(A/N: Hello lovely people! Surgery went well and I am alive! I'm doing pretty good and been doing my best at relaxing so I can recover faster. Here is your long awaited chapter! Lemme know whatcha think!)

Down on the corner on 82nd street, stood Harold, Stinky and Sid as they watched large bulldozers, diggers and wrecking balls slowly drive their way into a fenced off area. The three were silent as they licked their popsicles while loud beeping noises and yelling could be heard for a few blocks. Men in construction hats were holding a large piece of paper, pointing to it then pointing to some of the decrepit buildings to their left and right.

"So, this is it, huh?" asked Stinky as he took another lick of his popsicle.

"And you're sure they're planning on putting a mall here?" Sid asked the large boy standing next to him, with a rather skeptical look.

Harold nodded his head then took the final bite of his frozen treat. "Yeah. My cousin's part of the crew that's gonna be tearing this place down." He explained as he carelessly tossed his popsicle stick on the ground. "Supposed to be really big! Like, 5 levels high!" He emphasized as he tried to reach his hand far up to the sky.

The kids looked around the surrounding area. This place had been long run down for a few years, with many of the buildings already falling apart on their own. A pizza shop wasn't too far from them, but for the most part, nothing within the next couple of blocks had anything of interest.

"Why are they putting it here, outta all places?" Stinky scratched his head. "There ain't nothing here to attract anyone."

"That's the point!" Harold answered loudly. "They're getting rid of all of these crappy buildings so that way they can put up something to get people to come! Duh!"

"Yeah but…" Sid looked around again as an old newspaper flew by before getting caught on a light post. The sidewalks were cracked, the roads needed work and soot from the construction filled the air. "Nobody even comes to this side of town anymore."

Harold became impatient and stomped his foot. "Ugh! You guys are just stupid!" He yelled. "They're building a really cool mall here that's gonna have a ton of cool things inside! Everyone's gonna wanna come and see!"

"You reckon this is why Mr. Simmons had us do that project from before?" Stinky asked the two of them, but only Sid shrugged.

"My dad was watching the news last night; something about the city's crime rate going up?" explained Sid as he turned and began walking away from the loud work site that was only a few yards from him. "I guess they wanna make the city better so they're getting rid of a bunch of old stuff to do it."

"Hey, yeah! Wasn't that what that Sheck guy was trying to do?" Harold asked as he followed Sid across the street.

The voice of Sheck rang through the kids heads: "Out with the old, in with the new" and the three of them shivered.

"Something like that but he wasn't fixing up no old buildings, he was getting rid of them all for some giant road to go overhead to connect us to other towns." Stinky replied as he caught up with this two friends. He scratched his head again as he tried to remember that whole ordeal. So many people were selling their houses, closing up shops and moving away until Arnold had found some loop hole to stop it all from happening. If he hadn't of done that, would they all be here right now?

"Oh, yeah." Sid nodded before turning back to Harold. "Did your cousin tell you what shops were gonna be going in this mall?"

"No." said Harold bluntly. "How's he supposed to know something like that? All he's in charge of is the wiring… or something."

Sid began rubbing his hands together as he thought of the possibilities. "Boy Howdy! I hope they put in a new roller rink! That old one is beginning to suck!"

Harold laughed. "Yeah, and it's beginning to smell like baby puke! Gross!"

They walked as far as Harold's house, then sat on his stoop. During lunch time, Harold had told them about the construction and they all had agreed to check it out after school but since there wasn't any plans now, they just decided to relax.

The sun beamed down and warmed the boys up, causing Sid to take off his cap and wipe his forehead from the little bits of sweat that were gathering.

Taking notice of his friend's movement, Stinky looked over and could see that Sid was still having a complexion issue. "Geez, Sid!" He yelped at the sight. "Your foreheads got more craters than the dang moon!"

Blushing with embarrassment, Sid quickly put his cap back on and smoothed his bangs over his eyes. "Yeah… well they're not easy to get rid of, so shut up!" He replied before shoving the southern boy. "The crap you got me from the drug store just sucks! That's all!"

Looking back and forth between the two, Harold had no idea what was going on and became confused. "What are you guys talking about?"

"Nothing!" Sid shouted immediately. "Don't worry about it!"

Not liking Sid's aggressive tone, Harold held up his clenched fists and showed it to the small boy. "Hey! This is my house and I'm the boss!" He angrily replied back, shaking his fist in his face. "Now tell me!"

Unable to contain his laughter, Stinky slapped his leg and carried on before earning his own Harold fist in his face. "Sid's forehead looks like a dang brail sheet!"

"I don't know what that is!" Harold hollered in annoyance. "Stop being confusing!"

Sid grit his teeth and shoved Stinky again, but this time hard enough for him to lose balance and almost fall off of the step he was sitting on. "Shut up! It's not funny!" He then turned to Harold with a beet red face. "It's just acne, okay?!" His voice was shrill. "It's not a big deal!"

"Ack….nee?" Harold sounded the word out, hoping he could further understand it.

"Yeah! Sid's got loads of pimples on his head." The tall southern boy explained as he reached for Sid's cap but failed to swipe it. "Show him, Sid!"

"NO!" The stringy haired kid stood up and jumped off of the stoop. "Leave me alone!"

Stinky sighed as he shook his head in disappointment. "Quit being such a baby…"

Understanding the situation now, Harold's angry face lightened up into a much more pleasant looking one and he smiled. "Oh? That's all?" He said as he stood up. "I got a bunch of pimples on my back. They're huge too… and itchy. My mom said it's because I'm a man. Wanna see?"

The two boys looked at one another before shrugging. "Yeah. Okay."

Without delay, the large boy turned around and lifted up the back of his shirt, displaying the large amounts of pimples that covered his back. The two looked in both awe and disgust while they gazed upon this marvel as if they had never seen anything like it.

Harold let his shirt fall back down, and he turned around with a proud grin on his face. "Pretty gross, right?"

"And I thought I had it bad…" Sid whispered to himself, still awestruck.

Stinky cringed. "Your back really bites, Harold."

"You're just jealous because you haven't hit puberty yet." Harold spat as he sat back down and proudly crossed his arms. "Right, Sid?"

"Hey!" Stinky angrily yelled back. "That ain't true!" He then pointed to the stubble that had been growing on his face and leaned forward for the other two to see clearly. "Jus' cuz I ain't got them nasty welts on my body, don't mean I ain't going through the change too. See?"

After loudly blowing out air through his nostrils, Harold sat back and looked unamused. "That ain't nothing!" he cried. "I've had hair growing all over the place for ages!"

At first, Stinky wanted to question it but as he sat back down, he remembered that Harold was older than them by a decent amount, although you'd never be able to tell by his personality and immature ways. He had always wondered why Harold wasn't in a much higher grade, but chose never to ask on account of it not mattering too much since they were friends.

Suddenly, Harold's front door flew open, causing the three to quickly turn their attention to it. In the doorway, stood Harold's mom with a spatula in her hand and an angry expression on her face. "Harold!" She shouted as she held out her wrist watch and pointed at it. "Your father's gonna be home any minute and dinner is almost ready. I need your keister in this house to set the table. Say goodbye to your friends."

"Mom!" The embarrassed boy scowled before standing up and turning back to the two, who looked amused. "I gotta go guys… I'll see you tomorrow."

The two waited until the woman stomped back into the house before chuckling.

"Better help Mommy with dinner, Harold." Sid laughed before backing away. "Don't wanna make her mad!"

Harold's face turned crimson as he clenched his fist. "Shut up and get outta here before I pound you!"

"But if you do that, you'll be keeping your Mom waiting even longer." Stinky added as he too, took a few steps back. "Then maybe she won't feed you."

"Not that, that could really hurt…" Sid finished at a safe distance.

Harold leaped off his stoop but before he could chase his friends away, he heard his mother call his name loudly from inside the house. "You guys are lucky its dinner time!" He shouted at them before turning around and stepping in his doorway.

The two laughed again but just waved and walked away, leaving Harold to grumble to himself as he slammed the door behind him.

He hated how much his friends made fun of him and hated it even more that he knew they wouldn't be his friends anymore if he beat them up. He was a man now, yet they never showed him any respect. He did so much for them and yet, they always ended up teasing him about his weight or how faithful he was to his family. It wasn't fair. Just once, he wished he could hold something over their heads and make them feel like this, then maybe he could force them to stop.

Sulking, Harold made his way over to the dining room and began to set the table. He could hear his mother humming inside the kitchen and this put a smile on his face. One day, when I'm older… I'll show them. I'll get married and have a good job, just like Mom says, and they'll all be jealous! He thought happily as he folded the napkins and set them to the side.

On the other side of the construction site, Big Bob Pataki and Nick Vermicelli stood with blue prints in their hands.

"And this is where I'm gonna be putting my new store?" Bob asked in a hoarse voice.

"If you play your cards right, yeah." His business partner confirmed as he grabbed the papers out of the large man's hands. "The structure is gonna be massive, Bob. Massive! They're planning on putting in over 100 stores and what better than a cell phone store to add to it? Just think of all the teens coming and going who wanna have their own phone plan? Think of all the business this place is gonna attract and they'll be passing your new location."

The premise sounded great, however there was one big factor that Nick was overlooking that made the veins in Bob's head bulge out. "It's going to take AGES for them to finish building this, Nick!" He shouted, causing his companion to recoil unexpectedly. "I don't have time to wait for all this!"

"Patience, Bob!" Nick reassured him with a frustrated scowl. "The city's finest are on top of this! The mayor wants this thing build ASAP to attract revenue." He then shrugged. "Sure, it may take a month to get done but once it's done, you'll be swimming in dough!"

"A MONTH!" Bob had nearly lost his mind. It was clear to him that this man had no idea the insurmountable pressure that he had on his shoulders.

"At the earliest, yeah."

Bob turned around, knowing that if he had to look at this man for one more second, that he would absolutely lose his temper and do something he regretted. "Look…" He said as calmly as he could. "There has to be another place for me to put my store in the meantime. I'm living out of a roach motel, for crying out loud! You can't expect me to be okay with waiting that long to get started!"

Nick raised his eyebrow in interest. He could tell that Bob was desperate and this was the first time that the Beeper King had ever showed any vulnerability in his presence. Out of pity, he placed his arm around the man's broad shoulders and sighed. "I hear you, man. I do." He explained softly.

"You owe me!" Bob shouted again, looking at the skinny tanned man with a glare of pure hatred.

"You're right. I do." Nick agreed, slowly walking the man back to his car. "But things take time, Bob. You know that. You don't have any inventory and it will take time for the factory to manufacture and ship your new products, anyway." Once they got to the Pataki vehicle, Nick let go of his companion, leaned against the car, and shoved his hands into his pants pockets. "Do you have any other options?" He asked with a sly smile, knowing very well the answer. "Treat this time like the vacation you've always needed but never had time for!" He could see that Bob wasn't budging and furrowed his brows. "Go! Enjoy your family or something! Let me worry about the messy details and I'll keep you in touch."

Feeling as though he had nothing left, Bob walked around to the driver's side and opened the car door, causing the vehicle to shake and Nick to remove himself. "I want updates daily, you got that?" He watched as Nick pulled out his cell phone and scowled. "I mean it!"

"If I have any updates, I'll call you!" The shady businessman said with irritation as he flipped it open and began to mess with it.

Taking his mannerisms as an insult, Bob slammed his fist down on the roof of his car in order to gain Nick's full attention. Once the man looked up, Bob eyed him. There was nothing more he could say that he hadn't already to the man, so the best he could do was convey his feelings through his aggressive actions.

Rolling his eyes, Nick began to walk off. "Daily updates. I got it…" He said wearily. "Don't expect much though, Bob. If you want things to go your way, you gotta let me do my job."

Bob waited until Nick got into his own car and drove off before he felt comfortable enough to sit down. The seat felt hard and uncomfortable, just like he liked it. It helped him stay focused and that's exactly what he needed right now.

He pondered their conversations and gripped his steering wheel tightly, causing his fat pale fingers to turn red. Everything about that man bothered him, from his goatee to his shiny leather shoes. He hated how the man could act so casual and nonchalant, knowing very well the gravity of Bob's state-of-affairs and how things were for him. The notion of him 'taking a vacation' was not only laughable, but insolent.

Hanging his head low so that way his forehead touched his steering wheel, Mr. Pataki growled. "A month? He expects me to wait for a month? Miriam and I are living in a motel, the girl is at some boarding house and he tells me to take a vacation?!"

He knew Nick Vermicelli was taking advantage of the upper hand he had, and Bob did not like the taste of it at all.

Back at the Sunset Arms, Arnold and Gerald had just finished listening to Miles tell a story about how he managed to save a village in Somalia from pirates and were heading up to Arnold's room with hearts full of excitement.

"Man! You're so lucky to have such a cool dad!" Gerald expressed as he watched his best friend tug on the string to his bedroom stairs. "He's went all over the world and helped so many people! The only thing my dad's ever saved is money on bills and that's still a war he's never won…"

Arnold chuckled at his friends comment and headed on up to his room. "He's already told me so many stories, Mom too!" He replied as he opened his door and let himself in. "Sometimes I wonder if he's just making things up, like my grandpa does, but my Mom has always verified that it's true."

"That's incredible!" said Gerald as he threw himself on Arnold's red sofa. "And your Grandpa was in the war AND fought Hitler too?" He laid down and stared at the popcorn ceiling above, just simmering in the amazement. "Your grandma has done some pretty crazy things, too! Your whole family is full of such righteous people…"

Feeling his own amount of admiration for his family, Arnold's cheeks glowed a little. "I only hope I can live up to such high standards…"

"Are you kidding me?" Gerald yelled as he rolled to his side to look at his friend who had just sat down in front of his computer. "You've saved the neighborhood from destruction, got Chocolate boy to give up chocolate, got Stoop kid to leave his stoop, saved Coach Wittenberg's marriage and probably a bunch of other things I can't even think of right now!" When he could see Arnold's expression seem a little uncertain, he let out a loud whine. "Come on, man! You're the most incredible kid I know and you managed to accomplish all that before even turning 10 years old!"

"It's not like I did it all on my own, Gerald." Arnold mentioned as he got himself comfortable in the small chair. "You've helped too."

Gerald gave him a sideways smile and rolled back on his back. "You're too modest, Arnold. Give yourself some credit."

The flattery was getting to the boy's head, making Arnold feel a lot better than he had at school. The rest of the school day went on as it normally would, but unfortunately, he still was unable to talk to Helga and find out what was bothering her. Figuring he would just find time later; he would let himself have fun with Gerald.

A silence passed over the two of them, allowing Gerald to remember exactly why he had come over in the first place. "Alright then, spill it." He said abruptly, causing Arnold to give him a questioning look. "Why you've been all down n stuff?" He elaborated. "I said you could vent it all out to me and I'd listen so, here I am."

"Oh… right." Arnold replied, feeling a little silly. He wiggled in his seat once more, trying to get comfortable before ultimately deciding that standing would be best, as walking back and forth always got his brain moving. "Well… you see…" He started as he headed on to his door in order to lock it shut, making sure that no one would just walk in on such a private conversation. "I've been thinking about what we talked about yesterday, right before lunch… how I've been trying to keep my relationship with Helga secret for her sake…"

"Uh huh…" Gerald replied, letting his friend know that he was paying attention.

"And… well…" Arnold began to pace back and forth between his bed and his computer desk. "It's really been putting a strain on me…"

"No doubt."

"You and Phoebe know about it, Harold, Stinky and Sid know about it and I just found out that even Eugene knows!" He cried out in frustration, causing Gerald to turn and face him again. "Half our class already knows so… who are we hiding it from?"

"Rhonda, Nadine, Lila…" Gerald began to list, "Sheena, Curly, Brainy…"

"No, he knows too!" Arnold interrupted.

This information caused Gerald to sit up and give Arnold a peculiar look. "You told him?"

"No…" Arnold admitted, feeling the heat rise to his ears as he knew this would be something hard to explain.

"Then how…" but before Gerald could finish his sentence, Arnold interrupted him.

"I can't…" He stopped and his words sounded painful. "I can't explain that right now, okay?" He asked in desperation, hoping his friend would back down.

With a shrug, the dark-skinned boy leaned back on the red sofa. "Alright. Continue."

Arnold took a second to recollect his thoughts as his heart raced so hard it felt like it would break out of his chest and run away. "Right…" He said before he began pacing again. "I understand why she wants to keep it a secret, I really do! But keeping up this act is just…"

"Exhausting?" suggested Gerald with an obvious tone.

"Yes!" Arnold cried out, thrusting his fingers through his hair. "I have to make sure that people keep it to themselves so that way word doesn't spread, and it's exhausting, Gerald! It really is!"

Gerald shook his head, feeling sorry for the boy but remained silent.

"She's had such a complicated life and bad things have just been following her lately, and I don't want to add anything more to that list!" Arnold wanted to tug out his hair but resisted. "Some days, she's happy and we can just talk and have a good time. Other days? Like today? She won't even talk to me and I have no idea why!"

"She seemed fine to me." Gerald added, with a queer expression on his face.

Arnold immediately looked at him. "That's another thing." He continued. "What were you guys talking about before I got into class? She won't talk to me but she can talk to you and Phoebe?"

"Well, Phoebe is her best friend so I don't know why you'd be surprised about that…" Gerald replied, secretly wondering how he could avoid actually answering the real question. "And as far as what we were talking about…" He ran through possibilities in his mind as quick as he could, before finally deciding on something. "I wanted to know what she was planning on dressing up as for Halloween?" It was a plausible enough excuse, seeing as he had asked Arnold the same thing that day.

"Really?" Arnold demanded, showing that he was doubtful.

Feeling uneasy, Gerald shifted in his seat and swallowed hard. "Y-yeah, man. I mean, showing up in the same costume would be pretty embarrassing, right? I gotta know what everyone's ideas are so I can stand out and be cool."

It had dawned upon Arnold that he had no idea what she was planning to go as and he let out a frustrated wail. "What did she say?"

"Huh?"

"Her Halloween costume?" He clarified. "What is she planning to go as?"

Gerald gulped, feeling as though he had just been caught out in his lie. "She… uh… didn't say."

At least this made the two of them, and Arnold gave a sigh of relief. "Okay, good…" He said, trying to calm himself down and get his mind back on track.

"You're really bugging out about this, huh?" Gerald watched as it seemed like all of the pent up frustrations just oozed out of his usually calm best friend.

"You have no idea…" Arnold confirmed. "I want to make her happy but I want to be happy, also. I want to be able to go out to the movies, or to a restaurant with her and hold her hand and not worry about looking over my shoulder to make sure no one we know sees… Is that selfish?"

Unsure if his question was legit or figurative, Gerald crossed his arms. "No? Why would it be?" He watched as Arnold gave him an exhausted stare. "Look, do you want my opinion?"

Bringing himself back over to his computer chair, Arnold sat down and rested both of his arms across his desk before placing his head on them. "Sure…"

"Everyone deserves to be happy, but sometimes, when you're sharing your happiness with another person, you may not always agree." Gerald began as he stood up and walked over to his best friend. "She wants things to be secret because she feels some type of way. That makes her happy. You want to be able to have the freedom to do whatever you want with her, whenever you want with her, regardless of where you are. That makes you happy." He placed his hand on Arnold's shoulder and gave him a look of understanding. "I know she's difficult to talk to but… have you tried talking to her about this?"

Arnold nodded his head. "We spoke about it once and agreed to take things slow. All it took was us holding hands in public once for Harold to find out… and you know what happened."

"That I do, brother. That I do…"

"Right after all that happened, her father's business burned down and she became homeless." Arnold continued. "Then the misunderstanding with Lila… and now…."

"Now?" Gerald was curious as he was fully aware of all of those listed things, but didn't know of anything else.

Realizing what he was about to say, Arnold sat back up and shook his head. "My point is, just when we were finally making progress in being open about our relationship, things just crashed all around her and I can't bear to make her anymore uncomfortable than she already is." He looked at his friend with sorrowful eyes. "I don't want to put any more stress on her than she already has."

"But keeping that stress all to yourself is ruining you." Gerald explained sympathetically. "She loves you, right?"

"Right."

"So, why on earth do you think she'd want you to shoulder all of these things and become the wreck you've been all day?" Gerald blurted out. "Think about it, man. If I knew that Phoebe was upset about something that I was unintentionally doing, I'd be super upset that she didn't tell me! I don't want to hurt her! I want us to laugh and hold hands and possibly more, someday!"

Arnold could hear his words and understood his point, however, his feelings remained unchanged. "But that's different, Gerald."

"How?" The boy was astonished and took a step back to really look at Arnold's face.

"Phoebe comes from a good home and has a good life…" Arnold sighed, hoping that he wasn't going to say anything he shouldn't. "It's just not the same."

"So what if Helga has things going on? Does that mean she cares about you any less?" Gerald was surprised at what he was hearing. "You told me the other day that you managed to talk it out with her about Lila, right? Why is this any different?"

"Because that was a misunderstanding." Arnold explained, feeling another headache coming on.

"And?" Gerald sat back down on the sofa but never took his eyes off his friend for a second. "How isn't this a misunderstanding? She seems to think that you're okay with keeping everything a secret, and you clearly aren't!"

"But that misunderstanding directly affected someone else!" Arnold insisted. "Lila didn't do anything wrong and Helga went off on her! She didn't deserve that so I had to stand my ground and say something!"

Gerald remained quiet and listened patiently, despite wanting to ring his friend's neck for how ridiculous he sounded.

Looking at his companion's expression caused Arnold to back up and focus on calming down. He knew that if he didn't, that someone would probably come up and check on them soon and he didn't want that. "I've had a few good talks with her that started out rocky but ended up civil." He confessed, wanting to focus on something positive to help him relax. "I… I do want to talk with her about this. I really do but I just think that now wouldn't be a good time…"

"Then when?" Gerald spoke, looking for a direct answer. "When you've tormented yourself long enough for others to notice? We're already here, man."

Arnold could see the truth in his words and frowned.

"I don't like seeing you like this, Arnold." Gerald admitted with a voice full of concern. "You may be good at hiding it from your family but it'll only be a matter of time before they notice too." He could see that his words were getting through and started to become hopeful. "Take my advice and put a stop to this before it gets any worse. You say that you've had good talks with her? That's awesome! That means that you've been able to get through to her when a lot of other people can't. The moment she sees how miserable you are with keeping your relationship a secret, she'll be glad you told her before things got worse."

"And what if she's not?" asked Arnold. "What if I tell her how I feel and she puts up all of her barriers and shuts me out?"

Gerald locked eyes with Arnold and could see how much he was suffering with this, but there really was only one answer to that question. "If she's okay with you being unhappy… then this relationship is toxic, man and you deserve better."

Arnold closed his eyes and digested Gerald's words. Helga had shown him time and time again that she cared about him more than anything else, including herself. He had no doubt in his mind that if he told her the truth, she would put on a strong smile and endure the hardships for him… but that's not what he wanted. He didn't want her to suffer anymore. He wanted to take on some of the burden in order to relieve her of some hardships… not cause more.

"I see you've got a lot to think about…" Gerald finally said, after a long silence. He stood up and made his way to the door. Arnold looked up at him but said nothing, as there were too many thoughts swarming his brain. "I understand that you wanna make her happy, but ya can't forget about your own happiness to, man. Remember that." And with that, Gerald let himself out.

Arnold could hear his best friend's footsteps make their way down his flimsy wooden stairs and eventually fell silent as he reached the carpet on the second floor. He let out a loud sigh, got up and made his way to his bed to lay down. He did have a lot to think about, but there was an easy answer to all of this and Gerald made that very clear. Helga may have ups and downs. She may have a lot of struggles that many people never have to suffer in their lifetimes. She may be complicated but she was strong, despite all that. She had proved to Arnold that she would give up anything in order to see him happy, even if it meant she would lose something. It was her selflessness that worried Arnold the most… but Gerald was right. If Arnold allowed himself to feel this way for too long, he would definitely attract the concern of his family and peers, causing even more problems as well as problems for her.

He sat up and looked at the makeshift stares to his skylights. He remembered the intimate kiss they shared during that thunderstorm and how she demanded to know his feelings after that. At first, he was confused but after she explained herself and put him on the spot, he felt terrible for not having a proper answer, yet… she accepted it without question and even smiled. She let him kiss her again.

She's shown me that she loves me time and time again, even when I never noticed… The boy thought quietly. He remembered how her family would have no doubt prospered if Sheck had taken over the city or if she let her dad tear down Mighty Pete. He remembered how she purposely lost the spelling bee, despite how many free beepers her dad would have to give out, for his sake. He remembered how she confessed to giving away her Nanci Spumoni snow boots in order to bring Mr. Hyunh together with his daughter for Christmas, all for him. She's done amazing things, just to make me happy, even if the outcome was not in her favor… He thought as he brought his knees up to his chest and hugged them. All because… she loves me.

Maybe it was toxic to give your all to someone who was giving you nothing in return, especially if they were taking it willingly, but was that true when that person was unaware of all the gifts? He considered all the things she did in secret, then considered how he was keeping his feelings a secret from her, in order to make her happy. Was it the same?

Instantly, his thoughts caused the wheels in his brain to turn and connected to his fluttering heart. His eyes grew wide and a shy smile crept itself upon his lips. He could feel the heat in his cheeks were bringing its usual red hue but he couldn't stop it, nor did he want to. "I think…" He spoke softly to himself. "I think I've fallen in love with her…"

Down at the docks, Helga had been carelessly throwing random bits of debris into the water that lay in front of her. She needed time away to think about everything, and this was always the best place to go. The seagulls were screaming and dock workers were loading the catch of the day on to big trucks behind her. The smell was so overpowering, but Helga didn't mind. This was another world that she wasn't a part of.

Across from her, stood Elk island, in all its glory. She remembered the trip with her friends to find buried treasure from some old gangster, and smiled. Things just seemed simpler back then, even with all the chaos at home. It was hard to believe that only two years had passed and yet, so much had changed.

The pigtailed girl closed her eyes and let the sound of the crashing waves seep into her soul. It was tranquil and something she needed.

"This is … all just a part of growing up…" She sounded disappointed, but at the same time, it was something she had come to accept. Not everything was going to go her way, and rarely it did anyway. "I guess this is okay."

She had come here to consider her options going forward. It was decided that she would hand over the reins of Arnold's birthday to Gerald, hang out until the decided time, then go back to Phoebe's for the night. Phoebe had no issues with this plan, and Helga knew that she wouldn't. Her best friend was always there for her, even at her worst.

Helga could recall all the times she had snapped and howled at Phoebe, even when she didn't deserve it. In the end, she would always realize that she was being too hasty, or was in the wrong, and would apologize but still, the thoughts always bothered her. She wished that she wasn't always so quick to hostility but the acts were imbedded in her DNA.

"Am I doing the right thing?" She asked her reflection, before dropping a pebble into the water and watching it ripple. "If so, then why does this feel so… crummy?"

Unfortunately, her reflection didn't give her a response and Helga stood up to stretch her legs. The sun was setting and she could feel the warm glow being exchanged for chill winds, causing her to shiver. It was a nice day, even if she wasn't able to fully enjoy it.

Walking back to the boarding house was as boring as ever. Nothing of significance caught her eyes and the only thing keeping her company were her persistent thoughts.

The moment she could see her destination in view, her heart tightened and caused her to stop. "Ugh!" She whined. "Why do I even care if I'm invited?!" Helga kicked a nearby empty can in frustration before proceeding. "It's not like I'm going to be living here forever anyway. So what if I'm excluded? I don't pay rent and I'm not part of Arnold's family."

As she ranted to herself, she noticed the boarding house door open up, and Gerald stepping out. Recalling that she still had to tell him the plans, she stood on the sidewalk and waited for him to approach her.

Gerald shut the door tightly, turned around and jumped off the stoop before he noticed Helga standing there a few feet away. His conversation with Arnold was still very fresh and caused him to scowl a little bit. It wasn't her that he was mad at, it was the situation as a whole.

"Hey." He waved to her awkwardly, before picking up his steps to reach her.

"Hey." She replied back, unsure of what to even say. Normal Helga would have thrown out some sort of quip but right now, she wasn't feeling very normal. "Still interested in that information?"

Gerald had completely forgotten all about it and smirked at the question. "Oh yeah. So, what's up?"

Helga took a deep breath. "Long story short, his family is planning on doing some sorta surprise party but none of us are invited. Family only." She explained. "But they want us to take him out all day and are paying for it. You want in?"

The boy looked her up and down, and could see the off mood that Arnold was talking about. She wasn't pulling any strings or trying to come up with something clever; she was just telling him the facts. "Of course, I do. Why wouldn't I? He is my best friend, after all." Gerald replied, proudly. "What do you think we should do?"

"I was planning on leaving all of that to you." Helga stated before placing her hands on her hips. "As you said, you're his best friend so you know him the best, right?"

Noticing her attitude, Gerald raised an eyebrow. "Ooookay? How much money do we have to work with?"

"I don't know!" Helga's usual temper was starting to resurface, "They didn't say how much." Once she caught herself, Helga cleared her voice and tried to remain normal. "I'll find out on Friday and let you know. Deal?" She asked, with her hand straight out for a handshake.

He looked at her hand for a moment before grasping it and shaking on it. "Deal." Once their hands let go, Gerald backed up a little. "I'll go home and start planning somethings. I'll see you tomorrow." He said before turning around and leaving.

Helga stood there and watched him go, unsure of what to do with herself. Her stomach grumbled and she knew that dinner was probably soon, however this wasn't something she was looking forward to as her negative feelings still lingered.

Dim light softly crept itself through the windows of the dusty old motel. Dusk was now upon the city of Hillwood and Miriam Pataki sat alone and looked through some papers, while the T.V in front of her played whatever channel that her husband had left it on.

She had noticed it becoming dark and slowly turned to her side to turn on the lamp next to her, instantly showing all the little dust particles that floated around.

The clock next to her read "7:08pm" and she sighed. Bob had left at around 3pm and said he would be back shortly; that he had some business to take care of. Naturally, she paid this no mind as he had been frequently taking phone calls in private but him being gone this long seemed out of the ordinary.

Going back to the papers on the bed, she shuffled through the necessary documents that she had managed to get through the mail for her upcoming job interview. Important things like birth certificates and social security cards, along with her hand written resume and some miscellaneous things she thought she might need.

Bob still wasn't aware of the job she had applied for, or that she was expecting an interview in a couple of days, nor did she want to make him any wiser. The very thought of them having this conversation, exhausted Miriam more than having a few drinks on the side. Instead, she had informed the motel front desk to only notify her of any mail and kept her new clothes hidden in the trunk of their family car. Things were working out so far for her and she was starting to feel like her own self again.

Still, Miriam looked out the window and saw that he still hadn't returned and her heart sank a little. It made her feel a somewhat bad that she was keeping something like this hidden from him, however it was also apparent that he was also hiding things. Bob never really was the type to just outwardly explain himself or go into detail of his plans with her. Those types of talks were usually saved for business partners or potential customers. No, sadly she was usually left in the dark until either he had made a good choice and boasted about it, or made a bad choice and wallowed in self-pity. She wondered which outcome his current proceedings would be.

Picking up her valuables and placing them in a folder, she came across something she had forgotten she had ordered: her daughters birth certificates and social security cards.

Everything had been destroyed in the fire, and that meant all of their identifications as well so everything had to have been reordered. It had now been a full week of them living in the motel, and those documents had just arrived today.

She looked at them all individually before placing them in the important folder. The names, birth dates, weight, and length of her daughters. Memories flashed before her eyes and she felt all warm and motherly again. It had been 12 years since she was able to experienced the loving warmth of holding a baby and she knew that she would never experience it again, unless one of her two girls had children of their own.

From time to time, she would wonder if Olga would ever decide to settle down and have a family. She could recall the one time she had brought home a boy, whom she had only known a very short while, and announced to her whole family that they were to be wed as soon as possible. The very notion caused Miriam's heart to sink further, as her own mistakes flashed before her in the form of her eldest daughter. She argued and tried to explain to Olga that the whole thing was a bad idea, and that rushing into marriage wouldn't give her the wonderful feeling she thought she would have. Sure, weddings can be beautiful as you stand there in your white dress, family all around you, while you profess your love to the person who stands next to you, but in actuality, it is only a large party to celebrate the two of you. It does not change the relationship, nor bring you closer together. All it does, is leave you with the debt of this large party and memories of feeling special for a day. Miriam did not want this for her eldest daughter and luckily, the mistake wasn't made as the boy seemingly vanished the day of the wedding. She saw how distraught this made Olga, which broke her heart as well, however a weight had been lifted off of her chest since she no longer had to worry about Olga making the same mistake, she did so many years ago. Still, if Olga had ever managed to find a good, loving man with a good head on his shoulders and a nice job, who proved he could support their relationship for many years to come through many, many months of just courtship, Miriam would be happy to see her daughter wed.

Then there was her youngest, Helga. The angry, stubborn girl who never showed any real interest in anything other than wrestling and playing outside with her friends. She saw so much of Bob in her daughter, that it worried her every time they would have a shouting match. Countless times, she wondered why she couldn't have turned out to be a soft, gentle, and quiet girl like her older sister? Was it simply the curse of genes, or was it her environment? Either way, she had turned 12 years old in the spring and it seemed like she was set in her ways; ways that no one could ever change. It was relatively hard for Miriam to ever imagine Helga settling down with a nice boy, who would be able to withstand her wrath, getting married and then even having children. The thought caused Miriam to feel remorse for this unknown boy, if he should even exist. Still, she wished her daughter the best of luck in her life and hoped that one day she might mellow out and become someone.

This thought caused her to remember her encounter with Arnold, just a few days ago. He was a nice boy who seemed to care about her daughter, so much that he was allowing her to stay with him until they got back on their feet. He was a good friend. She could recall another time when Helga had bumped her head, that he had cared for her until she had gotten home. There were also a few more memories that were rather fuzzy to her, that seemed to be relevant, however Miriam couldn't really recall. Something about Helga's closet, but nothing came clear. Either way, the thought of maybe this boy caring for Helga caused Miriam to feel a little less worried.

Hearing a car pull up reawakened Miriam to her current situation and she hurried to finish clearing the bed, shoving the folder underneath. She peered out the window once more, and saw that Bob had finally returned.

Quickly, she got up to their mini fridge, grabbed a cold beer and waited next to the door to which ever Bob might come through: The happy successful one, or the angry disappointed one.