The last day in Del Mar, Elsa woke early, and just like it seemed to be the norm, nothing was on Elsa's schedule before the evening where they'd be performing for the last time in this little city. She liked it this way, though. It allowed her to feel relaxed most of the time. This morning, she fished a book out of her backpack. It was one called State of Fear written by Michael Crichton. She had meant to finish this a long time ago, but other stuff kept getting in the way. Elsa had been a fan of Crichton works ever since she read the Jurassic Park novel after she'd watched the movie. It was a master piece. She opened to her bookmark and started reading, ready to lose herself in this fictional world.
Elsa had read a couple of chapters when she heard stirring and yawning from the other bed. She looked over to see the half-naked redhead open her eyes and stretch as she was all tangled in the duvets and covers. The stretching only made the tangling worse, and it almost looked like a multicolored monster was trying to constrict her. It reminded Elsa of something she'd seen on the Internet some time ago. Anna's hair was all messed up. It was reminiscent of a large, ginger fur ball that sat on top of a beautiful actress' head. Anna looked cute like this. Cute in a weird, raunchy way. "Good morning," Anna said, her voice cracking into a higher pitch as she stretched again, exposing her stomach and the underside of her breasts to Elsa.
The blonde's throat went dry as she croaked a "Morning" in response. She put her bookmark back in and closed the book, smiling at the girl in the other bed. "So what did you actor people stay behind for last night after the performance?" she asked and got out of bed, heading in the direction of the little kitchen that was in the room, turning on the coffee maker.
- "Oh, they just wanted us to rehearse one more time so we'd have some free time today," Anna replied and covered herself with the duvet. "I might just sleep all day!" she exclaimed, clearly excited that she even had the opportunity to do so.
Elsa poured some coffee and sat down on the edge of Anna's bed, sipping from her mug. The bitter taste hit her tongue and she grimaced. The first couple of sips were always bad, but when those were over, coffee was among the best beverages Elsa had ever tasted. "I've got an idea," she said. "Why don't we go for a dinner in the town? Just the two of us. I know this cute little Italian place," Elsa continued and smiled at Anna, who looked to be considering something for a while.
- "We'll have to sneak out then," she said, biting her lower lip as she sat up, the covers falling from her and exposing her bare chest again. "Hans said he wanted to do something with me today since we had the time." She looked concerned now, and Elsa grew a little concerned herself.
- "Well, let's just do that then, right?" she said, halfway asking, because she wasn't sure if this was something Anna wanted to do. But Elsa really wanted to get Anna out to dinner. It would be nice with some time just for the two of them, and she wanted to know more about Anna, too.
The redhead smiled at Elsa. It was a weak smile, but there was definite joy in in it, and her eyes betrayed exhaustion. Tours must have been a lot harder on the actors than on the backstage crew. "Yeah, let's do that," she finally said and started to get out of bed. "But I'll need a shower first. I smell like a barn."
- "Well, I'd like a bath before we go, too," Elsa remarked and took another sip of her coffee.
The redhead then shot Elsa a devious smile. "Why don't you join me then?" she asked, and Elsa was sure the girl was ready to burst with laughter and playful malice. And it was a tempting offer, no doubt about that, but Elsa wasn't really in the mood.
- "Not right now, Anna. I don't feel like it," she said honestly. Elsa lied a lot to people, but this didn't seem like one of the times she needed to do so. The half-naked ginger beauty pouted and asked if she was sure, to which Elsa just nodded. Anna then went into the bathroom, and barely a minute passed before Elsa could hear the water hitting the bottom of the shower. She then went back to her own bed and opened the book, once again disappearing into Crichton imagination.
Elsa was unsure of how long passed. The droning sound of water hitting the shower floor felt almost entrancing to her as she flipped page after page, and she almost didn't notice Anna calling her when she had finished her shower. "It's ready for you," the redhead said. Elsa looked up to see her standing there, drying her hair. She had dressed in a black tank top with a floral pattern stitched in gold along the right hand side, a green skirt that barely surpassed her knees and a pair of elegant black heels.
- "You are look amazing in that, Anna!" Elsa exclaimed and got up, walking to the girl to get a closer look. The girl chuckled a bit at the remark and turned to let Elsa get a full look. The skirt was apparently designed to show off Anna's figure, because it stuck closely to her butt, showing its form perfectly. Elsa sighed a bit and smiled at the actress as she turned back around. "It really suits you."
- "Thanks," Anna said and reciprocated Elsa's smile. "As I said, the bath is ready for you," she continued and point to the bathroom for a second before returning to drying her hair. Elsa nodded and started in the direction the other girl was pointing. "Oh, and did you bring that sky blue dress?" she asked just before Elsa closed the door. The blonde nodded and made an affirmative sound. "Wear that then," Anna said and winked as she turned around, starting to do her hair up.
Elsa took a long, relaxing bath, making sure her legs and armpits were shaved. Anna had apparently liked the blue dress so much that she felt comfortable requesting Elsa wore it to their first actual date.
Oh god, this is our first date, and we've already had sex. This is worse than fucking someone on the first date, isn't it? No, come on, Elsa, this is a special situation. How many people get together with someone under these circumstances?
She brushed the thought aside and continued her bath, soaping in every part of her body as she thought about possible conversation topics.
We could discuss the other cities we're going to, right? Yeah, that seems appropriate. I also kinda wanna know what her family's like, actually. Oh, and I have to bring up the whole Hans situation. It has to be dealt with.
She washed the soap out of her hair and off her body before turning the water off and grabbing a towel from the towel rack outside the shower cabin. Drying herself off, she started walking toward the door and unlocked it, peeking outside. "Are the blinds closed?" she asked Anna, who made an affirmative sound. The redhead was almost done doing her hair. It wasn't the usual twin braids, but instead something elegant. A braid was laid across the top of her head, the other tied up in a knot behind, and a lock of curled hair draped itself across her right cheek. As Elsa slipped out of the bathroom, she noticed the girl putting in a couple of ear rings. They were barely more than studs, and Elsa doubted the green gem stones were actually emeralds, but they were pretty and they fit the outfit perfectly.
With the towel tied around her, Elsa made her way toward the bed and opened her trolley, revealing her clothes. She dug through them for a couple of seconds, finding a pair of blue panties and a matching bra. The bad thing about the sky blue dress was that it revealed the color of her undergarments too much, so she had to wear this set whenever she wanted to wear the dress. She slipped the panties on, still wearing the towel and then stood up, putting the towel down before putting on the bra. She then bent over and picked up the dress, slipping it on. "Would you mind zipping me up?" she asked Anna and walked toward her. Without saying anything, the other girl zipped the dress and placed a small kiss on Elsa's cheek, which made the blonde blush.
The girls were now standing side by side, using the only mirror in the hotel room. Anna was putting on a light makeup, just a bit of eyeliner, mascara and a light pink lip gloss. Elsa was setting her braid and laying it across her right shoulder. She opted for a slightly heavier makeup than Anna's, black eyeliner and mascara, and the same pink lip gloss as the other girl's, but she also put on a bit of magenta eye shadow. "All done," Elsa said and walked towards her trolley again. There were no pockets in this dress, so she unfortunately had to use a purse for all of her belongings.
- "Ready?" Anna asked, standing by the door. She'd put on a necklace while Elsa was laying her makeup. It was a beautiful small silver chain with a heart hanging from one of the links. Elsa nodded and moved towards the door.
- "Let me look outside first. We have to be sneaky, remember?" she asked, and the redhead nodded. Cracking the door open as silently as possible, Elsa leaned over and peeked outside. She almost let out a loud yelp as she felt a hand place itself on her butt, but she quickly realized it was Anna and shot the girl a playful glance before whispering "Stop it, this is not the time." She still smiled, though.
Outside, the halls were empty, but Elsa looked around for a few more seconds, just to make sure. She stood back up, looked inside the room again and nodded at Anna before stealthily walking into the hallway. Despite Anna's heels clicking loudly against the floors, the two girls made it safely out of the hotel.
Less than ten minutes later, they arrived by cab at the little corner Italian place. It seemed kinda empty today, but then again, it was a Tuesday at noon, so most people were probably at work. It had been Anna's idea to take a cab, since she didn't want to walk very far in heels, and Elsa had agreed since the other girl had offered to pay for the ride. They stepped inside and were immediately shown to a table close to the side exit. The table was in the back end of the small restaurant, just as Elsa had requested it. The last thing they needed now was Hans walking by on the street and spotting them by chance. Anna ordered a salmon sandwich with fries on the side. Not very Italian, but as long as the girl ate, Elsa didn't care much. She herself ordered some spaghetti alla carbonara.
"That's cute," Elsa giggled at a story Anna had told about her little cousin right after the waiter left from giving them their food. Anna had kissed the little girl on the cheek, and like most kids, Rapunzel, as she was called, had rubbed her cheek afterwards. Anna had then asked if the little girl was rubbing her kiss off, to which Rapunzel had answered 'No, I'm just rubbing it in'.
Elsa chuckled a bit again at the thought of the little girl's endearing act. "Now that we're on the topic of family, you've met mine. Olaf isn't really my brother, but it feels that way, and then there's my father. We're a small family, but it's nice. How about yours?" she asked and smiled, sticking her fork into the dish before her.
Anna smiled and took a bite of her sandwich before answering. Her mouth was still halfway full of food when she started talking. "Well, it's mostly just been me and my mom, actually," Anna started explaining and then swallowed. Elsa couldn't help but look as the food passed down inside her throat, making it bulge slightly. Anna hadn't chewed that bite properly. "I mean, she's had some boyfriends over the years, and even one girlfriend at one point, but none of them lasted more than a few years. I've never met my dad, so we've just kept to ourselves and visited relatives, you know?"
Elsa kinda felt like Anna was rambling. The fact that the other girl only had one parent, too was a bit of a coincidence, and she felt she suddenly had the world in common with her date. Elsa didn't really have time to be lost in thought for long, because Anna apparently had no intention of stopping her rambling. "... And you know how grandparents are sometimes, going on and on about how the world was better back when they were young, but then I told her about how the Internet has changed the way we share information, and she argued that too much information is a bad thing and…"
Does she never shut up?
- "Anna, your food is getting cold," Elsa broke her off with a giggle and a smile. She had nothing against people who talked a lot, but there were things they kinda needed to discuss.
- "Oh, yeah," Anna said, almost surprised by the blonde's statement. She grabbed a couple of fries, chewed six or seven times, just enough to grind them down to something she could swallow and was just about to open her mouth to talk again when Elsa said something.
- "Is this a date, Anna?" the fragile-looking blonde asked, her face set in a worryingly serious expression. "Like, a date-date, you know?" she expanded her question. Anna sat there, looking at Elsa for a few seconds before answering. Those few seconds felt like an eternity to Elsa, though, and she was afraid of both answers to her question. One meant this wasn't more than a fling to Anna. The other meant they'd have to talk about a very serious subject, and that wasn't something Elsa liked doing, not even with Olaf. Not unless the TV was on, of course. She took another forkful of her spaghetti and awaited an answer.
- "I'd say so. Wouldn't you?" Anna replied in the form of another question. She hadn't sounded entirely sure about her own answer, which worried Elsa. The redhead took another bite of her sandwich.
- "I would, yeah. But does that mean we're dating?" Elsa continued and enjoyed the sight of Anna eating her sandwich. It was good that she ate. The redhead shouldn't be getting any thinner. It would look sickly. "Like, as a couple, I mean," Elsa explained further.
- "Yeah, I think it does," Anna replied after another couple of seconds of thought and chewing. "At least I'd like it to mean that," she extended her answer with a cute smile. It was weak, and yet it contained strength enough to assure Elsa that everything would be alright.
Elsa smiled back, trying to put the same strength into the smile as Anna had, but she didn't quite have that much strength left. She knew what came next. "I'd like that very much, too," she said finally and took another bite of her meal.
They continued eating and small talking for a while, the subject landing on the topic of the cities they were gonna visit. Apparently a lot of Anna's childhood had been spent in Santa Monica, and Elsa had always wanted to spend a day on the beach and then the evening on the pier there. Anna promised they'd do that some day.
When they were almost done with their dinner, Elsa had finally gathered up enough courage to bring up the subject of Hans. She waited for Anna to take a bite of her sandwich, as it was a natural pause in the steady stream of words that flowed from her mouth, almost like water. "We need to talk Anna," she said, almost worrying herself with the seriousness of her tone and the sentence.
Anna looked concerned for a minute and asked "About?" before she took another couple of fries in her mouth. Her plate was almost clean now.
- "The whole situation with Hans," Elsa said, certain that Anna could pick up on the sadness in her voice. "I mean, it's great that we can say we're dating, but what does your relationship with him mean to us?"
Anna bit her lip and looked down at her empty plate, leaning back against her chair. "It's nothing, Elsa, I've already told you this," she said, clearly irritated at the question.
- "Yeah, but do you have to go around and kiss him and stuff? Are we exclusive or not?"
- "We're as exclusive as it gets, Elsa, but I have told you, my career is in danger," Anna repeated her statement from their heated night. She now sounded more frustrated than irritated.
- "Can't we do something about that, though?" Elsa asked and put her hand on Anna's right hand. The other girl pulled her hand to herself and crossed her arms in response. "Tell me, I can he-"
- "No, it's my problem!" Anna cut her off, staring into Elsa's eyes. The redheads eyes were full of anger and fear. It scared Elsa.
- "If you just told me, I could help you," Elsa said and stared straight into Anna's eyes, trying to find some hint of a cry for help.
- "Stay out of this, Elsa. It's not your problem," Anna repeated herself and rose from the table, starting to storm away. Elsa quickly slapped a couple of bills down on the table, hoping there'd be enough money to cover the bill and hurried after Anna.
- "If we're going to be a couple, it's my problem, too!" she yelled after the redhead when she'd almost caught up. "Anna, wait!" The redhead stopped and turned around, tears streaming from her eyes. Good thing they'd used waterproof makeup.
When Elsa was less than two feet from Anna, the redhead lunged out and slapped Elsa on the cheek before storming into the alley beside the restaurant they had just been eating at. Elsa just stood there for a couple of seconds. She had never been slapped before. It didn't hurt as much as she'd imagined, but the suddenness of Anna's outburst had left the blonde dumbfounded. When the shock had died down a bit, she followed the other girl into the alley.
Anna had kicked over a trashcan and was now kicking the shit out of a trash bag. It burst, spilling some old food out onto her foot. She reacted by screaming unintelligibly at the black plastic bag before kicking over another trashcan.
Elsa was shocked at the display of rage displayed before her. She'd heard joked rumors about redheads being naturally more angry than other people, but she didn't think Anna's hair color was the cause of what was going on here. She approached the raging girl slowly, arms held up in front of her, both defensively, and as if she wanted to calm a scared cat. "Calm down there feisty pants," she said, hoping a small joke would diffuse the situation.
Anna turned around as quickly as she'd slapped Elsa, pulled her shoe off and tossed it at the blonde, missing by a mile. "DON'T YOU FUCKING TELL ME TO CALM DOWN!" she yelled, her voice cracking from rage and tears. She took a step closer to Elsa, limping in an almost comical way due to the height difference between her feet. She lowered her voice to a whisper that Elsa could barely hear, but the rage was still clear "Do you honestly think I want this? I know it's your fucking problem, too, but you can't help me here! No one can." She took a pause and breathed, more tears streaming down her cheeks. "NO ONE!" she yelled and took off her other shoe, tossing it aside.
Elsa was more shocked at the other girl's rage, anger and sadness than she'd been at the slap, but she had to keep calm if she wanted this situation to die down a bit. She took a deep breath and another step towards Anna. "If you just tell me what it is he has on you, I'm sure we can figure something out," she said, taking a third step towards the redhead. Her voice cracked in the middle of the sentence because she was a bit scared of the girl.
- "I- I can't tell you," Anna said, her voice returning to a more normal volume. She took a step towards the nearby dumpster and leaned on it for a second before repeating herself. "I can't tell you." Anna repeated herself a couple more times in a whisper as Elsa stepped closer. Then Anna collapsed to the ground, hunched over. Her shoulders shuddered a couple of times as she cried audibly.
- "You can tell me anything," Elsa said, trying to sound as reassuring as possible as she dropped to her knees beside Anna and put her arms around the crying girl. "I won't judge," she continued, still trying to sound reassuring. Elsa sat down and leaned her back against the dumpster, pulling Anna into her arms so the girl could relax in her own embrace. Elsa's dress was going to be ruined by this, but she didn't really care about that.
Anna sobbed a couple more times, wiping her eyes on the hem of her own top. She then cleared her throat before starting to speak. "It all began a couple of weeks after Hans had started at the theater," she began, her voice sounding mushy from crying. "I had been a little interested in you for a while, but now he came along, and he was tall and handsome and he wanted to take me places," she continued. She then proceeded to tell the story about how she'd begun having feelings for Hans. He'd introduced her to his brothers and friends, and they all liked Anna, and they seemed like fun people. But apparently they were the wrong people to hang out with. They introduced Anna to drugs and a lot of other bad stuff. For almost three weeks, Anna had enjoyed the drugs, but then Hans started threatening her with telling Weselton about it if she didn't become his girlfriend.
Elsa sighed. "And if Weselton finds out, you're fired, effective immediately," she said, not mentioning all the other trouble she'd be in with the DEA and other instances of law enforcement or Hans' family, which had sort of a mobster feel to it. "That is a pickle," she continued. The girl in her embrace nodded and started crying again. Elsa had to admit that she couldn't stop herself from judging Anna a little. She had expected something relatively small, like a sex tape he'd put on the Internet. Lots of people had sex tapes on the Internet, so that wouldn't really have bothered Elsa that much. Plus, it'd be Anna on demand, she thought to herself and fought to choke a chuckle as she tried to lighten her own mood a bit. But drugs? That was on another level entirely.
Elsa rose to her feet, pulling Anna up with her. "We need to get you home and in the bath," she said and padded the other girl on the back. "I'm also gonna call Kaj and tell him your understudy will need to take the stage tonight," the blonde continued and picked up one of Anna's discarded shoes. After gathering the other shoe, Elsa called a cab. "We'll find a solution for this puzzle. I promise."
A/N: Phew, that was a long one! But I personally think it was really good. Big things are coming, and once again, thank you all very much for being interested enough in this little work of mine that you read it! We've almost hit 2000 views, which is a huge achievement in my mind.
I tried something new in chapter 8. You might have noticed we saw things from Anna's perspective for a short while. How did that work for you? I really want feedback on that.
Also, a little easter egg for you guys: There are about 10 or 15 chapters left of Mou Ichido, but don't worry. I have a sequel planned in case people are interested in that. You might be able to find the title of it somewhere on this page.