Disclaimer: I do not own Hey Arnold!

The house is empty when they get back. Helga couldn't help but feel the slight awkwardness between her and Alex - and who wouldn't? They hardly said anything after the run-in with Arnold and Lila. She sighs as they walk through the door.

"So..." Alex begins, but trails off into a short silence. He doesn't know what to say. "That was... a nice walk," he finishes lamely and grimaces. You're a real smooth talker. "Wait here," he says, idea forming in his head. "Just a second." She looks at him in mild surprise as he dashes up the stairs and disappears around the corner.

"S-sure," she manages to stutter out, rooted to the spot. I wonder what that's about. She shakes her head slightly and is startled when the phone rings. Butterflies suddenly flutter in her stomach; maybe it's Arnold?

"Hello?"

"Helga!" says a small voice.

"Oh, hey Pheebs." The butterflies go away and Helga's body relaxes a little. "What's up?"

"Gerald told me something happened between you and Arnold yesterday." A pause. "Well?" she asks expectantly.

"Well, what?" Helga says, almost defensively. She hears a sigh on the other end. "Listen, Pheebs. It's not that I don't want to tell you, it's just that..." She trails off, unsure of what to say. "I uh… I need to settle stuff first."

"What kind of stuff?" Phoebe asks, somewhat impatiently. This isn't like her. As if realizing how her tone must've sounded like, she says apologetically, "I'm just a bit vexed because you didn't tell me after it happened, whatever it is. I had to hear it from Gerald, which meant that Arnold told him already. I don't know."

Guilt washes over Helga as she understands what Phoebe was trying to say. "I'm sorry, Pheebs. I'll tell you what happened, I really will," she promises. "But after I talk to Arnold about something. It's important. Then, I'll tell you everything, from A to Z."

"Okay," she says, seemingly satisfied with the answer. "I'll talk to you later, then. Bye!"

"Bye," Helga says as she hears a click and the line goes dead. She puts the receiver down and contemplates if she should call Arnold or not. Deep in thought, she doesn't notice Alex coming down the stairs until he's right in front of her.

"Helga?" He tries to grab her attention. She doesn't seem to hear him. "Helga?" He tries again, waving a hand in front of her face. Her eyes start to focus and she turns her head towards his, looking startled. "Staring into space, are we?" Alex asks with a smirk.

"Oh, I was thinking," she says smoothly. "You know, something we smart people do all the time. It just comes naturally to me." She raises her eyebrows at him with a smug look on her face.

"And what exactly was the oh-so great thinker thinking about?"

Helga's smirk freezes and her words get stuck in her throat for a moment. "Things you can't possibly fathom." She finally says and quickly walks away from him and into the kitchen. Alex is left in the corridor, staring after her.

"What?" he blurts out, confused. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"Ah, you see, if I told you, that defeats the purpose," Helga says loudly from the kitchen.

Alex hears the sound of the refrigerator opening. "What purpose, exactly?" he asks, playing along with whatever Helga is trying to pull. He enters the kitchen and sits at the table. Helga pulls out a carton of milk and grabs a glass as well.

"Shh." She puts a finger to her lips. "Spoilers," she says and pours some milk into her glass. Alex just rolls his eyes. "Cookie?" she offers, pushing a cookie jar that was already on the table towards him.

He shakes his head. "No, thanks. Maybe later." He watches her as she shrugs and takes a cookie for a herself, dunking it in the glass and slowly eating it. "Do you have to eat it like that?" he suddenly asks, amused.

"Like what?"

"Biting small bits of the cookie off. I'd just devour the whole thing in two bites, and even that's pushing it."

Helga smiles. "I like enjoying my food, thank you very much. Savouring every little piece of it. You should see me with a chocolate fudge cake."

"I bet you take ages."

"I sure do." She reaches out for another cookie but Alex takes the jar away. "Hey!" she exclaims, brow furrowing. Alex just laughs, still holding onto the cookie jar. "Not that it's any of your business, but I was just about to eat another one of those."

"But I have something better for you," Alex says and takes something out of his pocket — a small, lilac packet with a red bow on it.

"What's th—" Helga begins but is cut off when the phone rings again. "One minute," she says and goes to pick up the phone. "Hello?"

"Helga, hi." The voice is unmistakable. Helga's stomach is filled with butterflies again. "Sorry about just now… I really was meaning to call you this morning but then she showed up at my doorstep and, well, asked for my help with something. And it kinda dragged on until lunch and then we bumped into you and—"

"Arnold," Helga says, stopping him. "It's not a big deal. Chill." She hears a sigh of relief on the other end. "You still owe me something, though. Don't forget."

"Exactly. So I was wondering if we could talk it out over dinner tonight," he says. "Get everything cleared up, and out of the way. Sounds good?"

"Sounds good," she agrees.

"Great." Helga could almost hear the smile in his voice. It makes her heart flutter and she smiles herself. "So I'll pick you up at seven?"

"It's a date," Helga says without thinking, and immediately freezes after realizing what she just said. "Uh— I mean… It's—"

"A date it is," Arnold says and laughs. "Glad to hear it. I'll see you later, Helga. Bye."

"B-bye." She puts down the receiver, a bit numb. And excited. Also nervous. Get a grip, Helga. It's just a date. With Arnold. Not that you haven't done it before. Well, it wasn't called a date before and he thought you were French but hey it was still a date. You can do this.

"So I guess that means it's just me and Sally tonight," a voice behind her says and she jumps. Helga turns around and sees Alex standing there, purple packet in hand. He passes it to her. "It was a gift I bought for you all those years ago. I figured that maybe I had just enough time to sneak away from my parents and give it to you before we left, but never got the chance." He shrugs. "I don't know why I kept it, but there you go."

Helga looks at the packet, stunned. "But… why?"

Alex smiles bitterly. "Really, Helga? I think you know the answer to that question," he says and walks past her. She hears the front door open, then close.

*Apologizes profusely* Daaaang I haven't updates in ages. I'm so incredibly sorry for abandoning this. I can't even begin to express how sorry I am. I've just been busy, that's all. So busy, in fact, that I've forgotten all about this! Anyway, thank you so so very oh so very very much for those who still bother to read, or have been patiently waiting, or anything of the sort for the entire time. Thank you so much, you guys deserve all the love in the world and more. And also deserve more quality writing than this. But I can't do anything about that so...