V

Go away, please?

Helga slammed the front door shut, so that Big Bob wouldn't hear. Not that she cared, but it was important ever since he got so weird and more violent as fuck as years passed. She directed her eyes to Arnold, and Arnold stared back at her.

She sighed. "Good!… Er.. I mean, my bad! Hehe..", she started. She looked unseasy and unconfortable. "It's not that… I don't…", she said as she rubbed the back of her head before thinking the situation she was in. "I didn't want to say what I wanted to say… in front of you… with you, getting high. That's it!", she pointed out, grinning sheepishly at him.

Arnold frowned, confused. "So what if I got high?".

Helga quickly returned a "Doesn't count, buck-o!", putting her hands on her chest again and with an uncaring look on her face.

Arnold stared. "What?! Are you even serious?!".

Helga undid her uncaring look, and again raised her hands in the air. "Well, it wouldn't be fair! I mean, I was going to tell you… eventually! Someday... urg, maybe never", she muttered that last part, as she looked down. "BUT.. now that I've discovered that you're a junkie.. and I don't like junkies in my life, so—", but Arnold cut her off, putting a hand over her face.

"I get it! But let me get this straight…".

"Shoot!", Helga felt nervous, as she was still planning to get away as fast as possible from the start of this conversation.

"You can only tell me that you love me when I'm high?", he stated.

Helga looked at him, blinking for a split second. "That's not—", she frowned, pointing a finger at him. She realized. "Oh! T-that's the most stupidiest commentary ever, football head!", her insides churned, as she laughed hard at him.

"Well, then, what the hell is it?". Now Arnold was pissed off. Would she ever tell him the truth someday?

Helga stopped laughing, pretty aware this was serious. "You idiot! Of course I wouldn't tell you if you was high! I just wanted to get rid of you, so I told you those facts, no offense. But then again, it wouldn't be fair either. So I guess I just have to give you an apology and go back to my house", she explained.

"Oh, so you wanted to just get rid of me!", Arnold yelled, pretty pissed off, with his hands on jars.

Helga looked at him again, scrunching her face. "Yeah, whatever Arnoldo! Go to rehab or something! Just don't ever pest my porch with your stupid silly cigarette and get out of my face!", now she was going for the doorknob, and maybe call the police.

Arnold had had it. He was boiling in anger. "Damn you, Helga Pataki! I was just trying to be nice! I was going to tell you the same thing you did today!".

Helga stood there on the spot, surprised. "You what?". But she wasn't going to lose. She shrugged it off. "Why? Because my head looks just like the marijuana plant?".

Arnold blinked surprised at that comment. "Yeah…", he shrugged it off, as he realized. "I mean, NO! Because I think you're pretty damn awesome yourself! So just don't pretend you don't care that I love you back!".

Helga again was taken aback by surprise. She couldn't find the words. "Oh!".

He grabbed both her hands and did it. He kissed her. On the lips. With force. And released her at the instant. "Good night, Helga".

He was going to leave her, dumbfounded. He started making his way to his house, walking the few stairs on route to the Boarding House. She recovered, suddenly.

"Wait, Arnold!", she called. Arnold turned around, got back again at her porch and smiled at her. She slapped him. "Don't ever leave me hanging here, stupid football head! And this—", she slapped him again, "It's because I care about you deeply and you made me suffer through years, without realizing my true feelings!".

"Owchie, Helga! You have a good strike", he laughed.

She laughed, too.

But both stopped laughing and looked at each other. She suddenly felt uneasy, again.

"Look Arnold, what I'm going to say, if you want to get into a full relationship with me, you'll have to do as I say, starting now!", Helga started, feeling already uncomfortable.

"I hear you, Hell girl", he was laughing of joy, pretty full of himself now.

Helga frowned again. This couldn't mean something good was going to happen now. Was Arnold prepared for this?

She sighed heavily. "Arnold, this… this is not easy to me to say and… it is something you're not going to like. You see, we have a problem...", she started.

Arnold searched for words to understand her. "Oh...".

Helga raised an eyebrown at him. "Woah, buck-o! Before you missundertand, I'm not that kind of woman!", she said as she shot him a look.

He blinked, surprised. "NO! No, of course not. I wasn't even thinking about it!", he smiled, sheepishly at her.

She nodded. "Good for you!". She cleared her throat. "It's about this: first of all, quit the smoke, partly because it won't do any good to you, or to me either".

Arnold nodded, still confused. Why?

She sighed again. "Partly because my own house is full of addicts. First my sister Olga being so perfect, then my dad being a workaholic, then my mom and her damn", she put it figured, "'smoothies' that get her drunk-like", she explained. "Now if I'm going to have a good boyfriend, he'd better be clean, you understand, right?".

He approached her. "Helga—".

She cut him off, a hand covering entirely his football shaped face. "Now I know you're gonna explode like all of the imbeciles that say 'I'm not going to do as you say!' or 'Don't try to change my life!', so I understand if you don't wanna quit and stay with your 'other' beloved-".

Arnold released himself and kissed her right on the spot. He was kind this time, and she didn't understand why yet, but she was loving the way he was surprising her.

"What was that for?", she asked, as they parted, then Arnold kissed her again.

"I love it when you care, you know?", he said as he kissed her neck and she started to appreciate it, as she was melting inside, her legs feeling like jelly.

When they got separated again, it took her some time to clear her mind, which was numb and, as they returned each other smiles, she stated a "Oh, what the heck?", as they returned kissing each other again. A few minutes later, and gasping for breath, Arnold extended her hand and she took it, as they started making their way walking through the cloudy night streets of Hillwood.

"You know what, Helga? I'm gonna do what you said!", Arnold clearly stated.

She looked at him, smiling dreamily. "Huh? What, football head?".

"The thing you told me, I'm going to rehab!", he told her.

Helga stopped walking and smiling, getting serious this time. "Y-yeah?", she rubbed the back of her hair. "B-because… you don't have to just go and do it all for me".

"No, I'm positive! I know I can go to rehab and in a few months I'll be as good as new!", he smiled at her, pretty convinced it was easy.

Helga smiled uneasily at him. "Are you sure? You're gonna loose it if you ever go to rehab. They'll make you suffer from what it's called abstinence or something at first. Then there's counceling sessions with other junkies and faggots, you know, that kind of stuff I've seen in documentaries and movies.".

Arnold stared at her. "How do you know all that?".

"Hey, don't get any wrong ideas, Arnoldo!", she stated, angrily.

Arnold thought for a good joke. "Don't worry, princess, I've got my taster buddy to smoke all the pot cigars for me, my ol' good friend and buddy Gerald!".

He said it as if it was easy for him. What was going on, and why was he so childish?

"Are you kidding me, dumbass? Do I look like a 3-year-old to you?", she stated, angrily.

"What?", he asked, shrugging.

"Gerald? Oh, puh-leaze! With that attitude, you're going to make Gerald look at you while you hungrily go for a cigar to another, I can hardly imagine you recovering for that. And second of all, why are you still friends with funny hair boy, if he's making you take drugs?", she asked.

He shrugged again. "I dunno, because he's fun".

"Yeah, fun as in the bad way".

"Fun as in funny way, Helga, as the way I look at it".

She shot him a death glare. "Look, if you're going to behave like this, then your promise or whatever you said to me is shit. Go mature or something, buck-o. As I already told you, I have no more room for addicts. I'm going home!", she said, as she turned around and walked again to her house, leaving Arnold alone, as he threw his baseball cap on the floor and groaned.

R&R people! More coming soon! Cheers!