Chapter 3
"Well, what do you think?" Elsa said, as she slapped her hand down on the steel hood of the reddish-brown pickup, the thud echoing in the garage.
"It's...she's...old." Anna said, a small giggle leaked out of her lips at the end of the sentence.
"Shes not the prettiest in town..." Elsa chuckled, as she stepped over to the front of the hood, reaching underneath for the small release latch.
"...but she runs like a champ." Elsa said, as she lifted the heavy steel hood, with surprising ease. Anna couldn't help but stare, as Elsa's strong arms lifted the solid steel hood. Her triceps and biceps flexed, the sinew of her arm muscles bulged. Anna's stomach grew warm, her knees again grew weak.
'What is happening to you Anna?' The redhead thought to herself, as Elsa spoke.
"292 cubic inch, V8 engine." Elsa said, a smile on her lips. She talked about the truck engine with a sense of pride.
"Originally she only put out 325 horsepower. But I tuned her up a bit, got her up to 450."
Anna walked over to stand next to Elsa, looking down into the engine compartment. While the rest of the truck looked aged, and dilapidated, the engine looked pristine, like it was brand new.
"Wow." The redhead muttered. Anna was oblivious to cars, engines, antiques. But she knew if it was shiny, it was probably good.
"The C-10 didn't come in 4 wheel drive, that was the K-10 model. But I did a little modification, can't have a truck without all wheel drive, not in a place like this." Elsa chuckled.
Even inside the garage, the cold winter air still seeped through the walls, making it cooler than Anna would've preferred. But, standing next to Elsa, she could practically feel the platinum blonde's body heat radiating next to her.
Anna's whole body felt warm.
Not warm. Hot.
'You...you can't...she's...a she...'
Anna's mind was racing, as her heart thumped heavy in her chest. She was feeling emotions, feelings, that she hadn't felt in a very long time. Feelings she hadn't felt since-
"Why do you start her up?" Elsa said, pulling Anna out of her daze.
"Keys are in the ignition."
Anna hurriedly shuffled away from Elsa, around to the drivers side of the truck. She pressed the door lock on the handle, and pulled hard on the heavy steel door. She climbed up onto the bench seat, pulling the heavy door closed with a loud 'thud'.
She slowly reached down to the steering column, where a single key, with a small snowflake shaped pendant, hung.
"Go ahead girl..." Elsa chuckled, from the other side of the hood.
"Let's year this baby purr."
Anna took a deep breath, and turned the ignition key.
Sssshhhclunk...
Sssshhhclunk...
Sssshhhclunk...
The engine wouldn't start.
"Hold on..." Elsa said from under the hood, hidden from Anna's gaze.
"...I think I see the problem, give me a sec."
Anna sat in the cab of the old truck, watching as Elsa emerged from under the hood, walking over to the passenger side door.
"Faulty spark plug." Elsa said, as she opened up the passenger side door, then opening the glove box.
"It's...nice." Anna said timidly, her voice trembling.
'Why are you so nervous?' Anna thought to herself. 'She's perfectly nice, you're the one being...awkward.'
"Yea she's a beaut." Elsa chuckled, as she fumbled around in the glove box.
Sitting in the cab, Anna took a deep breath, taking in the smell. Old leather, metal, a somehow good smelling dust, and...lavender?
"Ah, found one." Elsa smiled, as she pulled a small, somewhat bell shaped white tube from the glove box. She walked around to the front of the truck, again disappearing under the hood.
'It was her, she was the lavender smell' Anna thought. 'Even under all the dirt and grease, she still smells...lovely.'
Even through the musk of the old truck, the lavender smell still penetrated Anna's nostrils, like it was the only scent in the cab.
Anna's fingers were trembling, gently tapping on the steering wheel. Her toes tapped at the floorboards, her knees trembling.
The redhead's mind was racing.
'Anna...no...you're not a-'
"Alright, try again." Elsa shouted from under the hood. Anna shook her head, she kept having to be pulled out of these dazes.
"Okay." The redhead stuttered, again reaching for the ignition key.
Sssshhhclunk...
Sssshhhclunk...
SssshhhBBBRRRRMMMM...
"That's right baby!" Anna heard Elsa hell from under the hood, as the engine tumbled into life. The exhaust rumbled underneath the old truck, the whole cab gently shook and vibrates by the strength of the tuned up engine.
Anna smiled, as her hands gripped the steering wheel. Elsa slammed the hood shut, the truck gently shook as the garage echoed with the thud of steel slamming together.
Elsa walked over to the passenger door, opening it up and crawling onto the seat next to Anna.
"Let's take her for a little test drive." Elsa smiled, as she pulled the steel passenger door shut.
"Wh-what?" Anna stuttered, as the platinum blonde reached across her lap, pulling her seatbelt across her legs.
"Well you're not gonna buy a truck that doesn't run..." Elsa chuckled. "...and besides, she needs gas."
Anna looked at the simple dashboard, and saw the fuel gage. One hash mark away from empty.
"C'mon, closest gas station is back in town." Elsa smiled, reaching into her pocket and pulling out a small key fob. She pressed one of the buttons, and the garage door began to whirr, rising up and folding across the ceiling.
"A-are you sure?" Anna stuttered quietly. "It was, like, a half hour drive to get here..."
"It'll be fine sweetie..." Elsa giggled. "...I know the way there."
Sweetie.
Anna hadn't been called sweetie, since...
"Oh, almost forgot..." Elsa said, reaching across the bench seat, down to a small lever that rose up from the floorboard.
"Installed this myself." The blonde said proudly.
"For 4 wheel drive, just pull back on this lever here."
Anna looked down to the level, where Elsa was resting her hand.
Her spine tingled, stomach grew warm, as she looked down at the girl's hand.
'Anna...' she thought silently. '...you...you don't...'
Then Elsa pulled back on the lever, and the truck made a small lurch forward, despite being in park. Anna's eyes shot wide in surprise.
"Don't worry..." Elsa chuckled. "...that's just the transmission going into 4 wheel drive." She said as she pulled her hand up from the lever, resting her palms down in her lap.
"She'll be able to handle the snow now."
Anna sat in the drivers seat, her feet nervously tapping, hand clenched tight on the steering wheel. Her heart was racing, mind was racing, she could feel her pulse as her blood rushed throughout her body.
She wasn't sure if it was because she was about to drive a vehicle older than she was, or it it was...
Her...
"You good sweetie?" Elsa asked looking over to Anna. The redhead dare not look back to the blonde, her head was already beating against her ribcage. And every time she looked at Elsa...something happened inside her...
"Y-Yea..." Anna nervously stuttered, as she reached for the gear shift on the steering column. "...I've just...never driven something this...old, before."
"She's old..." Elsa chuckled. "...but she's still got a few good miles left in her."
"Let me get the heat on..." Elsa chuckled. "...thank god that still works."
As the warm air started blowing out of the vents, it filled the truck cab with more old smells. Old leather, old plastic, old metal...lavender.
Anna's stomach grew hot, as the smell of Elsa's perfume circulated through the truck. All other smells were nothing to Anna's nostrils. The old smell she could smell,
Was lavender.
Anna pulled down on the gear shift, a small red arrow on the dash slid over, clunking as the gears changed.
Park. To neutral. To Drive.
Anna slowly lifted her foot off the brake, and the old truck slowly creaked forward. The sound of creaking metal echoed in the garage, until the truck was fully out in the open. Snowflakes fell against the windshield, while Elsa clicked the small key fob, the garage door creaking shut behind them.
As more snow fell onto the windshield, Anna reached for a smaller lever, opposite the gear shift on the other side of the steering column. The wipers began to slid across the windshield, clearing off the fresh fallen snow.
"See, you're already getting used to her." Elsa chuckled, as Anna fully released the brake pedal, turning the wheel towards the tire tracks Kristoph's truck had left driving in. The tracks were already half covered in new snow.
"Yea..." Anna smiled, as she slowly pressed on the gas pedal. "...I like her."
'You like her...' Anna thought.
'That...not what I meant...'
Anna shook her head, as she gently pressed harder on thefts pedal, the truck accelerated down the tire tracks, towards the tree lined dirt road.
"Gotta be careful though," Elsa smiled. ",she's got some go to her."
"Yea..." Anna said, a small smile on her lips. Trees lined the dirt road, Kristoph's tire tracks gave Anna a good track to follow as they began to make their way towards Arendelle.
"So, what made you want to move to Arendelle?" Elsa asked, as the truck gently bounced down the dirt road.
"Oh..." Anna stuttered. "...um...my family...well, my friends family...they used to come up here, in the winter. Skiing."
"Hmmm." Elsa smiled, as she stroked her fingers across her chin.
"I just thought...you know. It's, kinda nice." Anna lied.
"Interesting." Elsa said, though Anna could detect the sarcasm in her voice.
"What?" Anna asked.
"Nothing, nothing..." Elsa smiled, shrugging her shoulders, leaning back in her seat.
The next few minutes of the drive were in awkward silence, the only sound was steel creaking with every bump of the dirt road.
"Do you...think we could turn on the radio?" Anna asked. She didn't want to sound impolite. But the silence, especially with her hear racing, the silence was deafening.
"Yea, bout that..." Elsa chuckled. "...the, uh, radio is the one thing I haven't fixed yet."
"Oh..." Anna said, as her heart sank a little.
"I can fix it for you later." Elsa said, smiling. "I just haven't gotten around to it."
"That's okay..." Anna stuttered nervously. "...we...still haven't talked about how much I need to-"
"Ah ah, don't worry about the price yet." Elsa chuckled.
"Let's just get to town first."
"Oh...oh-kay..." Anna said, her mind racing again.
'It's going to be too much, I know it.'
'What if it breaks down? I don't have money to fix it'
'The has to fill this truck...how am I gonna-'
"So..." Elsa again interrupted Anna's train of thought. "What made you want to move to Arendelle?"
"You...already asked me that..." Anna said with a nervous giggle.
"Let me rephrase..." Elsa said. "...why did you leave the city so quick?"
"Wh-...how did you know I left in a hurry?" Anna's heart was racing.
"If you came up here to ski, then you'd at least have boot, or even pants." Elsa said, with a smile smile on her lips. "I mean, yoga pants, booty shorts, a paper thin hoodie? You must've left in a hurry."
"I...I, uh..." Anna was speechless, her hands trembling, knees were shaking. Her heartbeat was at least 160 bpm, and her cheeks were now bright red again.
"Oh, oh my god..." Elsa said, as soon as she noticed the condition Anna was in. Her face was nearly as red as her hair, and her jaw was hanging slightly open, lost or words.
"Anna, I am so sorry." Elsa said, as she placed a reassuring hand on Anna's thigh.
(Little did Elsa know, that only increased Anna's racing heartbeat.)
"I didn't mean to upset you." Elsa was the one who now sounded nervous.
"You don't have to say another word." She said, her voice cracking, as she slowly pulled her hand away from Anna's lap.
The next few minutes were nothing but awkward silence. Anna, mind racing with a thousand different emotions, memories, feelings. Elsa, frozen out of embarrassing.
It wasn't until Anna spoke up, that the silence was broken.
"H-Hans." The muttered quietly, almost a whisper.
"Wh-what?" Elsa asked, surprised by Anna's voice, actually talking.
"His...his name was Hans." Anna said, voice still soft, quiet.
"Anna, you don't have to talk about-"
"No..." Anna interrupted, still quiet, her voice slightly trembling.
"I...I need to."
Another brief pause.
"I...haven't talked about...him, to anyone. Except for one person, back in LA."
"You don't have to explain anything to me Anna." Elsa said, her voice soft, sweet, caring.
Loving.
"I...I want too." Anna murmured. "I feel...comfortable, around you."
"I've been known to have that effect." Elsa said with a smile. And luckily for both of them, Anna let out a small giggle of laughter.
"Only if you're comfortable..." Elsa said, placing her hand reassuringly back on Anna's thigh.
Stomach, warm. Hands, trembling. Heart, racing.
'Anna...you...and her...' the redhead thought.
Anna took a deep breath in, and exhaled, readying herself. She hadn't told the whole story to anyone, except for her best friend Rapunzel.
But with Elsa, she just felt...comfortable.
Safe.
"Hans...he was always so sweet..."
.
.
.
By the time the old pickup rolled into town, the snowfall had turned from a light sprinkling, to a thick, harsh downfall. The streets were quickly being coated in snow, the snowplows could hardly keep up.
"I can't believe that, that, that bastard..." Elsa was nearly yelling, her face red with anger.
"...I can't believe he did that to you!"
"I know." Anna said, her voice quiet, calm, compared to Elsas.
"If I ever saw him, I'd knock his lights out." Elsa grumbled angrily, as the old truck rolled down Main Street, towards the only gas station in town. Anna pulled the truck into the single pump gas station, and put the truck in park.
"Oh no..." Anna mumbled, as her heart sank into her stomach.
"What's wrong?" Elsa asked, as the redhead pointed to a sign, hanging on the gas pump.
CARD READER OUT OF SERVICE
CASH ONLY
"Shit..." Elsa muttered under her breath.
"They closed like an hour ago." Anna said, sorrowful.
"I mean, that's okay, you can fill up tomorrow." Elsa said, placing her hand on Anna's thigh, to reassure her.
All it did was get Anna's heart racing again.
"Yea..." Anna muttered softly, as her heartbeat increased at Elsa's touch.
'Her touch...why is this happening...' Anna though, as Elsa pulled out her cell phone.
"I'll call Kristoph, hell have to drive me back. The snow is getting deep, and I'm not going to make you walk to your apartment."
"Oh, no, Elsa, it's fine. I can-"
"Don't be ridiculous Anna..." Elsa said, even letting out a small giggle. "...this old girl doesn't have enough gas to get back to my place anyway."
Elsa opened up her smartphone, and began to dial numbers on the touch screen.
"Fuck me..." Elsa mumbled under her breath, so quiet Anna almost didn't hear.
"What's wrong?" The redhead asked.
"The tower must be out from the storm. I've got no service."
"We can try my phone." Anna suggested, before pulling her iPhone out of her jacket pocket. But as soon as she saw her phone, she should've guessed, but her her heart still sank.
"I've got no service either."
"Mmhmm..." Elsa groaned, leaning back on the truck's bench seat.
"Well, since I can't make it back home, why don't you just drop me off at the motel. It's right down the street."
Then, Anna had an idea. But that idea blurred out of her lips, before she even had time to think.
"You could stay with me."
Her face immediately turned bright scarlet red. She had barely even had the concept of the idea, and yet, here it was now, out in the open. Elsa's eyebrows cocked up, surprised by the suggestion.
"You...you'd let me stay with you?"
"I...I mean...it's...for one night...since you can't go home..." Anna nervously chuckled. Just when she thought her heart rate would go back down, it was beating harder and faster than ever.
"You...you don't have to do that." Elsa said, still taken aback by Anna's outburst.
"I want to." Anna blurted out.
She nearly brought her hand up to her own mouth, to shut herself up.
'What the fuck am I doing?' Anna screamed in her own head.
"You...you'd let me spend the night?" Elsa asked. Anna's heart was beating so hard, she couldn't help but let out a small blurt of giggles.
"I mean, yea." She said, and Elsa gave a small giggle, and a smile.
'Such a beautiful smile...' Anna thought.
"Oh, uh, almost forgot..." Anna said, as she put the pickup truck back in drive.
"Do you like cats?"