"Notice anything different?" are the first words out of Anna's mouth when she sees Elsa the next morning. She meaningfully shakes her head, allowing her hair to fall around her.

Elsa examines her closely starting with her feet, making Anna's face heat up a little. Her mouth drops open when her gaze reaches Anna's face. "You did not."

Anna beams. "Yep!" She tugs at the bleached locks of hair near her forehead, pleased with her work. "What do you think? It's like a physical manifestation of how very, very sorry I am."

Truth be told, she doesn't feel all that sorry about the destruction of Elsa's garden. If it weren't for that damn bleach bottle, she wouldn't be here right now, wouldn't feel like her chest is filled with butterflies whenever Elsa looks at her.

"It doesn't count," Elsa grumbles good-naturedly, crossing her arms over her chest. "It looks good."

"Damn right it does!" Anna beams, putting her hat back on. "So, are we ready to finish or what?"

Elsa's amusement fades and she stares down at the garden they've made together. It's almost an exact replica Elsa's first garden, right down to the placement of the plants. It's oddly fulfilling to see all their hard work amount to something, and it's even more rewarding to see how happy Elsa is with the whole thing.

"Right, we'll be finished soon," Elsa says after a moment, teeth tugging at her bottom lip as if she wants to add something. She leans down instead, reaching for a trowel.

Anna mimics the motion, snatching the trowel and making sure it's out of Elsa's reach. She thinks she knows just why Elsa is reluctant about finishing the garden. "You gonna miss me after this?" she asks, though instead of the teasing tone she was going for, the question comes out soft and genuine.

Elsa's cheeks pinken and she looks up at Anna with those gorgeous, storm-blue eyes. "What if I will?" she asks in return, equally serious.

"Then…" Anna begins, trying to keep herself from closing the distance between them and just kissing her already. "Then I'd like to invite you to Hans's party on Saturday. As like, a date."

Yes. She mentally high-fives herself for putting the 'd' word out there. Now Elsa will know she likes her as more than a friend. And she hadn't been misreading things, right? Unless she was hallucinating, Elsa seemed to like her just as much.

A heartbreakingly beautiful smile begins to break across Elsa's face, but then it abruptly fades, replaced with worry. "My dad's home now."

Anna raises an eyebrow, unable to see how that fact related to what she had said. "Okay?"

Elsa's eyes drop to the soil between them. "He's not going to let me go to a party," she mumbles. "Especially if he knows you'll be there."

"Then sneak out," Anna says like it's obvious. "You were able to sneak me out last night without a problem. Put a few pillows under your comforter and say you're going to bed early. Then when he's in his own room, you can meet me out here. Hans doesn't live too far away, so we won't need to take your car."

Elsa's eyes widen in something like admiration. "Wow, you've done this a lot, haven't you?"

Anna shrugs. "I used to, back when my mom was in nursing school. Now she usually works evening or night shifts, so it's not really an issue." Her mom also seemed content to let Anna roam free as long as she didn't get into too much trouble. But she didn't want bring that point up; it would just serve to highlight how much of a hardass Elsa's dad is in comparison.

"I think I'd like to go," Elsa says after turning the idea over. "It sounds like it'll be fun."

Anna's smart enough to realize this will probably be the first party Elsa's ever gone to that didn't involve balloon animals or bouncy castles. She'll make damn sure Elsa has a good time.

"Then it's a date," she declares, and Elsa's pleased smile is all it takes for her for feel like she just won the lottery.

They get back to work soon after, Anna talking animatedly about whatever is on her mind. She can sense Elsa stealing glances at her every now and then, and sometimes it's enough for Anna to lose her train of thought and stumble over her words.

Anna whoops when Elsa pats the soil down around the final strawberry plant. "This gardening thing isn't so hard after all," she says with a shit-eating grin.

Elsa rolls her eyes, used to her sarcasm by now. "Could you stay here for a moment? There's something I want to give you."

Anna raises her eyebrows in curiosity. "Sure, and I won't even destroy anything."

As Elsa hurries back into the house, Anna sprawls out next to the garden, admiring the plants. In a few months, they'll probably be in full bloom. She'll definitely have to come back and see them.

Elsa comes back a few minutes later, clutching a brown paper bag. Situating herself next to Anna, she hands her the bag. "This is a 'thank you', of sorts." She sounds nervous as she watches Anna's hand dip into the bag. "Wait, careful!"

Her words come too late and the tip of Anna's fingers prick against something sharp. "Fuck!" she exclaims, quickly withdrawing her hand. A bead of blood wells up on her middle finger and she shakes the pain away. "Are you sure this is a 'thank you' gift?" she grouses.

"I'm sorry, I was about to tell you to open it from the side," Elsa says, worry filling her eyes. She catches Anna's flailing hand and wipes away the drop of blood on her finger. After a moment of consideration, she leans down and places the tip of Anna's finger into her mouth, sucking gently. Her lips stay there for a moment, and Anna swears she feels the soft pressure of Elsa's tongue against her worried skin.

Anna swallows hard, forgetting the pain, as Elsa releases her hand. "Here," Elsa beckons for Anna to return the bag, acting as if she didn't just do the sweetest thing Anna's ever seen.

Anna mutely places the bag between them, trying to stop her pulse from pounding in her ears. Man, if this is her reaction to Elsa kissing her finger, she can't begin to imagine what it will be like to really kiss Elsa…

The sound of the bag being ripped open startles her, and she blinks hard, trying not to slip into any inappropriate daydreams. Elsa throws the bag to the side and holds out a potted cactus.

The ceramic pot has been carefully painted in different shades of green, and the cactus resembles one she used to see in the old Road Runner cartoon; the main body is tall and thin, with two 'arms' sticking out of either side. At the base of the cactus, nestled amongst the rocks, is a small red-and-blue clothed gnome.

"Oh, Elsa," she breathes, oddly touched by the gesture. "This is awesome."

Elsa smiles, relieved by Anna's reaction. "I figured even you could take care of a cactus. Just don't give it too much water and it'll be fine."

Anna hesitantly grabs the base of the pot when Elsa hands it to her, hugging it as close to herself as she can without getting pricked again. "Thank you."

She stands up, careful to keep the cactus level. "I'm going to show my mom," she says, grinning, "I'm sure she'll love it too."

Elsa follows her up, and they linger together in silence for a moment. Before she can think better of it, Anna leans in and presses a kiss to Elsa's cheekbone. It's light and quick, leaving Anna wanting more. "I'll see you tomorrow night, okay?"

Elsa touches her cheek and nods slowly, looking like she's thoroughly distracted. "Sure," she murmurs. "See you then."

Anna flashes her one more grin and heads out of the backyard, this time using the gate instead of trying to clamber over the fence with her new cactus.

Tomorrow can't come soon enough.

Possibly the scariest thing about Anna Kicklighter is how easily she can convince Elsa to do...well, just about anything. 'Break into the botanical gardens, ''Come to a party', and 'sneak out of your house' were never phrases Elsa was familiar with before she came across Anna trying to plant flowers in her garden.

But now she's following her advice, fluffing up her pillows and carefully placing them under her bedspread. Her pillow doppelganger is quite a bit rounder than she is, but her dad has never been one to check on her while she was sleeping—he never had a reason to, and hopefully Elsa won't be giving him one tonight.

Once she quietly closes and locks the front door, she texts Anna. An anxious hand comes up to smooth away any wrinkles on her shirt, and she hopes she's dressed decently enough. Her skinny jeans are almost brand new, as is the soft black shirt. The clothes suit her figure perfectly, and she even put on her nicest bra and underwear on to give herself a boost of confidence.

Not even ten minutes pass when Anna skids to a stop in front of her house, having been running down the street nearly full-tilt. Elsa snorts at the sight; if Anna had a decent pair of running shoes instead of the worn-out Chucks she was wearing, she could probably crack a few Arendelle High records.

"Hey," Anna greets her once she catches her breath. Under her arm is the leather jacket Elsa often saw her wear at school. Her hair is as tamed as Elsa's ever seen it, tied carefully into two braids, and her hat is nowhere to be seen. Her black shorts stop mid-thigh and the forest-green of her shirt makes her eyes stand out even in the dark.

"Hi," Elsa responds, suddenly shy. A rush of nerves goes through her, and she is a breath away from asking if they could go somewhere other than the party.

But then Anna looks her up and down, a gentle smile tugging at her lips. "You look great."

"You too," Elsa says honestly, because she can't remember a time Anna didn't look great, even back when she knew nothing else about her.

Anna extends a hand to her. "Shall we? Hans lives a little less than a mile and a half from here. The party should be in full swing by the time we arrive."

Exhaling and settling her nerves, Elsa nods and clasps Anna's hand. "Let's go."

The walk goes by quickly enough, with Anna giving Elsa a few pieces of advice about how the behave at the party.

"Never let your drink go out of your sight, and don't accept a drink from anyone but me or Hans."

"Don't feel pressured to do anything you don't want to. This is supposed to be fun."

"If someone tries to hit on you, shoot them with those laser eyes of yours and they'll probably run away."

Anna's motormouth slows to a stop when they reach a house at the end of the cul-de-sac. It's huge, and Elsa can already hear throbbing, bass-heavy music coming from within. Anna squeezes her hand. "You ready?"

Elsa nods quietly. This won't be a big deal. Not at all. Teenagers went to parties all the time. Parties are fun, and Anna's going to be by her side for most of the night, so she doesn't have a thing to worry about.

Anna leads her up the driveway and opens the front door without knocking. The sounds of yelling and cheering combined with the music make the inside of the house almost deafening, and almost all the overhead lights are off, replaced with strobe lights.

A few people shout out Anna's name as she and Elsa pass by them, and she waves in return. Her hand never lets go of Elsa's, making it clear they came together. She can see a few people lean close to each other and whisper, their eyes on Elsa. She keeps her head tilted up and her eyes forward, not wanting to appear affected by their stares.

Anna leads her to the spacious kitchen, where almost all flat surfaces are covered in different alcoholic drinks or plastic cups. "You want anything?" Anna asks, plucking a cup from a teetering stack, quickly pouring Sprite and a blue liquid into it.

Elsa swallows hard. One drink wouldn't be the end of the world, right? "I'll have whatever you're having," she yells over the music.

Anna flashes her a thumbs up and hands her the first cup, busying herself with another serving for herself. "The blue stuff is curacao and it is delicious. You'll love it." She crashes her cup into Elsa's. "Cheers!"

Elsa tentatively takes a sip, surprised at how fruity it tastes. She takes a few more gulps and grins at the warmth unfurling in her stomach. Oh, she could get used to this.

"Do you wanna dance?" Anna asks, pointing her cup towards the living room. All the furniture in the room is pushed to the walls, creating a makeshift dancefloor. It looks like half of Arendelle High's soon-to-be graduating class is there, bobbing their heads to the music or grinding against one another.

"I'm not really a dancer," Elsa admits. The idea of looking like a total idiot in front of her classmates isn't very appealing to her.

Anna takes another swig of her drink and winks. "If I show you some of my moves, maybe you'll change your mind."

Elsa nearly chokes. Anna is shamelessly flirting with her, and she imagines how Anna must look when she's on the dancefloor, how her hips would look when she's swaying to the music, how—

"Alright," she says, surprising herself. "If you impress me, I'll dance with you."

"Challenge accepted!" Anna crows. She takes a nearby bottle of vodka and pours some into her cup. She tosses it back, lips puckering cutely as the alcohol slides down her throat. "I'll wow you in no time."

Elsa grins around the rim of her cup, following Anna towards the dance area. This will be good. She hangs out along the back wall with a few people she vaguely recognizes from English or Biology. They squint at her as if she looks familiar to them, but the looks don't bother her this time. Instead, she raises her cup towards them. Grinning they do the same.

"This is my jam!" Elsa hears Anna's excited voice from the dancefloor. Expecting (and hoping) to see some sort of sexy, seductive moves coming from Anna, Elsa's mouth drops open.

What Anna is doing is certainly not sexy, but it's still impossible to look away. To the beat of the song and with no signs of embarrassment, she dances like no one's watching. It's an experience watching her, an amalgamation of dance moves that should probably be banned.

For a few seconds, she twirls her hips, arms pumping up and down. The she's strutting around, looking suspiciously like a peacock before she pretends she's holding a shopping cart and picking groceries off imaginary shelves. Then it's onto the 'lawn mower' and the 'sprinkler head'; moves Elsa hasn't seen in action since elementary school.

Despite the sheer ridiculousness of her moves, Anna somehow manages to look good. There's unbridled delight radiating from her body, an infectious grin on her face. Even when she does Beyonce's 'Single Ladies' dance towards Elsa, she pulls it off.

"Hey, you're Elsa, right?" A voice sounds from Elsa's side. As she turns to see who asked her that, a pungent, herbal smell hits her with full force. A blond boy with a red beanie looks expectantly at her, a carefully rolled joint in one of his hands. "I'm Kristoff."

Elsa nods hesitantly, because whatever he's smoking is not legal. He leans in closer to her, and the smell of marijuana is almost overwhelming. "Do you wanna hit?"

Is this going to turn into an after school special? Very nearly whispering, she answers, "I don't like the smell."

Instead of pushing the matter, Kristoff shrugs good naturedly. "It's not for everyone, but nice meeting you anyway." He turns his attention towards a guy on his other side, passing him the joint and gesturing towards the crowd of people.

Elsa sighs in relief, glad her first interaction with drugs went smoothly. Her dad would be so proud.

Anna chooses this time to return, face flushed and happy as she leans against the wall next to Elsa, sliding in between her and Kristoff. "So, are you wowed yet?"

"Oh, I definitely am," Elsa responds dryly, even if it means she'll have to dance too.

"Then let's dance, dance!" Anna tugs on her hand, drawing her towards the other dancers. Her hands drift down to Elsa's hips. "Shake your moneymaker!"

Elsa burns in embarrassment, but the feeling isn't as pronounced as it was before. She tries rocking her hips side to side to the song, but it takes her a few moments to find the rhythm.

"That's a good start!" Anna shouts, laughing. "But try to roll your hips a bit more. Like this." And then she rocks her hips in a circle, the move sexy enough for Elsa to just unabashedly stare at her for a moment.

Trying to keep herself together, Elsa copies the move as best as she can. Anna cheers in response, and then pulls her closer. Mouth hot against her ear, Anna says, "Now try doing that with me."

Anna guides Elsa's hands to rest on her shoulder, and then she places her own hands against Elsa's hips. They're still for a moment until they find the rhythm, and then it's like there's no one else around them.

Their hips brush tantalizingly close together, and then they're pulling at each other, drifting closer and closer. But right as their noses brush, the song changes to 'Baby Got Back', and the dance space is suddenly much more crowded.

Ducking her head with a smile, Anna makes her way out of the living room and back into the kitchen for another drink. When she offers one to Elsa, she easily accepts it, the liquid cool and refreshing after the hot crowd of people and Anna's breath against her neck.

Anna wipes at some sweat on her brow, casting her gaze out towards the backyard. "Do you wanna go somewhere?" she abruptly asks Elsa. "It's not too far away."

"Umm, sure." After seeing her dance, Elsa is down for just about anything Anna might want to do.

They head towards the front door, and it isn't until they're outside that Elsa realizes something. "Where was Hans? You said this was his party, right?" She expected the auburn-haired boy to be lording over the party, mingling with everyone and playing bartender.

Anna rolls her eyes. "I almost never see him at his own party. He's always 'occupied' with some cheerleader or dancer in his room." She shudders and makes a face. "Trust me, you do not want to walk in on him."

Elsa doesn't know what to say to that, but it does make her wonder about Anna's level of...experience. She probably has an encyclopedic knowledge of how to successfully date someone, how to flirt, how to kiss.

Elsa doesn't. She's kissed one boy before, and that was at a stupid middle school dance. He had used way too much tongue, and had been bad enough that Elsa wasn't eager to try it again anytime soon.

But now, confident from the alcohol and with Anna leading her on another adventure, she wouldn't like anything more than to kiss her senseless.

It's so very convenient that Mr. Weselton lives only a block away from Hans. He and Anna have taken advantage of their teacher's luxurious pool on numerous occasions, never once getting caught.

As fun as the party was, Anna wants to spend a little more alone time with Elsa. Now that she knows how Elsa's hands feel around her neck and her hips feel when they're grinding against her own, Anna definitely needs to cool off.

Arriving at his house, Anna quietly opens the gate leading to his backyard and ushers Elsa inside. Elsa is certainly less hesitant than she was in the past, not even questioning whose house this is. But Anna had been monitoring how much alcohol she had during the night, and it was just enough to get delightfully tipsy from.

"Are you up for some night swimming?" Anna whispers, closing the gate behind them.

Elsa stares at the pool in question, finally realizing this may not be strictly legal. "Do you know whose pool this is?"

"Weselton's," Anna responds easily. The man was universally disliked at school, even Elsa probably didn't like him.

Proving her point, Elsa narrows her eyes. "He gave me a B-plus in his class because he didn't like my final presentation on androgenic alopecia."

Anna slaps a hand over her mouth to keep from laughing. "Why the hell would you do a presentation like that? Everyone knows he wears a toupee!"

Elsa shrugs, but an amusing glint enters her eyes. "He said to pick a historically significant disease. It was a bit of a stretch, but I thought he'd at least be able to relate to it."

"Yeah, a little too well," Anna mutters, amused. It seems like Elsa had the makings of a troublemaker in her all this time.

They come to a stop in front of the tiled steps of the pool, their reflections moving back and forth on the water. Anna leans down to untie her shoes and take her socks off, and then starts undoing her braids.

Elsa stills when Anna takes her shirt off, revealing an emerald bra. "What, were you planning on going in fully clothed?" Anna asks her with a teasing smile.

There's a surprisingly small moment of hesitation before Elsa takes off her shoes and starts to shimmy out of her pants. Now it's Anna who freezes, because wow. She had seen most of those long, smooth legs before, but those slim hips are making her throat dry. And then there's the fact that her underwear is black, lacy, and hugging her behind like it's doing her a favor.

Elsa gently clears her throat, and Anna barely manages to drag her attention back up towards her. "Are you getting distracted?"

"Yes," Anna replies simply, partly because it's the truth, and partly because she can barely string a coherent thought together.

Then Elsa takes her shirt off and Anna's mind goes completely blank.

A pale and fit torso. An equally black and lacy bra. A chest that's more generous than Anna's own, and light freckles that seem to sparkle in the moonlight. "Well?" Elsa arches an eyebrow. "I thought you wanted to swim."

"I...uh. I do!" Anna assures her, sliding her shorts around her waist and sliding into the pool before Elsa can see the yellow ducks printed on her underwear. "See, totally swimming."

Elsa opts to use the stairs, the water lapping gently at her with each step she takes. She looks like a fucking goddess, and Anna thinks this night swim might be the best idea of her life.

They both paddle over towards the deep end, Anna diving below the water and bouncing off the pool floor. She slicks her hair back when she comes back up, and waggles her eyebrows at Elsa. "So, is there anything you want to do?"

Her joking veneer slides away as Elsa comes in unexpectedly close. She dips her head back, exposing her neck and allowing the water to reach her white-gold hair. When she straightens, there's a look in her eyes that Anna can't tear herself away from.

Silently, they drift closer together until they're in the middle of the pool. Anna reaches out and cups Elsa's cheek, rubbing her thumb underneath her eye. "I hope you're having fun."

Elsa leans into Anna's palm. "This has been great," she murmurs, turning slightly to kiss the inside of Anna's wrist.

Anna's eyes widen at the gesture, and before she knows it Elsa is wading even closer. She swallows hard when one of Elsa's hands comes up to rest on the back of her neck. "Can I just…" Anna starts, barely able to talk but needing to ask, "Can we—"

Elsa kisses her, hard and almost desperate, their lips sliding together awkwardly before Anna re-adjusts their positioning. What Elsa lacks in experience, she more than makes up for in enthusiasm, and her mouth opens eagerly under Anna's, something like a whimper shuddering through her when Anna's tongue runs along her lips.

There's something hard against Anna's back, rough and scratchy. It takes her an embarrassingly long time to realize it's the wall of the pool, and then Elsa is pressing her further into it, their bodies touching almost everywhere between their chests and legs.

Elsa keeps them above water by slipping a leg in between Anna's thighs and placing her hands on either side of Anna's head, gripping at the edge of the drain as they continue to kiss.

That leg is seriously distracting Anna, but she can't help but grind against it, her moan getting lost in Elsa as the other girl gives her hot, open-mouthed kisses, breaking away from her lips to nibble along her jawbone.

"Hah, Els…" Anna pants, arching up when Elsa finds the sweet spot behind her ear. "This is ridiculous." She mumbles the last part to herself, because Elsa keeps pressing that leg against her, and it's starting to become a problem.

Anna tries to switch their positions, which causes both of them to sink under water for a moment, having lost their hold on each other. They come up sputtering and laughing, and Anna guides Elsa to the shallower end of the pool so the next morning's headlines won't read 'Local Girls Mysteriously Drown In Neighbor's Pool'.

They reach for each other once more, and the kisses become softer, sweeter. Soon they slow down to nothing, and the two of them are just holding each other, foreheads pressed together.

"I really like you, Anna," Elsa says, eyes hooded and lips well on their way to becoming swollen.

Having trained for this moment her entire life, Anna smiles and kisses the tip of Elsa's nose. "I know."

Elsa leans back slightly, squinting at her. "Did you just Han Solo me?"

"Oh, I'm going to do more than Han Solo you—" Anna's tease is cut off when Weselton's porch lights flicker on.

They quickly break away from each other, and Anna motions towards their clothes. "We can get dressed after we get outta here!" she hisses, hauling herself out of the pool. Elsa is right behind her, and they grab their piles of clothing and high tail it out of the yard right as the screen door slides open.

"Come back here!" Weselton's unmistakably nasally voice calls out, trying and failing to sound threatening. "Let me identify you!"

Anna chortles, and even Elsa laughs quietly at the their teacher. When they're a safe distance away, Anna uses her shirt to dry herself off and hops into her shorts. Elsa follows suit, though she has a harder time getting back into her skinny jeans.

It takes them a significantly longer time to get back to Elsa's house than it did to Hans' party, mainly because they keep stopping to kiss one another.

Elsa stops Anna when they come near her house. The happy flush that's been on her face drains at the sight of her house. Nearly all of the interior lights are on. With a trembling hand, she turns on her phone. From over her shoulder, Anna can see over half a dozen texts and calls from her home number.

"Shit," Anna mutters, her heart sinking. She doesn't have much of a problem with getting into trouble, but her mom is entirely different than Elsa's dad. There was no mistaking the smell of chlorine on Elsa, though at least it was masking any scent of alcohol that might still be lingering. "Do you want to come back to my place for the night?"

Elsa hesitates, then shakes her head. "No, I'll need to face him eventually. And if I'm going to...going to be with you, he should know eventually, right?"

Her eyes are so imploring that Anna has no choice but to nod. "Fine. Just...let me know how you are in the morning." She leans forward, pressing a kiss to Elsa's lips. Her dad is not going to be happy with Elsa, and he'll probably jump to all the wrong conclusions about her and Anna.

Elsa smiles tremulously at her and starts to head towards her house without a word, shoulders straight and head held high, preparing for the battle that's about to take place.

A/N: Apologies for the late update, I've been away from my computer for much of the day. I wrote this in one sitting, so hopefully it's still readable. And kudos to blue-wasabi24, who guessed that there might be a swim scene. Also, the only reason I added in Kristoff was so I could have him be a stoner. Get it? Because he grew up with stones and...ahh, forget it. I thought I was being funny.