Tell Me How To Fix You
Chapter 52
By: The Duchess of Arendelle
AN: I hope all of you guys 2016s are going great. I've been incredibly sick so I haven't been writing much. I'm feeling a lot better now though! Hope you all enjoy the update. Sorry for any and all mistakes!
A thick silence fell over the table as all the women stopped and looked at Anna, mouth's agape. Anna sat stock still as she stared at Tiana in surprise and slight panic. After a long moment of uncomfortable silence, Anna finally cleared her throat and picked up a water glass sitting in front of her.
"I- what? I don't have a- I mean- what?" the redhead stammered as she brought the glass to her lips, taking several long gulps of the cold liquid.
"That was mine..." Merida muttered under her breath.
"I seriously don't know what you're talking about. I don't have a boyfriend. What makes you think I have a boyfriend?" Anna asked, letting out a too loud, too fake laugh.
"Come on Anna, we're not stupid. You disappear on us for like, months." Tiana started.
"And you never call us." Alice added in a contemplative tone.
"And the last time we did see each other you were a sad little ginger drop. Now you have this disgustingly happy glow about you." Meg chimed in in her signature monotone.
"The new relationship glow. We've all seen it. We've all had it." Aurora spoke up, nodding.
"Plus, I mean, I just heard you tell the person you were talking to on the phone, "I love you too."
Anna looked away as she cursed in her head. Rapunzel warned her on many occasions that she was terrible at whispering. "That's uh- that's not proof of anything. I could have been talking to… my mother." she exclaimed.
"Really? So you're mom is in town? Because I also heard you say, "I'll see you tonight."
All eyes were on the redhead again.
Anna fidgeted in her seat, not knowing how to respond.
"Anna, we're your friends, you can tell us if you're in a relationship. Whoever it is, we won't judge." Aurora told the redhead, seeing the panic on her face.
"Aye, I mean, why wouldn't ye tell u- oh Christ on the cross, it's Hans! It's Hans ain't it? Tat's why ye don want to tell us. For goodness sake Anna…" Merida loudly exclaimed in disappointment.
Anna's face flushed as people started to look at their table in curiosity of the rukus. Anna smiled nervously at the patrons and looked back at her friends. "What? No I-" she was quickly cut off by Alice.
"I thought you were over that insufferable little twat." Alice sniffed.
"Wha- I'm not-"
"Listen guys, if Hans is who Anna wants to date, no matter how detestable he may be, we have to support her." Aurora told the group, even as she struggled to come to grips with it herself.
The rest of the women loudly grumbled their agreement.
"GUYS!" Anna raised her voice so she could finally be heard over the mumbling of the group. They all quieted down and looked at her.
"I am most definitely NOT dating Hans. I'm not even remotely interested in him anymore." Anna told them, voice stern and slightly disgusted at the thought.
"Oh thank goodness." Aurora was the first to heave a sigh of relief.
"The scarecrow has a brain after all." Meg quipped with a smirk.
"Then if not Hans, who?" Alice asked. The group of women looked to Anna and the redhead was beginning to regret this little friendship luncheon. With a heavy sigh Anna steeled her nerves and spoke.
"I don't have a boyfriend…" Anna started quietly, quickly lifting up a hand to silence any protest. "But that's not to say that I may or may not be in a romantic relationship right now." Anna finished, hands folded on top of each other on the glass cafe table top.
They all looked confused and silence once again engulfed them.
"What the heck does tha-" Merida started but was cut off by a low, "Ohhh..." coming from Meg. They stared at the brunette and her amused smile, wanting to be let in on the revelation.
Meg patted Anna on her head. "Whoa ginger snap, I had no idea." The comment did nothing but make Anna roll her eyes and confuse the group of women even more.
"Do you care to let us in on whatever it is we're missin'?" Tiana asked Meg, eyebrow arched. Meg's smirk grew.
"Wow you broads are clueless. Our little gingerbread here doesn't have a boyfriend because she is enjoying the company of an XX chromosomes lover." The brunette explained.
The group still looked dumbfounded, the comment going over their heads. Meg gave another exasperated eye roll as she huffed out,
"She's banging a chick."
Anna's face turned the same color as her hair as gasps were emitted around the table.
"Oh! You should have said." Aurora said shocked but happy for the redhead.
"Megara could have put it a bit more eloquently-"
"I did. It went over you dames heads."
"-but other than that, congrats darling."
Anna smiled brightly at her friends support only to have it fall seconds later when Merida asked the question she was hoping to avoid.
"So who is she?" She asked excitedly.
"Is it someone from the office? You know, Snow has been absent a lot as well…" Aurora said thoughtfully.
"Snow? No way. My money's on Pocahontas." Meg said with a shrug.
"No she jus' started datin' John from accountin', remember? If anyone it's Cindy, right? Remember she use ta bring Anna coffee ever'yday." Merida shot back.
"M, she bought all of us coffee everyday. That's her job. She's an intern." Tiana explained.
"Ye but, she always got Anna's order right." Merida grumbled.
"That's because Anna always kept it simple. Most of the time it was only hot chocolate with a shot of espresso. Unlike you with your 20 page order." Alice chastised.
"Ladies, we're getting off topic. Anna, do we know her?" Tiana asked. Anna cringed and tried to think of an answer.
"Um… No?" Anna said hesitantly. Was it a complete lie? No… not really… I mean, did they know Elsa personally? No. Did they know OF Elsa Frost, mysterious CEO of Frost Industries, parent company to Mirror Mirror, technically all of their bosses? Probably…
"Hmm. Uh huh. So what's her name?" Tia asked. Anna swallowed hard. She couldn't tell them that she was in a somewhat complicated romantic relationship with Elsa Frost. Firstly and most importantly, she wasn't sure if Elsa was prepared to let people know she was in a relationship, let alone a relationship with a woman. And secondly, she really didn't want to hear Meg's teasing comments about her sleeping with the boss.
Anna cleared her throat. "Well actually about that… here's the thing… I can't really tell you guys anything about her. Like, at all. For now you just need to know I'm in a relationship and I'm very happy." She finished, taking another sip from Merida's water glass. Anna could see the questions burning in their eyes and on the edge of their lips.
"Really? That's it? You can't even tell us what she looks like?" Alice asked.
Anna thought about it for a second. Describing Elsa to the bare minimum wouldn't hurt. How many other women in the world have the same physical aspects as her girlfriend.
"Well… Um… She has long blonde hair. And it's so light it almost looks white when the light hits it. And she has blue eyes. They're such a beautiful shade of ice blue. It's almost like staring into glaciers, but her gaze is always so warm. And don't even get me started on her skin. It's perfect no matter what she thinks. It's soft and gorgeous and it glows. It seriously glows. And oh my God, her smile? I don't think there is anything more beautiful on this earth than her smile. And she has the most adorable light sprinkling of freckles across her nose. And she's so smart, like wow is she smart, and sweet, and…" Anna trailed off when she noticed the entire table, including their waiter, staring at her with dreamy expressions.
"Oh my goodness. You're so in love with this woman. She sounds perfect Anna." Aurora said wistfully, the others nodding their agreement.
"But she's not. She's so far from perfect. And that makes me love her even more." The redhead responded without thinking. A chorus of "awwws" filled the table at Anna's comment. The redhead blushed and turned towards the waiter to placed her order.
*******************FROZEN******************
"I hope we can meet her someday soon." Aurora said hopefully as the two women walked out of the cafe last. "Anyone that gets you that starry eyed must be worth meeting."
Anna smiled sadly, and waved goodbye to Meg and Tia.
"Yeah, I hope so too but, I don't think that will be happening anytime in the near future." Anna told the blonde as they began walking towards the subway station together.
"Why? Is she not ready to come out?" Aurora asked sympathetically.
"That would be the least of my problems." Anna sighed, looking at the ground. The two women stayed quiet as the cold autumn breeze blew over them.
"Ro, could you keep a secret from the rest of the girls?" Anna finally asked, breaking the silence.
"Of course I can hon. In the vault." Aurora assured. Anna nodded and sighed.
"As much as I love and care about my girlfriend, it's just this one huge thing that keeps getting in our way and keeping us from growing in our relationship and her as
a person…" Anna began nervously.
"What is it?" Aurora asked, trying to keep up with the redhead's increased pace.
"E- I mean, my girlfriend has severe OCD. To the point where everything has to be ridiculously organized and spotless. She can't even leave her apartment."
"Ever?" Aurora asked shocked.
"Ever. It's been over 3 years. Ever since her parents passed. How we met is a long complicated story. Though ever since we've started dating, she's gotten a lot better. But, she keeps having relapses. I thought I could help her. Help take the pain away.. I thought if I was just there for her enough that she'd magically be cured from this disease she's been struggling with her whole life. But I can't. I don't know how to help her. I don't know what to do. We've already broken up once because of this, I don't want to lose her again." Anna finished, a few tears falling from her eyes.
The two approached the subway platform as Aurora soaked in everything the redhead had told her.
"I can hear the love you have for her in your voice. I can tell you care very deeply for her and she probably feels the same about you. Love is a powerful force. It can help heal and mend even the most broken of people… But… sometimes you need a professional to help you fix something that's too broken. And Anna, your girlfriend sounds awfully broken. Here, hold out your hand." Aurora urged and Anna complied.
Taking a pen from her purse, the blonde scribbled a name and number on the redhead's palm. Anna stared at the name in confusion.
"Jane Porter? Who is Jane Porter?" Anna asked.
"One of the best psychiatrist you will ever hope to meet. She really helped me and brought me out of a dark place. Remember what I told you, about all the things my step mother would put me through? If it wasn't for Jane… I'd still be a mess right now…" Aurora trailed off, staring at the tracks as if lost in a memory.
"You should give her a call. She does home visits. Tell her what you told me. If what you say is true, maybe your girlfriend can get the help she needs. Maybe she doesn't have to suffer anymore." Aurora offered with a small smile. Anna nodded her head.
"Maybe you're right. But she's not going to like this. I don't think I'll even be able to convince her to talk to this Jane on the phone, let alone meet with her face to face."
Aurora placed a hand on Anna's shoulder as the redhead's subway car began to approach.
"For both of your sakes, I hope you can convince her sweetie."
****************FROZEN***************
Anna hugged Aurora and hopped in the subway car. The doors closed and she waved goodbye to her friend. She promised them all that she wouldn't be a stranger and she was really going to try to keep it.
As the redhead grabbed onto a cold metal pole with one hand, she looked at the name and number on her free one.
"Jane Porter…"
AN: The votes are in and Jane it is!
Hope you guys enjoyed the update. Sorry I've been M.I.A. for so long. I'm pretty much back now and will be going back and forth between updating this and Here Comes the Sun on a bi-weekly basis. So the next update will probably be for that.
Anyway, one thing that concerned me and kind of held me back this chapter. I'm not sure if you guys like chapters like this? Ones where we focus on other aspects of the story beside Anna and Elsa together. I mean, of course there are going to have to be chapters like this, a lot more actually, but I wonder how you guys feel about them? Are they boring? Do you like them? Do you find them unnecessary? Do they just slow the story down? I'd love to know your thoughts on the story and it's progression. Constructive criticisms can only make this story better.
Thanks and see you soon!