Chapter 10: Just as planned
The next two weeks passed by in a rush. Elsa and Anna had lots of stuff to do, they especially finally had to get a serious move on in their studying for their final exams. They did talk a lot with each other, but not about each other, even though it was crystal clear to both of them that there was something between them. Patrice also was trying to convince both girls to confess, of course only when the other person wasn't within earshot. Elsa knew her mother only meant it good for both of them, but it started to become more of an annoyance than help.
Either way, this weekend it finally was the day – the convention was in town. The convention she'd go to with Anna. After quite a few hours in the gym to fulfill her half of the deal, now it finally was Elsa's turn to be a nuisance and drag her hopefully-one-day significant other to it. The prospect of being with Anna in an environment other than their apartment, with a person who loved the exact same thing as she did, all this made her heart beat faster. Admittedly, she wasn't sure if she was so excited about going to the con or about going to the con with Anna.
She couldn't wait to be there and spend all of her savings on things she didn't need, but want. Figurines, plushies, accessoires, maybe some hand-me-down video games... She loved conventions, this annual one in particular.
„Anna, you ready?" Elsa was rummaging around in her handbag, checking if she had everything – the tickets for the con and the public transport, her passport, her purse with roughly 300 bucks she'd saved up over months... She was good to go.
„Yep, all set." Anna walked into the living room in a t-shirt and clamdiggers. It was warm outside but not really hot, just comfy. Elsa herself wore something similar, a white blouse and a skirt stopping just above her knee. She also had a backpack in her hand for all the stuff she'd buy.
„Alright. Mom, we're off. See you in the evening." The blonde walked up to her mother, hugged her and gave her a kiss on the cheek.
„Later Patrice, use the time to catch a breathe while we're not around". Anna hugged her host too.
„One day won't suffice to push aside the chaos you create. Have a nice time you two." She waved at them shortly. Elsa could've sworn her mother winked at her when she turned around.
This woman...
The two young women left the building and headed for the bus stop and started talking. Turned out, Anna never visited anything like a convention, so she was very excited, much more than she showed. When she asked why Anna never visited one, the latter answered with what Elsa had expected – her mother didn't allow it and she had no one to go there with. While they got on the bus, Elsa suddenly remembered something.
„By the way Reddie, I forgot to tell you that we most likely will run into Zelli at the con – I hope you don't mind."
„Why would I mind? Zelli is cool. I'm surprised thought that she's into games, Anime and Manga."
Elsa laughed. „Right, forgot to tell you. She was the one that got me hooked to these medias. Except for games, in that case it was me who infected her."
„Hooo... Who would've thought." Anna was honestly surprised. She couldn't imagine Rapunzel sitting calmly there watching Anime. The blonde shrugged and asked about the big story behind Rapunzel's and Elsa's friendship.
„Well, be glad it's a long ride cause the story isn't short. As you surely noticed when we accidentially meet at school, I'm not really the center of popularity. Never was. Never wanted to be to be honest. Rapunzel and I went to the same middle school. I was bullied back then, pretty badly actually. You know, kids are ignorant and cruel creatures so they wouldn't realize that I preferred to stay inside rather than running around with them kicking a stupid ball. Well, one time at school for a reason or another, I had my Gameboy with me. One of those little douches took it – and slammed it to the ground, pretty much shattering it. Little did he know, it held a lot of value to me since it was the last birthday present I got from my Grandma before she passed. Well, I snapped completely. Janked his chair backwards and started to stomp on his damn body while shouting and screaming. 'Course the teacher wasn't pleased and my parents were ordered to the headmaster's office. Blablabla, therapy, blablabla, danger to other kids. Well, when I came back into class to get my stuff, I saw Rapunzel do pretty much exactly the same thing I did to the boy. She only knew that the handheld was very dear to me and that was enough to kick his ass. A girl who I never talked to, who was popular in class revenged my belongings. I today can't even understand why she suddenly sided with me. Of course, she got into trouble too and in retroperspective, hurting that boy wasn't clever at all, but it meant a lot to me back then. Anyway, some days later, Rapunzel suddenly stood on my doormat and asked me if she could come in. That day our friendship began and we're sure it'll continue to last until one of us kicks it off."
Anna was astonished. She imagined them to have met when they entered the same class in high school but that they were friends for roughly eight years now. Leaving aside the brutality and circumstances of how they got to know each other, it was a rather nice story. And now she knew why Elsa kept an irreperably damaged Gameboy in her belongings.
„That's quite the story."
Elsa let a crooked smile slip over her face.
„Yeah, it is. I'm not proud of how we met but I'm glad we did. Anyway, we're there in a few minutes, are you getting nervous?"
Anna laughed. „Nervous is the wrong word. Excited is more like it. Seeing all of these people, watching Anime as dozens and not only us two in the same room and more. It's a completely new experience for me."
„Heh, you'll love it, trust me. But you forgot the most important things – all the merchandise!"
As she listened to Elsa blabbering about her plans for the next two days, what to buy and what to watch, an idea sparked in her head.
xXxXxX
Half an hour later, the girls were at the entrance to the convention. Even before they entered, Anna loved it. The atmosphere outside the hall was great, people were laughing, talking about this show and that game and posed for the camera when they were wearing cosplays. The redhead felt out of place since she wore normal streetwear whereas roughly eight out of ten of the others were wearing dressed up.
They queued up to get their tickets checked. It took some time, but everything that came after that justified the wait. It was awesome. A big stage had been built where a female moderator, of course wearing a cosplay, was walking up and down, entertaining the crowd and reading out the program of the day. A bunch of corridors and stairs connected the main floor with smaller side areas – according to a map, those were for food and drinks, a second-hand section, restrooms, a tea lounge and Elsa's beloved merchandise on the same level as the stage. If you walked up a staircase, you'd reach the area dedicated to video games and the watching area. Anna had to admit that the rather limited place in the building was used very efficiently and logical -after all, merchandise took up more space than food.
„Wow. This is amazing."
Elsa stood beside her, a satisfied look on her face. „Trust me Reddie, you have no idea how amazing. Anything particular you want to go? It's half past noon now. The first thing I want to watch is the cosplay contest starting at 15 o'clock, so we got plenty of time."
„Let's visit the booths first. You go on ahead, I need to use the restroom. Don't worry, I'll find you."
Elsa shrugged, turned around and started heading towards the hall dedicated for merchandise.
Anna on the other hand walked straight until she reached the ladies' restroom, entered and locked herself in a stall. She didn't really need to use it but needed some minutes to call somebody. Taking out her cellphone and dialing the number, she thought about her plan and deemed it worth a try. The person on the other end of the line picked up.
„Hyhy, 'sup lass?"
„Hey Rapunzel, it's me Anna."
„I know, it says so on the display. Is something the matter?"
„No, not at all. I just have a favor to ask of you. You know I like Elsa in the love-like way, so I'm thinking about gifting Elsa something – a token of my affection for her so to speak. When I see something that pickes her interest particularly, I'll hopefully succesfull, call you. If I do, can you please call Elsa and somehow lure her into talking with you for a few minutes?"
„Erm, hun, why should I talk to her on the phone when I can strike up conversation with her irl?"
Anna facepalmed. „Ah damn, Elsa told me you'd be here too."
„Yup. I'll help you out, leave it to me. But a token of your affection, huh? Wanna buy her a figurine she wants and leave it with a love letter or what?"
Anna sighed – was she really that easy to see through her? „... Something along those lines, yeah."
Rapunzel laughed. „Why don't you just walk up to her, pull her into a hug and stick your tongue down her throat? Would be much easier, less cheesy and wouldn't cost a bunch of money. But in it's own way, it's a cute idea."
The redhead huffed unladylike. „Easy my ass, if it was I'd already done it."
Rapunzel sighed annoyed. „It IS that easy, you just gotta have some balls and stop thinking about every possible outcome."
„Shut it girl, let me handle this my way."
Anna could almost hear Rapunzel shrug. „Sure, whatever. But if she runs off with a different girl, don't come crying to me. Look Anna, I like you, but you really should stop being so passive. Well, once more, I'll help you out, but pick something good. A tip of mine – If Elsa wants something but doesn't want others to know easily, she starts scratching her right ellbow."
„Teach me how to overcome my fears of rejection and I'll do it. Anyway, thanks for the tip and your help, see you later."
Anna disconnected the call, unlocked the door and left the stall.
Irritating...
The redhead knew perfectly well that Rapunzel was more or less right. But fear is not something you overcome easily, especially with no help. And in terms of romance or being bold in a direct way, she was a fish out of the water, a toddler in the body of a grown-up. And she was scared to fuck it up in catastrophic extends.
She walked down the hallway to the room with the stalls and saw people streaming in and out of it, some with sacks full of merchandise, others empty handed, waiting for one thing or another. Anna continued her way there, trying not to crash into a woman wearing a very well made cosplay depicting Riza Hawkeye from FMA and finally reached the entrance. Letting people pass her, she slipped in when there was a gap large enough.
The inside of the hall was enormous and filled to the brim with every imaginable kind of merchandise. Figurines, life-height cutouts, wigs, shelves stuffed with Manga and Anime, buttons and badges, keyrings, plushies, posters, mousepads, games and much more.
Finding Elsa won't be that easy I suppose...
Anna was sucked in to the atmosphere, even more than in the main hall. People were showing off their purchases and discussed what they should buy next, people buying things were bartering with the vendors about the price, some of them were arguing over the same one-of-a-king-things both of them wanted. And so many cosplayers. After three minutes in the room, Anna had given up on trying to identify each one of their chosen characters – it was nigh impossible.
Almost forgetting about her objective, Anna took her merry time checking the booths herself. One of them was especially laden with figurines, some of them irrationally expensive, others very beautiful to look at and affordable. A slightly chubby woman with glasses and a Death Note shirt looked at her.
„Hey, you lookin' for something special?"
Anna cleared her throat. „Nah, not really. My first time at a con so I'm a bit overwhelmed to be honest."
The woman chuckled. „Tell me about it, it's my first year behind the counter. An advice from me – buy the stuff you want the first day before it's gone. Don't look at me like that, I just give you my honest opinion, built after around a dozen conventions."
Anna looked at the woman doubtfully. „How do I know you don't want to talk me into buying your figurines?"
The other woman laughed. „If you did it would be great. But the good thing about a convention is that most vendors leave with empty stocks, so I'm not concerned about my income."
Anna admitted she had a point. Nevertheless, she told the woman that she'd take a look around for the time being and would stop by later again maybe. Turned out the woman was right because most of the vendors she talked to gave her the same hint about buying what she wanted as soon as possible.
While she was checking out one booth after another without buying anything, somebody touched her shoulder. Taken by surpise, Anna spinned around and looked into Elsa's gleaming face. Her already adorable face was even more adorable with that expression of pure glee and joy on it.
She had a shopping bag in her right hand that looked rather heavy.
„Hey, I saw you stalking around the hall earlier, it was pretty interesting to see you talk to the vendors. Bought anything yet?"
Anna shook her head.
„You should buy what you want so-.."
„..-on before the stocks are empty and you can't get it anymore. Thanks Elsa, I've been told this hint around a dozent imes already."
Elsa walked up to Anna and picked up a badger with Hatsune Miku printed on it. She spinned it around, inspected the pin and bought it. She put it into her bag carefully before looking at her friend with a questioning expression on her face.
„What's wrong?"
„Nothing. I just don't know what I want to buy first."
„How about a Figurine? They're expensive but every collector's pride. Come with me, I'll show you where I bought my first one this year."
She grabbed Anna's hand and marched on, slipping through the people. Anna was very much aware of the skin contact and tried her best not to let her heartbeat accelerate. They fought their way back to where Anna had already been – and ended up in front of the chubby woman again.
„Hey Clara, it's me again. My friend Anna here needs some help with her first purchase of the weekend. Anna, this is Clara, the girl who showed me and Zelli around on our first con."
„Ah, the newbie. Just kidding, don't kill me with your glance. Yeah, we talked before. So, how can I be of help this time, Elsa? Came to your senses about that Ultimate Madoka figurine? I tell you, eighty bucks is a great price for it – and it's already 20 percent off since we're friends."
Elsa sighed dramatically but couldn't hide her pained expression - and the fact that she scratched her right ellbow. „Still to expensive, sorry. Only got around a hundred and twenty left and have my eyes on other stuff as well."
Clara shrugged. „Well, if you're sure. So, Anna. Any show you like in particular?"
Anna thought about it long enough to press the re-dial button to give Rapunzel the sign. „No, not really. I like a lot of different stuff. Do you have something for less than a hundred?"
„More precisely?"
Scratching her chin, Anna narrowed down the range down to up to sixty bucks. Her interest was picked and while she had a lot more money than Elsa available, the time at the Smith household had shown her that money was much more valuable than she thought it to be in her former, rich environment.
The woman behind the counter nodded, stood up, walked up to the wall behind her and grabbed a list. While checking with the list, she pulled many a few of the boxes out of their place on the shelf and placed them in front of Anna.
„Any of those? They're all rather high quality, rest assured. I've got some of them at home myself and am very content."
Anna inspected the figurines closely when Rapunzel appeared. All according to the plan, very good.
Rapunzel greeted Clara with a hug before she started talking to Elsa and convinced her to go grab some food while discussing their plans for the next days. Answering Elsa's question if Anna would join them, she answered in denial, stating she'd want to finish the purchase first.
Elsa laughed and left the room with Rapunzel who literally bounced up and down while walking.
„Um, Clara?"
„You sure take your time. Yeah?"
Anna looked up at the woman. She had made up her mind to get Elsa the figurine she wanted – and buy herself one modelled after Mio from K-ON!. „That ultimate Madoka figurine. How much?"
„If you're asking me for figurines below sixty bucks, too much."
Anna sighed. „Just tell me how much. I want to gift it to Elsa. I owe her a lot and she seemed to really want it, so I'm sure she'd like it."
Clara looked at Anna with a kinder expression. Not that she'd been particularly unfriendly before.
„Usually a hundred. But since that's a sweet idea and every friend of Elsa is a friend of mine – ninty. Ten percent off. This doesn't apply to your other purchase here though."
Anna looked positively surprised at the other woman. „Deal."
She paid a hundred and forty bucks, thanked Clara and was about to walk off when the woman called out to her.
„Here, my business card. We ship internationally. If you add my reference number to the order, you get five percent off for being a patron."
Anna nodded, thanked her again and left the booth.
xXxXxX
Six in the evening. The girls were on the bus and heading home. Elsa was already sound asleep, her face pressed against the window without any glamour. Anna could only imagine how tired Elsa was, she wasn't used to this amount of walking around after all.
It was a long and exciting day for both of them. Anna's phone was full of pictures and clips, she took every shot she could possibly take when the cosplay contest was on stage or when the gamers were battling it out in the Super Smash Bros. tournament. Elsa had been right – cons were awesome.
The redhead looked in her bags. She shopped to her hearts content, spending more than onehundred and fifty bucks for herself – not considering she'd gotten Elsa. Anna smiled at her purchase. It felt good to not hide his hobbies and passions anymore. Sure, since she moved in to the Smiths, she showed off all of her Manga and Anime on her shelves. But those were different. It felt different.
The girl looked past her companion and watched the city slide by. It was the time of sunset and people were sitting in cafés and enjoyed themselves.
The bus drove on and Anna saw couples walk hand in hand on the walkways. Seeing them, she suddenly felt a sting of jealousity that only furthered her resolve to try and confess to Elsa with her plan. But the more resolved she got, the more anxious she became.
The drive lasted for another twenty minutes. When they neared their bus stop, Anna carefully shook Elsa's shoulder to wake her up.
„Hey, Els, wake up, we're here."
The blonde withdrew her face from the window with a literally smacking sound and turned her head to Anna.
„...Hn?"
Anna laughed. „Wakey-wakey lass. We're home."
Elsa stretched her body while the bus slowed down to a halt. Anna slipped from her seat, took Elsa's hand and pulled her up. The bus opened it's doors and the girls exited onto the walkway. Elsa swayed forth and back a bit.
Anna laughed again while she wrapped her arm around Elsa's waist to stabilize her. „Oi, Don't fall asleep again".
„Mnhm..."
„By Madoka, you're unbelievable. Come on, let's go."
Anna started to drag Elsa along. The girl's head slowly sank down on Anna's shoulder. The way to the residential house was a lot longer than usual. It was rather hard to open the door and keep Elsa standing with one hand. The blonde seriously managed to fall asleep walking, something Anna hadn't even thought possible.
While she pressed the button to call for the lift and waited for it to arrive, Elsa slowly opened her eyes and looked up at Anna.
„We're... home?"
The door opened with a ding and Anna dragged her friend into the small cabin before ordering the lift to go up to the fifth story. Elsa was mostly awake now and walked to the door herself with Anna following her closely. The door sprang open, and the girls walked into their room.
Elsa yawned loudly and turned to Anna. „Gonna take a nap..."
As if she was already half asleep she had no care in the world when she set to strip down to her underwear. Anna, being well-mannered as she was left the room and closed the door behind her before she walked into the living room.
Patrice and Hans were sitting on the couch, watching TV and laughing their asses of. When the redhead entered the room, Patrice looked up and muted the TV.
„Welcome back dear. Had fun? Where's Elsa?"
Anna walked into the kitchen and took a bottle of soda from the fridge before answering.
„Yeah, you have no idea. It was awesome to the maximum. As for Elsa... She fell asleep on the bus, so I had to carry her from the bus stop here. In the lift she woke up somewhat, but as soon as we entered, she started to undress and climbed into her bed."
Hans snorted. „Sounds like 'er. Hard to wake 'er up properly, no?"
Anna planted herself on the couch beside her host. „Yeah. I knew she wasn't easy to wake, but I didn't know she could sleep while walking."
The three of them sat there watching a repetition of How I met Your Mother. Once the episode was over, Anna turned to Patrice. She thought about it and decided to tell Patrice about her plan and ask her for help as to how to do it properly.
„Patrice, can I speak to you for a moment?"
„Sure, what's up?"
„Erm, under four eyes. About what we talked a while back."
Realization sparked in Patrice's eyes. „Ah, that. Sure." She turned to her son „Hans, we're borrowing your room for a few minutes."
„Whatever – am I ever gonna know what you talked about?"
Anna looked at him. „Eventually."
The women stood up from the couch, headed into Hans' room and closed the door behind them.
Patrice sat down on her son's bed and looked at Anna expectantly.
„Made up your mind?"
Anna sat down on Hans' desk chair and took the figure she bought for Elsa out of her backpack.
She showed it to Patrice before putting it onto the desk.
„Yes. And this is going to help me. And so are you, hopefully."
The girl started to explain her plan in detail to her host. She started how she got the idea, how and when she hoped to carry it out and what kind of help she'd need from Patrice. The older woman's face at first was a bit skeptical, then neutral, then surprised and lastly smiling.
„That's... unusual. But cute. So, to get you right. You're going to put a letter with your confession on the bottom of the box the statute is in so it will fall out when Elsa opens it."
„Yes." Anna nodded.
„You expect me to keep it hidden until after the final part of your graduation."
„Yep." A second nod.
„... Are you sure that's going to work? That it'll work out better than a verbal confession?"
Anna wasn't sure that it'd work in the least. But in her mind it sounded more romantic and unique than an anguished declaration of love. And it was always easier to write things than say things.
„I'm not sure, but I'm a coward. I'd never tell her in person, so this is a good alternative."
Patrice locked her eyes with the girl that was in love with her daughter. Anna didn't break the eye contact, she held it sturdily. Finally, Patrice sighed.
„I'll help you dear – but I hope you know what you're doing."
Anna laughed. „So do I."
A/N: Damn, a whole month without an update. I feel like a douche. Sorry, but a lot of stuff came up. Had to find a job (not yet successfull), University is starting in two weeks, had some personal problems, my addiction to games got serious (really have to do something about it...). So yeah, sorry about that.
In exchange, I give you the longest chapter yet, clocking at almost 4.3k words.
Finally there's motion coming into the girls and the romantic tension between them. I admit, I had a lot of struggle about how to write this chapter because I write what comes to my mind that moment, I don't plan ahead most of the time. So all this „confess with a love letter hidden underneat a statute" was spontanous and I have no Idea how it worked out – I beg you, give me a review about how you liked the chapter, if you liked the idea or thought it to be bull's crap. What's left – the name of the chapter. Those of you that watch Anime could remember this, it's one of Death Note's most popular quotes, spoken by the protagonist Light. I admit, I didn't really like DN, but the scene where he spoke this sentence was awesome.
With that said, enjoy it, review and favo it if you liked it, thanks for all the love this fic is getting already and see you next time.
Saro2775