Chapter 2. 'The smallest smile ever recorded in human history.'
The winter came fast and snow fell in big flakes out of the sky.
Anna always enjoyed the snow, it was her favourite time of the year, after summer of course. So when the university organised a big snowball fight, Anna didn't need to think twice about it and participated like her life depended on it. Just as she was busy making snowballs, she noticed a certain blonde sitting by herself under the familiar oak tree.
Anna grinned devilishly.
She quickly picked up a snowball and threw it at Elsa. The girl yelped when the snowball hit her square in the face. Anna chuckled but that quickly faded when Elsa's distressed face appeared from under the snow. "Oh my gosh !" Anna sprinted towards her, bent over and helped her to get rid of all the snow. Elsa's angelic face was all red and cold as ice.
"Oh my gosh !" Anna exclaimed again while she placed her hands against her own face to empathise how shocked she was. "I am so sorry ! Did I hurt you ?" she immediately checked for wounds or blood on Elsa's face. When she didn't find any, she fell down on her butt next to Elsa. She exhaled loudly and cursed. "Shit, I'm such a screw up. I shouldn't have done that, I'm sorry, if you're mad at me then I completely underst-..."
A soft voice interrupted her. "It's ok." It was a curt reply, but it was something and Anna instantly felt better.
"Ppffeeeeeww," she breathed. "You had me worried there for a sec. I thought you were gonna die or something !" she joked. And if her eyes saw it good, Elsa's mouth turned slightly upwards. Showing the smallest smile ever recorded in human history.
"D-d don't you like the snow ?" Anna asked hesitantly. How could anyone not like snow ? It was so much fun ! Building stuff, then destroying it. It was cold and yet it made you warm. Anna loved the snow since she could remember. But of course, there probably were people who didn't like the snow.
"I do like it. Just not in my face," Elsa said dryly while she gazed into the distance.
Oh.
The red head swallowed. Of course. "A-a alright. Copy that. Must never throw snow in the face of Elsa ever again."
Elsa chuckled softly.
Anna beamed, did she just make this gorgeous girl chuckle ? "Or you shall be punished by the Snow Queen herself !" she continued.
Elsa's chuckle ended abruptly. She looked Anna in the eyes. "Who told you about the Snow Queen name ?" she asked sharply. A hint of hurt reflected in her eyes.
Anna could bite off her tongue at that moment. It was a nickname to Elsa, given by the students who knew her only from appearance. It didn't mean Elsa liked to be called that ! And if she didn't like the name Snow Queen, then she surely hated the Ice Bitch name, something the red head would never mention to her. Anna slapped her forehead.
"Oh God, I'm so sorry. It's just some people were referring to you as the Snow Queen since you're cold and distant. Not that I think you're cold and distant, on the contrary ! You're really sweet and nice and.. well, it's just... I guess people just can't see you the way I do. I'm sorry, I won't ever call you that again," she whispered, hoping Elsa would forgive her.
Elsa just nodded silently.
The rest of the day, Anna spent by hanging out with Elsa, which really meant just sit on the snow and do nothing besides staring into the distance. She tried to get Elsa speaking but after the nickname incident, Elsa was closed off again. A few hours later, Anna stood up, a bit sore and said goodbye to Elsa. The girl wasn't planning on leaving anytime soon but she looked ok with that. And when Anna waved, she even waved back !
Anna grinned.
It wasn't much but it was a start.
The mid terms were coming up and Anna needed to study for them. She had seen Elsa a couple of times around the university but didn't have the time to go and chat since the blonde obviously also had mid terms to study for. In her week off, Anna decided to pay the university's library a visit to get some new books and articles for her chosen topic that she would give a presentation of, at the end of the year.
The library was huge and there were like a thousand different kinds of books. When she walked into the ally where all the biology books were, a smile crept on her face. Elsa sat at the large oak desk, in front of her were at least five books, all opened, and her black notebook. She was busy writing something down and so she didn't see Anna. The redhead decided to grab whatever book and seated herself across from Elsa at the large desk. She opened her book and pretended that she was studying very hard while secretly spying on Elsa.
When the blonde was done taking notes, she looked up and noticed a certain red head sitting in front of her. A faint smile around the corners of her lips appeared.
"Hey Anna," she whispered.
Anna's mouth went open. She beamed as she replied. "Hey Elsa !" She immediately received multiple glares from other students.
She didn't care.
"Studying for the mid terms huh ?" She gave a small nod in the direction of Elsa's book collection. "I am also studying very hard," she bragged. "I wanna keep my grades up !" Anna looked back in her book and pretended to study again very intense and concentrated while her heart was beating ten times faster as usual.
When she heard a small noise, she looked up, only to see Elsa... giggling ? Anna frowned, what was so funny that Elsa had to giggle ?
"Anna, you do know that you're holding the book upside down ?" She giggled some more. Anna found this sound Elsa produced too cute for words.
"Me ? Oh uh..." she stuttered as she rotated it, expecting Elsa to stop giggling. But Elsa giggled even more.
"Anna, you do know that you're studying a book on Royal Etiquettes ?" She was now softly laughing, clutching her stomach in the process. Damn.
If only Anna had noticed, that when she was on her way to impress the gorgeous blonde, she had accidentally grabbed the wrong book from the wrong ally, an ally that was dedicated to Manners and Proper Behaviour. Anna's face became bright red as she realised she looked like a dumb chicken to Elsa. She closed the book and threw it across the table. "Oh well screw it ! I already know that stuff anyways !" A few girls shushed her loudly and gave her bitch glares. Anna grinned widely at them and then returned to the blonde.
Elsa raised one eyebrow. Darn it, Elsa, stop being so cute all the time, Anna thought as she admired the girl's face. "You know all about manners and proper behaviour ?!" the blonde smirked while a hint of sarcasm showed in her voice.
Well, that's certainly new.. Anna thought briefly.
She crossed her arms before her chest, blissfully aware of the fact that Elsa was giving her all the attention by finally looking her in the eyes, talking to her and even laughing with her. "Yes I do," she said posh. "And for a fact, I also know that a lady like you should not laugh at a lady like me ! We should study as the mid terms are coming up and we need lady like grades, now don't we ?" She fooled around, ignoring the half scream shushes and multiple death glares she got from the, now pissed off, other students.
"And who, my beautiful, noble lady, are you, telling me what to do ?"
For a split second, Anna was thrown off her chair. Did Elsa just flirt with her ? Deciding to keep her poker face up, she answered in her most regal voice. "I, Anna Mason of the United States of America, embodiment of awkwardness, hereby demand you, the most beautiful Elisabeth Anderson, to g-wwrrrgghh !"
Anna didn't even got to finish her sentence because someone very angry grabbed her by her arm and yanked her from her chair. A man, an angry looking man demanded she left the library so others could study in silence and peace. Anna held her hands up in defeat.
"Okay, okay, Mr. Weselton, I'm leaving already, relax." She frowned while stomping away, clearly not happy.
She was just having a nice conversation with Elsa, comes this man interrupting it. Stupid Weasel with his stupid toupee, she thought bitterly. She turned around to see Elsa laughing softly. Her angry mood immediately disappeared and she thought of a devious plan that would certainly piss anyone off. Anna shrugged, as long as Elsa would smile. She turned on her heels and waved at the blonde.
"BYE ELSA, SPEAK TO YOU SOON !" she shouted as hard as she could. Weselton ran up to her but Anna was faster. She dashed out of the library and sprinted to her dorm while laughing out loud. She, the clumsy and awkward Annabeth Sarah Mason, had made Elsa, the embodiment of sophisticated grace and beauty, laugh !
After the mid terms, Anna went home for the holidays. She wouldn't get to see Elsa for two weeks and it sucked. She just got used to the fact that Elsa was finally opening up little by little and she didn't want to miss any other milestones Elsa would reach during the time they were apart. Anna couldn't help but feel over excited whenever the signature French braid appeared. Elsa was a silent and timid girl but when she spoke, her speech was remarkably eloquent and her whole body spoke a language that was not from around here. Even though she didn't say it, Anna knew that Elsa liked her company. She never backed away, walked away or ignored her, which was new to Anna since most people got crazy from her stupid small talks after already half an hour. Not Elsa though. She, however, seemed to like her rambling and being awkward. She had even laughed about the fact that Anna was reading a book upside down !
Anna spent Christmas with her family. They had a fancy dinner and played games. She got a big sweater with a reindeer on it, a new phone and some college money as Christmas gifts. She spent boxing day in trying to stalk Elsa on the internet, turned out that Elsa didn't have Facebook or Twitter or Instagram. Nothing. Anna stretched in her chair as she complained loudly. "How can she not have any social media ? How else am I suppose to stalk her then ? She's not making it easy on me, is she ?"
"Who is not making it easy for you ?" her mother asked from behind her. Anna jolted up.
"Mom !" she exclaimed. "Don't creep up on me like that, you almost gave me a heart attack !" she said while pressing a hand on her chest.
Her mother smiled. "Who is she ?" she asked while pointing at Elsa's picture on Anna's screen.
"That's Elsa," Anna blushed. "We've been hanging out for a while now. She's really sweet."
Elsa was really sweet. Not that fake kind of sweet. The pure one. So innocent. Not aware of the adorable antics she owned. Biting her lower lip whenever she was nervous. Pursing her lips when she was in utter concentration. Cocking an eyebrow when she was fooling around. Showing faint smiles, and teasing Anna subconsciously until the red head went crazy. Elsa was literally in Anna's thoughts every second of the day, and how much hated to admit that she liked it, it was kinda annoying too, but in a good way.
Her mother chuckled. "Well, she is gorgeous, I'll give you that. Why don't you ask her to come over ? I'd love to meet her."
"Mom ! We're not dating... yet. I don't know if she's gay. She hasn't really shown, although she did flirt with me in the library but I don't think it meant that much to her as it meant to me."
"Well, tell me when she's coming over. I really want to meet her," her mother said and then left the room.
Anna sighed deeply. What if Elsa wasn't gay ? Then they could always be friends, that wasn't bad. But what if Elsa was gay ? Anna gasped. She hadn't even thought about that ! What would it be like to kiss those delicious lips ? To taste her skin ? To feel her body ? Anna shook her head. She didn't want to think of Elsa as a sex object. She wanted Elsa to be her friend, and then maybe things could start to shift... or not ?
It all depended on what Elsa wanted. If she wanted to become friends and only stay friends, then Anna would be fine with that. No pushing at all. Now if Elsa wanted indeed more...
No.
Anna shook her head. First she wanted the girl to feel at ease with her. She wanted Elsa to be happy.
Christmas and New year's ever passed and it was time to return back to the university. There was a field trip planned for the biology majoring classes that would take two weeks, the groups were already selected. Anna couldn't be happier to hear that Elsa was chosen to be in her group. She jumped up and down from excitement as she greeted the shy girl cheerily. Elsa only smiled and Anna didn't demand more.
She looked a bit sore, somehow, Anna felt. The blonde tried to avoid using her right hand a lot and Anna caught her hunching over constantly. She decided not to bother Elsa with it as the girl clearly seemed trying to conceal her pain.
The group project was held in the woods. They studied small animals such as squirrels and mice. They also spotted some deers and even a few wolves during their night assignment. Because they often had to team up into duos, Anna chose Elsa to team up with, knowing that the others would most likely not chose her and Anna didn't want Elsa to feel alone. She chattered and rambled while Elsa collected humus and plants for their experiment. Elsa didn't say much but sometimes Anna caught her smiling while digging her slender fingers into the earth. They set up their little plant forrest and took notes the next day, or well Elsa mostly took the notes.
They did this every day for the next five days. By the end of the fifth day, each duo had to give a small presentation on their findings. Anna could tell that Elsa was nervous about this because her shoulders hunched forward and her breaths became more shallow. She decided that she would help Elsa because Elsa mostly did all of the work for them those days. She laid her hand on Elsa's shoulder. The girl jolted at the touch and recoiled. Anna took her hand back and raised it to show that she meant no harm.
"I'm sorry. I didn't know that you don't like to be touched," she said, trying her best to conceal her hurt feelings.
After all those weeks she thought Elsa would have trusted her more. Elsa seemed so at ease around her, or was it just an illusion Anna liked to believe ? But then Anna remembered that they hadn't seen each other since the holidays, and they both went home, all of the students did. Maybe something happened at home, she thought simply. Not wanting to show Elsa that she was hurt, Anna quickly started talking.
"Hey Elsa, I was thinking, since you did most of the experiment yourself, you deserve to give that presentation too..."
Elsa tensed up.
"...but, I can see that you're very nervous, therefor I suggest that I should be the one to give the presentation because I did have been paying attention closely, even if you think I didn't and I've got quite a lot to say about it actually. But if you really want to do it, then by my guest, like I said before, you did most of the job, you deserve the highest amount credits."
The relieve in Elsa's eyes was great when she gave the red head permission to present.
"Oh and by the way, how's your wrist ? I noticed you were rubbing it a lot.."
Elsa turned red. "Uh... fine, thanks," she stuttered while showing a weak smile.
"Just let me know when you're hurt ok ? Maybe I can help."
Elsa nodded.
"Alright then," said Anna and she went to prepare for the presentation.
At the end of the two weeks, Anna was sitting on a bench near their camp. It had been so much fun, a lot of out door activities, a lot of group games, plus, being around Elsa had its benefits. For instance, the girl knew a lot about the environment they were in and she took Anna, even though she didn't know it, with her on her explorations through the woods. She was more in her element here in the open nature than Anna had ever seen her back at the university.
Another benefit was that she slept in the same room with Elsa. There were a few other girls too but the fact that Anna's bed was practically next to Elsa's was pretty cool to Anna. Even though Elsa had a normal bed and Anna slept on top in a bunker bed. This way she could easily spy on the blonde at night. And seeing her sleep was one of her cutest moments. The thought of it was creepy but it had been on total accident, she swore. She had woken up one night and had gone to the toilet. When she had tried to climb back into bed, she had brushed her leg against someone's arm. When she had turned around to look what it was, it had been none other than Elsa's. The girl had been laying on her stomach with one arm off the bed, dangling in the air. Her leg had been entangled in the sheets somehow. She had been wearing night shorts but still a good part of her smooth legs were bare. Elsa's mouth had hung slightly open while tiny ragged breaths had escaped her lips. Her blonde hair had laid loose all over her pillow.
The view had been stunning and funny at the same time. Anna rarely got to see Elsa like this. She looked peaceful and without worries.
"Anna," a soft, melodic voice woke her up from her daydream.
She blinked her eyes to see that Elsa was standing next to her.
"I... I wanted to thank you."
"You're welcome," was her reply automatically. Then she frowned when she realised she didn't know what Elsa thanked her for. "For what actually ?"
Elsa smiled shyly. "For teaming up with me. For helping me with that presentation thing. For making me laugh at the library. For throwing a snowball in my face. For returning me my notebook. And... for noticing me, I guess," she summed up, her eyes glued to the ground as she blushed.
Anna's heart skipped a beat. Elsa had actually thanked Anna for everything she ever did ? This girl was perfect and so sad at the same time. Did no one notice her before ? Seriously, with this much sweetness and adorableness and still no one looked at her ? Who are these people, she thought disgusted. An idea suddenly popped into Anna's mind.
"Elsa ? Besides me, are there any other people you hang out with ? From your class or other classes, perhaps ?"
The blonde shook her head, eyes still glued to the ground, blushing even harder from embarrassment, maybe.
Anna jumped up. That was so mean ! Elsa was such a sweet and nice girl. All the red head wanted was make her happy and smile, she deserved that at least. Why did everyone treat her like crap, like she was invisible, like she didn't matter ? She did matter, she mattered to Anna, and a lot. The shorter girl cursed furiously.
"Well, that's going to change from now on. You're gonna have to spend the rest of your year with me," she said as she stomped back to the camp to pack her stuff, dragging Elsa along. The blonde yelped when Anna grabbed her by her wrist but didn't do anything to get loose. She followed Anna silently back. She was somewhat relieved. Anna would help her.
Elsa didn't know why Anna was being so nice to her but she was eternally grateful for it.
