Author's Note: I want to thank everyone for reading my fanfic… I hope everyone loves reading it at much as I loved writing it. And yes, I am aware this is also being posted at nick.com- but you lucky folks get an extra-edited version. I originally wrote this to fit the character limit on nick.com, so the chapters were rather short. I tried to fit some together, but they still aren't the longest parts in the world, because it was difficult to put them together and still make the story flow.

Disclaimer: Some days, I wonder about modern society. I mean, would the owner of a show really be writing FANfiction about it? But that's beside the point- I do not own Hey Arnold! It belongs to Craig Bartlett. And that's not me.

One Rainy Day

Part One: From Clouds Come Hopelessness

It was Monday morning at PS 118. The sky was overcast and a steel gray color, though the temperature was unusually warm for mid-March. This melted the snow that was on the ground, turning it into gray slush that covered everything- cars, buildings, and playground equipment. The only color in the city was the bright jackets that everyone wore, although they all dealt with the mess gladly, it meant spring was coming soon. All except Helga Pataki.

She stormed down the hallway, her usually neat pigtails a mess, with pieces of hair streaming out everywhere. Her face was flushed, and she looked both chilled and warm at the same time. The gray slush that covered the sidewalks was trailing up her legs and had splattered a little on her dress. Helga shot into the bathroom, nearly colliding with Rhonda, who was on her way out and had obviously spent the last few minutes staring at her reflection, given the smug look on her face. She was about to comment on Helga's less than perfect appearance, but one look at the girl's face suggested that that was not the greatest idea, and so she scoffed at Helga's "rudeness" and walked off. Helga didn't even acknowledge Rhonda- instead; she walked over the sinks, threw her backpack on the floor, and wet a paper towel, hoping to get at least some of the mess cleaned up.

She had accidentally slept late, and Miriam had, of course, forgotten to wake her up. Helga was jarred awake that morning by the sound of a bus- her bus- roaring past her bedroom window, and without her on it. She had gotten dressed in record time and sped out of the house, not looking forward to the long and cold walk ahead. Along the way, she had been splashed and splattered with the gray mess that was the sidewalk. She sighed and glanced into the mirror, violently pulling out her pigtails and re-doing them, trying to make them as smooth as possible without the help of a hairbrush- unlike Rhonda, she saw no need to carry one around everywhere. She supposed that she had been half hoping throughout that entire sprint to school that Arnold might show up out of nowhere and help her out, as he had appeared with that umbrella so many years ago. She wished she could go back to that day, to do it all over again, and do it better this time. No teasing, no spitballs… and maybe then, Arnold would like her… But there was no going back now, no way to start over. The regret and loneliness she suddenly felt made a lump rise in her throat, but she quickly suppressed it, and turned her sadness to anger, as she had all these years, as she seemed destined to do for the rest of her life… "I guess it would be too much to ask that Miriam wake me up on time?" She began, collecting her things and talking to the mirror, "To give me ride? For football head to notice me? And now I have to go sit through a whole day in Mr. Simmons's 'special' classroom, and only admire you from afar, my love…" Helga's anger left as quickly as it had come. She sighed dreamily and pulled out her locket, only to be jarred out of her thoughts by the bell. Her scowl back on, she grabbed her things and stormed out of the bathroom and down the hall.

Arnold sat in his desk that morning, watching his classmates enter the room. He didn't feel much like talking, for whatever reason- he was content to watch everyone walk around, to listen, to observe… Rhonda was talking to Nadine about some Paris fashion show. Nadine was trying to listen intently, staring off into space, bored, and trying to change the subject to something that she might find more interesting all at once, and not really succeeding at any. Arnold would never understand how these two had grown to be friends- they were as different as night and day. But there was some sort of bond there, he had noticed, especially during their "Uniquely You" project. Although that particular experience was still a bit of a sore subject for him, especially since photos of the event had been proudly displayed on the bulletin board in the classroom for weeks after, until Arnold had begged Mr. Simmons to take them down. Mr. Simmons, who was talking with Dr. Bliss at his desk and looking incredibly nervous, had of course taken down the pictures down right away. Harold, Stinky, and Sid followed Rhonda and Nadine in the room, and Arnold heard Sid saying, "Did you see his face? That was great!" Arnold couldn't remember a time when the three of them hadn't gotten into trouble for one of their schemes, but they still tried a new one every day anyway. Probability and fortune had to be on their side, though, thought Arnold, and they were bound to get away with something someday. Not, of course, that he agreed with the things they did, but they were his friends and he didn't want them to get into trouble. Sheena and Eugene walked through the door, then, and Arnold could hear the chorus of the "Rats" song… he laughed to himself, fully expecting to see the two of them- or at least Eugene- on Broadway someday. ("I'm Okay!" The musical.)

A few minutes later, everyone was in their seats and Mr. Simmons stood at the front of the class, eagerly awaiting the bell so he could begin. The bell sounded, echoing off the empty halls and silencing at least part of the class. Arnold got the strange feeling something, someone? Was missing, and sure enough, Helga burst into the classroom seconds later, her face pink and slightly out of breath. She looked very, very angry about something, so Mr. Simmons didn't bother to lecture her on her tardiness. Maybe that was because he saw what Arnold had noticed the instant Helga burst into class that morning- as angry as she looked, as hard as she was scowling, there was sadness written plainly on her face that she couldn't cover up. For whatever reason, he couldn't stand to see her upset- all of the sudden; the only thing that mattered to him was making sure she was all right. It was as if everything else in his life was on hold until he figured out what was bothering her. It unsettled him knowing that she was unhappy, but what unsettled him even more so was how upset the fact that she was unhappy made him. He promised himself he would talk to her the first chance he got.

Arnold waited all morning in his seat, expecting a heavy, wet mass to collide with the back of his head at any moment, but there were no spitballs that morning. Helga snapped at every person that tried to talk to her- even Phoebe- but there were no taunts, she never even acknowledged him. Something was definitely wrong, and Arnold was determined to find out what it was.