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In all honesty, I actually accidentally marked this story in-progress because I intended it to be a one-shot. But when I saw all the feedback I was getting, I decided to turn it into a multi-chapter story.

Disclaimer: I do not own Hey Arnold, anything associated with it, or anything recognized. The plot is mine.

Nothing Happened:

A Hey Arnold Fanfiction

Chapter 2

Arnold's POV:

It was Monday and two days after Helga had helped me to clean out the storage room. Gerald and I were walking to school together because it was such a nice morning.

"Ican't believe you willingly spent six and a half hours with her," Gerald said while shaking his head.

"She's really not that bad, Gerald," I insisted.

Gerald continued to shake his head. "Arnold?"

"Yeah?"

"We are talking about the same girl, right?"

"Yeah."

"The same girl we both know has been an evil, conniving, she-bully since almost as long as we can remember?"

"Yes," I said with a sigh. "Except…"

"Except what?"

"She's…not like that anymore," I explained with a shrug.

"Mm hmm…" Gerald mumbled, unconvinced.

"Seriously! I think Helga's matured significantly this year."

I turned my head away from Gerald as I started to feel myself blush.

"That may be true," Gerald agreed. "But it doesn't mean that she's going to be all buddy-buddy with you now."

I shrugged. "You never know…"

"There you go again," Gerald said with a sigh.

"What are you talking about, Gerald?" I asked.

"Your whole 'looking on the bright side' thing," Gerald explained.

The moment we walked into the school, I spotted Helga. She was hunched over in front of her locker in her pink hoodie. She was completely still with her eyes closed, causing her to appear calm and focused. I studied her only for a few seconds when the warning bell rang. Helga quickly jolted from…whatever she was doing and made her way down the hall.

~HA~

I attempted to focus on my studies, but failed, my thoughts always going back to Helga and her well being. In every class we had together she seemed to be either drifting off or face down on her desk.

I continued to think about her as I walked to my usual lunch table with the guys.

"Today's the day guys," Sid confessed eagerly as his tray hit the round table.

"Gee wilikers!" Stinky exclaimed as he took a seat by Sid. "Ya really gonna do it?"

"'Course I am," Sid said confidently. "I just need the right timing."

Sid wearily focused his attention on the table across the lunchroom. The same table he'd been staring at for the past three weeks.

"What was wrong with the timing last week?" Gerald asked.

"Or the week before that?" Harold added.

"The timing wasn't good enough!" Sid explained with a dismissive wave of his hand. "But today, today is the day…doncha think, Arnold?"

"Huh? Oh yeah…today's your day," I agreed distractedly.

"What are you looking at, man?" Gerald asked.

"Um…"

"Don't tell me you're looking at—" Gerald began.

"Gerald…" I interrupted, knowing that he knew exactly who I was looking at.

"Arnold, you have got to be kidding me," He said.

We locked eyes, trading unspoken messages back and forth.

"What's going on?" Sid asked quickly.

"Nothing," Gerald and I said at the same time.

Sid squinted, whipping his head from Gerald to me, to Gerald, to me again.

"Sure…" Sid replied slowly.

"It's nothing, Sid," I said.

"Okay…" Sid said calmly. "Who were you lookin' at then?"

I bit my cheek. "Helga…" I admitted while glancing up from beneath my eyelashes.

I decided this was the best time to start eating my lunch. I couldn't say anything else if there was food in my mouth.

"Helga?" Sid asked, his voice coming out like I'd just stabbed my fork into his neck.

"Helga Pataki?" Stinky repeated, trading a quick glance with Sid.

"Yeah…" I answered after I'd swallowed.

"What're you looking at her for?" Sid asked leaning over the table.

I sighed, realizing I wasn't going to be able to eat unless I explained myself—to some extent—to the guys.

"I'm just worried about her. That's all."

"Worried about 'er?" Sid asked.

"Did she threaten to beatcha up again?" Stinky asked.

"No," I said with a shake of my head.

"Did she trip you or something?" Sid guessed.

"Nope."

"Did she budge in front of you in the lunch line?" Harold asked. "She did that to me once…or twice…or—"

"No!"

"Well what is it then?" Sid asked his tone desperate.

"I'm just…worried about her," I said with a shrug. "I'm not quite sure how to elaborate."

"Well fig-ure it out!" Sid said, pounding his right hand on the table. "You're killing me, Arnold."

I glanced around the table.

"Why do you guys care why I was staring at Helga anyways?"

I didn't give them time to answer. I got up, leaving my fairly full tray behind me. I made my way across the room to the exact same table Sid had been looking at. But I was going over there for a different reason, and a different person, than Sid.

I was only around three feet from the table when I realized…I had no idea what I was going to say. Luckily—and maybe unluckily—I didn't have to.

"Arnold!" Rhonda called out to me.

"Uh…hi, Rhonda," I said.

From out of the corner of my eye, I could see the guys watching me. Sid was seething, gripping onto the table. I quickly turned my focus back to the issue at hand.

"Look Rhonda, I uh…I actually came over here to talk to someone else…"

"Oh…" Rhonda said. "Well…you could still sit by us."

"No, that's okay. I'm not going to—"

"Nonsense," Rhonda said a little too loudly. "Take that chair. By Phoebe."

I glanced over the table of girls; girls that I'd gone to elementary school with and—over time—had become friends with.

"Fine," I said with a sigh. "Hi, Phoebe."

"Hello, Arnold," Phoebe greeted me.

I glanced over at the person who was on the other side of me.

"Is she okay?" I asked, glancing at Helga again.

"I'm not quite sure to be honest," Phoebe began. "This morning, when Helga and I briefly talked, she seemed rather ill."

"Ill?" I asked. "I just thought she was tired."

"That could be part of it," Phoebe agreed. "But I think it's something else as well."

"Why didn't she stay home?"

"I don't know…but I…might be able to guess," Phoebe said.

I stared at her for a few minutes, trying to decipher what she meant, when Helga began to move.

"Oh…hey, Arnold," Helga mumbled to me with a yawn.

"Hey…Helga…did you go to sleep last night?"

"Hmm…for a few hours…I think," She said with a shrug.

I looked at her incredulously to see if she was serious. She was.

"Helga, you can't do that," I tried to explain. "That's not healthy."

"It's okay, Arnold," She said in this slow measured out way.

"No, it's not," I insisted. "Why were you up anyways?"

"Why do you care?" She asked with a sigh.

"Helga, answer me," I said in a quiet, yet demanding tone.

"Oh, I would, except…" Helga said, gesturing behind me. "I think someone wants to talk to you."

All of the girls at the table—which, I just realized—had been intensely studying me and Helga, turned to see Sid.

"Hello, ladies," Sid said smoothly. "Arnold. Ol' buddy. Let's talk. Right now, okay?"

"Sid—"

"Right now, Arnold," Sid said in a tone that meant not to mess with him.

I nodded with a sigh.

"Excuse us," I said to the girls.

I followed Sid out of the lunchroom and into the hallway.

"What exactly did you think you were doing?" Sid asked, obviously angry.

"Look. Sid. Me and Rhonda—"

"You and Rhonda?!"

"Listen. We were only talking."

"About me, I'll bet," Sid said, paranoid. "And then I saw you chatting it up with Phoebe too. Why don't you just…tell everyone, Arnold? I mean, seriously. What's stopping you?"

"Sid, the only reason—okay, the main reason, I was going over there was to talk to Helga."

"To Helga?"

"Yes," I said calmly.

"And tell that gossipy table of girls my business!"

"No! I only talked to Rhonda, Phoebe, and Helga."

"Yeah. But we all know Rhonda's got a mouth on her…"

"Look Sid…I don't know what to tell you," I admitted through a sigh.

"What you need to tell me is…WHY YOU TOLD!"

"I didn't!"

"ARE YOU SURE, ARNOLD?! I SAW YOU—"

"SID! She has no idea…I promise," I said with another sigh.

"You promise…?" Sid contemplated. "Alright…"

"So…you're okay…?"

"Yeah. I'm fine. But no going back to that table today."

"Why?"

"Because…if you're over there you'll make me nervous…" Sid admitted. "More than I already am that is."

"So you're really…?"

"Yep," Sid said with a sigh. "I'm going to ask Rhonda out."

~HA~

I listened to Sid and went back to our table to finish my lunch.

Unfortunately, I didn't have any afternoon classes with Helga so I didn't get a chance to confront her.

But just as I was exiting my last class of the day…SMACK!

"Football head!"

"Sorry, Helga," I said, extending my hand to her.

"I'll help myself up, thanks," She said angrily.

"I didn't mean to bump into you," I rambled. "I just wasn't watching where I was going and—"

"I know. I know…" Helga said with a sigh. "It was my fault. I wasn't watching where I was going."

She sounded so upset and apologetic. I couldn't let her just go.

"Helga?" I asked gently.

"Wh-what?" She asked quietly.

"Come over?" I pleaded.

She stared at me, her eyes sad and searching.

"Okay," She whispered eventually.

Almost no one was in the hall at this point, so we were practically alone when we left the school.

"What's wrong?" I asked suddenly.

"I'm…I'm tired," Helga mumbled with a shrug.

"Yeah…but why are you tired? …Why were you up late enough to be tired?"

"Why do you wanna know so badly?" She mumbled her tired…beautiful…eyes gazing outward instead of directly at me.

"Because…I…I care about you, Helga," I admitted.

She stopped walking and stared at me. I stopped too.

"What is it?" I asked quietly.

"Arnold…what are you…trying to do to me?!" She exploded.

Helga began to storm off at a far too rapid pace for my brain to understand.

"What-what do you mean?"

I felt like I was asking that question a lot lately.

"I mean…I mean…UGH!" Helga spluttered searching for words. She threw her head back, closed her eyes, and took in a deep breath.

"Arnold," She said evenly.

"Yes?"

"You…" She began, cutting herself off before she'd even started.

I peered at her, curious.

"I what?" I whispered.

"You…should get going…your grandparents…are probably worried."

"No, it's-it's okay," I said dismissively. "I…"

"You what?" She whispered.

"I want to…be here…with…you," I muttered.

She smiled slightly then looked down. This caused me to notice how long her eyelashes were and how interesting it was to see a side of Helga that most people didn't get to.

"Let's…let's get going," She whispered, still not meeting my gaze.

"Okay," I replied.

As we started off for the boarding house, I had this sudden urge to grab her hand. But that was crazy right? Me and Helga…holding hands?