So this was an idea that was supposed to be written over a year ago. I had been on a huge Hey Arnold streak and after watching The Journal and knowing The Jungle Movie was at one point supposed to be a thing, as well as my compulsive need to finish series' that I deem incomplete, I really wanted to do this. But alas The Jungle Movie was not a thing and I didn't know where to go with it so I left it undone.

Then a week ago I was scrolling through TV channels and The Jungle Movie was on! I had NO idea they were actually making this movie and it was absolutely AMAZING! And of course, I was inspired to finish the story I'd had in mind for a really long time.

I've never written a Hey Arnold story before despite it being one of my favorite 90s Nick shows...one of my favorite shows in general honestly. And I've always shipped Arnold and Helga, especially after watching The Jungle Movie.

So sit back, enjoy, and let me know what you think of it!

Chapter 1:

Helga walked down the street with Phoebe carrying pool bags and towels with their flip flops slapping the hot pavement. They were on their way to Rhonda's mansion for her annual end of summer pool party.

Helga was dreading it.

It wasn't so much the pool party itself she dreaded. She welcomed any opportunity to spend time with her friends and Rhonda's pool parties never disappointed. She was fully prepared to beat Gerald in a swimming race across the pool, beat Harold in a pizza eating contest, and have some reason to chase Curly around the yard whacking him with pool noodles. All of those things she looked forward to. What she dreaded was one person who would surely be there: Arnold.

He had spent the summer on a trip to San Lorenzo with his parents. She hadn't seen him since the last day of school in May and their last interaction hadn't gone well.

It had been three years since they ended their first try at a relationship. They had gone on a class trip to San Lorenzo at the end of their fifth grade year and through a long series of events, she confessed her undying love for him, helped to wake his parents from the sleeping sickness that had infected the Green-Eyed People, and they'd had their first kiss. It was the moment she had always dreamed of and the relationship that followed was something out of her wildest dreams.

It stayed that way for a little while. She was an idiot and she knew it. She was terrible at expressing feelings, and she hated herself to this day for not being able to give the one guy who had ever given her the time of day the love that he so effortlessly showed to her. They dated for one year, nine months, and three days. He ended things the week before their 7th grade homecoming dance. She cried her eyes out for days behind closed doors. She told everyone she was sick so she wouldn't have to go to that dance and see him and risk breaking down in tears in front of him. They didn't speak for a month after that. By December they would at least say hi to each other in the hallways. Eventually they were able to play on the same softball team and sit next to each other at lunch without feeling too awkward. But everytime she saw him, a lump formed in her throat and she wondered what their life would have been like now if she was a more sensitive person.

Despite all of this, she never got over him. Her shrine to him in her closet was still in tact and sitting by it at night while she wrote poetry about him and fantasized about what could have been brought her a little bit of comfort. She got jealous whenever she saw him talk to another girl, even though as far as she knew he hadn't dated anyone since her. She kept herself updated on his life through Phoebe who was still dating his best friend Gerald.

It wasn't enough though. She knew that the only way she was going to have some kind of closure in her life was to tell him how she felt.

One day, in May, she came out of class and froze when she saw him at his locker. She looked at him for a moment, heart pounding.

"Come on Helga, you can do this," she said to herself. "It's just football head." She walked towards him not paying attention to where she was going as she thought of what she was going to say.

The next thing she knew she collided with someone and her stuff was all over the floor. "Shit!" she exclaimed as she bent down to pick her things up.

"I'm sorry, let me…"

When she looked up she was face to face with him. A few strands of blonde hair fell into his face. She became lost in his green eyes. Their faces were inches away from each other, she could feel his breath on her face, it still smelled like spearmint. She could have leaned in and kissed him.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

She nodded. "Y-Yeah, I'm fine."

He picked up all of her books and papers and they stood up. He handed her her stuff back. She shivered as his hand brushed against hers. He didn't move it. He also didn't remove his gaze from hers. Her heart was pounding and her face was burning. She cursed herself for allowing anyone, let alone him, to have this kind of effect on her.

He inched closer to her. "Helga, I…"

He what? Was he sorry? Did he want to get back with her? Or was he going to tell her that he still hated her and all of the hopes and dreams she'd had since kindergarten were nothing but jokes? All she knew was that her heart couldn't handle the latter. Instead of pulling him in for a kiss like she so desperately wanted to do, she glared at him and snatched her hand back.

"How about you watch where you're going football head?!" she spat at him.

The gentle look in his eyes was immediately replaced with a glare of his own. "Never mind." He stomped past her and didn't look back.

She watched him walk down the hallway. "What is wrong with me?" she whispered to herself. She had probably ruined her chance to get back together with him. She watched him turn the corner. He didn't turn around. He didn't come back to hold her and tell her everything was going to be okay like he used to.

She walked back in the opposite direction holding back tears.

He didn't speak to her anymore after that. Normally they would at least make eye contact in the hallways, but now he wouldn't even glance in her direction. Did she really mess up that badly?

"What's up with you?" Phoebe asked her as they were leaving school at the end of the day.

"What do you mean what's up with me?" she said focusing her sad gaze straight ahead so she wouldn't give anything away.

But of course Phoebe was her best friend and she knew when Helga was trying to hide something. "You've been so quiet. What's wrong? Is it Arnold?"

Helga looked at her shock. "What makes you think it's Arnold?!" she said defensively.

"It's always Arnold."

She sighed. "I blew it Phoebs. I tried to talk to him last week and tell him I miss him and...I ruined it. I miss him and...I don't know how to make him see it."

"Well if you like him, you'd better go ahead and tell him. Gerald told me he might go out with Lila."

"WHAT?!" Helga shouted earning stares from a few people. She gripped Phoebe by the shoulders. "You've got to be kidding me! Tell me you're joking!"

"Well, apparently he wants to move on and since Lila is always flirting with him…"

Helga ran her hands through her hair. "This is not happening. I've got to go find him."

They exited the school and Helga froze at the top of the stairs when she saw Arnold and Lila talking. He had his hands in his pockets and that warm smile on his face while Lila looked at him coyly and tossed her hair. Helga's hands clenched into fists when Lila made him laugh.

"I'm sure it doesn't mean anything Helga...Helga?" Phoebe saw her walking towards them and knew this couldn't be good.

Arnold walked off to go home and Lila was left looking after him. Helga was going to give her a piece of her mind. "Hey, Lila!"

Lila turned to face her and the smirk was clear on her face. "Oh, hello Helga."

"Who do you think you are?!" Helga said angrily.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Lila said innocently.

"Don't play dumb with me! What's with you talking to Arnold?"

Lila twisted a strand of red hair around her finger. "Well Helga, as far as I know you broke up with Arnold, um, excuse me, he broke up with you. He's allowed to talk to whoever he wants and if he wants to date someone else then who are you to tell him he can't?" She tossed her hair so that Helga caught a whiff of her shampoo. "Quite frankly, I think he'd be better off with a girl who can actually show him that she cares about him, don't you think?"

With that she walked off leaving Helga steaming with anger.

The last time she saw him was on the last day of the school year. They were in the same class taking their last final exam. He sat a few seats in front of her in the next row over so she could see him perfectly and she was distracted for the entire test. Through answering easy English questions, poetry and creative writing were her strong point, she was formulating what she was going to say to him and willing herself to not mess up. She finished her test early but waited until he was done before getting up to turn in her test.

He left the room and she followed close behind him. "Hey, Arnold," she said when they were out of the classroom.

"Oh, hey Helga," he said sticking his hands in his pockets. She knew it was his nervous habit. He wouldn't make eye contact with her.

"Some test huh?"

"Yeah, I wrote about 'The Raven' compared to all the other stuff we read."

"Me too!" He had always shared her love of poetry and she was thrilled to know that he still did.

A smile touched his face. Maybe she still had a chance. "Arnold...listen, I…"

"Helga, I really have to go. My parents and I are going to San Lorenzo for the summer and I have to get ready to go."

Her heart sank. "For the whole summer?"

He rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah...I'll be back at the end of August."

"Oh, I see," she said disappointedly. If he was going away for the whole summer there was no way he could be dating Lila...right? Well...have fun."

Helga and Phoebe approached Rhonda's mansion where music could be heard from the backyard. "Do you think he'll be here?" Helga asked.

"I'm not sure," Phoebe said. She noticed how distressed her friend looked. "Look, Helga, don't worry about it. Whether he's here or not, just try to have fun."

Helga nodded and tried to pull herself together. "I'll be fine."

They went into the backyard and Rhonda, looking like a supermodel in a red string bikini greeted them. "Oh my god, you're finally here! It's about time!"

Helga scanned the yard. Nadean and Sheena were dancing with Sid and Stinky to "Cake By The Ocean." Harold pushed Eugene into the pool and he promptly panicked and thought he was drowning even though he was in three feet of water. Then she saw him. He was sitting in a pool chair with Gerald drinking cans of Sprite and laughing at Eugene. He looked even more handsome than she remembered. He must have just gotten out of the pool because his hair was damp. He wore a pair of blue swim trunks with Hawaiian flowers on them. He wasn't as thin and lanky as she remembered, he had gained a bit of muscle over the summer. And he had gotten quite a tan in San Lorenzo.

She started to dread the party even more.