Disclaimer: Hey Arnold belongs to Craig Bartlett, and Nickelodeon. All original characters belong to me.

Summary: After FTi Helga confesses her love to Arnold, who sadly doesn't feel the same way. Now Arnold is running Hillwood High's newspaper, and dating Lila. As an act of revenge, Helga becomes the mysterious advice columnist 'Geraldine.'

Author's Note: Yes it's been a long time coming, but I've finally managed to scrape up yet another chapter. If there are people out there who are reading, thank you so much, and sorry for the terribly late updates.


Mystery Girl

It was another typical day at the Pataki house. Big Bob was camped out in front of the television watching the wheel; he'd thrown his back out the previous day so he hadn't made it to work. Things were pleasantly quiet for once. No frantic calls from the dunderheads at work, no Olga crying about some loser…Maybe now he could get some sleep. Just as his eyelids began to fall shut, a loud buzzing noise came from the doorway, startling the poor man out of his chair.

"Miriam, get the door!" Bob shouted red in the face. When all he got was a confused, drunken groan, he gritted his teeth, and angrily stomped over to the door. Whoever the culprit causing the noise was, his finger must have been stuck on the doorbell. Covering his ear with one hand, Bob reached for the door handle, nearly taking the hinges off the door as he tore it open. He glared hotly at the idiot that ruined his peaceful morning. The culprit's face belonged to that of a handsome young man. He stood almost as tall as Bob, with a strong but lean build. His hair was the color of ebony, long in the front, the black tips hanging stylishly over his eyes. There was no mistaking the arrogance in the boy's perfect angular face, or the hot-headed glare in his smoky grey eyes.

"Is Helga here?" The young man asked in a stiff voice, one hand stuffed in his pocket, the other resting on top of the mailbox by Bob's head.

It was a known fact that whenever Bob reached the point of no return, his left eye would start to twitch. The grey-haired patron gripped the wooden edge of the door, moon shaped crescents forming underneath his fingertips. Trepidation curled up his spine as he notably took in the familiar swagger of the boy's presence. He knew of boy's like this, back then they use to call them Greasers. Bob had lived that wild, rambunctious lifestyle; that was until he met Miriam and settled down. Apparently this no-good knew of his daughter, and was planning to drive her to school. No friggen way!

"Who the hell are you?" Bob asked gruffly, taking a more predatory stance. He was like a temperamental bull, blowing hot steam into the pale boy's face.

"I'm Shade, a friend of Blondie-Helga's…" Shade look unperturbed by Bob's steadily growing anger. "I was going to drive her to school today."

Before Bob could drill more questions into the boy; the sound of the upstairs door slamming, and loud footfalls from the staircase alerted to his daughter's presence.

Helga's thin, girlish arm shot past him, trying to push the door open wider. Bob kept the handle firmly within his grip, narrowing his eyes down this 'Shade person'.

"Let me through," Helga said, trying to push her way out the door. "You stay right there, Olga," Bob growled, not letting his eyes move from the little snake that had slithered into the wrong territory.

"It's Helga, dad. Helga. And can you please save the protective dad act for some other time. I've got some place to be."

"And where is that exactly?" Bob shouted shrilly. He couldn't fathom where his fifteen year old daughter was going to go with some kid that looked like he could pass for his twenties. This was way worse than when that Archibald started showing up at their house, even daring so far as to venture into his daughter's room. Thankfully, the kid had stopped coming around, but at least Arnold was someone he knew. A kid that Bob was sure hadn't struck first base with anyone, let alone his daughter. This new kid however, was a different case altogether. As far as Bob knew, this Shade fellow was a complete mystery. Bob didn't like mysteries, especially if they were dealing with one of his Pataki's.

"School, duh…Where else would I go?"

Bob turned to face the girl. A light gasp slipped past his lips as he realized he barely recognized this girl—this young woman. True, he hardly ever paid attention to the girl. Most would think that since they had so much in common they would get along better, but the reality of it was, not everyone that is the same is a match made in heaven. Helga shared his looks, his speech, even some of his hand gestures. It was disarming, and a little maddening to watch. When he found out that Miriam was pregnant the second time, he'd expected a princess like his first born. He expected predictability, a little cherub of a thing that curtsied and wowed him with everything she did. Bob loved his polar opposite. That was what drawn him into Miriam, well, before the smoothies and her descent into depression… Helga was everything that he was when he was younger; loud, unpredictable, and a complete nut-job. There were times when he could look fondly at his youngest, but that grew harder when every time all he saw was his face, his father's face…

But this…this girl he didn't even recognize. Sure there was still a lot of Pataki left in his features, but she had clearly matured some since the last time he really looked at her. Her hair was tied up in long ponytail, with soft blonde tendrils curtained over her eyes. She was wearing a tight long-sleeved shirt, the V-neck dipped a little too low for his liking. The black material made her skin appear even paler then it was. Her shorts revealed even more, her long legs traveling down into a pair of stylish beige boots, which were tapping impatiently on the floor.

"You're not going anywhere dressed like that little lady!"

Helga raised a perfectly shaped brow. When had that happened? "Seriously, Bob. Please stop. This is nothing compared to what the other girls wear at school, and for your information, I can do whatever the hell I want. Goodbye, Dad," She said the last part sarcastically, ducking out underneath Bob's imposing arm.

"Now you listen-"

"Don't worry Mr. Pataki; you're daughter is in safe hands…" Shade said casually, as he helped Helga on his bike. He smiled cruelly at the fuming man, his finger lingering on the girl's shoulder a little too long.

"Who was that at the door, B?" Miriam had made her way tiredly over to her hulk of a husband. She was sober for once, her eyes grazing concernedly over the tenseness in his shoulders.

"A dead man if he hurts my daughter."

"I'll go get the rifle."


"Look about what happened last night…"

Helga took off her helmet and handed it back to her friend, "Are you talking about when you pushed me into the wall?"

Shade sighed, and leant against his bike that was parked in front of Kenny's Pancake Joint. Since the day he first took Helga there, it was routine for them to go there for breakfast every morning. Shade was familiar with the owner, and they always got excellent service each visit. Kenny was a wide-set man in his forties, with a shiny bald head, and blue eyes. Helga loved the warmth of the place, something she was unused to in her own home. Everyone there were complete characters, sort of like the boarders at Arnold's house.

"What I did…I'm not the proudest of. I may be cruel, but I'm not—I'm just not. If it's any consolation, I seriously didn't mean any malice by it."

"Just don't do it again," Helga said bitterly, and then before either of them could blink, she hit his shoulder hard with her fist. He winced, but didn't move. "There will be more to come if you don't keep your anger in check." Swiftly she turned around and made her way into the store, stopping to hold the door out for him. Shade grinned, and followed after her.

"I could barely sleep last night." Helga later said, seated in their usual table in the back. After Kenny took their orders, an uncomfortable silence had fallen on them, mostly on Helga part. Her stomach had been knotted all morning, and all day yesterday. After demolishing Arnold's newspaper club, she'd been wracked with guilt. She knew that it was well-deserved, but not even her reassurance could fix the torn feelings in her gut. The blonde had to tell someone how she was feeling, even if said someone probably didn't feel the same thing. In fact, after the prank, Shade had boasted all night about their victor, how Helga was now a honorary member of their crew.

"Don't tell me you're still unhappy with the way things turned out," Shade said incredibly.

"The plan was to get Lila and Esmeralda, not the entire newspaper committee," the blonde snapped all of a sudden. Her eyes fell nervously on the few people seated around them, wondering if they caught on to her deceit.

Shade shook his head, "You can't make your point across half-way; it's either all or nothing. Don't waste guilt on the people that didn't have Phoebe's back to begin with. You may like this Arnold guy, but where was he when his own girlfriend started blackmailing your friend. Where was he when her article was stolen right out of her own hands?"

"Arnold had nothing to do with it and you know it. He's just too gullible and stupid to think that Lila could do any wrong."

"So, what is it that you want exactly? You asked for my help and you got it. I'm sorry that it went the way it did, but that's what comes when you deal with good for nothings like me," The calmness had left his face, and the same hostility from last night was now in front of her.

"Look, if it means anything thanks for helping me out. But I think I'll deal with this whole Phoebe situation in my own way," She paused after a few beats, "I can't even stomach the thought of going to school now…"

"Why," Shade asked, still angry, he looked down at his open menu.

"Because—because, maybe I'm a little worried that they'll find out. I'm worried that Lila will find out it was me, and fire Phoebe just to spite me. I'm worried A-Arnold-" the blonde let out a weary sigh, rubbing at the goose pimples on her flesh. It was a bit chilly in the diner, and the young girl had left her sweater at home. Shade watched the girl over his dark sunglasses, a small curve shaping his red lips. "Here, take this-" He shrugged off his leather jacket and slid it over the table.

"Thanks," Helga said, instead of putting it on the proper way, she threw it over her shoulders. She sighed at the warmth, and the smell of his cologne washed over his skin. "This is a nice jacket, you know…"

"Maybe I'll buy you one, one of these days," Happier that the topic had been changed; he leaned into the table, studying the girl.

Helga looked away, something fluttered in her stomach leaving her breathless. "No, don't bother. I can't imagine what something like this cost." The fair-haired girl's cheeks tinted rouge, her eyes looking bash fully down at her folded arms.

"Who said I bought it?" He grinned, his pearly whites nearly blinding her in the process. "And don't worry about anyone finding out about you. If they did know, which they probably won't, they still wouldn't mess with you."

"Oh, and what's that?"

"Because your one of us now. They know not to mess with our own."


Dear Esmeralda,

There's this girl I love. Let's call her Penelope. Nothing I do impresses Penelope. She's still mad that I haven't come out and told everyone that I'm dating her. The only reason we even started speaking again in the first place is because we both still stay in touch with an old friend out ours. Let's call him Archie. He kind of set us up, but our relationship never went farther than secret meetings, and an awkward get together with her friends. They made it obviously clear that they don't like me. They think I'm using her. You see my friends did a really mean prank on her in the past, and they think this is some plot to get her again. They've been filling her up with doubt, and now she's got this bizarre idea that I'm embarrassed by her, and I'm not. It's just that we both live on different sides of the social circle. If I introduced her to my friends, they'd tear her apart. They aren't that understanding as you can see. I love my girlfriend, but I also want to keep my friends. What can I do to keep them both?

Mr. Cool


Dear Mr. Cool,

Life is not burger king; you cannot have it your way. Sure, we would love to keep all the things we hold dearest, but what's life without a little complication added into the mix? If I were you, I'd go with love. Friends come and go, but love…Many say you only get one great love in your life. Why miss on that for some loser friends. Trust me when I say this. Don't miss out on love. Don't worry about what others will think, because the only person that will suffer is you. In my eyes, this girl clearly doesn't deserve you. She needs a guy that wants her like she wants him. She needs a fairy tale, not stolen kisses in the janitor's closet. She needs a man that's going to run across the cafeteria, and tell everyone who's listening who the love of his life is. She needs to hear this from you. She need to be swept off her feet, and kissed and love, and cherished. Maybe the road again for you guys will be hard, but you'll appreciate that when you are able to walk it together. When you can laugh together, and not care whether people will find out. If these friends of yours are true friends, they'd understand and back the hell off your woman!

Go find her,

Geraldine

Gerald hadn't been expecting a response so soon. Over the past few weeks he had been seeking the advice of Esmeralda, though he was too embarassed to admit it. The girl always took a long time to respond; her advice was nowhere near as direct as the one he'd just received today. He clicked the link attached to the message, and came to a website that clearly wasn't the newspaper's site. In fact, written in bold pink letters was the name 'Geraldine'. There had been rumors going around that there was a hacker toying with the newspaper committee, apparently going so far as to create her own website. When he asked Arnold about it, the blond had turned red in the face before stomping away. It was a first for Gerald. This day just kept getting more bizarre by the minute. The website was still pretty empty. Looking around to make sure no one was looking, Gerald registered for an account. He knew it was an act of betrayal, but the girl did help him with his love problems after all.

The letter had sparked something inside of him. He felt a surge of anxiety as he made his way out the computer room, and into the lunchroom, where he knew Phoebe would be. The star basketball player pushed his way towards his destination, until he was standing in front of the double doors. Phoebe was nestled in the middle of her group of friends, her nose buried in her notepad as she wrote something down. There was a small smile on her face, as one of her male friend's said something to her. Gerald didn't feel animosity like he used to when seeing them together. All he felt was the warmth of her smile. He loved the way her eyes twinkled beneath her glasses. He loved the way her ebony hair draped over her shoulders. He loved the way she was so nice and soft-spoken. How on earth could he think about hiding this-this amazing person? Right then and there Gerald Johansson wanted everyone to know his heart belonged to Phoebe. A wide smile stretched out across his face, he could almost feel his feet lifting off the floor. He felt weightless.

"I love Phoebe Heyerdahl!" Gerald shouted as loud as his lungs could bear.

Silence enveloped the lunch room, and all eyes fell on the tall haired boy standing in the middle of the room, wearing the goofiest grin on his face.

Phoebe looked up at the sound of her name being shouted across the room. Her heart leapt as she met eyes with the dark-skinned boy. "Gerald?" She froze when the reality of what he said hit her like a bucket of ice cold water.

Gerald gulped, his eyes flickering nervously at the gaping students.

Arnold watched bemused as his friend made his way across the room. "You heard me, I said I love you." The nervousness in Gerald's face dissipated as he looked down at the girl as if she were the most beautiful thing in the world.

"Gerald, everyone's staring…" Phoebe said in a hushed voice, but she too was staring at the boy with all the admiration of a besotted girl.

"Let them," Gerald shrugged. In one quick move, he had Phoebe up on her feet. Their lips met in a hungry wet kiss that left everyone so stunned they resembled statues. Gerald's close friends that were sitting across from them all wore identical stunned expressions.

"Did that really just happen?"

Arnold heard Lila whisper in her ear. For once she didn't sound like she wanted to kill something. That whole week since the mysterious Geraldine incident, the auburn haired vixen had been a walking time bomb. He didn't know this girl who had temper tantrums when things didn't go her way, or who cursed her own friend out for no apparent reason. Esmeralda had stood there stunned when Lila faulted her for letting Geraldine slip by them unnoticed. "YOU WORTHLESS BITCH, HOW COULD YOU NOT TELL THAT IT WASN'T YOUR WRITING? YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO CHECK!"

"I-I think it did," Arnold said, feeling a little forlorn. He couldn't have been happier that his two old friends had finally found love, but it left him wondering when he would experience such devotion. Mushy as it was, Arnold was a sap for romance. He wanted poetry, he wanted admiration, he wanted…

His eyes flitted towards the blonde leaning against the vending machine, a smug look on her face.

Helga couldn't help but mentally cheer herself for a job well done. Gerald's embarrassing yet heartfelt display was proof that maybe parading around as Geraldine wasn't such a bad idea. The day after she and Shade's crew broke into the school, there had been lot's of drama. Lila was on a war path. She, Esmeralda, and Principle Lector had teamed together to find this Geraldine character. They first settled on Shade and his crew, and since Helga was one of them now, she was thrown into the mix. But some way, somehow the blonde had managed to pull through. Along with Shade's natural ability to keep a cool face under pressure, Helga smooth talked her way back out to freedom. Eventually the three bulldogs moved on to other suspects, but she had a feeling Lila wasn't through with her yet. The girl would come back to question her after the whole scandal with the newspaper died down. It would be a long time coming though.

When the news of this mysterious hacker/advice columnist hit the grapevine, it spread like wildfire. C.J had coaxed the blonde out of her hiding spot in the bathroom stall. Helga had been tight with fear that Arnold would come looking for her, but surprisingly he never did show up. The green-haired girl had showed her the newspaper that she and Tyler had worked on to destroying.

"They think you're a hero, Helga. Well, they think Geraldine is really…"

The mystery of Geraldine had heightened her popularity amongst the students. However, the school's staff just believed her to be a nuisance, a trouble maker that needed to be pruned from the goodness of their school. When Helga had been waiting in Lector's office to be questioned about the vandalism, and the newest content in the newspaper, she had heard the Principle speaking with one of school board members over the phone. "This—This 'Geraldine' is going to be a huge problem, I can just smell it. Have you seen the stuff in our school's paper?" There was the sound of paper being snatched open, "Here she calls a girl a Slag, and then in one article she tells a student to demand getting compensation for all his recent detentions, since apparently the school is keeping him away from his after school job. I can't have this Frankie, not with all those swine balls waiting to see me out of work."

Helga couldn't help the smug expression on her face as she leaned against the vending machine. Her sidekick was vibrating inside her pocket, alerting to her that yet another student on her website had messaged her. Tyrell had helped with that one. Since they were risked expulsion, the hazel-eyed boy had taken it upon himself to create Helga her own website. Before the blonde could reach into her pocket, her eyes met Arnold's calculating gaze. A nervous sweat broke out over her forehead. He couldn't have known. It's been weeks for crying out loud. Straightening the strap on her shoulder, Helga exited the lunchroom, and into the backyard of the school. The willowy blonde sucked in the fresh air of outside, her stomach plummeting with every step.

"Helga!"

Nervously, the blonde turned around. Arnold was standing across from her, his hands snug in his hoodie's front pocket.

"What do you want, Arnoldo? Here to accuse me of something I didn't do?"

His eyes furrowed confusedly, "No, I came here to talk."

Helga gave him a strange look, "Did you forget that we are no longer friends?"

Arnold shook his head, his shoulders sagging miserably. Helga hated herself then. What right did she have causing him so distress? Oh wait, the little twerp deserved it. Helga had suffered years of distress over the blond. Arnold should have never befriended her all those years ago. He should have never asked her of her feelings if he didn't reciprocate them. She should have never even bothered. Why start something with the blond again, if all it meant was a replay of broken-hearted misery. Helga wasn't going to waste her sanity on a guy that left wounds in her heart. She wasn't going to talk with Arnold when he was still seeing that red-haired witch. She wasn't going to talk with Arnold when she was finally free to live her life ice cream free.

"I'm just starting to get over you, Arnold. Why are you trying to make it harder than it already is?" Helga felt her body turn cold. This was the first time since that day that anything about her love for him was mentioned.

Arnold felt his heart clench. He closed his eyes for a few seconds before meeting the girl's eyes. He almost missed the pigtails, and the gooey looks. This Helga, who wore her hair down over her shoulders, and looked like she would rather be anywhere in the world but near him, hurt a lot more than it should.

"I know that I messed up everything. You don't know how many times I go over that day in my head. I wasn't ready to face the reality of the situation, but it was nice to hear how you felt. It was nice that someone out there cared so much," Arnold ran a hand through his long hair. Gone was his baseball cap that he had worn as a child. In its place was nothing but gorgeous cascades of blond. His hair was no better than silk. So smooth to the touch…Many girls in the school enjoyed running their fingers through it, asking questions on what hair product the boy used. Helga always grinned at them. There was no hair product of any kind. It was all Arnold's, just like his clear skin, and his lovely green eyes. The dimples were an added bonus.

"Seeing Gerald with Phoebe today reminded me of that summer, and how much I missed having you around. I miss going to the park, and posing for you. You called it capturing me in the moment. I still have some of your old sketches by the way. I miss going to Wrestle Mania with you, even if I never cared much for the violence, but you would always explain to me who your favorites were. I miss your cynical humor, although cruel at times, but left me laughing for hours."

Helga cursed the boy for once again reminding her why she loved him so much. It was all hypnotizing, really. She hadn't known that he had remembered all this stuff

"You were always so honest and real, Helga. But now…"

The tall blond narrowed her eyes, already sensing the path this conversation was going. Another one of these, you're falling with the wrong crowd speeches. Arnold had yet to get off his high horse. He still badgered the girl days on end about her friendship with the notorious Shade.

"What? I'm not the same, Helga. Would someone please tell me how I'm different? First there's Bob and the way I'm dressing now. Yeesh, you would think I'm walking to school in a bikini. It's just short-shorts for crying out loud, Olga use to wear them all the time! Now you're saying I'm not being true to myself-"

"I didn't say that Helga. I just meant to say (before you cut me off) that I don't recognize who this new Helga is. The old Helga may have shown up late to each class, but she never outright ditched them. The old Helga didn't follow, she lead. Nothing can be good if you're hanging out with those guys, Helga. I'm telling you that Shade is bad news. You may not see it now, but you will one day, and you won't like what you see."

"Since when have you become such a righteous do-gooder? Oh wait, you always were one. I don't need you telling me about my friends. I already know what kind of person Shade is. Maybe I like that he's just as bad as me? Did you think about that? Maybe I like that he likes me the way I am, and not because I say 'ever so' in every freaking sentence. Shade doesn't want a Stepford Wife like you Arnold, he wants me, the real and honest me. I'm still the same girl I was before…I'm just not as gullible to think you want anything more than friendship with me."

Arnold sighed; knowing any further attempts would be hopeless. But like the optimist he couldn't help being, said "Just...start coming back to class more often. I promise to keep my distance. But if you ever wish to talk, well, you know where to find me." Just as he was about to walk away, Helga's voice stopped him.

"I'll forgive you one day, until then, this is the only way. I won't let myself get hurt again, Arnold."

She gasped when she found herself suddenly pressed against his chest. For a couple of seconds she stood still as a statue, but eventually relaxed into his arms. She felt like she was falling and sinking all at once. The hug felt nice, strong but soft… "Helga..." His nose ran against the flesh of her neck. "A-Arnold, what on earth-"

"Well, would you look at that," said a sly impish voice behind them. The two blonds tore apart, facing a smug-faced C.J, and a very angry looking Shade.

"Um…"


Author's Note: Ummm is right. Haha.