Helga did end up spending the summer at the Sunset Arms, at Arnold's insistence. Phil and Gertie had opened their house to her, and with almost all the gang back for the summer, the long summer days didn't feel as stretched out and empty as they used to. As all good holidays go, though, it was over too soon, and August saw them heading back to California and setting up house in Dyna's little flat.

"So you're all set up?" Phoebe pushed her glasses back on her nose, staring out at Helga from her laptop screen.

"Yep. Unpacked the last of it just now. Not that there was much to unpack, most of the house type stuff is included." Helga grinned. "Hey, I could give you a virtual tour!"

Phoebe tittered. "Sure."

"Alright, so…" Helga pulled the charger from her computer and hefted it off her bed. "This is my room." She panned the computer around. "There's Ronnie, resplendent in his tight white pants."

"Hi Ronnie!" Helga couldn't see, but she was sure Phoebe was waving at the massive Ronnie Matthews poster on her wall, a joke gift from Arnold.

"OK, here's the hall. Nothing exciting really." She made her way through the house, opening doors as she moved down the hallway. "Here's the closet. Complete with linen. Here's a power outlet. This is a little framed photograph of a beach. Nice." Helga put on a real-estate-agent voice. "You'll see here, to your right, the toilet. This room features a frosted glass window and even has a lock on the door! The next room is the bathroom, which includes a full-sized bathtub and chromed showerhead…" and so on, making her way through the kitchen and lounge, to the other end of the little apartment.

She rapped on Arnold's door, balancing her laptop on one palm.

"Come in."

"This is The Shortman's room. The larger of the two rooms, it boasts direct access to the outdoors, and a massive black spider in the window." She put the laptop in Arnold's face. "Whatcha readin, Shorty?"

"Your copy of The Painted Bird." He smiled up into the camera. "Hey Pheebes. You get to campus OK?"

"Yes thank you Arnold. I heard your trip back was eventful."

He chuckled. "If you call waiting around in the airport for six hours eventful, sure."

Helga groaned. "Holy crap that was boring. Scootch over Shorty." She put the computer at the end of the bed, crawling up to sit next to him.

"So bossy!" Arnold admonished, closing his book and shaking his head. "See what I have to live with, Phoebe?"

Phoebe, the traitor, giggled. "She can be a handful, I agree."

"Pfft." Helga rolled her eyes. "Screw you guys, I'm delightful."

"You're an angel." Arnold laughed.

"You're fucking right I am." She raised her chin, grinning. "But enough about me, Pheebes, how's your new place?"

"I can't give you a tour, sorry, but it's nice. The landlord had the carpets cleaned during the holidays, so it smells fantastic at the moment. And Mum bought me new sheets."

"Oh man I love new sheets." Helga grinned. "Did you shave your legs and go to bed naked?"

"Helga!" Phoebe gasped, her cheeks getting pink.

Helga shrugged. "Hey, getting between clean sheets with smooth legs is one of life's greatest joys, don't be ashamed Pheebes, own it, own your happiness."

Arnold chuckled. "Gerald stayed with her last night, remember? Those sheets are probably already in the wash."

"Arnold! You too?" Phoebe looked aghast, but her mouth was twitching up.

"Sorry Pheebes, what can I say. Eleanor here's a bad influence." Helga shook her head at that. Arnold had taken a shine to Gertie's mistaken nickname over the holidays. Worse, it had caught on to the others, too.

"Eleanor, stop corrupting Arnold."

"Too late." She yawned, stretched. "I may even steal his bed. I'm too tired to move."

"You know, I wouldn't put it past you." He sighed.

"Neither would I." Phoebe agreed.

"Man, you two are bagging on me today." Helga groaned, sliding further down on the sheets. "You could start a hate club."

"Or a support group." Arnold mused. "For Pataki survivors."

"Who else would join?" Pheebes asked.

"I dunno. Brainy?"

Helga snorted. "Whatever. Brainy loves me."

"We all do, which is how we know we need help." Arnold said glumly, shaking his head in mock despair. "My name is Arnold Shortman, and I'm a Helga-holic."

She burst into laughter at that. "A Helga-holic? Classic!"

"This is serious, Eleanor." Arnold chided. "It's a disease."

"Hey, now." Helga frowned. "I'm not contagious." She sniffed.

"Nawwww." He grinned, reaching out to ruffle her hair. "You know we don't mean it."

"Never." Phoebe piped up. "I miss you already. Summer was perfect."

Helga sighed, closing her eyes. "It was, wasn't it?"

"Totally."

They all sat in silence for a moment, before Phoebe cleared her throat. "I should probably get going. It's getting late here, and I start classes in the morning."

"Alrighty Pheebes. Lemme know how things go."

"Of course. I'll Skype you in a day or two. Goodnight Helga, Arnold."

"Night Pheebes."

"Seeya Phoebe."

And the screen went blank. Helga sighed again, settling down into Arnold's duvet. "I'm pooped." She yawned, turning to smush her face against the cotton.

"Yeah, me too. You hungry?"

"Starving."

She heard him grunt, felt the mattress move beneath her as he struggled to his feet. "I'll go get us something. You OK with pizza?"

"Always." She murmured, her eyes still closed. "There's cash in my wallet."

"OK. Be back in a minute. Find us something to watch."

"OK."

…

"Hey, Helga… wake up…"

She cracked open her eyes, grumbling. "Hmmph. What is it?"

He was grinning. "You want dinner, or should I just let you go back to sleep?"

"Mmmm, food." She pushed herself up. "Sorry man, I didn't mean to nod off."

He dropped the pizza box on the bed in front of her. "That's cool. Wanna coke?"

"Yes please. Wanna watch Finn n' Jake?"

"Sure. I'll just go get us glasses."

They settled down, feet propped up in front of them, Helga's laptop between them,

"Our first dinner in our new house." She mused, scrutinising her pizza. The mushroom-to-olive ratio was off, they'd have to find a better pizza place.

He raised his glass. "To our new home, may I not incur your wrath and end up buried under Dyna's tomatoes."

"Huh. Nah, I wouldn't kill you… I'd just chain you up in the basement."

"There is no basement."

"I'd make you dig one, then chain you up in it."

"Sounds kinky."

"Bring out the gimp."

He chuckled. "Man, I could so watch Pulp Fiction right now… pity it's a bit too late." He yawned, stretching his long arms over his head.

"Tomorrow?"

"It's a date."

They went back to staring at the screen, getting through another two episodes before Helga dropped her last pizza crust into the box and settled back into his pillows. "Am I really that bad?" She muttered, her gaze square on the screen.

"Huh? What do you mean?"

She shrugged, already regretting her question. "Like, how you guys always joke that I'm some tyrannical kraken…" she could feel her cheeks growing warm. "Am I really that… unstable?"

"Aw Pacman!" He chuckled, leaning over to nudge her arm with his. "Of course you're not! Listen…" He slid the pizza box out from between them and shifted to lay his arm over her shoulder, tugging her into his chest. "You've got a temper, sure, but you're not some kind of time bomb. I mean… I wouldn't have asked you to move in with me if you were like that, right?"

"I suppose so." She admitted sullenly.

"And remember who's making fun of you… it's me and Phoebe, and the rest of the gang. We've all known you forever, including when you were an angry little shit that used to smash Brainy in the face for no reason."

"There was a reason!" She turned to glare at him, but he just laughed and kept going.

"We still call Harold fat, even though he's not. Rhonda's still the spoiled little rich girl, although she's not… OK, she is a little, but not like how she used to be. Curly hasn't had a melt-down in years, and Sid isn't afraid of vampires anymore, but we still give them shit for it, right?"

"You are still a goody-two-shoes." She raised her chin with her defiant little quip.

"Probably, but I'm sure that will change, considering your terrible influence." He tugged at her again, tucking her against him. "I'm really looking forward to living here with you." He said simply. "It's gonna be fun."

"I'm not doing your laundry for you."

"We'll see…"

"You're a dork, Shorty."

"And you're a kraken."

She snorted. "I'm not going to live that one down, am I?"

"Eleanor the Kraken, it has a good ring to it."

"Fuck you."

"Fuck you too."

They sat for a second, still watching the screen, smiles playing on their lips as they waited for the other's next move.

Arnold lasted for about fifteen seconds before he broke into giggles.

"Alright Dickhead, what's so funny." Helga sighed, her voice heavy with sarcasm.

"I just thought we should change what we watch tomorrow night."

"To what, Clash of the Titans?"

"Nah… How to Train your Kraken…"

"What the… that's not even funny!"

"Yeah it is! It's kinda like The Taming of the Shrew."

"Did you just call me a shrew?!"