Disclaimer: I do not own Hey Arnold!

Time Goes On Without You

By Moonlight

They say time heals all wounds. At first, Helga believed that to be a horrible, horrible lie. She felt like the person who first spoke those words would be shot in the face for how terribly wrong he was in saying such a thing.

It had be hard to go on with life after the events with Future Tech Industries. When she had poured her heart out to the boy she loved for years, and quite forcefully threw herself upon him. It's no wonder he had rejected her the way he did.

They had gotten off that bus and saved the neighborhood, but things were a bit shaky when they recalled her actions from the rooftops…

"So…" Arnold sidestepped away from the girl and tried to avert her eyes, "What you said back there… It was a joke, right?"

Helga felt the blood drain from her face. She had told him everything. About the shines, the poetry books, everything. She let her head hang and forced a small laugh. "Yeah… It was…" She wanted to tell him it was all true, but the look on his face said it all. He didn't feel the same way about her. It was painfully obvious. A part of her didn't want to admit it, but she felt like she'd lost a battle she'd been fighting since she was very young.

"It's all a joke…" she said, lifting her chin to reveal a smiling face, wet with tears.

Arnold, still avoiding looking at her, laughed nervously, "Great! Haha! I mean… you and me…? Maybe it's not such a good idea."

"Exactly!" she said, raising her voice to make him turn around, "So…!" she sniffled, her smile still pronounced across her face, "So… forget I said anything." She turned around to head home.

Arnold watched her walk away. The sunrise illuminating her figure brilliantly. Her tears were enough proof that she was lying. That everything she had said on the roof was true. An immediate guilt building up in his chest, but he didn't run after her. He did nothing, because he knew he didn't reciprocate her feelings.

Instead, he let her go.

Years had gone by since that day. Soon after those events, Helga had gone into a state of denial. Not believing any of that even happened, but soon grew to accept the sad truth, and fell into a state of depression. She felt as if she had nothing left to live for. To motivate her. To make her strive for something more. It was as if she had lost a huge part of her life, and she had become too weak to reach out and pull it back to her.

The teasing had stopped. The spit-wads ceased. Soon after, she had decided to throw away her shrines, her books. Her locket... She wanted to throw it away time and time again, but it was hard. She couldn't give in. So she decided to hold on to that one. Though, hidden deep in the back of her junk drawer where she felt she wouldn't dig for it.

To her, it was all done and over with when she burned her poetry books. She had begun a new collection. One dark and sad. Filled with murmurs of the hope she once had for the person she loved who is no more than just... another person, anymore.

At school, she didn't talk to Arnold. When he would greet her in the hallway, she would avoid him. Pretending she hadn't heard him. Many times, he had tried to strike up a conversation with her in class, but she couldn't handle the pressure and walked away to talk to someone else.

He knew why. It was blatantly obvious why she was avoiding him, but he didn't know what to do about it. To him, the whole ordeal was just a passing issue. He felt bad about it. About not stopping her. About not calling out to her and telling her everything was fine. What could he do now, except try to get passed it.

By the time high school was around the corner, Helga was offered a chance into the prestigious school Hillwood had as an alternative to high school. Redwater Academy for the gifted and advanced. It was a boarding school where the "smart" kids from the city went. Helga was smart. She had always been. But putting all of her focus on Arnold in the past had caused her to blur out her gifts. At first, she was hesitant towards the offer, but knowing Phoebe was going to be attending, she gave in and accepted. The plus side to attending would be that Arnold wouldn't be there. She wouldn't have to see him. She wouldn't have to remember he existed. It was an amazing chance for her to try to live her life without him. It hurt. It hurt a lot in the bottom of her heart, but she knew it would be better for her.

The summer before high school started was calm. She rarely spotted the boy out of the streets, except for the few occasions when she happened to walk passed Gerald Field on her way to Slausen's with Phoebe. Her best friend had caught her glancing at Arnold, and always reminded her of the possibilities of "perhaps finding someone better for" her. "Someone more suited to" her. And Helga thought long and hard about it. She wanted so much to be passed everything. Phoebe was right. Maybe she would find a nice boy in the Academy.

The last days of summer rolled around and Helga braced herself for her new life. A new field to walk on. She felt more ready than ever to move into her new school. Her bags were packed and set. Her mind was clear and calm. She looked at herself in the mirror and eyed the pigtails she had worn since she was a little girl. The pink bow sticking out from behind her like it always had.

"I guess..." she pulled on one end of the ribbon, undoing the bow. "... I don't need this anymore..."

She stared at the ribbon in her hand and sighed. That ribbon had meant the world to her from the moment Arnold had complimented it in preschool. And now... She had to let it go. She felt ready, but... A part of her, like the locket, didn't want it gone. Thinking about it for a minute, she decided to put it back on, but instead of the way she had it, she freed her pigtails and let her hair down. Then wrapped the ribbon around her like a headband, tieing it under her hair, at the base of her neck.

"...better." she said to herself and picked up her belongings. "You can do this, Helga."

Finally, she walked out of the house, into Olga's car and they made their way to Redwater Academy.

The drive to the Academy was short, as the school was just outside the town. The boys stepped out of the car and admired the old school building. The vast, colorful gardens surrounding the tall, Victorian style brick structure. It was like something out of a history book.

"Well, Arnold... I guess this is it." Gerald grabbed a suitcase out of the trunk, "Are you sure you're gonna be alright without me?"

The blonde boy laughed playfully and grabbed the other bag out of the car. "I'll be fine, Gerald. You'll only be a short drive away from Hillwood High. I can come by to see you."

Gerald smiled and led his friend up the concrete steps to towards the front doors of the school.

As they began to enter the building, they heard another car pull up behind them. A familiar voice spoke from inside the vehicle.

"Thanks, Olga."

"Of course, baby sister. I hope you enjoy your time here as much as I did." the woman smiled and hugged Helga goodbye before handing over her bags and driving off.

The boy watched her every move. He hadn't really seen Helga in quite some time. He had hoped to reconnect with her in the past summer, but she had been avoiding him, as usual. His heart ached for the visible damage his very childish response had caused her so many years ago. And now seeing her looking so... different. So refreshed. A part of him yearned to reach out and bring her back into his life. All this time, he'd spent thinking about her well being. It caused him countless sleepless nights. After worrying about her so much, his feelings had grown to be more of a fondness for the girl. He wouldn't yet call it love, but he feared it was teetering towards that direction. But what could he do now?

"Arnold. You coming?" Gerald asked impatiently

"Wait..." he replied, his eyes glued to the girl at the bottom of the steps. "...it's Helga."

Gerald let out a frustrated sigh, "You KNEW she was going to be coming here. Don't act surprised." he said, "Why are you so concerned about her anyway? She's stopped picking on you YEARS ago!"

Arnold wasn't listening as he watched the girl ascend the steps, only to stop dead in her tracks when her eyes fell upon his.

"Hello, Helga..."

Moonlight: Hey guys! I'm back again. I wanted to do a story where they're a bit older, so here 'tis. I hope this was sufficient enough to keep interest!
For those who asked, yes, I am thinking of working on a sequel to The Picture. It might be a while before I get to that, though.