Holy shiitake mushrooms! I bet you guys thought I disappeared forever, leaving you without a good ending, right? WRONG! I'm back, and I bring another chapter in apology (sorry it's a bit short)! This chapter went through a lot, so sorry if it's not as good as the others. I hope it still makes you smile!

Disclaimer: I own Hey Arnold and I'm making the Jungle Movie starting tomorrow! *Phone rings* Hello? Oh, Hi Nick. What? I don't? Ok. *hangs up phone* I actually don't own Hey Arnold, but there's still a chance for TJM! Keep asking Nick very nicely!

Chapter 14

After a few minutes of hugging and smiling, Arnold and Helga had decided on taking a walk through the park. Hand in hand, they followed the paths that wound through the park with no real destination in mind, only that they didn't want to part ways anytime soon. The more they walked the more they noticed places that meant something to them; the bench where they had found the egg they had lost while trying to take care of it for a school project, Mighty Pete, and of course now the lake, where Arnold had just asked Helga to be his girlfriend.

Just as they came upon one of the park entrances, Helga tripped over a loose stone in the path and fell forward.

"Helga!" Arnold exclaimed.

"Don't worry, Football Head, I'm fine." however, Helga had heard a strange sound when she fell, something that sounded like a *clink*. Looking up as she got to her feet (with Arnold insisting on helping), Helga what had made the sound: her locket lay face up on the path, the glass cracked in a jagged spiderweb. She picked it up gently, and looked at it in shock; she had always kept this locket so safe, and now it was broken. A lump formed in her throat, although she wasn't entirely sure why. Arnold looked over her shoulder to see what it was that had fallen from her pocket, then he looked at Helga, who looked very upset.

"Helga," Arnold began slowly, "I...I might be able to fix it, if you want."

"No, it...it's...fine," Helga mumbled, "It's just...a locket, after all." But Arnold wasn't fooled; this locket was very special to her, and it being broken made her very upset. Without another word Arnold took her hand and began leading her out of the park in the direction of his house.

"Arnold, what are you doing?" Helga asked.

"Making you feel better." he answered simply. Helga tried to protest all the way from the park to Arnold room, but he continued walking with just as much purpose as ever.

"Arnold, really, it's not that important!" she tried for the hundredth time.

"Helga," Arnold said as he looked through a box of odds and ends, "Clearly this locket is special to you. Even if you won't admit it, I know you're upset that it's broken; I can't just not do anything." Helga sighed in defeat, though really she was touched that he cared this much.

"Alright, you win! Go ahead and be the helpful little do-gooder that you are." Helga began lifting out the broken glass shards, but she wasn't quite careful enough.

"Ow! Darn it!" she yelled as a particularly sharp piece of glass cut her finger.

"Helga, are you ok?" Arnold asked, clearly worried.

"Yeah, I just cut my finger; I'll live." Arnold gently took her hand in his and examined the cut. Wordlessly he pulled a small first aid kit from a shelf next to his stereo and pulled out a Band-Aid. He peeled off the backing and wrapped it around her finger, then placed a kiss on top.

"All better?" he asked.

"Yeah" she smiled. Arnold smiled back, then turned back to the locket. He carefully removed the last of the glass and replaced it with a new piece.

"There, now this is fixed, too." he said as he handed it back to Helga.

"Arnold...it's better than fixed, because you fixed it! And not only did you fix it...well, you didn't run away in terror. Don't you think I'm a crazy stalker or something?"

"Helga, I've told you, you're not crazy."

"But I have your picture in a locket that I carry with me daily!"

"And I'd love to hear the story of how that started, if you'd tell me."

"Well sure, I mean if-wait...what?" Helga asked, sure she had heard wrong.

"If you'll tell me, I'd really like to hear the story of how you decided to start carrying my picture with you." Arnold repeated.

"You...you really want to hear that story?" Arnold nodded.

"Alright, Hair Boy, you asked for it!" they sat on the couch, and Helga began her story, "Well, in the beginning I had found the idea in a book at the library, but being three I had no way to get a real locket, so I cut your picture out of the class photo and glued to a paper heart. A few years later I had saved up enough money to buy a real locket, and I got a new picture every year on your birthday. You know how they put your picture in the school paper on your birthday? Well when no one was looking I'd stick on in my backpack until I got home and I could put it in my locket."

"Wow, that must have taken a lot of planning, Helga!"

"Eh, it was easier than you might think."

Neither really knew what to say after that, and so they drifted into a slightly awkward silence.

"I, um, I should probably head home and start that essay Mr. Simmons assigned" Helga finally said, just to break the silence.

"Yeah, I should start a rough draft too" Arnold agreed, "Could, um, could I maybe...walk you home, Helga?"

"If you really want to, who am I to say no?" Helga smiled. Arnold wanted to walk her home again! And so they walked, hand in hand, to Helga's house. Helga was still in a bit of a daze every time Arnold held her hand, and she still couldn't really believe he was her...her b-b-b...heck, she couldn't even think it! It just sounded so...official. Sure, she had always dreamed of the day she could call Arnold her boyfriend, but she hadn't thought it would happen until at least seventh grade, if not high school!

"Helga?" Arnold asked, breaking into her thoughts.

"Huh? Oh, sorry, Arnold. Guess I got a little lost there; what were you saying?"

"I was saying that we're at your house, and that...maybe sometime we could...do our homework together?"

"Um, yeah, sure! That sounds really nice."

"Really? Great!" Arnold tried to mask just how excited he was; Helga was really nice, when she wanted to be, and he wanted to spend more time with her.

"Yeah. So, uh, thanks again for fixing my locket. You really didn't have to."

"You're welcome, Helga. Anything to make you happy."

"So, see you tomorrow?" Helga asked.

"Mhm. Should I...pick you up again, so we can walk together?"

"If you want. But, if you did...I wouldn't object."

"Okay," Arnold smiled. He blushed lightly before giving Helga a quick kiss on the cheek.

"I love you, Helga."

"Arnold..." Helga was blushing, but she also looked...concerned?

"Helga? Is something wrong?" Arnold asked.

"It's just...you keep saying that, but...Arnold, I've waited for years to hear you say that, but I...I want you to know that you mean it before you say it. Really know. Because if you say it, and then don't mean it...I-I don't know what I'd do. Do you understand, Arnold?" Helga held her breath, waiting for his response.

"I understand, Helga. I promise, I'll do plenty of thinking, and then I'll prove it to you, but there's one thing I want you to know: I thought long and hard about what I said to you today before I decided to tell you. I would never want to hurt you, Helga, in any way. Ever."

"I know, Arnold. Thank you; I really appreciate that you're being so okay with all of this. And I do mean all of this! The locket, the shrines, the poetry, everything." Arnold hugged her one more time and whispered "Anything for you, Helga", then departed for home. He had an idea for the perfect way to prove to Helga that, no matter how worried she was, he really did love her. He had thought about everything for days between their picnic (and Helga's confession) and the day she had asked him to come over to help her plan for the first day of school. He knew they were only ten, but he also knew that he loved Helga. Love was a hard word to define, but it was the best way he could describe his feelings; she made him feel warm and happy whenever she was around, and when they held hands it was like every nerve in his hand was extra sensitive. He just had to show Helga that he really did love her, and make her believe him.

When Arnold got home he went directly up to his room. He pulled a notebook from his bag and flipped to a new page. Then slowly, carefully, he began writing.

After a few hours he was satisfied with his work. That done he turned his attention to the homework Mr. Simmons had assigned that day: My Summer Vacation.

Arnold started writing his rough draft, but as he went on he realized more had happened over this past summer than he had thought. He had started out just talking about playing baseball with his friends, but as he came to the beach he found himself noticing something: he had learned a lot about himself and Helga this summer. He added in being on Babe Watch, but he omitted the kiss; that was for he and Helga alone. Finally, he wrote about coming back to Hillwood and getting to know Helga better, and how excited he was for the new school year. After some editing, Arnold was satisfied with his work, and he tucked it in his "Completed Homework" folder.

Back at Helga's house, things were pretty similar to Arnold's; Helga was laying on her bed, writing. However, she wasn't working on homework, but instead a poem. It was the best way she could think of to sort out her thoughts. 'Arnold loves me! But what if his definition of love is different from mine? And even if we do mean it the same way, in a few years, or even a few months, he might decide it was just a crush, and if that happened...I'd die. I don't know what I'd do. I can't even imagine it. But then again, if he really does mean it...then that means...it finally happened. All of my dreams are happening, right here and now. Which is why if he doesn't mean it...oh criminy, I'm talking myself in circles!' Helga thought as she stared at the poem that lay half-finished in front of her.

These words you speak I barely understand

What did it mean when you held my hand?

All my life I've dreamed for this,

For you to return my love with a simple kiss.

You say you love me, but how can it be true?

You say you love me, and I don't know what to do.

"Ugh, I give up!" she exclaimed. She shut her book and stowed it under her mattress, then pulled out her notebook to start her essay.

"Ok, so, "My Summer Vacation". Well, since I spent pretty much all summer stalking Arnold, I guess it's time to make something up. Hmmm...played baseball at Gerald Field, hung out with Phoebe, read books...yeah, that should work." But as she wrote, Helga felt a slight nagging in the back of her mind. She was leaving out the biggest part of her summer, and it felt...wrong. Like she was still trying to hide everything by denying it ever happened. So, after a bit of internal arguing, Helga added one last thing to her paper.

"One other thing happened this summer: I made a new friend. Or rather, I got to know an old friend better, and let him get to know the real me. It hasn't been easy, but it has been worth it."

Helga closed her notebook and pulled out the rest of her homework, all the while thinking of Arnold.