Wow!It's been awhile...My apologies for not posting the last chapter. I had suffered a loss in my family and things kinda took over my writing time. But now I hope to continue what I started so without further ado here is the conclusion to Bane of my existence. Reviews are most appreciated.

When I opened my eyes to see it's morning, I felt completely disoriented. I closed them back to evade the bright glare of the sun. Feeling softness under me, I realized that I was on my bed. I relaxed a bit and sighed while sinking further into my pillow. My attempt to return to the land of slumber was thwarted by my internal clock's refusal to let me return to sleep. I lowly groaned, my mood turning dark and cranky for my body not cooperating. Regardless, instinctively, I forced out a yawn while my arms stretched out to the side in attempt to get out the kinks in my muscles. In the process, my hand landed on something solid.

"Mmmm" a deep voice hummed as my hand touched its surface. Soft but firm flesh came into contact with the back of my hand. In seconds, it moved towards me, I felt soft flesh nuzzling my neck. My eyes snapped open instantly. "OH NO!" I thought as I held my breath, slowly turning my head to face it. I grimaced as I saw tufts of blonde hair beginning to show on top of the covers. Snippets of last night's make-out session came to mind and…

"Oh NO! no,no,no,no, NO!" I muttered in dismay.

Staring back at me was the happy sleeping face of Arnold. I sat up and fisted the covers as I panicked "Oh man, what have I done?" I whispered, placing a hand to my head. "He returns your purse and what do you Helga? You reward him by sleeping with him, GREAT," I spat sarcastically. "The least you could've done was remember the whole thing you doof."

I shook my head and rocked myself. "Oh man, Oh man, oh man, oh ma-"

"Helga?" His voice drowsily uttered. I squirmed, bringing my hands to cover my face. "Oh no!" I croaked aloud not realizing that I did. I felt his arms circling me. I kept my eyes straightforward and my lips shut. "Helga? Are you…okay?"

I turned to him, narrowing my eyes, "What do you think Football head? Does it look like I'm okay?" I uttered a slight crack in my voice. His eyes softened as he smiled.

Speaking softly, he said, "I don't know? You tell me!"

I turned away from him and tried to get out of bed, but he pulled me back into his embrace.

"You seduced me," I hissed trying to escape his hold, his touch, his breathing down my neck!

He responded to my accusation, whispering huskily, "You tempted me."

I stopped and raised an eyebrow. "Oh really!"

I could feel his smile widening as he nuzzled the nape of my neck, then he kissed it, making me shudder on contact.

I scowled. "Traitorous body of mine"

"Yeah…really. You're so…enticing." His deep voice reverberated from his body to mine and it rendered me to close my eyes in pleasure. He kissed the same spot again, and my body shuddered once more. "Stupid body, stupid voice, stupid Arnold"

I had to put a stop to this. I had to do something. "Arnold?"

"Hm?"

"I…have to pee." I claimed boldly, without an ounce of shame.

He paused for a moment and shifted his position, but still held on. Calmly he asked, "What brought this on all of a sudden?"

"Guess he knows me better than I thought. Think fast, Pataki." I thought.

"Doi, Nature." I replied with a roll of my eyes and my usual scowl as a finishing touch.

Within moments, his grip loosened, albeit reluctantly. "Oh! Okay."

When he finally let go, I ran without looking back into the bathroom. Basically, my plan was to stay in there till he left. But knowing Arnold, he wouldn't. He would stay all day if he had to till I came out. At that point, I didn't know what to do, where to go, since my bathroom had no windows.

"Where the hell is Phoebe?" I thought at that moment as I paced the tiny part of the bathroom floor. "Great! I also forgot my cell phone on the dresser." As I tried to devise a way out of this mess, but nothing came to mind. Therefore, advantage…Arnold.

He called out to me after half an hour, while I sat on the toilet, thinking.

"You okay in there?" He asked.

"Yeah Arnoldo, just…peachy."

Now I realized that I have to face him once again, but this time I had to be strong. I have to have more resolve than I had yesterday. I was worried of course. I mean…I woke up today with a man in my bed. A man that I used to dream about all the time. It should have been a dream come true, but how long would this dream last? Would I utterly fall apart should this dream fade? Should I take that chance? And where do we go from here? That was the question I was most afraid of.

"I guess I'll have to play it by ear." I thought, trying to give myself a small pep talk before I faced the man.

When I opened the door, Arnold's green eyes were staring straight at me. I looked into his burning gaze, and it made me feel paralyzed. I withdrew from it, and stepped to the side to walk past him.

"I guess we should...um..talk." I heard myself utter as I continued to walk away.

I heard him chuckle a bit then he sighed. "I think that's a good idea Helga."

With my back still turned to him I nodded and moved to get my things. I spoke once more, "I just need to freshen up. You can go after me...okay?" I turned to gauge his reaction, his eyes softened as he replied, "Okay"

Once done we entered the kitchen. Arnold thought it would be a good idea to eat before we...talked. But he was just prolonging his stay and that pissed me off. I made some coffee and slammed his cup down on the counter, splattering some of it on its surface. Then, I plunked down a doughnut on a plate before him. He looked at me and smiled despite the way I offered it to him.

Grrr! He was so… frustrating, nothing I did seemed to affect him all of a sudden.

"Do I amuse you, Football head?" I asked narrowing my eyes at him, irritated.

His smile just grew wider, and I blushed. Great! my body just likes to pick the right moment to further encourage his pompous ass. But seeing that I was about to blow, he reigned in his gloating. "No…you…amaze me."

I looked at him skeptically, "Arnold I just gave you coffee and a doughnut for breakfast and that…amazed you?"

He chuckled. "Well, not that actually. Just…well…I thought you would urge me to cut to the chase and talk, but instead you made me breakfast and coffee...well sort of."

I rolled my eyes at him. "Well Arnold, I do have manners. Obviously, you are my…uh..well…you are…a..guest here so…" I crossed my arms over my chest and huffed. "Well I'm sorry I exceeded your expectations!" I stated holding my head high, chin out. He chuckled at that, and so did I. We looked to each other and blushed turning away. It became quiet again until he spoke.

"We…didn't do anything," Arnold said his gaze low and focused on his coffee, his fingers encircling the cup's surface to absorb its warmth.

I looked to him incredulously. "What?"

He elaborated, "Last night, we didn't…uh…we didn't… do…it!" He looked up quickly and then dropped his gaze. "I thought you should know. All we did was kiss and then you kinda fainted in my arms, so…I took you to bed and watched over you until I fell asleep."

My eyes were shifting from right to left. "But…I thought…we…you know-"

He shook his head and a half smile came upon his face. "No, we didn't. Besides, we woke up with our clothes on. I merely took off your slippers. I guess…you…um..didn't notice."

Mentally, I slapped my forehead. "Pataki you idiot, why do always go jumping to conclusions."

In a way, I felt relieved, but I also felt a bit disappointed. Besides, things would've gotten much more awkward and complicated if we had. I looked to Arnold as he examined his coffee. He seemed deep in thought. Suddenly, he blushed and smirked.

"Oh No, he's probably thinking about what we did yesterday. Alright Helga, time to snap him out of it."

"Arnold" I called, but his smirked grew wider. "That doof. This is not the time to think dirty thoughts. Ugh! I can't believe this was the innocent, caring, and loving boy I fell in love with! He's all grown up now. I guess he has changed in some ways…"

"Arnold!" I called again. He snapped out of his daydream.

"Huh..what…You were saying something?" He looked lost at this moment. A laugh almost escaped me. "Yep he's a doofus alright. A very cute, lovable, and sexy doofus with some nice abs and a great butt…. Alright Helga now you're doing it."

"Arnold I think we should talk now…about us"

He looked at me with hopeful eyes and I couldn't help but feel weak in the knees.

"What about us is there to talk about?" he said.

"Well…I uh…" my eyes shifted uncontrollably as I tried to figure out what to say or how to approach whatever it was between us. "Well…where do we go from here?" I asked perplexed.

Arnold stood up from his stool and came around on the other side of the counter where I stood. He took both of my hands and held them in his. "Helga, all I know is that…I want you in my life and hopefully you want me in yours. I'm not going to ignore what you went through in the past because of me. I'm sorry, really sorry for whatever pain I caused you. I never meant to hurt you. I always cared about your feelings and I'm willing to…to give you space and time if that's what you want. We could work on our relationship, you know…take it slow. Whatever you feel comfortable with I'll do. I just…want to be a part of your life, hopefully…forever, if that's okay with you."

I looked up as he said possibly forever and tears started to stream down my face. There I went crying in front of Arnold again. This man could still make me feel like a total basket case.

"Oh great, my nose is leaking now. This is so embarrassing!"

Arnold flashed a bright smile at me and wiped my tears with the pads of his thumbs as I repeatedly sniffed. He grabbed the dish towel over the counter and handed it to me so I could blow my nose.

He spoke once more. "So…Helga…What do you say?"

I laughed as I looked into his Green jellybean eyes. The eyes of my obsession and I smiled. I wrapped my arms around his neck, my face close to his, his lips millimeters from mine. I shrugged nonchalantly and said. "Whatever floats you boat, Arnold" He then grinned in return and softly kissed me to my hearts content.

"Whatever you say Helga, whatever...you…say!" He thought.

FIN

A/N: Happy New Year! A big thank you to all those who reviewed earlier chapters, I'm glad you enjoyed it and I hope you enjoyed this chapter too.