When Anna woke up, she was greeted with the sight of the back of a sofa.

And a horribly blinding light.

Squinting against the brightness, she wondered why she heard horses whinnying.

Maybe she was still dreaming. Yes, that had to be it. She had been dreaming that she was at the barn, and had ridden Lance without a saddle for some reason. Without a bridle, too. And was Elsa there? Maybe she was…

"Good afternoon, Anna."

...or maybe this wasn't a dream.

Anna rolled over, but as soon as she shifted her position, a rather awful feeling settled in her stomach. It took all of her efforts to hold back a groan as she took in her surroundings—the upstairs lounge at none other than Arendelle Riding Academy. And Elsa, who was currently standing by the side of the sofa.

"It's about time you got up," Elsa said.

"Ugh, what time is it? How long was I asleep?" Anna asked.

"It's one. PM. And as far as how long you were asleep, I could only manage to carry you up here by midnight."

"Wait, really?" Anna asked.

"Yes," Elsa confirmed.

"No, like, you had to carry me up here?" Anna clarified, face already burning.

"Well, if you want to be technical about it, no. But I consider having to hold you up and keep you standing close enough to carrying you."

"Oh," Anna's face was crimson now, she was sure of it, "And how much of a fool did I make of myself last night? Honest, I really didn't plan on drinking. Was I annoying? Oh, who am I kidding, I know I was a pain. But please, please tell me I didn't do anything too stupid?"

Elsa sighed, "Well, you spent the entire night trying to get me to dance. And drink. And then you tell me if you consider getting on a maniac project horse bareback and bridleless without a helmet, to be a stupid idea?"

Well, now that Elsa mentioned it, it did seem a little more familiar than just a dream…

"Um," Anna grinned sheepishly, "It seemed like a good idea at the time."

"Not to mention the fact that you kept blabbering away about who knew what all the time I was trying to catch Lance, which only succeeded in making him all antsy and nervous. And trying to get him back in his stall while simultaneously trying to keep you from letting the rest of the horses loose because you wanted to go ride out on some quest to find your sister—who I'm fairly certain doesn't even exist—wasn't exactly a task I'd call easy," Elsa continued, mouth now pressed into a thin line and arms crossed.

Now that part Anna couldn't remember at all.

"Yeah, no, I don't have a sister," Anna offered meekly, "So I honestly have no explanation for that one."

While Elsa stood there shaking her head disapprovingly (yes, Anna felt quite like a reprimanded and ashamed child at the moment), the redhead desperately tried to remember the events where her mind when blank. But her hazy memory left off after…

"Oh, right. And before all of that I fell. And I…uh…landed on you. And then…then I don't really remember anything else."

"Well, you're right. That definitely happened," Elsa said.

And Anna didn't know quite how to respond after that.

She was still on the sofa, the senior standing above her. And although the features of Elsa face showed that she was most definitely upset about what had happened, all Anna saw were two beautiful blue eyes that she could get lost in all afternoon.

Stupid thoughts. Stop staring at her and start apologizing.

Anna sighed, "I'm sorry. I screwed it up, I guess. No, I don't guess. I know I screwed it up. I'm a complete mess."

"Hey," Elsa said, her voice softening as she dropped her arms to her sides, "You don't have to apologize for anything. I was just…worried, that's all."

The senior's comment caused Anna to hesitate momentarily before saying, "You were?"

"Well, it's not every day that I get to watch an intoxicated person attempt to ride an insane horse," Elsa shrugged, looking down at the floor rather than at Anna, "And it…you…scared me."

"Oh," Anna said, feeling ten times more horrible about what had happened than she had before, "Well, then I'm definitely still sorry."

"I already said you don't have to be sorry," Elsa told her, "And besides, there's something else I need to say to you, anyway."

"Which is?" Anna questioned.

"Thanks."

Anna looked at Elsa for a moment, attempting to understand what the senior meant. But she couldn't think of anything, "Okay, I'm confused."

Elsa sighed, "I know you probably don't remember. But one of the first things you said to me last night was that I should let go for a night. And you said it would be better when I let people in for a little bit. That I'd thank you later."

"So then…you did?" Anna asked.

Elsa drew in a breath, but smiled slightly before she said, "Yeah. Kind of."

"And…was it better?" Anna asked hesitantly.

Elsa seemed to contemplate the question for a moment. But she nodded her head as she spoke, sounding completely confident, although Anna still couldn't put her finger on what had happened to make the senior answer that way, "Yes. Yes, it definitely was."

Anna found herself in the main parking lot of the college campus only half an hour later. Elsa had driven her back to campus after Anna had finally found the strength to walk again (which of course was after a necessary trip to the nearest bathroom, a borrowed change of clothes, and a makeshift meal that Elsa insisted she had to at least attempt to swallow before going anywhere else).

And yet, sitting there in the car with the senior, in a silence that was actually more peaceful than uncomfortable, the events of the morning and the few that she could remember from the night before slowly melted away. Because instead, they were suddenly replaced with the realization that this was most likely the last time she was going to see the senior before they came back from winter break. Which meant no more chem lab—she'd certainly gone out with a bang (or a crash, really) with that one.

The only time Anna would get to see Elsa in the spring semester would be for wrk, or whenever else she'd be at the barn for her lessons.

Holding back the disappointed sigh that almost escaped, Anna instead attempted to sound a little more cheery, "Well…" she said finally, "Thanks for the ride. And…thanks for going to the party with me. Even though I totally understand if you don't want to go to a party with me ever again. I know I wouldn't want to go to a party with me ever again if that was the case—"

Elsa cut Anna off with a laugh, "Okay, this experience may have ruined me for ever going to a party again. But…if the opportunity ever arises and you promise to not go as crazy, I might make an exception."

Anna's whole face lit up, pure elation replacing any of her previous disappointment about the spring semester, "Really!?"

"I said might," Elsa reminded her.

"Good enough for me," Anna grinned.

The two were silent again after that, neither exactly sure of what to say next. Or, at least, Anna didn't know what to say next. But instead of having to come up with something, Elsa surprised her by speaking first, "So I guess I'll…see you after winter break?"

Anna nodded, "Yeah. A whole month of lots of sleep, no work, and no school."

And no Elsa.

"Thursdays and Sundays will definitely be much less eventful around here," Elsa offered Anna a small smile.

Was that the senior's way of saying she was going to…miss Anna's company?

Anna merely gave a small shrug, "Is Kai filling in for me?"

Elsa nodded, "Yeah."

"Just make sure he gives Dee some extra attention," Anna instructed, thinking of the little chestnut mare who she was definitely going to miss as well.

"Kai's got enough to worry about as it is," Elsa said, "But I wouldn't mind."

Anna smiled. Although in the moment it may have seemed silly, it really did mean a lot to her, "Thanks."

A few more awkward seconds passed in which Anna didn't know what she should be doing or saying. Should she just open the door and get out? Say a quick goodbye and leave? Maybe she would have if Elsa had had her attention on anything else. Normally, when things got awkward between the two of them Elsa's gaze would shift toward her hands; out the window; anywhere besides Anna. But Elsa just seemed to be staring at her—not quite in the way that Anna had many times before—but, Anna hoped, maybe in a slightly similar way.

"I didn't really get the chance to tell you last night, but you looked nice," Elsa paused then, one hand flying to the end of her braid in a rather unusual display of nervousness, "Sorry. That's an awkward thing to say, I guess. Because you still look nice. I mean, you always look nice. But…" Elsa trailed off, ducking her head, "God, I sound like you now."

Anna bit her lip to keep from laughing. Elsa was adorable when she was rambling—and even better yet, when she was rambling about Anna.

"Thank you," Anna said finally, but then continued, "You looked nice too."

Not to mention the fact that I already told her she was freaking gorgeous that one day whether I meant to or not, and that she's caught me staring more times than I can count.

At Anna's comment, Elsa's face seemed to flush slightly, although Anna regarded that as something that she herself would have done. It seemed as though, for an entire minute, they had switched places. But the moment passed when Elsa regained her composure, echoed Anna's thank you, and followed it with something along the lines of the fact that she had to get back to the house and make sure that everything had been cleaned up and put back in order.

"Okay," Anna said, as she got out of the car, "I'll see you after break then."

Elsa gave a small wave before turning out of the parking lot, and Anna didn't start walking back to her dorm room until the silver car was out of sight.

Well, that was quite an eventful night. And morning, Anna though as she headed for her building.

It hadn't been a date…but it had definitely felt like one. Especially with the giddy feeling she now had. And despite the fact that she knew she had nearly made a complete disaster of the night.

When Anna walked into her room, all springy steps and smiling, Rapunzel only laughed, "Was your date that much fun?"

"Not a date," Anna said, her voice a little too cheery.

Rapunzel rolled her eyes, "Well when the two of you disappeared—"

Anna spun on her heels, quick to defend the certain implications of Rapunzel's statement, "We were at the barn. Nothing happened."

This only made Rapunzel laugh harder, "I was just joking. Sheesh. Where's Kristoff to calm you down when you need him? And really, what in the world were you doing at the barn?"

At this, Anna sat down on her bed with a sigh, "Long story."

"Oh, please. Do tell," Rapunzel ordered, plopping herself down next to Anna.

"I may or may not have had a little too much to drink," Anna said.

"Well, I was there for that. But continue."

"And I thought it would be a great idea to go down to the barn and try to show Elsa how Lance—this project horse—needed to be worked," Anna said, "Which…may or may not have ended with me falling off of the horse."

"I can see that you make brilliant decisions while under the influence," Rapunzel grinned jokingly.

"Oh, shut up," Anna said, "It was only the third time."

"Only the third?" Rapunzel laughed.

"Yes."

"What, falling off a horse, or being drunk?"

Anna glared, even though she knew her roommate was still only teasing her, "I think you know the answer to that question. But look, it doesn't matter anymore. What matters now is that I need to finish packing. My parents are coming to get me tomorrow, and while you're completely ready to leave, my side of the room looks like a tornado went through it."

Rapunzel sighed, "Okay, fine. I'll help you."

"Did someone say they need help?"

Both girls turned their heads at the same time, to find none other than Olaf standing in the open doorway. Their fellow freshman certainly had a habit of sticking his nose in other people's business—intentionally or not, though Anna wholeheartedly believed that he had only the best intentions in mind. And an open door was far from a deterrence for Olaf. It was merely an invitation to enter with a only small announcement of arrival.

"Uh, not exactly—" Anna started.

But Rapunzel, taking one look at the mess of Anna's side of the room, cut Anna off and said, "If you're free, we'd love some help."

Anna rolled her eyes. She actually didn't mind Olaf helping, but really, did Rapunzel not trust that the two of them could finish this together? Did Rapunzel really think her side of the room was that much of a mess that it would take three people to finish the task?

But when Anna turned around to assess the cluttered desk, her tiny closet with most of the clothing half on and half off of hangers, the large pile of clothes in a heap by her bed that she'd set aside to fold a few nights ago, and who knew what else under her bed, she realized that maybe…they couldn't finish in time with only the two of them working at it.

"What do you need me to do?" Olaf asked.

"I say we start by folding clothes," Anna decided.

"Agreed," Rapunzel said.

"But really," Anna warned jokingly, "I hope you know what you're signing up for here. I claim no responsibility if you get swallowed by a pile of clothing or trip over a shoe."

Rapunzel only rolled her eyes, and Olaf laughed. But with three people helping and three very different voices to make it all the more interesting, Anna had a feeling that cleaning this mess wouldn't be too horrible after all.

Two hours, four packed boxes, and a very odd conversation later, the three were sitting on the floor, much too tired from cleaning (and also, most likely, the party and all of its still subtly present side effects) to move another muscle.

"What even is the meaning of pre-calc, anyway?" Rapunzel laughed, "I mean, yes, we suffered through it this semester. But in the long run, is it even going to do anything for me?"

"Well, it might. Or it might not," Olaf said, "But maybe…that's just the meaning of life."

"What?" both Anna and Rapunzel said together, looking at their fellow freshman sideways.

"Just what I said, maybe that's the meaning of life," Olaf repeated, looking very content with his answer.

"Do you always talk in riddles like this?" Rapunzel asked.

"Yeah, why?" Olaf asked.

"And people just accept it without questioning it?" Anna asked.

"Yeah, why?"

"And they understand without getting frustrated by it!?" Rapunzel exclaimed, but she was laughing. And so was Olaf.

"Yeah, why?"

Olaf could act like such a child sometimes, but it struck the two girls funny. Or at least, Anna thought it was funny. And she also thought that it was so peculiar that, even though Olaf sometimes acted much younger than his age, he seemed to know things—important moral things—that not a single college student would normally take into consideration.

"Why!?" Olaf repeated again, "Why all the questions?"

"Because we have no idea where that came from!" Rapunzel laughed.

"What, the meaning of life?" Olaf asked.

Anna and Rapunzel nodded their heads in unison.

"And what it has to do with pre-calc," Anna added.

"Oh," Olaf said cheerily, unbothered by their blatant confusion and seeming to genuinely want to explain himself and help them understand, "They relate because maybe obscure things matter even more than we realize. Maybe even the simplest things that we find useless—or that we take for granted—will end up giving our lives meaning by becoming more important to us than we ever could have imagined."

"Huh," Anna said, taking Olaf's words into consideration. Because these ideas, or musings, or whatever they were…actually had Anna quite intrigued. And they didn't just apply only to the terrible pre-calculus class they had all suffered through—Olaf was only using the one example to get to the bigger picture. So maybe what he was saying really was true. Because she had never thought about it like that before.

"Okay then, philosopher," Rapunzel crossed her arms jokingly, "If you're so good at this, then do you have a theory for the meaning of everything?"

Olaf shrugged, "I don't know. Pick a topic—I'm willing to try."

Rapunzel's look of pure thought told Anna that her roommate was actually interested in coming up with a challenge, "What's the meaning of love. What is love?"

Anna watched as Olaf contemplated the question for a moment. And the response that he came up with was one that neither Anna nor Rapunzel ever would have guessed, "Love is…putting someone else's needs before your own."

And no matter how long Anna thought about Olaf's statement, she couldn't really figure out what it meant.

At least, not when she'd only first heard it.

But she couldn't figure out what it meant before Olaf abruptly stood and said he was late for a last minute meeting.

And she couldn't figure out what it meant before she fell asleep.

She couldn't figure out what it meant before breakfast the next morning, or before Rapunzel left at noon, or even before she had all of the boxes in the back of her family's old SUV.

And she still couldn't figure out what it meant until an hour later—in the middle of the ride home.

Love is…putting someone else's needs before your own.

Like maybe how…Elsa had agreed to go to the party with Anna even though she was clearly terrified of going. Like how Elsa had actually tried to catch Anna when she had fallen off of Lance, even if it ended with both of them landing in the dirt. Like how Elsa had spent the entire night—and morning—making sure that Anna was okay, when she could have just sent Anna back off to her dorm room.

So then did that mean…did Elsa…love her?

No.

There was no way that was true. Because love was…a whole other, larger entity itself, right? More than just a crush, or saying that she liked someone. And there was no way that Elsa felt the same about Anna as Anna felt about Elsa.

But…Elsa cared about her. That much Anna was certain of. Especially now that the senior had admitted that what had happened the night of the party had worried her more than it had annoyed her.

And remembering all of this, the seemingly distant events from two nights ago, the events had had previously seemed so foggy, somehow became more vivid.

Like that one comment…what was it again? It was on the tip of her tongue. Right there in the back of her mind, but slightly out of reach…

Only if you want it to be.

There.

That's what it was.

Anna had compared Elsa to Lance. She had thought—and definitely said without realizing it—that Elsa was 'beautifuller'.

Because it wasn't a word.

Only if you want it to be.

Anna could only smile thinking about that. Sure, she hadn't meant to say it. But still—it was no wonder that Elsa had been flustered in the car yesterday morning. She must have definitely remembered that. And now it was Anna's face that was flushing.

She had only said it because Elsa had let her in…

Oh.

Realization hit Anna suddenly. Now she understood what Elsa had said to her yesterday—how the senior had thanked her, said that she had let go and let people in.

Kind of.

Kind of, meaning that it wasn't just anyone that Elsa had let in. It was Anna who Elsa had let closer; closer than Anna had ever been to the senior before. Letting Anna sit there, next to Elsa, with her head on the senior's shoulder.

And if she continued to analyze the conversation they'd had earlier, she remembered that she had asked Elsa if it had been better. If it had been better to let go, and let her in instead of keeping her at a distance—if it had been better to close the gap between them, even if it was only for the smallest of moments. And Elsa had answered…

Yes, it definitely was.

A/n: Okay, so I realize that this was very short compared to the other chapters. And it's because I didn't leave very much to put in this chapter since their winter break is right around the corner. I didn't want to dive right into the spring semester, so I guess I should have planned it out a little better. And maybe everything in this chapter would have been better off at the end of the previous chapter. But I knew before that I didn't want all of that in there because I really wanted the previous chapter to end where it did. And it also it would have made that chapter really, really long. So I guess maybe…consider this a chapter 16 part 2? Or just a really short chapter 17? Your choice.

Anyway, I promise that the next chapter will be much longer. And I can say that for a fact because I'm already in the process of writing it :)

And also—not sure if I mentioned this before but bareback as it relates to horses just means riding without a saddle.

Thanks for reading!