DISCLAIMER: Again, I don't own anything that has to do with Hey Arnold! I write. That is all. :)

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HELGA'S POV

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I uncrossed my legs as I shifted in my seat. After what I saw yesterday, I didn't want to talk to these people right now. But they've never given me much of a choice anyway.

I looked out the window. It was a small diner. We had gotten a booth but I had refused to order anything. I could feel them staring at me, but no one said a word. I bit my lip.

"About P.S. 118..."

"Enough about that school!" I whined, clutching the table tightly. "I told you before that I didn't want to go back and I'm sticking to it, Bob!"

"But don't you miss any of your little friends?" He asked me. I looked at him funny. His voice seemed to change a little when he asked that question.

"No."

"Well criminy,Olga! Where do you want to go to school??" He said again, a bit irritated this time.

"It's Helga, dad, and I don't want to go to school." I said simply. I watched him shut his mouth and sit back on the couch, only to be comforted by Miriam.

"Ch." I grunted. "Not like we can afford school anyway..." I murmured quietly.

The waitress finally arrived, carrying their food. Big Bob was eating like a pig again. I stared at him coldly, wondering what it would be like if he got a heart attack and left us alone in the world, just Miriam and I.

"It would be much better anyway..."

I looked at the sun as it slowly disappeared behind the tall buildings in Hillwood. The town sure has changed ever since we left. I had missed it terribly when we were expanding the family business. I shook my head slowly.
No, there is no family business anymore. It went bankrupt, just like that. And here we are again in Hillwood just like before, only now we're stone cold broke.

"Maybe we shouldn't have come back..." I heard Bob say gently. It surprised me to hear him talk like that, especially to me.

"Whatever." I said, a bit angry. Why did he only realize that now? I looked outside the window again, but this time, my heart stopped beating.

"Check, please."

I don't know what possessed me to go outside, but I did anyway. Bob and Miriam didn't even stop me. The sun was setting as I burst open the door of the diner and it made my eyes hurt, but I could still see him.

Arnold.

"Ar-"I began to call out but froze, remembering that he didn't know who I was. To him I was just another girl who couldn't care less about the people around her.

"Some juvenile delinquent... to him."

My eyes were still following him as he walked down the street. He was looking for someone, since he kept darting his head from side to side.
Suddenly, he stopped.

I couldn't believe my eyes. I had stopped myself all this time from believing it was true, especially after what happened in the park...but...but...

I closed my eyes and ran. I could feel my black hair clinging to my face but I didn't care. I opened my eyes slightly, and the whole world was a blur.

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ARNOLD'S POV

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"Wow Lila. You look... great!" I said as I walked up to the redhead. She was blushing slightly.

"Of course, Arnold. I wouldn't want you to see me when I'm not at my best"
She replied, a bit hesitantly. I smiled.

"So where to?" I asked, grabbing her hand.

"Um, I was thinking... maybe we could watch a movie?" she said, tightening her grip on me.

"Sure. C'mon!" We started walking towards the theatre. My mind was whirling. A while ago, we werent even speaking to each other. The next thing I know, we're on a date, watching a movie together. I glanced at Lila. She was smiling and she looked so happy. I could feel myself turn red.

"This is what you wanted Arnold." I told myself silently. "The girl of your dreams is yours and right now, everything is just the way you want it to be."

It was true. Happiness was building up inside me moment by moment and now I don't know why I didn't accept Lila's feelings sooner. Guess it just took a phone call to pull me back to my senses.

"Of course, Arnold, You love Lila, no one else."

"Huh?"

'No, It's nothing." I said quickly, giving Lila a small smile. She looked at me funny, but didn't say anything. We arrived at the movie theatre soon afterwards. There weren't many movies to choose from, but we decided on the theatre anyway since it was the closest to where we were.

"So what do you wanna watch?" I asked casually, although my gaze was lingering at a very popular horror movie.

"I thought you'd never ask! Why, I would ever so want to watch this, Arnold!" Lila replied happily, pointing towards 'Don't Say Goodbye...' the movie that was voted for best romance flick of the year. I tried my best to stifle a groan.

"Um, good choice. I'll go buy the tickets." I said, walking away from her,
trying to hide my disappointment. Surprisingly, there was a really long line over at the ticket booth. I sighed, not out of disappointment, but rather relief to have a few moments to myself before seeing that annoying movie in a theatre full of sighing women.

"Oh for- Pick up the pace, will ya?? Criminy!" I heard a gruff voice yell behind me. I could hear the rest of the people respond eagerly as well.

"Now Bob... just try to control your temper, please?" I heard a soft voice consoling the man. "Try to be more patient... just this once."

"Alright Miriam..." I heard him mutter softly. "But if I'm not getting my tickets in a few minutes, I swear I will hit somebody!"

I cringed at the sound of his voice. This was someone I would not want to upset. Fortunately it was my turn in no time and I set off toward Lila again once I had the tickets. I could see her talking with Rhonda and Nadine.

"There you are, Arnold! What took you so long?" she asked as soon as she saw me.

"Long lines..." I replied. "Hey Rhonda. Hey Nadine."

"Hey." They both replied in unison. "So, I heard from Lila that you guys are going to watch 'Don't Say Goodbye...' right?" Rhonda asked me. I nodded my head. "Well," she continued. "Nadine and I are watching that movie as well! So I thought we could all watch it together!" she squealed. Then paused. "That is, of course, if we're not gonna bother you on your date... hmm?"

"I ever so wouldn't mind." Lila said, glancing at me.

"Neither would I." I said blankly.

"Then it's settled! Come on Lila! Lets go find some seats while Arnold goes back to buy us some food!" Rhonda said, grabbing Lila by the arm. I could hear her yelp in surprise.

"Us? That's pretty presumptuous, don't you think, Rhonda?" I replied, slightly annoyed at her. Rhonda gave me a sarcastic smile.
"Whatever." I shrugged, turning around. I could hear them disappearing into the theatre.

"There goes my allowance..." I murmured as I headed toward the snack bar.

"Hey! Pork rinds! Maybe I should buy her one of these..." Came the almost too familiar voice of the man from the line at the booth. This time, he was in front of me. He had a very big build and gray hair, which contrasted greatly with his green polo. Funny though, he reminded me of someone, but I couldn't quite pin point who.

"If it's a peace offering you're looking for, I don't think it'll work.
Besides, she hasn't eaten those in ages." came the voice of his companion,
a skinny middle-aged woman. I could tell that the man at the counter was getting quite impatient at the two of them. I chuckled softly to myself,
but apparently, the man heard me.

"You there! The football-headed kid!" The man said, pointing to me. I gulped.

"Me?" I said, a bit hesitantly.

"Yes you! I wanna ask you something??" He said, this time, raising his voice. I looked at him, my mind filling with uneasiness, but I didn't say anything.
"Look," he said after a while, his voice growing softer. "How old are you?"

"S-sixteen." I replied, still unsure whether I should my reveal personal information to this loud stranger. He grinned brightly.

"Perfect. You're perfect!"

"Um, perfect for what?" I asked, a bit confused.

"Well kid, I have a daughter and I wanna get her some sort of gift but I don't know what. She's just your age so I figure a guy like you would be able to know what the ladies want..." he said, grabbing me by the shoulder. I stared at him, more unsure now than confused. He sighed.

"Don't worry. I'll give you some money to spend. Here you go." He said handing me two dollars.

"Two dollars?" I gasped at the change in my hand. "It's kinda-"

"I told you it's not enough!" The woman said, whacking him lightly on the head.

"But it's all I have!" he protested, rubbing the spot where she had hit him on. I stared, a bit bewildered. For someone who only has two dollars, he didn't look like it. Wearing a Lacoste polo and a Rolex watch, he looked far from poor.

"Wait a minute. How can you trust me so easily with this? You don't even know me! I mean, i could just take the money and leave. You'd probably never see me again." Arnold butted in, still not willing to believe that the whole situation was actually happening.

"He's right you know." the woman agreed. The gruff man scoffed and paused for a second before speaking again.

"Well, you seem like a nice boy, and it's not that much money anyway. So whaddya say, kid?" he said, smiling a big smile that seemed more threatening than friendly.

"Look... I'll see what I can do, okay?" I said, putting it in my pocket. He seemed like the kind of man who wouldn't take no for an answer. "But how will I give you the gift?"

"Oh!" He exclaimed. "Here's our address! Be ready with the gift by next week." He said, scribbling something on a piece of paper before handing it to me. I quickly stuffed it into my pocket. They left without buying anything soon after, which I think really pissed off the employee at the snack counter.

"What would you like sir?" he asked me once it was my turn. I could tell he was only trying to be nice. I tried my best not to trouble him any more than i should.

"I'd like 3 orders of popcorn and 4 orders of Sprite, in your largest size, please."

"Would you like anything else, sir?" He asked again, looking up at me. I could hear my stomach growling. I smiled.

"Now that you mention it... how much for a bag of pork rinds?"

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AUTHOR'S NOTES:

I know it's kind of short compared to the first chapter, but I only stuck to the 6 chapters I wrote before and decided not to add anything new just yet. I made this chapter using character POV's, but starting Chapter 3, I'll write it the way that it was written in Chapter 1. Thanks for reading, and I hope to see more of your comments in the future. :)