Chapter Five

A/N: Have another dog fic update too, because love can be more than just romantic tension between exes forced to live with each other.

Sixty hours and counting, and still no word from Dr. Maren.

It's been more stressful than Anna was expecting, and with her still being unemployed, it wasn't like she had a job to distract her. She did, however, get another interview during this time period as a dishwasher at this local restaurant. Hopefully, they call her back.

Aside from that, she spent those remaining hours hanging out with Kristoff and his family (she still hadn't gotten used to being called "Auntie Anna"), editing her resume, and researching anything and everything about huskies.

Everything she found out came as a surprise to her, from the growth charts to their learning habits. They're a curious, energetic, wrecking-ball of a breed. If Anna ended up as her owner, she was predicting a lot of gnawed-up furniture in her future. Unless, you know, she trained Elsa. Which she was planning to do.

It didn't help that she was already picturing what she'd do if Elsa came into her possession, and pushing away the thought of that not happening. She could be setting herself up for disappointment, and that brought with it a lot of unneeded worry and anxiety.

But she had hope, too. After almost three days of no contact, and with it already being 10 PM, she had some hope that Elsa would still be there.

Waiting for her.

The leash her neighbor gave her was wrapped neatly on her nightstand, and Anna looked at it fondly. She was trying to sleep, but thoughts of tomorrow were keeping her up.

Anxiety wasn't entirely new to her, she had it pretty bad when she was a kid (especially the day before a big test or presentation), and during the last couple of years of her parents' marriage. Deep breathing, journaling, and venting to Kristoff- who wasn't available right now- were all methods she'd used to help ease it, but there was one that helped more than anything else.

She walked to the other side of her room, next to her desk, and picked up her guitar case. Setting it gently on her bed, she unlatched it and pulled out the present she got for her fifteenth birthday.

The mahogany was cold to the touch, and the maroon color of the pick guard was dulled by the darkness, but the nylon strings shone in the moonlight. Anna smiled as she set the acoustic guitar on her lap and began to tune it.

She saw this exact model on display when she was fourteen and bugged her parents forever to get it for her. They tried to dissuade her by bringing up prices for guitars, the maintenance costs, and how stressful it was learning an instrument, but Anna relented. And so, when she turned fifteen, the beauty was waiting for her on her bed.

Anna played it every chance she got, even took lessons, and learned every song she could think of. Over time, it morphed from a casual pastime into a much-needed stress reliever. Whenever life seemed to weigh her down, and the world felt like it was against her, Anna would pull out good ol' Joan, and pluck and strum her problems away.

If only for the moment.

And on nights like this, when the stress was threatening to get to her way too much, she would put on her capo and sing the first song she ever learned on the guitar.

When I was younger I saw, my daddy cry

And curse at the wind

He broke his own heart, and I watched

As he tried to reassemble it

Anna didn't know how poignant this song would be later in her life, she was simply in love with Hayley Williams at the time and knew that this had to be the first song she learned how to play. It was frustrating at first, since she knew nothing about chords and notes or anything like that, but she stuck it out.

And now, whenever life got her down, she'd sing this song and it was like she was fifteen years old again. And life wasn't so hard anymore.

And I've always lived like this

Keeping a comfortable distance

And up until now, I had sworn to myself

That I'm content with loneliness

Now, once again, this song was taking on another meaning. Her parents divorced just nine months ago, and her girlfriend Ariel broke up with her four months ago. It felt like she was being abandoned by everyone she loved, even Kristoff had his own family to prioritize now.

Instead of lamenting it anymore, Anna gradually began to accept it. She began to accept that loneliness was always going to follow her, because it was beginning to feel natural. Maybe being lonely wouldn't be so bad, maybe it was fine that she didn't really have friends per se, and that she spent most of her days in her apartment searching for jobs to keep her busy.

Maybe this was how life was supposed to be…

But then Elsa happened. The first bit of non-Kristoff contact she'd had in months, and it reminded her that loneliness...sucked. Like it really sucked. Having Elsa around for just one day reminded her how sweet it was having someone, anyone, around. And all the puppy wanted in return was food, water, and a place to pee and run around.

She wasn't content with loneliness, not anymore, now that she met Elsa.

The song picked up on the bridge, and so did her strumming. She sang with an energy and emotion she hadn't felt in a long, long time.

I've got a tight grip on REALITY but I caaaaan't

Let go of what's in FRONT OF ME heeeeeere

I know you're leaving in the MORNING, when you wake uuuuup

Leave me with some kind of PROOF it's not a dream

Admittedly, these were weird lyrics to dedicate to a dog. But the mood fit...kind of. This was more for her than anyone else right now, but she sang with a hope that she and Elsa would be reunited again.

Twelve more hours, and hey if she didn't hear anything, then she'd just go to the shelter herself. Where the cute Dr. Maren was, where Elsa was. Just so she could see her again.

She couldn't wait to see her again.

With one last reserved chorus, she fingered the strings gently, and her voice settled along with her mind.

You are the only exception

You are the only exception

You are the only exception

You are...the only exception