Day 7
Elsa's pen froze mid-sentence as she watched Axel's fingers slide a new note onto her desk. She narrowed her eyes at the piece of paper, then at him. He didn't look at her, instead choosing to feign interest in his notebook as he doodled in the margins.
Should she read his note? She was almost tempted not to just to spite him. She pursed her lips, her writing utensil jiggling between two fingers as she deliberated. Then, almost reluctantly, she picked it up and unfolded it. What was it going to say this time?
Do you like me? Check one:
Followed once again by a box for the affirmative and a box for the negative.
Her right eye ticked. This again? What, was this going to be a running gag now?
Axel still didn't turn his face towards her, but she could sense him watching her out of the corner of his eye. His lips formed a half grin as he waited to see what she would do. Slowly, and with great care, she folded the note up once more. She then tapped it against her chin a couple times in thought as the lecturer droned on through the lesson. Finally, she acted.
She deposited it onto the desk on her other side. The girl seated there, a brunette, shifted her eyes to the note, to Elsa, then back to the note. Then she picked it up.
Axel blinked a couple times. Elsa stuck her tongue out at him. He pouted.
She turned her head back to the girl to see she had opened the note and, having apparently read it, was now staring at Elsa, brow furrowed. Rapidly shaking her head, Elsa mouthed 'from him' as she pointed at Axel. The girl looked past her to the redhead and eyed him up and down briefly. Then a small smile tugged at her lips. Note still in hand, she wrote something down on it before she folded it back up and handed it to Elsa. Somewhat bemused, she passed it along to Axel. Quirking an eyebrow, he opened it and scanned its contents.
Half an hour later, the class came to an end. The brunette rose from her seat and winked at Axel as she walked passed him before melding into the crowd of students filing out the door.
"What did she write to you?" Elsa asked as she packed her things into her bag, trying to sound as if she didn't care. Because obviously, she didn't really. Duh.
He unfurled the paper once more and showed it to her. "Her digits."
Indeed, in addition to his original note, there were now seven numbers. The "Yes" box had also been filled in with a little heart, which Elsa wrinkled her nose at. "A heart? Really? How cheesy."
Scrutinizing the sheet closely, he asked, "You think so? I thought it was kind of classy."
She snorted. "Please. Besides, can she even read? Your note said to check one, not heart one."
"Right. Inability to follow simple directions. Total turn off," he deadpanned.
Shrugging, she said, "Hey, I'm just trying to look out for you, have your back."
"Oh?" He smirked as he leaned towards her, propping his elbow on the armrest separating their chairs and resting his chin against his knuckles. "Or maybe you're just jelly."
"Who, me? Nope," she popped the P and smiled sweetly at him. "We're just friends, remember?" Her fingers reached up and gave him a quick pinch on the cheek. "Go get her, tiger." Then she rose, slung her bag over her shoulder and left the classroom.
Face blank, he watched her go. Then he released a heavy sigh and slouched low in his seat, pouting once more.
"What's that?"
Axel halted in his tracks to look where Elsa was pointing, which was his bicep. "Oh, that? That'd be one of my guns." He flexed the muscle and mimicked the noise of cocking a pistol before adding, "Blam, blam!"
She fought against the smile forming on her lips and rolled her eyes from her seat at the library table. "Okay, holster the firearm, Tex. I meant what's that on your arm?" She pointed again, indicating the corner of something peeking out from under the sleeve of his t-shirt.
"Oh," he mumbled sheepishly, before lifting his sleeve to reveal a small, plain white square stuck to his upper arm.
Elsa tipped her head to one side. "A nicotine patch?"
"Yup," he nodded, before resuming his mission of carrying the library book he had been using over to its shelf, which was just a few feet behind where Elsa sat.
"You're trying to quit?" she asked as he returned the book to its spot and she heard it sliding into place.
"Yup," Axel chirped again.
She blinked. "That's… wow, good for you! Why'd you suddenly decide to kick the habit?"
She turned her head to look at him and nearly jumped out of her skin when she found he had bent down beside her so that they were eye level with each other. His eyes were hooded as he graced her with a devious little grin. Head slightly tilted at an angle, he was close enough that she could feel his breath warming her lips as he murmured, "Because I have it on good authority that some people don't find making out with an ashtray particularly attractive."
Don't you dare, cheeks. Don't even think about it. If you so much as-
Too late. Her cheeks were already merrily roasting away at a lovely shade of red.
Damn it.
His grin turned smug as he backed off and plopped down into his chair. Scowling, Elsa said, "Somebody is overconfident. We've been at this for barely a week, and I-"
"You? Who said anything about making out with you? Maybe I had that brunette from earlier in mind." His eyes twinkled mischievously as he innocently went on, "Somebody is presumptuous."
Her face grew hotter and she looked away. "That wasn't where I was going with that." It was. "As I was saying, we've been at this for barely a week, and I…" Alright, think up something, pronto. "...can tell you… that, uh…" Come on, say something. Anything! Anything to wipe that stupid, cocky grin off his face. "...that if you're worried about… being unattractive, then… bad breath is the least of your problems!" The last few words tumbled out in a rush.
He quirked an eyebrow, grin still present. If anything, her comment had only seemed to make it stronger. "Oh? Do tell."
She blurted out the first thing she could come up with. "You hair. For starters."
"My…?" A hand flew to his scalp. "What's wrong with my hair?"
"Well, nothing exactly, but uh… have you ever thought of doing anything else with it? You know, make it look more presentable? Try a ponytail once in a while."
He rubbed his chin. "That could be doable. What else?"
She paused as she tried to find something unattractive about him. Not going to lie, it was a challenge. She wasn't about to tell the smug jerk that, though. Her eyes focused on his cheeks and finally she said, "Those things under your eyes."
Now he frowned as his index finger brushed one of the upside down teardrop marks. "What about them?"
She actually didn't have a problem with them, but the obstinate, stubborn side of her wasn't about to let her admit that, not now that she had already begun down this road. "Most girls just don't like feeling as if they're making out with Ronald McDonald."
He nodded slowly, then asked, "What about the winged eyeliner?"
She was silent a moment as she stared at him before averting her gaze and mumbling, "Keep it."
The grin was back. "Duly noted."
Opening her mouth to say something else, the words died in her throat as Axel looked past her and his smile faltered. Knitting her eyebrows together, she turned to see what had caught his attention.
A male student had come in through the entrance and was making his way across the library. His hair had been dyed a pale sky blue and trailed down his back to his waist, with bangs that were slicked back into jagged points on top of his head. His impassive, marine colored eyes scanned the room aimlessly as he walked. When they fell on Axel, he froze.
The redhead slowly raised a hand and gave a halfhearted wave. In response, the other guy simply scowled, turned and kept walking until he disappeared behind a row of bookshelves. Axel's lips pressed together into a thin line.
Elsa watched the exchange, blinking a couple times. What was that about?
When he didn't exactly volunteer any information, she asked, "Who was that?"
Expressionless, he looked down at his textbook and flipped a page as he muttered, "Nobody. Just someone I know."
She waited for more, but apparently that's all he had to say on the matter. She frowned, then gently prodded, "Come on. I gave you my tragic backstory yesterday, and that's all I get in return? That's not how this works, buddy, we're supposed to be getting to know each other. Quid pro quo." A ghost of a smirk formed on her lips. "So spill your guts, Red."
One corner of his mouth turned up. "Heh. You have a point there." He hesitated as he rubbed the nape of his neck, then said, "That was Saix. He's my best friend."
"Really? Didn't seem like it. Besides, I would have thought that blonde guy I always see you hanging out with was."
"Who, Roxas? Nah. Roxas is cool and is my homie and all, but Saix is my bro. My brother from another mother. My bestie, my BFF. We go way back, all the way to the second grade when we bonded over our mutual love of slugs, pirates, and sea salt ice cream."
Both eyebrows shot up her forehead. "Wow, that long? And going to the same college too? Talk about being joined at the hip."
He smirked. "Says the girl who goes to the same college as her sister and also shares an apartment with said sister."
"Touché."
"But yeah, we're pretty much inseparable. Like this," he held up his hand and crossed two fingers together. Then he frowned. "Or… rather, we used to be."
"What happened?" she softly coaxed.
He crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair. "You know, I'm still trying to figure that one out. But I guess it all started when we joined a frat."
Her lips formed a perfect O. "A frat? You?"
He shrugged. "Is it really that surprising?"
"I don't know, you just don't really seem like the type."
He gave a soft snort. "Oh? So tell me then, what exactly is the frat type?"
"First of all... Well, there is a… It's... " She struggled for an answer, her face screwed up in thought. She pondered it for a moment before finally stating decidedly, "Not you."
He arched an eyebrow at her. "You don't know the first thing about frats, do you?"
"...not really."
Axel snickered. "We're not all just a bunch of drunk idiots who say 'bro' a lot."
"But you are an idiot, you were plastered just last week, and you called Saix your bro just a minute ago."
He opened his mouth as if to argue, froze, then shut it. He scratched his temple. "Well, crap. There goes my high horse."
Elsa bit back a laugh and clapped her hands. "Way to break those stereotypes."
"Quiet, you," he grumbled with a wry grin. "Anyway, it was our first year here at university. I wanted to rush some fraternities. I didn't have a particular reason for wanting to, and I didn't know anything about any of them. I was just doing it for shits and giggles. Saix didn't want to go, he thought it was stupid, but I made him come with me anyway. It was a blast, but I didn't expect anything to come of it. I mean, I did nothing but make a complete ass of myself, and Saix pretended not to know me while being about as social as a kumquat. So who would waste their time on us? Imagine our surprise when we actually received bids from the Thirteen."
Her eyes widened in realization. "Ah, so the Thirteen is a frat?"
He nodded. "You've heard of us."
"Yeah, from you."
Axel blinked. "When did I…?"
"The night you were wasted. I asked where you lived and you told me the Thirteen. You seemed quite offended when I didn't know what that was, but were determined not to clarify and instead just kept repeating 'the Thirteen' over and over again, as if that would help me magically understand what you were talking about."
Scratching his cheek, he mumbled, "Sorry. I get rather stupid when I'm drunk."
Resting her elbows on the table and propping her chin in both hands, she smirked. "It's cute that you believe it's only when you're drunk."
The corner of his eyes crinkled. "My my, aren't we feisty today."
"I guess you just bring it out in me," she shrugged.
One side of his mouth turned up and he looked at her through half-lidded eyes. "Wonder what other naughty little quirks are just waiting to be drawn out of you."
She resisted the urge to fidget under his predatory gaze, her confidence suddenly abandoning her. Okay, you win this round, bucko. She cleared her throat. "So, why's it called the Thirteen?"
"Its official title is actually Chi Iota Iota Iota."
"Sheesh, someone was a fan of iotas."
"Tell me about it," he snorted. "Sometimes it's just shortened to Chi Iota. But more often we call it the Thirteen because the greek letters look like an X followed by three I's."
"The roman numeral for thirteen," she nodded in understanding.
"Bingo," he tapped a finger to his nose. "So anyway, the Thirteen had taken an interest in us, god knows why, and sent us bids. Now, I had just been rushing for the hell of it and originally had no plans to actually join a frat. But when I received my bid, I figured why the hell not? Again, Saix wasn't interested, but yet again, I pestered and bugged him until bam! We were pledges.
"It was fun at first," he smiled, his eyes unfocused. "The pledging activities were good times, some were kind of weird, but nothing too fucked up. Even Saix reluctantly started to warm up to it all and really give it a chance. We got our big brothers, which are frat members who are sort of like our mentors. Mine was alright, kind of a wank though. As for Saix, his big brother was vice president of the Thirteen at the time and was part of this sort of clique within the frat."
He sighed. "I guess that's when things started to change. He started to become… I don't know, different. It happened little by little and I didn't really catch on until it was too late. He was alway busy, hanging out with me less and less, spending all his time with his big brother and the rest of his gang. I'm not sure why, but he just started getting more… distant. Colder. By the time we had transitioned from pledges to full members, we hardly talked anymore. When the president graduated, the vice pres took over the role and made Saix his VP. By then, he was outright hostile towards me."
Elsa furrowed her brow. "Odd… and you have no idea what brought it on?"
"Not a damn clue. I tried talking to him about it a couple times, but he'd just brush me off with some passive aggressive remark and walk away."
She briefly worried her bottom lip between her teeth. "Maybe it wasn't anything either of you did. Sometimes people just drift apart as they grow older and make new friends. Just the way life goes."
His shoulders slumped. "Yeah, maybe…"
"If Saix and his friends were being such jerks to you, why didn't you just quit the frat?"
"Actually, that group he hangs out with isn't so bad. They just mostly like to keep to themselves. And as a whole, the Thirteen is still pretty good. I've made other friends within it, they're some alright dudes. Plus I like helping out with the pledges. That's how Roxas and I became friends, he's currently a pledge. I volunteered to be his big brother. All in all, the Thirteen is cool."
He scowled. "The only problem really is Saix and whatever his beef is," he scoffed. Then his features softened and he hung his head with a sigh. "I just wish he would talk to me."
She wasn't sure what made her do it. Maybe it was just because his eyes seemed so sad. Maybe it was the almost imperceptible hitch in his voice. Maybe seeing him in any other state besides his usual happy, wisecracking self had thrown her off guard. Whatever it was, it brought Elsa to do something she hadn't done in a long time for another person who wasn't her sister.
She reached out, put her hand on top of his and gave it a soft, comforting squeeze..
He looked at her hand, then up at her and she smiled, "You two will work it out and be friends again. You'll see."
"...you think so? I'm not so sure."
"I know so," she nodded firmly. "Just be the persistent little pest I know you can be and he'll have no choice but to listen."
"Annoy him into talking this out? Heh. Sounds like me." He smirked and shifted his hand so he now held hers in his. "And if he and I can't patch things up, what then? I'll be utterly devastated, I might need some major TLC from someone."
She removed her hand from his with a snort. Back to his old self already. How quickly he flipped that switch. He'd be fine.
"In that case, you could always just get a cat."
Author's Note: More back story, yay! OrgXIII is a frat, yay! Hmmm, you're prolly wondering about Saix and why he doesn't look like he normally should - he looks more like an amalgam between Saix and Isa. There's a reason, don't worry, just like there's a reason Arlene was named Arlene and not Larxene. All will be revealed in due time, little ones :) Very soon in fact!
OMG guys one of my friends wrote an Axel-Elsa oneshot and it is amazing! So if you're looking for more of this crack ship goodness, go check out this cute awesomeness! It's by Ladies of Literature and it is called Snowflake!
Fun Facts - Yay, I got more rando-questions to answer from you guys, thank you! That's pretty much the rest of this AN so if you're not interested, you can stop reading here xD Back to the one I didn't answer last week: Zodiac Signs! Axel is a fiery, flamboyant, attention whore of a Leo, and Elsa is a cool, aloof, independent Aquarius! It was really hard not to make her birthday the Winter Solstice (which is officially unofficially her bday according to a tweet from the person in charge of the movie) but that wouldn't work for this story for REASONS - plus it was fun to think outside the box. Back to the matter at hand, I really like reading about Leo-Aquarius compatibility - it could either go spectacularly wrong or unbelievably right xD Either way, they always end up having no problems tearing up the bedroom, teehee.
As for movies, it's hard to narrow it down to even just a few favorites. Elsa loves movies with sassy narration, like Kiss Kiss Bang Bang and Warm Bodies. She also enjoys musicals, like Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, Into the Woods, and Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog (does that count as a movie? She thinks it does). Axel is a total zombie nut and is a big fan of Zombieland, Shaun of the Dead, and Warm Bodies (oh snap, overlap!). He also likes super hero movies, like Guardians of the Galaxy and V for Vendetta.
When it comes to TV Shows, Axel continues the trend of zombie loving and is addicted to Z-Nation, iZombie, and (duh) The Walking Dead. With her busy schedule, Elsa doesn't have much time for watching TV, but she makes an exception for Brooklyn Nine-Nine because it is short and beyond hilarious.
Favorite foods! Elsa likes chocolate, duh! But she also like peppermint and ice cream, so little wonder her favorite ice cream is mint chocolate chip! Also marshmallows! So s'mores are a must for her! Axel likes sea salt ice cream, duh xP But he also likes jalapeño poppers! And cinnamon! He actually has a secret addiction to those little red hots candies and eats them all the time when no one's looking. Also, lately, for some strange, totally unknown reason, he's been having mad cravings for strawberry cheesecake... huh, weird right?
And yes, Roxas has a deep, indescribable love for Jesse McCartney (and his music) that he keeps to himself. He doesn't really know why or how, but Jesse just GETS him, man, and Jesse just seems to have some strange, strong power over him and Roxas just can't help but jam to his music xD
Finally, this wasn't a question about the story, but rather about my username: Is Og Ild - what does it mean? It is Norwegian (Frozen takes place in Norway, thus my language choice) and means "Ice And Fire"... ehehehe, based on my otp obsession, I'm sure you can guess where that came from :P As for how to pronounce it, your guess is as good as mine. I just listened to it on google translate and sounds kind of like "ees-oh-ill" but who knows how accurate that is xD
Whew! I think that was all your questions, let me know if I missed any! Thanks again guys, you're really awesome for asking! These are so fun, so if you think of any more, do not hesitate to ask!
Thanks to SoraKairiRikuNamine, Ladies of Literature, xStrayGodx and Mr. Bubblesssss for their glorious reviews! Thank you one and all for reading, hoped you liked it, please leave feedback (and silly questions!) and let me know what you think! See ya'll next week!
