Hello readers! Here is the beginning chapter of my new Hey Arnold! fanfic. I hope you enjoy it!

Disclaimer: I do not own Hey Arnold! or any of its characters.

"We're almost to the top now!" The early morning light had just begun its descent on the hikers, and the leader's outline was suddenly rimmed in gold – a tall, well-built young man of relatively average proportions except for his head, which was a distinctly unusual shape. Following closely behind him was another young man, who seemed to be carrying most of the equipment. And much, much further behind them were the figures of two women carrying tents and struggling to keep up – one a bit tall, the other a shade below average height.

The taller of the two shifted her tent to the other arm and yelled, "You said we were almost to the top ten minutes ago, Football Head!"

The frustration in her voice would have made most grown men flinch, but the leader just looked down and grinned at her. "Well, we were. And now, we're even closer."

Helga was now sputtering dangerously, and Gerald took the time to catch up with Arnold. Together, they looked down at their girlfriends making their way up the hill, Phoebe trying to placate a very tired Helga. Gerald shook his head. "Mm mm mm. You're messing with fire, man."

"Nah, it'll be fine. It isn't that much further now anyway. And as much as I don't like making her mad, if it gives her enough energy to get up here…"

"Just hope it doesn't give her enough energy to rip your arm off."

Arnold laughed a little, "She won't."

"You're a bold kid, man."

The girls had finally caught up with them, both breathing heavily with rivulets of sweat running behind their ears. Phoebe looked merely tired, but Helga looked as though she was about to launch into a boyfriend-berating. Before she could start, Arnold pointed to a gathering of stones nearby. "Let's take a break."

Everyone dropped their equipment and obediently followed him to the cluster of stones. Phoebe sat down and Gerald sat beside her, draping an arm over her shoulders and rubbing them. Helga plopped down and kicked her feet up onto another rock, flexing her feet slightly as she stretched the tight muscles in her lower legs. Arnold sat on the rock beside her, debating on whether or not he should follow Gerald's example. He knew that his touch usually calmed her down, but it was very early in the morning and Helga had not been able to down her usual two cups of coffee. And even with caffeine, she was not a morning person. He let his hand drop to the side. Better not risk it.

Helga made an impatient noise in her throat. "We really need to work on your depth perception, Football Head. We were nowhere near the top."

"We're closer now, though." He pointed to the apex of the hill. "Just over that hill is our camping spot, and then we'll walk downhill for a change, which means we'll be going a lot faster."

"Fine, Arnold." Helga rubbed her eyes and sighed. Okay, this is just embarrassing. I'm the strongest person on my rowing team, and yet I can't hike up a hill carrying a tent? What's the deal? Probably it's because it's so early – I can't think straight, and I'm snapping at everyone. But Arnold should have known better than to get me up this early. "But remind me," she pointedly continued, "just who was the genius that suggested we have the gang get-together on a freaking mountain?"

She expected him to just laugh good-naturedly at the accusation or cringe slightly. Instead, he stiffened, gave a little cough, and nodded his head to the side. Eyebrows furrowed, she followed the inclination of his head and saw…Phoebe sheepishly raising her hand. An unpleasant shock shot through her. Oh great, it was Phoebe's idea. How could I forget…

Her face lost all its color, which almost immediately returned with a vengeance and stained her entire face red. Helga's tone of voice changed completely as she tried to retract what she'd just said. The two boys looked at each other, trying hard not to laugh. If Phoebe's feelings had been hurt it would have been different, but Helga somehow had missed the humor in her best friend's gaze and was stumbling over herself to make amends.

Arnold couldn't look at Gerald anymore for fear of bursting into laughter, and he turned around and looked into the horizon. Helga hadn't been far off the mark when she'd accused him of planning the get-together – he'd been helping Phoebe with the plans ever since the beginning of the summer. He'd given a lot of helpful input, but this weekend was really her brainchild.

It had made sense that, when communications from all the P.S. 118 graduates had agreed that a summer reunion was absolutely necessary, that Phoebe had been the one to plan it. Despite being nearly as meek as she'd been in elementary school, Phoebe had become the official leader of their class at the beginning of high school when she'd been elected class president. Unlike many high school politicians who heartily promised grandiose plans that they had not intention of keeping, Phoebe had quietly and firmly promised simply that she would do her best for the school. And she'd delivered. She spoke little more than she did when she was younger, but when she talked, people listened – she always had the right answer or the best solution. Phoebe was also a whiz at meticulous planning and organizing, so when she'd offered to plan the event everyone had accepted – besides, with the balancing of summer jobs and college courses foremost on everyone's minds, no one else really wanted to spare the time.

Helga was still apologizing. "I mean, I like it, Phoebe, it's a good idea. It's just," she yawned, "did we have to get up so early? I need my beauty sleep."

"Sorry, Helga." Phoebe readjusted her glasses. "But yes, I think this is the best time to travel up here – it's not too hot now and we'll have plenty of time to set up camp."

Helga sighed and gave her feet another quick stretch. "Well, you're the boss. Lead the way."

Phoebe smiled and, together with Gerald, got up to walk to the top. Arnold stood up and waited beside Helga as she shifted her gear around. She got up and groaned, "Only for Phebes would I get up this early…I really need some more beauty sleep."

Arnold gave her a cheeky smile as he asked, "Would it help if I told you that you were already so beautiful that you didn't need it?"

Helga gave a derisive snort and turned her head away. "No, it'd just be incredibly corny, Football Head." She could not quite hide her expression from him, and he grinned at the glimpse of her blissful smile and the pleased blush that could be seen even through her flushed face. She is so pretty when she's happy. Actually, she's also pretty when she's embarrassed. And she is really cute when she's angry…Arnold looked ahead of them and watched Helga catch up with the others. I'm so glad that Gerald can't hear me right now – I'd never hear the end of it.

Even the boys were relieved when they reached the top of the hill, although they would have never admitted it to their girlfriends – they simply looked gratefully down the hill and quickly put down their gear, but not too quickly. It wouldn't do for the girls to see that the guys were having trouble. All four looked down into the valley, and suddenly their collective breath was taken away.

The sun had finally begun to rise, bathing the trees and grass with a golden glow. The liquid dish of gold crowned the horizon, painting the sky unimaginably beautiful hues of rose and red. The early morning air, free of the clutter of the city they were so accustomed to, was gentle on their sweaty faces and smelled fresh. They were all struck speechless. Arnold was admiring the peace and serenity of the place, Phoebe noted the chemical properties of the atmosphere that made the colors so bright, and Gerald was appreciating the fact that the rest of the hike was downhill. But Helga was completely spellbound, her eyes staring forward in a stupor. Phoebe and Arnold both noticed the expression and gave each other a secret grin. Wait for it…

An enormous yell fractured the silence. "I've got to write about this!" Helga had sprung out of her stupor and was now rifling frantically though her backpack. "Aha!" she yelled in exultation as she held the journal up. She flipped it open to a new page and began scribbling rapidly. Arnold watched her with a smile – once Helga had felt comfortable showing her artistic side in public (a transition made easier by the fact that she'd threatened to punch any mockers), she carried a notebook with her everywhere. This notebook was black like most others, but had a thin pink line down the spine. The pink reminded Arnold of Helga's previous journals, which she'd cautiously shown him when they'd started dating. The fact that he'd never picked up that the boy in all of her grade school poems was himself still made him laugh…

Helga had finished scribbling. "Come on, let's get this started already." She shoved her gear onto her back and began running down the hill, the others following in hot pursuit. There was a lot of work to do before nightfall.

···

The tents having been set up and been approved by Phoebe's inspection, the girls were cleaning up the dishes after dinner while the boys were out scouting for more firewood for the next few days. "It hearkens back to the more medieval time period," Phoebe admitted to Helga after the boys left, "but I think the boys will be able to bring back more wood than we could."

Helga looked up from the pan she was scrubbing. "That, and the fact that you're still afraid of the dark."

Phoebe forked her hands on her hips. "And you aren't? I seem to remember a certain someone who couldn't go to sleep without lighting several candles in her closet and leaving the door open."

Helga's mouth dropped. "Phebes! You know that was my," her voice dropped to a whisper, "Arnold shrine."

"Shrine or not, you still had to light it up before you could even think of sleeping." Phoebe giggled, "But you're right, Helga, it was because of the dark – and because I'd prefer that the boys get sweaty instead of us."

"You're a genius, Phebes," Helga said appreciatively. She dried off the last pan. "Well, that's done – want to take a break?" She got up, walked past the stumps they'd set up around the fire pit and knelt down to begin building the fire. They'd already cleaned and prepared the fire ring – all she had to do was set up the wood and light the match.

"Yes!" Phoebe put away the dishes, and sat down to watch Helga's work. "This would be the perfect time to review last-minute plans."

Helga rolled her eyes, and blew lightly on the lit wood to strengthen the flame. When thick tendrils of smoke and heat began to rise from the wood, she brushed her hands on her jeans, leaning back to survey her work. She groaned, "You sure have some weird ideas about what 'taking a break' means, Phebes. But go on ahead."

Phoebe readjusted her glasses. "Well, everyone responded, and it sounds like everyone can come…except Peapod Kid."

Helga tossed some more tinder onto the growing fire. "Poor guy. He's probably too traumatized by the fact that we called him by the name of a vegetable for all those years…why did I write a play about food anyway?"

Phoebe gave her best friend a mock glare. "Actually, he's completing a big internship with the CEO of a major grocery chain in another state and can't get away."

Helga grinned, "A grocery chain? I told you – the man's obsessed with produce…"

Phoebe rolled her eyes. "Anyway, everyone else can come. We're going to meet them down at the parking lot around noon, and then we'll walk them up here. Then we'll go hiking and canoeing – "

"And smores-eating?" Helga shifted herself onto a stump.

"Naturally! Luckily, we only need to set up two more tents tomorrow, so we can get right to the canoeing and so on when people get here – ack!" Phoebe pulled off her glasses and polished them on her shirt. "Darn ashes."

"Maybe you should wear contacts, Phoebe. Your glasses have been fogging up or getting dirty since we got here."

"That's just nature, not my glasses. Besides, wearing glasses is more practical; they're easier to care for, less painful –"

"Gerald told you they looked cute, didn't he?"

Phoebe blushed. "Well…"

"Thought so. Tall Hair Boy is a real charmer." Helga was grinning, but then her face became more serious. "You really do love him, don't you, Phoebe?"

A warm smile spread across Phoebe's face. "Yes, I do. It's a nice feeling, isn't it?"

Helga folded her arms across her legs and stared into the fire. "I guess so."

"You guess so?" Phoebe's voice was perplexed. "I thought you loved Arnold!" Her tone grew mischievous. "Or have your feelings for 'ice cream'…melted?"

As she'd hoped, Helga began laughing, "Phoebe!" But then her face fell back into the solemn set and she frowned, "Of course I love him – I just don't know if he feels the same way."

Only compassion kept Phoebe from rolling her eyes. Helga was the toughest person she knew, but when it came to Arnold she could become highly insecure mush. Despite all the staggering evidence staring her in the face, Helga sometimes had difficulty understanding that Arnold loved her back. "Helga, it's obvious he does, you just need to accept that! Especially if that 'something important' he wants to show you is any indic – oops." Phoebe clapped a hand to her mouth, hoping that Helga hadn't heard that.

She had. " 'Something important?' He has something important to tell me? What is it? How do you know?"

Phoebe sighed, "I have no idea, Helga. The guys were just talking about it once when Arnold was helping me set up this weekend before I walked into the room."

"And you didn't ask what they were talking about?"

"No, it was none of my business."

"What? But Phoebe, you have to know everything!"

"I do not!"

Helga sighed and then, in an uncanny imitation of an academic contest judge, asked, "Which of the Egyptian pharaohs built the Great Sphinx of Giza?"

Without skipping a beat, Phoebe adjusted her glasses and in an eager monotone answered, "Djedefra, of the Fourth Dynasty. He also built a pyramid at Abu Rawash which was destroyed by the Romans." She then realized what she'd done and blushed. Old habits die hard. "That's academic stuff, Helga – that's different. And…I tried. But the boys wouldn't tell me, and I didn't press Gerald to fill me in. I have to respect Arnold's privacy."

"But this is also about me!"

Phoebe put a hand on Helga's shoulder. "I know. But I'm sure it's something good, Helga, something you'll want to hear."

Helga looked off into the distance, in the direction that the boys had left in their search for more firewood. She took in a deep breath, smelling the soothing scent of wood smoke, and let it out slowly. "I'm sure you're right. You always are." She smiled, but her mind was uneasy as she looked into the night.

I hope that Phoebe's right…what is Arnold wanting to tell me?

···

Not far away, the subject of Helga's thoughts was ironically talking about the same thing as he gathered twigs from the ground. Gerald looked at him while leaning against a tree. "So…you gonna tell her tonight?"

Arnold looked up into the sky where the moon was currently obscured in evening cloud. "No, the time's not right."

"When will the time be right, then?"

"Soon…I think."

"You think? Good to see that you're feeling confident." Gerald grinned, and Arnold's only reply was to maturely cross his eyes at him. "But seriously, Arnold, why not now?"

Arnold sighed, "I just want it to go right, Gerald – I'm a little nervous about telling her. This is important to me, and I want everything to be perfect."

"Don't worry, man. It'll work out fine."

"Yeah, you're probably right." Arnold looked towards the campsite, where he could see the glints of the fire light through the trees and hear Helga's laughter. I just hope that you're ready to hear what I have to say, Helga.

A/N: What is the "something important" thing that Arnold wants to tell Helga? Hmm, you shall have to wait and see.
Anyway, thanks for reading. I hope that you enjoyed it!
Please review and let me know what you think! Reviews make me happy!