Disclaimer: No, I do not own Frozen or any of its characters because if I did, honestly, I wouldn't be writing fanfiction on the Elsanna pairing and just make it canon.
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~Soon she's down the stairs ~
Her morning elegance she wears
The sound of water makes her dream
Awoken by a cloud of steam
She pours her daydream in a cup
~ A spoonful of sugar sweetens up~
Her Morning Elegance – Oren Lavie
"Love is our true destiny. We do not find the meaning of life by ourselves alone - we find it with another." – Thomas Merton
Tick tock.
Tick tock.
A clock ticks on in concealed darkness.
It is 6:28. In two minutes, the clock will go off. It is unique in design, a Mickey Mouse clock to be exact. The two ringing bells on the side and half of its body are painted black. The other half is painted red with two white polka dots. On the clock's surface is the face of Mickey Mouse. When the alarm goes off, Mickey Mouse's iconic laugh will echo throughout the room. This is only one of Anna's unique Disney collection items in her room.
Tick tock.
Tick tock.
A loud snore breaks the silence. The girl named Anna sleeps on, red hair askew – one could compare it to an unkept, wild bush – and mouth widely open, drool slipping down her pillow. Her arms are spread out and one leg is off of the bed. Half of her bed covers are on the ground, barely covering her bare legs and Buzz Lightyear underwear. On the other side of her bed, a pile of untouched, fresh laundry sits near her head. She keeps telling herself she'll get to that later.
Tick tock.
Tick tock.
Sunshine begins to seep in from the small opening of her curtains. It allows more light into her bedroom, highlighting her apple green walls that are barely visible from all the band/ movie/ video game posters and pictures of her school friends taped to it. Her wood floor is littered with books, clothes, and remnants from her weekend video game marathon with her best friend. A half full bottle of Coke and a crushed family pack of Lays chips stand in front of her PS3 system. Her half open closet reveals even more laundry to be done and an untidy amount of converse, tennis shoes, and thrown about hoodies.
Tick tock.
Tick tock.
Tick t—
Riiiiing. Ha – ha!
The clock fulfills its duty, letting its presence be known not only to the red –headed sleeper, but to her family as well, who begin grumbling and getting out of their beds.
Anna scrunches her face, eyebrows furrowing in concentration. She refuses to face the day. Sleepily, she opens one bright, turquoise eye, glaring down at the annoying alarm clock shouting Ha – ha!
Whap! Her hand shoots out as fast as lightning and slams down on the clock's head. The ringing instantly stops with Mickey's voice ending in mid –laugh.
Anna lets out a slow smile of victory before succumbing to her tiredness.
Tick tock.
Tick tock.
The dreamer dreams on.
"Anna, get up."
"Anna."
"Anna."
"Anna!"
The tired teen snored on. Her brother sighed irritably, rubbing his forehead. It was always a chore waking his little sister up.
He stalked over to her curtains – cursing whenever he tripped over the various items strewn across her floor – and yanked the curtains open. Sunlight fell across her face. She groaned and brought the covers over her head, causing the pile of laundry next to her to tumble to the floor.
Next, he went over to her side of the bed, grabbed a firm hold of her covers, and yanked with all his might. To his relief, his efforts actually paid off today and the covers were removed from Anna. She shivered, curling up to retain warmth, and used her pillow to shield her eyes from the light.
Her brother sighed. Shaking his head, he made his way out of her room.
Anna grinned from beneath her pillow, happy to be left alone.
"AAAAAAAAHH!" Her brother appeared again, running full speed at her.
"Shit!" Anna, wide awake now, clumsily scrambled to get out of her bed, knowing too well what her brother's plan was.
She was too late.
He lunged, and his body fell heavily on her mattress. Anna screamed as the mattress shifted violently beneath her, and she was forcibly thrown off of it, arms flailing wildly as she flew through the air. She landed painfully on her backside and cursed angrily as she watched her brother leisurely get up from her shaking bed and grin down at her, green eyes filled with merriment.
"Mornin'."
"Hans!" She yelled, throwing a pillow at his head. "Get out of my room, you asshole!"
He laughed and dodged her assault. "Alright, alright," he placated, raising his hands in surrender. "I'll get out now. Just thought it best to wake you up. You'd be late otherwise." He grabbed her clock to show her the time. "See?"
7:32.
Crap.
"Oh God!" Anna panicked. She grabbed Hans by the shirt and dragged him out of her room, ignoring his protests. "Out, out!" She shooed and slammed the door on his slightly bewildered face. "I'm gonna be late!"
She sprung into action, racing to her bathroom to use the toilet, brush her teeth, and wash her face.
"Hey, Anna!" Her brother yelled from outside her bedroom door. "Kristoff is waiting for you."
"Tell him I'll be there in a few minutes!" Anna yelled back, now hurriedly fighting with her bed head. She whined when the brush snagged a tangled end.
"Tell him yourself!"
"Wha—"
"Hey Anna," Kristoff said sheepishly next to Hans.
Anna considered her hair a lost cause and burst from out of her bathroom, desperately looking around her room for some clean clothes.
"Shit! Don't come in!"
"Um, okay," Kristoff said slowly. "I'd have no real reason to."
"Unless you were trying to get a glimpse of my sister," Hans remarked, smirking.
Kristoff blinked. "Uh…"
"Hans!"
Hans shrugged. "Sorry, Anna."
"Yeah…no thank you," Kristoff said, making a face.
Hans nodded in understanding. "A wise choice friend. She likes wearing Buzz Lightyear underwear."
Kristoff's eyebrows rose. "Really?"
"HANS!"
"Sorry, Anna."
Anna hurriedly grabbed an old Aerosmith band shirt and a pair of jeans. "Both of you," she said, wiggling into her jeans. "Go away. Go downstairs or something."
"Well, since I'm here," Kristoff started. "Do you think it'd be okay if I grabbed a cereal bar or something? I'm a little –"
"Kristoff, I don't care! Eat whatever you want! Eat Hans if you'd like! Just get AWAY FROM MY DOOR!"
Kristoff stepped back. "Shit dude. Alright. I'm gone." He looked over at Hans giving him a sympathetic look. "Is she always like this in the morning?"
Hans laughed. "To be honest, this is actually one of her better days. Now, come on," he said, clasping a hand on Kristoff's shoulder. "Let's get out of here before she tears our heads off."
As they waited, Kristoff was treated to a full helping of pancakes made by Anna and Hans' uncle, Oaken. Hans sat next to him, sipping a cup of coffee.
"Hoo hoo! Young Kristoff, ya?" Oaken greeted cheerfully as he flipped some extra pancakes for himself. "How are you today?"
Kristoff smiled. "I'm fine, sir," he said politely, pouring a generous amount of syrup over his pancakes. "School I'm not really looking forward to, but at least it's Friday. How's everything at the bakery?"
Oaken sat down across from him, clapping his hands. "Oh! It's good, ya! Getting lots of customers as of late! My German chocolate cakes in particular are becoming very popular, ya!"
"That's great!" Kristoff took a bite of his pancake, savoring the fluffy sweetness. He turned to Hans. "You're looking for a more steady job, right? How's the job outlook going?"
Hans grimaced. "Not so well," he confessed. "Every job out there is looking for a little more than my Associate's degree can offer. I may have to consider going back to college to finish up my last two years and earn a Bachelor's degree. Even that won't get me much."
Oaken smiled brightly at his nephew. "It's okay, Hans. You'll find something, ya? Give it time." His smile fell, eyes showing concern. "Besides, you should be focusing on getting better before even considering a steady job. We don't want another –"
"I know," Hans interrupted gently. "I'm taking this one step at a time, I promise." He put his coffee down and stood up, fixing his collar. "Alright. Time for work. I'll be back around eight this evening." He said his goodbyes – yelling his last one at Anna's closed door, who yelled a goodbye back just as loud – and left.
As soon as he departed, Anna came running out of her room, hair still askew, shirt slightly crooked, and backpack wide open. She replaced Hans and sat down next to Kristoff, trying to organize her textbooks and notebooks.
"Sorry," she apologized to her best friend, still rummaging through her stuff. "I'm a bit of a mess today. Are you done with your breakfast?"
Kristoff nodded and got up. "Yeah, I am. Thanks for the breakfast, Mr. Summers," he said, putting his plate in the dishwasher. "I really appreciate it."
Oaken waved him off. "No, no! Thank you, my boy, for taking Anna to school every day. Even if she acts like a grizzly bear –"
"Hey!"
"—In the morning," he finished.
Anna zipped up her backpack and grabbed an unopened poptart package from the counter. "Alright, we can go. Bye Uncle Oakey!" She called out as she and Kristoff exited.
"Bye honey! Go get me some A's now, ya?"
As soon as they left the house, Kristoff snickered, searching his pockets for his car keys. "With your current GPA, I'd say he's two letter grades off."
"Shut up and open the damn door."
They both entered Kristoff's beat up old truck and made their way to Arendelle High.
"So, did you do Ursula's homework?" Kristoff asked at a stoplight. "I need to copy off of you. Jafar's history essay took forever to finish last night."
"Ir wrint roo id."
"English please."
Anna swallowed her bite of poptart. "I said, I didn't do it. We'll have to copy off of Merida."
Kristoff laughed. "Pfft, like Merida ever does her homework. I have my hopes on Mulan."
"Hey, I have faith in Merida," Anna disagreed, pouting. "She'll do the homework, watch."
"Wanna bet?"
"No thanks. Last time I made a bet with you, I lost over sixty dollars. I've learned my lesson."
"Alright then."
They sat in silence for the rest of the ride, Kristoff muttering about horrible drivers in Arendelle while Anna dozed off, face pressed against the window.
When they arrived – and Kristoff had to shake the crap out of Anna to wake her – Merida and Mulan stood outside, waiting for them.
Merida crossed her arms. "Took ya long enough. What'd ya guys do, swim through a herd of cattle to get here?"
Kristoff shrugged. "No. Just had trouble raising the living dead," Kristoff said, pointing to Anna. Anna punched him in the arm.
Mulan and Merida chuckled. "Well, that explains the hair," Mulan pointed out, referring to the crazy hairstyle Anna had going on. Anna was notorious for her sleeping habits.
They all walked in the building and gathered around Anna's locker before the bell rung.
"Oh! Did you guys do Ursula's homework?" Kristoff asked, searching around his backpack for a pencil and paper.
Merida and Mulan gave them guilty looks.
"Nay. I was finishin' Jafar's blasted essay."
"And I had fencing practice late yesterday. I fell asleep right when I got home."
Kristoff and Anna shared a look.
"There is no God," Kristoff deadpanned.
"Our faith is misguided," Anna joined in.
"We are doomed," they said at the same time.
The bell rung, signaling the end of their conversation. Kristoff and Anna, when realizing their class was halfway across campus, began sprinting to make it to class on time (a lost effort).
Merida and Mulan still stood there, confused.
"…Do we even want to know?"
"No, I don't think we do."
Tick tock.
Tick tock.
Anna sits in her math class, her eyes glazed over, and her ears tuning out the outraged screaming coming from her teacher to instead focus on the chirps from the birds outside. It's a beautiful day with golden sunshine and blue skies. The world outside the widow next to her looks brighter than ever.
It's a shame she's stuck in school.
She sighs, glancing down sullenly at her chicken scratch handwriting and the numerous, badly drawn doodles around her notes. In boredom, she takes the time to add a flower in the corner next to her name.
Anna Summers.
Summers.
She smiles.
But it is not a happy one.
She decides not to dwell on it, humming thoughtfully to herself, staring out the window, wishing she could join the birds.
The dreamer dreams on.
Tick tock.
"Ugggghhhh!" Anna moaned, grabbing her lunch tray. "Finally! I thought we'd never reach this point of the day! I'm starving!" Her eyes gleamed with interest, roaming over every piece of food their cafeteria had to offer.
Kristoff cracked his shoulders behind her. "I know what you mean," he grumbled. "I really am surprised we made it this far without being murdered by Ursula."
Behind him, both Mulan and Merida shuddered. "Ursula was so mad today," Mulan said. "I swear she blew up three times her size she was so pissed."
"I know!" Merida agreed, throwing her hands up in frustration. "The ol' hag gave us double homework since no one did today's. The hell is tha' gonna teach us? No wonder no one likes her class, the miserable ol' bat."
"I'm just glad she didn't decide to drop a pop quiz on us," Anna said, grabbing a plate of hamburger and fries. "I'm barely passing her class as it is. Oh sweet!" She exclaimed suddenly, grinning as something caught her eyes. "Hell yeah! Chocolate chip cookies!" Without another word, she rushed over to the other side of the cafeteria, grabbing about three of the delicious treats for herself.
"Oi!" Merida called after her. "Get me one too! Ursula's gone an' put a sour taste in me mouth!"
Mulan frowned. "I don't think you should drown your sorrows by indulging in sweets."
"Who asked for ye opinion? Sweets is better an' a bottle. Besides, this day has been an utter pain in me ass."
"Today has been pretty bad," Kristoff agreed, rubbing his chin. "Hey! Get me one too Anna!" He yelled to her.
Anna flicked them off. "I'm not a servant! Get your own, you lazy bums!"
"Oi! I'm about to kick ya' bum meself if you don't come back with two extra cookies, damn ye'!"
Someone behind them chuckled. "Must you guys always cause a ruckus?"
The group spun around. Kristoff spoke first, grinning. "Flynn! Rapunzel! What are you guys doing here? I thought seniors got special privileges to go off campus for lunch."
Rapunzel smiled. "Nice to see you guys. And we're actually here to tell you guys something." She looked around. "Where's Anna?"
"Grabbing us some cookies. Let's find a seat somewhere and we'll wave her over."
They all moved to the back of the cafeteria near one of the windows with a view of the old oak tree outside, oblivious to the three bodies sitting under it.
Kristoff took a bite of his burrito. "So, what are you guys here for?" He asked after swallowing.
As Flynn opened his mouth to speak, Anna came barreling towards them, her face bright with happiness. She quickly put down her tray before enveloping Flynn and Rapunzel in a friendly hug.
"Holy shit, holy shit, holy shit!" She said excitedly. "Punz! Flynn! Where have you guys been?! You're seniors now, that's so awesome! And – oh my god, you cut your hair! And it's not dyed!" She said in wonderment, tugging at Rapunzel's ends. "What are you guys doing here?"
Flynn snorted. "What the hell is going on with your own hair today?"
Slap!
"Ow!" Flynn whined at Anna, rubbing at his now sore arm. "I thought we agreed to no more using me as a punching bag!" He raised his head high. "I demand respect now that I'm a senior."
Slap!
"Ow!" He shot an accusatory, hurt look over to his girlfriend, who was pulling her hand back, smirking. "Punzie!"
Rapunzel chuckled. "Hush, Eugene," she shushed, ignoring his mutterings about not calling him by his real name. She patted Anna's head affectionately. "Sit down," she said gently. "We have some news for you all."
"Hold on there a minute, Punzel," Merida interrupted, holding up her hand. She turned to Anna, hands on her hips. "Where be my cookie, Anna?"
Kristoff crossed his arms. "Yeah! And where's mine?"
Anna glared at them.
"…Well?"
"…In hell."
Merida jumped up, getting ready to put Anna in a headlock. "Why ya' little—"
Flynn cut in. "As much as I'd love to see a cat fight," he said, winking at Anna and Merida, who both scoffed at him, "I think I'd better get on with the news." He paused for dramatic effect. "You guys…are officially invited to Hercules party tonight." He struck a ridiculous pose, waiting to blow them away.
Silence.
"Why?" They all asked suspiciously.
Everyone knew Hercules only invited his year and up to his parties. Any years below him that tried to attend were bullied relentlessly or simply shoved out of his house.
"It's in celebration of him getting the MVP award for football. Or well, so he says, since it hasn't been officially decided who gets the MVP award. Plus, he's trying to get Megara, the sophomore in your year, to come to his party," Rapunzel explained. "He likes her, so he's pretty much inviting your class to go as well. Do you guys want to go?"
"I don't party," Mulan said, returning to her salad bowl. "And Hercules is a jerk."
Flynn and Rapunzel shrugged. "You'll have no argument there," Rapunzel said. "He's certainly arrogant, but at least he provides the goods."
Flynn grinned. "And the brownies. He makes the best brownies. They were so insanely good and made me extremely happy."
Everyone stared at him.
"You've…had his brownies?" Rapunzel asked her boyfriend, more than surprised.
Flynn looked confused. "Yeah…? And they were good." He looked at all of them, taking notice of their sudden silence. "What am I missing here?"
Everyone began laughing.
"We'll tell you when you're older," Kristoff teased, smirking.
"Hey, I'm older than you!"
"Obviously not," Anna chimed in.
"Hey!"
Merida spoke up, eyebrow quirked. "Wait. Hercules? Ye' mean the dumb ginger –"
Flynn blinked. "Merida, you're a ginger too…"
"—With the beefy arms an' ego the size of Uranus?"
"Yeah, that's Hercules."
"…I hate 'im. I'm not going."
"…There'll be vodka."
"…I still hate 'im, but his personality flaws 'ave temporarily been forgiven for the time being, so I'll go."
"A party!" Anna exclaimed, clapping her hands. "How exciting! The only ones I've been to were the ones hosted by the school. And I've hear Hercules parties get really crazy! Kristoff, do you want to—"
"No," Kristoff immediately answered, brows furrowed and arms crossed.
"But—"
"No."
"We could stay for only—"
"No."
"Can't we—"
"No. Anna," Kristoff sighed. "If you want to go, go ahead. But I'm not going to watch people be stupid and make horrible mistakes they'll regret in the morning."
"You could ride with Eugene and me," Rapunzel offered. "And afterwards, you could spend the night at my house if you'd like."
Anna gave a sad look over at her best friend. "It wouldn't be the same if you didn't come."
Kristoff raised an eyebrow. "Anna, no puppy eyes."
Her eyes widened.
"Anna."
More widening.
"Anna," Kristoff said again, trying to sound firm.
Her lips jutted out in a pout.
"Damn it," he groaned. "Fine, fine I'll go. But," he warned, pointing at her, "we will leave when the party becomes too much, and…afterwards we're going to get frozen yogurt."
Anna grinned. "I'm down for that." She turned back to Eugene and Rapunzel, curious. "Why did you think to invite us, anyhow?"
Rapunzel moved closer, a sly smile on her face. "There's a rumor going around the school."
"What rumor?"
She motioned for everyone to move their head closer together before whispering, "The Ice Queen is going to be there."
"WHAT?"
The cafeteria went dead silent at Anna's outburst, most of the students looking in their general direction. Anna blushed and ducked her head.
"Yes, well with that exclamation," Flynn chuckled. "It would seem we've gotten your full attention. It's just a rumor though."
"The Ice Queen?" Mulan asked. "Wow, you certainly do have my attention now. I actually might just consider going." She bumped arms with Anna, smirking. "I've had her in one of my classes, you know. She was my lab partner for biology. Didn't say one word to me."
Kristoff joined in. "And I've seen her hanging about the library. I swear the room dropped a good ten degrees while she was in there."
Anna felt her jaw twitch.
Damn her friends.
"Well, I've only seen the gal once," Merida added. "A rare beauty, that one. But her eyes were like ice. Not someone ye' see me messin' with. That girl has ice crystals in her veins."
"And since me and Eugene," Rapunzel said, catching on to their game as they watched Anna fume, "are in the same year as her, we see her every day. I admit, the novelty's worn off, but some of what you hear is true. That girl is completely unapproachable. Anyone who even tries to interact with her will be on the receiving end of her infamous glare."
Flynn batted his eyelashes at Rapunzel. "I'd say it's more of a sexy smolder," he teased, trying to do his own impression of the Ice Queen's glare. Rapunzel rolled her eyes and yanked his ear.
"Ow! Ow, ow, ow!"
"Apologize to your wickedly hot girlfriend," she said, inspecting her nails as her boyfriend squirmed around.
"I give! I give! Sorry! No one's smolder is as sexy as yours! Uncle! Uncle!" Flynn cried out in pain. Satisfied, Rapunzel let go of his now throbbing ear, and gave him a kiss on the cheek in apology.
Kristoff blinked. "Remind me not to get on your bad side."
Anna couldn't take it anymore. "Alright, no more playing with me!" She pouted. "You all know I've never seen the Ice Queen. It has been my goal to get one glimpse of her this year!" She mumbled irritably to herself, shoving her last cookie in her mouth.
"I don't understand how you haven't seen her already," Mulan said.
Anna swallowed. "She's not exactly the easiest person to find on campus," she disagreed. "She doesn't eat with her classmates in the cafeteria. And she takes higher division classes, so our schedules can't mix. And the times she goes to the library, I have track practice. Even worse, since she's a senior now, she won't be on campus for lunch, making my job even harder!" Anna stared sullenly down at her half-eaten burger.
The Ice Queen was the greatest enigma of the school. No one could ever get close to her. She was reclusive, and guarded her personal life from anyone who had ever reached out to her. Girls would whisper about her with contempt. Though most of the male population considered her insanely hot, all refused to attempt any form of flirtation with her, afraid of her intimidating nature. She was the true definition of a cold persona. She was considered a lost cause to almost everyone on campus.
All except Anna, who had always wanted to befriend her since her freshman year.
"Still, there's a chance she'll be there," Rapunzel reminded. "A small chance, but a chance nonetheless."
The bell rung loudly, ending their thirty minute lunch time.
Anna smiled brightly. "I'll be there," she said. Her eyes lit up in excitement. "I can't wait!"
Miles from school, Anna's clock ticks away.
Tick tock.
Tick tock.
Time passes. Second become minutes, minutes become hours. Every bit of time that passes means something. The past quickly becomes the present and then back to the past in a blink of an eye. The future, no matter how unknown, will come, has come, will come again.
Tick tock.
Tick tock.
The hand always moves forward. There is no turning back.
After all…
Tick tock.
Tick tock.
Destiny has an agenda.