chapter ten: tattletale

It had been three hours and three minutes of waiting outside the Director's Office.

Before, Anna found herself wandering about the hospital and seeing how everything was and returning there after approximately an hour. It was efficient in passing the time and she could catch up on her favourite patients.

Ian had received her with a large smile last Wednesday, telling her all about the board game Ralph had bought to play with. Anna actually managed to sneak in three rounds before she had to leave, and Ian bid her goodbye with a lovely grin.

On Thursday, she happened upon Merida who was busy bonding with Alice outside to the gardens, both in front of a huge canvas and channelling their inner Van Gogh as they painted to their heart's content. Alice depicted the largest tree in the garden – a sycamore – complete with the orange sky on the clouds. Unlike the real deal, it was blinding on the canvas, big and warm and hot, as it watched over the garden. Merida decided to painted something from memory. A horse, from what Anna could tell, galloping on a country road. They conversed with the nurse for a while before she realised that with her there, the two girls were against a distraction, and excused herself after a few minutes.

And then came Friday.

Doctor Waldo was almost paged when she saw Mr. Anthony Wilde peering over the gate. It didn't come to that, though, as the brunet calmly came back inside with Anna's guidance, telling her how he missed the road – and her – as they entered the building yet again.

Anna always walked the blonde to the Director's Office. Seven was always the one to make the stroll outside the room to their therapy sessions, and aside from meeting Lilly, it was the highlight of Anna's days regarding the blonde.

Having an expectation that taking care of Elizabeth would be interesting based on her first day with Lilly was actually a mistake.

She'd never had a patient that was so… so unexciting to be with.

Now, Anna wasn't trying to be mean. It was just that, seriously, all Elizabeth did was sleep. Her early morning with Lilly was a one-time thing as she never went out again. When Anna was checking the blonde, or waking them up for medications, it was always Seven who answered.

And it wasn't the cool, chill Seven she thought she knew.

Anna wasn't sure what being a private nurse was but aside from checking on her designated patients, taking care solely of Ian and Merida wasn't this mind-numbingly boring. The two teenagers were talkers, although not immediately, but they were great company.

God, she was so tired of watching someone sleep. Having so many questions unanswered regarding her patient threatened to make her brain explode. That was why whenever it was Elizabeth's therapy sessions with Gran Pabbie, she'd take her sweet time interacting with all the other awake people in the hospital to try and make sense of the anxiety she felt while watching the lump on the mattress lie.

She'd never tell anyone she was bored out of her wits, though, no. That would be mean, and so she watched Seven sleep in the body of Elizabeth and wandered off whenever she had the chance.

Oh boy, oh boy, was she making a huge mistake.

Friday came and the usual happened. Elizabeth's fatigue was still in full effect. She and Anna stalked to the office with a lazy gait. As soon as she saw that Seven was comfortable in front of Gran Pabbie, off she went to the next wing of the hospital, looking for someone to talk to.

But Mr. Wilde had entertained her to the point that she forgot the time and when she came back to the second floor where the director was, she was surprised to see a confused Gran Pabbie.

According to him, Elizabeth left an hour ago before she came back.

This time Doctor Waldo was paged.

Mrs. Megara stumbled upon Seven on the rooftop, tears on cheeks as he was escorted back to his room. He refused to talk to Anna for the rest of the day. Until this morning, he hadn't answered her assessments or even looked in her direction.

That was how she knew she made a mistake.

Her thoughts were keeping her busy as she waited the three hours in silence outside the Director's Office. She couldn't even think of going away after what happened last week.

Steps echoing on the stairs caught Anna's attention. He exchanged confused glances with her as he came inside. Minutes later, Anna was met with a down-gazed blonde as Ralph took what seemed to be Seven back to room 031.

"Nurse Anna?"

Snapping up, Gran Pabbie invited her in. A ball of anxiety rolled through Anna as she followed suit, sitting in front of him on the couch with a grim look on his face.

"Seven told me about what happened last Friday," he said.

"Is he mad?" Anna asked, deflating at the thought. "I swear I didn't mean to be gone too long. I should've been here as you guys finished."

"Hmm," Gran Pabbie acknowledged, bobbing his head. "Last Friday, for the first time since Ms. Arendelle arrived here, El came out."

Anna stared at him, mulling over what he was implying. The doctor gave a half-shrug.

"Nurse Anna," he started again, more serious this time as he shook with a silent sigh that justified his disappointed stance.

"Yes?" she replied, brows furrowed as she went over his words in her head. El coming out must've meant something, right? Anna knew that, but decided to just focus at the doctor for the meantime. The alter that was in the body right now seemed to be upset and it was wise to figure it out as soon as she could before it worsens.

"Do you know what hosts are in terms of Dissociative Identity Disorder?"

Racking her mind for an answer, she came up with, "It's the personality that's out most of the time. I, uh, some believed hosts are the core personality."

The simple answer made him nod. "Correct. That term is believed to be outdated by some through countless discussions, but, for the sake of simplicity, let's call El the host. Now, what about a protector?"

Anna felt like she was being quizzed and she didn't know if she had all the right answers but she pushed through, faith wavering. "The protector is an alter who protects the body or other alters from harm or any kind of abuse, perceived or not."

"Also correct."

Swallowing the lump on her throat, the redhead waited for him to further explain.

"Now Nurse Anna," he began again with a frown. "Why do you think, with Ms. Arendelle's one week stay in Middleton Psychiatric, that the protector was out all the time instead of the host?"

Anna never stopped to think about that. Somehow, she made an assumption that alters could come and go as they pleased.

Which she shouldn't have made especially with Lilly's statement on the canteen.

Or the books she read that said otherwise.

When Anna's guilty silence ensued too long, Gran Pabbie decided to let her off the steamer. "It means the protector thinks they're in an unstable or unsafe environment." He checked Anna's progress notes for the past week for a minute and returned his attention back to her. "Was Ms. Arendelle really sleeping the whole time she was here?"

Hesitantly, she nodded, "I stayed with her all day every day last week. The only times I couldn't was when you're in session."

"Hmm. What about physical activities? None?" Anna shook her head no making the doctor click his tongue. "That won't do."

As the doctor studied her notes, the thought of what Seven said about last Friday plagued Anna's mind. Gran Pabbie said that El came out but when Anna arrived at the rooftop, she knew it was Seven by the way he talked to Mrs. Megara.

Anna wasn't so sure afterwards, though. The blonde had been all but mute that afternoon. She knew it was because of something she did because Seven, even with sleepy eyes and drowsy voice, talked to her before that accident.

"Was… was El the one who left here last Friday?"

"Finally, your brain managed to start working. I was scared you're losing your touch," Doctor Pablo sighed loudly, sending her a judgemental stare. "It was El. And then, Seven came to the front with her distressed and alone on the rooftop. It was quite jarring for him, especially a protector."

"Was he mad at me?" Anna repeated her initial question, becoming much more nervous when the doctor scoffed.

"What do you think?"

Anna rolled her eyes tiredly. "I think he is."

It's obvious he was. Gran Pabbie's lack of answer said a lot, too, and now she had an angry protector to deal with.

"He… hasn't answered any of my questions since Friday, and didn't listen when I told him to take the medicine this morning," Anna groused. "I don't know what to do next."

"Protectors are usually unpredictable," Gran Pabbie explained at her troubled look. "They would do anything to eliminate a threat even if none exists. The fact that Seven was forcefully triggered out with El crying… well, you can understand his silent treatment. He thought something happened."

"What should I do?"

Gran Pabbie shrugged, kicking his feet up at the desk. "I suggest you start getting on your knees."

..

Anna walked to room 031 with heavy steps.

Nurse Ralph wasn't there anymore when she entered, the blonde once again swaddled in the blanket like a burrito.

Fixing this would be hard, especially since Anna had no concrete idea of what she did wrong. She knew she did something bad, but as to what it was, the nurse had no clue.

Maybe it was because Seven thought that she'd left El to wander to herself?

Or what if he thought she was the one who made her cry?

Those were the only thing that came to mind. Anna chose to be the bigger person as she closed the door behind her, repeating a heartfelt apology in her head. A packet of bribe crinkled in her back pocket.

"Seven?"

No answer.

As expected.

Anna approached the lump inside the blanket warily, kneeling on the floor beside the bed. "Seven?"

Placing a hand on the space beside the blonde caused a quick reaction. Scrambling about, rolling in the blanket as he tried to get himself out of the cocoon he made himself. Anna's hand hovered above the air, not knowing if she should help or not.

At last, the blonde freed himself from the confines and glared at her sharply. "What?"

For someone who was rolling silly just seconds ago, he made for quite an intimidating person. Blonde brows were crossed as Seven tried to shimmy further away from her, the scowl on his face unfamiliar to the redhead.

He was usually so happy and jolly, but Anna could see what made him the protector. Just from his glance, she was scared that she'd spontaneously combust.

Or get punched like Lukas.

As feminine as the face in front of her was, Seven exuded virility. From the way his forehead was scrunched up, Anna instantly thought of an alpha male trying to daunt an enemy.

Maybe the chocolate chip cookie wouldn't be enough to calm him down.

"I, uhm," Anna stuttered as blue eyes drilled holes on her face. "I… I'm sorry."

"For what?" he bluntly challenged.

Oh, shit. Anna didn't know what she was apologising for. Winging it, she mumbled, "For leaving you alone last Friday."

Seven looked like it was what he was hoping to hear but not in a good way. "You're a nurse, aren't ya?"

"Yeah," she meekly answered.

"And you are our private nurse, right?"

Anna didn't like where this was going. She nodded, biting her lip.

"Then you shouldn't leave your patients just like that," he said calmly, but Anna could hear the anger written on his voice. "I mean… it's alright with me if you were to leave, but I'm not the only one around here." Inhaling deeply, Seven shook his head. "Y'know what? I agreed with El's decision to get us locked up here thinkin' that we'd have someone watch our back while we're doin' crackhead therapy sessions."

Taking care of someone who didn't want to be in a psychiatric hospital was something Anna was used to.

Ms. Ursula certainly didn't want to be here, of all places. Listening to her curse each and every soul she saw while adjusting – which was a long time – was one of the worst and best moments of her life.

Worst, because seeing someone who felt they didn't need help was forced to take it involuntarily, and best, because as time passed, the woman was slowly getting to where she was supposed to be, even if she sometimes threw her tray of medicine away or set her bed on fire.

The road to recovery wasn't something every individual wanted to thread, most likely because a.) it was hard, or b.) they didn't think they needed it.

The list could go on and on as each individual was different. Sometimes the pain would be too much to face, or sometimes they'd been lost for so long they didn't know how to find themselves again.

In Elizabeth's – or Seven's for that matter – it was still a little bit confusing.

From Seven's words, he didn't seem to like the idea of getting admitted, but in the same sentence, he said that El wanted to be.

How do people have such different opinions about the same thing, especially when they live in the same body?

But Anna wasn't supposed to focus on the absurdity of the blonde's words. She should be thinking of an answer to a subtly livid guy clutching the blanket like he wanted to kill it.

"What if a child comes out?"

Anna blanched, the blood draining from her face. Knowing just a handful about littles – child alters – was a big no-no since she was taking care of someone with DID. Hearing the blonde in front of her lose all hardness in his voice and just look at her with a dejected frown was heart-breaking all the more.

"What if I didn't come out in time and instead of El on the rooftop, it was a little, huh?" It might have been the way his voice shook, but Anna knew Seven had lost all his anger and was replaced with anxiety. His question wasn't a rhetorical one. Anna needed to answer.

Child alters, from what Anna knew, processed information just like a regular child would. They were easily frightened, easily manipulated, and the nurse knew how helpless the protector was feeling right now talking to her about it.

In the four days that she was with Elizabeth, Anna didn't realise that Seven had trusted that much already. Maybe it was because Seven never really left excluding when Lilly came out, but there was already so much trust there.

He let her near him, knowing that he was not the only one that could come around.

There were literally children in the blonde, and just thinking of letting a vulnerable person trudge upon an unfamiliar environment was enough to draw acid to her tongue.

"I have no explanations," Anna admitted apologetically. "And I have no excuses to have not thought about that. I realised just now that what I did was… very unprofessional and I promise not to do that again."

Safe as Middleton Psychiatric was, there were still unexpected accidents that could happen. Anna knew that more than the person in front of her did. For a dangerous while, she had thought of the blonde as normal.

Just like the girl she met at Myer's or the person she went out on a with date at Keaton's.

Anna had, for the worst part, treated the blonde as a recovering charge instead of an inpatient. She was bored like she's expecting Seven or El to come out just to talk with her like back then.

She forgot she was dealing with a patient.

A patient dealing with an overwhelming amount of trauma, and even if Anna didn't know anything about it, she should've acted accordingly so.

Hearing Seven talk to her about a little was enlightening. He was scared but jumped in because he thought it would be better for them and coming into a distressed host was probably a red signal to him.

"Did you make El cry?"

Anna shook her head softly. "I… no, I don't think so. When the session was done, I didn't get to come back in time and I didn't have the chance to see her."

Blue eyes looked at her hard for a second. Anna held her breath as the blonde's jaw worked itself, grinding teeth against each other as he thought over her answer.

Having an idea what made Seven mad was not a good feeling. Although she didn't have a concrete reason, Anna knew that the blonde was dealing with everything that was happening inwardly. When Doctor Pablo asked her if she was sure that her charge was sleeping, Anna might have lied.

She couldn't find herself approaching the blonde candidly, not even professionally. Every time she looked at that blonde head, her mind was racing. She couldn't stop thinking about Elsa, the child on the vintage cottage, and no amount of logic was enough to convince Anna that no, it wasn't her fault that she was like this.

Anna didn't want to think about that, wanted to bury the thought in a toxic waste dump.

So she pretended that the blonde was just another patient, but in the way of doing that, she had forgotten she had a duty.

To take care of and help the person recover.

There hadn't been much of recovering done, and it was not only because of the blonde's fatigue. Anna had a job to do, but she wasted it introspecting and avoiding work.

Seven finally gave a hint that he was calming down. His gaze turned downward and with a scratch on his neck, he sighed. "Please don't leave our side again."

The feeling of guilt resonated deep within her, and she nodded, confused and ashamed by her own emotions. Seven was oblivious to everything happening to her. Justly so. He didn't seem to recall the little pigtailed ginger at the two-floor house in Sutterton.

It might have been for the best if that was the case. Anna didn't know for sure – (didn't want to believe) – and it might stay like that for a bit. God knows who Elizabeth Arendelle was.

"I won't," Anna guaranteed with a smile. "I promise."

Standing up from the floor, the auburn-haired nurse still had zero ideas of what was really running on Seven's head, but at least now, he looked… more secured. Forehead smoothing and lips twitching, Seven's uncertainty regarding Anna vanished. His countenance improved significantly, suggesting a calmer train of thought.

Reaching out behind her, Anna snatched the bag of cookies on her pocket, offering it to the blonde with a hopeful gaze.

Seven looked at the offering, then back to her, then to the packet once more. "Is that a bribe?"

Oops.

Well, Anna was bound to be busted one of these days. Pursing her lips, she mumbled, "Well, if you don't want it then–"

"–If I take it, that don't mean I'm not mad at you anymore," Seven grouchily grumbled.

"I'm not saying you aren't."

Glaring at the mint-flavoured snack, Seven sent her one last obviously-fake glare. "You ain't gonna tell me what to do if I take it."

As if you won't take it.

Anna smiled innocently. "I'll never."

Warily reaching out and grabbing the blue pack, Seven efficiently lost the threatening aura around him. With a poorly-hidden smile, he opened it at once, taking a huge bite that almost took the whole cookie.

"It's good!" he exclaimed with a mouthful, munching down quickly as Anna laughed at his enthusiasm.

Stretching lazily, a question popped up inside Anna's mind. With the lighter air around them, she took the plunge. "Seven?"

"Hmm?"

Albeit still too engrossed in his food, she was spared an open glance. He really didn't look mad anymore, whatnot with steady crunching as crumbs litter his chin.

"Uhm, can I ask if you knew what El was crying about?"

Figuring out if it was because of an outside cause or an inward one was important. Anna waited as Seven swallowed slowly, tilting his head to the side. "That's what I was wonderin' about, too."

"You… don't know?"

Rolling his eyes, Seven snorted. "We share the same body, not the same brain," He paused. "Okay, we also share the same brain, but I don't know what she knows unless, y'know, she tells me."

Okay. Now Anna was more confused. "How do you talk to each other?"

Anna read of alters speaking to each other on their heads, like a co-conscious thing in which two personas were in the front, making communication a tad bit easier. Some couldn't communicate with each other inwardly at all and had to use outside means like notes and letters to let the other know what was happening.

Anna had been interested in that since last Wednesday, with the blonde telling her that she had no idea who was up fronting after meeting with Lilly.

It really was an interesting case. Anna still had more to learn

She guessed it was the former with Seven and El and the others. With being so in tune during their date night in the garden – assuming that it was El she met before dinner was served who switched out to Seven – Anna figured they could somehow communicate inwardly.

"Sometimes we can talk to each other, y'know." He pointed to his forehead, and then shrugged. "But she hadn't spoken to me for a while so I'm a little worried."

"Uhm, then why do you think that it was me who made her cry?" Seriously, did Anna look like a sketchy person?

Seven hummed, picking another piece of cookie. "You made her cry the last time I know."

Huh? Anna didn't know what he was talking about. She hadn't seen El ever since she came in the hospi–

Wait.

"Was that when she told me that… she'd not talk to me for a while?"

"Bingo." Seven met Anna's eyes. "She took it hard that you ghosted her before she did."

Ghosted?! Anna was the one who was ghosted, but she figured it definitely didn't look like that on the other side. At least, Seven was being humorous about it. Still, she couldn't help but feel bad.

It wasn't like what she thought at all.

"Wait… was she the one who was talking to me the whole time?"

"Yep. I mean," Seven scrunched his nose, "I like you, don't get me wrong. At first it was me who was textin' you for the shirt and all buuuuuut," he burped, "Since she saw you at the garden she was like… infatuated or somethin'."

Seven didn't seem to like what El was feeling as he stuck a tongue out. Meanwhile, Anna's heart went wild with the prospect.

"Then if she's the one who liked me," Anna thought aloud, "Then why won't she come out? Is she… upset?"

"Probably," Seven mused with his fourth cookie. "It's not really 'bout you, though. I think it has somethin' to do with what happened last time at Myer's."

So it has nothing to do with me?

"Pretty much," he answered, unaffected. "But also, kinda no."

Anna blinked before realising she said her thought out loud. Biting her tongue as she blushed slightly. "Huh?"

"I think she's nervous around you. Just a hunch, though."

The question was why, but Anna doubted he knew that. With all of DID's eccentricities, was dissociative amnesia. Basically, Seven was a different person from El, and just like he didn't know what upset her, he wouldn't know her thoughts.

Anna's head was starting to hurt.

"Did El come out again today?"

Seven shrugged. "No, I don't think so. I only talked to Doctor Panda about encouragin' the other alters to front. Other than that, we didn't talk 'bout much."

Panda?

Seven's words didn't seem to add up. Anna reckoned being told by Gran Pabbie that he told him about what happened.

Suspicion flaring up, Anna cleared, "Are you saying you didn't talk about anything with him inside those three hours you were in session?"

Blue eyes blinked at her. "We talked 'bout the other alters and how to get them to front without forcin' them. I don't think we talked 'bout El… and I don't think she came out, too. Who knows? Why don't you ask Panda?"

"Pablo," Anna corrected. "Doctor Pablo."

"Whatever, Annie," he smirked as he lied back down on the bed, closing his eyes as he finished his cookies.

That went better than she thought it would be. Anna thought he'd be… harder to talk with, but it was actually quite easy. Anna nodded at him and stalked to the couch, watching him eat.

"If you want to know what El was thinkin'…" Seven trailed off, "I guess you should ask her yourself."

"Oh." Anna didn't know where the advice came from but she took note of it. "Will you tell me about it if I couldn't?"

"Nurse A," he started, looking at her with a sluggish smile. "I ain't a tattletale."

..

The blonde was playing the harmonica.

Anna wasn't surprised when the music hit her ears. Soft melody echoed in the room as the lazy afternoon rain fell, clouds hiding the sun away as it always did. With yesterday's conversation, the nurse and her patient had somehow gotten along better with each other.

Seven was still at the front, and he was still so tired, but with a bit of coaxing from Anna, he was able to stay up for the rest of the day.

Anna even got him to eat outside in the canteen. Perking up, Seven enjoyed his afternoon with her before counselling with Gran Pabbie. Learning her lesson this time, she waited for the blonde to finish. Forcing her patience to last longer hadn't been easy.

Afterwards, Anna sent the doctor a sharp glare as she was collecting her patient, an action met boldly by the smirking man.

They went back to room 031 after an hour. From what she heard from Seven and the director, there was not much progress happening.

She didn't know how hard it was but the other alters refused to front. Seven told them that maybe it was because El still hadn't been back yet. Although her knowledge about DID didn't explain how that was a significant reason, Anna accepted it.

The guy knew more about their system than Anna did. Who was she to refute anything? She was just a nurse.

But Anna knew that a nurse's job didn't stop with taking assessments and making sure the medicine was taken. No, they were also there to ensure healing takes place.

So now, Anna had to take the steps needed with this particular patient. First, building a good relationship.

And what better way to do that than start a conversation.

The blonde was skilled with the instrument, easily shifting through notes with deft fingers, playing continually as the tune tugged at Anna's memory. She had heard it before, but couldn't quite identify where.

The song passed like a soft breeze and the sustained notes was mesmerising. Anna closed her eyes, humming alongside the melody. She did know the song, but the title evaded her as the parting notes played and the performance ended.

Anna clapped slowly, receiving a sweet smile in return. "That's probably the most beautiful thing I've heard this month."

Bowing dramatically, the blonde chuckled. "Thank you. Thank you, milady."

"When did you learn how to play the harmonica?"

"Just when I was 'bout… fifteen years old," Seven boasted with a cheeky grin. He turned to her side of the couch fully, thumbing through the silver instrument. "It was quite hard to practice it since I couldn't do it all the time… but I did and… now I can play it."

"Does playing it make you feel good?"

His answer was an instantaneous nod.

Anna smiled at that, musing aloud, "Then maybe you should play it more often."

"I don't really have any interest in it, to be honest. The harmonica I mean."

That made Anna take a step back. Seven was that good, and she knew that to be even okay at playing instruments you would need a lot of time with it. "Then why do you play it?"

Seven rested his head on his propped hand as he stared out the window, eyes faraway. "It helps calm them down."

"Who?" Anna pressed gently, copying his actions as she leaned her head on the window sill.

She heard a sigh and the smile on his voice. "The people around."

That could be interpreted both ways. Maybe he was referring to the audience watching him, like Anna, and he knew his music had a certain effect on people. Then again, he might have been talking about his alters, knowing that even if they weren't solely there, they were around.

"Does it make them happy?" Anna asked, turning her head to him. Seven was still watching the sky fall in drops.

"I hope so."

Anna hummed, keeping a close eye on the distant blues beside her. "What about you?"

"What about me?"

"Does making them happy make you happy?"

Her question made Seven frown as he thought deep about the answer, his quiet exhale fogging up the windowpane. There were questions that was never asked before, and Anna knew hers was one of them.

It brought upon a serious thinking face like he wasn't so sure if he knew himself enough to answer. Seven rumbled with quiet laughter, making Anna raise an eyebrow.

"What's so funny?"

He shook his head, the tied up platinum on it swaying. "It's… it's a fair question."

"But…?"

Blue eyes met green ones. "But nothing. I think it's a fair question."

One that would be left unanswered, Anna knew. The seconds passed as the sky darkened, but Anna's eyes never left the pale cheek it was transfixed on as the blonde returned to watching the indolent Middleton sky.

From this angle, the blonde looked stress-free. Even when Anna was looking straight at blue eyes, it was the same, but just basing off of her unassuming answer being met with uncertainty, she knew there was more than meets the eye.

The blonde swivelled back to her, lips twitching. "How much time do you have left before you leave?"

Anna checked the clock on the wall abstemiously. "A couple more hours. Maybe seven o'clock."

A snigger left the blonde. "Do you do much outside of your work?"

She couldn't help the snort that came out of her. "Sometimes."

"But not all the time, huh? Is that why you had all the time in the world to talk to El?"

Anna didn't know what to say to that. Pink nipped at her cheeks, knowing the reason she spent so much time chatting with her was only because she liked the blonde quite immensely. Frankly, Anna wasn't feeling so tired after a day's work because talking to her was, well, soothing.

Smirk creeping up on the edges of the blonde's lips, Seven nodded cheekily. "Do you like El?"

O-kay. That wasn't what she was expecting to come up next. Flushed cheeks warmed considerably as she composed herself, tearing her gaze away from the blonde. "W-What? Where did that came from?"

"I think you do. Don't deny it," Seven taunted smugly. It was every way irritating as it was embarrassing. Annawas looking at the very same features she – as what Seven said – liked. How the hell could she even reply to that while looking at blonde with a straight face?!

"Why do you say that?" Anna challenged lightly, thinking of ways to defend herself.

"Mhm," the blonde replied, staying from where she was staring at the nurse. Invisible sweat dropped on Anna's neck as her patient smirked at her.

"What made you say that?" she choked out with a forced chuckle. It sounded as fake as it truly was and Anna cringed. Seriously, she was getting insanely worked up as her mind short-circuited.

Oh shit. What am I even going to say about that? I can't just say yes, she's… well, they're my patients, but saying no would feel wrong because that will be essentially lying… Wait… Am I really thinking about telling him I had a crush on the host?!

Anna paled. This was getting out of hand, it seemed like.

"Yeah."

"What do you mean yeah?" she breathed out, glancing at the blonde from the corner of her eyes. "I haven't said anything."

"Mhm."

Anna glared at him, knowing she was getting teased by the guy. It was still so weird that they're talking about the blonde herself, with a guy who shared the same body as her crush.

Well, actually, if Anna was to think objectively, she did also have a crush on Seven since he was the one she met first.

This was so confusing.

"You're being incorrigible," she stated simply, huffing as she returned back to where she was sitting.

"How so?"

Anna blinked at him. "'cause you're literally bullying me."

It was the blonde's turn to blink. "But I… didn't do anything."

She wouldn't have noticed it if it wasn't for the gentler tinge on the words spoken and the lack of accent marring it. There were no warning signs, no out-of-place blinking, no spacing out. The blonde only exhaled once and then…

And then she sounded completely different.

Frowning, the blonde stared at her, confused. "D-Did I?"

She'd only seen the blonde switch right in front of her three times before. At Keaton's, during their middle of the night chat, and Lilly on Wednesday morning. Every time there was at least an indication, no matter how discreet.

This time, Seven left undetectably. Anna smiled warmly at her new company. "No. I was just kidding."

The blonde's lips crept upward slowly, the tension in those blues leaving.

"I'm Nurse Anna," she said brightly, introducing herself in case it was somebody who didn't know her.

Lightly chuckling, the blonde nodded. "I know."

hey you dudes. hope everything's well and everybody's making the right choices xx