Hey Arnold 1. Chapter 1

I know I should be working on my other stories right now, but I came up with this idea and my fingers just couldn't help it. It will be fairly short, only one or two parts. This is just a very short teaser, because I'm not sure anyone will actually want to read this since it's so A/U.

Summary: Kind of a what if story if Helga was a couple years younger than Arnold and had a brother Arnold's age. Robert Pataki Jr (Rob) is one of Arnold's best friends. While Rob's little sister, Helga, always seemed to be around it but isn't until Arnold is seventeen that he sees her in a whole new light. Not wanting to lose a friend, Arnold fights his attraction. Story told from childhood to adulthood.

**The Sister**

Arnold Shortman met Rob Pataki when they were three. They were in the same preschool together and quickly became friends. Rob was one of the oldest members of the Urban Tots preschool class, his forth birthday being in the third week of September. Rob's parents, Bob and Miriam, threw him a birthday party and invited all his new friends, Arnold included.

Arnold had never been to a birthday party, so he was curious about what one would be like. With his birthday only two weeks away and his grandparents throwing him own little party. He wondered if his own party would be any different. When Arnold arrived at the Pataki's he knew his party would be much different. As he stood in the living room he realized every single kid in their class was there, including all of the girls! Arnold's grandparents said he could invite three of his friends over for his party. He had decided on Rob, Gerald, and Sid.

While his classmates were running around the living room Arnold took a few moments to take in his surroundings. Rob's mom was trying to round up all the kids to play a game and he could hear Rob's dad yelling at the television in a different room. There was a playpen set up in the corner of the living room with Rob's little sister struggling to reach over the edge of the playpen to a doll she must have dropped. "Ma! Ma!" She pulled out her pacifier to call out to her mother. Arnold looked over at Mariam, who seemingly didn't hear her daughter's cries.

Arnold quickly walked up to the playpen, picked up the doll, and handed it to the little blonde girl with the curly hair. "Here you go." She smiled up at him before popping her pacifier back in her mouth and hugging the doll. "How old are you?" He smiled when he noticed the little girl smile behind the pacifier she was sucking on. She held up one finger. "You're one?" She nodded as she sat down with her doll.

"Hey Arnold!" Rob ran up to him, "I brought you a cookie." He looked over at his little sister. "Don't worry Helga I brought you one too." He handed Helga a cookie. Helga quickly ripped the pacifier out of her mouth before Rob handed her a cookie. "Come on Arnold, let's go play. My mom is setting up pin the tail on the donkey."

"Bye bye Helga." Arnold wave at her as he walked away with Rob.

Helga smiled widely, crumbs from her cookie falling from the corners of her mouth. Her left hand waved back, "Bye bye." Her smile lasted until Arnold and Rob were out of sight.


	2. Chapter 2

**The Sister**

Arnold Shortman met Rob Pataki when they were three. They were in the same preschool together and quickly became friends. Rob was one of the oldest members of the Urban Tots preschool class, his forth birthday being in the third week of September. Rob's parents, Bob and Miriam, threw him a birthday party and invited all his new friends, Arnold included.

Arnold had never been to a birthday party, so he was curious about what one would be like. With his birthday only two weeks away and his grandparents throwing him own little party. He wondered if his own party would be any different. When Arnold arrived at the Pataki's he knew his party would be much different. As he stood in the living room he realized every single kid in their class was there, including all of the girls! Arnold's grandparents said he could invite three of his friends over for his party. He had decided on Rob, Gerald, and Sid.

While his classmates were running around the living room Arnold took a few moments to take in his surroundings. Rob's mom was trying to round up all the kids to play a game and he could hear Rob's dad yelling at the television in a different room. There was a playpen set up in the corner of the living room with Rob's little sister struggling to reach over the edge of the playpen to a doll she must have dropped. "Ma! Ma!" She pulled out her pacifier to call out to her mother. Arnold looked over at Mariam, who seemingly didn't hear her daughter's cries.

Arnold quickly walked up to the playpen, picked up the doll, and handed it to the little blonde girl with the curly hair. "Here you go." She smiled up at him before popping her pacifier back in her mouth and hugging the doll. "How old are you?" He smiled when he noticed the little girl smile behind the pacifier she was sucking on. She held up one finger. "You're one?" She nodded as she sat down with her doll.

"Hey Arnold!" Rob ran up to him, "I brought you a cookie." He looked over at his little sister. "Don't worry Helga I brought you one too." He handed Helga a cookie. Helga quickly ripped the pacifier out of her mouth before Rob handed her a cookie. "Come on Arnold, let's go play. My mom is setting up pin the tail on the donkey."

"Bye bye Helga." Arnold wave at her as he walked away with Rob.

Helga smiled widely, crumbs from her cookie falling from the corners of her mouth. Her left hand waved back, "Bye bye." Her smile lasted until Arnold and Rob were out of sight.

**The Sister**

Three year-old Helga Pataki tapped her foot impatiently as her older sister Olga continued to play the piano to her beaming parents. "Oh Olga you play so wonderfully!" Miriam clapped as Olga finished,

"Play the Minute Waltz now, would ya?" Bob requested with a large smile, squeezing his eldest daughter's shoulders. "I think that's my favorite."

Helga sighed, "Who's gonna take me to preschool?" She tugged on Bob's shirt to get his attention as Olga began to play again. She wished Rob wasn't sick because she could have just walked with him. "Dad!" She spoke louder and pulled on his shirt again. "I wanna go to preschool!"

"Helga, pipe down. Your sister is playing for us." He shushed her again when she started argue, "Just go play outside, would ya?"

Helga stomped out of the room, grabbing her lunch box on the way to the door. "I'm going to preschool now!" She yelled before slamming the door behind her. She heard the muffled voice of Bob as she walked down the steps to the sidewalk; she guessed he was yelling at her to be quiet again. She knew the way to school. She had walked with Miriam and Rob enough times to know where she was going, though walking alone while the sky was darkening because of an incoming storm was a little scary for Helga. She jumped slightly when thunder rumbled in the sky. She sighed sadly when it began to sprinkle and quickened her pace.

"Helga?" A soft voice caused Helga to stop in her tracks and turn around.

"Hi Arnold." She greeted quietly.

"Why are you walking all by yourself? Where's Rob?" The blond boy asked as he walked up to her.

"Rob's sick." Helga told him. The pair began walking towards the school.

"Why are you walking by yourself? Where are your mom and dad?" Arnold asked with a slight frown. He looked up as the light sprinkle became a bit heavier. He opened his blue umbrella holding it over himself and his friend's little sister.

"They were busy. I didn't want to be late for preschool." Helga told him as she avoided getting any more wet by stepping a little bit closer to her brother's friend.

"I'll walk you. It's on the way." He gave the younger a small smile, "I like your bow. It's pink like your pants."

Helga's small fingers touched the soft fabric of her pink bow. Looking down she smiled brightly, "Thank you."

"Here we are." Since it was raining fairly hard at that point Arnold walked her to the door, holding the umbrella over them both the whole way. "I hope you like your first day of school." He paused, "I'll walk by here after school, in case your mom and dad are still busy so wait for me, okay?"

"Okay." Helga nodded, "Bye Arnold." She walked into the building and watching Arnold as he walked towards PS 118. She smiled releasing a girlish sigh.

"Come on Rob! Can I _please_ go? I won't bug you I promise." Seven year old Helga practically begged her older brother as he tied his sneakers.

"You're already bugging me. Just stay home. Why do you always want to be by me and my friends? I know you have your own friends." Rob grabbed his baseball glove as he stood up. He was nine years old and he did not want to spend his Saturday with his little sister. There was a soft knock on the door as he grabbed his bat. "Hey Arnold. I'm ready to go."

"Please! I don't even have to play. I just wanna watch." Helga pleaded, her bottom lip quivering just slightly. "_Please_."

Arnold looked at the two siblings, "What's going on?" He asked, his bat resting on his shoulder.

Rob rolled his eyes. "Helga wants to come with us to Gerald Field. I keep telling her no one wants some little kid hanging around." This remark earned an eye roll from Helga.

"Just let her come." Arnold told him. "She's not that bad. She can keep score or something. Maybe she can even play catcher for a while. You know no one in the gang really likes to be catcher. You know how to keep score, don't you?"

"Well doi. Of course I do. I can throw too, right Rob?"

"Pretty good for a little girl I guess." Rob mumbled, "Go get your mitt. You're lucky Arnold is nice."

She grinned, "That's why I like Arnold more than you." She began to jog upstairs, "I'm getting my mitt!"

Rob groaned, "Why'd you say she can go? She can be so annoying."

"Come on, she isn't that bad. She's a cute kid."

Rob's nose scrunched up, "Gross."

"Helga!" Miriam yelled at her youngest daughter from the bottom of the stairs, "It's your turn to empty the dishwasher."

"I'll do it in a minute!" Helga yelled back. The twelve year old was currently lying on her stomach on her bed writing in her journal.

_Helga Shortman_

_Mrs. Helga Shortman _

_Helga Geraldine Shortman_

_Helga Pataki-Shortman._

She quickly crossed that last one out; realizing pigs would fly before she would want to keep the Pataki name. She began to absent mindedly doodle hearts and small rough drawings of her and Arnold. She had a dreamy smile on her lips as she wrote their initials in one of the hearts.

_HGP_

_APS_

"Olga! Get your butt down here and empty the dishwasher!" Bob yelled, his voice booming throughout the house.

"Ugh! Criminy!" Helga clasped the lock on her journal and shoved it under her pillow.

"OLGA!"

"I'm coming!" Helga yelled as she shut her bedroom door behind her. "And it's _Helga_, Bob!"

It only took Helga about five minutes or so to empty and reload the dishwasher. She flopped back onto her bed and reached her hand under her pillow in search of her journal, but instead of feeling the leather bound book she only felt the fabric of her bed and pillow. In a panic Helga pulled up her pillow. It wasn't there. Her heart began to beat rapidly, it felt like it was about to burst out of her chest. Maybe she pushed it too far back and it fell behind her bed. She dropped to her knees and peered under her bed after clearing away random junk she kept under there, but was horrified to find that there was no journal. Where could it be? Then it hit her.

Rob.

She felt like she was going to be sick. If Rob saw all that she had written…He'd tell Arnold. Arnold would know! That was literally one of the last things she would ever want to have happen. If Rob knew she had a crush on his best friend he'd never let her live it down. No! This couldn't happen.

She pushed herself up from the floor and practically sprinted to Rob's bedroom. "Rob!" She pounded on the door after discovering it was locked, "Open up!" She yelled as she continued to pound. "I know you have it! Give it back!"'

"Stop that racket up there!" Bob yelled from the den down stairs, "I'm trying to watch the game!"

"Rob please do not read it. Please!" She begged from the other side of the door continuing to try in vain to open the door.

"Why do you care if I read it? What do you write about in here anyway? How you're team Edward or team Jacob?" Rob laughed from inside his bedroom. Luckily for Helga Rob was still struggling to open the lock.

"Shut up Rob! You know I couldn't get through the first book."

"Rob! Arnold's here!" Miriam called from down stairs, "I'm sending him up."

Helga's eyes widened in fear; silently praying that Rob didn't know her deepest secret yet. "Rob! Arnold's here! Open up. You gotta let him in." _Please don't know, please don't know, please don't know._

"Hey Helga." Arnold greeted as he walked up the stairs. "Rob in his room?" He quickly noticed the younger girl looked visibly upset. "What's wrong?" He asked with a frown.

Helga chewed on her bottom lip debating if she should tell him that Rob stole her diary, since many of the entries were about him. She sighed, figuring if she told him he'd more than likely help her get it back. She could only hope Rob didn't know yet, since he hadn't started to tease her about it yet. "Rob took my journal." She admitted.

Arnold sighed; having a sibling looked absolutely exhausting. Rob and Helga were constantly on each others cases, the same was true for his other friend Gerald and his little sister Timberly. He knew he should probably be thankful he was an only child, "I'll get it back for you." The fourteen year old tapped on his friend's bedroom door, "Come on dude. Let me in."

A couple seconds later the two blondes heard the click of Rob's door lock and a second later the door opened. Before Rob or Arnold could react Helga charged into the room pushing past her brother, "Where is it?" She snapped.

"Where is what?" Rob mocked smirking at her.

"You know what!" Helga screeched.

"Just give it back to her Rob." Arnold was clearly annoyed now. "We're going to miss the movie." He tried to reason with the older Pataki. The newest Evil Twin sequel was supposed to start in fifteen minutes.

"Fine." Rob reluctantly gave in without a fight. He really didn't want to miss the movie. Pretty much everyone in their middle school was going to see it sometime this weekend. It was Sunday so it was his last chance before the school week. He walked over to his bed and reached between his mattress and bed spring and pulled out the pink journal.

"You wanna come to the movie with us Helga?" Arnold asked.

"She can't!" Rob snapped before Helga could even think of an answer. "It's PG-13, remember? She's only twelve." He thrust the diary into Helga's hands, "These things are lot harder to open since Olga kept one."

Helga's lips twitched into a small smile for a moment before remembering she was furious with Rob, "I hate you." She told her brother before turning on her heel and stomping out the room. A moment later the boys heard Helga's bedroom door slam.

Rob rolled his eyes, "Drama queen."

Fourteen year old Helga wanted to cry. She followed slowly behind her bother and Arnold as they chatted about how Lila Sawyer, the beauty of the tenth grade, finally agreed to go on a date with Arnold. He had liked her for years. She didn't know why she was surprised that Arnold would want to date someone like Lila Sawyer. She was so pretty and Helga was…so not.

She didn't say anything when they arrived at home; instead she went straight to her room as Arnold and Rob headed straight to the kitchen to find something to eat. Locking her bedroom door behind her she took a deep breath before studying her reflection in the mirror. She frowned.

Her arms and legs were long and lanky. Her eyes and nose seemed too large for her face. Her ears stuck out too much. She closed her eyes picturing how pretty Lila was. The girl's features actually were proportioned to her body. She was flawless. Sighing heavily, Helga turned on her iPod dock and curled up in bed wishing she was just half as pretty as freaking Lila Sawyer.

Two hours later Helga and Rob were sitting in the living room waiting for the pizza they had ordered. Bob and Miriam had gone out for dinner with a prospective client of Bob's. "What's wrong with you tonight?" Rob asked from his position on the couch. He looked over at his younger sister, who was curled up in the arm chair looking more miserable than normal.

"Nothing." Helga mumbled, "Why would you care if something is wrong anyway?" She questioned, brushing some stray hairs behind her ear.

"Come on…" Rob rolled his eyes. "I'm your brother. I can care about you sometimes. Seriously, what's wrong?"

"It's nothing." She muttered, "I'm just sick of being so ugly."

Rob frowned. "You're not ugly. Why would you think that?"

"I have eyes?"

"Did someone call you ugly? Was it a boy? I'll kick his ass." Rob promised. He was angry that anyone would call his sister ugly. Sure, he liked to make fun of her once in a while, but that didn't mean anyone else could.

"No one called me ugly." Helga told him as she hugged her knees to her chest. "I just know I am." She said softly.

"Look, everyone goes through this stage where they think they're ugly. You're fourteen Helga; you are allowed to be going through an awkward stage. Remember what I looked like at fourteen? But really, I don't think you're ugly." He told her seriously. He sighed when he saw she looked completely unconvinced. "How about after we eat the pizza I take you out for ice cream? My treat."

Helga offered him a small smile, "I'd like that."

Tragedy struck just a month into Arnold and Rob's junior year of high school (Helga's freshman year). Arnold lost both of his grandparents within a time span of just four months. Though his grandmother's death had been suspected, Grandpa Phil's had not been. He died suddenly of a brain aneurysm and Arnold was devastated. His grandparents had raised him from age one and now he was all alone. The circumstances around his parent's disappearance had been a mystery up until he was thirteen. That's when he learned their lives had been claimed by the very illness they were trying to stop just a few weeks after they first arrived in San Lorenzo.

Now, with his grandfather's passing he was all alone.

What he didn't know until after the funeral was that shortly after his Grandma Gertie died his Grandpa Phil made arrangements with Bob and Miriam Pataki that if anything should happen to him before Arnold turned eighteen that they would be his legal guardians until he was. Since Arnold was such good friends with Rob, they were happy to take the boy in. Since Olga was grown and moved Arnold was given her old room. Bob had said if Olga came to visit she could bunk with Helga, to which Helga replied she'd rather sleep outside.

The following summer when the boys were seventeen and Helga was fifteen Bob and Miriam took the three teenagers, along with their eldest daughter Olga, to the beach. They rented a beach house to stay at for the week.

"Oh little sister!" Olga called out as she made her way to Helga, Arnold, and Rob. They were setting up their towels and cooler that was filled with water and Yahoo sodas to save their spots on the beach. "Why are you wearing Rob's old t-shirt?" She asked with her hands on her hips. "I took you shopping and bought you three new bathing suits for a reason. Take that over-sized shirt off so everyone can see your new bathing suit." Her bottom lip quivered, "Please little sister?"

"I don't want to." Helga argued, "This t-shirt is just fine."

"Helga take the shirt off. You're sister spent good money on you. Be grateful." Bob demanded as he set up his fold up lawn chair.

Helga groaned loudly deciding to just listen to Bob, knowing the fight just wasn't worth it. She ignored Rob's laughter as she slipped the shirt over her head, tossing it on to the sand next to her beach towel. She frowned looking down at the pink bikini Olga forced her to put on. She felt ridiculous. She looked up at Rob, noticing his laughter stopped.

"Olga! Why the hell did you buy that for her?" Rob nearly yelled. Rob looked at Helga wide eyed. She was wearing what he viewed too revealing for his fifteen year old sister to be wearing. He looked over at Bob, "Dad, did you see what Olga put her in?"

"Yeah, yeah, it looks nice." Bob muttered as he put on a pair of sunglasses. "You kids go have fun."

Arnold said nothing as he looked at Helga. He was wide eyed for an entirely different reason. When the hell did Helga get so…so…hot? She was always kind of pretty; she had most defiantly blossomed into her looks over the past year. She grew into her slightly over-sized features and became especially pretty over the last year. Though Arnold had known Helga since she was like a year old he had never seen her like this. Normally, she was in one of Rob's old baggy over-sized shirts and baggy jeans. But now…

She had a killer body. The sports she had been in during her freshman year had been _good_ to her. He never would have guessed that Rob's little sister actually had muscle tone and had the all curves he loved to see on girls. And her breasts. _Oh God, her breasts._

He blinked.

Did he just think about his best friend's little sisters' boobs? Yes. And he was looking at them. "I'm going to go swimming." He mumbled, praying the water was cold.

"Arnold?" Rob called after his friend confused. "What's with him?" He looked around the beach and noticed that many of the teenage boys were looking in his direction. He frowned. _No_, not _his _direction. They were looking in his little sister's. He looked over at Helga, "Come on, you are hanging out with Arnold and me today." He sighed; it was going to be a long week of keeping Helga away from these guys.


	3. Chapter 3

**The Sister**

Arnold knew it was wrong. He knew he shouldn't have the thoughts he was having. He knew shouldn't look at her the way he desperately wanted to. Ever since that day on the beach Rob was high alert when it came to his younger sister, especially when she began to dress more feminine. Apparently Arnold wasn't the only one to take notice of Helga.

Living in the Pataki household didn't help matters. During the summer months she'd lounge around the house wearing a small pair of shorts and a tank top. Seeing her bare slightly muscular legs on a daily basis started leave little to the imagination.

Thinking of Helga so inappropriately wasn't the only thing that distracted him now that he was living with the Pataki's. Bob and Miriam treated their youngest daughter differently than their other two children. It was something Arnold never really noticed until he moved in with Rob and his family, but now he didn't know how he never saw it. Helga was often pushed to the side when it came to her parents. While they'd go to every football game to watch Rob play he could think of maybe two of Helga's track meets they actually made it to. Rob always made sure he went to every single one and Arnold almost always tagged along. For a moment Arnold thought about Helga running, the way her gyms shorts riding up just a little and her breasts bounce just slightly despite her sports bra.

He shook the thought out of his head and groaned. _This had to stop_.

He forced himself to return his thoughts back to what he was supposed to be thinking about. While Bob and Miriam praised Rob's just slightly above average grades, they didn't seem nearly as enthused by Helga's straight A's, even though she was the top student of her class. Bob also seemed a lot more short with his youngest child. He definitely snapped at her more than Rob, of course Helga talked back a lot more than Rob ever did.

He pushed any other negative thoughts about Bob and Miriam out of his mind. Truthfully, he should be thankful for Rob and Helga's parents. They did take him in after all. Who knows where he would have ended up after his grandparents died if they hadn't. Honestly, Helga didn't seemed too bothered by it. He ignored the thought that she might just be used to it.

Arnold sighed as he pulled his load of laundry out of the dryer and into his laundry basket. He frowned slightly, confused when his fingers touched something silky. He looked down to see a pair of black panties with little light pink bows printed on them.

He blinked and his throat went dry. He was holding Helga's underwear in his hand. Before Arnold could stop it the image of Helga wearing them. He pictured her sprawled out on his bed wearing them and only them. His jeans suddenly felt tighter. _Stop!_ His conscious screamed at him, this _needs _to stop. He closed his eyes, forcing himself to think of other things. Baseball. Baseball. Rob wearing the underwear! _There_, he smiled, _that did it_.

Taking a deep breath he grabbed his laundry basket and headed upstairs to his room. He set the basket down onto his bed and took out Helga's panties and walked across the hall, pausing for a moment before knocking on her bedroom door.

"Leave us alone, Rob!" Helga yelled from the other side of the door.

"Err...It's Arnold."

A second later Helga's door opened, "What's up?" She leaned against her door frame, her fingers playing with the hem of her light pink tank top.

For a moment Arnold could have sworn he saw the slightest blush on Helga's pale cheeks. She looked really pretty that morning, her blonde hair was in pigtails and she wore a simple pink tank top and black pair of yoga pants. He didn't know anyone else that could look so beautiful without any real effort. He looked passed her to see her friends Nadine and Phoebe sitting on her bed. Phoebe was actually in his and Rob's grade, but when their friend Gerald started dating her and Rob started to let Helga hang around more the two girls became fast friends.

"Hey...I-I-I was doing a load of laundry and found these in the dryer." He sounded rushed as he held out the panties.

"Those aren't mine. Those are Miriam's."

Arnold frowned, looking down at the silky panties. He wasn't expecting that.

Helga burst of laughing, "I'm kidding. They're mine." She snatched the underwear out of his hands. "You should have seen the look on your face." She said with a laugh.

Arnold laughed nervously, "Yeah, you got me." He scratched the back of his neck. "So...What are you girls up to?"

"Topless pillow fighting." Helga rolled her eyes when she saw the uncomfortable look on his face, "Where is your sense of humor this morning? Criminy, I'm obviously kidding." She turned to Nadine and Phoebe, who were giggling quietly. "We're just hanging out."

"Helga, Sid's texting you again." Nadine called from Helga's bed as she picked up her cell phone.

"Sid? As in Sid Gifaldi?" Arnold frowned, Sid was his age and kind of a pervert. He had been obsessed with girls and their boobs since middle school.

"Yeah..." Helga shrugged, "So what? He started texting me last week."

"Does Rob know?"

"Beats me." There was a long pause, "Did you want to hang out with us or..."

"No. I gotta get some things done. I'll talk to you ladies later." He awkwardly told the girls before heading back to his room. Once there he grabbed his phone and typed out a text to Rob letting him know that Sid was texting Helga. Rob was at football practice, so Arnold wasn't sure when he'd actually get the text, but he got a response about a half an hour later.

_Thanks. I'll take care of it_

Later that week Arnold heard Helga complaining to Phoebe about how Sid stopped texting her. Arnold wasn't sure how Rob 'took care of it' but whatever he did, it worked.

* * *

It was just after Helga's sixteenth birthday when Arnold came home one evening to music blasting from the kitchen. Bob and Miriam were obviously not home. He walked into the kitchen to find Helga loudly singing along to Journey's Don't Stop Believin' as she danced around the kitchen, seemingly looking for something to eat.

He just stood there, watching her as she sang her heart out. She looked do damn cute, completely unaware that he was in the room she was going all out with her own made up dance moves.

"_Don't stop believin'_

_Hold on to the feelin'_

_Stree-"_

Helga belted out the lyrics on the top of her lungs as spun around and abruptly stopped when she saw Arnold standing there, grinning and clearly amused. She quickly turned off the music. "Arnold!" Her cheeks were already red in embarrassment, "H-How long have you been standing there?"

"Long enough to see your epic dance moves." He teased as he busted out one of the dance moves she displayed just moments ago. He felt a little guilty when Helga blushed even more. "Don't look so embarrassed. You have a really nice voice and you're a pretty good dancer. Besides, we all do it every once in a while. Personally, I like to sing pretty much anything by REO Speedwagon."

"Really?" Helga rose a skeptical eyebrow.

"I can really rock out to _Can't Fight This Feeling_." He cleared his throat. "You find anything to eat?"

"Nah. Figured I'd just make grilled cheese or something. You want one?"

"Actually, do you wanna go to Slausen's? I've been craving one of their burgers." When they were younger Slausen's strictly sold ice cream, but few years ago they expanded the menu to burgers, fries, and a variety of other fried foods.

Helga's eyes widened slightly, "You want me to go with you? Without Rob?"

Arnold shrugged, "Yeah. Why not? We're friends, aren't we? We don't need Rob to be there with us to hang out."

Helga's lips twitched into a smile. "Okay, let's go."

As Arnold led her outside to his truck he wondered if he was making a big mistake of eating supper out with just Helga. It was hard enough to be around her at home. What if it felt like a date? Mentally, he shook his head. He needed to get over these feelings. The truth was Helga _was _his friend and he needed to be _friendly _with her. Maybe acting like friends would be the best way to think of Helga as only a friend.

Once they ordered the two blondes chatted quietly about school and whatever else came to mind. "Are you excited to graduate in a couple of months?" Helga asked, taking a sip of her chocolate milk shake.

"Yeah, of course. I'm pretty pumped to start college."

Looking at her Arnold could have sworn Helga smiled sadly, "Oh, yeah...You and Rob are ditching me."

"We're not ditching you, we're going to school. I figured you'd be happy to get rid of us."

She shrugged, "I don't know...You guys can be nice to have around once in awhile. I guess it will be weird being the only one in the house when you guys leave." She rolled her eyes, "I'll be stuck there with Bob and Miriam. I know I'll miss you, that's all."

Arnold offered her a sympathetic smile, "We'll probably come home on the weekends. Maybe you can come visit us once in awhile."

"That would be nice."

"Hey Football face!"

Arnold groaned, he didn't need to look to see who it was. There was only one person who called him that. "Wolfgang." He grumbled. "What are you doing here? I thought you were going to UCLA?"

Wolfgang shrugged, "Flunked out." Arnold's eyes narrowed as he noticed Wolfgang eyeing up Helga. "Who's this?" He winked down at the blonde girl, "Whoever you are you're pretty cute, and you can do better than Football face here." The young man with dirty blonde hair grinned as he attempted to sit down next to Helga.

"Wolfgang." Arnold hissed out the name through clenched teeth, "This is Helga, _Rob's _little sister."

"Oh." The grin fell from his face and he quickly stood up right. "Off limits girl. I got it. See ya around Football face." With that Wolfgang quickly left the restaurant.

"Ugh, he is such a jerk." Arnold shook his head. He frowned when he noticed Helga was frowning, "You okay?"

"What did he mean by 'off limits girl'?"

"I have no idea." Arnold quickly lied. He actually knew exactly why. After Sid tried something with Helga Rob made several what most viewed as threats, but Rob viewed as promises, if _anyone_ hit on Helga again. After Rob threw a few punches, pretty much everyone seemed to get the point. _Do __**not **__try anything with Rob's little sister. _As far as Rob was concerned if you didn't want a broken nose, she was completely off limits. "Ignore what he said, Wolfgang is a creep."

Helga was about to argue, but dropped the whole subject once their food arrived. Instead they talked about the upcoming track season.

* * *

Before any of them knew it it was time for Rob and Arnold to leave for college. They were both attending Washington University, just over an hour away from Hillwood. They were also going to be roommates. Bob insisted they try the dorm life for two years. He promised them in two years, since Helga was planning on attending the same college, he would rent the three of them a townhouse off campus. It was a deal that both Rob and Arnold were willing to make.

About a month after classes started and well after one in the morning when Arnold and Rob stumbled back to their dorm room, slightly drunk. Arnold clumsily unlocked their door and stumbled in, immediately noticing a blonde girl sleeping with her back towards the door on Rob's bed, "Hey, Rob. There's a girl sleeping in your bed."

Rob raised an eyebrow, "You're the one who likes blondes." He grinned, "Get in there buddy, see who she is."

"Ugh. gross. Barley a month into started college and you two are already a couple of pervs." Helga sat up and yawned, "You two are out awfully late for a school night." She released a fake gasp, "And have you two been drinking?"

"Helga?!" Rob stomped up to her, "What are you doing here? How did you get in our room? Or here for that matter?"

Helga shrugged, "I missed my big brother. There's no school tomorrow, so I thought I'd come for a visit. As for how I got here, there is this big vehicle called a city bus." She explained with more sarcasm than usual.

"How did you get in _here_?"

"I asked your RA to let me in. All I had to do was show him my boobs and he was happy to do it for me." Seeing that Rob was clearly not amused, Helga sighed. "Relax. I'm kidding. I told the RA I'm your sister and he let me in."

"Why didn't you tell us you were coming, so you know, I would have been here when you got here? You don't know the guys here Helga! You could have gotten hurt." He scolded her. He paused, "Do mom and dad even know you're here?"

Helga rolled her eyes, "Since I didn't tell them I was leaving, probably not." She scuffed, "Don't look at me like that. I left home _hours _ago and they haven't bothered trying to call me to see where I am. They haven't even noticed I'm gone." She looked at Rob, "Have they called you to let you know I'm missing? Yeah, I didn't think so."

Rob tunneled his fingers through his light brown hair. "We'll talk about this in the morning. Go back to bed. I'll take the futon." He turned to Arnold. "I'm going to the bathroom. Stay in here with her until I get back." Without another word he stomped out of the room, practically slamming the door behind him as he left.

"Geeze, what's his problem?" Helga asked Arnold as the pair of blondes stared at the closed door.

"Really?" Arnold asked, raising an eyebrow. "You have to ask? Helga, he is right, you should have told us you were coming. I'd like to think of all the guys we go to school with as good guys, but you're _sixteen_. Someone might have tried to take advantage of you. What would have you done if our RA didn't let you in?"

"Yeah, I'm sixteen, not some defenseless little girl."

"I know you're not, but that doesn't mean someone wouldn't try to hurt you, especially if you had no where to go." He paused, "Rob loves you, he cares about you and doesn't want anything bad to happen to you. That's why he's pissed."

Helga wrinkled her nose, it was weird hearing the words Rob loves in that order. Olga was the lovey dovey one in the family. Rob and Helga didn't ever say it. Sure, she knew Rob probably knew she loved him, and she was sure Rob probably loved her, but they never verbalized it.

"I care about you too, you know. You should have called." Arnold mumbled, "What's going on with your parents? They seriously don't notice when you leave?"

Helga shook her head, "Since you and Rob let Bob's been working more and Miriam..." Her phone ringing interrupted her, she sighed. "Rob must have called them to point out that I'm not there." She grabbed her phone. "Hello?" She groaned, "Yeah, I'm fine. I hitchhiked, what do you think? I took the bus. Doi." She paused, "Yeah, whatever..." Another pause, "Yup. I'll be home Sunday. See ya." She angrily pushed the end call button, "Apparently they 'noticed' I was gone 'hours' ago and just thought of calling me."

Arnold frowned, "What's going on with Miriam Helga?"

She shook her head, "Nothing." She lied, "It's not important." She set her phone back on Rob's nightstand. In reality, Miriam had started to drink a lot more since Rob left for school. Bob didn't seem to notice or maybe he just didn't care. Helga wasn't sure. She looked up when the dorm's door opened and Rob walked in, "I see you called Bob and Miriam?"

"No. I didn't call them." Rob lied. "Did they call?"

"Um...I'm going to the bathroom." Arnold left the two siblings alone.

"I'm sorry I got so mad at you." Rob mumbled, "Look, if things get rough at home call me. I'll come get you and you can stay for the weekend or something. I don't want you taking the bus this far. It's too dangerous for you to do that by yourself. There's a lot of shitty people out there Helga. Besides, you're gong to give mom and dad heart attacks if you keep disappearing like this." He paused, "Do we got a deal? You need some time off from home you call me, okay?"

Helga sighed, "Yeah, we got a deal."

* * *

It has been so long since I updated this, I hope it was worth the wait. I really love writing this universe and I love Rob. I hope you all love him too. Next chapter will be a two year jump, so Helga, Rob, and Arnold will be living together in a townhouse. As always, if you enjoyed, please review.


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Hey Arnold, Family, Romance