A/N: Doing these notes reflects my thoughts before and after each chapter, which should also reflect that I'm thankful for everyone who is currently reading this fanfic during these difficult times. I hope everyone is doing well and safe wherever they are, and that we can defeat Coronavirus united. Anyways, thanks to everyone once again and shoutout to all of you for following and reviewing this story. Now back to the show!
PS: I don't own Disney's Frozen series. If I did, the movies would probably have an anime opening that would reflect upon the movie without spoilers. :)
Chapter 18: A day with family
Back in the real world…
Alex's POV
"And that's pretty much everything to now, where I'm trying to get her home as I have promised," I gestured to Elsa as I finally finished the story to my parents and Emily, my family understanding the situation I was in without speaking their thoughts. As I sat back on the chair, I glanced at Elsa for a moment, the 5th spirit looking at me a bit worried, but before I could say something to her, my mother stood up, clearing her voice before she spoke.
"Well, why don't we go get something to eat? After all, we're a bit famished from the long trip we just took to get here."
"Actually," I replied to my mother, "me and Elsa just kinda ate before you guys got here…"
"Oh, nonsense child! It would be nice to go out as a family, along with miss Elsa here if you don't mind, since we arrived to spend time with you. Right, Alex?"
I look at Elsa. "What do you think?"
Elsa seemed to ponder about her decision before I guess she came to one. "I guess it's okay. It is your family after all, so it wouldn't hurt at all to spend time with them."
"Well…"
"Please, Alex!" Emily came to me with puppy eyes, "I want to spend time with Elsa! She's my favorite Disney princess!"
Elsa gave a playful giggle at me dealing with Emily's stubbornness, making me sigh in defeat. "Oh alright. We might as well head out for some entertainment."
"Yay!" Emily cheered, my younger sister hopping up and down in victory. "We're going to have fun! I know it!"
With that, I stood up from my chair while Elsa stood up as well, my mother telling us to prepare for a fun afternoon and walking past us while my father got up and followed behind her without saying anything to me. As they left the living room, I turned to face Elsa, who seemed happy and was right now talking with Emily about the type of fun things that my younger sister was thinking about. "Hey, Elsa?"
"Yeah, Alex? What is it?" Elsa turned to me as I pointed behind her, the 5th spirit facing the direction where the other two spirits, Bruni and Gale, came from the hallway into the living room, making Emily squeal in delight at seeing them. "Oh, right I forgot."
As Bruni and Gale came towards us, the wind and fire spirits chirped happily as Gale flew around me and Elsa, Bruni simply climbing up my leg to my shoulder with a smile on its face with the occasional lick of its eye. I smiled at the little lizard, Bruni then turned and saw Emily, looking at her before looking at Elsa with a confused look. Elsa approached me, holding out her hands for Bruni to jump on and head over to Emily with the fire lizard in her hands.
"It's alright Bruni. She's Alex's younger sister Emily. You can trust her," I heard Elsa tell Bruni, the lizard nodding before cautiously approaching my younger sister. Emily is a bit shy at first before Elsa reassured her that it would be alright, my younger sister holding out her own hands with Bruni jumping off the 5th spirit's hands onto Emily's hands. Bruni circled around in her small hands for a moment before lying down, letting out a happy chirp of relief.
Emily giggled, looking at Elsa as the 5th spirit crouched by her side. "I think he likes me."
Elsa nodded with a smile. "I bet he does. He tends to like friendly people."
As Emily continued to hold Bruni in her hands, Elsa stood up, heading back in my direction as I placed my hands in my pockets, the 5th spirit looking back at Emily before looking back at me. "Bruni and Gale told me that they'll be fine while we go out with your family. They will head over to Nokk and play around for some time until we get back."
"It's that simple? How will they know that we will arrive?"
"Well," Elsa told me in reassurance, "I speak to them mentally. It's something I guess is pretty unique once I became the 5th spirit of the Enchanted Forest. It helps me know what the spirits and Atohallan are thinking and builds good communication between us whenever there's trouble nearby."
"Ah," I reply, feeling a bit surprised by this news, "That's cool to know, I guess."
My mother then comes into the room, interrupting our conversation. "You know, if you kids hurry up, I know a great restaurant that I saw with Martin while we were on our way here. It's a great romantic place too you know."
This makes me and Elsa uncomfortable, as we then take a step away from each other while the two of us are blushing madly. "Mother, please stop. You're making the situation more uncomfortable than it already is," I tell her, my mother chuckling at my reaction.
"I'm just messing with you darling. Just my way of saying to shake a leg." She replies, Elsa taking her leave with a bow to my room to change her spirit outfit for something else, or she's just trying to escape the weird situation my mother placed us in, leaving me and my mother alone while Emily takes Bruni to the kitchen along with Gale following behind. As we're alone, my mother then turns to me with a serious expression. "Alex?"
"Yeah, Mom?" I reply with a bit of annoyance, my mother seeming a bit concerned towards me. "What is it?"
"Are you okay?"
I'm a bit confused. "What do you mean?"
"Well," my mother gestures to me, "You're certainly not the same young man I knew when you left for college more than 2 years ago. You've changed a bit. Not only physically, but I can tell emotionally as well. Like you're a bit taller and muscular than before."
I look away from her, looking outside the window to not look at my mother in her eyes. Also because she's still making me feel uncomfortable. "I suppose so. I've been dealing with a lot of things in my life before and after Elsa arrived in my place, so I can testify to that. It's been difficult for me since Erick's passing 3 years ago."
My mother sighs, placing a hand on my shoulder. "You know, it's not your fault for what happened to your little brother. You can't blame yourself for his death."
"And if I do?" I look back at her, feeling a bit angry.
My mother shakes her head. "If you do, you shouldn't because he sacrificed himself to save you when that criminal pulled a gun on you. It was his decision to save you and perhaps you didn't ask for it, but you should be glad that you're still alive." I look away from her, feeling a bit offended. "Yes, we've mourned for him after we lost him, but we must face the fact that sometimes we must move on and care for those that are still living, because if we don't, then we begin to neglect our own family needs and feelings."
I feel some tears come to my eyes, wiping them away. "I understand. Lately, I've had to put my own emotions away to protect Elsa from my own darkness. It's hard for me but I've managed to control it so far without difficulty." I chuckle at something that comes to my mind. "Like she said, conceal, don't feel, don't let it show."
My mother sighs with a bit of disappointment. "I'm pretty sure that's not what she meant by that, but oh well." She then pauses for a bit, before giving a smile to me. "So how you've been doing with her in your life?"
I look at her with my eyebrows furrowed. "Where are you going with this, woman?"
My mother nudges my elbow with a smirk. "Do you like her? And don't lie to me, mister, cause even if you deny it, I know you got a crush for her."
I feel very flushed, my heart racing. "What?! Uh, totally not! Hehehe...heh." My mother raises an eyebrow at me. "Alright fine. I like her, possibly love her, but as a friend. I can't risk messing up the storyline that's destined for her by asking her out on a date. I mean, we kinda went out on one, but it was as friends, nothing more."
As I try to calm my heart down, my mother simply chuckles, making me look at her as if I was trying to figure out what she was thinking. "What is it now?"
"Well," my mother replies, "It's my opinion, but you two look cute together. Perhaps you may not think so, but certainly, you have feelings for her. Regardless of those feelings, you should seize the moment that she's with you as you're trying to get her home because you may never see her again after she's gone."
This makes me think, but I come up with a decision for myself. "I'm not the guy for Elsa. She's better off alone by herself than to be with someone like me. As I said before, I don't want to get involved in my own life problems. It's for the best."
Before my mother can reply to my comment, I hear tapping on the wall, turning to see Elsa come into the living room with a shy smile. "Am I interrupting something?"
Well, the fact that her beauty was currently captivating me, as she was wearing a blue denim jacket along with a long white sleeved shirt along with blue jeans, I was a bit speechless, but luckily my mother was there to aid me. "Oh no, dear! My son was just telling me how much he was excited about the apple pie I told him I was going to make for everyone when I got here. I told him later on tonight I would prepare it as a treat."
The 5th spirit's eyes lightened in delight. "Apple pie? That sounds delicious. I can't wait to try it later, Mrs. Connor."
"Thank you, dear. And feel free to call me Mary." My mother replied, leaving the room as Elsa and I followed behind after a moment of awkwardness between us, Emily leaving Bruni on the table as she followed behind as well, catching up to my mother while Elsa and I stayed behind a bit to talk to each other.
"I like your family Alex. They seem nice," She spoke to me, making me smile. "Especially Emily. She's a very nice person."
"Yeah. Emily is friendly towards everyone," I reply, "It's just her way of saying that she likes to spread love and joy to everyone she meets."
"That's good to hear. I'm liking her already." Elsa replies as I lock the door to the apartment once we're outside, following behind as we go down the stairs to my parents' car. "You have a good family Alex. Make sure to treasure them every day you're with them."
Her expression then saddens, so I decided to cheer her up with something positive. "Well, don't worry Elsa. I still made it my mission to get you home, no matter what. And you'll be reunited with your sister again along with the rest of your family. No matter how long it takes, I will find a way, if there's one I hope."
As Elsa nods in agreement, we arrive at my parents' car, which is a black Honda SUV, while my mother then begins to have a conversation with my father that I can't hear what they're conversing about. But it seems they come to an agreement because my mother then faces me and Elsa with her hands folded. "Well, would you mind if the two of you sit in the back passenger seats with Emily?"
Elsa does a polite nod. "I wouldn't mind at all. I would happily like to ride along with Alex and Emily." She turns to me. "What do you think Alex?"
I shrug. "It's fine with me. Emily already looks happy to ride alongside her favorite Disney princess in real life." Elsa looks at Emily, who is obviously excited by the thought of spending time along with the 5th spirit. "It was a bit obvious I could tell."
As I head to the back passenger door of the SUV, I open it to the 5th spirit, who gets in while Emily goes on the other side of the SUV, my parents going to the front seat with my dad being the one to drive the car. You would've thought that I would get used to sitting by Elsa when we take the bus, but sitting by her side with my family around makes me nervous in a way that I can't describe. Confound these feelings of mine towards Elsa.
Elsa notices my reaction, looking a bit concerned at me. "Are you alright Alex?"
"Huh? Oh yeah totally! I'm great!" I stammer anxiously, Elsa raising an eyebrow at me. "Trust me, Elsa. I'm good."
With that, I see my mother shake her head while looking at me in the rearview mirror, Elsa not noticing and looking around the SUV with curiosity and fascination. "This is very different from the magical carriage that we take Alex. The one you call a bus."
"Well," my mother speaks upon hearing Elsa's interest in the vehicle, "This is a vehicle known as a Honda SUV, or if you're confused, a car for better understanding. It's like a bus, but for better for people that don't want to use public transportation." She turns to face me. "Which I plan on solving for you very soon."
Before I can ask what she means, Emily pipes in as my dad starts to pull the car out of the highway in reverse. "I'm really excited about today now Elsa. I can't wait for the fun that we will have today."
Elsa smiles at Emily. "Yep. I'm excited as well, Emily."
As Emily simply giggles from excitement, Elsa then proceeds to have a friendly conversation with Emily about herself and things she likes, the two beginning to find things in common with each other, before Emily states that her new favorite Disney song is Show Yourself, which makes the 5th spirit look confused. "You know it? The song I say when I went to Atohallan?"
"Oh yes! I watched it a lot of times over because it's very good to listen to." Emily replies, Elsa giving a smile at my younger sister. "It's one of the best songs ever! Even Alex likes it!"
"Oh really?" Elsa turns to me, doing a smirk with a raised eyebrow. "Alex likes it?"
I feel myself blush slightly. "Well, I suppose… that I do… and… umm…"
Elsa then turns to Emily, whispering into her ear with my younger sister giggling, before composing herself in a professional manner. "Alright. I'll do it for you, Emily."
Before I can figure out what's going on, Elsa, in her heavenly and beautiful voice, starts singing her own song Show Yourself, making everyone, including me, quiet and enjoy listening to her song. Even though I secretly enjoy the song, I sigh in annoyance, simply leaning back against the back seat and waiting for the ride to be done as soon as possible, because if it was going to be like this for the entire drive…
It was going to be a long day.
A/N: So done. It was a bit longer to write this, listening to Show Yourself (of course during this quarantine they would release it) and even (I have no shame) some Yugioh songs like Hyperdrive and You're not me. But that's me, so I hope you enjoyed this chapter and leave a review as always. Kinda need some (perhaps 2 per each chapter) reviews to know what you guys think. So if you can, it would be very appreciated. Anyways, hope you continue to be safe and keep on heading Into The Unknown with positive thoughts and until next time folks. :)
Seriously, Alex man, you need to hook up Elsa… It's a once in a lifetime opportunity...
