Arnold stumbled into the living room of the boarding house and plopped down onto the couch, fumbling with the remote to turn on the TV. He finally managed to turn it on and some big MMA fight was going on.

It was just about over and the typical narrator was yelling with every move. Everything on the screen was a blur for him.

"OH! A NICE HIT! DOWN GOES MARTEL!" The narrator shouted. A blonde woman was the standing victor who was walking out of the octagon through a screaming crowd.

"That makes this Helga Pataki's winning streak to 19 and 0! This 22 year old has come out with a vengeance!"

Arnold's attention was instantly peaked when he heard that name. "…Helga…?" He slurred in surprise.

"Can't wait to see what she can bring in the championship in just a few short months!"

Arnold watched closely now as the camera panned to Helga, who was now sitting in the back wiping her face with a towel, breathing heavily and sweating.

Arnold leaned back, bringing the bottle to his lips again and taking a swig.

"Helga Pataki…" He muttered as memories from their childhood flowed into his mind.

"Great fight Pataki!" Her trainer high fived her after she draped her towel over her shoulders. "Thanks John." She huffed, still tired from the fight.

"Go take a shower, you smell like ass." He laughed, walking away to go speak to one of the workers.

Helga rolled her eyes as she stood up, heading into the locker room area and taking a shower.

She got out of the shower and changed into a pair of her sponsored shorts and a hoodie before walking out to find John again.

"Let's just get you home. You look like hell." John teased, giving her a light punch.

Helga looked at him with a smirk, eyebrow raised. "You sure you wanna throw punches after last time John?"

He held up his hands in defense. "Okay okay, just kidding girl. Don't throw 'Ol Betsy" He gave her a pat on the back. "You kicked ass this fight though."

"Thanks. When's the next one?" She said, a little eager to get it over with.

"Easy now, it's not for a while. So why don't you go visit your old friend? You've been getting a lot of calls from her lately and I know you wanna see her."

Helga thought about it for a moment. "Actually, that's not a bad idea."

"Alright well let's get you home." He said, the both of them walking to the exit.

Helga got home and tossed her bag next to her bed, plopping down. She was just about to doze off when her phone rang, it was Phoebe.

"Hey Pheebs."

"Helga!" She squeaked. "I saw your fight! Congratulations!"

Helga smirked. "Thanks Pheebs. Oh hey, I'm glad you called, I've actually got some time off and was gonna see if I could come stay with you and visit back in Hillwood for a little bit."

"Of course Helga! I'd love that! I can pick you up from the airport if you'd like, just let me know when!"

Helga smiled. "Okay, I'll try to catch a flight tomorrow evening."

"Sounds great! Keep me updated! Bye!"

"Bye." She hung up the phone and snuggled more into her bed with a sigh.

A thought crossed her mind. Maybe Arnold would be in Hillwood still? Last she heard was his grandmother had passed away.

She got a little sad, remembering the sudden move that Bob pressed about to Jacksonville. But, at the same time, life got a lot better for them.

Miriam had finally quit drinking and Bob stopped calling her Olga and was actually the one who started suggesting that she looked into MMA to get out her aggression, which she had to admit had helped a lot.

They still had their ups and downs though, Helga had decided to move out when she turned 19 to try and keep the peace. Plus with her traveling to fight she was never there, so bob could finally make her old room his "man cave."

She snorted, it was amazing how far they'd come as a family. If you had told Helga when she was younger that all this would've happened, she probably would've decked you. She was still pretty bummed that she had to move as soon as she and Arnold had begun something in sophomore year, but it turned out to be good for her, so she could only be so sad about it.

She looked at the picture of her and Arnold arm in arm in front of the old carnival they went together to with Gerald and Phoebe and she smiled. That was a fun night; it had to have been not even a month before she left.

Hm…

She never thought about it much, but she really did miss Arnold. She hadn't even been with anyone since she left Hillwood, mainly because the men she met were scared she'd kill them.

She stretched out, sighing. Who knows? Maybe he was still in Hillwood after all these years. She looked at the clock, one in the morning, man she really needed to sleep.

Helga had managed to book a flight the next night, to which Phoebe eagerly picked her up from the airport, suffocating her with hugs and squeaks of joy. Helga may have been a big MMA fighter now, but even she had to admit it felt like Phoebe could crush someone with her hugs.

They made it to Phoebe's place, to which Helga quickly made herself at home, tossing her back down and pulling out her phone to call John, just to let him know she made it there safe and sound.

He reminded her to keep up with training, but she could ease off a little bit to enjoy time with Phoebe, but under no circumstances could she compromise her diet. Helga just rolled her eyes at the thought.

"Okay Pheebs, so what did you wanna do tonight?"

"Helga…" Phoebe said, exasperated. "It's almost midnight, let's go to bed, we'll do something tomorrow."

Helga yawned. "Yeah, you're right. Okay." She plopped on the couch, stretching out. "Night Pheebs."

"Goodnight Helga." Phoebe scuttled away to her bedroom and shut the door.

Helga woke up around five in the morning and got ready to for a run. She threw on one of her sponsor hoodies with a pair of running shorts and was out the door, headphones in.

She looked around as she ran; noticing that not much had changed in Hillwood since she left. She smirked as she ran by Stoop Kid's place, and Rhonda's old town house.

Her running slowed to a walk, then to a stop when she came along the boarding house. She stared at it, remembering so many things that had taken place on the steps and inside. She took her hood down, slowly marching up the stairs, considering knocking on the door to see if he still lived here.

Just as she was about to knock, she shook her head. What was she doing? He wasn't here anymore, and even if he was, why would he want to see her? She didn't exactly try too hard to stay in touch when she left. She stared at the door as she backed away, her heel skidding down the step. She shot back to catch her balance.

She jumped when from inside the door it sounded like someone was opening it.

Before she could react, a tired, yawning man stepped out. He had a light jacket on and a scarf draped around his neck. He stopped in mid cough when he noticed Helga standing on the steps.

"Um…can I help you?" He asked, with a bit of attitude.

Helga was about to tell him off when she noticed something….she knew that voice.

"…Arnold…?" She said, a little stunned. He looked like…crap.

"That's my name, what?" He said, noticing her shocked expression.

Then he noticed the pink bow tattooed on her hand. Who used to wear a bow like that? His memory wasn't what it used to be…but then he realized it.

"Oh shit."

Helga cringed at Arnold's profanity, he never used to curse.

"Helga?" He asked, surprised. He stepped forward, almost like he was about to touch her to see if she was really there. He pulled back though, then stuffed his hands in his pockets and hustled down the steps, almost like he was embarrassed to see her.

"Hey!" She shouted while he trudged quickly down the street.

That was so weird…

She shook her head before tossing her hood back up and starting her run again, only now she was heading back to Phoebe's, she had quite a few questions for her.

Arnold huffed, a little frustrated that Helga saw him hung over. He looked at his watch, man he was almost an hour late for work too. He sighed, he just could tell today was going to suck.

He started thinking about memories with Helga, but before he knew it he was in front of the gym and walking in.

His boss gave him an earful for being this late, so he was on desk duty for it today, much to his annoyance. Normally he wouldn't really care, but now he was going to think about Helga. He sighed, resting his head against his hand.

"Hey man." Gerald said, driving Arnold's thoughts away as he walked up.

"Hey."

"You look like shit man. You drink again last night?"

Arnold didn't answer, and Gerald just sighed, knowing he had been.

"You've gotta stop Arnold, you're gonna drink yourself to death man." He said, shaking his head.

"Look, when I want sobriety tips from you I'll fucking ask, okay? Now leave me alone." He waved his hand and Gerald just held up his hands.

"Just trying to help you man, that's what friends do ya know." He said, walking away and slinging his bag over his shoulder to change for work.

Arnold just rolled his eyes, but he knew Gerald was right. Since his grandparents died, he'd been angry and took it out by drinking it away, and he hated it, but he was so far gone he just couldn't help it.

He still ran the boarding house, but mainly everyone had left, except Mr. Kakashka, his wife, and Ernie who still stayed in their old places but were older obviously.

They tried to talk to Arnold about getting help too, but he started threatening to evict them if they didn't stop it, so that put an end to their conversations about it.

He sighed, he really wished his grandparents were still alive, everything would've been easier.

And Helga…maybe he wouldn't have become a broken man if she hadn't left. He slammed his fist down on the desk; he didn't want to think about this stuff.

He needed to find some busy work or something to do.

Helga got back to Phoebe's house at around 7:15; luckily Phoebe was an early riser so she was sipping coffee when Helga walked in.

"Good morning Helga, how was your run?" Phoebe smiled sweetly from behind her coffee cup.

"It was good. Hey," She sat down at the table across from her friend. "What's up with Arnold? I saw him this morning and he looked like shit."

Phoebe sighed. "I figured you'd see him eventually. Helga, Arnold is an alcoholic now…" She said, the sentence leaving a sour taste in her mouth.

Helga coughed. "What? Alcoholic? No way." She didn't want to believe it.

"I'm afraid it's true." Phoebe set her coffee cup down. "His grandma died after graduation, and then his grandpa wasn't too far after his 21st birthday…He started drinking after that."

"…Damn…" She put her hand on her cheek, thinking. "That's crazy, he didn't even look the same, the only reason I realized it was him was his voice."

"Yeah, Gerald's been trying to get him to go to AA meetings, but he refuses and gets mad. I've even mentioned it to him."

"But he refuses, and threatens to stop speaking to us, Gerald really only sees him at work now, because he stays cooped up in the boarding house more." Phoebe sighed. "I miss him. He was a good person."

Helga nodded, thinking. "Maybe I can talk to him about it."

Phoebe choked on her coffee. "Helga, don't you go over fists a blazing! It'll just turn into a fight between you two."

"I think I can handle it." Helga scoffed.

"Don't ruin your visit Helga…you can only help people so much that won't even help themselves." She reminded her.

"If the shoe was on the other foot with any of us he'd help. Plus, I've dealt with an alcoholic, remember that. I was the one that pretty much got Miriam sober after all."

Phoebe sighed. "I still don't think it's a good idea, but when has that ever stopped you before." She laughed a little, lightening the mood.

"Oh come on, I'm Helga G. Pataki! I listen to no one!" They both laughed, and changed the subject, talking about things to do in Hillwood now, and who was still around.

Helga decided she'd stop by later tonight to pay Arnold a little visit.

*here it is! the new story! Hope you guys enjoy it. I'm excited for it! lots of ideas spinning around in this little noggin of mine! (: leave questions, comments and reviews for me*