Sometimes in life, only the timing is perfect.
Anna couldn't remember the last time she was this excited. It was like her entire body was full of adrenaline, and she could barely suppress her grin. She had been to her fair share of parties in high school, but this… this was college.
The chances of the cops showing up were slim, and the chances of the party-thrower's parents showing up weren't even existent. Unless they were into that whole thing – which was totally fine.
Shooting a quick glance towards her roommate, who looked fairly excited as well, only made playing it cool harder for Anna. As they neared the front door, Elsa quickly took the lead. The guy checking IDs immediately quirked his eyebrow as the blonde approached him.
"Princess Elsa, the DZ killjoy. What are you doing here?"
Anna stifled a surprised giggle – she had never heard someone talk to her sister like that.
"Nice to see you, too, Naveen," Elsa replied coolly. "I see you haven't pawned off door duty onto another pledge this time."
The guy chuckled at her response as he stamped her pale hand. "Can't leave such a big responsibility in the hands of a runt. They were stamping minors left and right." His hazel eyes then swept over the group curiously. "I, on the other hand, am much more selective."
He then made a move towards Anna, who hurriedly held out her hand, only for Elsa to slap it away.
"I don't think so."
Annoyed, Anna watched as Naveen merely shrugged, before gesturing towards the door. "Like I said; Killjoy," he muttered as Anna passed him, giving both her and Merida a wink.
While the outside of the house looked like your typical, colonial style mansion, the inside was another story. Anna's blue eyes scanned the foyer. There wasn't a doubt in her mind that this had once been a beautiful house, with its high ceilings and grand staircase. Unfortunately for it, a Fraternity happened to live in it. The ground was covered in glitter and broken Christmas ornaments, which seemed to have fallen from the fake pine tree tangled in the chandelier above them. A few guys were tossing the unbroken ornaments back and forth in a tipsy game of catch, the drinks in their hands sloshing onto the floor with every throw.
Elsa quickly muttered something under her breath, before taking Anna's hand and leading her to the other room. Anna immediately grabbed Merida, who was watching the game fondly.
The living room was huge, and full of more people than Anna thought could fit. The floors were practically vibrating from the loud music and constant chatter, while a few brave souls cleared the middle of the room and began dancing.
But Elsa continued pulling Anna through the crowd, politely saying hi to anyone who acknowledged her. She received a few more surprised looks as she continued towards what appeared to be the kitchen.
"I didn't think you'd come out tonight!"
"Wow, aren't you a sight for sore eyes! How've you been?"
"Yo, Arendelle! What are you doing here?"
Elsa replied accordingly to each person, though Anna could tell she was already exasperated from her clipped tone. She started to feel kind of bad for her sister – she knew Elsa hated going out, but she didn't realize how rare of an occurrence it was.
As they reached the kitchen, Elsa finally released Anna's hand. It was less crowded and a bit quieter, though the bass from the music still shook the ground.
"So, I'm not stupid, and I know you're probably eager to ditch me," Elsa began matter-of-factly, "and that's fine, as long as you two stick together, alright?"
Anna smiled sheepishly at her sister. "Why, Elsa! I'd never want to ditch you!" she exclaimed halfheartedly.
The blonde looked unconvinced.
"Anyway, you two look out for each other, alright?" she continued. "If you get into any trouble, come find me - and if you can't find me, find one of my sorority sisters, or an older fraternity guy. Most of them know me."
Anna rolled her eyes at her sister's words. She wasn't a little kid at a birthday party – heck, she was almost nineteen! She didn't need to be babysat.
"We're not going to get into trouble," she muttered, though the blonde simply ignored her.
"I don't have my phone on me, but Rapunzel has hers, so call her if you need to. I'll probably be with them all night."
Hearing her cousin was there perked Anna up a bit – Rapunzel was a blast.
Anna spared another glance at her roommate, who seemed more preoccupied with looking back at the dancefloor than listening to Elsa's lecture.
Elsa, on the other hand, was now digging through the fraternity's fridge, scowling at its contents before pulling out three bottles of water.
"Keep hydrated, remain vigilant, and stay safe," Elsa ordered, handing both the girls a water. "Oh, and have fun," she added as an after thought, before taking her own water and exiting the kitchen through another entry way.
Somewhat surprised at their freedom, Anna and Merida shared a look of excitement.
"'ow's yer dancin' skills?"
Giggling, Anna took Merida's hand and rushed towards the dancefloor.
Although she had initially been annoyed by Elsa's refusal to let them get stamped, Anna found that charming her way into getting a drink was just as effective. The boy manning the keg was obviously a pledge and fellow freshman, so all it took was a few giggles and a flirty push on his shoulder.
"Thank you so much," Anna purred, taking a demure sip from her cup. Resisting the urge to gag at the taste, Anna turned away from the blushing pledge and gave Merida a discreet thumbs up. The redhead smirked deviously, before going in and doing the same.
As Anna waited for her roommate to get her drink, she tentatively sipped on her own as she took in her surroundings.
Never had she seen so many beautiful people in the same room. She recognized a few of Elsa's sorority sisters, though she could only remember one or two names. Some of the guys looked familiar as well, though she couldn't place where she had seen them before, other than around campus.
The dancefloor began to fill up as more people drank, though Anna figured that was probably a good thing. Although she wanted to have fun, she felt that taking social cues from her future sorority sisters would be the best course of action.
Looking down at her beer, she realized she had already drank half of it, though she still wasn't really feeling anything.
Deciding to top it off before she hit the dancefloor, she turned back towards the keg, only to find Merida had disappeared. Her eyes frantically scanned the room as her stomach dropped, but her roommate's fiery red hair was nowhere to be seen.
Not wanting to panic, Anna tried to think rationally. Perhaps Merida had needed to use the bathroom, and had taken Anna absentmindedly bobbing her head to the music as affirmation that she heard her. Yeah, that sounded plausible – Merida was probably just in the bathroom.
But where was the bathroom?
Looking around the room once more, Anna caught sight of a group of girls heading through an archway to her left, and figured that they were probably off to the bathroom. Taking a large gulp from her drink, Anna began to follow them.
She successfully snaked her way through the crowd, careful not to spill her drink on anyone, nor have anyone spill their drink on her. The smell of beer and sweat began to permeate the room, though nobody seemed bothered by it as the dancing continued.
Pulling her phone from her bra while keeping the group of girls in her peripheral vision, Anna glanced at the time.
It was barely ten, meaning she still had another two hours until everyone would drunkenly bring in the New Year. Putting her phone away, she walked through the archway, only to find herself in what appeared to be the formal dining room.
A game of beer-pong was being set up on the table, while two guys playfully smacked each other with the paddles as the others filled the cups. Realizing the girls hadn't been heading for the bathroom, Anna let out a sigh and headed back towards the living room.
Merida still didn't appear to be in there, so the strawberry-blonde powerwalked towards the foyer.
More ornaments appeared to be broken, though two disgruntled pledges were sweeping it up as a few others observed. Anna was about to explore the house more, but she felt her heart skip a beat as she caught sight of the guy lecturing the pledges.
His chestnut hair seemed to defy gravity as it bounced with every nod of his head, while his perfect teeth shined brightly with every word he spoke. He was even more handsome than Anna had remembered.
She realized her mouth was hanging open as she stared, and quickly closed it before the guy noticed her. He was obviously preoccupied with being a remarkably mature and disciplined young man, so when his eyes momentarily met Anna's, it took him a few seconds before he did a double take.
"Excuse me," he said to the pledges, before sidestepping them and making his way towards Anna. He was wearing a surprised smile, along with an emerald green shirt that made his eyes glow in an eerily beautiful way.
"Anna, right?"
Anna almost fainted.
He had remembered her name! He not only remembered that they had briefly met before, but he had remembered what she had said to him! Her name!
A shy giggle slipped through her lips as she nodded. "R-right… and, um, you're… Hans?"
He smiled at her stuttering, which only made her giggling worse. Feeling her face burning, Anna tried to think of something to calm her down. The last thing she needed to look like was a giggling school-girl.
"Yeah," Hans replied softly, his eyes scanning Anna's red face. "It's good to see you again."
Unsure if she had regained the ability to speak in full sentences, Anna again settled for a nod.
Hans smiled back, before he seemed to realize Anna was alone.
"Did you come here… by yourself?" he wondered, sounding vaguely concerned.
Anna's stomach flipped pleasantly.
"Oh, no – I came here with my sis- er, um, some friends," she quickly amended. "I was just looking for the bathroom."
But as she finished her sentence, her face only reddened.
"Uh, but not because I need to, like, use it, or whatever," she rambled awkwardly, earning a chuckle from Hans. "I'm looking for my friend, actually – she had to use the bathroom… I think…"
Nervously running her fingers through her hair, Anna tried not to die of embarrassment. Thankfully, Hans seemed to be finding her actions endearing – if his warm smile was anything to go by.
"The bathroom's right over here," he began, gesturing past the staircase. Anna eagerly followed him, shoving her drink towards the first bystander she passed, who confusedly took it.
Hans led her down the hall and towards the back of the house, where they came across a long line of people waiting for the bathroom. Merida wasn't in it.
"Huh," she mused, somewhat worriedly. "I wonder where she is?"
Hans didn't seem as concerned. "She's probably back in the living room," he offered. "You don't have to worry about her; as long as she's in the house, she'll be fine."
Anna wanted to take his word for it, but the thought of Merida roaming around without her didn't sit well – she had heard plenty of horror stories about what happens to intoxicated girls left on their own at parties like this. Most of them were cautionary tales, curtesy of Elsa, but they stuck with her, nonetheless.
"I'd just feel better if we found her," Anna admitted, hoping she wouldn't offend Hans.
Thankfully, he appeared to understand. "Of course."
They both made their way back towards the living room, only Hans took her through a quicker way that led back into the dining room. The game of beer-pong was now in full swing, and Anna felt herself sigh in relief as she caught sight of her roommate, who was laughing triumphantly after hitting a ball into the opposing team's cup.
"Oh, thank god," Anna breathed, alerting Hans to her discovery. His eyes swept over the room, before lighting up with recognition at her roommate's red hair.
"Crisis averted, I take it?" he laughed.
Anna smiled in reply, suddenly feeling a bit more confident. Although Elsa had told them to stick together, Anna didn't want to tear Merida away from the game. And her sister had told them both to have fun, and the strawberry-blonde wouldn't be complying if she sat around watching the game from the sidelines.
In fact, if she were to do as Elsa had said, she'd have to find someone else to dance with.
"I'm glad we've found her, but it looks like my dancing partner is preoccupied," she sighed, watching as Merida hit another ball into a cup, before high-fiving Mulan, who appeared to be her teammate.
Hans was quick to take the hint. "Well, I happen to be an only mildly embarrassing dancer, if you don't mind downgrading a bit," he replied smoothly.
Anna ignored the butterflies in her stomach as she grabbed Hans's hand, before leading him towards the dancefloor.
He hadn't been lying when he said he was an embarrassing dancer, though Anna didn't mind. They had successfully knocked down two people in their attempt at swaying to the beat, though the thick holiday cheer in the air kept everyone in a good mood.
Anna was starting to get a little tired, but she was having too much fun to admit it. As she did a little spin, she discreetly took a peek at her phone.
It wasn't even eleven yet. Knowing that she couldn't keep up the charade for over and hour, she turned back to Hans.
"I'm getting a little thirsty!" she hollered over the music.
Hans gave her a confused look, before leaning down and gesturing towards his ear.
"I said, I'm getting a little thirsty!" Anna repeated, standing on her toes.
Realization dawning on his face, Hans nodded. "Want me to get you a drink?" he yelled back.
Anna shook her head, not really feeling like more beer. The one from before had successfully boosted her confidence, and that was all she really wanted. Now, she was hoping for some water – she had left the bottle Elsa had given her in the kitchen, though she was positive it was no longer there.
As if reading her mind, Hans slipped his hand into hers, leading her towards the kitchen.
"Water?" he asked, his voice only slightly louder than usual as the music faded.
"Please," Anna confirmed with a smile. Just like she suspected, her water bottle was nowhere in sight, though she didn't really mind as Hans handed her a new one from the fridge.
Gulping it down greedily, Anna gave Hans another smile as she wiped her mouth. "Thank you."
"No problem."
But as she screwed the cap back on, she started to feel a little awkward. Here she was, hanging out with a guy she barely knew while her over-protective sister lurked in the house.
"Wanna head back out there?" Hans suggested, gesturing towards the living room.
Anna's face must have shown her reluctance, for he quickly added, "Or, you know, I can give you a tour or something."
The younger Arendelle sister giggled sheepishly. "That would be nice – this house is beautiful."
Hans laughed at her reply, shaking his head fondly. "You don't have to lie." He then ushered her towards the archway that Elsa had previously gone through, which apparently led to another hallway. "So, you've seen the living room, dining room, and kitchen," Hans began, walking at a leisurely pace.
Anna matched his speed, taking an occasional sip from her water bottle.
"But you haven't seen the den – the coolest room, in my opinion."
Giggling at his forced excitement, Anna followed Hans through an open door and down a few steps, into a large, less-crowded room.
It was the literal definition of a man-cave, with comfy couches and a large TV. Every gaming system imaginable cluttered the shelf below the television, while the other shelves were filled with various trophies and awards. Anna caught sight of her cousin's boyfriend Flynn, though he didn't see her, as he was preoccupied with fixing his hair while staring at his reflection in the trophy case. She did make eye contact with the large blond he was with, though the guy quickly looked away.
"Now, I don't want to come off as a mindless frat-boy who's full of himself," Hans began with a chuckle, regaining Anna's attention, "but I just want you to know that the big pink trophy over there is mine."
Anna looked to where he was pointing, and found herself unable to suppress her snicker. The trophy he was referring to was indeed pink, and appeared to have once been a participation award for a young ballerina, though the inscription was covered by duct tape, with the words WORST DANCER: HANS scrawled across it.
"You must be very proud," Anna giggled, looking back at her companion, who wore an embarrassed smile.
"The highlight of my college experience," he responded good-naturedly, smiling warmly at her. "Well, so far."
Anna could feel her cheeks heat up as Hans grabbed her hand once more, leading her out of the room and continuing the tour.
So even though we all know Hans is the worst person ever, I really liked how nice he was at first. So, taking inspiration from the movie, I've decided to make him seem really nice here, as well. Now, I'm not sure if I'm going to make him full-blown evil, but obviously something is going to break them up, as this is going to be a Kristanna based fic.
Also, I'm sorry for the apparent lack of Jelsa – I just want to make their relationship feel as natural as possible, so I haven't been throwing them together randomly just for the sake of the story. But, next chapter will be the start of their 'friendship', I guess, and it will only progress from there.
Thank you to everyone who has been reading this, and I hope you continue to enjoy it! Also, please leave a review – they make me update quicker!
