whenever i see someone less fortunate than i...

[loveisanopendoor]

Who: Anna and Elsa ( defyingfrigidity )!
Where: Ecruteak City!
When: May 2nd!
Summary: Elsa's in need of a bit of a pick-me-up after that dream event, and naturally, her little sister is on the case!
Rating: Shouldn't go above PG, I'm sure!


[Though the actual dance part of the festivities from several weeks back were definitely nice compared to just how, well, stressful the events that had taken place before it were (and that's...putting it a little mildly!), things for the Arendelle sisters in Ecruteak had been, well, relatively normal! It wasn't as It certainly didn't seem like the sky was about to collapse on either of them, and of course, patience was definitely Anna's specialty; Anna, as always, seemed more than convinced that no matter what issues the two sisters faced, they would be resolved in time if they stuck together. And Elsa, to her credit, seemed like she wasn't dealing with the aftermath too badly, either! Anna had no doubt that her sister talking to the new friends (and of course their Pokemon!!) that she had made here had certainly been a help with that, and the effects had been obvious. Seeing her sister, who had only just begun coming out of her shell, with so many people here who care about her was touching in and of itself, and it just made the redheaded optimist all the more confident that things will turn out to be more than okay.

Unfortunately, that streak of positivity seemed to change, just a bit, when Anna came back to their joint hotel room in Ecruteak after a lazy Saturday afternoon (with several pounds of chocolate in hand, mind you) to find her sister in not-so-high spirits. And instantaneously, Anna's protective little sister mode kicks in, and she heads straight to her sister's side once again to figure out what she can do about the situation.]

Elsa, what's the matter..?

Comments

[defyingfrigidity]

[Elsa's slow withdrawal from talking to others had been slow, and more subtle than how she hid from people for most of her life, so it's not really surprising that it took Anna this long to notice it. While Anna had been outside exploring the town, as usual, Elsa had been holed up in their hotel room, mulling over what had happened during that odd dream.... thing that had happened a couple of weeks ago.

She felt guilty. So guilty. And now she couldn't even speak to one of her new friends, all because she screwed up. She couldn't think of a single thing to say to Lightning when she confessed her true feelings, and she hurt her... so bad...

So lost in thought was Elsa that she didn't notice Anna had returned until Anna spoke. Jumping a bit, Elsa turned from her spot at the room's windowsill to her sister.]

W-What? What do you mean?

[loveisanopendoor]

You've been sitting there by the window since I left this morning...is everything okay?

[She lets her chocolates drop to their hotel bed while she pulls up a seat for herself to sit next to her...]

What's on your mind?

[defyingfrigidity]

[Elsa shakes her head.]

It's nothing. Just... thinking about what happened during those weird dreams.

[It's not a total lie! She just. Has to hope that Anna assumes that it's related to people seeing her dream of the past.]

[loveisanopendoor]

It definitely was weird, huh...

[Poor Elsa...to have Anna see it alone was bad enough, but to have other people see it too...well, it was both a good thing and a bad thing at the end of the day, honestly.]

I mean, for what it's worth, I'm still kind of glad I know now, and I'm sure that no one is judging you for it...what about it is bugging you, though?

[defyingfrigidity]

Just... everything about it. It was all incredibly exhausting.

[Vague city here we come!]

And I agree. It's... it's good, to not have to beat around the bush when it comes to what happened in the past.

[loveisanopendoor]

That's right. There's no changing it. You kinda just have to play the cards you're dealt, really, but...hey, it's over and done with, right? There's no reason to dwell on it for any more than you have to, right?

[defyingfrigidity]

... Yeah. You're right...

[AND YET....]

[loveisanopendoor]

...But there's more to it, huh?

[defyingfrigidity]

[Unlike her discussions with her friends during her dream, Elsa doesn't hesitate as much when Anna questions her. It's Anna after all. She can't hide anything from her anymore.]

I think... I think I may have lost a friend during all of that.

[loveisanopendoor]

W-wait, what?! But how did that happen? Was someone being mean to you over what happened?!

[Anna immediately looks concerned as can be over this; Elsa had gained so many friends here, so losing one already over something like this...]

[defyingfrigidity]

Wh- no! No, it's nothing like that! Everyone was very kind to me after seeing what happened. [Even though she's still not sure she deserves it.] It was just... something that happened after, during the party. It was all my fault.

[loveisanopendoor]

[Well, that was a relief to hear. Looks like she doesn't have to punch anyone's lights out yet, but...]

Somehow I doubt that. What happened?

[defyingfrigidity]

[Anna no...]

Someone, um... [Geez, she never even told Anna about the feelings she recently discovered. How to handle this gently...] Someone told me something I wasn't sure how to handle. I couldn't respond, and that upset them, and they left me....

[loveisanopendoor]

So how is that all your fault? If someone told you something and you didn't know how to respond, you would think they'd be able to understand, not up and leave you...

[defyingfrigidity]

Because it was important! It wasn't something I could just not respond to. I should've said something, anything... but I didn't, and now everything's ruined....

[This is the first time Elsa's lost a friend, and god, she wasn't expecting it to hurt THIS bad...]

[loveisanopendoor]

If it was just something that caught you off-guard, there's no reason why you wouldn't be able to try and talk to them again, right? I mean, I'm sure the whole thing is just a big misunderstanding. It really does sound like they're kind of over-reacting to you not saying anything..

[defyingfrigidity]

It's not, though. It's...

[Elsa sighs. There's no way she can be vague about this, is there...?]

Someone... a friend of mine told me they... they had feelings for me. [Elsa's ears redden a little as she says this, and she turns away from Anna to nervously pick at a loose thread on her sleeve.] I didn't say anything in return, and they just... walked away...

[loveisanopendoor]

[A love problem...if the situation wasn't so serious, Anna would be teasing her sister all over. But for it to come at the cost of a friend...]

So someone told you they loved you, and because you couldn't say you loved them back, they walked away? ...And, what, it's your fault because you didn't say you loved them too?

[defyingfrigidity]

Because I didn't say anything! I didn't reject them, I just... said nothing. I couldn't think of what to say. And because of that...

[She's some sort of hypocrite, isn't she? She knew just what to say when she doubted Anna's choice to accept Hans's proposal, but when it came to her own experience with this... nothing.]

[loveisanopendoor]

Your friend put you in a situation that was awkward for you, and you're saying it was your fault that it was awkward for you? If my friend told me they were in love with me, I wouldn't know what to say either..!

[Well, she'd probably end up saying no because she's supposed to be going out with what's-his-face...]

But shouldn't someone who has feelings for you understand that? I mean, you know me, I'm such a relationship expert, but still, like, it doesn't seem right that they would just walk away...

[defyingfrigidity]

But if they walked away like that, it means they're hurt, right?

[Not even Elsa's stories could prepare her for this. The couples in those books were always happy, and their conflict always came from outside forces.]

They have a right to walk away if they're hurt. And if they're hurt, it wouldn't be right of me to try and talk to them again...

[loveisanopendoor]

It could be. Or maybe they're trying to spare you any more pain, in some way? Either way, I don't think it's exactly the right way to handle you not having an answer for them.

At the very least, you do have a right to figure out what's going on. You're hurting, too, and your friendship with this person is way more important than some kind of unrequited love, isn't it? Really, they should've contacted you by now about it, but...have you not tried to talk to them since?

[defyingfrigidity]

Of course not! I don't want to hurt them any more than I already have, after all. And besides... I wouldn't know what to say.

[She can read all the books she wants, but when it comes to real romance... she's totally clueless.]

[loveisanopendoor]

But Elsa, that's really awful! You should try texting them or something, that way you have more time to put your thoughts into words. And you're not the one who hurt them, they're the one who hurt you!

[defyingfrigidity]

[There's a long pause, as Elsa continues to pick at the thread in her sleeve. It's still so hard to admit this, but with Anna... with Anna, she definitely can.]

... I'm scared to, though.