Hey all! This is my first multi-chapter fanfic, and I hope you enjoy it. It was inspired by a post in a Hey Arnold! forum asking authors to give Arnold and Helga some alone time in Mighty Pete. Without further ado, here it is!

Disclaimer: I do not own Hey Arnold! or any of its characters. Although that was probably obvious.

"Hey there, Mighty Pete! Do you remember us?" The blond-haired young man said to the enormous tree as he placed his hand between the curves of its bark. Arnold turned to his girlfriend of several years and grinned. "What do you think, Helga? Doesn't being here bring back memories?"

His girlfriend hooked her hands on her hips and rolled her eyes. "Oh sure, Arnold. Nothing says "good times" like remembering the time when Big Bob tried to run us all down with a bulldozer. You sure know how to show a girl a good time, Football Head." All the sarcasm in her voice couldn't hide the glitter of amusement in her eyes.

"Come on, Helga. There were a lot of good memories here too – card games, campouts, end of the year parties. Besides," he gave her a mischievous sideways grin, "I remember a certain heroine rushing in to save us from certain doom…and I don't mean my grandmother."

Helga blushed, and tried to cover it up by saying sternly. "Speaking of parties, we need to be getting to Phoebe's – the party'll be starting in half an hour."

It was the beginning of the summer holidays, and all the former students from P.S. 118 had returned home from their respective colleges. Helga and Arnold had just driven back to Hillwood together that afternoon and were eager to meet up with their former classmates. Phoebe herself was hosting a "Welcome Home" party for all of the old gang that evening. Helga couldn't wait to see Phoebe, having missed her friend immensely. Although Arnold was just as eager to see the old group, especially Gerald, he had been able to persuade Helga to take a break from unpacking and go around to the old haunts. They'd seen the docks, the vacant lot, and now were stopping by Mighty Pete before making their way to Phoebe's house.

"Oh, we have plenty of time, Helga. Phoebe's house is just five minutes away. Let's go up – for old time's sake?" Helga was about to protest again when Arnold looked at her with that half-lidded gaze of his that made her go all to pieces. The protest died in her throat and she shrugged. Arnold grinned and began to climb the weathered rungs of the old rope ladder. "You coming?"

"I don't think so."

"Aw, c'mon! Where's the fun-loving, adventurous Helga I know and love?"

"She's been wearing heels for the last few blocks. Forget it."

"Please, Helga? There's no point in climbing up here alone. Don't you want to see how the old treehouse has fared over the years?"

"Well…"

"Please? Just for a few minutes, and then we'll leave for Phoebe's, I promise."

"Okay." Helga slipped the heels off her feet and followed Arnold up the ladder. She felt it creak suspiciously as she stepped from the top rung to the wooden platform. "That doesn't sound good. Hey Arnold, you sure it's safe to be up here?"

"I don't see why not." Arnold said, looking around him at the old treehouse, the walls and floorboards covered in a thin layer of dust. "But this place has sure seen better days. What are the kids of the neighborhood up to, they can't give the place a good dusting at least?"

"Well, maybe they don't have someone to remind them to "pool their resources" and work for a common goal." Helga joked.

Arnold snorted in laughter. "I guess not. It worked for us, though. Look over there," he pointed to the lower deck of the tree house, "that's where we could sit and watch the stars at night, where we could talk for ages about nothing at all." He began walking down to the deck.

"You better be careful, Arnold. Those boards look rotten."

"It'll be okay, Helga. Just let me run down there real quick, and then we can go."

She watched him swing down and walk along the railed deck and smiled. Turning to the tree, she put her hands on the boards of the tree house wall and wiped away some of the dust. We did have some good times here. Good times that I wouldn't change for anything. But some things have changed. For one thing, I'm wearing heels now, she grinned, and I'm not a girl pining for someone she can't have. Arnold's mine, and I'm his now – we love each other…

There was a loud crash, followed by a yelp of surprise. Spinning around, she looked to where Arnold had been standing not two minutes before. The space was empty. A cold spike of fear stabbed her heart clean through. "Arnold?" she whispered, then yelled, "Arnold!" Tears starting in her eyes, she ran down to the deck, taking no care to watch the floorboards, "Where are you?" There was a great hole where Arnold had been standing, and on closer inspection she could see hands gripping the jagged ends of the wood. Peering down, Helga could see Arnold's face looking up at her with embarrassment and a nervous smile.

"Arnold…"

"Helga, I think we might be a little late to the party…"

A/N: I hope you've enjoyed it thus far; more chapters will be coming soon! Please please please review and let me know what you think!