Disclaimer: If I owned Frozen, the dressing room outtake would have been added in.
Anna was terrible at ice skating.
The only reason she ever went to the Arendelle Ice Rink at all was because of her best friend, Kristoff. He was part of the hockey team and she stopped by occasionally to watch their practices and games. Plus, she was friends with most of the team so it was pretty enjoyable.
Whenever Anna got tired of sitting by the sidelines, she would try a go at the rink but it always resulted in her slipping and wiping the ice off of her butt.
Until it didn't.
(x)
Anna was holding onto the railing for her dear life, her legs were flailing uncontrollably as she desperately tried to balance herself. On the other side of the rink, the hockey team was jeering at her.
"You go, Anna!" Kristoff laughed as she shot him a dirty look. The team was waiting for their turn on the ice (it was the figure skaters' turn) and had nothing else to do but make fun of her. "Whoop, watch out!"
Anna screamed as she plummeted backwards and braced herself for impact.
But the impact never came.
She found herself being steadied up by a pair of arms. After finding her grip on the railing again, she turned her head to the team. They were silent, staring at something beside her.
Anna suddenly realized that she hadn't thanked her catcher.
"Oh, hey thanks for – wow," she breathed out once she faced the stranger. It was a girl; A girl who happened to have been gifted with very good looks.
She had long platinum-blond hair, swept to the side in a single braid. Her skin was flawless and free of any marks. And her eyes were the most amazing shade of blue Anna had ever seen. She was absolutely breathtaking.
"Hey, careful there," the girl said, a polite smile etched on her face. Her voice was soft.
"Uh, y-yeah!" Anna said, finding her voice. "Th-thanks for catching me back there. You know, when I fell? Wait, duh of course when I fell. How else would you catch me otherwise, right? Heh."
The girl arched a perfectly crafted eyebrow. "Right. It's no problem. You're a beginner?"
"No, actually I've skated here dozens of times."
The girl's eyes widened in surprise.
"I-I mean, I've never been good at it!" Anna said, her cheeks flushed. "I just do it for fun. In fact, 99% of the time I think I'm falling instead of skating. I come here to watch my buddy, Kristoff. He's in the hockey team and – " woah, information overload there, Anna. Stop. "Yeah."
"Right," the girl said, unsurely. "Well, um, be more careful next time, then."
"Yeah, I will." Anna nodded, still gripping the railing like it was her lifeline (well, maybe it was because she would die if she embarrassed herself any further). The girl nodded and had nearly left around when Anna blurted out, "I'm Anna."
Geez, and you had to go and do that, huh? She doesn't want your name. She probably thinks you're some kind of freak now and that –
"Elsa," the girl replied, now facing Anna again. Her eyes were alight with amusement before she promptly (and gracefully) zipped off.
"Hey, Anna! Done hitting on the figure skaters yet?" Flynn (the team captain) called a minute later, abruptly snapping her back to reality. A furious blush spread across her face, "Do you mind not shouting it from the other end of the place? And I'm not hitting on the figure skaters!"
Her eyes darted around to see whether Elsa was close enough to hear them but the figure skater had already left the rink.
Wow, she's fast. Anna thought as she caught a glimpse of the girl halfway up to stadium's stairs.
Her head snapped to the side to look at her friends, some of who were staring at her knowingly. She huffed.
"Well? Are you gonna help me get out of here or what?"
(x)
She visited the ice skating rink much more frequently after that. Anna had noted that Elsa would come only on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. She'd adjusted her schedule and decided that she'd hang out with the team on Mondays and Wednesdays.
Apparently, Elsa was a professional figure skater from Norway. The only reason she had come to America in the first place was because of some competition that was being held in a few months.
Not that she was stalking her or anything.
But Anna loved watching Elsa skate. She didn't know how brilliant of a sport figure skating actually was until then.
It was amazing how every move made was executed gracefully. Every spin was perfect and every jump was elegant.
Elsa never noticed her though. Maybe it was a good thing but Anna couldn't help but wish for a little wave or any sign of acknowledgement.
She's probably forgotten about you now.
So instead, Anna became Elsa's secret admirer. The redheaded shadow on the benches who watched the figure skater's every move.
Okay, maybe it sounded a little creepy when put that way but Anna couldn't help it.
Elsa was perfect and every second made her believe it even more. It was like high school again, admiring boys from afar and trailing them around like lovesick puppies.
…only it was, well, girls now.
She sighed in amazement when Elsa performed another perfect Butterfly jump. Anna smiled softly as she watched Elsa retreat to the side. But the smile was wiped clear off her face when she saw a dark-headed boy skate into the stadium only to hurl himself straight at Elsa.
"Hey!" she exclaimed against her will. She rose up but the pair paid her no mind. She was astonished to see Elsa smile (a real one, not the polite one that she always seemed to wear) and the two began talking animatedly.
Jealousy coursed through her veins.
God, what were you thinking? A pretty girl like her would definitely have a boyfriend. Why did you even consider it? The thoughts raced through her mind at the speed of light.
It was ridiculous when she realized that she was this smitten with Elsa. Hell, they'd only ever talked once! Just as she began questioning her life choices, she felt a chill at the nape of her neck like she was being watched. Her eyes swept the stadium before landing on the boy who she had been enviously glaring at just a moment ago and her heart lurched when she realized that he was making his way towards her.
It took all of Anna's courage to hold her ground. The guy had finally reached her and she noticed, with a start, that Elsa had followed.
"I like your hair," he said, voice much higher than expected.
Wait, what?
Elsa suddenly stepped forward, "Ah, sorry, he does that sometimes."
Oh my god, you're actually talking to me.
"What?" Anna coughed.
"H-he's ADHD."
Wow, she's cute when she stammers. Wait…what did she say?
"Oh," she said, hoping that it was a viable response.
"You're Anna, right?"
She remembers my name.
She remembers my name.
She remembers my name.
"Y-yeah," she said. "And you're Elsa."
"Yes."
"And I'm Olaf!" the boy suddenly exclaimed. Elsa stared at him fondly, "Yeah. This is my brother, Olaf."
Brother. Right. Anna nearly hit herself. "Oh," was all that she managed to say. Again.
Such vocabulary, Anna! Great going!
"You're done right, Els?" Olaf said, turning to his sister. He grinned adorably, "Let's get ice cream!"
"Els?" Anna said, smirking. Elsa blushed and looked away. Anna raised her hands, hoping that she hadn't offended the girl, "No, hey I like the name. Els. Elsa. Sounds much better than Anna."
"I like your name," Elsa suddenly countered which, in turn, made Anna go red. There was a brief moment of awkward silence before Olaf cut through again, "So, ice cream?"
"Yeah. Ice cream." Elsa paused, looking directly at Anna. "So…see you around then."
A little wave of disappointment washed over her when she realized that they weren't inviting her to come along. Not that she was expecting it! Just…it was a nice thought.
"Bye!" Olaf said, giving her one last toothy grin before hauling Elsa up the staircase.
Anna let out a breath she didn't realize she was holding. A goofy smile crept itself along her face as she watched the two disappear behind the doors.
"See you around," she whispered.
Author's Note
This is a ridiculously rough draft. The only reason I'm posting this is because I want to know whether this is something that has potential or something I should scrap. I'll continue this further based on your reviews and opinions. In the case that I finish this ridiculously rough draft, I will edit the whole thing to make it more koala-tea (quality).
Do you suppose I should continue or should I keep it in the dark recesses of my 'fanfiction' folder?
Also, this is my first time making an AU of this sort and I also have no primary knowledge of skating so please correct my mistakes if you find some!