Hello peoples!

So... I wanted to say thanks for the R&R's... they are all very appreciated, and so kind!

Not being from the USA, I am -trying- to get the semesters and everything lined up properly. The whole idea of Christmas in winter is very strange... if I mess anything up, lemme know?

Anyways. Thanks for reading, and being so cool.

Arnold – Yo. You home? I have news!

Helga yawned. Her cell phone told her it was 9.16pm, later than Arnold normally bothered to bother her. He must actually have something exciting to tell her.

Helga – Come on over Arnold. Be warned though, I'm probably not the best company at the moment.

… "You OK?" His face was concerned as she opened the door.

She frowned. "Sure. Why wouldn't I be?"

"Your text… sounded like you're down."

She chuckled, throwing herself back down on the sofa. "Don't mind me, Shorty… what's your news?"

He looked sideways at her, but continued, plonking himself down next to her. "You know how we threw around the idea of getting a flat next semester?"

"Yeah?" She did… but was surprised he was bringing it up. It was just a passing comment made over the Christmas break, which had been months ago now. How did he remember all that stuff?"

"Well, the TA for my Antiquity paper, Taylor, is leaving his place over the summer… and it sounds perfect."

She kept her eyes on him. He looked so enthusiastic, should couldn't help but crack a weak smile. "Describe perfect." She challenged.

"Two bedrooms, bathroom, decent kitchen, big garden, lounge, furnished, pretty close to campus… cheap…" He was beaming now.

"What's the catch?" Sounds too good to be true… "And what do you mean by cheap?"

He nodded. "Its not so much a catch… more just an unusual arrangement."

"Well that sounds promising." She rolled her eyes, but he ignored her.

"It's the bottom half of a converted house. It was done up for the owner's kids, but they've left home, and now she's alone. Husband left her."

"Huh." OK… that kinda made sense so far… kind of. "Go on."

"Well, she's by herself, but she's got money. The husband was in banking or finance or something, and she took him to the cleaners when she caught him cheating… so she doesn't need the money from rent or anything."

"OK…" Helga gestured for him to continue.

"She feels that being a woman living alone is a security issue, and she needs help sometimes with house stuff. Like, changing light bulbs and helping in the garden. Nothing major… Taylor said he's only been asked to do things a couple of times, when she'd hurt her back, or was sick or something."

"And how cheap is it?"

"Just covering our share of the bills, and paying to repair anything we might break."

Helga blinked. "That's it?!" She stared… that was an absolutely unbelievably good deal. "And she doesn't have psychotic breaks, or bodies under the floorboards, or a Chihuahua or anything?"

"She has two cats, that we feed if she goes away."

"Two cats… I think I can handle that…" She was still staring. "I dunno Shorty… it sounds way too good to be true."

He shrugged. "We can go meet her this weekend, if you want. She likes to have everything sorted early. Oh, and we find someone to take over from us when we move out. Taylor said he chose me because I'm quiet and stuff, which is what she likes. No parties or anything."

"Oh, great, so you have to creep around on tip-toes?"

He laughed. "Nah, she's fine with people… she just doesn't want massive piss-ups. Taylor plays guitar, electric, and she's never complained."

She chewed at her bottom lip. It did sound perfect… better than perfect… "I suppose we should head over this weekend then?"

He grinned…

… "Holy shit Shorty… this place is awesome!" Helga gripped at Arnold's arm.

He laughed. "I knew you'd like it."

"So, are you two a couple?" The woman who owned the place stepped out to join them on the low deck that flanked the kitchen, and stepped out onto the lawn.

Helga dropped Arnold's arm like she'd been burned. "Us? Nah."

"We grew up together." Arnold explained. "We've known each other since we were three."

She smiled, holding out two bottles of coke. "That's very sweet! And that was in New York?"

They nodded, taking the bottles, and following her lead when she sat down on one of the wooden patio chairs. "Hillwood." Helga volunteered. She was trying to remember the woman's name. Was it Tania or Diana… how could she not remember?

She had long brown hair, grey at the temples, twisted up on top of her head into a loose bun. Helga guessed she was around fifty, but looked good for her age. She had a quiet, determined voice, which Helga liked.

"And what do you two do for fun? Any hobbies?"

She was an odd lady, a little formal, a little stiff… but after they sat talking books for a half hour, she seemed to loosen up a bit.

"Personally, I never understood the hype." She shook her head. "I know it was somehow supposed to speak to women of my age, but I just found her completely repulsive." She said of Eat, Pray, Love, before the phone started to ring. She checked the gold watch on her slim wrist. "That will be my daughter. If you'll excuse me?" She swept back inside.

"So…" Arnold sat back, taking a gulp from his coke. "You keen?"

"Yes, Shorty… you did good." She smiled. "When can we move in?"

He laughed. "Well, assuming Dyna wants us to…"

"Dyna! That's right!"

Arnold chuckled. "Then at the end of the Summer holidays."

Helga frowned. "That sucks. What am I supposed to do for the rest of the holidays?"

"Aren't you going home?" He sounded incredulous, like going back home was a given.

"Not if I can help it." She folded her arms. "Christmas was painful enough." Six hours sitting in a plane to spend a week ignored by her parents, and fussed over by Olga. She didn't know why she thought anything would have been different. Even now, months later, it made her angry.

"Oh…" He thought for a second. "You can always come stay at the Sunset Arms."

"Yeah… sure…" She scoffed. She must have scoffed a bit too hard, because he fixed her with an oddly severe stare.

"Hey, Helga… what's up? You've been in a weird mood for days now…"

Aw man. He had that concerned look on his face. She didn't really know what to say. How can you complain because things are going too well?

"Helga?"

She sighed. "I dunno… it's just… Matt's getting all serious on me, and I don't know what to do."

He put his coke bottle down, leaning forward to watch her face. "Serious?"

"Yeah. Like, hinting that I should move in with him, and talking about going away together over the holidays." She shrugged.

"And you… don't want that?"

She shook her head.

"Have you told him that?"

She nodded.

"Is it… is it just him? Or do you not want a serious relationship in general?"

She shrugged. "A bit of both, maybe? I mean… I don't want anything serious, I'm studying, I'm only eighteen… I don't need it. But on the other hand, if I fell for someone, I wouldn't just dismiss it…" She trailed off.

"Ah… so… you think maybe he likes you more than you like him?"

Oh god. She felt so guilty. She didn't want to lead the guy on… she wasn't leading him on… she had told him what she wanted. She shook her head. "He's going to hate it if I move in with you." She whispered.

Arnold blinked. "Why? Does he hate me or something?"

She shook her head. "No, I don't think so. I think he'll just get hurt if I move out of the dorm and it's not with him."

He frowned. "You know you're allowed to set your own pace, right? How old is he again?"

"Twenty two."

"So… he's not old or anything, but he is a little older, maybe a bit more of an appropriate age to move in with a girlfriend. You're allowed to say no though, he shouldn't pressure you."

"Oh Arnold!" She bared her teeth. "He wouldn't pressure me! I just don't want to hurt his feelings!"

"Oh." He paused for a second. "How about you tell him you're staying at mine for the summer holidays… then see how he responds to that before you tell him that we're looking for a flat?"

She kept silent. It was a logical idea, she knew… make sure she wasn't just getting paranoid over nothing…

"You'll have to talk to him about it, you know." Arnold mumbled, reaching over to pat her shoulder.

"I know." She bit her bottom lip. "I hate talking about stuff." Her admission was soft.

"I know."

…

I'm curious, whose idea was this anyhow?

Oh, it was his.

Hers.

It was yours.

It was mine?

Yes.

You're right. She paid me two hundred thousand dollars to…

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK.

"Hey, Helga! You home?"

Helga groaned, leaning forward to press pause on her laptop. The door handle was rattling as she untangled her feet from her blanket and slouched over to open it.

"Hey, Arnold." She yawned.

"Helga? Jesus! Where the fuck have you been?" He was frowning, a mix of anger and concern on his face.

"Here." She shrugged. "I suppose you wanna come in. Fair warning, I'm hardly dressed for visitors."

She let the door go, turned around and slumped back to the couch, pulled her blanket back over her legs and pressed play on her laptop.

He crept in, his eyes widening in the dim light. "What happened?" He asked, dropping himself down next to her, looking at her warily, like she was an animal that might turn on him. For some reason, that thought made her chuckle, imagining herself as some kind of forest child, raised by wolves.

"Helga?" His hand was on her arm. Oh, yeah, he'd asked her a question. Man, she was tired.

"Matt dumped me." She shrugged, turning back to her movie.

"And now you're sitting in the dark, watching… a romantic comedy?" He seemed to be at a loss. "Fuck, Helga… what happened? Did he do something to you?"

She sighed, pointedly, and reached over to pause the movie again. "No, Arnold, Matt didn't do anything to me. He's not the bastard you seem to think he is. I'm just sad, OK? I just didn't feel like seeing anyone. I just wanted to spend a couple of days by myself, being sad. Is that wrong?"

She watched his face. He looked so… deflated. She knew she should feel something, she knew she sounded like she felt something, but in truth, this was all kinda hazy. She had cried, for hours, after Matt had left… but that had been two days ago, and now she was so… tired… she didn't really feel anything except sleepy. She just couldn't seem to sleep.

"Do you want me to go?" He asked gently.

She shrugged. "You're here now. I can fill you in on the movie if you want." She felt herself grin at the doubt on his face. "It's not that bad. It's like… Knocked up meets Bridesmaids."

He shrugged. "Sure." He hesitated for a second. "You hungry?"

She shrugged again, leaning over to get the movie playing again. "Not really." She waited for a second, to make sure he was finished, then started up the film.

"That woman there, and that guy, are best friends. They decided to have a baby, so that when they found their one, they wouldn't spoil the romance by having a kid. Best of both worlds kinda deal. But, predictably, things are getting complicated."

"Predictably." Arnold parroted, slouching down into the cushions. "C'mere." He grabbed her arm, tugged her over to snuggle up under his arm. "You had me worried, you know."

She yawned. "I know. Sorry."