A/N: Guest she isn't breaking up with him. She is just hurt by his accusation of cheating. Insecurities lie within us all. If she breaks up with him for not being secure than it gives license to everyone breaking up with someone over the tiniest thing.
It was a torture for them both. Arnold still went into the library mostly just to see her more now than study, but Helga was hardly in there. She would step out from the back then disappear. Glancing towards John's understanding expression he would sigh before turning back to his studies.
Helga could a lot of her duties in the back. When Arnold was off in class or at work, she was out there, the second she knew he will come in, she hid away. She wasn't ready to talk. She missed him greatly, but she was still aching from what he said to her.
"Hey. Romeo can't stop looking over to the desk in hopes of seeing you."
Hearing John mention him had her eyes squeezing tightly. She couldn't lose it hear. She just couldn't. "I know."
Approaching the blonde, John turned her around to face him. "You can see that he regrets what he said to you. I also know how much you miss him. Can't you at least talk to him?"
Helga implored him as her eyes buried within him. "I will one day. Not now."
"What if you let too much time pass?"
She didn't know what to say to that. She loved him. She wanted this life with him.
John watched her turn her back to him. Frowning at the increasing sadness that was surrounding this building. he left the area to head back to the desk. He had no idea what to say right now.
This was a whole week of sadness between them.
Curly headed into the library to see John wandering back to the vast desk in front of him. Going over he made his intentions clear so being told to go to the fountain, Curly did as instructed.
It was a serene area in this section even if he felt like going to the bathroom from all the running water next to him. Curly's bladder was going mad, but not as mad as watching a tall blonde heading up to him. She was a gazelle. He thought that Rhonda had a great walk, but this girl held that power within her.
"Curly." Her greeting was curt.
Curly wondered how those blues of her eyes would look in the daytime. Spotted some very interesting features on her. So this is the famous librarian so many guys were speaking about. "Yes. You can call me, Thad."
Helga didn't seem to care. "Look I'm sorry about how Rhonda used you, and maybe you didn't mean to mistake my name for my sister's. Shit! For years my own screwed up dad couldn't get my name right." She seemed to deflate. "Ugh. I'm so tired of being so angry."
Curly watched how she seemed to sink a bit in front of him. "This is my fault."
Helga had to learn a lot in her crash course of being a mom. She had to be tolerant and understanding. She no longer had the luxury of being petty. Actually who had the luxury of being petty? "You were drunk and upset at being used. I would be too."
"The thing is I heard what happened and I gotta tell you that I never seen him act like that. That just means how much he loves you." Spotting how she was narrowing his eyes at him, Curly needed to change that. "Let me reiterate that again." Taking a deep breath he needed to calm his nerves. Maybe after he could do something with animals. That always helps.
"Arnold is deeply in love with you. He's lucky to have someone in his life. Someone that loves him. He wants to marry you." Curly took a step forward. "I believe the notion of finding the woman of your dreams and the thought of another man taking your happiness away qualifies you to head to the looney bin. That is what happened to him. He left your friend's place without bothering to listen anymore. He was afraid of losing you."
While she appreciated those words, Helga crossed her arms over her chest. "The accusation hurt. I'm the one who got the brunt of it. I didn't end things with him because I believe we can move past this. Right now I just need a bit of time."
"I bet that accusation hurt. I know it hurt you when Rhonda called you a con artist." He then saw that while it hurt him to be used himself, this girl suffered more. "You lost your husband at an early age. He was a pretty decent guy. You have a daughter to raise on your own. I do know about your in laws. Arnold and Stan were together one day when I ran into them. You've dealt with a lot already and you didn't need that."
"No. So as you can see why I am being this way. I'm so tired and I want to forgive even, Rhonda. Why I want to is probably because of the reason that not so long ago someone gave me a second chance." Sighing she knew she had to head back inside. "I appreciate you coming out here and I'm glad to finally meet you. Right now I need to head back in."
"Sure. I guess I'll see you around." Curly hoped he actually didn't ruin anything with his friend.
Issuing out a tiny smile finally, Helga issued out her own good bye before departing.
Curly kicked a random rock as he turned towards the water in thought. "Bathroom!" He shouted out as he ran off.
"So grandma and grandpa, that is what has happened. I fear I lost her because of a stupid mistake."
It had been a week since his accusation that Helga hasn't spoken to him at all. A week felt like years. He saw her in the library, but not for long when she decided to hang out in the back to do her job. A couple days of apologies from, Curly for his mistake. A week where he kicked his own ass for being so stupid.
"I see this life with her where we marry and have children. I see myself waking up beside her every day to find myself a lucky man. I hate myself right now. I wish you both were here to help. I wish I wasn't embarrassed to talk about this to mom and dad. I failed myself. I failed her most of all." Finding leaves blowing alone in his section it seemed, Arnold examined the tombstones. "I should just eat nothing but raspberries to punish myself."
Seeing a pink ribbon blowing past him, Arnold found an urge to watch it. It was a distraction. It was almost welcomed as he continued to eye it as it went past him. "I miss you both so much." It also felt like some sort of message as he thought to continue to say his closing part to them. "I love you. You both did so much for me." The ribbon picked up during one burst to blow up and away towards another area.
Towards, Helga.
There she was standing there over another grave. That had to be where, Brainy was buried. She looked so beautiful even in her most somber of expressions. She was so vulnerable and still so perfect. "Helga." He breathed out as he approached her as if in a dream.
X
Helga was speaking to the unmarked grave. It did have a marker on it, but no name etched in. All it had was Hailie's crayon marking his name. She smiled lightly when she watched her daughter do it the last time.
"I hate requesting this, but I need a sign. Any sign that everything will be okay." Closing her eyes she decided to think of everything she didn't want to verbalize aloud. As she did this she was startled by something tickling her bare leg. Eyes opening, Helga looked down to see a pink ribbon attached to her ankle. Reaching down, she picked it up. "Hello old friend." It wasn't truly her old bow, but she did smile at the memories.
"I like your ribbon."
Her eyes flew over to spot Arnold standing there. "Arnold." She glanced down to the grave silently.
"I like your ribbon because it's pink like your skirt." Arnold sounded too sweet to her. Too earnest. Too loving.
She eyed the ribbon before she eyed him. "Nice line. Do you say that to all the ladies?" She almost teased.
"Just to the woman I see standing before me." He came a little closer to see that there was a crayon marking of Brainy's name on the empty marker. It had him stepping closer to that hating that it wasn't marked like his grandparents.
"Did you follow me?"
"No. My grandparents are buried over there." He pointed over to where he was originally. "I asked for a sign and I received one." Reaching out to touch the ribbon, Arnold looked at her. "I miss you."
She smiled as her tears followed. "I asked for a sign too." Turning her hand to indicate the grave, she added. "This is the only other man that I see. He's my first love." Gazes back at Arnold. "You are my second love. You both became important to my life. A love like that is nothing I will ever harm."
"I know, Helga. I am the biggest idiot around. I do trust you. I do."
"I will push past this. I am pushing past this."
Arnold's eyes fell on the grave. "What happens if you don't get full closure? You want to begin even more with me. What happens if you don't?"
She wasn't mad at the question. "You would think I had the money when he passed, but it dies down when you need to be a single parent. I would love to place a tombstone on here. I would love for his parents to resume being Hailie's grandparents." Touching his face, Helga missed the feel of his skin. "I would be honored to be with you for a lifetime. I know the closure will happen, but first we need you to graduate. You need a job. Sorry you didn't get the job at PS118." Kissing his cheek. "It will happen. You will get that job in your chosen profession. You will have plenty of young girls having crushes on you." She smiled at the snicker she caused him. "You and I will have plenty of a future together."
Reaching back to rest his hand at the back of his neck, Arnold appeared almost like a child again. It was time to finally tell someone. She was that someone he wanted to share the news with. "No I didn't get that job, but I will be teaching middle school nearer to me."
Helga wrapped her arms around him immediately. "Congratulations, Arnold." Pulling away from him she took his hand to lead him away. Stopping, she raised up the other hand that still held the ribbon. "I need to leave something for him." Making a bow out of it she realized she had no way of keeping it down. "This will blow away."
Understanding what she wanted to do, Arnold took a pen out of his pocket. Fastening the bow between the clip and the pen, he said, "So you can place it into the ground."
Appreciating it she took it to walk back over to the grave. Crouching down she slowly placed the pen into the ground above the headstone. "You know that I will always love you." She whispered.
Arnold waited for her patiently to come back to take her by the hand. He had his girlfriend back.