Chapter 15: Love Is an Open Door

After Anna checked out the three boys that were apparently Merida's suitors, she decided none of them were her type. Though coincidentally, she saw the auburn-haired boy again during lunch one day eating a sandwich and approached him.

"Hey, um, I wanted to apologize for what happened in the hallway," Anna said nervously. "I just wasn't paying attention and—

"You don't need to apologize," the auburn-haired boy insisted. "In fact, I should be the one apologizing to you for grabbing your arms inappropriately."

"But you were trying to catch me, so it's fine," Anna claimed. "Anyway, let's pretend that didn't happen and introduce ourselves properly. I'm Anna Arendelle, sister to Elsa the soon-to-be CEO of Arendelle Refrigeration."

"Oh, I've heard of her," the auburn-haired boy exclaimed. "She became heir to the company after her parents—I mean yours, died in that boating accident that occurred three years ago."

"Yep, that's the sad truth of it all," Anna confirmed. "But it didn't affect my sister's life too much, since she had been taking her classes online up to that point."

"Do you know why?" The auburn-haired boy asked.

Anna hesitated to answer. "It's…complicated."

"Sorry," the auburn-haired boy apologized. "I didn't mean to pry."

"It's all right," Anna claimed. Then she thought for a moment and said, "So, in a few weeks, my sister is having a business party at our house to celebrate her becoming the CEO of our family's company. Do you want to come?"

This surprised the auburn-haired boy. "But I barely know you."

"Well, I don't have any close friends and it would be nice to have someone to talk to in case my sister decides to ignore me during the party."

"Does your sister often ignore you?"

Sighing, Anna responded, "She's locked herself in her room since we were children, and so I hardly see her in general."

"That sounds rough," the auburn-haired boy remarked. "Well, I shall gladly attend the party if only to give you some much-needed company."

Smiling genuinely, Anna grasped the auburn-haired boy's hand. "Thank you so much, Mister…"

"Holm," the auburn-haired boy answered. "Hans Holm; I recently transferred here from the Southern Isles."

"I see," Anna reacted and let go of Hans' hand. "Guess I'll see you later, Hans Holm."

"You too, Anna," Hans replied, as Anna walked away to hide the redness in her cheeks.

###

Because she liked Hans, Anna decided to postpone her graduation from the end of the Spring Semester to Fall Semester though Elsa was a little baffled by this change. Still, she allowed Anna to go through with it despite the fact that Anna had taken all the necessary classes to graduate. Then at the end of May, Elsa was required to sign several documents that would make her the CEO of Arendelle Refrigeration so Anna accompanied her to the company's main office as a witness. Several members of the board were present too, including the company president who had been running things since Anna and Elsa's parents died.

While Anna had her hair tied in a bun and wore a turquoise-green top with a black camisole underneath and a forest-green skirt on, her blonde-haired sister had her hair wrapped around her head in a braid wearing a black business suit with a turquoise-blue dress underneath and thin blue gloves. After Elsa removed the gloves, she quickly signed the documents and gave them to the secretary who looked at the pen in confusion since there seemed to be bits of frost on it. Ignoring this, Anna followed Elsa to their family limo which took them back to their home while Elsa put the gloves back on in haste.

Later that night, several businessmen and their wives showed up at Anna and Elsa's house along with the board members and company president. While Anna greeted everyone at the front door politely, she gasped upon seeing Hans approaching the house wearing a white suit tan vest and matching tie.

"Hans!" Anna cried. "You made it!"

"I always keep my promises," Hans said, eying Anna up and down. "You look beautiful."

"Thanks," Anna blushed. "You're not too bad yourself."

"Yeah, funny story," Hans began, walking into the foyer while Anna followed him. "This thing was actually a hand-me-down from my brother, who's one of twelve that I have."

"Wait, you have twelve brothers?" Anna exclaimed.

"Exactly," Hans confirmed. "And since my parents run a trading business in the Southern Isles, I'm not going to inherit their company for a long time."

"That's too bad," Anna said sympathetically.

"But the worst part is getting ignored by my brothers, who treat me like I don't exist," Hans replied. "That's why I came here, so I could find something to call my own and be with someone who acknowledges me as a person."

Unsure of what to say, Anna led Hans onto the rooftop terrace which was refreshingly quiet and full of various flora that were blooming.

"Hey, Hans, can I…say something crazy?" Anna began.

"Sure, I love crazy," Hans responded.

"My whole life's been a bunch of doors slammed in my face, so I never felt inclined to really connect with anyone until I met you."

"That's what I was going to say. I've been searching my whole life to find my own place, but with you I feel more comfortable than around my entire family."

"Then maybe we were meant to meet each other," Anna suggested.

"Makes sense to me," Hans agreed. Then he asked, "So, would you…be my girlfriend?"

This made Anna flinch. Then she responded, "You know what's even crazier than that?"

"What?" Hans asked.

"I would totally be your girlfriend!" Anna admitted giddily. "This has never happened to me before! I mean, love is an open door right?"

"Absolutely!" Hans then took Anna's hand. "Let's go tell your sister!"

Surprised by this, Anna was dragged inside by Hans where they navigated through the house until they found Elsa talking to an elderly man who wore a black suit with a red shirt and tie.

"Excuse me, Elsa," Anna said as she clamped Hans' right hand. "Can I talk to you?"

"Sure," Elsa replied, turning away from the elderly man. "I was about done talking with the president of Weselton Trading anyway."

Looking disgruntled, the elderly man hid it with a polite nod before walking away.

"So, what did you want to talk to me about?" Elsa asked, eying Hans with suspicion.

"Elsa, this is Hans Holm from the Southern Isles," Anna introduced. "He's the guy I became friends with at school."

"Hello, Elsa," Hans said, holding out his left hand. "Congratulations on become one of the youngest CEOs in the country."

"Um, thanks," Elsa said, keeping her gloved hands to herself. "Though I don't recall seeing your name on the guest list."

"He was a last-minute invite," Anna explained. "But it's all cool because he's my boyfriend!"

"Boyfriend?" Elsa exclaimed. "When did this happen?"

"Just now," Anna replied, clasping Hans' other hand as they stared into each other's eyes. "And it's completely consensual."

"But from what you told me, you've only known this guy for a few weeks at least—not counting the time you bumped into him," Elsa responded nervously. "So doesn't it seem a bit too soon to decide if he's worth dating or not?"

"What do you know about dating?" Anna argued. "You've been locked up in your room for most of our lives!"

Taken aback, Elsa turned away. "I couldn't help that."

"Yes, you could have!" Anna let go of Hans and grabbed Elsa's gloved hand. "If you told me what was wrong, we could have—

"Let it go!" Elsa shouted, wrenching her hand out of the glove.

Yet as this happened, a blast of icy wind flew from Elsa's hand causing frost to appear on the ceiling of the ballroom area and ice on the floor. This surprised everyone who was in the room, including the Weselton Trading President.

"Witchcraft," the elderly man murmured out loud.

End of Chapter 15