The second time Anna met Hans, it was in a storm. Oddly enough, she had been putting off contacting him. If her parents taught her anything, it was to never trust anyone who knows your name before you know theirs. Odds are that they want to get to know your money and not you. But he had never left her thoughts. In fact, when she saw him standing there with an umbrella in hand like her knight in shining armor, she thought she was daydreaming again. He almost looked like he surprised to see her. Almost.
"Hey."
"Hey."
They held each others stare. Hans, under the safety of his umbrella. Anna, at the mercy of the rain. Finally, Hans broke the staring and coughed. He pointed behind her. "Shouldn't you be in there? What are you doing out here?"
The 'there' he was referring to was obviously the lavish mansion behind Anna. How he knew where she lived, Anna didn't question at the time. Her judgement was clouded by his smile. She had never seen a smile as perfect as his. Then again, she hadn't witnessed many smiles. Only stacks of money and paperwork. No faces, no happiness. A few of the maids smiled politely at her occasionally, but it never reached their eyes. She was just a spoiled little rich kid to them.
She, in turn, pointed behind Hans. "That's my favorite café. Right across the street from my house. The question is, Mr...?"
Hans smiled at her. "Westerguard."
Anna smiled back and moved a stray piece of hair behind her ear. "Right. The question is, Mr. Westerguard; What are you doing here? You stalking me?"
She was only joking but Hans visibly paled. "N-no. It's ju-just that-"
Anna smirked. It was nice to see his cool persona falter. She was enjoying teasing him. "Just whar?"
Hans sighed and ran a hand through his dry hair, unlike Anna's, who was still standing out in the rain. "It's just that I needed to see you again. You never called and I thought that we clicked and..."
Anna's smirk fell. It wouldn't be until long after this encounter that Anna would realize that he was guilt tripping her. He would do it many times before she finally figures it out. But hey, she was young and dumb and thought she was in love. Hans took advantage of that. "Oh, I'm so sorry! I would've called but I just don't trust people easily and-"
"Anna, easy. Easy, " Hans' light chuckle washed away any guilt Anna was feeling. "It's okay. I completely understand. I'll admit that I saw you on TV and admired you from afar but that was before I met you and got to know you. I looked at you as someone unattainable with a lot of money but now I see that you're just like me. You're only human." He took her wet, cold hand in his. His hand was rough, burdened with calluses, and their hands didn't fit perfectly together but Anna didn't care. She was hooked on his words. "You're misunderstood, neglected." He shyly looked into her eyes. "I don't think I've ever connected with someone like I connect with you. And I don't care about your money. I only care about you." Years later, Anna would have to give him credit: he was a spectacular liar. But now, his words sealed the deal for Anna. She tightened her grip on his hand and lightly tugged on it.
"You wanna...have some coffee with me? I know it seems like I only like this place because it's close to my house but I swear that they have the best coffee, the best eveything."
Hans followed her into the shop, shaking out his umbrella. "Their hot chocolate is to die for, or so I've heard."
It took Anna three months to realize, soon after the first time she caught him cheating, that he never let her under his umbrella. It took her a year to realize that Hans didn't have a chivalrous bone in his body. It took her two and a half years to meet someone who did, in the bar that she met Hans in. The blue eyed stranger whose only act of unchivalrousness was stealing her heart and leaving her alone in a strange bed.