[user104658]

They were, in a strange sort of way, being nice about her. They were saying that, even though she is (let's face it) abrasive as ****, and they have had some serious run-ins with her, and have hated her for a huge chunk of the show... despite all of that... they still can't help but like her. They DO want to be her friend, even though she's the sort of person that they never imagined they could be friends with.

But... Helen's a bit of a wounded dog really. I don't think she was deliberately twisting it to be all negative... I think her life (and her mind) is so full of negativity that she can only HEAR the negative. She's EXPECTING negativity, and latches onto it. And the reason she's so angry about it is because her feelings have been hurt; because despite herself, she does actually want people to like her.

It's a bit of a shame, really. She could have focused on the positives... or even asked them there and then to explain what they meant. Not angrily; just honestly... she could have told them that she overheard and that it didn't feel good because they had been getting on, and I personally think they would have elaborated and explained that they DO like her, and it would have been more or less fine. Helen can't do that because she's afraid of showing weakness... which, ironically, is her major weakness.