Wow, this chapter took me forever. I am really sorry about how long this one took me, I've been really distracted and this was just a really weird handful of scenes to write. But I appreciate anyone who is patient enough to have not given up on this story, and hopefully updates won't take as long after this. And don't worry, there will be much fluff coming in the upcoming few chapters with a slight tinge of angst. So anyways, here's chapter four ^.^
Elsa awoke and lazily looked around, immediately recognizing that she wasn't in her apartment. She sat up and looked around, momentarily freaking out before she realized she was in Kristoff's apartment. She then proceeded to freak out because she had woken up in Kristoff's bed and had no recollection of anything after she had started drinking the night before.
'Calm yourself, Elsa. Kristoff is your best friend. He would never take advantage of you like that,' she thought, rubbing her head and getting up to go search her best friend's bathroom for a painkiller of some kind. Her head felt like it was exploding. 'He probably just let me have the bed because I was so drunk.'
Almost as if in answer to her thoughts, she heard snoring coming from the living room. Peeking her head out of the bedroom door, she saw the blonde man sprawled out across his large couch, one arm over his face. She looked to the coffee table next to him and saw what had to be at least 15 empty beer bottles as well as what appeared to be a completely empty bottle of vodka. Just the sight of all the bottles had her head throbbing in pain again.
She tiptoed across the apartment as best as she could, so as to not wake Kristoff, and made it to the bathroom after tripping on a stray bottle. She found a bottle of aspirin and quickly downed four of them, praying that they would start to work soon. She groaned loudly as she felt her stomach begin to churn at the glass of water she had taken the pills with. Luckily, the toilet was nearby, and she avoided making a mess on the floor.
Unfortunately, she now had to take more aspirin if she wanted this headache to be gone.
"Coffee helps," came a voice from behind her. She spun around to see Kristoff standing in the door of the bathroom, nursing his own headache. She shot him a confused look before he continued. "Your loud vomiting woke me up. I came to make sure you were alright and I saw the bottle on the counter there. It didn't take long to put two and two together. Get cleaned up and I'll make some coffee."
With that, he walked out of the bathroom, leaving Elsa to rinse her mouth and use the restroom before making her way to the kitchen table with the bottle of aspirin gripped tightly in her hand. She growled at Kristoff as he pried the bottle away from her and he just laughed before setting a mug in front of her. "Just drink the coffee and see if that stays down. Then we'll see about the aspirin. Seriously, Els, it's like you've never been drunk before."
Elsa blushed and quickly busied herself with fixing up her coffee with cream and sugar. "N-not really, no. At least, n-not that drunk," she managed to stammer out. She hated admitting embarrassing things like that, even to her best friend.
He laughed once again, a little too loudly this time, and Elsa groaned and began rubbing her forehead again. "Why does that not surprise me? In fact, I shouldn't have expected any different from you, Miss Ice Queen." She barely managed to glare at him before she returned to sipping on her coffee. She was in too much pain to be mad at him right now.
She sat with her head resting on the table, trying to remember anything that happened last night. She couldn't remember and thought about checking her phone to see if she had made any calls in her drunken stupor. She sat up, about to ask where her phone was, when she saw her best friend holding it out to her. She looked at the snowflake case he had bought her for her last birthday, then back to him with confusion written clearly across her face. "Why do you have my phone?"
He cleared his throat a few times before he answered, a little too calmly for her liking, "I took it from you last night after you sent a few texts and tried to call your aunt."
Her heart leapt into her throat as her breathing quickened. 'My aunt?! Oh god, what did I say to her? And who did I text?! The only numbers I have are Kristoff's and Aunt Ingrid's. Oh and I guess I have…' Her thoughts trailed off as she realized the implications of that. She nearly lunged across the table for her phone, but Kristoff was too quick and pulled it back.
He got up out of his chair and slowly put his hands up. "Listen, Elsa. I need you to not freak out on me here. I am going to give you your phone, but I need to tell you a few things before I do. First, you did not call your aunt. I stopped you from doing that. Second, you did text Anna, but-"
Her face blanked and she launched herself at Kristoff, desperate to find out what she had said to the redhead, hoping she hadn't scared her off in some desperate attempt at drunken flirting. She was faster than him this time, and snatched her phone out of his hand. Her whole body was shaking as she unlocked her phone. She noticed out of the corner of her eye that Kristoff was slowly backing away towards his bedroom, but she paid him no mind.
Kristoff heard her scream "WHAT THE FUCK, KRISTOFF?!" just as he slammed and locked his bedroom door. No sooner than the lock clicked into place did Elsa begin banging on the door furiously. "OPEN THIS DOOR RIGHT NOW, BJORGMAN! HOW COULD YOU LET ME DO THAT?! THAT GIRL IS GONNA THINK I'M SOME KIND OF SLUT OR WORSE!"
"Calm down, Elsa," he shot back, opening the door a crack. She was staring at her phone screen and starting to hyperventilate. He opened it all the way and put a hand on her shoulder. "If you had bothered to read any further, I already told her you were drunk, so I'm sure she doesn't think anything of the sort."
Elsa sighed heavily and tried to calm her breathing. "Well, what's done is done, I suppose. I can't exactly take it back, so I'll just have to hope she…enjoyed it, I guess?" She felt herself blushing at the thought and another train of thought quickly entered her mind. "Kristoff…?" she asked nervously.
"Yeah, what's up?" he replied tentatively.
She turned the phone to show it to him. "Does…does it look good at least?"
Now it was Kristoff's turn to blush as he stared at a picture of Elsa without a shirt on. Thankfully, even while blackout drunk she had the decency to leave her bra on. And Kristoff had to admit, the angle and lighting were both very flattering to her body, and the seductive smirk on her face would leave anyone a drooling mess. He quickly looked away to avoid staring too long. Elsa seemed to pick up on his flustered state and blushed even harder, pulling her phone back around and stuttering, "S-sorry, that was probably really awkward for you…"
Kristoff took a deep breath in than back out slowly, and replied as coolly as he could, "No, it's fine. I'm your best and, no offence, only friend, so I'm totally fine with helping you out here. I was just not expecting it is all. It looks good, I'm sure it left Anna drooling over her phone. Just don't make it awkward and try to apologize for it. She'll think you regret sending it to her, and you know you don't, so don't even try to deny it."
For what seemed like the millionth time that morning, Elsa sighed. "I suppose you're right. I shouldn't make a big deal out of it, it's not like I was naked or anything, just topless. It could have been a lot worse," she said, finally relaxing. She looked at her phone for another minute, contemplating something. "Can I ask you one more question, Kris?"
"Yeah, anything, Els," he said. He quickly remembered where her last question led and added, "Though please warn me if it involves you in any state of nudity."
She blushed furiously again and glared at him. "No, it does not," she deadpanned. She looked around nervously for a second before finally spitting out, "Is it weird if I text her, just like to chat or something? Like a little 'Good morning, how are you?' type thing?"
He laughed loudly and put his hand on her shoulder, smiling broadly. "No, you big goofball, it isn't weird. You are absolutely allowed to have a conversation with the girl you're going on a date with."
She pushed his arm off of her and quizzically asked, "What are you smiling about?"
He walked away towards the kitchen. "Oh, nothing, Elsa. Nothing at all. Why don't I cook us some breakfast, if your stomach feels up to it, that is."
Just then, her stomach grumbled loudly, causing Kristoff to laugh once again. He was much too happy this morning for her liking. "I'm gonna use your shower," she grumbled, trudging towards the bathroom. "I feel absolutely disgusting."
He shouted from the kitchen, "Alright, be quick or you'll miss breakfast."
She ignored him as she shut the door and turned on the water, stripping down and pausing before getting in to stare at her phone where she had set it on the bathroom sink. She bit her lip, contemplating whether or not she should do it, then shrugged. 'What the hell. I already sent her that picture. What more could I possibly do?'
So she picked up her phone, and typed 'Good morning. How are you?' She stared at the send button for a good thirty seconds before she closed her eyes and pressed it. She then quickly put her phone on silent and got in the shower, knowing she wouldn't be able to concentrate if she knew her text tone could go off at any moment.
Meanwhile, at Rapunzel's apartment, Anna was freaking out. She had awoken about ten minutes ago to a text from a hidden number. It read: 'My dearest Anna. I deeply apologize for my father's rash decision. He claims that you have no wish to marry me, but I simply refuse to believe that. He has never been one to give in, and he is the one who taught me that a Westergard always wins. Good day, Anna. We shall see each other again. Love, Hans.'
Anna immediately woke Rapunzel and showed her the text and she grew concerned. "You should definitely keep that text, Anna, in case you need to like get a restraining order or something. And you should definitely stay here for a few more days. I don't know if this dude would try anything creepy, but I'd rather be safe than sorry."
Anna agreed wholeheartedly. "Just let me call my parents," she said after she calmed down a little bit. "I probably won't tell them about the text because they would just give me some speech about their reputation, but I should at least let them know that I'm gonna be here for a few more days."
She walked into the living room, dialing her mother's phone number and hoping that she was a little less upset than she had been last night. It rang four times before her mother finally answered. "Hello, Anna. It's nice to hear from you this morning. I wasn't really expecting to hear from you for a few more days, honestly. I take it this means you've reached a decision about what I said last night."
Anna sighed in annoyance, and rubbed her forehead. 'It is way too early for this nonsense, mother,' Anna thought.
"No, mother, I have not. I merely wanted to let you know that I wouldn't be home for a few more days, which is apparently unnecessary because you already assumed that I wouldn't be. Why would you assume that? You only told me to go out for the night, and I said I would probably only be out for the night. I think that's kind of rude. Oh, but I'm not trying to start something, I was just…rambling. You know how I get sometimes…Sorry." Anna almost said more, but decided against it. Her mother never like her rambling.
"Oh, Anna, I thought you had outgrown that silly little quirk. You should really work on it, it's so unladylike. You should really think more about your reputation sometimes. Even Hans said that you rambled during your date. Honestly, dear, you should take better care to act like a lady in front of such important people as the Westergards."
"Thank you, mother," Anna all but spat. She was trying really hard not to start yelling, because a shouting match with her mother was not on her list of things to do today. "Well, I just called to tell you that I won't be home for a few days, and I told you. So, goodbye."
She screamed and threw her phone at the couch where it landed safely on the cushions. At the sound of her scream, Rapunzel stepped out of the bedroom with a concerned look on her face. "You alright, Anna? I take it your conversation with your mother went about as well as expected."
Anna just groaned and rubbed the bridge of her nose. She sighed and turned to her best friend, and said, "Punzie, were you serious last night about letting me stay here? I'm not sure how much longer I can take my parent's crap…"
Rapunzel rushed over and wrapped Anna up in a tight hug. "Oh, of course I was serious, hon. You are absolutely welcome to stay here for as long as you need to."
Anna relaxed into the hug, already feeling more at home here than she ever had in her own house. "Thanks, Punzie. I don't know where I would be without you. Well, I would be at my house, probably just accepting whatever my parents said. I would probably have ended up marrying Hans and having his kids, and he probably has some really pretentious house. My life really would suck without you, Punz."
Rapunzel sighed and flipped her blonde hair over her shoulder and laughed. "I know, I'm amazing. You should probably start praising me now. And you should also go retrieve your phone from my couch before my couch eats it. You remember what happened to the remote for my last TV?"
Anna laughed as she went to retrieve her phone. "Yeah, I still think that you purposely threw it out while I wasn't looking. I mean, come on, Punzie, do you really expect me to believe your couch actually eats things?"
Rapunzel threw her hands up and said, "Hey, if you don't want to believe me, that's your choice, but don't come to me when you lose something in there and can't find it."
Anna picked up her phone and was about to give a snarky retort, when her phone buzzed in her hand. Her eyes lit up and she nearly started jumping up and down when she saw that it was Elsa. But when she unlocked her phone, her heart skipped a beat. She had several texts from Elsa, all from last night, including one picture message. She had passed out pretty quickly after they started drinking, so she hadn't seen them last night.
The first message just said 'Hey ;)' and was sent right after they had passed out.
The second was sent just a few minutes after that and said, 'You're very pretty ;P.'
The third one was sent about half an hour later, and was accompanied by the picture message. It read, 'Maybe this will get your attention, cutie pie.' The attached picture, though, is what had Anna frozen in shock and slight arousal. It featured Elsa without a shirt, her hair down out of its bun and messily hanging around her shoulders. She was smirking up into the camera with an expression that said that she totally owned how attractive she was, and she knew how to use it.
Rapunzel had noticed her best friend's face go from shock to awe to arousal in the span of about two seconds, and now her curiosity was piqued. She moved behind Anna and looked over her shoulder at the picture and her eyes nearly fell out of her skull. "Damn, Anna, you scored big! You were not exaggerating with this girl. I'm not even gay and I'd probably do her!"
Anna jerked back, pulled out of her stupor by the blonde's outburst. She quickly scrolled down to the next message to get that picture off of her screen, and saw that it was from Kristoff. He was informing her that Elsa was very drunk and that he had confiscated her phone before she could embarrass herself any further. 'Darn,' thought Anna. 'What I wouldn't give to see what else she had in store for me.'
She then turned back to her best friend, trying to calm herself after what that picture had done to her. "A-anyways, Punzie, I need to shower, I feel pretty gross after last night."
She started to make her way towards the bathroom when she heard Rapunzel tease her, saying, "Yeah, sure. You just wanna be alone with that picture of Elsa. Should I listen to some music so I don't hear anything?"
Anna just flipped her off as she walked into the bathroom, but right before she shut the door she yelled back, "For the record, I know I wasn't exaggerating and you don't have to tell me that you'd do her, you know why?"
Rapunzel glared at Anna, who was peeking out of the cracked bathroom door with a shit-eating grin on her face. She started moving slowly towards the door as she said, "Don't you dare, Anna."
Her voice sounded mad, but she couldn't but smile, and Anna continued, "Cuz you're a slut."
And right as Anna slammed the door shut and locked it, she heard Rapunzel smack into the other side of it and shout, "You have to come out of there eventually, you prude! And if you're gonna masturbate, do it before you shower!"
Anna blushed as she walked away. She totally hadn't even planned on it, she really just wanted a shower. Yesterday had been so weird and this morning was crazy already. She really just needed a minute to relax and process everything that had happened. 'Did all of that really happen yesterday? First Hans and his doucebaggery, then the insanity at the ice cream parlor with Elsa and Kristoff was just totally surreal. How did they not just call the police or ask me to leave? Those people are way too trusting of strangers. Or maybe they just like you, Anna. Duh. Elsa was clearly checking me out as soon as I walked in. Gods, she is just the cutest, especially when she blushes. I can only imagine how red her face was during our phone call last night, and when she woke up this morning and checked her phone. I wonder if she's alright. She's probably gonna freak out big time when she wakes up. Maybe I should call her or something, let her know it's totally cool? Yeah, that won't seem creepy at all. 'Hey, how was your day, don't worry about last night, I totally don't care if you send me half naked pictures of yourself.' That's like, Stalkerville, population: Anna. Maybe I should just text her, be casual about it. Don't bring up the picture if she doesn't. You've got this, Anna.'
She went to pick up her phone with the intention of texting Elsa, but as soon as she unlocked it, a new text from Elsa appeared. It said, 'Good morning. How are you?' Anna quickly typed out a response before stripping and stepping into the shower, amazed at how much the blonde girl from the ice cream shop was already surprising her. She assumed she would have to take the lead on most things from what Kristoff had told her, but so far, she had been the one that was asked out, and Elsa texted her first this morning.
As the hot water cascaded down her back, Anna couldn't help but think to herself, 'Is this girl really as closed off as Kristoff said she was? And if she is, why is she opening up to me? What makes me so special?'
Back in, Kristoff's apartment, Elsa and Kristoff were just finishing breakfast. Elsa had received Anna's reply about having some kind of shopping plans with her best friend. The details were very uncertain, but Elsa couldn't help but smile as she imagined the redhead rambling on about it. Kristoff noticed it and nudged Elsa gently. "Earth to Elsa. I asked if you wanted any more coffee."
Elsa looked up and saw him smiling at her, holding the coffee pot. "Yes, thank you. Sorry, I'm just distracted." She blushed as she looked back down at her phone.
Kristoff shrugged as he poured them both another cup, and said, "No worries, Elsa. I'm just glad you're trying with this girl. And I'm not trying to tease you or anything here. I am genuinely happy that you are putting yourself out there. And even if nothing else comes of it, you've made a new friend, and I can tell you really enjoy talking to her, so seriously, don't worry about it. You're allowed to talk to your new friend. I'll make sure to contain my jealousy."
Elsa's head snapped up and she had a worried expression on her face, like she was afraid Kristoff was actually jealous of her talking to Anna, but when she saw the smile on his face, she realized he was only joking and she calmed down. She sighed and pushed her wet hair back out of her face. "Thank you, Kris, for making me talk to her. She is really fun to talk to, and she seems genuinely interested in me, plus she is really very cute. And, for some reason, it isn't as hard to talk to her as it is with other girls. I just seem to think I can trust her, which is crazy considering we just met, but I just find myself calling her, asking her out on a date, sending half naked pictures of myself, and yet I still want to open up to her more. I would definitely like her to be my girlfriend, but I can't just rush in to something like that, you know?"
Kristoff was surprised to see Elsa honestly feeling something for this girl, but he knew he had to play this carefully, for her sake and for Anna's. "I get it. Rushing into a relationship is definitely not a good idea, I agree with you there. And she does seem honest and trustworthy, just make sure you don't open up too fast, Els. I want you to be happy, and to make a new friend and possibly eventually a lover, but I also don't want you to get hurt. Always remember not to be afraid of expressing your feelings, but make sure you keep your own needs in mind, because I know you, Elsa. I don't want you to try to be everything for this girl and lose yourself in the process."
Elsa just blinked as she tried to absorb everything he had just said. He reached up to scratch the back of his neck and laughed. "Sorry about that. I didn't mean to get all weirdly deep on you like that, I thought I'd have more time before you trusted her this much. I forgot you're an all or nothing kind of girl. In any case, take some time to think over what I said, and I'm gonna go take a shower. And I really am genuinely happy for you."
With that, he got up, and put his plate in the sink before walking out of the kitchen. 'Don't lose yourself trying to be something you're not for someone else. It almost seems like he was talking about Aunt Ingrid as well. I should really stop lying to her, and to myself. I can never be happy with a man. I've tried it, and it just felt wrong. But everything with Anna feels right, even if I just met her yesterday.' She sighed, getting up to clean off her own plate. 'Maybe the time to stand up to Aunt Ingrid is coming soon, but I'll need to give it time. I'll need to figure out how to run everything before she leaves. But Kristoff is right, it's my store, and it's my life. If she can't see that, then, as much as it will hurt to lose another family member, it will hurt even more to live a lie for the rest of my life. It's time to stop concealing, and start feeling.'
