Welcome, Hey Arnold fans! I hope you enjoy this story. It's set after the movie so keep that in mind! Please review and follow if you enjoy this first chapter.

Disclaimer: Hey Arnold is (c) of Craig Bartlett and Nickelodeon.

The sound of chalk scraping along brickwork reflected the malice behind the intent of the markings. The small white stick crumbled away with such force that it made knuckles turn a sickening pale colour. The last word in place, the shadowy artist was almost panting with fury, staring at but not quite admiring the handiwork. Familiar voices could be heard from the street outside of the alleyway. The piece of chalk swiftly fell to the floor, creating a soft hollow noise before rolling across the cement. It was the only evidence that the vandal left behind as their quick footsteps disappeared into the maze of dimly lit yards and alleyways.

"Yeah! That sure was funny, huh, Sid?" Stinky Peterson's nasally laugh echoed closer through the alley where a mysterious figure had stood mere moments before.

"The look on Wartz face! It was pr-"

"Hey, look,' Stinky interrupted his smaller friend, who looked around in multiple directions before his eyes fell upon the sight that had made Stinky, usually too polite and slow to interrupt anyone, stop in his tracks. Sid's jaw fell as he scanned the unmistakable writing several times. His shock didn't last long before he had to stifle a laugh.

"Now that," he said instead, trying to remain composed. "Is funny." Despite themselves, both boys doubled over, trying their hardest to not let themselves fall to the floor, although it was extremely difficult. "You..." Sid spluttered, pointing up at Stinky who wiped a tear from his large nose. "You... you go get Harold and... and guard it." He managed to compose himself enough to wheeze the instruction to the simple boy. "I need to get my camera... boy howdy, this is too good!" Without another word he ran in the opposite direction. Nobody would believe them without visual evidence and by the time he got everyone gathered there, it could be gone. Chalk wasn't exactly permanent.

"I wonder if it's true," Stinky chuckled to himself as he rounded the corner to Harold's street with an amused smile on his face. "I reckon so."

...

"Oh my..." Rhonda Wellington Lloyd trailed off as a perfectly manicured hand covered her mouth in utter disbelief.

"We told ya, Rhonda!" Harold Berman bellowed, unable to stay still ever since he'd seen the so-called "shocking evidence". The whole concept was far too hilarious for his incapacitated brain to comprehend. Several other kids gathered around the small polaroid photograph, each gasping in turn as they realised just what, exactly, it stated.

Curly leaned closer to Rhonda but before she could notice his presence in her shocked state, he smoothly whispered into her unsuspecting ear. "I believe this new turn of events calls for a double date, my angel."

Rhonda, having been jolted from her momentary daze, took a large step away from her crude admirer and shuddered. "Ew!" She exclaimed, pressing a hand to her chest dramatically. "They, let alone you, are the last people I wish to associate myself with, you little creep!" She turned away from him, her face in the air as she moved behind Nadine who remained indifferent to the picture that everybody else continued to stare at.

"I still can't believe it," Stinky thought aloud, cocking his head at the picture that Sid appeared to be holding onto for dear life. It was precious, he'd decided the night before. Any kid with that type of information gained instant respect. So far he'd received the kinds of reactions he'd hoped for. He shuffled his feet slightly, wanting to get into class already, feeling a little anxious about a few of the responses he was sure to get later in the day. Despite this, the hysterical nature of the situation made up for it and he smirked to himself before lowering his guard slightly. It rose again almost straight away, however, as two figures joined the rest of their class, waiting eagerly to start their Monday morning purely because they wanted to get it over and done with.

"What's so funny, you guys?"

Sid sighed once more as the voice of another friend rang in his ears. "Over here, Gerald," he beckoned, watching the boy push past Stinky and Harold, an eyebrow raised expectantly. Another boy followed him, poking his face over Gerald's shoulder to see what the fuss was about.

"Arnold, you have to see this," Harold croaked urgently, to which the blond boy simply turned his attention back to Sid.

Sid held his breath in anticipation of what his two more sane friends would make of his and Stinky's discovery the previous day. The reaction he got, however, wasn't exactly the most entertaining. Gerald squinted at the white writing, secured within a huge love-heart. Suddenly his eyebrows shot up and he turned his head to glance at his best friend who seemed just as... shocked? Arnold's face fell slightly as his eyes bore into the all too familiar childish way of expressing one's feelings. The last time something like this happened, due to the terrible rumour it spread among his friends, he'd been forced to spend time with someone he didn't particularly have strong feelings for and, as a result, changed his mind and ended up agreeing with the lie. "Arnold loves Lila". He remembered the whole ordeal far too clearly and how it had indirectly caused his heart to be broken.

Gerald coughed, attempting to take influence from Arnold and keep his cool. "Who woulda thought..." he trailed off, snorting despite his efforts to contain his amusement. "Do you think it's true?" He glanced at Arnold who's expression hadn't changed once. He seemed a little distant. Confused and slightly saddened by the photograph. "Arnold?"

"What?" Arnold met Gerald's questioning stare, finally considering his question. "Oh, uh..." Everyone now appeared to be waiting for his reply. It annoyed him a little, knowing every one of his friends always hung off his last word. Sure, it was flattering most of the time but it was also tiring, trying to please everyone at once. "I guess it could be. I mean, it's no stranger than-" he stopped himself before he said something he would regret. If truth be told, he honestly had no idea. It could be a horrible prank; the same culprit who set him and Lila up the last time. "I really don't know."

Everyone looked away, disinterested with his feeble answer. Relieved that the attention on him had been alleviated, he glanced back at the photograph warily. If it was a joke, he supposed it was kind of funny. Well, until the victims found out, of course. Then he dreaded to think what would happen.

...

Helga G. Pataki began to sink lower in her seat for the fifth time in one hour. For some reason unbeknownst to her, her fellow peers were being even more unforgiving than usual. Their teasing, that they felt necessary to throw at her at any given opportunity, filled the fourth grade classroom in a taunting chorus. This wasn't a rare occurrence and Helga had wondered why complaints hadn't been directed their way from the surrounding classrooms.

It wasn't the mockery that had her practically disappearing beneath her desk. No, the childish insults were rather justified if she really thought about it. Her behaviour when it came to her classmates' own humiliation was, on occasion, ten times as cruel. She was known for turning several people against one individual, inflicting "accidental" physical pain upon them and striking fear into anyone who got in her way. Although this was common knowledge, which Helga was quite proud of, she still felt ashamed despite herself. Not that she'd ever admit it. To anyone. Besides, they often intentionally provoked her so what were a few empty yet extremely convincing threats?

Helga glanced over at the one thing that did bother her about this embarrassing state of affairs. The blond boy in the row in front of her appeared to be the only kid in class to remain with his eyes locked on the board where Mr Simmons, their slightly-too-nice-for-his-own-good teacher stood, unsure what to do about the raucous. Arnold looked kind of stiff, his shoulders hunched as Helga's name was called across the classroom. She prayed that he was too dense to know what they were talking about... if she knew what they were talking about. She had a pretty good idea and if her assumption was correct, her whole reputation was about to be flushed down the toilet. Dead. Just like Eugene's fish.

Although she'd been trying to block out the horrific cackles coming from behind her left shoulder, Helga suddenly caught the end of the craziest insinuation she'd ever heard. Harold Berman, after making a drawn out "aw" noise that made Helga wince violently, yelled at the top of his lungs, "Helga loves Brai-ny!"

The blonde pre-teen whipped around in her seat, wide-eyed and extremely pale. "What?!" She exclaimed, forcing Harold and his two giggling companions' laughter to abruptly die down, and with it, the rest of the class shushed each other in order to listen to her retaliation. The three boys stared back at her, just as confused by her reaction as she was by Harold's bold statement. "Where did you get a stupid idea like that?!" The corner of her brow raised as she studied the boys now glancing between one another. If she hadn't already been sure he had been about to blow her darkest secret, she would have been far more hostile. The fact that the name Harold uttered was, in fact, her admirer, as opposed to her admiree, sent a calming yet confused jolt of emotion through her body. In one way, she felt as if she could hug the idiotic fool and in another, she wanted to sock his dumb face to Jupiter.

"Harold!" Sid hissed at him, refusing to meet Helga's intimidating glare. Harold caught on and whined loudly at his own mistake.

"Awww, I'm so stupid!" He'd forgotten their agreement;make fun of Helga Pataki until she can't take it any more but don't tell her why until she snaps!

"You chuckle-heads better tell me what's going on right now, or I swear I'll..." she growled, standing up to loom over a now terrified Sid and raising her fist slightly, ground it into her palm. All embarrassment that she'd felt before had left Helga as pure fury took over.

She wasn't mad at what Harold had said. Any idiot could see that Brainy just plain irritated her. In fact, he was the most pointless person in her opinion. Who needs someone breathing down your neck when you're trying to have a moment alone, anway? No, what angered her the most was the fear Harold had struck into her sinking heart. It all happened way too fast. She'd entered the room slightly late, a few snickers erupting from the back of the classroom. Mr Simmons had begun his Monday morning spiel about how he hoped everyone had had a good weekend and turned to write the title of his new lesson plan. Before she knew it, everyone was pointing and laughing at her. Rhonda had called in a sickeningly sweet yet horrifically patronising tone that she needn't be shy about her "secret". That's when her stomach had lurched and her eyes darted to a very rigid Arnold. Had he told them? He wouldn't...

"Helga, please!" Mr Simmons called to the infuriated girl who spun around, too relieved to actually want to finish confronting the rest of the class. So, they didn't know. Good. Mr Simmons looked a little taken aback by her compliance and moved to settle her peers down as well.

Although Helga couldn't help but relax into the sudden relief of knowing that her secret was still safe, she still wondered why on earth Harold had said that. Oh well. She couldn't worry about that now. Maybe it was a ruse to get her back up for some stupid reason. Besides, Harold, Sid and Stinky weren't exactly her favourite people and she knew that the feeling was mutual. Then again, what did Rhonda mean by her "secret" comment? And why was Arnold so tense about the whole ordeal? Well one thing was for sure; Helga Pataki wasn't about to let this slide. She'd get answers even if it killed her. Criminy, she thought to herself, once again sinking behind her desk, too worked up to focus on what Mr Simmons was saying. It's Monday morning and I've already been ridiculed and jeered at. She scowled at the thought, only glancing up in time to see Arnold give her a swift quizzical look before sheepishly turning away.

Dun dun dun! Again, please review if you'd like me to continue this. I have every intention to do so but I'd like some feedback because this is my first Hey Arnold fic! Adios until chapter two...