Arnold sighed as he leaned against the counter, fighting the urge to look at his watch for the fourth time that hour. Sometimes working in "Mardarello's Used Books" was an incredible bore. Not that he wasn't grateful for the job; He needed the money to help pay for college next year, and Mr. Mardarello was a great boss. He let him study when there weren't any customers, and the pay was pretty good too. The only problem was days like today: It was a sunny and warm Saturday afternoon, and there hadn't been a single customer all day. Curiosity got the best of Arnold, and he hopefully looked at his watch again, only to cringe when he saw it was 2:45, ten minutes past the last time he had taken a peek.

"Only two hours and fifteen minutes to go!" He said aloud, trying to encourage himself while also breaking the silence. He picked up his English Literature textbook and contemplated studying the Romantic Period, when the bell above the door jingled. Arnold looked up expectantly, and was greeted by Big Bob Pataki, who was carrying a large, heavy looking box.

"Hey there Arthur, could you give me a hand with this thing?" Big Bob exclaimed, breathing hard and struggling through the door.

"Yeah, of course, Mr. Pataki", Arnold answered, as he ran around the counter and grabbed ahold of one side of the box. Together they made their way to a table that was by the window, and there they set it down. Big Bob breathed a sigh of relief and sat down in a nearby chair. "Whew! I never knew the girl owned so many books!" He exclaimed, shaking his head. "Thanks for the help, Arthur."

"Actually, it's 'Arnold', Mr. Pataki. What can I do for you?" Arnold asked, inwardly rolling his eyes at Bob's inability to remember his name. While he and Helga had never been the best of friends, they had grown up together, and he had been around Bob on numerous occasions. Without missing a beat, Bob stood up and replied, "I'm here to sell these books. Since Helga's off at boarding school, I figured I'd start cleaning out her room so I can make it my office. What do you think I can get for them?"

Arnold looked at the box and then back at Bob. "Sorry Mr. Pataki, but Mr. Mardarello decides what to buy, and he's off today. You can check back on Monday if you'd like."

"So the old geezer's on vacation again, huh?" Bob asked, shaking his head. "Well, you tell him I'll be around at noon on Monday, and I'll expect a quote when I get here. Thanks Arthur." And with that, he was out the door. Arnold shook his head and then turned to open the box. While it was true that Mr. Mardarello decided what the store would buy, Arnold had grown to know the older man's taste, and he could start picking out the books that he knew he would be interested in. Besides, it would give him something to do on this incredibly slow day.

Arnold pulled the tape off of the box and opened the flaps. The first book he came to was a leather bound tome entitled The Complete Works of Shakespeare. It was in very good condition, although it was obvious it had been read many times, and Arnold wondered if it was something Helga would really want given away. "None of my business", he thought, as he put the book aside to be the first in the "maybe" pile, and he reached for another book. This one was a paperback version of Lord of the Flies, and Arnold smiled when he saw it. Everyone in his sixth grade class had been assigned to read it, after which they acted out scenes for a class project. Arnold was chosen to play Ralph, and Helga was unanimously elected to play Jack, since she possessed such a forceful and take charge personality. They played their roles with gusto, and in the end they received an A+ for their efforts. Sentimentality aside, however, Arnold couldn't see Mr. Mardarello being interested in the book, since they already had two copies on the shelves, so he put it in the "no" pile.

The next fifteen minutes passed quickly, as Arnold sorted the books into two piles. They were a hodgepodge of required reading, personal favorites, and books from childhood. When he had almost reached the bottom of the box, Arnold came across a small hardcover book. It was pink with no writing on the front or spine to indicate what it was, and the pages were well worn. Opening the book to the first page, he saw a poem written in a young girl's scrawl, the purple ink slightly smudged.

My love, my sultry preteen,

Why must I hold you only whilst I dream?

Will I be forever enslaved by your spell?

Why must I worship you, and never ever tell?

You make my girlhood tremble, my senses all go wacky,

Someday I'll tell the world, My Love,

Or my name's not Helga G. Pataki!

Raising an eyebrow, Arnold continued to read:

"I did it AGAIN! Arnold, my love, the golden haired god of my girlish dreams, bumped into me at school today. Instead of being generous or witty, what did I do? I called him 'Football Head' and told him to watch where he was going! Why, oh why can't I just be nice, just once? Why can't I reach out to him and tell him that I've always loved him…"

With a SNAP! Arnold closed the book. "Holy cow, this is Helga's diary!" he thought, feeling slightly panicked and very weird about what he had just read. He knew that he had seen something that he was never meant to see, but he had no idea what to do about it. After the surprise of finding the diary wore off, it finally hit home as to what was written: Helga, at some point when they were in grade school, had been in love with him.

The idea seemed absolutely absurd. When he thought back to the many years they had been in school together, he could hardly remember a time when she had been nice to him, much less acted like she loved him. While it seemed like forever since anyone had called him "Football Head", the name still hurt, and he had her to thank for it. She had been his constant tormentor for six years, until they moved on to middle school and were assigned to different classes. By that time she seemed to mellow, and she started being nicer to everyone. They still saw each other during lunch and over the summer, and while she still had an edge about her, over all she was polite if not distant when they talked. That was preferable to the constant name calling and heckling, but it was a far cry from how he expected a person in love to act.

When Arnold was getting ready to begin high school, he heard that Helga had been accepted to the prestigious Governor's School in Smithville, which was almost an hour away from Hillwood. Since it was too far to commute, Helga's parents decided that she could live in the on campus dorms, effectively removing her from his life completely. He hadn't seen Helga in three years, and the only person he knew of who still had contact with her was Phoebe, her best friend from childhood.

Lost in thought, Arnold didn't notice the bell above the door ring, and therefore almost jumped out of his skin when a hand touched his shoulder.

"Whoa, chill out dude, it's just me!" Gerald exclaimed, laughing at his reaction.

"Hey Gerald, I didn't hear you come in", Arnold gasped, still a little out of breath.

"Well that's obvious. What were you thinking so hard about? You didn't even react when I said your name."

Arnold looked down at the diary in his hand, and he contemplated telling Gerald what he had found. On the one hand, it would seem like a breach of trust to Helga, but on the other he was dying to get another person's opinion about the situation. Gerald had been with both of them through grade school, and he would probably remember if she had done anything that seemed even slightly indicative of a crush. He decided to take a chance.

"Big Bob Pataki came in a few minutes ago so he could sell a box of Helga's books. He must have just thrown every book she owned into the box without looking at them first, because he also included her diary from when we were at PS 118. I didn't know it was a diary at first, but when I read the first page, I saw a poem about being secretly in love with someone, and underneath was an entry about how that person was me! Now I don't know what I should-"

"No way!" Gerald interrupted, grabbing for the diary. "I've got to see this!"

"What? No! Stop it Gerald!" Arnold yelled, dodging away and holding the diary behind his back. "Helga would die if she knew I read this, much less if I let others read it too!"

"Aw man, you're no fun! What's the point of finding a secret love diary about yourself if you aren't going to read it? I say 'Finders, keepers'!" And with that, Gerald snatched the book out of Arnold's hand.

"Hey, come on, give it back!" Arnold said, reaching for the diary that Gerald was now holding above his head. Gerald had grown quite a lot over the past couple of years, and now he stood at a little over six feet tall. With Arnold's height of 5'10, he didn't stand a chance.

Giving him an evil grin, Gerald opened up the diary to the second page and read aloud:

"Oh Arnold, sweet prince, how I love you!

And though I may hide my true feelings,

I pray that you may know them, my love!

Would that you could see through this vain disguise,

And realize that my cruelties are merely a lost, lonely soul's cry for attention!"

"Whew! She had it BAD for you, man!" Gerald laughed, handing the diary back to a fuming Arnold.

"It's not funny!" Arnold exclaimed, as he walked behind the counter and put the book inside his book bag. "I don't know what I should do! If I give it back to Big Bob he'll probably just throw it away, but if I give it back to Helga, she's going to freak out."

"Why not just keep it?" Gerald asked. "The next time she comes home she'll find out that her dad got rid of it, so either way she won't have it anymore."

"You know I can't do that! It's invasion of privacy. Besides, why would I want Helga's diary, even if it is about me?" Arnold sighed and sat on the stool behind the counter. Suddenly he felt tired, and it wasn't even 3:30.

"Look, I think the only thing you can do is give the diary back to Helga", Gerald replied, looking serious for a change. "You said yourself that this was from elementary, so it's not like it's recent. She may be embarrassed that you read the first page, but what are the odds she still feels this way? She'll probably laugh it off as a childhood crush."

Arnold looked thoughtful for a minute, and then he asked, "But what if she still feels this way? What will I do then?"

"In the HIGHLY unlikely event that she does, you can just tell her you don't feel the same, and let that be that. It's not like you actually have feelings for her, right? Arnold? Right?"

From the look on Arnold's face, Gerald could see that he wasn't quite right in his assessment of the situation. Shaking his head, he pulled up a chair and sat down. They obviously needed a long talk.

A/N: Hello dear reader, whoever you are. I'm new to HA! fanfic (so new in fact, I've actually never read any of it), so I wanted to give some information about the universe this story is taking place in. I am writing as if the events in HA! The Movie didn't take place (ie. Helga never confessed her love for Arnold), and that the assumed events of The Jungle Movie never happened.

A note on the poetry: All poetry in this fic is from HA! episodes, because I am NOT a poet, and any attempt I would make at trying to be one would just be embarrassing. All that being said, I hope you enjoy the story, and I thank you for taking the time to read it.