Chapter One:

A smile is worth more than words can ever mean to me.

It's quick, easy, and distracting. Oh so very distracting.

I of all people should know. After all, a single moment was all that was needed to see that brilliant smile of hers. A single moment to long.

X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X

The band 'Good With Grenades' was currently blasting through my earbuds as I took the time to dance with my mop. I sang along to the song, not missing a single word. My foot tapped (or maybe the correct term was stomped) along with the drummers beat, keeping count to the songs tempo.

"Two single hearts on fire – currently on the wire!"

The checkered, tiled floor of my kitchen was getting cleaner with every step I danced, and I knew it would soon begin to sparkle (hopefully literally) if I kept dancing. That is, if the mop didn't tire of me using it as a dance partner first.

"As inhibitions fade – a focused moment made!"

I twirled, dipping the mop as if it were another being. And, I flashed it a rather dazzling (or so I've been told) smile. It stared up at me blankly, unimpressed.

"Bruises and bite-marks say, takes one to bring the pain!"

Raising the mop back up, my smile faltered. I was dancing… with a mop. If this wasn't weird, I didn't know what was.

"You're in a place for fear – Lips are for biting here!"

Sighing, I fished my IPod out of my pocket – turning it off. Removing my earbuds, I wrapped them up and stuffed them into my pocket. Music was making me a tad weird again.

Not that being weird wasn't fun or anything, but people tend to look at you weirdly when you smile at inanimate objects and pretend they're human too.

I ran a hand through my platinum blonde bangs, walking over to the small supply closet to put the mop away. The floor was clean enough – for now. I'd have to finish my number with Mr. mop another day.

After making sure my unofficial dance partner was placed snuggly into the little closet, my topaz eyes scanned the area around me as I listed off everything that needed doing or had needed doing. 'Dishes? Check. Laundry? Done. Counters/tables/etc.? Yup. Floors are clean and clear of debris… I honestly think that's everything.'

Nodding to myself in satisfaction, I smirked. A clean house always left you feeling tired, but accomplished. Or was that just me? It wouldn't surprise me if it was.

After all, I was more than just a little weird.

I made my way over into the living room, marveling the softness of the white carpet against my bare feet. Falling forward, I landed on the plush carpet with a 'poof', nuzzling the lengthy strings that made it up with my face.

I sighed mirthfully, a grin tugging its way at my lips. 'It's a good thing I vacuumed.'

I inhaled deeply, enjoying the sweet, powder-fresh scent of carpet cleaner. 'Cause it doesn't smell like cats anymore.'

It was true. Just earlier that day it had smelled like twenty cats had used it as personal bedding. Then again, I owned at least five cats. So, I would have to vacuum again sooner or later.

But, it was worth it.

'Ah, speak of the devil, and he doth appear.' I thought, watching as one of my cats padded up to me. It was Sebastian, a sleek, black cat whose snowy white underbelly was as soft as it looked. I turned my head to the side to get a better view of him, staring straight into those beautiful, emerald eyes of his. He stared right back, pausing briefly.

The tom surveyed me for a moment before giving a small hop and landing softly on the back of my shoulders. He prodded my back with his two front paws, as if giving me a tiny massage. Or maybe he was actually tenderizing me so he could try and eat me later in the night, when I was unaware of his intentions…

The thought was enough to make me shiver, but I refrained. Mustn't let him know I'm aware of his soon-to-be dastardly deed…

However, I couldn't help the fact that my eyes narrowed in suspicion. 'I swear, if this cat actually tries to take a single bite out of me… I'll freeze him from the inside out... I'd have to figure out how, though…'

The cat plopped down onto my back, and I felt him curl up into a purring ball of fur.

'Or maybe he just wanted to make sure his soon-to-be bed was soft enough.'

Giving a huff of laughter, I let my fingers comb through the carpet – pretending it was Sebastian's fur. After all, reaching back and petting him would be kind of an awkward position for my arm. So, the carpet would have to do.

… As odd as it seemed.

I gave a content sigh, my lips twitching up into a smirk. Maybe my cat didn't think of me as on oversized mouse after all. Thank goodness.

I frowned. 'Wait a moment… maybe this is all a part of his evil, mastermind plot!'

I gasped, my eyes widening. I quickly moved away from him, though I was careful to knock him off my back first, doing a simple combat tuck-and-roll to the other side of the room. "You bastard!" I growled, grabbing ahold of the nearest object.

He merely stared at me, his gaze showing both shock and confusion… if cats could show that much emotion. I was probably imagining it all, but oh well.

I held the… what was it again? I glanced down at the object for a second, to see what I had grabbed. A remote control. My brow drew together in confusion, the corners of my mouth falling down into a slight frown. 'What the hell is this doing in here? This is the remote to the TV in my gaming room…'

I sighed once more, shaking my head. 'I really am quite forgetful. No wonder I couldn't find it last night.'

It had freaked me out though. I had thought that a robber might have broken in and stolen it. Then again, why pass up the games, X-box, TV, and other expensive items – just for a remote?

That's what had knocked some sense into me.

Climbing to my feet, I glanced once more at Sebastian. He was busy nodding off – now in the corner of the, surprise, also-white couch. Lazy bastard. Or maybe just sleepy. Either way, I highly doubted he actually wanted to eat me.

Well… not that highly.

Twirling the remote in my hand, I began humming the song I had been listening to just minutes before as I turned to walk into the hall. However, I didn't get but a few steps.

Out of nowhere, my phone began to buzz, playing the background music to 'Animal I have become' by Three Days Grace. I squealed – rather loudly, might I add – jumping at least a foot in the air at the sudden sound. I'm surprised my head didn't hit the ceiling, actually…

Blushing furiously in embarrassment, though no one was around to see, I dug my phone out of my pocket to see who was calling. Or what had come up.

Well, considering how it was set up as my ringtone, I should have already assumed someone was calling. My alarm tone was 'Bulls in the Bronx' by Peirce the Veil.

Both had very different instrumentals, so it should have been easy enough for me to tell the two apart.

I checked the caller ID before answering the phone. I didn't exactly want a repeat from the last time I took a call from a blocked number. The person hadn't even waited for me to say, 'Hi'. The moment I picked up the phone, they proceeded to talk – not even checking to make sure the number they called was correct. "The jobs done…" They had said. "…But the place is covered in blood… It's going to take days to clean it up…"

And the line had gone dead, leaving me listening to silence.

It had scared the hell out of me. I mean, I know it was probably a prank… but… I still got a new phone number the next day. Just a precaution. Or maybe I was just being paranoid. It defiantly wouldn't be a first.

Reading the bolded, black letters located just under the picture of my boss, I smirked. It was the marshmallow man himself.

I answered the phone, doing my best to stifle my laughter. "And what do I owe the pleasure of this call, Marshall? You know I don't come into work until eight."

"I know." He hummed in response, his voice pleasant to the ear even over the phone. Marshall was at least six foot seven, and looked tough enough to take an entire football team out with one swing. His black as coal hair and sharp, icy eyes didn't help but emphasize that fact. However, his looks kept most girls fawning over him and visiting his pizza shop daily.

Apparently he reached an eleven on a handsomeness scale of one to ten. Kind of like the Old Spice guy. So overly good looking, it was criminal. Or so Ariel kept sighing to Snow the other day.

However, his tough-as-nails looks didn't fool anyone. He was a big marshmallow at heart. Hence, his nickname.

"So, what's up? Olaf hasn't actually managed to burn down the shop already, right?"

The man on the other end chuckled. "No, no. Nothing like that. I was wondering if you'd be able to come in an hour early today. It's Friday, so there's bound to be plenty of extra orders. What do you say?"

I glanced at my black wristwatch. Three PM. "Sure, I mean, class starts in an hour, but it ends at around five thirty – maybe five forty five. I'm pretty sure I can make it – maybe even an hour and a half early."

"Thanks a lot, Elsa. Don't worry; I'll pay you for your overtime." He actually sounded relieved. "Jasmine's sick, so you may have a few more deliveries than usual tonight. Do you want me to call Merida in to help out?"

"You called me before your favorite, fiery Scotswoman? I'm touched." I chuckled. "But, to answer your question, only if we get a pretty large number of orders. Then again, better safe than sorry. Do what you think is best. After all, you're the boss."

I could almost feel him smirking through the phone. It was obvious from the laughter bubbling in his voice. "If you say so. Thanks again, Elsa. I'll bump your pay up a couple of dollars for tonight. Bye."

"See you, Marshmallow man."

He didn't bother correcting me, he just hung up. He must have been in a pretty good mood. Then again, when wasn't he?

I glanced at my watch once more, wondering whether or not I'd be able to jump on my X-box for a bit before heading to class. Slaughtering a few Stormcloak rebels always did put me in a good mood. However, if I wanted to be on time, the legion would have to wait for my help until later. Damn. I was almost to the point where we took over Windhelm too.

Oh well – what could I do?

After putting the remote back into its rightful place – on the coffee table in my gaming room – I gather everything I would need for my architect class. It wasn't much, just some tools, notes, and a binder full of ideas and measurements I would need.

Locking the door behind me, I was ready to go. 'Unless, of course, a dragon finds it necessary to attack me and destroy my home. Or the rebels attack me directly in the real world so they can win the war and take the throne for Ulfric. Damn, that wouldn't be good… And neither is babbling to myself on impossible things – like Skyrim ending up in the real world and going after you personally. You, my dear Elsa, have been playing way too much Skyrim. You're taking a break tonight and playing Lollipop Chainsaw. Or Halo. Call of Duty?'

She hummed thoughtfully, slipping into her sleek, black Civic and starting it up. 'I don't know. I should probably play something a tad more peaceful, since my minds on war and such because of those gore-filled games. What about Zelda? I could pull out my old Nintendo 64 just to play Majora's Mask… Or Mario Cart. I'd have to hook my GameCube back up, then… I'll just stick with Zelda, if I'm not too worn out by the time I get home tonight.'

Nothing like the classics.

X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X

I had five minutes to get to class, so I was basically booking it down the hall. 'Left, right, right, right, left, left, straight, first door on the right? No, no… Right, left, right, right, left, right, straight and then the door on the right… Right…? … By Sithis, I've been here how many times in the past year, and I still have trouble finding my class.'

I frowned. Sithis? For starters, why was I thinking like how the Dark Brotherhood speaks? Secondly, Wasn't I trying to avoid Skyrim the rest of the night? Maybe the gods of the game were trying to tell me something… reaching out and speaking through my thoughts… drawing me to the remote as if to say, 'Help us, dear Dragonborn'… By Talos, I would answer this call. Only, later.

Wait, what about Legend of Zelda? Damn, Link was going to cry when he heard that I had chosen Skyrim over him… I really didn't want him to cry… Dammit, why can't choosing games be easy?

I sighed, rounding a corner rather quickly. Thing was, I didn't look before I did. So I basically ended up barreling into – or rather, over – some poor redhead who was unlucky enough to be right in my path.

My notes and books went flying everywhere, and I ended up sprawled on top of a random stranger. Great. I cursed – not so silently might I add – at the sudden mishap. I was going to be late for class and I was basically molesting the chick under me – that is, if my hand ended up where I'm pretty sure it was.

Gratefully, when I did a sort-of half push-up, I found that it wasn't. Not to mention that the hall was completely deserted. I'd be sure to thank God later for this run of good fortune to cover my ass from all my sudden bad luck.

Rolling off of the girl as quickly as I could, I immediately began apologizing for my lack of common sense – or was it direction? Either way, I basically knocked her down as if she were a bowling pin. "I'm so sorry!" I gasped, scrambling to my feet – only to drop back down to my knees mere seconds later to clamber after all my strewn things. "I really was not paying attention to where I was heading. I should have looked before leaping, you know."

I glanced over at the girl – noting the bright red hair and adorable freckles scattered across her face – who was staring right back at me with curious, teal eyes. She hadn't really gotten up but, rather, sat up and was now watching me being a clumsy idiot.

I flushed slightly, nearly tripping and face-planting once more. "I swear," I mumbled as I ducked my head, stuffing a few more papers into my folder, "I'm not usually this awkward when moving around."

'I am during social encounters, though.' I added silently.

The redhead covered her mouth, giggling as she rose to help me pick up the rest of my things. A minute or two later, it was all safely – for the most part – tucking into my binder not-so-neatly.

"Thanks," I sighed checking my watch. A minute until class. I suppose being late was going to be unavoidable. Oh well.

I glanced up – actually, down – at the girl in front of me. The corners of her mouth grew up into a cute grin as she twirled one of her braids around a finger. "No problem. Don't be late."

With that, the girl turned and sauntered away, hip swaying slightly as she left.

Hey Guys! Sooooooooo, whatcha think? I promise, it will get more in-depth in later chapters. Y'all are gonna love the ending ;)

Anyway, updating…. I'll TRY to do it every Saturday or Tuesday if I can. With that, please review!

Angel