He wouldn't let her go. He couldn't let her out of his sight. Even as the EMT worker pushed him aside to tend to her, he resisted a little.

She was so much more than he ever imagined and the knowledge that she kept so much of herself hidden haunted him. He paced in the waiting room focusing on remembering to breathe. It was all he could do. After watching her code twice in the ambulance, remembering to breathe seemed a chore unto itself.

He felt his chest tighten, his breaths harsh. He was going to break down soon, he knew he would. He could feel it. He wasn't strong enough to handle this on his own. After calling her parents nonstop, he gave up and walked along the waiting room floor until her doctor arrived, fiddling with his cell.

Deciding to take a seat he sat in the unoccupied chair closest to the reception area. His head was between his legs and his hands were cradling his neck. He felt powerless so he diverted his attention to the tiled floor. He counted and recounted the pattern hundreds of times. He scoffed, feeling like Arnie. He hadn't known how his thoughts drifted to his weird country cousin, but somehow they led him right back to Helga. Arnie was able to see how beautiful she was. Arnold had always been blinded. He took things at face value, which meant he missed a lot. It took him a while to realize she wasn't as mean as she acted, that Lila wasn't as perfect as seemed, that Summer had an agenda (which he only saw with her help), and Ruth was vapid. It took him even longer to realize that having parents doesn't always equal happiness. Helga taught him that.

FLASHBACK

13 year old Arnold was heading to the hardware store, ready to help Grandpa with some repairs around the boarding house. He was being groomed to take over the place once he graduated high school and after getting lesson upon lesson in business management (which to Arnold was funny since he barely saw his grandfather collect rent. He wondered how they were able to stay afloat with all the favors he granted) grandpa finally decided to let him fix a broken pipe for Mr. Huynh.

Taking a shortcut through the park he stopped when he heard sniffling by a bench. Walking closer he could make out a figure, which he assumed was a girl's, sitting with her hands covering her face. He hated to see someone cry. It was even worse when it was a girl. For some strange reason he felt compelled to comfort the stranger. Standing in front of her, he realized she was no stranger at all.

"Helga?"

There she sat in front of him looking miserable in a black tea-length dress, her blonde ringlets pulled away from her face making her tears seem bigger. Despite the tears, she was beautiful.

"H-hey Arnold." She tried to wipe the tears from her eyes. She'd obviously been caught. Feeling embarrassed she sat with her hands in her lap and stared at them, refusing to make eye contact.

Noticing her reticence he sat next to her and placed a comforting hand atop hers. "Helga, what happened?"

They sat in silence for a while, her trying to decide if she'd let him in and him willing her to.

Then she spoke. "I don't know why I thought it would be different. I tried. I tried to be like her." She sniffled and he had no idea what she was talking about, but didn't let go of her joined hands while he listened.

Taking a deep breath, she continued. "I just wanted them to notice me, so I took up the piano. For a while it worked." She looked up at him then smiling. "For a while I had their attention. Bob even told me he was proud of me. That I was doing the Pataki name proud. I hated it Arnold. I wanted to quit but I couldn't let it go. I practiced twice a day for the recital, and they were going to be there. I had a 5 minute performance and they were actually going to cheer me on."

Arnold jumped in, oblivious as always. "That's great Helga! But why are you crying? Did you make a mistake? I'm sure it wasn't as bad as you think."

"No," she said softly, remembering the standing ovations and requests for an encore. "I was good. The only issue is they never came to see it. Got a text halfway through the show that Olga was making a surprise trip home and needed to be picked up from the airport."

He didn't know why but he felt a pang in his chest after she told him. Drawing her closer he curled his arm around her waist and she leaned in, bringing her head to his chest. She laid there, covered in his warmth and felt the peace she had always been seeking. Too bad it was short-lived.

She cringed when her father's gruff voice cut through the moment. "Hey little lady, hop in. Olga's back and she's been asking for you." Pulling away from him at the sight of her father's car idling in the park entrance she tossed Arnold an apologetic look and stood up, ready to leave.

"Hey Helga?"

"Yeah?" She turned around and gave him her full attention.

He smirked, his signature half lidded gaze in full effect. "I wish I would have seen it. I bet you were amazing."

She smiled then, a rarity that almost stopped Arnold's heart. "Thanks Arnold." Waving her goodbyes, she rolled her eyes at her father honking the horn again and rushed to get in his car.

END FLASHBACK

He brushed back the memories and asked the nurse at the reception area about her for what seemed like the billionth time. They wouldn't let him see her. She was still being operated on. What's worse is he had been calling her parents nonstop since he came in and no one had shown up. He never realized how alone she was. She didn't have anyone to lean on in a crisis. It made him sad. It made him angry. What kind of parents neglect their child? He knew enough about the Patakis to notice Helga was the spare. Always unnoticed, but never unloved. Poor Helga just drew the short stick—born to a family with a penchant for keeping up appearances. Forced to the background by her attention seeking older sister. He believed they loved her, they just had a weird way of showing it.

But she wasn't truly alone, she had Pheobe. Well had was the operative word. Since hitting high school most of the old gang drifted. That was natural—it was a bigger school with more kids and more opportunities to be around kids that shared like-minded interests. Phoebe began hanging out with the braniacs, the future leaders. Her time with Helga began to diminish and soon became non-existent. Their relationship was reduced to a passing greeting in a crowded hallway. He saw the toll on Helga—the girl's already dim light darkened, and she opted to stay to herself most of the time. Arnold considered himself lucky that he and Gerald didn't have the same fate.

She also had him, and he wasn't planning on leaving her anytime soon. He could always sense when she needed him, and looking back she always sensed when he needed her too. Just like she sensed he was in trouble and went to find him in the hallway, gun pointed to his head. She was always there with gestures he never noticed and advice he never wanted, but never realized how much he needed. She had to be okay. His mind couldn't conceive a Helga-less existence. Without noticing, he was slowly beginning to realize she influenced every aspect of who he was.

She was a two-sided coin; her duality always puzzled him. Most of the time she was mean and brash. During those times he couldn't stomach being around her. But then there were other times, quiet times when she was so broken, so vulnerable that it took every ounce of willpower not to wrap her in his arms and never let go. Right now he would give anything to look into her eyes and know she would be okay.