On my last story, I said that I wouldn't be writing for a while, and it's partly because I have already written all that I wanted to write and have finished so far, along with school keeping me busy. But today is my buddy Jade's (Jadeykins) birthday, so I made time to make this ArnoldxHelga song fic as her present. It's "Can You Feel the Love Tonight," one of my favorite songs from The Lion King, one of my favorite Disney films ever.

Did you know that this song had several different versions before the final version in the film? There was even one where only Timon and Pumbaa sang! Here is the link to that version, and it's not exactly a romantic song, if you ask me: http: / / www . youtube . com / watch ?v=j_btCgH3Akw. Another version was storyboarded where some of its lyrics match those in the Elton John version. It does not include Pumbaa and Timon, and is sung by the two lions and the choir. Here is the link to that version: http: / / www . youtube . com / watch ?v=XIw3QHWtYtA.

Jade also made a music vid of this song for me, although the vid is of the Elton John version, and this is the version sung by the characters in the film.

This is post-TJM, by the way. (And like my last song fic, some inspiration for the content of this song fic came from limey's a plus h.)

Happy birthday, Jade! Hope you like this!

They just didn't understand it, not at all.

Most of the kids in Mr. Simmons's fifth grade class at P.S. 118 didn't get it, and "it" was the budding romantic relationship between Arnold, their football-headed friend and main voice of reason, and Helga Pataki, the pig-tailed class bully.

And yet, they knew there was something strange going on between them ever since they returned from their class trip to San Lorenzo.

I can see what's happening (What?)
And they don't have a clue (Who?)
They'll fall in love and here's the bottom line
Our trio's down to two (Oh)

There were hints that something was changing between them on the plane ride home, but no one said anything as they didn't have exact proof.

Rhonda was the first to notice something, as she liked to gossip and be nosy. Even though she once made a love calculator that predicted that Arnold and Helga would one day wed, she eventually concluded that the two of them were total opposites, a complete mismatch. She thought that Arnold paired up better with Lila, no doubt.

Stinky, Sid, and Harold also found the idea of Arnold and Helga together very amusing, but at the same time, they believed the two were very mismatched. Of course, being immature boys, they didn't know much about love, and thus they also thought the idea of Arnold and Helga being romantically involved with each other was very disgusting.

These four were the ones who were really against Arnold and Helga as a couple. The rest of the kids thought it was weird, but didn't make as big a fuss about it. And some of them accepted it more than Rhonda and the three boys.

Ze sweet caress of twilight
There's magic everywhere
And with all this romantic atmosphere
Disaster's in the air

Being Helga's best friend and knowing her secret love for Arnold, Phoebe not only accepted it and kept it, but she was happy for the both of them. Gerald, on the other hand, was initially weirded out, especially since he didn't see Helga the way Arnold did, not to mention he had witnessed them kissing in San Lorenzo. But in time, he grew happy for Arnold since his best friend had finally found a girl he truly loved (given Arnold's past bad luck with girls).

Though he was her stalker for years, Brainy was more than happy that Helga finally had her love reciprocated by Arnold. He kept her secret quiet and he knew just how much the couple meant to each other. And Lila, of course, had learned Helga's secret direct from Helga herself, and kept it quiet like she promised. Since she never reciprocated Arnold's crush on her, which had ended before Arnold realized that he and Helga were meant for each other, she felt happy for Helga since she finally got what she wanted at long last, and she was happy for Arnold since he loved Helga just as much as Helga loved him.

Of course, no one felt better about the relationship more than Arnold and Helga themselves.

Can you feel the love tonight?
The peace the evening brings
The world, for once, in perfect harmony
With all its living things

Arnold's new relationship with Helga was very different than how it used to be. Though he was teased and pranked on by Helga for years, it never got through to his head that she picked on him so much because she liked him. She had always claimed to hate him, even though the feeling wasn't mutual.

Helga finally confessed the truth to him on the rooftop of the FTi building when he discovered that she was the mysterious stranger, Deep Voice, who was secretly helping him save their neighborhood. She did it in a crazed manner, complete with a passionate outburst and a forceful and longing kiss right on his lips!

Needless to say, Arnold was very freaked out and confused by her confession, but all of her actions clearly told him that she was telling the truth.

Arnold's response to her confession was that he said he needed to think things through in regards to his feelings for her. Upon learning how Helga truly felt about him, he did not have the immediate conclusion that he loved her, but he also did not flat-out hate her, either. He could tell that she wanted to be loved, specifically by him, but he knew he had think about whether or not he felt the same way before giving her a straight answer. He knew he couldn't fake it, because he didn't want to hurt her and lead her on. He wanted to be fair and honest with her and himself.

Before she had even confessed, Arnold knew did like her when she was being her good self, and at times, he even liked her devious behavior and sarcastic remarks. Without a doubt, he cared about her immensely, despite all that she had done to him in the past.

So did he love her? Did he feel the same way? He honestly did not know.

So many things to tell her
But how to make her see
The truth about my past? Impossible!
She'd turn away from me

After they had saved their neighborhood, Arnold had gotten Helga to agree her confession of love was just in the "heat of the moment," and Helga ultimately denied everything she said. While his reaction was surprising to her, namely since he didn't reciprocate her feelings, she was also relieved that he didn't give her a flat-out rejection, like she had always feared.

As time passed since the incident, Helga and Arnold still interacted with each other, but they acted like her confession didn't happen. She had gone back to her usual bullying ways, though they had decreased some since she knew that they wouldn't have the same effect on Arnold now that he knew that she loved him.

Arnold kept taking more time to think about his feelings at the same time Helga was waiting for his answer. There were times when waiting made her impatient, but she also became more and more nervous since he had been taking so long to think about his feelings, making her worry that he still might say no, and that he was eluding her.

He's holding back, he's hiding
But what, I can't decide
Why won't he be the king I know he is
The king I see inside?

During the time that Helga was waiting for Arnold's response, Arnold had begun to see Helga in a new light, and started to fall for her little by little at a time.

On their journey in San Lorenzo, shortly before they went home and after they found Arnold's parents, he finally confessed to Helga that he did feel the same way, and he kissed her on her lips to prove it. (His confession and kiss were not as passionate as Helga's had been, but all the truth was clearly there in his actions.)

This brought a shock to Helga initially, but when it wore off, well,…there were too many words to describe how she felt that her beloved finally reciprocated her feelings and even kissed her on his own terms!

Can you feel the love tonight?
The peace the evening brings
The world, for once, in perfect harmony
With all its living things

After their trip, Arnold and Helga became a couple. Neither of them had changed too much since they started going together, though Helga had begun to shed some of defenses with encouragement from Arnold. He knew how scared and worried she was of being teased by their classmates if word got out about their romantic relationship. But he told her that it wasn't important what everyone else thought; only what he and Helga thought.

Helga felt that she loved Arnold even more with his kind and helpful words, as no one but him could help her be her real self.

The more time Arnold and Helga spent together, the more they realized that they felt so comfortable together and loved each other so much that they didn't care anymore about what the others thought.

Can you feel the love tonight?
You needn't look too far
Stealing through the night's uncertainties
Love is where they are

So while Arnold and Helga were happy with each other, their respective best friends were happy for them, and a few of the other kids didn't care so much, this relationship still didn't sit too well with Rhonda, Harold, Stinky, and Sid.

As Arnold and Helga began spending more time together, they were worried that Arnold was losing his mind for going out with a girl who always teased him and claimed to hate him. Hanging out with Helga might rub off some of his goodness, and that he would never be around to give advice or help them with their problems again.

They didn't know what would happen in the long run, but they were sure that Arnold would never be the same person again as long as he was going out with Helga…

And if he falls in love tonight
It can be assumed
His carefree days with us are history
In short, our pal is doomed…