A/N: Welcome to the first chapter of what is sure to take up the majority of my free time. This is an Elsanna fic, and will contain darker themes in later chapters with a few triggers. I'll be sure to put a warning in the chapters what hold them, but you've been warned. Constructive criticism certainly welcome.
'Aleks', short for 'Aleksandra' is essentially the early concept design of Elsa when she was still the evil snow queen. The reference I used for the character can be found on my profile.
Big thanks to jimbabwe88 for giving me that last bit of reassurance to write this thing. You rock, man! Thank you again.
Standard disclaimer that I don't own anything, it all belongs to Frozen and Disney.
"Come on, Elsa. You know it won't be that bad."
The feminine voice came from the other side of the car, brisk and with a faint undertone of worry. Elsa shifted in her seat and turned to look out of the passenger side window. There were dark clouds in the sky as the midday sun struggled to break through the cover. It had been raining off and on all day so far and it probably wasn't finished. Which meant it would probably grow even more humid. Great. The thought of rain and possible storms caused Elsa to tense a little before turning back to the source of the voice.
"I know, Aleks. But this is a big step for me. For us." Her reply shook with worry near the end as Elsa offered a half smile to try and lighten the mood a little. Aleks brought a hand off of the wheel to scratch the back of her head tussling the short, midnight black hair that Elsa always thought made her twin look like an anime character. But was a stark contrast to her own platinum blonde hair, and one of the few physical differences that set them apart. She turned her head to meet Elsa's gaze and offered her own half smile in response. "Yeah I know. But don't you worry. If anyone messes with you, I'll be right there to beat their ass into a tiny quivering pulp." The statement was very direct and Elsa knew she was serious by the way her eyes widened as the word "pulp".
Elsa wondered how they managed to get themselves into this predicament. Here they were, in their shared car on the way to start the next chapter of life. They were to be college freshman and the very thought of it petrified the blonde. She pursed her lips and brought her knees to her chest before resting her head on top of them. The soft denim of her jeans almost felt cool on her chin and it brought a little comfort to the inner turmoil inside her. As they turned another corner, the green blur of the passing trees caught her attention before she shifted her eyes back to the sky. The sun was hardly visible now as it seemed to be losing the battle against the dark clouds above. How fitting. I'm sure there's some sort of metaphor or analogy here. Elsa shook her head before turning back to her sister, extending her arm to fix the few random hairs on the back of her head that were misplaced when she scratched. She also adjusted the light blue hair band she wore. I'm not too sure why she even wears that. Her hair is short enough that it just kind of works it's way out when she runs her hand through it. Always framing her face perfectly in the front and nearly straight up in the back.
"It wouldn't be so bad if I knew the person I would be sharing a room with for the year." Elsa stared blankly at the dash and brought her voice down to barely an audible whisper. "I wish we could rearrange this entire situation." She brought her forehead to her knees and let out a sigh. That thought bothered Elsa, because she really didn't know who she would be sharing a room with. They weren't able to register in time to be able to request their own roommate. They barely even made registration at all, and the only dorms available were two separate ones who previously only had one resident. What if her roommate was messy? What if they were completely rude and inconsiderate? What if they left clothes all over the place? All these questions were circling in her head and it did not make her feel any better of the situation. She didn't even know the gender of her to-be roommate. Did they even allow opposite genders to share a dorm? She couldn't remember. Instead she lowered her legs and stuck her hands in the red hoodie she was wearing before blowing the platinum blonde fringe from her eyes.
Aleks noticed the display of discontentment from her sister, she had never really been good at hiding her emotions from her. Elsa was growing restless and it definitely did not go unnoticed. "Hey, come on. It's not like I'll be on a different planet. I won't even be in a different building, just a different floor." She remarked with a bit of reassurance in her voice and playfully pushed her knuckles against her twin's shoulder. Elsa looked up at her with the icy blue eyes she shared with her sister before offering another half smile. "I know how you're feeling. Anxious, nervous-" her voice trailed off as it was brought low to a whisper. "-afraid." With a shake of her head she focused back on the road and noticed a green sign indicating their destination wasn't too far off.
"Maybe an hour until we arrive. Traffic has been pretty light, so maybe even earlier." Aleks said as she tried to change the subject and give Elsa something different to think about. Seeing her sister like this worried her and she would do all she can to alleviate her twin's stress. "I'll come with you to your dorm first when we get there, I'll size up whoever you have the pleasure of sharing the room with" There was a bit of a cocky tone under her words as she bit her bottom lip and grinned, showing a row of perfectly white teeth. Elsa couldn't help but reveal a smug grin. Aleks had always been there for her whenever she felt uneasy or nervous. Even now when she knew that she had her own worries, she gladly offered herself to ease Elsa. Well, it was less of an "offer" and more of a command, but the sentiment was not lost. "Rough 'em up a little bit if they look shady just to let them know that if they mess with you-" Her tone suddenly got more serious as she pointed her thumb towards herself and offered a wink before lightening her tone. "-They mess with me."
Elsa straightened up and played with the large braid she kept her hair in, taking the ends in between her thumb and index finger inspecting the ends carefully. She appreciated her twin's attempt to lighten the mood between them and offered another genuine smile. "Like that one time you gave a black eye to that one jerks name back in eighth grade? What was his name? Thomas? Taka?" She chuckled as she remembered that one particular bully who was giving her a hard time. She remembered watching Aleks dash across the lunch room in a blur before wailing into the boy's face. "You know after that I heard he started going by the name 'Scar' because of how bad you blackened his eye." She scoffed and shook her head.
"Oh yeah, Grandmother Gothel gave me one hell of a stern talking to once we got back that day because I had been suspended because of that!" Aleks' response came with a chuckle of her own. She tugged on her dark blue blouse and messed with a button that had popped out that she just noticed. "Did that snot-nosed brat ever mess with you again? By the time I was allowed back in school he avoided me like the plague." Pride laced her voice.
"No, as a matter of fact nobody else messed with me that year if I recall."
"Didn't want to be made into an example like the other, I guess." Aleks shrugged with a cockiness that caused Elsa to feel small in the shadow of her sister. "What was he antagonizing you about anyway?" The question was random and caused a look of confusion on Elsa's face. "If I recall correctly, he teasing me about my shoes I think? Or my hair?" Elsa honestly couldn't remember what she was being picked on in that particular instance. It happened so often it all just kind of blurred together. But, the memory still hurt Elsa and her twin noticed this when she lifted her knees back up and buried her face in them. Aleks instantly felt ashamed because of how her seemingly innocent question caused distress in her sister.
"Hey." She did her best to bring out a soothing tone. "None of that, now." Elsa perked back up and looked at her sister, then decided to turn around to gaze out of the window again. The clouds began to lighten up a bit and the sun was more prominent, causing the still dampened highway to glisten like silver. Although it looked cool and inviting, Elsa knew that the hot summer heat and the horrid humidity from the fresh rain would reveal the quite the opposite.
"It's like a clean slate, you know." Her sister's voice pulled her out of the thoughts about the weather. "It's a whole new city, whole new people, whole new opportunities." Aleks tried to sound hopeful to brighten her twin's mood. Yeah. New opportunities and people to make the new city seem like a living hell. Elsa put on a mask to try and hide her pessimistic view on the situation, offering a faux smile to her sister in hopes of lessening her worry. "I know, sis." Was all the blonde could get out less she dwell too long on the subject and bring a whole new wave of emotions to her.
Aleks didn't seem to notice that the reassurance was fake and accepted it with a slight nod. She leaned forward slightly to read an incoming sign before widening her eyes at the words she read. "Hey, Elsa. What do you say we stop and get a bite to eat before we take down the last half hour or so of the trip?" She offered with a wide grin, hoping her sister would agree with her. The thought of food at the moment caused Elsa's stomach to tense into knots, but couldn't disagree with her twin when she looked so bright and hopeful. Her love for food is certainly something that would be feared. Getting in between Aleks and her food is a death wish. Where does she even put it all? Elsa softly chuckled at her own thought before giving a similar grin to her sister. "Sure thing."