I'm backkkkkkkk. Y'all probably thought I was gonna leave y'all again right? Here's the next chapter but before we begin...

Kryten: LOL IK. I'M SORRY I'M TERRIBLE. But I had to in order to build suspense. Couldn't let y'all off too easy!

Call Me Nettie: Thank you for the support love! Yes, as a big HxA shipper myself, I'm very excited for you to see my Hey Arnold universe. Glad you're liking it!

Alright y'all, here we go!

Sid was currently laying on his bed, staring at the ceiling. Josh was currently at Courtney's parents house staying over. Sid was grateful the couple still wanted to be involved in his son's life.

Especially for moments like this when he felt he couldn't be strong enough for the two of them.

This morning, Sid woke up to a flurry of texts, Facebook notifications and messages from literally almost all of Hillwood. When he opened up Facebook, he couldn't believe his eyes.

There, sitting on a motorcycle, kissing Bullet, a member of Wolfgang's gang was his baby mother, Courtney DiAngelo. Bullet had posted the picture with the caption, "She's always been down for the realest" (Ironic, isn't it?). The comments underneath were a mix of Sid's facebook being tagged and people asking questions.

Sid boiled in rage.

No one except the gang, his father, Courtney's parents and the Hillwood police had known Courtney was gone. He wanted to keep it under wraps until school started when he knew people were going to start asking questions.

But again, she had humiliated him. He turned to his bedside table and opened a drawer to read her letter again.

Sid,

I can't do this anymore. The stress of everything is just crumbling around me. I need a little time away. I'll be traveling around with Brittany and Park for a while. Don't come find me, because I don't want to be found. I need to figure out what I want to do with my life.

I'm sorry. I love you and Josh.

Courtney

Sid had the urge to crumple up the letter and throw it in the trash. At this point he knew she had lied to him. Courtney's "best friend" (more like minion) Brittany had called his numerous times, demanding to know where she was. Apparently, Brittany had not been in contact with her either and she was currently with her boyfriend Park in a little town outside Hillwood visiting her relatives.

Love? Love my ass.

He should've saw this coming. Courtney had always been known as the "wild child" at school. But Sid looked past that. He was a little on the "bad" side himself and he didn't think a little trouble was going to do him any bad.

But she did, in fact, confirm all the rumors about her by her actions. All the bullshit that happened in their relationship had him at a breaking point. In fact, the day Courtney told Sid she was pregnant, he was going to break up with her. The night before he had heard rumors of Courtney sleeping around and it had broke him. If he hadn't wanted his son to have a family he never had, he would've left her ass.

Sid laughed at that thought. What type of family did Josh have now?

As he laughed at himself, he heard footsteps from behind him. He turned around to see his father standing right behind him, giving him a solemn look. So solemn, that he had to turn back around to hide the tears in his eyes from his dad.

Ray Gifaldi was a man of few words. He was what most people described as average. And to be honest, he liked his life that way. He worked at the mechanic shop at Hillwood for years, long enough to make him head mechanic and now co-owner. He liked his life simple, work and Sid. He never questioned it. He a very private man in his affairs. It was the reason why many would not believe the struggles he went through.

Ray said nothing as he sat right next to his son on the bed. They both looked out the window of Sid's room quietly for a moment.

Sid spoke first. "So I guess you heard, huh?"

Ray sighed. No point lying. "Stinky called this morning and wanted to check up on you. I think he's coming over later."

Sid swallowed back a sob. He wasn't sure if he was ready to see anyone.

"Dad?" he said cautiously. "How did you deal with it?"

Ray continued to look out the window. "You mean your mother?"

Sid nodded, not that Ray would see but from the silence they both knew the answer. After a beat, he spoke again.

"Well… to tell you the truth, I didn't. And I never will. It still hurts me to this day, because it hurts you." Ray calmly stated. "It took a lot of me to deal with it, to take it as it is. And sometimes I still wrestle with it. Because, I still love her regardless of all she did and/or does." Ray turned to Sid.

"And I know you still love her too."

Sid took a sharp breath in. He wasn't sure who his father was talking about. His mother or Courtney.

It was probably a little bit of both.

Ray continued. "But", he said as he patted his son and stood. "I have to be strong. Because, I could fail myself. But I couldn't fail when I was carrying someone else with me." He said smiling at Sid. Sid gave his father a watery smile.

"Remember Sid, you're caring for someone else now. You gotta do some extra work with that. But, your old man can take a little extra on his load too."

Sid smiled at his father again. "Thanks Dad. For everything." Ray smiled back.

"Just doing my job son." He said as he left the room, "Just doing my job."

Moments past (maybe hours) before he felt another presence sit next to him. Before he could say anything, the person right next to him spoke.

"Now Sid, I reckon I'm not as smart as Phoebe, witty like Helga, have emotional intelligence like Arnold, or sweet like Miss. Lila. But I sure do know when a buddy is in need. And I'm sure as hell good at keeping someone company. So imma sit here right next to you and keep you company. And when you ready to speak, I'll be here to listen."

Sid softly smiled and nodded before he continued to sit in silence with his best friend Stinky by his side. They sat in his room for what seemed to be hours.

And when Sid was ready to speak, Stinky sat still and listened. Just as he promised.

Arnold looked out the window as Stella and Miles sat in the row behind him, their heads leaning on each other and faces in blissful slumber. Arnold peeked back at the image and smiled before looking back out to the view, his thoughts leading him to Hillwood and a certain fiery blond.

He knew he had ROYALLY fucked up. And for Arnold to even curse, you knew it had to be bad. Helga's letter of accepting his apology wasn't enough for him to forgive himself, and he knew it wasn't enough for her either. He knew that he didn't deserve her forgiveness, much less her love and affection back. But he wanted it. He wanted to make her his. He wanted there to be a THEM again, even if he had to make Hell freeze over. And he would only back down if she said she didn't love him anymore.

That was the question on his mind. Did she?

He sighed lovingly. He had tried to move on. Tried to find someone new. But no one could could compare. And that scared him, it scared the FUCK out of him.

He finally understood how Helga felt all these years.

But now, Arnold had hope. Hope that came in the form of something, not even Gerald knew. A secret that he and Helga had kept together. It was his glimmer that something new could happen again.

And that something new would be put into motion the minute they landed in Hillwood.

Who said Arnold couldn't be a purser?

Lila was currently walking around the Hillwood Mall with Rhonda and Nadine. The two (well mostly Rhonda) were chatting about the fling between a cheerleader and a soccer player at Hillwood High. Lila sighed, slowly let herself drift away from the conversation.

Lila Sawyer was a pretty girl, just as in her youth. Her red hair now was to the middle of her back and today it was put into a ponytail. She knew many people saw her as a beauty but her she was just average, especially compared to her friends the feisty blonde bombshell Helga and the dark haired fashionista Rhonda.

She sighed. The two combined had a trail of Hillwood boys surrounding them even though they both had eyes for only one. Lila had her share of admirers but not as deep as the latter two. Not that she noticed those boys anyways.

Lila had been in a relationship with Arnie for years up until the middle of sophomore year. Emphasis on had. Arnie had broken up with her after she surprised him with a visit to his farm only to discover him in bed with his next door neighbor. Then, he had the AUDACITY to tell her that she should leave and never call him again because he was in love with the girl. After she had sat in the bus for TWO HOURS to come see him.

Lila had never been so angry in her life. To say that everyone was shocked for the black eye she gave him was an understatement.

Ever since then, she decided to stay single for a while and work on herself. She found out she wasn't "Little Miss Perfect" and a part of her was mean and bold. And she liked that. She wasn't one dimensional.

And now that she knew herself, she was ready to find someone who would know her too. All of her.

Sid instantly pops into her head and immediately she shakes it out. She admires Sid's perseverance as a father and person, especially through this hard time. He was always nice to her and she adored Josh. To be honest with herself, she always had a little crush on him. She really noticed it about three months after her breakup, when they were swimming in Rhonda's pool. They were all playing around when Sid lifted her in the air and chased her around the pool, making her laugh. Afterwards, he helped her out and they had a deep conversation which allowed Lila to get to know him more. She blushed as she remembered the look on his face during their conversation, pure and full of joy with a tinge of interest.

But, she never had an opening to share that attraction due to Courtney. She always knew that Courtney didn't like her. Courtney didn't like how "innocent" she was. Helga chalked it up to jealousy since Courtney's ex had an infatuation for Lila. The girl interrupted any attempt of Lila talking to Sid, even if it was in a group setting. The only person who had really spotted it first besides herself was Helga. Anytime Courtney got too territorial, Helga would shut her down.

But now with her out of the way…..

Lila shook her head again. No way could she do that. Sid was too vulnerable now. She would just have to wait until the time was right.

Damn, I really have a thing for boys that are unattainable. Lila sighed.

She quickly noticed she was falling behind the two and jogged up to catch up with them and join another piece of gossip Rhonda picked up.

Helga paced back and forth in her room. Arnold's flight would be landing soon. He would be in Hillwood again. And it was making her freak out. So much so that she had planned an emergency meeting with Phoebe.

Phoebe rushed into the room with a shopping bag before closing the door behind her. "Okay so I bought Ben and Jerry's Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough, two bags of Spicy Sweet Chili Doritos, and enough candy to make us sick. Now tell me," Phoebe said as she grabbed Helga's hands. "What about Arnold coming back is making you so nervous? We talked about this with Dr. Bliss. Arnold isn't perfect, he has flaws just like you and me. He is capable of making mistakes and therefore you shouldn't blame yourself for his mistakes. He…"

"No, Phoebe. I mean I know that. But that's not it." Helga took a deep breath. Then she sat her friend down.

"Phoebe. I need to tell you something. Something that I've been hiding. And I told no one. You have to promise you won't get mad because it's done already and we can't go back in time. You promise?"

Phoebe looked at her quizzically. "Okay… I promise. Helga, just tell me."

Helga took another deep breath. Then, she prompted to (metaphorically) spill her guts.

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