No, A Snowflake in Spring has not been abandoned. I'm actually halfway through the next chapter, and it's going to be fun. I have a new laptop and a renewed passion for writing, so expect a lot from me these next few months.

This was something I started but never expanded on until now. It gives me a chance to explore Anna and Elsa's characters in different ways and I had a lot of fun with it. There may be another chapter after this, maybe two, but it won't be long.

Song credit: "Love Bites (So Do I) by Halestorm and "Backbone" by June Divided

Enjoy!


"Elsa, come on! I don't want this ticket to go to waste! Do you have any idea how expensive these were? I mean, we're in the front row for crying out loud! You have to come!"

Elsa sighed, dropping her pencil down onto her desk. She put her head in her hands, shoulders sagging as she massaged her temples. "If they were that expensive you shouldn't have asked Aurora of all people to go. You know how she gets."

Elsa's roommate, a spunky Middle Eastern girl named Jasmine, just crossed her arms and glared. "As if I was supposed to somehow foresee that she was going to cancel for the sake of beauty sleep. I swear, that girl's ridiculous!"

Sounds like someone else I know…

Elsa couldn't help but grin at her mental wittiness. She straightened back up in her rolling chair and swiveled to face her roommate. Part of her felt bad; Jasmine had been talking about this concert for the past two weeks, and she'd spent the past hour getting ready. The beautiful young woman, a dance major with a minor in Women's Studies (Elsa had been surprised too when she'd found out), had spent the past hour getting ready, taking easily twenty minutes to do her makeup. She was in her Sunday best, at least in terms of concert-wear, with tight blue jeggings and a cropped off-the-shoulder sky blue T-shirt featuring the band's logo making up her outfit. She'd even brought out her favorite heels, and Jasmine never wore heels.

"I just don't understand why you're so excited. What's so special about this one band?"

Jasmine's jaw dropped, eyes flying wide open then narrowing in the very next instant. "Excuse me? Frozen Heart is amazing, I have literally hard-core crushed on every single member of the band at least once, and every single one of their songs is just, just… ugh! I swear the lead singer's voice just does things to me."

Elsa's shoulders shook in a chuckle and she folded her arms across her chest. "This coming from the girl that has a new love interest every week, to say nothing of her ever-growing list of shower ballads."

Jasmine's cheeks darkened in a blush. "Oh, you love my singing. Don't act like you don't, plus it's completely irrelevant to this discussion!" Jasmine's face fell and she clasped her hands together before her heart. "Please, Elsa? We haven't gone out in forever, and I miss you."

Elsa frowned. She had been spending a lot of time at the studio lately. Granted, this building layout was a huge part of her grade, but all of her hard work had gotten her pretty far along. And with the way Jasmine was looking at her, those big dark eyes practically begging, who was she to refuse?

The blonde sighed, lips curling up in an amused smile as she raised her hands in surrender. "Fine, I'll go. But I've never been to a concert before, so you'll have to help me with my outfit."

The excited squeal that Jasmine let out was absolutely worth the loss of a relaxing night in.


This was a horrible idea. This was a horrible, no good, very bad idea.

Elsa fidgeted with the hem of her white skirt, worrying for the thousandth time that some drunken fool would spill something on it and tarnish it. It was relatively new, after all, and it hadn't come cheap.

"Elsa, come on!"

"Coming, coming…" Elsa sighed in exasperation as she cast a paranoid glance around to make sure none of the other concert-goers were trying to sneak a peek at her rear.

She wasn't used to wearing such… provocative attire. Normally she would have paired the relatively short skirt with a long-sleeved top to sort of even out the amount of skin she showed. She might have even worn tights too, just to be on the safe side. But it was gorgeous outside, and Jasmine refused to let her get away with an outfit befitting a nunnery. So instead, Jasmine had coerced her into matching her white skirt with an icy blue scoop-neck top with black lace around the hem and the neckline. It was the "edgiest" piece of clothing she owned, according to her roommate.

Thankfully Jasmine hadn't fought her about footwear, and allowed Elsa to wear her comfiest black heeled boots. They had been her grandmothers, and though they were boots they looked more like high heels, what with the pointed toes and elegant silver hooks for the laces.

Elsa knew she looked nice, but couldn't help feeling exposed.

The excitement on her roommate's face was the only thing keeping her from fidgeting up a storm. They'd gotten to the venue early, an open arena in the middle of, quite frankly, nowhere. It had been an hour long drive with Jasmine 'jamming out' in the passenger seat to music that wasn't even by the band they were going to see, which infuriated Elsa.

She had no idea what kind of group they were going to see, but if the punk rock Jasmine had played was anything to go by then Elsa probably wasn't going to enjoy herself. She didn't make a habit of torturing herself with screeching guitars or the screeching people holding them, and she'd practically begged Jasmine to tell her that that wasn't the music they'd be listening to.

Jasmine's only response to Elsa's irritated line of questioning had been a cocky smirk. 'I want it to be a surprise. This is my way of forcing you to try something new that I know you'll enjoy. You might look the part of a proper lady but I can tell you've got a broody inner child just begging for some screen time.' Jasmine had turned away from her then to face the window and Elsa could just see her smirk grow. 'Plus I just wanna see your face when you hear her voice for the first time. If you don't melt on the spot it'll only be because you'll be too busy swooning.'

So in all Elsa only knew two things about this band were the name, Frozen Heart, and that the lead singer was a girl.

As the two handed their tickets over to the burly security guards Elsa tried to imagine what the lead singer might look like. Naturally the first things that came to her mind were black hair and tattoos, probably piercings in painful places… definitely not the kind of girl Elsa would ever be attracted to.

Part of her was suspicious of Jasmine's motives in her encouragement of Elsa's attendance. Obviously Jasmine wouldn't have wanted to go alone, but the dark-skinned girl had been dropping casual hints about how much Elsa would 'enjoy' and be 'mesmerized' by the show and now that Elsa knew the singer was female she had a feeling Jasmine was hoping she'd find her first celebrity crush here today.

I really hope that's not the case. Celebrity crushes are pointless. It's not like I'd ever meet her in person or-

"Are you serious?!"

Elsa was snapped from her thoughts when she felt something being placed around her neck. Jasmine had latched onto her arm and was practically bouncing, and there was a delayed recognition of shrill screaming in her ears, courtesy of the same girl. "Elsa! We got backstage passes!"

Blue eyes widened and Elsa glanced down at the paper snowflake encased in a protective plastic casing that had been given to her.

Backstage… passes?

A chill passed down her spine.

So she was going to meet these people in person.

"Oh my god, what if we get to meet Hans? Oh my god Elsa if we meet Hans you have to promise you won't let me faint without letting him sign me, okay? Please promise!"

Elsa mumbled a half-hearted assurance before narrowing her eyes and frowning up at the security guard standing in front of her. "Not that I'm, ah… grateful or anything… but why exactly are we receiving these?" She held up the snowflake for emphasis, holding it at a safe distance from herself as though it was somehow dangerous.

The guard took one look at the barely-concealed discomfort and disdain on her face before snorting out a laugh. He was a massive blonde man with a walrus mustache and a black beanie hiding away most of the (from what she could tell) plentiful hair on his head. He seemed friendly enough despite his gargantuan size, but the muscles threatening to bust the seams on his black security shirt were definitely a cause for caution.

When he spoke, his unfamiliar (but hilarious) accent had Elsa's dark brows shooting straight to her hairline. "I can see the little miss isn't used to these sorts of things, ya? Well little princess, you and your friend here happen to be lucky winners. The gang is very fan-friendly, so they give out backstage passes to a handful of random seats every show. And today, your seats are two of those seats. There will be a few others, I suspect, so no need to get all huffy and concerned. Just enjoy the treat and the show, ya?"

And to Elsa's surprise, the big man put a hand on her shoulder and gave her a push that was by his standards gentle but still managed to send Elsa stumbling forward. Thankfully Jasmine's grip on her arm kept her upright, and Elsa felt her cheeks burn when the other girl's laugh hit her ears.

"He's right Elsa, don't be such a stiff. We got lucky, we should be happy! Now come on, I want to see how close we are to the stage!"

And despite her whine of protest, Elsa was dragged through a loud crowd of fans of all shapes and sizes. There were couples, groups of boys, groups of girls… and to her surprise there were even a few younger kids with their parents.

If there are kids here their music can't be too offensive…

But then Elsa remembered that some morons brought their kids with them to R rated movies, and her momentary relief was quashed instantly.

She kept casting furtive glances around, hoping that the décor and merchandise would give her some sort of epiphany and maybe all of a sudden she'd pull a Sherlock Holmes and be able to deduce exactly what sort of situation she was about to enter… but all she saw were snowflakes!

There were snowflakes everywhere. They were on shirts, on hats, on posters… and as they approached the rather intimidating stage Elsa's eyes widened at the sight of the largest snowflake of them all. It was wrought in some kind of metal, and its edges had been spray-painted with white and silver. It was, admittedly, beautiful, but at its center was a twisted black heart, and the sight of it hung center-stage, large and imposing, was almost frightening.

"Jasmine, why all the snowflakes? I-I mean… I know they're called Frozen Heart, but honestly… isn't this a bit much?"

Jasmine cast a surprised glance back at her as they began to weave their way through people on their way down the stairs towards the seating area closest to the stage. Elsa barely heard her question as some teenager with a terrifying Mohawk shouted an apology for elbowing her in the ribs, which hurt. "I didn't think you'd be bothered by snowflakes, isn't winter your favorite season?"

Elsa was almost offended. "Yes," she shouted over the growing noise, "But just what exactly does that have to do with anything?"

Jasmine just giggled and continued to pull her along.

Elsa took another look at the stage and at the same moment she realized there was already a band performing she began to hear music in accompaniment with the humming crowd. Judging by how loud the crowd still was, the band couldn't have been all that impressive by punk rock standards. If they were, people probably would have shut up and listened to them play. Then again, Elsa wasn't exactly sure how one was supposed to behave at such an event… she prayed that she wouldn't be forced to participate in a mosh pit. Or god forbid, crowd surfing. How anyone could find that fun or even appealing was beyond her understanding.

"Oh, darn it. These guys stink." Elsa could hear the disappointment in her roommate's voice. "They had like, one popular song and they've tanked ever since. Oh, we're almost there, come on!"

Elsa managed to return the smile her roommate cast over her bronze shoulder before there was one final tug on her soon-to-be-sore arm, and finally they were in their row. They pushed their way to their seats as politely as possible, but their proximity to the stage had renewed Jasmine's excitement to its maximum levels. When they finally reached their seats she refused to sit even for a moment, a wide grin stretching across her face as her eyes danced across the stage.

After watching her roommate with a smile for a moment, Elsa also turned her eyes to the stage. Trying to ignore the sting of harsh guitar and moody voices in her ears she took the time to properly analyze the set. There was, of course, the giant black snowflake with the heart at its center, but Elsa now noticed several smaller snowflakes framing the rest of the space, and her eyes followed white swirls of sheer silver fabric that she supposed were to represent winter winds.

It was… artfully done. Which was surprising.

As Elsa continued to regard the structure of the stage, someone bumped into her and ended up knocking her into Jasmine's personal space. Her roommate yelped and before Elsa had even regained her footing she leveled an aggravated glare at the culprit.

Said culprit happened to be a fairly attractive young man with a skin tone almost identical to Jasmine's.

Elsa's ears perked just in time to catch the tail end of the boy's apology. "-and I didn't watch where I was going, I'm so sorry! Are you hurt?" The genuine concern in his near-black eyes seemed genuine, and once she was properly on her own two feet she waved away his frantic apology.

"No harm done, it was an accident."

But apparently Jasmine wasn't quite so forgiving for she was on the boy in an instant, index finger less than an inch from his nose. She'd moved so fast and pushed Elsa protectively behind her so that the two had essentially switched seats. "An accident that never would have happened if you had been paying attention, dumbass! Why don't you watch where you're going next time?"

Elsa winced at the harshness in her roommate's voice. Jasmine wasn't particularly fond of boys on a whole; she often thought them entitled and idiotic. While Elsa couldn't really disagree with her, this particular boy had already sincerely apologized. "Jasmine, please-"

"Oh and let me guess, this is your seat isn't it? Great, guess that means we have to stand next to you for this whole concert, don't we?"

The boy didn't answer, he just continued to stare at Jasmine with surprise clear in his eyes. But when that surprise soon melted into something else Elsa had to hide her smirk behind her hand.

He stuck his hand out for a handshake, a toothy grin splitting out across his pleasant face. "Jasmine, right? My name's Aladdin."

Jasmine cocked a brow, her nose turned up in mild disdain. "Did I ask you for your name?"

Aladdin faltered, his arm slackening, but he straightened his shoulders and reached for her hand, taking it into his own. "Well, no. But I figured, if I'm gonna have a chance at getting the most beautiful girl at this concert to not hate me, I should probably start with my name. And, another sincere apology I guess…" he turned his gaze back to Elsa's. "I really am sorry, miss."

Elsa smiled, cogs turning in her head as she eyed the pair before her.

I'll consider this my payback for you dragging me here, Jasmine.

"You're forgiven. But, maybe I should stay over here. Far out of your reach. You don't mind, do you Jas?" She sent her roommate a sickly sweet smile, and held back a laugh when she finally saw the understanding in her roommate's eyes.

'You are so dead,' Jasmine mouthed, but Elsa could see the blush burning in her cheeks. As Jasmine turned to face the stage with a huff, crossing her arms in the process, Elsa sent Aladdin a wink. He stared at her, stunned, for just a moment before pumping his fist and flashing her a grateful thumbs-up.

She left the two to flirt and cast a quick glance to her new neighbors, relieved to find a group of relatively well-behaved sixteen-year-old's next to her. Hopefully she wouldn't find anymore elbows in her ribs today.

Figuring she'd take the opportunity to rest her feet because she doubted Jasmine wouldn't let her sit for a moment during the actual concert, Elsa gingerly sat down in the rather uncomfortable stadium seat. She pulled her phone from her handbag to check the time, heart-rate quickening when she realized the concert's scheduled start was less than ten minutes away.

I hope this is over quickly…

She sighed and put her phone away after making sure she had no notifications to attend to. She glanced at the prospective lovebirds currently 'fighting' next to her and couldn't help but grin.

Aladdin seemed like the perfect guy for her roommate. Jasmine easily grew bored of guys that tried to strong-arm their way into romance or, even worse, buy their way in. And she was stunningly beautiful, so naturally there were no shortage of those. Many a night out hand ended with Jasmine tossing a freshly-made drink into the face of the handsy sleazeball who'd slid it her way. Aladdin on the other hand seemed rather genuine and, well… tactless. He seemed honest and kind, and he was handsome to boot.

Maybe if Jasmine's lucky we'll find out he lives somewhere close to campus.

All of a sudden a wave of applause echoed around the arena, and Elsa's bright blue eyes snapped to center-stage. The opening act had left and their equipment was being moved. A new set of instruments was being brought in by the crew, all bedecked in black. With them however came a stocky blonde, most of his hair hidden under a grey beanie.

What is with these punk rockers and beanies? Who is that, anyway?

He wasn't a member of the crew, that was for sure. He had on thick workman's boots and jeans that looked like they belonged on a dude ranch in the middle of Montana. Running with the rancher theme was a black and blue flannel with the sleeves ripped off, and a black guinea-T kept the blonde's muscular chest covered.

He moved to sit at the impressive drum set the crew had just finished setting up, and when he sent a confident wave the audience's way the response was insane. All of the girl's to Elsa's right shot up and squealed, along with what sounded like the rest of the audience. Elsa cringed at the noise and stood, tugging on her roommate's shirt. "Jas, who is that?"

Jasmine was grinning like a madwoman. "That beautiful hunk of gentleman," she leaned in with a conspiratorial grin, "Emphasis on man… is Kristoff. He's the drummer, and the first member of this group I was head over heels for. Not that I could ever be blamed."

that would explain why he's sitting at the drum set, now wouldn't it Elsa?

It seemed so obvious now that someone had said it out loud.

Kristoff tapped at a microphone that had been set up for him, checking the sound. Satisfied with the response he got, he grinned and cleared his throat. He spoke with a deep, charming voice. "Hello everybody, how are we doing today?" When the audience roared in response he nodded, humming his approval. "Good, good… as usual, I'm the first one ready. The other three will be out soon, you know what divas they are. Gotta make sure their faces are on point and shit."

"Like you'd know anything about being 'on point,' Reindeer King."

Elsa's gaze traveled right to find another young man walking on stage, and if she had to guess this was the group's resident bad boy. He had ginger hair and perfectly-manicured sideburns that she could see from her seat. He was fixing the cuff on the right sleeve of his royal purple button up, a smug grin on his face as he strutted across stage. Elsa wrinkled her nose when she saw that the shirt was left completely unbuttoned, revealing a chiseled chest and washboard stomach. How crude. His microphone was on a headpiece that Elsa could just make out if she squinted hard enough. Everything about him screamed 'I'm a smug little prick and you'll love me anyway' but for some reason Elsa couldn't help but eye him with distaste.

"That's Hans, the base player," Jasmine chirped in her ear. "My current obsession. You don't know what I'd do to have my way with his abs."

Elsa could hear Aladdin's snort from over the cacophony of sound rising up around them. "Oh come on, that Hans guy is a total prick. He's my least favorite of the group."

Jasmine scoffed and rolled her eyes. "He's just misunderstood. I've read that his family life was horrible, he came from money but he gave it up to pursue music because his family didn't care about him."

"That hundred dollar shirt doesn't really scream 'gave it up,' to me, princess."

Before Jasmine could retort, a third voice echoed around the arena.

"This coming from Sir Sideburns?"

The woman that glided out onto the stage was exactly how Elsa pictured the lead singer. She was a tall woman with curled black hair that shined with incredible elegance, and Elsa could see the sleeve of tattooed flowers winding its way up her left arm, over her shoulder and presumably down past the low neckline of her blood-red dress. A blood-red dress with a tantalizing slit up the side.

She was stunning… but definitely not Elsa's type.

She leaned over to ask Jasmine a question. "Is that the lead singer?"

The look of horror on Jasmine's face was almost funny, and probably would have been in a different situation but now it just left Elsa confused. "What? No! That's just Gothel, the pianist. She's ridiculously attractive but also ridiculously bitchy."

Elsa stared at her roommate blankly. "Then… who's the-"

Hans' voice rang through the stadium once again. "Oh hush, darling. You know you love them. Now where's Anna? We have a show to start and a lovely crowd to please."

Hans sent a charming yet snake-like grin the audience's way, and though the applause was like thunder Elsa's mind was stuck on the name the bassist had mentioned.

Anna?

"Who's Anna?" she asked Jasmine, who only grinned in response. Her eyes flashed to the side, over Elsa's shoulder but when Elsa turned to look for herself Jasmine's hands on her shoulders stopped her.

"Anna Christian is the lead guitarist, and lead singer. She's also totally your type. And I want you to remember that we totally get to meet her after the show. Now, I want a proper 'thank you' for dragging you here later, after you've fallen in love and you have hearts shining in those big, pretty eyes of yours." And despite Aladdin's shocked cry in the background ("You guys have backstage passes?!") Jasmine forcibly turned her around… and Elsa's pale jaw dropped.

The most beautiful redhead Elsa had ever seen was hurrying on stage, a guitar already in her hands. Her hair was like the finest copper, bright and beautiful. Her skin was tanned like a surfer's, and Elsa could see a galaxy of freckles dotting her round cheeks. They were on her shoulders too, left exposed by the army green camisole the girl wore.

And eyes the color of the ocean left Elsa weak in the knees when they swept very briefly over the audience. And when she spoke, the cheer in her voice made Elsa's heart seize in her chest. "Sorry guys, I gave up on trying to tame the mess Gothel made of my hair."

"Mess? Dear I did you a favor."

Kristoff whistled, and when Elsa glanced his way she bristled at the appreciative once-over the blonde sent Anna's way. "Damn, Anna. I'm inclined to agree with Gothel. And that never happens."

Said redhead blushed beneath her freckles and ran a hand through her fiery mane, left loose and free save for a single short braid at her temple. "You think so?"

Kristoff held up his hands in surrender, drumsticks clenched between his thumbs and index fingers. "Hey, don't ask me, ask the audience."

Anna hummed into the microphone she held in her hand and turned her attention back to the audience. Her eyes swept along the front row, and Elsa's spine stiffened when they passed over her. She forced her eyes down, hands coming up to clutch at her braid. The sound of heavy boots clomping across the stage, closer and closer to where she was, hammered in her ears.

"Well, what do you think?"

Elsa looked up, heart hammering in her chest at the mere thought that the star could be talking to her. When she saw Anna's attention directed not at her, but her roommate, she couldn't help the bitter disappointment that weighed heavily on her shoulders.

Jasmine, however, looked ecstatic. She cupped her hands around her mouth and shouted "You look hot!"

Anna laughed, the sound of it crisp and clear and beautiful in Elsa's ears. It drowned out all the noise around her, to the point where Anna's voice was all she could bother to hear.

The singer sent a quick glance to Aladdin. "Your girlfriend thinks I'm hot."

Elsa dragged her eyes away from the angel before her to see Jasmine's jaw fall slack. Aladdin, grinning like the Cheshire cat, slung an arm around Jasmine's shoulders and shouted "So do I!"

Jasmine pushed him off, her face red, and Anna laughed. "You guys are cute." The redhead walked towards the center of the stage and placed her microphone in a waiting stand. Once it was secure she returned her gaze back to her audience, and a wide smile grew on her face. "Hello, Arendelle. Are you ready for us?"

Though the audience screamed its approval, Elsa couldn't help but think, quite helplessly…

No.

"Good, because we are the Frozen Heart," Anna raised a hand to lazily gesture towards the massive black snowflake above her head. Turquoise eyes narrowed dangerously, and as the smile on her face descended into a dangerous smirk, Elsa felt the heat pooling in her lower abdomen. "And we've come for yours."

Cheers erupted all around her as Kristoff counted down from four, a smack of the symbols matching each count, and when he hit one all four musicians practically erupted with sound. A guitar had magically appeared in Gothel's hands, and while her, Hans, and Anna all began to work their magic Elsa was spellbound. She'd never heard music like this before…

…and then Anna began to sing.

"Don't listen what your girlfriend says, she reads those magazines
That say you failed the test. You don't have 'what she needs.'
I slither like a viper, and get you by the neck
I know a thousand ways to help you forget about her…"

Elsa's eyes grew impossibly wide at the way Anna's sweet voice spat such cruel lyrics, but the way they rolled off the redhead's tongue, practically dripping with sweet, seductive poison… it was the best example of a hot and cold relationship Elsa had ever seen.

"That bitch can eat her heart out."

A mischievous grin broke out on Anna's face as Kristoff slammed his sticks down in a moment of perfectly timed violence.

"Love bites, but so do I! So do I…
Love bites but so do I! So do I!
Love bites!"

All four musicians joined together to deliver that line, the grins on their faces somehow cruel but charming and enthusiastic in the same instant.

"My lips are pale and vicious, you're foaming at the mouth.
You've suffered in the darkness, I'll suck the pain right out!"

Anna finished that line off with a playful bite, pearly white teeth flashing in the air.

"So come and taste the reason, I'm nothing like the rest,
I kiss you in a way you'll never forget about me.
That chick can eat her heart out!"

There was another run through of the chorus and Elsa could feel the music pounding through her body, in sync with her frantic heartbeat. Or, was her heartbeat in sync with the music?

Once the chorus was done Anna took a step back from the microphone and a spotlight opened up on Gothel as the tempo of the song slowed. A pair of full lips painted red opened and Gothel's smoky voice weaved out to caress the air.

"It checks you in and kicks you down, it chews you up and spits you out.
It messes with your sanity by twisting all your thoughts around.
They say it's blind they say it waits, but every time it seals your fate.
And now it's got you by the balls, it won't let go until you fall.
I was down and out, got up and said "Hey love, I've had enough.
I've had pleasure without pain, my soul you'll never tame.""

While Gothel certainly had a sultry voice, Elsa was relieved when Anna took up her microphone. Her voice was just so much better, at least in Elsa's ears. The chorus rang through again, and with a final shout of 'Love bites!' The first song was over and the blonde had no idea of how to interpret the buzzing in her body.

Her ears were pounding and she was gasping for breath, she wasn't even sure what had just happened. But the burn was still there, incessant beneath her skin, and that was enough to tell Elsa that she had liked it. Actually enjoyed that assault on the senses, enjoyed the way Anna Christian's sweet voice had bulldozed its way into her head with cruel words betrayed by the bright light in beautiful eyes.

Jasmine placed a hand on her shoulder, a tentative grin threatening to break through as her eyes noted the rosiness of her roommate's cheeks. "So… what'd you think?"

Elsa turned to her, and opened her mouth to respond. But no words came and eventually she just ended up laughing, her shoulders shrugging helplessly as she ran a hand through her hair. Jasmine laughed with her, doubly so when Aladdin murmured something along the lines of 'Is this her first concert or something?' into the dancer's ear.

"Sorry for those of you newbies whose ears are probably bleeding right about now, but we wanted to hit it off with a bang." Elsa looked back up at Anna Christian with a budding reverence in her bright blue eyes, and when she found that the singer's gaze was directed right at her fire bloomed in her cheeks. She bit her lip and smoothed down a flyaway piece of platinum blonde, unable to hold the fiery redhead's fierce gaze for very long. When she looked away a melodious chuckle echoed around the stadium. "Well anyway, that was 'Love Bites,' written by our lovely lady in red over there."

Anna directed a mock bow in Gothel's direction, which the older woman answered with an air kiss.

"But now I think it's time for something a little less vicious. What do you guys think?" When the audience booed the notion, Anna only laughed and turned her attention back to her guitar. "Sometimes I feel like we're just here to babysit a bunch of ruffians," she joked. She stared down at the instrument with affection, and Elsa made a mental note to figure out what kind of guitar it was.

Where that thought came from, she had no idea.

"I'm pretty sure that's no too far off from the truth, fiestypants. After all, they are our fans, aren't they?" Elsa heard the drummer (Christopher, was it?) quip somewhere in the background.

Hans snorted. "Speak for yourself, Reindeer King. My fans are the epitome of class. Isn't that right?" The audience screamed its agreement when he sent another charming smile their way, and Elsa could practically feel he group of sixteen-year-old's on her right swoon when he winked.

Elsa spared but a moment away from Anna to glance at the drummer, who looked like he wanted to retort. However, Anna stopped the fight before it began. "Alright, alright, look we all know we have the best fans in the world. And why we all know why that is, right?" She spread her arms as though to direct the question to the audience, and when they responded with a unanimous, excited 'No!' the look of confusion on her face was downright adorable.

"Why, it's because they all have…" she paused for dramatic effect, a sly grin threatening to break free on her face, "…backbone."

The audience let loose its loudest cheer yet, and the band started up again in perfect time. Elsa grew excited despite herself, and her excitement only grew when Jasmine shouted 'I love this song!' in her ear.

"Well it started with a few choice words slipping out of my mouth…"

This song was much… softer, in terms of sheer volume than the previous one. Which Elsa immensely appreciated.

"And the expression on your face looks like you didn't like the way it sounds!
Won't take it back because my bones told me I made them proud…
Well they said I had to understand, understand, understand,
A skeleton will never work without a, no it won't work without a…"

"Whoa-oh, got a backbone in me now!"

Elsa could just tell by the way Anna sang, and by the sheer fun she looked to be having on stage, that this was one of her favorite songs to perform. Though her eyes were closed the corners of her mouth were upturned in a grin and there was a certain flair to the way she handled her guitar.

"It keeps my head on, tightly wound so I don't lose it!
Uh-oh, got a backbone in me now!
It makes me say these things out loud…"

There was a pause before the second verse, a moment that Elsa took to observe the other members of the group. Every notion she'd had about punk-rockers was slowly going out the window as she saw the joy on each band member's face. They all just looked to be so happy to be performing and there was no malice in their music, the song they were currently playing was fun and somehow intense and upbeat at the same time. It wasn't something Elsa was used to, and it was exciting!

"I might've waited way too long, but now I'm standing straight!
Must be strange for you to hear me make a point with all these things I say
And I can see you grind your teeth as my words come out."

As the group charged their way back into the chorus Elsa actually found herself mouthing along to what words she could remember, a smile unconsciously growing on her face. When Jasmine looked over and saw it, affection and unbridled happiness warmed her heart and she turned back to the stage and resumed bobbing her head in time with the music with renewed vigor.

I knew she'd love this.

Kristoff and Anna shared an intense, wordless exchange of drumming and furious guitar chords before the climax of the song began.

"We'll switch your bones so you don't know…
I keep my bones so you won't know!
Just how it feels to have a…
We'll trade our skeletons right now!
We'll be trading skeletons so you know how it feels to have a
backbone!"

An excited little giggle flitted past Elsa's lips as a cheer rose up around her and the audience echoed the chorus along with Anna once more before the song came to an end. She felt so light and free, like she could sprint her way up a mountain and still have energy to run back down and sweep this Anna Christian off her feet and whisk her away to a romantic dinner date by the sea.

(And they lived hours away from any ocean.)

She turned to her roommate, whose arms were raised up above her head as she cheered for a job well-done on her favorite Frozen Heart song. Elsa leaned in to shout into Jasmine's ear, "You were right, this is kind of amazing."

Jasmine immediately pulled her in for a hug. "I knew you'd love it! And this is only the beginning…"

And she was right. Because the entire arena spent the next two hours enveloped in the playful sounds of singing guitars and thundering drums, and all the while Elsa couldn't take her eyes off the darling singer with beautiful eyes and a charming grin.


"So Els, are you ready to meet your future wife?"

"Jasmine, stop," Elsa scolded. But she could feel the blush flaming in her ears, and didn't try to stop the shy grin from spreading. She clutched the poster she'd bought for Anna to sign tightly in her hands; it was the only poster that had an actual picture of the band and not just the snowflake that seemed to be their preferred symbol. Anna was right in the middle, sitting cross-legged on the floor with her guitar across her lap. The other band members were positioned strategically around her, but Elsa didn't really pay much attention to them.

She was bouncing on the balls of her feet, excitement buzzing just beneath her skin. The thought that she'd soon be within kissing distance of the girl who'd essentially just changed the way she thought about music (and musicians in general because let me tell you, her loins had never lit quite like this for any fool with a guitar before) was doing funny things to her brain.

The same security guard who'd given them the passes when they'd entered the arena was the one leading them around now, helping them avoid the crew members scurrying around backstage to get equipment packed up swiftly and safely.

"So, you'd liked the show, ya?" he asked them as he opened up a door for them that led into a spacious hallway. The smug but sincere grin on his face was infectious, and as each girl passed him by they offered their agreement.

Elsa's was small and shy, but Jasmine spared no courtesy. "It was amazing!" she shouted, "And when Hans took his shirt off for that solo, ugh."

Elsa just rolled her eyes. "Now Jasmine, what would Aladdin think if her heard you say that?"

"Oh, hush. He'll deal with it if he wants to take me out to dinner." Elsa's brows shot up in surprise. Jasmine waved away her incoming question, a blush darkening her fine cheekbones. "Yes, yes, before you ask I did give him my number. No, he doesn't go to our school, but he works at a restaurant somewhere in the city and he wants to buy me dinner. Probably discounted, since he works there, but still… I think it'd be nice."

The affectionate smile on her roommate's face had Elsa beaming. She'd watched the two flirt on and off for the entirety of the concert, and to hear that Aladdin had actually asked Jasmine out on an real date was a good sign. Jasmine deserved a nice boy that'd treat her right.

"But enough about me," Jasmine said with a grin. "How long do you think it'll take for you and Anna to fall in love, get married and rule tumblr with gifs of you out in public being all adorable together?"

Elsa hid her face in her hands as Jasmine laughed. "I don't even know what half of that is supposed to mean…" she mumbled in defeat.

Before Jasmine could get another tease in, the security guard had gotten in front of them and stopped before a single door with a star on it. "Here we are, girls. This is Miss Christian's room." Elsa's eyes widened, heart jumping up into her throat. Anna was behind this door. Anna was behind this door. Anna was behind-

And before she could fully process her roommate pushing her forward or the dressing room door being opened, Elsa was past the threshold and she was staring into surprised turquoise eyes.

"Oh, hey! Girl-that-thinks-I'm-hot and her friend! I guess you guys got the backstage passes, huh? Lucky ducks." Anna was sitting cross-legged (her favorite position, Elsa guessed) in a chair set before a wall-length mirror. There was a gentle smile on her face and a phone in her hands. Perhaps she'd been texting someone before the door had opened. "Did you guys enjoy the show?"

The genuine curiosity in her question was adorable. As if anyone could listen to her sing and not enjoy themselves, Elsa thought.

"Oh my god, we loved it!" Jasmine exclaimed from beside her, stepping forward into the room with her hands clasped before her heart. "You guys were amazing! I can't believe you started off with 'Love Bites,' so intense. And your hair! If I had a girl crush on you before, then I think now I might actually be in love!"

To Elsa's surprise, Anna's face turned beet red and she played with the braid at her temple. "U-uhm, thanks. What're your guy's names?" The deflection was subtle, but Elsa caught it.

So she's not good with compliments. She's adorable.

Elsa was so busy staring that she didn't realize that her roommate had introduced herself and was waiting for her to do the same.

"…lsa? Elsa? Elsa!"

"Hm? What?" When Elsa finally gave Jasmine her attention her eyes narrowed at the smirk on her face. "What?"

But Jasmine ignored her and turned back to Anna. "So as you can guess, this is my friend Elsa. She would have introduced herself, but she was too busy staring at you. Guess she thinks you look pretty hot too."

When Anna started laughing Elsa wanted to crawl in a hole and disappear.

"That's okay! I mean, she's pretty gorgeous too." Elsa froze, and so did Anna. "Wait, what?"

rain check on that hole.

Elsa resisted the urge to preen from Anna's declaration, and eyed the other girl critically. Though playing dumb and trying for innocence were popular means of seduction, the embarrassment on Anna's face seemed genuine, and the fact that her hand had returned to fuss with her braid told Elsa that Anna was just being sincere.

Sincerely embarrassed, Elsa thought with a grin.

Just then, a loud cry of, 'Sven, wait!' came through the door, and a flash of brown and black forced its way into the room. Jasmine and Elsa jumped out of its way, each letting out a terrified shriek.

But Anna just jumped out of her chair and spread her arms, an ecstatic smile now on her face. "Sven!" she shouted with glee, and the brown and black mass pounced on her. She was knocked to the floor and alarm flared in Elsa's eyes, but when an affectionate bark echoed around the room the pair realized what they were seeing.

It was a large, large German shepherd, tail going a mile a minute as it lathered Anna's face with affectionate kisses. Anna just laughed from her spot underneath the beast.

Elsa added 'dog person,' to her slowly-growing list of things she knew about Anna Christian.

"Sorry, Anna! You know how he gets." The band's drummer pushed his way into the room, arms folded across his beefy chest.

"Hey Kristoff," Anna said from her spot on the floor. "It's okay, Sven just loves me more than you. I know how it is. Isn't that right, Sven?" The dog barked in agreement, and with surprising strength Elsa watched as she pushed the massive animal off of herself.

So I can add, 'most likely able to support both of our weights if necessary during throes of passion,' to the list. Excellent.

Anna scratched the dog behind the ears and made her way over to the pair. Sven came along with her to sniff them both, and luckily Jasmine loved dogs just as much as cats so she immediately cooed and attracted the creature's affections. That was fine with Elsa, who was most definitely a cat person.

"So," Anna said as she gave Elsa a quick once-over, "We didn't get to be properly introduced." She stuck out a hand, and with a wink and a grin she said. "Anna Christian, singer and sometimes-songwriter for Frozen Heart. Nice to meet you."

Elsa smiled right back, partially because there was something particularly pleasing about the three-inch height advantage she had over the adorable redhead. "Elsa Helland," she said when she reached out and took Anna's hand in her own." Architecture student at Arendelle University, and your newest fan."

Pale cheeks once again grew warm as Anna continued to hold her hand, turquoise eyes sharp as they regarded her. The staring contest could have lasted forever, but an exaggerated cough from behind broke the spell and Anna turned her eyes away. "Kristoff, you got a badger in your throat or something?"

"Very funny, fiestypants. But no, I just figured if I didn't interrupt your little soul-staring moment with Blondie then nothing would. And we have things to do, y'know like… go and meet the other fans who also got backstage passes? Speaking of… Oaken, why'd you bring them back here?"

So it was Kristoff who interrupted their moment. Elsa glanced over her shoulder to glare at the buff young man.

We don't like Kristoff.

"Well, I thought Miss Christian would like to meet the non-believer she converted today before any of the usual group. That's all."

"Wait, you don't like rock music?" Anna's eyes were back on her, and the sadness in them had Elsa stuttering out an explanation almost immediately.

"N-no! I mean, well… yes. I, well not usually but, um…" as Elsa struggled to save her skin, Jasmine rolled her eyes and stood.

"Normally she doesn't, but only because she's never really listened to it. I knew she'd love you guys, that's why I brought her with me today."

There was silence in the room as Anna considered Jasmine's words. Her eyes met Elsa's once more, and Elsa could just shrug helplessly, hoping Anna would understand.

"Hm… well, I'm not narcissistic enough to think one concert can change your mind about punk rock forever…" Anna glanced down at the poster in Elsa's hands. "That's for me, right? For me to sign?"

Elsa nodded and handed the poster over without a fuss, and ignored Kristoff's eyes digging into her shoulder blade. Anna went to retrieve a Sharpie from the makeup counter and signed her name on the front then, to Elsa's confusion, turned the poster over and continued writing.

Eventually she brought it back, rolled up once again, and passed it back to Elsa with a smile. When their skin brushed the spark raced up Elsa's arm and down her spine, eliciting a shiver which didn't go unnoticed by the redhead. She leaned in to whisper something in Elsa's ear and icy blue eyes immediately widened in response.

When Anna leaned back it took a moment but Elsa smiled and nodded once, albeit shyly. Anna grinned and pocketed the Sharpie. "We'll walk you guys out to meet Gothel and Hans. I'm pretty sure I heard you scream the loudest when the jerk took his shirt off." The comment was directed Jasmine, who merely shrugged.

"Guilty," she said, rather unapologetically. Even Kristoff chuckled at that, and he whistled for Sven and left the room, nodding to Oaken as he passed.

"Don't mind Kristoff," Anna said. "He's just a protective grump."

Elsa cocked a brow. "Why does he feel the need to be protective?"

Anna smiled mysteriously. "Because I get attached to pretty things far too easily. Your roommate is an awesome wing-woman, by the way."

"What?" Elsa turned to look for Jasmine, but her roommate had disappeared.

Wait, that means I'm alone with-

There was a hand on her shoulder, pushing her gently. Knowing that it was Anna's hand kept her from resisting and when her back hit the wall she looked down to see lips quickly approaching her own. She sucked in a breath and let her eyes fall shut, heart hammering in her chest… but nothing happened.

Until there was a feathery touch of lips against her cheekbone.

When Elsa opened her eyes Anna was smiling, her eyes gentle. Though her hands had found purchase on Elsa's waist, they did not wander or caress.

"You, Elsa Helland, are a very pretty thing. And my mama and papa taught me well. Pretty things are to be treated right."

Elsa blinked in surprise. She had been fully prepared for Anna to ravish her on the spot without word or warning, yet another misconception about rock stars that Anna Christian had successfully shattered. When Anna made to step back, Elsa surprised both of them when she followed, making her way into Anna's personal bubble.

"So what does that make you?" the blonde asked.

Anna, to her credit, did not react beyond a contemplative pursing of the lips. "What do you think I am?"

"A pretty thing," Elsa answered after only a moment's hesitation.

Anna considered her response for a moment, never breaking eye contact with Elsa. From this distance Elsa noticed that the other girl wore no makeup beyond a light brush of a dark brown eyeliner, and a brush of gold eye shadow. Eventually the redhead sighed, mint-fresh breath fanning out over Elsa's face. "You're wrong." Another bright smile appeared on Anna's face, though Elsa could tell that this one was subdued. "I'm rather ordinary."

"…I don't think so."

The smile disappeared, and for the first time Anna's eyes grew hard and steely. "That's because you don't know me."

Elsa bit her lip and immediately backed up out of Anna's personal bubble, her confidence dashed. "Will I get the chance to?" she offered quietly.

Anna sighed, and for a moment Elsa thought she was going to reach out and comfort her, take back the harsh words. Instead, Anna tapped the poster she'd signed and returned. "That's your chance. Now, come on. The others'll start telling your friend that I am ravishing you. Because they're mean like that."

"She'd probably applaud you for it." Elsa said with a shrug and a smile. Hell, part of her had been hoping for it.

Anna just rolled her eyes and headed for the door. "Yeah, well… that's not how you treat a lady."

"And what do you know about treating ladies?" Elsa quipped.

"Plenty," Anna said as she held the door open for Elsa. There was a smile back on her freckled face and Elsa was relieved that the awkward moment had passed. "Like when you hold a door open for one, it's so you can get a good look at their ass."

Now it was Elsa's turn to turn beet red.

And later, when Elsa and Jasmine had returned home safely (Jasmine had been texting back and forth with Aladdin for a while, to Elsa's amusement) Elsa unrolled the poster to see what sort of 'chance' she'd been given.

On the back, there was a short message. 'We're performing at your school next month. If you need seats, call this number.'

Understanding and surprise flashed in bright blue eyes, and a smile that came from her heart of hearts appeared on her face. And when Elsa sent a hopeful message to that number, praying that maybe the stars had aligned just for her…

The response was as follows:

'Hey, Snowflake.'