NOTE: Well, I would have updated earlier but I had some car trouble… strikes at the worst of times, it seems. Oh well!

~ Chapter Sixteen ~

"Are you sure these clothes are 'clothes' enough?"

Elsa glanced down at the black miniskirt and deep emerald green halter Anna had been practically forced into as they stood in the line outside Illustrious, a club that Elsa had insisted would give her "the best experience", especially if it was the only one she would go to while on the island. Apparently, it was quickly dominating the nightlife scene, eclipsing all of the smaller spots and rivalling the long-standing titans.

"What do you mean? You're killing it!"

Squirming as she tried, for the umpteenth time, to tug her skirt down to cover a little more of her thighs without revealing the top of her very plain, periwinkle blue boyshorts, Anna stared around at the clothing of all the men and women lined up in front of and behind them. Yes, her outfit blended in seamlessly with all the others on display. That didn't make her any less uncomfortable with being in it.

"I look like a trainwreck," she hissed back. "Elsa, I don't know-"

"Listen," Elsa told her, putting a hand on her shoulder. Her bare shoulder. Why did she even have a bare shoulder?! "Honestly, you look incredible. But people are going to stare if you keep messing with your skirt like that."

Taking the hint, Anna released the hem and tried to stand straight and casual again. "This outfit cost a third of my 'mad money', so I guess I better learn to love it."

Pursing her lips, Elsa hissed, "I told you I would buy-"

"Yeah, and you can't keep doing that. I'll… get used to it."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Then she closed her eyes, nodding. "That's… alright, I understand, you don't want to take advantage of my generosity. But that skirt and top were a drop in the bucket for me. What good is having all this money if I can't-"

"I get it, I get it," Anna grumbled.

"Well, if you're through interrupting me…" Anna looked apologetic enough that Elsa smiled, giving her a one-armed side-hug as they moved up in line. "There we go."

"Thank you. For everything. And I'm gonna keep saying that, so if you don't like it, tough." They both smiled at each other. "Even if I think I'm gonna end up cold by the end of tonight."

"Just remember: don't put down your clutch. Your passport is safe behind the SEEK House's security system, but I still don't want you losing your bank card or your phone; that would suck."

"Right, I know. I'll watch it, don't w-"

"And you can always pull me away from whatever I'm doing; girl code. You feeling sick, or needing some air, or wanting to get away from a creepy guy… anything is a valid excuse to bail on this party. Don't forget to use the code."

That had Anna smiling with genuine affection, squeezing Elsa back. "Okay, Mom."

Only then did Elsa sigh. "I shouldn't say this… I told your mom I wouldn't let you drink, and I don't want to betray her trust. But we're both adults." Shrugging, she pushed on. "If you want to drink, that's fine; I know you won't be driving home, since we took a cab."

"Oh, I'm not ready for all that. I mean, I think if I sneeze wrong, I'll end up naked."

"It's not that small!" Elsa hissed.

"I'm naked from my ass down!"

"You're wearing sandals!"

"YOUR sandals, which are even less sandal-ey than mine!"

Someone behind them poked Elsa in the back, so they moved up to maintain the line's motion. "Not that I know what you mean by 'less sandal-ey', but you needed club sandals, not just any old beachy flip-flops! Besides, the little faux-jewel is the same colour as your top."

Thinking about Elsa wearing her pyjamas had been weird enough; actually putting her feet in Elsa's shoes, metaphor or no metaphor, was transcendental. Unbidden by her thoughts, she felt her toes curling up against the leather sole constantly, unable to believe, even now, that she was really about to go clubbing with a member of SEEK on an island off the coast of Spain.

This hadn't been in any of her fortune cookies. Not ever.

"You look good, too," she added as they moved up again. "Seriously, I don't know how you pull that off so fast."

"What, this?" Elsa chuckled as she flicked her fingertips over the front of her blue A-line. "Such a trash bag, but it'll do; it suits the contents."

Anna pursed her lips and narrowed her eyes. "I mean, do you want there to be a fight, right here, right now?"

"Fine, I'm not trash," Elsa sighed with an eyeroll. "Was just a joke…"

"Better."

Just when they took a step forward, Anna's phone went off. Nipping it out of her clutch, she glanced at the screen, then giggled.

"Punz got Esmé's voicemail. She's freaking out and trying to figure out how it happened."

With a mysterious grin, Elsa waggled her fingers like a stage magician and whispered, "The world may never know."

"God, you're terrible."

"Elsa?"

Both of them turned to look at the bouncer, caught in mid-laugh. His smooth-shaven head glinted in the streetlights as he motioned for the two of them to come closer.

"Yes?" Elsa asked.

"So it is you," he said with a wide grin, nodding to himself. "Haven't seen you around here since the end of the season last year, how've you been?"

With a professionally-pleased smile, Elsa laughed and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "Good, good! Yes, I wish I could get away more often, come back here."

"Well, I'm pretty sure you count as a VIP, so right this way." Gesturing for the pair of ladies who were first in line to move aside, he unhooked the velvet rope to let Elsa pass through. "Who's your friend?"

"This is Jojo," Elsa offered carelessly as she passed through the checkpoint. "She's a close personal friend."

"I can dig it," he said, nodding with an approving eye at Anna. The redhead blanched and waved back before scurrying after her "close personal friend", not wanting to chance being left behind if she hesitated too long.

The inside was just as packed as she'd expected, dazzling with the flashing lights and thumping bass, writhing bodies on the dance floor. But when they breezed up a winding staircase in one corner, Anna found herself in a richly-decorated lounge. Plush-backed chairs, glass-topped antique wooden coffee tables, attendees with silver trays. There were a goodly dozen people in there already, and the night was fairly young; how many stars would be in there by the end of the night?

"I don't recognise many of them," Anna whispered.

"Oh," Elsa breathed, leaning in and gesturing with her hand. "That's Buzz, he's in all those space action movies? And, hmm… I don't know them… oh, she's that girl from the Maybelline ads, right? We had a brunch once, when I was representing their products last year. Her and a few of the other models."

"And I am Jojo, producer of fine art," Anna said in a snooty British accent. She laughed, but Elsa didn't. "What?"

"That's the God's honest truth, Anna. You're really talented."

Pouting, she nudged Elsa in the ribs. "You don't have to keep buttering me up, I'm in the club already."

"It's not…" Sighing, Elsa rolled her eyes toward the chandelier and raised her shoulders in a shrug. "I'm paying my penance, Lord, but I don't know what I'm paying it for!"

"Guess there really is such a thing as 'too nice'," Anna chuckled.

At that moment, a couple of wealthy-looking women walked up to them, cocktails in their hands. One had long, flowing brown hair and an angular frame off of which hung a loose blouse and a floor-length skirt, both violet. The other had her jet-black hair in an updo, a taut off-the-shoulder green minidress flattering her curvier figure.

"Ah, it's you," the first girl said, a sour look on her face. Her friend swatted her arm, and she forced her features into something vaguely more pleasant. "Elsa, it's been so long!"

"Hello, Meg," she sighed, trying for bored instead of upset or angry. "It has."

Looking between them, the other woman said, "Well, I think it's been too long. Come on, let's do some shots - get caught up, girl!"

"Can't you see I'm here with Jojo?" Gesturing with her hand, she said, "Jojo, this is Meg Areleous and Tiana Chase. We've shared a drink or two before."

"That's one way of putting it," Meg grumbled, but again, Tiana stomped down on the unpleasant girl's sandal with her elegant green heel and cut off any further grumbling.

"I… it's nice to meet you," Anna said politely. However, this caused Elsa to nudge her from behind. She wasn't sure what she was supposed to add or do differently, so she just shrugged and said, "Umm, great club, right?"

"Not bad," Tiana laughed, exchanging a "who is this again?" glance with Meg. "Been better places. Their food sucks, but I guess it's not a restaurant, is it?"

Meg sighed, examining her nails. "Love the atmosphere, hate what they're spinning. What is this drivel?"

"Skrillex remix of Powerline," Elsa said immediately. "You can tell in the drop."

"You would know," Meg said - earning her another kick from Tiana. "Would you stop that?! These gladiators cost me a hundred dollars!"

"Can't that MMA husband of yours afford it?" Elsa asked in an even voice, finally giving as good as she got.

"Yes, but that isn't the point!" Then she smiled poisonously. "I suppose you could buy a dozen pairs without even blinking, couldn't you, Pop Princess?"

The answer Elsa gave sounded so much like something from the Miss America pageant that Anna almost clapped. "My money is better spent on building wells in Africa and funding reading programs in North America and Europe. But yes, I could afford a pair or two."

While Meg's eye twitched, Tiana laughed and raised her glass. "Don't know how the fuck you do it, girl."

"Pure talent," Anna put in, finding her voice again.

"Don't you have somewhere to be, Extra?" Meg snapped. But Elsa suddenly seemed to grow an inch, leaning in toward Meg intently. "What?"

"Be nice to Jojo."

"Why should I?" Elsa's eyes narrowed, and Meg leaned in closer herself. "Oh, what are you going to do, huh, Ice Queen? Stab me with an icicle?"

"Don't push me. You think I can't snap my fingers and have you out of this club so fast you won't know whether to throw up or to cry into that Louis Vuitton knockoff you have dangling from your bony shoulder?"

It took several seconds for Meg to recover, during which Anna and Tiana exchanged helpless glances. Finally, Meg spluttered, "Th-this is authentic, you hoe!"

"Okay, okay," Tiana finally sighed, grabbing Meg's arm and pulling her away. "Nice catching up, ladies; kiss-kiss, stay chill, good times." Then she pulled harder, keeping Meg from doing anything more other than glower.

"What the hell just happened?" Anna whispered. "I sensed there's some history, but like…"

Rolling her eyes, Elsa approached one of the two bars - the one in the opposite direction. "Oh, Meg's not so bad. She just thinks it's her duty not to give me any special treatment because I'm a celeb. And…" Rolling her eyes, she chose a stool and sat down. "And it manifests with her being a complete and total bitch whenever possible. But the motivation is to make me feel less 'worshiped', and I guess I can appreciate that part of it."

"You don't like being worshiped?" When Elsa didn't answer, Anna took a seat next to her, holding her thighs together to make sure nobody got a free show. "Don't know why you're hanging out with me, then. I mean, you saw the poster."

Grinning, Elsa looked over her shoulder at her companion. "That's exactly why. You recognised it was weird for me to see it, instead of just going 'ISN'T IT COOL?!' You're… different. I mean, still kind of a gross fan, but you're self-aware. Almost like a real person."

By the end of that, Anna started to be able to tell she was being teased and glared. "Ha, ha." Then she cleared her throat and asked, "So, what do we order? I'm putting my trust in you."

"A dangerous decision." Waving a hand at the bartender, she told him once he arrived, "Two appletinis." Then to Anna, "In honour of Snow."

"I can roll with that," she laughed. "I'm so ready - let's do this!"

The appletinis were in front of them; the service really was impeccable. Raising her glass, she clinked it against Anna's. "We're going to rock this island!"

~ To Be Continued ~