Chapter 11
It's not true. It's just not. Dammit. Get yourself together!
Anna's stare was pointed down toward her notebook where she furiously scribbled away, littering the page with graphite that resembled less of her Polish notes and more of jagged loops and lines. Her seemingly concentrated stare was hardly that. Her eyes were distant, thought occluding the usually vibrant sea-green orbs.
It had been almost 5 days since the party. So why was this troublesome idea not gone yet?
When she had woken up on Monday morning, heavily sleep deprived despite getting to sleep-in, she immediately chalked up all her confusing thoughts to the tipsy stupor she'd left the party in. It was secretly her first time with alcohol and she wasn't sure how she felt about it. It played with her brain, and despite the drowsiness it caused, those goddamn words were incessant. Obviously she was not in the state to handle any cryptic messages, though, it was increasingly apparent she couldn't handle them sober or tipsy. Why couldn't people just be blunt with her? It would solve so many sleepless nights and hazy days.
However, the problems really arose when the thought reentered her mind. That was the worst part. It was the little things that triggered it, every time, without fail.
Any time she texted Hans: Boom. Did she really like him?
Any time she saw Mulan at practice: Bam. Was she right about this 'reflection' thing?
Any time she saw, texted, spoke to, watched or thought about Elsa: Pow. Seriously, why did she think about her so goddamn much?
Out of the corner of her eye she could see the platinum blonde hair of the TA sitting in the row in front of her. This doesn't count. I'm already thinking about her.. Anna's internal voice was grumbled in defiance, though she wasn't sure why. Everything was frustrating her in that moment. Even internally.
There had to be some reason why this was so frustrating. She had wracked her mind a million times, and always came back to similar thoughts. She wasn't a religious person. She was raised to always be accepting and understanding of people, no matter what. She already knew that her problem wasn't stemming from religious damnation. And it wasn't because she had an issue with people being gay. However being gay was not what she ever expected for herself. Anna bit on her lower lip. This was all too new and too sudden. Way too sudden.
She couldn't just have this sudden change in sexuality like this. It wasn't how the world works. That type of thing just didn't happen. Well, maybe it happened in TV and movies and silly fanfiction stories, but this was real life! She'd always liked boys... though, if she was honest, she kind of liked the idea of them more. Finding her true love; a prince to whisk her into his arms as they travel away into the sunset. Here at Arendelle, she kind of found a prince, in a silly sense of the word. But still. She had a boyfriend. Anna paused momentarily as she brought forth that notion again, this time analyzing it differently than before.
If she didn't have a boyfriend right now, would this be just as confusing? Less? More?
"Dammit" she mouthed under her breath, not caring that the student beside her gave her an odd glance.
And what was up with Elsa not wanting to see her at the party anyway? Neither girl had brought it up, Elsa probably having her Elsa reasons and Anna just wanting to avoid the confrontation until she had a better understanding of her own thoughts. Still. Did Elsa not want to see her specifically? It didn't make sense.
They were friends now, maybe.
Obviously she wouldn't have a problem seeing Anna, probably.
She enjoyed Anna's company, presumably.
Whatever. It's still rude. Anna's cheeks puffed up in a pout. The graphite swirls deepened in color as more pressure was applied to the writing utensil. This all really had to stop-
"Miss Suvi." Her pencil tip snapped at the booming voice as Anna's head finally shot up. The stout man was facing her square on. He gave a questioning look at her face which very much resembled a deer in the headlights. "Nie słuchasz mnie, prawda?"
Oh jeez. I haven't been listening. What was the question? What's today's lecture topic? How long has he been waiting? What the Hell did he even just ask me? There was definitely a negative, and 'słuchasz' is a conjugated verb.. dammit, how do I unconjugate it for the root verb? God, Elsa, why did you distract me during the conjugation lecture?...That's when she realized all the eyes were turned on her, screeching her rambling inner monologue to a halt. Shit. BS it. BS it. She looked at the old man's expectant face.
"Uhh. Tak.. To prawda..?" she said slowly, carefully questioning each sound as the syllables tumbled from her mouth. She felt she couldn't go wrong if she just agreed with the man. Hopefully.
"Well at least you are honest.." A couple of snickers crossed the room while the professor shook his head. "Alright class, I have made a change to your final oral presentation." Anna groaned to herself as Professor Pabbie went back to addressing the class. She'd dodged that bullet but it barely stopped her embarrassment.
She wasn't sure but she thought she saw Elsa's shoulders rise a few times in a chuckle, even beyond the topic change. Ugh. This had to be the first, and only, time she actually wished Elsa still hid her amusement from her. She could already tell, as they would take their nightly walk home after class, that she'd be teased about this awful interaction..
"I thought I'd change it up," the professor continued as Anna flipped to a clean page, unmarred by pencil doodles. "Now we are going to have both an exam and an oral presentation."At that the whole class chimed in with a groan. The stout Polish man chuckled heartily. "Oh don't worry. I'll leave the fun." He started writing something on the board in Polish. Anna squinted and tried to decipher it.
Piosenka.. a song? A small smile grew across her lips, grateful for the change of topic to anything that wasn't focused on herself. So the oral presentation was going to be a song. Anna could do that. She loved singing! No shower was complete without her angelic vocals after all.
She listened as Professor Pabbie continued on about the grading rubric of the oral presentation in addition to the exam. The class finally seemed to be a bit more exciting, be it literally all for the final scheduled class date.
Looked like Anna would have to find a song. This could be the perfect assignment to get my mind off of… While she started packing up her backpack, her eyes glanced to the front floor of the lecture room, expectantly searching for the seated blonde. To her surprise, the blonde was already packed up, hip cocked against the desk, arms crossed over her checkered sweater vest. Her dark blue eyes were waiting keenly upon Anna's form, waiting with an expectant interest.
She blushed under the stare, hurrying back to her bag… orrrr maybe not.
…
As days turned into weeks, Anna had figured that the more that time progressed, the less everything would bother her; that the mere idea would slowly spread thin because it was obviously too crazy to consider. And she definitely thought that she'd have forgotten all of this absurdity by the time the end of November was rolling around. Yet, here she was; approaching the end of the 11th month, thought still as present as ever. It was certainly more challenging than she had originally planned, getting those lingering thoughts of Elsa away that is. More so it was because they spent every single day together, without fail, for some reason or another. Sometimes they'd even see each other up to three times! Between the morning indoor practices, their weight lifting training, and tutor sessions, the two technically spent more time together now than ever.
It was a little crazy. She'd never had to train so intensely before. Being a coxswain by trade, working out was always optional, certainly never mandatory. And even if she did work out with Rapunzel, it had never been so extreme or regimented. But she was training with Elsa, and they were training for one reason: competition. What better way to train than to completely immerse yourself within workouts, specifically with your teammate?
Anna let her eyes wander to the side as she continued her set of sit ups on the exercise ball. She could only take short glances, the up and down motion proving too dizzying for anything otherwise. But every so often, as she leaned her back onto the supportive ball, she liked to check in with how the blonde's own weight training was going.
They'd split up to efficiently 'divide and conquer' so to speak. This way they'd never have to wait for one teammate to finish with a set of equipment. At first Anna didn't like the idea as it required her to be independent, left to the confines of her own mind which she had always dreaded when it came to practicing. After a couple of times she got the hang of it, feeling more confident in her strength and more eager to tackle given tasks.
Her teal eyes caught the movement of a platinum braid in motion. Of course the blonde was in her zone, completely focused in on the task at hand, moving the massive 45lb weights around as if they were nothing. It still baffled the copper haired woman. She herself was strong and continuously felt that she was getting stronger, but damn. Elsa merely whisked the weights up onto the bars. I just want to be on that level someday.
While Elsa continued loading up the weight bar, Anna paused for an extended period. Secretly, she also enjoyed how the blonde opted to sport the AU crew colors and logo. The golden 'A' shimmered on top of her purple tank top and there was a similar gold oar across the chest. Anna's outfit was similar, of course, matching in colors. But it was always a sight any time Elsa dawned colors that were not a shade of blue.
She should wear the purple more. It goes better with her eye shadow.. And she frowned. There she was, doing it again. God Anna, you have to stop ogling at her. This is the whole issue. Just stop! With effort, she drew her eyes away, completely intent on continuing her abdominal crunches.
Her intention was interrupted as her eyes directed toward some of the other bodies in the weight room. A couple of the Lacrosse men were doing their lifting too, or at least they should have been. Anna watched as they indiscreetly watched Elsa load up her weights to prepare for squats, impressed looks crossing their faces. And they should be impressed. Everyone should be impressed. Elsa could squat almost double her body weight.
Anna's eyes narrowed as she watched, sitting upright on the ball and ceasing her sit-ups. The men's impressed expressions transformed into another, not so acceptable kind when Elsa had positioned herself to start her squatting reps.
Ugh. Perverts.. Anna fumed to herself, bouncing up off of the red exercise ball with a sudden purpose. She marched over to the group, maneuvering herself to stand in their line of sight. She had her arms folded across her chest, brows furrowed into a glare. She needn't say a word. The boys looked at her and made the connection between their matching AU Crew team gear. With flushed faces, the group hurried back to their own exercises.
She smirked triumphantly at her success of defending her teammate with honor. She turned around to see if Elsa had noticed the interaction at all. However she seemed never the wiser. Aqua eyes flitted downward, just as Elsa performed another rep of her squat routine. Wow I can certainly understand why they stare.. Those spandex shorts truly glorified all that was the most magnificently shaped ass Anna had ever seen. She bit her lip, having to close her eyes. Stop it Anna. You need to stop this. Thoughts like that are unacceptable.
She shook her head, causing her trail of thoughts to shift direction. But, I wonder if she's ogled like that every time she's here.. Anna considered in annoyance at the men's immature actions. Her gut knotted and she felt an odd inclination to accompany the Senior to the weight room every day from now on. Just to dutifully protect her teammate. Not because.. because she considered Elsa her…
'I won't intrude on your property...'
"Anna?" Crap!
"Uh yeah, Elsa?" She shoved Mulan's echoing words to the back of her mind and skipped over to the blonde's side. She received a curious gaze, momentarily fretting whether or not Elsa could hear her inner monologue.
"Are you done?"
"Done..? Oh! Uh, yeah, pretty.. pretty much, yeah." She shrugged her shoulders in attempted nonchalance, not really sure if she completed the 400 sit-up challenge Elsa had told her to do. Her abs were still on fire, if that was any indication of her performance.
Elsa nodded, missing the nervous addition to Anna's voice. Anna let out a tiny breath of relief that she wasn't about to get grilled on her performance. "Okay. I have one more set of squats. Then stretches?" she asked coolly. The corner of Anna's lip curled up triumphantly, noticing that it was an actual question and not an implicitly stated direction. Elsa had become less of a commander, now taking Anna's input more readily, treating her at a level of equal rather than inferior freshman.
Anna quickly nodded in affirmation and saluted the older woman in a dramatic fashion. "Aye aye!"
"Must you do that in public?" the blonde rhetorically asked once more, this time turning her head forward and away. She adjusted her grip on the weighted bar that sat ready atop her shoulders, rolling her head side to side to briefly loosen the tight muscles below. The mere action accentuated the density of her sweat glistening Trapezius muscles.
So sculpted.
Oye.. Must you look so jacked and hot in public, like, all the time? Anna's mental retort made her send a sliver of a glare toward the Lacrosse boys. Oh yeah. They were definitely trying to sneak peeks while Anna was not on patrol. Perverts.
"Yes, I must. Now scoot scoot," she said playfully. She lightly patted Elsa's exposed shoulder and, unbeknownst to the blonde, unconsciously let it linger on the defined Traps for a millisecond too long.
As Anna drew her hand away to walk toward her water bottle, she clenched her fist. Dammit Anna. It's like you are trying to make shit more confusing for yourself…
She sat in the lobby area outside the weight room, stretching out her hamstrings. The old carpeting may have been rough, but goodness, it felt amazing to stretch after an hour and a half of weight training! Even within the first few seconds she could feel the tension of her worn muscles release.
Her head looked up as the door to the weight room shut with a squeaky clank. Clad in crew gear glory, the woman strolled over to the redhead and took a swig of her drink. The moment the Nalgene water bottle reached the blonde's red lips, Anna found herself actively turning away at the action. For weeks, every time Elsa would drink from that very same bottle, Anna openly watched, not sure why she found the action so transfixing. But now, with these strange implications constantly floating in her mind, the action didn't seem nearly as innocent now.
I shouldn't call those guys perverts, she thought negatively, staring at her sneaker as a distraction. I'm just as bad.
Elsa didn't appear to notice the change of behavior, and even if she did, she didn't let it show. She only sat down across from the freshman and shifted into a mirrored stretch pose. She looked toward the redhead.
"Hamstrings first?" Anna nodded to answer the blonde's question as the duo began their routine stretch sets. Hamstrings, triceps, traps, quads, deltoids, glutes, piriformis and countless other muscle groups were relinquished from their tight binds.
During a Figure-4 pose, Elsa made the call to switch their leg stretch, upper bodies leaning across an individual leg. As Anna grasped her sneaker with both hands, she peeked her head up over her arm, watching her partner perform the same maneuver.
This time, instead of catching herself ogling the woman's physique, or beauty, or anything else of perverse origins, her observations were strictly business based. She mulled around ideas of hers and Elsa's relationship. More so on the side of 'Why?'.
Maybe she was just getting all confused because all the two did was literally work out and have study sessions. And there's not really a definitive lines there.. If she could establish that they were indeed just friends, she could correct her brain's confusion! She could finally say they were just friends, because they would be; just friends. Nothing more. At this moment she didn't even know if Elsa considered them friends so this had to be the starting point.
"And switch legs."
Anna did as she was told, her body smoothly transitioning on autopilot. Inwardly she nodded to herself. Yes. Yes. This makes total sense. Anna was smiling to herself, proud she'd come to a conclusion about how to tackle her situation. She actually needed to spend more time with Elsa outside these settings. She had to be closer to the blonde so she could distance herself. It was so counter-intuitive that it made complete sense. Right? Right!
In all honesty, it may not help her cause at all, but who knows? At least she had the chance and, at that point, it was a better chance than any.
"Wanna grab something to eat?" Anna asked as she stood up, placing her hands on her hips and doing a final twist stretch. Her back cracked in just the slightest and God did it feel good. "You know, off campus? I don't get out much."
The blonde stared up at her momentarily before her gaze dropped back to her feet. She let her legs move loose from the butterfly position before dragging them up to her chest. Just watching the mere, disheartened movements prepared Anna for the inevitable decline.
"I can't," she said, reaching for her phone and looking at the time. She sighed. "I have to go study." It wasn't just an excuse. There was evident conflict in her voice, as if she actually was considering Anna's offer. Maybe more than simply considering? Her navy eyes flitted up briefly, before falling back to the device, choosing not to meet Anna's curious expression.
"Hey no problem," she said in a chipper voice, quickly moving on to lighten the mood. "I haven't really seen Kristoff or Rapunzel recently. I know they'll never pass up some good eats." She observed Elsa's small head nod and stepped forward to the seated girl. She tapped the toe of her Nike's against Elsa's own sneaker causing the blonde to look up.
Anna extended her hand in front of the older woman, signaling for her to take it.
Elsa hesitated momentarily before reaching a hand up toward the open palm. She was promptly pulled to her feet, stumbling slightly in shock at the intense momentum. Anna immediately stepped forward to support her, hands falling atop pale forearms. Elsa looked up as Anna's eyes widened as well. The taller rower's eyes blinked rapidly in surprise at the action, pushing back to a safer proximity as soon as she regained her bearings. Once she was righted, she tilted her head as Anna started chuckling awkwardly. She'd done it again.
"Sorry, sometimes I don't know my own strength." Anna resisted the nervous urge to tuck her hair behind her ear as she did every time she had apologized for this before. She didn't hold her breath for any response from her teammate.
"There's great beauty in your power." Her breath hitched, be it a second delayed because of the unanticipated response, let alone the sincerity behind the words. Elsa's eyes were hard, but not in an unwelcoming manner. They were genuine. Although Elsa may have been just recovering from the earlier stumble, even her cheeks were slightly hued as she spoke once more. "Never apologize for that."
Anna just nodded gradually, too stunned and humbled by the remark to think of anything else to say to the senior athlete.
Just when she thought she couldn't be further impressed by the woman before her, Elsa did it again.
Just stop being so.. Anna's eyes followed the Senior's retreating form before letting out a defeated breath. Amazing..
…
The small diner was much nicer than the divvy sandwich bistro she'd been to 2 months ago. This place was quiet and fairly empty, despite it being the dinner hour. Maybe the cold chill of November kept people at bay in their warm cozy homes. The atmosphere there was warm, however, just as was her hot chocolate. The group of three had arrived and eaten their fill of 'create your own' omelets. Breakfast for dinner? Of course! They were rebels... No. Not really.
It was only after their plates were cleared that they could finally just sit and chat, each person merry that their stomach was now filled. Their conversations were so lighthearted and warm. Nothing really too distracting. Anna rested her grinning cheek against her knuckles, enjoying the chance to feel her belly fill with laughter at jokes and stories.
It felt nice to finally have her mind off of things.
Topics bounced back and forth, most coming from Kristoff about his art pieces, and Rapunzel regarding her own art. Anna hadn't realized how much of her friends' semester she'd been neglecting. With all of her course work, extra practices and tutoring, she'd almost forgotten how much she missed times like these. Her friends, being the loving people they were, didn't penalize her for it; if not playfully teasing her about ditching them for crew here and there.. But she was glad to be back, sharing in the stories. They'd always be the Dream Team.
"Are you excited for the 2K?" Kristoff chided making Anna blanch, spitting out a bit of her hot chocolate as her blonde friends squealed in unison.
"Totes! My goal is to break 7:40," the blonde said with determination. "Then I'll have a shot at the Lightweight 1st Varsity boat."
The large Port rower beside her nodded. "You'll do it. But I'm more excited to see Anna pull her first 2K." His brown eyes slowly glided down to point on Anna's reddening face.
"Oh yes! That's right!" Rapunzel said excitedly. "You'll actually be doing one this time. I wonder what you'll pull.."
Kristoff nudged the golden blonde. "Could you imagine if a coxswain pulled below an 8:00?"
She tossed a look back. "Well, don't knock the idea. She has been training with Elsa after all.."
Anna's eyes were glued to the frothy chocolate liquid in front of her. She chewed her lip anxiously, desperately hoping for this conversation to end. They still didn't know she did have a time. A damn strong time! Only Elsa knew though. Their laughter and further jokes may have made her face become akin to a tomato, but it was the jibe about her being a little coxswain that finally made her snap.
"Do we have to talk about this? Like, now? I just got out of practice tonight." She groaned, voice gruffer than she'd expected. But all she wanted to do was hide her face. "We don't have it until tomorrow and I'd rather not think about it!"
The blondes looked at each other, both equally taken aback by the outburst from the spitfire coxswain. After a pause, Rapunzel nodded in agreement, easily picking up the uncomfortable aura Anna was emitting. "Yeah she's right. We're finally together and for once, not required to break a sweat. Let's talk about something that's not crew related." She offered a sympathetic smile to Anna and then looked to the older boy. Kristoff nodded politely to his two leading ladies. Rapunzel stuck out her hand to point between her friends. "So wait 'til you hear about my Mad Hatter of a professor.."
Now this was just what Anna needed. It was wonderful to catch up on their art class stories. The art department seemed to have such a colorful bunch of faculty. Surprisingly enough, Rapunzel's teacher actually instructed them to do a finger painting homework assignment. So Anna had been right in her assumptions. They did get to finger paint as Studio Majors. She began wondering if maybe she should take a studio course in the Spring semester. They did have to sign up for their next semester classes pretty soon.
"Do you guys know what you're taking?" Kristoff asked while drinking his own hot chocolate.
Rapunzel listed off a few art courses that Anna assumed were in concordance with the major's requirements since Kristoff started giving his two cents about how much a certain professor sucked. Though Rapunzel also mentioned she was taking a Biopsychology class to fill a Science mode. Now it was Anna's turn to excitedly join in.
"I was looking at that class. We could do it together!"
"Oh thank goodness," the long haired woman said, floundering her arms onto the table. "I don't want to have to take a science lab without a friend as my lab partner."
"I heard we get to dissect cow eyes and sheep brains!" Anna said with a grin on her face, excited to delve into her science-y interests. Said grin only widened as Rapunzel looked uneasy and Kristoff looked utterly.. queasy.
"Please stop talking.." he muttered while covering his mouth, cheeks matching the green of his winter coat. His best girl friends giggled, understanding their burly friend's sensitive side.
"I assume you're taking Polish 102, then huh?" Kristoff said trying to change the course topic as quickly as possible, ignoring Rapunzel's jabbing finger that was literally poking fun at him.
Anna nodded. "It's a requirement to finish the language mode."
"Is Elsa going to be your TA again?" curiously asked the blonde girl, playing with her tea cup.
At the name, Anna felt her stomach twist. She had been here for 2 hours and not had any anxiety related to her thoughts on her Doubles partner. And of course now it was back.
She shrugged, truly not sure of the answer. Elsa had not mentioned renewing her work study position. Well, after everything the blonde went through, she sort of just assumed she would continue the work study job. Still, that didn't mean it was a definite. It would be so sad though, she concluded to herself. Her brain was already calculating how much time she'd lose with the Senior. With the 3 hour class and now three, 2 hour tutor sessions a week.. Damn, she'd lose so much time!
She could put a positive spin on it. She'd gain time to do other things, such as hanging out with friends or just lounging around watching Netflix (oh how she owed her college sanity to the creators of Netflix). But that time together, be it strictly academic, was the closest thing she ever came to actually hanging out with the older woman.
And this spending less time together totally thwarts her earlier devised plan. She hadn't even had time to implement the 'spend more time with Elsa to distance her mind' theory. Her cheeks fell into palms as her elbows propped up her pouting face. Now this would cause all sorts of problems.
Anna stared at her friends. Their words were muffled, falling on deaf ears as she blankly watched. With her chin resting in her hands, she simply could not concentrate.
Should she tell them about her problem? They were her best friends after all. They may be supportive of the whole thing. The more she contemplated the act, the more she felt that maybe it wasn't something she could just bring up. She'd need to talk to them individually. And maybe not just yet. She hadn't gotten a chance to implement her new plan. If her confusion persisted beyond that, then she would talk to them. That made more sense. She shouldn't drag them into something that could just be her hormones being out of whack or the planets being aligned or something.
"Earth to Feisty Pants." Anna blinked repeatedly at the large hand waving in front of her face. "Come in Feisty Pants."
She hurriedly swatted the older boy's hand away. "Stop it."
"Uh no, you stop it," he joked back, leaning forward on his elbows. "Where did you go just now?" He was obviously referring to her distant expression. Anna didn't space out unless she was deep in thought or massively bored. Of course it couldn't be the boredom since she was out with her best friends, so the deductive reason had to be something else.
Anna put on a smile. "I'm just so beat," she settled on saying. She saw a flash of doubt across both of their expressions. They knew her better than anyone. Of course they'd see through it. But, just as well. They did know her better than anyone, which meant they knew when not to push a subject.
"Anyway," Kristoff said finally, turning his attention back to the long haired teen. "I was telling Rapunzel that she needs to give Flynn a chance."
"And I was telling the numbskull here that I am not about to date some egotistical, lady's man." Her emerald eyes rolled as she reached for a cup of tea. Her lips danced over the rim for a moment. "Besides, he's not attractive."
The Sophomore at the table scoffed. "Now I just know you are denying it." He pulled out his phone. "Hmm I'd totally show you a photo right now for you to judge but I only have this ridiculous one for his contact photo." He turned the screen toward Rapunzel and chuckled as she made a face. The Junior Captain was pressed against a window and slobbering. "Get it? It looks like he's stuck in my phone!" Rapunzel looked at it and began to smile before turning her nose up, stating it was ridiculous and gross.
Anna felt her smile turn into a true one watching the exchange. Despite a year and a half age gap, the two blondes were sure matched for maturity. She pulled out her own phone. "I have one too, actually." She noticed the two taller rowers turn toward her with confused faces.
"Why do you have his photo?" Rapunzel asked. Anna could tell she was trying to sound less interested than she was letting on.
"It was his Halloween costume. He sent it to me for kicks." Teal eyes sparkled pulling up the image from the end of the year costume party. Indeed, still her favorite photo ever. She zoomed in by clicking her Zoom key a few times and handed it over to the others. She laughed aloud at the paled faces.
"Shut the front door," Kristoff chortled in disbelief while Rapunzel clicked down the photo to see the extent of his costume, enthralled at the sight of the jacked man in the obscenely small uni.
The Doubles rower watched in amusement as the blonde's cheeks grew redder and redder and her eyes equally grew wider. Anna smirked to herself, having a feeling she knew what part of anatomy Rapunzel's eyes had scanned over.
"Alright, can I have my phone back?" She giggled while reaching for the device. That's when Rapunzel hit a key. The Zoom-out key. Anna felt her stomach clench as the whole image was now full screen.
"Whoah what is this?" the older boy asked leaning in to get a better look on the tiny phone. Both sets of emerald and brown eyes went wide scanning over the whole image.
Anna wasn't sure what they were thinking, but she prepared for a bombardment of 'Why do you have Elsa's picture with Flynn?' or 'Why is Elsa even in your phone?'. She wasn't rationally thinking and she knew it. There was no reason for her to be questioned like that. But still, the idea made her nervous. It's not like she was hiding the fact that she had the photo.. Well, actually, that may have been it. As if she'd tell Elsa she'd even seen such a photo let alone have it saved on her phone.
"That's a riot," Kristoff's loud voice finally said as the two blonde rowers began laughing.
"Cute!" Rapunzel ended up saying, seeming to forget that she was making fun of Flynn's costume just minutes prior.
"It's nice to see them look like actual friends."
That was one of her favorite parts as well. It was so cute seeing them like that. Showing that Elsa had someone who cared for her and she cared for, even in the slightest. It seemed to melt away a lot of the 'Ice Queen' persona most people associated her with. And this pocket sized evidence got to go with Anna everywhere. Anna was relieved and had to nod in agreement to Kristoff's words, though still found it slightly embarrassing to be caught with Elsa in her phone for some reason.
When she finally got the relic back, Anna had to will her remaining embarrassment away. She was thankful the two hadn't seemed to pick up on it.
"Anyway, send that to me." The two older students tossed skeptical looks to the youngest of the trio. Rapunzel shrunk under the glare. "I mean he looks ridiculous. Every time he texts me, it'll be a good reminder that I don't want to date him." Her best friends shared knowing glances before Anna went about sending the photo (about the most advanced thing the relic could do).
While Rapunzel and Kristoff looked on her i-phone, laughing as she cropped the photo to Flynn's face, Anna examined the photo in her gallery, specifically one half of it. She thought for a moment, eyes darting up to her female best friend. A contact photo was actually a good idea.. Quickly, she opened up her contacts list and pulled up the name she wanted. She zoomed in the photo, framing the face in a box. And save. She rarely set contact photos unless said contact was close to her. Now, the top 4 in her inbox all had photos beside their names.
"So guys, how about we blow this popsicle stand," Kristoff said in a silly voice while tossing his thumb toward the door. He downed the remainder of his hot chocolate with the other.
"Really?" Anna laughed at his choice of phrases, moving to down her drink with just as much vigor.
"Dream Team movie night?" squealed the youngest group member as she raised a brow to the group.
Kristoff and Anna shared another knowing look and answered together. "Uh, yes!"
The group began pulling on their winter coats and scarves, preparing for the cold air blast that they were going to encounter. They headed out the door, voices already beginning to bicker over what movie would be on screen that night.
Anna's hand was nestled in her coat pocket, resting atop of her phone. The close proximity made the slight buzz sensation unmistakable. Taking a last glance at the hotheaded blondes in front of her, she flipped open the device. Immediately she smiled down as she opened her inbox, looking at the name that had most recently arrived, as well as the photo accompanying it.
Beautiful ocean eyes stared straight back.
She didn't even care she was probably going to die the next morning during their 2k Erg test. Nothing could halt her elation.
…
2K Erg tests were awful.
The most awful thing ever.
Like, absolutely worse than awful.
2K's were painful and tiring and dreadful and all out stressful. Performance on this mile long row separated the weak from the strong; obviously in a physical sense, but mostly a mental one. Yes. Muscles and cardio impacted both the power and endurance of the rower, but one could never underestimate the impact of the mind. Mental strength, confidence, determination and passion were arguably the most important characteristics of the racing rower. It's the ability to push past the brink of absolute, bodily exhaustion.
However, they were mandatory. Most importantly, they told a rower where their speed time stands. It let the team, and coach, know just who was strongest of all.
As of an Erg test back at the start of racing season, Marshall had the fastest time for all of the men's team, and Mulan had the fastest for the women's team. This was fairly expected in Anna's mind. The bigger the rower, typically the stronger they were. But she knew the two Seniors held that mental determination.
As did she. Anna could only prepare herself to perform in front of everyone; in front of the strongest rowers she'd ever had the honor to call her teammates. Open-weight and Light-weight. Her mind briefly entertained a thought that alleviated some of the tension building in her stomach.
Lightweight rowers were categorized differently, as their times were going to naturally be slower due to their more petite size. Regardless of being told the information ahead of time, Anna still would never have questioned that Elsa indeed held that spot of fastest lightweight. She was muscled, fit and had a passion for the sport like no one she'd ever met before. It made her grin with pride, knowing she had shared a boat all season with this insanely strong rower. It was like Elsa held a hidden power that she never unleashed around anyone else; just while she rowed.
The redhead undid her characteristic double braids, opting to put it up in a high ponytail.
Rapunzel nudged her side and smirked. "Ponytail's out. Getting down to business, I see."
Anna had to laugh and agree. She was looped into doing her 2K in the batch of freshman and Novice rowers. The large varsity squad would go second. She asked Olaf to be her coxswain to help her through it. Of course her enthusiastically obliged. He'd basically be in charge of encouraging her to be strong and race through the painful test. That was the importance of coxswains!
While waiting for her coach to finish explaining the concept of 2K's, she had been checking through the 2k-Time Sheet. Each rower had a space where their time would be recorded next to their name. At the top, in the header, bolded for all to see, were a list of four very important times:
Mens Open: 5:50.0
Womens Open: 6:48.4
Mens Light: 6:05.5
Womens Light: 7:01.8
They were the university's current standing records. Arendelle was a Division 1 school across every sport. Every sport except rowing. Go figure. Anna scoffed at the idea as she read the times. Each individual time was incredibly fast! It sparked her memory of the numerous National and Olympic rowers that were born out of AU crew. Still, it seemed unfair that such strong times weren't allotted scholarships. Such was the downside of rowing for a Division 3 team. She had remembered Hans listing these times off a few weeks ago, stating he intended to break the Mens Open upon his graduation. Not being a bad girlfriend or anything, but she wasn't sure if that was just talk.
Her eyes lingered on the last time on the list a bit longer.
The Women's Lightweight record. She couldn't help but let her eyes slide over to where the blonde Senior leaned against the wall, patiently waiting for Coach Oaken to finish his lecture.
Anna Knew Elsa was fast. She also knew that Elsa wasn't one to boast.. Could the Women's Lightweight record title be hers? Anna was given little time to ponder the thought as she heard Tink's coxswain voice ring out, calling for all freshmen rowers to take their seats on the ergs. Anna cringed. God, she has a squeaky voice.
As Anna sat ready on the rowing machine, feet strapped in and handle in her hands, some of the varsity members walked around to observe the freshmen. Others hung out at the front of the room chatting, keeping their minds relaxed and ignorant of the freshmen's inevitable torment. Her eyes fell on Elsa, who was sitting in a seat, arms crossed, staring directly at her. Her pale face was blank, but those dark eyes gave away her interest in Anna's performance. When she caught Anna staring right back, she cocked an eyebrow in a challenging manner, refusing to look away.
Anna's face grew determined, sending the girl a grin back. Oh she'd better be ready to be damn well impressed!
"Are you ready, Anna?" whispered Olaf's excited voice from over her shoulder. She nodded, tightening her grip on the handle, staring at the screen in front of her. All she had to do was listen for the starting call..
"Everyone sitting ready!"
Anna's hands latched down on the handle, upper body posture firming up. Her nerves were creeping up at that point. It was almost time.
"Attention!"
Her eyes glanced once more at the stoic blonde seated at the head of the room. Her eyes were still trained on Anna, never wavering. With her heart thudding with anticipation for the start, Anna let out the tiniest of smirks. She was ready.
"Row!"
The concept of time was lost to every rower after the start of their personal race. All concept besides the clock they raced against; the ticking of numbers gradually increasing on the screen before them, taunting them, as they gradually watched their meters decrease. From the beginning of her 2000 meters until her last stroke, bringing her over the threshold of the 0 meters mark, Anna had persevered until the finish. Her oar handle had clattered against the machine as she let ungracefully go, finally relieved to rid the damn thing from her sweaty grasp. Even as she gasped for air, Olaf holding her battered body upright, she couldn't help the small smile that was on her face. She'd broken her (secret) personal best time by almost a full second.
While Olaf helped her off the erg, supporting her weakened form to go get her water bottle, Anna couldn't believe how many 'oohs' and 'ahhs' she was met with after finishing her test. It may not have actually been her first, but to everyone else in the room, she was a coxswain who just pulled a 7:21.4 for the first time ever! She knew that she shouldn't lie about the information, but technically she wasn't. She just chose not to mention it. She had worked hard for her time at that very moment. That's what mattered.
She hadn't talked to her coach just yet about not coxing in the Spring season.. yet somehow she had a feeling that, now that he had seen her time, he wouldn't have a problem with it.
As she chugged the nectar of the gods, she noticed the upperclassmen prepare to sit ready for their own test. Hans had blown her a kiss as she walked across the front of the room, Kristoff making a gagging face from the erg over. Anna giggled, more so at the blond's silliness. She took a wobbly seat onto the bench her Doubles partner had recently occupied, eyes scanning for the blonde. When they caught sight of the woman sitting on the far side of the room, tucked in the furthest back corner behind everyone, Anna glanced at the score sheet in her hands.
All of the final times were written down in slots next to freshmen names while the upperclassmen's names were blank, awaiting their own times. Anna reached the very bottom of the alphabetical list. She drew her thumb across the name, uncovering the blank slot beside it.
What time are you harboring?
…
She heard her name only an instant before she felt the hand grasp her sweatshirt hood, tugging her backwards. Anna spun and looked into the dark blue orbs of the blonde Senior. Most of the team had already escaped the Athletics Center in search of breakfast. Olaf gave the sheet of times to Anna after he'd recorded all of the rowers' times. She had the job of relaying the list of erg times to her coach. It was seriously the only reason she was not at the head of the pack running toward the dining hall.
"Oh. Hey Elsa, what's up?" she said to her Doubles partner in confusion. It was odd to have Elsa stay behind. Just like at water practice, unless she and Anna had a planned back to back workout, she usually left before anyone realized she'd gone. This was such a change.
Anna watched as the blonde shifted her eyes the side, slightly lowering them to Anna's hands. Those same blue eyes fell briefly to the paper sheet that was now littered with the team's erg scores. Anna followed the gaze curiously as well, before blinking them back up at the whispered voice.
"I need you to cox my 2K." When Elsa looked back up to Anna's face, she was met with bemused eyes.
As the confusion cleared, Anna then smiled a little awkwardly. "I'd love to!" What an honor! Anna quickly wracked her brain for the crew schedule. "The next one is Friday, right before winter break so-"
"I mean tonight."
Anna paused. Tonight? Like 12ish hours from now? Like after class tonight? "Um, but we just did our 2K's like barely 30 minutes ago…"she said, skeptical of what Elsa was saying. She dared a glance down at the paper and saw Elsa's name written down with a 2k score scribbled in the slot beside it... and Anna distinctly remembered watching the Senior pull the 2k.. Elsa commanded her full attention during that piece, despite trying to hide away in the back corner.
Elsa just nodded, acknowledging Anna's observation as just that: an observation. "I know that, but that was more like a workout for me.." That cryptic response left Anna no less confused. "We'll come after Polish class, so 9:30."
And with that Elsa was gone, leaving Anna standing alone in the Athletic Center lobby. Again, she dropped her eyes to the sheet, this time scanning Elsa's name and her final 2K time more carefully. She had to squint to read the young boy coxswain's messy handwriting. Is that.. is that a..?
Anna's jaw dropped, eyes staring disbelievingly at the number.
7:09.0!?
Just a work out?
That 2K and this score was just a goddamn workout to her? What?! Yes. Elsa was obviously 130lbs of pure muscle. Stronger both physically and mentally than any rower Anna had ever known, but that didn't mean she still couldn't be left speechless.
She didn't linger long on that thought before one even more spectacular one flew to her mind:
What the Hell is her 2K?!
…
Later that evening, after a horrible pop quiz that Elsa had been oh so nice enough to not tell her about, the two teammates made their way back to the residential campus. Elsa had gone ahead to the Athletics Center, while Anna had to do a quick pit-stop at her dorm room to grab her phone charger.
Poor, old thing had died hours earlier. She couldn't help but think it died at an opportune time though. Hans had texted and asked her to hang out that evening, but she had to decline, stating she was helping Elsa with something after class. She'd barely received his disheartened reply before the relic shut down. She knew she'd have to call him later and apologize for ending the conversation like that. But at the moment she was on a mission.
After the phone was plugged in, she grabbed her keys and soon she was at the gym.
She really couldn't believe it was almost 9:40pm at that point. The gym was open until midnight, but she never actually thought people took advantage of the late hours. She certainly would never be caught dead in the building that late out of her own decision.
The stairs leading down to the basement level were eerily quiet until she came outside their training room. A wave of music trickled through the doors. Anna pushed open the door to the tank room, seeing the platinum blonde already on the ergometer doing a warm-up. She gave a wave when Elsa looked up at her. Elsa nodded over to where an iPod was plugged into the speakers at the front of the room.
"Could you turn it down?" she asked, not breaking her warm-up pace.
Anna did as she was told, skipping over to the speakers and turning the volume dial. "I hate this song. Can I change it?"she asked, picking up the electronic and already scrolling through the i-Pod, not even waiting for a response. She had no idea how the blonde could warm-up to classical. Once she settled on a rock song that at least had more pep in it, she walked back over to the erging woman.
Anna checked the screen and noted that Elsa had been on the machine for about 10 minutes now. Maybe another 5 minutes and she'd be ready to go. She took her seat, seeing the concentrated side profile of the blonde. Anna didn't want to tear her from this 'zone' she was settled in. Instead she opted to take a seat on the rowing machine beside her, happy to just watch the woman's rhythmic row. It was the form she'd grown so accustomed to that fall, watching each movement of Elsa's body as she went forward and back on the slide.
There were two fundamental reference points in the rowing stroke. The catch where the rower was at max compression against their legs, body extended forward to the machine's digital screen. Then the finish was where the legs approached full downward extension, and the rower pivots their torso toward the 'bow', finally pulling their arms towards their chest.
As she drew the handle right beneath her sports bra, Anna noticed that Elsa maintained perfect posture, never once giving into the fatigue of her muscles. Those muscles. Her stoic aura. Hard set mentality and passion. That air of confidence that forever radiated off of her like a beacon.. She playfully wondered if the magnificent rower even experienced fatigue.
She mentally rolled her eyes at her thoughts. She was just being silly. She should be focusing here. Elsa was almost done with her warm-up. Anna should have been planning out a 2K coxing plan. She needed to be ready for the motivation, the support, the timing, everything. What kind of coxing style did Elsa even like? Every rower was different. Some liked minimal to no coxing, while others needed the coxswain practically breathing down their necks to get enough motivation. Anna had a safe assumption that Elsa would not be the latter.
Would she even like Anna's coxing style? In the Double, yes, Anna was in charge of giving the rowing commands, but she wasn't coxing in the motivation sense. She just tossed commands. 'Do this.. Do that.. Paddle here.. Starboard pressure now..' Not at all like when she was with her boys. She wasn't sure how many times she called them out on something ridiculous, or how many times she accidentally slipped up and threw in a curse word or two..
Was Elsa just expecting her to talk like they did in the Double? Commanding as the bow seat? A coxswain mindset was an entirely different realm. She honestly wasn't sure if she could adapt to that technical, commanding style if she was supposed to be in coxswain mode. She was always too energetic and eager to cheer. She'd even berate and scold if the rowers were totally messing up something... On a second thought, maybe Elsa shouldn't have chosen me. She could probably still voice this concern-
"Anna?"
She looked at the athlete who was now sitting similarly, mirroring Anna's pose. "Yeah?"
"Thanks for doing this for me. I've never actually asked anyone to cox me before." And looks like I'm locked into this. Elsa better realize what she's getting into.
Maybe Anna should at least give a disclaimer as to prevent the mishaps and misunderstandings of their first day ever rowing together. She shuddered at the embarrassing memory.
She then patted her hands on her jean clad knees in a ready motion. "Um so what style coxing do you like?"
"Whatever."
Anna glanced to the side and made a face before looking back at the blonde. Hesitantly she brought a hand up, before raising her finger to make a point. "Actually.. about that. I'm really energetic and talkative when I cox.. And sometimes pushy. Just as a forewarning."
To her surprise Elsa just nodded. "Like I said, I never have coxswains. Just do whatever."
The metaphor 'don't look a gift horse in the mouth' came to mind at that. Anna shrugged. If it was zealous-coxswain-Anna that she wanted, then that's what she was going to get!
"Um, so what time are you aiming for?" she asked quickly while standing up. She had no idea what to expect, and if she was going to be cheering on the Senior, she should at least know if she's cheering on a positive time. Yet, again Elsa simply shrugged it off.
"Trust me. Just cox the numbers you see." There was an air of confidence in her words. That undoubtedly meant she didn't intend to perform poorly. Well. That made Anna's job easier (though not for her voice which was going to be mad sore after).
She watched as Elsa quickly ran her hands through her bangs, pushing the loose tresses back over her head before sitting ready on the machine. Her platinum braid hung down the length of her back, pristinely weaved together. Immaculate. As always. Anna smiled while positioning herself behind Elsa, just beyond her right shoulder. She watched the rise and fall of Elsa's shoulders as she waited on Anna's starting call.
Anna equally took a steadying breath before giving the call. "Attention.. row!"
Elsa had shot back on the slide, quads firing her legs like a canon. Over and over. Her rhythmic movements were powerful, every muscle at its max tension. Anna stared, transfixed on the screen in front of her. Her typical beginning coxswain calls were completely on autopilot as she watched the numbers on the screen. She'd never coxed a female rower and seen that time before.
After the first 25 strokes were complete, Anna realized she'd need to focus in on Elsa and stop gawking at the speeds showing on the screen. There were 200 strokes left to crush through. Elsa asked her to cox, and that's what she was going to do. Anna hunkered down, fingers grasping at her knees as she unleashed a string of loud calls.
"Stay strong. Press it back with the legs. Powerful.. here! There we go!" She could feel her usual feminine voice make a transition to a deeper octave. She held a typical growl in her throat that only ever came out when she was channeling her competitive calls. "Nice. Keep that time low. No, don't let it slip up. Bring it back down, on this one! Nice! Staying strong." She could feel her heartbeat speed up as the meters ran down against the ticking of the clock. Her adrenaline was beginning to sky rocket.
500 meters down.
1000 meters down.
1500 meters down.
"We're in the last 500 meters of this race," she called out, as Elsa slammed back on the slide. "Bring up the power here, drop that time." She watched as Elsa's time dropped down another second at her command and she felt a surge of confidence. "That's it!"
Then, at 300 meters, she saw that controlled rhythm of the rower falter, movement slightly more erratic. It was so miniscule that the average coxswain would have missed it, but after rowing behind the woman all season, Anna knew Elsa's form. She knew something wasn't right. She turned her eyes back to the screen. Elsa's time was slipping, slowly creeping upwards from the fast pace she'd been maintaining for the last 1700 meters. It was increased one second. Now two? Now three seconds?! Like Hell that was going to happen. Not on her watch!
"I do not want to see that number again. Bring it back down right now!" Her voice took on a strength she'd never realized before. She was not going to sit back and watch Elsa fail in the final stretch of the race. Not with all that outstanding performance she had just witnessed."You are stronger than that. Show it now, Elsa! Show it to me!" Her eyes scanned the meters as they crossed into the last 250 meters of the race. Less than 25 strokes to go.
"Last 250! You're in the sprint! You move here! How are you gonna row this spring? What are you gonna show to the Barracudas? Power through, everything here." She felt a surge of excitement as Elsa picked up the speed of her strokes, bringing her time back down to a faster pace. But it was not enough for Anna. She moved herself forward to Elsa's side, her face aggressive as she made the briefest moment of eye contact. A shiver went through her.
Those confident eyes were wild. Not fierce and feral, but wide with fear. Something was shaking the blonde, something in her head. Mental strength was what makes or breaks a rower in a race.
That split second of eye contact told Anna all she needed to know: Today would not be a break day. Her next words were automatic, more genuine than all the calls before.
"Don't panic. You make it right here!" she shot her hand to point toward the screen. 15 strokes. She moved herself catching Elsa's eye one more time. "I'm right here!"
The blonde in front of her clenched down on her jaw at the declaration, increasing her speed again. Her rhythm smoothed out. She had control again. Blue eyes pierced the screen and she let out a guttural growl, determination emanating from every pore. Anna looked at the screen, a thrill shooting through her as she watched the time drop down 10 whole seconds!
And in the blink of an eye, Elsa's body slumped forward as she heaved a heavy, pained breath. It was soon followed by more, equally as ragged breaths. She clumsily let the handle go back into the machine, not letting it clatter like Anna had unprofessionally done in the morning. She hunched over her knees, placing her head in her arms as she desperately sucked in air. Anna kneeled beside her, gently removing her sneaker clad feet from the foot stretcher binds of the erg. Once her feet were free on the floor, the blonde raised her head and looked forward.
Following suit, Anna stood up and leaned toward the tiny box.
Teal eyes stared in wonder at the erg screen in front of them. She blinked frantically, trying to see if she was really reading the correct time. She barely even noticed the heaving shoulders of the blonde beside her, still desperately sucking in air and trying to steady her breaths.
Elsa's head weakly turned to Anna. The freckled girl also turned at looked down at the sweaty blonde, not even bothering to hide her shock.
Elsa smiled up at Anna with a toothy grin, one that was utterly happy, too weak to offer anything more than sincerity. It was beautiful. Anna's own astonished face cracked into a grin as well at the sight. She felt Elsa continue heaving to catch her breath as her damp shoulder leaned against Anna's hip for support. A tan, freckle dusted hand immediately flew to Elsa's shoulders, ignoring the slick coating that covered heated skin, and pulling her beaten form close. This woman deserved all the comfort in the world after a grueling performance like that.
After making sure Elsa's tired body was supported enough, Anna drew her eyes back to the small screen. Her eyes could only ogle at the large number printed on it. She exhaled an astonished breath, lips forming into a smile that she was sure mirrored Elsa's own. It was unbelievable. Anna never thought she'd see a score like this, in a situation like this, in her life. But it was as unreal as the rower nestled against her side.
6:56.0
-End chapter 11-
A.N. This will be stated in the next chapter anyway, but to let it be known right now, the Women's Light Weight erg machine World Record (for Elsa's age group) is 6:54.7. Again, I know most are here for the Elsa x Anna, but rowing is a significant part of the story, so I will do my best to make sure things are explained! And if you ever feel something is not explained, let me know and I'll make note of it in the next chapter :D
I had so much fun writing the coxing. Tried to channel my inner cox again. Difficult to write it out since usually it's so spur of the moment in the heat of an erg test or race. If you are feeling interested in watching an intense rowing race where you can get a feel (and ear) for what the coxswain is doing, I suggest YouTubing "Rowing Women's Eight Final - Full Replay - London 2012 Olympic Games".
Thanks for reading!