Pretty fast update, huh? Was hoping to do so because now I can devote next week to Sucker Punch. It's a pretty big chapter next and I want to make it the best it can be so it deserves my full attention. For any of you not reading it, you're missing out! ;)

Anyway, sheesh, guys! Over 100 follows for ONE chapter! That put the 70 for Sucker Punch's prologue to shame! I'm truly humbled, and hope this chapter turned out just as good.

Chapter II

Elsa considered herself lucky that she was the kind of person who woke up pretty fast and coherent in the morning. Otherwise, she's pretty sure she would have screamed when a tentative tongue against her cheek lifted her from her dreams. Opening bleary eyes, she was met with those which had invaded her dreams all night. Teal ones blinked back, a light accompanying them as they noticed Elsa now awake, and a soft yip was soon followed by another lick.

"Good morning to you too," Elsa greeted, reaching a hand from beneath her pillow to scratch the wolf behind its ears. "You slept up here all night with me, huh?" Grinning, she peered over the bed to see the blankets and pillows she had laid out the night before near untouched. "Didn't like your own setup?"

The pup whined and nudged Elsa's hand, begging for more pets. Elsa chuckled and acquiesced, and the pair spent far more time than necessary in the sheets before actually rousing from bed that morning. Unfortunately, Elsa had the lunch shift at work today, so she regrettably had to head out soon and knew she'd have to leave the pup behind.

As Elsa went into the bathroom to change, the wolf followed her, nudging the door open and poking its head in. Elsa looked down at it while pulling her hair back and raised an eyebrow.

"What?"

The mutt licked its lips and Elsa huffed, though smiled as well.

"Hungry again?"

A blink.

"Cereal okay again?"

The pup wagged its tail enthusiastically, even making a point to turn in a circle causing Elsa to laugh once more.

"Okay, hang on," she told it, shooing it out of the bathroom so she could continue getting ready.

Once dressed, she found it waiting for it in her kitchen. It had somehow gotten hold of a bowl, and was now sitting patiently in the middle of the kitchen with the dish in its mouth, eyes staring Elsa down, and tail swishing lazily behind it.

"Wow," she mumbled. "Guess I must have left that out last night."

She missed the sly glimmer in the pup's eyes as she reached for the cereal. Pouring them both another bowl, Elsa jumped up to sit on her kitchen counter so she could face the wolf before her, eating its cereal much more carefully than it had last night.

"So, I have to go into work soon," she began telling it, despite knowing it had no idea what she was saying. "Will you be good if I leave you alone here? I don't have any…pet toys, but a nice nap would be fine, right? It'll let your wounds heal more."

The pup looked up at her briefly before nudging its bowl towards her. Elsa rolled her eyes.

"You're going to eat all my cereal before I know it…"

She poured it another bowl, and the wolf snuck in another grateful lick while she was kneeling on the floor.

"You're much more affectionate today, aren't you?" she asked it while wiping the slobber from her cheek.

The pup made a noise between a groan and a bark before it went back to eating. Elsa had no idea what to make of the sound, of course, and just smiled. She contemplated what to do with the animal again. It would definitely be on her mind her entire time at work today—having a wolf waiting for her back home and doing who knows what while she was away. Maybe she'd call Rapunzel when she got home. She was supposed to call her last night to inquire about Flynn, but… Well, obviously she didn't for circumstantial reasons.

The pup whined as Elsa shut it in her room before leaving for work, apologizing profusely to it the entire time.

"I'm sorry, buddy, but I have to go to work and you can't come," she said to the door, smiling somberly at the pitiful whines that continued to come from its other side. "I'll be back soon."

The sound of scratching started and Elsa kicked the door lightly. "Don't mess up the door, you hear? You've been sweet so far, but I'm not above discipline!"

Of course, her definition of disciplining any animal meant glaring at it and telling it 'no' over and over in a stern voice. Remembering the "puppy dog eyes" the wolf gave her last night, however, Elsa knew there would most likely be no disciplining this pup.

As she turned to walk away and out the apartment, she forced herself to ignore the persisting cries and whimpers, holding her heart together by its seams until her apartment was locked and she was out of earshot from anything going on inside her flat. The mutt would probably continue to whine for bit, realize Elsa wasn't coming back, and then just give up and fall asleep on her bed. What else was it going to do? Climb out the window and follow her to work?

Of course, never in a million years would Elsa have guessed it really would accomplish such a task, just not…in the most conventional of ways.

XxXxX

"Thank you all for stopping by today!" Elsa waved as one of her lunch tables got up to leave. Collecting the check and tip from the table, Elsa glanced to the clock that hung above the bar. "Four more hours…" she mumbled.

The lunch shift wasn't usually too bad. It never got as crazy as it did last night, and a "lunch rush" was basically a myth. People came and went, but never were there more than four tables in the entire restaurant at a time. Elsa could really handle the entire place on her own, but for the sake of equal opportunity employment, Milo was also helping out today, covering the porch while Elsa had the entire inside to herself.

Of course, the best thing about working lunch was that Gaston was never around. Sighing in relief at this, Elsa put her head down on the hostess stand momentarily.

"Hey, Elsa?" Milo's voice caused her to raise her head as he walked inside from the porch. "There's a girl outside at table 7 asking for you."

"Me?" Elsa couldn't fathom who it could possibly be. Rapunzel would usually text her if she was going to stop by. "Is she a regular?"

Milo shook his head and shrugged. "I've never seen her around."

"Well, thanks Milo, I'll be out there in a bit."

Milo beamed at her and blushed before scurrying away. Elsa couldn't help but chuckle as he did so. It was little known secret that he had been crushing on Elsa ever since he started working here. Elsa didn't have the heart to tell him she just wasn't into guys. Plus, she liked flirting with him since she seemed to have no game when it actually came to instances that mattered.

"Hey, Milo?" she said as she walked into the server station to bring a glass of water out to this mysterious girl. "Is she by herself or waiting for someone?"

Again Milo shrugged. "By herself, I think," he said. "She seemed almost confused when I asked her if she wanted a table. I don't even know if she wants to eat, she just came up to me asking if you worked here."

"Huh," Elsa grunted. "Well, okay. Here goes nothing!"

Milo chuckled. "Good luck."

Opening the door to the patio from the server station, Elsa immediately spotted their newest guest. She was sitting in the far right corner up against the railing which overlooked the street. Elsa couldn't hide her grin as she observed the girl examining the menu like she'd never seen one before in her life, turning her head every which way as she read over it, a bewildered look on her face the entire time.

"I was told you were asking for me?" Elsa asked as she stopped at the table, placing a glass of water down in front of her.

Strikingly familiar teal eyes looked up at her and lit up.

"Elsa!" the girl exclaimed.

Elsa chewed her lip, nothing coming to her immediately as to how this girl knew who she was when Elsa was fairly certain she'd never seen the girl before in her life.

Although those eyes…

"Do I…know you?" she asked hesitantly.

The girl's expression deflated suddenly and she looked nervous.

"Uh, well, I guess not," she mumbled. "Um, but I'm…new to town and heard about you from a friend. Yeah! He told me to check out this place you work at!"

"And who's your friend?"

"Um…" the girl fiddled with her hands. "Well, you…probably wouldn't know him. He went to high school with you, but was that kid no one ever talked to 'cause…you know…he's kinda weird?"

Elsa blinked. Well, that was vague. She was hoping for a name. And why did the girl's explanation end with a question? Trying to think of who this "weird kid she went to high school with" could be, she more closely examined the girl before her.

Aside from her eyes, her most noticeable feature was her bright red hair which was pulled back into twin braids. As with the eyes, a familiar dusting of freckles were spread across her cheeks—which were noticeably pink under Elsa's close scrutiny—and Elsa could barely keep her eyes off white teeth chewing on soft-looking pink lips. The girl was certainly cute, although the way she was dressed was doing nothing to flatter her.

The flannel button-up she donned looked like it had seen better days, with its ratty look and ruffled appearance. One end of the collar almost seemed like it had been chewed on, and there was a hole down at the bottom where it met her shorts. Speaking of the shorts, they were jean and had holes in them as well that definitely hadn't been manufactured that way, what with the random placing of them. She only wore one sock, and her sneakers seemed to be falling apart. Elsa briefly wondered if she was homeless.

"Uh… Am I dressed too, uh, casual for this place?" her voice reminded Elsa she was staring.

"No!" Elsa cried quickly, shaking her head and blushing. Dressed weird or not, the girl was still cute, and Elsa felt a weird sort of pull towards her, despite her knowing Elsa being strange. "I just…got lost in thought. Um, your friend… Was his name Remy?"

"Uh, yeah! Remy!" she near-shouted before letting out a nervous laugh. "That was it."

Elsa couldn't help laughing at the girl's bizarre behavior, but she had to admit, it was refreshing.

"Well," she said with a smile, "what can I get you to eat?"

The girl immediately looked unsure once again as her eyes roved over the menu. "Um…" She looked up at Elsa. "What… What do you recommend?"

"Well, you can't go wrong with the meatball sub," Elsa told her with a wink.

The girl blushed instantly and said quickly, "Then I'll have that," before pushing the menu towards Elsa and looking at her shoes.

"You don't get out much, do you?" Elsa asked, grinning once more, enjoying the effect she seemed to have on this girl.

The redhead's head snapped up. "I do!" she cried. "I just… Um…"

Elsa's smiled softened when she realized she was upsetting the girl somewhat. Squatting before her, Elsa leaned down to meet the girl's eyes.

"Hey, I'm sorry," she said. "I didn't mean to upset you. You just seem real familiar and, honestly, your personality is a breath of fresh air. You won't believe how 'normal' everyone is around here."

"So I'm weird like Remy?"

Elsa chuckled as she stood back up. "It's a good thing, trust me."

She left the girl sitting there with another blush and a grin that should have split her face open. Elsa walked back into the server station to find Milo had been spying on them using the mail slot to peer outside.

"Spying on us, were you?"

Milo immediately pulled away, his face a brilliant red. "So," he hoped to change the subject, "how is she?"

"A nutcase," Elsa replied with a chuckle as she rang in the girl's order. "And yet I feel like I know her from somewhere."

"Well, she knows you," Milo said. "Maybe you just forgot?"

"Maybe," Elsa muttered, though she knew there'd be no way to forget a girl like that.

"Did you get her name?"

Elsa had to hold herself back from banging her head into the computer. Of course she didn't; because she's not polite and awkward like that. No wonder she had no game when it came to getting girls.

"No," she bit out. "I'll make sure to do that when I bring her food out."

When Elsa turned to exit the server station, she saw Milo looking extremely anxious as he kept glancing from the door to the patio and to the ground.

"What is it, Milo?"

"Um… I couldn't help noticing when I sat her that…well she has a hole in her left sleeve and I saw…bandages. And then with the rest of her appearance, and her demeanor, you don't think… You don't think she ran away from home, do you?"

Honestly, Elsa thought, that could very well be true, although that still didn't explain why the girl had sought Elsa out. And the thing about 'Remy?' Elsa never went to high school with anyone named Remy, so clearly the girl made that up. Who was this girl? And how did she know Elsa?

"I'll see if I can talk to her about it," Elsa said. "I mean, she must have come to see me for a reason, right?"

Since the only tables in the restaurant at the moment were the girl and an elderly couple who had already eaten, the bell in the kitchen dinged, signaling the girl's meal was ready. Elsa and Milo exchanged a look before Elsa huffed dramatically and walked to the kitchen, Milo's soft chuckle following her out.

The girl looked over as Elsa exited the building and smiled. Elsa smiled back as she set the plate down before her.

"Your meatball sub," she presented. "In all its cheesy, meaty goodness."

"Um, you can't stay and talk, can you?" the girl asked. "Are you busy?"

Elsa glanced back to the front door. "Not really," she said. "I have one other table inside, but they're just sitting there talking. What did you want to talk about?"

"Um…" the girl looked down at her food and poked at her sub. "Well, I haven't…been completely honest with you about how I know you."

"I figured," Elsa huffed with a laugh. "I don't know any Remy."

The girl looked up at her. "Hey!" she cried indignantly. "That was mean!"

Elsa chuckled. "Well you seemed uneasy and I didn't want to scare you off, I guess," she said. Pulling the other chair at the table out, Elsa sat down across from her, her look becoming serious. "You're not in trouble, are you?"

"What?" the girl blinked at her.

"The other waiter noticed the cut on your wrist when he sat you, and frankly, you look like you haven't changed clothes in a while. Did you run away from home? Do you have a place to stay?"

The girl turned bright red again as she chewed her lip once more.

"Um… I do have a place to stay, actually," she mumbled. "But, I don't know for how much longer. But, I guess you could say I ran away. And the cut's nothing, really." Seeing Elsa's doubtful look, the girl giggled. "I swear, okay? I cut it on a thorny bush or something."

Elsa was still a bit skeptical, but let it go. "Well, if you're sure," she said. Watching as the girl took a bite of her sandwich, Elsa asked next, "So how do you really know me?"

"Um…" the girl said again. "It's…kind of hard to explain," she started. "I…met you a long time ago? I didn't expect you to remember me; I'm kinda easy to forget."

"You?" Elsa grinned. "Somehow I find that hard to believe."

The girl before her blushed once more and busied herself with her sandwich to hide her flustered state. Elsa just laughed and leaned back in her chair. For some reason, she still didn't believe the girl's story one hundred percent, but it was better than knowing her through a false person.

"Well, since you know my name, can I know yours?" Elsa asked after the girl had a chance to eat a bit, watching the bob of the girl's throat as she swallowed carefully.

"My name is Anna."

Elsa had hoped the name would spark some memory or other kind of recognition, but she was left with nothing. Still, she plastered on a smile and stood.

"Well, regardless of if we've met before or not, it's nice to meet you, Anna."

"Y-You too, Elsa."

They both turned to watch a group of four walk up to the patio before heading inside the restaurant and Elsa sighed. Turning back to Anna, she smiled sympathetically.

"Well, I need to attend to that, so I'll leave you to finish your lunch," she explained. Quickly pulling out a notepad, Elsa scribbled something onto it before placing it on the table by Anna. "That's… That's my phone number. I know you said you're not in trouble, but if you need something, let me know, okay? I'll…see you around?"

Anna smiled and nodded. "Thank you, Elsa," she said. "I'll see you later."

This time it was Elsa's turn to blush slightly at the admiration shining in those familiar teal orbs and as she walked up the stairs back to the front door, she looked over her shoulder and smiled.

"And your lunch is on me, so don't worry!"

She missed the melodic laughter in response and knowing glimmer of yellow as teal eyes flashed with mirth.

XxXxX

By four thirty, Elsa was opening the door to her apartment again.

My apartment—or bedroom, more like it—is going to look one of two ways, she thought grimly. Everything could still be intact, but the other option is that wolf went berserk after I left and tore my bedroom apart in revenge.

Holding her breath, Elsa approached her bedroom door. Well, it was still closed, and not clawed through, so that had to be a good sign, right?

Opening the door slowly, Elsa breathed a great sigh of relief when everything was still in one piece.

Well, everything beside her bed, that is.

The comforter had been pulled off completely and was laying in a haphazard pile at the bed's foot while the sheets were rumpled and strewn every which way. The four pillows that usually sat against the headboard had now been dragged to the center and set up in such a way that they almost covered the lump lying underneath them. Upon taking one step into the room, teal eyes opened and an auburn head poked out from beneath the mass of pillows. When it noticed the blonde standing there, it barked and bounded over to her, knocking Elsa off her feet as the pup covered her with kisses.

"Okay, okay!" Elsa cried out in laughter, attempting to shield her face from the pup's tongue. "I get it; I was missed!"

The pup whined and barked, continuing to push itself against Elsa in a form of reassurance and comfort. Apparently becoming satisfied that Elsa had really come back, it jumped back onto her bed before plopping back down in the center of the pillows, pulling one back to cover half its face.

"Built a fort out of my bed while I was gone, I see."

The wolf barked in agreement.

Chuckling, Elsa joined it on the bed, reaching out to scratch behind its ears again.

"Well, you won't believe the kind of day I had…" she started, the pup making itself comfortable by placing its head in her lap.

Maybe she'd finally get around to calling Rapunzel tomorrow.