Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters mentioned in this story.

They all belong to their rightful owner: Craig Bartlett.

Title: "Leave the lights on"

In the last chapter: The start of the weekend was less than ideal for the two blondes when not only their classmates decided to open the subject of Arnold's secret relationship with "Hilda", but their parents came home a day early. Once Helga and Miles were alone, she took the opportunity to show him her displeasure with the fact that he had let Miriam drink at their honeymoon. The discussion turned into a fight and Helga left the room in anger.

Many hours later, Helga blamed herself for the odd mood Miriam was in and especially when she and Arnold caught Miles crying as he looked at the picture of his deceased wife.

Author's 1st note: I don't know what to say! Yadda-yadda-enjoy! xD

[Please notify me if you notice any grammar mistakes. This isn't my first language, so there's bound to be mistakes.]

Chapter 28: "Dollhouse"

Helga opened her eyes and saw her family surrounded by her; her mother, Miriam, her stepfather, Miles and Arnold, her stepbrother and secret lover. They were sitting in the dining room, around the table that was decorated with a perfect meal and with clean, organized silverware. The blonde girl looked at her family, waiting for someone to say something or move, but they sat there quietly. She was the only one moving. She stood up from her chair and moved to Arnold's and touched his cheek.

Arnold sprung to life like a clock that had just been wound up. He turned his head and smiled at her before standing up. He touched her cheek and moved to kiss her. The kiss felt oddly emotionless, but she craved it with her entire being. The sound of a clock chimed and Arnold stepped away from her. She looked at him in confusion, but heard movement behind her. Miriam and Miles had just sprung to life as well and were showing her harlequin-like smiles.

"Places." Miriam said and stood up.

"Places." Miles repeated and stood up.

"Get in your places." Arnold chimed in as their parents stood next to them.

"Throw on your dress and put on your doll faces." Miriam said and waved her hand at Helga. The blonde girl saw a flash before her eyes and when she opened them again, she saw herself in the mirror, dressed in a frilly pink dress that looked like something she had seen on an old doll. "Picture."

"Picture." Miles repeated and appeared next to Helga with Miriam next to him.

"Smile for the picture." Arnold said as he appeared to Helga's right side.

"Pose with your brother." Miriam ordered and patted on Helga's shoulder and Arnold put his hand on the same place. "Won't you be a good sister?"

Helga looked at herself in the mirror that had turned into a picture frame, posing like a doll with her make-believe family. It's fake. It's all fake. We're all dolls. She heard her voice echo around her before the image crumbled. Wait. No! She pleaded in her mind and reached out for the framed picture of her picture-perfect family. No! Please, it's all I have! She thought as the image burned until there was nothing left than small flames on the floor and everything turned black.

When Helga opened her eyes again, she heard herself scream and move on her own. She was gasping for breath and looked around. Everything was dark, but she could just make out the furniture she knew belonged in her room. She jumped out of her bed, opened her door and ran across the hall until she reached Arnold's room. She threw the door open and climbed into bed with him.

Arnold, feeling his bed shifting, opened his eyes in confusion and felt a pair of arms wrap around him. "Helga?" he asked in confusion and tried to reach for his lamp, but she refused to let go of him. "What's going on?"

"Dolls. We're all dolls. Just pretending to be a family. It's fake. It's all pretend." Helga said as if she was in a deep trance.

Dolls? Arnold wondered and put his arms around her. "Helga, we're not dolls. I don't know what you're talking about. Did you… Did you have a nightmare?" he asked worriedly and caressed her head, listening to her sobs. "It's ok… It was just a nightmare."

"No, nothing's ok, nothing's alright. We're all dolls, just pretending that everything is fine…" Helga muttered before Arnold felt her relax completely in his arms. His eyes widened and he stared at nothing in particular in the dark room. His hand that was caressing her head stilled and he wondered if Helga, along with her habit of sleepwalking when having eaten pork grinds, had a tendency to have nightmares when she was worried.

"Nightmare?" Helga repeated in surprise and stared at Arnold who nodded. Two minutes ago, she had woken up in Arnold's bed, completely shocked to see that she had gone into his room in the middle of the night. She didn't remember doing that at all. "What are you talking about?"

"You… came into my room in the middle of the night. You didn't even sound like you were really awake. I think you may have had a nightmare. You fell asleep really quickly, but you were whispering some… kinda creepy things." Arnold explained gently, looking at her with serious concern in his eyes.

"What things?"

Arnold scratched his head as if he could somehow itch the exact words out of his brain. "Something about dolls… about us all being dolls and just pretending to be a family." He explained, feeling chills going down his spine.

Helga blinked and looked away, trying to remember such words. "I… don't remember that at all. I… I have no idea what I was talking about." She admitted.

"Helga, I think you're stressed."

"What? Oh, please."

"No, I'm serious. Ever since we saw dad…" Arnold started, but cut that sentence short. "You've been acting strange. This is the first time you've sleepwalked into my room, but still… I'm worried."

Helga smiled. "I'm fine, Arnold, I…" she said, but those words echoed in her mind like a memory. She put her hand on her head, feeling a headache coming on. She felt a hand on her wrist and she looked at Arnold who was silently asking her if she really was fine. "I… I'm not fine, I guess… Yeah, I must have had a nightmare last night. I'll, uh… I think I'll try calling Dr. Bliss."

"Who?" Arnold questioned as Helga was on her way out of his room.

"When I was a child, the school send me to a child psychologist because I was too violent. I hated it at the beginning, but Dr. Bliss has earned my complete trust. She's always said I could come to her with anything no matter how old I got." Helga explained and walked out of the room. She headed into her own room and found Dr. Bliss' number on her cell. She looked at the clock first and decided to text the woman instead. She was pretty sure she was awake, but she didn't want to risk waking her up when she was going to ask her a favor.

Helga sighed once she had pressed send and hugged her pillow. A dollhouse… Dr. Bliss really has her work cut out for her this time.

"Correct me if I'm wrong…" Helga said to Arnold as they headed for the school yard. "But did I notice you gulp nervously when Mrs. Oah mentioned that anatomy test we're gonna have soon?"

Arnold sighed. "Anatomy isn't my strongest subject." He admitted.

"I've noticed." Helga responded and earned a slanted look from Arnold which she just snickered at.

Oh, well. At least she's smiling again. Arnold thought and noticed Helga waving at something. He looked in the same direction and saw a mauve-colored car parked near the school gates. "Is that Dr. Bliss' car?"

"Yup. She told me she'd come pick me up." Helga responded and started jogging towards the car with Arnold right behind her. "Good afternoon, Dr. Bliss."

Arnold almost choked on Helga's polite tone; he had never heard the blonde girl talk like that to anyone so when the car door opened, he wasn't sure what kind of woman he excepted to see. It was a woman, late in her 50's perhaps, who got out of the car. She was wearing a purple, knitted sweater and a skirt in a darker color and her wedges were in the same color as her skirt. Her dark brown slightly grey hair was cut short and gave her a professional look. She looked extremely friendly.

"Good afternoon, Helga." She said with a kind smile and looked at Arnold. "I assume that you are Arnold?"

"Uh, yes, ma'am." Arnold said and extended his hand.

"No reason to be so formal with me, Arnold." she said and shook his hand. "Are you ready to leave, Helga? I've made reservations for us."

"Oh, yes. J-Just a second." Helga said and put her hand under Arnold's arm to move him a little bit away. "Just so you know…" she whispered. "I'm going to tell her everything."

Arnold's eyes widened. "You really trust her that much?"

"I do." Helga said with no hesitation in her voice. It almost made Arnold a little envious to know that Helga trusted someone else that much.

"Ok, it's fine with me. Everything you say will be said in confidence anyway."

"Well… actually, she isn't my official psychologist."

"She isn't?"

"Arnold, she's a child psychologist. She's just, kinda, made an exception with me. I trust her completely though." Helga explained and noticed Dr. Bliss tapping at her wristwatch. "I gotta go."

"Good luck." Arnold said and followed Helga back to the car. Once Dr. Bliss had walked around the car to get to her seat, he turned to the left to head home.

"Arnold?" Helga called in an unsure voice just as she had opened the door. The blonde boy turned around and noticed the hesitant look on her face. "If you… If you feel the need to talk to Miles about… what we saw the other night… then that's up to you."

Arnold blinked in surprise, but nodded in response. She gave a quick smile, mouthed a goodbye and disappeared into the mauve car.

Talk to dad about what we saw the other night… That would mean to talk about mom. Arnold thought and sighed at the thought. He wasn't sure if he wanted to get into such a heavy subject again, but he couldn't go on pretending he hadn't seen his dad cry over the picture of Stella much longer. Arnold may have inherited Miles' denseness, but even he would notice his son's odd mood at some point. Yeah, I have to talk to him.

Arnold walked into the living room and saw his dad sitting in his usual chair, reading one of his many books in Spanish. "Hi, dad."

"Hi there, Arnold." Miles said and looked up. "Where's Helga?"

"Oh, she went to meet up with some friends from her old school or something." He replied casually, having already decided on that excuse earlier. "Can I… talk to you?"

"I don't know; can you?" Miles joked and laughed as he put his book down. "Sure. Come on and sit down." He said and Arnold almost rolled his eyes at his dad's bad sense of humor, but sat down next to him without a word or much of an expression. He could feel his dad's gaze on him and knew he was starting to suspect something. "What's on your mind?"

Arnold coughed awkwardly. "Um… I-I saw you… the other night." He said in such a low voice he wondered if Miles could even hear him. When he didn't say anything, Arnold looked up at him and saw an expression that could only be described as fearful. Yes, he heard me alright.

Miles made a sound that was a mix between a groan and a sigh and hid his mouth in his hand. "Arnold… you saw… what exactly?"

"You looking at the picture of mom and… crying." Arnold explained in a slight stutter and watched as his dad put his other hand over his face, hiding it completely from view. He took a deep breath and then look at Arnold again.

"Arnold… I will… always love your mom. What she and I had was very special, but that doesn't mean that I don't care about Miriam. She was there when I was at the darkest place in my life and she helped me feel like… I was alive again. Miriam means a lot to me too, so don't think that what you saw that night means that our marriage isn't happy." Miles explained gently and reached out to touch Arnold.

The blonde boy moved away though, a look of disbelief on his face. "Helga's right. You think I'm some naïve child."

Miles frowned. "What did Helga tell you?"

"I was there when she talked to Miriam, dad. Of course she also told me that she talked to you about it."

Miles sighed. "I tried explaining this to Helga too. You two shouldn't interfere with adult business.

Arnold stood up angrily. "And Helga tried explaining to you that we are not children anymore! We aren't blind! It's too late to pretend the world is perfect, dad. Now tell me, what happened?"

"Nothing happened. I just… I just missed your mom, ok? My talk with Helga reminded me of her and… I still don't know what the right thing to do is."

"The right thing about what? Do you love Miriam or not?"

"I do." Miles replied without any hesitation.

Arnold scanned him for any signs of a lie, but he didn't see any. "The same way you loved mom?" he asked and Miles' face contorted in surprise. He looked away, thinking hard about the question before his head fell forward in surrender.

"I… I can't love another woman the way I loved your mom."

Arnold felt a pang of pain hit his heart, but it was mixed with a sort of happiness. How cruel. I'm happy that he still loves my mom so much. He thought and sat back down. "Why did you marry Miriam? Why did you even propose if you're still in love with mom?"

"Hey." Miles said and looked at him. "I love Stella and I always will, but it was time to move on. Miriam is a great woman with many admirable qualities. She survived a harsh time in her life when she was married to Bob and she's trying so hard to mend the bond with Helga. I admire her for getting this far."

There's something wrong with his words. Arnold thought, his eyes squinting as he studied his dad suspiciously. Something's… wrong. He thought again and as if a lightning had struck his head, he realized what was wrong. "Oh, my God… Miriam's your goal."

"My what?" Miles repeated in shock.

I can't believe this. "Miriam moved on… She lost something, but she moved on and she's at a place you want to be. You want to be able to move on the same way Miriam has, don't you?"

"Well, of course, but I don't see - - "

"Do you even love her?"

"I already told you that I - - "

"No. There's a difference between love and admiration. You admire Miriam for making a huge change in her life and giving herself a chance to move on. She left Bob, is trying to get closer to her daughter and she even stopped drinking! Don't tell me that that's what…" Arnold rambled, but then his own words echoed in his head. She stopped drinking… He thought and looked at Miles again, his eyes wider than ever.

"What?" Miles asked worriedly.

"Don't tell me…" Arnold started unsurely. Do I even want to ask this? Would he admit it if it's the truth? He wondered, but calmed his breathing and forced himself to ask. "Don't tell me your admiration turned into envy…"

Miles' eyebrows knitted together in confusion. "What?" he asked again.

Arnold felt his heart clench. No. This is just my hunch, it doesn't mean that it's true. He thought and yet he continued speaking. "Did you let Miriam drink… because she was too far ahead of you?" he asked and Miles continued to stare at him in horror. "Did you want Miriam to take a step back so you could catch up? So that you didn't seem like a failure next to her?"

Arnold had never thought of his dad as a failure, not even once. But those words Miles had said to Stella's picture told him that Miles himself thought of him that way. Next to Miriam, he hadn't moved on nearly as much. She had left her husband, was finally bonding with her youngest daughter and had quit an addiction. In comparison, Miles was still in love with Stella and had yet to truly bond with his son. The only way he could feel accomplished was if Miriam had a relapse.

"Tell me I'm wrong." Arnold ordered. No, pleaded. He didn't want to believe that his thoughts were true. His dad couldn't have been so petty. Surely, he couldn't have let Miriam drink in hope that she would go back to her old ways. Certainly he couldn't have been so… cruel. "Why aren't you answering?"

Miles shut his eyes. "I'm in shock. Where did those thoughts even come from?"

"You're not denying it."

"Arnold Phillip Shortman, don't you dare think I could be capable of such a pathetic, miserable, cruel - - "

"You're still not denying it!" Arnold shouted in despair and stood up.

Miles stood up as well. "Go to your room!" he hissed, his eyes aflame with fury and shame. Arnold flinched at his words and they hurt more than he could bear. He turned on his heel and stormed out of the room, running up the stairs as if the devil was chasing him. Once he was in his room, he slammed the door shut and threw his back against it. He slowly slid to the floor and his hands clutched to his head.

How am I supposed to tell Helga this?

Helga opened the front door and threw her bag on the floor. "Honey, I'm home!" she said in a joking manner and jogged into the living room. "Is anyone here?"

"Out in the kitchen." Arnold's voice answered and Helga followed it.

"Where's Miles and Miriam?"

"They went out to dinner."

"Huh…" Helga muttered. That's a good sign… maybe? She wondered. "So we're gonna cook for ourselves?"

"Yeah. What are you in the mood for?"

"Something easy." Helga replied and waited for Arnold to turn around and look at her, but he never did. "Uh… how did the talk with Miles go?"

There was a clear jerk in Arnold's movements when she asked that, but his voice was casual. "It went as expected. He denied the whole thing." He responded and hoped Helga believed him. "How did it go with Dr. Bliss?"

"It went as expected." Helga replied in a singsong voice, clearly mocking what Arnold had just said. He turned and looked at her pointedly and she crossed her arms. "Truth, please."

Arnold looked away. "I… I can't tell you."

"Excuse me?" Helga asked, putting her hand behind her ear sarcastically.

Arnold sighed. "I don't want to tell you."

"That bad, huh?" Helga asked and crossed her arms again. "Arnold, don't start treating me like a child too."

Arnold opened his mouth to argue against her, but knew it would be to no vail. She was stubborn after all and he didn't want her to think he was keeping secrets from her. "I'm not even sure about this, Helga. Dad just didn't… deny it, when I asked…" he said and felt himself cringe at the memory. He shut his eyes tight, fearing her reaction more than everything.

Helga blinked a couple of times. She didn't like seeing Arnold in pain; whatever it was Miles had told him or hinted at was bad. Really bad. Did she really want to know? Just as he opened his mouth, she interrupted. "You know what? Never mind. I don't want to worry because of your hunch." She said and moved to grab some spaghetti in one of the cabinets.

"But, Helga, I - - "

"No." Helga interrupted and pointed the package with spaghetti at him. "I don't want to hear it, not if it makes you feel so horrible to tell me. Doesn't matter. Me knowing isn't going to change anything anyway."

Arnold wanted to tell Helga that he could tell her if she wanted to know, but she grabbed a pot and put it on the stove to tell him that they were done talking about this. I can't even do this one thing for her. He thought shamefully as he turned the water on. She put the pot underneath and looked at it intensely.

"I'm sorry." Arnold whispered as if he didn't really want her to hear it. Helga looked at him briefly, but simply moved the pot to the stove and turned the flame on to boil the water. She didn't say anything, didn't even look at him. The hand he had on the kitchen counter started clenching and his knuckles turned white. Before he knew what he was doing, he had grabbed her by her shoulders, turned her around and clashed his lips against hers.

"Arnold - - " Helga said against his lips and put her palms on the counter behind her to hold herself up. She closed her eyes, doing her best to reciprocate the sudden kiss, but she was too surprised and had to push him away to breathe. She took a couple of breaths before she looked at him, holding her hand on his chest to keep him at bay. "Where did this come from?"

Arnold didn't know what to say because he didn't know the answer. He just kept looking at her and she gazed back at him. He leaned closer to her, trapping her against the counter and waiting for consent. Her half-lidded eyes fully closed and she moved to kiss him. He sighed into the kiss and put his hands on her hips. He moved himself closer to her, putting one of his legs between hers and she gasped in pleasure.

Helga felt Arnold's hands move down to her thighs and she wrapped her arms over his shoulders just in time for him to lift her up. He kept kissing her as he carried her away from the kitchen and she felt the soft fabric from the couch on her back as he put her down.

"Hold on." Helga said. "What about the food?"

"It can boil without us watching it." Arnold replied and went to kiss her again.

She moaned into the kiss and started unbuckling his belt. "Still. We don't know when they'll come home so… let's make this quick."

"Ever the romantic." Arnold teased and lifted her legs around his hips. She chuckled breathlessly and pulled him closer to her by his head and kissed him deeply. She could feel him fumble with their underwear for a while, but experience soon led him inside her and she groaned in pleasure. They stayed still for a moment, basking in this feeling they had missed since their parents came home. "C-Can I move?"

"God, yes." Helga replied and bucked up against him, earning a groan from him before he moved himself. Her fingers clutched on his back and his mouth showered hers in kisses. Their pelvises moved in heavenly unison and they held onto each other as if they hadn't seen each other for years. "Arnold…"

"Helga…" Arnold whispered and started kissing her again.

"Oh, God…" Helga whispered back before the total bliss they were feeling turned into true horror when the unmistakable sound of the front door opening made them freeze. "Oh, God." The blonde girl repeated in a very different tone and they stared at each other in dreadfulness. They stayed still as statues as they heard their parents' voices just outside in the hallway, few feet away from where their kids had just been in the middle of their secret lovemaking.

Arnold felt incapable of moving, frozen like a deer in headlights. Helga on the other hand moved entirely on adrenaline. She pushed at his hips, successfully unhooking them from each other and then grabbed the decorative blanket on the backrest of the couch. She flipped it over them both and wiggled until her head was near Arnold's stomach and was out of sight.

"The pillow!" Helga whispered and Arnold looked at the pillow in front of him. He quickly grabbed it, unsure of what to do with it, but then she grabbed it and put it under his chin. "Pretend you were napping."

Napping. Arnold repeated in his mind and tried to seem casual and not squish Helga at the same time.

"Helga? Arnold?" Miriam's voice asked tiredly and Arnold gulped before he made a groan. "Arnold? Are you down here?"

"Oh… hi, Miriam. I guess I fell asleep." Arnold lied and held the pillow tight to his body to keep Helga's head out of sight.

Miriam looked down at Arnold from the backrest. "Comfy?" she asked with a smile and Arnold nodded awkwardly. Despite his predicament, he noticed something on Miriam's breath that he didn't like. "Do you know where Helga is?"

"I've been sleeping, Miriam." Arnold tried to say in a joking manner. Usually, Miriam would have laughed, but she just made a hum as if she didn't really understand what he was saying. This can't be happening. Arnold thought in disbelief. Is Miriam drunk?

"I'll try and find her upstairs, ok?" Miriam mumbled and turned around, wobbling a little in her steps.

Yes, she's drunk. Arnold stated in his mind and waited until she was out of sight before he removed the pillow and Helga gasped for air. "You need to get upstairs."

"Oh, gee, and here I was getting all comfy!" Helga hissed and wiggled under him. "Where's Miles?"

"I don't know." Arnold replied and watched as Helga went down on all fours and crawled across the floor. "Hurry!"

"Shut up!" Helga whispered back and stood up when she reached the stairs. She looked around, trying to hear every sound around her, but all she heard was someone walking around upstairs. She took a deep breath and tiptoed up the stairs and saw Miriam knocking on a door. Crap.

"Honey? You in there?" Miriam drawled. Helga tilted her head in curiosity and when the truth dawned on her, she shut her eyes. She shook for a moment, restraining the anger she felt from seeing her mother in this state again and then crawled towards the bathroom. Silently, she opened the door and snuck inside just before Miriam gave up on getting Helga to open the door to her room.

"Miriam?" Helga asked from inside the bathroom, pretending to have only heard her now. She opened the door to the bathroom and looked at Miriam who was smiling goofily. "Did you and Miles have a nice dinner?"

"Oh, yes. We had a good chat."

About what? Helga wanted to ask, but held her curiosity in. She wasn't sure if she wanted to know anyway. "That's good… Arnold and I haven't eaten yet."

"Oh, he was napping downstairs just before. I think I'll go to bed now too actually."

"Wait. Where did Miles go?" Helga asked.

"Um… I think maybe he went up on the roof?" Miriam suggested. "Or maybe he needed something in the car… I don't remember."

Ouch. Helga thought when she felt her heart clench at that familiar confusion and forgetfulness. "Oh, ok… You just go to bed, Miriam. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Goodnight, honey." Miriam said and moved closer to Helga. Her daughter could smell the wine on her breath as she leaned down to kiss her. Helga moved her head away, letting Miriam kiss her cheek rather than her mouth. She just couldn't stand the smell of alcohol when it came from Miriam. The intoxicated woman didn't even seem to notice that she hadn't kissed Helga where she had planned and simply went to her bedroom.

Helga shook her head and jogged down the stairs. "Miles?" she asked with slight panic in her voice. She had a bad feeling and when she saw that Arnold was in living room, shrugging his shoulders, the bad feeling just got worse. She ran to the front door, pulled it open and looked outside. Her shoulders slumped as she looked at the empty street in front of her. "He's not here."

Helga could feel Arnold approaching her. "Where is he?"

"The car is gone… I have no idea where he is and Miriam is drunk off her ass so she's no help. Where the fuck is - - "

"C-Calm down, Helga. I'll call dad, ok?" Arnold suggested and jogged upstairs. Helga stayed in the hallway for a moment before closing the door and following him up and to his room. He was holding his phone to his ear, tapping his foot impatiently before he sighed in relief. "Dad, where are you?"

"I just… Arnold, I just wanted to go see a friend that's all." Miles replied on the other side of the phone.

Arnold frowned. "A friend?"

Helga's eyes widened. "What kind of friend?!"

"W-What kind of friend?" Arnold repeated.

"Just a friend! A male one, sheesh! You two really have your heads in the gutter!" Miles replied. Arnold sighed in relief and grabbed for Helga's hand to calm her down. "Miriam got tired so I drove her home and now I'm on my way to see Eduardo."

"Eduardo?" Arnold repeated, the name ringing a bell. "Wait. Eduardo was your old partner, right? Back when you were helping The Green-Eyed People? You're going to see him?"

"What's wrong with that? He called me and told me he wanted to chat so I figured why not?"

"It's just…" Arnold hesitated, but Helga nodded at him. "The last time you talked to Eduardo… you disappeared for fourteen years."

"Oh, Arnold. I'm not going back to San Lorenzo in this life. I'm just going to talk to an old friend. I just need to talk to someone, ok?"

"Talk to someone…" Arnold whispered to Helga who sighed at the words. "Ok then." Arnold told Miles. "Miriam just didn't know where you were at all so we got worried."

"She's drunk outta her mind." Helga hissed, but Arnold tried to shoosh her. "What did you tell her, Miles?! She wouldn't have started drinking just because!"

"Stay out of this, Helga."

"I will not! She's my fucking mother, you piece of - - "

"Helga!" Arnold interrupted and stepped away so Miles couldn't hear her. Helga was breathing heavily as she crouched on the floor, putting her hands on her head so her arms were shielding her ears. She was crying silently and Arnold had never felt more torn in his life. "Dad… I'll see you when you come home, ok?"

Miles was silent for a moment before Arnold heard the repetitive beeping of Miles having hung up on him. Arnold stared at the phone for a moment, completely unsure of what to think or do, when Helga stood up. He watched as she walked to the chimney, crouched and climbed up the rope inside. Arnold put his phone down, wondering whether to follow her or not, but he couldn't leave her alone so he followed her up the chimney.

Once Arnold had ascended the rope, he saw Helga stand on the floor Miles had made on the roof and leaning against the fence he had made as well. It almost looked like a smaller version of the rooftop back at Sunset Arms. Arnold approached her slowly and leaned on the fence next to her, looking at the sun setting in front of them. It was beautiful; crimson colors painted with the golden sun, but he couldn't enjoy it.

"Everything's so fucked." Helga said as if she could read his mind. "Miriam saw Miles crying over the picture of his deceased wife and is now so depressed that she's drinking again… and Miles…"

"He… He, um…"

"You don't have to say it." Helga told Arnold and looked at him. "He doesn't really love her, does he?"

"He loves her. He just…"

"Doesn't love her the same way he loved Stella?" Helga suggested and Arnold nodded. "I have no freaking clue how Miriam feels. Maybe it was the same for her? Maybe she just wanted to give me the family I never had… the same way Miles wanted that for you. A real family… a fucking dollhouse."

"Again with the dollhouse. What is that about?" Arnold asked worriedly.

Helga turned around and put her arms on the fence. "I mentioned that to Dr. Bliss as well… She says I feel guilty for having ruined this perfect family Miriam was trying to create for me."

"Ruined? You mean because - - "

"Because I fell in love with you." Helga stated and looked away in shame. She could feel Arnold's eyes burning a hole in the back of her head and it hurt to know that she had saddened him. "I'm not saying that… this whole thing is our fault, Arnold. It's just… Miles and Miriam are trying to make us a family and we're… not exactly helping. I mean, look what happened just before. We've had some close calls, but that…"

Arnold looked back at the sunset. "I know… I've been more focused on you than… trying to bond with my dad or get to know my… stepmom." He said and hid the cringe he felt when he called Helga's mom that. "Maybe we can help them if we just… if we…"

"You don't have to say it."

Arnold looked up at her. "What do you want to do?"

Helga huffed and turned around until she was looking at the sunset again. "What I want to do and what I think we have to do are two different things." She replied honestly.

The blondes stood there in silence, none of them willing to admit what they knew they had to do. The only thing they could think of to help their parents; ignore their feelings.

Author's 2nd note: The words Arnold, Miles and Miriam are saying in Helga's nightmare in the beginning is from Melanie Martinez' song "Dollhouse". It's very creepy and very fitting to how I imagined Helga feeling at this point in the story :)