It sounds simple, but sometimes you have to give time, time.

Anna woke with a smile on her face.

She was still in her outfit from the night before, and her hair was now a tangled mess, yet she couldn't help but smile.

Last night had been amazing. She had gone to her first frat party, danced with her soul mate, and even had her first New Years kiss! It was only a horse-drawn carriage away from an actual dream, and her hands were still shaking from excitement. Sure, she may have butted heads with Elsa one-too-many times, but other than that, she hadn't ever had such a blast!

Merida seemed to have enjoyed herself, too, if her endless chattering about Mulan was anything to go by. It seemed the redhead had finally made up her mind about rushing once she befriended her potential sorority sister. Anna was happy for her roommate - and herself, if she were to be completely honest. Rushing with Merida was bound to make the process much more fun. Though, if her fight with Elsa wasn't resolved soon, Rush Week would probably end up being all kinds of brutal.

But deciding to banish that thought to the back of her mind, Anna jumped out of bed and staggered towards her closet. Merida was still fast asleep, her hushed snores being the only sound in their dorm room. The younger Arendelle was too tired to properly get ready, though she did find the strength to change into a clean shirt. Putting on pants, on the other hand - she wasn't sure if she had it in her. Luckily, she had brought a plethora of leggings from home; jeans were no longer necessary.

Leaping towards the small mirror on the wall, the strawberry-blonde stifled a gasp as she caught sight of her reflection. Her eye makeup had seemingly multiplied, smearing all around her eyes and towards her temples. Her lipstick was nonexistent, and her bangs were stuck out every which way. The thought of brushing out her tangled locks was the opposite of appealing, but with a bitter huff, Anna reached for the brush on the desk beside her.

Giving her face one last splash of water, Anna let out a relieved sigh. She hated using the communal bathroom, with its echoing walls and cold tiled floors, but until she could move into the Delta Zeta house, it was her only option. And she couldn't not wash her face after the hell she put her skin through. She had deemed a shower unnecessary, as she wasn't sure if she'd be leaving her dorm. It was New Years Day; everyone was probably hungover.

Pulling her phone from her lilac hoodie's pocket, the younger Arendelle groaned. She had given Hans her number when it became clear that Elsa's little intervention had ruined the romance, and he had promised to text her. And she stupidly agreed without getting his number in return - meaning she had to wait for him to make the first move. And Anna Arendelle wasn't known for her patience.

Plus, every minute that passed without a text from Hans only fueled Anna's anxiety; he was going to text her, right?

Groaning again, the strawberry blonde shoved her phone back into her pocket and straightened her bun. She wasn't going to be some pathetic girl, sitting around and checking her phone every five minutes. No, she was better than that - every ten minutes would suffice.

"But he still hasn't texted me!"

It had been nearly two hours since Anna had woke, and her phone was still radio silent. Merida was getting a message every so often, and she hadn't even given her number out!

"Maybe he's still asleep," her roommate replied lazily, her fingers tapping away. "Or maybe you gave 'em the wrong number; you 'ad been drinkin' last night."

Anna merely rolled her eyes. "I hadn't had that much to drink," she mumbled, her hands fiddling with the strings of her hoodie.

"Mmm," Merida hummed, clearly unconvinced.

Shooting the redhead a glare, Anna couldn't help but feel her curiosity pique as she observed her roommate. Merida had been texting more than usual; she usually called her family to update them.

"Who are you texting?" she mused teasingly.

"It's a group chat with some of the other students in the exchange program," Merida replied, shrugging. "We all got paired with a student here who's takin' similar classes to ours, 'cept fer some reason my 'buddy' has a completely different major in mind, and this dumb school paired me with 'em."

Anna nodded absently, no longer as interested. "Oh - is he a senior?"

"Freshman, like us."

Yep, she was definitely no longer interested. "Hmm, welp, I hope you get that all sorted out!" she enthused, before hopping out of bed. "Especially before classes start!"

But with the words leaving her mouth, Anna felt the color drain from her face. Classes started in three days - meaning Rush Week started in two. And she was receiving radio silence from Elsa, as well.

"Yeah, I 'ope so, too."

Deciding not to waste her entire day waiting by her phone with bated breath, Anna invited her cousin Rapunzel out to lunch.

"We barely ever hang out, just the two of us!" the honey-blonde exclaimed, pulling the younger Arendelle into a tight hug. They had agreed to meet in the cafeteria on campus, though Anna was now regretting it as she took in her surroundings. The place seemed too small to have a proper seating area, so Anna and Merida had always taken their meals back to their room. But there were a few tables squished by the window, leaving just barely enough room for her and her cousin to squeeze by the students seated at them.

"I know, right?" Anna laughed, feeling the air rush back into her lungs as Rapunzel released her. "We always have Elsa tagging along."

"Well, Elsa's usually the one coordinating everything!" Rapunzel mused. It seemed she wasn't yet aware of the sisters' disagreement from the night before, and Anna elected not to be the one to tell her. She knew the honey-blonde would stay firmly in the middle, and she wanted someone on her side. Elsa was being the ridiculous one, after all.

"That's Elsa; the planner," she replied dryly. "Not a spontaneous bone in that girl's body."

Rapunzel let out a hearty chuckle, before lowering herself into one of the chairs. "Yeah, though I did end up losing track of her last night, and we had planned on bringing in the New Year together!"

And with that, Anna realized something crazy. Last night, while her older sister thoroughly embarrassed her, Jack had been there silently at her side. Had Elsa ditched Rapunzel to hang out with Jack? The guy she claimed to despise?

Even though she was still mad at the blonde, she couldn't stop herself from smiling. Was Elsa hiding something from her?

Taking a seat for herself, the younger Arendelle half-listened to her cousin's rambling as her mind raced with possibilities.

Did Elsa ring in the New Year with Jack? Did they ring it in similarly to her and Hans?

No, Anna thought, shaking her head. If that had been the case, Elsa probably wouldn't have noticed Anna's kiss with Hans. But it seemed her sister had been with Jack, meaning she had willingly chosen to spend time with her silver-haired admirer. And for a total buzzkill like Elsa, that was something big.

"Eugene couldn't get today off though, otherwise we would have gone with his friend Kristoff to -"

Rapunzel stopping mid-sentence pulled Anna from her thoughts, and the strawberry-blonde eyed her curiously as she shifted in her seat.

"Gone where?" she asked, tilting her head to the side. Why was Rapunzel turning red?

"Uh, t-to his house," her cousin supplied weakly. "I think - I don't remember actually!" She then forced a smile, her green eyes avoiding Anna's as she glanced around the room. "Aren't we here for lunch? I'm starving!"

Bewildered, Anna watched as her companion sprung from her seat and towards the buffet tables, her long blonde hair flopping wildly behind her.

'Hey Anna!'

Anna stared at her phone, dumbfounded. It was nearly two o'clock, New Years Day, and she had one new text message - from an unknown number. She could feel her lips curl into a smile as a squeal escaped her throat, but before she could fully freak out, her phone buzzed once more.

'It's Jack. Elsa gave me your number.'

She could literally feel her face fall as she read the message, using all of her willpower not to chuck her phone across the dorm room. Merida was sitting on her bed, directly in the cellphone's potential path, though she didn't seem to realize the danger she was in as her blue eyes focused on the computer in front of her.

Steeling her reserves, Anna loosened her hold on the offending electronic device; shooting it a glare, instead.

"Jack," she hissed under her breath. He was a nice guy - that was for sure. But he wasn't who she was hoping to hear from, obviously. Lazily rolling her shoulders, Anna regarded the message with a small frown.

'Hey Jack!' she replied, her fingers dancing across the small keyboard. 'What's up :)'

Leaning against the wall behind her, she heaved a wistful sigh. Why hadn't Hans messaged her? It had been over twelve hours since she gave him her number - he was bound to be awake by now. Sure, he had had a little more to drink than her, but he was a seasoned frat guy - she highly doubted he was hungover or anything. So why hadn't he - ?

Her phone buzzed again.

'Not much - just working up the nerve to text your sister.' Jack's reply read.

Anna's eyebrows nearly met her hairline as she read and then reread his message. Learning Elsa had given the pretty boy her younger sister's number wasn't surprising - Anna and Jack got along fairly well, and were on the fast track to becoming good friends. But finding out the ice queen had also given out her own number? That was new. Oh, that was new.

But as she pondered over it further, Anna felt her excitement creep back in. Elsa gave Jack her number!

Readying her fingers, the younger Arendelle grinned. 'Elsa actually gave out her number?! :D'

'Yep.' was his simple reply.

She almost couldn't believe it; Elsa Arendelle didn't do texting - unless she deemed it absolutely necessary. Which, happened to be a very, very rare occurrence. In fact, Anna only ever received a message from her older sister whenever the blonde wanted to meet up somewhere. There would never be a conversation, or a simple 'how are you?' - it was always straight to the point. 'Want to do blah blah blah? Meet me there.'

So why, exactly, did Elsa deem it necessary to give her phone number to Jack?

"She likes him!" Anna squealed, earning a confused look from her roommate.

"Should I even ask?" Merida mused, her hand hesitating above her laptop.

Anna shot the redhead an apologetic smile, mentally noting to compliment her on her olive sweater - it was such a lovely color! - and instead shrugged her shoulders. "Oh, it's nothing," she hummed, pursing her lips. "Nothing at all..."

Merida's blue eyes narrowed at her roommate, before the Scottish beauty seemed to lose her curiosity. "Well, whatever it is, do me thee favor of keepin' it down, yeah?" she laughed, directing her attention back to her laptop.

Anna nodded sheepishly, her smile unwavering. "Sure thing, roomie!"

Another laugh escaped the redhead's lips, before whatever was on her laptop distracted her fully.

Anna then looked back at her phone, her fingers hovering over the touch screen. What should she say? Jack hadn't directly asked for her advice, though he did pretty much hint at it. But, even Anna was at a loss for words. What was Jack going to say to her sister? She doubted he'd be ballsy enough to ask the blonde out yet again; that would be about ten steps backwards. But it was a good sign that Elsa was willing to give out her number, so maybe the elder Arendelle was up for it?

No, Anna scoffed internally. Elsa didn't play games like that. She was direct; confrontational. Embarrassingly brass.

It was then that the events from the previous night crept back into Anna's mind. Elsa was frustratingly honest, even when she could use a little discretion. But she had made her thoughts on Hans entirely transparent - and could that be the reason the dreamboat hadn't message Anna?

Her face twisting into a sneer, Anna decided to give Jack some much needed advice.

'Don't text her right away - make her wait. Play hard to get ;)'

Jack's reply came moments later.

'Turn the tables, huh? I like the way you think, Anna.'

Smiling to herself, Anna tossed her phone onto her pillow, idly twirling the drawstring of her lilac hoodie. If she had to wait for a text from Hans, then Elsa would have to wait for the same from Jack. It was only fair.

I'm just about done with the next chapter, so keep your eyes out for my next update. And sorry for the long wait - time just got away from me ;)

But on a serious note, I tend to get into the writing mood for this story around the holidays, since my surroundings give me lots of inspiration. So like I said, keep a lookout for the next few chapters!