Author's note: PLEASE READ!

Hi everyone! For those who have read my previous story, 'Hey Arnold: Civil War', welcome back! For those haven't, I recommend you to do so, although it is not necessary in order to understand what happens moving forward.

I know said in the previous chapter that moving forward, all chapters will be taking place after the events of 'Hey Arnold: Civil War', but I decided that for this chapter only, it will take place before Civil War and 'Arnold's Legacy'.

I decided to add another chapter into this story before moving on with events after Civil War because I realized I did not really create a satisfactory scene of Rodrigo and Helga just enjoying their relationship with no drama or qualms. So, I thought I would write another chapter to add to it and see them just living out life in each other's company.

Plus, I wanted to add more information about why Rodrigo acted the way he did in 'Hey Arnold: Civil War' and why Helga tried so hard to make her relationship with Rodrigo work. That and it adds to the drama.


Helga was lying on the gym floor, groaning a bit in pain, with Rodrigo gently moving and turning and massaging her left foot and ankle that she had just twisted while doing one of their after school dancing session.

"How are you feeling?" He asked her when he heard her soft groans as he continued to massage her foot.

"I'll be fine." She answered him. "No thanks to you."

"No thanks to me? How is this my fault?" He asked her.

"You are the one who kept telling me that I had to move my hips more to the sides." She irritatingly told him. "It was bad enough that it was making me look like someone who had Parkinson's disease, but it made it hard for me to dance properly. So while listening to your 'glorious advice' I ended up twisting my ankle."

Rodrigo couldn't help but chuckle a bit at Helga's insensitive comparison to her movement with someone who has the disease. By now, he had grown accustomed to her dark humour. Heck, he even began to find some of them funny.

"I was just trying to help you from not being so stiff." He responded to her. "But, you're right. I'm sorry." He tried to guilt-trip her.

"It's fine, don't worry about it." She said, trying not to make a big deal out of it, and tried to enjoy the foot massage she was getting for free while lying on the floor.

Indeed, for a few minutes, despite the pain, Helga actually enjoyed Rodrigo being her masseuse and instead of groaning, began to moan a bit.

"Say, you're pretty good at this." She said as she then sat up.

"Thanks." Rodrigo as as he continued to massage her injured foot.

Without him knowing, Helga, with a smirk, then slowly brought her right foot closer to her and began to untie her shoe, took it and took her sock out.

"Wanna message my other foot?" She asked him before she then stretched her right foot right and dangled it right in front of him.

Rodrigo didn't say anything. Instead, he instantly stopped massaging her left foot and then 'collapsed' to the floor, due to her smelly feet.

"Fine. You don't have massage the other one." She said with an offended tone as she then pulled her right foot and began to put her sock and shoe back on. "didn't have to get dramatic about it, you know." She said with a frown.

Rodrigo however, then got up and just chuckled.

"I'm just pulling your leg, Helga." He said as he continued to chuckle.

"Pun intended?" She asked him with a smile and raised eyebrow.

"Ha ha, yeah." He replied with a smile. "Bring your other foot back and I'll massage it."

Helga with a somewhat grateful smile, then brought her right foot back, but Rodrigo wasn't done talking.

"I'll massage them...for a price." He said with a smirk.

"Really?" She curiously, but also suspiciously said. "And what's that?"

"A kiss." He said.

"That's it?" She said to him. "If those are your kind of prices, I should really take advantage of them, then."

She then leaned forward and she gave him one of the most loving yet highly intense and passionate, kiss she had ever given him. Rodrigo tried smiled despite his lips being occupied and closed his eyes and enjoyed the soft touch of her lips. The kiss was so soft and thorough that the couple eventually began to french-kiss, for their first one. Helga was certainly grateful that Rodrigo never once attempted to literally shove his tongue down her throat. He had always tried to make her comfortable, allowing her to indicate to him when she was ready for certain things. It was only then that Rodrigo took the initiative. She had heard of other girls, including Phoebe complain about their boyfriends or lovers doing something like that so suddenly and quite rudely as the first time they kissed. She felt being quite lucky that her current boyfriend respected her boundaries.

After a long while, she eventually leaned back, allowing their lips to separate and breathe.

"How was that?" She asked him with a rather flirtatious tone.

"Beautiful..." He said with almost swooning.

"Great. So, get cracking with the foot massages." She then said as she abruptly stretched her feet right in his face. "But don't try to tickle my feet, or else I'll sock you." She then warned him with a stern voice.

Despite still smiling, Rodrigo complied and began to her a foot massage.

"Oh ya, that's that spot." She moaned as she immediately began to feel the soothing and relaxing effects.

Rodrigo for quite a while, did his best to give her a foot massage and with the way she was moaning and even stretching her legs, he could tell she was enjoying every minute of it. However, a rather mischievous smile began to form on his face. He continued to massage her feet, but he then slowly wrapped one of his arms around her two legs and just as when he had them within his firm grasp, he immediately began to tickle her feet with his hands.

"Hahahahaha!" Helga suddenly began to instantly laugh and tried to move her feet away, but Rodrigo held them firmly. "Stop it, R-R-Rodr-Hahahahahaha!" She tried to yell at him, but couldn't.

Rodrigo continued to tickle Helga's feet for a bit before finally letting them go and then moving away from her just to make sure she didn't try to kick him.

"What did I just say?!" She then yelled at him after calming down from the tickling.

"Sorry Helga, but I couldn't help it." He said with a smirk while lifting his hands up. "It was too tempting."

"Oh really?" She said to him with a smirk as she then got up and using her good foot, suddenly leaped right towards him.

"Whoa!" Rodrigo exclaimed when Helga landed right on top of him and grabbed both his hands and shoving them to the floor.

"Well I also can't help but do this." She said to him. "Try getting out of this one."

Rodrigo was unfazed and just rolled his eyes.

"Okay." He merely said as he then lifted his arms away from the floor, while Helga was still holding on to him.

However, Helga then just used her weight to push Rodrigo's arms back onto the floor. Rodrigo attempted to lift his arms again, but found that Helga was firmly holding on them and using her weight and strength, prevented him from lifting them up.

"What's the matter?" She playfully, while also bit mockingly said to him. "Too feeble to lift poor little old moi?"

"Too feeble?" Rodrigo said while also playfully humphing. "Well, let's see just how feeble I am when I do this!"

"Whoa!" Helga exclaimed when Rodrigo suddenly lifted her via his arms and rolled around, causing her to fall to the ground with him on top.

But before Helga could get a chance to say or do anything, Rodrigo then leaned down and kissed her again and let go of her hands. Helga made no attempt to push him away and simply used her now freed arms to wrap them around him and push him towards her. And for a time, the two were blissfully kissing around the floor, lost in their own little world and happy.

Some time later, the couple then let go and decided to call it a night. They packed everything up, cleaned the gym like they were supposed to, closed the doors and headed home.

They opted to take the bus home that late afternoon and sat down together, with Rodrigo happily and proudly wrapping his arms around her whilst in their seat. Helga in turn was equally happy and just snuggled right beside him and then gave him a sweet kiss on his cheek. Like a true happy couple, both teens just sat quietly in their seats, allowing nothing but their touch and silence to surround them. Nothing needed to be said. Everything about how they felt about the week and each other was being said in their faces and body composure.

Speaking of the week, it had been a great one. No drama, no issues, nothing. They had managed to go through the week without any argument or any issues. Their parents were ecstatic about their relationship and encourage them to visit their households whenever they could. Helga had not even thought about Arnold, not once. It was just a...perfect week.

Rodrigo was amazed at how much their relationship had improved since March. When they first started dating, Rodrigo did his absolute best to take things slowly. Helga initially kept a certain level of physical distance from him, which he wasn't surprised of. But as the weeks rolled by, she slowly, under her own volition, literally began to close the gap and get ever more closer to him. They began to hold hands more frequently, then began to hug each other more in public, even beginning to very slowly display certain level of affection in public. While Helga was not willing to have a full-blown make out session with him on the bus, just the very fact that she was slowly showing any kind of affection towards him was amazing and Rodrigo did not take it for granted. Slowly, he reciprocated and encouraged her to be more affection, at her own pace of course.

Rodrigo never attempted to push Helga to do things she most certainly was not ready to do. But to do that, Helga had to communicate with him, which to Rodrigo's surprise, saw that Helga was also making an effort in that department as well. Rather than keep it up inside and wait until she would lose her patience and end up exploding at him, Helga resorted to just bluntly tell him about things she either wasn't ready to do, or that just annoyed her. Rodrigo heeded the warnings and made the attempts to change in order to accommodate her, within reasonable limits.

Soon, all of this started to pay off and Helga slowly began to open up and reveal this very caring, affectionate part of herself that surprised even Rodrigo. The Latino kid began to wonder just how easy it had been for her to open up to him, but Helga insisted that was due to her experience with Arnold that given her both the courage and confidence to open up in the first place. That, as well as a lot of trials and errors, a source that sometimes caused friction between the two former couple.

Rodrigo couldn't believe his luck, but nevertheless felt grateful for what she was trying to do for him. Yet, even with her experience, he knew this was not something that was easy for her and it took time, which he patiently gave. And to his delight, it eventually bore fruit.

Now at the present and with the weekday drawing to a close, Helga was looking forward to the coming weekend, which meant spending more time with Rodrigo. She could hardly wait because...she had a surprise for him.

"So, you ready for our date tomorrow?" She asked him.

"Yeah." He casually responded. "But, where are we going?" He then asked.

"You'll see." She said to him with a smile and just to reassure him that she wasn't planning anything diabolical, she placed a tender kiss on his cheeks.

Saturday...

Helga had it all planned out. They were first going to the movies, then have dinner at an entertainment place that served both good food and had the latest video arcades. Although Rodrigo was an intellectual by heart, he was no stranger to such places. If anything, she heard through Gerald and the boys that he can give you his money's worth at the some of the arcade's games. As a natural competitor, Helga wanted to not only see for herself what he had to bring to the table.

The place wasn't cheap though. Apart from the fact that it was popular, it was also a high-stake area and Helga had to reserve seats weeks in advance. Rodrigo was stunned and ecstatic when he realized where she took him.

"Helga, you didn't have to do all of this for me." He said to her.

"You're right, I didn't have to." She said to him. "I wanted to." She smiled at him.

To make the surprise a bit sweeter, the place also had a mini-museum, containing a history of how the property used to be a centre for entertainment in the 1930's and 1940's in the city. Music and dancing, along with lots of bottles of whisky and champagne was the norm, with photos of all the celebrities the place used to invite to entertain its guests, much to Rodrigo's delight. Naturally Rodrigo spend a bit of time at the museum before then heading to the video arcades where, true to Gerald's word, indeed gave her a run for her money. Nevertheless, she still won, much to the Latino kid's frustration.

"Hahahaha! So close, yet so far. Better luck next time, Latino boy." Helga laughed as they walked out of the place late in the night.

"I'll get you next time." Rodrigo groaned a bit. "Just you wait."

"Sure you will." Helga jokingly said to him. "On a serious note, how'd you like the place. Not to shabby, right?"

"It was great." He responded, tightening his hold on her hand. "I had a lot of fun."

"Good." She said. "I guess I topped you're birthday surprised that you planned for me, then." She said with a smirk, specifically referring when Rodrigo accidentally fell on a pile of cactus when he took her to the city's botanical gardens

"Gee, thanks for the reminder." Rodrigo sarcastically remarked.

"I'm sorry." She said, seeing how the injury he sustained was not really that funny. "How's your butt?"

"It's good now." He replied. "It's fully healed."

Helga said nothing else and just continued to silently walk with him. However, after a few paces,

"Hahahahahahahaha!" She suddenly burst out laughing. "I-I'm sorry, but, hahahaha, you have to admit, hahahaha, it was a bit funny."

Rodrigo said nothing and with an irritated look, frowned while Helga just laughed at his expense. However,

"Whoa!" Helga exclaimed when Rodrigo suddenly grabbed her by her waist and lifted her up and swung her around in he air, while kissing her in the neck.

"No, hahaha! Stop!." Helga shouted while laughing as Rodrigo continued to tickle her. "Okay, I give! No more laughing at you about that. Stop it!"

"Good." He said as he put her down, but then kissed her on the cheek. "Thanks for the surprise." He softly said to her close to her ear.

"My pleasure." She said.

The couple then walked back to the nearest bus stop in order to head back home, seeing as how it was getting late.

In Helga's room...

Once Helga arrived back home and went to her room and began to get ready for bed when she saw the pictures of her and Arnold on her nightstand.

Stopping immediately, she gave the pictures a long look, glancing over at them repeatedly, if not studying them. However, instead of feeling saddened by what they reminded her of...

Something is missing. She thought, as she continued to glance at the pictures while rubbing her chin. Wait. I don't have any pictures of Rodrigo and me. She realized.

"Make a mental note; develop a few pictures of Rodrigo and I together and frame them." She said to herself as she hopped onto her bed, turned her night light and went to bed.

"What a perfect week..." She said to her herself as she slowly began to get sleepy and soon dozed off.

The next day...

True to her word, Helga woke up the next morning and after eating breakfast, went over to the nearest photo shop store where she had a few pictures developed. Helga arrived back home as soon as they were developed.

"I'm home!" She called out and without caring if whether or not her family heard her, headed straight to her room.

With an almost eagerness inside her, she headed straight towards the photo frames that contained pictures of her and Arnold and, without almost caring, grabbed two of the pictures frames, took the back lid off and took out the two photos and replaced them with the two new photos. After putting the lid back, she then put the photo frames back on her night table and took a few steps back to look at them.

"Better." She said to herself with a smile as she looked at the two photos of her and Rodrigo together, while ignoring, well at least trying to ignore, the other photos of her and Arnold.

This may not seem like a big step to most people, but to Helga, it was big one. Without almost any struggle, she willingly took out two photos of her and Arnold and replaced them with Rodrigo's. This was her own doing, her wanting to do it. This was nothing something she forced herself to do, and she was glad she did it.

"Baby steps, baby steps." She said to herself.

She then took the two photos of her and Arnold and placed them in a little box that as inside her closet. After that, she then went back to her desk to finish her homework.

Monday...

Helga entered school that Monday full of optimism, ready to tackle on whatever this dump of an education institution or life had in store for her. Although, knowing her luck, this euphoria or sense of hope would be short lived. Something always comes her way, no matter how much she tries to avoid it. Nevertheless, however temporary, Helga was going to take advantage and enjoy every minute of it. She just hoped that at least she can go through perfect week.

As the day wore on and she hopped from class to class, trying to stave off the boredom, she was eagerly looking forward to school ending and seeing Rodrigo at their usual spot, to hang out and dance.

Finally, once the bell rang, Helga wasted no time in getting her stuff and heading to the gym on the first floor.

"Hey, Latino boy!" She called out once she entered the messy gym, only to find it empty.

"Hello?" She called out again, only to be met with her echo and then silence.

"Boo!" Someone suddenly shouted right from behind her.

"Aahhh!" Helga screamed, completely startled.

"Hahahahaha, gotcha!" Rodrigo said from behind while laughing.

"Ooohhh! Don't scare me like that!" She angrily yelled at him.

"Sorry Helga, but I couldn't resist, hahaha." Rodrigo continued to laugh. "You know what, I can finally see the humour in your dark humour and why you try to scare me." He commented.

"Whatever, let's just dance." She retorted as she made her way to the middle of the gym, kicking the balls or anything that stood in her way.

Rodrigo gave smiled and followed.

Helga got the stereo ready, plugged it in and put a CD inside. Just as she was about to press the 'play' button,

"Hold up, Helga." Rodrigo then said to her. "Are you sure you are up for this?" He asked.

"What do you mean?" She asked him, to which he gestured to her left ankle that she twisted last week.

"It's fine." She said. "It's not hurting anymore and I'll be careful." As she then pressed play and a rather slow merengue music began to play.

The couple got into position and they started dancing. Nothing fancy or anything. Just a simple dance. Rodrigo however, then began to look down at a particular part of her body. Helga initially didn't notice it and just continued dancing, enjoying the slow and smooth flow of the music. But when she glanced over at his face, she saw that his eyes were eyeing something.

"Just what are you staring at?" She suspiciously asked him.

"Your hips." He said. "They look a bit stiff."

"They are fine." She said to him with a serious tone. "We're not going through this again. That's how I ended up twisting my ankle in the first place."

"I know, but with the way you moving them, you look still a bit tense." He insisted.

Seeing as how he was not backing down, Helga let go of him and stopped dance.

"Why are you so hell-bent on ensuring my hips move more 'smoothly' anyways?" She asked him with her arms crossed.

"Ah, good question!" Rodrigo said with a smile.

"I'm already regretting asking my question." She groaned.

"Relax, it's not a big critique." Rodrigo assured her. "When you move your hips, you seem to be a bit, restraint. As if something is preventing you. When it comes to Latin music, moving your hip not just smoothly, but importantly, freely, is what the music is all about. It's not about being sexy, as everyone believes. The real byproduct is being passionate about the way you move and freely showing it, without restraint. You seem to be a bit tense when you move your hips and I think you can do better."

"Uh, doi! Of course I'm tense. I'm always tense. That's just who I am." Helga pointed out.

"I know, I know." Rodrigo said. "But I think you can be a bit less tense. Observe."

Rodrigo then went to the stereo and changed the music from a slow merengue, to a fast-paced salsa. While Helga watched, Rodrigo began to solo dance, specifically emphasizing his hips, which he was able to freely move from side to side without any form of restraint.

While Helga didn't show it, she was a bit amazed at just how much a guy was able to move his hips so well. His whole body was in tune to the beat and the flow of the music, allowing his hips to roam free, almost on its own. She had to hand it to him, the guy can move and dance. Heck, this was something even Arnold had no skill on. The times when they used to dance together, even in slow dances, Arnold seemed to only-

Nope, nope, I am not going there. She instantly thought to herself. This is going to be another perfect week and I'm not going to ruining it by thinking about that football head.

"Alright, alright. I see your point." She said to him, prompting him to stop dancing and stop the music. "I doubt I can move my hips the way you intend me to, but I'll try."

"Really? Is that all you can give me?" He asked her with a raised eyebrow.

Helga just annoyingly sighed.

"Fine, I'll do it and you can tell me if I did it correctly." She said to, prompting Rodrigo to be satisfied with that.

"Now can we dance already?!" she retorted. "I've been waiting all day to dance with you."

Rodrigo couldn't help but smile at that last statement and immediately turned on the stereo and changed the music again back to a slower tone and the couple began their dance.

Some time later...

After they were done and cleaned up the gym, the couple then headed home for the day. Like the week before, the bus ride back to the neighbourhood was peaceful and loving. The couple spend every second of that bus ride home holding each other tightly, with a few kisses here and there before they were forced to head home for that day.

When Helga arrived home, she breathed in deeply and let out a happy sigh.

So far, so good. She said as she headed upstairs toward her bedroom, but first, she really, really needed to go to the bathroom.

Head straight upstairs, Helga rushed towards the bathroom and closed the door to release herself.

"Oh ya! That's much better." She sighed as she sat on the toilet.

After she was done and while she washed her hands, Helga was about to reach for the hand towel when something caught her eye. Inside a magazine holder, Helga saw something that sent a chill down her spine, causing her eyes to widen and to...remember. She bent down and picked up what was an almost empty liquor bottle.

Oh Miriam. Helga sadly thought to herself when she realized that her mother had relapsed again.

Helga could then instantly feel the hurt and despair of seeing her mother in such a vulnerable state. However, as always, she then began to instantly repress that pain with anger and she felt her rage rising up.

No, no, stop it! She thought to herself. This is going to be another good week! I don't care what I need to know, but I'm going to calm down right now and just move on!

Making her intentions clear, Helga immediately put the bottle back where she found it and went straight to her bedroom.

The next day...

Helga entered the school halls that morning feeling a bit down, and very cranky. Still worried about her mom's relapse, the thought had not left her, despite how many times she tried to push them away. Feeling that her good week streak was now ruined, she walked through the hallway with a highly irritated and cranky look on her face.

So much for a good week. She groaned to herself in thought.

As she made her way and approached her locker, her only concern right now was just to make through the day, if not the whole week and hope someone wasn't dumb enough to test her pa-

"Morning bella!" A cheerful Rodrigo then suddenly approached her from behind.

"Aaahh!" Startling her again, only this time, the surprise caused her to run against her own locker.

"Boy, you're a little jumpy today." He remarked a chuckle and a smirk.

This was an obviously lousy time for poor Rodrigo to have unintentionally startle Helga like that. Because no sooner when she came to, she instantly grabbed him by his shirt and using her all of her strength, swung him around and slammed him against her locker, completely startlingly him.

"Are you deaf or something, or has spending time with the likes of Sid and Harold made you stupid?!" She angrily yelled at him with even lifting her fist close to his face. "I told you not to scare me like that!"

Rodrigo left completely dazed and rendered silent as he looked at her with both shock, fear and guilt in his eyes. Helga immediately picked up on this and seeing what she just did, became instantly horrified with herself and began to back away from him.

"Rodrigo, I...I'm sorry, I uh..." She attempted to say something, but was left in shock by her own action.

Feeling disgusted and ashamed at what she just did to him, Helga could no longer stand it and instantly began to run away from the scene, a still dazed and confused Rodrigo alone.

It took some time for Rodrigo to finally gather his composure to register what just happened. But, by the time he did so, Helga was gone. Shaking it off, he grabbed his bag and immediately began to run after her.

Quickly, making his way into the staircase, he could hear footsteps descending down the stairs. Hoping that was Helga, he immediately run down, trying as fast as he could to catch up to her, even quite literally hoping between each staircase. He eventually figured that the person going down the stair had to have been her, since the person was descending pretty fast. Eventually, the person made it to the first floor and immediately ran outside. Rodrigo quickly followed suit, made it to the first floor and quickly ran outside.

Once outside, he saw her running straight ahead. Determined to catch up to her, he began chase after her.

Helga continued to run until she was outside of school property and went into the park that was very near, but even that she didn't led up. She continued to run until, finally ran out of breath, had to stop, lean against a great oak tree as she panted.

Rodrigo continued to ran after her, but then stopped some feet away from her when he saw her that she had stopped. He began to quietly walk closer her while trying not to startle her again, but then stopped when he heard her speak.

"Stupid, stupid, stupid" She angrily grunted and lamented as she hit the tree with both her fist and foot. "Why did I do that to him? Why did I take out my anger out on him, of all people?!"

Rodrigo looked on silently and with increasing guilt as Helga continued to bash herself for what she did. Even if he was a bit upset with her, he knew she didn't mean it and felt terrible whenever he saw her kick herself for her antics.

"Helga?" Rodrigo then said to her from behind.

"Rodrigo!" She said, a bit startled that he followed her. "Wh-Wh-What are you doing here?" She nervously asked him.

Rodrigo however, remained and silent with a serious look, began to move closer to her. Helga, unnerved by his silence and cold stare, only silently and nervously started back at him and, but then even to take a few steps back.

"Just, stop." she nervously said to him. "I-I-I-I just need some time alone."

Rodrigo however, made no effort to stop and continued to walk toward her until finally reaching her, opened his arms.

"What are you doing?" She asked him, but again Rodrigo did not respond and almost quickly, wrapped his arms around her and hugged her.

Although initially a bit unnerved, and still in shock at what she did to him, didn't respond back and merely stood there while breathing heavily as Rodrigo just continued to hug and gently rubbed her back. It was only after a little while that she slowly began to wrap her arms around him and then tightly hugged him back.

"I'm so sorry." She tearfully said to him as she continued to hug him ever tightly. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry."

"It's okay, Helga." He finally said to her.

"No, it's not OK." She firmly countered back, even backing away from him. "I need to stop doing this to you."

"Yeah, you do." He agreed with her, much to her chagrin.

"Gee, thanks." She said to him sarcastically, but she felt she kind of deserved it.

Despite his little punch below the belt, he comforted her by rubbing her arms and then kissing her on her forehead.

"What happened?" He asked her.

Helga said nothing and just sadly sighed and rubbed eyes. Seeing that she needed some more comfort, Rodrigo again moved closer and hugged her.

"Miriam relapsed again." She softly told him. "I saw an empty bottle in the bathroom."

"Oh. I'm sorry." Was all he said to her.

"No. It wasn't just that." She said. "I got really upset when I saw it and because I didn't want this to ruin my week, I just stupidly put the bottle back where I found it without thinking of the consequences."

"What consequences?" He asked her.

"Bob found the bottle later in the evening and he ended up ranting at Miriam for relapsing again." She groaned. "The yelling got pretty bad that Olga had to step in to try and calm him down."

"Did you also intervene?" He asked her.

"No. I was in my room, trying not ignore the yelling and drama." She shamefully said. "I didn't want to deal with it."

Rodrigo said nothing else and just continued to hug her. Although generally a patient guy, he had his limits and never appreciated when a person put his, or in this case, her hands on him. However, when it came to her family, Rodrigo knew this was a really delicate issue and had to be very patient and understanding, more so than usual. It did them no good if he also lost his temper.

"Why did she relapse?" Helga asked with an angry tone. "Why?! Why can't she just stay sober? Crimeny, she's working now. She's out of the house and keeping her mind busy!"

"I don't know." He just said. "And I'm sorry you had to go through this. But, I'm here for you."

Helga just smiled.

"Thanks Latino boy." She said to him. "Thanks for everything."

"If you want, you can come and sleep over at my place tonight." He offered.

"Thanks, but no." She sighed. "I'm going to have to face it sooner or later, so it might as well be now."

Just then, they head the bell ring off in the distance. Barely, but they heard it.

"Oh crub." Helga groaned. "Let's go. We're late for class already."

"No." He said to her. "Class can wait. Let's just stay here for a while."

"We''ll get in trouble." She pointed out.

"It's okay." He said with a smile. "We'll be in trouble together."

"Slick kid, aren't you?" She remarked as she playfully pulled down his fedora hat over his eyes.

She then leaned closer and kissed him on his lips. Even with his hat still covering his eyes, Rodrigo just kissed her back.

After that incident and with the day ending, Helga felt truly lucky to have someone like him, someone who understood her and was able to deal with her drama and antics. Yet, as the days continued to wore on, she soon began to examine her relationship with Rodrigo. Although she was quite happy to be with him, she felt that something was...off. Unlike her relationship with Arnold, she noticed that her relationship with Rodrigo had been going pretty smoothly, almost too smoothly. Not to mentions that when it came to feelings, they were pretty, for a lack of a better word, normal.

It had been some months since their relationship started and Helga hadn't yet experienced any high or intense desire or yearning for Rodrigo; the type that have often rendered her unable to have a proper conversation, caused her to be extremely nervous around the person, with a high tendency to swoon over him. She liked him of course, she knew that. And although she was always happy to see him, or always looked forward to spending time with him, it was just pretty normal. Although she would sometimes get the tingly feeling whenever he either kissed her, or flirted with her out of nowhere, it wasn't the same level of sensation that she used to get with Arnold. It was not intense enough. What's more, Helga hadn't yet been 'inspired' by Rodrigo to either monologue, write any stories or poetry about him.

What gives? She thought. Is this...normal?

Helga didn't know what to make of it. Passion, inspiration and poetry were what made her and she wasn't sure how she felt about the possibility of...losing them. She knew that great chunk of inspiration came from her love for Arnold. Yet, ever since she began writing again only half a year ago, she had to really try and be inspired about other things that no longer included him. That still wasn't an easy thing to do, but she was determined to see it through.

Another thing on her mind was that with each time spent with Rodrigo and the more they were involved with each other, the less she thought about Arnold. Her thoughts and feelings for him still occasionally resurfaced, but Helga began to tell that they were less and less frequent as time went by. That also she wasn't sure what to make of it. It made her feel a bit uneasy. She still wasn't ready to let him go, but she knew it would be inevitable, especially if she wanted her current relationship to succeed and Rodrigo had been really patient and understanding when it came to this.

Although they made it a point to not mention Arnold or talk about him as they continued on in their relationship, as the weeks and months went by, they grew steadily more confident on being able to mention him without arousing anything in Helga, although she would usually be the person to bring him up. Rodrigo in turn listened and commented on whenever it was appropriate, but he never once made any remarks that indicated to her that he was getting jealous or frustrated. Nothing like that at all! When it came to this, he was an angel.

Helga was confident that she will eventually give all of her heart to Rodrigo. She just had to remain vigilant and persist in this course. She couldn't afford to let up now. With each passing day, she grew more and more closer to finally rid herself from her obsessive love for that football head and with each passing time, she came to see more and more that perhaps she made the right decision. Perhaps she was meant to be with Rodrigo and not Arnold.

Could that be possible? She thought. Was I meant to be with him and not Arnold? Did I go about this all wrong? Why not? He's a great guy. He's smart, funny, understanding and has a good head over his shoulders. Has a bit of a temper and sense of confidence that borderlines on arrogance, but those are just minor flaws. What's not to like about him?

Just the very fact that Helga was even asking herself those questions while not succumbing to despair or sadness was a surprise in and of itself and just further proved that she perhaps...she was meant to be with him.

I got this. She thought determinantly. I just still need to take this step by step and I can beat this! I know I can fully dedicate my heart and soul to Rodrigo. I like him. No, I really like him now. Things have been moving forward just fine, so I have nothing to worry about.

Meanwhile, Rodrigo was also busy thinking about their relationship. But while Helga was busy examining the progress she has made and still adamant on taking things slowly, Rodrigo was thinking about perhaps taking their relationship to the next level.

I...I think I am falling for her. He thought to himself one day. I...I think I love her. I didn't think it would happen so soon. I'm not sure what to make of it. Is this a good thing? What am I saying? Of course this is a good thing! But, is it happening too soon?

As Rodrigo relaxed on his bed at home while bouncing a soccer ball up and down with his hands, he pondered whether or not to tell Helga.

Should I tell Helga about how I feel? He continued to think. Maybe I should. I mean, I don't want to keep secrets from her. I want us to be honest with each other and when it comes to Helga, she has been pretty, brutally honest about how she feels.

Even if it's been only a few months, Helga understands the matter of the heart. It's not like I chose to fall in love with her now. It just happened. Out of everyone, she should be able to understand what it feels like to fall in love so fast. I don't think she'll make a big deal out of it.

Rodrigo then just sighed when he grabbed the ball.

Of course she'll make a big deal about it. She always does, especially about this. He thought. It's too soon. She has made it clear that she wants to take things slowly. If I tell her this, it may not only cause to have a heart attack, it will just pressure her to 'speed up' about her feelings about me and...Arnold. And I know, I just know it will just make her resentful if she feels she is pushed to do something against her own pace.

Rodrigo then made his decision.

I won't tell her. He thought. I'll definitely tell her; just not now. But when? Maybe during this summer? No, that's still too soon. Maybe sometime after summer. Yeah, I think that'll give us some more time to just enjoy yourselves without having to worry about this. Helga has been through a lot and I'm sure she will just want to spend the summer having fun and hanging out with me. After what she had to endure the two years prior, she deserves to joy life again.

Rodrigo didn't really like having to wait that long to tell Helga how he really feels about her. He thought he wasn't being honest with her and he wasn't sure if he would be able to hold it in for another 3-4 months, if not even longer. But, he felt he had little choice in the matter. Helga had been doing such a great job in moving forward with their relationship and he really didn't want to do anything that would jeopardize that. Besides, he was uneasy about how she will react to it.

She'll probably slam me against the wall and start yelling me. He thought. Seriously, what is it with her and slamming me against walls? Is that a 'thing' she has? Did she used to do that to Arnold? I swear if I didn't know any better, it's as if she's suddenly taking charge and forcing me to be intimate with her, hehehehe. I have to admit, I kind of like it. I just wish she wouldn't do it so hard and not yell at me when she does it.

Anyways, I'll hold off telling her until after summer is over. Maybe October, or something. Or maybe I can tell her about how I feel when I take her to the annual Cheese Festival. Yeah, I can do that! I just need to make sure there isn't any memorable moment between her and Arnold.

Rodrigo felt a bit better that he at least had a plan on when he was planning on her his own 'undying love' version for her.

Should be plenty of time for her get more comfortable with 'us' and for her feelings for Arnold to go away. He thought. What could go wrong?

A few days later...

Helga had just entered Dr. Bliss' office for their weekly session. The Doc could instantly tell that Helga seemed to be in a really good mood. It was pretty obvious since Helga greeted her with a cheerful mood.

"How have you been doing, Helga?" Dr. Bliss asked her as she sat down.

"Oh, pretty good Doc." She replied back as she also comfortably sat down with a smile. "I can honestly say that these last few weeks have been pretty good. Can't complain really."

"Is that so?" Dr. Bliss said with both a genuine happy, but also surprised tone in her voice.

"Well, there was a little glitch that happened at home about a week back, but nothing I can't handle." She said.

"I see." Dr. Bliss remarked. "Did you want to discuss a bit about that?" She asked him.

"No, I don't." She said with a tone that indicated to the Doc not to push her with it.

"Well then, what do you want to talk about today?" She asked the blonde teen.

"Umm, you pick." She suggested to her.

"Alright. I take it that things with Rodrigo have been going well?" She asked her.

"Pretty much so." Helga began to tell her. "Almost two weeks have passed without any issue or drama."

"I'm glad to hear that." Dr. Bliss said with a smile. "Has there been any change in the way you feel?"

"Well, I umm..." Helga began to say with a hesitating tone, "kind of. I mean, yea I have been feeling, let's just say, more drawn to him, but nothing overly eccentric or just plain crazy."

"Has he given you any reason to act eccentric?" She asked him.

"Nope, not a lick." She replied.

"What about your feelings for Arnold?" She asked.

"They are still there." Helga replied, this time with a more serious tone. "They resurface every now and then, but it's becoming less and less frequent." She quickly added.

"I see." The Doc said she as took some notes. "And has Rodrigo still been okay with all of this?"

"Yes." Helga gratefully replied. "He's been an angel and hasn't really pushed me to move on or to do anything that I wasn't yet comfortable to do with him. I mean, at least in this department, I have no complaints. I honestly don't know how he does it. If I were in his shoes, I would have flipped!"

"I'm really glad to hear you say that, Helga." Dr. Bliss remarked. "It looks like everything is going well for you."

"Well I don't want to get my hopes up yet," she said, "but yes, I feel that way too." She continued as she made a small smile.

"I know this maybe a bit too soon," Dr. Bliss said, "but you have thought about how you will feel or react if you ever see Arnold anytime soon?"

"No." She replied. "And I don't want to think about it."

"But Helga," Dr. Bliss insisted, "as much as you have progressed, I do urge this is something that you need to prepare yourself for. Arnold will at some time come back for another visit and while I hope it's not anytime soon, there is no way of knowing when-"

"Look Doc," Helga then cut her off, "I know where you're trying to get at and you're right; this is something I should be emotionally preparing myself for. But right now, I don't want to think about Arnold at all or have anything to do with him. I have been doing that for the past two years, none stop. Every single day I have been thinking about him, remembering our time together, fantasizing about him one day returning on a white stallion, lifting me and carrying me off, blah, blah, blah. No more!"

When Dr. Bliss said nothing back, Helga continued.

"Let me be perfectly straight Doc," Helga said as she leaned a bit forward from her chair. "I am tired of all of that! I am tired of always thinking about him, always seeing him everywhere I go. I just...I just want all of that to stop. Especially now that I'm with Rodrigo, it's more urgent for me to stop thinking about him. I just want to enjoy myself and my time with my boyfriend without ever having to thinking about Arnold again."

"Summer is around the corner and Rodrigo and I have been talking about where we would want to go or do during our time off. That right now is on my mind; having fun! I haven't had a good summer vacation since Arnold left. This will be my first time in three years where I can get to enjoy the weather, enjoy the beach and the ice cream without any more worries or longing for someone who made it dead clear to me that we were done. Capish?"

"You're right, Helga." Dr. Bliss relented. "You have every right to enjoy your time free from this. I apologize."

"Eh, don't worry about it." She casually said as she leaned back to her seat. "Anyways, Rodrigo and I are planning to go to the beach sometime and I'm a bit excited about that. I haven't gone to the beach in years."

"By yourselves or with friends?" Dr. Blss asked.

"Not sure yet." Helga replied. "It won't matter to me anyways. I just want to spend some time with him. I'm planning on surprising him by getting a nice little two piece bikini, hehehehe." She smirked.

Dr. Bliss couldn't help but also giggle at that.

"It sounds like you have everything planned out; future-wise, I mean." Dr. Bliss commented.

"Yup." Helga said. "I think things are going to be smooth sailing from here on in." She confidently said with a smile.


Well, I'd say things seem to be going pretty well for Rodrigo and Helga. If you guys thought these 15 chapters were easy going, with little way of suspense, heartbreaks and excitement, well you are right. It was intentional. This is essentially the calm...before the storm.

This is not the final chapter of this story. I have put this story intentionally on hold to make way for the sequel, 'Hey Arnold: Civil War'. Civil War takes place after the first 15 chapters of this story and also after my other story, 'Arnold's Legacy'.

Chapter 16 and onwards will take place after the events of 'Hey Arnold: Civil War'. We will how the events in Civil War change Rodrigo and Helga's relationship, if at all.

Oh, did I mention that in the story, 'Hey Arnold: Civil War', Arnold comes back as one of the main characters?! SPOILERS!

Just so you are clear with the sequence of the storyline, here is a breakdown of the stories that I have written and where each supposed to be read first:

1 - Helga's Transference

2 - Helga's Confession

3 - A New Life (First 15 chapters)

4 - Arnold's Legacy

5 - Hey Arnold: Civil War

6- Going back to 'A New Life' (Chapters 16 and up)