Chapter 3: A trip to the mall.

One month has passed since the classes started and everything has been... Well, I can't say it has been wonderful, but definitely better than usual, mainly because of Anna. If you're wondering if I'm saying this because she really made her friends not bully me anymore, then you're incorrect.

Anna's "friends" have been making even worse things to me than before, the only difference is that now they don't publish photos and videos of it on Facebook (even if they still take them) and are very cautious of not even coming near me when Anna is around. I suppose she doesn't know that I'm still being bullied, but I'm not going to tell her otherwise because I know she won't believe me; she obviously prefers her friends over me.

She's been spending almost every second of the day with Snow and the other brainless girls, and let me tell you it hasn't done any good to her. At first their influence wasn't too bad, it started with new clothes which were tighter than the previous ones and that actually made her look more sexy, but then she changed her hairstyle, no longer having it in her adorable braids, but letting it fall free in stylized waves. That change wasn't bad either, because now she looked more mature, though I'd liked it if she wore her braids sometimes. Then came the makeup. Makeup could have make her look even better if it actually highlighted her qualities, rather than simply covering her "flaws", which are her cute freckles that in reality made her look prettier.

That's only concerning her physical appearance. The changes that actually saddened me most were the ones concerning her attitude. The first days she was always happy, optimistic, confident (true, sometimes she was a little unsure about things, but she still knew what she could be certain of), and very kind. Then, as the days passed, she became sadder, her eyes lost part of that spark that could brighten the cloudiest day, she became unsure about herself, and she started thinking she wasn't good enough at anything, mostly at being beautiful or knowing what was best for her. She stopped having her own opinion about everything; all what she said she had taken it from Hans or her other friends, how do I know it? Because she'd always say "Hans thinks that…" or "Snow told me that…" and I think it's because she believes that they know best.

She also started skipping classes to be with Hans and now it seems she doesn't care about school. Lately she always talks about trivial topics like the personal lives of popular singers or the upcoming romantic movies. I'm not saying she shouldn't talk about it, if she wants to, who I am to blame her? But I don't think it's good for her to just repeat what she sees on internet all the time. If she isn't careful, she'll become just as Snow and the others, and that would be a pity.

If you're wondering how I know so much about Anna, it's very simple actually. The reason this past weeks have been better for me even if Hans and his friends have bullied me more than usual is that during English class I talk to Anna… well, actually she talks to me and I try to take notes while still paying attention to what she is saying. I remember the day it all started.

It was the next day after she gave me that chocolate. I arrived at my English class as usual, my mood a little bit darkened because Hans had made me fall that morning and I had scraped my palms with the rough concrete floor of the parking lot. However, I forgot about all that the moment my eyes landed on the gorgeous redhead that was sitting in front of Meg and Ariel at the right side of the classroom. She saw me too and waved at me, I blinked confused and turned around to see if she was waving at someone else, but I was the only one getting through the door at that moment. When I looked again she was giggling at my reaction and I blushed, ashamed of my insecurities. She then pointed at the chair beside her and I mouthed confused "Me?", she nodded, so I walked towards the seat and placed myself on it. As I did it I quickly waved at Meg and Ariel to prevent having to kiss them as greeting.

"Hello." Anna said happily "How's been your day?"

Better now that I'm talking to you.

"Uhm… good." I almost whispered. I supposed she wanted a more elaborated answer, but was too nervous to talk too much. My heart was running rather fast.

"Oh… good." She said, clearly not knowing what else to say.

We stayed silent during an awkward moment, while I got my belongings out of my backpack, and I glanced at her to see she was biting her lip, clearly trying to think about something to say. Adorable. I wanted to speak normally to her for once and end this awkward silence, but the only things that came to my mind were 'I'd like to kiss you right now', 'has someone told you how beautiful you are?', or 'I really, really like you'. When something normal came to my mind I opened my mouth to speak, but in that moment the teacher came inside and the lesson began.

I sighed and proceeded to take notes, expecting Anna to do the same, but she clearly had other plans. After just a few minutes she got bored and started moving unsteadily at her seat, obviously wanting to be anywhere but in that classroom. I paid no attention to it and continued writing on my notebook. However, she then began to speak, taking advantage that the teacher wasn't looking in our direction and that the noise that some other classmates were doing.

"Oh, my god!" She said quietly but making the impression to be screaming. "I never thought school was this boring." I started nodding in agreement, but then paused.

What did she mean? Has she never attended to school before?

As if reading my mind she continued speaking. At the same time I wrote something about the style of the renaissance literature, not really thinking about what I was writing.

"You know? I was teached at home all my life until now, and let me tell you that, even if my teachers were a little boring, at least sometimes I could make some conversation with them and, that way, the lessons weren't so hard to endure."

I smiled, hiding my little grin behind my hand, pretending to be thinking about something. She made it sound as if lessons were torture. I certainly wouldn't say that most of them were pleasurable, but at least they were useful… well, some of them; I really don't think that knowing sonnets have eleven syllables per line could ever be helpful. Not for me at least.

She stayed silent for a moment, and I wondered if she expected me to say something, and I really wanted to speak with her, but I was afraid; afraid of being caught by the teacher, afraid of losing the poor concentration I still had on the class, afraid of saying something incredibly stupid or gay… Just afraid. I'm always afraid, and the fear prevents me from doing things I want to do. So, I kept my mouth shut and my pen rubbing against the pages of my notebook. Once she realized I wasn't going to say anything, she continued speaking.

"Do you want to know why I was teached at home and my parents didn't even allowed me to get out of my house without them for ten years?" At that I froze.

She was trapped inside her house for ten years?! I couldn't have guess it, she is so friendly and social...

Unlike you.

I ignored my own comment.

Though it makes me wonder, what kind of parents do that? They must be really overprotective.

Unlike your father, who sent you all the way across the world as soon as he was able to, just to get rid of his despicable daughter.

I felt my heart twist at my own hurtful words, mostly because they were true. I know, sometimes I'm my worst enemy. I felt a little sad all of a sudden but I didn't let it show, and I tried to focus on the question Anna had ask me. I nodded as a response once I had remembered it.

"It was because when I was five years old I…" There was hesitance in her words, as if she wasn't sure if she should tell me or not. "Mmmhh… let's just say I made a bad decision, which almost resulted on my death, and since then my parents don't trust me to take care of myself."

Wait, do you mean you almost died and I almost wasn't able to meet you? That would have been terrible. I would certainly lock you in a house to keep you safe forever. I understand your parents, one single bad decision can be disastrous.

Yes, and you've experienced it by yourself, haven't you?

I internally sighed. It seemed like the voice inside my head was being even more hurtful than usual that day. I wanted to silence it.

Stop remembering our hurtful past. This isn't about us, it's about Anna.

Anna. The girl you like so much without a real reason. I'm making you a favor, stop thinking about her and pay attention to the class, you've already missed how rhyme in sonnets is.

I returned my gaze to the chalkboard to see the teacher was already erasing the things about the rhyme, which I hadn't copied because I'd been listening to Anna instead. A sudden and irrational fear flowed through my whole body at the prospect of not knowing something that would certainly be an exam question. The most rational part of my brain said that I still could study it on books, but I feared not to be able to understand it completely and, because of that, not being able to get a perfect score on the exam. I know that was worrying too much, since it was just the third day of classes, but I just couldn't help it. I decided to stop paying attention to whatever Anna was saying in that moment and return my concentration to the class.

My concentration, however, didn't last long. After a few minutes my mind unconsciously started blocking out the teacher's words, instead giving all my attention to what Anna was saying.

"… So that's how it went. After of years and years of begging them to let me attend to school just as every girl of my age, they finally agreed and here I am. The most convincing argument I used was that I'm a lot more mature than ten years ago… obviously" She giggled a little under her breath, trying not to be so loud.

I turned to see her and felt my cheeks blush at the adorableness. That girl will be the death of me… though if I have to die, why not to die in her hands? There must be not better way, I mean, she is gorgeous, and kind, and funny…

Stop it. You've said it at least ten times since you met her.

I can't help it, I mean, just look at her!

And look at her I did. She was now staring at me with a weird expression.

"Do I have something on my face?" She asked slowly, somewhat worried.

Suddenly I realized she had caught me staring, so I quickly shook my head and turned to my notebook in embarrassment, pretending to be taking notes.

After that she continued speaking about many things, mainly about her years of childhood (I wanted to burst in laughter when she told me about how she rode her bike down the stairs and broke an expensive vase, but fortunately I was able to control myself, biting my pen instead), and sooner than I expected (or wanted) the hour was gone. While we were putting our belongings inside of our backpacks, I looked at her and noticed she was a little sad and disappointed, maybe she wanted to have some real conversation with me instead of just talking all the time while I remained silent.

Well, of course she wanted some real conversation. I bet she's now realized the paintings on her house are a lot more talkative than you. Good job, she'll never speak to you again, you've disappointed her just as you've done with everyone in your life.

Maybe you're right, but it's not my fault, we were on class, I couldn't speak… however, now we're not in class.

"I…" I started saying before she walked out of the classroom, however, when she turned to look at me, I completely forgot what I was going to say. "I liked hearing your voice."

Way to scare her away even more. You sounded like a total creep.

"Oh! uhm… thank you." She said smiling. "People normally say that I ramble too much and that I can't stay quiet for more than three seconds, but… well, maybe that's true, but it' not my fault, is it? I mean, there are lots of things I want to say and, being all my life inside my house, I've almost never have the opportunity to talk to someone and… gosh, I'm rambling again. You know what? I'm just going to shut up before I say something embarrassing like how gorgeous you are or how much I like the color of your eyes…" Her eyes widened realizing she had already said what she didn't wanted to say. She blushed and looked away. I blushed too at the compliments and fought to find something coherent to say.

"I didn't mind your rambling. It was actually a welcomed distraction from the boring class." She just nodded, clearly not trusting herself if she opened her mouth. I decided to continue. "And talking about that, I was very surprised to find that this is your first time going to school, really, you're too friendly to be someone who has spent ten years just inside a house."

She smiled and said with a playful tone:

"Well, maybe to be antisocial you have to spend all your life locked in a room all by yourself, without even paintings to talk." She giggled.

"Talking about that, what did you do so that your parents had to confine you inside a house? I know you almost die, but I'm curious, what provoked it?" I asked, wanting to know her more.

"I'd… preferred not to talk about it." She said, sounding sad for the first time since I met her.

"Okay, I'm not going to push. Though, whatever it was, if your life was indeed in danger, I think your parents made the right decision."

"The right decision?!" She screamed in disbelief. "It was an exaggeration. I actually hated them every time they didn't allow me going outside to play with the other kids."

"Don't hate them Anna, you're lucky to have parents who actually care about you." I said with a sad but reassuring tone and a soft voice.

Anna's expression became blank, as if she couldn't quite understand my words, I supposed it was because she had never even thought about the possibility of a parent not caring about their child before.

I turned around and walked away before she could question me about it.

So that's how our first conversation went. After that, she's told me about many things during English class… even though I would have preferred not to hear some, for example that she is falling for Hans. Yes, she told me that. How did I reacted? I almost broke my pen because of how hard I was squishing it. My fingers actually turned white… whiter. I was so mad and hurt, I mean, I knew it would eventually happen, but I didn't think it would be so soon and, deep inside, I wished she didn't like Hans, but me instead. That day I wanted to cry, but I concealed my feelings and just stayed there, with my head resting on my right palm, not wanting to do anything, not even paying attention to the class, nor to the redhead beside me. When I arrived to my house that afternoon, I cried badly, even if I had promised myself not to do it anymore. My heart had been broken.

As the days passed the pain I felt in the chest placated a little, but it would come out with the same force as before each time I saw Anna speaking with Hans, a huge smile on her face, one I had never seen directed towards me and that I probably never will.

Even if the confession about her feelings towards Hans crushed a little my mood, I'm still happy to have Anna as a friend. She is the first friend I've ever had and it's really wonderful not to feel so lonely for a change. I know we won't ever be anything more than friends, but that'll have to be enough for me; I've knew since the very beginning I didn't stand any chance with her.

So, that's how things have been going the past month. Today is Saturday, and it was as normal as any other Saturday until Gerda (the woman who owns this house) came knocking at my door saying that a letter for me had arrived. I opened the door and politely thanked her for bringing it, then I practically threw myself at the individual sized bed and quickly opened the envelope. It was from Norway.

Elsa:

The director of Arendelle High School just told me that you have received a constancy for your impeccable notes and some others for winning the state competitions of mathematics, chemistry and physics. I'm so proud of you. I put money on your bank account, use it only if you need it.

Adgar Frost.

I felt tears wanting to fall from my eyes, it has been months since the last time I received a letter from my father, and years since he told me he was proud of me, but I couldn't cry, that's not what he'd want. I'm not supposed to feel, not even happiness. Conceal, don't feel. Conceal don't feel.

Now that I'm more calmed down, I ask myself what I should do. I've already finished my homework, and it's a very beautiful day, I can't stay inside the house. I don't want to stay inside, not today. Today is a good day, a day in which many good things could happen.

I decide to go first to the bank, to get some cash, and then to the mall to buy a new shirt, since one of the three I have, I've been using it since three years ago and it's a little worn out. I don't go to the mall nearest to my house, but to the one nearest to the school because I also want to buy some books, and there is a huge library near there.

When I arrive I get into one of the best clothing stores there are in the place. Their clothes are made with the most resistant fabrics and, therefore, they last longer. I can't give myself the luxury of buying new clothes each year. I walk straight across a familiar aisle until I find the plain white shirts. I quickly search for one of my size and, when I find it, I take it without even bothering on trying it on. I go to the exit, ready to pay for my shirt and go, when I hear something that catches my attention just as I'm passing near the fitting rooms.

"Don't be ridiculous Meg." It was the unmistakable high-pitched voice of Snow. "Her legs are too short to be attractive, and not slim enough. Besides, they also have freckles, and there are scars at the knees."

I feel curious at hearing she was tormenting someone else who wasn't me and I went to sneak a peek. Who could it be? One of her "friends"? I know that secretly they all hate each other, but I've never before heard one of them criticizing another so directly, they've always been the hypocrite type.

When I am able to see from behind a mannequin who is Snow's victim, my heart stops. It's Anna cladded on a beautiful summer dress, it's white with yellow flowers, an orange ribbon holding her waist and accentuating her curves, a cleavage that shows perfectly her pair of delightabl… I mean, her breasts, and don't make me start describing how good her legs look. I've always seen her wearing jeans before, and it's a shame because her legs are the most gorgeous thing I've ever seen, they shouldn't be hidden by those aggravating pieces of cloth. That stupid Snow is just jealous because she'll never have legs as beautiful as Anna's, I mean, they are large and slim and, even if she does have scars at the knees, they are almost invisible and doesn't make her look ugly.

"I'm a little bit clumsy." Anna says softly and obviously sad because of what Snow said. Hearing her tone of voice and looking at her expression, so different from the cheerful girl I'm used to, I want to jump over Snow and kill her that instant for make her feel bad. However, I refrain myself.

Conceal, don't feel.

"Also…" Snow continued. "Her legs have hairs. Anna, dear, how long has it been since the last time you depilated your legs?"

"Mmmmhhh… never?" She says with an ashamed tone. "I shaved them… a long while ago."

"At least she was honest." Ariel says, looking closely at her legs "A long while ago."

Well, they are right, Anna has hairs on her legs, but they are thin and very few. They are not really noticeable.

Then they continue talking about ways of getting rid of the hairs and why depilation is better than shaving, but I'm not listening to them anymore. I'm angry, really, really angry. No one has the right to make a girl as beautiful as Anna feel ugly.

"Fine." Anna says after a while. "I will depilate my legs, and now I think I should take off this dress and find something else." She sighs. "I really liked this dress."

Of course you do, I've never seen anything that fits you as good at that thing. You really should buy it. To hell with their stupid opinions, they are full of venom, they just want to make you feel bad because they can't accept you're a lot more beautiful than any of them.

"Some clothes are just not for you, and you must accept it." Snow says.

Anna turns to go to the fitting rooms, walking with a defeated poise and a down casted expression. I know she won't buy that dress and that she'll think less of herself for the next days. Or months. Or years. I can't let that happen, I couldn't live with myself if I just stay here doing nothing, and that's what make me step out of my hiding place and say:

"I-I think she looks gorgeous in that dress."

She turns around to face me, and the other girls do the same. In some other circumstances so much attention directed towards me would have made me turn into a trembling mess (even more if the attention comes from my bullies), but not today. The smile that appears on Anna's face when she sees me gives me the force I need to face them.

"What are you doing here, Ice Queen?" Snow asks in a hostile tone.

"I was just buying something." I answer. I'm surprised at hearing my tone of voice, more confident than how I really feel.

"Well, no one here wants your useless opinions, dyke." Cinderella spites.

I'm taken aback for a moment, but I somehow manage to keep my face expressionless. Supposedly no one knows I'm gay; I've never told anyone and I've never had a girlfriend, so what they say it's just to upset me… it doesn't make it any less true, though. I just hope that Anna doesn't know what a dyke is and, if she does, she doesn't believe them or doesn't care.

"Yes, Anna won't listen to a stupid nerd who doesn't know the first thing about fashion, so fuck off." Ariel growls at me.

No, Anna won't listen to a pack of jealous girls who make her think less of herself just so they can feel better about themselves.

I don't really know why, but I'm sure she will listen to me instead of them, so I turn to look at her, anticipating her answer.

"Do you really think I look fine with this dress?" She asks hopefully.

Now that she technically gave me permission, I start gazing at the beautiful redhead. Every perfect curve, every inch of soft exposed skin, every beautiful contour highlighted by the dress, every freckle that makeup wasn't able to cover, every scar; every perfection and every perfect imperfection that make her look like a real goddess or an angel fell from the sky. I wouldn't say she looks just fine, that would be an insult.

Finally, after what I think was a long time spent just staring at her in awe and almost drooling, I take my eyes off of her, blushing badly because of how good she looks. Then I answer with all honesty:

"No, you don't look fine with that dress." I almost sigh with longing. "You look very beautiful… even more than you usually do."

She smiles and looks me at my eyes. I want to deviate my gaze so badly, you know I'm pretty shy sometimes, mostly with Anna, but her beautiful teal eyes are like magnets to me. I think I've been hypnotized.

"Hello? Earth to Anna!" Ariel says moving her hand up and down in front of Anna, interrupting the magical moment.

"S-sorry… W-what?" She asks blinking, as if getting out of a trance.

"I was saying you should take off that dress so we can go to find something else on another shop." Snow repeats.

"Y-yes, of course." She nods quickly. "I'm gonna change then."

I feel a little disappointed that she is not buying that dress, but as I tell myself, at least I made her feel better.

She goes into the fitting rooms and I stay there, standing a little far off Snow and the others, pretending to ignore them while they openly ignore me. It's good for a change, at least they are not trying to hurt me. I tune out their conversations and start talking to myself instead.

What should I do now? Should I leave?

Of course you should leave, what else could you do? Stay? They will only bully you.

But if Anna is here I doubt they bully me, besides I have to protect her from them.

Fine, so Anna protects you from them, you protect her from them too, but who protects you from Anna?

Anna is a good girl. She would never hurt me, not on purpose at least. The incident with the plasticine is in the past. We're friends now.

Fine, do what you want, but don't say I didn't warn you.

In that moment she comes out of the fitting rooms wearing her jeans and a green t-shirt, holding the dress on her right hand.

"Should we get going?" She says and all her friends nod.

They all head to the shop's exit and I walk behind them, feeling really strange and awkward of being with my enemies on the mall is if we were friends. I was starting to regret my decision of staying when Anna slowed my pace to walk right next to me. I look at her confused, and she gives me a little smile. My heart jumps. Maybe she prefers my company after all?

Should I say something? Make a little conversation?

Of course, unless you want her to think you're mute or incredibly rude. She slowed her pace to be at your side! Now it's your turn to do something.

So I open my mouth her but Ariel interrupts me before I can utter a single word.

"Anna, aren't you going to give that dress to an employee, since you're not buying it?"

She looks briefly at her dress and then at me, as if trying to decide something. I thought she had already decided not to buy it. Could she be considering buying it just because of what I said?

"I'm going to buy it." She says, confirming my suspicions and making a big smile appear on my face.

Take that, bitches! She takes in count my opinion more than yours.

"What?!" All of them except Meg scream in disbelief. Meg only smirks as if she already knew that this would happen.

"I like it, so I'll buy it." She repeats. I've never seen anyone talk to them like this.

"But Anna, didn't you hear a thing of what we said?" Snow asks.

Of course she did, but she won't believe the stupid lies you tell her. I won't let you destroy her self-steam.

"Yes, I heard you, but I still want to buy it."

That's right, Anna, don't do what they want. Make your own decisions.

She turns away and walks towards the cashier, leaving her "friends" with shocked expressions on their faces. I can't help but smile like crazy seeing how upset they look at this moment, almost as if Anna had slapped them.

I start giggling, covering my mouth with my right hand, and suddenly I remember that I also came here to buy something, so I walk to the line and stay behind Anna. She turns to me and sees me still giggling, but what she does next catches me out of guard. She winks at me and smiles. I don't think she realizes how sexy, and cute at the same time, that little gesture is. My laugh dies and I turn away blushing. Seriously, with this girl I'm almost the color of a tomato all the time.

She buys her dress and I buy my shirt, and then we all exit the shop. Once we are a few meters away Anna speaks:

"I think I should go now. It's getting late and I have homework to do, so I guess I'll see you the on Monday."

I don't know why, but I really don't want to say goodbye to her just yet. It's the most normal interaction we've had and I don't want it to end. Maybe I know, deep inside, that once we get back at school all will go back to being the same. This last thought is what makes me say:

"I could escort you to your house, if you want." Suddenly I realize that I sounded like a stalker or something, so I quickly make up an excuse. "It's on my way home and I was also leaving." True, I was also leaving, but my house is very far away from hers, at least one hour by bus, but I don't care. If I get to spend time with her every little sacrifice is worth it.

She was going to give me an answer when Snow interfered:

"Actually, Elsa, we wanted to ask you to hang out with us a little more."

"I'm sorry, but I also have homework to do." I say quickly, knowing that, if they want me to stay, they are up to no good.

"Oh, but I insist. I know we haven't treat you very nicely, but we really want to change that. We want to be your friends, right girls?" They all nod and I gulp in fear. If I refuse I know they will take revenge, but if I stay it could be even worse. I'm doomed, no matter what I do.

"She could hang out with you any other day. I want some company on my way home." Anna comes to save me.

"I could accompany you if you want" Meg interferes.

Fuck you Meg! Sorry for my language, but I really want to be alone with Anna. Now my only hope is that she refuses to let Meg come with us.

"You can both come with me."

Goodbye to my time alone with Anna.

Don't be silly Anna." Cinderella says. "Meg is more than enough to keep you company. Let us borrow Elsa for today." She places her hand on my shoulder making me shiver. I've never liked people touching me, let alone the ones who have done so many awful things to me, but I don't say anything. However, I know she did it as a threat, as a way to say that, if I refuse to stay they'll make my life hell.

Anna opens her mouth as if she wanted to disagree, but a glare from Snow makes her stay quiet. From the looks the other girls have, they all want her to shut up too, otherwise, they won't hesitate on hurting her. Suddenly I understand. The threat from Cinderella wasn't directed to me, what more awful things could they do to me after all? It was for Anna. If I don't stay they'll hurt Anna, and I can't let it happen.

"I… suppose it's a good idea. I'm sure you can become friends, don't you think so, Elsa?" Anna says, a little bit afraid. I suppose she understood it too.

Good, now she'll be safe.

Yes, she will, but what about you?

"Yes, I… I suppose we can." I can't help the resigned tone of my voice. I know I probably look sad right now, and I try to put on my mask again but I just can't. Father was right, once I let my feelings come out, it's more difficult to hold them back.

"Well then we should go now." Meg places her arm around Anna's shoulders, as if calming her as her property. I frown.

Anna is not anyone's' possession, let alone Meg, she has a boyfriend!

You're only saying that because you're jealous.

Shut up.

Deep inside I know that, indeed, I'm jealous, so I cautiously stop frowning. I can't let them know how I feel.

"Goodbye, girls." Meg says, proceeding to kiss them all on the cheek and Anna does the same. I freeze when she kisses me, even if it's just a kiss on the cheek, it feels so special, it makes my heart beat so hard that I'm sure all of them can hear it, and when her lips linger on my cheek a little bit longer than what would have been normal, I feel like I'm in heaven.

"See you." she says once she separates from me. I can still feel her soft lips and I suppress the urge to touch the slightly wet spot on my cheek to make sure it was real.

Then she turns around and walks beside Meg towards the mall exit. Suddenly I feel lonely and all the happiness I was experimenting before vanishes without leaving traces of its existence, leaving only fear inside me. Why am I in fear? Because of the dreadful words Snow just whispered on my ear.

"Now, now, what could we do to have fun with you, Ice Queen?"

They practically drag me to the ice-cream shop. I want to escape so badly, but I can't because all of them are holding me with iron grip. What are we doing here? I have no idea. I don't think they're going to buy me an ice-cream.

Only Snow gets in and, when she comes out, she is holding a gooseberry ice-cream… well, it's not really an ice-cream, since it's not made with milk but with water. I don't know why, but that shop has very exotic ice-creams. How do I know it's gooseberry? The color is unmistakable: a pink so intense that it's almost red.

I wonder why she bought an ice-cream if she almost never eats sweets, instead following her strict diet of only eating apples, but in that moment Snow then tells us to follow her and leads us to a bench on a secluded place of the mall. There she tells her friends to sit down and they make me do the same, so now I have Cinderella and Aurora at my right side and Ariel at my left side, and Snow White in front of me, grinning with a wicked smile. I glance around, noticing almost no one comes around here, and even the shops are closed. I'm even more afraid now.

"Why did you want me to stay?" I ask them coldly, trying to hide my fear.

"Obviously not to be your friends." Snow answers, wrinkling her nose, as if the mere thought disgusted her. "You'll see, we are worried about the influence you have on Anna."

"So this is all about the dress." I state, not surprised.

"It's more than just a dress. For all I care she could be going around the mall wasting her money on things that doesn't suit her. No, it's not only a dress. She disobeyed us, because of you."

The way she says that last part literally makes goosebumps appear on my skin, not to mention the glare, it could intimidate even the bravest men. I don't know how I'm able to reply.

"S-s-she did it b-because she wanted to. N-not because of m-me."

"Same thing. She did it because she wanted to please you, when normally she'd want to please us." She makes a dramatic pause on her speech. "Elsa, you are a threat to our plan, so let me tell you what we'll do. You interfere on our way to make Anna one of us again, and you will both regret the consequences."

"I-I'm not interfe…"

"You won't speak to her again." She cuts me off with an authoritarian tone of voice. "We'll be watching you, and if you disobey us… well, let's just say that what we've done to you until now will seem like heaven compared to what we'll do… to Anna."

I look at her with pleading eyes, totally terrified. I don't want them to do anything to her. I am going to assure them that I won't even come near Anna again when Snow takes the paper bag with my shirt off of my hands. She takes the shirt out and says while looking at it:

"You really don't have any sense of fashion, do you? I suppose it's better this way, It would be a pity to ruin a fine garment, but since it's not…"

She nears her gooseberry ice-cream to my shirt and it only takes me one second to realize what she is going to do, however it's too late. She presses the intense-pink-colored coldness on my white shirt, instantly forming a huge spot that will be really difficult to wash. I wanted to stop her, but her friends grab me by my arms, preventing me from move. I fight against them, but they are three and, even if I could surpass any of them alone, I can't with all of them. Snow spreads the ice-cream all over my new blouse, staining it with the pink color to the point it will be impossible to bleach it perfectly, even after many washes.

"Stop!" I scream in anger and despair while she is doing it, forgetting completely about keeping my feelings inside. "Wait, please stop!" I won't be able to buy another shirt, I have some other necessities and the money my father sent me will barely be enough to cover them all. I have to stop them at all costs. "I promise I won't even come near to Anna ever again!" This promise hurts me immensely. Tears of sadness and impotence threat to fall from my eyes, but I'm barely able to keep them in.

"Oh, you won't." Snow says with that evil smirk I hate so much. "This is only a warning. If you say anything to Anna, and I don't care if you only asked to borrow her eraser, believe me, this will be nothing."

I want to hit her so badly, but I know I can't. I'd be in trouble if I do and if my father finds out he'd hate me. Again. So I just control my emotions, not allowing myself to feel, saying inside my head that it's not that bad, that it's only a shirt and I can survive the rest of the High School with only three old shirts. I also tell myself that keeping my distance from Anna won't be that bad, that we are not really that close anyways, but deep inside I know they're lies, and I'm just trying to conceal my suffering without really getting rid of it.

Finally, Snow finishes ruining my shirt and the girls release me. They get up and see me with their wicked faces showing how satisfied they are of what they did to me. Snow throws my shirt at my face and I'm just barely able to catch it before the wet cloth hits me. They turn around and walk away, not sparing another glance at me.

I keep sitting there, remembering what just happened minutes ago and an uncontrollable rage surges between me, together with a deep felling of sadness. I feel hot tears running down my cheeks. I try to keep them in, but I can't, it's like a river that flows with so much force that no human power could ever stop it.

I lay on the bench, curled, and I cry. I cry so badly that I tremble. I cry because now I don't have a new shirt to use, I couldn't even have that small luxury. I cry because I'm not going to speak to Anna again, because I will return to my lonely life, my life without friends that was so sad I don't know how I managed to survive with it. I cry because I couldn't do anything to stop this from happening. I cry because I'm angry, with them and with myself. I cry because it upsets me that they were able to make me cry. I cry because I'm weak. I cry because I feel.