Chapter Eleven

Elsa gladly stretched, her stiff joints popping as the descending sun still blazed against her needy skin. The hours had dragged on forever, even though she was asleep for most of them—or more like emotionally and physically collapsed. . . Elsa quickly glanced over at Anna, once again worrying that she was going to start freaking out from everything she admitted hours and hours ago, but Anna's face was bright as she tilted her face towards the sun and her freckles popped. The innocence on her best friend's face almost convinced her that she never opened her mouth about Tom. . . her chest tightened with the thought of him, her fingers twitching as she scanned the crowded airport, the milling people so absorbed in their own world, their phones glued to their ears.

"My mom and dad should be here soon, I should probably. . . " Anna trailed off as her phone lit up, her parents already calling. She gave Elsa a quick smile and turned to answer it. Truthfully. . . everything felt so strange now for Elsa, like a huge rock stuck on her shoulders was split in half. Her gaze stilled snapped between bouts of movement, her heart tittering with faint panic with the off-chance that he could be here, but he couldn't be. She threw her phone away last week, and left fake trails like her dad taught her before she fled into the comfort of her best friend. She was going to be safe for a bit at least she hoped, which would give her the chance to figure something out, but to also enjoy this vacation. Just the feel of the ocean breeze lifted her spirits.

Elsa's fingers were gently squeezed, and she was snapped out of her thoughts as she watched Anna's mouth move. "—right around the corner."

". . . What did you say their names were again?" Elsa smiled sheepishly at Anna, fighting the urge to take her hand out of Anna's grip. It was comforting those hours being held, but now she was 'fine' and didn't want Anna's parents to see them holding hands for some reason. They were best friends, but they weren't fifth graders anymore.

"Oh! I never actually tooold you their names. . . haha," Anna's cheeks reddened as she looked away from Elsa. "Martha is my mom and my dad is Henry. . . not the most unique names, kind of the trend in the family, be named the blandest thing, though my mom is definitely not throwing around as much salt as Martha Stuart, though she is a really good cook, although dad is much better at making somethings." Anna babbled a mile a minute as a sleek car slid in front of them.

"Anna dear, it's been too long!" A red headed woman came all but running out of the sleekest car Elsa had ever seen, but that wasn't too hard considering what side of the neighborhood she used to live on. The woman wrapped her slim arms around Anna and had to bend down to place her chin on her daughter's head. . . and she wasn't even wearing heels.

"And you must be Elsa!" The woman, Martha, turned towards her and before Elsa knew it she was wrapped in the most motherly hug she's had in a long time. Martha kissed both sides of Elsa's cheeks, her brown eyes glowing. "Now come, come! We have so much to talk," Anna flushed as her mom spoke "about." Martha hauled Elsa's suitcase into the trunk, patting Elsa's fingers off it so she couldn't do it herself.

"I'm sorry about this, they are both so excited to meet you." Anna whispered to Elsa as they slid into the car, and Elsa's fingers met smooth leather, Anna's fingertips mere millimeters away and twitchy. Elsa leaned back into the leather, her muscles relaxing into it like a puddle as the air-conditioning gently wafted through the car. Just being in the car was so perfect, it felt like she's being spoiled and she didn't deserve it.

"Hello Elsa!" Henry turned around in the driver's seat, his blueish green eyes twinkling and crinkled with small crow's feet, yet his brown hair was free of any greying. But the part that made Elsa return the smile to this middle age man was his freckles, it was like seeing another half of Anna right there with all those freckles. "We just wanted to let you know right off the bat that our guest room is under repair, you don't mind bunking with Anna, do you?" Henry's smile widened, revealing the same dimple that Elsa was slowly noticing in Anna's cheeks when she became so happy.

"Oh," Elsa blinked at him before glancing at Anna, having the need to make sure she wasn't being a burden. "I don't mind as long as Anna doesn't mind." Elsa clipped her seatbelt, the sound loud in the sudden silence.

"Ah, no, no I don't mind. Who would mind rooming with their best friend, right?" Anna babbled as the silence strung on awkwardly, her face becoming flushed. A flustered puppy indeed, Elsa thought with amusement, truly it always amazed her why such things could make her flustered. But then she seemed to be more sensitive than Elsa, which Tom loved about her. . . Her stomach clenched at the thought of him, he was now plaguing her thoughts, even her dreams were filled with the paranoia of him. In the back of her mind she couldn't help thinking about how he was acting, or if he was starting to get picky. Her heart jumped with the thought of him looking for her and finding Paulina instead, since they were roommates. He already showed her that he didn't have empathy for other people, so he wouldn't care about injuring her. Elsa pushed those thoughts away, Paulina was smart enough to call the police if anything suspicious plus her boyfriend Manuel had enough muscle mass just in his arms to crush Tom, yet Tom carried knives. . . and a hand gun. . .

Elsa was pulled out of her rushing thoughts because the silence didn't stay long, Martha and Henry babbled just as much as their daughter, filling the air all about topics from the pizza to what costumer gossiped about in the salon, to how much each one tipped, and even talked about how Martha's second cousin on her father's side came in with the gull to think she was getting her hair done for free. Anna would catch Elsa's eye, making horrified faces which made Elsa's shoulders relax even more. Maybe. . . everything would be alright, at least for today. . .

~ OoO ~ OoO ~~~

Elsa treaded lightly into the large beach house, casting wide eyed glances around. It was like walking into a tv set, with all smooth and clean floors, tiny shells embedded into multiple parts of the floorwork. Anna said her parents owned two hair salons, but to be this loaded, it was like looking at a foreign language with no context. Anna didn't give her much time to gawk, already wrapping her fingers around Elsa's own and tugged her down the hallway, framed pictures of her family decorating the walls.

"We're going to put the things in the room, okay!" Anna called out as Martha closed the door, Henry already busy in the kitchen. Elsa passed black frames, glossy brown frames, all of them with smiling faces, and the sight twisted her stomach like a knife. She never had those pictures with her dad, he was always so paranoid or high. Tom on the other hand, it was like her life was a documentary and she was the biggest star, just remembering some of those pictures still made her pale features become pink. It was better if she never had pictures taken again, she reassured herself as Anna opened a white door with her name printed in elegant pink paint.

"The bed should be big enough for us both." Anna was saying as Elsa stood in the doorway for a second, hiding a smile. Really Anna would have the princess room, it was like looking at a catalogue with the dainty vanity and the wispy material that hung off the bed. The walls were filled with artwork and so many photos, she couldn't take them all in, so instead she rolled her suitcase further in.

"Which side do you want?" She asked and was met with a jerky point to the left, and set her suitcase against the matching end table. She stood awkwardly there, looking down at the full and poufy pillows.

". . . There's a connecting bathroom right there. . . so you can put your toothbrush and things there—" Anna mumbled and quickly looked away when Elsa met her gaze.

"—Anna! Should we eat outside? We installed the mosquito net last week." Martha stopped at the doorway, resting her manicured nails against the flawless paint, her expression unreadable to Elsa's searching eyes.

"That sounds great mom," Anna smiled "I'll go set the table." Then she swiftly left the room, her sandals padding across the tiled floor, and left her there abandoned with Martha.

"Her room is very pretty," Elsa branched out as Martha kept staring at her intently, which made her hair stand on end with sudden nerves. "it must have taken awhile. . ."

"Yes, but it was worth it. She's our only princess, our lucky child. We only want what will make her. . . happy." Martha slowly answered, the pause almost sharp as her expression, as if she was a mama bear looking at a potential threat. "Now come, come, I have so many questions for you." Her sharp features lightened, her red colored mouth wide in an innocent smile.

The outside dining room was just as over whelming, elegant candles lit the glass table, but Elsa got the feeling like she was walking to her own sacrifice and she didn't understand why. Maybe it was because of the candles, maybe because of the clean sliver wear for pizza.

"So Elsa, tell us what your major is." Henry asked as he pulled a gooey slice onto this plate, his eyes on Anna instead of her, thankfully.

"Ah, I am undecided at the moment actually. I'm taking general course to expand my options, though I would like to do something with the arts, maybe." Elsa looked at her pizza, the edges crisp and golden brown like a commercial. Truthfully when she applied to college she didn't have a plan besides the burning desire to leave. Her art and manuscript was her passion, but she wasn't stupid. She knew they couldn't be her career, and she wasn't near qualifying for the Olympics. She pulled the pizza apart from the middle, enjoying the sound it made, the all meat toppings sliding in the cheese.

"Well," Henry paused, as if rolling words in his mouth. "not everyone knows what they're doing." He casted a smile as his wife, his crow's feet emerging again. "I know it took Martha awhile to figure out she wanted to open her own salon."

"That's true, though I had a successful job in what I majored." Martha looked Elsa straight in the eyes again, and it finally hit her what animal she reminded her so acutely of. It was like looking into the eyes of a sly fox who was searching for any reason to bite and tear. It made Elsa's skin go cold, but she forced out a frozen like smile.

"Good thing I have some time to figure things out." Elsa's voice came out a bit like a broken icicle, sharp, crisp and cold enough to hurt. "Your cooking is fantastic." She quickly followed up, trying to fix this weird situation because it would be no good to be on bad terms with her best friend's mom.

"How many boyfriends have you had?" Henry leaned forward, some sort of excitement on his face. "—or have you had any girlfriend's?" He sipped at his wine, the candle light casting dark shadows across his features.

"Dad! You, you can't just ask these questions!" Anna protested, her whole face and ears as red as a pepper, yet her gaze turned to Elsa and was just as excited as her father. Maybe her whole family was crazy? Elsa mused as she looked at each of them through her lashes.

"I've had a few, maybe about three. . . or more. I never dated a girl, I'm straight." Elsa slowly admitted, shame making the bites she took taste like ash. Really, this whole thing was like she was on trial. What did she get herself into? Were they trying to set her up with a cousin or something? Or maybe they were just too curious?

"Oh," Anna looked away from her, her eyes a bit shiny. "Well that's great, I mean if you were gay, well, shopping would be weird, right?" Anna's voice cracked a bit as she fiddled with her pizza. Elsa couldn't help looking at her like she jumped off the deep end.

"You're crazy, I'd be a dick if I thought like that. You shouldn't feel weirded out like that." Elsa peered at Anna, was her thoughts really that backwards? Gay people weren't that different, and it shouldn't change how you act with them. Just the thought of her friend thinking like that was frustrating. Yet Anna slowly looked up at her, her casted eyes wide with some emotion Elsa again couldn't pin point.

"That's great you're so progressive!" Henry clapped his hands, his wide grin back. "You know when Anna was in senior year we all walked in parade, we made shirts and everything, we even dyed our hair—the one day thing" He took a deeper sip of his wine, nudging his wife, who was giggling.

"Yes, and it took a whole week for it to come out! One day my ass." Martha's eyes glittered with amusement, her eyes locked on her husband, both of them lost in the memory, which gave Elsa some privacy.

"Hey," Elsa leaned towards Anna, whispering. "Are you okay? You're really flushed." Elsa put the back of her hand on her forehead, pushing Anna's red hair back and they curled around her fingers. It was no good, everything felt warm to Elsa's cold hands, so she let her hand drop.

"Yeah," Anna whispered back, her gaze lowered a bit. "I think I need to drink more water." She pushed to curls back as she finally peered up at Elsa, her mouth slightly open. She didn't look okay, maybe she really did have a fever?

"You girls should go to the beach right before sunrise, it's the most beautiful time." Martha broke the silent atmosphere between Elsa and Anna, her nails clinking on her wine glass, her gaze intently on her daughter. It was like watching a telepathic conversation bounced between the three of them, and it went over Elsa's head like a frisbee.

"It'll be perfect!" Anna leaned forward, her face hopeful again. And just like that all the questions were done, and the meal passed a bit more comfortably for her.

A/n:

*pokes screen* Hello guys! SO I have some things to clear up about the last chapter, which WAS written on my phone which explains all the errors in it. . . And to address the flame I am put under:

1) Her parent's may somewhat represent the fandom, but they aren't the fandom. Under the consideration of their age and other aspects it wouldn't make sense for them to write the OPT name for Elsa!Anna, which is how Elsan was printed on their shirts.

2) "Head of justice" is a very general title I gave to the uncle as things will be revealed about them. And yes, I am clearly not majoring in law or anything of the sort, so please bear with it

Lastly, if you don't like the story, then don't read. Have a nice day/night!