More than a week passed and in spite of the doctor's assurance that she only needed to remove the splint, Elsa was back in the hospital for a check-up due to Olaf and her uncle's insistence. Their worries were exaggerated, but she understood why they were being cautious and protective.

"I told you I'm fine," she directed to the guy on a nearby chair.

Said guy grinned sheepishly. "I just wanted to make sure. I'm sorry, Elsa."

"It's okay, Olaf. I understand. But you have to trust me when I say I won't do that again."

"I know. It's just... I'm also coping."

Elsa patted his shoulder twice to assure him it was alright and made her way to the door.

"Oh, and Elsa?"

Hand on the doorknob, she glanced over her shoulder. "Hm?"

"It's almost the holidays, right? Dad and I'll be spending Christmas in Corona. Do you want to come with us?"

There was a hitch in Elsa's breath. "You'll be going home days before Christmas, right? I'll... I'll ask Mars about it. He... deserves to know that much."

The only response was a slight ruffle of her hair. Elsa managed to prevent a roll of her eyes as she smoothed out her tresses before stepping out of the room. Four people stood from the waiting area to greet them.

"What I don't get is why you all had to come," she deadpanned.

Rapunzel scoffed. "We want to see you healthy right away!"

"It's just a wrist."

"Thanks for the reminder." Bright green eyes rolled and caused Elsa to giggle. "It's great to see you able to use it again."

Before she could respond, a hand on hers gave her pause. Anna was eyeing her wrist curiously before meeting her eyes, a silent question swirling inside those turquoise irises. "I-It doesn't hurt," she promised, momentarily stunned when a relieved smile shifted on Anna's lips.

"Ehem." The moment broken by Rapunzel's sardonic cough, Elsa retrieved her hand carefully. "Oh, don't mind us," the brunette playfully insisted.

"Elsa," Marshall said. "Want to go somewhere?"

"I'll leave you to it, Mars. I need to check up on something." Olaf patted Marshall's shoulder and called to Elsa, "I'll see you later."

As he disappeared around the corner, Marshall turned to her again. "Well?"

"I... don't know."

"Is this a sibling bonding or are we included?" Rapunzel bluntly asked.

"I want you to come if that's alright." Marshall looked at the three girls, referring to each of them. "I haven't thanked you yet for everything you did for Elsa. My treat."

"Then that means I don't have to be there, right?" Elsa tried lamely.

"Wrong," said everyone.

"You're the only one keeping these people at bay." Rapunzel gestured to the upperclassmen. "I'm serious. If you're with them, they're not going to fight."

"I don't think so," she disagreed, barely able to stop herself from cringing. "I get the feeling that if I go, I'll be the center of attention."

"Come on, Elsa. You haven't been around Arendelle, right? It's a huge city and there are plenty of things to see," Ariel insisted.

"I'll take you anywhere you want today. We also have some catching up to do."

Once again, Marshall made her speechless. It wasn't unusual for him to be sweet; he had done it multiple times before. It was only weird that he was doing it in front of someone else. "What do you have in mind?" she wondered, quickly regretting it when the four of them broke into dazzling grins.

The next thing she knew, she was sitting on a familiar seat inside a familiar car that smelt a little bit of both strawberries and chocolates. Questions flew around her head one by one, but as per usual, she couldn't get to voice them out. It had been even more awkward ever since she saw how much her compliments and simple gestures would bring a light blush to Anna's face.

"Where are we going?" At least she was able to ask something.

Anna didn't take her eyes off the road. "I don't know. Wherever Marshall takes us."

When her brother said that they had some catching up to do, Elsa didn't know it was in the context of a literal sense. Rapunzel and Ariel were in his car which was right in front of Anna's, leaving her alone with the younger redhead and being forced to talk about some things.

"Anna?"

"Hm?"

"I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"Everything." It was the closest to honesty she could get. "For not being able to... to give you an answer."

"I'm not angry, Elsa. You don't have to apologize." When the lights turned red, Anna turned to her. "I told you, I'm not asking you to feel the same way. You don't have to explain anything."

"But that's unfair." I'm unfair.

Elsa was clueless about love. She didn't know how it worked. But she knew she didn't want to make Anna wait for an affection that didn't have any actual certainty of being returned. It might be a pathetic mindset, but even after weeks since Anna confessed, she had no idea if her actions towards the redhead were because she truly wanted to do them or because of the instinct that Cindy would.

"It's not. With what you've been through, it's completely logical."

Wrapping her arms around her torso, Elsa hissed, "That's just an excuse for my strange behavior."

"Being strange isn't always a bad thing." Anna drove again once the lights turned green. "My reason for not trusting you before was selfish. I doubted you because of what your brother did to me and Ariel. But you, Elsa? You doubt yourself. I hate seeing you like this, but I can understand why."

The bluntness of her words made Elsa tense. Regardless of the uncertainties that she could feel at the time, she couldn't help but stare in awe at the girl—the woman—sitting beside her. Anna was, as always, blunt on a painful level, but Elsa couldn't get mad because she knew how true her words were.

"I'm sorry."

Anna groaned. "Stop apologizing. I know you think you're being unfair to me, but you're not. I want to be there for you, Elsa, and as long as you allow me to at least be your friend, I'll be fine."

"But what if—" you realize I was hiding something important from you? "What if I don't get better? What if me being messed up is permanent?"

"You're not sick. You're worried. Things will get better. I don't know when, but they will. Because the mere fact that you're talking to me about this proves how much you want to get past it."

The expression on her face must've shown her confusion because Anna laughed.

Elsa wasn't able to grasp what the redhead meant, and yet, despite not being able to understand completely, it put her at ease. The way those words were spoken strangely reassured her, for now, that everything will get better.

It made her wonder why, of the billion that existed in this world, Anna had to fall for her.

She was only Chelsea Dalton, always the second best. She wasn't as smart and sweet as Cindy and wasn't as cool and gallant as Marshall. Her childhood days were full of fighting against other children to protect her sister and her Junior High life was a disaster. She was not the best girlfriend material out there, but here, Anna was, questioning how someone couldn't like her as if it was the most unimaginable thing on earth.

Why?

Anna had underestimated Elsa's fear. No, she wasn't giving up. Far from it. However, she was slowly coming to realize that the effects of everything on the blonde were even bigger than she first anticipated. She noticed it, the look on Elsa's face when she'd do something remotely kind or sincere. Seeing a flash of a guilty conscience there told Anna that there was a wound that cut deeper than the ones inflicted by her parents.

Does it boil down to music after all?

It wasn't her intention to make the blonde feel guilty. She only wanted Elsa to know that she would always be there. But how would she do that if Elsa would always feel bad when she did something nice? If she was being entirely honest with herself, Anna didn't want to talk about the whole Chelsea thing. She didn't want Elsa to open that up because it would only stress both of them out. Besides, it was almost undeniable that Elsa didn't want to talk about it as well. Why force it?

"How are things with Elsa?" Ariel was accompanying her, watching the sophomore girls walking around the aquarium.

"As smooth as can be for now," she tried. "I don't want to rush things or force her to talk to me. That'd defeat the purpose of being there for her."

"Or maybe you're afraid to ask. You're afraid to dig deeper."

"I'm not denying it," she admitted. "I am scared. Scared of how involved I am, of why Marshall trusted me, how I ended up liking someone who has a lot of issues in her life and torn between... between what I should and want to do."

If she found out months ago that Elsa was Chelsea, Anna wouldn't have a problem telling Hans about it. There was no doubt it would've been easier. But it was already too late to regret that. She couldn't turn back time no matter how much she wanted to.

"But I can't help it," Anna added. "I want to see Elsa smile again. The girl who would smile over the simplest things, who would stand up for what is right, and who... who showed me that trusting someone after everything Van put me through isn't so bad." A pause. "Do you think... Do you think I'm being stupid again?"

Ariel broke eye contact and observed the subject of their conversation, smiling and pointing at something inside the water. "She isn't Vanessa," she said after a long silence. "She didn't know who we were, but she stood up for our sake. It didn't matter if we were rich, popular, or an outcast. She didn't care about any of that. She didn't care about our wealth and status and she didn't even ask us about it even when we started talking."

Feeling uncomfortable with the answer, Anna asked, "Where are you going with this?"

"I don't think you're stupid, Anna," Ariel clarified. "I've told you ever since we knew of her that I wanted to be Elsa's friend. I like her and I know she isn't capable of what Van did. The question is, how far are you willing to go for her? Because this isn't going to be easy."

"I... I know."

"Growing up in that kind of environment can do wonders to anyone." Ariel dipped her head and pursed her lips, a serious look pointed towards Anna. "I'm glad you're opening up to other people, but I also worry about you. Even if you don't say anything, I know you have a constant fear of the possibility of betrayal, Anna. Can you really be there for someone and always think that someday, they're going to deceive you?"

The question was ironic, considering what she already knew. There was no way Elsa could betray her because she already knew her identity. Perhaps if she didn't, she would feel that way if the truth ever came out, but as it stood and knowing about it months before the wedding, she doesn't. There wasn't any betrayal at play between them but just plain secrecy.

A secret Anna was more than glad to keep because it was easier to ignore its existence.

"Thank you. I'll think about it," was her soft murmur. She then caught sight of Marshall coming back from the restroom and approaching Elsa and Rapunzel. "How about you?"

"What about me?"

"How are things with Marshall?"

Anna wished she had her phone out to snap a photo of Ariel's comically wide eyes and tomato-red face. "W-Wha-What?!"

"Don't deny it, Ariel. He told me everything. Why didn't you tell me he was always talking to you when no one was around?"

"Wha...! Wait!" Ariel squeaked. "You hated him before! Then when Elsa arrived, you- how do I say this... went crazy!"

"I can't believe my conservative cousin is a masochist."

"What?! That's not it! I- if it helps Elsa, then I—"

The look on Ariel's face was priceless that Anna couldn't contain a laugh. It had been a long time since she was able to tease her cousin this much. Granted, she truly didn't suspect that something has been going on between Ariel and Marshall.

It was at lunch a few days ago when the guy walked up to her, asking to have a one on one conversation. At first, Anna thought they were going to talk about Elsa, but to her complete surprise, he asked for her permission to ask Ariel to be his girlfriend.

Her initial reaction was, of course, to gape. But then, he told her everything that had been going on behind her back. That he would always come up to Ariel and help her out or apologize whenever Vanessa or any of the seniors did something to her, that she had known about Cindy from the very beginning, and that they'd been to countless dates before—which came as a real shocker because Ariel didn't tell her anything. She was supposed to be angry for being left in the dark, but after realizing that she probably wouldn't have agreed with their relationship if she had known about it before, she decided to leave it at that.

"Are you his girlfriend now?" Anna asked after getting her bearings in control.

"No!" The immediate denial made Anna smirk. "I'm serious, Anna! We're... uhm, I don't know."

"If you're scared of what I'll say, don't be. Okay, I'm surprised you let him hurt you despite actually dating, but I think I understand. I can't explain it. It's... It's twisted, but I get it."

"You're... fine with it?"

"If he cares about his sister, he can't be that bad."

A bright smile lit up Ariel's face. "I have to thank Elsa for that change of heart!"

Before she could give a witty response, Ariel bolted to the trio whose concentrations were on the fishes. The older redhead was happily laughing away while Anna shook her head and followed. When Elsa gave her a curious glance, she could only shrug and hope her cheeks weren't as red as how hot it felt.

Two weeks after being able to use her hand again, another confusion sent Elsa's mind in a mess. Particularly in finding a logical reason why there were three new faces in Olaf's apartment. Wait, no. Scratch that. She already knew why, but that didn't mean she wasn't confused.

Those faces were smiling up at her innocently when she decided to ask, "What did you say?"

The grin on Marshall's face never fell as he repeated his exact words from earlier. "They're going with us to Corona."

"Wait, hold on. You said we'll be spending this entire vacation there. You're saying, they will come with us?"

"Yes."

"Mars, we're staying there for weeks." She turned to their guests. "What about you? You're okay with this?"

"Totally!" Rapunzel cheered. "I miss everyone. Besides, Sen will come over during Christmas. Mama and Papa will come too because- oh phooo, does it matter?"

"B-But! What about you?" Elsa asked the other two.

The cousins shared a glance for a good few seconds before looking back at Elsa, a smile plastered on both their lips. "Our family doesn't celebrate Christmas together," Anna informed.

What little color Elsa had on her face drained. "I-I'm sorry."

"It's okay. We try to spend everyone's birthdays together every year, but during Christmas, everyone's busy that it usually ends with me and Ariel spending it together."

The explanation did little to calm Elsa's nerves. She was used to not spending Christmas with her family ever since Cindy died, but it was the first time she had heard the same thing from someone else. Was it natural?

Marshall stood from the sofa with a huff. "As you can see, everything's taken care of. All that's left is for us to actually go now."

Unconvinced even as her brother carried her bags, Elsa asked the girls again, "Are you sure about this?"

Rapunzel rolled her eyes. "Don't be a killjoy."

"Why do I get this feeling you have an ulterior motive for coming along?"

"Excuse me?!" The brunette gasped. "I genuinely miss everyone in Corona! Is that wrong?"

"Riiiight," Elsa drawled and stopped Marshall before he stepped out. "Did Aunt Gerda agree? I mean, there are three of them when you said it's just us."

"Of course I told them. Now, come on! I want to get there as soon as we can! It's a six-hour drive away from here."

Rapunzel and Ariel trailed after him, leaving her alone with Anna again. Sometimes, she wondered if they were doing this on purpose. Setting the thought aside, Elsa walked around the house to check everything that needed checking. Olaf and her uncle already went to work and it was up to her to make sure everything was secured before she left.

"Forgot something?" Anna asked, watching her move around the place.

"Just checking the outlets."

When she told Marshall about Olaf's offer, she was pleasantly surprised to hear that he also wanted to visit Corona. It had been nearly four years since he last stepped in their hometown and to say that she wasn't excited to go back with him would've been a total lie.

Because Olaf and her uncle had work until before the holiday, Marshall suggested they leave early and stay for the whole break in order to visit numerous places. A part of her wondered how her brother can leave their parents for Christmas, but she decided not to question it no matter how guilty she felt about the situation. She was far too glad to be spending time with him to worry about their parents being left alone.

"Is everyone comfortable back there?" Marshall asked through the rearview mirror.

"Ahuh," Rapunzel answered. "We're sexy."

Marshall laughed and took his place in the driver seat while Elsa took the place beside him. She had a feeling she would act as a guide because he probably didn't remember the way home as clearly as he used to.

The brunette giggled in the back seat. "I am going to enjoy this."

"You really do seem excited," Marshall noted.

"We're going to Corona! The living fairytale world! It's clean and everything's organized. Even everyone's accent is to live for!"

"I knew it," Elsa mumbled, rubbing a temple.

Rapunzel pushed on the back of Elsa's head, earning a gasp. "Oh shush! You don't understand. You can't appreciate it because you're used to it."

"Did you have to do that?!" hissed the blonde, rubbing the spot behind her head.

"I'm not sure if I still remember." Marshall conveniently ignored the argument of the two and cleared his throat. "It's been a long time."

A moment of silence settled in the car, with Elsa trying to remind her body how to function after hearing the way her brother spoke. A minute later, everyone burst out laughing. "W-What happened?" she managed to choke on her laughing fit. Marshall's failed attempt to speak in their native tongue rang in her ears.

"Okay, I admit that was bad," he chuckled.

"This coming from a local." Rapunzel snorted.

"I take offense to that!"

Ariel held her breath to calm down. "Can accents actually be erased?"

"Not 'erased'. It's more... hidden." Elsa thought of a better example. "Like drawing. If you haven't drawn for a long time, your skills get rusty."

"Why did you stop speaking that way?" Anna asked.

Marshall hummed. "When I transferred to Arendelle back in my freshman year, people found my accent interesting. Back then, I didn't want to get involved with people and forced myself to learn Arendellian."

"But I'm sure Elsa's still fluent." Rapunzel's comment had everyone's focus pinned on the female blonde.

Elsa ignored the implication and simply stared out the window until Rapunzel ruffled her hair, pleading and begging her to speak that way. She would swat the intrusive hand away and repeatedly respond with a firm 'no'. Perhaps there was no need to act as if it was a big deal, but she was still trying to eradicate the nervousness of speaking that way in front of someone else. She didn't have a choice anyway.

And that's the end of the first half of Silhouette—the story itself, not the chapters. I still have no idea how many chapters remain, but if the first half was anything to go on by, it would probably take a while before the ending. Up next, buckle up because we're going to Corona!

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