Tell Me How To Fix You
Chapter 38
By: The Duchess of Arendelle
AN: Hi guys! An update, yay! Please read the AN at the end. Thanks! Enjoy! Sorry for any and all mistakes.
"Geez Anna, just pick one." Kristoff groaned loudly from his seat opposite the dressing rooms. They had been there for an hour already and Anna had still yet to narrow her choices. It wasn't helping that Rapunzel kept bringing her mountains of clothes to try on.
"Patience is a virtue!" Anna shouted from inside the stall as she wiggled into yet another gown. Kristoff huffed, blowing his blonde bangs away from his eyes. This was hopeless. Why was he even here? "Why am I even here?" he asked out loud as he thought it. "Because you're my best friend, and best friends are supposed to help each other with stuff like this." The redhead replied chunking the gown over the stall and reaching her hand out for another one which Rapunzel quickly handed her.
"But that's why Rapunzel's here. I'm a guy, we don't know jack squat about this kind of stuff." He whined. "Shush you big baby, I need a guy's POV on how I look. I want to look nice tonight, it's very important I make a good impression." She explain. "Now, tell me how this looks." The redhead told her friends as she stepped out the changing room stall.
Kristoff looked up and his mouth instantly dropped. He stood up as Anna approached them. She did a little turn then held out her arms. "…Well?" she asked, again, this time slightly nervous by the duo's silence. Rapunzel was the first to snap out of her trance as she smiled happily at her cousin.
"You look absolutely incredible! Wow, this is so the one!" she gushed excitedly. Kristoff continued to stare until he noticed the two women staring at him expectedly. He quickly cleared his throat and spoke up.
"Oh, umm, yea- yeah… You look really… you're looking really great." He told the redhead, voice cracking slightly in nervousness. Anna smiled happily at him.
"Thanks Kristoff." She said sincerely. She then spotted Ella standing behind the register at the front of the boutique. The blonde sell's clerk/store owner had been extremely nice and accommodating with them. She showed an extreme amount of patience with them as the entire dressing area had been filled with clothes. She smiled kindly at the three friends as she noticed them make their way to the front.
"Did you find everything okay?" she asked sweetly as she took the dress from Anna and began ringing it up.
Anna, Rapunzel, and Kristoff looked behind them at the ruined dressing area in the back of the store. They then turned back to Ella who was now wrapping the dress in a box and placing the box in a large bag. Wordlessly they nodded their heads.
"Alright, that'll be 195.98." Ella informed the redhead. Anna began to cough slightly, as if the air had been knocked out of her chest. "W-woah, um… wow… That's… a number… Did I mention that Aurora sent me?" Anna asked, remembering she could get a discount if she mentioned the other blonde's name.
"I know, she called me and told me a feisty redheaded friend of hers was going to stop by, I assumed it was you since Merida usually doesn't come to places like this. I've already applied the thirty percent discount. This is the final total." She patiently explained.
Anna sighed and pulled out her wallet, digging through the crowed pouch for her credit card. On a junior reporter's salary she really couldn't afford to be buying almost 200 dollar gowns, but it was an investment. She had to look the part if she was going to make an impression on the higher ups at Southern Isle Inc. So ramen it was for the next few months.
Handing her card over, Ella quickly swiped it then handed it back. "I just need you to sign this…. And you're all set. Thank you, I hope to see you again soon." She told the redhead sincerely with a small smile. Anna returned the smiled and waved goodbye over her shoulder as the trio made their way out of the boutique.
"See, that wasn't so bad." She told the blonde as they left the boutique. The trio stood outside and waited for a taxi. "I'm going to meet the gang at Oaken's, what are you guys plans for today?" Anna asked as she tried to flag down a passing cab to no avail.
"Well, I'm heading out to Grand Pabi's later today. He needs help fixing some things around the house. Then who knows." Kristoff responded as he watched another cab pass Anna with a shake of his head. The redhead huffed. "What about you Punz?" she asked, semi distracted. Rapunzel blushed slightly and cleared her throat awkwardly.
"N-nothing really… Just… maybe I'll head out later. Do some shopping… some sightseeing… you know, toursty stuff." She hesitated. Anna nodded again. "Okay, have fun." She responded before grunting in frustration as yet another cab passed. Kristoff rolled his eyes and walked over to the sidewalk. Standing beside Anna, he nudged her and smirked.
"Watch and learn feisty pants."
Anna watched with a raised brow as Kristoff waited for a cab to approach. As soon as it came close enough, he brought his fingers to his lips and let out a screeching whistle. The cab halted in its tracts and the blonde opened the door for the two women with a smirk.
Climbing into the cab after Rapunzel, Anna smiled up at him. "Thanks. Are you coming?" she asked. Kristoff shook his head. "No, I'm going to walk. See you tomorrow. Don't forget, you owe me two pizzas." He winked, closing the door. As the cab pulled off, the two women waved goodbye to their friend.
Anna turned to Rapunzel. "So, where to?"
***************FROZEN*********************
Elsa sat at her desk. She had no idea how much time had passed. The blinds were drown and she was cast in partial darkness. After the initial breakdown, she had begun to no longer feel the extreme sadness, or sense of betrayal that had taken control of her since she received the call from Hans. In fact, she noticed that she didn't feel anything. She was empty. Totally and completely void of any emotions.
The blonde stared at the tablet lying in front of her. Picking it up, she turned it on, the light glowing on her face in the darkened room. Pulling up the name she was looking for in her contacts, she typed out a quick email, fingers moving on their own accord.
Dear Mr. Cortier,
I'll take on the Frost Palace Resorts project, and any other assignments you may have for me to work on. I'd like to keep busy for a while.
-Elsa Frost, CEO Frost Industries
Hitting send, she leaned back in her chair. Staring up at the ceiling, the blonde CEO signed and placed both hands over her face. She didn't know weither to be thankful or concerned for her lack of feelings.
One thing she was sure of, she didn't even want to think about a certain redhead, let alone see her.
***************FROZEN****************
"Well yeah it's tonight. Hans invited me a while ago. I don't see what the big deal is." Anna said to her friends, cutting into her omelet. The omelet reminded her of Elsa. It was the first food the blonde had taught her how to make. It had barely been two days since the two had called for a break in their relationship and she missed the blonde immensely.
"The big deal is that Hans is a manipulative asswipe. He's obviously got something up his sleeves. An ulterior motive. And he's gonna have you in the center of it all red riding hood." Meg didn't hesitate to say.
"Plus I don't like him or his stupid side burns." Merida added.
"What is up with those burns anyway?" Tiana muttered.
Anna slowly nodded her head.
"Well you know what guys? Maybe I have something planned myself. Listen, Hans is not a threat to me. Plus, I think you guys may underestimate me a bit. I can handle myself. And come on, what's the worst that could happen? Hans really hasn't done anything to make me think less of him." Anna responded.
All the women looked around at each other skeptically. Aurora cleared her throat and spoke up. "Well, you may have a point there Anna. We just worry about you. You're the youngest of us all, we would hate to see you to get hurt." The older blonde spoke.
Anna smiled reassuringly at the group. "Don't worry guys, I got everything under control."
*****************FROZEN*******************
*I want it that way. Tell me why! Ain't nothing but a heart ache. Tell me w-*
"Hello?" Rapunzel answered her phone. She wondered who could be calling her from an unknown number. And when did Anna get the opportunity to change her ring tone?
"Hello? Is this the luckiest girl in the world because she gets to go out on a date with the legendary dashing adventurer Flynn Ryder?" The voice on the other end asked with bravado.
"Nope. I'm hanging up now." Rapunzel deadpanned.
"Aww, come on. Have a little humor!" Flynn responded with a pout.
"Why are you calling Flynn? And how did you get my number?" she asked in slight confusion.
"It's Flyn- wait. You said that. Yes… well… I was wondering if could change our dinner date-"
"Not a date."
"… Into an early dinner date? Something crucial came up tonight, but I still really want to go out with you." He told the brunette with rare sincerity.
Rapunzel thought it over and then with a heavy sigh agreed. "Fine. We can have an early dinner conference." She stressed the word. She heard a loud, "Yes!" on the other end and tried to hold back a smile. He was a total self-absorbed doofus, but he had his moments.
"Thank you! Thank you! I'll pick you up in an hour ok?" he asked.
"Yeah, whatever." Rapunzel replied, trying to play it cool. But even she couldn't ignore the butterflies in her stomach.
"Alright, see you soon." He said, then quickly hung up the phone. Rapunzel stared at her cell then shook her head and sighed.
"What am I getting myself into? ….Wait… he still never told me how he got my number…."
********************FROZEN***********************
"Punz? Punz I'm home, are you here?" Anna shouted as she walked through the door. Sitting her bags down by the couch, she looked around. Instantly, she spotted a note on the fridge.
'Hey, went out sightseeing, I may hit up a few other places. Don't wait up. And have fun tonight, but not too much! ;) If you see Elsa later, tell her I said hi! :)
-Rapunzel /(.^.^.)/'
Anna smiled and rolled her eyes. So she was doing this whole 'getting ready for the party' thing solo. Okay. She could handle this. Totally.
Picking her bags back up, she headed into her bedroom and placed them on top of her bed. Walking over to her closet, she opened the door and looked around for some clean towels. She reached for one on the top shelf and stopped when she noticed something.
"That's weird… Rapunzel borrowed one of my fancier dresses…" Contemplating for a second then shrugging it off, she grabbed the tower and headed into the bathroom. Getting the water to perfect tempt, she stepped into the shower and released a huge sigh. The hot water running down her body felt really great. It felt like the stress of this entire week was rolling down her back with the water and down the drain. All the while, she couldn't stop thinking about the last part of Rapunzel's note.
'Should I go visit Elsa before I leave… I mean, just to check in on her and all. Oh… but maybe she'll think I'm checking up on her. Maybe she'll think that I don't think that she can take care of herself. What? That's so not true. Of course she can take care of herself. Elsa is a strong capable woman, she can definitely look after herself. I just want to see her. I… just want to see her… But should I? Maybe I shouldn't…' By the time Anna was finished with her long mental battle, the water had begun to run cold.
Quickly turning the freezing water off, she hopped out of the shower and wrapped one towel around her head, and another towel around her lithe frame. Walking over to the bathroom mirror, she paused for a second before bringing her hand up to wipe away the foggy perspiration.
For a long moment she stared at her reflection, having a silent argument in her head.
Finally nodding her head with determination, she looked herself in the eye.
"Okay, we're going to see Elsa just for a bit. Just before we leave for the party. Only for a little while. No matter how much you want to stay. Okay? Okay. Good. Now, let's put this make up gunk on and get ready."
************FROZEN***********
2 hours later
Elsa looked up abruptly and took in a sharp breath when she heard a knock at her door. Looking back down to her laptop screen, she noticed the time shown 7:13 p.m. Confused, and thinking her clock may be wrong, she looked towards the clock hanging on the wall. She watched as the minute hand flicked over to 7:14.
But… she had started going over the documents and sending out emails at around 2:20 this afternoon. It didn't feel like almost 5 hours had passed without her moving once. She guessed that she was just really focused on her work. She jumped again slightly when she heard the hard knocks coming again, this time accompanied by a voice calling her name.
"Elsa? Elsa!" Anna called out the blonde's name in between knocks. She didn't hear an answer. Despite what she said earlier about not wanting Elsa to think she didn't believe she could take care of herself, the redhead was starting to worry a bit.
Elsa continued to sit at her desk. What was Anna doing here? Didn't she have a date with Hans? Hans. Anna. Together. She frowned slightly and turned back to her MacBook screen. Anna can go away. She can go away to be with Hans if she wanted to.
More knocks pounded at the door and Anna continued to call out to her.
"Elsa? No offense Elsa, but I know you're in there. Open the door please? You're starting to worry me a bit…" Anna said calmly. Maybe if she acted calm she would actually become calm.
Elsa continued to ignore the redhead and typed harshly on her keyboard. Why wouldn't she just leave? Elsa didn't want to see the redhead. She was afraid to see the redhead if she was being honest with herself. She was afraid of what she might say. Of what she might do. Of the feelings that disappeared this morning that might resurface. Elsa didn't want to deal with any of that.
"Elsa I'm not leaving until you open this door. I'll camp out here all night, you know I will." Anna said seriously.
Elsa sighed and shut her eyes tightly, covering them with her hands. 'Just go away Anna.' She continued to think to herself over and over again. The knocking finally stopped and she breathed out a sigh of relief. Minutes passed in silence.
"Why didn't you open the door for me? And why is it so dark in here?" a voice said from inside the office. Elsa yelped and grabbed at her chest.
A brighter light was flicked on and Elsa once again brought her hands up to her eyes. Jesus, how long was she sitting this room with only the light from her laptop and a desk lamp to illuminate the office? Anna thought as she approached the seated blonde.
"Elsa." Anna called the girl's name again for what felt like the hundredth time in the past 5 minutes. Elsa still ignored the redhead. Anna worried her bottom lip between her teeth and furrowed her brow. Why was Elsa ignoring her? Why wouldn't she look at her?
Anna walked up to Elsa and bent down beside her chair, a task not made easy by the dress she was wearing. Slowly bringing her hands up, she gently took hold of the blonde's smooth wrists. She felt Elsa jump slightly at the contact but she didn't pull away. Gradually, Anna brought Elsa's hands away from her face. Elsa heard the redhead gasp slightly. Slowly opening her eyes, she stared into concerned aqua blue orbs.
Looking down, she had to hold back a gasp of her own. Anna looked… she was… breathtaking. She was breathtaking. The redhead sported a face full of light makeup. Her eyes were highlighted and made even more piercing by the mascara and eyeliner that adorned them. Ruby red lipstick ornamented full lips that were currently pulled down in a slight frown. Continuing down, she noticed the red floor length gown Anna wore. She couldn't help but stare at the redhead's chest as she noticed the low cut to her dress.
All of a sudden she snapped out of it when she remembered who all of this was for. Her eyes hardened slightly and she shook her hands out of Anna's grip. Anna looked even more confused and hurt.
"Oh Elsa… what's wrong? Why are you… What happened?" Anna questioned the blonde.
"What do you want Anna? What are you doing here? How did you even get in?" Elsa asked blankly. Anna was taken aback by the blonde's tone.
"…The spare key on top of the frame remember? And I… I mean I just… I just wanted to see you. Elsa are you alright? Please tell me… I mean you look… You're eyes are red and puffy, you're extremely pale, and you look like you've been working for hours." Anna stated. Elsa's eyes shifted away from the redhead's.
"I've just been trying to keep busy. To get more involved with my company. Isn't that what you wanted?" Elsa asked in that same lack luster tone. Anna swallowed slightly and continued to stare at Elsa. Why was she acting so… cold?
"Well… yes that was one of our goals. But, you definitely shouldn't over work yourself. When was the last time you took a break?" Anna asked, concerned. Elsa ignored the question. Anna nodded her head slightly.
"I see… Elsa… are you… did I do something wrong? Did I do something to hurt you? If I did you have to tell me so I can make it right." Anna told the blonde, reaching for her hands. Elsa pulled her hands away from the redhead's searching grip.
"No you didn- I'm fine. Okay? I just wanted to get more involved. It gets boring around here now that you- I just want to get some work done is all. It's nothing to worry about." Elsa told the redhead. Anna did not look convinced in the least.
"Elsa listen… I thin-" Anna was cut off by her phone buzzing loudly. She quickly reached into her clutch and pulled it out. "Give me one second." She told Elsa as she stood up and answered her phone.
"Hello? Hans hi. Yeah I know I'm sorry, I'm not there right now I'm at a… friend's. Give me a minute okay? I'll meet you down in the lobby. Alright see you soon." Anna hung up and turned back to Elsa. The blonde was now focusing on her laptop, furiously typing.
"Elsa I-" Anna was cut off by the blonde.
"I still have some stuff to finish up. I think you should leave now Anna." She told the redhead, not even bothering to look at her. Anna took in a slight breath. What should she do? There was obviously something bothering the blonde, but she needed to get going. She had to start on this assignment soon of Phillip was going to scrap the whole thing. With a heavy sigh Anna nodded her head.
"Okay… Alright. I'll go. But I'll be back Elsa. I'm not done with this… with us. I'm going to get down to the bottom of this if it kills me. I'll see you later… Snowflake." Anna said quietly with determination. Elsa didn't respond, she just continued typing. Anna sighed again and turned to leave. As the door closed behind her, Elsa's fingers stopped moving over the keyboard. She looked towards the closed door.
What was she going to do?
AN: Gosh, golly jinkers. I've been working on this chapter for a LONG time. I didn't know how to go forward with the story. I didn't know what direction to take it in. I was at a standstill and I struggled to get this bad boy out. But now I'm out of the funk… kinda. Plus summer break, no classes this summer so MUCH more time to write. Thanks for sticking with me. Update coming soon for my other stories as well. Love you guys! Be good and I promise it won't take long to get the next chapter out!
ALSO
Elsa has OCD, the compulsive germophobia type, to the point where she also has agoraphobia. Also, since she has OCD, she's prone to become a workaholic to bury her feelings. So this is just another problem that will have to be dealt with. Eventually all will be explained and revealed. We just have to get there!
Questions? Comments? Concerns? Review or PM and I'll answer as soon as I'm able!
….Freaking Hans.