Hey guys. I'm sorry for the confusion - I took down Chapter 4 because I uploaded it when I was half asleep and I actually took it in a direction I didn't intend (and only realized when I reread it afterwards). So this is the revised version; there are some parts from the earlier version, but it veers off with a different tone. Thanks for your patience!
A/N at the bottom!
Flynn isn't answering her messages, so Elsa can only hope he's not passed out under the bleachers or something. The last thing she needs is for the captain to be up her ass about them handling the case wrong; or worse, doing illegal drugs.
She picks at the salad purchased from the cafeteria, listening to Anna talk. And the girl had a lot to say about literally anything.
It wasn't a bad thing - if anything, Elsa was glad she didn't have to say much to keep the conversation flowing. She just wasn't used to keeping that sort of company. Police people were serious folks most of the time (minus Flynn - but maybe that's why they somehow complimented each other as partners). Anna was the complete opposite and to be honest, Elsa kind of liked the change. Not that she'd ever tell the other girl anything like that.
And not like it mattered. She was here to work.
"Hows your salad?" Anna asks, between forkfuls of her own salad. She had almost decided on a pita from the cafeteria, but decided to match Elsa in the spirit of friendship. Or something. Maybe she just wanted salad.
"Crunchy." Elsa responds, because she's distracted and it's the first thing that comes to her mind.
Really now? Crunchy?
"Crunchy," Anna repeats, amused. "- is like the best description ever. Why didn't you grab any tomatoes?" she asks, looking at Elsa's green, green salad.
"I'm allergic."
"Allergic?" Anna says, looking incredulous. "But so many great foods have tomatoes! Pizza. Pasta. Pizza."
"Pizza -"
"Pizza." Anna interrupts, as if it needs to be said again.
"- can be made without tomato sauce." Elsa finishes with a small smile.
"Impossible."
"I'll show you some time," Elsa offers, before she realizes that behind that offer, she's also suggesting that she'll be seeing her again. She freezes at the slip, but it's too late to take it back and so she rolls with it. "There are a lot of options in a tomato-less life."
Anna furrows her brow as if this can't be true, and she goes to protest - but ends up abandoning the thought and crossing her arms. "Okay, I'll reserve judgement until you show me these so-called tomato alternatives," she says, "But I bet they're weird."
The comeback 'you're weird' is on the tip of Elsa's tongue, but she bites it back. She's all too aware that it's the type of comment she'd probably make to Flynn, not some stranger she'd really only met that morning. But it's a strange sort of day and despite not wanting to come in the first place, Elsa is actually enjoying herself. You're getting comfortable, she chides herself, complacent, too, and she shudders at the thought. It leaves her feeling vulnerable and she takes comfort in reminding herself that this is all temporary.
Anna notices the slight change in body language. "Are you alright?" she asks, picking up on Elsa's withdrawal. "Cold?"
She looks just about ready to don her own cardigan and throw it over the blonde, so Elsa speaks quickly. "No, the cold doesn't bother me," she answers, relieved when the redhead seems to believe her. She chews the bottom of her lip. This girl was nice. Even based on the few moments she'd spent with her, Elsa knows she's the type of friend she probably doesn't deserve. Better keep it to business. "Do you know an Eric Molson?" she asks, hoping to glean some background on their new prospective suspect.
Anna's face twists, like she's not fond of the reference. "Why, did he bother you?" she asks, and there's a bit of a distaste to the words.
"No," Elsa says, then trails, thinking of a filler. "I was just wondering who he is. My friend keeps mentioning his name."
"Oh,"
"So you do know him?" Elsa presses.
The redhead shrugs, stabbing a forkful of greens absently. "The whole school does. Him and his group are part of a lot of committees around here. He's kind of testy . . ."
Testy, how?
As if she's heard her, Anna continues. "Like, he's all into peace and harmony and saving the world from destroying itself, but then you hear rumors of him being mixed up with bad stuff and bad people - it's a total contradiction," Anna says; then with an embarrassed look sideways she adds, "and he took my spot on the yearbook committee. Well, it was more of a popularity contest than anything, and all his friends are on student council so of course he got voted in."
Ah. School yard politics.
She heaves a sigh. "But it is what it is - the school's just gonna have to deal with a less awesome yearbook this time around for not choosing me," she says, finally putting the forkful of greens into her mouth.
"That's a good way to look at it," Elsa muses, finding her good nature . . . admirable. She knows if she was in that situation, she wouldn't have kept her cool.
Anna nods. "Life's all about perspective, I suppose."
"Getting mushy on me?"
The redhead smirks. "That's what Ms. Griggs said in her lecture today. Skipper."
Elsa dismisses the comment with a 'I was busy', not quite wanting to delve into the fact that she had been babysitting a very high Flynn for the better part of the hour. It sufficed, and Anna went on to happily talk about other Arendelle happenings. If Elsa wasn't careful, she'd be lost to this. There were so many things, so many names being tossed around that she needed to learn - that she was apparently already supposed to know, by the way Anna was talking about them - that left her feeling confused and unprepared. She nods and puts in the appropriate agreeing statement here and there, redirecting questions when they get too inquisitive, withdrawing when she can't answer them at all.
Then Anna's eye catches something in the distance. "Oh, Kristoff! Over here!" she calls, waving over a burly blonde guy, who grins and makes his way towards them.
Elsa inwardly groans. Great. More people to meet.
And to think, she was just getting used to Anna.
Despite his douchey Arendelle football tee, Kristoff was a nice guy. Or so Elsa assumed - and she was a pretty good judge of character. Him and Anna seemed to be very good friends, and within a couple minutes Elsa was again drowned out by a spitfire of Arendelle campus talk. She sits there with her eyes flitting between the two, trying to keep up. When there's a pause between the exchange, she feels like she should say something.
"You play football here?" Elsa asks, more out of inquisitiveness towards the case and mapping out general student groups in Arendelle than actual interest.
Anna snorts, interjecting. "He wishes. He's obsessed, is more like it," she teases.
Kristoff looks down at his tee and grins, owning it. "She's right. I'm uncoordinated-"
"And can't take a hit," Anna grunts, throwing a punch at his shoulder, which he easily deflects.
"The only thing I play at Arendelle is the saxophone," he finishes with a laugh. He looks Elsa up and down, a searching expression knitting his brows together. "Let me guess - you're here for drama."
Elsa shakes her head. Her dancing around a stage for an audience? "Not a chance."
"Music? The melancholy symphony type - you're a violinist!" he guesses again.
"Nope."
"Cellist, then. Or digital contemporary?"
"I'm not here for music," Elsa says, enjoying the reinforcement that she's not all that see-through.
Anna pipes up. "Try architectural design. She's gonna be building palaces in no time!" she says optimistically.
Kristoff looks surprised, but he folds his arms with a small laugh. He jerks his head towards the window, where a large building stands off at the edge of campus. "Well you can start with the old Science building. That place is a wreck."
Elsa follows his gaze, looking at the building in question. It looked older than the rest of the buildings on campus, with all brown bricks and slightly faded windows. "Why's that?" Elsa asks.
Kristoff shrugs. "Science isn't really big here. Funding usually goes to the other departments, so that place hasn't gotten a fix up in a while. Rapunzel complains about it all the time - the ventilation is bad, the equipment is out of date, some rooms have been closed down for repairs but haven't been reopened in ages.." he says, attention drifting off to the entrance of the cafeteria where a small brunette has just entered. "Speaking of which, there she is." he starts to get up from his seat. "I'm gonna go say hi and buy some lunch. I'm starving."
He gets up, jarring the table as he does so, in that Elsa and Anna both reach for a toppling water bottle at the same time. Anna reaches it first, and Elsa's hand wraps around hers a split second later. Cold skin is on warm skin, sending something like a shock right through to Elsa's stomach, and in another moment it's jerked away. "Ah," Elsa says, retracting her hand into her lap sheepishly. "Sorry."
Anna just grins, pulling the bottle closer to her. "Making your move already? I always knew I was irresistible," she says. It takes a second for Elsa to realize that she's making a joke, but her cheeks burn all the same. "You've got a mighty grip. What do you do, squeeze a stress ball in your leisure time?"
Elsa laughs because this time she does pick up on the joke. More like squeeze a gun trigger every week at the shooting range.
"I wish I had leisure time to spare," Elsa admits, thinking back to all the files she's going to have to add to her case portfolio that evening. It was usually like that - a day on her feet, lots of paperwork in the night, and somewhere in between she would fit in a couple of small meals. But she'd grown used to the routine of shift work. Routine is good. Routine is safe.
"Oh, don't tell me you're the workaholic type," Anna says, then her eyes light up. "Actually - that means we definitely have to be partners for any projects this semester."
"Ah," Elsa starts, nervous laughter tumbling out. "I wouldn't be a good partner," I don't know anything about the subject, "I don't work well with others. And you did label me as a skipper. "
The redhead shakes her head confidently. "Nope, I can tell we'd be a good team. Plus, you're fun; I like being around you." she says, giving Elsa a playful nudge.
Elsa raises an eyebrow, as if that's the most ridiculous thing she's heard all day (and from Flynn's morning episode, she had heard many ridiculous things that day). Fun? That's a new one. She's cold and sarcastic and on more than one spectrum a little on the mundane side - definitely not what people consider fun. And if today was any indication, she's terrible at being around people who aren't wearing a blue uniform. Why would anyone like being around her? Her first instinct is to deny it, but that passes quickly because with one look at Anna's face, she realizes that she really does mean it; her second instinct is to just assume the girl has bad judgement. She folds her hands on the table and says slowly, "That's strange,"
"Strange? Why's it strange?" Anna asks, looking perplexed. She tilts her head, soft red bangs scattering over her forehead in way that almost makes it look intimate.
Elsa's lip twitches. She can think of a million reasons why it's strange, and a million more of why other words would better describe her.
She wants to laugh. Because usually, when she meets someone new, she's handing them a ticket or telling them they're walking in a restricted area. Usually, she's in a uniform that has people walking away from her, or groaning as she approaches them. As was the nature of the job, people usually didn't like her.
She exhales a quiet breath and then, carefully, "Because that's not usually people's first reaction to me."
"Well then they're crazy," Anna says, assertively. "I mean, you can be a bit prickly," she laughs, and it's the nervous sort - like she's treading the waters, not wanting to chase her away, "But it kind of adds to your mysterious, quasi-laid back, shadowy persona which I think is totally interesting! Like, of course I want to get to know you. You're so cool!" She stops herself with an embarrassed smile. The fork in her hand bobs in the air towards Elsa, and her eyes narrow. "Though, I suspect you're a total softie on the inside." she says slowly, and Elsa's not sure if it's a tease or a challenge.
A smile threatens to emerge, but she holds it back behind tight lips. "Is that so?"
"Mhmm," Anna nods. "I bet underneath that stony frown-"
"I'm not frowning," Elsa says. And now she's frowning.
Anna continues, glad that Elsa proved her own point, "- underneath that stony expression that's terribly similar to a frown," she says for Elsa's benefit, "There's a girl who probably squeals at cute puppies," Elsa snorts. Maybe internally "looks wistfully at the stars," what else is there to look at during the night? "reads corny romance novels," she can't help it if her books have a romantic subplot "and likes to cuddle." God, she can't even remember what that feels like.
Elsa relaxes back into her seat, musing because that description seemed to better suit Anna than herself - but it wasn't too far off the mark. The redhead grins back at her, looking for a reaction, but Elsa is stubbornly regal. "Well, how'd I do?" she prods, pleased with her own observations.
Elsa smirks, shaking her head in the slightest. "You've got a vivid imagination, Anna. It suits you."
The redhead accepts the answer with a proud smile.
It's not long before Kristoff and the brunette girl return to the table, sliding into their seats each with a tray of food. The girl introduces herself to Elsa as Rapunzel, a drama major. It made sense - the girl was as animated as ever. She could see why her and Anna were friends; they both had the same sort of energy to them that seemed to lift even Elsa's spirits.
"How'd your audition go?" Anna asks the brunette.
She chews down a bite of apple before responding. "Good, I think the teacher liked me. He called me Wendy-esque."
"That's a good sign!" Anna encourages.
"Yeah, so I guess we'll find out in the next few days," Rapunzel says. Then she puts her hands flat on the table and leans forward, as was - Elsa dubbed - the customary body position for gossiping. "And oh my god, did you hear about what happened on the track earlier?" she starts, looking around the table. Elsa's stomach knots. This better not have anything to do with Flynn. "Some guy went bonkers at the relay competition. He started knocking the batons out of other competitors' hands during the race, and then threw his across the finish line, announcing that he won."
Oh fuck.
"- Mr. Woods was livid. He would've chased him off if the guy hadn't already happily skipped away."
Definitely Flynn.
"People think he might've been on drugs," Rapunzel adds.
Elsa's on her feet, slinging her bag onto her shoulder before Rapunzel can finish. She was going to Kill that Flynn Rider. Find him first, then kill him.
Anna's lip part in surprise. "Are you leav- ?"
"Gotta go." Elsa says quickly, spinning towards to the exit.
Alright, this is a lot more on track than the first version I'd uploaded. Sorry if you liked the fluff that was removed - I didn't think it was characteristic of them this early on. Instead you get. . . alternate fluff. Whoo!
Hope you guys are enjoying so far! I'm definitely loving the feedback. And if you haven't watched 21 Jumpstreet, I hope this story inspires you to watch the awesome movie!
I kept the review responses the same - I'll just add the additional reviewers to the next installment. Talk to you guys next chapter :)
Review Responses:
Greye: I'm guessing you didn't watch the movie? :P In that case, yes, you will have to wait and see! Haha
TheElementHero: *Throws rope down abyss* *pulls you up so we can fangirl together*
DreamShadower: The adorableness is definitely a powerful persuasion tool.
OneShotMasta: I'm supposed to be studying too . . . Instead, it's 3am and I'm trying to finish up this chapter to upload it before I sleep for my exam tomorrow lol. Defs bromance - Flynn and Elsa aren't siblings here :) And yes to the Elsanna interaction! I'm not a fan of fics where they get together right off the bat. . . because I think a crushing Anna is the cutest Anna. Thanks for the review; see you next chapter :P
Kate: Haha, glad I could make you laugh. And yeah, I enjoy writing an Elsa who isn't great at talking to people - I was hoping to give those readers who experience the same problems someone to relate to.
Garrik: Interesting you say that Anna is mysterious! It's strange, because most fics - and the nature of Anna herself - portray her as an open book, totally privy to her impulsive emotions and desires. Usually it's Elsa who's the mysterious one, but I guess we don't really see that side of her in this fic since we're in her head, haha. Anyway, thanks for the review - you commenting that you found Anna mysterious actually affected the way I wrote her for this chapter.
ElsaStoleMyPen: There's a lot going on in that review. LOL. But in any case, *throws entire body at your face* *tries to enter your soul*
Dog Food: WHOAAAAAA I love the idea of Anna coming face to face with an HFS!Elsa hahaha. I might have to store that in my idea bank for later. And you are pretty on point with your observations, lol. I guess you'll see if your predictions come true :D
Elsaiscannon: Heck yeah, Elsa is yin and Flynn is yang! Just enough crazy from both ends, haha.
Nonsense at its Best: That is certainly Hayley Williams. My main gal pal. *nudges new chapter towards you* Enjoy. :D
Thursday: Hey, I'm glad you like it! I definitely want to touch upon Elsa's high school experience - but I think I'm going to just weave it in here and there, dropping it in a comment or two opposed to a big information dump or confession. My rule for writing Flynn is that if I include him in any dialogue, I have to be able to hear it in his smug Tangled voice or it doesn't work. :D So hopefully that way I kind of still keep the essence of his character! Thanks for reviewing - see you at the next update :)
