12. Sunday, Boring Sunday
Today is Sunday, and it was boring. At least, in Anna's mind.
Two minutes past one scraped by like an unwilling child dragged to school, and Rapunzel and Eugene had left ninety minutes ago to watch a movie. Eugene was desperate to see Guardians of the Galaxy for the third time – "But I relate so much to Star Lord!" – whereas Rapunzel wanted to watch The Fault in Our Stars. Both showings were on at the same time, and it was about to turn into a full blown argument when Eugene finally conceded defeat. He couldn't do much else when Rapunzel started caressing her favourite frying pan with an odd look upon her bright young features.
"Dude. Give it up. I'm not taking you to hospital because you fought a frying pan and lost." Anna had teased, while Rapunzel nodded knowingly. Eugene had pretty much groaned from then up until he was dragged out of the door.
With Elsa's help, her Business major work ready for the week was complete, and in almost typical Anna fashion she had left the work for her minor in Movie Studies until the last day. Mr Ebert had set them a task to write the beginning of an original screenplay for a movie, and the best one would be submitted to a production company of their choice. The problem was that originality was a premium in contemporary movies, with most releases being sequels. Sequels of sequels. Spinoffs of sequels.
Tapping a finger against her cheek as she rested her chin on her hand, she stared at an empty Word document, hoping for an epiphany to strike.
"Ragtag bunch of misfits band together to save the galaxy?" she mused out loud.
Been done. Serenity and Guardians of the Galaxy.
"Ooookay. Erm, a group of heroes, all with different backgrounds unite to face an alien threat."
The Avengers.
"Fuck. Erm…giant aliens rise up-"
Pacific Rim. Seriously, you should have done this ages ago, and sci-fi? Really? Broaden your imagination. You suck.
In a bout of frustration, she hammered the keyboard, grunting out each word as it appeared on the screen.
"My. Name. Is. Anna. Snowfield. And. I. Have. No. Fucking. Clue. What. To. Type."
She exhaled in exasperation, lacing her fingers through her unbraided hair behind her head and closing her eyes, cursed her procrastination.
"Insightful. I like it. Concision always was the cardinal virtue of narration."
Elsa's voice from behind and to her right side made Anna damn near fall off the stool in surprise, and resting a hand upon her thundering heart she muttered a few choice words about her sister's ninja skills. Elsa was leaning over her shoulder, smirking as she read the words on the screen.
"Jeez! A little warning next time? You know I hate Stealth Hi/Bye stuff." she hissed, glowering at her sister's cheek.
"I know, and speak English, not TvTropese." Elsa sniggered, straightening up.
"What are you still doing here, anyway? Your college work is done; you've got a free day. You should be out terrorising trainee baristas or something, you know, fun stuff."
"Hah! Nah, I'm doing something for the company." Elsa shrugged casually as she set up another pod inside the coffee dispenser. Pressing the button, it whirred and gurgled obediently as she pulled a small notepad from the pocket of the grey cardigan she wore. Tapping the notepad with a pencil she fished out from the same pocket, her eyes took on a thoughtful, cogs-turning look.
Anna had seen that look before, a long time ago.
"So, what quest has the fair Elsa Snowfield undertaken for the good of her future kingdom?" she asked, putting on a mock English accent.
"Huh? Oh, Kai suggested I think of something to increase exposure, what with the company being in Black Advertising's sights."
"That's easy. Host a party." Anna declared, like it was the simplest thing in the world.
"A party?" Elsa frowned, wondering why she didn't come up with that.
"Yeah. Hire one of the event halls in the city. Invite all the wealthy people, friends and family. People from other companies. Hell, invite the college students."
Elsa thought about it, and the more she did, the more it made sense. A lavish, opulent party, showcasing the very latest in the Wynter clothing line. Music, food, lots and lots of chocolate. People would be talking about it for months afterwards.
"A party." Elsa confirmed, smiling to herself that it just might work. "That's good work, Anna! You sure you don't wanna be CEO?" she joked, offering her sister the notepad.
"And turn out like Dad?" Anna scoffed, turning back to her laptop, "No thanks."
The sound of the notepad hitting the floor echoed around the suddenly silent kitchen, and starkly aware that something wasn't right, Anna turned once more towards Elsa and felt her heart twinge.
The elder sister was no longer tall and confident but slightly hunched and fragile. Her hand still remained outstretched in the offering of an invisible notepad, but her face was where the story was. Cerulean eyes glistened with burgeoning tears, and her mouth opened and closed a few times in preparation for words that would never come. She wore an expression middling between slapped in the face and punched in the gut.
Yikes. I should be a sniper 'cause I always hit the mark.
Sighing deeply, Anna took Elsa's shaking hands and rubbed circles into her knuckles, trying to stir her sister's attention from the out-of-the-blue remark.
"I'm sorry, 'sis. I didn't mean for it to come out like that." Anna soothed apologetically.
Elsa wasn't going to lie, it hurt. Even though their parents had been dead and gone for five years, obviously they still were not over some aspects of their childhood. Scars that were taking a long time to heal.
Memories jostled for first place in the elder sister's mind; trotting into Daddy's office with a brand new report card, A+ grades adorning nearly all subjects. Running back out in sobs with a scrunched up card, having only received an absent-minded "That's nice dear, but Daddy has a lot of work to do".
The arguments that would occur between mother and father about his marriage to the company.
Anna would always ask "Why do you do it? Why do you set yourself up to be hurt?"
Elsa's answer was always the same in her mind. She just wanted her father's appreciation, for him to say "Well done Elsa! I'm proud of you" just for once.
It was why Anna only told her mother about anything good that happened. Elsa would still cling firmly onto the hope that somewhere, inside the masquerading CEO, was the father they always needed.
"I'm not going to be like him…" Elsa whispered, her eyes fixed on her hands. The once confident and independent Elsa Snowfield, now reduced to a small, sad little girl by an abrupt off-the-cuff remark and the memories that came with it.
"What's wrong, Elsa?" Anna asked, moving her head downwards so Elsa had to look into her eyes. Her sister looked almost plaintive, her brilliant blue eyes shimmering wet. It was obvious that there was something she wanted to say, but she didn't know how to say it…or if she should.
Repeating Kai's advice aloud might make it true.
She already felt like a failure to her father's company, and his memory.
"Nothing, Anna. It just…brought back some things I'd rather forget." Elsa told her in a half-truth. She was convinced it was the right thing to do. It had to be.
Right?
A single tear slid down from Elsa's left eye, which she promptly wiped off with her sleeve. She caught her sister's expression of 'are you sure?', and swiftly tried to push aside the memories and the doubt. She was pretty sure she knew what Anna would say if she relayed Kai's words to her, and she wasn't ready for it.
Not yet.
"I'll be fine, 'sis. Don't worry. I'm okay." she managed a small smile. Half-fake, half-sincere. Anna narrowed her eyes, when a whirring of her smartphone next to the laptop startled them both. Wrapped up in the moment, it sounded less like a vibration and more like an earthquake, judging by the momentary flash of panic in their hearts. Anna picked it up and opened the message, and couldn't help but beam.
"Kristoff wants to take me out for a meal in a couple of hours!" she bounced a little, holding back the urge to squeal. Elsa's mouth curled up into a smile as well. Something about Anna's glee was incredibly infectious, and she was thankful for the change in mood. At least it took her mind off things.
Anna had been dating Kristoff since she was sixteen. It was a classic romance straight out of one of those rom-com movies – Kristoff and Anna shared the same high school classes, cultivating a friendship that blossomed into a teenage romance. Behind the gruff, giant frame was a kind, loving, respectful soul that fell in love with Anna almost as soon as he saw her. Other boys would either be too fast or ignorant to Anna's boundaries, and that was their biggest mistake. Many a time had one of them been reduced to tears by a withering salvo of insults and cutting remarks from the elder sister.
Someone had joked "If you want to date Anna, you've got to get past the Ice Queen first", and to Elsa's chagrin, the name stuck.
Kristoff, however, tried a different tack. He took Elsa aside one day and asked for her permission to date Anna. It was in that moment that Elsa knew Kristoff would never hurt her little sister, would always respect and cherish her and more importantly, love her, because he cared enough to ask. So she agreed.
She couldn't help but feel jealous, though.
And they have been going strong ever since. Even when Kristoff declined college in favour of hands-on work, they were still together as much as possible.
"Good, then you've got a couple of hours to do your screenplay. Hopefully you'll do better than what you have right now!" Elsa teased. Anna waved a dismissive hand.
"Oh, I've got an idea of what to write. And," she said, picking up the notepad from the floor and stealing Elsa's pencil, "I'm going to come up with ideas for this party."
"What? No! That's my job!" Elsa protested, trying to reach for the notepad which Anna was holding away.
"Nope. It's not your job for another year. Elsa, all you do is college work, work work, and sleep. Me? I can balance things. College work, Kristoff, and fun." she said in a reproachful tone. Elsa raised her eyebrows and gestured with her eyes to Anna's screen.
"Yes," she sighed exasperatedly, "I sometimes procrastinate. But at least I can. Besides, I told you I know what I'm going to write. Mama always said: write what you know. So I pretty much have the entire movie in my head right now."
There was no point arguing, and Elsa knew it. Anna had that look. The same look she had when she went tearing after Jack in the cafeteria. She often wondered which of them was older, and which was wiser.
"Right. I'm going to take my laptop and go hang out in 'Bucks, do my screenplay while I wait for Kris to finish his shift. You're going to do things that don't involve the company." Anna declared while she tapped the number for the local taxi cab company into her phone and raised it to her ear.
"Like what?" Elsa raised her hands, mildly incredulous.
"I don't know…Yeah, can I get a cab, please...play Disney Infinity or something. Text Jack…Snowfield House, oh you remember? Ten minutes…just do something other than work…can you make it twenty? I need to get ready. Great! Thank you!"
Twenty minutes later, Anna was on her way to the door wearing a dark blue skirt, a white blouse under a black vest and a pink cardigan, clutching her laptop and Elsa's notepad under her arm. Elsa was sat at the breakfast bar sipping her exceptionally cold coffee, and she chuckled when, before Anna slipped out of the door, she pointed two fingers to her eyes and then pointed them at Elsa's.
Once the sound of the cab's engine faded away, Elsa found herself alone in a silent house. She racked her brain for what to do.
Design a new clothing line? Nope, work related.
Work out tactics to fight the takeover? Kai's already on that.
Maybe Anna was right. Maybe Elsa's life so far existed for one thing: preparing for becoming CEO.
Elsa exhaled deeply as she leant back on the high chair and her eyes wandered over to the ridiculously large flat-screen television in the living room, and the Playstation 4 that sat proudly just to the side, with the activity panel connected to it.
"Meh, why not," she shrugged, wandering over to the sofa in front of the television, "not like I have anything better to do."
Switching on the console which hummed contentedly while simultaneously switching on the screen, she sat back down and fished out her phone from the other cardigan pocket to fire off a text.
"Hey. What are you up to? Elsa x"
A reply came back almost immediately, which was a given because so far, Jack only replied with one or two words.
"Cooking. You? - Jack"
"A cook, huh? You are a mystery." Elsa smiled, tapping a reply.
"About to learn how to play Disney Infinity. Never played it before. Elsa x"
"1.0 or 2.0? – Jack"
"2.0 I think. I can see Marvel stuff. No idea what to do. Elsa x"
"Take one of the little statues and put it on the white pad. Then the thing that looks like a clear plastic building. Pick Iron Man. Always Iron Man. – Jack"
Elsa raised her eyebrows. This was almost a full-blown conversation. Jack might pop a blood vessel. Tapping the button to get her through the menus and into the game world, she picked the miniature Iron Man from beside the Playstation and placed it on one of the two circles, and the clear plastic building behind him. A swirling golden mass appeared on screen, heralding Iron Man's arrival.
Turning back to the sofa, she tapped out a quick reply.
"Wow, that was almost an essay from you. What are you cooking? Elsa x"
Elsa awaited the rebuttal, which didn't come for ten minutes, or an eternity. For her, it was both. Ten almost agonizing minutes where, for a time, she wondered if her teasing had pissed him off. Finally, the vibrating in her hand told her that her worries would be either exacerbated, or assuaged.
"Keep it up, I'll write a god damn thesis. I'm cooking lasagne. – Jack"
"Oh God, Italian food. Don't tell me that, I fucking love Italian food!" Elsa gasped, tapping out another reply. He seemed to actually be opening up thanks to the miracle of texting. The wonders of pseudo-anonymity at its best.
"Sounds tasty! Enjoy! Elsa x"
Jack's answer came back within seconds, and Elsa couldn't lie, it confused the hell out of her.
"I'm not eating it. – Jack"
Elsa frowned. Why would he cook a lasagne but not eat it? Hell, why cook Italian food and not eat it? To her stomach, it was nothing short of a heinous crime, punishable by death.
":o Why not?! Elsa x"
"You better have a good reply, Mr Overland." Elsa hissed with mock sternness. Her stomach was beginning to growl for food and he was to blame.
"I cook and freeze. Cooking helps me. – Jack"
"Okay. Wasn't expecting that." She cocked her head to the side. Cooking and then freezing food she could get behind, but at that moment, how it could help escaped her.
"Helps you how? Elsa x"
Elsa gritted her teeth slightly, her chest and heart willing something to happen. Willing him to open up a bit more. Just a bit more.
"Nothing. Forget I said anything. Enjoy your game. – Jack"
"Fuck. Dammit, Jack. So close." she sighed disappointedly, tapping out another text and firing it off.
"Okay :( Looking forward to tomorrow. Elsa x"
She was pretty sure it would be the last one of the day. He seemed so highly strung, if someone was to push hard enough he would shrink and hide. Circle the wagons, as it were. Shut the world out.
Anna had bluntly stated he was holding onto a lot of pain, but what? Elsa knew all too well the cost of concealing and not feeling. Maybe one day, she would find out what he was trying to conceal.
Elsa sighed once more, slipped the phone back into her cardigan and absent-mindedly pressed the buttons on the controller and tried to make Iron Man move in a specific direction, becoming frustrated when he disobediently continued his lustful liaison with a brick wall. She almost didn't notice the vibration in the pocket as she nearly threw the controller at the screen in anger, and upon fishing her phone out and seeing a new text, she couldn't stop a smile from creeping over her delicate features.
"Me too. – Jack"
No sooner had Anna sat down in her favourite chair, right by the window in Starbucks had she flicked open her laptop and begun to type.
A Kingdom of Isolation – Anna Snowfield
She laced her fingers together and leaned her face against them, gazing at the newly arrived title, while she sorted thoughts in her head. She wasn't lying when she told Elsa that she had the entire movie planned in her head, but it was one thing to picture the screenplay, and a whole other ball game when it came to actually writing it out.
She felt a gentle hand on her left shoulder at the same time as a steaming mug of Caramel Latte Macchiato was placed in front of her, and a gentle kiss on her cheek signalled the appearance of her beloved boyfriend Kristoff. Smiling widely, she closed her eyes and rested a hand upon his, leaning into his kiss. It felt like fiery warmth, spreading comfort and safety from the contact through the rest of her body.
"Thought you could use one of these." he rumbled, his deep warm voice like music to her ears.
"Kristoff, you are a god among men." she sighed.
"Pfft. I wouldn't say that…" he scoffed, taking the seat opposite her, "So, what're you writing?"
"A screenplay for my minor in Movie Studies. Mr Ebert told us that whoever writes the best one gets to send it to a production company of their choice. Mine's totally going to Disney."
"That sounds great! What's it about?" he grinned, leaning closer. Anna took a sip of her drink and waved her arms about, trying to articulate via hand gestures the idea in her mind. Kristoff just chuckled. Attempting to speak with a mouth full of coffee was stereotypical Anna.
"It's about two sisters, one has powers but she can't control them, so she shuts herself off from the world, including her little sister, to keep them safe. The movie is the point of view of the younger girl."
"Sounds good. Writing what you know, huh?" he nodded, the similarities were too easy to miss.
"Yeah, that's what Mama said. Anyway, where are we going later?"
"Oaken's Wandering Grill. Booked a table, right by the window." he said casually, but the butterflies in his stomach and excitement in his chest were hard to keep hidden. Especially when those light blue eyes stared into his with complete and utter astonishment.
"Oaken's?! But, there's, like, a three month waiting list! And it's so expensive!" she gushed, trying to pick her jaw up from the table.
"Meh, I saved up. Plus, it's a special occasion." he shrugged, though her glee was definitely infecting his widening smile. Anna nearly knocked her coffee over her laptop in her rush to wrap him in a warm, tight embrace.
"Ohmygodohmygodohmygod Kristoff! You are so amazing!" she squealed into his ear.
Kristoff's eyes wandered around the coffee house, where some of the staff and a few of the customers had looked over in surprise, and a couple even went "aww!". One middle-aged lady lightly rapped her husband's shoulder, muttering something along the lines of 'so why don't you do anything like that for me?'
Anna suddenly went rigid and pulled back, staring into Kristoff's eyes as a light bulb – or even a floodlight – pinged above her head.
"Itotallyknowwhattowritenow!" she gasped, and with a speed born of a brilliant idea she sat back down and furiously tapped away on her laptop.
Kristoff's smile did not waver, though his hands did wander down to the pocket of his baggy trousers to fondle the jewellery box hidden within. Warm, loving thoughts sailed through his head like a row-boat on a still summer's day.
That's my girl. The one I want to spend the rest of my life with.
A/N: D'AWWWWWW! Kristoff is lovely. Thought I'd make it a nice-ish chapter this time after the upheaval of the last one, but I couldn't resist putting in little breadcrumbs for Elsa and Jack's background, while setting up a mini-arc for Anna and Kristoff. Hope y'all like it. Yes, the plot to Anna's screenplay is incredibly familiar, but I couldn't resist. Besides, it should echo nicely with what happened in their childhood. Like they said, write what you know. And yes, Mr Ebert is based on Roger Ebert, the famous film critic. Based on, not actually featuring. Obviously.
And the next chapter is Date Day! /gasp!
Many thanks for the kind reviews, follows and favourites. I swear, the first thing I do in the morning is check my email account to see if there's anything new.
