Chapter 15

The night was cold and eerie when Kristoff pulled up in front of Anna's house. The first floor lights were on, making the pair nervous as they glanced at the building. Light snow was falling from the darkened sky and for a brief moment neither Anna nor Kristoff spoke as they starred at the bright house.

"Crap, Dad's still up. I knew it." Anna finally stammered, shrinking back into her seat. "If he sees Elsa, we're as good as dead."

"Not as dead as Jack." Kristoff teased, trying to ease the anxiety. They both laughed before an awkward silence took over.

"Thanks for driving me home." Anna whispered.

She turned to the blonde boy and noticed that he was looking not at her, but straight ahead. Kristoff looked like he was thinking about something hard, since his brows were creased and a tight frown replaced the small smile he wore before.

"Can I ask you something?" Kristoff finally asked, turning to the girl.

Anna bit her lips. "Anything."

"What do you see in him?" Kristoff asked, tapping his fingers against the steering wheel.

Knowing exactly whom he meant, Anna tightened his jacket over her and hoped that maybe it was big enough to hide her from his glance.

"Who?" Anna asked meekly.

"I think we both know who." Kristoff turned to his window and Anna looked down at her twisted fingers. "I mean what was one thing he did for you that made you realize that he actually cares about you?"

"Well…" Anna began yet the more she thought about it, the more lost she felt.

If Hans was the perfect boy, then why did Elsa resent him so much enough to try and break up their relationship? Sure he gave Anna a ride a few times and bought her small gifts such as sandwiches and coffee, but was that really love? To her shock, Anna couldn't even remember hearing an "I love you" come out from his lips. Wasn't that supposed to happen in a relationship? And how could he truly love her if Anna caught him lip locking with that girl? The memory of them kissing suddenly made Anna sick. Could he have gotten over her and moved onto the next girl that quickly?

"This may sound completely cliché, but when I first saw you…I was speechless. You were so innocent. Hiccup told me to forget about it and he called you overly naïve." Kristoff explained.

Anna frowned. "He did?"

"Yeah, but I defended you! The truth…" Kristoff let out a deep breathe and looked at her. "The truth is that I like you Anna…a lot."

Anna's eyes grew wide and her cheeks reddened. For a long moment she did not know what to say. "I…"

Kristoff threw his hands in the air. "You drive me crazy! I mean…what did Hans do to you? He left you back there. I agreed to this party just so we can have a decent conversation in English. But even then you seemed to cling to him!"

Anna turned her head away and wrapped her arms around herself, while Kristoff continued on:

"And that's not all! Believe it or not I defended you when people whispered behind your back. I listened to your nonstop obsession on Hunter Hayes. Heck I even spent my nights trying to learn German for you and got a dogdeball at in my balls. And tonight you looked so beautiful that I could kiss you!" he revealed.

Suddenly realizing how far he was going, Kristoff stopped and shut his mouth. Anna only blinked in surprise before a smile tugged at her lips.

"I could. I mean, I'd like to. I - may I? We me? I mean, may we? Wait, what?" Kristoff turned to face her yet suddenly Anna leaned over and kissed him on the cheek.

"We may." she whispered.

Surprised, Kristoff closed his eyes and leaned in just as Anna cupped his cheeks and closed her own eyes. Seconds later, they pulled back and Anna smiled, her face as red as her hair.

"I'm sorry…for everything, for leaving you and completely ignoring you. I didn't know what got into me, I was so caught up with Hans that I….I just left you there." she began.

"Anna…" Kristoff stammered.

"And I'm sorry if I had to bored you with Hunter Hayes but seriously you can never get bored of him I mean he has the most beautiful voice and I'm sorry about your balls that one time in gym class and that time when I thought you owned a reindeer because you came to school smelling not-so-manly and…"

"Anna!" Kristoff spoke up.

"What?" Anna cried.

Kristoff laughed and shook his head. "You're babbling."

Anna blushed and played with a strand of her hair. "Sorry do sometimes I that..I mean I sometimes do that!" she slapped a hand over her flaming face. "What is wrong with me?"

Kristoff smiled at her adorable embarrassment."Nothing, you're really cute."

Anna giggled and pulled him in for another kiss. This time Kristoff grabbed her cheeks and pulled her in boldly, surprising the girl before she gave in to the kiss.

"If we get caught, you better have a good excuse for this." Anna breathed, leaning forward to meet his lips again.

They were both unaware of Jack appearing outside of Kristoff's door. When he started tapping on the glass, they both jumped back in fright. Kristoff accidently jumped so high that he hit his head on the roof and Anna had to duck to avoid his large hand hitting her face.

"Shit! Can we get a little privacy for once?" Anna cursed, while Kristoff burst into laughter and rolled down the window.

Jack blinked before running a hand through his hair. For a moment he didn't know what to be more surprised with – the couple's little make out scene or their quite comical reaction.

"Sorry to interrupt your little….moment, but I need your help. I need to get Elsa into the house without her dad noticing! " he spoke up.

"We need to distract Daddy and then you can slip her into her room." Anna decided.

"How?" Jack asked.

"We'll do it." Anna smiled at Kristoff, who turned to her, his smile disappearing and his mouth flying open.

"What?" he stuttered.

Anna giggled and grabbed her handbag. "This is gonna be great!"

As Anna opened the car door and slid out, Kristoff gave her a long, shocked stare before he snapped out of it and shook his head. "Sorry I didn't…what?"

"Time to meet Daddy Dearest." Jack mumbled.

After sneaking out of Kristoff's car, the three of them wandered across the street where Jack's truck was and helped Elsa out. As they moved across the street, Jack and Kristoff stood in between Elsa and held her so she would not slip on the thick ice, while Anna walked in front of them, trying not to slip and fall herself.

"You know I can get to my house on my own. I don't need two escorts." the blonde protested.

"Uh I don't think your dad needs a show starring the Drunk Ice Witch." Jack declared.

Kristoff and Anna turned to him in question, and Jack gave them a disbelieved glance.

"She sang to Fergie on the way over here, and then lashed out when I told her to shut up. I almost crashed into a ditch!"

"You liked my singing!" Elsa argued.

Jack rolled his eyes. "Oh yeah your singing was music to my ears."

"I wouldn't mind throwing up on you again."

"Oh you better not!"

"Elsa! That's disgusting! She seriously did that?" Anna exclaimed, turning to Jack.

"Ask her! She was just like a damned fire-hose!"

"Jerk!" Elsa cursed.

"Ice Witch!" Jack fired in return.

Elsa let out a sarcastic laugh. "Really you couldn't think of a better insult?"

"Here goes nothing." Anna stopped in front of the closed door and let out a final sigh.

Kristoff straightened and tugged on his collar as Anna rang the doorbell. While they waited, Jack slipped Elsa around the house so Walter wouldn't see them.

"You better be quiet if you want to get in alive." Jack whispered to her.

"I'm always quiet!" Elsa insisted.

On the porch, Anna rang the doorbell again and stepped back and began bouncing on her toes, while Kristoff looked nervous and fumbled with his hands. Catching the look on his face, Anna turned to him and gave him a small smile.

"Relax, Daddy is as harmless as a fly."

Kristoff gulped. "That's not what I heard."

Finally the door opened and Walter stepped out. His eyes widened and his frown grew at the sight of Anna and Kristoff, who looked ready to flee.

Anna smiled cheerfully and gripped the boy's arm. "Hi Daddy! This is Kristoff! The boy that drove me home."

Kristoff smiled a crooked smile and held out a hand. "It's nice to meet you Mr. Northland."

Walter took it silently, his eyes still narrowed as he looked Kristoff up and down. "Kristoff huh? What happened to Hunky Hans?"

A high giggle escaped from around the house and Anna quickly began to laugh loudly to muffle the curse that came after it.

"Ha ha funny you should say. He actually didn't come. It was Kristoff who I bumped into. He's my German tutor in school." Anna pushed Kristoff forward and into the house before Walter can protest.

"Whoa hold on Missy! I don't see your sister!" Walter admitted, poking his head back out and glancing around.

"Elsa? Oh she left early." Anna said simply.

"Explain!" Walter slipped back inside, his arms crossed and a large frown stretching across his face.

"Yeah she told me to tell you that she left early after suffering from a migraine…apparently they were playing too much Miley Cyrus." Anna explained.

Kristoff and Walter could only stare. Finally Kristoff smiled a small smile and struggled not to reveal too much.

"But…but I never heard her come in through the door. If you're lying missy…" Walter wagged a finger with narrowed eyes.

Anna waved a hand in response. "Oh….she's so sneaky then. She must've climbed through the window again. She didn't want to disturb you I'm sure."

"Do you think she still does that?" Walter grumbled.

"Hell yeah….I mean yes Daddy. Now how about we go into the kitchen and you can make Kristoff some of your famous hot cocoa? Don't worry he didn't drink. He's a good boy." Anna giggled, nudging Kristoff on the shoulder.

Walter though, was looking at Kristoff like a lion on a gazelle. "Alright, I suppose I should give you something for driving my girl home in one piece. Come along in Kristoff."

And with a final glance, Walter turned and marched back into the kitchen.

"See? That wasn't so bad." Anna whispered.

"Good grief!" Kristoff moaned, looking up at the sky.

"I just love it how Daddy calls Hans hunky." Elsa confessed as she and Jack slipped into the house.

Anna, Kristoff, and Walter were in the kitchen, giving Jack and Elsa time to slip in and go up the stairs.

"What time is it?"

"Past twelve I'm sure. I wonder how Hiccup's doing back at his place." Jack said as they moved to the top.

At the middle step, Elsa accidentally tripped on her feet, making her fall forward with a soft cry. In an instant Jack reached out and grabbed her, luckily catching her fall. As they straightened, Elsa giggled softly and covered her mouth.

"Are you okay?" Jack asked, struggling to keep a straight face.

"Urgh that's the last time I'm solving my problems with damned tequila." Elsa rolled her eyes as they moved to the top.

Jack grinned. "That's the magic of Patron for you."

They slipped through the darkened hallway and at the very end where Elsa's white door was. Inside her bedroom, Elsa flickered on the lights and fell on her bed with a relieved sigh.

"That was close, good thing Anna and Kristoff are keeping Dad occupied. The last thing he needs is to see me sneaking a boy in." the blonde girl laughed.

As Elsa began to slip off her coat and pull on a warm sweatshirt, Jack stepped back and glanced around her bedroom.

"Nice place." he commented, taking in her dark walls and Wicked poster. "Is that really an autographed poster?" he leaned to see it better.

"Yeah, I got it two years ago on my birthday. Anna and Dad got VIP passes." Elsa answered.

At her desk, Jack smiled down at the small, framed picture of Elsa and Anna at the ice rink. At the moment Elsa's hands were locked in Anna's as she pulled her sister along the ice, a large, laughing smile crossing her face. Anna's face though, was a mask of excited terror as she looked down at the ice. He then turned to the small blue IPod on her desk. Elsa looked up to see him pick it up.

"Hey I didn't know you liked Imagine Dragons!" Jack spoke up as he scrolled through her music.

Elsa bit her lips to hold back her grin.

"Nice…you got all the songs I listen to." Jack replied.

"That's awesome!" Elsa forced out a nervous laugh and waved a hand off. She moved aside and let Jack sit down on the edge of the bed beside her.

"What's your favorite song?"

"Hm probably Demons." Elsa decided.

"Mine too. I'm glad we got the same tastes. I'd probably kill you if you were a Miley Cyrus fan." Jack teased.

"Oh God please don't bring that up again. If I saw myself I would probably die from embarrassment." Elsa smiled, pushing him against his shoulder playfully.

"I think I'll let you off the hook tonight Northland. But just this one time."

"Got it Frost…and I'm sorry for lashing out at you back in the car. You're right, I can never seem to act normal." Elsa apologized in new embarrassment.

Jack threw his head back and laughed. "I had it way worse in the past. Don't worry about it."

Elsa watched as he moved closer until he was leaning back against the headboard beside her. Her embarrassment suddenly ceased as she took in his sharp features. She never noticed the faint freckles on his cheeks or how slender his jawline was. Her gaze moved up to his eyes and suddenly Elsa could not help but think of how nice they were. She felt her belly suddenly flip just like it did back at the parking lot and even when he stood at her doorway. She never considered how attractive Jack really was, or how suddenly caring when he caught her and took her home. Elsa could not recall the past boys doing everything that Jack did tonight.

"You know you're not that scary as people say you are." Elsa admitted with a sudden softness.

Jack looked surprised and Elsa's belly did another flip at his gaze. "Really? Well you're no picnic neither Ice Queen."

"The last thing I was tonight was a queen." she insisted.

Turning to the boy, Elsa glanced up at him. "You always seem to call me Ice Queen instead of Ice Witch...why?"

"This might sound crazy….but sometimes I think back to the time when you were Twinkle Toes, and somehow I can't see you as an ugly old witch." Jack shrugged, while Elsa actually found herself smiling.

She had to admit, that was actually sweet. "Really?"

"Yeah, sure you can act like one at times but doesn't everyone have a soft spot?" Jack turned to her curiously.

Elsa looked down at her fumbling hands and she bit her lips. A few seconds later she felt sudden warmth on her hand and his hand come down over hers. Her eyes fluttered open and she met Jack's cool icy blue orbs as they starred at her with a strange comfort. She looked down at their intertwined hands and their eyes met again.

As his eyes took her in, Elsa shifted her in seat and dared herself to lean forward. The familiar swoony feeling lit her belly yet Elsa welcomed it. Jack shifted in surprise as Elsa closed her eyes again and leaned forward, her lips coming close. Her left hand came up and gripped his shirt collar to pull him in.

Jack hesitated, very well aware of where this was going. "Elsa…"

"Hmm?" Elsa whispered, her fingers stroking along his jaw. Her eyes flickered down to his lips and she suddenly couldn't take it anymore. She wanted to kiss him, unaware of the reluctance in his eyes.

"I...I should go. Your dad might come up." Jack encouraged, pulling back from her.

Her grip on his jacket loosened and Elsa opened her eyes. Her smile began to fade and Jack's heart dropped as he remembered Hans' words from the party.

"I can't believe you actually did it!" Hans sneered.

"Did what exactly?" Jack fired back.

"Made her human! What you need is a toast!"

Elsa frowned. "What's wrong?"

"I don't think we should do this." Jack whispered firmly, letting go of her hand. He stood up from the bed and Elsa looked stunned before she met his gaze with a new coolness.

"Fine, then leave." Elsa hissed.

She turned back to the window and refused to meet his glance as Jack moved towards the door, still watching her. Standing in front of it, Jack gave Elsa one last glance before he finally opened it and slipped out. The moment he left and the door closed behind him, Elsa shook her head in confusion and growing hurt before she turned and fell back on her bed.

What was wrong with her?

"I can't believe you actually have this!" Astrid cried, clutching excitedly to the DVD case to Vikings Season 2. She slumped down on the bed with a large smile on her face.

Both she and Hiccup were in Hiccup's bedroom. After the last of the guests stumbled (or were helped) out, Hiccup and Astrid were the only ones left. They both grabbed themselves a garbage bag and decided to clean the house before they finally decided to head up to Hiccup's room. They were glad to have the silence and solitude, and when Hiccup announced that he had the second season to their favorite show, Astrid flipped into the air with joy.

Hiccup ran a hand through his hair. "Do you um…wanna watch it….maybe with me?"

Astrid looked up and smiled, handing him the DVD. "Hell yeah, I honestly got nowhere else to be. Snotlout ran out on me so I guess I'll have to stay here for the night. You don't mind do you?"

"No not at all!" Hiccup smiled from ear to ear. He nervously walked over to the television across from his bed and slipped the disc in.

As Astrid sat up against the headboard, Hiccup grabbed the remote and moved next to her. He felt her eyes follow his moves as he sat on the edge. While, they waited for the top menu to appear, Hiccup bit his lips and dared to look at Astrid. He was surprised when he saw her quickly turn away. He was even more curious of her sudden nervous fidgeting. Since when did Astrid Hofferson get nervous?

"Are you okay?" he asked.

Astrid bit her bottom lip and turned to look at him. "When you sat with Heather….um did you think she was….beautiful?" she asked slowly and every bit nervous.

Hiccup starred at her for a long time, stunned at the question. "Astrid…."

"Don't lie!" Astrid scowled.

"No." Hiccup answered simply.

Astrid starred at him before she shrugged and looked down at her hands. "Oh okay."

"Why do you ask?" Hiccup chuckled, crossing his arms behind his head.

"No reason, does there have to be a reason? Ugh you're so annoying!" Astrid huffed.

Smiling, Hiccup reached out and pecked a kiss on her cheek. The second his lips touched her cheek, Astrid's eyes grew huge and she turned to face him.

Oh my gosh did he seriously just do that? Astrid forced herself not to touch the soft spot as she looked up at the boy.

"I wanted to tell you that you looked really nice all night." Hiccup admitted.

Astrid's cheeks flushed red as she turned away. "Really?"

"Yeah, and you know what? I don't need anything else. You're perfect just like this. You don't need to be someone different." Hiccup gestured at her. His blush deepened when he felt Astrid's hip brush against his.

"I know that was really cliche." he stammered.

Astrid's eyes were twinkling as she looked up at him. "Maybe, but it's a sweet thing to say. I don't think I've ever heard anyone say I looked nice."

Hiccup was about to turn back to the movie when he felt Astrid's head lean against his shoulder. And the butterflies went wild in his belly as he let his arm drape over her shoulders. His smile grew when he felt Astrid cuddle closer until she was comfortably leaning into him.

"Ready?" Astrid asked.

"Ready," Hiccup nodded and with one flicker of the light, the room became dark with the only light coming from the T.V. Astrid's head still laid on his shoulder and the smile never left their faces as Hiccup kept his arm around her.

"Last season on Vikings…."