Trigger Warnings at End of Chapter
Chapter 4
Elsa's heart pounded with exhilaration. The roar of the crowd, the responsibility to her teammates, to their fans who, admittedly, filled only about a quarter of the seating at the rink. What they lacked in numbers they made up for in enthusiasm, cheering the Ice Wolves, booing the visiting Middleton Marauders, and groaning whenever play went against Arendelle.
"Christiansen, you're on next with Anderson and LaFleur," Coach said. Elsa glanced over to Anna who smiled back at her. After playing between Merida and Lily for most of the game, Elsa had sat this last shift. Now, Merida's line had been out for over a minute, and they would need to change soon; Elsa would finally have a chance to play with Anna. A scorching wrist shot from the captain was blockered by the Middleton goalie up into the netting, and the ref lifted a silver whistle to his mouth to blow the play dead. Elsa, Anna, and Rapunzel hopped over the boards and tapped shinpads with the line coming off the ice. With the game tied two apiece and time winding down in the third and final period, the next goal would probably win it. Elsa approached the red dot deep in Middleton territory and slid her hand down close to the blade of her stick to give her more leverage for the faceoff. The opposing center leaned forward over the faceoff dot and grit her teeth, probably to try to intimidate her, but Elsa couldn't stop grinning.
"Third period, score tied, offensive zone faceoff…this is where I belong," she thought. The ref threw the puck down and Elsa twisted her entire body in an instant to send the puck rocketing back to the point. The Arendelle D slid across the blue line, the border between the offensive and neutral zones, and Rapunzel set up in front of the Middleton goalie. The blonde leaned forward on her stick to form a tripod to make herself difficult to dislodge, while Anna circled to the far side to try and get open for a pass. Elsa dipped down below the goal line, and Anna took the feed from their D and fired it towards the net, where Rapunzel waited. The puck deflected off Rapunzel's stick just wide of the post and banged off the end boards… where Elsa waited to gather it up and slip behind the net. Snow sprayed from her skates as she stopped there, her favorite spot. With the net between her and the opposing players, she had time to make a good play without fear of getting clobbered from behind. If someone came after her, she was quick enough to slide out the far side, and if players came from both sides of the goal, well, that just meant at least one of her teammates was wide open. Elsa danced behind the net with the puck on her stick, two steps to the left, two to the right, as her teammates tried to get open, the opposing defense looked to stop any potential pass, and their goalie slid from side to side to prevent any attempts by Elsa to score a wraparound goal. Rapunzel, camped just in front of the goalie's crease, tapped her stick on the ice, calling for a pass, but the Middleton players were all over her. Anna circled the zone, still trying to get open. The roar of the crowd grew in intensity as the seconds ticked by, and still, Elsa held the puck behind the net.
"Patience," Elsa thought.
She opened up her awareness even more, feeling where every player, even the refs and linesmen, were on the ice. Finally, one of the Middleton players charged in to try and steal the puck, and Elsa squirted out the far side just as Anna streaked down the middle. Elsa sent a backhanded pass, elevated just over a defender's stick, and landed it on the tape of Anna's. The redhead used Rapunzel as a screen and fired off a snap shot that beat the goalie glove side and slammed into the back of the net.
"Woooo!" Anna screamed as the red goal light went on and the crowd roared, then she pointed to Elsa, who flew over and crashed into her, the redhead's ecstatic face mere inches away from her own. If not for the cages, she might have tried to kiss her. Rapunzel slammed into the group, driving the wind out of Elsa with an off, and the moment passed.
"We've just gotta hold them off now," Anna said. Elsa glanced up at the clock, 5:34 to go.
They skated by the bench to tap gloves with the rest of the team, then took a seat. With any luck, they'd be out for another shift before the end of the game.
"Maybe I can get Anna another empty netter," Elsa thought.
Coach Westergard kept juggling the lines though, and Elsa centered Merida and Lily's line again. With Middleton desperate to try and tie the game up before time expired, they poured on the pressure, and Alice make a few good saves, until Merida finally recovered a rebound and the puck all the way down, on goal to prevent an icing. Elsa raced to the bench for a change as Anna went back on with just over a minute to go.
Anna leapt over the boards as Elsa arrived at the bench and moved into position on the right wing.
"Okay, don't screw up this time," she thought. She chased the play into Arendelle's zone, and out of the corner of her eye, spotted Middleton's goalie sprinting for their bench. Before she could get there, Arendelle chipped the puck up the boards, and Jasmine sent it up towards Anna. Anna's heart leapt at the chance for another empty net goal and the possibility of a multi-goal game. Jasmine's stick had been checked just as she released, though, and the pass went slightly off target; Anna looked down to try and gather it up.
"Watch out!" Elsa shouted.
"Head up!" Coach Westergard shouted at the same time.
She registered their words and looked up just in time to see a black and red sweater fill her vision, and then heard rather than felt a crushing impact of the skater who had come off the bench to replace the Middleton goalie. The next thing she knew, she was on her back staring up at the lights. Her chest hurt, and everything seemed to move in slow motion. She looked to the bench where Elsa shouted at her and motioned her to come over, while Coach Westergard pointed towards the defensive zone. Anna looked over to see the six Middleton skaters pouring on the pressure against the remaining four Arendelle players and peppering Alice with shots. She forced herself to one knee, forced her legs to go, to at least get back into the play and reach the nearest defenseman. The puck slid over to her just as Anna arrived, and the redhead lifted her stick from behind, causing the puck to skip out of the zone.
"Fuck," the Middleton player said; all of their skaters would have to clear the zone before they could bring the puck back in. With only fifteen seconds to go and Arendelle buzzing around them to stop them from carrying the puck in, the clock ran down before they could get another shot off. As the final buzzer sounded and the crowd and the rest of the team celebrated the home win, Anna went down on one knee and tried to catch her breath.
"Oh man, that's definitely going to leave a mark," she thought.
"Are you okay?" Elsa asked as she skated over.
Anna nodded, but kept her mouth shut.
"You've got to be more careful," Elsa said, "coming across the red line like that with the puck and your head down?"
Anna nodded again, then she put on a grin that she was sure was probably closer to a grimace.
"We won though, didn't we?" she asked.
Elsa smiled down at her.
"Yeah, we won," she replied.
Anna dragged herself back to her feet and slipped a glove off. She held up her finger where a blocked shot had pinched it against her stick. A dark red blister now formed where every blood vessel had been burst in the tip of her pinkie.
"Ouch," Elsa said.
Anna jammed her hand, bloody finger and all, back into the glove. Punzie skated up to them.
"Some of the girls are headed over to Alpha Delta Alpha to celebrate, you're going, right?" she asked.
Anna flexed her arm where she'd taken a slash; she knew had already started to bruise up, and her chest still hurt from that last hit. There were always little scrapes and soreness after a game, but today, she seemed somewhat worse off than usual.
"I don't know, I'm pretty banged up," she replied, "think I'm just going to try and get some rest."
Rapunzel nodded.
"I'll do a shot for you," she said with a wave.
"You're sure you're okay?" Elsa asked, "that was one heck of a hit at the end."
"Ha yeah. Did anyone happen to catch the number of that bus?" Anna asked.
"Eighty-eight," Elsa replied.
Anna paused.
"Taking numbers? Looking for a little payback next time we play them?" she asked with a smirk.
"Oh, yeah, because my fifty kilos is really going to bother that gorilla," Elsa replied. "I'm pretty sure even if I slammed into her full speed, I'd just bounce off."
"Kinda like I did," Anna replied as they skated to the bench to collect their water bottles and extra sticks.
In the shower, Anna winced as the adrenaline of the game started to wear off and the bumps and bruises caught up with her, especially her chest where she'd taken that last open ice hit.
"Well, that's going to hurt for a while," she thought as she gingerly tried twisting. She finished up, wrapped a towel around herself and walked back to the locker room to change. Elsa dressed first stood by the door. Anna realized the blonde was waiting for her, so she picked up the pace. They walked out together, but when the doors slid open to let them outside into the chilly evening, Anna stopped and looked around at the nearly deserted parking lot.
"Where the hell is Hans? Oh, partying, of course," she thought.
"Do you need a ride up to your dorm?" Elsa asked.
"Uhh… sure, if you don't mind, I mean… since you're offering, if it's no problem," Anna replied.
Elsa chuckled.
"It's no problem," she said as she started walking.
Anna followed her to a blue BMW that chirped and flashed, then the trunk popped open as they approached.
"Whoa, nice car," she said.
"Yeah… it's all the rental company had available," Elsa said as she dumped her bag in. Her sticks followed and clattered as they settled. She opened the back door and Anna slid her bag and sticks inside, then strapped into the front seat. The dashboard lit up and a local radio station pumped through the speakers as Elsa turned the key, and Anna instinctively wanted to fiddle with the dials and press all the buttons.
"Behave yourself!" she thought, and she sat on her hand.
Elsa turned the volume down, flicked the headlights on, and pulled out onto the main campus drive. Anna fiddled with her keychain and struggled for something to say, but came up empty until they arrived at the parking lot at the rear of her dorm. Elsa put the car into park and glanced at her for a few seconds.
"Umm, do you find it impossible to sleep after a game too?" Anna sked.
Elsa blinked, then nodded.
"Every game. Usually, I just watch TV until I'm tired enough to go to bed," she replied.
"Do you… want to come inside for a bit and see if the common room is free? There's a TV there," Anna asked.
The blonde seemed to struggle with her response, and Anna thought perhaps she had pushed too far.
"…Okay. But, I thought you were tired," Elsa replied before Anna could say anything more.
"I am, but… I mean, too tired to party, but I kind of don't want to sit in my dorm for the next three hours, not sleeping," Anna said.
Mind apparently made up, Elsa smiled, and the simple gesture lit up her features.
"Okay, let's take a look," she said, then switched off the engine.
"Do you want me to carry that for you?" she asked as Anna dragged her bag out of the car.
"No no, it's okay, I've got it," Anna replied, but Elsa grabbed her sticks anyway, and Anna smiled at her appreciatively.
The redhead led Elsa into the back door of the dorm and down a concrete hallway lined with doors, towards the common room. Her heart rose as she saw no light emanating from the TV room, and her hopes were confirmed when she peeked around the corner to find it deserted.
"Yes! Success," she said as she dropped her bag onto the floor near the wall. A large flat screen television sat on an old wooden entertainment center in front of a beat-up brown couch. Several beanbags also lay strewn about the floor. Curtains covered windows along the exterior wall, and another set of windows looked out to the front common area of the dormitory, and the RA's desk. Anna went for the remote and flicked on the TV while Elsa placed the sticks on top of the hockey bag and shut the door behind her.
"What to watch… what to watch…" Anna muttered as she scrolled through the channel guide.
She absently flexed her arm as she scrolled.
"What happened to your arm?" Elsa asked.
"Blocked shot," Anna replied absently, "and a slash, I think."
"Aren't you going to ice it down?" Elsa asked.
"Nah, it's fine," Anna replied.
Elsa frowned in her peripheral vision.
"No, really, ice it down, you'll thank yourself tomorrow," she said.
"I don't have a freezer in my room," Anna replied. It was a lie. Her micro fridge had a freezer, but the ice tray had been empty for over a week.
Elsa rolled her eyes and unzipped Anna's hockey bag.
"What are you doing?" Anna asked.
"Getting you some ice," Elsa replied as she rummaged around a bit and pulled out Anna's green hand towel, "don't worry, keep looking."
She shut the door behind her as Anna shook her head. A moment later, she returned and passed the towel, twisted up with a block of ice in the center, to Anna. Anna chucked.
"Thanks," she said as she switched hands with the remote and sat down on the couch to set the towel on her arm. She found the ice was slightly curved so it rested easily on her bruised forearm.
"Here," Anna said as she spotted something, "I heard this movie is good, and I like Keira Knightley."
A tug of war drew her closer to Anna and simultaneously pushed her away. Should she sit next to Anna? In the middle of the couch? At the far side? She wanted nothing more than to scootch right up next to her, thigh-to-thigh, hip-to-hip. Perhaps lean into her over the course of the movie, or…
She swallowed.
"Don't do anything stupid. She doesn't even like girls," she thought.
She settled for sitting in the middle of the couch, with a respectable distance between them. The movie passed in front of her eyes, some period piece about England in the thirties, but she couldn't really pay attention, because the presence of Anna. Every shift in position, every time she cleared her throat or moved the towel of ice, was like a beacon to her consciousness.
"How's your arm?" Elsa asked.
"Better, thanks, but I think we soaked the couch arm," Anna replied.
"Oh, oops," Elsa said.
"Eh it's fine, it's only water, and I think it's helping a lot," Anna said. She shifted the towel to her thigh. Elsa forced herself to pay attention to the movie, which turned out to be about a child who lied and ruined the lives of the rest of the characters.
"Maybe we should watch a comedy next time," Elsa said as the credits started to roll.
"Yeah what the hell," Anna said, "Rapunzel said it was good."
Elsa shook her head slowly.
"Oh, it was good. I really despise that girl now, and she isn't even real," Elsa said.
Anna smiled at that, only barely visible in the dim glare of the credits.
"Well, I'd say let's watch another one, but I'm getting tired," Anna said as she stifled a yawn.
Elsa glanced at her phone.
"And I should be heading back," she added.
"Thanks again for the ride up," Anna said.
Elsa waved her off.
"Don't mention it," she said.
Anna tossed the now soaked towel onto the top of her hockey bag, then hefted it onto her shoulder and picked up her hockey sticks.
"Hey… next week, a some of the girls and I guess a few of the guys are going to take a mini-road trip, over to Salem," Anna said, "you know, for Halloween. We're going to do a haunted hayride and maybe go to a party after. Do you want to come with?"
"A road trip? For Halloween?" Elsa asked.
"Yeah. I mean… kinda? It's not really a road trip road trip, because Salem's only like… an hour away," Anna said. "It's an American thing, I guess. And a college thing. Do they even have Halloween in Norway?"
"It's… not as big as it is here," Elsa replied. "Who's going?"
Anna quirked her lips to the side as she thought.
"Umm, me, Rapunzel, Hans, Kristoff, Flynn, for sure… maybe some of the other girls, whoever decides to, I guess," Anna replied.
Elsa hesitated.
"Come on, it'll be fun," Anna said. She smiled again and nodded, and her earnest, genuine expression left Elsa defenseless.
"Okay, count me in," she said.
"Yes!" Anna said, as she pumped a fist, then winced, "ow ow… ow."
She held up a hand to indicate she was okay.
"You're going to have so much fun, you'll see," Anna added.
Elsa laughed politely again.
"Okay. I'm going to head out now. Get some rest," she said.
"Sure, I'll text you the deets," Anna said as she hefted her bag.
"Deets… deets… details!" Elsa thought, and she smiled and waved as Anna opened the door to the stairwell.
Elsa let herself out of the building and into the chilly autumn nighttime air, this time with a spring in her step.
Elsa pushed her way into the university cafeteria and the clink of cutlery mixed with mingled conversation greeted her; she glanced towards the grill.
"There'll probably be food later, but maybe not. I should eat something light," she thought.
She veered in the direction of the deli but froze as she caught sight of the redhead behind the counter, hair in a net and wearing the school's green cafeteria apron, complete with disposable plastic gloves.
"Elsa? Hey! Can I interest you in a sandwich?" she asked with a smile.
"Uhh, yeah, just something to tide me over," Elsa replied.
A bit of awkwardness crept up around her collar as the difference in their situations became apparent; she would never have to work a menial job to make ends meet. Anna didn't seem to be bothered even in the slightest though, as she deftly sliced some bread.
"So, what'll it be? Ham? Turkey? BLT?" she asked.
"Umm… turkey, please, turkey club," Elsa replied, and Anna started pulling ingredients together.
"Are you still going to Salem?" Elsa asked.
"Yep, as soon as my shift ends," Anna replied, "good timing too; I get my first paycheck today. OH! Have you tried Montreal Steak Seasoning?"
Elsa blinked at the conversation's abrupt change in direction.
"I… don't think so," she replied.
"Consider this an Anna Special then," she replied as she shook a few dashes of dark peppery seasoning onto the sandwich. Elsa's brows came together.
"Steak seasoning? On turkey?" she asked.
"Trust me," Anna replied as she set the plate atop the glass barrier separating Elsa from the containers of toppings.
"Okay. Thank you," Elsa said as she picked up the plate and set it on her tray.
"Sure! See you tonight!" Anna called as Elsa headed towards the cashier.
Heart aflutter, Elsa glanced over her shoulder to smile and wave, then paid and made her way over to a seat by the window.
"An Anna Special," Elsa thought as she stared down at the sandwich. She took a bite and the salty, spicy flavor of the seasoning lit up her taste buds.
"Anna made it special. For me," she thought, and her heart started to thump in earnest. Even though she knew she was setting herself up for disappointment, for the duration of her snack at least, Elsa allowed her mind to wander down pathways she knew were better left unexplored.
An hour later, Elsa leaned against the trunk of her car as she typed out a message:
No. I'm not coming back until the semester is over.
As she pressed send, a familiar beat-up old Honda Civic pulled into the parking lot, and Elsa stood up and tucked her phone into her pocket.
"Hi Elsa," Kristoff said as he rolled down the window.
Elsa's eyebrows came together as she spotted Merida in the front seat, not the redhead she was hoping for.
"Where's Anna?" she asked.
"She's riding with Hans. Rapunzel's with Flynn," Kristoff replied.
Of course. Feeling a little bit silly, Elsa pulled open the door and sat behind her team captain. They pulled out onto the main campus drive, linked up with several other trucks and cars, then turned towards I-93. There were definitely more than just Hans and Flynn driving.
"Who else is going?" Elsa asked.
"Gaston, Chloe, Jessica, Alice, maybe a few of the other boys," Merida replied, "so, Miss Anderson from Norway, have ye ever been on a proper American road trip before?"
Elsa shook her head.
"What's the difference between a road trip and a regular trip by car?" she asked.
"Better music," Merida replied, and she started twisting one of the dials on Kristoff's dashboard. The music flipped between static and radio stations.
"Hey, what if I was listening to that?" Kristoff asked.
"Ye'll get over it," Merida replied as she continued flipping through stations, "ah, there we go."
She turned the volume up on the twang of a clearly American Country Western song.
"Oh my god… are you serious?" Kristoff said.
"This is good music!" Merida said.
"Why did I ever agree to this…" Kristoff muttered.
Elsa stared out the window as multicolored leaves passed by. Shades of brilliant red, yellow, orange, gold, and brown all mixed together in a symphony of autumn. The radio singer crooned about how he spotted another guy's truck in the driveway of his crush, but all Elsa could think about was how Anna was probably holding Hans' hand right at that very moment, as they drove down together in his truck. Her eyes sought it out, several car lengths ahead of them. During a commercial break, Kristoff switched the radio over to a Boston rock station as they came within range, and Merida didn't complain. They followed Hans' truck into Salem, which was really little more than a small town. The streets teemed with costumed people, and parking was impossible to find. After driving around for a good twenty minutes, they retreated to a small mall at the edge of town and parked there along with several others who apparently had had the same idea. Elsa got out of the car and stretched her legs, and then she spotted Anna who bounced out of Hans' truck, backpack with safety pinned strap slung over one shoulder. The redhead stood up on tiptoes and waved to her, and Elsa the corners of her lips turn up in response. Hans walked around his truck, pulled Anna in close, and nodded in Elsa's direction.
Anna startled, then reached into her bag to pull out her phone.
"Hello?" she said, "Hey! How are you? …shit, it's still on? But it's Halloween, and I'm in Salem."
Hans had moved off to talk to a few of the other frat brothers, and Elsa walked over to Anna, who now wore a concerned expression.
"I can't, I'm like… an hour away and I don't have a car," Anna said. She paused, then sighed, "I'm really, really sorry. I promise I'll be there next time. Okay. Okay, bye."
"What happened?" Elsa asked as Anna folded her phone and tucked it into her jeans pocket.
"I missed drama rehearsal," the redhead said, "how was I supposed to know they were still going to practice on Halloween? Belle said she wasn't sure if I was taking it seriously enough."
Anna frowned and wrung her hands in front of her.
"Probably should have checked before making plans, but what's done is done," Elsa said, "you're here, you can't make rehearsal, might as well try to have a good time."
Anna perked up at the encouragement.
"Yeah, you're right. Halloween only comes once a year. Good time, here I come," she said.
"Damn right," Hans said as he returned and took Anna's hand. She smiled up at him and Elsa bit her tongue.
The rest of the gang had gathered around, about a dozen students and a good mix of guys and girls, all milling about and talking in groups of twos and threes. Somehow, without anyone announcing it, they all started moving off towards the town. Elsa followed the group as they walked along a wooded path next to a main road, until they reached street lights and more and more costumed people walking around. Anna and Hans had fallen into step ahead of her, along with Flynn, Rapunzel, Merida… almost everyone Elsa had ever spoken with at school. Near the back, she felt horribly out of place.
"What are you even doing here?" she thought as she shoved her hands into the pockets of her grey hoodie.
As they approached streets with small shops and eateries, Gaston stepped a few feet away from the group and turned to face them.
"Alright, haunted house is at seven, don't be late," Gaston said, "who's hitting the bars with the men?"
A grunting, simian cheer went up, and about half of the group, the upperclassmen, plus Merida and a few of the older girls, stepped forward and joined the muscular hockey player.
"See you later babe," Hans said as he kissed Anna on the cheek.
"Seriously?" Anna asked.
"Come on, like I'm NOT gonna drink?" Hans replied, "hurry up and get a fake ID, then we can go together."
Then he was gone. Chloe, Jessica, and Jasmine wandered off in another direction, which left Anna, Kristoff, Rapunzel, Flynn, Elsa, and a few more to find their way around town on their own for the next few hours. They weaved through the crowded streets, and eventually stopped in a small shop selling costumes and decorations, among other things. Elsa looked around the pumpkins and skeletons and fake cobwebs, but nothing really caught her eye.
"What do you think?" Anna asked.
Elsa looked over to see Anna with a pair of gossamer wings clipped to her clothing.
"Turn around," she said, and Elsa dutifully allowed her to affix a similar pair, this one feathered, to her.
"Isn't this cool?" Anna asked as she bobbed a little bit, and the wings flapped. Elsa nodded. She never would have done something like this on her own, but since it was Anna's idea, she didn't mind so much. They wore the wings while in the shop, but Anna didn't really want to buy them, and they moved to another shop where she picked out a purple and blue blanket.
"So nice to finally have some cash," the redhead said as she signed the cheque from Arendelle University and used it to pay for the purchase, "the window in my dorm doesn't fit right, and this is like the warmest, softest blanket ever, isn't it?"
As Elsa ran the fabric between her fingers, she tried to banish the vision of a naked Anna wrapped only in the blanket as she scurried on bare feet back to bed.
"Yea, it's lovely," she replied. She folded the blanket back up and handed it to Anna, who stuffed it into her backpack.
They headed back out to the street and stopped by a place selling hot wings fresh out of the fryer. They staked out a small table by the street and ate while watching the passerby in their increasingly impressive costumes as night fell. Then it was time for the haunted house, and they set off across town. After a few wrong turns, they found themselves at the base of a small rise, at the top of which an imposing residence stood. Plastic tombstones decorated the lawn and red lights lined the front door to give the entrance a foreboding aura. Up ahead, Hans, Gaston, Flynn, and several others stood just off the porch. Anna ran ahead to embrace Hans, who kissed her on the lips while Elsa pressed hers together.
"Hey babe, get this, Gaston doesn't believe you can cry on demand," Hans said.
Anna glanced to the muscle-bound hockey player.
"Yeah and?" she asked.
"And, why don't you show him, prove him wrong," Hans said.
"Uhh…" Anna said.
"Come on Anna, show him what's up," someone, one of the other frat brothers, said, and several encouraging cheers followed.
Hans nodded to her, and Anna glanced around.
"You don't have to if you don't want to," Elsa said quietly.
Anna's eyes flicked to her for an instant; she'd heard, but she turned back to Hans and Gaston.
"Fine, but you owe me," she said as she crossed her arms. For a few seconds, nothing happened.
"Told you she couldn't do it," Gaston said.
Just after he said it, Anna blinked, and a pair of tears spilled over and down her cheeks. Elsa immediately wanted to rush over and comfort her, but she kept her feet rooted to the ground.
"Son of a bitch…" Gaston said.
Hans held a hand out, and Gaston fished around in his pocket and slapped a green cash note into it.
"You made a bet on whether I could cry?" Anna asked.
"Yep, easiest ten bucks I ever made," Hans replied. Anna didn't uncross her arms.
"Aw c'mon, I won it for you," Hans added as he slipped an arm about her shoulders and wiped her cheeks, "I made that bet for you; I'm gonna use this to buy you something nice."
He steered her towards the house as he pleaded his case, and her posture softened somewhat.
"It's none of your business, stay out of it," Elsa thought.
"Well… that was kinda messed up," Kristoff said. She hadn't noticed him standing next to her. Elsa merely nodded her agreement.
"C'mon, we don't want to get left behind," he said, and she followed him past the attendant dressed as the Bride of Frankenstein, who clicked a silver counter as they entered.
The entrance of the haunted mansion was filled with black lights and fake cobwebs dangling from the ceiling. Teeth glowed green and white clothing purple as eerie music pumped in from hidden speakers, complete with intermittent thunderclaps and wolf howls. They came to a series of heavy mattresses, the kind used for gymnastics, hung from the ceiling in such a way they had to squeeze through them. Elsa put her hand on Kristoff's back as he powered through the claustrophobic darkness, and they emerged at the base of a staircase. A hand emerged from the wall to grab Kristoff's ankle on the way up and he gave a yelp, then sprinted the rest of the way. Elsa looked down and skipped that step, then followed along. The hallway at the top went in two directions, and one of the haunted house employees wearing a skull mask pointed to a sign. It looked like a restroom sign, but the universal symbol for boys pointed to the right, and girls to the left.
"But I don't wanna split up," Rapunzel said as she held onto Flynn's elbow.
"You have to," said the masked attendant.
"Be safe, my darling," Rapunzel said with over-the-top drama as she touched the back of her hand to her forehead.
Flynn chuckled at her antics, until Hans called from farther down the hall.
"C'mon man," Hans said as he waved him on.
Elsa found Anna waiting for her at the entrance to the next section.
"The next room is totally dark," the redhead said. She, Rapunzel, Alice, and Elsa were the last four to head inside. The door closed behind them and they passed through a thick curtain into pitch darkness. A small red light at the far end of the room gave them something to walk towards, and Elsa kept her hands in front of her until she found a railing. The ground appeared to be wooden planks which moved slightly as they stepped on them, leaving her slightly off balance. Suddenly, a strobe flash went off, revealing for a single instant, four menacing, skull-headed figures on both sides, rearing to attack. Anna let out a yelp and grabbed onto her arm, and a gust of icy wind blasted through the room.
"Oh no," Elsa thought, "did I hurt her?"
She immediately became aware of where the others were standing.
"Ice, you froze the floor!" Elsa thought. Anna took a step and nearly slipped, but Elsa gripped her tightly to help hold her up.
"Let's go, let's go!" Anna said, and they stumbled and slid to the door at the end of the room, and pushed through it into the next area.
"Did they cover the floor in ice? That's crazy," Rapunzel said.
"Lucky. You were really lucky that it was dark in there," Elsa thought as her heart raced, but the sound of hyperventilating breaths reached her, and she glanced to the right to see Alice, eyes wide as she stared at the ceiling above them.
"The spiders! They're going to eat us!" she said.
Elsa turned around to see cobwebs in the corner above them, and a few gigantic rubber spiders nesting in them.
"Get them away!" Alice said as she scrabbled backwards on her hands and feet.
"Alice?" Anna said, but the goalie had bumped into a cobweb covered box.
A masked employee wearing a gigantic rubber spider for a helmet burst out of the top and lunged at her. Elsa's ears rang as Alice let out a blood-curdling scream, rolled to her feet, and sprinted for the other end of the room.
"Alice, wait!" Anna said, and she ran off after the blonde.
They ran through that room and the next, a faux mad scientist's lab complete with Tesla coils and bubbling, smoking beakers, then down a flight of stairs, chasing after Alice who tore through the mansion like her life depended on it. They finally found her outside on the back porch, hugging her knees and rocking back and forth.
"What the hell, there's fucking monsters everywhere," Alice muttered as she looked around with a panicked expression.
"Alice, are you okay?" Rapunzel asked, but she ignored her.
A heavy chortling and the stomping of shoes heralded the arrival of the boys.
"Hey, Hans, something's wrong with Alice," Anna said. A cluster formed around the girl with several people asking if she was okay, but Elsa stood back and nervously listened for any sounds of alarm should the staff discover the gigantic plate of ice she'd left on the second story.
"She's tripping or something," Kristoff said.
"She hinted she took something at the bar," Flynn said, "no idea what."
"Hey, Alice, get it together," Gaston said, "we still have the hayride."
She looked up at him but her eyes widened.
"Look out!" she yelled as she stood up and pointed behind them, back into the house. The buzz of a gas motor revved up and she turned to see a 1970's era hockey mask, and a chainsaw. Visceral fear drove her off the porch, and she pounded down through the fake graveyard as the chainsaw wielding maniac gave chase. They made it through the iron gates at the edge of the property as the gas motor sputtered and died. Elsa chanced a look back, but there was no sign of their pursuer.
"Holy crap that scared the shit out of me," Anna said as she sported a gigantic, exhilarated smile.
"Should we take her to the hospital?" Merida asked. Alice's head jerked this way and that as she looked at things that weren't there.
"We can't do that, it'd be crazy expensive," Flynn said, "plus if she took something uhh… not allowed… and they found out, she could get in a lot of trouble. She might even get kicked out of school or charged."
The idea of not going to the hospital because of the cost seemed completely inconceivable to Elsa, but she kept her mouth shut. Merida grimaced, but Gaston walked over to the paranoid blonde.
"Hey, Alice, snap out of it," he said as he snapped his fingers in front of her face, "we've gotta get over to the hayride."
"Just wanna go home," Alice said.
"C'mon, we already paid for the tickets, and besides, none of us are in a state to be able to drive for the next couple hours at least," Hans said.
"I didn't drink," Kristoff said, "I can take her."
Hans looked over to Kristoff.
"You sure man?" Hans asked.
Kristoff nodded.
"Right, I'd better go too," Merida said.
Elsa looked over to Anna, who appeared torn.
"I'm going too," the redhead said finally.
"Seriously?" Hans asked as he turned to her.
Anna nodded.
"I won't be able to have a good time if I'm worried about her," she said, "sorry babe. I'll see you later for sure though, okay?"
He nodded, and she kissed him on the cheek then moved to follow Kristoff. Elsa found her legs taking her in the same direction too.
"Anderson, you're going?"
Elsa turned around; she wasn't sure who had asked.
"Yeah, I want to make sure Alice is alright," she replied. It was then she spotted Rapunzel staring after them.
"Maybe she wanted to go with Anna and Kristoff? No, she'll ride home with Flynn," Elsa thought.
Elsa turned and jogged to catch up to Anna, who walked behind Kristoff and Merida as they supported Alice between them while they made their way back to the parking lot. Alice muttered to herself unintelligibly but she at least seemed to have calmed down somewhat.
"What do you think she took?" Elsa asked.
"Acid, maybe," Kristoff replied, "could be a bad trip."
"Are you sure you don't want to go to the hospital?" Elsa asked. Alice's eyes were wide as they darted around at the street lights.
"No, no hospital," she replied, "just wanna go home."
They reached the parking lot and Elsa sat in the front seat while Merida, Alice, and Anna piled into the back. The blonde goalie leaned forward and hid her face in her palms as Kristoff pulled out. Elsa turned around in her seat to keep an eye on the unstable blonde.
"Are you okay?" Anna asked, but Merida shook her head violently. The scot piped up.
"Nothin' bad is happenin', alright Alice? Don't forget ye took this thing to have a good time," Merida said.
Alice nodded silently while still covering her face, then groaned.
"Oh, I screwed up everyone's night, didn't I," she said.
"Nae, not at all," Merida said.
"Yeah, it's fine," Anna added.
"I wanted to head home too, so, you actually did me a favor," Elsa said.
Anna shot her a questioning glance, but Elsa shrugged and motioned towards Alice, to which Anna nodded her understanding.
The rest of the drive passed mostly in silence except when Alice occasionally asked if anyone else heard whatever it was she was hearing, but they all responded in the negative. They arrived at her dorm at the base of the hill, and she waved Merida off as the redhead tried to help her out of the car.
"I'm okay now, coming down," she said. Still, she moved slowly, and the team captain walked her to her dorm. Elsa glanced over at Anna from the sidewalk in front of the main entrance.
"Well, that was a crazy night," Anna said, "and that sheet of ice in the haunted house, how do you think they did that?"
The thought that Anna might suspect that she had been the source of the icy blast of air and frozen ground inside the haunted house had her heart slamming against her rib cage.
"No idea," Elsa replied weakly.
"Hey Anna," Kristoff called from his car, "do you want a ride up to your dorm?"
Anna held up a finger for him to wait a minute.
"Are you okay? You look kind of under the weather… Is that why you wanted to go home?" Anna asked.
"Oh… no. I was just saying that to make Alice feel better. I had a good time," Elsa replied.
"I had a good time with you," she thought.
"Okay, great. I was worried for a sec," Anna said, "I'll see you at practice."
"See you," Elsa said, and Anna bounced back to Kristoff's beat up old Civic.
Elsa waved as they pulled away, and then she found her own car in the lower parking lot, near the rink. All the way back to her hotel, unbidden thoughts swirled around her mind, from the electric sensation of Anna's hand gripping her arm, to the accidental gust of wind and iced over floor.
"That was too close," Elsa thought as she let herself into her room and flicked the lights on.
She washed her face and changed into a purple nightgown.
"What are you going to do?" she thought as she pulled the covers back. Anna's actions were becoming a source of great confusion for her. She slipped inside and waited for her body heat to warm the chilly sheets.
"If she were single, I'd say she was flirting, or at least somewhat interested," she thought, "but she's not, she can't be."
She turned to one side and replayed their moments together from the evening, and eventually drifted off to sleep.
"Thanks for the lift," Anna said.
"Anytime, carrot-top," Kristoff replied. He tapped the horn as he drove away, and Anna waved one last time, then let herself into the dormitory.
Her phone buzzed.
"Hey, we're on our way back," Hans texted.
Anna tapped out a response: "already?"
"Yeah, meet me at the house in 30? Tell you all about it," he responded.
A nighttime visit to Hans' frat? She knew what that meant. A longish shower and a change of clothes later and she walked down the hill to Alpha Delta Alpha. The familiar coiling in her stomach gathered as she approached, as if after having made the same walk several times before, her body had conditioned itself for what was to come. She let herself into the frat house and waved to Flynn and Rapunzel, who sat on the couch in front of the TV, a large bowl of ice cream and chocolate syrup for sharing set on their laps. Anna climbed the steps and knocked on Hans' door, then let herself in. The athlete wore nothing but a towel about his waist as he motioned her inside.
"Hey, so what happened?" she asked.
Her boyfriend rolled his eyes in annoyance as he rubbed his damp hair with a second towel.
"We went to another haunted house, and fucking Gaston, punched one of the workers when they jumped out at him," Hans said, "they threatened to call the cops and we all got the hell out of dodge. Didn't even get to do the hayride."
Anna half coughed, half laughed in disbelief.
"Why is he like that all the time? What's he trying to prove?" she asked.
"I swear he's like… half gorilla. Fucking moron," Hans said, "I don't want to talk about him anymore."
He stepped close and Anna smiled as he pushed her up against the dresser and kissed her on the lips, tongue probing. Anna opened her mouth to give him access, and ran her hands over his muscled chest and biceps.
"After you left, I didn't even want to stay," he said. She grinned in response, but then he pulled away, opened a desk drawer, and switched his computer on.
"I've got an idea for tonight," he said.
"Oh yeah?" she asked.
He pulled a digital camera from the drawer and used a skate lace to secure it tightly to the bottom of the bunk above his bed, so it faced down onto his. By the time he got it up and running, the computer had booted up and he opened a video. Anna quickly recognized it as one of their earlier sessions.
"We're gonna do it while watching ourselves," he said.
They hadn't done that yet, and although it sounded like a good idea, she wasn't about to simply agree.
"Just like that?" she asked.
"Just like that," he said as he moved to her again and pressed his lips against hers. They sat on the bed and Anna stripped off her shirt to let him fondle her breasts a bit. The soundtrack of their earlier session matched their intensifying make out, and a bulging tentpole formed in the towel around Hans' waist. She tugged at the damp cloth and giggled as his erection sprung free. Then she was shimmying out of her shorts and panties and he all but picked her up to set her on the bed. She stared up at the unblinking red light of the camera as it pointed down at her, while he held up her leg with one hand and swirled his cock around her entrance with the other.
"Damn, you're so hot," he said as he pressed into her. She smiled at the familiar sensation of first penetration. There was nothing for her to grip onto except the side of the bed, so that's what she did as she closed her eyes, and he picked up her other leg. He pressed deeper, and she let out a soft grunt as he penetrated her all the way to the hilt.
As she let him fuck her, the soundtrack of the video playing just a few feet away also rose in intensity, but to her, the breathy pants issuing from the speakers didn't sound like her voice at all. She closed her eyes and suddenly, the image of Elsa's face, close to hers like after she had scored the game winning goal, came to her. The recorded rhythmic pants sounded like Elsa's to her ears, and before long she imagined it was Elsa between her legs, impossible as that could be, fucking her harder and faster. She'd only just started to really enjoy it and lose herself in the sensations when Hans increased his pace even more, pounding into her and drawing out high pitched intimate gasps from her as he neared his orgasm. His strained grunt ruined the fantasy, and he suddenly stopped as his member pulsed against her walls. A flooding warmth spread into her, and he withdrew with a heavy sigh, then let her legs down to move around to the side of the bed and switch off the camera, and then the video on the computer. As always after sex, she felt kind of used up and discarded as his juices leaked out of her and onto the bed, but she pushed the sentiment away.
"That was weird, why Elsa?" she thought, but she put it out of her mind as she slipped beneath the covers to wait for him to rejoin her and possibly go for a second round.
Trigger Warnings: Drug use, M/F sex.