Hey guys! Once again I have to say thanks for the reviews, both compliments and criticisms. I'm trying to apply that to the future chapters. So this chapter is a little short (sorry), but I'm going to post number five as soon as I edit it, so it should be up today. Thank you to everyone who is giving this story of mine a chance!

Disclaimer: Craig Bartlett owns Hey Arnold, but I own the idea for this story :)

Chapter 4

Back home once more, Helga sat on her bed wracking her brain for a solution to this gold dilemma. She had been sitting there for about twenty minutes, and she was about to give up and see if she could find a different charm to help her. Dismayed, she pulled her Arnold locket out of her pocket and proceeded to launch into a monologue.

"Oh Arnold, what am I to do? Am I doomed to enter your wondrous home tomorrow with nothing but my own will to assure that I do not lash out in a petty attempt to hide how I truly feel? So close, and yet so far to the one assurance I had to promise an evening of, if not love, at least friendship! This charm could be the difference between you finally seeing and, dare I say it? Possibly even accepting my soft, mushy core, and me driving you far away from me once more. An after you helped me find a four-leaf clover for the charm, too! Oh, such chivalry! No matter how often I berate and mock you, still you rush to my aid instantly! And yet, still I push you away. Oh cruel fate, how you mock me! How do I show Arnold that that kiss on the beach was not just acting, but an unspoken confession of my love? How do I show him the real me? The one who loves him more than anything on earth, that builds shrines to him and carries his picture with her constantly! Oh Arnold, if only I weren't so shy, I could have just shown you my locket today when it dropped right in front of your beautiful eyes! Then I could finally confess to everything else, and we could run away into the sunset, and live happily ever after! A fairy tale come true! Oh how I dream of the day that you can see me for who I truly am! On that day, I swear I'll show you and tell you everything, from the poems to the locket, to the-" She suddenly stopped and looked at the locket that she currently held in her hands.

"That's it! My locket is gold! Well, at least gold-colored, which has to count for something, right? Oh Arnold, there is hope! And it even has your picture in it, with will undoubtedly add even more power to the charm!"

Tucking her locket back in her pocket and grabbing the rest of her ingredients, Helga ran to her closet and shut the door behind her. She climbed up the step-ladder carefully, which was no small feat considering she had to balance a bag of salt, flowers, and the four-leaf clover in one hand.

"Criminy", She mumbled as she dragged herself into her attic space, "I should really try to rig a pulley system by the entrance here to haul up stuff as opposed to carrying it! What am I, Wonder Woman?"

Setting down her items, she opened the charm book once more to the page she had marked and read aloud the first step in creating her charm.

"Step 1: Lay a small drawstring pouch out flat to hold your charm." After looking through her boxes of shrine items that she kept nearby, Helga produced a small pouch that had originally held a bracelet Olga had given her for some birthday or other. She went back to the small space on the floor where she was working in front of her outfit for the next night.

"Ok, what's next? Step 2: Place the lilac flowers, four-leaf clover, and gold piece in the pouch." Helga did as the instructions said, gently kissing her locket for luck before placing it in the pouch.

"Ok, last step. Step 3: Sprinkle the salt in a circle around the rest of your items, then pull the bag shut. Important!: Your luck will last from the time you close the bag until 24 hours after you do so. Wait to add the salt and close the bag until 24 hours before you want your luck to end."

Helga looked at the little clock she kept near the trap door entrance; it read 2:45 pm.

"Well, if I'm eating at Arnold's at Five tomorrow, then I should wait to finish this right before I leave, that way it will be super fresh and last as long as possible."

With that, she left everything in place and spent the rest of the day writing poetry and dreaming of the wonderful dinner she and Arnold...and the rest of his family, would share the following night.

The next day, Helga was a wreck; she had spent most of the night tossing and turning and worrying about today. As much as she had planned everything, she still couldn't control the future, and fate often liked to mess with her.

After spending all day pacing, worrying, calling Phoebe for advice, and just plain panicking, it was finally 3:45 in the afternoon and Helga could not wait one more second to finish her charm just to have something to do! She practically ran up her latter and threw herself at the book. She reread the last step, then sprinkled the salt all around the things in the center, and closed the bag. Then she took the whole thing a step further: she touched the luck charm to every single inch of her outfit, front and back.

Satisfied with her work, she got dressed and tucked the charm she had made in her pocket.

"Ok, Helga old girl, it's time to walk to Arnold's house. You can do this, Helga, it's not a big deal. You're just going to Arnold's for dinner. Oh boy..." she let out a sigh. Carefully climbing down the latter, she emerged from the closet and stepped over to her mirror. She scrutinized her outfit from top to bottom, making sure everything was perfect. Suddenly she grabbed her hairbrush and attacked her pigtails, brushing them until she was satisfied that they were smooth.

"Alright, now I'm...ready. As I'll ever be, that is." Taking a deep breath, Helga stepped into the hallway and began walking towards the stairs. Before she began her descent, though, she had an idea. She turned and ran to Olga's room, shutting the door behind her upon arrival.

"I know she's got to have some somewhere..." Helga mumble as she dug through the drawers of Olga's vanity. As she continued her search it occurred to her how comical it was that as much as she and Olga did not get along, she had visited Olga's room quite a bit in the past day.

"Aha! I found it!" she said triumphantly, holding the small tube above her head in victory. Yes, as much as it would shock the world, Helga G. Pataki was voluntarily wearing lip gloss. She spread the pale pink, pearly substance on her lips and pondered how she liked it. This was her first time trying it, after all.

"Hmm...I like it. It's not as gooey as I thought it might be. And it tastes like...huh, what is this, anyway?" she looked at the label on the tube, "Candy Lips brand Pomegranate Pizzazz. Oh good grief, could Olga pick a more sickening brand? Jeez! Oh well, at least it tastes good. As long as no one sees me with it, I'm fine."

Pocketing the lip gloss, Helga walked back into the hallway and down the stairs. However, she stopped at the door.

"Ok Helga, you can do this. Everything will be fine." With these words and a deep breath , Helga opened the door and stepped onto the sidewalk, and began the not-so-long walk to the Sunset Arms boarding house.

A/N

Also, I meant to put this with the last chapter, but I forgot. Anyway, I know Helga's shrine isn't in an attic space, but I felt like if she could have it in a space like that then she would love it. I mean, it would be really easy for someone to find it just in the back of her closet (assuming anyone cared to look), so since it is my story, I decided to give Helga this as a gift :)