Hello from the road! This is so exciting! And I'm sure none of you care to hear about my adventures on the road but Imma tell yall anyway! Im headed towards San Antonio, then Florida, then probably towards California! Wooo! They have us all over the place! And if I had a penny for every nasty greasy truck driver that's tried to pick me up, I'd be a billionaire! I have to shower at truck stops and crazy stuff like that! It's crazy! But its so much fun and Im able to forget about all my problems and stresses! Anywhoodles, here is chapter 4! Hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: Hey Arnold! I don't own you! I know you wish I did, but I don't so stop crying!

Chapter 4: There's a spark inside us….

"That we can all ignite, then all that's dark inside us will flicker into light!" Helga sang loudly to herself as she walked down the street, heading for school. She would've taken the bus but no doubt Arnold would have been on it and she really didn't want to deal with him this morning; she was already in a bad mood as it is. Ballet classes had been canceled the night before and it was one of the only things she ever looked forward to doing. That and singing at the top of her lungs to show tunes, that's right, secretly Helga G. Pataki was obsessed with musicals since she had seen the musical RATS a spin off of the musical CATS. She still remembered that night she was supposed to see wrestlemania but the tickets had been sold out. After fighting with Big Bob that entire day he decided to do something nice for her, seeing a flyer of RATS clutched between her sleeping fingers. He called everyone and pulled tons of strings to get tickets, unaware that what she had really wanted to see was wrestlemainia.

Once there they had joked and laughed about how awful the musical was but secretly she had fallen in love with it. Once she saw the on film production of CATS, that was it, Helga was hooked on Broadway. It was one of her biggest dreams to see every single show before she died. But of course, no one would ever know. Except for maybe Phoebe who knew her every dark secret, they often found themselves singing and dancing in her room to soundtracks of Wicked, Fiddler on the roof, Sound of music and many others. They were actually quite good at that, Helga was obsessed with Disney movies, acting, and singing, she wanted to become a Disney princess one day. Well, if she could ever allow herself to break out of her bitter exterior. She certainly was… Different…

"There's a power in every breath, there's a power in every note, a power that starts within the heart, a power that rises through the throat! And when it sails up though the air, more beautiful than any prayer! This power could right all wrong, and it will always thrill the ear of those that have the power to hear the magic of this song!" she continued to sing out loudly, the song blasting in her ears, she was dancing down the street, singing with such passion, twirling around street signs. All the while, a familiar football headed teenager was walking maybe a yard behind her, he could hear everything and watched her every move. He started walking a little faster to catch up to her, he couldn't believe her passion, her graceful movement, and that… That voice… it was just wow! "All that's dark inside us, that tells us wrong from right, becomes a song inside us to chase away the night!" as she came to her big finish, she did a triple pirouette and landed with her feet in second position and her arms stretched out towards the sky. Arnold chucked slightly, amazed at her talent and finally catching up to her, he tapped her on the shoulder. Helga spun around, horrified to see Arnold standing there, watching her with a half lidded gaze. How much of that had he seen? How long had she been making a fool of herself in front of him while he laughed at her internally? She stuttered slightly, twiddling her thumbs around each other. She couldn't even bring herself into a mean, nasty scowl; she was at a loss for words. Arnold could notice the nervousness in her actions and he smiled warmly "Helga…. You have an amazing voice…" he complimented, blushing slightly. Helga gasped softly, blushing furiously. He HAD heard her! That's what she got for singing and dancing out in the open! She backed away a little, he just stepped closer. And finally. "Criminey football head! Are you stalking me or something!" she blurted out, her embarrassment turning into anger.

"N-no Helga, I decided to walk to school and saw you so I figured we could walk together…. Then I heard you singing… and… well you have the most wonderful voice… and your grace is just…. So…. Exquisite" he blushed and gave her a humble smile. She melted a little at his words and smiled back, still slightly nervous. "Um… well… Thank you, Arnold-o…." she managed to squeak before snapping herself out of it, her nasty demeanor resurfacing "But don't you EVER sneak up on me like that AGAIN! Do you hear me, football head!" she exclaimed, flailing her arms up into the air. He chuckled a little and nodded "Whatever you say, Helga…." He smiled warmly, she smiled back. "Walk you to school?" he asked extending his hand to her, she took it reluctantly "Well I guess, Arnold-o, just don't make it a habit okay?"

"Okay, Helga"

As they neared the school, they both let go of each others hand, both teens unaware of why they had been holding hands in the first place. It seemed so harmless at the time. Helga pulled out her schedule as they walked up to the building; Arnold also pulled his out of his pocket. "I have Pre-calculus, art, philosophy, theatre, and then English 4 with…. Mr. Simmons….?" He shook his head, blinking confusedly at the name written on the paper. Helga grabbed his schedule out of his hand and looked down at it "Mr. Simmons…?" she questioned but quickly lost interest and looked down at her own schedule to compare classes. She hoped with all her heart they had at least one class together. "I've got choir" she began, Arnold smiled and cut her off "Choir?" he asked excited. She growled at him "Yes, Arnold-o, choir! Now shut up!" she scoffed and continued to read. "Dance 3-4, calculus, theatre, and English 4… Wha- Mr. Simmons too!" she was completely confused. "Helga, why is it you have three electives and only two core classes?" he asked scratching his head. She snickered at him "I took a credit by exam and earned myself two outs, instead of taking them I decided to do some electives for extra college credits" she smiled slyly. Arnold was taken aback at this, he was almost certain that Helga of all people would have flunked at least one class. Never in a million years would he have imagined her to be so…. Smart! "Wow, Helga, you must be extremely smart!" he exclaimed, she just rolled her eyes "What, you thought I was dumb or something?" she barked, offended. He shook his head vigorously "No, no, I just thought you lacked…. Interest in this stuff" he defended himself. "Criminey, you don't know ANYTHING about me football head! You really think I would just fool around in school and stay at home with 'Big Bob the blah blah cell phone king!" she ranted "This is ONLY my life we're talking about!" she yelled in his face, he backed off a little "Okay, okay, I'm sorry Helga…" he said apologetically. Her hardened features softened slightly and she nodded "Whatever, football head, I'll see you at lunch" she said and walked into the building. Arnold shook his head and walked in the other direction.

Helga made way to her choir class, if anyone dared question her as to why she had these electives she had the excuse of 'I needed extra credits and they made me take this stupid class' even though she absolutely loved choir and had been in it all four years. By this point, no one really even cared that she had choir, dance and theatre, they were too involved in their own studies and passions to care about someone else. She sat on one of the risers, waiting for the bell to ring, she was early and none of the students had found their way in yet. She reached into her jean pocket and pulled out a small heart shaped locket with her beloved's picture in it. "Oh, Arnold… We have two classes together, how wonderfully fabulous it will be to bond with you, maybe I'll finally be able to win you over with kindness and not mockery and hate" she rambled as students started flooding in. She quickly pocketed her locket and stood up on the riser as the bell rang.

Phoebe was one of the first into the class, Helga wasn't surprised at all, she and Phoebe had been in the same choir class all four years. Phoebe actually had a marvelous voice, they loved singing together, phoebe was the perfect alto to Helga's soprano. Phoebe ran over to Helga in excitement and demanded she hand over her schedule "We have Choir, Theatre and English together" she said with a grin; naturally Phoebe was an excellent actress as well. However, when it came to dancing, she had two left feet so Helga didn't expect to see her in dance class. Helga grinned over at her small Asian friend as the teacher strolled in and passed out binders with sheet music in it. "Good morning class" he said and began his lesson for the day.

Arnold found his way to his first class with the help of Gerald; surprisingly they had all the same classes together so Gerald could show him where everything was. They took their seats in the back and began to idly chat while they waited for the bell. Arnold seemed a bit distracted from their conversation and Gerald waved a hand in front of his face "Helloooo earth to Arnold, are you listening man?" he said slightly irritated. Arnold snapped out of his thoughts and turned to Gerald "Huh? Oh, sorry Gerald… I was just thinking about something…" he said softly. Gerald rose one eyebrow "About what, man?" he asked curiously. "Well… Did you know what Helga could sing? And dance?" Arnold said absentmindedly, obviously very distracted by Helga's beautiful voice ringing in his ears. Gerald shrugged his shoulders uninterested "So what, Arnold? Anyone can sing and dance, doesn't mean they're good at it…" he said. Arnold looked at him and shook his head "No, Gerald she's good… Like REALLY good" he said a little dazed. "So? Why are you so interested in Helga's voice?" he asked, missing the point. Arnold sighed "Because I wonder why she's never done anything with it before" he said slightly confused "Who would want to waste such a good talent" he added, looking over at his best friend. Gerald shrugged his shoulders again "Who cares, man its Helga… Helga G. Pataki, anything would be wasted on her" he said. Arnold was about to protest this statement a little annoyed but just as he opened his mouth to speak the ball rang and the teacher strolled in.

Their first few classes droned on, most of the teachers really only talked about what would be expected of their class, what supplies they needed to get etcetera, etcetera… There was no real assignments, no real homework. The first day was always really just to help get the students acquainted to, some of them their new school, and some returning. Finally, the lunch bell rang and all the angsty teenagers fumbled and stumbled their way around the cafeteria, looking for places to sit, people to meet. However, people like Rhonda usually took this time to go off campus for lunch, cruising around in their expensive cars, spending a ton of money on junk food from stores. Then there were the 'middle class' kids, the people like Helga and Phoebe, Gerald fell into this category because… Well, because he had his eyes set on the petite Asian girl for a long time now, and sure he could be associated with the popular jocks and date a hot cheerleader, be one of the 'in crowd'. But all in all he was content right where he was, following Phoebe around like a sick puppy. Labels and popularity really meant nothing to Gerald; all that really mattered was his happiness, and he was happy. So now their happy threesome had turned into a foursome as a new football headed kid joined the group for lunch.

"Hey guys, can I sit here?" Arnold asked, holding a tray from the cafeteria, looking down at Phoebe, Helga and Gerald. Phoebe giggled slightly as Gerald looked up at his best friend with a look that asked 'Man, are you serious?' Arnold knew that Phoebe and Gerald would gladly sit in his company, who he really worried about was-

"Doi, football head, what makes you think you can't sit with us?" Helga barked at him, noticing he was waiting for her to answer. He chuckled slightly and sat down beside Helga, who seemed to be too preoccupied with her book to care. Phoebe and Gerald were too busy making kissy faces at each other to really make conversation with Helga and Arnold. Oh brother, they just needed to get together already… Eventually the soon to be couple excused themselves and pranced off together towards the unknown, and Arnold just sat in silence eating his food while Helga continued to read. "You haven't touched your lunch, Helga" Arnold pointed to her lunch tray. She sighed in annoyance, never turning away from her book "I'm reading" she said plainly. "What are you reading?" Arnold inquired, she growled lowly and lifted the book slightly, her nose still firmly in the center of the book. He glanced at the title and raised one of his eyebrows before a slight blush tinted his cheeks "Lolita….?" He asked "Isn't that a little….Advanced?" he cleared his throat and Helga shut her book and looked at him.

"Please, Arnold… Don't tell me you're becoming simple minded…" she scoffed, she knew he was one of the smartest kids in school, aside from being completely dense at times. He shook his head "No, Helga… I've read it… I just never pegged you to be the type of girl to read such things…." He said meeting her gaze "I mean its so…. Complex" he tilted his head a little. Helga was offended by his comment "Are you saying I'm a complete dolt, simpleton, who can't appreciate a good work of literature?" she questioned him daringly. He shook his head and smirked slightly "I would hardly call it literature, Helga…" he continued to eat his food. She laughed at his comment and shook her head "What would you call it, Arnold-o?" she pressed. He tried to suppress a blush, not meeting her gaze "I found it rather pornographic, and tabboo" he managed to choke out. She laughed again and shook her head before picking up her tray and book "Arnold, you WOULD be the one to know about 'pornographic'" she said with an eye roll and began to walk away. He quickly got up and ran after her, walking to the trash can where they tossed the remainder of their food away. "Oh come on, Helga don't get mad" he placed his hand on her shoulder, turning her around to face him. She jerked back "I'm not mad football head, the bell is about to ring is all" she said, and just then the bell in fact rang and students began shuffling out of the cafeteria.

"Walk you to class, Helga?" he inquired; she nodded and gave a small smile before they headed down the hall to their next class, theatre… Which they had together… They walked into the classroom glanced around, the seats were not desks, but tables with four seats. Arnold and Helga absentmindedly took the liberty to sit beside each other at one of the tables, chatting idly as Phoebe and Gerald walked in. Immediately they noticed their best friends and ran over to the table, taking the other two seats. More students started to walk into the classroom, occupying the other tables. Arnold noticed as Rhonda walked in, then Lila, Stinky followed soon behind them and then cid after that. Arnold was excited to be in the same classroom as all of his old friends. Right after the bell rang, Harold walked in followed by a tall skinny man with long black shaggy hair and very green eyes. He was pale as the moon, and wore a white button down shirt and a pair of black slacks. All the girls in the class ooed and ahhhed at him as he walked up to the board with a large binder in hand.

"Alright ladies and gents, my name is Mr. Harvey" The very young looking man said. "Take a look to your left" they followed order "Now look to your right" they did "Now look in front of you" everyone had now gotten a glimpse of the people sitting at their table. Few of them had chosen to sit with friends, and the majority had just found an empty seat to sit at, considering most of them didn't really know each other. With the exception of their old fifth grade class, but hardly any of them were still friends, except for maybe Sid and Stinky. "These will be the people you will be interacting with for the rest of the year; all assignments will be with each other with the exception of a few duets and monologues" The class blinked confused, not understanding what he meant. However Helga and phoebe who had taken this class already knew what he was talking about when he mentioned duet or monologue. Helga sighed happily to herself realizing that they were all going to be working together, and she knew Phoebe and Gerald would choose each other for duets, meaning she'd be left with her beloved. That was unless he chose to partner up with someone else… Someone like Li-La. Helga scoffed to herself and crossed her arms, glancing over at little Ms. Perfect with a glare.

"As most of you know, we put on a play every year… And for those of you that don't, well we put on a play every year…. However boys and girls…" he grinned wickedly "This year we are going to put on our very first ever musical" Helga's eyes grew wide with excitement and disappointment all at the same time. She had always wanted to be in a musical, but for fear of being ridiculed by her fellow classmates she never even tried out for the plays they put on. She especially wouldn't try out for a musical! They would laugh for years to come, even though no one really cared what she did with her life. She usually just offered to work on costumes and stuff like that, which always disappointed Mr. Harvey because there was no doubt that she was his shining student. He saw so much potential in her, if only she would overcome her fear of ridicule. "This year's musical will be WICKED" He said and threw his papers up into the air and jumped up in utter excitement. It was a HUGE production that no school had ever attempted to put on before, it was expensive and extravagant. However they had just threw down a LOT of money on it and most of the props were already being sent for, and they wouldn't be putting it on at their school but at the Hillwood Plaza.

Helga's eyes widened even more and she clenched her fists into balls till her knuckles started turning white. She could barely contain her excitement; she jumped up and ran out of the room, down the hall and to the girl's toilet room. Mr. Harvey had an amused look on his face as he watched her sprint out of the classroom, the rest of the students looked confused and chatted amongst themselves about the musical and how Helga just left the room like that. "Everybody simmer down, NOW" Mr. Harvey barked, never in the mood for rowdy students. Everyone stopped their conversations dead in their tracks and stared up at him.

Helga stood at the bathroom sink, staring herself in the mirror, she was trembling and clenching the sides of the sink beneath her fingers. "Okay, Helga, calm down girl… You're Helga… Helga G. Pataki for crying out loud! Don't get all worked up over some dumb musical…. A dumb musical that you've only been obsessed with for years, that you've memorized the soundtrack by heart, that you've always wanted to see, that you've always wanted to perform in!" she banged her head against the mirror, in a complete dilemma. This could very well be the only musical she would ever get to perform in, and it was her favorite one at that! If she tried out, she risked being ridiculed for the rest of the year and till she went off to college. But on the other side, she'd die happy, knowing she had been in her absolute favorite production in the entire universe! She sighed deeply to herself and quickly splashed her face with water before heading back to the classroom.

She opened the door abruptly and everyone turned to look at her, she made her way back to her seat and sat down silently. "Helga…. Are you okay" Arnold whispered to her. She didn't say anything "Yes, Helga… That performance was quite strange back there…" Phoebe said concerned, however knowing why she had ran out of the class like that. Helga nodded "I'm FINE now leave me alone" she growled at them and looked up to the teacher who was smiling slyly at her. She shot him an evil glare and he chuckled, turning his attention back to the class. "Now, I know this is exciting everyone but there are a few rules for the try outs…" he began "Since it's such a big production, the only people allowed to try out for the larger roles will be seniors, considering they have more experience with this class" he said, turning to look Helga dead in the eye. "Everyone else will be able to try out for chorus roles, even if they have never taken this class, however we do ask that they have somewhat experience with dancing" he continued "Now, try outs will be in two weeks, you will come prepared with a song of your choice and a dance, also of your choice and for you seniors who crave the large roles will be required to do a line reading from the script." He looked back at Helga again, most of the class noticed the looks being exchanged between the teacher and Helga and automatically started snickering. Harold stood up, pointing "Oooooohhhhh HELGA has a crush on the teacher bahahahahahah!" he laughed obnoxiously. Gee, he may have changed appearance wise but he was more annoying and immature than ever. Mr. Harvey shot his head to look at Harold and pointed towards the door "out, NOW" he yelled, startling the young teen. "Y-yes sir…" he said and ran out the door with his tail between his legs, so to speak.

"Anyway, where was I… Oh yes… I expect ALL of you to try out, this is going to be huge and there will be talent scouts attending this production… They will be looking for dancers, voices, and actors…." He said with a huge grin as the bell rang, no one budged from their seats. "Class is dismissed, get out of my sight!" he exclaimed. Everyone jumped out of their seats and headed towards the door. "Oh, Helga will you stay behind please?" he said before she exited. Some of the students turned to look at her, snickering, thinking she was going to get in trouble. Arnold turned to look at her as well as Phoebe and Gerald "Good luck…." They bid her farewell and headed off to their next classed. Once the class was vacant, Helga walked reluctantly up to Mr. Harvey's desk; her head slumped down in shame.

"Helga… You do understand that I expect you to try out for this thing right?" he said, walking towards her. She snapped her head up at him and glared "Um…. No?" she said sarcastically, holding her ground. He laughed hysterically and placed his hand on her shoulder, bringing his face down to meet hers. She looked into his very green eyes "Helga…. Cut the act, we both know you're my star student; you're an amazing actress and your voice… Well don't even get me started on that" Helga blushed deeply and she looked away from his entrancing gaze. "Mr. Harvey…. I-I can't…. They'll make my life hell…." She muttered. He chuckled and shook his head, leaning back against his desk "Helga, this could be an excellent career opportunity for you… Forget about your peers, where are they headed in life? They don't even know what they want out of life! But you… you do! And you can get recognized, you can be sent to a college for performing arts, you can make a good living doing something you love!" She turned to look at him again, flattered by his words. He grinned "Besides, I'm going to cast based off the best, whose to say there isn't someone better and you'll just end up with a chorus part" he winked at her. She laughed slightly "That's true…." She replied. He nodded "Yes, and you'll still have the joy of being in a musical, and a chance to get noticed" he tried to reason. "Besides… If you don't try out I'll fail you and you won't be able to graduate," he blackmailed. She gasped and looked up at him, he laughed and pushed her out the door "Now off to class before you get a tardy!" he said and shut the door on her before she had time to protest. "No good flamboyant jerk!" she called through the door and walked away. She was so upset that her teacher was blackmailing her into trying out for this stupid musical! And yet, she was thrilled at the same time, he was pushing her past her comfort zone, and she respected him for that.

Arnold found himself in his last class, English with Mr. Simmons. He walked into the classroom and took his seat, all his old classmates walked in, also taking their seats. He was full of nostalgia. "Hey, Arnold… I didn't get a chance to talk to you in Mr. Harvey's class… I think it's ever so exciting that we will be doing a musical this year and a great one at that!" a familiar voice took a seat beside him. He turned to look into the eyes of Lila, his childhood love. His eyes fell to half mass and he smiled lovingly. "Are you going to try out for a major role?" he asked in a dazed voice. She nodded "Why, yes Arnold… I love musicals oh so much and it would just be ever so amazing to play one of the leads… I have my heart set on Galinda…" she said dreamily, her hands over her chest. "You would make an excellent… Um… What was the name again?" Arnold asked oblivious to any kind of musical. Lila giggled slightly and turned to him "Glinda… You see Arnold, it's the story of the witches of Oz and how they became who they are" she said with a smile. Arnold was interested "Wow, that's great Lila, sounds amazing" he said flirting. She giggled again and nodded "Oh, it is… You should try out for a lead Arnold" she said with a grin. He shook his head "Oh, I couldn't… I can't sing, or dance… and I haven't taken Mr. Harvey's class before" he said trying to get out of the audition. "Yes, but he said seniors were allowed to try out for leading roles, and I could always teach you to dance, Arnold… I am a dancer after all" she said flirtatiously and leaned into him. Arnold grew excited at this, dance lessons with Lila? A chance to get close to her? How could he pass that up "Alright, Lila I'll try out if you teach me a dance to perform" he said with a smile and with that the bell rang and Mr. Simmons walked in.

"Hello class!" he said with his arms outstretched. "What is Mr. Simmons doing teaching high school?" Arnold whispered to Lila, she smiled "Well I'm ever so certain he decided he wanted to go on teaching high school, Arnold" she said with a giggle and turned to look at the teacher. Mr. Simmons noticed Arnold sitting in the back "Arnold! What a pleasant surprise to see you back from the jungle!" he said happily, Arnold smiled "Hi Mr. Simmons, good to see you too" he said with a grin. The door flung open and Helga stormed in, she seemed angry. "Hello, Helga… Can you tell me why you're late?" Mr. Simmons asked and she scoffed "I was kept behind by my last teacher I'll bring you a note" she growled. "Well, okay… please take a seat" he said and pointed toward the desks. The only seat open was the one in between Phoebe and Arnold, so that's where she sat.

Phoebe leaned over towards her "What happened, Helga?" she asked adjusting her glasses. Helga looked towards her and sighed "He's blackmailing me into trying out for the school play…." She said with a mixture of anger and happiness. Phoebe chuckled a little "It's about time you try out for one of our productions, Helga… you're too good not to shine our last year of school" she said with a giggle and turned her attention back to the teacher. He babbled on about supplies and what they would be learning this year and how 'special' he thought each and every one of them were, the only person every paying any attention to him had been Phoebe. Everyone else just talked about the musical, and what they were planning on wearing to school tomorrow, what they were bringing for lunch or where they were going. Finally the bell rang and the school was quickly abandoned, students racing home to prepare for the next day.

Helga walked out of the building with her best friend at her side, making plans for her to come over "Are you going to try out Pheebs?" she asked as they walked towards her house. Phoebe nodded excitedly "Why yes, Helga… Although I don't know how to dance I'm sure I can get a part that doesn't require it" she said with a small smile "I'm sure you'll get the leading roll" she grinned, looking over at a peeved Helga. "I hope not…. How embarrassing…." She said and watched her feet as they walked the rest of the way to her house.

Gerald had made plans to go home with Arnold; they sat on the bus together chatting up a storm. "So, Gerald are you going to try out for the musical?" Arnold asked. Gerald laughed "Heck no, man! Musicals are for girls!" he said shaking his head. Arnold blushed and stared at the seat in front of him. Gerald looked over at him suspiciously "….Are you?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. Arnold turned to him "Actually, yeah I think I am" he said with a smile, thinking on all the time he would get to spend with Lila. Gerald busted out into laughter "You are one brave man, Arnold" he laughed, holding his gut. Arnold rolled his eyes and shook his head "Lila told me she would help me with a dance and stuff" he said dreamily, Gerald stopped laughing for a moment "Ah, so that's why you want to try out, so you can spend time with Lila" he moved his eyebrows up and down at his football headed friend. Arnold laughed "Yeah…" he said as the bus dropped them off at the front of the boarding house for the evening…

Woah, so this chapter was unexpected even for me. I was listening to the wicked soundtrack and day dreaming about the cast of hey Arnold as the characters and voila! I decided to throw that into this story as well! I really hope you guys don't mind….

One more thing. I know in the beginning of the story I made Lila appear to be sort of vindictive, however I was watching all 5 seasons of Hey Arnold and came to realize that she's as sweet as honey... So I'm going to make her less... Whoreish...

Anyway, rate and review! I hope you guys are enjoying this story!

Oh, and whoever can guess the song in the beginning of this chapter gets a cookie!

With lots of love from the road!