here quickly.

"There is Arnold, but it's not important... Can I actually talk to you in private? It is kind of important...", I ask him. He looks confused, but follows me as soon as I get up from the table. I take my tray back with me and put it back with the other trays and threw my trash away. I take Arnold outside the cafeteria so I can speak to him away from our peers.

"What's going on, Helga?", Arnold asks.

I didn't know how to tell him, but I would say what my heart was telling me. "Arnold, I have to be honest with you about something... And I don't like it very much, but I just have to tell you that... I don't think you should continue to speak with me anymore."

Arnold quickly asks, "But why? What made you think this? Did Lila tell you something?"

"Uh, sorta... But don't blame her. I notice that she doesn't like it very much now that you still talk to me", I say. I lied though since I hope Lila doesn't tell him about what happened yesterday.

"Helga, you're my friend! Lila shouldn't be interfering with that otherwise-"

"Arnold! We just can't talk to each other. At least for now. The attention that you give me should be going towards her, she's your girlfriend. And to also make it clear... I just plain don't like her. Not because I'm jealous of her", I state, even though that's true. He continues to look confused. "I also need to respect the fact that you're with her and she has made it very clear to me, too." I remember back to my dream. She made it so very clear.

"But Helga, it shouldn't matter. She also needs to respect you're my friend. I wouldn't like it if I had to stop talking to you because of her", he responds with a puppy dog face.

Oh god, it pains me to look at him like this, telling him to stay away from me. I have no other choice. "Either way, Arnold, it'll be best for the two of you. You have her and she's in that phase to have you all to herself. I'd be the same, too, if you were my..." He looks at me with wide eyes. Avoiding what I was about to tell him, I say, "Arnold, just think of her. Any other girl wouldn't like the idea of her boyfriend talking to another girl he's gotten so close with more than her. Okay? Just understand, for now. I still have a lot to worry about, and one of those things does not involve me avoiding getting in a fight with Lila over you."

He looks away from me not liking this idea. I don't like it more than he does. I sigh and finally say, "You should get back to your girl, Arnold. I need to catch up with some work I forgot to do last night... I'll see you around." By surprise, he grabs me by my shoulders and gives me a tight hug. I stand frozen until I wrap my arms around him, too. Pulls himself away so he looks me straight in the eyes. Oh those beautiful, green eyes of his. Lila then storms out and sees us hugging. We pull away from each other and look at Lila.

"Is everything okay, Arnold? You've been gone for quite a while now", she says, slowly looking at me.

Arnold stutters at her. I couldn't stand here any longer so I tell him, "Again... I'll see you around."

I walk away leaving them to themselves. Why does Arnold do this to me? He didn't have to give me a hug or something, even though his hug felt comforting. So warm. So loving. I'm doing what's best for the both of us. Even if there may be a chance for us, I can't continue to sit around waiting for that day to happen. I hope he'll be okay putting up with that witch. I'm lucky I'm not him.


The school day is over and Olga came to pick me up. She came dressed formally and I dressed in whatever I brought to change into for the play. We drove to the downtown theater. There were so many people there waiting to go inside and find a seat. "What's the big deal with this show, Olga? Does someone die in this show?", I ask her.

She giggles at me which I found odd. "Oh Helga, more than one person dies in this show. It's called Sweeney Todd. I thought you might like it and might take your mind off of what's been stressing you lately."

A dark play, huh? How thoughtful of her. But would I really like it? "There's a lot of singing in the show, too, so I hope you don't mind that at least", she tells me. Singing? I hope it doesn't put me to sleep. We finally find a parking spot and start heading towards the theater. We present our tickets, find our seats, and wait for the lights to dim down. I trust Olga if I will really like this show. If not, I will make her pay for it by making her take me to Wrestlemania.

I settle in my seat. The lights begin to dimmer and the curtains are pulled to show the audience a pile of "dead" bodies that slowly get up rising from the dead singing to us who this Sweeney Todd character is. As they present Sweeney Todd, his character was just jaw dropping to me. The costume was so eye-catching, his hair styled so handsomely yet evil slicked back, and that expression on his face that read vengeance was breath taking. I was already pulled into the show. Olga notices and smiles to herself rubbing my shoulder. A story about death and vengeance sounds magnificent to me, strangely. Should I speak to Dr. Bliss about this? She said she's willing to hear me with any problems I ever had after I finished elementary school. Nah, this shouldn't concern me. I love a good revenge story.

When the show finished, Olga and I gush about the show. She loved the music and I couldn't get over the characters and the deaths of each one. Of course Olga is not into gory stuff, but she did this just for me which I appreciated very much. She drives me back home since she still had her stuff to pack up and say bye to our parents. We make it home safely. Before I opened the door to the house, Olga stops me. "Baby sister, I really hope you had a good time. Whatever it is you're going through, don't let it affect you. If you ever need to talk about it, you can tell me. But I know you are a strong girl and will get through this."

I was speechless. I feel my tears streaming down and give Olga a tight hug. She giggles and hugs me right back. "Now, go get ready for bed, Helga, I kept you out for too long on a school night. I'll tell mummy and daddy I'm on my way now. And don't worry, I'll be back again in a month. I have so much work to catch up with", she reassures me with a laugh.

"Thank you, Olga. For everything", I tell her. I open the door to the house. Bob and Miriam are in the kitchen, but I didn't want to pay them much attention. I hear Olga tell them about our night and tells them her goodbyes. I walk up to my room getting ready for bed. I turn my phone back on and see I got a text message from some number I never saw before. I open the message and it reads: "Hi Helga, this is Lila. I appreciate you talking to Arnold earlier telling him he should be spending his time with me. I'm ever so grateful you did that. I care about my Arnold so much. See you around, Helga."

Reading this made me really angry. I yelled and threw my phone against my desk dropping a box over." Why won't she just leave me alone? She has him and I let him go! I let the love of my life go! She's so vile. Just like the play tonight, I imagine her as the evil Judge Turpin. And I am Sweeney Todd. I don't know when, and if I choose to, I will one day have my revenge on her. She's trying to ruin my life for her own greed. And I won't let her walk all over me any longer.

I sigh to myself rubbing my head. "Don't stoop to her level, Helga. You're better than that. One day her day will come", I tell myself. I walk over to pick my phone up and put the fallen stuff back into the box. I pick everything up and see that my locket was in that pile as well. My heart was beating so fast looking at it. I put an updated photo of Arnold in there not so long ago. The trouble this thing has given me over the years. Looking at his handsome face made me feel horrible that everything we had has lead to this. That look on his face when he held me earlier said, "Please don't go." If we are meant to be, it will happen one day. Not anytime soon, but one day. For now, we must go our separate ways.

I hold the locket against me, hugging it gently. I look back at it and I sing a lyric from the play, "Till I'm with you then, I'm with you there... Sweetly buried in your yellow hair..." I look at it one more time and finally put it away in the box. I lay in bed staring at my ceiling until sleep hit me.

I pray I have a better dream tonight. One predicting something good that will happen soon. I close my eyes, but faintly hear Olga come in my room one last time. I feel her give me a kiss and whisper, "You mean so much to me, baby sister. Don't ever let what seems the worst now bring you down."

I hear her leave and I smile at her words. I tell myself before finally falling asleep, "Don't worry. I won't..."