AN: Sorry sorry sorry! I know it's been months. So I don't blame you if you forgot about this story. School started up again and I didn't have a lot of time to write. But hopefully I'll have more time now. : )

Helga stopped dead in her tracks. She could have sworn she heard someone yell "Helga." Maybe she was just imagining things though, the flea market was pretty loud with everyone chatting and haggling.

She shrugged it off and kept walking, trying to figure out where she was and where she was going to go.

"Helga!" someone shouted. This time Helga heard it and knew it was real and she wasn't going crazy.

She stopped again and then slowly turned around. She definitely recognized that voice from somewhere.

"Helga? What are you doing?"

It was Arnold. Of all the people that could have found her, it was Arnold. She didn't know whether to be glad or worried about what he was going to say.

"Uhh, umm…" Helga said, trying to buy herself some time to come up with an explanation. "I don't know, what are you doing stalking me, Arnold-o?"

"Helga, you've been missing for two days! Are you okay? Everyone's worried about you."

"I'm fine, football head! And why would anyone be worried about me? I can take care of myself, I have been since I was in kindergarten."

"Okay, fine. If you're alright and you think you can take care of yourself, I'll just go then. I'm supposed to meet my grandpa anyway."

Arnold turned around and started walking back to where he was going to meet his grandpa. Helga didn't say anything until he was almost to the end of the aisle.

"Wait!" She said and ran after him, "Okay, I'm not okay. I have no idea where I am and have no way to get back." And then she just looked nervously at her feet, feeling a bit stupid.

"Come on," Arnold said, "I'm sure my grandpa won't mind giving you a ride back. We're pretty far away, I don't think you want to walk home."

So they started to walk back. Helga didn't know what to say. She still felt stupid for being lost and for being found by Arnold. So she just followed him silently. It was Arnold who broke the silence and started conversation again.

"So, umm, Helga. Why did you run away in the first place?" he asked.

Helga didn't say anything at first. She was absolutely dumbfounded that Arnold cared enough to ask such a question. Plus, she didn't know how to respond. None of the kids at PS118 knew what her family was really like, besides Phoebe anyway.

"Uhh, I don't know. I just needed a day off. It's complicated, you wouldn't get it."

She knew that Arnold had a perfect family. He lived with his crazy grandma and grandpa. His grandma might have been a little bit nuts, but she was really nice. Arnold might not live with his parents, but his grandparents were better parents than hers ever were.

"Okay, Helga," Arnold responded, but he could figure out that there was a bigger story.

They finally found their way back to Arnold's grandpa.

"Hey Shortman, who's your friend?" he greeted them.

"This is Helga, she's in my class. Would you mind if we gave her a ride home?"

"Not a problem, kiddo. Enjoy the market, Helga?"

Helga, for probably the first time ever, didn't give some snarky response. She simply shrugged her shoulders.

"Ah, well you don't always find good stuff. I didn't find anything worth buying either."

Arnold, his grandpa and Helga headed back. They got back pretty late, but when they pulled up to her house, Helga could tell that Bob still wasn't home. She sighed a sigh of relief. There weren't even any lights on in her house, which meant Miriam was either out or sleeping. Helga was glad she didn't have to deal with Miriam either. She hopped out of the car, thanked Arnold's grandpa for the ride and headed toward her front door.

She was about to open her front door when she heard a car door shut behind her.

"Umm, Helga?" It was Arnold.

She just looked at him.

"Are you sure you're okay? If you want to talk…" Arnold couldn't believe he was saying this to her. "If your parents aren't home, you could come and eat dinner at the boarding house. I'm sure my grandma won't mind."

Helga didn't even know what to say. Why was Arnold being so nice to her? She looked back at her dark house and imagined when she went inside she would probably grab whatever looked edible from the fridge and go up to her room to think about things until she fell asleep. Then she thought of Arnold's house and imagined a warm meal with food that actually tasted like something and being surrounded by nice (albeit quirky) people.

"Hey Arnold?" she said, "That sounds really nice actually." Then she followed him back to the car, where Arnold explained to his grandpa that her parents weren't home and she was going to eat dinner with them.

On the way back to the boarding house, Arnold was thinking: What did I just do? If Gerald finds out that Helga is eating dinner at my house I'll never live it down. Still, I would have felt terrible just leaving her to an empty house. And what about when her dad comes home? He seemed pretty angry… not a concerned angry, but angry that she had caused them trouble. What kind of parent isn't even concerned that their daughter is missing?

They were finally back and Helga followed Arnold into the house.

"Well, hi there Arnold and friend!" Arnold's Grandma appeared around the corner of the doorway, holding a big bowl of something in one hand while stirring its contents with the other. "We had a bit of a mishap with dinner so I had to start from scratch. It should only be another hour or so."

"Well, in that case," said Arnold. "I guess you can just put your things down in my room."

Helga still hadn't said a word since they left her house. She could have sworn this was all some weird dream.