Disclaimer: I do not own Hey Arnold!

The Day You Will

By Moonlight

Lovesick

The sounds of her shoes slamming on the pavement over and over again filled the oddly empty streets. She kept running as fast as possible, as if someone were chasing her, yet no one was around.

Once the extremely large sign of the Beeper Emporium came into view, her pace slowed dramatically before coming to an abrupt halt across the street from the building which currently housed her dysfunctional family.

Dropping her arms from her backpack straps to her sides, Helga finally dared to look over her shoulder. The setting sun greeting her gaze as she breathed heavily in order to regain a steady breath. Seeing the desolate streets surrounding her, she felt as if abandoned. Though she knew the blame was to be placed on herself. She turned back to face the building and finally took a step off of the sidewalk and started towards the door.

As soon as her feet brought her to the double doors, she willed her hand to reach for the handle, however she hesitated. She didn't want to face another day of the disaster of a life. Ever since the Patakis had returned from the jungles of San Lorenzo, Bob had become more of a control freak about Helga's wearabouts and who she saw. Miriam's drinking habit took on another level of irresponsible, if that were even possible. And Olga, dear Olga, had taken it upon herself to 'liven' up the emporium to make it 'feel like home'. Which, honestly, had only made the experience all the more unbearable for Helga. Her sister's attempts at decorating the small storage room Helga used as a bedroom has resulted in complete chaos. The small room felt even smaller with every addition Olga had made to the space. If she had the money and time to go through this mess, Olga SHOULD have been using it to help find them a decent APARTMENT to live in. Helga detested her for this.

Resting her hand on the door handle, Helga sighed deeply, knowing that as soon as she stepped through the doors, she would be greeted by Bob commanding her to help with restocking or inventory.

"Hey Olga."

Helga released a low growl, "It's Helga."

"Whatever. Come count the units in these boxes. We need to make sure there's 50 in each." the man commanded as he took a drink from his beer and walked into the back room.

Dropping her backpack on the nearby couch, Helga lifted one of the boxes onto the small coffee table before her and proceeded to unpack the beepers that were in her care. Her body trembled from a mixed array of feelings that took over her. She couldn't decide how to feel.

Happy? She managed to avoid Arnold for yet another day, but that made her extremely angry at herself. Angry that she, once again, couldn't be brave enough to face the one person she truly loved in this disastrous world of hers. And that feeling led to a deep sadness. A sadness that she could only identify as being lovesick.

Would life continue to be this way?

Leaning deeper into the box to reach more of the beepers, something slid out of her jacket's inner pocket, landing inside the box, among the electronics.

Startled, she froze and took a long look at her locket, which landed face up. The torn picture made her heart sink, and she reached into the box to pick it up, lifting the small item towards her face. Her thumb traced the glass softly before she gently placed a kiss on the photo of the smiling Arnold.

"Man, that was a good movie. I was skeptical of the reviews, but wow that was great!" Gerald exclaimed as the three exited the theater and headed down the road.

Phoebe, taking Gerald's arm, giggled and agreed happily. "Yes, that was very entertaining."

"I hope Helga regrets what she missed today, because I'm definitely buying this one when it comes out." He said as he lovingly brushed a strand of the small girl's hair from her face.

Arnold stayed silent as they walked. His mind wandering in a different direction from his friend's. However, he perked up upon hearing Helga's name mentioned. His pace slowed and he fell behind the group a few steps, causing Gerald and Phoebe to turn and face him.

"Arnold?"

The blonde boy stared ahead of them at seemingly nothing. He appeared to be in a daze.

"Hey Arnold!" Gerald called once again, startling his friend into giving him attention. "You're doing it again, man."

Slightly confused, Arnold raised a brow, "Doing what?"

"That THING."

"Be more specific, Gerald."

"That thing where-" Gerald continued only to be cut off by Phoebe.

"What Gerald is trying to say is that you've been lost deep in thought frequently as of late. And honestly, we're worried about you." She said with concern in her eyes.

Gerald chimed in once more, "You should be happy, Arnold. Your parents are finally home with you. What's been eating at you so much that you can't even enjoy your family?"

A slight look of surprise befell Arnold, as he took in their words. "I thought…" he lifted one hand and place it on his chest, "...I'm sorry. I just thought it was obvious." A forced chuckle escaped his lips.

Phoebe watched his every action, nodding her head and giving him a warm smile, "I thought that might have been it." She said slowly.

Gerald gave her a confused look.

She walked over to place a hand on Arnold's shoulder, "Believe me," she started, picking her words carefully, "she's having a very hard time accepting this...new concept."

"Wait. You mean Helga?" Gerald asked, trying to get into the loop. "You're being mopey and pathetic, because of Helga?"

The two watched as he sighed and shrugged his shoulders.

"You know… I actually thought that kiss was just a case of jungle madness." He laughed nervously, "But I guess you actually… do feel something for her, huh?"

Arnold sighed and let his arms encircle his torso for warmth, "I know it's weird, Gerald, but she's done so much for me… and I just… I couldn't just shake off the feeling after everything we went through."

"Uh-huh. And yet, you two have had little to NO interaction since we got back from that trip." Gerald teased.

"Exactly!" Arnold's arms shot up in aggravation, before ruffling his hair, "She's disappeared for the rest of the summer, and when I finally see her again, she brushes me off." He released a small groan.

Phoebe did her best to give Arnold a reassuring smile. "Like I said… please give her time. She has a lot to deal with right now."

"What is it? Is there anything I can do?"

"I'm afraid not, Arnold." she responded softly, "However, I'm sure she'll come to you when she's ready. And she'll tell you."

"I really hope so, Phoebe. I…" his hand hovered over his heart once more, "I don't know how much more I can take." He said, before realizing how pathetic he sounded saying that, and laughed. "Who knew that it would be this difficult… to really fall for someone."

Gerald shook his head, "Didn't you like like Lila?"

"I did, but… this feels much different."

They all silently agreed to leave the topic at that while they finished their walk home.

Moonlight: Thank you for the reviews and faves. :)