A/N: I'd like to thank you all for your continued support. After a bout of inspiration and motivation, I got this chapter out a little quicker than I anticipated. It's also about twice as long.

It's set from Anna's point of view, and I think we'll start putting some meat on the bones of this fic in the next few chapters.

Enjoy! And as always, constructive criticism is always welcomed.

"Thanks, Eugene for the ride!"

Anna closed the car door and offered a wave to the man inside. After nearly six hours of seeing nothing but trees and highway, the campus was a welcome sight to the redhead. She thought she was going to go absolutely crazy in that car and end up bashing her head against the dash. But, her cousin's boyfriend had no problem in driving the long distance at his girlfriend's request.

"Hey, it's no problem. You sure you don't need me to show you around? This is my old stomping grounds after all!" His voice was cheery, obviously glad to be back at the school and wanted to stay as long as possible. Probably to put off driving his way back.

"I think I'm good, there seems to be plenty of signs around to point me in the right direction." Anna responded as she looked around and scratched the back of her head. There really were a lot of signs around, it was a fairly large campus that she would probably end up getting lost in quite often. "But I'll tell Rapunzel you said 'Hi' when she gets here."

At the sound of his girlfriend's name, the man formed a large smile and pointed a finger at Anna. "Hey!" Anna jumped at the unexpected outburst. "Don't forget to add the smolder!" He finished with another large smile before presenting an example of his 'ever-so-famous-smolder'. Anna thought it looked silly and shook her head.

"Didn't she break your smolder a couple years back at that Christmas party?" She retorted with a cocky chuckle. "Pushed you right down the stairs and you landed flat on your face!" The memory turned the small chuckle into a fit of full on laughter.

Eugene's face fell at the embarrassment brought on from the redhead's laughter. "Oh, come on! I thought I broke my beautiful face!" He raised his hands and gently patted his face to enunciate his point. He was always cocky to a certain degree, but he was genuinely a good person and Rapunzel was honestly happy with him.

"Well it's beautiful to Rapunzel and that's all that matters right?" Anna said with a shrug and crossed her arms. "Although your nose is kinda funny looking innit'?" A large grin grew on her face as she witnessed the shock that grew on Eugene's face. Gotcha!

"Oh, shut up! You know how I feel about my nose." He replied in a playful tone, knowing Anna was just teasing him like the two always do to one another. "It never comes out right in pictures, I think it just can't handle the beauty." He said with a smug grin. "Besides, at least my face isn't littered with freckles."

Oh, that was cold. Anna had always been a little self-conscious about the freckles that were strewn across her face. On the contrary she was actually always complimented about them because of how well they matched her skin tone and generally cheery personality. Anna didn't really know how freckles related to a cheery personality, but she rolled with it anyway.

"Are we just jealous?" Anna retorted smugly.

"No not really."

Anna was a little disappointed at how that ended, and decided to change the subject because she wasn't ready to be left alone in this big place. "So, you said you 'set me up' with arrangements here?" She inquired, all she knew was that Eugene 'had her covered' when she found out that she was at the bottom of the barrel when it came to dorms.

"Oh yeah, I pulled some strings with the higher ups. I got you this sweet dorm that was just put in a couple years ago that I've heard a lot about." He started and adjusted himself in the driver's seat. "I tried to bunk you up with someone you'd be comfortable with, Rapunzel. But she had signed up real early and was already locked into her choice once the dorms filled up like crazy." Eugene gave Anna a sorrowful look when he saw her face drop a little. "I really don't know who you'll have to put up with. But the room is big enough that you probably wouldn't have to see the other person if you didn't want to."

Anna perked up as confusion was painted on her face. "I've always heard college dorm rooms were kinda small?"

"Normally they are. But, you'll see what I mean when you get there. I told you, I set you up." He was hiding something and Anna couldn't put her finger on what he meant. Okay. So it's bigger than a regular dorm, that's cool I guess. She adjusted the large duffel bag on her shoulder which practically held her entire life in it.

"I'm actually pretty stoked I even got accepted here. You've heard my grades haven't always been the greatest." She tried changing the subject again, deciding to not dwell on the uncertainty of her room and potential roommate at the moment.

"Oh you'll be fine." Eugene said as he ran a hand through his brown hair and checked his reflection in the rear-view mirror. When he was satisfied with the results he turned back to the redhead. "You'll find some nice boy, and totally ace your classes. Just be sure not to be out partying all night and get into trouble. Trust me-" His face grew a little more serious. "-been there, done that. I'm lucky I had Rapunzel to straighten me out when I came back home one summer."

Anna remembered that summer Rapunzel was freaking out because she met some cute guy who just walked up to their house. Apparently he was only there to check out the house for petty thievery with a couple other guys he had fallen into the wrong crowd with. But the night the job was supposed to happen, Rapunzel caught Eugene on the side of the house and just started to talk to him and eventually he forgot all about what he was doing and instead sneaked Rapunzel out of the house for a late night date at Denny's. The rest was kinda history, they had started dating and Eugene got his life together.

"Oh you know I'm not really the one for partying." Anna gave a nervous chuckle. "And besides, who said it'd be a boy?"

Eugene laughed and shrugged. "Hey, whatever floats your boat. I won't judge."

"Are you trying to imply I'm a lesbian, Eugene Fitzherbert?" Anna scoffed and crossed her arms.

"You kinda did that yourself, didn't you?" He said victoriously as he saw Anna drop her arms and jaw fall open in shock.

Did I just come out of the closet? Was I even in the closet in the first place? Wait, what? Anna shut her jaw and thought to herself. She had dated boys before, sure. Had some really good memories with them too, but did she like girls as well? They certainly do smell nice and have pretty hair. But did she like them like that? Why am I thinking about this right now? She shook her head and put the subject off. "Very funny, Eugene." The reply was neutral and didn't reveal any hidden truth nor deny the accusations from the brunette.

Eugene shrugged it off and checked the clock in his car which read 1:45. "Hey, I'm going to have to get going if I want to make it home in a decent hour." He extended his arm out of the passenger side window and made a fist, indicated he wanted Anna to return the favor. "Shoot me a text when you find out who you're rooming with. Make sure they aren't crazy in the head you know?"

Anna smiled and extended her own arm to give Eugene a fist bump. Rapunzel left a couple hours after we did, maybe we can catch some dinner. I hope there's a good sandwich shop around here. The thought was enough to make the girl salivate and already start looking forward to dinner. She still had awhile to wait though, she had insisted on getting here early to get situated but her cousin was running horribly late and insisted that Eugene take Anna and she'll catch up when she can.

"Oh, okay." Anna's face dropped again as she realized she'll be alone in a place she's completely unfamiliar with. She tugged at the collar of her green shirt and stared at the sky through the leaves of the trees around the parking lot. It was pretty hot that day, and the humidity was starting to get with Anna as she felt sweat start to bead on her skin.

"Don't worry. You'll be fine, and you'll have Rapunzel to keep you sane." Eugene tried to reassure her, but it didn't work to well by the look on Anna's face. She tried to give a convincing smile but it didn't fool the man. "I'll catch you on the flip side."

And with that, Eugene set the car to reverse and made his way out of the parking lot. Anna looked around and tried to catch her bearings. All she saw was large red brick buildings around her, signs pointing everywhere, and trees. There were a lot of trees on the campus and although Anna found them pretty and the shade would be a welcome addition, it made her surroundings all blend together.

Although the trees were pretty, they had a way of making Anna feel small and alone. Her eyes fell to the floor and stared at her shoes. She closed her eyes as she felt a breeze make it's was across her skin and her braided copper pigtails flutter in the wind. After a moment of enjoying the cool breeze she realized how hot it really was and lifted her head up, looking for some sense of direction.

Eugene had told me to find the main building and ask for a 'Mr. Oaken', he would be able to help me find the dorm. That's certainly a funny name, I wonder if he's tall like an oak tree? Her own joke caused Anna to let a little giggle escape from her lips as she looked around and let out a deep sigh. Now where's the main building? She stepped up to the sidewalk and inspected a sign which had a number of arrows pointing in different directions. She smiled when she saw the words 'main building' with an arrow pointing right in front of her.

Anna looked past the sign to a large red bricked building that was bigger than the ones around it. Stretching her neck to look further up she saw a white dome adorned the top of the building. Oh. It was right in front of you, Anna. Way to go. She made her way through the double glass doors and immediately felt relieved when she felt the air conditioning brush against her skin. Looking to her left, an elderly woman with short graying hair sat behind a desk. Warily stepping up to the desk, she cleared her throat.

"Um, e-excuse me?" Her voice came out shaky and weak, and she mentally slapped herself for not having a spine.

The lady looked up from her computer and eyed the redhead down. Now that she was closer, Anna could make out the plethora of wrinkles on the woman's face that made it look like a road map. Her small black horn-rimmed glasses barely staying up on her nose. How does she get her hair to stick straight up like that? She's like a unicorn...only gross and old.

"Can I help you?" The raspy voice caught Anna's attention as she saw the woman's gaze bore into her. Anna cleared her throat again before speaking with considerably more confidence.

"Yes, I was told to talk to a 'Mr. Oaken'?" Anna brought her hands up to her chest as the older woman picked up a telephone and requested Mr. Oaken to the front desk.

"He'll be with you in just a moment." She then waved the redhead off.

"Thank you, Mrs..."

"Roz."

"Mrs. R...Roz? Than- Thank you." Anna managed to get out as she thought about how strange that name was.

Anna took a seat on one of the chairs opposite of the desk and swung her feet absentmindedly as she absorbed her surroundings. There was a nice red carpet that covered the large floor, and large windows behind her that illuminated the entire room in a vibrant glow. The room split into two separate hallways on the back end and stretching her neck, Anna noticed that they went on almost endlessly.

Feeling a buzzing in her pocket, she reached into her jeans and swiped the screen to see a message from Rapunzel. 'Stopped at a fast food place for a late lunch. I think I'll be there by 4ish. Eugene get you there safely?' Anna smiled as she imagined her cousin being there so she wasn't so alone. 'Yup, I'll see you then.' She typed out and hit send before sticking her phone back in her pocket.

It wasn't long before a large man made his way around a corner and stood in front of Anna. He wore black slacks and what appeared to be a large, wool, striped sweater. He's really tall! Is this Mr-

"Ms. Aren, I assume ya?" His voice did not match his size, and he spoke with a heavy accent that was some brand of European Anna decided.

The redhead stood and extended an arm to shake the large man's hand. "Y-yes, that's uh- that's me." She stuttered as the large man smiled. His cheeks were strangely rosy, and he sported a dull blonde handlebar mustache that connected to a large pair of sideburns. Is that a toboggan on his head? In the middle of summer?!

Mr. Oaken took her frail hand in both of his large ones and shook vigorously. "It's very nice to meet you, your friend Eugene has spoken very well of you!" He offered another smile and shook his head contently. "Good, very good!"

Anna collected herself and pushed a red lock behind her ear that had fallen out during the large man's violent handshake and gave a nervous chuckle. "Oh wow, that was- uhm wow, okay you're like rea-really strong and I totally did not expect that." Way to sound confident, Anna.

"Got to have the muscles to make a good lutefisk, ya Ms. Aren?" His cheery smile was contagious and before long Anna found herself reflecting it. "Now, what is it you wanted to see me for?"

"Oh! Eugene told me you can help me find my dorm?" Anna realized how dumb that sounded and straightened up. "I mean it's my first time here and you think I'd be here earlier to get a good grip on the layout of the campus but sometimes I don't really think ahead and other times I think too much ahead and end up worrying about everything but this time I didn't really think about it but I didn't think the campus would be so large and there's signs literally everywhere and I just..." Anna took a deep breath and saw the blank look of contentment on the large man's face. "...I'm rambling and I apologize." She finished and accepted defeat.

"It's very good, Ms. Aren. If you'll follow me, I can take you to your dorm ya? When I heard you were a friend of Eugene's I made an exception and put you in the best we have to offer!" He said as he made his way to the double doors that led outside.

Oh cool, let everyone supply things for you. Can't really do anything for yourself, can you Anna? The redhead let out a sigh before catching up to Mr. Oaken. The moment she stepped outside it was like getting slapped in the face from the heat and humidity. She followed the giant on the sidewalk through what felt like a forest from the abundance of trees around them. "There certainly are a lot of trees around here." She commented absentmindedly as another breeze made it's way across her body, feeling relieved from the heat for a moment.

"Ah yes, we're very Eco-friendly ya? I also think it adds a soothing feeling to the campus. Don't you, Ms. Aren?" Anna couldn't see it, but she knew he was smiling as she stared at his large back covered by that large striped sweater.

"They certainly are pretty." She shrugged and pulled her phone out of her pocket to check the time. 1:56, looks like I'll have a couple hours to explore everything before Rapunzel gets here. I should totally check out the dining hall. I wonder what kind of food they serve. Do all colleges serve the same food? I mean high school normally had a lunch schedule for the month. Do colleges to that too? Ugh, I really should have done some research about all this. I'm totally clueless and- Her thoughts were cut off when she crashed into Mr. Oakens back, the fuzz from the sweater felt thick and scratchy and must have been torture to wear in this weather. With an audible 'oof', Anna backed up and regained her composure.

"This is the building, Ms. Aren. It was just added a couple years ago and is our newest addition!" The voice was filled with a bubbly glee that was spoken with pride like a kid who had just one first prize in a science fair. Anna looked around and did her best to memorize the location, but when she turned around she saw the main building right in front of her and all they did was round the parking lot. ...Oh.

She followed the large man as he went through the double doors. The building had the same red carpet the main building did, on the left she noticed a staircase with an elevator beside it. To the right were several vending machines which held different drinks, snacks, and candies. Score! Following Mr. Oaken, she saw a doorway beside a vending machine which appeared to hold washing and drying machines. Almost tripping over a large leather couch in the middle of the room she noticed a coffee table in front of it surrounded by other small chairs similar to the couch. Future living room goals right here, I'd totally love a room set up like this lounge. Vending machines included! Eventually finding their way to the elevator, she felt extremely crowded in the small box next to the giant in a sweater.

"Your room is on the 5th floor, Ms. Aren. Top floor, very nice ya?" He said as he pressed the button on the panel and the doors closed and began it's ascent. "I hope you have your key card on you, Ms. Aren. You'll need it to get into the dorm. Security is important to us here at the university."

"Key card?" Anna panicked and began frantically checking her pockets. Great, Anna. Way to go. A+ performance.

"Yes, we mailed it to you and it doubles as your student I.D"

"Oh!" She practically shrieked in glee as she pulled out the small card from her back pocket. "I was wondering why it looked kinda funny with the bar code and everything on the back of it." She tried to play it off as she flipped it over and stared at the aforementioned bar code. She also noticed the numbers '514' on the corner. Oh. The elevator then let out a ding that indicated they had reached their destination. Anna poked her head out of the metal box and into the long hallway that had a considerable distance to both the left and the right. She followed Mr. Oaken until he turned to the right and smiled contently.

"Here we are, Ms. Aren. Room 514." He nodded and gave a slight pause before continuing. "These dorms are normally reserved for upperclassmen, post-grads, and honors students." Anna's demeanor fell as she realized she was not any of those, and definitely not that last one. Mr. Oaken saw this and placed a large hand on her shoulder. "But since everything else was filled and Eugene talked to me about it, we decided it would be alright to make a special case!" He said with another smile as his face glowed with glee.

Again, can't do anything for yourself. Gotta have everyone else bail you out of trouble... Anna faked a smile as she inserted the key card into the slot in the door handle and saw a green light flicker as a click indicated the door was unlocked. She opened the door into her home for the next few months and her jaw dropped. The room was absolutely huge for a dorm. She stood in an already fully furnished living room. Black leather couch similar to the one downstairs sat in front a wooden coffee table adjacent to the table was a recliner like the couch. An entertainment center with a large television sat on the wall on the right side. To the left she noticed a modest dining room, table set with two chairs on either side. A small kitchen sat on the other side of the dining room separated by a bar. A hall with doors on either side was past that.

"There's no way this is a dorm-" Anna started, at a complete utter loss of words. "-I've always heard dorms were small and crowded and that people don't even have their own bathroom!" She stated still in shock as she made her way across the hardwood floor and into the kitchen after dropping her duffel bag on the couch. It was small and modest like the dining room, sporting a fridge, microwave, sink, oven, and dish washer. But the fact that it even had all of that completely surprised Anna.

Oaken gave a hearty chuckle at the sight of Anna freaking out over practically everything. "Yes, dear. We use the term 'dorm' for theses rooms fairly loosely." He grinned again when Anna discovered the fridge came with an ice maker in the freezer. "We're the only campus in the state to hold these mini apartment rooms. They come with two bedrooms, one bathroom, a kitchen and a living room. Very modern and convenient, ya?"

Anna calmed herself down for a moment as she noticed a cardboard box placed on the bar that separated the kitchen from the dining room. On it was a note that read: 'Hey, Anna. Here's a couple gifts from Rapunzel that she wanted me to send to you. Signed, Eugene Fitzherbert. Also, you'll find a box cutter to get into this box in the smaller box.' Oh great, but how do I get into the smaller box?! She let out a sigh of frustration as she picked up the smaller box which was beside the larger one. On it she found another note which held no words and just a crude drawing of a troll face. Damn it, Eugene! Who even let you on the internet in the first place?! She sighed again before finding herself smiling at the whole thing. It was kind of funny, despite being at her expense.

"Well, Ms. Aren. I'll leave you to get settled here. Classes begin in just a couple days so don't be late, ya?" Mr. Oaken said cheerily as he offered a small wave to the redhead.

"Gotcha! Thank you, Mr. Oaken!" Offering a wave of her own, she saw the giant leave and fell to her knees on the floor. Once she heard the click of the door she let out a sigh and picked at the tape on the small box. I love Rapunzel, but her boyfriend can be a real jerk face at times. Eventually just decided to shove her thumbnail into the tape covering the flaps of the box. With a satisfying pop, she gleamed as she gained access. Inside was as the previous note said, nothing but a small yellow box cutter. She stuffed it in her pocket and went to stand up as she heard the door click. Deciding to keep down, she ducked under the bar.

"Doesn't seem like anyone is here yet." Came a feminine voice, Anna tensed a but as she heard footsteps creep into the room. "And it's huge for a dorm, I mean it even comes with a t.v!"

"Maybe being late for something actually worked out for the best this time." The second voice sounded much softer, although weak and unsure. She sounds like a lost little puppy, aw. "Aleks, I'm not sure if I'm ready for all this though." So her name is Aleks, huh? I knew a guy with the same name back in high school, he was pretty cool I guess-

"I know, Elsa. But this will be good in the long run. Just you see!" Elsa, huh? That's a pretty name.

Then the bar creaked a bit when Aleks propped herself up against it. "And besides, this place is pretty freakin' sweet."

Well, guess I better introduce myself. At that moment Anna popped up from under the bar with an enthusiastic tone in her voice. "Hi!"

"Shit!" And was met with an equally enthusiastic fist to her face, a la Aleks.