Okay, a bit of explaining is in order for this story. Frankly, I am no longer proud of this story. I lost site of it a few chapters back, which accounts for my slow updates. However, I couldn't let my biases prevent me from finishing this story. Some of you have been with me since I started it years ago, and it would be selfish of me to not finish it. This chapter is a little short, and I'm sorry about that. I wanted this to end on this tone, and the next chapter will be the last and final chapter. it may end up horribly long, but I think it's time to finally wrap up this story.

So thanks for the ride..it's been swell.

"Sometimes the right path is not the easiest one." ~ Grandmother Willow; Pocahontas

"What did you think you were doing?"Jace whined, his voice a high pitched annoyance in Helga's ears as she scrubbed the make-up from her face in the sink. "I'll admit, though, the look on her face was pah-riceless."

Helga didn't bother to give him a response, her actions already playing on repeat in her head. She'd run straight to his Jace's car, demanding he take her home when he'd run out after her. He had done as she asked without fight, but now that they were in the safety and privacy of her home, he'd been pestering her nonstop. So maybe she had reacted a little harshly, but Jeanne had deserved every bit of what she got. She scowled, scrubbing harder to get the mascara from her eyes. The mask she had on wasn't her, and she could never be that person. She was gruff and overreacted, and that wasn't going to change. The swirls of color disappearing down the drain gave her a sense of relief, plus over exposure.

"Come on Hellie, let me in. Are you okay? We could just talk about it. Talk to meeeeee."

"That wasn't the plan," Helga snarled, jerking the door of the bathroom open. She took a step back as Jace stumbled forward in surprise at his shoulder rest being moved away. "I originally wanted to make her jealous, then I got petty, and instead embarrassed her and it…well it just got out of hand. If Arnold finds out, I'm so dead," she moaned, covering her face with her hands as she leaned back against the bathroom counter.

"Speaking of dead, he's texted you like three times since we got home," Jace admitted, wiggling her cellphone in her face. "I kinda sorta may have peeked. Just a smidge." He smiled sheepishly.

"What did he say?" Helga squeaked, snatching the phone from his hands. She hastily scrolled through the texts, groaning as she read the messages to herself. "He says I'll never believe what happened at Jeanne's party, and wants to know if he can stop by to talk about it since it got cut short early. What do I even say?"

"Say no! Tell him you have cramps and blood is spouting from your vagina like the hallways in the Shining. He'll recognize me!" Jace panicked, clenching his fists as he spoke.

"That is digusting!" Helga retorted, contorting her face in distaste as she pushed passed him in her rush down the hall to her bedroom. She didn't want to lie anymore, did she? Maybe if she just came clean now, he'd only hate her a little bit. Or she could just hide in her covers and never speak to him again. Little sounds of worry kept squeaking through her lips as she shirked the fancy dress, slipping into her gym shorts and a t-shirt. "This was a stupid idea," she grumbled.

"You'll have to face him sooner or later, I guess," Jace said, leaning against the doorframe to her bedroom. "I'll just, you know, hide in the closet or something," he suggested, shrugging.

"I know," Helga whined, plopping down on the bed. "Toss me the phone," she instructed, pointing over to her vanity. Jace picked it up, coming to sit down on the bed as he handed it to her. "I guess I'll tell him I'm sick, and maybe he won't stay very long," she muttered aloud, punching in the message and hitting the send button. She held her breath until it showed it had gone through, then rolled over and buried her face in her pillow. She let out a small whimper, feeling the bed move as Jace sat down beside her. She could feel him start to rub her back, trying to soothe her.

"It'll be okay. W hat's the worst that could happen?" he asked. "So maybe he'll be really upset if he figures out it's you cause that would be a waste of his money and planning, but oh well. I mean, it's not like he'll just ignore you or anything.

Helga let out a pitiful wail into the pillow. The two both stiffened at the sound of the doorbell echoing through the house.

"What, was he just sitting on your steps? I'll just wait up here. Go go go. Wait, look at me," Jace babbled, latching onto her arm as she was about to exit the room. "Let me see your sick face." Helga didn't have to do much pretending, her stomach was already twisted in knots and her nerves were awful. Jace nodded his head in approval. "Good enough." Helga nodded, jumping up from the bed. She yelped as Jace grabbed her arm, pulling her over to the vanity and thrusting a brush in her hands. "Okay, so I'm an idiot….he's going to notice the hair." He grimaced apologetically.

Helga snarled, quickly jerking the brush through her curls and pulling her hair into a sloppy bun. Maybe he wouldn't notice. Oh please don't let him notice.

Taking a deep breath, she made her way down the stairs, trying to take her time. When the doorbell sounded again, she added a tiny burst of speed to her walk. She paused when she reached the door, her hand hovering over the doorknob. She gave in, jerking it open like ripping off a Band-Aid.

He turned to look at her, his face concerned when he caught sight of her. She really must look bad.

"You want something?" she asked, milking the silk aspect. She dropped her gaze to the steps.

"Oh wow, you don't look good at all! Have you eaten anything?" he began to babble, holding up a small plastic bag. "When I got your text, I stopped by the deli on the way. I got you some chicken soup."

"Oh, uh, thanks, you didn't have to," she replied, her eyes widening. "I don't need it."

"Oh, well, I guess you can put it in the fridge. Soup always helps when I'm sick."

"Oh…."

"Um, can I come in?" he finally asked, nodding his head toward the living room. "Oh, oh yeah. Sure. Come on in." She stepped back out of the way, allowing him to step inside. He weaved around her, making his way to the kitchen and opening the fridge. He pushed some of the food around to make room for the soup, saying nothing as he closed the door and turned to look at her.

"Thanks for the soup," she said sheepishly, rubbing her hand over her arm as though she were trying to sand it off. The way he was looking at her made her feel uncomfortable. Her gaze fell to the floor once more.

"Do you have anything else to say to me?" he prompted gently, crossing his arms over his chest. She felt her guilt flare up immediately, and she bit down on her lip. Did he know?

"What did you have to tell me?" she asked instead, sitting down on a chair at the kitchen table. She traced imaginary shapes on the wood with her finger. She didn't look up as she heard him pull back the other chair. She could see his hands on the table, but she couldn't even make herself look at his hands.

"Jeanne's party turned out to be a disaster. Some strange guy showed up, totally embarrassed her in front of everyone. Then a beautiful girl in a red dress covered her in chocolate mousse, which caused Jeanne to go hide out in the bathroom before storming out." His laugh sounded forced. "Weird huh?"

"Totally," Helga replied, forcing herself to look up this time. She tried to make herself look surprised, as though she had no previous knowledge of these events. "How strange."

"You want to know what was really strange?" he asked, locking his gaze with hers. She felt her palms start to sweat, so she dropped them to her lap.

"What?" she asked slowly.

"That you couldn't just tell me about your problem with Jeanne."

You could have heard a pin drop. Helga felt her cheeks grow warm, opening and closing her mouth as she floundered with what to say. "I don't-"

"Helga, please don't sit here and try to lie to me," he said with a pained expression. "For once, you could tell me the truth. Why did you do that to her? And to me?"

"I never said it was me!" Helga retorted instinctively, wanting to desperately to run up to her room and hide.

"Do you want me to bring up how I know it was you?" he said with a bit of anger this time. "Do you need to me to embarrass you like that just to get you to tell me the truth? I'm trying to give you a chance here, Helga. Take it. For God sake, take it. Why did you do that?"

"I…I didn't do anything," she sighed. She really wanted to tell him, she did. It was right there in her mouth, waiting to come out. But the words just wouldn't actually come out. It was like an invisible barrier inside of her was mangling the words and sending them out all wrong. How could she tell him she did it because she was furiously jealous of Jeanne, and how she was using Arnold? Could she say it was just her protective instinct? Could she really tell him she just wanted to make Jeanne look bad in front of him? What if this led into a confession? She couldn't do it.

"Okay," he muttered, and the disappointment in his tone was like a shot straight to her heart. She watched as he pushed the seat back from the table as he stood up. "Okay then." He dropped his arms heavily to his side. She sat up proudly as he walked past her toward the door. She waited for the sound of it to open, surprised when it never came. She stood up hastily, surprised to find him still standing at the entry way to the kitchen.

"What?" she said a bit stiffly.

"Look, I heard what Jeanne said about me, though. I really wasn't as far away as she seemed to think I was. I did things for her out of kindness, and she took my kindness as a sign of naivety. I guess she thought I was doing it all because she was pretty, but that's just the person I've always been. I look for good in people, and I wasn't so stupid as to believe she genuinely liked me. But, I also heard what you said." He held up his hand to shush her as she opened to mouth to protest. "And though I thank you for sticking up for me, maybe you should reevaluate who needs to think those words over. I expected everything Jeanne did because I know she's that kind of person. I used to think I knew what kind of person you were, and I never thought it was a liar. But you know what? I guess I am naïve. Night, Helga."

She couldn't bring herself to say anything as he walked out, pulling the door shut with a gentle click behind him. It was strange how such a tiny and normal gesture hurt her like it did. He'd shut the door on her. He'd closed the door on Helga Pataki, and he wasn't going to come back.

And with nothing else to lose, she sank down to her knees and cried.