Arnold Saves Rhonda

This is a Hey Arnold Fanfiction story about Arnold Shortman and Rhonda Wellington-Lloyd. I've read a few Arnold and Rhonda stories on FanFiction.Net and have since then developed a new respect and admiration of the character Rhonda. So I thought I might tell my own story about the two of them.

Here's the premise; Arnold saves Rhonda from some hooligans one night and she feels compelled to repay him somehow. She eventually decides to go on a date with him. Will sparks fly between them when they realize how much they have in common? What will their friends think? And how will Helga and Curly react to this?

This story is set after the events of Hey Arnold! the Movie and after April Fool's Day, but before the events of The Journal and the Jungle Movie, so at this point, Arnold knows how Helga feels about him and his feelings towards her will be addressed in the story at some point.

I do not own any of the characters, they belong entirely to Mr. Craig Bartlett and Nickelodeon.

Chapter One:

Saving Rhonda

It started out like any other Thursday night. It was 7:45pm and Arnold Shortman had just gotten off the bus and was walking down the street towards home. He was on his way home from the movies. He was listening to some music by Elvis Presley, specifically the soundtrack to Follow That Dream. He came up to an alley when he heard the sound of a girl crying out. He looked into the alleyway and saw what appeared to be two tough looking teenage boys cornering a young girl about his age. He took a closer look and saw that it was none other than his friend and schoolmate Rhonda Wellington Lloyd! Thinking quickly, he walked up behind a dumpster to listen to what was happening. He heard the blonde boy say, "Alright girly. Give us your money and we won't lay a hand on you." The black haired boy said, "Yeah, cooperate with us and we won't hurt you." Rhonda was up against the wall clutching her purse, wishing she had some pepper spray to use on them.

Arnold quickly pocketed his music player and stepped out of the shadows. He called out, "Hey! Leave the girl alone!" The two hoodlums turned to look at Arnold and they both let out a laugh. The blonde boy said, "Beat it ya football headed pipsqueak, this don't concern you." Rhonda's eyes lit up at the sound of football head. She looked toward him and cried out, "Arnold! Please, help me!" Arnold said, "Don't worry Rhonda, I'll take care of these guys." The black haired boy said, "This guy's a joke. I'll get rid of him Tommy." The blonde boy, Tommy replied, "Make it quick Frankie, I can't hold this girl by myself."

The black haired boy, Frankie walked up towards Arnold and said, "Last chance to walk away and mind your own business runt." Arnold stood his ground and said, "Saving her is my business. And the only ones who will be walking away are you and your pal Tommy. It's up to you guys whether you wanna walk away or limp away." Frankie cracked his knuckles and said, "Alright pipsqueak, you asked for it!" And he made an attempt to punch Arnold, only for Arnold to grab him by the wrist, twist his arm behind his back and push him up against the wall. Astonished, Frankie said, "Okay then, maybe you're not as weak as you look." Arnold said, "You still have a chance to let her go." Frankie responded by breaking free and attempting to punch him again, only to be blocked and slapped across the face by Arnold. Frankie was bewildered as he asked, "Did you seriously just slap me kid?" Arnold replied, "Yes I did. Weird right? And I'll do more than that unless you walk away from the girl right now." Frankie made one more attempt to swing at him but Arnold quickly punched him in the stomach, then grabbed hold of him and knocked him against the dumpster head first. The force of the impact instantly knocked him out.

Tommy turned his attention to Arnold and asked, "What the heck did you just do kid?!" Arnold replied, "The same thing I'm gonna do to you if you don't let the girl go." By now, Rhonda was crouching down on the ground cowering in fear. Tommy started walking towards Arnold and said, "You'll pay for that you little runt." Tommy took a swing at Arnold only for Arnold to block the punch and retaliate with a punch of his own. Tommy tried to punch him again only to be blocked and punched back by Arnold a second time. Then Arnold did a fast sweep kick and knocked Tommy to the ground. Tommy then grabbed a nearby glass bottle and attempted to hit Arnold with it, but he missed and it shattered against the wall. Arnold asked, "Have you and your friend had enough yet?" Tommy snarled and said, "You haven't bested me yet." He rose to his feet and tried to punch Arnold one more time. But Arnold ducked and did another sweep kick, knocking Tommy off his feet once again, only this time he banged his head on a trash can lid. He turned to get up but felt his back begin to strain. He winced in pain as he got up. He looked at Arnold and said, "Alright runt. You win this time, but next time will be different." Arnold just stood his ground again and said, "Maybe next time you'll think twice before you attempt to mug an innocent girl like her." Tommy limped over to Frankie and helped him up. In a daze, Frankie asked, "Did anyone get the license plate of that truck that hit me just now?" Tommy replied, "Shut up Frankie, you don't know what you're saying. We're getting out of here quick, before things get worse for us." They both slowly limped away in pain and defeat.