Responses to reviews:

The J.A.M. a.k.a Numbuh i: Yeah, he did. But no, it wasn't because he is dense. He stayed because he wanted some answers from Rodrigo as to why he would put his hands on his girlfriend. I was initially going to make Arnold more angry and aggressive, but I thought that was taking things a bit too far...too soon, lol.

Cre8ivelybankrupt87: When I first made this character, I was thinking what nickname Helga might give him. Unlike Gerald, Harold, Arnold, Curly, Lila and Rhonda who all have distinct physical features or mannerisms/behaviours, Rodrigo doesn't really have anything that Helga could use. His only distinct feature is his fedora hat, but what nickname can she use? Hat boy? Maybe dancing boy? Long-hair or black-hair boy, given his somewhat long hair? But, Helga already refers to Gerald on account of his hair, so that's nothing unique.

I even thought about calling him Zorro, lol. But, given his how he is, I don't think he really fits that description, although I do plan on having Helga call him that from time to time.

I thought about her calling him brown boy, but I think that was a bit too racist and also confusing since brown, at least in Canada, is usually referred to people from India/Pakistan. So, I used 'latino boy' instead. It was easier that way. And besides, Rodrigo doesn't mind it. He is Latino, so I don't see the harm in Helga calling him that.

Veganmama: Thank you! I'm glad I'm corrupting you, hehehe.

Guest: I agree that Rodrigo went a little overboard with him taking her bow, especially him misunderstanding Helga's unintentional stomping of his hat.

And yes, despite how sinister and rotten Helga herself can get, she does have her limits. Although, which is worse? Someone destroying something personal or someone revealing something personal about you?

Sid, Stinky and Harold are immature and in many respects, Helga sees them as her inferior and for good reason. Helga in general is smarter and more mature than them, which prompts people to take her far more seriously. It's not a coincidence that she only affiliates herself with Phoebe and Arnold, two of the most mature kids in their grade and the few that she has any respect for. Sometimes she also associates with Gerald, but he can also get on her nerves and Gerald has a big ego.

Yes, Rodrigo is manipulative. But then again, so is Helga and unlike Rodrigo, Helga manipulated the whole 'school hierarchy' thing just to test him. She herself doesn't believe in that stuff. Rodrigo just countered back and despite somewhat manipulating Rhonda and the girls, he did use that opportunity to get to know them and thus far, didn't take advantage of them.

I made Rodrigo to be a more controversial character than Helga, so in a way I'm glad that your not liking him. But I do hope you don't despite him too much, lol.

The next morning everyone arrived in class. As they began to take their seats, they awaited for Helga and Rodrigo to arrive. After witnessing just how upset Helga was the previous day, it was anybody's guess how she would be feeling. Oh, they knew she would be upset. They just didn't know if she would be deplorably sad/depressed, or in a raging mood, or both.

Arnold and Gerald went inside and made their way toward their seats while they waited for Phoebe and Helga to arrive. Arnold hadn't yet had the chance to talk to Helga, so he was particularly anxious to see her. He never got the chance to speak with her yesterday, as she was too upset to be in any talking mood. Phoebe had advised that given her state, it was best if Arnold spoke to her the day after, to which Arnold very reluctantly complied.

"Where is she?" An anxious Arnold asked. "I hope she is OK."

"She'll be here, man." Gerald tried to reassure him. "I'm sure she's OK. She's a strong girl."

Arnold said nothing and just let out a hopeful sigh.

Just then, Phoebe and Helga began to make their way inside class. Almost everyone went quiet and their attention and eyes were drawn to them as they made their way in.

Physically, Helga looked like her usual self, minus her bow. She retained her usual stern face. However, there was on big exception. Helga made almost no noise when she entered the room and just quietly and quickly made her way to her desk while avoiding making any eye contact, including Arnold. This eerie silence from the blond preteen revealed to everyone that she no longer retained her usual wit, sarcasm or aggressive gestures. If anything, it looked like she was devoid of energy or passion, which made everyone uneasy.

Arnold only managed to get a quick look at her face when she entered the room and sat down, but it was hard to really tell just how bad she was taking it. After Phoebe helped Helga to her seat, she made her way to Arnold and Gerald.

"How is she?" Arnold softly asked her.

"Not well." Phoebe said with a worried look. "She is still very upset about it. Since this morning, she hadn't said a word, not even to me."

"That bad?" Gerald asked, to which Phoebe just sadly nodded.

"Can I talk to her?" Arnold asked.

"Yes." Phoebe responded.

Arnold quickly got up from his desk and was just about to go over to Helga when Mr. Simmons suddenly came inside.

"Good morning class!" Mr. Simmons cheerfully said to everyone. "Now please settle down and let us begin this morning's lessons." He continued as he cleaned the blackboard.

Arnold frowned at being unable to talk to Helga, but with no other choice, he grudgingly sat back down. He'll have to wait until lunch time. Just then, he noticed that Rodrigo's desk was still empty and it dawned on him that he hadn't yet arrived.

"Um Mr. Simmons?" Arnold called out and raised his hand.

"Yes, Arnold?" The teacher said.

"We seem to be missing Rodrigo. He hasn't arrived yet." Arnold said, trying not to frown when he mentioned of his name.

"Oh yes! Thank you for reminding me, Arnold. Rodrigo won't be joining us today." Mr. Simmons said. "He wasn't feeling well this morning. So, since how close you two have become, I was wondering if you can pass by his house later today and give him today's homework, just so he won't lag behind."

"Oh um...I...guess.." A reluctant Arnold said, although in truth, he really did not want to see him.

"Thank you, Arnold." Mr. Simmons happily said, oblivious to what happened between him and Helga after school.

Mr. Simmons then began to teach that morning's lessons. However, almost everyone's minds were at the surprising and curious news and about Rodrigo's mysterious absence. No one bought the excuse of him not feeling well. They knew the real reason why he didn't show up, but it was anybody's guess what he must be feeling about all of this. Was he avoiding Helga and everyone else? Did he even feel bad at all for what he did to her?

As the hours dragged on, Helga tried as much as she could to continue her day as normally as possible. Much to her relief, not only was the kid who was cause all of this mess not in, but the rest of her classmates had wisely decided to give her some space. Yet, even with these gestures, Helga struggled to muster even the sufficient energy and will to listen and do her work. Still badly reeling over the loss of her pink bow, she felt she had, quite literally, lost an essential piece of herself. She had been tied to that bow nearly her whole life. It had been what essentially started her road down to her intense infatuation with Arnold, the genesis of her creative spirit and writing, almost the whole reason of her existence! And now, it was gone, lost forever under the clutches of a public cleaning vehicle, forever ripping a good chunk of her right out. It was utterly painful, if not almost unbearable.

At lunch time...

Helga was with Phoebe at a table that they had all to themselves, but only her best friend was eating. Helga, too depressed, merely played around with her food, while sadly looking at it. Even now, she still hadn't uttered a singly word, neither to Phoebe or anyone else.

"Phoebe?" Arnold then approached them. "Can I talk to Helga for a second?" He asked.

"Of course." Phoebe said. "I'll be with Gerald if you need me." She said to Helga, but received no response.

Once Phoebe got up and went to sit with Gerald, Arnold went up to her and sat down. Arnold had been wanting to talk to her since yesterday and was very patiently waiting for his chance. Now as he sat right beside her, alone, to his frustration, he was at a loss on what to really say. Based on how she looked, he knew that she was deeply upset and was trying to think carefully on what to say without making things worse for her. It also didn't really help that Helga wasn't talking.

"How are you feeling today, Helga?" Arnold asked him.

Helga however, didn't respond back and just continued to sadly look down at her food as she played with it with her plastic spoon.

"It's uh, it's a beautiful out today." Arnold again tried to talk to her. "Maybe we can go for a walk to the park after school." He suggested.

But again, Helga said nothing and didn't even look up.

Arnold, now feeling more bad, sighed and thought about on what else he could else he could say to help her. In the end, he realized that there was really nothing he could say to her right now to alleviate the pain and sadness that she was feeling at that moment. He thought that perhaps it was best to give her some more time alone, but he was reluctant to get up and leave her. He felt he should at least stay by her side, even if they didn't say anything to each other. Yes, that's what he should do; he'll stay close by and offer whatever support she needed to help her through this. At the same time, he felt that now was a good time to say what had also been on his mind.

"I'm sorry, Helga." Arnold then said again. "I'm sorry for not listening to you about Rodrigo. You were right about him. He's not a nice person. I never should have invited him into our group of friends."

"It's my fault you lost your pink bow." Arnold, feeling guilty now, continued. "If I had listened to you, this wouldn't have happened. I'm really sorry for allowing things to get this far and for putting Rodrigo before you. I just hope that in the future, you can forgive me."

"It's not your fault." Helga then suddenly said, surprising Arnold. "It's not Rodrigo's fault either. It's my fault."

"What? Helga, no." Arnold said. "Don't blame this on yourself. Rodrigo was the one who provoked you by grabbing-"

"No, this one is on me." Helga cut him off. "I pushed him to do it. I was the one that exposed his arrest to everyone, I was the one that kept on yelling and threatening him, and I was the one who refused to apologize to him. Rodrigo had every right to explode like that. Even when I stomped on his hat, he gave me the opportunity to apologize, but I just stubbornly refused to even do that."

"Helga, I-" Arnold tried to say something, but was a bit taken aback by her confession to say anything back.

"I am the one who never should have taken things this far. I should have just sucked it up and apologized to him." Helga lamented. "Heck, I never should have even exposed his arrest to anyone. I avoided on doing something so simple, all because I am too much of a wuss to just accept it."

"What do you mean?" Arnold asked.

"Look Arnold," Helga said with a sigh, "things have been a bit...overwhelming for me as of late. There's just been a lot of changes one after the other. I still haven't really accepted the reality that you and I are together. I feel I am still dreaming and that I'm going to wake up any minute. We just made, you know 'us', public just a short while ago. And to top it all, I'm now expected to just let go of my tough and mean side and just show everyone what a 'sweet' or 'caring' person I am, like it's no big deal. I'm just scared to show it. That's why I was being so hard on Rodrigo. Him saying that he liked me only added to the pressure and I just couldn't take it anymore. I just couldn't accept the fact that some random kid, who doesn't know me, could make such a judgment. I didn't want to believe it to be true. It just made things easier." She continued as she looked away sadly.

Arnold said nothing and just scratched the back of his head.

"I was also jealous of him." She then talked again.

"Jealous?" Arnold asked, looking a bit confused. "About what?"

Helga just sighed again as she gathered up the courage to tell Arnold the truth.

"I have known you and every loser in our class nearly my whole life." Helga began to explain. "And yet, almost none of you have ever given me a second thought, unless I either bullied or harassed you. But with Rodrigo, the second he came here, everyone went all googly over him and wanted to be friends with him, at my expense. I just couldn't believe that a total stranger would be able to grab a whole swab of our friends like that, while I have known everyone for years and I was never able to even get their attention!" She said with growing angry and even banged on the table with her fist. "But," She continued, now calming down, "I know that it's my fault for the way things turned out. It's my fault that our friends still don't want anything to do with me, and it's time I own up to that. Rodrigo had nothing to do it. He just wanted to fit in. And all I did was just make things more difficult for him."

Just then, Arnold reach for her hand and held it. When Helga saw this, she turned around to face him and she was met with a happy smile on his face. There wasn't anything that Arnold needed to say. His smile said it all; he was proud of her. Helga recognized this and just smiled back, while gently squeezing his hand.

"But I guess now, I'm paying the price for it." Helga then said, looking sad again.

"Well actually Helga," Arnold then said, "I know that pink bow meant a lot to you, but perhaps you can see past it and look at the real thing; me." He sweetly said to her. "Perhaps now that we are together, you don't really need it anymore."

Helga couldn't help but let out an almost big smile when she heard Arnold say that. It made her heart jolt and skip a beat in utter joy.

"Thanks, football head." She said. "And you're right; I have you now, the real thing. I knew there was going to be a day when I wouldn't need my pink bow anymore." She tried to look at the bright side.

"But it's just that, if it was anyone who was going to remove that bow from my head, it was going to be me, when I was ready." She continued. "And that's a total if. That bow has been a big part of me and it means a whole awful lot. I wasn't expecting to lose it and be apart from it so soon. It was just...really shocking and it hurts. I'm just going to need some time to try and get over this."

"I understand." Arnold said to her. "Take whatever time you need. And just know that... well, I'm here for you." And then leaned forward to place a soft kiss on her cheeks.

Helga, not expecting the gesture, immediately tensed up and let out a love-struck smile.

Ooohhh. She swooned in thought, but then immediately snapped out of it.

"Hey! What did I say about public affection?" She retorted at him.

"I know Helga." Arnold said with a chuckle. "I just wanted to reassure you."

"Yeah well, next time don't do it so out in the open." She scoffed at him. "But, thanks." She then gently, if not also sweetly, said to him.

Arnold just smiled.

At the end of school...

Helga felt relieved when school finally ended for the day. Despite her talk with Arnold during lunch, she still felt the devastating nature over the loss of her bow and it was hard concentrating on school, let alone anything else. In truth, she wasn't sure if she ever wanted to depart from it. She never had any plans. Her bow had become so ingrained into her identity that she found the mere thought of it utterly inconceivable. But now, there was no other choice but to accept the reality; it was now gone.

Helga let out a sad sigh as she approached her locker to get her belongings. After unlocking it, she opened the door and began to get things when suddenly,

"Helga!" Someone then called her.

Helga instantly stopped what she was doing and let out a snarl when she recognized the voice. Her fists clenched to such an extreme that they began to turn red. Although she knew she would be seeing him around some day, she had been perfectly content on not having to see the person who was responsible for losing her beloved pink bow that whole day, if not for the rest of her life. Now, with anger quickly rising within her, she tried to control herself as she heard Rodrigo run towards her.

"If you wish to see the sunrise tomorrow," Helga then began to say him with a snarling and threatening tone, "then you'd better walk away from me right -" She stopped herself when she turned to look at him and was taken aback when she saw the state that he was in.

"What happened to you?" She asked him.

Rodrigo went inside the school and approached her looking as if he had he just made his way out of the jungle after being lost for many days. His clothes and hands were dirty, he looked tired and was even sweaty. Actually, the only thing clean about him was his hat.

"I uh, came here to give you something." He said, as he reached into his pocket and pulled something out.

When Helga looked what he had in his hand, her eyes went wide open and she gasped in shock at what she was seeing.

"M-My bow!" She happily exclaimed as she reached for it and took it. However, upon glancing it, she realized that something was off.

"Wait just a darn second! This doesn't look my bow!" She said to him, now frowning. "It's a fake!"

"No, it's not." Rodrigo firmly said back. "It's the one that the cleaning truck picked up from the road yesterday."

"How do you know this one is mine?" She asked him, still suspicious. "Other girls could have lost their bow that looked similar to mine and ended up in the dump."

"It's the truth, Helga. This is yours because I tracked down the cleaning truck that took your bow." Rodrigo explained.

"You...did?" She asked, surprised.

Rodrigo nodded.

"When it drove by yesterday, I managed to see and memorize its license plate number." He explained. "I quickly went home and after searching for it online, I managed to locate it to a cleaning facility far away from here. When I went there, I managed to find it parked and after looking at its street brushes, I found your bow still clinging onto it."

"It...It was still there?" Helga asked, surprised.

"Yeah." He said. "I grabbed it and took it home with me. But, I couldn't yet give it to you because it was extremely dirty from all the dirt and garbage the brush picked up. I was surprised I even found it in one piece. So I spent almost all day cleaning and drying it. That's why I lied to the school about me not feeling well."

"Y...You did all this, just so you can get my bow back?" A stunned Helga asked.

"Yeah." Was all Rodrigo answered.

"...Why?" She just asked him.

Rodrigo initially just sighed before he told her.

"Believe it or not, I feel bad for what I did." He admitted. "I knew it meant a lot to you; that's why I took it. But, I didn't know it meant the whole world to you. When I saw you crying yesterday, I knew that I crossed a line. I didn't mean to make you that upset."

Helga was completely taken back by the extent that Rodrigo went through just to get her bow back. It was just too good to be true.

"You feel bad for me?" She asked him with a highly suspicious, if not flabbergasted look . "After what I put you through, you feel bad for me?" She asked him again.

"Yes Helga, I feel bad for you." Rodrigo annoyingly replied. "I never had anything against you. Quite the opposite in fact. Isn't me getting your pink bow proof of that? Seriously, I don't know what else I have to do to get it through your thick head that I meant what I said to you on my first day here."

Despite Rodrigo's assurance, Helga still felt suspicious about all of this. After what she put him through, she didn't deserve his kindness and she knew it. But, it was just that; her fear and insecurities that was the initial cause of all of this. She was unwilling to even consider that there was just someone else out there that could like her that caused all of this. Well, liked her, past tense. And now she was doubting his sincerity, when what he did what was perhaps the third, or even second best thing that someone did for her. She wasn't sure if this topped Brainy retrieving her locket back after she tore and threw it into the river in San Lorenzo. The only thing that did exceed this gesture was what Arnold said to her on the fateful day at the entrance of the preschool building.

Not saying anything to him, she then began to examine the bow, making sure the fabric, colour and layout were the exact same.

"It is my bow!" She happily exclaimed as she then put it back on her head, flushing its ends and happily caressing it, even almost squealing with joy.

Rodrigo couldn't help but let out a small smile upon seeing her so happy. Astonished, this was the first time he had ever seen her smile and truthfully, it was nice to see it.

"Anyways, I'll see you later." Rodrigo then said as he began to walk away.

Helga stopped humming and smiling when she realized he was leaving.

"I'm sorry!" She then shouted, prompting him to stop and turn around.

"What?" He said as he turned back around.

"I'm sorry, about everything." She continued, now giving off a genuine remorseful look. "I'm sorry for being such a stupid jerk to you. And...I'm sorry for stomping on your hat. That was still an accident by the way! But, I'm still sorry."

Rodrigo initially said nothing and just looked at her. In truth, he was a bit surprised that Helga was finally apologizing and just walked back towards her.

"I'm sorry too." He said to her, also looking guilty. "I guess we both got off on the wrong foot."

"Yeah, we did." Helga remarked. "Well, I mostly did. You were just a victim in all of this."

"I guess." He said. "But after getting into a fight with you, I'm not much of a victim anymore. I'm sorry for grabbing you like that." He also said.

"Hey, I don't blame you." She said with a shrug. "I was too busy yelling at you to really see just how upset you were. I didn't even notice that I was stomping on your hat until you told me. I should have just apologized to you when you asked me to. Actually, you even kind of surprised me at how angry you got. I didn't know your hat meant everything to you."

Rodrigo just let out a sad sigh. He then took off his hat and looked at it with a sad glance, something that Helga noticed.

"This hat is the only thing I have left of my grandpa and it's not even his." He then sadly began to explain. "I don't have anything else to remember him by."

"Why only the hat? Don't you have a picture of him?" Helga asked, to which Rodrigo just sadly shook his head.

"Oh." She said, seeing the full picture of why Rodrigo was so attached to his fedora hat. "That must have been some grandpa if you miss him that much." She remarked.

"Yeah, he was." He said back as he then put his hat back on his head. "He was the only that was there for me when no one else was."

"What do you mean?" Helga asked, looking confused.

"I...don't really get along well with my family." Rodrigo began to shyly explain. "Well, specifically my extended family."

"Really? how come?" Helga bluntly asked, intrigued and also surprised by this.

"They think I'm a 'malcriado'." He said.

"A what?" Helga asked.

"'Malcriado'. It's Spanish. It means someone who is misbehaves, is rude or wasn't raised properly." Rodrigo explained. "They've always thought of me as a rebel; someone who likes to do whatever they want without respect for others. But, it's not that I don't respect rules or that I'm a bad person. I just think differently than others. Things that don't make any sense to me or any rules that I think are unfair or just plain wrong, I break them. That's why I refused to follow the those hierarchical rules that you and the girls told me about, because I thought they were completely unfair."

"Anyways, the fact that I think differently has gotten me into trouble with many members of my family." He continued. "I used to be very close to them, especially with my grandma. But as I grew up, I started to question more and more about certain 'things' that they do or say until I started to clash with them, to the point that almost everyone, including my grandma, began to push me away."

"Things are different here than they are back home, so I guess it was cultural difference and different ways of thinking." He continued. "Which is why I ended up becoming the black sheep of the family. Instead of listening to what I had to say, or just admitting that they didn't have all the answers, they just pushed me away. Out of my extended family, only my grandpa stood up for me and supported me. He was a wise man who was never shy to admit when he was wrong. That's why I was so close to him."

"What about your parents?" Helga asked.

"They support me and tried to explain to everyone that I just had a different way of looking at things and wasn't trying to be mean or bad. But they were too set in their ways to really listen and began blaming my parents that they were somehow responsible for my 'improper' behaviour. So, they also started pushing them away." He sadly said.

"Anyways, that experience has made me, well, resentful and it's also why I got so angry with you yesterday. It wasn't just because of my hat. I thought you were being just like them. You accused me to being a bad or deviant person, someone who was out to get your friends, all without really getting to know me. I wasn't trying to hurt anyone. I was just trying to fit in. I wasn't faking when I was being nice to people. It's the real me. I just...didn't want people to see that other part of me, the one I let out yesterday, you know? So, I guess you weren't completely wrong about me hiding something."

Usually this was the part where Helga would happily exclaim that she had been right all along about him, but she did not such thing. Rather, she said nothing and just looked at him with a strong amount of guilt in her face. Seeing the amount of damage she had caused him, it was no wonder why he completely lost it yesterday, and also why she began to sympathize with him.

"I can kind of understand where you are coming from." She then said. "About your family, I mean."

Rodrigo didn't say anything and just looked at her with surprising eyes.

"I...also don't really get along with my family either." Helga then nervously, but also sadly began to tell her story. "They ignore me, pay no attention to what I say or do. Most of the time they don't even know I am there. My dad doesn't even bother to remember my name. My mom has a drinking problem and is always out of it to even make me a proper lunch, and they always try to make me to be more like my stupid older sister."

Rodrigo said nothing and just looked at her with a horrified look on his face. He knew from Arnold that she was having family issues, he had no idea it was that bad. The very fact that her own dad doesn't bother to even remember her name was enough for him to realize that something was really wrong.

"I'm-I'm really sorry to hear that." He sympathetically said. "How long has this been going on?"

"Since time immemorial." Helga groaned. "Figures. The people that are supposed to be there for you are the ones who end up disappointing you."

"Yeah, that's true." Rodrigo sadly agreed.

"That's why I act the way I do; just to shield myself. And it's also why I made things so hard for you." She continued.

"What do you mean?" He asked.

"I...I just..." Helga tried to explain, but was finding it hard to express herself. "I just did it because I had to, OK?" She retorted a bit with a frown.

"Why though?" He asked again. "I understand you are angry about your situation at home, but I don't know how you making things hard for me had anything to do-"

"Because I was jealous, alright?!" She then blurt it out, interrupting him. "I was jealous that you being new here, you managed to get everyone to like you so fast. I've known everyone since I was three and yet not once had any of them given me a second thought, unless I either yelled at them or threatened them. It's bad enough that I'm ignored at home; I couldn't take if it was happening at school."

"But Helga," Rodrigo began to counter, "I wasn't trying to get people go against you-"

"Ya, ya, I know you weren't. You don't need to say anything to me." She then quickly said. "It was just how I felt. It was stupid and childish of me and I'm sorry. I know you had nothing to do with it. It's my fault for the way people don't really like me. It was just easier for me to blame it on someone else rather than admit it." She sighed. "I'm sorry for that."

"Is that why you like Arnold so much?" He then asked.

Helga just sighed.

"Yeah." She replied. "Arnold was the only one who not only noticed me, but he was also the first who noticed that there is something good in me; something that people actually liked. That all started because of this pink bow."

"Really?" He said, stunned.

"It was this bow that made Arnold first notice me...and the reason why I started liking him." She said.

Helga didn't need to say anything else to Rodrigo to fully comprehend the psychological dynamics between her and Arnold and it truly stunned him. It made things clear to him why Helga suddenly got so aggressive against him yesterday. He was lucky that he managed to even find her bow intact. Had he known about this, he never would have attempted to reach for it in the first place, no matter how angry he was.

"I didn't know." He said, with a deep remorseful tone in his voice. "I'm sorry for ever touching it."

"Of course you didn't." She retorted, reverting back to her old self, albeit only very briefly. "But, it's OK."

"Arnold has always been one of those people who always see the good in others," Helga continued, "so it's not hard to believe him when he says that there is something good and nice about me. But, for a complete stranger like you to come and say the same thing; that was hard to believe and I struggled with it. It also didn't help that since you weren't really afraid of me, it inspired others to not also be afraid of me. Having the reputation of being mean and a bully was my only source of comfort and the only thing I had control over. I was just finding it hard to move away from that and just be...you know, n-n-n-n-n-"

"Nice?" Rodrigo asked.

"Yes, nice!" Helga shouted after struggling to say it. "Anyways, I blew this one big time." She sadly continued. "I mean, after all of this, I'm probably on your black list now." She just nervously, but sadly chuckled a bit.

"Well umm, actually," Rodrigo then began say, "I'll admit, you were going to be. But after what I learned today, I can't bring myself to do it."

Helga initially looked at him with a surprised look, but then began to frown.

"Hey! I don't need your pity here!" Helga then suddenly exclaimed at him. "I didn't tell you this just so you can feel sorry for me."

"How else do you want me to feel, Helga?" Rodrigo asked. "Feeling sorry for someone isn't a sign of weakness; it's compassion. I'm sure Arnold also feels the same way. And besides, I want us to move past this and try to be friends."

"...Really?" Helga asked, completely surprised. Rodrigo nodded. "Even after what I did to you, you...still want to be friends?"

"Yes." He said.

"Why?" She asked him, still suspicious.

"Because you feel bad about you did." He said. "If you were really a mean, cold person with no heart, you wouldn't have felt guilty and you definitely wouldn't have apologized. But you do, and you apologized, which is all I ever wanted. Besides, after what I did to you yesterday, I think that was punishment enough."

Helga looked at him with a completely stunned and dumbfounded face. She had no way to expressing the level of shock that she was feeling at that moment.

He still wants to be friends with me? She thought. He reminds me of someone...Oh crimeny, now I remember who. She continued to groan in thought.

"And besides," he continued with a bit of a smile, "you are really something and after everything that has happened, especially with the way you fight, well I'm impressed. Believe me when I say that you are one of a kind. You don't take anyone's garbage, you are direct and to the point, you don't play immature games, you command respect from everyone and based on what I've seen and hear from some people, you seem to be very smart. What's not to like? Sure, you can be overbearing at times, but I don't think it's that bad. I just think we got off on the wrong foot."

"Was I being too immature when I slammed Harold's food tray on his face last week?" Helga tested him.

"Pfft, are you kidding me?" Rodrigo said. "He deserved it after he started making fun of you all of a sudden. I told him that myself when he started whining about losing his lunch. You weren't even talking to him! I know he doesn't really like you, but that doesn't give him the right to make fun of you all the time. Hm, now that I think about it, a lot of the fights and argument that I've seen between you two usually comes from him doing something first to annoy or make you angry. You just try to avoid him."

"Thank you!" Helga happily exclaimed, even throwing her arms up in the air. "Finally, someone who understands my point of view."

"Really?" Rodrigo asked, surprised. "Doesn't Arnold support you in this?"

"Pfft, I wish!" Helga complained. "All football head tells me is to ignore him, that words can't hurt me, or some crap like that, or just tells me that what I did or said to him wasn't nice, especially if that crybaby starts whining." She said as she rolled her eyes.

"Why would he tell you that what you did wasn't nice when it's Harold that usually starts things?! It should be the other way around!" Rodrigo annoyingly exclaimed. "And what does he mean that 'words can't hurt you'? Of course they hurt!"

"See, that's exactly what I'm saying!" Helga said back, excited on meeting someone who finally understood a bit of what she goes through at school. "Even little Ms. Perfect sometimes tells me to be more nice to pink boy."

"Pfft, please." Rodrigo said as he rolled his eyes. "I think you could be more nice to people if they also pull their own weight, especially Harold; pun intended."

Helga couldn't help but let out a small chuckle at that joke.

"It's a two way street. It shouldn't just be you doing all the work." Rodrigo continued. "I know you have your flaws, but so do they. They also need to stop with their shenanigans and prejudice about you and just give you the space and time."

"Wow, I really had you all wrong, Latino boy." Helga said, now looking impressed with him. "You're not bad at all."

"Of course I'm not, once you get to know me" He said with a smirk.

"Wow, you also have a bit of a cocky attitude there." She groaned. "But you're right. I never did give you the chance."

"Hm. So what else do you know about me?" Helga then curiously asked him.

"Well, I like your poetry that Mr. Simmons read to everyone in class last week." Rodrigo then said.

"Well, thanks I do – hey wait a minute!" Helga then angrily said. "What makes you think I write any of that garbage?!" She yelled at him as she grabbed his shirt and pulled him towards her.

Rodrigo, unfazed with her sudden aggression, just rolled his eyes.

"I didn't, until you just confirmed it to me just now." He responded with a smirk as he calmly grabbed her hands and gently pulled them away from his shirt. "I had a hunch that it was you, Helga. No one told me. I figured it out myself. You're the only person in our class who wants to keep things about herself private. Everyone else there, including Arnold, wouldn't mind having the spotlight every now and then. Plus, after hearing how you have issues at home, seeing that you have a bit of a short fuse and that the writer was anonymous, well I just put two and two together."

Helga mentally hit herself in the head for falling into that mind trap. However, although remaining silent, she still maintained her guard up, a fact that Rodrigo noticed.

"You don't need to hide something like that, Helga." He continued to speak. "You write exquisitely and beautifully. You should acknowledge it. Be proud of it even! But, that's just my opinion. And yes, I won't tell anyone about this, or anything that we talked about today."

"Good. See that you don't." She firmly said to him. "Or else, I'll pummel that face of yours."

Rodrigo, seeing right through her so-called 'toughness', merely sighed and gave her a stern face.

"Sure you will, Helga." He merely said to her with his arms crossed.

Helga just sighed and seeing that Rodrigo was not going to fall for it, lightened up again.

"Just...promise me you won't tell anyone." She somewhat pleaded with him.

"I won't." He said. "I promise."

"Thanks." She said. "Speaking short fuse, anyone has ever told you that you have one yourself?" She then remarked.

"No I don't." He said back. "But um, that doesn't surprise me." He then shyly said, catching Helga's attention.

"Personally I don't think I have anger issues, but once I lose it, I lose it, especially if someone does me wrong."

"Well after your reaction yesterday, that doesn't surprise me." Helga said with a shrug.

"...I've done worse." He shyly said.

"Such as?" Helga asked with a curious raised eyebrow.

"Back in my old school, after I was spared from going to jail and we managed to get the School Board to give us new books, I did something else. I got many of the School Board Directors fired."

"Really?" She asked, surprised. "How did you managed to pull that off?"

"The same level of support that I got, I also used it to force many on the board to resign." Rodrigo began, quite hesitatingly, to explain. "After what they did; ignoring us like that and even sending the police to arrest us, there was no way I was going to let that slide. For me, it was no longer enough that they provided us with the necessary books and funded programs. After what they did, I wanted justice. So," he continued, but now clearly showing some anger with an unremorseful look, "I gathered whatever support I still had and continued to protest. Basically, I ended up vilifying them. I convinced everyone that those on the School Board were incompetent, greedy, even discriminatory, whatever it took to get them out of there. Eventually I succeeded and forced many of them to resign from their positions."

"Wow. Man, you're ruthless." Helga remarked. "I'm impressed! Those idiots deserved it."

"Really? You think so?" Rodrigo asked, looking at bit surprised.

Helga just nodded.

"I would have done the same, probably even put some dirt on them as an 'assurance policy'." She said with a sneer. "Don't sweat over it. You did what you had to do."

"Well, thanks." He said, still looking surprised. "You're the first person who has ever agreed."

"What can I say? I'm a pretty unique individual." Helga said with a smirk.

"Now who is being cocky?" Rodrigo commented.

"Ya well, takes one to know one." Helga said back.

"I'll have to agree with that." Rodrigo said with a chuckle.

Helga couldn't help but to let out a smile and then she extended her hand.

"Thanks for getting my bow back." She said "It meant a lot."

Rodrigo just smiled and shook it.

"You're welcome." He said to her.

"Anyways, I gotta get going." Helga then said. "Arnold and Phoebe are waiting for me outside."

"Yeah, I need to get home and get cleaned up." Rodrigo said. "Mind if I walk with you?"

"Eh, it's a free country." Helga just shrugged. "Plus, I'm going to need you to explain to everyone how we patched things up. It's been an exhausting day and I don't feel like telling a long story."

"Sure." He agreed.

After getting her things, both preteens then began to walk out of the school.

"Just for the record," she said to him, "I beat you in that fight."

"Pfft, please!" He jokingly scoffed. "Only because I let you win."

"Is that what you tell yourself?" She joking said to him as she gave him a nudge on his shoulder.

"It's true. I wasn't going to hit a girl." He said.

"Oh sure, use the fact that I'm a girl to hide the fact that I beat you fair and square." She joked. "You have a problem with hitting a girl, but you don't have a problem biting her?"

"You bit me first!" He quickly pointed out. "And you were shoving my head to the ground."

"Like I said Latino boy," Helga said with a grin, "I beat you."

Rodrigo merely rolled his eyes.

"Whatever you say, Helga." He said.

The End

Alright, so that' it for this first Season 6 type of story. I hope everyone enjoyed it.

This story just came into mind while I was writing my other stories with Rodrigo in it, but when everyone is a teenager. Because those stories are The Patakis inspired, I had Helga have more of a conscious and moral compass than when she was a kid, a legacy from both Arnold and Dr. Bliss. Because of that, Helga would b less inclined to agree with some of the things Rodrigo does, even if it was justifiable.

Because of that, I then thought about making another story/series when Rodrigo meets Helga in the sixth grade, when she is less empathetic and, let's just say, a bit more ruthless. I figured that Helga during this time frame would be intrigued, if not be impressed with someone like Rodrigo, as the two do have similar mindsets. While I don't see him ever replacing Phoebe as Helga's best friend, I do see Helga pointing at him and thinking, 'this guy gets me'.

I do have certain ideas of Rodrigo associating with other characters, but I will eventually go back to how he works with Helga. I would imagine that if they team up, they could become a powerful force, which would no doubt send poor Arnold spinning and left completely disoriented. I do plan on coming up with a story that shows this, as well as how Arnold deals with it. But I also want to explore what happens when they clash. Based on this story, I think it's safe to say that things can get ugly between them.

Despite having some ideas, I'm not sure where this will lead, but I'm planning on possibly making this a whole new series. While I do have other ideas for other stories that include other characters other than Helga, I wanted to give Rodrigo the proper 'welcoming mat' and who better to do that than her, lol.

That being said, if anyone would like to pitch in some other ideas that they have in mind on how Rodrigo fits in to the Hey Arnold universe, if there is anyone else they would like to see him pin against or ally/becomes friends with, etc., then everyone is more than welcome to message me and let me know.

Thanks again for reading it and please remember to comment/review!