Anna was trying to focus on the game of Munchkin in front of her, but her hand kept going to her phone. She would flip it in her hand, then put it back in her pocket, and take it out again a moment later. Mulan noticed this behavior and rolled her eyes, trying to focus on Kristoff's cards from across the table.
"And with my Spiky Top, thats a +3 Bonus! And that is Level 17 over the Level 14 Insurance Salesman, which means he's dead and I win. Booyah!" Kristoff whooped as he flicked the monster card out of the way. Eugene leaned over his stock pile and shook his head.
"You can't use the Spiky Top dude, see the fine print? Females only."
"CHEATER!" Merida yelled, throwing the cards in her hand at the blonde. She had had it rough during the game, constantly losing levels and all of her armor twice. "You've been cheating this whole damn game! I'm done!"
"Wow wait guys, calm down." Rapunzel leaned in, attempting to gather Merida's cards that had fluttered down around Eugene and Kristoff. The blonde held up his hands in defense, "It clearly says on the box 'Kill the Monsters, Steal the Treasure, Stab your Buddy'. They're practically encouraging it."
Merida and Kristoff continued to bicker, Rapunzel attempting to calm them, with Eugene and Mulan just laughing from the side.
Anna took the opportunity to open Elsa's thread and send a text.
Anna: I hope you didn't get into too much trouble last night.
Elsa: Sorry for not texting today, I've been at the rink.
Anna: It's OK. I hope Maurice treated you well?
Elsa: Yes! He's so sweet! He's your friends dad, right?
Anna: Yup, Belle. She was the girl with the book and hipster glasses in the cafeteria yesterday. Maurice and my dad had been friends forever, and now that he's retired he doesn't mind helping out around the rink a few days a week. #lifestory #novel #sorrytoboreyou
Elsa: Lol, that's nice of him. And you don't bore me, I like knowing things about you.
Elsa: …
Elsa: That read significantly creepier then intended.
Anna: You were intending to be creepy?
Elsa: Forget I said anything.
The conversation suddenly stalled and Anna tapped her foot thoughtfully, thinking of something to say to keep it going.
"Soooo, you talking to Elsa?" Mulan had leaned in and whispered into Anna's ear, making her jump and almost drop her phone.
Blood rushed to the girls' cheeks as she hastily stuffed her phone into her pocket. "Uhm yeah, just saying 'hey'."
"Uh huh..." Mulan pulled away and eyed the girl up and down, taking note of Anna's body language. She knew that look, but decided to say nothing.
"-OH MY GAWD YOU GUYS!"
Everyone at the table shot a look to Rapunzel, who was looking at her phone with wide eyes. She turned the screen around for everyone to see, and the majority of the table's occupants gave her a sideways glance, while a few others attempted to peer into the tiny screen.
"Punzy, we can't read your screen," Merida rolled her eyes, sitting back in her chair.
Eugene reached for Rapunzel's phone and stood up, puffing out his chest and speaking in an English accent. "I would like to perform a dramatic reading of the following text from Snow."
The group laughed and listened intently, Rapunzel rolling her eyes next to him.
"Ahem." Eugene cleared his throat and began, extending out his free hand in dramatic fashion. "O-M-G Rapunzel. Phillip and Aurora broke up." Eugene paused and attempted to scroll through the phone, expecting more to the text. He broke out of character as he looked down at his girlfriend. "Wait, really? That's it?"
Rapunzel puffed out air in annoyance as she snatched her phone back. "I would have had more information if you didn't take my phone away! Let me text her back."
"Worst dramatic text reading ever." Merida yawned.
All eyes seemed to slowly drift over to Mulan, who looked like a deer caught in headlights. "What?"
Merida leaned in, "This is your chance girl! Go get her!"
Mulan rolled her eyes and put her cards into a single stack. "Yes, let me text her right now and say, 'Hey Aurora! Heard you and Phillip just broke up. Want to go make out?'"
Merida twirled one of her curls thoughtfully, then snapped her fingers with an idea. "I've got it!" Her eyes jumped back and forth between Anna and Mulan, and the auburn could feel the pit in her stomach dropping. "So this is what we do. We plan a 'girls night', but we make the reason more about the new girl...crap, Anna, what's her name?"
"...Elsa..."
"Right, Elsa." Merida tested the name on her tongue, then continued. "We want to incorporate Elsa into the school so she can meet new people, right? Sounds normal enough. So we invite Aurora along with us to go bowling or something, and BAM! Mulan, that's when you strike. Not literally of course, but it's an opportunity for her to at least get to know you." The red head turned surprisingly serious with the last sentence, the original intensity in her eyes softening as she looked across the table at the fencer.
Kristoff nodded in approval, "It's really not a bad idea. But can the boys come? I really want to see this go down."
Rapunzel shook her head from across the table. "No. Aurora is going through a break-up. I'm not sure who broke up with who, but she'll be more comfortable and more willing to open up if it's just us girls."
Eugene crossed his arms over his chest and nodded in approval, "Hey I'm not complaining, that means more Titanfall time for us." He raised his hand in the air, and Kristoff met it with a high-five.
Anna looked from Mulan (who had an extremely panicked look on her face) to her phone and instantly began to type.
Anna: So my friends have just picked you to be a scape-goat for a ruse.
Elsa: Aww, they sound so sweet.
Elsa: (btw, that was sarcasm)
Anna: I promise their intentions are good, just know that I had absolutely nothing to do with it, and they are going to force me to ask you to hang out next Friday, and you can totally say no.
Elsa: Hmm, looks like I need more information.
Anna: Basically, my friend Mulan has had a huge crush on this girl Aurora for ages. Rapunzel just found out that Aurora and Phillip broke up, and Merida came up with this plan to try and introduce them, since Aurora doesn't really know of Mulan's existence, and that involves asking you to hang out with all of us, pretending like the hang out is about introducing you to new people when it's really about them.
Elsa: There were a lot of names in that paragraph.
Anna: Sorry. It's hard to explain over text.
Elsa: ...
Elsa: Will you be there?
This made Anna pause, a warm feeling beginning to grow in her chest. She took a deep, comforting breath and returned to the tiny screen.
Anna: Yes. I'll be there.
Elsa: Then yes, i'll...participate.
Anna: Wait, don't you have practice Friday nights?
Elsa: I can reschedule.
Anna: Are you sure? I don't want you getting in trouble again.
Elsa: Don't worry about me Anna.
Anna glanced up from her phone and looked around the table. Mulan had her head in her hands, staring at the table as the rest of the group chatted amongst each other excitedly. Anna glanced back at her phone before standing up abruptly, pulling on her coat and wrapping her messenger bag across her shoulders.
"Sorry guys," Anna rushed as everyone looked up at her, "I gotta go, something came up."
Kristoff looked concerned and jumped out of his seat. "Is everything OK?" His eyes spoke of something else, not wanting to bring a certain subject to the table, but Anna shrugged it off.
"Yeah yeah, I just forgot to take care of something." She swatted casually at the air and retreated to the exit. "Thanks for the game! See you guys Monday!"
Everyone waved goodbye, confusion apparent on their faces as Anna let herself out. Once she stepped into the cold night air, she watched her breath puff out in front of her, then pulled out her phone for the umpteenth time that night.
Anna: Hey Elsa, What are you doing right now?
Anna and Elsa met at a local coffee shop, Anna surprised that Elsa agreed, and Elsa surprised that Anna had asked her out.
"What's good here?" the blonde asked, bright blue eyes roving over the chalk menu behind the bar. Anna tried to focus on the menu as well, but kept glancing back at her.
Gawd she's so gorgeous, it's almost not fair.
Anna blinked, her own chain of thought surprising her. She turned to Elsa again and really looked at her, her eyes admiring her features and trailing her form. She was more casual today, with a pair of jeans tucked into snow boots, her stockings peeking out over the top. The blonde topped it off with an oversized sweater and blue knitted scarf that brought out her eyes, and her hair up in a ponytail.
"Du er vakker."
Elsa turned to Anna curiously, making sure she heard correctly. "Unnskyld?"
"Uhhhh," Blood rushed to Anna's face as she fell over her words, "I meant to say that you look nice. I may have mistranslated that one a bit."
Elsa laughed, a light, sweet sound that Anna wanted to wrap herself in and hear all the time.
"Takk," the blonde smiled, looking into the auburn's eyes. This caused Elsa to pause for a moment, tilting her head slightly, her gaze piercing. "Å...vakre øyne du har."
Anna bit her lower lip, her face reddening further from embarrassment. Elsa brought a hand to her mouth in an attempt to hold back an uncharacteristic squeal.
This girl is absolutely adorable.
"-Hey uh, Anna? You gunna order or what?"
Both girls' attention shot to the coffee bar, where a very impatient Snow White was tapping her nails on the counter irritably. Something dawned on her and she pointed at the auburn suspiciously. "Wait, aren't you supposed to be at Kristoff's? I thought Rapunzel said you were there."
Elsa looked down at Anna and raised an eyebrow, "'At home, bored, with nothing to do,' I seem to recall you saying..." she whispered, nudging the girl next to her. Anna somehow turned a deeper shade of crimson, and all she wanted to do was crawl into a corner and die.
"Yeah, I uhm, left." Anna attempted, out of excuses and a bit flustered.
Snow shrugged, then took her iPhone out of her apron and began to text. Anna tried to lean over the counter, hoping she could catch a glimpse of what the girl was typing.
"Soooo, what can I get you?" Snow suddenly perked up, dropping her phone into her pocket.
"Large mocha, extra shot, extra whip, extra chocolate for me," Anna gave Elsa a sideways glance, "Do you know what you want?"
The blonde struggled for a moment, her eyes bouncing across the menu, trying to decide.
Snow interjected, "What do you normally order when you're at Starbucks? I'm sure we can make something similar here, and I promise it will be a million times better."
Elsa looked from Snow to Anna, her expression blank. "I...don't usually drink coffee."
Anna stared at her with wide eyes, "How do you liiiive? Caffeine is my lifeline!"
Elsa shrugged, "Hot water and lemon?"
Snow shook her head, "That's just twisted, you poor poor soul," and began to press keys on the cash register. Anna tugged on Elsa's arm to catch her attention as Snow barked orders at her coworkers.
"You wanna rebel?" Anna asked challengingly, raising one eyebrow.
Before Elsa could speak, the auburn stopped Snow's communication and flung her hand forward. "Make that two 'Anna Specials'."
Snow grinned, her smile reaching her brown eyes. "Wise choice," her eyes met with Elsa's for a moment and smirked slightly, "You're going to be awake for days."
Elsa let out a nervous laugh and offered a credit card as payment, which Snow took without question. Anna looked at the girl irritably, ready to protest.
"You paid for dinner last night, it's the least I could do," Elsa spoke first, taking back her card and walking towards an empty table.
Anna rolled her eyes, "In case you're suffering from amnesia, I didn't pay for anything."
"Your presence did." Elsa turned to face her, a smile gracing her lips.
Anna was ready to interject, but couldn't find anything witty to say back in response. This only made Elsa smile broader as they sat down at a small round table.
"So tell me more about this ruse," the blonde started, feeling unusually confident.
Anna took a deep breath and began explaining, but not without going through her list of friends and describing their personalities first. Even though Elsa had yet to meet anyone else (save Snow White), she could easily imagine all of Anna's friends with her vivid descriptions. Elsa noticed too that the auburn used her arms a lot when she spoke, and when their coffees were finally delivered, she almost knocked both of them off when portraying the fiery red-head Merida (Scottish, no filter) taking a shot at Hans (tall, sharp features, nice eyes, dangerous) during a scrimmage.
Elsa couldn't help but watch her closely, the smell of bittersweet chocolate and espresso wafting around them, and the blonde found herself in a moment of absolute bliss. She tried her best to listen, but she couldn't help but watch Anna's freckled nose crinkle when speaking of something she disliked, or how wide her rich aqua eyes got when acting surprised. The girl was full of so much energy and optimism, and Elsa wanted some of it.
"Ready?"
Elsa shook her head slightly, returning to the present, and gave Anna a confused look, "Excuse me?"
Anna motioned to the steaming mug of chocolate and coffee madness in front of her before picking up her own. Elsa followed suit, lifting the mug with her slim fingers and holding it to her lips. "Ready," she murmured.
Both girls took a sip in tandem, Anna quite literally gulping her drink while Elsa took a much more sophisticated approach. When Elsa pulled her mug away, Anna had to keep herself from bursting into laughter.
"What?"
Anna hiccuped, trying to control the giggles that were threatening to spill over. "Just...oh my gawd, I'm gunna die. Come 'ere." She motioned for Elsa to come closer, and when she did, Anna took her finger and touched the tip of the blonde's nose. "It's almost like you did it on purpose!" Anna laughed, retracting her finger with a bit of whipped cream on it. Elsa's face instantly reddened as her hands shot up to her face, furiously rubbing at her nose.
The hockey player could no longer control her laughter and broke out into hysterics, catching strange glances from the other occupants in the cafe. Elsa ducked her head and furrowed her eyebrows in mock annoyance. With a smirk, the blonde jabbed her finger into her mug and reached across the table, smearing whipped cream on Anna's nose.
"Oh!" Anna's eyes went wide in shock as Elsa sat back in her chair with a smug expression, one arm across her chest and the other raised, twirling her finger as if only she controlled the element of pressurized heavy whipping cream.
And Anna thought it was the hottest thing she had ever seen.
Slow to recover, the younger girl wiped the the cream off the tip of her nose with her finger and licked it off. Elsa watched this, her breath hitching in her throat.
"Oh don't look at me like that," Anna laughed, rolling her eyes. She most definitely mistranslated Elsa's expression, much to the blonde's relief. "You can never let perfectly good whipped cream go to waste, especially when it's been touched with the perfect blend of chocolate and espresso." Anna lifted her cup again, closed her eyes and took a long sip, sighing into the mug. "Isn't it orgasmic?"
Elsa was doing everything in her power to keep control of herself, though what she was trying to control exactly, she wasn't sure. She wasn't moving, wasn't thinking, and pretty sure she wasn't breathing either. Hands shaking slightly, the blonde distracted herself with her drink, her refinement gone as she gulped down the contents.
"Do you like it?" Anna asked suddenly, the humor gone, now replaced with sincerity.
The blonde coughed, her tastebuds and throat adjusting to the richness of the drink. With slightly watery eyes, Elsa finished off the last of the mocha and smiled. "This was seriously the best cup of coffee I've ever had," she said confidently.
Anna looked at her suspiciously, "Is that only because this is the first and only cup of coffee you've ever had?"
"Maybe," Elsa placed the empty mug on the table and looked at Anna sheepishly. "But it's not about the drink, even though it is honestly very good. For me, it's about the company."
"Anna!"
Both girls turned to the direction of the coffee bar where Snow was waving at them. "I'm closing up over her, and Kristoff said to check your phone."
Anna sighed, reality closing in on her as she snatched her phone out of her bag. She had three missed phone calls and over a dozen messages from a variety of people, but mainly from Kristoff.
Elsa watched Anna's transformation with great curiosity as she slumped in her chair and appeared to grow weary, as if the entire planet was resting on her shoulders.
"I'm sorry Elsa, I have to take care of this." The auburn held up her phone dejectedly as she stood up, tossing her messenger back over her shoulder.
"Don't worry, it's getting late anyway."
Anna and Elsa looked at each other at that moment, unsure of what to do. Elsa thought about hugging her goodbye, that was normal, right? But something kept her back, and instead she gave a small wave. "See you at school Monday?"
"Yeah." Anna gave a small smile, but Elsa could tell that she was already gone, distracted in another place.
Two in the morning rolled around, and Elsa found herself in bed, staring at her blue walls. The room was empty save for her Queen-sized bed, her skates, and a stack of unpacked boxes stashed in a corner. The only light came through the window, the moon reflecting off the water in the lake. She was wide awake (probably due to the coffee no less) and kept glancing at her phone, hoping it would ring.
In frustration, the blonde reached for the device.
Elsa: Snow was right, I'm going to be awake for days.
And she waited. Luckily, only a few minutes passed before the phone buzzed to life, but to Elsa, it felt like an eternity.
Anna: I feel awful, I really shouldn't have ordered that drink for you.
Elsa: Don't. It gave me an idea of what the real Anna tastes like.
Elsa instantly regretted sending that last text and jabbed at her screen, hoping it would somehow delete the message.
Anna: Did you like what you tasted?
Elsa stared at the message, rereading the six words over and over again, even whispering it out loud to herself to make sure she wasn't imagining it. She tapped her finger on her lower lip, reliving the moment of Anna's tongue licking at the whipped cream. What if it had been her own finger? What if it had been...
Oh my gawd. Calm the fuck down.
Elsa: Jeg liker deg.
Anna: Do you respond in Norwegian when you get nervous?
Elsa: Hvor kan jeg kjøpe en vikinghjelm?
Anna: Did you seriously just ask me where you can buy a viking helmet? Weirdo.
Elsa: Kunne jeg låne pennen din?
Anna: No, you cannot borrow my pen.
Elsa: Well that's not very nice.
Anna: You didn't answer my question.
Elsa: You asked two.
Anna: Yes I did.
Elsa: To your second question, yes.
Anna: And to the first?
Elsa hesitated. Anna was being very persistent, but she wasn't surprised.
Elsa: I tasted energy, richness, but bittersweet. While the flavors were balanced, there was a surprising complexity, but it was all covered by a giant heap of whipped cream. And I wonder, if you take that layer off, what's it like underneath?
Anna's response was slow, and Elsa was afraid that she had either taken too long and drifted off, or she simply freaked her out. Why was she so nervous?
Anna: The whipped cream holds it all together. Without it, it all falls apart.
Author:
For anyone out there who actually speaks Norwegian, I can only apologize profusely for the random tenses that I'm probably jumping around in.
And you guys are the best! I'm glad you are liking the story so far, and I have to admit, Modern AU's are way more fun to write. And i'll continue to message you guys with thanks, so check your PM's cause they're coming your way!