Chapter Six

A/N: Mild cursing in this one. Don't read if you can't handle swearing based off years of repressed emotions and rage towards your ex-girlfriend.

"Alright, it's your turn again Elsa. Truth or dare?", Anna asked as she squeezed her pillow wrapped around her chest.

They were in the midst of a celebratory sleepover that was Anna's idea after they led Arendelle to a 10-5 victory. Since Elsa mentioned that she had never been to a sleepover, even though the idea seemed a bit juvenile for high schoolers, they decided to go for it anyway. They'd devoured two whole pizzas to make up for the burned calories, took a dip in Anna's pool, baked enough cookies to feed a small army, and closed out the night with a rousing game of truth or dare.

Elsa had been avoiding saying truth all night, which resulted in her doing the dumbest dares like drinking ketchup straight from the bottle and dancing around with an old fish bowl on her head. She knew that the first question out of Anna's lips would be the big schoolgirl cliché, and she didn't know if she was ready to answer that yet.

A few days before their first game, Elsa had taken the risk and paid Anna a compliment. Not only to see if she could actually do it, but also to see how her best friend would react. Unfortunately, she just laughed, but Elsa took the lack of disgust or weirdness as a good sign.

Then, a couple days later, they were getting courted by two creepy guys, and when one of them turned towards Elsa, Anna actually hit him so hard he fell to the floor. Elsa knew that even if the guy was being totally inappropriate, that was an insane reaction to seeing your best friend get hit on.

Maybe she was just seeing things, or maybe there was something here.

She promised herself that at the next perfect moment, she would confess to Anna how much she liked her and see how things turned out. Even if it meant it would ruin their friendship for good. Her feelings for the redhead had only grown since that first day in English class. At first she was confused, but as time passed those feelings made her terrified. The words she wanted to say threatened to pour out at any moment.

"Dare.", Elsa replied for the sixth time or so, still trying to find that perfect moment.

Anna tilted her head back and groaned, "Elsa come on, all you've picked so far are dares."

Elsa shrugged, "What can I say? I don't like backing down from a challenge."

"Yeah I know that too well Ms. I'm-Gonna-Play-Chicken-With-Every-Defender-That-Comes-At-Me. You gave me a heart attack on the field tonight, you know?" Anna sighed, but then a smirk appeared on her face and Elsa could see the gears whirring behind her eyes. "Alright then, I dare you…to answer one question."

"That's not fair!", Elsa said a bit too fast. "You can't just spin a dare into a truth like that, you're breaking the rules." She forgot how cunning Anna could be off the court too.

"Well then, I'll apologize to the grand council of Truth or Dare tomorrow.", Anna replied with a hand raised. She repositioned herself so she was closer to Elsa, and rested her arms on the pillow in her lap. "I mean you could just change your answer to 'truth', but then we'd be back where we started. So…you ready to hear my question?"

Elsa forced her breath to remain steady, they had never been this close before. In class they had desks separating them, and during lunch Elsa would always sit facing Anna, never next to her. Even in the lockers rooms, they still had lockers between them. But now there was no separation, and they were alone on a bed.

Anna's bed.

She was failing miserably at breathing like a normal person, but still she found it in herself to say calmly, "I'm ready."

"Do you like anyone in school?" It was like ripping off a band-aid.

Elsa let out an all too suspicious laugh, tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear. She could feel her heartbeat double in a second. "That's…a pretty cliché question to ask, don't you think?"

"Uh huh, so do you?", Anna was relentless, and maybe it was the lighting but her face looked more serious than before. As if her answer was the most important answer in the world.

She nodded in defeat, knowing that she wasn't confident enough to lie. "Yes, I do."

"What's her name?"

Did…did she… "What was that, Anna?" The redhead had asked the question so faintly that maybe Elsa had just heard the question funny.

"What's their name?"

Elsa was sure that the blush on her cheeks would be easy enough to spot a mile away, let alone from one centimeter away like Anna was. When did she get so close?

Anna's name was right on the tip of her tongue. She was so ready to say it with the same joy and brightness that made her heart soar every other time she said it. And in the heat- literally, her body felt like it was on fire- of the moment, Elsa realized that this was the closest to a perfect moment that she was going to get. It was practically handed to her on a silver platter.

But just as suddenly as it came, the moment was taken away from her. Anna scooted back a few inches in reality, but miles away through Elsa's eyes, and she made a noise that sounded like a cough and a giggle at the same time. "I'm sorry that was…more than one question."

"Yeah, yeah it was." Elsa said, still unsure about what the heck happened.

For one second Anna looked…different. Her eyes, always so confident, bright, and attentive, looked cloudy and lost in thought. Her smile wasn't as big and vibrant as always, it seemed forced in a way. It was like Anna was here, but she wasn't really there. A second later and she went back to her old self, but it was a second too late.

Anna straightened back up, grabbed one of her pillows, and hugged it close to her chest. "So I guess it's my turn, right? Well, I pick truth."

Elsa pressed on her phone and set it on her desk, "You have ten minutes." Ten minutes was more than enough time, more than Anna deserved. If she was still the same girl, she'd freeze up almost immediately.

If she was still the same girl...

So far, that assumption was proving true, Anna hadn't said a single word. Seconds passed, then three minutes or so, without a single word. Elsa had to bite her cheek to suppress a cocky smile. She didn't even need to sabotage the elevator, she could have just told Anna to come in, stare her down like she was doing now, and watch her shrivel under her gaze.

Elsa would have enjoyed doing this, she would have enjoyed finally getting this sliver of vengeance if Anna didn't look so damn sad.

Why was she so sad? It was ruining everything. If she was just scared, intimidated, this would have been so much easier, but those green eyes were so full of sadness- and something else, maybe guilt?- that it ruined Elsa's enjoyment of this moment.

And then it got worse.

Anna didn't finally speak up and make a fool of herself, no…she started moving closer. And closer. And closer. The closer Anna got, the less confident Elsa became. Distance and silence were her barricades, it kept so many things, years' worth of pent-up feelings and emotions at bay. But Anna was tearing them down with every step. They were so close now, as close as they'd been in years, and Elsa knew that she was in trouble, on the verge of breaking down.

She didn't have to do that though, because Anna did it first. She put her hands around Elsa and wrapped her up in a hug.

"Anna, what the f..."

"I'm sorry."

This was unexpected and wrong- so very wrong- but Elsa...just let it happen. Her hands hovered over the shaking redhead, but they didn't push her away.

As the embrace continued, she felt her shirt getting colder and wetter. She was crying, Anna was crying on her shirt. This couldn't be happening, this shouldn't be happening. Why was this happening?!

Time had stopped, she didn't know for sure how long they were standing like this. But in that moment where space and time didn't matter, Elsa heard a soft, muffled voice speak again.

"I'm so sorry Elsa, so…so sorry," Anna muttered. "I'm so sorry for everything I put you through…"

Her hands...if they landed anywhere on Anna's body then it was over. Any leverage that Elsa had would be gone, the ball would be in Anna's court. But then, all the pain and resentment and anger would be over too. In the back of her mind, in the storage space she kept locked away from everyone, she wanted to do it.

But she couldn't, she didn't want to. That's what she told herself.

"Wait did you just say truth?"

Anna tilted her head, "Yeah. Is something wrong with that?"

"No, it's just that…" Anna had also taking dares all night, but they were pretty tame because Elsa didn't want to humiliate her. Now she was hitting her with this plot twist, and she didn't know what to do with it.

"And don't hold back Elsa, not like you did with all those dares," Anna smirked. "Nothing's off-limits." She curled her fingers toward herself, telling the blonde to bring it on.

Again, another perfect moment gift-wrapped and handed over to her. She had to take advantage of this, she needed to know the truth. She couldn't hesitate any longer.

Elsa took a deep breath, "Okay. Um…who do you-"

There was a sharp knock on her door, and a tall man with well-kept brown hair and a recently shaved mustache peeked in. He smiled and waved a half-eaten chocolate chip towards them.

Anna waved energetically, "Hey dad! What's up?"

Her dad shrugged, "Oh your mom wanted me to check up on you guys to see if you broke anything. Or, you know, hurt yourselves."

She laughed, "Well you can tell mom that Elsa and I are fine, we were just playing truth or dare and I guess we got a bit too carried away."

Carried away? The places her thoughts took her made Elsa blush and she had to look away as father and daughter continued their conversation. When Anna talked to her parents, it made her a little envious. It wasn't that she didn't have a good relationship with her parents, but they weren't as open and friendly as she wanted them to be. She was having a hard time remembering the last time her dad ever smiled at her like Anna's did.

Aside from the envy, her affection for Anna grew tenfold when she saw how engaged and cheerful she looked talking to her dad. She saw where Anna got all her vibrant optimism and her ability to smile through any situation, and she knew now more than ever that she wanted to be around her for every moment of their lives. Was that a bit extreme to say when they were only freshmen? Probably, but Elsa didn't care all that much. She liked Anna, a lot. They were forever friends, right? Maybe they could be forever something else soon.

"Well your mother and I are going to bed, so you two try to keep it down alright?"

"Will do, dad!", Anna exclaimed.

Before he closed the door he added, "Oh and make sure you guys wash your dishes before you go to bed alright? Amazing cookies don't excuse you from dish-washing duty."

Anna giggled and shook her head when the door finally closed, "I hope he didn't eat all of them."

"Well I wouldn't blame him.", Elsa replied. "They are pretty amazing." Understatement of the century.

Surprise surprise, watching Anna bake heightened her affection even more. She knew Anna could bake, but tonight was the first time she saw her friend in action. And the unwavering focus she exhibited from prepped the ingredients, and the ease in which she moved throughout the kitchen, it was intense but graceful. Like a linebacker/ballerina hybrid. She was also passionate and got so lost in her work; and when she was deep in thought on a step, her mouth would slightly part and she'd mouth words to herself.

Gosh, she was smitten.

Anna laughed, much like she had when Elsa had complimented her before. "Thanks. Hey, why don't we put the game on hold and get those dishes done now? Before we forget?"

Elsa nodded, telling herself to at least try and get a grip. "Sounds like a plan."

"You're sorry?! After all the shit that you put us rough, after all the hope that I held on to that you'd change your mind, and then having that hope systematically break down after years…all you can say is you're sorry?

I loved you, Anna! I loved you more than anything in this entire goddamn world, and I gave you that love every single day we were together, and in one day- one day- you took all that love and threw it back in my face, and then you left me! You left me to fend for myself after all that talking we did about how we would never leave each other's side.

So now…what? You think two stupid words will make all of that go away? You think that we can just go back to what we once were? Well you're too late, you were too late yesterday, you were too late the day before, and you were too late the day when all of this went to hell. There is nothing you can do to make this right again…except for maybe one thing. And that's to get the hell out of my life for good."

That's what Elsa wanted to say while Anna continued to cry and say she was sorry, but she couldn't bring herself to say it. Because damn it, she still had a tiny needle of hope in this haystack of hate and agony. A needle she could never get rid off no matter how hard she tried.

Seeing Anna again, feeling Anna in her arms, hearing Anna's voice in her ears, it brought back everything. It brought back who they were, and it was making a valiant effort to drive away who they are now.

But the truth in what she wanted to say was still there, it was too late to make everything right again. And the fear and brokenness inside her that was keeping them from being together again made her more miserable than before.

It broke through her confidence and bravado, made a crack in the shell she'd carefully formed in those four years, and she needed to make sure it didn't break all the way. Anna wasn't worth it, she had to tell herself that. If it helped against dwelling on these thoughts, if it kept Anna at bay, then she had to say that.

Anna wasn't worth it, Anna was too late, she didn't want these damn arms around her. The more she said these things, the more she believed them. Until finally she was able to push Anna off her. A success amidst this wrench in her plans.

But she undid all that work when she made the mistake of looking into these green, tear-stained eyes. That hope was still there, it wouldn't go away. Her mind had already taken a mental picture of this moment, and the way Anna looked now. And it would never go away.

She forced herself to turn around and walk away, right up to her window to look out at what she built, just to try and clear her head. It didn't work, nothing would work.

She heard Anna start to walk toward her. "Elsa…please talk to me."

"Leave.", Elsa said with a hush, strained voice.

"Wh-what?"

"I said leave!", she wanted to shout it with the same authority she asserted over her employees, but it came out weak and pathetic. A strangled cry wrestling down the want, the need, to break.

Sometime in that tense feeling of eternity, Anna did exactly what Elsa did and didn't want: she left.

Now Elsa was all alone. Just like before, just like she'd always been.

She stumbled over to her desk and hunched over it, tears started to defiantly fall from her face and onto the wood. She didn't cry, she shouldn't cry, and yet it was happening; and much like this encounter with Anna, she was too powerless to stop it. It had been four years, but as it was scarily dawning on her, it wasn't too late.

"Fuck you, Anna." She said quietly. "I...I hate..."

The alarm on her cellphone went off, the ten minutes were up.

In no time at all, the duo had come up with a system to maximize their dishwashing efficiency. Anna would be in charge of rinsing off any excess food and scrubbing them up, while Elsa was in charge of the final rinse and loading them into the dishwasher.

With their powers combined the job should have taken no less than five minutes, but it had been ten minutes and counting. Anna, despite her request to pause their game of truth or dare, decided to start it back up thirty seconds after starting their job because she was bored. Except since they couldn't stray too far from the sink, they withheld dares and kept going for truths.

Elsa kept skating over the one question she wanted to ask Anna, and thankfully Anna never pried deeper into the question she asked her earlier.

That is, until they had one dish left to wash.

It was Anna who went for it first, quickly washing the plate and passing it over to Elsa. "Last one, I guess I got to break out the big guns, huh? Alright then Elsa…who do you like?"

A cold wave of anxiousness washed over Elsa. Was this how she was going to confess? Elbow to elbow in front of a sink, washing dishes didn't seem like the most romantic setting.

Her hands were shaky and she couldn't hear much other than the white noise from the sink and the pounding in her ears; but when she reached a hand out to grab the plate, and a spark ran from her fingers to Anna's, it was as if she had a stunning moment of clarity. Her heartbeat was slow and steady, her fingers had finally calmed, everything had escalated to this exact moment.

It was the peak of adrenaline, a familiar feeling that she'd encountered on the field. The point where the mind takes the reins away from the heart for one solitary second, and you either go for it or let the waves die down, hoping for another chance.

And this time, Elsa went for it.

She gripped that plate as hard as she could and pulled it and Anna closer to her. And when they were both face to face she closed the distance. Fireworks exploded behind her eyes. Perfect moments be damned; she didn't want to keep trying to find it, she'd go ahead and make her own.

Elsa put her free hand on Anna's hips - not at all concerned at how wet it still was from the sink water- and held her so tight she was afraid Anna would fall. She held her tight, to steady her and remind her that this was happening. This was real.

Anna's lips were so soft, so inviting, and Elsa would not let this kiss die. Because if they broke apart, if their friendship was over as soon as their lips parted, then she wanted to savor every bit of it. She didn't let go until she was absolutely certain that she needed to breathe again, and even then she was debating whether dying of suffocation from kissing Anna was such a bad way to go out.

Elsa caught her breath as she looked at her friend with eyes that said there you go, there was her answer. Anna looked back at her with eyes that said what in the world was that.

"What in the world was that?"

"That…that's my answer.", Elsa replied through labored breaths and a tired smile on her face. "The person I like, it's you."

They there silently watching each other, trying to catch their breath. But the longer the silence went on, the more the adrenaline rush in Elsa died down, and the more she realized the gravity and the stupidity of what she just did.

She just kissed her best friend, and her only friend at that. If things went wrong…she would be alone again, all alone in an environment she absolutely could not survive in without at least one lifeline. Her first and best friendship she ever had could also be her last, it could be over in the blink of an eye. She risked everything just for one dumb kiss, was it worth it?

Yes, yes it was.

Anna snatched the plate out of Elsa's hand and practically threw it into the sink. As it rattled around inside the metallic bowl, she placed both her hands on Elsa's cheeks and pulled her in for another kiss. This one deeper, better, and much more intense. Her hand, too, was damp from the job they had completely forgotten about, but Elsa didn't care.

She smiled and let Anna take the lead. Their friendship was over, but in its place was something much better.

A/N: I'm gonna go ahead and let your imagination run wild over what happened after the kiss. Just remember that they're only like 14 in the flashback.