I'm back!

Hope you all enjoy this, it's a companion to my other story "Please, Take Me with You" which I suggest you read before this, and it's only a one-shot so it shouldn't take too long ;)

Disclaimer: All Craig Bartlett's :)

Remember to R&R and lemme know if you're excited for what's to come! I'm very excited for this story to get going!

So without further ado, here is "What We Left in the Hallway"

xoxo

Polkahotness

Thinking about it made my head spin.

Well, head spin the way when you stand up really quickly and you have to close your eyes to gain sight back head spin. In all, it wasn't hard to regain composure after the news.

It wasn't like it had surprised me or anything.

"Mrs. Kokoshka, I don't mean to sound accusing or anything... but have you considered the possibility that maybe Oskar got into the drawer and-"

"Of COURSE I've considered the possibility, Arnold. And while I KNOW Oskar would, at the same time, I don't think he would because it was my Mother's... he knew how much it meant to me."

"I know, Mrs. Kokoshka. It was just a suggestion is all."

"Maybe we have a thief here in Sunset Arms." Mr. Potts concluded.

"Yeah! A Thief!" I looked to Mr. Hyunh and narrowed my eyes.

"Guys, I don't think we have a thief," I said as convincingly as I could manage. "maybe the necklace has just been misplaced."

"Misplaced my ass."

"Mr. Potts..."

"All I'm saying is that I highly doubt she MISPLACED the damn necklace. It was around her neck for Christ's sake!"

"He has a point, Arnold."

"Well maybe it fell off."

"Why do you have to be so positive all the time, anyways?" said Mr. Potts with a hard look and a crossing of his arms. I sighed.

"Maybe I should leave you guys be to try and decide what you would like to do about this."

"But Arnold-"

"Awnold..."

"Hey!"

They all called after me as I turned around and shoved my hands in my pockets only to walk down the stairs and to the door leading outside to that of Hillwood.

Not much had changed since I left for college in Daytona beach, Florida. To the city that is- because everybody else had left.

Everyone except for Sid and Stinky however. Those two were here for "life" as they claimed. Iggy had shocked everyone when he left for the cities to "find himself" and from what I'd heard, he had and was actually in a very committed relationship to a girl he'd met at an underground street band. Harold got that football scholarship he'd applied for, and Patty followed him there with a hefty softball scholarship herself. Rhonda was in Italy for an overseas program, Lila was in Montana for an environmental degree she had just heard about a few months before Graduation. Sheena was in Duluth, Minnesota for a musical theatre degree and had met a nice guy down there to help her get over her dwelling crush on Eugene who had recently been cast in the revival for one of his favorite shows in a small theatre near Broadway. It wasn't paying much, but he sounded happy last I'd talked to him, which was all that mattered.

Phoebe and Gerald were still going strong after their last time getting back together, and I heard from Gerald frequently while he stayed in Seattle after transferring from his first choice school early his first semester his Freshman year.

Helga was the only person from our group that I didn't quite know about. I'd tried talking to her once or twice, but she disappeared offline a few moments after I'd logged on.

It seemed as though she didn't wish to talk, which was understandable.

The day I left, I promised to be back the next break I had, which was in a couple of months for Christmas.

And then Christmas came... and I kind of just decided to stay and focus on studying for upcoming finals, just to be sure I did well on all of them. So then I promised to be back that spring for spring break. And when spring break rolled around... well, I decided to stay again. I was simply curious to see what Florida was REALLY like during spring break and not just what the television told me it was like.

By the time I bought my laptop and downloaded my video chat and messenger, it had been almost a whole year since I'd talked to anyone besides Gerald and my Grandparents. Which was when I tried to talk to Helga.

So like I said, I couldn't blame her for not wanting to talk to me.

Looking back, I felt guilty that I hadn't visited since before I left... but I tried to use the technology I had as much as possible since my first year's mistake. I'd finally convinced Grandpa to let Grandma try using the video chat she'd come home with one day, and it had come in handy many-a-time.

But the video chat only showed me their faces and not Hillwood which I had imagined in my head to be and feel completely different. But the crisp air around me didn't feel any different against my skin and the snow beneath me didn't feel any different crunching beneath my feet. The only thing that had felt the slightest bit different was the lack of a certain person in my life.

My flight back to Florida was on the 15th of January, and being as it was the 10th, I had gone much out of my way to see everybody I could while back in Hillwood. Everybody was home, but Helga.

And trust me- I'd asked.

"Hi Phoebe!" I ran into her in the middle of the party Rhonda was holding as a mini-reunion on New Year's Eve now that I was back in town.

"Arnold!" She squeaked and ran to me to wrap her arms around my neck in a big hug.

Phoebe, as Gerald had warned me, had changed significantly while in Illinois with Helga. While they still saw each other quite a bit, Phoebe had finally broken the 'loyal' attitude and broke out to find an inner confidence we hadn't seen much of before.

"How are you?"

"Oh I am doing quite well, Arnold. School is everything I had dreamed of and so much more. Although, Chemistry is quite a bit harder than I remembered my AP version of it to be." She smiled and touched my shoulder for a moment. "How are YOU? How is Florida? Gerald tells me you are rather fond of it there."

"It's really nice. Very warm, obviously, but very nice."

"And the flying is fun?"

"Well, the LEARNING is fun. I haven't flown anything besides a paper airplane yet."

She giggled her usual giggle and nodded while taking her hand back to gently hold her red plastic cup in her small hands.

"Understandable. Well, it's nice to see you, Arnold. Very nice."

She turned to return to her previous conversation before she saw me, but I reached out and grabbed her arm.

"Hey, Phoebe, do you mind if we talk for a quick second?"

Her facial expression took on another emotion entirely; dread, and I chewed on my lip for a brief moment.

"Well, sure Arnold. I suppose so."

We made our way to Rhonda's large kitchen filled with various foods from the Italian culture she had learned from her time in Italy and even more diverse bottles of wine she'd picked up while there.

Once we were situated against the counter, I took a deep breath to start talking when Phoebe cut me off before I had even started.

"I don't know anything about Helga, Arnold."

"How did... how do you kno-"

"Arnold... I think it'd be wise to leave that part, a part of your past."

"What part?"

"The part of you that wants to know what she's up to."

"I didn't say that-"

"Arnold... do you see her at the party?"

"Well, no, but it's still early. Don't you think she will show..?"

She was shaking her head while focusing on her feet on the marble floor.

"Why?"

"Because she told me, and I quote, 'That part of my life is over now, Pheebs. I should just leave well alone' unquote."

"Her friends...?"

"She talks to us. But she's made a great deal of new friends in Chicago."

"Her family?"

"We both know she wasn't very close with her family. From what she has told me, she hasn't even spoken with them since she left."

I scratched my cheek absentmindedly and focused my attention on the floor.

"So... she isn't coming back?"

"No, Arnold. I don't believe she will be."

"But... but you've talked to her, right? She's doing well?"

a small smile broke out across Phoebe's face and she nodded minimally.

"Very well. She's picked up a job at a local newspaper. Not quite the job she's looking for, but it will do for now."

"No novels? No poem books yet?" I looked up to meet Phoebe's eyes and she smirked slightly.

"Not yet, no. Though she is working on one."

"About?"

She scrunched her eyebrows together and made a 'tsk'ing sound with her tongue.

"You know, I'm not exactly sure. But, I don't doubt that we'll find out sooner or later. Knowing Helga-"

"She'll find a way to get it out there." I finished for her and smiled more to myself than her.

"Precisely."

And when the countdown came and we shouted the last few numbers before the new year had offically hit, I looked all around the large room for that familiar face I'd last seen in the Hallway after Graduation without such luck as to finding it amongst the kissing couples and hugging friends.

All I had found in that room was the strange feeling of disappointment.

Almost the same feeling I was encountering as I walked the streets of my childhood home.

This late in the month, everyone had already head off to resume schooling which left me the sole member from the 'gang' all by myself here in Hillwood.

Or so I had thought.

The snow surrounding the town had reached the point of freezing to a thick ice, and I found myself slipping with each step I took. Every slip on the ice pulled my thoughts back to memories with Gerald and our sleds as we slid down the big hill in the neighborhood. Even forced my memory back to hearing that familiar insult I had become so accustomed to.

Hey, Football-head! Nice beef! What, you're head too big for you to keep your balance? Sheesh!

It wasn't long before I had walked far enough away from our neighborhood to where the memories ceased. I looked around to see myself in a neighborhood similar to ours. But when my eyes browsed along the streets, the kids seemed separate from each other. They weren't playing baseball, or football or basketball. They weren't laughing with each other or picking on each other or even TALKING to each other.

I wanted to change their minds. I wanted to yell out and ask, "Why aren't you with each other? Don't you see? One day, you'll look back and realize... realize how EASY it was with each other..."

Because it's gotten so hard... with everyone.

My eyes darted around before looking down and focusing on my feet once more. I walked passed the kids and their judgmental eyes.

Up ahead of me was the sign for the bus stop I knew I had to stand and wait by at some point to get home. And while I stood holding the pole the sign was held by, my thoughts drifted to what had brought me this far away from home in the first place.

Boredom? A little. Memories? Yeah. Memories involving that one person I didn't get to see this break? Even I couldn't deny that one. I let out the air I had been suspending in my lungs as the bus rolled up to stop and open it's doors. Tossing some change into the money box for the driver, I made my way to the back of the bus and plopped down, resting my head against the headrest.

Life had changed so entirely since I had left Hillwood in pursuit to fly the skies like my parents once had. I closed my eyes and thought back to those last few weeks in school our senior year. I found myself remembering Helga in that hallway. Telling her what I hadn't told others before. I found myself falling asleep until I opened my eyes to a man in my face.

"Hey kid! Kid! This is the last stop."

Rubbing my temple for a moment I grabbed the armrest and stood up realizing this had happened to me before.

But I had been with Gerald. And now I was alone in a strange town I wasn't familiar with.

While walking off the bus, I quickly turned around and looked at the driver sitting in his chair.

"Uh... sir?"

"Yeah, kid?"

"Just where are we?"

"You're in Salfry."

"And... and how far is that exactly from Hillwood?"

"Eh. Maybe a half hour. Twenty minutes at the least. I think a bus comes here in about two hours for Hillwood if you're willing to wait."

I chewed on my lip for a moment and nodded my head.

"Yeah. I uh... I guess I'll wait. Is there anything to do here?"

The driver put his key in the bus' ignition and turning it on to a loud rumble.

"I don't know, kid. Find a mall or something. I got a job to do and a family to get back to in time for dinner. Good luck."

When the bus had rolled far out of sight, I turned around to look at what surrounded me in the unfamiliar town. Up ahead was a mall and a few shopping outlets surrounding it. Closer to me than that were a few diners, a fast food place and a gas station that was full of anxious people wanting to fill their cars and get moving to wherever they had to be. Sighing and looking around hesitantly for a moment, my feet decided for me to head to the mall up ahead that I had first spotted, as suggested by the bus driver. I quickly made note as to where the bus stop was in relation to the mall, and headed forward a few blocks until reaching the building.

The air was warm inside the mall and the smells of perfume, candles, food joints and people filled my nostrils as I searched for a directory. Sure enough, in the middle of the mall was a big board full of listings of the stores the mall had to offer, and I dragged my index finger down the list of names in hopes that a store would pop out at me. Without such luck, I decided to wander around the mall instead.

The people here were loud. They were rude. It was almost as if a different kind of world from Hillwood, even from Florida. This world was rushed and busier than the one I had remembered growing up in. Coming to think of it however, the people were generally the same, it's just different when you're so young. You find the best in people. And in so many cases you grow out of it.

Unless you're me.

Because as foolish as it may seem, at even age 20 I still saw the absolute best in people, despite what they decided to show me.

Wandering through the mall, I stopped outside a curious outlet named, "College Cabin" written in rustic writing atop the store's doors. And since I had nothing else to do, I figured I might as well take a look around and try and find some things to take back to Florida with me.

The store was filled with silly things to fill a dorm room with. All around were whiteboards for dorm doors, license plates with witty sayings to hang on your walls and merchandise from nearly every college that ever existed. Futons were in boxes ready to be purchased and moved into new college students rooms, and while nobody seemed to be in the store besides myself and the worker at the register, by the looks of the items missing from the shelves the College Cabin seemed to be doing well in the business world.

I picked up a key chain from my college and found "Ray" for my roommate who had been unable to get the money to go anywhere this Christmas break. Though it was small, I thought he might like something for his two keys, both on separate key rings. Making my way to the counter, a collection of CD's caught my eye and making a fast u-turn for them, I ran into someone in the process. Immediately feeling bad for knocking them to the ground, I stumbled around trying to get back up.

"I am so sorry... I wasn't paying any attention to where I was going. See, I'm going back to college in five days and I just-"

"No it's fine, don't worry about it." she mumbled, brushing her shoulder off.

Her eyes met mine and I saw a sense of panic behind them.

"A-A-Arnold?"

I nodded bewildered with my hand still outstretched for her to take.

"You... you need some help up?"

"No... No I'm fine."

"You sure?"
"I said I was FINE, Arnold." She stood up and started to pick up all the things she had dropped on the ground.

"You want me to help?"

"Did I ASK for help? Look. Just leave me alone, okay Arnold? That can't be too hard for someone to do, even you."

"But Helga I-"

"No." she set her things on the counter for the cashier to ring up and rung her hands within each other nervously. "Arnold... I just can't. I thought Phoebe told you that."

"You told Phoebe to tell me to leave you alone?"
She paused for a moment and nodded her head.

"Yes."

"But why?"
"Because you'll never GET it, Arnold. No matter everything we've been through... you JUST. DON'T. GET. IT." She handed the cashier a twenty and grabbed the bag full of her things that she had bought. "I don't need a receipt, and just keep the rest, okay?" She turned around and walked passed me out into the hallway of the mall.

"Helga, wait up!"

"And why?"
"Because you're the one person I wanted to see this trip and you just decided to avoid me."

I looked around the area as if everyone had heard me. It felt as if everyone around us knew our past and suddenly knew what I had just said.

Inadvertently I had just admitted to liking Helga G. Pataki.

Mm mm mm. I could hear Gerald humming in my head.

Her eyes were wide and she clung to her bag tightly the way she used to clench her fists.

"WHAT did you just say?" she took a step towards me with fire burning behind her eyes.

"I said... I said that I wanted to see you..."

"You said I was the ONLY person you wanted to see-"

"Not the only-" I was trying so hard...

"the ONE person you wanted to see. And this ONE PERSON you wanted to see SAT HERE waiting for you to come BACK-"

"Helga I tried to Skype you but you never wanted to talk-"

"and NOTHING. Not a card, not a fu-"

"you just kept going offline-" we were getting closer to each other when she reached out and grabbed me by my shirt to pull me close to her, our noses mere millimeters apart.

"-cking thing." she finished in a whisper. "I'm complicated. But in all our times, you'd never given up on me." she let go of my shirt and I looked at her with confusion. "Well football-head, I've given up on you. Good luck getting on your bus."

With that, she turned around to walk hastily back to the doors and left, I imagine, to her car to go home and forget about all that happened.

Which wasn't like Helga to simply forget. I'm sure she'd try, but in the end never forget. And I was sure the next time I'd see her, it would be years from now when she was married and had kids and I had been nothing but a complete childish memory.
I was sure.

And then the next day, she showed up at my doorstep.

"Hey there, Football-head." she greeted with a lack of expression as she looked at me from the stoop of the boarding house. "You got plans today."

"Hi to you too, Helga. But I don't have plans-"

"Yeah you do. With me. So get ready. We have a long day ahead of us."

So whattya guys think!

See you at Chapter Two! :)