Disclaimer: I do not own "Hey Arnold!"

"I am sorry for the long delay between chapters. Things are slowing down and I hope to write more often. Thank you for reading"

Chapter: Five- Problems

Helga stared into Arnolds disgruntled face. Her eyes were like sparkling diamonds. Arnolds heart ached at the thought about how Helga stormed into the deli in a rage, like the town was being destroyed by terrorists. He didn't know what to think.

"Helga?, did something happen? I've never seen you act this way before."

His kind and passionate tone turned Helga into an emotional disaster. Looking into those innocent eyes, she began to believe it was all an act. Her eyes twisted from hurt, to anger. Pushing Arnold away,

"I know you've been cheating on me!" Tears swelled in her eyes.

"Helga?, why would you think that? I spend every waking moment with you except for when I'm at work." He started towards her. Helga backed away,

"Every waking moment that I know of! When you leave to go home I don't know who your going to. You could have two, three, even 10 other girlfriends! Flings off to the side or something."

Helga began to pace around the back lot of the deli, finally she walked inside leaving Arnold behind. Helga stopped at the rack of bread neatly stacked in rows. Arnold stood outside for a few seconds wondering what was going on and what he should do. He was afraid, but wasn't sure what the fear was from. Taking a deep breath Arnold walked inside, finding Helga staring at the rack of bread. Arnold was confused. He walked to Helga, close enough to show her he cares, but a safe distance away to not get pushed away again.

"Helga? I don't know where these ideas of other girls are coming from, but there not true. I love you with all my heart. I don't want anybody else. I love you!"

Helga just stared at Arnold. Not knowing whether to believe him or not. Arnold didn't know why Helga was staring at him, it made him uncomfortable. All of a sudden they were both startled by the ringing of a table bell. Jumping, they both looked towards the front of the deli. Arnold looked back at Helga, who was staring of into space. Arnold touched her shoulder.

"Helga? I need to get back to work. Can we talk about this when I get off?"

Helga shrugged her shoulders and walked into the lobby Arnold followed. The customer was Rhonda. When Rhonda spotted Helga she didn't even notice Helga was upset.

"Helga, your one lucky girl. Arnold has been jabbering non-stop about you to everyone. He really loves you, you know?"

Rhonda immediately began flipping through the paper menu and mumbling to herself. Arnold embraced Helga in his arms and whispered into her ear,

"I told you, you're all I talk about."

Helga started to walk away, Arnold caught her right before opening the front door of the deli.

"Helga, I love you" Arnolds hurt tone of voice caught Helga off guard. She turned around, stating in a confused voice,

"I love you too"

Arnold thought to himself, But I really do.

Helga laid in bed that night, waiting for a page from Arnold, displaying "45", for good-night. When she fell asleep, her dreams haunted her. Arnold with his arms around Lila right before walking over to lie to her about how much he loves her. She dreamed about watching Arnold staring down girls in mini skirts and low-riders. She wondered if he really did look at those girls when she wasn't around.

Stirring beneath the sheets, Helga woke up around 10:30am the next morning. It was Saturday and she knew Arnold was already at work. She sleepily looked around thinking of the night before and the last time she heard from Arnold. He had not paged her good-night, and she hadn't gotten a page from him yet that morning either. The first thought in her head was,

He went to another girls house last night, didn't he?

She upset herself to the point of gagging. Helga walked into the kitchen to get some Pepto-Bismol, where she found her older sister, Olga, sipping a French-vanilla cappuccino and nibbling a bagel,

"Hello little sister! How are you feeling this morning? I was going to walk in the park, it's so lovely outside. Would you care to join me?"

Olga's happy attitude made Helga more furious than ever.

"Why are you always so happy? What in this world could possibly make you so cheery day after day? Is it pleasurable to watch love ones get hurt? To see people die in the streets? To watch little kids starve because their parents are to lazy to work?"

Helga walked with an angry slump, she picked up the newspaper Olga had spread out over the counter.

"Look here, the top story, 'A 6 year old girl kidnapped from her bedroom in the middle of the night' do you find this amusing?"

Olga's once perky face was loose and a trace of hurt could be seen in her eyes. Helga was staring her straight in the face.

"Oh crimany! Forget it! Go ahead, show off your perfect figure, your shiny awards, and flawless life! You don't have to deal with everyone else's problems, so why worry about them!"

Helga stomped out of the kitchen, grabbed her coat on the way out the front door, slamming it shut. Olga sat in surprise staring at the newspaper. Helga was right about problems in life. But what about all the good? An article right beside the headline of the 'kidnapped 6 year old' displayed a picture of a smiling 13 year old boy who saved his grandma from drowning when her wheel chair rolled into their private pool.

Helga walked down to the city pond, where she saw a couple fighting. The girl, who looked about nineteen years old, was of average looks, she was obviously upset and her boyfriend, who looked about the same age, was desperately trying to calm her down. Helga thought of her, catching her boyfriend with another girl, or swapping her jewelry for illegal drugs. He must have done something for her to be so upset. Helga sat down at an empty bench by the pond. Wondering what she should do.