The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting.

-Sun Tzu

The school bell rang signaling the change from third period to fourth and the hallways flooded with students immediately following. Helga popped her gum and sighed at her friend's babbling as she threw her Lit. Book haphazardly inside. The way their lockers were set up, she couldn't actually avoid this particular group of girls, so at the beginning of the year she decided to grit her teeth and bear with it. From left to right there was herself, Phoebe, Lila, and finally Rhonda much to her discomfort but she found that as time passed, the people she once considered mild acquaintances were now actually pretty good friends.

She groaned however in annoyance as Rhonda sighed and Phoebe giggled. "Ugh, look at it! The tip is too round and bulbous." Rhonda said inspecting said appended in a small mirror attached to her locker door. Helga stood back to watch her, hand perched on her hip and gum popping loudly in frustration at the girl's petty antics.

"I look like I have a cherry stuck on my nose. It just doesn't belong on my face." Her finger pushed her nose to the side at an awkward angle making her look strange. Helga scoffed. "So dump the face and keep the nose."

Rhonda's hand dropped to her side as she turned to glare at her while the other girl's laughed. Phoebe adjusted her glasses as she eyed the girl next to her. "Why so dressed up today, Lila?"

Lila stepped back from her own locker and brushed a hand down her front. Her button up, silk blouse coupled with the long, tan skirt gave her the air of sophistication while her low bun and small, wire rimmed glasses gave her the image of intelligence to match. "You like it? I got a temp job as a secretary at the newspapers starting this afternoon. I think it will be ever so exiting!" She trilled, leaning into her locker, arms hugging her books close with a smile larger than life.

"Wow, that's great." Phoebe grinned, averting her eyes as she saw someone coming up behind her.

Helga smiled. "So you're gonna be a hot shot newspaper lady, huh? Sounds like fun."

"Hi Gerald." Phoebe smiled as the tall African boy with outrageous hair walked up and kissed her. Helga turned and closed her locker to lean against it glancing at Arnold who stood a little off to the side of her.

"Wow, Lila, you sure look mighty purdy today." Stinky said as he slid his arms around her waist and kissed her cheek, mindful of his spiked bracelets to keep from snagging her delicate clothes. "Aww, thanks hun." She smiled.

Sid draped back against Rhonda's locker with a playful grin and pinched at her shirt tails knowing it would tickle her. "Hey, how come you're never that nice to me?" He asked her as she continued examining her nose. "Because you never compliment me like that." She said tilting her chin to try and get a better angle.

Sid chuckled.

"Well, aww shucks Rhawnda, you sure are lookin mighty purdy yerself today too." The county slang sounded foreign on his tongue and his friends laughed at the sound of it while his girlfriend only glared. He shrugged and kissed her anyway, wet and sloppy knowing it would annoy her.

"Eww!" She shouted pushing him away and averting her eyes with a little grin.

Sid leaned towards Helga and jerked the dirtied, worn Dickies shirt playfully from her grip. "Heard you were giving lube jobs down at the old man's service station Helga." He teased and she jerked the shirt back with a feral grin. "Stuff it, Sid. Least I got a job."

Sid grinned. "Yeah, but I got a rich girl that loves me. I'm livin the high life." He smile pulling Rhonda flush against him even though she protested when she couldn't see her mirror properly. Helga snorted. "Yeah, wonder how long that will last." She muttered, earning a snicker Phoebe.

"You're working at the station?" Arnold asked her.

She glanced at him as she stuffed her shirt through the slats in her locker door to keep from having to open it again. "Yeah, what's it to you, Football-head?"

"Just curious, might drop by and see you sometime." He said with an easy grin.

"What'cha gonna do, drive the Packard? That things so old, it would die a block away from your house." Gerald scoffed.

"I could take my bike. The chain needs greasing anyway." Helga snorted and turned away from him. Was he making fun of her? She bit back a heated remark and ignored him.

"How come you were late to class this morning, Helga?" Lila asked adjusting her hair in Rhonda's mirror.

Helga blew a large pink bubble until it burst with a loud 'POP' and crossed her ankles as she leaned back against her locker door. "I was busy." She said mildly.

"Busy tongue wrestling Ludwig…" Gerald said and Helga punched him.

"Ah, geez woman!" He moaned rubbing his shoulder.

"Stuff it!"

Lila sighed and turned tugging Stinky's hand. "Oh, Helga. I wish you would listen to me and stop seeing him. I've been hearing some awful things about him and his past girlfriends…"

Helga groaned and banged her head back against the locker door.

"Maybe you should listen to her, Helga."

Blue eyes slid to green and narrowed dangerously. Today was not turning out very good so far and seemed to be only getting worse. "I've also heard some…things." He said, rubbing the back of his neck.

"And what would that be." She drawled.

"Curly said he sent his last girlfriend Stephanie to the hospital with a broken nose." Stinky said.

"And given the way he used to beat up on us all the time when we were younger…" Arnold started.

"Are you trying to say I can't hold my own in a fight?" She asked him, her voice level and smooth. This was dangerous ground and almost unconsciously, the others began backing away from the two.

"No, I just."

"That's all in the past now, and frankly it's none of your business." Arnold's eyes widened a bit at the shear coldness in hers. "Besides," She added as an afterthought.

"I can promise you all that if any of that was going on, Ludwig wouldn't be walking much less kissing me." She smiled then and it threw him off balance. She had a nice smile, even if it was as cocky and sure as this one.

"Right." He found himself agreeing.

The others heaved a sigh of relief that the impending doom had passed.

"Hey Rhonda, keep it up and you might crack that mirror." Harold's harsh laugh echoed across the hall. Rhonda huffed. "Laugh you jerks, but wait till I show up on national television!" She gloated.

Harold made a fist in front of his face to annoy her. "Yeah, you may turn up on national TV but all they'll see is that baseball in the middle of your face!"

Sid snickered and Rhonda huffed again pulling deftly away from him and stalking down the hall. "That's it, the nose goes!" She yelled.

"Oh, come on Rhonda!" Sid hollered, rolling his eyes at her.

"I wouldn't fool around with mother nature if I were you Rhonda." Lila yelled after her tugging Stinky along behind her.

Helga chuckled and pushed off from her locker whipping her hair out behind her and accidently smacking Arnold in the face.

"Why not? She fools around with everyone else, Lila!" She mocked, earning an enraged shriek from the girl in front. Arnold hung back and Gerald sighed looping an around his shoulders. "Hey man, what are you worrying about? Helga can take care of herself."

"I'm not worried." He said. "I'm just…concerned."

Gerald steered him down the hall and asked teasingly, "Why, you suddenly in love with Helga?"

"No." He laughed, elbowing the boy away from him. Gerald grinned. "Then there's nothing to worry about."

Arnold said nothing to that but by then, they had already reached the class.

She looked like a mix between Joan Jett and Debbie Thornberry leaned up against the brick wall like that, concealed in shadow and the lone glow of her cigarette lighting up her features. She crossed her arms and blew the smoke out in a steady stream that dissolved quickly above her head. He glanced around; making sure no one saw him walk around behind the old Gym.

It was crumbling and due to be torn down next year, luckily for Helga, she hopefully wouldn't be here that long to still need use of its services. She said nothing as he came to sit on an old crate across from her, elbows perched on his knees as he stared. She had doffed her leather jacket leaving it crumpled at her feet and she stood in only her white tank, cut raggedly above her belly button to show a good bit of skin. Her piercing glinted in the sunlight and his eyes traveled to the line of bracelets that traveled up her arms. He thought he saw something red under the hem of her shirt over her left breast that looked suspiciously like a tattoo but she shifted and it was gone. Though most people would be too afraid or think it too bold to just walk up and sit in front of Helga Pataki willy nilly, he'd learnt not to be afraid of her anymore. Wary sometimes, for certain but never afraid. She'd suddenly let up on her bullying several years ago for some reason and though he certainly found it a relief he couldn't say he wasn't concerned. He'd always be concerned for her, though he could never actually say why.

She had been a part of his life since before he could remember. As a bully, a classmate and a semi-friend, he found he couldn't quite help a certain measure of protectiveness.

"Since when did you smoke?" He asked.

She said nothing and took another slow draw from her cigarette. Her breath came out in a stream of smoke and for a moment he envisioned her as a dragon. Fierce and dangerous, she eyed him like a boy who had foolishly wandered into her domain; blind to the danger he had exposed himself to.

"What do you care?"

For some reason, she always got really defensive when he asked personal questions like this. He sighed. "Helga, you're my friend, and it's bad for your health that's why."

"Criminey, what are you my surrogate mother now? And since when were we friends?" She scoffed, but that scoff slowly melted into a small grin and he smiled in relief. She held her hand out, cigarette balanced precariously between her fingertips.

"Don't knock it till you try it, Footballhead." She said, her voice changing to a deeper, huskier tone that he hadn't heard directed towards him in years.

Arnold paused and he had to admit, she was good and she knew it too from the way her lips pursed into that catty grin. He wondered how easy it would be to just stand up and put her teasing to the test. To call her bluff.

But then his conscience would grab hold of him and slap him back into reality. His goody goody sense of honor would drag him down and he would remember the old Helga and that this was not her. The old Helga wouldn't stoop to this level to get what she wanted. Not saying it was exactly a bad idea, he thought as he swallowed thickly, but it was just the wrong way of going about getting his attention. Then he thought of Ludwig and how he wanted the jerk away from her. Deep down, he knew she was a good person. She deserved better and he just knew Ludwig would hurt her and maybe she would bounce back, but there was always that nagging thought that…maybe she wouldn't.

He shrugged more at his own musings than her offer of the cigarette. "Sure."

Her uni-brow arched to one side and she regarded him with wary amusement. "What? Mr. Goody two shoes Arnold Shortman is actually going to do something that goes against his golden code of honor? Aren't you worried what people will say about you smoking with 'Big, Bad, Helga Pataki?" She mocked.

He gave her a flat look and leaned back on his crate gesturing around him with a swoop of his arm. "I don't see anyone else do you? Who's gonna know unless you tell them?" He said daringly, a smug smile adorning his lips.

She leaned back with a grin of her own as she took another drag and exhaled slowly with a wicked cheshire grin.

"Who says I won't?"

He paused, regarding her with a calculating look and Helga restrained herself from fidgeting under those dark green eyes. This was either a test or a very intense game she… they were playing. Finally, he shrugged and reached out his hand and played his turn.

"Who says I care?" He took it from her noticing with a grin as she stiffened when his fingers brushed hers. He grinned, realizing he'd captured one of her pawns in this little game. She's not so bold after all. He thought, taking a drag. Just one more thing to add to the ever growing list that defines Helga G. Pataki.

He then exhaled in a series of hacks and coughs as he choked for air, glaring as she laughed.

"Oh, sorry I forgot to tell you, you shouldn't inhale unless you're used to it." She gave a cynical laugh and snatched the stub deftly back from him, an expression of stoic indifference plastered on her face as their fingers brushed once again. Check but not mate.

"That was awful!" He choked.

"Oh, don't be such a baby." She muttered taking another drag and leaning back into the wall behind her. He coughed and wheezed a second or two more and after he'd finally gotten his breathing under control, he slumped over his knees and glared up at her. She sucked in another breath easily and he envied that she could pull it off so well while he was stuck looking like an idiot. Finally she sighed and dropped the glowing butt to the gravel, grinding it furiously under the toe of her shoe. "Yeah, what do you want?"

Arnold pulled up his leg so that his heel rested on the edge of the crate and propped his arm across his knee as he stared quizzically at her.

"What do you mean?"

"I'm not stupid Arnoldo! You and I don't hang out behind old buildings smoking ciggy's together. You wouldn't normally be caught dead with me alone, so what is it? Money? Drugs?" She scoffed and he could only stare wide-eyed as her pitch lowered with her anger and she leaned forward to glare at him eye to eye. "What, are you having a little girl trouble Footballhead?" She whispered with a cruel smirk. "You want to chauffeur me around on your arm to make some chick jealous? Is that it?"

"N-no! Helga!"

She sneered at him and propped a booted foot on the edge of the crate by his hip so that the inside of her thigh brushed his shoulder. He flushed, whether from anger or embarrassment, she couldn't say but something deep swirled in his green eyes and Helga almost grinned. It was too easy to tease him. She vaguely wondered how far she'd get before his honor bound sense of duty reared its ugly head. Leaning in, she propped her arm on her thigh, and his face was filled with the vision of her cleavage as she leaned in to whisper.

"Or do you want something else?" Her breath ghosted hot over his skin and he shuddered visibly. She was so close, so warm. Something inside was screaming at her to stop, to pull away. To just leave to stupid boy alone and storm away, leaving him to stew in his own juices. But the smell of his cologne wafted across her nose and she found herself frozen in place. Memories flashed through her mind, visions of pining her life away for this stupid, ridiculous, horrible, wonderful, handsome, brave, amazing boy! Suddenly, she found if she tilted her chin just so, she would be kissing his jaw line, nipping at his neck. Tasting that sweet nectar of his cologne to see if the taste was as amazing as the smell.

Arnold was afraid to move. Terrified to push her away and run like the devil was at his heels and even more terrified to lean into her, and see where it might lead. He glanced a flash of red and looked down. From under her shirt he caught the corner of what looked like a red heart, and some kind of letter inscribed in gold with a peek of brown. He longed to pull the fabric down and reveal the whole tattoo before his eyes but his pride and his honor held him back. His hands itched, he wanted so bad to touch her. Seconds ticked by, and suddenly his hands were on her shoulders. She felt a shiver run through her and then he was pushing her away, a blush painting his cheeks and green eyes averted.

It hurt her that she had been denied again; it hurt even more now that he wouldn't even look at her. So when Helga was hurt, she did the only thing she knew how. She got mean.

"Hmph, pussy!" She snorted ripping her jacket from the ground and throwing it on. His eyes shot back to her in shock. "Helga, I don't want anything from you!" He said in irritation as she insulted him one time too many. She ignored the way that stabbed at her heart and pulled her collar up around her ears. "Yeah, well, feeling's mutual." She growled as she began to walk away. Class was ending soon.

"No, that's not what I meant!"

He jumped up grabbing her wrist and she wrenched it free fixing him with a glare. "Don't touch me!" She all but snarled in his face and he backed up a step. Arnold sighed. "Helga, we've been enemies since pre-school. This is our last year together. Why don't we try to be, I don't know, friends?" That floored her and she stared at him as if he'd grown a second head. "What?" She laughed caustically. "Why?"

"Why not?" He grinned. "Shake things up a little."

He stuck out his hand, hoping she'd at least grace him with a handshake. She glanced at him, his hand, then back at him. "You don't want to do this." She said, her voice losing all sense of humor. "I'm not exactly the best person to hang around."

"Helga." His voice was stern as he fixed his green gaze on her. She'd seen that look before. That look of determination that said when he wanted something, heaven nor hell would keep him from achieving it. She frowned and turned away, walking down the alley and back to the new Gym. "Fine, but don't say I didn't warn ya."

Arnold grinned and stuffed his hand in his pocket.