Elsa shivered in the warmth of outside. The world was blurred around her- no lines, no color, no definition within it. She stared into the spotted mess, her eyes finding nowhere to rest- the tears stained her cheeks, her lips quivered and she felt numbness inside of her. The shock was overwhelming, she felt relieved, embarrassed, pathetic and above all, free. The police were trying to get answers out of her- there car parked on the curb. One had already driven away with Hans in it.

"Elsa Delaney Aren. that is your full name correct?" The officer asked her in a husky voice and she looked up at him.

"Yes." She replied hoarsely. She swallowed hard- clinging to the cloth of the blanket. Her jeans had been ripped by Hans beyond wear and she couldn't stand outside of the school building in her underwear. The principal was there- at her side like a guard on watch. She could feel kids staring through the windows at her. She stared into the distance, vaguely aware of the eyeliner running down her face with the tears. She pulled her sleeves up to her hands- trying to hold herself together.

"Hans Issac Velencia is the attacker in this situation, correct?"

"Yes." Elsa replied in barely a whisper. She looked at the principal, all she wanted was her mom. Mommy. Elsa wanted to ask for her- fall into her mother's embrace, cry into her shoulder. Daddy. Elsa wished for her father's sweet words- singing her a lullaby goodnight. Instead, she asked for the closest next, "Can I please see my sister?" She whimpered to the principal and only the principal. He looked up at the officer- who nodded and turned away to tell a nearby staff administrator to get Anna. Elsa felt herself breaking again- she tried to contain a migraine-inducing sob.

"Okay Elsa we know you are under alot of stress right now but we are going to ask you some questions now, and we will have to take you back to the station" The officer wrote something down in a notebook and Elsa nodded. Before the officer could respond she heard a familiar- sweet voice.

"Elsa," She turned around, Anna walking up to her with tears in her eyes and a look of complete shock striking her face. Elsa could tell that Anna hand questions- and at the sight of her little sister Elsa let out the terrible sob from her throat. Her knees began to shake- threatening her balance. Anna's arms pulled Elsa towards her in an embrace that was awkward none the less but was so bittersweet Elsa could feel her heart rate drop. Anna's hands were at Elsa's ribs- hugging her intensely, Elsa wanted to hug her back but she had a blanket to hold up. She settled with being cramped by Anna's grip and settling her cheek on Anna's hair. Finally her little sister knew, she didn't have to hide from her, now she just had to protect her.

The police officer was forced to break to silence.

"Elsa we are going to have to take you back to the station now for some questions, you may bring either one relative or one witness but we need to go." Elsa nodded and her eyes told Anna to come with her. The officer held the back door of the police car open for them and closed it behind them. Elsa and Anna were connected at the shoulders- the silence between them spoke the painful words of three years for them. Anna's tiny hand rested on Elsa's trembling on, steadying the storm inside of her.

.:*:.

The coffee in front of her steamed steadily- there was something about coffee, the taste- the smell, even just the warmth of it against her hands through the cup gave her comfort. She sat in the little room alone- Anna waited somewhere outside. She stared at the investigator in front of her- she was a tall woman with red hair pulled into a tight bun and a gentle looking face.

"Okay Elsa, I have some very awkward questions that have to be answered." The girl peered up at Elsa over black glasses frames. "Are you ready?"

Elsa nodded nervously- Anna had brought her a pair of pants thankfully, and she linked her fingers perfectly on the styrofoam cup. She gritted her teeth painfully- her head still hurt from being slammed against the wall and was bleeding badly when the staff had first found her. Now it was better- just throbbing so loudly it pained her to think.

"When was the first time Hans raped you?"

"November 18, 2011 when I was a freshman." Elsa breathed- she was so dehydrated from the tears she didn't think she had any left.

"Where?"

"at Fallen Highschool."

"Where in Fallen Highschool?"

"The girls bathroom, downstairs by the English hall."

"In a stall, on the counter?"

"Against the wall."

"Which one?"

Elsa's breath was getting unsteady- having to dig through her painful memories and re-live them in order to answer the questions.

"the one that is on the same side as the door, not looking at the mirror or the stalls."

"Was the door locked?"

"Yes."

"Could you reach it?"

"No."

"Why?"

"He had a switchblade."

"Did he threaten you with the switchblade?"

"Yes..."

"What did he do?" The girl looked up at her again.

"He raped me," Elsa's breath heaved with suffocation of the words.

"How. What did he do first?" Elsa took a deep breath- disproving what she had thought about her tears, apparently there were still many to come. She ran fingers through her hair- gripping it fiercely to try and contain the headache. This was going to be a long night.

.:*:.

Elsa stumbled out of the tiny interrogation room despite the fact that she had been poked and prodded with every question that could ever possibly break her, (Did he ever come inside of you? Have you ever had an orgasm while with him? Did he ever kiss you on the lips?). The questions had made her sick to her stomach and with the combination of that and a headache she vomited twice while in the interrogation room. She managed to stay on her feet- looking into the waiting room to find Anna asleep on a chair and Marco- her glorious Marco- leaning on the window sill. He looked up at her- his eyes were broken, defeated and so worried.

She walked up to him, meeting eyes for a mere second. Elsa looked like she felt, eyeliner and mascara ran down her face, her hair was forced into knots despite her attempts at a braid, her sides heaved with the effort it took to still stand, her eyes and cheeks were swollen from the crying. Her head still pounded with the migraine, her temples hurt with every heartbeat, her hands refused to stop shaking.

Marco didn't say a word- he swallowed Elsa up in an embrace. Elsa gripped him tightly- Don't let me go. Please don't let me go.

And Marco didn't.

.:*:.

Three days had passed since Hans had been discovered and her secret was flooding the halls. Not one soul said a single thing to her- with the exception of Jack and her new friends. Tooth had come to her many times- asking if she was alright or needed help going through the court, which she was thankful for because for the last 36 hours her phone had blown up with attorneys and lawyers asking for this that and the other when she had no idea what they were saying. She had officially stopped answering the unknown numbers, she couldn't take the questions they asked every time the world came crushing down o her.

"Okay so basically your attorney is going to gather every possible charge that he can find, right now he has a sexual assault, sexual harassment and assault on a minor... the most he could get is 8 years." Tooth looked up at her as they walked the halls.

"What? Eight years? Just Eight?" Elsa thought that she was going to puke all over the place. Jack bumped her shoulder next to her.

"That fucker should be locked away for life." Jack gritted his teeth, looking back at Elsa. At his side, North looked down- the two had never looked at her the same way, Jack still remained a child locked in his skin, but North had become enraged with Hans's actions, softening around Elsa and sometimes storming away due to the anger.

"Eight is the maximum, and minors usually don't get those kinds of charges pressed on them, if the defense attorneys get what they want Hans could easily get off with a year and 6 months." Tooth said softly,despite the anger in her voice she was studying to go to Harvard for law.

"WHAT?" Elsa stared at her with huge eyes. "And what happens when he gets out?" Hundreds of gut-curling images flooded into Elsa's head, ones that made tears swell in her eyes and her throat began to close. Elsa stared down the hallways. "I can't do this," Elsa muffled a cry and brought her hands up to her temples. Don't feel, DON'T FEEL!

Tooth was looking up at her with huge eyes and she stiffed around Elsa nervously-trying to calm her with tiny touches on her shoulder. Jack stepped forward and threw a friendly hug around Elsa.

"Hey- Its going to be okay." They stood for a moment- Elsa gathering herself. Jack released her and smiled a half crooked smile with a raised brow. Elsa wiped at the bottoms of her eyes, watching north walk away- the anger clotted on his shoulders.

"I'm sorry." Elsa whispered

Jack shook his head at her, "Don't ever be sorry Elsa, we are here for you."

Elsa stared at him for a moment- studied his eyes, his perfectly blue eyes. Marco, Benny and Sandy walked up to her, snapping her out of Jack's childish distractions. Sandy handed her a notebook full of precise math notes.

"Thanks Sandy, your a life saver." The mute nodded and smiled at her dork-ishly shrugging his shoulders. Marco almost snapped at the puffs he saw under Elsa's eyes and was instantly at her side. She leaned into his shoulder, his hand finding its place at her hipbone.

"I've gotta get out of here." Elsa whispered to Marco as the group started conversation about Tooth's Harvard scholarship. Elsa knew they were all trying to support her without breaking a comfort zone and she smiled. The group stuck together in front of her filling her with happiness, with belonging.

"We could always miss 6th and 7th period I doubt anyone would say anything." Marco's hand linked with hers gently. She smiled and nodded.

"Hey guys we're going to go, Tooth I'll call you tonight." Elsa grinned shakily and turned before anyone could try and ask her if she was okay. She grabbed Marco's hand and the two left the school quickly in Marco's pickup. Elsa rested her head on his shoulder the entire way, staring at the colorless pictures they drove by blankly. She still had moments were she felt dead inside- if someone had dropped a pin Elsa would have heard it ring through the echoing hallways of her emptiness. She slipped under Marco's arm, and he rubbed her shoulder gently. For the past three days Elsa had seen Marco consumed by guilt and hatred. She couldn't bear to see him like this, she wanted the Marco she had known for so long back.

The day before-The second day after Hans was found guilty- Elsa wanted nothing more in the world then to cut. She wanted to feel something. And when she found Marco laying next to her that night she found a new crutch. She clung to Marco tighter then she had ever clung to a blade. she cried harder then she had ever cried alone in the shower, she felt the pulse in her chest louder then she had ever felt her skin break.

She fell in love harder then any time she had ever fallen into the hole of mouth-watering depression she called a curse.

Elsa looked up at him now, he was so perfect, so flawless within all of his flaws. She kissed his cheek- the tears from her eyes dripped onto his shoulder and he held her tighter.

"I love you Elsa."

"I love you Marco."

.:*:.

"He's out on bail."

"WHAT?" Elsa gripped her own shoulder- her gut did somersaults.

"The judge declared that the crime was not severe enough for Hans to be kept in a juvenile center, they let him out on a 2,000 dollar bail." Elsa dropped the phone at Tooth's words and ran to the kitchen sink were she puked. She sank away- falling to her knees in utter despair. She folded her hands around her face- sobbing uncontrollably. Anna heard her sister and was running into the kitchen, crouching down to were Elsa crumbled and holding her tightly.

"Elsa, Elsa what is it what's wrong?" Anna crooned softly, holding Elsa at her shoulders. He is going to hurt you.

"Anna," Elsa looked up at her sister and pulled her closer to her. "Anna I won't let him hurt you- I promise." The sobs came harder and faster.

"You don't have to protect me I'm not afraid." Anna whispered into her arm. Elsa held the tiny girl closer, shaking her head. She knew what Hans was capable of, she knew she had to do everything in her power to protect Anna.

"I won't let anything hurt you Anna."