I stared at Arnold as he made his way to the front of the desk, a smile on his face.

"Hey Helga," he said while passing me at the counter and looking towards the 'D' section and I swallowed hard.

Just a dream, Helga, I told myself trying to find a way to communicate with Arnold that didn't seem too out of character for me. No matter HOW real that dream felt, it wasn't real...

"Uh... hi?" I asked rather than greeted and he began browsing while continuing to talk to me as if we were best friends.

"How's it going tonight? Been busy?"

I rolled my eyes and leaned against the back of the counter. "Hardly. I've had maybe five customers. You know, I think this place is close to getting shut down."

"That would be a shame," Arnold said while picking up a movie and reading the back of it. "I always loved coming here. Seeing you is just the bonus."

My eyes widened and I stared ahead at the wall. Seeing you is just the bonus he had said. Was it real? Or was he just acting weird?

I had to find out.

"Seeing me, huh?" I asked and Arnold nodded his head.

"I mean, its a job, I know, but at least I get to see you that way."

"And..." I started out slow as if trying to piece together his words. "You...WANT to see me? Don't you get enough of me in class?" I prodded but he merely chuckled and approached the counter with the movie he'd chosen.

"Class is hardly quality time, Helga," he said, his words astounding me where I stood frozen. "You gonna check me out or should I do it myself?" He asked with a raised brow and I jumped from where I stood to meet him at the counter.

"I uh, I can, I can do it." I said while snatching the video from his hands and scanning the barcode as quickly as possible.

"You alright, Helga?" He asked, concern in his tone. "You're acting...off."

"It's just this movie," I blurted out while gesturing towards 13 Going on 30 playing on the monitors precariously placed around the store. "It's...getting to me."

"How's that?" He wondered and I handed the movie back to him and shrugged.

"Haven't you ever wondered what it would be like to travel through time?" I asked and he glanced down at his movie before looking up to me and replying.

"I guess everybody does, don't they?"

"But like YOU, specifically. Is there anything you'd change?" I asked, trying my hardest to find out if my dream was really a dream or just some wacky coincidence as to why Arnold was treating me this way.

He thought about it for a while, his face scrunching up into this cute little ball and he nodded his head. "I suppose there's a few things I would change."

"Like?" I pushed and he pursed his lips together in concentration.

"Do you... do you remember that night I found you on your stoop after you'd had that weird conversation with me in class about whether or not I thought about you?" He asked and my jaw nearly dropped to the floor.

The dream... it HADN'T been a dream... that had never happened in the original life I led and he was recalling it so perfectly... unless we'd had the SAME dream or something...

But what were the odds of that?

Without thinking, I nodded my head slowly as he went on.

"I guess I would change that night. I'd change how long it took me to get to that point of seeing we should get back together."

I blinked back tears that were forming and swallowed hard. "R-really?"

"Really, Helga. But we were young and who knew we'd end up together after everything we'd been through? I was just... scared of trying again but you... you knew what you wanted and you never gave up."

I sighed. "But I DID give up, Arnold. For a long while, I gave up ever trying to get you back because I didn't think you'd ever want to give me another chance... after all I put you through."

Arnold shook his head. "You didn't put me through anything, Helga. You just helped me understand what was important. And that's you."

Reaching behind myself, I pinched at my arm in an effort to find out if I was still dreaming. YOUCH! I thought and I nodded my head to myself. This ISN'T a dream. That nap, that experience... it had to have been real. Arnold is talking to you like, like...

"So we're together then, right?" My mouth spoke before my brain could stop it. "I mean, like," but Arnold cut me off with a laugh.

"Of course, Helga. Have been since that night. Don't you remember?" He asked with concern and my mind went into a full-blown ATTACK.

Memories, as if being downloaded from some flash drive, began flooding my mind. Images of every touch, hug and kiss from Arnold since the day I'd gone back and changed in my not-so-dream dream filled my head. I remembered everything in between, each minor fight, each wonderful forgiveness, each moment that followed the change since we had successfully gotten back together.

After a moment, I nodded my head, tears in my eyes. "I do, Arnold. I-I remember."

"Are you alright?" He asked, but I was too lost in the new memories. Lost in everything I'd managed to fix in the past 2 weeks.

"We kissed and when we pulled apart," I was staring off into space seeing the memory for the first time; a memory that could have been the sweetest of imaginings. "You asked if we could give this one more try. YOU asked ME for the first time..." my voice trailed off and Arnold reached across the counter to take my hand in his.

"I had to realize it myself. I've never been as sure as you are about things," he said and I nodded my head, a laugh escaping from my lips.

"Yeah, football-head, that's never really BEEN your strong suit, now has it?"

He squeezed my hand as I came back to reality and looked deep into his seas of green staring back at me. "But your resilience, Helga, that's YOUR strong suit. And you saw us even when I never did. You worked at us harder than you ever have. We hardly fought after that night and you opened up to me in ways like you never had before. It was all of those things that made me realize I'd made the right choice in giving us another shot. I should have listened to you earlier."

I shook my head, a knowing smile laced on my lips. "No, Arnold, you were right to wait. I had to... I had to CHANGE myself before I could change our relationship. Believe it or not, but the weeks leading up to that day... they were rough. I was constantly fighting with myself on whether our breakup was justified and how I could fix it, but I never realized that no matter WHAT I did, I couldn't be the one to make the ultimate decision. It had to be you."

"Well, Helga, I'm glad that I did," he said with a warm smile. "I'm glad I chose you. I'm glad I chose us."

I squeezed his hand back and nodded my head. "I am too, Hair Boy."

"I love you, you know," he said and my heart filled with a warmth that it hadn't felt in ages.

He loved me. He really did this time and there was no fighting it.

I grinned and leaned over the counter towards him, "I love you too, Arnold" I said before our lips found each other in the middle of the store; credits finally rolling on the film I'd put in from the mysterious stranger who I had to thank because if it wasn't for him, I believed, none of this would truly have happened.

There was something fishy about him, I'd known it from when he first came in, but whatever it is he did, I was thankful because it brought Arnold and I back together.

It may have been hell getting here, but I could tell from the kiss we just shared, that it had all been worth it.

We were finally back on track.

Well folks, this story has been a world of fun to write and i really hope you all enjoyed it! sorry this chapter was so short, but i felt like i said everything that needed to be said and well, hope you liked this story!

please leave me a review and let me know what you thought of this chapter, and of this story as a whole. i'd really appreciate it!

-Polka