Hello again guys! Chapter two is finally here! It's a bit longer than I anticipated it would be, but if you guys like it, that's just a plus for you lol. If any of the phrases I use here read a little awkwardly, I apologize. I try to experiment as much as possible when I write so it dosen't get stale or boring. Feel free to let me know what you think works and what you think dosen't.

I did my best to make the dialogue here realistic, going off my memories of the show. I hope Harold and Sid don't come off as too horrible here. The idea was to make them so shocked at finding out about Helga and Arnold's relationship that they say a lot of ridiculous stuff without putting much thought into it. One of the things I love about Hey Arnold is that even characters that initially appear one-dimensional and simple end up having layers of depth to them, and if I write Harold and Sid again I will definitely try to reflect that.

Anyways, enjoy the chapter!

As one might imagine, Helga G. Pataki was utterly over the moon that night, recalling the wonderful few hours she and Arnold had spent together. Truth be told, she was rather tired, but every time her mind began to linger on the memory of Arnold's confession, a restless fervor would take over her body and she would begin to toss and turn.

The way he held me...it dosen't even feel real. It was like a page straight out of one of my girlhood fantasies!

His voice had been so tender, his eyes full of nothing but love and warmth. "Criminy! A guy like him shouldn't even exist he's so darn perfect!" She cried, pounding her fists on her pillow.

And yet, he did exist. And now, he was hers.

She swallowed, her face filling with heat. "Now that he has confessed his love to me, I can't pretend things are the same between us out in public anymore," Helga thought out loud. If he reaches for my hand, how can I pull away now? He's already asked me on one date. I'm sure at least one person from our school noticed us walking alone together with our ice-cream. Well, besides Gerald of course. Obviously he already knows..." He face flushed anew from the memory of his (rude) interuption on their kiss, which had been followed shortly by Arnold's parents.

Then, a sudden thought occurred to Helga. "Wait a minute, it's possible Gerald's already blabbed to people about us. I mean, if it was Phoebe it's no big deal, but what about all the others?"

Helga wasn's sure how to feel about that. It wasn't that she was ashamed of her feelings or anything. But she knew it was more than likely people would tease or make fun of Arnold for dating his long-time tormentor and notorious bully. Just the thought of people belittling her beloved was enough to set Helga's temper aflame.

"If anyone even tries to say a word about us, I'll just pound em!" Helga resolved. However, her declaration was shortly followed by a mental image of Arnold's disaproving gaze and she sighed heavily.

"Dosen't look like that option is open to me anymore..."

A brief knock then came at Helga's door. "Baby sister? What's going on? I hear you talking to yourself again!" Olga's ditzy yet cheery voice came floating into the room, causing Helga's eyes to roll.

Oh criminy, just what I needed.

"Oh, nothing Olga, just being a troubled second child, as usual. You can leave now."

"Are you sure, baby-sister? I couldn't help noticing you sounded a little worried. Is there anything you feel like talking about?"

Helga grimmaced guiltily. Yes, Olga wasn't always easy to be around, with her overly peppy and positive attitude, but her heart was always in the right place, and Helga would be lying if she said this aspect of Olga hadn't grown on her over the years.

She sighed again. "I doubt it is something you would understand Olga, so if I were you I wouldn't bother trying," she said.

"You're not getting rid of me that easily, baby sister. I'm sure I can understand if you just tell me."

Helga looked away. "Fine. Alright. Let's say, you like a guy, and you figure out he likes you back, but all his friends...well, they see you as more of a gorilla in a pink dress than an actual girl. Now, you don't give a crud what those idiots think, but you don't want the guy to suddenly be ostracized from all his friends on your account. So, if you can't beat them up, how are you supposed to resolve the issue?"

'Jeez, getting that out was harder than I thought it would be,' Helga thought, but before she could say anything else, she found herself being glomped by an ecstatic, hysterical Olga.

"Ooooh, baby-sister! I'm so happy for you! You're in love! Oh, you're growing up so fast I can hardly keep up anymore!"

"Ah! Cut it out Olga!" Helga cried, prying herself from Olga's embrace. "You trying to kill me or something?!"

"Oh, I'm sorry, I'm just so happy for you!" Olga squealed, reliquishing her crushing embrace. "But there is just one thing I don't understand; why would anyone think you look like a gorilla?"

Helga's expression went deadpan. "You're kidding me, right?"

Olga shook her head. "Of course not! You've always been pretty, baby-sister! That boy of yours is a lucky guy!"

Helga sighed. Olga was denser than a lead weight sometimes. "It's not just about looks, Olga. There's also...demeanor, ya know? I've never exactly exuded femininity like you do."

"Oh, don't be silly Helga! I'll bet you Arwin dosen't think that at all!"

"It's Arnold, actually-"

"Why, in his eyes, I'm sure there is nothing about you he would change. You have to be proud of who you are, no matter what! Besides, if anyone was mean enough to say anything about you two, I'm sure Arwin wouldn't care a whit what they thought," Olga finished with an emphatic nod.

Helga hated to admit it, but Olga had a point. Arnold certainly gave no sign the other day that there was anything to be concerned about. And there was also the fact that he had grabbed her hand in public. Surely if someone said something, he either wouldn't care, or he would defend her, wouldn't he? When Helga thought of it like that, suddenly her fears seemed unfounded. Ludicrous, really.

My God...Olga actually helped me just now. Have I entered another dimension or something?!

"I think you're right, actually," Helga admitted. "Um...thanks Olga."

Olga smiled from ear-to-ear. "Any time, baby-sister! You'll see! Everything will be just wonderful for you and Arwin!"

"Arnol-"

"Well, it's getting late. I'll let you get to sleep now. You've got another big day tomorrow! Nighty-night!" Then Olga shut the door, and that was that.

Helga snuggled deep under her comforter, trying to allow sleep to wash over her.

I've been so dumb. Arnold's friends aren't so shallow and cruel that they would judge him for who he dated. And I may not ooze girlyness like Olga or Lila, but who cares? So what if I'm not a girly-girl? Arnold still likes me, and that's all that matters.

Feeling more than satisfied with her reasoning, Helga soon drifted easily into a deep sleep.

Helga stepped outside the next morning and discovered that Arnold had been waiting for her on her front steps. He gave her a shy smile that instantly melted her heart. Like a stick of butter thrown into a pool of lava.

"Hey, Helga. I um, thought we could walk to school together so I decided to wait for you here today," Arnold said, sounding kind of embarassed.

"Well, I can see that, obviously," Helga said, trying to sound nonchalant even as giddiness was consuming her entire body. She was also pretty sure she was blushing.

Helga stepped down to stand beside him, giving him a wry smile. "Well, lead the way, football-head," she said.

Arnold smiled back, and Helga fought to suppress a swoon. "Whatever you say, Helga."

The two of them walked a few blocks before running into Gerald and Phoebe, who were also on their way. Helga noticed they were holding hands, just as they had done a few days back.

"Hey guys. I think we have a test today," Gerald said, turning towards them. 'Is it just me,' Helga thought, 'Or is he smirking?' If he was, it was defnintely a playful smirk, not a mean one.

"Yeah, I think you're right," Arnold replied. Helga noticed his eyes were fixed on their hands. When Gerald and Phoebe started to walk again, Arnold turned to Helga.

"Um, Helga, would you mind if maybe we held hands today?" He asked, although he didn't meet her eye.

'Ohhhh, my dearest Arnold. How will my poor heart take much more of this?. "Sure, Arnold," she replied, taking his hand.

They had only been walking a little while when they heard a voice shout from behind them.

"Is that Arnold? Holding hands with HELGA?"

The two of them spun around to face Harold and Sid. Both of their bottom jaws had gone slack and they were staring, bug-eyed.

Helga felt her face burn, but she got over her embarassment quickly and went on the defensive. "That's right tubby! Ya got a problem with it or somethin?"

"Arnold, are you feeling alright buddy?" Sid said tentatively. "Do you need to go to the nurse when we get to school?"

Helga winced. Alright. That stung a little.

But to her surprise, Arnold did not buckle. "Cut it out guys. Helga she's..." he cleared his throat and despite his flushed cheeks, looked them both in the eye. "She's my girlfriend now."

Harold used all the remaining oxygen in his body to let out an explosive gasp. "WHAAAT? HELGA? BUT SHE'S NOT EVEN A REAL GIRL!"

Helga felt her embarassment mingle with hints of shame as heads of passersby began to turn their way.

Arnold's expression went from neutral to irritated. "Yes she is, Harold, and you both know what she did for my parents.

"So you're just going to allow gratitude to cloud your judgment, Arnold?" Sid chimed. "She's still Helga, after all. I mean, you'd be better off dating a rabid dog."

"You two must have a death wish or something," Helga said, cracking her knuckles and taking a step forward. "Funny. I thought you enjoyed life."

The two of them sheepishy chuckled and took a few steps back.

"Heheh...no need to get violent, Helga," Sid said. "We're just trying to counsel our pal Arnold. No offense..."

"Yeah, and if we don't look out for him, who else is gonna? I mean, he's obviously not in his right mind right now," Harold added.

I've had just about enough of this...

"Guys, that's enough," Arnold said firmly. "You might think you're helping me, but you're wrong, and worse than that, you're hurting Helga's feelings."

"Helga?! With feelings?!" Harold said, bursting out in an obnoxious fit of laughter. "Oh man, he must have forgotten who he's dealing with!"

"Yeah, I mean, who could ever hurt HELGA'S feelings?"

The two of them began laughing about this supposedly hysterical notion. Arnold by this point had rolled his eyes and turned away. Honestly. I'm surprised Helga didn't take a slug at them after all that. Even I was beginning to feel ready to.

However, it didn't take long before Arnold realized that Helga was gone.

Helga had retreated to the safety and seclusion of one of her favorite alleys, just a few blocks from the school. She leaned against a side wall, the rough brick chaffing against her arms. She felt the beginnings of a headache pound beneath her temples.

Jeez, I should have expected this. Maybe they aren't shunning Arnold, but they're definitely going to do whatever they can to pull him out of the state of madness they THINK he's fallen into.

She winced, recalling Sid's hurtful words. "Rabid dog, huh? Yeah, I guess maybe I deserved that. I mean, I was a religious tormentor of Arnold's for years. I should have known I couldn't get off totally scott free."

And yet, even as she said this to herself, the words were reechoing through her mind and cutting into her heart. A stab of irritation rushed through her as tears began to prickle her eyes.

"Helga, are you alright?"

She gasped, spinning around. Arnold was standing at the mouth of the alleyway, with a concerned look on his face.

He found me? This quickly?

"Listen, I'm really sorry you had to listen to all that," Arnold said. "Those guys...I thought they were more mature than this."

Helga turned away, crossing her arms. "Forget it, Arnoldo. I saw it all coming anyway. I just deluded myself into thinking I was wrong."

"Helga?"

Just keep talking. Don't let him know you were shaken. "Heh, remember how Harold said I'm not a real girl? Now that I think of it, that may be a problem for us down the road. You think if I make a wish on a star the Blue Fairy might come down and change me into a "real girl?"

Arnold came forward and put a hand on her shoulder. "Helga, look at me."

With a surprisingly strong hand, he made Helga turn around to face him directly. Helga hoped her eyes weren't red.

"Don't let what they said get to you. Not even for a second."

Helga's bottom jaw went slack. Arnold's face was so...resolute, and she could see the remnants of anger smoldering in his eyes. She rarely saw him like this. It was clear he was truly outraged, and not on his behalf, but for hers.

Helga couldn't resist. She let out her classic swoon.

"I'm going to have a talk with those guys later, and I'm going to tell them that if they ever say anything like that to you again, then our friendship will be over," Arnold said. Then, he rested a hand on Helga's cheek, the look in his eyes softening. "You are okay, aren't you Helga?"

Helga was impressed. They had been together for less than twenty-four hours, and yet his ability for reading her emotions was uncanny.

She couldn't help herself. She leaned into his touch and sighed. "I will be now," she whispered.

Arnold smiled. "Glad to hear it. Now come on, let's hurry or we'll be late."

Helga nodded, giving him a smile back. "Lead the way, football-head."

As they stepped out of the alley, Arnold took Helga's hand again.

And no matter what anyone said, she resolved that she wouldn't let go this time.