Hello again, my beauties. I am back and I am healed from the dreaded sickness that I caught.

And yes, I decided to put up another chapter on this little story since a lot of you got interested in it. So, I hope you guys continue to enjoy this.

And if anyone is wondering, I'm still doing Little Rose. Chapters are typed up, but I'll just upload it next Thursday.

So, without further ado. Enjoy.

Disclaimer: Still, I don't own anything Disney or Frozen related.

Warning: Same as the first chapter.

Chapter 2: Laces and Luck

After I had finished banging my knuckles against the door, I waited.

…

And waited.

…

And waited some more. The door remained closed.

Did she not hear me? I knocked pretty hard.

I tried again. This time, I knocked until I was sure that I was probably bruising my knuckles. And I waited again.

And again, the door stayed closed. I even tried the doorbell, but it did nothing.

That was when I got a bit nervous. I dug into my pocket and fished out the crumbled-up paper.

I did get the address right, right? I couldn't have messed up with Oaken and Tiana helping me out.

That was when I did my mental check list. It's a thing I do to help when I have to multitask at college work. By now, I was pretty good at it, so it would work here, too.

With my phone in one hand, I pushed the GPS icon. I held the paper with directions in my other hand, I began to sync the two.

Winter's Edge Apartment Complex… Check.

Apartment Number 702… Check.

2118 Andersen Drive… Check.

Okay, got all of that right. So, is she not here?

After putting my stuff and my bag onto the ground, I tried to look through the window. The blinds were doing a great job of blocking my eyes, but there was no lights or sound coming through the blinds.

Well everyone, it's official. Today is definitely a shit day for me. Just when I thought that I could magically save it and go home with a smile on my face, shit happens. I swear, I could just hear someone laughing at me right now.

I was tired, hot, and my good mood from the café was long gone. The sun was still baking and I sure as hell wasn't going to slug my way home through that. Even in the shade, I could still feel the sweat on my forehead starting to come back with a vengeance.

Really? What in fuck's name did I do to deserve this?!

So, after giving the door the most hate-filled look that I could give, I leaned back and kicked it. The kick had jarred the door and vibrated up my leg. I probably fucked up my lucky pair of Converse, but I didn't care. Today proved that they weren't lucky at all.

I turned away to throw everything back in my bag and fished for my headphones. I could make it back to Oaken with the assignments and say that I tried everything. It's not my fault that the woman's not here. On the way back, I'll listen to my Zen music on my phone so I don't actually kill someone today.

Maybe some Skrillex or Disturbed would calm my soul.

As I had picked up my bag and was about to march myself back to Oaken, a speedy ball of something came out from somewhere behind me and practically tackled my leg.

I naturally freaked out and almost jumped down the stairs.

Until, I tripped… of course. Honestly, if I lived in a horror film, Freddy and Jason would have killed me twenty times over by now.

Anyway, I was in fight-mode. I flipped myself onto my back and raised my scrapped-up hands to fight off whatever that thing was.

My fists were met with a small, wet tongue.

What the actual fuck?

Taking a better look at my attacker, I saw a puppy.

And I'm serious. It was a puppy. Small, fluffy, and cute as a bunny, a small dog was wiggling and panting around my face like it was having the time of its life.

Being the animal lover that I am, the small dog's cuteness instantly made me want to squish it. And that's what I did.

I sat Indian-style on the concrete as I picked up the hyper puppy. All it did was wiggle some more and reach up to lick my face. I couldn't stay mad at that adorable face, so I laughed as I fought to defend myself from its energetic licking.

Even with the puppy in my arms, I did notice something weird.

Where's the puppy's owner at?

No one had come up to the apartment, but the puppy was clearly friendly and was wearing a blue collar. I could even hear the tags clink against each other as they were tossed by the little dog's energy.

The thing was that I couldn't look at the collar for the tags because the puppy was moving too much. It was only after I gave the small fur ball a good belly rub that it stayed still long enough for me to take a better look at the tags.

The first one was about the rabies shots it had gotten. The vaccination was recently done because of the year stamped on it.

Well, that's a good sign. It even has the vet's name and phone number.

The second one I looked at had the puppy's name and home address.

Aww, that's a cute name. So, Olaf lives at… what?

I must have been staring like a dumbass for a while because Olaf flipped himself over and started tugging at my shoe laces. The thought of my favorite pair of Converse being mauled by an adorable, but energetic puppy finally pulled me out of my staring contest with the wall.

The tag had Ms. Vinters's address.

With half of my mind on Olaf, I looked to the door. It was open and no one was at the door.

"Okay… creepy…" I said to myself. But seriously, it was creepy. The door was half open and the hallway was dark, like a scene from any horror film; with the killer just around the corner.

I got off the floor and brushed myself off as Olaf ran circles around my feet. Looking around, I kind of panicked at the sight of my phone being face-down on the concrete floor.

Oh, no. Please be okay, please be okay, please be…Yes!

Well, I guess my Converse are still lucky.

I made sure to pick up Olaf and keep him in my arms as I collected my things and made sure nothing was damaged. It was pretty difficult, but it was a must. No matter what, I wasn't about to lose someone's dog. That would just be pure evil of anyone to do.

With Olaf in one hand, my bag on my shoulders, and the creepy feeling staying, I looked carefully inside the door. I could see the gloomy living room with its couches and plasma TV, but anything beyond that was too dark to see. I couldn't see anyone.

I looked at the door to see if maybe Olaf had opened it. Dogs do figure out stuff like that. The doorknob was at normal height and it was a rounded knob, so it was basically impossible for the small puppy to have opened it.

But I did find out something else. The lock was broken. The slot where the lock goes into was rusted and the wood underneath was rotten. Even the lock itself rattled a lot when I adjusted it.

So, my angry judo kick just busted open an old door.

Damn, I'm awesome…but now I got a loose dog in my hands.

Well, maybe there was a chance for Ms. Vinters to actually be home. She probably sleeps like a dead person, but I could just say that I tripped into the door and it broke under my weight. Sadly, a lot of people would vouch for me on that.

Even though I shouldn't have, I walked in. The air-conditioned air was the first thing that I felt about the apartment. It would have been too cold if I wasn't just boiling alive outside. But right now, it was heaven.

I closed the door as best as I could and placed my bag against it to keep it close. Olaf was still a puppy, so he would need a lot of time to move all of the shit that I usually cram into my bag. Flipping a light switch on the wall, the apartment instantly became less creepy.

The living room, dining room, and kitchen were mash up into one room. A tan carpet was on the floor with only the kitchen having a tiled floor. The walls were painted a dark brown, dull gold, or bone white and had paintings of lions, zebras, and sunsets. The room felt very warm and cozy. I had dropped Olaf on a dark-red leather couch as I looked around.

On one of the small living room tables, there was a graduation picture. It showed two girls with caps and gowns. One had brown hair that was styled into a messy pixie cut, and the other had really white blond hair that was pulled into a tight bun. The girl in the bun I recognized as Ms. Vinters since she's kind of famous for her white hair around campus.

At least I know without a shadow of a doubt that this is Ms. Vinters's place.

I know, I know. I probably looked like a nosy creeper. But seriously, Ms. Vinters was supposed to be at home. Mr. Oaken wouldn't have sent me to an empty house. Can I just leave the assignments on a desk and leave?

One look at the white fluff on the red leather and my mind said no. I need to make sure that I took some responsibility for the door and make sure Olaf didn't run off.

But first, I needed to stop acting like a creeper, so…

"Hello?! Anyone home?!" Loud and clear, my voice echoed in the quiet.

"I'm not here for trouble. Your door's broken and your dog got loose. I'm just bringing him back."

Still nothing. The apartment looked empty of anyone. Even if it was empty, I didn't want to be snooping around. It was awkward to be standing inside someone's home, and adding that I barely knew the person was making this twice as awkward.

I should just be waiting outside, but I'm going to pass out in that heat. Do I need to call someone for the door? I could go to the office building and say that it's broken. Don't they have to…

I froze. I did swear a little, but I didn't do anything else. Why? Because I knew someone was here. And they were standing behind me.

When I think, I usually pace. I don't do it on purpose or anything. It's a habit, but right now, this habit of mine just left me blind. My back was facing the apartment and I was facing the broken door. Moving the slowest speed in the world, I turned from the door and looked behind me.

I was scared shitless at what I saw. Someone was behind me and was way to close.

This was when my legs decided to work again and I jumped back from whoever it was. Banging my back against the door, I got a look at who was with me.

And damn, it was the first time in forever that I was speechless. I knew who it was from the famous head of white hair, but it wasn't the graduate student in the photo or the respectable teacher in the university. Even with her now messed-up hair and her unfocused gaze, I knew who she was.

"What? M- Ms. Vinters?"

AN: CLIFFHANGER!

Sorry guys, but the troll in me just could not resist the sweet temptation. XD

Anyway, what do you think? Well, we will have to wait for next time to see what happens. Oh, and the address is completely made up. So if by chance I've guessed something correctly, don't worry. I'm not a stalker. I'm just a psychic. ;)

As always: comments, concerns, and informed critiques are forever welcomed in the reviews. I love reading them as much as I hope you guys enjoy reading my stuff.

So, until next time, Au revoir.