My Ramblings:

To be honest, I'm not exactly a really huge fan of Hey Arnold!. I was inclined to write this because I was fascinated by Helga. She's an enigma. It's intriguing to imagine how her life would be like years after the series. Where would she be? Would she still be hung up on Arnold?

As I begin to unfold this story, I myself will be discovering just that. I have no actual, sure plot for this fic because I want it to flow on its own.

For all those reading this, thank you for taking some time to do so. If you have any questions, comments, or some constructive critism, feel free to tell me. I'm open to all Well, except flames (it's banned now, isn't it?)

On to the fic then

Disclaimer: I do not own Hey Arnold. I do however, own the plot and the characters not found in the series and/or movie.

Behind Closed Doors

Chapter II - Intrigue

Arnold's face lit up with a smile as he looked out his window. He never thought he would come back here. As much as he learned to love the Philippines, Hillwood still had its special place in his heart. It was where he grew up and it would always be a part of him.

As he stepped off the plane, he felt a strange mixture of elation and anxiety. How would his friends react to him? How would he react to his friends? Shaking his head to clear away those thoughts, he grabbed his bag as soon as he saw it and headed for the arrival area.

"Hey, Arnold!"

He turned to the source of the chorus of voices and he couldn't help but grin. He was back.

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He went downstairs as soon as he dumped his bags in the room Mr. Hyunh had led him to. He tried to imagine how everyone would look now back in the plane but the reality was far from what he had imagined. Everyone had changed, as did he.

He was now quite tall, standing at six feet. His head had somehow reduced in size as he grew taller and was shaped quite normally now, if still a bit reminiscent of the football shaped head it was once. He had also had a lean, toned frame now, unlike the rather awkward figure he had as a child. His usual clothing, of course, had also changed to a casual yet a bit classy style. He had grown up well, both physically and mentally.

His childhood friends were scattered around the living room, talking to each other amiably. As Gerald and Phoebe (who were the only ones who wrote to him faithfully) warned him, the old gang had gone their separate ways though their ties were never severed.

Gerald was, as he expected, quite tall. His hair now resembled Jamie-O's hair back when they were still in the fourth grade. He was also taller than Arnold by a few inches. He looked every inch the basketball player he was now. His charm hadn't lessened at all since he left. If anything, it seemed to have magnified. It should have since Phoebe had finally agreed to be his girlfriend.

Phoebe no longer looked like the soft-spoken girl she once was. She exuded confidence and many were drawn to it. She'd also grown up to be quite the looker, making Gerald and her the couple that everyone both loved and hated.

Rhonda was still the most fashion-conscious girl in Hillwood. She had grown out her hair and had a model figure. In fact, she models during the summer for a few big brands, also appearing in some commercials.

Harold, who was Rhonda's boyfriend now (as Gerald had predicted back in the fifth grade), was no longer the overweight bully. He was the captain of East Hillwood High's football team, who was last year's champion. His once pumpkin shaped head had lost its "chubby" quality and his body had evened out to a strong, tall physique suiting to his role as the quintessential jock.

Lila was still as beautiful as ever. She had grown out of her slight obsession with matching green articles of clothing (and ribbons). She, however, apparently still had an affinity for the color green thus explaining her green tee beneath her denim jacket. Her freckles were no longer visible (layers and layers of foundation, as Rhonda told him; the two weren't exactly the best of friends) as well.

Everyone else seemed to resemble their former selves except that the effect of their teenage hormones was obvious and there were certain traits that have changed, developed, and there were some no longer traceable. And though everyone looked different, no one stood out as much as a certain blonde did.

Helga G. Pataki…He studied her from across the room as she talked to animately to Phoebe, Lila, and Nadine. Her hair was held in a bun by a black ivory stick with tiny gems embedded in it. Her eyes were a sparkling blue now, compared to the often angry bluish gray they often were as a child. She no longer had her unibrow too. She had a figure that could rival Rhonda's, and her features were dominantly reminiscent of Miriam though Big Bob's proud angles were there as well, though very subtle and fortunately softened. While Olga's features were perfect (purely Miriam), there was a slight imperfection with Helga's features (thanks to the softer version of Big Bob's angular features) that made it seemingly more attractive and more…real.

No longer did she don the once essential pink dress and pink bow which used to be part of her character. Her style now was a mild mixture of Rhonda's straight-from-the-runway clothing and Nadine's part-goth, part-artist inspired style. It suited her well and made her standout more…In a good way.

Apparently, she no longer had a thing about Lila. She was also the only one in the gang who was popular with the opposite sex yet was not attached (Lila and Stinky had been going out since the sixth grade). Helga, actually, was the one he had the hardest time imagining in her seventeen-year-old self.

"Why, hello, Arnold," Lila greeted him as he reached their cozy group.

"It's nice to have you back," Phoebe said, smiling. He smiled as well, "It's nice to be back."

"It seems like an eternity passed since we last saw you," Nadine said, tugging at her blonde hair which she had streaked with black. He noticed a faint glimmer in her mouth as she spoke and it dawned on him that Nadine had her tongue pierced, something that neither Phoebe nor Gerald mentioned. Everyone had truly changed.

"Almost," he said, laughing. He then smiled at Helga, who had said nothing ever since he came over, "It's nice to see you again, Helga."

"Back at you," she said, giving him a half-smile that he felt was mostly sincere but somehow partly forced. It was contradicting but he had learned a long time ago that Helga was a walking contradiction and trying to place Helga into one box of certain traits, behavior and speech patterns would be impossible. If it were, then she wouldn't be Helga.

"We missed you ever so much," Lila gushed, "You're not leaving too soon, are you?"

"Actually, I'll be studying here for college as well."

"Really? What about your parents?" Helga asked, with a curious arch of an eyebrow.

"They'll be staying in the Philippines. I'll most likely go back there as well. I'll be taking over their research," he told her, relieved that she was going to be civil with him now. He half-expected her to call him football head, despite the fact that they should be long past that by now. It was a pleasant yet troubling thought that Helga had no more obvious hostility towards him. Her hostility and his irritation towards it have always been their sole relationship, their sole bond. It was a strange bond but it had been the blanket in which they had covered themselves to hide from each other. If that was gone, what was there left? Was it friendship?

He was only vaguely aware of Nadine asking him a question. He was about to tune in to what she was saying but the sound of Gerald calling him put a stop to the intention. He gave her an apologetic smile, "Sorry. What was it you were saying?"

She frowned slightly at Gerald but merely shook her head, "It's ok." It was no secret that Nadine wasn't particularly fond of jocks. That instance made him realize that his thought of them once more being the "old gang" was a mere delusion. They had their own lives now which no longer centered on each other. The realization slightly dampened his spirits but the fact that he was back in their company still overpowered it.

"I guess I'll just catch up with you guys later."

He couldn't help but steal one last glance at the changed Helga before heading towards Gerald and Stinky.

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"I can't get over how much everyone has changed," Arnold told Gerald as they hung out in one of the boarding house's vacant rooms when everyone had gone. The place was run by Mr. Hyunh and his daughter, Mai, now and most of the old borders gone. His old room had been made a storage area, which ruled out staying there, like he had wanted to.

"What did you expect?" Gerald asked him, smirking a bit. Gerald was obviously still Gerald. It was a comforting thought that amidst the changes that his system was still getting used to, there were still some things that remained the same, if a bit altered.

"Not this, obviously," he told him, shaking his head, "But I'll get used to it."

"You make us sound horrible," Gerald said, laughing.

"It's not that… but it's strange for me to replace my image of all you guys as kids with your late teens ones just like that. It doesn't seem so extreme for you since you were here witnessing the whole thing."

"Not really, actually. When we entered high school, everyone just drifted apart. Rhonda hangs out with a whole different group. Nadine and Lila too. Sid, Stinky, and Harold are all in the football team so they stay with them. Brainy left Hillwood a long time ago so who knows how he's doing now.. But I can see your point."

"He never tried to join in, did he? Brainy, that is."

"Strange kid," Gerald said, shaking his head with a shrug.

"I wonder what's going with him now."

"Who knows? Probably rehabilitating from all the times that Helga conked him out."

The two were silent for a while before Arnold spoke up once more, partly to break the silence but mostly to satisfy his curiosity, "What about you, Phoebe, and Helga?"

"Man, don't you read my letters?"

"I know but I want to hear it from you…Besides, maybe you left out some parts."

"Whatever you say," Gerald said, giving him a funny look. His right eyebrow rose slightly as a thought dawned on him, "This isn't about Phoebe or me, is it? Besides, since we were the ones writing to you, you wouldn't not know everything that has happened that concerned us. It's Helga you're wondering about."

Arnold sighed, "Yeah. The biggest shock I got was seeing her. I wouldn't recognize her if I passed her by the street if I didn't see her today."

"Yeah. I think out of everyone, she was the one who changed drastically. Even beat Harold," Gerald admitted, "I mean, I kind of hated her back then since she treated you like shit, but now she's a close friend. It's a bit weird, now that I'm talking about this…I guess I pretty much forgot how she was back then since I hang out with her, Pheebs and Rob most of the time."

"Rob's the one with Helga in Theatre, right?"

"Yeah. Her best friend…The one who's got it bad for her."

"Really?"

"Come on, Arnold. Almost a fourth of the male population in East Hillwood's got it bad for her. Not as bad as Rob, though. Hides it well most of the time but gets so obvious the rest of the time that I wonder if Helga doesn't want to see it or she's just really dense."

"Maybe she doesn't want to ruin the friendship."

"Possible. But he's one of the few decent and good-looking guys who's unattached. I don't see why she doesn't just go run off and elope with him. Besides, isn't there a saying like 'best friends make the best lovers'?"

"The guy has it that good?"

"Smart, good in acting while maintaining a firm grasp of his masculinity, and, as Rhonda has pointed out to us countless of times, one of the best dressed and, I quote, hottest guys. Can't really judge for myself though unless I turn gay. And, like I said, the two are together most of the time. Got the same classes and both theatre afficionados."

"Is she really good at acting?"

"Think of it this way: I have no interest whatsoever in those things but I can tell she's damn good. She can cry on cue with a bat of an eyelash."

"Like she has a whole well of emotions she could easily immerse herself in?"

"Yeah. Like that. …When did you get poetic?" Gerald asked him, giving him a funny look.

"Never did. I got that from one of Phoebe's letters."

As the two continued to catch up with each other, Arnold felt more and more aware that things weren't how he imagined it would be. Of course, what did he expect? That they'd all continue to hang out together? It was a given fact to everyone else but it was still partly heartbreaking to him. Besides, he was the one who hadn't been there when they had all woke up one day and decided to "grow up". He had a lot of catching up to do.

A lot.

To The Reviewers:

Dream-sorcerous11 -- Arnold moved away because he had received news that his parents were found in Palawan, Philippines. Thanks a bunch for reading!

Shahrezad1 -- I'm glad that you liked it. Helga, as I previously mentioned, is an enigma and the entirety of her character is…perfection within imperfection. As a child, she had the hardest of exteriors but the softest and most honest of actual character. The take on her being on stage, masked in the characters she portrays…It's something, at the surface, unexpected but completely, to quote you, inevitable. And Arnold's reunion with his parents was something, I believe, he deserves. He was the believer of miracles but was the one who never seemed to get any. Arnold, more than anyone, deserved a miracle of his own... ) Thank you for your feedback! I hope you continue to read my fic.

Shinji Langley -- I hope that I have sufficiently answered your question in this chapter.

Blonde Cecile -- Thanks for pointing that out to me. c",) Actually, I was a bit hesitant in putting more details because I feared it would stray from the conversation. But I will try my best…The first chapter was actually my "testing the waters".

cc17 -- Thanks for taking time to read this! (,)

Final Note:

I initially had a few "strayings" in this chapter. I'm doing three fics simultaneously at present (I know, it's not a very wise thing to do but, oh well…) so I get a bit mixed up with the plots of each. Our vacation is nearing its end (03 january 05) so please expect the chapter updates to be a bit slow during the duration of what is left of our school year. Rest assured, once late March or early April rolls about, I'll be putting my thinking cap back on once more.

Again, your comments, suggestions, and constructive critisms are always appreciated.

Hope you all have a happy, prosperous, and grace-filled new year!

- umi -