Disclaimer: I do not own Hey Arnold or any of the characters. Hey Arnold is the property of Nickelodeon and Craig Bartlett.

A Broken Heart

Chapter 1: So much for my happy ending

Helga stood in wonder as she watched the celebration from a distance, unable to believe what has happened these last few days.

Traveling to San Lorenzo, getting captured by that insane pirate LaSombra, dodging booby traps and perilous jungle dangers, finding the Green Eye people, dangling from rope bridges and finding the Green Eyes hidden city...it was all unbelievable, especially when they learned the truth about what happened to Arnold's missing parents, that they got infected by the sleeping sickness they came to cure and that only the Corazon, a heart made of gold, could activate the machine that held the cure, but because of LaSombra, it was lost forever and all hope seemed lost...until...

"I might have something that would work..." Helga said in a shy voice as she approached Arnold and revealed to him her locket, …"It's...it's a heart...I think it could fit...but this is just gold plated. ..it's not a very pure heart. .." She said in an insecure voice as she felt her heart accelerate at what she was doing.

She was dropping everything, her secret, letting go the fear of rejection, because this is more important than that. Arnold needs his parents, her locket may be the only thing left that they could use and she...she wanted them wake up, because his parents didn't deserve to suffer like this...ARNOLD doesn't deserve to suffer like this...

Her secret didn't matter anymore, all that matters now is waking them and the Green Eyes up from their curse...

"I don't know... I think your heart... is more pure than you know..." He said to her, meaning every word.

Helga heard this and felt her heart beat faster and didn't even hide her swoon as Arnold took the locket and soon the machine activate, spreading the cure to the entire city, with the adults finally waking up from their decade long coma, including Arnold's mother and father.

Now Helga stood by as she watched Arnold who was with his parents and Geraldo, with the now awake chief and his family thanking them for saving them, and Arnold never looked so happy as he did now when his parents smiled at him and said that they were proud of him, it made Helga's heart melt at the sight of it all.

"ARNOLD! ARNOLD!...'Every Green Eye in the city chanted as they honored the boy who had saved them.

'Oh Arnold...I'm so happy for you..." Helga thought as she felt a genuine smile on her face as she watched her beloved finally be reunited with his long lost parents.

If anyone deserved to be happy with their parents, it's her precious football headed love.

Helga was about to pull out her locket to look at his picture, only to recall that it was still inside the machine that had distributed the cure...where anyone could see it!

"Criminy!...'Helga thought as she looked around and realized that everyone was too busy cheering for Arnold and celebrating being reunited with their parents to notice her presence.

This was her chance...

However, before she could leave 10 feet, Arnold approached her and got her attention while his parents and Gerald were still talking with the chief.

"Hey Helga...'Arnold greeted, surprising the blonde girl in the process.

"AH!...um...Hey...Arnold...'The girl said, trying to sound cool and hoped she didn't sound as nervous as she feared...

She wondered what he could possibly want now, he had his parents back and she figured he'd be all over them like glue!

"Helga, I've known you my whole life, practically, and you've always been angry and... and kinda... you know ...mean..." Arnold said to her.

The blonde hair girl's eyes widen and she immediately got into the defensive, like she always got whenever he tried to get too close to her.

"Yeah! ...So?...'Helga said with her arms crossed and even moved a couple of feet away from him.

She felt so nervous and vulnerable right now and that made her defensiveness and anger go on auto-pilot, especially since she's confused too, wondering where he is going with this whole thing.

"I've also seen you be really loyal and super brave..." Arnold said in his sincere voice.

Helga felt her angry face slip and now she was lookin at him with a curious one.

"I never would have been able to find my parents...heck, I never would have even be able to make it here without your help..." Arnold said and Helga felt her heart beating as he said these words.

She was confused, she was scared and a part of her was feeling hopeful, of what this really meant...

"Is...Is he really..." Helga didn't dare finish that thought until he said so himself...

"What you did for me was amazing and I'll always be indebt to you, what you did for me is what any real friend would do and I'm always going to appreciate it...'Arnold said in a tone of complete and utter admiration.

Helga almost let out a swoon when he said these beautiful worlds, making her heart all a flutter...until she registered the final words of his sentence.

'Friend?...'Helga thought, wondering if she heard him right.

"A...A friend?...' Helga said in a soft voice and Arnold apparently misunderstood the way she said it as he simply took her hand and kept smiling at her earnestly

"I always knew there was a kind friend in you Helga, and you proved it to me today..." Arnold said as he pulled her into a tight hug.

Helga didn't push him away, as Arnold kept hugging her, he didn't see the look on her face...if he did, we would have gotten a clue of what his words were doing to her right now to her emotions.

After what felt like forever, he released her and sent her another smile.

"Come on Helga, join the party and I'm sure my folks want to meet you...'Arnold said as he took her hand to lead her to the celebration.

However, Helga snatched her hand back, but not in a hostile way.

"Actually Arnold...I'm...I'm kind of too tired to party...I think I need to lie down for a while...'Helga said with a straight face, using all of her will power not to give into her emotions right now... at least not in front of him...

"Are you sure, Helga?...Do you need any help?...'Arnold asked in a concerned voice that made her heart break even more.

"No...I'll be alright...go spend time with your parents...that's the only reason you came here anyway..."Helga said to him.

Arnold looked concerned but nodded and soon left to rejoin his folks, Helga began to back away slowly, before turning around and immediately running to one of the many green eyes huts that was empty since the whole village was celebrating.

With no one here to look at her, Helga finally allowed the tears to fall from her face and she found herself sinking to the ground, the grief and sadness in her heart was truly too much for her to bear as she ended up hugging her knees as if she was about to go into a fetal position as the harsh reality finally dawned on her.

Arnold didn't love her and he isn't going to.

She had finally revealed her secret to him, no strings attached, helped save his folks life and he still didn't love her. Sure, she wasn't expecting him to love her when she offered him her locket, what mattered was his folks lives and his happiness...but it still hurt.

It hurt worse than any physical pain she's ever experienced in her life. It's like that spear that almost hit her today had rammed right through her chest, where her heart is...only it hurt even more than that...

"Arnold...'Helga whispered as she continued to rock herself back and forth as she cried in silence, away from her beloved, his family and the green eyes.

She didn't want any of them to see her tears...her weakness...she didn't want anyone seeing her heart break into a million pieces as she knew now more than ever that Arnold is never going to return her feelings...

What's worse is that she knew she had no right to blame him, after all of the rotten, stupid things she had done to him over the years, it really wouldn't make any sense that he would come to love her, even after saving his folks lives.

Why would someone as gorgeous, kind, brave, wonderful, noble and sweet like him, possibly love a miserable creature like her?!

Why would he chose a homely, bitter, violent and sour girl when he clearly deserved better?!

She wanted to cry, she wanted to scream, she wanted to break something, but most of all….she wanted his love, not his friendship, even if it's more than she deserves...but she knew now that this isn't a fairy tale or a romance movie.

She wasn't the plucky young heroin in a movie who ,after going through trials and suffering, manages to save the day and win the heart of the man that she loves. This isn't a fairy tale, no matter how much she wished it could have been, but this is reality...cold, cruel reality...

This isn't a fairy tale, Arnold doesn't love her and only sees her a his friend and nothing more and she would not be getting the happily ever after with him that she's always dreamed about since she was a tiny tot of three.

This isn't a anything like that, and she wasn't going to be getting her happy ending with Arnold, now or ever...

'So much for my happy ending....'Helga thought as she continued to cry in the privacy of the hut away from the rest of the world and most especially of all, Arnold.

-To be continued-

Next time on A Broken Heart

First day of sixth grade

:) Till next time beautiful people, remember to read and review :)