I'm pretty sure in the summary, I put "no flames, please." Why? Because I don't want assholes flaming my story. It's not just rude but it can really hurt anyone's feelings, no matter what story you decide to flame.

Don't question an author's story direction choice, people. Don't be a dick on the internet. I swear to god. We don't need any more of those idiots online. Flames won't be tolerated at all.

Okay… I got that out. I'm sorry, my darling readers. I'm glad there are some good ones out there with constructive criticism at their belt.

Also, I changed the last chapter's name to "Message in a Bottle" and Anna's pay increased.

Shall we?

She could smell chimney and barbecue smoke from her bedroom window. The cool summer air was biting at her skin… but that was okay. The cold had never bothered her.

Her hair was falling in her face, icy eyes lidded with the decision weighing on her being. Her left shoulder still ached from the snowflake tattoo she had gotten a few months ago, which caused her to become grounded once her mother found out.

In retrospect, it probably would have been a good idea not to use her credit card.

She was leaning on the edge of the open window, gazing out at the dimly lit street glowing with luminescent orang street lamps. The crack beneath her door was dark… her mother and grandmother were both asleep.

Good.

It would make her escape much easier.

Elsa took in a shuddering breath and dipped down, her bare hands grasping the handle of her backpack. The bus would be leaving in an hour and she wanted to get there soon, lest her mother checked up on her. There was no way she was going to go tour that college with her tomorrow morning. It wasn't what Elsa wanted to do. She had taken that year off for a reason but her mother was insisting she attend college this year.

Elsa, however, had other plans.

She shouldered her bag and stepped onto the ledge of the window before she leapt from the second floor, landing on her feet on the front lawn. Elsa turned, staring intently at the window and straining her ears for any signs one of them had heard her.

Satisfied with the little results, Elsa stuffed her earbuds in her ears and smirked to herself, playing Rock Steady as she strolled down the sidewalk towards the place where the band was meeting her, to begin her life on tour as a roadie.

"Elsa?" a voice called through her earbuds.

The eighteen-year-old froze and she glanced over her shoulder. The voice sounded like her mother's… but she was asleep, right?

"Elsa!" the voice shouted, far away.

"Shit," Elsa groaned, the light in her bedroom flicking on.

Wasting no time, she took off down the street, her sneakers hitting the pavement with dull thuds.

"Elsa!"

The voice sounded closer to her, no matter how far or how fast she ran. The sidewalk seemed to be crumbling beneath her feet—

"Elsa, wake up!"

Something soft hit her in the face and Elsa woke with a start, sitting bolt upright, breathing hard. She took in her surroundings and discovered she was on the couch in the bus, the giant vehicle rumbling towards Texas. She didn't know how long she had been passed out or when she had in the first place. All she knew was that she was shaking and that four faces were staring down at her, concern written all over their features, Olaf holding the pillow he had smacked her in the head with.

"You were squirming in your sleep," he announced as Elsa ran a gloved hand through her hair.

"Bad dream?" Anna wondered.

"Yeah… sort of," Elsa mumbled, waving them away. "I'm fine. I promise. Jesus, give me some air."

"You heard her. Just fine," Sitron agreed with a laugh, sitting into the booth and continuing his oh-so-healthy breakfast of ramen.

"You look… well, more pale that usual," Anna commented quietly, sitting on the edge of the couch. "Are you sure you're okay? No fever or anything?"

"Anna, I'm alright," Elsa sighed, drawing her knees up to her chest. "It was just a dream… a memory…" She trailed off and Anna took that as her cue to leave Elsa alone and stop the questions.

So she got to her feet and headed into the booth opposite Sitron, burying her nose in a textbook so she could finally get some studying done. Olaf, however, sank beside Elsa and sent her a supportive smile.

"If you ever need to talk about it, Els," he said sweetly, placing his hand atop hers, the leather blocking the skin-to-skin contact, "you have friends here."

"Olaf, relax," she told him shortly. "If I'm having night terrors. It would be obvious if I was. It was just a stupid dream and that's that."

"You're sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure."

His soft smile turned into his crooked, cartoonish smile and he turned his attention to the television broadcasting a cartoon. Elsa took in a deep breath and pressed her forehead against her knees, the fabric and pattern of her jeans embedding itself on her skin, trying to remember why she was experiencing those dreams again.

It was vivid… she hadn't had dreams like that in a long time; flashbacks to her childhood and late teens. It disturbed her. It wasn't even a really bad dream. She definitely had worse.

Elsa lifted her head and stared down at her gloves, feeling a rising hatred in her heart for the first time in a long time. She liked her gloves, she did, but after that dream… she remembered vaguely it was like to not wear them all the time.

The others were talking behind her but she couldn't quite make out what they were saying. She closed her eyes and let her fingers, the only bare part of her hands, rub against her jeans, trying to simulate the feeling of her senses.

Her ears picked up a part of Anna's sentence and she tuned in for a little while.

"…I wanted to murder him, wherever he is," Anna was saying, turning a page in her book. "Hans will not get away with this."

"Anna, we contacted Kai last night and he's going to talk to the Westerguard company about getting him to back down," Olaf said.

"Hans is a maniac," Sitron said. "He's got this stupid… ah… entitlement about him that wants revenge. I dunno about you, but I think he needs to be locked up in the looney bin."

"I'd love to see that," Anna said bitterly.

"It's all we can do now," Marshmallow added, very much on his brother's side. "Hopefully he'll stop after almost getting Elsa injured."

"I don't think he cares about that," Anna scoffed.

"It's dangerous for himself," Olaf interjected. "I don't think he'd want to get in too much trouble."

"He wants to ruin Elsa's career! Her good name!" Sitron wailed.

"Can we please put it to rest!" Elsa found herself shouting.

Everyone froze, shutting their mouths. The blonde ran a tired hand over her face and through her hair.

"Thank you," she said. "We're going to deal with it when the time comes, alright? For now, let's focus on the tour and the concert in… San Antonio?"

"Well, around San Antonio," Olaf said, frowning. "It's actually this tiny town called… Weaseltown."

"What?" Anna snorted, a grin lighting up her features. "No way is it called—"

"It's actually called Weselton," Marshmallow corrected, smiling.

"That's still stupid," Anna insisted, stretching out her legs along the length of the booth seat. "Weselton, Texas? Ew. Weselton sounds like a disease." She put on a deep voice, contorting her face to appear somewhat elderly. "'I'm sorry ma'am but I'm afraid you've developed Weselton's Disease. It's a form of stupidity, which is fatal.'"

Olaf and Sitron burst out laughing, clutching their sides.

"The point of the concert is to fight protest," Elsa recited over the laughter of the bassist and guitarist, nodding to herself. "Kai said that the mayor was really upset I'm playing there."

"Why?" Anna said, her head cocking to one said.

"'Cause it's Texas and they're not exactly thrilled to have a member of the LGBTQ community playing in their state, let alone their town," Sitron explained, rolling his eyes heavily but the grin due to Anna's joke was still on his face.

"But a lot of people like me for my music," Elsa said, the corners of her mouth twitching. "So a huge number of people are demanding we play. Some people are coming from out of state to see me." She leaned her head back enough so she could look at Anna upside down. She then flashed Anna a cat-like grin when their eyes met. "But we'll be avoiding a large protest group on the way in."

"Dedication to your talent," Anna said with an approving smile. "I can't wait to see the look on their faces."

"You're not gonna warn us to be careful?" Elsa said, raising her brows.

"Like that would stop you," Anna said, shaking her head. "I actually say go for it. It's about time we stick it to bigoted protestors."

"You're saying it like we've never done it before," Sitron said.

"Oh! No, no," Anna said, appearing slightly alarmed. "Not at all. I'm… uh, I'm sure you have 'cause you guys don't seem to be the type to just back off. You put up a fight. Not that you'd want to…" She made a disgruntled noise before shoving her head into her book. "Shut up, Sitron."

Elsa laughed and moved her head so it was in its normal position. She cracked her knuckles— the gloves always proving to be a barrier— and swung her legs off the couch so she could rise to her feet.

"I think I need some time to think," Elsa said. "I'm getting a headache…"

"There's Advil in the medicine cabinet if you need some," Anna said, concern falling over her face once again.

"No, no." Elsa shook her head. "I'll be fine. I just need to lie down and… something."

The boys didn't seem too worried about her but Anna was. She scooted off the booth and grabbed Elsa's arm as the punk tried to make an escape into her little cave of seclusion that was her bedroom.

"What?" Elsa snapped without meaning to.

"My mom once told me the best way to clear your mind is letting everything out to someone else. So the burden is no longer your own to carry," Anna said firmly, tightening her grip and digging her fingers into the alabaster skin of Elsa's left arm, the bold letters I and T of her "Let It Go" tattoo covered by the galaxy of freckles strewn along her hand. "I don't care if you and I aren't best friends yet, I told you I was going to try."

Elsa stared at her, bewildered, and felt a blush fall over her cheeks. The three boys seemed to shrink into the distance and all she saw was Anna, a true and strong affection and something else in the sea-green eyes of the redhead. That backbone she had been attracted to on the first day they had met. Elsa then placed the other thing in Anna's gaze.

Determination.

She wasn't going to allow Elsa to slide out of this one.

This stupid, dorky, stubborn girl was the reason Elsa was going crazy late at night. She had these strange attractions to Anna ever since she allowed herself to open up to her in the gym that day and they only grew. Letting another part of her slip terrified Elsa. Was she letting too much of herself to be put into Anna? She was trusting her… no one had ever made her feel as strongly as she did for the redhead. No one ever made her want to better herself, to open up and let people in.

Was she really ready to start up a new relationship… romantic or platonic?

No— she was in too deep with the kid already. She knew damn well her feelings were anything but platonic.

The dream returned to her again. How anxious she had been when she jumped. How excited she had been, too. The thrill of running away from home— a legal adult or not— was something she had never regretted…

Until she had returned in January, earning an earful of scolds and shouts from her mother.

"I really want to help you," Anna said. "Please don't shut me out."

"I'm not sure if you could help me," Elsa said truthfully, not meeting the younger girl's eyes.

"At least let me try," Anna offered.

"If you'd like…"

She eased her arm out of Anna's hand and pressed forward, Anna at her heels, toying with her hands anxiously. She didn't expect that to go so well.

As soon as they stepped over the threshold of Elsa's bedroom, it hit Anna that she had never actually been inside it before. Sure she had stolen glances while passing by to go into her own room or saw it slightly over Elsa's shoulder while talking to her in the doorway. Otherwise, the door was always shut. Anna assumed that Elsa just didn't let anyone in but clearly that wasn't the case at the given moment.

Elsa was shutting the door behind her, Anna drinking in the new area. The queen sized bed was pushed up in the corner of the room near the windows, playing the role of a cozy little nest for the punk. There was a desk attached to a small cabinet that held a television on the top on Anna's right. To her left was the wall that separated their rooms. Directly in front of Anna was a closet and a small beside table.

Not only was it small— bigger than Anna's thought— but it was also neat. Incredibly neat. As if Elsa had gone over every inch of this room with a ruler and a vacuum, ensuring it remained clean.

"Whoa," Anna found herself gasping.

"What?" Elsa said, smirking slightly and flopping down onto her bed.

"It's… I never imagined your room would be neat," Anna said.

"Really?" The blonde quirked an eyebrow and crossed her legs at the knees. "What did you expect?"

Anna scratched the side of her head. "Uh… a hovel?"

Elsa laughed. "I assure you, kid, that I would never allow my room to ever get messy. It doesn't do well when I want to think properly."

Anna's eyes skimmed the room again, her feet still planted near the door, and noticed that the only thing in the room that actually was a bit of a mess was the desk. With good reason, of course. There were papers crumpled up in the wastebasket, wrinkled on the desk as if Elsa tried to flatten them out. Eraser shavings littered the area and pencils were thrown haphazardly in the cup at the top of the desk.

"Except there," Elsa mumbled, her gaze following Anna's. "That's never clean."

"Still struggling with a song?"

"Yeah but that's not why you're here, is it?"

Anna blinked and shifted her eyes from the desk to Elsa, who was now staring her expectantly.

"Oh right," Anna said, nodding. She stepped closer to Elsa and pulled out the desk chair, sitting in it with the back against her chest so she could lean her arms on the top. "That dream seemed to bother you a lot… tell me about it."

"I told you that I left home to go tour with a band, right?" Elsa said, choosing her words carefully as she went, like she had done at the gym.

"I think so."

"Well, I only dreamed of the night I left… and my mom's voice calling after me when she discovered I was gone."

"You ran away."

"Yeah. I couldn't live a life I didn't want to live." Elsa picked at her leather gloves moodily. "My mom wanted me to go to college and I just couldn't. I knew it wouldn't make me happy."

"You made a choice for you." Anna offered her a kind smile. "There's nothing wrong with that… Then what made the nightmare, well, a nightmare?"

"It was her voice," Elsa whispered, leaning forward with her elbows on her knees. "My mom was so… she sounded so scared." She screwed her eyes shut. "I had forgotten how terrified she was when I had left… because all my life I had convinced myself that she didn't care." Stop talking. "She had ripped me from my dad, tried to take away my music—" Elsa, stop it. "—she was shoving college down my throat and yelled at me when I got home with—" Shut your fucking mouth!

Elsa swallowed her words and took in a deep breath.

"Can I not… can I just leave it at that?" she pleaded Anna, her eyes shining.

Anna nodded. "Of course. May I speak?"

"If you want. I don't think I really have a choice in the matter."

"Elsa, do you feel guilty for leaving? Is that a possibility?"

"I don't regret it."

"Regret and guilt are different." The ginger shifted in her chair. "If you really think about it. You might feel guilty about making her frightened but you don't regret leaving to make yourself free. It was up to you and you wanted to do something that made you feel good but it came with a price."

Anna fell silent. She bit down on the supple flesh of her bottom lip as she thought. Elsa tried not to stare at the what was supposed to be an innocent gesture.

If I could only know how you kissed… how it felt to kiss you… maybe I'd stop acting like a hormonal teenager. Seriously, what the hell is wrong with me? Pull yourself together, you fucking moron.

"Where… where did you used to live?" Anna asked, pulling Elsa out of her inner voice.

"Wisconsin."

"Really? Wow! That's awesome— okay, how about we make a game plan!" Anna leapt to her feet and stood in front of Elsa, her teal eyes suddenly bright. "Are we gonna pass by?"

"Probably… we're gonna be up North again in the middle of this month," Elsa said, rubbing the back of her neck.

"Why don't we visit her?"

Elsa's eyes got so big Anna was surprised they didn't fall out of their sockets. Immediately, the blonde was at her feet and gawking at Anna, horrified.

"Are you insane!?" Elsa demanded.

"Just a little bit," Anna quipped. "Elsa, this might be good closure for you."

"I don't need any fucking closure!" Elsa wailed, grabbing at her hair and passing her, starting up a pacing route from the closet to Anna and back again. "Not from her! She yelled at me, she was sorry I left, big fucking deal! I don't need anything from her! She's the reason I'm like this! She's the reason I can't decide on who I really am!"

"Elsa?"

"I mean— god fucking dammit!" Elsa kicked over the chair Anna had been sitting in, startling the girl. "I had to hide away so much and be the good girl I always had to be. Sit up straight, do my homework, stay on track! I didn't get a chance to explore myself until I was seventeen!" Elsa's fists went to her sides, balled up and shaking. Her blue eyes were wide and angry, but not at Anna.

Never at Anna.

"Elsa," Anna tried weakly. "Look at yourself…" She moved forward and pried open Elsa's hands, gripping them tight with her bare ones, the punk breathing hard. "It's okay, I'm sorry." Icy eyes met teal and Anna flashed her an apologetic smile. "Look, this is my fault. It was silly of me to think I could make things better. I shouldn't have even—"

"No… you're right," Elsa said, closing her eyes and letting her fingers tighten around the younger girl's hands. She counted to ten before she spoke again, eyes still closed. "I'm clearly… I've always been upset about this. I just never told anyone about it before."

"Elsa, I want you to think about it," Anna said, giving her hands a squeeze. "We still have a long way until we even reach Wisconsin. Just think about my idea to see her… maybe this will help you."

"I'm sorry for freaking out like that."

Anna giggled. "It's alright. You tend to bounce back and forth from several different moods. I'm getting used to it as I go along."

"I'm not so sure that this is a good idea anymore," Sitron said, glancing out the window. "I mean, I'm all for sticking it to the man and stuff but when the man looks like he has a double barrel shotgun, I might reconsider sticking it."

The bus was chugging its way over to the theatre where the band was to play for two nights but some of the town of Weselton who greatly opposed Dry Ice, including the mayor, stood on the sidewalk with several protest signs and one of them— as Sitron pointed out— was even carrying a shotgun.

"Way to stereotype yourselves," Olaf mumbled, joining Sitron on the watch.

"But look!" Anna said excitedly, pointing. "The fans!"

Everyone turned their attention to the group of Dry Ice supporters standing firmly by the theatre and not allowing the protestors to come any closer than they already were. Elsa felt her heart soar with affection for her fans, a big, stupid grin spreading across her face.

"Well, I'll be damned," she said in a hoarse whisper.

"Not everyone in a big asshole," Sitron sighed with relief.

"Hopefully it won't last," Marshmallow said. "No parties. Just play, return to the bus, repeat the next day, then get the hell out of here."

"Sounds great," Elsa agreed.

"Should we try to reason with them?" Anna wondered.

"I don't think we should," Olaf said, grimacing.

"Yeah, they might bust a cap in our asses," Sitron joked.

"Never say that again," Marshmallow groaned.

Elsa was wringing her hands and nibbling on her bottom lip, feeling nervousness rise up to the top of her throat like bile. She really was happy to do this concert, showing the world she wasn't afraid of the haters…

But she secretly was.

She absolutely hated criticism and really wished that this wouldn't tarnish her reputation. She was already— clearly— seen as a nuisance in this town and she hadn't even stepped foot out of the bus. Would other towns try to stop her from performing?

"We're here," Oaken called from the front, making Elsa flinch. "Let's get into the theatre. Anna and I will escort you safely."

"Wait, what? Oaken, I'm not security! I'll be torn to shreds!"

"Relax," the big man assured, grinning. "No one will touch you at all." He cracked his gigantic knuckles, winking down at the roadie. "Not while I'm around."

Anna sighed and scooted off the couch, walking over to Oaken with the three boys following her. Elsa swallowed her fears and put on a brave face.

"Alright. Let's go," she said, her smirk splayed across her lips and her knuckles popping as she flexed her fingers. "I'm ready to show those homophobes of Weaseltown that I'll perform no matter what they say."

The band stepped out of the bus and started making their way towards the theatre. They were greeted by a mixture of boos and cheers but ignored them all, staring straight and chins high. Elsa dug her hands into her pockets and moved closer to Anna as they walked, the ginger returning the gesture by nudging the punk's shoulder with her own, a smile lighting her features.

"You're doing great," Anna told her quietly. "Keep moving."

Without a scratch, they reached the stage door and the stagehand waiting for them ushered Dry Ice inside, trying to keep everyone in one piece. However, a few of the protestors surged forward and started shouting, the fans trying to intervene but weren't enough to keep them at bay.

Elsa caught a few hurtful slurs being tossed at her. Some of the old classics like "faggot" and "dyke" were the most insulting, with good reason, and she was starting to become more angry than afraid.

I really hope this is the only ignorant town I have to play in, she thought, her eyes igniting with fury. She had half a mind to turn around and yell right back.

But Anna was doing that for her. It had occurred to her that Anna had stopped walking and was facing the crowd, hot tears in her eyes and her hands on her hips, squawking at them to shut up.

Elsa was reminded that Anna herself was also interested in girls so those comments hurt her, too. The blonde looked at Oaken, who was masking the pain but he must have— at some point in his life— suffered under those horrendous nicknames. They shared similar expressions of disgust and understanding as Olaf and Sitron literally dragged Anna inside with them, the door slamming shut behind the group.

"That was terrible!" Anna cried, wiping underneath her eyes and stomping down the hall.

"That really was," Marshmallow agreed, frowning.

"You didn't have to make a scene, kid," Elsa said.

"They were being rude and obnoxious and downright disgusting!" Anna wailed. "How dare they use such language!?"

"Cowards," Olaf said, his face uncharacteristically dark. "I wanted to punch them all."

"I would have," Sitron said. "I thought they'd just boo us and we'd get over it. I'm not gay but, fuck, those comments stung."

"Let's just get practicing," Elsa sighed. "It's only for two nights, guys. We'll manage. Then it's off to… ah, let's see… Oklahoma City."

"The sooner we're out of here, the better," Anna said firmly.

After the practice was through, the band sat in the dressing room with some McDonalds that Anna had rushed out to get for them. Elsa wasn't touching her food, merely glaring down at the burger and fries, as if they were mocking her and shouting obscenities at her just like the protestors did.

"You should eat something, Els," Anna said, sitting beside her on the faux leather couch. "I know McDonalds isn't the most healthy of food choices but it was the only thing I could grab without being attacked by those protestors outside."

"It's fine, Anna, I'm just…" Elsa pinched the bridge of her nose. "I'm just more nervous about performing than usual."

"Because of the idiots who are just… idiots?" Anna said.

"Depending on which idiots… outside or over there," Elsa manage to joke, nodding at the three boys who were munching on their fries on the couch across from them.

"Har har," Sitron grunted.

"You know which idiots I'm talking about," Anna said, giving her a wry smile.

"Well, they're not storming the area so I think we'll be alright for a while," Olaf said helpfully.

Their hopeful thoughts were cut short, however, when Oaken poked his big head through the door with a sour expression.

"You have a very… insistent visitor," he announced apologetically.

Before he could even tell them who it was, the door swung open and a tiny man passed by Oaken with an air of self entitlement. He was rather thin, almost as if his entire body was made of sticks. His nose was large and beak-shaped, a pair of circular glasses perched on the bridge. He wore an obvious toupee and his mustache was so bushy that it hid his top lip.

Oaken stood in the doorway, not quite comfortable to leave the band alone with the stranger. Dry Ice didn't get up to greet the guy or give him warm smiles— something they would usually do to any fan who had a backstage pass. No, there was something off about this man and they all knew it.

Anna nominated herself the ambassador for Dry Ice and spoke first.

"How can we help you?" she asked coolly.

"I'm the Mayor of Weselton," the man introduced, his voice a thick, nasally sort of sound.

"Ah, yes," Elsa said. "The one who is very… unhappy with our performing here." She leaned back in her seat and crossed her legs. "Do lecture us about how 'my kind' is disgusting and how we shouldn't be playing for your hick town—"

"Elsa," Anna warned sharply.

"What? You know that's exactly what he's here to do!" Elsa said, raising her hands defensively.

The Mayor scowled darkly at Elsa, who raised an eyebrow at him in the most uninterested expression she could manage. He looked back at Anna and folded his little twig arms across his chest.

"I am asking you to leave my town. What you're displaying is sinful and can infect the young minds of those coming to see your show!" he spat.

"'What they're displaying?'" Anna repeated, furrowing her brows.

In spite of the situation they were in, Elsa was going to make the best of it as much as she could by hamming it up.

"Oh no!" Elsa wailed sarcastically. "They're seeing a lesbian on stage singing!" She made several "oohing" noises and wiggled her gloved fingers in the air. "A lesbian who once questioned her sexuality. Swaying her hips and making everyone else gaaaaaaaaay." She threw her head back and rolled it on her shoulders, as if the devil was possessing her. "Everyone stay away! You'll catch my homosexuality!"

"Oh my god," Anna grinned, trying her hardest to keep a straight face and hiding her head in her hands, giggling against her will.

"We're not trying infect people," Marshmallow said calmly. "That's ridiculous."

"And we're not even singing about being gay in the first place," Sitron added, rolling his eyes as Elsa dramatically attacked Anna by throwing her arms around the poor roadie and started nuzzling her hair with her cheek, begging Anna to cure her.

"Our concerts are about the music," Olaf said firmly. "It's stupid to think otherwise!"

"Elsa, for fuck's sake!" Anna snarled, pushing the cackling singer off of her. "That's enough already!"

"Alright, you're right," Elsa said, sitting in her seat properly. "But in all seriousness, Mayor, we're a band about self expression, self love, and self acceptance. Not everything I do… in fact, hardly anything I do is in relation to me going for girls. Don't let my sexuality overtake what the band is all about."

"Mr. Mayor, sir, you don't need to feel threatened by them," Anna told him gently. "Look at these four." She gestured broadly to them behind her. "They may look like a rough 'n tough gang of punk rockers who do hard drugs and spray paint walls and whatever else the stereotype is but, in reality, they're all basically a bunch of big hearted band geeks."

Dry Ice whipped their heads at Anna, appearing slightly affronted.

"And right now they're all giving me incredulous looks because they've convinced themselves that they're tougher than nails," Anna said, grinning over her shoulder. "I bet each and every one of them cried at the end of Toy Story 3."

"Who didn't!?" Sitron demanded.

"People with no souls," Elsa deadpanned.

"Yes," Olaf agreed.

"You see what I mean?" Anna said to the Mayor. "Do they look like they're gonna infect your town with… my god, it's impossible to—"

"I don't care," the Mayor said stubbornly. "I don't approve of this whatsoever!"

"Good for you," Sitron snapped. "But our shows are already sold out!"

"We can't up and cancel them, bud," Olaf said.

"Why don't you scurry back to your little protest group and cry me a river?" Sitron suggested dryly. "Let us play our two show and then we'll be out of your fake hair."

Anna snorted into her fist but tried to play it off as a coughing fit. Elsa smirked and ran her hands through her hair, waiting for the creep to leave. The Mayor sniffed critically before turning on his high heeled boot and trotting out of the room in a huff. Oaken shut the door behind him, the band left alone in a relieved silence.

"What a complete dickhead," Olaf said with a cheerful smile.

That night on stage, Elsa stood her ground and decided to push a few buttons. It wasn't exactly what everyone would have initially agreed on but the Mayor had given them all a reason to be a tad pissed off, with good reason. So when she had the mic in her leather bound fist and the attention of Weselton's young adult citizens, she asked for everyone to take out their phones and record the speech she was about to give.

When the band was nearly blinded by the lights of recording devices and cellphones pointed at them, Elsa started up.

"I know that a lot of you are only here because of my music. And that's the only reason. But it's a good reason because that's what Dry Ice is all about. The music and the message of self," she began, earning a few cheers and shouts of approval. "Some of you, however, may be aware of the reason protestors are currently outside the theatre… it's because I just so happen to like girls." There were several hoots and someone wolf-whistled. Elsa snickered. "Thank you, darling. The point I'm trying to make is this: we are here for the music. Not to flaunt my sexuality, not to turn anyone gay, and not to raise hell in the eyes of the ignorant. Love is love. And you should love yourself no matter what. I know Weselton is a small town and it's hard to do such. But there's a great big world out there for all of you who are lost, confused, and hurt." She thrust her fist in the air, shouting into the mic, "I want to hear approval! Love yourself right! Now!"

The theatre shook with screams from the fans, their hands preoccupied with their cameras. They stomped on the floor, the shouts becoming a chant of Elsa's name. Anna's ears were ringing backstage and she scolded herself for not wearing any earplugs. But in spite of that, she was proud of Elsa's statement and was clapping with the rest of the crowd. Elsa glanced side stage and caught Anna's eye, winking at her, as if they were sharing a secret that Anna wasn't actually in on.

There was something behind that wink. Something Anna couldn't quite grasp…

Every single recording of Elsa's little speech went viral on Tumblr, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. Some more than others. But it was the thing every Dry Ice fan was talking about. Elsa had really made an impact on many, many people ("For once," Sitron joked, only to earn a punch in the gut by the blonde.) and it was a trending topic amongst every forum Anna looked up.

She received a call from Rapunzel as she made herself at home in her little bedroom, snuggling up with Mose and skimming through Tumblr, spying gif sets of the band from the fan pages she started to recently follow.

"Holy fuck," was the first thing out of Rapunzel's mouth. "Elsa really… blew a lot of people away."

"You're telling me," Anna said, a small blush falling across her cheeks. "It was really admirable of her. I've never seen her so confident in something before."

"Ooh, look at you," Rapunzel teased.

"What?" Anna demanded, her brows inching together.

"The way your face changed. My, my, my… you have the hots for Elsa, don't you?"

"What!?" Anna grit her teeth but the blush only darkened. "No way!"

"Yes way!"

"Rapunzel, shut up! You have no idea what you're talking about."

"Oh come on. The last time you had that derpy, dorky little face on was when Merida gave you that teddy bear for your two week anniversary! My lord, you were smitten."

"But… I… so what!?" Anna caved, screwing her eyes shut. "She's hot! She's attractive! Elsa is damn… damn… ugh!"

"Do you understand my conflict now!?"

"Rapunzel, need I remind you that you're dating Eugene!?"

"Okay, first of all, there's a beautiful thing called a three-way—"

"Stop right there."

Rapunzel burst out laughing. "Okay, okay, I'm sorry." Her face changed to one of seriousness. "Really, Anna. How do you feel?"

Anna sighed hopelessly. "I don't know. I mean, yes, okay, I find her attractive. She's not really my type in an entirety but she has that general stubbornness and inner kindness that pulled me in. Elsa's become concerned for me, she's been letting herself be more loose around me, and even hunted all around Seattle for this guy!" She held up Mose for Rapunzel to see.

"Is that a sloth?"

"Yup."

"Awh! True love!"

"Punzie, this is not love. I'm not in love with Elsa. Attraction and crushing on someone isn't lo—"

"Crushing?"

"My big fat mouth." She shook her head. "The point is that this isn't love! Remember the last time I was convinced I was in love?"

"Hans up and cheated on you with some skank."

"And my heart got broken into a million pieces and Merida managed to stitch it back up. But she moved and now I'm here with these confusing thoughts and feelings about Elsa, who is probably just playing me and giving me attention I like and I'm most likely knocking this entire thing out of proportion and I hate being underneath this spell." Anna pouted. "If that's what you'd call it. It's not like I'm swooning over her or anything. I'm not begging on my knees for her to date me. Maybe if I kissed her, I'd get all these emotions out the door and realize this was no big deal and—"

"Whoa, slow down," Rapunzel said. "Honey, you're gonna lose air when you talk that fast."

"I know," Anna sighed, rubbing the heel of her hand on her forehead. "Elsa probably just considers me as her kid sister— her close friend at best."

"Well, whatever happens, happens." She offered Anna a kind smile. "Don't over think it."

"I'll try." Anna returned the smile. "I should head on to bed. I'll talk to you soon."

"Alright. Stay safe and be good."

"No promises."

The call ended there, Anna holding the phone and staring at it until it locked itself, leaving her in the darkness of her room.

Love is love, be who you are, and love yourself. That's not just for Elsa's fans but for all of you :) Gay, straight, bi, it doesn't matter. You're all beautiful and perfect because you're you.

Anyway, preachy stuff over. Ahem.

Both Elsa and Anna have hesitant feelings for each other. They both wish to act on them.

Hm.

Main Elsanna coming up in about… a chapter and a half. Maybe two.

You'll get your award for waiting this long, my loves.

I'm sorry that this chapter was delayed. A lot had been going on but I managed to squeeze this out. Frankly, I'm tired of waiting to write Elsanna myself and I wanna get to the good stuff.

No flames, you guys. Please. They put a damper on my day.

Fav/Follow/Review

See you next time!