Hey all! Sorry i haven't updated in like a billion years...i had finals week and then it was the holidays. Needless to say, busy time! So here is an extra long chapter for you :P

-A-

Just FYI, I ran into your fiancé on the subway. She saw your sculpture in my window, so the story is you gave it to Gerald who gave it to Phoebe. Idk if she talks to either of them, but if she does they may want to be in on this lie too.

That was the message on Arnolds phone. It's too bad he got that message while he was in the shower, trying to burn the morning out of his mind, deciding not to worry until he needed to. And it's also too bad that Lila did, in fact, still talk to Phoebe. And it's too bad that the minute she got off the subway, as she watched Helga walk quickly down the street, phone in hand and texting vigorously, that she decided to drop Phoebe a line.

"Hello?" Phoebe's voice came from the end of the receiver.

"Hello Phoebe, it's Lila," She said in a very transparently sweet tone. "I just had a very interesting conversation with Helga Pataki. She's still your best friend right?"

"Yeah, of course she is," Phoebe replied with confusion in her voice. If they were having this conversation in person, she could have seen the anger in Lila's face, but over the phone, she suspected nothing. "What did you guys talk about, if you don't mind me asking?"

"Oh, that lovely statue in the bookshop window," Lila said, looking at the ring on her finger. "It was really nice of Arnold to give it to her, he was working so hard on it."

"Yeah," Phoebe replied cheerfully. "He was so nice to come drop it off, Helga was so excited, it looks so nice in the window."

"Agreed. Well, that's all I needed, maybe we'll do dinner sometime this week. Goodbye." Lila hung the phone up without waiting for a response from Phoebe and, now fuming, marched down the road to her apartment.

Arnold got out of the shower and pressed his face into the warm towel. This could get ugly, real fast.

He rubbed down his hair before wrapping his towel around his waist and made his way into his bedroom. He got dressed slowly, his mind elsewhere. Helga was going home to her husband, who clearly suspected her of something…should he talk to Lila now? Should he end it now?

All of a sudden, he felt his heart clench. The thought of breaking up with his solid girlfriend of 8 years was hard to handle, even if he knew he loved Helga. But he loved Lila too, didn't he? Wasn't she the one he wanted to marry? You don't just get married to be married, you do it because you love someone…However, the more he thought about it, the less convinced he was. She had great qualities! Like…like…like what? Sure, she was a nice woman, she was good for someone, but not for him. It was like when they were elementary school, he was so sure he didn't want anything to do with her… at least at first…

This troubled him. Was he the kind of man who only enjoyed the chase? He had been so sure he loved Lila back then when she didn't love him at all. When they went to prom together, he was sure he had won her as a girlfriend and that they would go all the way that night. Yes, she had become his girlfriend, but she refused to sleep with him, and thus he was pursuing a new goal: get Lila in bed. When he got that, he ran out of goals. They had been together for so long, though, he thought this is what it was supposed to be. He was making himself sick, thinking this way. Was it that way with Helga?

The moment Helga slid back into his mind, he knew he had to break up with Lila. Just the thought of her made his heart swell. He wanted her physically, yes, but even after he had that, he wanted more of her. He wanted to make her smile, he wanted to make her happy, and he wanted her to have everything she ever wanted. That's not how he felt about Lila. It was time to end things with her, no matter how hard it would be.

It was at that second, when he finally made his decision, that his phone began vibrating. He looked down and saw it was a call from Lila. Talk about spooky timing… he thought as he picked up the phone. He didn't even have time to say hello before she started in on him.

"What do you think you're doing giving handmade sculptures to Helga Pataki? Hmm? What's the deal, Arnold?" She was practically yelling and Arnold had to hold the phone away from his ear, yet he could still hear her perfectly. He decided to play dumb.

"What?" He said, trying to sound as innocent as possible.

"Oh please, Arnold," She huffed. "Come over to my apartment right now!" and with that the line went dead. Arnold got his phone back to his home screen and noticed he had an unread message from Helga. He read it and sighed, thinking about how his luck couldn't be worse. He walked downstairs, slipping his coat on as he opened the front door.

"Arnold, where are you going?" Grandma asked from the living room.

"Over to Lila's, Grandma, I'll be back later today though," He called to her as he buttoned up.

"Oh, that Lila girl again?" Grandma said, now in the hallway with a basket full of folded laundry. "You should date Helga."

Arnold stopped in his tracks. He had heard her call Helga Eleanor, Helen of Troy, but she never got the name right, not a single time. "Grandma, do you know who you are talking about?"

"Of course I do, Arnold," she said, rolling her eyes. "That girl who stays here all the time in your room. You should just date her already, I like her so much more! She's…unique!"

She turned and headed up the stairs and Arnold went out the door, taking Grandma's words as yet another sign that it was time to change. He dug into his pockets and pulled his headphones out, placing the buds in his ears and shuffling through his music to find something to listen to, something to calm his nerves. Sitting on the bus, watching cars fly by, he mentally prepared himself for the fight of a lifetime. When he made it to her apartment complex, Arnold noticed his hand hesitating over Lila's buzzer. With a deep breath, he rang the bell. A buzz and a click told him the door was open and he made his way to her apartment. He only had to knock once before the door flew open and there stood Lila, hand on her hip, absolutely fuming.

"Care to explain?" she said, gesturing him inside. Arnold stepped over the threshold and stood there, hands in his coat pocket, looking at the floor and not saying a word because Lila wouldn't let him. "You know, this looks pretty bad, Arnold. She's just some girl from high school, and I'm your fiancé! You're supposed to do that kind of stuff for me, not women you barely speak to any more—"

"What makes you think I barely speak to her anymore?" Arnold said quietly, not looking at Lila. She fell silent for a moment, shock on her face.

"What's that supposed to mean, huh?" She said, throwing her hands on her hips again.

"It means that Helga is a good friend of mine," He said, shrugging. "We talk all the time…and we have for years."

"Well," Lila said with a cynical laugh. "This is certainly news to me! So you're going to have secret friends now, is that it? Girls you talk to daily that I don't know about? How do you think that makes me feel, Arnold? I mean, we don't even talk every day. Why is that? "

They hesitated, silent. "Why don't you talk to me every day, Arnold? Why does she get handmade sculptures from you, Arnold? I hope you're not leading her on, she's loved you as long as she's known you, just FYI."

"Because…I don't know," He said sighing. Now he was feeling guilty. "That's just the way it's been for a while now I guess."

"Oh yeah?" she sneered at him. "How long?"

"Since…" he thought back to that night she came into his room, bruised and bleeding. How she showed up that way so many times. How she'd come over in a rage at her father, spilling her guts and letting Arnold know her completely. She was an open book to him, and slowly he was an open book to her as well, and despite the break in their routine when she was first married, he had never been closer to someone. Not even the girl he was supposed to marry. "Jesus, Lila, I don't want to hurt you more than I already have."

Lila looked at him out of the corner of her narrowed eyes. "What do you mean? What's going on?"

With a deep breathe, he let it out. "Helga has been sneaking into my room since the day I asked you to go to prom with me in high school."

Lila stood there, mouth agape, so Arnold went on. "She came to me with her problems, and I let her sleep on my couch… it went on all of high school and into college until she got married… that's when we lost touch, and then you and I got engaged…"

"WHAT THE FUCK, ARNOLD?!" Lila yelled. "You let another woman SLEEP in your ROOM? What the HELL is your problem?!"

"I've got more to say," Arnold said, hand up to hold back her anger. He felt like once he finally started saying it, he couldn't stop. If he stopped, he would never get it out, and Lila deserved to know. "She stopped coming to my room when she was married, at least for a little while. Then she came to me one time, just like she used to… it was the first time she'd done that in years…she was beaten up just like before, and…I couldn't do anything for her, just like before…I didn't do anything for her…she was just so sad and so beautiful like she always has been and…and …I don't know…"

"Arnold, what's going on," Lila said, a mixture of anger, sadness, and fear of what he was going to say filling her voice, causing it to quake. "What do you mean? What are you trying to tell me?"

"Helga and I have been having an affair for the last five years," he said, closing his eyes, a rush of relief and pain washing over him. He opened his eyes to see Lila with her hands over her face, tears streaming from her eyes, shaking her head. He reached out to comfort her, but she slapped his hand away. She turned and headed into the kitchen, her hands on her head, sobbing. She sank down in a kitchen chair, folded her arms and buried her face.

"I'm sorry Lila," Arnold said, tears in his eyes now. How could he have been so terrible? How could he have dragged her along for so long? "I didn't mean for it to end up this way, I didn't want to hurt you."

"You didn't want to hurt me?" Lila said through her tears. "Really? That's a good one, Arnold, really, that's just hilarious."

"I'm serious, Lila," He said, sitting down at the table across from her. "I thought…I just thought that…I don't know what I thought."

"I know what you thought," Lila said viciously. "You thought you could get everything you ever wanted. You'd have a wife who would do everything for you at home, and a bitch on the side you could fuck whenever you wanted."

"NO!" Arnold yelled, on his feet. "That's NOT what I wanted! I thought we were a smart match, that you were the one I wanted because we fit so well together. But I was wrong, we didn't fit well, we've never been a good match, and I didn't realize it."

"Then what now, Arnold? What happens now?" Arnold didn't answer her for a long time, looking down at the table. Lila sighed and asked the question he had been waiting for. "Do you love her?"

"Yeah," he said, and smiled despite himself. It wasn't a happy smile, but a relieved smile. It was as if all his issues were melting away, everything was changing and he was ready for it. "Yeah, I really do."

Lila stood up, pushing her chair back violently. She tugged the engagement ring off her finger and threw it at Arnold. It bounced off his chest and he fumbled to catch it. She grabbed him by the collar of his coat and steered him out to the door, shoving him into the hallway. "You can keep that shitty ring, I don't want it, and I don't want you! I deserve a better man than you!"

And with that, she slammed the door. Arnold stood there and stared at it for a long time with mixed feelings. He had lost the girl he had for eight years; she had been in his life for eight years. He didn't love her, and he hadn't loved her for a long time, but still… that's a long time to be with someone. After all, he planned to marry that girl and be with her forever.

It's amazing how plans change, he thought, shoving his hands into his pockets and heading down the stairs. Lila's last words echoed viciously in his mind. I deserve a better man than you. She was right, of course, she deserved better. But was he really all that bad? He would like to think he was a good man, most of the time at least. Everyone makes mistakes…but does this one mistake make him worse than other men? After all, this was a big mistake; huge, in fact. There was no doubt in his mind that Lila deserved a man who would love her properly, but now a new question lingered on his mind: did he deserve better?

Crippling self-doubt consumed him as he walked the streets, his feet eventually leading him to the boarding house. He walked up the stairs, his feet heavy and head aching. He sat down in the living room, tossing his coat, gloves, and scarf right on the floor in front of him. He pulled his keys out of his pocket and tossed them on the little side table next to him, closing his eyes and rubbing his temple.

"Is that you, Shortman?" Grandpa's face came around the corner, looking at his grandson with a furrowed brow. "Something on your mind?"

"Hey Grandpa," Arnold said, dropping his hand and smiling at the old man. "Yeah, I don't know, just a rough night I suppose."

"Well," Grandpa said, taking a seat across from Arnold. He struggled, which only made Arnold feel worse. "How about you tell me about it?"

Arnold told him how he just got back from Lila's, what she had said to him, and all of the doubt he had been feeling about himself. Grandpa listened closely, his hand on his chin; typical grandpa.

"Listen to me, Arnold," he said firmly when Arnold finished. "You are one of the best kids I've ever met. Seriously! I've watched you grow into the young man you are today, and let me tell you, you're just fine."

"But I feel like shit right now," Arnold said, putting an elbow on his knee and his fingers through his hair. "I cheated on my girlfriend for five years, you can't get much lower than that."

"I know, Arnold, I know you feel bad. You did a bad thing, there's no denying that," Grandpa said, and Arnold heaved a sigh. Grandpa leaned over to him, putting a hand on his. "But just because you did a bad thing doesn't mean you're a bad person. You feel sorry for what you've done, I can see that very clearly. And you did the right thing by telling Lila what happened. Maybe you were a little late, but you let her go before it was too late. She will move on with her life, and she will be okay. You will move on, and you will be okay. It'll all work out in the end, I think."

Grandpa smiled, and Arnold felt a little better about the whole thing. He did something horrible, yes, but he was fixing it. Helga was right, he needed to fix things, both with Lila and within himself. He figured out what he wanted, and he took the steps to making things right in the world. He was not a horrible person after all.

Arnold's pocket began vibrating. Standing up, he pulled the phone out of his pocket and noticed it was from an unknown number. Before excusing himself from the room, Arnold gave his grandfather a hug and thanked him for all his help. He went into the hallway and answered the call.

"Hello?"

"Arnold," The all too familiar voice answered him, shaking and scared. "It's Helga."

"Hey," He replied, worried. What could have happened now? "Of course, I know it's you, what's wrong?"

"I need to meet you," she said, her voice thick with tears. It was rare that Helga cried, even when Jason would hit her. Arnold felt his heart seizing up. "Now, right now. It can't wait."

"I'm on my way," He said, rushing to get his coat and keys. Grandpa appeared in the doorway from the living room, looking worried. Arnold looked at him, sharing a look that said this was serious. "Where?"

"Somewhere he won't find me." Helga whispered. Arnold stopped in his tracks. She sounded scared, very scared. She was never scared.

"I've got the perfect place. Meet me at the corner of Vine and 45th."

He hung up the phone, and for a moment looked at his grandfather, speechless. When he found his voice, all he could say was "I've gotta go."

Grandpa nodded and gestured him out the door. Arnold ripped the door open and flew down the stoop, slipping at the bottom, but getting his footing right away and sprinted down the road to the bus stop, forgetting to shut the door completely. It didn't matter. He had to find Helga.

He hailed a cab, and jumped in the back seat, shouting his directions and throwing twenty bucks at the man. When the finally made it to the meeting place he told Helga, he left the car, not waiting for change. Helga was there, but she was sitting on a stoop of an unfamiliar building, hood up and huddled. He walked over to her, slowly, like approaching a scared deer. He stood in front of her for a long time, waiting. Finally, she looked up.

Arnold winced looking at her, then put his hand to his forehead. It was bad this time, really bad. Her hair was matted with blood, her eyes and bridge of her nose were black and blue with blood dripping out of one nostril. Her face was puffy and bruised all over.

"Jesus Helga," He said, taking a step back, trying to control his emotions. "I'm sorry, but we have to do something about this."

"Just get me out of here," she said quietly. They walked in silence for a few blocks when he stopped in front of a dark building. He looked at her, meeting her sad eyes with his. He smiled slightly, and she returned it, putting her hand on his shoulder. He reached up to touch it, but she pulled back wincing. She smirked a little more and showed him her bruised and bloody knuckles.

"It might have been stupid," she said, a little bit of confidence back in her voice. "But I started it this time."

"That's my girl," he said, kissing her gently on the face, avoiding any bruises. He slid the key into the lock and they walked up the dark staircase, floor after floor, until they reached the top. Arnold opened a big warehouse style door and gestured Helga into the dark, empty room. She walked out into the middle.

"Where are we, anyways?" Helga asked, turning on the spot, squinting in the darkness.

"Trust me, you'll like it," Arnold replied with a smirk.

With that, he flipped the light switch and watched as, despite the pain and bruising, Hegla's face broke into a smile.

"Oh, Arnold," She said, putting her hands over her mouth. "I love it."