Chapter 16:

"Good morning, my favorite interns." Mr. Oaken smiled as the two girls approached his desk. One of them walking awkwardly behind the other, afraid to step on any boundaries.

"Good morning, Mr. Oaken," said Anna first, Elsa only replied with a smile.

"Have a seat, if you would. Feel comfortable, ya?" He motioned for them to take a seat in front of him. They did after getting in each other's way for a few seconds.

"Now the reason I called you in here today is because I have a big job for you two. It might take you several weeks but time is of no issue as long as it's done correctly, which I'm sure you will do." He smiled at the girls, they both nodded.

"You see, we've been working with a partner company for years and years but as you know, we're changing the scheme of things. What I need you to do is gather all the files we have that associate them, or any files that name them. There should be fifteen years' worth of files in the archive room that relate to them. Again," he stopped to look at Elsa then Anna. "Please don't rush through this. Take as much time as you need."

He stood, his tall figure occupied most of the wall behind him. Both girls stood after him, understanding it was time for them to leave. "We'll be working on that immediately," Elsa started. "Would you like us to categorize them by date once put into the boxes?"

"Ah, yes. Thank you for reminding me. Please place them according to the most recent date. The archive room should already be unlocked for you." With that, the two girls nodded and left his office.

On any other day, Elsa would have loved to work alongside Anna and rekindle the friendship they had lost. After her realization the previous day, however, she felt the need to stay away from her. How could she be close to Anna after knowing that she felt more than friendship towards her?

Should have called in sick. Should have called in sick!

She quickly released the idea because, as Mr. Oaken mentioned, this project would take weeks or maybe longer.

Oh, Elsa. You're so done for. A part of her told her.

"Ah, I see you two are ready to go!" A masculine voice shouted from the back as the girls made their way through one of the halls. "Have fun looking through the archive rooms!" It was Hans.

The girls turned around to look at him. "Thanks, Hans. You know we'll have lots of fun." Anna commented sarcastically.

"More fun than I ever will!" He laughed. "I hope you don't mind having to work together. I figured you'd do a more efficient job that way." He raised an eyebrow, examining the girls.

"So, it was your idea?" Elsa asked, out of nowhere.

"Indeed it was, my dearest Elsa." His big grin showcased his perfect, white teeth. Anna noticed the look of annoyance on Elsa's face.

"Oh, no worries. Why would we mind?" Anna answered. The distance between Elsa and herself disappeared as she took three steps towards her and intertwined her arm on the blonde's. Anna looked at her and smiled while Elsa looked down at their arms, in shock and unable to produce words or any other reaction.

What is she doing?

"Well then, I'll let you two get to work." He half turned before continuing. "By the way, we have coffee and donuts in the lounge."

Anna inclined her head and smiled, Elsa was still surprised about Anna's approach. Was the redhead trying to portray something else? Did she have to play along?

Anna quickly let go of her once they entered the archive room.

"Anna..." Elsa wanted to ask for an explanation desperately but was dismissed by Anna as soon as she mentioned her name.

"Don't get any ideas, Elsa. This doesn't change things. Let's put on a show, backstage we're just being ourselves."

Elsa understood what she meant, Anna was just pretending and she'd have to follow her lead. Outside of work, things would be different of course.

"What happened out there?" Anna blurted out without thinking. Elsa noticed Anna didn't mean to ask but she responded anyway.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, that look you gave Hans and the way you asked him..."

"Maybe I don't want to be around you as much as you don't want to be around me."

A few seconds passed with silence in the room.

"Well that's perfect, then." Was all Anna said.

Deep inside, the redhead was surprised at Elsa's admission. Had she given up completely? Would she no longer try? It made her wonder what caused the sudden changed but Anna didn't want to keep on asking and encouraging her. She needed to stay away from Elsa, even in that room, she needed to keep her distance and stop herself from giving in. She walked to the other end of the room, she could still see her, that perfect human being, but at least she wouldn't be forced to be that near. Even if they shared the same room, they were separated by a large number of tall cabinets.

"Are you going to start from way back there?" Elsa asked as she spotted Anna walk towards the end of the room.

"I figured we would save time."

"Yes, but it'll make it more difficult for us to put them in order in the end." Anna hadn't thought about that, but it now made sense. She sighed deeply then walked back to Elsa, almost dragging her feet. The blonde tried hard to hide her smile.

"I'll look through A to D while you look through E to H. My guess is that will be all we'll be able to look through today, for this particular year anyway. If we have time we can find some boxes and start sorting." Elsa was in work mode and Anna could tell there would be no way of getting here out of there, luckily.

Both girls went over carpets and carpets of documents. The amount of papers scattered on the floor and on the tables would give anyone a headache. Anna hoped she would never have to go through this again in her life, once was enough. Elsa did not seem to mind, she scanned over the documents quickly, but not missing a thing. Anna noticed two big stacks of paper on either side of Elsa. The redhead assumed Elsa would be close to finishing soon and somehow she felt like she had just started.

They were both sitting on the floor, only a few feet away from each other. The chairs that were provided for them were now occupied by boxes. All Anna could do after hours of sitting there was compare the work they had done with the work they had yet to do. She wasn't even half way through! They were both tired. Anna looked around the room, hoping that the time would be in their favor. She could not wait to leave, although that wasn't much of a consolation considering they'd have to do that for days. Out of the corner of her eye she noticed Elsa staring at her, she felt her intense glare.

It was the fourth time she caught her doing so, but she had been too busy to ask. Now seemed like the opportune moment. The first three times she believed it was all an accident or a product of her imagination, but Elsa kept doing it, almost unconsciously. Did she not know Anna was aware?

Anna felt a warm sensation spread from the back of her neck towards the top of her head.

Don't blush, Anna! Not now, don't blush!

It was inevitable. Now Elsa was aware that Anna knew she was staring at her. The blonde's eyes quickly diverted back to the papers nervously.

"I have- I... Go... I've got to use the bathroom." Elsa said. Anna didn't look up, still trying to hide her face, even though she knew Elsa had already noticed.

"You don't need my permission." She folder her legs so that Elsa could get through.

"Be right back." Elsa said as she exited the room.

What was that all about? Elsa staring at me and then stuttering? All of this work must really be getting to her.

Little did Anna know, she was the reason behind Elsa's awkward behavior. The blonde girl practically ran to the ladies' room. She placed both hands on the sink and leaned in to look at her reflection.

Breathe, Elsa. Breathe. You've got to control the situation. Calm down and breathe.

She opened the faucet and splashed cold water over her face.

That ought to help some, she thought.

She walked back to the archive room, but not before stopping by the lounge and grabbing two coffees. Anna could accept it this time, it was hard not to in that room.

How much longer do I have to put myself through this? It's barely the first day!

Fortunately for her, time went by faster as the clock hit three. Sorting files seemed much easier than looking for them and that also kept her mind and her eyes busy from wanting to stare at Anna.

Anna got in her car. She could not believe the day was finally over. It felt good to be able to look at other surroundings other than white walls. It felt different, she could have sworn the smell of old papers and dust were giving her allergies.

Maybe I can use that as an excuse!

Of course, she knew better. She put on the radio and closed her eyes as she leaned into the car seat. The weather outside was colder than it should be, especially for November. Her coat offered some heat, but not enough and she was forced to turn on the heater. A text message suddenly interrupted the music on the radio, it was Kristoff.

Kristoff: Hey, are you out yet? I was hoping we'd go out and grab something to eat. We need to catch up!

Anna smiled as she read the text; too bad Kristoff caught her on a bad day.

Anna: Just got out but I'm too tired to function, plus I have to review for my calc exam tomorrow. How about tomorrow though? I promise!

Kristoff: Fine v.v sounds good!

Anna put her phone down and reversed out of the parking lot. She really had no time to waste, although Taco Bell sounded like a good idea.

Drive-through it is!

Anna heard the shower go off as she got into the dorm. Elsa must have beaten her this time, well every time. That was no surprise. She needed a shower desperately as well, so she figured she'd lay in bed until Elsa was done.

Hopefully she won't take long.

Unfortunately, Anna was too tired to keep up with the concept of time. In the comfort of her sheets and pillows, she fell asleep before Elsa got out, completely forgetting about her food, her work, Elsa's awkward behavior and of course, her calculus exam.

"Anna. Psst! Anna." She felt someone grabbing her arm and then running their hand on her hip. "Anna, wake up. It's late"

Anna shifted her body several times until she finally managed to partially open her eyes, one at the time. Blonde hair, pale skin and blue eyes filled her sight.

Am I dreaming?

"Not anymore. I think you fell asleep and forgot to eat your food."

Oh, shit did I say that out loud?

"What- what time is it?"

"Quarter passed nine."

"Oh." She realized she was not hungry anymore. She knew she needed sleep, but not four hours of sleep. She could have done so much more with that time; she could have been productive. Maybe she could finally hit the shower and then do some homework...

Wait! Shit. Shit. Shit. I need to review for my exam tomorrow!

"Anna... Are you okay? You don't look well." Elsa asked with a concerned look on her face.

"I'm fine." Elsa knew Anna wouldn't say anything else.

She was indeed fine, her exam grade, on the other hand, wouldn't be. She was careless and lost track of time. As a result, she would no longer have enough time to go to the library and meet with her study group. She could try to study by herself, but even simple math was never something she could put her mind to.

She hesitated before getting up and making her way to the desk. To Elsa, who was still staring at her, she seemed lost.

"Aren't you going to eat?" She asked quietly. Anna only stared into space, thinking.

"Anna, it's late. You should eat something..."

"I'm fine, Elsa."

Sure she was fine, she said she was fine for the second time, but did that make it true? She insisted.

"Did something happen? What's wrong?"

"I overslept when I needed to go to the library and review for my exam. I'm sorry; I'm still a bit confused." And sleepy.

Elsa sighed once she knew it was nothing big. "When's your exam?"

"Tomorrow morning." Anna looked through her bag, thinking that maybe she could review some problems.

"Well, I'm sure you'll do fine. What exam is that?"

Anna stopped and looked up at Elsa. "Calculus."

"Oh," Elsa thought about it for a few seconds. "Maybe I could help you?"

Anna was not expecting that question. She never considered that a possibility so it came to her as a shock. Would it be so bad if she let Elsa help her? Would that mean she would finally have to put her guard down? A few minutes passed with no response from Anna. Elsa took that as a no until Anna finally spoke. "If you don't mind," she said it almost shyly. "You've always been better at this than me."

Elsa gave her a small smile. "I guess I could finally make it up to you, huh?" Memories popped into her head. Anna tried to hide the smile that comment forced out of her, but it was impossible.

Did Anna just approve of my help?

Her response was surprising, but Anna was still sleepy and confused so she told herself not to get too happy.

But she said yes! Her inner thoughts were screaming at her, clearly too happy.

"So, what will your test cover?" Elsa asked as she placed her chair next to Anna's.

"Four sections in chapter six and one section in chapter seven. There's no way I'm going to be able to memorize all of these problems by tonight." Anna was frustrated.

"You don't need to memorize anything."

"I do if I don't know or understand the problems."

Elsa was about to put the palm of her hand on Anna's back but hesitated and changed her mind.

Maybe this won't be a good idea.

"Well then let's try to understand the problems, that's all there is to it. If you understand them, you'll know what to do."

"Ugh. Maybe I should just try my luck."

"Nonsense, at least give it a try."

"Fine." Anna shrugged.

"What's the first problem?"

Anna gave Elsa her review and the blonde girl scanned it immediately. "If you read the first one," Elsa started. "You can figure out what steps you need to take. See here, for example. It's asking you to find the velocity given the function for the acceleration-"

Anna interrupted. "-and I know velocity is the derivative of acceleration so would I just need to find 'f prime'?"

"Yup, that's all you need to do."

Anna isn't so bad at this; I don't understand why she's worried.

"Okay, is that it?"

Elsa checked her work and gave a nod of approval.

"See this is where it gets more complicated." Anna read off the paper. "Find the time when the ball has reached its maximum height." she looked at Anna, confused and hopeless.

"Okay, think about it. Try to picture it in your head. After the ball reaches its maximum height, will the velocity be increasing, decreasing, or what?"

Anna tried to picture it in her head. It took a few seconds before she finally responded. "Well... That's a complicated answer because it reaches maximum height before it falls back down and when it will no longer go up."

"Yes, you're in the right track. So it reaches maximum height at a very small instant when...?" Elsa asked.

"When the velocity is zero?" Anna answered, unsure of her answer.

"Yes! See how everything is logical?"

Anna nodded as she quickly wrote on the review.

The next four hours were spent like that. Neither of them minded, seeing as Anna really needed the help and Elsa enjoyed Anna's company.

She enjoyed seeing her wrinkle her nose when she didn't understand a certain topic, and how her bangs got on the way of her eyes and how she got them out of the way annoyingly. She enjoyed the way she smelled, just like summer. The way she pursed her lips when she got a wrong answer, the weird noises she made when frustrated. The smug look on her face when she got something right. She enjoyed the way her fingers played nervously with the pen. Most importantly she enjoyed the way Anna made her feel with her presence.

Again, Anna caught her staring at her.

"...Elsa?"

Elsa avoided looking at her eyes. "Uh, yeah?"

"I asked if you wanted one of my chalupas? I don't know if you've eaten yet but I haven't and it's late so here." She handed her a wrapped chalupa, which Elsa gladly accepted. Not because she was hungry, but rather as a peace offering. Did that mean things were okay again? There was really not knowing. Things with Anna were always complicated."

By 1:30AM, Elsa was too tired to function and Anna forced her to go to bed, even when the older girl put up a fight. At 2:00AM, Anna decided she'd had enough, and even though she couldn't sleep because of her long nap, she couldn't put herself through another minute of calculus. She was confident she'd get a passing grade. Hell, even a B+. If not for Elsa, she'd probably be screwed. She was so patient, and the way she explained things... She was unbelievable. To say she was perfect would be an understatement.

What do I do now?

It was weird for her to be up so late on a school night and in her dorm. She found herself with nothing to do except for maybe blogging a little. That didn't last long seeing as many people weren't online. She checked her various other networks, unfortunately with the same result.

Maybe if I pace around the room I'll get tired enough to go to sleep.

She walked around for less than half an hour, not finding the result she was looking for. She could turn on her lamp and do some reading, but she didn't want to disturb Elsa's sleep. She grabbed her phone and texted Kristoff.

Hmm. Maybe he'll be awake.

After a good ten minutes, she concluded he wasn't.

Ugh, what do I do with myself?

What did I do at this time during the summer when I had nothing else to do?

She quickly dismissed the idea, not liking where that was headed. She couldn't do that. Not with Elsa a couple of feet away from her. Besides, she wasn't sure if she was even in the mood.

She finally got into bed, only to stare up at the ceiling and mentally review for her exam. It was so quiet, all she could hear was Elsa's light breathing, and her light movements every so often. She didn't bother to hide her smile, or the happiness that Elsa brought to her. It was dark and Elsa wouldn't see her. She wouldn't see the big grin on Anna's face. She had fought hard to hide how glad she was when Elsa offered her help, and when she mentioned that she'd finally make it up to her. She could finally let it go, at least for now. Tomorrow, they'd go back to the same, nonspeaking routine. That's the way it had to be because Elsa wanted just a friendship, and although Anna did too, she knew that eventually she'd want more and she wouldn't be able to stop herself from ruining their friendship, again. She couldn't bring herself to endure that pain all over again.

"No."

Anna sat up immediately. She became startled but then realized Elsa was talking in her sleep.

Huh, who would have thought Elsa did that?

"Anna, no." Elsa continued. Anna was now more alert.

Did she just?

"Because I said so." Although she was mumbling, Anna managed to understand every string of words that came out of Elsa's mouth.

She debated whether she should get up and wake up, but she was too intrigued to proceed. She needed to know what Elsa was saying; what she was dreaming about.

"I can't stay away."

Wait, what?!

You can't stay away from who? Or what? Elsa! Keep talking!

But Elsa wouldn't bulge, whatever she had to say she had said. The quiet words, almost whispers, were replaced by her breathing again. Now Anna wouldn't really go to sleep at all.

She could not stop thinking about what Elsa said. She could come up with a million possibilities to why she mentioned her during her sleep, but neither of them satisfied her curiosity. She needed to know the truth.

For the next five hours, she tried hard to forget, the results were futile. She was about to take one of the hardest exams on the planet, or so she thought, and here she was worrying about Elsa's dream.

She needed to know, she couldn't go on like this. Before she headed into the classroom, she reached for her phone and sent Elsa a text.

"Don't get any ideas, Elsa. This doesn't change things. Let's put on a show, backstage we're just being ourselves."

"No." Elsa grabbed Anna's arm. She wasn't going to let her get away with this, she had enough. There was no more playing nice; there would be no more holding back. Anna needed to stop this behavior now, what gave her the right to ignore her every chance she had?

Anna was stubborn, she tried to pull away but Elsa knew better. Anna had become too predictable. She grabbed her other arm and held her close. "Elsa, what are you doing? Let me go!"

Elsa held her stronger, closer. "Anna, no."

"Why are you doing this? Why won't you let me go? Why do I need to stay here and listen to you?"

"Because I said so." In that instant, Elsa knew Anna wouldn't try to pull away anymore. Something finally changed her mind, and she would stay there. Perhaps Elsa's determination had helped; perhaps she had finally come to terms. Elsa leaned in while Anna stood awkwardly starting at her.

"What- what are you doing?" The redhead asked, but it was too late. Elsa was a few inches away from her face. She was going to kiss her!

"No, Elsa! I know this is not what you want." Anna pulled away, taking Elsa by surprise.

"This isn't what you want, you made that clear. Why are you doing this?"

Elsa let her go, maybe she had it all wrong. Maybe Anna had not changed her mind. "I can't stay away." Was all she could reply.

Elsa recalled her dream as she read Anna's text before heading to class.

Anna: Was I in your dream last night?

Shit, how does she know? I must have said something last night.

She decided on making up a story on why she mentioned her name, telling her the truth would probably be a bad idea. She didn't want to ruin what little they had managed to save the previous night.

Maybe I'll tell her later, she knows I'm in class right now, and so is she.

Hmm. Maybe that'll force her to speak to me again.

A smile spread across her face at that thought.

AN: Woo! So much going on in this chapter. I think it came out just the way I wanted to. I hope you guys like it too.

I can't thank you enough for all the reviews, they mean a lot! And the follows! Thank you guys so much.

Make sure you keep updated, something BIG will happen in the next chapter(s)!