"And that's why we're goin' out tonight, ain't gonna tell nobody where. . .at a place nobody can find."- A Place Nobody Can Find, Sam & Dave

"There's one last chance to hold each other tight, we're gonna say goodbye, we're gonna say goodnight, I wish there was more time."- Farewell, Eighty Eights

Twenty-One Forever - Chapter Seven

Saturday, December 31st - 12:00 p.m.

The three friends cautiously opened their hotel room door, all secretly terrified that they'd find another Asian man. Once the coast was clear, Helga looked around, "Did we leave the music on?"

Both boys shrugged. "I will never say never! I will fight till forever! Whenever you knock me down, I will not stay on the ground. . . " the piano cut off when the door closed.

Justin whipped around, snarling, "YOU GUYS RUINED MY LIFE!"

"What did we do?" Johnny asked.

Justin flipped his hood and hat off, exposing his forehead, "You drew a dick on my face, for one!"

Helga covered her laugh with a cough.

"You destroyed my house and got me drunk!"

"You gave into peer pressure," Helga shot back. There was no way she was going to let a seventeen-year-old pop star yell at her.

Justin sighed and collapsed back down on the piano bench. The piano had been delivered to the room as a special request from Justin's manager. It was supposed to have arrived after the concert, but since no one was there, they brought it back later. Justin began to mindlessly tap the keys, "I am in so much trouble."

Helga sat beside him, "No one will find out! Look, the maids have definitely seen worse."

Johnny smirked, "All we have to do is get rid of the horse and any evidence of people actually being here and we're fine."

"I keep forgetting about that goddamn horse," Helga muttered.

"Where is it?" Justin asked.

"In the bathroom," Johnny replied.

"Oh, right, I remember now! You rode up to the hotel on it. . . " Justin's voice trailed off as he continued to tap the keys.

"Look, don't worry. We'll clean up what we can, alright? We'll see you later."

Justin nodded and opened the door. "Oh, yeah. . ." he stopped and turned around, "here's your phone, Helga. Someone named Phoebe's called like ten times."

Helga pulled Justin's iPhone out of her purse. He quickly programmed her number in so she could tell him when it was okay to check out. "Peace!" Justin shouted as he shut the door.

"He's such a cute little kid," Johnny said after a moment of silence.

"You creep me out, Johnny, you really do."

12:30 p.m.

Gerald sat down at the piano and began tapping out a basic melody while Helga cleaned up what she could. Johnny was busy mixing roofies into a bag of oats. "I hope you know what you're doing," Gerald warned Johnny.

"I drugged you guys, didn't I? I won't hurt the animal, just make it relaxed enough to walk it through the hotel again."

"What are you adding to the oats?"

"Roofies and pepper."

Helga stopped cleaning, "Why pepper?"

"Horses love pepper. They hate cinnamon."

Gerald rolled his eyes before resuming his song,

What do horses dream of,

when they take a little pony snooze?

Do they dream of munching oats

Or fancy men in polo sports coats?

Don't you worry your pretty hairy head,

we're gonna get you back to cops and your cozy horsey bed.

And then were gonna find our best friend Arnold,

and then were gonna give him a best friend hug

But if he's been murdered by crystal meth tweekers,

well then we're shit out of luck.

Suddenly the hotel room's phone began ringing. Panicked, Helga answered. "Yeah?"

"We're in the lobby. My manager found something you're going to want to see."

Five minutes later, Gerald and Helga were crammed into a small cubicle, hovered over an even smaller tv. Johnny was left in the room to take care of the horse.

"We found this on the security tapes from the Hamptons rental," Justin quickly clicked 'play' on the remote, the small screen lighting up with a fuzzy black and white image of the four partying. Justin was already passed out on a couch, covered in empty beer bottles and cups. Arnold was still dancing around to Justin's song 'Baby', laughing as Gerald sang along. "You guys continued to trash my place, then took the helicopter. Arnold was with you the whole time. This was at like, five in the morning." Justin yawned at the mention of the early time.

"That's it?" Helga asked as the tape ended. "Shit."

"You guys should consider yourselves lucky I didn't die of alcohol poisoning!"

"We were drugged with roofies!" Gerald screamed.

"I'm leaving," Justin demanded, "I still need to sleep this off."

The three quickly exited the security room, only to stop short in the doorway. Johnny was walking with the horse through the lobby! Women were screaming while men gawked at the sight.

"It's okay everyone, it's alright!" He yelled, eyes shut tight. "This is my seeing eye horse."

Helga slapped her palm to her forehead before screaming, "You are such an idiot!"

3:36 p.m.

After having Justin check out of the hotel, Helga and the boys rode around New York in their stolen Camero, wondering where Arnold would be.

The group spent three hours searching tourist places they'd think he would've gone. Helga even asked the NYU school if they'd seen him. There was no such luck. It was like he just disappeared off the face of the Earth.

Helga glared at the radio as a Justin Beiber song played. She turned the radio off in anger and focused back on the road. They were out near the police station again, debating about whether or not to put out a missing person's report. "This is so fucked up!"

"I know. Don't worry, though. Hey, maybe the guy who gave us this car has Arnold," Gerald perked up before tapping Johnny's back, "Check the registratio-"

Slam! a large black Cadillac truck slammed into the side of the Camero, crunching it against the side of an abandoned building. Helga screamed until the other car shut off.

A short man dressed in expensive clothes stepped out of the back of the car. He was wearing a large fur coat over his black silk pants. Helga was to terrified to laugh.

"That's the guy from the trunk!" Johnny gasped.

"Get out of the car," he hissed.

Helga bit her lip and watched in awe as the two security guards who threatened them at the chapel pulled them from the broken and smashed in window. "We're coming!" Gerald screamed as they continued to drag them out.

"Why did you just try to kill us?" Helga screamed.

"I want it back!" the man screamed.

"We don't remember what happened last night!" Johnny said, cowering against the car in fear as one of the muscular men stepped forwards.

"Apparently you guys met at Underground last night. You were doing shots and having a grand old time. Then you took his limo."

"That's it? You want your limo back?"

The man shook his head, "No. You know what I want, you assholes!" The three stayed silent. "I want my money back."

"Money?" Johnny asked.

"Yes, money. I want my $50,000 back. And then you can have your friend."

"What?" the friends asked as one of the men tapped the car. A muffled shout could be heard.

"Oh my god," Helga gasped. "They have Arnold!"

"LET HIM GO!" Gerald screamed and ran towards the car, but the two bounders pushed him back.

"First, we want to know," the guards walked forwards, "why you'd steal his money?"

"We were drugged last night. We have no recollection of anything," Helga shrugged.

"It's true! I did it!" Johnny laughed. The two guards crossed their arms over their chests, "Why though?"

"Look, we tend to do dumb shit when we're fucked up."

"And if you want to kill us, go right ahead. I don't even care anymore!" Gerald nodded.

Helga smacked Gerald before turning back to the men, "No, no, look, we'll get you your money. I can write you a check now!"

"No check! Cash only!" He snapped. "I'm bored now."

Helga ran towards the car and tried slamming on the windows, trying desperately to get closer to Arnold. The guards shoved her off and helped the evil man into the car.

"You better get the money by 5 o'clock! Meet at the Underground!" the guards yelled before starting the SUV.

The Asian man rolled down his window, "Tooda-loo mother fuckers!"

As soon as the car drove away, Gerald collapsed against Helga's side. "They have Arnold. How the fuck are we going to get $50,000?"

Johnny slung his arm around Gerald's shoulder, "I have $30,000 in the bank from all of parties."

"And I have $10,000 saved up from not taking college loans," Gerald shifted, "I was going to save it for a future with Phoebe-"

"Well, you're already married, so we're good there."

Helga groaned, "Where are we going to get $10,000?" Her first thought was to call Big Bob or Olga. Even if she'd sound like a pathetic wallowing mess, it was to help her beloved. She could push her pride aside for him.

"I know!" Johnny exclaimed as he squeezed his way into the damaged car. Helga and Gerald followed behind, unsure if they should trust him or not.

4:06 p.m.

"What are we doing here?" Gerald asked.

Johnny bounced up and down on his toes, clearly excited about the idea, "I remember the slot machine that's here! Your wife could totally hook us up and get us in!"

Gerald groaned as Helga shoved him forwards. The three stood at the back of the strip club near the employee's entrance. They alley around them wasn't as terrifying since it was still daylight out. Gerald knocked on the door marked TRESPASSERS WILL BE SHOT.

"What?" a deep voice barked from the other side of the wall.

"I'm, uh. . .I'm here to see my wife," Gerald winced as he said that. "Erin."

The door clicked open and Erin appeared, wearing a black bikini top and leather mini skirt. Johnny stared with his jaw open wide as the group went through the backstage area. He had never seen so many half-dressed and naked girls before.

"Can we use your slot machine?" Helga asked.

"Uh. . .sure," she replied, smiling as Gerald took her hand. Part of him felt terrible about breaking up with her, but a very large part of him knew that he didn't want to marry anyone else but Phoebe.

"Erin, I, uh. . ."

Erin smiled at how anxious Gerald was acting, "Listen, you don't have to say it. This whole thing was stupid."

Gerald let out a sigh of relief, "Thank God. I'm sorry about everything."

"It's okay, really."

Gerald laughed, "I can't believe I married someone I just met."

"Well, you were pretty fucked up. I mean, you got your ears pierced for Christ's sake!"

Gerald laughed and touched his sore ears. That would be one hell of an explanation to Phoebe.

Helga watched in awe as Johnny began tapping random parts of the slot machine. He gently traced his fingers over the plaque declaring it had a 10,000 prize! He kept his palms spread across the metal and then pressed his ears to the side of it, acting like a spy cracking a lock on a safe.

Helga stared at him quizzically, "What are you-?"

"Shhhh," he whispered before pressing his lips to the metal backing. "I'm working."

Helga sat down in the spinning chair in front of the LUCKY 7 Slot Machine, twirling a quarter in between her knuckles. Helga had no idea what Johnny was doing, if he was making love to the machine or what, but when his head appeared at the back of the machine ten minutes later, Helga figured it was good to go.

Johnny flashed a thumbs up and watched in suspense as Helga slipped the quarter into the slot. She pulled the lever and sucked in her breath as the dials spun. The first one landed on a seven. Helga forced herself not to get excited, but when the second one stopped on a seven, Helga squealed.

Johnny nodded, "Just wait," he whispered before tapping his hand against the side. The wheel stopped and clicked on seven.

Helga screamed. Thousands of quarters began raining out of the machine. Johnny, Gerald and Helga began dancing around the machine like idiots, giggling with excitement.

4:34 p.m.

Helga screamed in joy again as Gerald counted the cash. "That's it. It's all here. $50,000."

"Unfuckingbelieveable! Johnny, you're the man!" Helga clapped.

He grinned, "You are too Helga!"

"I think it's safe to say our luck has turned around," Helga sighed happily as she pulled up to the Underground.

Johnny began humming, "And we're the three best friends that anyone can have! We're the three best friends that anyone can have! We're the three best friends that anyone could have! And we'll never ever ever leave each other!"

"Silence!" a voice demanded. Johnny clasped a hand over his mouth.

The Underground was actually underground. Upon entering the blacked out building, a staircase lit up and lead into the basement. Inside, the layout was very similar to Johnny's club.

The man was standing in the middle of the dance floor on a large beanbag. A spotlight dropped onto him, revealing the two guards standing beside him. "Where's my money?" he asked.

"First of all, hello. I'm Gerald, nice to meet you. I didn't quite catch your name last night."

"I am Marian Chang."

"Well, Mr. Chang, we were hoping to actually see Arnold, before you got your money, just to see he was okay. If that's cool?"

"Yes, Gerald, that is cool," Marian replied. He clapped his hands together and a spotlight flashed into the corner of the room, revealing a man with a bag over his football shaped head.

"Arnold!" they screamed.

"See, he's okay." Gerald nodded and tossed the bag of cash across the dance floor. Marian screamed and ducked out of the way as a bodyguard caught it. He opened the bag and counted it all. "It's here."

"Let him go!" Marian demanded.

Another body guard released Arnold from his hold, undoing the bag over his head and taking the tape off of his mouth.

Helga gasped, "Oh, my god! That's not Arnold!"

"Not my problem!" Marian replied as he rose to his feet.

Gerald stepped closer, "It's. . .Arnie?"

"Thanks for that guys," he smiled as he walked closer to them. Helga stood in shock, feeling her anger get twisted in her throat. She waned to beat that little Marian guy into the ground and throw Arnie away. They still didn't have Arnold! Helga covered her face with her hands to prevent a scream.

"You're a drug dealer?"

Arnie laughed, "Yeah."

Helga threw her hands into the air and stormed out of the building, screaming, "I don't even care right now. We still have to find Arnold!"

"I don't think we're ever going to find him," Gerald sighed and pulled out his cell phone. "Maybe it's time."

4:56 p.m.

"Phoebe? It's. . .uh, it's Helga." Helga rocked back and forth on her heels, "We fucked up. The party, the entire night, everything got way out of control. I don't even know how, but we lost Arnold."

"What?"

Helga winced as she repeated herself, "We lost Arnold."

"It's New Year's Eve today, we have to get him home! We're supposed to leave this afternoon! Our flight takes off at seven!"

"Yeah. . .that's not gonna happen."

Gerald glared at Arnie, "How did Chang get you?"

"Don't you remember? We were all hanging out in Underground, laughing and doing shots."

"We don't remember. Because some dick drug dealer sold Johnny Roofilin and told him it was ecstasy!"

"Rooflin, there you go with that word Roofilin. Roofilin. What the hell is a roofilin?"

Gerald covered his face with his hands, "Wow, you are the world's shittiest drug dealer!" Well, what else could Gerald expect from a country bum? Jesus, this was so fucked up. "Rooflin, for your information, is the date rape drug! You gave Johnny roofies!"

Arnie laughed, "Oh, shit! I must have mixed up the bags. My bad Johnny." Johnny shrugged. "My friends and I were saying the other day why the hell do they call it roofies? Why not floories? Because when you take then you're more likely to end up on the floor than the roof." Arnie shrugged, "Or groundies, that's a good one."

"How about rapies?" Johnny offered.

Gerald's mind suddenly started turning and he could begin to feel the fog disappear from his mind. He just needed to be sure, "What did you say?"

"Rapies?" Johnny laughed.

Gerald ignored him, "What did you say before? When you take roofies you're more likely to end up on the floor than. . ." It hit him. Gerald ran forwards and tackled Helga to the ground, "Helga!"

She screamed and dropped the phone.

"Hey, Phoebe, it's Gerald. There's no need to worry, we will be at the airport. Just ignore Helga, she's probably still drunk from last night."

"Where are you guys?"

"I just finished booking our flights. See you soon, okay, bye."

Helga held her stomach, "What the fuck, Gerald?"

"I KNOW WHERE ARNOLD IS!" Gerald pulled Helga off the ground and ran towards the car, shoving Johnny and Arnie into the back seat.

"How do you know where he is?" Helga asked.

"Well, Arnie helped me. I mean, it just hit me like bam! Remember when we saw his shirt on the sign?"

"Yeah, but I thought he threw that out the window."

"You can't throw stuff out windows in hotels, they're sealed shut!. . .Do you remember that time in fifth grade when we all camped out at Arnold's house to watch the stars?"

"And then we all hid downstairs and locked him on the - !" Helga laughed, "Oh my god!"

"Wait, I don't get it. Where is he?" Johnny asked.

"He's on the roof of the Four Seasons!"

Gerald laughed, remembering that summer night in fifth grade. The entire class had planned it as a surprise, just to see if they could rile Arnold up. He stayed calm the entire time. "That was hilarious! It's not so funny now, since we forgot where he was."

5:28 pm

"Arnold!" Helga screamed as she tore through the door leading to the roof. She scanned the roof, trying to find that signature blond hair. Johnny and Gerald continued to search, all three screaming his name.

Gerald found him first, hunched near the large heating unit. "Over here!"

The three ran towards him, trying to avoid the patches of frost and ice on the roof.

"Arnold! You're okay! You're okay!"

Arnold was completely dazed, feeling as if this entire situation was unreal. He had just been stranded on a roof for an entire day in the freezing cold with only his thin sports jacket. He needed warmth, now. Arnold pulled Gerald into him and hugged him, starting to feel a little better. His teeth were chattering less and the blood slowly began to return to his extremities.

"Oh, Jesus, Arnold!" Helga cried and fell to her knees in front of him. "Are you okay?"

Gerald picked him up, knowing Arnold never would've been able to walk on his own, "Inside. Heat."

Helga nodded and ran downstairs with Johnny. Together the two got hot chocolate, hot water, soup and all the blankets they could hold. They carried them up the stairs and met Gerald halfway down between the staircase and hotel.

Helga wrapped Arnold up in as many blankets as she could then handed him the mug of cocoa.

"What the fuck happened last night?" Arnold asked.

Johnny laughed, "We couldn't remember anything, remember?"

Gerald nodded, "We still don't know all the details."

Arnold narrowed his eyes and leaned in towards Gerald, "Are your ears pierced?"

"Hey, Helga has two tattoos!"

Arnold laughed before sipping his drink again. His mouth was burnt but he felt the hot liquid travel down his body. He definitely felt warmer now. "That doesn't surprise me."

"Oh, can't forget the videos!" Johnny exclaimed, pulling out his cell phone.

"No! Not now," Helga snarled, "not ever."

"I'll tell you everything later," Gerald promised. "It's one hell of a story."

Arnold smirked and dove into his bowl of soup, "Can't wait to hear it."

"Then we'll have to discuss our secrecy vows."

"No telling Phoebe or any other living person?" Helga joked.

"Especially not Phoebe!"

"Why? What did you do that was so bad?" Arnold asked as he gulped down the end of his soup. He now felt completely comfortable and full, even though he knew later he'd been dying of hunger again.

"Married a whore," Johnny whispered between coughs. Arnold laughed, "Was I your best man?"

"Of course you were."

"I mean, it wasn't such a bad night," Arnold began, "I found stacks of money in my jacket pockets. I think it's like $50,000."

Gerald, Helga and Johnny began cheering, feeling ecstatic that they got to keep some money.

Johnny glanced at his cell, "Dudes, we have half an hour to get you guys through security. There's no way we can make it! We're forty minutes from the airport!"

"So we don't take the plane," Helga's smile grew as the idea blossomed in her mind, "I'll be right back."

She quickly flipped open her phone and scrolled through the recent calls. "Hey, I need a favor. . . I know, I'm cashing in pretty quickly, but chances like this won't ever happen again. Can you please get me a helicopter?. . .Yes, I can do that. I owe you one, dude. You're one sick mother fucker."

Helga hung up, feeling triumphant. "Quick, to the car!"

"Can you walk?" Gerald asked as Arnold rose to his feet. He nodded and stretched before running down the stairs after Helga.

6:24 p.m.

"Attention passengers on Flight 8967 to Hillwood, the airport is now on lock down. An unidentified aircraft has been spotted in the area and we are waiting for the confirmations."

Helga grinned at the sight, all planes grounded and turned off. Granted, they really fucked up the entire airport's schedule, but Helga figured if Justin Beiber was going to put his fame to use, now was the time to do it.

The helicopter landed in the middle of the runway with a frantic Justin Beiber running towards the gates. Police security recognized him and let him pass. The crew radioed all planes and let them know that as soon as the helicopter left it was clear. Johnny was instructed to stay tight and not move from the helicopter.

While the Beibes was running, Helga sneaked Gerald and Arnold off the chopper and into the airport by crawling through a luggage carrier.

"Success," Helga cheered as she emerged into the busy Terminal A Gates 21-30 with Arnold and Gerald on her heels.

"I'll see you later, Pataki. And next time, I'm bringing my own drinks!" Gerald laughed and hugged her.

Helga smiled, "Next time I won't invite Johnny."

Gerald walked towards the gate, smiling brightly as he kissed Phoebe and hugged her.

Helga turned to Arnold and smiled. She had no idea what she had said to him last night and that made her dread this moment. Arnold stepped forward and wrapped his still chilly hands around her waist, laughing, "I distinctly remember you saying how much you loved me," his voice lowered as he whispered into her ear, "and my cock. . ."

Helga winced, feeling the heat burn through her cheeks, "Yeah, it's really, a long story." Arnold laughed and kissed her ear, then her temple, followed by one on her forehead. "I'll be back soon, alright? I start school in ten days. We didn't do anything relating to that at all, so I'll be back even earlier than that. Okay?"

Helga nodded, suddenly feeling a cold emptiness take over her heart. "I'll see you then," her smile suddenly wavered.

"I promise, Helga, I still want a date my way." Helga laughed before feeling Arnold's lips press gently against hers, lingering for a moment too long.

Helga finally pulled back, smiling. "See you later, Football Head."

11:57 p.m.

"Only three more minutes 'till New Year's!" Johnny yelled into his microphone as the projector screen flashed more signs of the ball being prepared to drop.

Helga sighed and poured herself a drink, still not trusting Johnny or anyone else to handle it. Johnny had taken her on a shopping trip after the airport, trying to make up for the fact that he drugged her. Or maybe he was trying to make her feel better because she had just said goodbye to Arnold. Johnny bought her a long-sleeved dress that was covered in pink glitter. He also let her buy new dark pink platform heels. Either way, she got a new outfit out of it, not that she really cared.

"I like your tattoos," a voice screamed into her ear over the music, "cause they're pink like your dress."

Helga's heart stopped as she turned around, only to feel it burst with joy. "Arnold!"

He kissed her quickly, arms wrapping tightly around her waist and pulling her as close as possible. He could feel Helga smile between the kiss and it only made his heart beat faster. "What are you doing here?" she screamed.

Arnold grabbed her hand and dragged her towards the elevator, smiling when it opened to reveal no one. He grinned at her, "I just wanted to surprise you."

"But, what about your parents?"

"Gerald talked them into it."

"Did someone else drug me or is this really happening?" Helga asked, laughing as Arnold kissed her neck.

"No drugs, I swear. I had Gerald fill me in on everything while we were waiting for the flight to take off. Justin's helicopter really screwed with the airbase. We were there for three hours."

"Just enough time to hear of the epic tale," Helga joked as the elevator opened on the roof level. "Really? You're going back on a roof?"

"I live in a boarding house and my room is an attic. I don't have time to be afraid," he said before dragging Helga onto the roof. He slipped his jacket over her shoulders then dragged her towards the edge. Helga gasped at the sight - it was the perfect spot to see the ball drop. Thousands of people could be seen crowded into the small area of Times Square and everything was lit up by the flashing neon lights.

"Wow."

Arnold nodded, "Johnny gave me the tip."

"One minute 'till midnight!" speakers from Times Square echoed through the neighborhoods.

Arnold and Helga were silent, eyes still watching the scene around them.

The couple watched in anticipation, hearing the loud shouts of the crowd as they counted down the final seconds. "Three. . . two. . .one. . ." Arnold smiled and dipped Helga back, giving her an incredibly long kiss.

And in those first few moments of the new year, everything was perfect. It was like the past twenty-four hours didn't really happen. All that mattered was that kiss and all of the promises it entailed for the year.

Helga eventually pulled back, breathless, "It's going to be one hell of a year."

Disclaimer: Stu's Song is property of Water Tower Music and The Hangover. I just tweaked the lyrics to fit the situation, but do not claim them to be my original idea. Three Best Friends belongs to Water Tower Music and The Hangover.