Anna and Elsa snuck back into the orientation group. The group was getting a monologue concerning the arts and sciences school of Arendelle. Anna walked up to the rear of the group and looked around to make sure no one had seen her sneak in. As soon as she was sure Anna was in the clear, Elsa gave her one last smile, and crept away from the group, passing behind the far side of a dorm building out of sight.

Anna was immediately lost in her thoughts. I've just witnessed a huge secret… She shuddered. Why couldn't her first days have been normal, instead of giving her a huge burden to carry? Then again, she thought, I've always had burdens to carry… the burden of being an orphan. Figuring out how to serve yourself on multiple levels, not needing anyone to help you. Now I'm in the same environment, only with a bunch of people my age… I need some normal. Where's Kristoff?

Anna slipped through the people in the crowd, sliding her way towards Kristoff's noticeable blonde hair. She poked his shoulder. Kristoff looked down, saw Anna, looked up, and then did a double take and actually saw Anna the second time, his eyes wide with concern.

"What happened? Nothing dangerous?" Kristoff asked earnestly.

"Nope, nothing really. I found Elsa. She was just going for a walk, she said…" Anna made sure to keep eye contact with Kristoff the whole time she talked. Eye contact was the secret to great lying.

"Oh okay… hey Anna?" Kristoff said.

"Yea?" Anna replied tentatively, looking at the ranting guide, now on the topic of class websites.

"You didn't see anything… weird… in the forest did you?"

If Anna's heart jumped into her throat, hung out a bit until her lungs ached, and then decided to go back down to her ribcage, she didn't let it show at that moment. She would keep her promise to Elsa.

"Nooooooope. Actually really tranquil out there, have you ever been?" Anna said with an air of controlled coolness.

Kristoff looked at the ground, thinking. He kept staring at the ground until he looked at Anna again, and said, "alright, cool," with a nonchalant look on his face. Anna was sure he didn't suspect anything. Thank goodness.

Anna listened to the guide, now leading them to the East campus. She and Kristoff walked in silence the rest of the way, save the occasional comment Anna had regarding the buildings and views that she expressed to Kristoff while not expecting a reply. She was feeling confident in her cover up. This could work.

After the tour, Anna hung out with Kristoff for a while. He showed her the sights of the college that he knew. She learned the places not many people ate at in the mornings, and that laundry should be done on Wednesdays, unless you wanted to wait for a thousand years in a line. She felt good, having all this knowledge compounded with Elsa's knowledge.

Elsa.

Anna's thoughts drifted to her. She hadn't seen her since morning. Now it was mid evening. Anna wondered how she was doing, since the incident they'd had that morning. She didn't dwell on it too much, though, or else worry might creep onto her face, causing some people to inquire. Anna was not the strongest liar.

"Hey Kristoff, I'm gonna explore by myself for a bit okay?"

Kristoff looked slightly surprised, but then an understanding look came to his face.

"Yea sure, go ahead." He smiled at her, and then walked away. That was easy.

After he left, Anna wondered where the nearest food was.

She wound a dining hall in a building not too far away. They were serving soups, salads, and a whole line of chocolate deserts and goodies. Anna loved chocolate, and made sure to keep the name of the building, Jane Hall, in her mind for later. She wondered if Elsa's family had a hall named after them.

Anna was looking for a place to sit down, when all of a sudden she spotted Elsa. Anna was confused. Not because of seeing Elsa (that was all she had really seen the past two days), but the people she was sitting with. Their looks… their clothes, their faces just screamed ignorance.

Anna did NOT want to sit at that table, so she snagged a seat at one of the long tables that no one was seated at, and observed Elsa's actions carefully.

Anna couldn't help but smile as she watched Elsa's actions. She talked to the girls around her with enthusiasm, as if she was really into whatever she was saying. She almost seemed… bubbling with excitement. And yet, at the same time, she was in total control of herself. Nothing like the scared and confused Elsa that Anna had seen earlier that day in the forest. Nothing like the exposed Elsa, the one with powers, the slightly awkward one…

And then Anna saw Elsa turn her head away from the girls sitting across from her. She saw her turn her head to the side to face the isle and look at the ground. In the slightly solemn and artificial lighting, Elsa's face reflected the light coming from the tubular bulbs in the ceiling. At that moment, if everything else around Anna was coated with a false white light, then Elsa's face was on fire. Elsa's face was the only color in the room at that point in time. An emotional face, with sad blue eyes, looking at the ground, deep in thought; uncertain eyes, Anna noted, as they darted across the floor.

Anna had witnessed the scared Elsa once more, but not for long. Elsa put her enthusiastic mask back on, and joined her "friends" in their conversation once more. Anna watched her for a minute more, but then decided to just leave. She wasn't hungry to begin with. She had seen Elsa's mask: The mask she used in situations when she had to. How many masks did Elsa have? How far would those people she was sitting with have to go to push her over the edge? Make her angry?

I don't even have the patience for that… much less dealing with stress.

Anna walked into her and Elsa's dorm. She chose to sit down at her desk and check her social media. Why not, she thought. The only thing I ever keep up with is Facebook anyways.

Anna had a friend request from Elsa. That was fast… when did she do this? Probably early this morning… The friend request was accepted.

Anna was too tired to go searching for the profiles of the other people she had met on campus (which was, pretty much, only Kristoff), so she clicked to Elsa's profile, curious to know more.

And then the doorknob turned.

Anna clicked the tab away just as Elsa walked into the room. She was talking to some girls outside, with her body in the room and head in the half-closed doorway. "Eeeeh, not tonight," Anna heard Elsa say in a semi-definite tone.

"Are you sure, Els? Hans will be there, you know."

"No, thanks. I can see him whenever I want, and I have stuff to do, so… yeah" Elsa responded.

"Okay, see you later then Els!"

The girls walked away and Elsa closed the door. Anna looked up at her, trying to read the expression on her face. Anxiety? Exhaustion? Both?

Elsa, half stumbling, walked into the dorm room and flopped face first onto her bed in one smooth motion. Her fall was so graceful that Anna couldn't help but think that she had flopped on her bed like this many times before. Anna sat down beside her on the bed. "How's it goin', champ?" Anna asked.

Elsa chuckled. "Same as it ever was… champ." Elsa stuck her tongue out at Anna. Anna smiled at Elsa's positive response.

"Any stressful stuff to deal with?" Anna asked, staying a safe distance from Elsa's hands.

"Just keeping my status quo, making sure I stay normal. I practically have to radiate normal, just to keep people away from me." Elsa closed her eyes, and was taking deep relaxing breaths.

"Yea, well I know what a social responsibility feels like too. You kinda have to have one when you're in an orphanage, you know? Especially to the little guys."

"Did you have any friends back there, at the foster home?" Elsa asked cautiously.

"Just Olaf. That cute little guy… he could brighten anyone's day. He liked hugs, ya know?" Anna sat up and smiled at the wall, thinking of Olaf. "Well… don't dwell on the past too much, too. That's always bad," Anna said, as she got up from Elsa's bed and back to her chair.

She looked at things on her computer while observing Elsa's still form. Elsa has turned over to her side and was relaxing there with closed eyes. She looks so calm, for a façade master… thought Anna. After a while, Anna felt a little bit anxious, looking at Elsa. Something about her made Anna feel weird inside her stomach.

"… Hey, do you –" Elsa and Anna said at the same time.

They both stopped, and then laughed. Funny how something so small can cheer someone up so fast, Anna thought as she smiled at Elsa. "I was just gonna ask when you're gonna call it a night," Elsa said.

"Probably around eleven? I dunno, tomorrow classes start so I probably want to be ready for that."

"Not a morning person?" Elsa asked.

"I get the most hideous bed head, honestly. I need, like, hours to look decent in the morning." Anna said, chuckling to herself. "You wake up early, so you probably saw it already."

Elsa's eyes opened as she realized that Anna knew about her sleeping habits. "Yea well, sometimes, I just need some alone time, you know?"

"Yea I know, just remember, if you need help with anything, come to me okay?"

"Okay…" Elsa smiled gently.

What a weird way to meet someone. One day, they're a mystery, and the next day, you already know her deepest secrets.

That night, at 12:30, Anna couldn't sleep. She quietly got up and sat at her desk. She needed a distraction. Computer screens made her tired anyway.

Elsa's profile…

Anna's fingers clicked to Elsa's profile, and started scrolling away, as her roommate slept quietly.