A/N this is the first fanfic I have written in the Hey Arnold fandom. I love the show Finding Carter and got inspired to write a fanfic revolving around the same premise of getting kidnapped, but loving the life you had with the kidnapper. Takes place before FTI and ignores the episode 'Magic Show'

Finding Olivia

Splat! Arnold turns around letting out an angry growl as another spit ball hits the back of his head. His eyes land on Helga. Of course it's no surprise that it's Helga dishing out the torture. She does everything in her power to make his life miserable.

Helga noticed Arnold staring at her, "What football head!? You got something to say?"

Arnold turns back to face Mr. Simmons doing his best to ignore her. Helga was especially getting on his nerves today. He was used to the spit balls and the name calling, but torment from one person everyday of your childhood life started to take a toll on a boy. Helga made his life miserable and Arnold couldn't help but think how much easier life would be if Helga wasn't around him.

"Ok class our writing prompt for today is 'if you could have one wish guaranteed to come true, what would you wish?' I know what I would wish for, but I'm excited to hear all the special things you boys and girls come up with!" Mr. Simmons chirped happily

Helga knew immediately what she would wish for… for Arnold to fall football head over heels in love with her. Helga let out a pleasant sigh 'Oh Arnold! My life would be complete if only this wish could come true.' Helga went to start writing when snap the tip of her pencil broke. Luckily the pencil sharpener was right next to her beloved Arnold so she couldn't be too mad about it.

"So Arnold, what are you going to write about?" Gerald asked, as he himself was at a loss of what to write about. Helga tried to look nonchalant sharping her pencil as she listened in.

"Don't know. I can't seem to think of anything I would want" Arnold replied scratching his head with his pencil trying to brainstorm.

"Can't think of anything you would want?!" Helga exclaimed, startling both Gerald and Arnold as they didn't know anyone was listening to their conversation. "How about some parents geek bait?! I mean criminy look at you! You're just a sad little—a sad little—ORPHAN BOY!"

Those around that could hear gasped. Even Helga herself was shocked what came out of her mouth. 'I can't believe I just said that'.

Arnold stared at her open mouth, then glared. "Just leave me alone Helga." Suddenly he had the perfect idea of what to write about.

"Yeah Pataki, go somewhere you're wanted! Oh wait…. that would be nowhere" Gerald said laughing and the whole class hearing joined in.

"Oh you're all a bunch of dweebs!" Helga said stomping back to her seat.

"Helga, that wasn't a very nice thing to say to Arnold" Phoebe whispered to her, "I think you should apologize."

"Apologize?! To football head? Not a chance!" Inwardly Helga wish she could. No one had any idea how much she wished she could take back what she said, and no one would ever know that her comment hurt her worse than it hurt Arnold.

"Alright class, does anyone wanna share what they wrote?" Mr. Simmons asked, quieting the class down.

Before Arnold could even think about what he was doing his hand shot up.

"Oh Arnold, this is a pleasant surprise! I'm sure everyone is very excited to hear what special wish you wrote about." Mr. Simmons said smiling.

"If I could have any wish come true" Arnold started "I would wish that Helga Pataki would disappear." Mr. Simmons choked on the cup of coffee he was drinking. "The world would be a much better place if she were not in it. Reason #1 she's rude and mean to everyone she meets for no reason. Reason #2 she is a bully and spreads nothing, but hurt to those around her. And lastly, reason #3, she is incapable of feeling compassion or love for anyone, but herself. I know I would be better off if Helga Pataki was not in my life and I strongly believe everyone else would be too." Arnold finished still seething

"I like that wish Arnold. You're right, let's make Helga disappear"!" Sid jokingly agreed.

"Make Helga disappear! Make Helga disappear!" Chanted Harold laughing. Soon the whole class joined in on the chant, Mr. Simmons fruitless in trying to stop them. Helga meanwhile slowly sunk down in her seat.

Ring! The school bell signaled school was out for the day interrupting the chant of the fourth graders. Everyone shot out the door abandoning the chants, excited to finally be free for the day.

"Helga!" Phoebe shouted as she ran to catch up with her best friend. "Want to come to my house? We can get a head start on our geography project."

Helga stopped walking so she could catch up. "No thanks Pheebs. I think I'm just gonna head home, I don't feel that well." Helga muttered quietly. Truth was, Helga felt like she wanted to cry, but she was too embarrassed to let her guard down, even if it was Phoebe.

"Are you sure? I can make you chicken soup and you can sleep in my bed, while I work on the geography project." Phoebe offered.

"Thanks Phoebe, but I really wanna head home"

Phoebe gave Helga a concerned look. Helga must be feeling really sick if she wanted to go home. Phoebe knew more then most when it came to Helga Pataki's home life and if she knew one thing about Helga it was that she hated being home and she hated even more being around her family.

"Feel better Helga." Sighing Phoebe waved goodbye to her friend wishing she knew what to do to make her feel better.

On her way home Helga stopped to sit on a bench to clear her head.

'Oh criminy! Helga girl, you have really done it this time. Why would Arnold ever want to be friends with you now? Let alone anything more'…like the things Helga dreamed about in her fantasies.

'If even Arnold… the guy who sees the good in everyone, the guy who goes out of his way to help strangers, the perfect saint in every way… wants you to disappear, then you're really not worth anything.' Helga was so wrapped up in her thoughts she didn't even notice that a single tear began to roll down her face. Or the fact that someone sat down next to her.

"Having a rough day?" The lady next to her spoke, shocking Helga out of her thoughts. The women pulled out a tissue from her purse and passed it to Helga.

Helga frantically wiped the lone tear away with her hand as she stood up. "None of your business lady!"

"Sometimes talking about what's bothering you can help" the lady offered

"Why would I want to tell some creepy stranger like you about my life" Helga started to walk away.

"You're right. I'm sure you would much rather talk to your mom about it." The lady's comment made Helga stop.

Helga scoffed. "I'm sure Miriam would be all ears, and after she would make me a huge dinner and we would laugh and paint each other's nails." She muttered sarcastically to herself, unfortunately the lady heard anyways.

"From the way you talk about her I assume you and your mother don't get along?" questioned the lady in a voice that seemed somewhat eager.

Helga was too involved in her rant to notice that off-ness in the stranger voice or to stop herself from continuing "Are you kidding? She is possibly the worst mother on this whole planet!

"Surely she's not that bad…" The lady started to say when Helga interrupted.

"What kind of a mother packs your lunch with plastic silverware, moist toilettes and no sandwich? Or takes spontaneous naps behind the sofa well I'm starving to death, or constantly forgets to pick me up from soccer practice?!"* The more Helga ranted the more she found she couldn't stop. It was like a barricade broke open inside of her with these thoughts and feelings that were building for years. Now that she finally got the chance to share them she couldn't stop and Helga's initial insecurities about talking with a stranger flew out the window when the barricade broke.

"In her defense, no mother is perfect." She said in what appeared to be a consoling voice.

"Yeah especially Miriam. I mean, yeah sure I would like a mom who did great things all the time, or even did the things she said she was going to do! I would love to have a mom who wasn't always messing up and making mistakes…but I don't. I've got Miriam."* Finished Helga defeated and a little bitter.

"What about your father, what's he like?"

"He's a workaholic who barley notices my existence, such a blowhard!"

"Well if you can't tell your family what's wrong, I'm all ears. I'm Melanie" she said as she held out her hand.

"Helga" Helga held out her own hand to shake Melanie's.

"Well Helga now that were not strangers anymore, do you mind sharing with me what caused to be so upset?"

"It's stupid" Helga looked away embarrassed.

"You seem like a tough young girl so if something's making you upset enough to cry, it must be something big" Melanie responded.

"It's just this boy in my class, Arnold, I said something I shouldn't have and now he hates me. I mean, I'm not sure he liked me very much before, but now I completely blew any chance of him lov...lo…liking me." Helga finished hoping she covered up her slip.

"Sounds like a tough situation to be in. Especially if you like this boy Arnold" Melanie said looking down at Helga.

Helga was going to deny having any feelings for Arnold like she always did when someone accused her, Helga Pataki, of being soft, weak and sappy like that. 'I have a reputation to protect after all.' Suddenly, Helga realized she didn't have a reputation to protect. This lady didn't know her or anyone she knew, so there was really no consequences of letting this lady, Melanie, know the truth. Really this was the perfect person to talk about all her problems with. She could let her guard down and there wouldn't be any consequences.

"I don't just like him, I love him. I LOVE ARNOLD!" Helga exclaimed as her voice seemed to echo through the city 'oops, that was louder then I intended. I guess that's been building up for a while.' "Anyway he never wants to talk to me again, and I don't think I could ever face him again after what I said."

"Well you could just run away. That's the only solution I see to fix this." Melanie stated matter-of-factly

"Run away?" questioned Helga

"Think about it, if you run away you'll never have deal with your family or Arnold. All your problems would disappear."

'Disappear…..'Make Helga disappear! Make Helga disappear!'' Her classmate's chants came ringing back in Helga's mind. 'I'll show them, I'll make Arnold feel so guilty for making that wish he'll have to forgive me!' Really all she needed was a couple of days to make the plan work: it was enough time for everyone to notice her absence, have the situation with Arnold blow over and make Arnold and her parents feel guilty for not treating her better.

"That's perfect!"Helga could just imagine it now…'When everyone sees that I'm gone they'll be so sad. Bob and Miriam will forget all about Olga in their misery surrounding my absence, search parties will be formed on every single continent, strangers will comfort each other weeping openly like babies in my absence!' Helga snickered 'Wait a minute'… "I'm a 9 year old kid! I can't survive out there on my own!"Helga's face which seconds before was smiling ear from ear was now her usual frowning angry face.

"Maybe not, but if you had someone to take care of you for a while, like a grownup, you could"

"And where am I going to find someone willing to drop their life to support a runaway kid like me for a couple of days?" Helga smartly remarked

"You're looking at her"

Helga was astonished, "You would be willing to do that for me? We just met!"

"I know but sitting here talking to you these past few minutes, I've really grown to like you so I want to help you out."

Though she would never admit it, Helga couldn't deny that deep down that warmed her heart a little bit to know someone liked her for herself. Her sarcastic, pushy, pessimistic and sometimes downright mean self. "Ok well how do we do this? Do I just walk to your house and hide out for a few da—whoa!"

Melanie grabbed Helga's arm pulling her along to get on the incoming bus. It all happened so fast Helga didn't have the chance to see where the bus was headed.

"Let's go have an adventure" Melanie said while pulling Helga on the bus.

Helga gazed out the window as the streets of Hillwood slowly, like her, disappeared.

To be continued….

A/N Thanks for reading! I hope to write a chapter per week on a count of I want to get this done before I go back to school in the fall. Please review! Some lines loosely taken from Magic Show.

*line taken from episode Road Trip