Her fingers hovered over the touchscreen of her phone. Her mind filled with confusion that lead to the trepidation of her hands. A small corner Elsa's consciousness forced a laugh out of herself as she recalled the time Anna excitedly played flappy bird on her phone.

Anna used to brag about how she was probably the only one in college still using an old school Nokia phone - that was, until she stumbled upon that notorious game that ruined lives. While she had heard of the game, Anna never actually understood why things like a boy killing their mom happened until she almost hit someone in school for interrupting her streak.

"I thought only cyber gamers were the only ones that were so hardcore." Anna said with shock written all over her face when Elsa shared the news.

The blonde pursed her lips and pressed the call button. A square picture of her girlfriend and herself squished together at the cheeks appeared right above the dialing icon before she put it to her ear with a smile. Elsa took a deep breath and exhaled the anxieties churning in her stomach.

Her heart raced against the ticking of her alarm clock by her bed. She fiddled with the hemline of her green dress. Never a fan of green, she wasn't sure whether it suited her, but she wanted to appeal to her girlfriend. A stupid smile that washed away her fears of their first fight as a couple squiggled across her face.

"Hey Elsa, what's up?" Anna's voice echoed in said girl's empty mind which made her phone slip right through her hands. A young girl's voice echoed from behind and she heard her the redhead hushing the child.

She giggled a little before responding, "A-Anna?"

Suddenly, more than two young children squealed and sang "Anna's got a girlfriend~" could be heard over the phone until the redhead almost-scolded them to 'shut up'. And Elsa laughed some more.

"S-sorry about the kids, Elsa. So what's up?" Elsa could still hear a couple of muffled giggles in the background and a hushing or two. She smiled at the image of her freckled girlfriend's red face.

"Um, I was just…" It was like all the words that she had planned to say before were then choked up in her throat, rendering her speechless. She gulped it all down and breathing rate increased. "Uh, you know- we have prom tonight, right?"

Silence took over the phone.

Not even the kids she hadn't met yet grew to like muttered a word.

Elsa… wasn't sure what had just happened. Had she entered a minefield or stepped on one already, she couldn't tell.

It felt like her next sentence- no, word could decide the status of their relationship, and she didn't even know why. What was it about prom that bothered Anna so much that in the past three weeks she had been waiting patiently but was never invited to or talked about? What was it about prom that despite their two years of friendship and past couple months of dating could not fix? Knowing each other so long, what was it that Anna could not trust to tell Elsa at all?

"Elsa, I can feel your gears overheating the phone." Anna deadpanned. And then Elsa heard a sigh and relief washed over her when she felt she could hear a smile. "I know what you're thinking about, Elsa."

"Oooooooooh," the little kids echoed in the background.

"Oh shut up!"

A tear fell from her eyes and Elsa sniffed up the mucus that was leaving her nose.

"Elsa, are you crying? Elsa?"

She wiped away the tears and took another sniff. Somehow, her reply was a "no, I'm not."

Anna groaned against the speaker, "that's a terrible lie. Elsa, you want to come over and talk about it?"

Instantly, she blinked away her tears. "G-go over?"

"Yeah, I think.. it's about time my 6 months girlfriend visited my place, isn't it?"

Lots of squealing and giggling and yelling of 'yay!'s and 'awyeah!' happened on Anna's end. And Elsa's ear caught a 'We're meeting Elsa!' which made her face brighten up like the sun had risen.

"Y-ye- oh yes, sure. I'd love to?"

"Great, I'll… I'll text you my address!" Anna chirped, but Elsa caught on the hesitation.

"Anna, are you okay?"

Anna hummed and replied, "Sure. I'm just excited… and so are the kids."

After a text message and a twenty minutes drive, Elsa sat outside in the parking lot and glanced up at - according to the text - the third floor. She could see little boys and girls jumping up and down in the room and a redhead's hair tied in a bun that she was confident was her girlfriend's head. Excitement and anxiousness welled up in her.

She was not ready for this.

In her past relationships, while she was equally as nervous, Elsa wasn't the one to do the visiting. In fact, none of her relationships lasted long enough that she had ever needed for her partners to meet her parents either. But as a girl, she thought… boys met her parents first. Who would've thought she was gay for her best friend? She snorted.

But she really liked Anna - as in really liked Anna.

And for her girlfriend and best friend, she was willing to meet Anna's parents for prom. Hell, if she wanted to be with Anna for the rest of her life, sooner or later, she was going to meet her parents, she might as well got it over and done with.

"It'll be alright, Elsa, things'll always work out, isn't that what Anna said? We'll work things out. We'll work something out." She chanted to herself over and over again with her shaking hands balled into fists.

She wiped away beads of perspiration rolling down her forehead and scrunched up her face. Her grip on the door handle tightened and she swung it open with dignity. If she was going to meet the people who were going to greatly impact their relationship, she was sure to give it her all to leave a best impression.

She smoothed her dress and made a beeline for the lift.

The lift arrived at the third floor with a 'ting!' and she could immediately hear the footsteps of children making their way to the gates of the apartment. "Elsa's here!" They shouted excitedly.

"Okay okay, kids! Remember what we agreed?" She heard Anna's voice and much lighter footsteps come closer to the gates. "Hi, Elsa! Sorry about the kids. Please come in!" She greeted eagerly as she opened the gates.

"Hi, Elsa!" A little girl in a pink shirt with a my little pony design on it and yellow shorts, she guessed around the age of 8, gave her a tiny wave her.

"She has her own car!" She heard the little boy, looking slightly older, whisper to the girl who waved. He wore a shirt a little too big for him, with a picture of a Mulan on it.

"That's not right, she's pretty!" Another girl, probably the youngest, scolded the little boy.

Before they could continue with their banter and failed greetings, Anna interrupted them with a pat on their heads, "Now run along, kids. I've set up the room for you. I'll check on you so no cheating, okay?"

The little kids stilled their faces and saluted the redhead in a green apron over her plaid pink shirt. "Yes, ma'am!"

"Woah," was Elsa's reaction. Her hold on her purse tightened. If Anna was like a Sergeant at home, her parents were probably Commanders... or something.

"Don't mind them, I'm just babysitting."

Taken aback, Elsa stuttered, "O-oh." And then she frowned slightly, making her realise she never knew much about Anna.

As she took her first step in, she could feel the overwhelming difference in atmosphere compared to when she stepped home every single day of her life. The smell of apple pie filled the living room, and there were three other rooms down the hallway which she could see from just the main entrance and she could tell they were pretty small rooms judging by the size of the building itself.

"Take a seat, Elsa." Anna gestured to a flower-covered sofa as she made her way to the kitchen with no dining table.

"So… where are your parents?" She asked. She could feel herself perspiring again.

"Oh, they're not home."

"What?"

"What?" Anna repeated when she returned with orange juice, as if not expecting the question. Elsa thanked her for the drinks and took a sip. She narrowed her eyebrows at her girlfriend who was sitting opposite her. And all she could think of was why; why was her girlfriend sitting like they were in a formal setting and why her girlfriend wasn't dressed, and why the redhead's parents weren't even home to see her like Anna wanted.

"I'm sorry, I'm confused." She said, her head tilted slightly to a side with an eyebrow cocked up. Upon realising this wasn't a meet-the-parents session, all nervousness Elsa had was thrown aside into the corner of her mind. "So…"

"I'm sorry Elsa, I didn't ask you to drop by because I needed you to see my parents or anything, if that's what you thought. In fact, my parents have seen you, and they like you already without even meeting you. They even compare me to you, Elsa." Anna rolled her eyes with a toothy grin. "I'll tell them you were eager to meet them if you like?"

"Wait, no, I- uh, Anna, no. I'd love to, but I don't think I'm ready for that, thanks."

Anna laughed. "I'm kidding, Elsa, don't worry about it." She stood up and settled beside Elsa instead. Anna pulled the stiffened blonde in so their shoulders met and placed her lips on the confused blonde's cheek. Elsa leaned into the gentle hug and let out a sigh. In that moment, she felt all the muscles in her relax and realised how stiff she had been the entire time.

"Elsa, I want you to look around."

"Hm?"

"What do you see?"

Puzzled, Elsa chose the safest answer - though a rhetoric one which made Anna roll her eyes, "Your house?"

"Yes, but what's in my house? What's sitting before you?"

"An old… one of those really old box-like televisions? A-"

"How many people do you know has one of these?"

"...nobody?"

"Exactly."

Elsa still didn't understand. So Anna's parents were into vintage, so did a few of her classmates. In fact, vintage was a trend a few months ago so she didn't understand what Anna was pointing out.

A finger tapped lightly on the blonde's nose, saving her from drowning in her thoughts. "I know you don't understand and that's okay. Look around some more, Elsa. What about what you're sitting on?"

"An old sofa with a flowery design?"

"This sofa is twelve years old."

Her eyes widened in surprised. "That's older than-"

"Yes, even your house." Anna withdrew her hand and the blonde found herself yearning for her girlfriend's touch again. Anna crossed her arms, not in the upset way, but Elsa could feel Anna wasn't entirely comfortable talking about this. And it urged her to hug her girlfriend but it didn't feel right if she still didn't understand. "Do you see what I'm trying to tell you?"

The remained silent for a while and Elsa tried to observe some more until a head popped out from one of the rooms in the hallway. It was the youngest of the three with a hand over her mouth as if she was scared for the both of them as well.

Elsa brainstormed for whatever possible and the only thing her girlfriend's hints pointed to that made sense was, "Anna, could you be struggling with financial stability?"

Her girlfriend flinched and her hold on herself tightened. "That's the thing." She managed to say before meeting her eyes. "We're not struggling financially but we're not extremely well off either."

"But you-"

"Yes, I go to starbucks with you and the rest during school. I can afford hockey in school. I go shopping with you guys, but… do you notice I've never purchased a shirt with you guys?"

Elsa shook her head. She blinked her eyes a few times, with every time her eyes closed, it was as if her perspective of the world had changed. Every time her eyes fluttered open, it was a different angle of view. Every time she turned her head to continue observing her girlfriend's apartment as asked to earlier, she noticed something different.

There was no ipad or iphone.

The babysitting of children who probably were her neighbours.

Anna often shying away from topics regarding clothes and shopping.

Anna turning down dates, and whenever they hung out, ordering the cheapest dish.

"Mom and dad aren't very educated so they're small fries in a food and beverage restaurant. But they still work very hard to put food on our table every single day, and while yeah, we do have a little saving by the end of every month, it's not enough to improve our lifestyles."

Elsa remained silent and listened. She couldn't help but feel useless as her girlfriend confessed that she was turning down yet another date simply because she couldn't afford a ticket.

"But it's not that I can't go to prom, in fact, I've considered buying the tickets. I wanted to go to prom, Elsa, I swear I wanted to ask you, but… when you think about college fees, dorm rentals, transport fares, and all that… I'm sorry Elsa but… I'd rather save my money for them instead of the dress. I'd…" Anna shut her eyes really tightly and Elsa's heart broke. "I knew you were waiting for me to invite you to prom, I just-"

By this time, Anna was squeezing tightly onto a cushion and looked almost as if she was about to cry. Without a second thought, Elsa pulled her into a hug. She could feel the redhead's eyelashes batting against her neck and the tears streaming down her chest. Shaky hands wrapped around her and Anna cried.

"Being poor isn't bad. There's nothing wrong with being poor. But I'm not poor, I swear I'm not. But it sucks, Elsa, it really does. I wanted to ask you, I really did. I wanted to go to prom with you, I really do want to. But I can't afford it. I can't- I can't- I can't waste money on this. School's more important than this."

Elsa wasn't wealthy, she wasn't the child of some upper class couple who both were CEOs of different organisations who gave her thousands of dollars daily, nor was she financially independent to decide what she could do with her own money.

But after hearing Anna poured her heart out at her, panting against her chest, there was an urge in her to do something.

In retrospect, she never had to run any errands or do part-time jobs like Anna did. While she needed to clean the house from time to time as expected of anyone, she never needed to cook for her entire family alone. Everyone was pretty well off. Both her parents had relatively stable jobs that gave decent pays for them to get by alone - and still afford her college fees - should one of them gets retrenched. She had always thought this was the norm but after seeing Anna breakdown in front of her, she wondered how much others struggled.

She wanted to help so badly, but what could she do? She was but a regular teenager who did really well in school and fashi-

"Anna, nevermind prom, are you free tonight?"

Anna glanced at the clock ticking away. Elsa spied how red her eyes were and ran her hands through the redhead's hair in hopes of soothing her. "Mr. Oaken is coming to pick up the kids in about forty minute and I'll probably be free. Why?"

"I'll wait with you then. We'll grab some food and we head over to my house, okay?" She gave Anna a comforting smile, who shied one back.

Anna nodded with puppy eyes that Elsa couldn't resist kissing all around.

"Eeeeeewwwwww! Moochies!"

"Homework, kids!" Anna yelled back with her croaking voice.

The next hour was spent peacefully with Elsa helping to clean up Anna's kitchen after they served the children with Apple pie and Anna correcting the children's homework and giving them a good reprimanding for peeking at their private time. When Oaken came, Anna introduced Elsa to the tall, built, bearded man who seemed to approve of their implied relationship. Considering there were no arguments, she felt herself at ease and looking extremely forward to returning home. Since Anna had visited a couple of time as a friend before, her parents knew Anna and Anna needn't undergo the turmoil of how to create a good impression.

In her point of view, everything was handy dandy.

On the drive back, Anna spoke up. "You look really pretty in that dress, by the way."

"Thank you." Elsa said with her eyes on the road. Until it occurred to her Anna might've been implying something. Eager to help in any way possible, she turned and asked, "Did you… want it?"

"I can afford clothes, Elsa. I just want school more than clothes." Anna quipped.

"Oh."

Elsa could feel Anna's eyes on her. But with all her attention on the road, she couldn't spare a moment to tell what could possibly be on her girlfriend's mind. In that moment silence, passed before Anna spoke up again. "I'm sorry, I just…" From the corner of her eye, she could see Anna rubbing the bridge of her nose, "I'm sorry. I just wanted to tell you you looked good. But I don't know, I just..."

Elsa remained silent. She couldn't for a second understand how Anna felt her entire life and she wasn't going to belittle the difficulties she had faced.

"I don't know, I might sound paranoid or something, but hear me out okay, I just… I feel… I don't want you to look down on me, Elsa. I'm still me. All that you've seen today, they had always been me, they were always a part of me, I simply hid it. I was never just Anna and suddenly Anna who needed money. Please, just-" And her voice choked up again.

Elsa wasn't sure if she was lucky, but it so happened that they had arrived at their destination and she could quickly pull the crying girl across the car into a hug.

Tears kept streaming down and Elsa wondered how many of Anna's friends actually knew in school. Or whether the teachers were even aware of what this person was going through. Or was it a common struggle, yet she was the only one who wasn't dealing with it hence blind to it.

"I don't look down on you, Anna."

"Y-you don't?"

"I don't. I know I can't help in anyway-"

"I don't expect you to."

"- but I just want you to be happy. And I want to help you, Anna. So if there's anything you don't feel comfortable with like affording meals during our dates - which could probably save you even more money - please tell me. I can pay for our meals sometimes. I want nothing but the best for you."

Anna sniffed and their eyes locked on each other for a full minute. Her mouth gaped as if to say something but afraid. And then she finally nodded and mumbled a quiet "thank you."

Elsa gave the girl a pat on the back and get out of the car, "Now let's get ready for our prom, shall we?"

"Wha-"

"We may not be able to afford new dresses for you but it doesn't mean we can't dress up and have our own little private prom in my room." Before Anna could protest, the blonde pulled her out of the car and welcomed her into her house. "Come on, I've got loads of dresses that would totally suit you!"

Anna blinked the tears away and followed after, "Okay but, you choose mine and I choose yours!"

A/N: I know it's frustrating and difficult to ask for help.

It's not my favourite AU tbh, and although it started out as something to "raise awareness" about, it became something scary painful yet therapeutic for me to write. Although this barely touches on the struggles people like me face, it scares me when I found out a lot of friends I've made in real life was because I could literally afford to spend time with them. And once they knew about this, we hung out a lot less and eventually drifted just because I couldn't afford to go out. So I'm sorry it took so long to get this out.