Anne stopped walking, scratching her head.

She had been looking for Sprig for about an hour or two, but she couldn't find him anywhere. As a matter of fact, not seeing him anywhere made her wonder where Hop Pop was as well. She hadn't seen him all day either.

"Where is Sprig…?" Anne whispered to herself.

"Trust me, Anne," Polly started, "you don't want to bother him right now."

"Wait, why not?" Anne raised her eyebrow.

"Sprig's with-"

Before Polly could continue, Sprig slid across the floor over to the archway for Anne and Polly to see. From what Anne could tell, some of his tongue was elsewhere. She had an idea on where it was, but she was too afraid to ask.

"Did somebody need me?" He excitedly asked, his words being understandable despite his tongue being out.

"Sprig!" Hop Pop ran over to Sprig. "Could you a' least wait a second before ya run off like that?"

Now she knew where the rest was at. Hop Pop's and Sprig's tongues were tried together at the ends. She regretted mentally asking and how her idea of where it was at was indeed correct. She silently gulped to swallow back her disgust for the moment.

The younger frog nervously laughed. "Sorry, Hop Pop!"

Hop Pop sighed as he started to get their tongues untied. It was a tangled mess, more so than how one would think it would turn out.

"I'll, uhh, let you two do your um, thing." Anne opened the door as she tried to hide her facial expression of repulsion. "I'll be out in town if anyone needs me."

She quickly went out the door with her hand up to get face. Hop Pop noticed how her face was.

Bessie rode the Plantars to the last, if not one of the last, shops they had to go to for the day.

They had to go food shopping, get some clothing stuff for Hop Pop, get a few books of some kind, and something else Anne couldn't remember due to not paying too much attention. Either way, it didn't interest her that much. She was busy being on her phone playing some games to pass the time. Polly looked at her phone screen every now and then, curious to what she was doing.

Anne suddenly felt Bessie stop moving, taking that as they reached their last destination before heading home. She decided to look up from her phone for a second, albeit not giving her full attention. Sprig gave Hop Pop a kiss on the cheek before he got off. Sprig tried to follow him, but Hop Pop was telling him to stay there. He said something about how he'd 'ruin the surprise' if he came along. Hearing that made Anne fully curious. She never heard anything about a surprise until now. It made her want to ask, but she decided not to. If it was for Sprig, she didn't want to ruin it for him by asking questions.

Hop Pop gave Sprig a kiss on the forehead, which caused the younger pink frog blush, then got off of Bessie to go into the shop. Seeing Sprig's face turn red made the girl have a tighter grip on her phone. That blush soon faded away as Ivy came over to them, saying 'hello' to Sprig. Anne turned her attention back to her phone.

Polly looked up at Anne. "Anne, are you okay?" Her whispering voice was filled with worry.

Anne nodded slightly. "Yeah, I'm okay."

"You're not too used to this, are you?"

"I guess you could say that's part of it…" Anne's eyes faced elsewhere.

Polly was about to ask what she meant by part of it, but she saw Hop Pop come out of the shop. Ivy said her goodbye and left them to be for the moment. Hop Pop got on Bessie and put the bag next to him. Sprig tried to grab the bag to look inside, but his hand got lightly smacked.

It was something Anne could snicker about out of how the two were being so far.

Anne stretched and yawned.

It was another brand new day, and one that could be full of surprises. It made her feel excited for whatever today could have in store for her. She got up and opened the basement door. She got out, walking over to the kitchen. Everyone was sitting down at the table aside from Hop Pop, who was about to get food onto the table. Perfect, woke up just in time for breakfast.

"Good morning, Anne!" Sprig waved over to her.

"Morning guys!"

Anne walked over to the table. Hop Pop laid the food down in front of everyone, with Sprig being the last one. He gently grabbed Sprig's chin with his index finger and thumb to pull him towards his direction. They kissed each other on the lips for a few seconds. Polly playfully reacted with an 'eww' which caused them to smile, trying not to laugh.

On the other hand, Anne couldn't look away. Her breathing had gotten slower and heavier; her heart started to beat faster. It felt like her heart was tightening up, ready to pop right out of her chest. Anne's hands clenched up into fists. Sweat started to go down her face.

Oh no, this couldn't be happening right now, not now of all times. Not when she didn't feel like this for a long time.

She felt like she was about to be pulled into a horrible flashback, but she was thankfully bright back to the present with a few snaps. Anne blinked twice and noticed that Sprig was reaching over the table with his right hand being close to Anne's face. He pulled back when he realized he got her attention. Looking at everyone's faces, they all seemed worried and confused.

Anne wouldn't blame them if she was in their shoes; she never acted up like this in front of them before. Considering this was their first time seeing that, it would make sense for them to react the way they were, especially since they didn't know anything.

"Anne, are you okay?" Sprig asked.

"Yeah, you're sweaty and red." Polly added.

Oh God her face was red. She didn't even realize how close to crying she was. She had to do something quick.

"I'm fine guys, really, I am!" Anne faked a smile as she started swinging her arms left to right, right to left.

Their faces weren't changing. If anything, they had to be even more puzzled and worried now. Hop Pop's face went from a combination of confusion and concern to flat out complete worry, as if he saw something similar before.

"I think I need to wake up a little more before I eat, so keep my food warm for me!"

She turned around and started speed walking back to the basement. Once she got down there, she went to where her bed was and sat there facing the wall. Anne immediately grabbed her phone and started up a game. She had to keep her mind distracted, get her mind off of shit.

The girl couldn't believe she had to do something like this again. It had been way too long since this was needed. She thought she was doing so well, too, yet she felt like she just got brought back a few years. It felt horrible, for her to say or think the very least. Her hands were shaking badly. Anne stopped and took a few deep breaths, counting how long she's inhaling, holding it, then exhaling. She did it a few times, just like how she was told to do it. It was starting to make her feel better. Being by herself was exactly what she needed.

Unfortunately, it ended short for her as she heard the basement door open. She didn't turn around to see who it was, she kept her eyes on the screen. Her focus had to stay on that for the moment. Footsteps grew louder and closer to her. Anne felt a hand touch her shoulder, causing her to jump and look behind her to see Hop Pop there.

"Anne, can you… Put your phone down for a minute?" He softly asked. "I want to talk to you."

She audibly gulped, but she slowly shook her head. While hesitant, she put her phone down next to her and turned around. Her legs went up to her chest. She wrapped her arms around her legs, one hand holding onto her other arm. Hop Pop sat down on the floor in front of her.

Hop Pop started first. "Did something happen to you before you came here?"

"Why do you wanna know?" Anne turned her head, looking away from him and at the floor to their side.

"I'm worried about you, Anne." He answered. "Not only do you seem uncomfortable with how Sprig and I are, but you also seem like you were having a traumatic flashback. I know a traumatized person when I see one."

"If you're that worried…" She slightly looked up. "Then why? Why are you with him?"

That seemed to catch him off guard. He definitely wasn't prepared for that kind of question. He didn't know how to respond to it at all. Regardless, she looked away again.

"I don't want him to end up like me because of this… Because of you psychologically hurting him?"

"Now hold on, Anne," Hop Pop immediately started. "I wouldn't dare hurt Sprig nor Polly. I never intend to do so. I only wish the best for them. To be honest, I was hesitant to tell him how I felt. I wasn't planning on telling him, he said how he felt to me first, not the other way around."

She said absolutely nothing for a reply. It felt ridiculous to her, but she kept on listening either way just to hear what he had to say there. Hop Pop sighed, sounding restless. He went to put his hand on her shoulder once again, but this time she smacked it away. His eyes widened.

"I can't believe you, Hop Pop." Anne put her hand down into the floor. "So everyone's okay with it just because he told you first?"

"Anne, please listen to me-"

"No." She lifted her head up. "I'm not going to listen to someone who thinks this is okay, especially with his own family members. I didn't feel worthless for a year and tried to move on from what happened to me just for me to hear this… This bullshit!"

"...What?" Hop Pop spoke in disbelief.

Anne's face scrunched up. "Of course you don't understand. I don't expect you to."

"Anne, I don't know what happened to you," he put his hands on Anne's shoulders, "but I promise you when I say that I wouldn't hurt them at all. I'm sure it's way different in your world, but here it's okay for relationships, like mine and Sprig's, to be a thing. I didn't force him into this and he didn't force me either."

She didn't budge an inch. There was nothing she had to verbally say; her gloomy eyes had said it all.

"I just want to know why. I won't force you if you're uncomfortable to say it, you've been traumatized and I understand it." He reassured her. "Just know that I'm here for you if you ever want to talk about it."

Hop Pop removed his hands and stood up. He turned around, going up to the door to leave. She watched him walk away from her. He put his hand on the door.

"...Wait." Anne finally spoke again. Hop Pop looked back at her. "I shouldn't hide it from you guys, not anymore."

Hop Pop walked back to her.

"The truth is… A few years ago, this was this guy. He was a family friend. He'd come to see us often, so much so he was like a guy who loved seeing his family." She frowned, thinking about the past. "But even though he seemed sweet and kind… He pushed himself onto me on several, separate nights when he was staying over. It was because of him that I felt worthless, like I deserved it. I had countless sleepless nights because of him raping me…"

She whispered the last five words that came from her mouth. Anne tried to swallow back the tears, but it was futile. She started to sob as she hid her face in her legs.

"I only got out of that because of my parents walking… Walking in on us that last night. They immediately kicked him out of the house and- and called the cops on him." She harshly inhaled. "They did everything they could for me, but- but I still- I still think about him. I still dream about what happened… I…"

She couldn't stop crying now. She took her head out of her legs to see Hop Pop ready to cry as well. His hands were up to his mouth, not being able to believe this. Before she knew it, he grabbed her and pulled her into a hug.

"Anne, I'm sorry for not noticing this sooner. This shouldn't have ever happened to you whatsoever." Hop Pop said. "Trust me when I say that this isn't your fault. If I ever meet this guy, he better know what's coming."

The door slammed open. "He will rue the day he dared to mess with our Anne!" Sprig yelled.

"Nobody messes with a Plantar!" Polly yelled as well.

"Kids! What did I tell you?" Hop Pop looked at them sternly.

"Stay at the table and wait until you and Anne get back." Polly and Sprig answered in unison.

They all started to look at Anne when she started laughing. It was a mixture of tears and laughter, making one possibly feel unsure whether she was crying or laughing, or even both. She wiped away whatever tears that were on her face. Anne hugged Hop Pop and had one of her arms open for the others to join in. Polly and Sprig ran down to hug her as well.

Anne's eyes opened. "By the way, how much did you guys hear?"

"Oh, we heard nearly all of it. We don't completely understand what you went through though." Polly said.

"Yeah we don't, but either way we're gonna be here for you." Sprig added.

"And we'll be sure to not do that around you anymore." Hop Pop told her.

Anne smiled. "Thank you guys."

They all broke up the hug. "Now go eat your food, kids, it's going to get cold." Hop Pop looked at Sprig and Polly.

"Okay!"

They immediately went back upstairs. Hop Pop looked back at Anne, who rubbed her arm.

"I'm sorry I said all of those things to you, Hop Pop…" Anne apologized.

"It's okay, Anne. You went through things nobody should and you're not completely used to how our world works yet." He replied. "It's understandable. We'll be here for you, no matter how long it'll take."

Hop Pop gave her a warm smile. They walked back upstairs together. They sat down at the table and started eating. Anne coughed and hit her chest.

"Man this is cold!" Anne exclaimed.

They laughed. "That's why I told you guys to eat before it got cold." Hop Pop said.

Regardless of how the food was, they all kept eating it.