Hey guys! You have all been so awesome with your reviews! It makes me feel so good! Especially since this is my first fan fic . . .(that I have posted anyway) you have all been so patient, and I am trying to update as much and as fast as I can. I came up on some pretty bad writers block for this next chapter, but oddly enough I was hit with some inspiration from one of my favorite bands, Coldplay! I really hope you guys continue to love this story as much as I do 3

Enjoy!

Arnold continued the familiar path to the park, enjoying this part of the city he hadn't been to since he had been back. The sun was beginning to set further down into the sky, the darkness of night starting to creep into the beautiful dark oranges and pinks of the sunset. Arnold had forgotten how pretty the city always was at dusk. As he came to the entrance of the park, he felt himself shiver. It was starting to get chilly in the city, October was coming up fast and brought with it the chilly wind that Arnold didn't really miss while he was in San Lorenzo. It was always warm and sunny there, and sometimes the humidity had almost made it unbearable. After spending all those years in a country that was mostly summer all year round, Arnold decided that he didn't really miss the cold.

He followed the curvy dirt path that lead to the middle of the park where his favorite place to think was, the bridge that sat over the river. The leaves on the trees were all turning bight yellows, deep reds and oranges; even if he didn't like the cold, he loved the scenery fall brought with it. He took a deep breath of cold air, letting everything his grandpa had said sink in.

If you love her as much as you say you do, never give up.

He exhaled. And I don't plan on giving up. He made it to the bridge, and felt his heart fall through his body all the way to the ground.

Helga was standing at the bridge.

He almost tripped as he came to a complete stop. Arnold stared at her, wondering if she had heard him, but she was ignoring him if she had. He continued to watch her, not believing his luck. She's here too? What a coincidence! No, it's more than that. We came to the same spot at the same time . . .I have to take this opportunity to talk to her, Arnold thought to himself, and seized the courage within him before it escaped.

Before he took a step further, he found himself still watching her. He noticed that he no longer felt cold either; and in fact, his face was red hot.

He was blushing.

Many people might not have found Helga beautiful, but Arnold was not one of them. He had seen her at her best and worst appearances, and most people only chose to see her abrasive and angry side. Helga had opened up a lot in her letters, and Arnold always knew that the sweet and friendly Helga was in there, it just took sometime for her to show herself. As he continued to stare at her, he realized how long it had been since he had actually seen her. Her pigtails were longer now, and she chose to wear a beanie in place of her pink bow. Her face had grown out of its childhood roundness, and into a softness Arnold couldn't explain, except for beautiful.

She looked so sad, staring into the water. Her eyes looked red and puffy from crying, and her face still looked wet. Before he knew what he was doing, his heart decided to take over.

"Helga?"

Her eyes widened as she spun around, facing him. "Arnold!" she gasped, "What are you-how did you . . ." She stared into his eyes a moment, and Arnold thought that maybe she was done being angry with him. Before he could open his mouth to speak again, Helga wiped her face and eyes angrily and then turned around to leave.

"Just leave me alone, football head!" She started to walk across the bridge, but Arnold grabbed her wrist to stop her. "Helga! Please, wait . . .we need to talk." She turned around, tugging her arm out of Arnold's grasp. "Oh, so now you wanna talk? Fancy that." She averted her eyes and crossed her arms after taking a couple steps back. "I really just want to be left alone Arnold. Everyone else is excited for you to be back, so go bother them!" She tried to walk away again but Arnold grabbed her hand this time, holding it gently.

"Helga, please . . ."

He could feel her stiffen at his plea, but she still didn't turn back around. "I don't know why you thought I didn't wanna talk before. I tried to when I first saw you at school, but you ran away. I looked for you all day after that, but you were nowhere to be found. I even went to your house after school, and I'm pretty sure you saw me outside your window . . ." He paused for a moment, to see if she would stay to listen. She didn't move. "It seems to me Helga, that you are the one who doesn't wanna talk."

She didn't move for a few seconds, and then she drew her hand away from Arnold, turning around to look up at him. "Look Arnoldo, I don't know what kind of sick game you are playing, but I didn't spend the last year and half trying to heal my wounds for you to just come back here and rip them open again," Helga spat, glaring at him. Arnold felt a deep pain go through his heart before she continued. "You came back here to graduate, right? Well I'm pretty sure you don't have to talk to me to do that. So please, if you care about me at all, at all, you will leave me alone!"

She stared into his eyes a few moments, and then turned back around, heading for home.

Arnold felt numb. His heart completely, and utterly destroyed. She spent that year and a half trying to forget me . . .

He wasn't going down without a fight. "Helga . . ." he started, yet she kept walking. "HELGA!" She stopped dead in her tracks, almost jumping. She turned around slowly, and he could see the tears forming in her eyes. "I-I'm sorry . . .for yelling, just please. I need to talk to you Helga." He could hear his voice breaking as he reached for her hand again, but she pulled herself away just before he could.

The pain in his heart jabbed deeper.

"You need to talk to me? What about when I needed you Arnold?" She pointed a finger at him. "What you did to me while you were away . . ." she broke off, her voice shaking. She shook her head, unable to continue. "I'm sorry for what I said in the letter Helga, it's just-"

She cut him off, "Oh! So now you're sorry for what you said in those letters you wrote to me!? Was it all a lie, Arnold? You couldn't figure out a way to tell me that, so you thought the best course of action was to say nothing at all? That's what you should be apologizing for Arnold . . .not for what you said, but what you didn't say." She turned back around, and started towards her house again, and then after a few more steps turned around. "If you really wanna make it up to me Arnold, you'll stay away from me. I can't do this anymore Arnold, I'm sorry." And with that she walked away, and Arnold let her go.

He couldn't breathe, he couldn't think, he couldn't feel; all he could do was watch the girl he loved walk away. After she turned the corner, disappearing from view, he felt his legs take him to a bench, and then found himself sitting down. Too numb to cry, and to broken to be hurt, he just sat there in silence; not really listening, not really caring.

What did Helga mean? I wrote her two letters . . .why did she say that I said nothing at all? He felt confusion sinking in through his pain, surfacing through the numbness. She's acting as if she . . .

Before he could finish that thought, he found himself running home as the sun finally set. He had never needed to talk to his parents so badly in his life, even in the 10 years of childhood he lived without them.