Edited A/N: Here is Part 2, again because the format messed up when I posted it. I am so sorry about that. I was unable to fix it until now because I was at work. Before going further, I want to apologize for the long delay in getting chapters out. I know having to wait 3 years for a new chapter, well that was the gap between chapters 4 and 5, is probably annoying. I do not like it either. I am not trying to make excuses but along with losing all my plans for this story and another story plus several future ones when it got wiped from a bad flash drive, I went through a low period in my life with setbacks and obstacles. I went through a lot of struggles but a lot of growth in those 3 years, which gave me no time for anything else. Waiting 3 years for me to update this story again is not what I had planned. I did not do that on purpose. Again, I am really sorry for the wait and for the glitch in the previous posting of this chapter. I am hoping this one turns out better. I promise I am trying my best to wrap up this story as soon as I can.
Again, "Hey Arnold!" is not mine. That is all.
Chapter 6: Something Shared (Part 2)
"No, Helga. That does not sound good at all," Arnold replies, a frown forming on his lips.
'Wait…why is he not agreeing with me? I am giving him an out, why is he not taking it? And why is he frowning at me? No, not a frown,' Helga thinks to herself, 'but a scowl. A scowl? What is he so mad about? He's not going to scream at me to stay out of his life again, is he? Because that wouldn't make any sense since he came here on his own…no that's not it. So what is it?' Helga starts to confuse herself with her own questions. She is so lost in thought that she almost forgets to reply, well almost.
"Well why not? Isn't that pretty much our thing now?" Helga asks, looking perplexed and feeling anxious that Arnold may be hinting at wanting something more, yet she could not let herself fully believe that until she hears those words come out of his mouth.
'His sweet, kissable mouth…Helga! Focus!' Helga thinks then scolds herself for thinking that. She knows there will be plenty of time for that later, well at least in her dreams.
"You're not getting my point at all. That may have been our way of doing things, but I don't want that anymore," Arnold responds, slightly exasperated as he crosses his arms. He has a feeling she is going to be hard to convince so he mentally prepares himself.
"Geez, I can't figure you out. You say you want me to stay away from you, but here you are apologizing to me, but now you're saying you don't want things to go back to the way they were before. Make up your mind already, please. My head has been throbbing all day and this is not helping, whether you intended to have this effect on me or not," Helga puts a hand to her forehead with a groan and tries to massage her temples.
"I have made up my mind. You're just not listening," Arnold retorts simply, not faltering for a second.
"Alright fine, I'm all ears. Anything to end this crazy conversation so I can take a nap," Helga relents sounding exhausted, her fingers still massaging her temples. Arnold briefly feels a hint of guilt at this.
'Maybe this is not the right time to discuss everything…but if not now, then when? I don't want to go back to the way things were before I snapped at her, before her accident…maybe one good thing can come from all that. At least I now have a chance to get the truth from her and for her to know the truth about me that I just realized not too long ago, that I love her,' Arnold concludes his thoughts and decides to go ahead with trying to get the truth from Helga.
"Helga, I don't want us to just be friends when no one is looking and I definitely don't want you out of my life. You're an important part of my life," Arnold answers, his tone shows he is starting to get annoyed.
"I am?!" Helga half exclaims and half asks, her eyes wide in shock. She had a feeling she kind of was important to him, but it is different to hear it out loud.
"Of course you are! Helga, you helped me through so much, I just didn't know how much until now. Helga you always showed me how much you cared for me, just in more subtle ways because you were so scared of getting hurt, of being ridiculed or rejected. I'm sorry I wasn't paying attention before, but I'm here now, ok? I'm here. This is very much real and you can't push me away anymore. I promise I will never ridicule you for loving me. Besides, if I did that, I would be a hypocrite," Arnold responds honestly. The way he ends it is hinting at the truth. He is hopeful that Helga catches on to that. She does.
"Wait…you'd be a what?! No, it can't be…you don't mean-" Helga tries to respond but is so shocked by what he said that she is having trouble making a complete sentence.
"Yes, I mean it," Arnold interrupts, his tone honest and absolute, free from any doubt or hesitation. He pauses briefly to take Helga's hands in his before continuing, "I love you, Helga G. Pataki. I love you," he repeats himself for good measure.
After that, Helga just sits there frozen with a blank expression on her face. It nearly breaks Arnold's heart because he knows she is still not able to allow herself to believe his words. All this time she believed that no one would truly love her, and it hurts Arnold to think he played a part in that, even if it was unintentional.
"Helga, my love, please come back to me," Arnold gently pleads while lightly squeezing her hands. Finally, Helga begins to blink a few times and her gaze returns to Arnold's. He notices the bottom of her eyelids are brimming with tears that are threatening to run down her cheeks. He almost considers wiping them away with his kisses if they did, but Arnold really didn't want to give her a heart attack. She had been through enough in a 24-hour period already.
"What did you call me?" she asks meekly, as if she is afraid of the words that came out of her mouth. Arnold smiles softly at that, because in that response he sees a glimmer of hope.
"Helga, my love. Please believe me," Arnold replies while gently cupping her face with his hands and then stroking the tears off her cheeks with his thumbs. It may have been his imagination, but Arnold could swear he heard her sigh happily.
"Wow, this is one hell of a dream," Helga softly exclaims in contented bliss.
"What is it going to take to get you to believe me?" Arnold sighs with slight exasperation. He could tell he is getting closer to getting through to her. In fact, he is almost there. He just knows it. Arnold removes his hands from her face and takes her hands in his once again. He gives her hands a gentle squeeze.
"I do believe you. I am just not fully convinced it's real, because rarely ever do good things happen to me for a change so it's going to take me a little time to adjust to all this, especially in these circumstances. I'm sorry, my darling, just bear with me for a little longer and then eventually I'll come to my senses, or I'll wake up, whichever comes first," Helga promises, her voice a strange mix of sincerity and uncertainty. There is a sweetness to her voice as well that should seem out of place to Arnold, but it doesn't. He is happy that she is starting to reveal her real self to him.
"Oh you are so stubborn," Arnold remarks in mock annoyance while a grin starts to form on his face.
"Please, like you didn't already know," Helga scoffs mockingly, her tone light and joking.
'Of course the real Helga is still going to have her toughness, just not her always being angry and untrusting. That's a relief because I admire her for her bravery and boldness, so I'm glad it will still be there,' Arnold thinks to himself as he comes to his own conclusions in his head.
"Oh, I know alright. But that's not the thing I want you to change about yourself," Arnold responds, his tone changing from lighthearted to more serious.
"Criminy, I knew there would be a catch. Alright, bucko, what would you like me to change?" Helga groans as she mentally braces herself for whatever crazy request Arnold has for her.
"Your fear of being rejected by me or being ridiculed by everyone because you love me, because heaven forbid you have a softer side. I know it's an act you've been perfecting for years so it will be hard to break, but please try, for me?" Arnold decides to personalize his request to help his case. It seems to work. To Helga, it was a reasonable request and one that she could probably manage with the right motivation and that was already sitting in front of her with such hope and love in his eyes.
"Oh, you are good. Alright, for you I will try. But I do have one question before I agree to anything," Helga replies, her tone also changing from joking to more serious, though hers had a hint of confusion mixed in as well.
"Sure, what's your question?" Arnold answers. He has a general idea about what Helga is going to ask.
"If this is real, then what exactly are we now?" Helga asks as she motions towards their interlaced fingers.
"Hmm…that's a very good question. Well I would be honored if I could be your boyfriend," Arnold answers so sincerely, first pretending to think about it for a second.
"Honored, huh? What have you been smoking lately?" Helga asks somewhat mockingly with a chuckle.
"Oh, Helga. I'd spend the rest of my life convincing you how much you deserve to be loved," Arnold gives another sincere reply, not missing a beat. He also gives her hands another gentle squeeze.
"It may take you that long," Helga retorts with a chuckle, but she is not completely kidding.
'Oh criminy, I hope he's serious about that!' Helga thinks to herself with such hope.
"Helga…" Arnold begins, the annoyance building up is clear.
"Arnold…" Helga replies, matching Arnold's annoyance but only mockingly.
"Helga, please…" Arnold tries again, the annoyance building.
"Oh alright. Go ahead," Helga gives in, holding her hands up in surrender, well she tries to. Arnold has not let go of her hands yet and he is only holding on tighter. She puts her hands back down, which Arnolds seems to have laid claim to already anyways.
"Thank you. Now, Helga G. Pataki, could I please be your boyfriend? Oh, and your prom date as well?" Arnold asks this time and then quickly remembers about prom so he decides to ask that too.
"Hmm…sure, on one condition," Helga replies, briefly mimicking Arnold by pretending to think it over.
"What's that?" Arnold asks with sincere curiosity.
"If I get to be your girlfriend," Helga replies with a sly wink.
"Deal," Arnold replies simply then pulls Helga into a warm embrace for a few moments and as they pull away they look into each other's eyes.
"I love you, Helga," Arnold says, his eyes full of love and warmth.
"And I love you, Arnold," Helga could barely complete her response as Arnold's lips abruptly envelop hers.
After a lengthy, deep, and tender kiss, the two part and just gaze into each other's eyes. Arnold continues to hold Helga in his arms.
"I just want to hold you," Arnold admits suddenly.
"But you are, silly," Helga replies with a chuckle.
"Yeah but- would it be ok if I just lay beside you and hold you? It might sound silly, but I almost feel like I'm making up for lost time," Arnold asks kind of sheepishly, but his tone is sincere.
"It's not that silly. I have the same feeling, so sure, of course you can," Helga agrees with a knowing smile. She knows where Arnold is coming from. It does sort of feel like making up for lost time.
"Thank you," Arnold sighs in relief, not knowing how Helga would take such a request. He figured she would be thrilled but then again she has already been through a lot, so he wanted to make that request as gently as possible.
He plants a quick kiss on her lips, releases her from his embrace, leans back, and then looks at her. She looks back, not understanding the silent question Arnold has on his face. Realizing this, Arnold finally gestures to a space beside her on her hospital bed, hinting that he was asking if she could scoot over a little. After getting the message, Helga gives a small smile in understanding and then attempts to move herself further to one side of the bed, but then quickly realizes she hasn't moved an inch. She tries again and that's when it dawns on her: she is paralyzed from the waist down. If Arnold reciprocating her feelings didn't convince her this moment was real, this realization certainly does.
"Is something wrong, Helga?" Arnold pipes up after he notices the sad and dejected expression that begins to appear on her face.
"I was wrong. This is definitely real," Helga answers quietly after a few seconds of silence.
"Finally! But what convinced you? And why do you sound so sad?" Arnold asks, first relieved but now sounding worried. When Helga refuses to answer him or even meet his gaze, he moves in a little closer to her. He takes her hands in his again.
"Helga, sweetheart, what's wrong?" Arnold asks, his tone filled with worry. Helga only shakes her head.
"Helga, I'm sorry for asking. You're right, it's too early to be asking something like that," Arnold apologizes but Helga shakes her head again and this time responds.
"No, no it's not that," Helga says quietly still looking down, feeling too ashamed to look at him.
"Then what is it? Helga, please tell me," Arnold pleads a little as his worries intensify.
"If I tell you, you may not love me anymore," she responds, her voice so low that Arnold can barely hear her. Her voice is also nearly void of any feeling.
"I thought you were just starting to make sense. Please don't go backwards on me now. Helga, no matter what it is, I'm sure I will understand," Arnold tries to reason with her as he gives Helga's hands a gentle squeeze as some reassurance.
"I can't go to prom…" Helga finally responds after a few silent seconds, but at the moment she finds herself lacking the courage to finish.
"Is that it? Helga, if you just don't want to go then that's fine. We can always do something else instead. I just want to be with you. Please stop pushing me away," Arnold tries to reason with her again. He is beginning to worry that he is slipping back to square one with Helga. He just cannot understand why.
"I'm not, but you could push me away once you know," Helga answers truthfully. She still cannot look him in the eyes, whether this is because of fear or shame, or perhaps some combination of the two, Helga could not say.
Suddenly, Helga feels Arnold's hands let go of hers and then feels his hands cup her face. He then gently tilts her head up, so she has no choice but to look at him.
"Know what? Please stop being silly and just tell me what it is. I want to help, but as you know my denseness won't allow me to help if I don't know," Arnold explains in his half-hearted attempt to lighten the mood a little.
"Ok…" Helga agrees hesitantly. Arnold lets go of Helga's face and leans back in response. She knows she needs to tell him, but she is struggling to find the words and the strength to talk about it. She decides that for now she at least has the nerve to show him. Before giving herself the chance to change her mind, Helga suddenly pulls the covers off her so that her legs and feet are visible.
"Ask me to scoot over," Helga requests, trying to sound sure of herself but her voice betrays her empty expression with hints of hesitation and fear.
"Um, ok. Could you please scoot over?" Arnold asks, doing as requested, but unsure why. He is about to find out as he sees Helga staring intently at her legs and feet for some reason. At this moment, Arnold does not seem to understand what Helga is trying to show him. Helga can tell this is not getting through to Arnold yet when she looks up to see the confused expression on his face.
"Ask me again," Helga orders as she wills herself to not let her voice quiver and lose her nerve again.
"Helga, this isn't funny. If you don't want me there, you just need to tell me so," Arnold responds instead of asking again as requested. His tone is annoyed but has a tinge of worry to it as well.
"Do you see me laughing?" Helga snaps but then stops herself from sounding too angry, remembering she doesn't need to be so tough anymore, though that new realization is practically scaring her to death. Trying to ignore that at least for now, she takes a deep breath and continues, sounding calmer, "I'm trying to explain this to you but I just can't bear to say the words yet, so could you please just ask me again?" Helga pleads. Arnold can tell she is being sincere this time, with nearly all the toughness absent from her voice.
"Ok, could you please scoot over?" Arnold asks again, unsure of what is going on, but decides it is best to comply, understanding that Helga will reveal herself at her own pace. Once again, Helga stared intently at her legs and feet but stronger this time. This time, Arnold realizes that Helga is trying to make her legs and feet to move by sheer force of will alone, as if she couldn't. He gasps out loud at that realization: Helga cannot move her lower body, at all. For some reason unknown to Helga, Arnold now understanding her becomes the motivation Helga needs to verbally explain her new situation.
"Do you understand now? I want to move over, but I literally can't…the accident…paralyzed me from the waist down. And that's why I can't be your prom date," she explains, nearly choking on those words, they were hard to say and equally as hard to think about. She didn't want to think about all the things she probably could no longer do, but it was hard to stop herself from thinking about it. She knows she could add "going to prom" on that list now that she has a reason to go.
Helga also just realizes that she cannot do track and field anymore, just when the team is really counting on her. She was the best pole vaulter on the team and her 500-meter dash broke the school record. Track was something she thoroughly enjoyed, and she is now upset she could not do that for at least the rest of the school year because this was it. It would maybe be ok if she had another year or two left in high school, but she didn't. There were no years left. She's a senior! She then realizes that her goal of breaking state records and maybe getting a nice scholarship would never become possible now. The future she thought was waiting for her after high school was now over. The future that awaits her now is unknown. And she hates that more than maybe not being able to walk, run, kick, or even stand up. The one thing she knows will be part of her future if this paralysis was permanent will be her having to rely on others for even basic tasks. She hates that certainty, probably more than how uncertain her future now is.
'If Arnold leaves me for this, I don't blame him one bit,' Helga thinks to herself sadly. 'Why would he stay? I'm useless now. I would only slow him down. And I would never let him agree to take care of me, that's a responsibility nobody deserves, especially not him. Hell, if he doesn't leave, I'll let him go. I love him too much to screw up his future too. I would never forgive myself if I didn't,' Helga decides to herself as she continues putting herself down in her mind.
"Oh Helga…" Arnold starts to say but then shakes his head, realizing that words would not be enough to get Helga out of this little wave of depression she seems to be caught in, which she has a good reason to be. But still, it hurts Arnold to see her like this.
Helga barely hears Arnold just then as she is still lost in her own thoughts. Suddenly she feels something else trying to capture her attention, or rather someone. It is Arnold's lips enveloping hers in the sweetest distraction that she needs more than ever right now.
The kiss lasts for less than a minute, but it is long enough to pull Helga from her thoughts of self-hatred. As soon as Arnold's lips leave hers, he stands up and puts an arm on Helga's back and moves her up slightly. He then takes his other arm and slips it under her legs. Helga barely has time to register all this when he quickly but steadily scoops her up just enough to move her about a foot over on the hospital bed. He slowly and gently places her on the bed. Arnold finishes by getting on the side of the bed he just made space for himself and lies down beside her. He turns to lay on the side where he's facing her. He takes one of her hands in his and gives it a light squeeze as Helga has been speechless the whole time and is still giving him a look of slight shock. Arnold has a feeling he knows what kind of thoughts were swirling around in Helga's head and if she won't tell him, then he will tell her in order to show her how silly her thoughts are.
"You think I'm going to leave you?" Arnold asks abruptly. Helga simply nods.
"If I don't, you're going to let me go because you think I would be throwing my life away if I decided to help take care of you?" Arnold then asks, just as abruptly and to-the-point. This time Helga answers.
"I don't think, I know it would be a waste of your time," Helga answers, her voice strong and resolute, but there is a hint of regret to it. She does not want to let Arnold go, but she knows it is the best for him so she will if she has to. She realizes she will never get what she wants, no matter how close she came this time around.
"While I appreciate you always looking out for me, this time you need to let me decide that for myself," Arnold replies a little harshly at first, but his tone softens as he leans in a little and gives her hand another gentle squeeze. Helga only shakes her head.
"You can't stay. You don't deserve this. I am now a burden no one deserves," Helga argues as she says some of her thoughts out loud. She is trying to be strong, but her voice is wavering a little this time. She is literally breaking her own heart, though she knows it is the best thing for Arnold.
'Then why does it hurt so much?' Helga asks herself, but the answer is obvious.
'Because neither one of us want it, at least for now. Arnold could eventually get over me, but of course I don't want him to…criminy I'm such a mess, why the hell does he love me anyway?' Helga answers her own question in her head but ends her thoughts with another question, one she does not know the answer to, but she knows how she can get it.
"Why the hell do you love me? I gave you nothing but hell for so many years. I'm a mess. I'm broken, emotionally and now physically. There is nothing about me that makes me worthy of love. Why can't you see that?!" Helga asks in exasperation. Suddenly, Helga realizes she cannot hold back her emotions anymore. Arnold is in shock to see Helga break down and cry. He has never seen her cry and so much. He knows there is so much pain she has been trying her best to hide over the years. Her trying to let him go may have been too much and caused all that pain to come pouring out in the form of her own tears.
Helga feels herself being pulled into Arnold's embrace. She knows she has to get out of it and continue trying to push him away, but dammit she didn't have the strength to fight anymore, at least for now.
'If he wants me in all my brokenness, he can have me. For how long he will want me I don't know and that's the scary part, but I can always pick up whatever broken pieces he leaves me with later if this turns out badly. I don't care anymore about how bad it will hurt. He wants to be with me, despite all this. You don't have to run anymore, Helga 'ol girl, it will be ok. Well, I sure hope so,' Helga wraps up her little internal monologue and comes to a decision of sorts. She is going to accept this, see where it goes, and always be prepared in case it ends badly so she can heal from it and move on, though she hopes she will be preparing herself for nothing.
Helga follows through on the decision she made to herself with her actions. She not only returns Arnold's embrace but she is clinging so tightly, almost holding on to dear life. She cries even harder.
Arnold has no idea what changed in Helga, but whatever is the reason he is glad as he holds her tighter. He starts switching from rubbing her back to running his hand gently through her hair as she cries on his shoulder. This continues for a while and then Helga's crying gradually weakens and then stops. She continues to rest her head on his shoulder and keeps her hold on him as he continues to rub her back. They stay like this for a few moments until they both pull back to look into the other's eyes. Arnold breaks the silence first.
"Helga, you have done so many things for me. You giving up your first place prize for the writing contest made me able to find my parents," Arnold pauses as Helga's eyes widen at that, "Yes, Helga, I know about that. I now know all the amazing things you have done, all for me. You helped me so much. Now it's my turn to help you," he pauses again to catch Helga's response. She stays still, somewhat lost in thought. A hint of hesitation is still present even after her revelation. Old habits die hard after all.
"Helga, my love, will you please quit being so stubborn? You are worthy of love and you deserve being helped now. I just feel bad you have gone your entire life without anyone fully noticing your beautiful soul. No wonder you felt you needed to hide it deep inside the tough exterior that you created. While I don't agree with that, I understand why you did that. It was all you knew and all anyone seemed to see. Well now I see, Helga. I can't just be in your life then be expected to be forced out of it. That is not going to work and you need to please stop trying to push me away. You deserve to be loved, Helga, maybe you more than anyone. Helga, I love you and I promise this," he pauses to motion toward the general direction of her legs with the other hand, "does not make me want to leave you. Honestly, I had a feeling there would be some kind of injuries resulting from the car accident and I was prepared to help you through before I walked into this room. That hasn't changed and it won't change, so please stop trying to make it change because you think it will be best for me. Well don't I get a say in this?" Arnold asks but it was more of rhetorical question, but Helga nods anyway because she knows he is right. That makes his expression soften some as it looks like he is starting to get through to her.
Unknown to him though, he got through to Helga a few moments ago. She was just too unsure of it all to admit it. She begins to see it all more clearly now. Arnold does not want to be without her and she never wanted to be without him, especially not after she finds out that he reciprocates her feelings. She decides to give Arnold the benefit of doubt for now as she can tell he is not quite done.
"Thank you," Arnold acknowledges and gives a small smile. "Nothing will be better for me than being with you. I love you, Helga. Did you hear that? I, Arnold Phillip Shortman, love you, Helga G. Pataki, with all my heart. I am not leaving. I can't leave. And forget all that "what's best for me" crap. I can't leave because I'm too selfish. I just found out I have been in love with you for at least a few years and that you still love me. How can I leave now? I know you are looking out for me, and even acting against what your own heart wants. But you don't have to do that anymore, never again. I am here now. The circumstances may not be perfect, but life never is. And we will get through this, together. So please quit pushing me away, Helga, my love. Please," Arnold pleads while still stroking her hair with his hand.
Helga could only nod in response as tears threaten to stream down her cheeks again. They then lay there holding hands in silence for a few moments until Helga breaks it.
"Geraldine," Helga says softly.
"What?" Arnold asks, his brows furrow a little in confusion.
"You said your middle name but said my middle initial because you probably didn't know mine. So I figured I'd tell you so now you know," Helga explains simply, her gaze not leaving his. Arnold knows this is her way of saying she was done trying to push him away. She would not tell him her middle name if she did not want him to stay and continue this relationship.
"Helga Geraldine Pataki…I like it," Arnold says it out and decides it does have a nice ring to it, but maybe he is already a little biased.
"Hey, easy there on the full name stuff, bucko," Helga replies, her voice not menacing or threatening at all, but her tone is a light-hearted, joking one. Arnold chuckles in response.
"Noted," Arnold answers and flashes Helga a warm smile, which Helga rolls her eyes in response but does so playfully. Arnold then decides to change the subject.
"So, did they talk to you about physical therapy?" Arnold asks.
"Yep," Helga answers simply, obviously wanting to move on, but that is not what Arnold wants.
"When do you start?" Arnold asks, continuing the conversation.
"Next week," Helga answers as she glances towards her legs, her brows furrowing in worry. She does not notice the thoughtful expression on Arnold's face.
"Can I come with you?" Arnold asks suddenly. This interrupts Helga's worry-filled thoughts. She looks up at Arnold and matches his hopeful and thoughtful expression with a puzzled look of her own.
"Why?" Helga asks, obviously confused.
"How long do you think it will take for you to get used to having someone who just wants to be there for you?" Arnold answers with a question of his own. His tone is a mix of sadness for her automatic distrust, concern for her overall condition and just wanting to be there for her, and slight exasperation of likely having to convince Helga every day that she is deserving of love and being cared for once in a while.
"Criminy, I wish I knew. Sorry Football Head, but no matter how long I've been dreaming of this to be a reality it will probably still feel like it's not for a little while. Again, sorry in advance," Helga replies with a small smirk, but her voice is overall apologetic. The old insult is now a silly pet name and its matching tone earns a soft chuckle from Arnold.
"Well I don't mind to remind you that this is real, that I love you, and that I will be here for you during this and any other tough times ahead," Arnold promises and gently squeezes Helga's hand. She squeezes his hand back, smiles, shakes her head playfully, and looks back at him.
"You're a sap," Helga retorts with a giggle. After Arnold pouts in response, Helga decides to elaborate, "but I'm probably an even bigger sap for melting at that," Helga then smiles from ear to ear. Arnold realizes that the smile Helga gives him is genuine and that smile is because of him.
A/N: So I have an announcement. After this chapter was supposed to be the epilogue…but an idea randomly occurred to me and I decided to go with it, so there will be one more chapter then the epilogue! Just when I think I am almost done with this story I get new ideas that motivate me to continue! Nothing wrong with that as long as you all are still enjoying this! I am almost halfway done with the next chapter. I hope to get it done soon, especially since I am starting school in a few weeks. Thank you so much for your patience! I know I do not deserve it.