Author's Note: Ta-da! I present to you Chapter 12. The Lollipops are back! It was a little emotional to write this one. Hey, Arnold! and ALL characters mentioned belong to Craig Bartlett and Nickelodeon.

ONWARDS!~

Chapter 12: To Friendships and New Beginnings

The next morning, Arnold woke up to the sound of his alarm. As he reached over to turn it off, he came in contact with the warm body sleeping soundly next to him. He lifted the cover off from her face and observed the blonde beauty sleeping peacefully. Her blonde locks were scattered around the pillow, her face was relaxed, and her plump lips were parted slightly as she exhaled and inhaled softly. He was momentarily struck by the events of last night. Never in a million years did he imagine he would be thrown on his bed and managed by Helga Pataki. If you'd told his younger self that he would one day indulge in her assertive nature the way he had, he would have believed it to be all a joke or a trick of nature. He stared at her for a few more moments, in awe at her natural beauty.

She begun to stir and then blinked open her eyes. Her drowsy eyes settled on his and she let out a yawn.

"Good morning, Football head." She spoke softly as a pink blush settled on her cheeks.

"Good morning, lovely Celine." He smiled and patted her head. He'd thought a lovelier image didn't exist as her eyes struggled to keep eye-contact and her nude body squirmed besides him.

'A sleepy Helga in the morning. That's what I was missing in my life.' He thought as he let out a laugh while he observed her embarrassed face and struggle to keep the covers up.

"It's no use trying to hide, Helga. I already saw everything." He murmured as he grabbed a hold of the blankets she was now holding over her head.

"But that was last night. Criminy! why is your room so bright in the morning?" She protested under the covers, squirming this way and that besides him. Images of last night started to flood her memory, and she felt her face heat up.

'Oh, my God! What was I thinking last night! How can I face him today?! Be still my beating heart! Oh, I smell like him! I'm surrounded by his scent! This is heaven!'

Arnold paused and let out a sigh. Interrupting her lovestruck reverie, he reached over to uncover her face. "Helga, are you by any chance….embarrassed?" He tried as he smirked and took in her avoiding gaze.

"Me? Embarrassed? Pshh, w-why would you think that?"

"Because you are hiding under the covers and are refusing to make eye contact?" He offered. After a moment of silence, he stirred closer to her. He gathered her body close to his, her back to his front.

"A-Arnold? What do you think you are doing?" She protested as his arms encircled her.

"I am holding my girlfriend in the morning." He paused and inhaled the vanilla scent of her hair. "Helga, there's nothing to be embarrassed about. Last night was…incredible." He whispered into her hair as her body finally stopped squirming and rendered to his embrace.

On their walk to school that morning, the couple walked hand-in-hand, a feat that had once again been conquered when Helga finally allowed that small liberty to take place; at least until they reached school grounds. Since their heated encounter in the janitor closet, Arnold had begun to understand the complexities of his girlfriend. She was surprisingly shy and did not like to draw attention to herself in public. Most of all, she was not used to being vulnerable around others and preferred to show that side to him in private spaces. He accepted all these parts of her and enjoyed teasing her occasionally, while being careful not to push her too far.

That afternoon during P.E, a class Helga shared with Lila, the blonde begun her daily routine of stretching and warming-up her body in preparation for the baseball game the class was participating in. The class was scattered in different places around the school field. Helga appreciated the unusually warm February day in Hillwood. The snow had finally receded, and the weather was showing signs of an early spring arrival. While she looked up at the clouds and practiced her splits on the ground, she heard a clashing noise behind her. She stood up and looked towards the noise. On the corner of the square field, she spotted the Lollipops, her former bullies, surrounding Lila in a semi-circle. The group of four girls had just pushed her towards a nearby metal trashcan and Lila was now on the ground with a distraught look on her face.

'I guess I should've known that once they laid off my case they would double down on little Miss Perfect. Oh well, not my problem.'

As Helga turned and gave her back to them, a pang of guilt hit her like a bus.

'Okay, so they are bullying her now. But they are not bullying me! And that's really all that matters here. Right?!'

Pulling her beanie down over her eyes and groaning out loud in desperation, Helga stomped around and studied her surroundings, looking for a way to help the poor girl. She spotted a bat and went over to grab it, voicing her thoughts audibly, "You and your good-hearted nature. You can't hide it, can you!?" She told herself as she angrily stomped over to the group of girls.

"Quick! There's a fight at the school yard!" Curly ran through the hallways and loudly announced the fight happening outside. Arnold and Gerald looked at each other in expectation.

"A fight huh? What do you say, Arnold. Wanna go take a look?" Gerald raised his eyebrow questioningly.

"I don't know Gerald. Fights aren't very fun, especially if someone seriously gets hurt. Plus, we are gonna be late to class."

"Arnold, Geography is the most boring class ever. C'mon Mr. Brightside. What do you say?" Gerard elbowed him in suggestion.

When the pair of friends approached the school yard and neared the commotion, they observed the Lollipops surrounding none other than Lila Sawyer. The small red-haired girl looked distraught and her hair and gym outfit looked shuffled and dirty, as if some foul liquid had been thrown at her. Her eyes looked frantically around, looking at her assailants wearily. Her mascara was smudged, and she had tears running down her eyes. She was kneeling on the ground, and the trashcan behind her had been knocked over.

Arnold felt his blood boil at the sight of his friend on the ground. More than anything, he felt angry as he observed that nobody was doing anything to help her. In fact, most students looked at the scene in expectation, as if waiting for the show to go on. He begun to move through the crowd with the intention of saving Lila when suddenly he heard a voice so familiar that he froze in place and looked around to find Helga holding a baseball bat and moving through the crowd at a fast pace.

He observed as his girlfriend neared the group of girls and tapped the metal trashcan with the bat, announcing her arrival. Nonchalantly, she stepped directly in front of Lila, in a display of protection. She stood confidently with her legs apart and rested the bat behind her neck, her hands holding each end of it.

"It hardly seems fair, four against one, Doesn't it?" Helga spoke, lifting her eyebrow and staring into the faces of each of the mean bullies, who currently looked too shocked to retort.

"Cat got your tongues?" Helga looked around, sneering. She suddenly wielded the bat and swung it in front of her with one arm. She held it out in front and gently begun to maneuver it around the circle of girls, holding it directly in front of their faces.

"Okay, let's get this over with. Who wants to meet Ol' Betsy and her new bat toy first?" She announced loudly, as if she was offering candy to a group of small children.

The crowd erupted in gasps and cheers. The Lollipops scrambled away as fast as possible, pushing and hurrying through the crowd.

Arnold stood wide-eyed and paralyzed in place as he observed the blonde girl fearlessly protect Lila. It was amazing to see her in action. No doubt, the Helga he'd fallen in love with was always surprising him with her bravery and loyalty. He felt goosebumps rising in him when she'd swung the bat. He'd recognized the fire in her eyes. A fire that appeared in rare occasions whenever she set her sights on protecting someone.

"Wow, did you see that? I wouldn't wanna mess with your girl, man." Gerald approached and tapped Arnold's shoulders, shaking him out of his reverie.

"She's…amazing, isn't she?" Arnold murmured, looking dreamily at the girl currently helping Lila off the floor.

"MM MM MM! You really are one sick puppy, ya know that?" Gerald grinned as he observed his friend's lovesick daze.

As the crowd dispersed in all different directions, Helga leaned down and offered an outstretched hand to Lila. Lila took it and stood up. Both girls looked uncomfortably around, unsure of where to go from there.

"Heh. That'll probably scare them off for a while." Helga murmured as she disposed of the bat and took in the sight of the teary-eyed red-head.

"You will probably need new gym clothes. I have a spare in my locker. Wanna follow me?" Helga spoke, tilting her head questioningly.

Lila fervently wiped away the tears still building up in her eyes. In a moment of built-up gratitude, Lila leaped and embraced the blonde, who stood frozen in place as Lila expressed her gratitude.

Lila knew Helga was kinder than what she'd led others to believe. She had experienced firsthand the true nature of Helga Pataki in the past, but she'd never admitted to herself or anyone just how loyal she could be. Even now, after years of being known acquaintances and sharing friendships, Lila could not help but admire the free-spirited and strong-willed woman Helga was. Unlike her own reserved nature, Lila felt a special pull towards Helga because she was always unapologetically herself. If she was angry, she showed it. If she was annoyed or displeased about something, she expressed it. Lila could not deny the admiration she'd always felt towards her. As opposite as they may be, and perhaps because of it, Lila always felt like she had a lot to learn from her elementary school friend.

Lila pulled away and looked at Helga, who still looked slightly startled by the unexpected show of gratitude.

Helga wrinkled her nose and looked down at her gym clothes.

"What did those four losers pour on you? We will smell horrible the rest of the day." Helga protested, ignoring the previous show of gratitude Lila had shown.

"Oh, Helga. You are just the coolest person I know. I mean it. Thank you!" Lila smiled wide at the blonde.

"Yeah, yeah, Sister. I was just making sure those four didn't get away with bullying anyone else." Helga scowled and started marching towards the girl's locker rooms, with Lila trailing closely behind.

On a late March evening after school, Arnold, along with Gerald, Stinky, and Sid, sat around in Arnold's room and discussed many topics. The group of four had made it an almost daily routine to gather after school for band practice. Occasionally, Helga, Phoebe, and even Curly would join to watch the group practice and later, all together would sit around and chit-chat, visit the park, or walk around town eating ice cream. This evening, only the group of four friends sat around eating pizza after their band practice.

"That was great practice guys, I think we really nailed it this time." Arnold exclaimed as he sat on the ground and grabbed a slice of pizza.

"I agree, Arnold. I reckon' we can even start on recording an album and become world-class rockstars." Stinky added while spinning around his drumsticks.

"Ya'll really would?" Sid asked in between bites of the cheesy pizza.

"Would what?" Gerald asked distractedly.

"Want fame and stuff? I mean, I know we do this for fun but I honestly think we are not half bad. I've already been asked on like 5 dates ever since our performance at Rhonda's. Stinky here got himself a girlfriend. This could be really good for us!" Sid exclaimed so excitedly that he stood up from the ground and observed his friend's expressions. Everyone stopped chewing and stared for a moment at Sid.

"I don't know, Sid. The whole point of this band is to have fun. I never thought of a career in music and I've seen what fame could do to people." Arnold explained.

"It ain't fun, that's for sure." Stinky added in agreement, nodding his head along.

Sid observed his friends and sighed as he took his seat on the ground and reached over for another slice before adding, "You're right. With college just around the corner, we wont even have much time to practice."

"By the way, have you guys applied already?" Gerald inquired.

"I'm takin' over my pa's farm. It ain't too far from the city so I'll still come visit." Stinky stated proudly.

"You're not going to college, Stinky?" Arnold asked, concern filling his voice.

"School is just not for everyone, Arnold. I don't wanna be stuck in a lame office job." And at his statement, the group nodded in agreement, contemplating the truth of his words.

"I enrolled in the fire academy. I got accepted." Gerald announced.

At his words, the group cheered and clapped. "Seriously, Gerald? You hadn't told me!" Arnold stood up and went over to hug his friend.

"I was gonna wait to tell you and the girls during our camping trip this weekend." Gerald explained while his friends offered their congratulations.

"I was also on the edge about college, but I decided to apply for the culinary arts program. My dream is to open a restaurant." Sid added while holding up his slice of pizza as if he were making a toast.

"Wow, Sid. That's great!" Arnold cheered.

"What about you Arnold?" Stinky asked. The group of friends turned to face Arnold, waiting for his reply.

"Well, in San Lorenzo I enjoyed helping people but I admit I am not as great of a humanitarian as my parents are. I spent a lot of time caring for sick animals in my time there, though. I've also treated the strays that stay here and healed Abner when he got sick last month. I guess my decision flowed very naturally once I thought about it so I applied to the veterinary program at Hillwood University."

"Wow, so there will be another doctor in the Shortman family!" Sid announced excitedly as the group of friends held up their Yahoo sodas and toasted to their promised new beginnings.

That night, Helga descended the stairs and observed in silence as her mom nodded off in the kitchen table. Dinner that night had been uneventful, and since Olga had begun to work at Hillwood University, their family had once again fallen into a comfortable routine. It was pleasant to see that they didn't have to struggle to save every penny. With the money her older sister earned, her family was able to stay afloat and even afford the lawyer that Bob had hired to send Vermicelli to court. Helga had also kept her job as part-time and continued working a few nights per week because she enjoyed the independence that she got from it. As grungy and tiresome working at a diner was, she enjoyed serving food and liked the extra money she made from tips.

"Mom." Helga whispered as she reached over and grabbed her mom's shoulder, giving her a little shake.

"Miriam, wake up." She tried again.

"Huh?...Oh, hi dear I was just….umm, gonna wash the dishes now." Miriam blinked a few times, adjusting her glasses and staring dazedly at her younger daughter.

"Mom, I already washed the dishes. Why are you sleeping in the kitchen table again?" Helga asked while she settled in the chair adjacent to her mothers.

"Yeah, I..I was just grabbing a smoothie and I guess I fell asleep again…" Miriam explained in her slurred speech.

"Of course." Helga answered sarcastically while she crossed her arms over her chest and observed her mother. She had aged gracefully despite her drinking problem. Looking at her frail arms and petite figure, Helga felt a pang of sympathy towards her. She was used to this by now. Her mother would try and justify her drinking problem at any cost. A few times she had passed out so drunk she'd ended up in the emergency room. Those times had been the scariest moments of Helga's adolescent life. She hated to admit it, but her mother was the most unhappy woman she'd ever met.

"I was just gonna remind you that tomorrow morning I am going on a camping trip with my friends. I wont be back until Sunday." Helga explained softly, talking slowly as she would with a small child.

"Huh? Oh…yeah, that's great dear. I'm sure…sure you will have fun."

"Mom!" Helga reached over and grabbed her mother's hand, "Why are you like this? Can't you go back to Smoothies Anonymous and get better? I hate to see you like this!" Helga cried in frustration, looking into her mother's tired eyes.

"I don't know what you're talking about, dear. I'm perfectly fine." Miriam murmured as she tried to smooth her hair away from her face.

"Yes you do! Look, I know your life hasn't been what you imagined. I know that you left your dreams to raise your family. But it doesn't have to be the end! You can still live happy if you could only try to see that your life is worth living!" Helga shouted as she tried to get through to her mother. For as long as she could remember, there had always been an invisible wall separating them. That wall had a name, she knew. It was laying in the kitchen cupboards and hidden behind the stove in glass bottles.

"Mom." She lowered her voice once again, contemplating her next words before speaking, "If you could do this for anyone. Do it for us. I know it is hard and you might fail at first. But isn't it better to try?" Helga asked as she stood up and turned her back away, walking back towards the living room and leaving her mom to her thoughts or lack thereof.

Author's Note: Aww, What did you think about Helga protecting Lila? What do you think of the guys' chosen careers? Also, that little speech she gave to her mom had me a little bit emotional. It is sad to think about their relationship, isn't it? Please Mirian, Listen to your daughter~

Please look forward to next week's chapter: Our two favorite couples are going CAMPING! Watch out for the fluff…or the smut…sflluff? Okay I'll stop now

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