A/N: Please excuse any spelling errors you find, I'm just very excited to get this chapter out. I've recently started working the third shift and so my life is a little bit hectic.

I realize it's been three weeks, I hope I can release chapter 13 faster than I released this one, but just to give you a quick recap (in case you forgot) Chapter 11 ended with Elsa preparing to go knock on Anna's door to ask for help on the morning of the anniversary of their mother's death. This continues from the second chapter 11 leaves off :)

I really hope it was worth the wait :)

Elsa stood before her door, irresolute and frightened. The idea that she could tame some of the animosity between her and Anna, find some way to bond, was seductive.

But, the knowledge that she'd actually have to face her sister, in one way or another, was far from desirable. Not to mention, it all brought forth painful memories from the past, surfacing them from the lake of her emotions.

Elsa's heart beat with a constant, aggressive pitter-patter, her breath locked itself within her throat, and her ears were trained as astutely as a cat's, able to pick up sounds as minuscule as a pin dropping. That was the instant she finally willed herself to reach forward, and the seemingly lost in time second shattered as the cold metal of the doorknob froze it and forced her to exhale. The door swung open, and her vision started spinning along with the ground at her feet.

She had to catch herself on the door frame, her brain suffering hypoxia due to her sudden, relentless, panicked hyperventilating. Elsa didn't have the strength to open her eyes, to see what was in front of her, so she kept them shut and her head down. A panic attack was still wrapping its warped tendrils around her body and rattling her stomach, however. So, she plugged her ears as well. She knew exactly where her sister's room was, no need for sight or sound.

Am I really doing this? Yes, I have to! But it'd be so much easier to slam your door shut again and hide! And suffer alone? Let Anna suffer alone? I have to do this, I need her!

That's what got her going, Elsa did need her. Anna was her drug and she was going to get her fix. As she walked blind and deaf through the hall, she could feel the surge of blood pumping through her arteries, hear the rush as it throbbed past her ears, and feel her mouth turn to desert with nervousness and fear.

And she knew, she didn't even have to open her eyes, she knew when she reached her sister's room. A door more imposing, more intimidating, more intertwined with her worst fears than even the front door. She knew because she heard soft sobbing. When she picked up that noise, every doubt and reservation in her mind about what she was doing was usurped by motivation. For just a second, through the agony of knowing her sister was hurting, Elsa had the strength to do what she needed to. And a second was enough time.

She knocked. Quietly, slowly, reserved, but resolute. By the third pound, her courage had made itself scarce and her knees began to wobble. But it was done.

A sniffle came from the other side of the door, followed by silence. Elsa thought Anna might not have heard. The notion brought a powerful mixture of relief and despair to her.

Then, however, she had proof that Anna heard. In a raspy voice, the younger girl almost whispered "Leave me alone, Elsa" through the door.

Before she could stop herself, Elsa started to trip over her tongue. "I- I- Anna."

"E-Elsa..." There was a strange, almost impossible mixture of reservation, delight, and resentment in the quiet, soft voice. There were also too many nuanced emotions to weed out quickly enough to carry conversation, but Elsa did find relief in the simple word. Relief that stemmed from Anna just knowing that her sister was still there.

On top of all of this, hearing Anna saying her named felt like running cold water over a bad burn: refreshing. It was also exciting, though, and intimidating. Elsa was pollyannaish in that moment due to the fact that Anna hadn't outright rejected her, so the fluffy joy that innervated her stomach overtook her other emotions. "C-can you open th-the door?"

Again, the air stood still, not moved by the vibrations of sound. But then, like a rock breaking the surface of a pristine pond, the click of Anna's door unlocking perturbed the gossamer atmosphere. A symmetrical, freckled face speckled with tears appeared before Elsa. Anna was simply in a t-shirt and jeans, and it looked like she hadn't bothered to iron either one, just threw them on. The huge, teal eyes were watery and bloodshot, capturing the older sister's attention and retching her heart. "What do you want, Elsa?"

Elsa stayed quiet and thought for several seconds. "I, um, I miss mom, too." The platinum blonde hugged herself and diverted her gaze. Her voice cracked, and her eyes felt wet.

Anna chewed her lip, not making any motion of advance, just analyzing. Her voice was a little softer than before. "I know you do."

Now fidgeting with her own hands, Elsa reluctantly pressed on with her plan, even while flirting daringly with passing out. "Do uh, do you th-think we could- we could..." She let her voice hang between them, extending her meaning as she made brief eye contact. Every fiber of her being was hoping for a warm response, for Anna to be relieved, happy that Elsa was there, reaching out. She was hoping that Anna would say yes so they could start to patch their relationship.

Anna took the meaning, but didn't give Elsa what she wanted. A little harshly, but also mixed with concern she said "are you serious? You can barely even leave your own room."

Elsa felt like she had just been hit in the gut by a cannon ball. She heaved and swallowed a lump in her throat as a tear ran the length of her cheek. "Please?"

Shaking her head slightly and closing her eyes, the red head inquired "why? What's the point?"

"I just- I need this, I have to try." Anna's lack of motivation was crushing.

Meeting her sister's eyes and a little bit vindictively, Anna quipped. "It's always about you, isn't it?"

Sure, Elsa was annoyed at the insinuation that she didn't care about Anna, but mostly, she was hurt by the heartache poured into the words, how broken Anna sounded. "Anna, you know that's not what I meant."

Silence. But at least Anna was listening, that was a good sign.

"Please," Elsa begged.

Anna sighed, her aggravation audible. "Fine." She didn't look happy about her choice. Her arms were crossed now, her mouth in a sharp line, and her eyes pointed crossly. But she accepted. That alone was enough to make Elsa shudder in relief, enough to touch her heart. Because, even if it was reluctant, Anna's acceptance meant that she still at least needed Elsa, on some level.

Elsa nodded and gulped. "Thank you." Only then did the reality of what she was about to do start to set in. The more she thought about it, the more she wanted to run back to her room, but at this point, that'd be remiss. She had planted the seed of her relationship with Anna and needed to carefully tend to the delicate crop. Her heart was pounding and she already felt dizzy.

Anna walked out of her room, brushing her shoulder against Elsa's as she breezed passed. "Let's go," she said tersely.

It was a few moments until Elsa was ready to turn around. She had to let the shivers of exhilaration at her brief contact with Anna stampede down her back. She shuddered almost in ecstasy, the stress on her heart shifting from fear to desire. When she caught her baited breath, she turned to the hallway. Anna had stopped and was looking back at her.

"Come on," she gestured impatiently.

Keeping her eyes down and trying her best to ignore all sounds, the older sister cautiously began her journey. She wanted to talk to Anna, but she didn't know what to say. She wanted to hold Anna's hand, but was afraid that she'd be rejected. She kept silent, save for her screaming mind, and clutched her hands together in a sort of substitute for her sister's.

Elsa progressed, albeit slowly. It took her several seconds to take each step, as she was simultaneously battling a fierce anxiety attack.

Somehow, she made it to the front door. Elsa didn't have any idea how she did it, but she did. Anna was tapping her foot next to her, and she was once again in a battle of wits with an inanimate object. Elsa was chewing hard on her lip in an attempt to stave off everything within. She was standing there, by the front door, with Anna, about to try to leave the house.

It felt... good. And bad. Anna, Elsa thought, because it felt good, is here to comfort me. It was just like before, it felt familiar, and that was what gave Elsa the strength to go down stairs. It's what gave her to strength to be planted where she was, to even consider touching that doorknob. She held up a shaky hand, but panicked and took it back, even retreating a step or two. With a deep breath, Elsa closed her eyes and tried to find relaxation, but it was nowhere, her entire body ached from how tense she was. Her room would be easy to go back to.

But I have to try! I have to do it for Anna! Just like before, for Anna. Elsa was still grudged by the lying, but she was starting to slip passed it. It was rough and tore her apart as she slid by, leaving a bleeding gash in her heart who's pain always felt as fresh as the first day, but she was sliding right back down to Anna.

Because Anna made her happy. And for a moment, Elsa thought she was in the presence of the old Anna, the tender one. But that was a foolish mistake. Anna sighed loudly. "I don't have time for this," she complained as she reached over and swung the door open.

Suddenly Elsa was facing the front yard. She screamed and jumped back, shaking and unable to catch her breath. A surge of anger, a sharp reminder that Anna was cold now, wrung out Elsa's heart. The familiar fight between her two largest emotions at that moment, fear and fury, erupted within. How could Anna do that? She'd never done such a thing before, just exposing Elsa to her worst fears, and so rudely, at that!

Anna looked almost dumbfound at Elsa, who was glaring back. "If we're gonna do this, let's do it."

Gritting her teeth, the platinum blonde said "you kn-know I can't just do that whenever I want." She looked anxiously through the open portal. Big mistake. It was like looking Medusa in the eyes, she became petrified in fear.

"Then I'm wasting my time here."

That stung like nettles. Elsa clamped her heart in pain. "No, be-because I h-have to try!" Elsa's vision was blurring, her eyes misty and hot.

In a harsh, lower voice, almost a whisper, Anna said "what's the point of trying if you know you're not gonna succeed?" Her eyes, Elsa noticed, were beginning to tear up, too.

Elsa's eyes narrowed at her sister's arrogant, blinkered outlook. "B-because m-maybe this time I will succeed!" Her voice was hoarse with tears.

"Well, it's not like you've succeeded in anything else."

Elsa froze. She forgot about the door, she forgot about her phobia, she forgot about everything except one thing: betrayal. It was refreshed, birthing a new torturous spawn to sic on her. It was just like when she'd listened in on Anna's conversation with Hans, the first time she was stabbed in the back. To Anna, every moment in Elsa's life since the accident was pointless. But Elsa had to make sure. "Wha-what do you mean?"

The younger woman rolled her eyes in irritation. "Oh, come on, Elsa. You can't leave the house, you can't put on the goggles, you can't leave your room without crying, you can't even be happy!"

Through a mind stressed beyond its natural limits ran old and new wishes for a future. Going outside, out on a date with Anna. Coming back, cuddling, kissing, making love to Anna. Elsa knew that was where she'd find happiness, that's all she'd wanted for years, that was who she was. She tried and failed to find a substitute for Anna in Rapunzel, and she was yet to leave the house, but that was what she needed to do. And to do that, she needed Anna. Caring, kind Anna, not Hans's Anna. "I- I'm trying."

"It doesn't look like you are!"

Elsa was vexed. How could it look like she wasn't trying? She just reached out to Anna, all on her own! "What!?" Her face and tone must have conveyed her confusion, along with her terror, because Anna explained.

"Rapunzel," she said, bringing up memories that Elsa would rather leave below. "I set you up with her, I did the work, she was willing to work around your stupid phobia, and you broke up with her! I mean, come on, Elsa, how much clearer can you be? You want to be miserable! Dad was right!"

After letting the bullet from Anna rip through her heart, Elsa protested "I wasn't in love with her!" Her blood was running hot, simmering and well on its way to boiling.

Anna scoffed and crossed her arms. "Well, you looked pretty damn in love with her!" The way she spoke was laced with jealousy.

"But I wasn't!"

"Stop lying to me, Elsa!"

The blood in the platinum blonde's brain boiled over and exploded out her ears, turning the room red and steaming. "I'm lying to you!? What about all the lies you've told me!?" Anna's eyes narrowed, but Elsa didn't give her a chance to rebuttal, she was too caught up in the moment, whipping flames back and forth. "'You're doing great, Elsa! You're getting better, Elsa!'," she mocked. "You've been lying to me for five years!" Her voice was cracking, shattered with little sobs and forced by anger, but she was standing her ground.

Anna looked like a provoked, venomous, and highly aggressive snake now. "I was trying to help you! How stupid can you be!?"

"How was LYING supposed to HELP!?" Both girls were shrieking like banshees now. The cumulative pressure running through their veins was probably enough to fire a cannon.

"I was PROTECTING you!"

"Protecting me!? How is that supposed to help me get BETTER!?" If Elsa didn't have a sense of where she was, it was hard for her to progress anywhere. She needed a zero point, which Anna had so graciously taken away from her.

Anna clenched her fists so hard that the vein in her forehead bulged. She yelled like she was in pain, followed by screaming "GOD, Elsa, could you be any more OBLIVIOUS!?"

The insult burned up like a piece of wood approaching the sun: fast. It was completely incinerated, precluding any adverse reactions to Elsa. She was blindsided by rage. "Oh, I'm the oblivious one now?"

"What's THAT supposed to mean?" The red head's voice reminded Elsa of an angry bear, but a little more menacing. For the first time in their lives, Anna was about to snap on Elsa, and for the first time, Elsa didn't care. She just wanted to yell.

In her most cutting, most forward, and candid voice, Elsa furiously let her thoughts out, finally. "Hans has been stringing you along like a puppet, MANIPULATING you! You're not even YOU anymore! I HATE him, I HATE it when you're with him!" Yelling that felt almost as rewarding as Elsa imagined pile-driving Hans with a boulder would be, it felt like her chest was finally free of crushing anxiety and overpowering weight. It let her breathe, rapidly, angrily, venomously.

Anna looked offended. Good, Elsa thought before she could stop herself. That was meant to hurt. "Hans would never do something like that! He has NOTHING to do with this!"

"Oh, but he DOES," Elsa seethed. "He has EVERYTHING to do with this! He took you away from me!"

"I never belonged to you! I was never yours to TAKE!" Anna looked like she was just on the cusp of tipping over on the shaking, violent tightrope she was walking. She was almost pushed passed her limit, hinted by her snarl; her angry, shrill, biting words; and aggressive stance.

"But I needed you! And you LEFT me for HIM!" Elsa's throat was aching now, she gestured to herself as she screamed. Her eyes were certainly red with tears, the lump in her throat audible in her voice. She was telling the truth, and it hurt like a bitch. The memories of back when her and Anna were close, the painful analysis of how they started drifting apart, best friends and sisters needlessly alienating each other.

But that didn't cool off the boiling blood within Elsa. That didn't stave her fury, it didn't make her want to forfeit this argument. If anything, somewhat unexpectedly, it made Elsa want to get some distance from her sister. Maybe it was because she had to process everything alone, or maybe it was because she didn't know if she could forgive Anna for lying. Either way, she was yanked from her thoughts by Anna's yelling.

"Why can't you just GROW UP!? I'm tired of this! I'm tired of having to BABY you! I'm tired of all your crying for no REASON! I should be ABLE to have a life! If you can't handle that, it's on YOU, not ME! I'm done! I'm done feeling sorry for you, I'm done with your overplayed phobia, I'm done with YOU, you selfish BABY!"

Anna had been pushed too far and the whiplash of her words was stunning to say the least. Not the words themselves, they wouldn't have bit so hard on their own. But the truth in her eyes, the hateful honesty written all over her face. She wasn't just in the heat of the moment, she was serious, at least about wanting to be done. Though the words were probably supposed to just hurt, Elsa knew that there was some part of Anna that was tired of it all. That was the worst part. What if I can't come back from this?

Frozen in her little moment of time and realization, the older sister couldn't help herself. She gave up, she started to bawl her eyes out. Not for attention, not to win, just because she honestly had to. Honesty was a bitch.

She couldn't see, she was too busy wiping her eyes and burying her face in her hands, but Elsa could hear. She heard almost a whisper, a voice that carried remorse. "Oh, Elsa, I- I'm so sorry." Anna tried to gently hug her elder, but Elsa yanked away viciously.

"Don't touch me!"

Anna's eyebrows hung loosely over glistening, aquamarine eyes, her mouth hung slightly agape, taken aback at the reaction. "Elsa, you know I didn't mean that. It's me," she assured.

With all of her willpower, the platinum blonde looked up and made eye contact. She couldn't even hold her head still because she was shaking so much with her crying. "No," she shook her head, "you're not Anna. Anna would never hurt me. I love Anna." At that, Elsa tightly hugged herself and turned to leave, legs barely holding her weight.

"Elsa," the voice was accompanied by a hand grabbing the platinum blonde's shoulder from behind.

Elsa yanked herself away. "Leave me alone," she softly but harshly said back, catching a glimpse of her sister's face as she shifted again. It was completely lost, stunned, trying to process the whole situation. Evidently, Anna became self-aware, privy to just how much damage she had been doing to her sister.

Elsa walked away.

It was actually more like stumbling and crying, but she tried to walk away. As she did so, she ignored Anna's pleas, or rather didn't hear them over her own wailing. Elsa locked herself in her room, away into safety, and dug into the very last spot she felt secure: in her bed. Sure, there she wasn't affected by her phobia, but she was scared of something else: Anna leaving.

It gave some piece of mind to hear knocks, to hear the red head's sad and regretful voice saying "Elsa, please, open up," through the door. The muffled, melodic voice fended off one of the black holes in her. "Elsa," came another whine, and another. They carried on for several minutes, and the platinum blonde wanted to open the door, but she couldn't bring herself to. Not yet. She had to know. She had to figure out what Anna wanted more: to stay with her to to be done with her. She was approaching an answer, skeptically handling it, scouring every detail with her mind for defects, and almost ready to accept it. Anna was still there a little while later, and Elsa was slowly convincing herself that Anna wanted to stay.

But then it happened. Anna's voice was now spiteful but coterminously sad. "Fine," she said with an audible lump in her throat, "you win." And she left.

Now, Elsa had her answer. Anna wanted to, and did, leave. She just hoped that her sister would come back. She couldn't really be done forever, could she?

By late that night, Elsa was worried sick. Anna was still gone. All the platinum blonde could do was sit and contemplate, mull broodingly over the recent events. Why it actually felt good to rile up Anna, why Anna actually left. Elsa tried to figure out what precisely went wrong.

That wasn't easy passed the frequent panic attacks. They'd come forcibly whenever she thought about her sister, which was pretty much all the time. So, the night was a whole lot of trying to breathe, desperately attempting not to pass out, and clutching her chest, which felt tight with anxiety and like it was filled with lead. She had no more tears, she was too dehydrated to make any more, but the closest source of water was in the bathroom, down that hall. Elsa couldn't do it, she couldn't even make herself get out of her bed. There was no point, she had lost Anna, by the time the sun came back up, she was sure of it.

So, Elsa looked around her room, eyes painfully crimson and suffocating on her own despair. She lived for Anna. She couldn't do anything without her sister, that much had been proven. And now Anna was gone. Elsa was sure that she didn't care if she dried up and died of dehydration, at least that way she wouldn't have to miss Anna. She wouldn't have to live with the immense, boulder-like weight of knowing that she can't get better hanging over her head. She was in the shadow of her two nightmares and had no energy left to run.

I could speed it up, dehydration is slow. The girl's eyes went wide and her heart stopped. She wasn't expecting that thought, of all possibilities. But it was there, voicing itself and nowhere else in her mind bothered to challenge it.

Elsa searched everywhere she could without getting off of her safety zone, but found nothing. Nothing that could help her follow through with her urge. The last place she was looking was on her bedside table, where a lamp and her phone sat, waiting, untouched. The frustration of once again failing set in and quickly overwhelmed Elsa, making her shake and squeal with a breakneck heartbeat. She took her phone and threw it at the wall in hopes of dissipating her rage. It crashed, denting the drywall with a loud thud and shattering the screen.

It wasn't the best idea, but Elsa sat there, panting angrily, only to find that it worked. She didn't feel better, just less furious. If Anna was here she'd be able to tell me it's all okay, to make everything I'm feeling just go away! But she's not here, and it's because of me... Elsa resigned herself to the will of another panic attack.

By late morning, Anna was still gone, but at least Elsa had time in between crippling bouts of disquiet to figure out where she went wrong. I was too needy. I needed Anna all day every day, I didn't give her any space! As far as Elsa knew, that's why her sister wanted to start dating Hans, because she needed some space, some of her own life, not just Elsa's. Anna had told her that when she started dating Hans, but Elsa didn't listen then. She was too caught up in herself, she was too selfish. I started it all, I drove Anna away. It's my fault.

Elsa was starting to be overpowered by worry. The sun set, and her little sister was still nowhere to be seen. She knew that Anna was probably with Hans, but that didn't calm her down, that made her even more concerned. She didn't want Anna to do anything stupid or rash, or worse, Hans to take advantage of her. She had broken her phone, though, which meant the only way to contact the police or Anna would be a land line. A land line that sat in the trepidation of downstairs.

And she was about to try. Her unease rattled her stomach like heavy, bouncing rocks and was slowly beginning to overpower her fear. It felt like she was being physically torn between two worlds, one side of her being sucked into a black hole and the other being pulled out. The ultimate terror of losing her Anna outweighed her phobia eventually, however, and she stood from her bed, almost falling over because of how weak she was.

That's when she heard it: a car door. Out front. Elsa's eyes almost popped out of her skull, she didn't care to wait and see if it was her father. She physically couldn't just sit and wait, listening for who it was when the desideratum of seeing Anna, of knowing she's safe and home, was too much. It gave the platinum blonde the strength to start the rush out of her door, and when her phobia pummeled her onto the ground, she continued by crawling down the first half of the staircase.

She was stopped dead in her tracks, However, when she noticed that Anna was talking to someone. The natural, wonderful voice that Elsa was so accustomed to may have been tighter than normal, more stressed and anxious, a little raised, but it was there and it sprouted a seedling which burgeoned into a mighty vine of affection circumscribing her heart and making the organ ache. She listened. "Well, it's a big deal to me."

"All right, all right," came Hans's answer. The pit of Elsa's stomach deepened and her blood tithed with discontented anger at just hearing him.

Anna sounded like she was on the verge of tears. "I just, I'm nervous about talking to her, and I don't really even know why. I mean, she's my sister, we've always been so close." There was a slight hesitation. "W-well, we were close."

Elsa's heart was shattering more and more with every word that she heard. The fragmented remnants were even breaking, razor sharp. She silently started crying and stepped a little farther forward, just enough to peek around the corner and see Anna, who though focused on Hans, was facing Elsa's general direction. Just laying her eyes on her sister after such a stressful night mitigated Elsa's anxiety.

Spying from a safe distance behind Hans's back, the platinum blonde watched as he took something out of his pocket and offered it over to Anna. "I know, and that's why you've got to have a little of this."

Skeptically, Anna eyed something that Elsa couldn't quite see. She had an educated guess about it though, some sort of drug. By the look on Anna's face, it was probably illicit. Elsa tried to breathe, but she couldn't, her lungs and throat were tensing and strangling her heart. She didn't like the idea of Anna doing drugs, especially if they came from Hans.

Looking back to her boyfriend, the younger sister, still unaware of her elder's presence, said "I, I don't know," as she shook her head.

Hans pushed the item in question forward. "Come on, it'll calm you down. Just trust me."

Elsa was ready to bonk him in the back of the head with a baseball bat, preferably a metal one. She was fighting to speak up, trying to get air in her lungs, but her feelings used them to oppose her efforts. She felt glued to the stairs. She gagged a little instead of talking and tried to yank herself free, accidentally moving farther out of cover.

Anna glanced back down and slowly took the bag and opened it up. She was going to do it, Hans was winning, he was controlling her. Before she took anything, out of reflex, she scanned the room. Elsa froze, her hair standing on end, skin becoming even more pale. She dared not move a muscle, lest she shift the delicate balance of the situation and make it fall. Teal eyes locked on a petrified figure, a flash of surprise sparking within them. But there was also recognition. She was taking note that Elsa had left the room, and so many thoughts were passing by those eyes in the foreign language of the mind that it made the older sister's head spin. Anna gulped and Elsa swore it was the single clearest, loudest noise she'd ever heard. It was like listening to a deafeningly loud, single drop of rain slamming onto the ground in an otherwise serene environment. Odd how such silence could be so roaring.

Eyes dancing between her two targets, the red head anxiously and quickly shoved the item in question back into the hands of a very confused Hans, who still hadn't looked behind himself. "Wh-"

"Actually, um, I think you should go," Anna interrupted as she opened the font door back up.

Elsa flinched and slunk farther away, as if the minuscule distance would save her from the outside. She wanted to run completely, but had to watch this unfold, something deep within her made her stay.

Hans, baffled, stammered "but- wait, why?"

Anna looked slightly agitated at him and started ushering him out the door. "Just go, please." Elsa would be lying if she said she didn't revel in that man's slightly hopeless look. The tables had turned, Anna was in control for just that moment. For just a short time, he wasn't playing God. He was insignificant, and it made him look like a toddler that didn't get the toy he wanted.

"Anna, I really don't think-"

"Look, Hans, I just need some time to myself, okay?"

Hans tried to talk smooth. "I just want to be there for you." Elsa grimaced.

Anna's talked a little quicker now, looking annoyed. "And I appreciate that, but this isn't something you can fix."

"Well, the only way to find out is to try, right?"

"No, because this is between me and Elsa, not you." She was narrowing her eyes as she explained, positioning herself such that Hans was between her and the door.

"I bet I can, with a little bit of-"

Snarling at where her boyfriend was going, Anna asserted with some aggression "don't bring that up again, just give me some space!"

"But-"

"Now," she bit, shutting the door and locking him out. Elsa almost cheered, until she remembered the immense tension between her and her sister. Then, she just kind of turned white as they made eye contact, Anna resting her back up against the door and breathing out a deep sigh.

The younger girl started walking forward as carefully as a cat, making Elsa flinch. Anna's eyes, however, weren't angry, resentful, or anything like that. They were soft once again, her lips pursed, her eyebrows brought forward in thought. She was holding back tears. Elsa wanted to hug her, but instead, she instinctively took a step back as Anna arrived at the bottom of the stairs, several feet away.

They looked at each other, Anna's eyes darting around, trying desperately to look at Elsa but to not make eye contact. Elsa did the same, fighting to talk, but a cat, also known as Anna, had her tongue.

After a few moments of thinking, the younger sister finally said "Elsa, we- we need to talk." Her voice was rough with internal strife, ridged by the onset of tears.

Elsa gulped and nodded. She was there, with Anna, and Anna was reaching out. She had won, she hadn't driven her sister away. All she had to do was make the right call. All she needed was to not give in to her fears and run once again. She stood, weight shifting back and forth, preparing to dart, but brain telling her to stay put. Finally, gulping and nearly fainting, Elsa breathed "quite a bit."

A/N: I would like to quickly say that I do not judge those who choose to take drugs, that's a personal choice, so this chapter is not an attack on drugs. It simply fits Elsa's character, given how strict her life has been (canon and this fic) to be uncomfortable around them and I personally prefer not to imagine Elsa and Anna taking drugs. I purposefully left the drug Anna is handed in the chapter ambiguous. So, please don't be offended :)

Please leave any thoughts below, thank you all so much!