A/N: I know that the chapters are pretty short, but I feel like when ever I try to write more just to up the word count, is deludes the story, and that's the problem I seem to be running into with this story. I would write more just plane story points, like more of Helga's thoughts, but I feel that if I do that, without having a sufficient reason to do so, it would break the spell I have you guys trapped under. And I am trying to keep you guys happy and on the edge of your seat as far as Arnold goes, because I love the feed back I am getting on his character. And just so you guys know, you're guy's questions will all be answered. So don't worry! And there will be more interactions between him and Helga and more chapters are written, and as the story progresses.

Thanks again you guys, all of you for your support on this story. I didn't think it would get this much attention, but I really love the reviews I'm getting on it, and the more reviews I get, the more scenes I have written in my head that I am dying to get out there. So, the more you guys review, the more time and thought I put into this story. So keep reviewing.

"Hi little sister!" Olga's voice cheered over the line.

"Hey big sister." Helga said back, more toned down that the greeting she had just received.

"How was your first week of classes?"

Helga popped another piece of lettuce in her mouth before continuing, "Fine, all things considered. I'm reading The Republic for my philosophy class, and it's kind of intense, and I have a paper due on Tuesday for my writing class, and I broke up with Justin."

Unfortunately, her casual tone didn't throw her older sister as much as she had hoped, by the sudden and very audible gasp that she heard on the other end of the line. "You what?! Why?"

Helga shrugged and moved her salad around with her fork a bit. "He was cheating on me."

"Oh Helga, I'm so sorry. Are you okay?" Olga asked, sounding as if she was consoling a small child who had just scraped their knee.

"I'm fine, Olga." She replied casually, popping a cherry tomato in her mouth.

"Are you sure, Helga? You two were together for so long."

"Olga, I'm fine. If he feels that he needs to cheat on me, then he doesn't deserve to call me his girlfriend."

"Helga, I'm very surprised to hear you talking so casually about this. Are you-"

"Yes, Olga, I'm sure I'm fine. I'm not suppressing any feelings of rejection or heartbreak or anything, so you can unclench your stomach."

"Do you want me to drive up there so we can go to lunch?"

"You can if you want." Helga said, putting another piece of her salad in her mouth. "But Olga, can you please stop talking about my ex-boyfriend? All it does is make me angry."

"Okay, okay, I won't. So how do you like living in a dorm?"

"I like it a lot more now that Rhonda and I are friends."

"Oh? You two are getting along alright?"

"Great, actually. She's studying sociology to become a social worker. She's really cool."

"I'm glad, Helga." There was a pause in the conversation as Helga poked and prodded a few remaining pieces of her salad. "So... now that you and Justin are over, is there anyone... catching your eye?"

Helga rolled her eyes and leaned back in her chair. "Olga, I just broke up with my boyfriend of one year. I'm going to need a little more time than a day to be ready to date anyone again." She half lied to her. She wasn't going to tell Olga about Arnold until she had something to tell her. As of now, the only thing that she knew about him for sure was that he wasn't all that bad looking. The rest was speculation. But she was right, she is going to need a little more time than that to be ready to date anyone again, no matter how well she is taking her break up with Justin.

"Oh alright. Oh, Mommy and Daddy want to say hi."

After greeting her parents and telling them that she was doing just fine, the phone was returned to Olga, who told her that she was getting together a care package for her. And the only thing she asked for is her favorite sweatshirt that she had left sitting on her bed in her rush to get out the door on time. After sending her love to her family back home, she hung up and slid her phone back onto her pocket and stood up, throwing away her trash and making her way back to her dorm.

"Okay, I'll call you back and let you know." She heard Rhonda say into her phone just before she snapped it shut and stood up, taking a step toward her. "Hey, I just got off the phone with Thaddy."

"Who?"

"Thaddy, the guy I was telling you about. Anyway, he just called me and invited me to a little get together that he's going to at the frat house. You want to come?"

"Oh, I don't know, Rhonda. I don't have the fondest memories of that place." Helga said, making her way to her bed and setting her backpack down onto the floor.

"It's not like a party or anything. Just a few friends sitting around, relaxing, getting to know each other. Come on, it'll be fun!" Rhonda whined. After deciding to ignore her for a moment, and pretending to dig around in her backpack for something that wasn't there, she saw Rhonda step up to her side, and bend over to meet her eyes. "Arnold might be there." She said with a smirk.

"Duh, he lives there, Rhonda." Helga responded with a roll of her eyes, turning around and opening the door to her closet.

"All the more reason to come!"

"What fun would I be? I don't drink, or anything." She was quickly running out of excuses. She could say that she had homework to do, but with the argument of Arnold being there, her mind told her that her paper was already three quarters of the way written, and she could finish it tomorrow.

"Neither do I. You know that." Rhonda replied. She does remember her telling her that she doesn't drink because of what it did to her father, and is afraid that it might do the same thing to her. "Come on... you know you want to. You could try and get Arnold to talk to you again."

Helga looked over to Rhonda from the side, who was giving her a very expectant look, and let out a breath. "Alright." Rhonda's smile brightened and she bounced on her heels a few times before Helga turned and held her hand up to her. "But, I'm not going for Arnold." She said as Rhonda squinted her eyes over to her, "I'm going because I just broke up with my scumbag of a boyfriend of one year, and need a night out. But, if it's anything like what it was the last time I went there, I'm walking out. I don't do wild parties."

"Neither do I, Helga. Thaddy assured me that it's just a couple of very cool, down to earth people, coming together to hang out. And I'll be there, I'll look out for you."

Helga and Rhonda had left a little after six, and decided to walk to the frat house. It was a little colder than usual, and the walk was slightly calming to her slightly worked up nerves. Rhonda led her down the street toward the frat house, and Helga's anxiety decreased dramatically when she saw that it was very calm. No loud music blaring through the walls, no very drunken idiots falling over each other on the steps outside, no large crowd of people she didn't know. They stepped up to the door and Rhonda knocked hard a few times and leaned over to ring the door bell. A few moments after, the door opened to reveal a guy a little taller then them, blonde hair a little paler than Helga's, looking a little dopey. "Hey, you guys here for the thing?"

"Yeah, we are." Rhonda said with a smile.

"Cool, come on in. Everybody else is in the back room." They stepped inside and Helga was very relieved to find the foyer empty. "My name's Arnie, and I live here. If there's anything I can get you guys, just let me know.

"Thanks, we're good." Rhonda said as she made her way through the foyer and into the backroom, and Helga followed her. They stepped into the room and Helga could see that Rhonda was right. It really was just a few friends hanging out. There were a couple people sitting on the couch, while a small Asian girl and another Asian guy of equal size were sitting at the table beside the window, locked in a game of chess. One guy stood up from one of the recliners, and smiled brightly over at them, and Rhonda bounced on her heels and opened her arms up to him as he came up to her. "Hey Thaddy!" She cooed as he hugged her.

"Hey pretty lady!" He said. He was about Rhonda's height, maybe a little shorter, his hair slicked back with a slight wave with a pair of round glasses over his eyes.

"Thaddy, this is my roommate, Helga." Rhonda said, turning to her side and motioning to her.

"Helga, nice to meet you." He said, extending his hand to her with a smile.

"You too, um..." She trailed off, not really comfortable with calling him by what was obviously Rhonda's pet name for him.

"Thaddeus, or Thad for short. But most people call me Curly." He said with a nod of his head.

"Curly? Why is that?"

"I have no idea." He shrugged, hearing Rhonda giggle beside her. Rhonda made her way across the room as Thad had sat back down in his chair, while she perched herself against the arm, leaving Helga standing in the middle of the room a little awkwardly.

"You going out again, Arnold?" Someone called out. Helga, curiosity being pulled, silently excused herself and stepped out into the arch way between the foyer and the back room, seeing Arnie leaning out from the room across the foyer, looking up the stairs. Helga followed his eyes up the stairs and saw Arnold making his way down the stairs, black hooded sweatshirt zipped all the way up, backpack over his shoulders, staring blankly down at the stairs as he descended them.

Her pulse quickened a bit at the sight of him, and she stayed quiet while he made his way down the stairs, stopping at the bottom, turning his head toward Arnie. After a moment, she saw Arnie nod his head once before Arnold continued toward the door, turning his head toward her to give her a brief side glance, one which she couldn't help but smile softly back at. He turned his attention blankly forward, opened the front door and was gone. She looked back over to Arnie and saw him looking toward the door, a bit of a sad expression on his face. At the brief sight of the two of them standing side by side, she quickly remembered something that Justin had told her.

Not knowing what came over her, she walked across the foyer and over to Arnie, gaining his attention when she was within a few steps. "Do you know him?" She asked, nodding her head toward the door that Arnold had just walked out of.

Arnie nodded, "Yeah, he's my cousin. Why?"

"Oh really?" She asked, being replied to with another nod. "Do you know where he's going?"

"No, he never tells me. He usually just leaves for the weekend and comes back Sunday night. Even if I knew where he goes, I don't think he would appreciate me telling anyone. He's a pretty private person."

"Oh, I'm... I'm sorry for intruding." She said with a soft smile and a wave of her hand.

Arnie chuckled a bit while shaking his head. "It's alright. You're not the first person to ask questions about him." Arnie turned his head back toward the door before continuing. "I actually have a few of them myself."

The nagging and tugging feeling in her stomach was killing her right now, and she couldn't help but try and see how much she could pull on this line of questioning before it snapped back and hit her in the face. "So... he lives here?"

Arnie looked back to her, and nodded. "Yeah. And before you ask, no, I can't you get into his room, even if I wanted to."

"Oh no, I wasn't going to ask that. He's just in my philosophy class and I... I don't know, call me curious, I guess." She said with a blushing smile, trying not to sound like a desperate girl with a crush.

"He's taking philosophy again?" Arnie asked her, very surprised, being answered by a nod of her head. "I swear, he just needs to pick a major already."

"He's undeclared?"

"As far as I know, yeah, has been for the past year and a half."

"Hmm..." She said, turning her head toward the door. "So you have no idea where he goes on the weekends?"

"Nope, no idea. And honestly, as long as he doesn't come back covered in blood or anything, I let him keep to himself."

"Hey Helga!" Rhonda called from the other room. Helga looked over her shoulder to see Rhonda waving her in.

She looked back toward Arnie and a feeling of guilt started to scratch at the pit of her stomach, replacing the nagging need for answers, which she didn't get. All she got were more questions. "I'm sorry for prying. I know it's not my place to ask questions that I have no right to know the answers to."

"Like I said, I have a few of them myself." Arnie said with a shake of his head as he turned back to the other room. While Helga walked back into the other room, finding Rhonda waiting for her anxiously.

"So what'd you find out?" She asked with a smile.

Helga looked over to her, pursing her lips and giving her a half lidded deadpanned stare. "That he's mysterious and brooding."