#DON'T LOOK AT ME SDJFKLA;JFDA; I KNOW I WRITE TOO MUCH

[ahtohallan-calling]

chapter 1 of don’t read the last page is here!

kristanna / m / multichap / modern au with actress!anna and vetstudent!kristoff / basically the opposite of a slowburn but there’s still drama just you wait

2

“Oh,” he said, blinking in surprise. “You’re that Anna. Hello.”

She heaved out an exasperated sigh. “Goddammit. I thought the hat would be enough. Do you want my autograph or a selfie? Please say autograph, I have this seriously massive pimple coming up.”

He blinked again. “I was just going to ask how you’ve been doing--”

“Oh, god, you’re one of those, aren’t you--”

“Since high school,” he finished.

“When you sat by me in bio class freshman year and I helped you, and then tenth grade when you sat by me in lit and helped me, and then junior year when neither of us had a date to prom so--”

Her eyes went wide.

“Well-- anyway. You are that Anna, right? I mean, you’ve got the Buchanan High hat on and everything.”

“Oh. Oh my god. Kristoff?”

“Yeah. Here’s your coffee, by the way.”

----

She came back that afternoon.

“That Anna again. Hello.”

“Hi, look, I just wanted to say sorry again about this morning when I didn’t recognize you and just assumed you were being, you know, a creep or a fan or something, it’s not that I don’t remember you, it’s just that you’re a lot wider than you were back then, like in a good way, and so I didn’t realize at first but now I do and I’m just really really sorry, and I want to make it up to you so. Um. How can I do that?”

“Did you actually want this latte or not?”

“Oh, god, yes, I’ve got an insanely long script to memorize just for this one stupid audition so I expect I’ll be up all night.”

“Okay. I was worried you thought you needed to order something else to talk to me.”

“....did I?”

“No.”

She bit her lip, the same way she always had. “Really? Even though I was being kind of a bitch?”

“I saw your commercial when I went out for my break and walked past the Best Buy. Don’t blame you for being on your guard.”

She wrinkled her nose. “I’m Anna, and trust me, these tampons changed my life. Now I can play tennis and do cartwheels on the beach all day long. Here, let me do a flip right now so you can see the string dangling out and everything and how happy I am about all that!”

“I don’t think that’s how it went, exactly.”

“Well-- close enough.”

“Everyone will forget about it in a week. Someone will trip at an awards show or catch their cat speaking Japanese or something, and the world’ll move right on along.”

“God, I hope so. But really-- let me make it up to you.”

“You don’t have to.”

“I want to.”

“I really did just want to know how you’re doing these days.”

“Well, I want to know about how you’re doing. Let’s get dinner or something, yeah?”

“I thought you had lines to rehearse.”

She waved a hand. “It’s fine. I’ll do that after dinner.”

“I get off in ten minutes. We can get takeout and catch up at my apartment. Or yours, if you’d rather sit somewhere besides a ratty sofa. And I’ll help you run lines.”

She bit her lip again, and he tried not to stare. “Seriously?”

“Yeah. It’ll be just like high school, when we had to do that scene from Much Ado About Nothing in English class, and you helped me get through all the weird words. Except this time I’ll do the helping. At least I hope I will.”

She laughed. “I can’t believe you’re even sweeter than I remembered.”

Another customer came in, and he shrugged as he reached for an empty paper cup. “You’re even prettier.”

She was blushing as she walked away and sat at an empty table.

---

“So you finally settled on what you wanted to be.”

“Yeah.” 

They were on the floor because the springs in his couch had been weak even before going through three owners, and when they’d first sat down with Chinese takeout boxes in hand they’d nearly fallen straight through. At least the coffee table he’d gotten off Craigslist was the perfect height for a five-star floor dining experience. 

“How’d you decide?” Anna asked, slurping up a long noodle. 

A bit of sauce flicked off the end and landed on her chin. Kristoff leaned over and brushed it away with his thumb. She blushed, and he smiled; he was getting sort of fond of that shade of pink.

“I always liked animals. And science was my best class. So I took some classes in undergrad, did good enough there, applied to veterinary school, and now here I am.”

“How much time do you have left?”

“God, you make it sound like I’m dying or something.”

She elbowed him affectionately. “You’re just dramatic.”

“Year and a half. Almost there.”

“That’s amazing, seriously. Imagine if Ms. Carlton could see you now.”

“She has. I went home for Christmas and ran into her in Target. She asked if I still remembered the Krebs cycle, and I said, ‘well, ma’am, I sure hope so’, and then my mom made me actually explain to her what I was doing with my life.”

Anna snorted. “Is she still teaching?”

“Nah, retired last year. Surprised she didn’t quit right after she got done with having you in class.”

“Me? Oh, come on, I wasn’t that bad.”

“You faked fainting so well on dissection day that someone else fainted, too.”

“Well, it turned out well enough for me, at least. Maybe they’ll ask me to be in a Life Alert commercial next or something. I’m still very good at falling. Want to see?”

She set her carton aside and stood up before he could even respond. “Watch this!”

Her hands flew to her side, and she let out a moan. “Oh, mon dieu...I ‘ave been shot, cherie, au revoir….adieu…”

She stumbled forward, then back, then forward again, and then fell all at once, so easily that for a moment he really was scared. He scooted forward a little so he could get a better look at her face. Her jaw was slack, a strand of hair falling limply over her eyes and dangling into her open mouth. He moved it aside, his hand gentle against her freckled skin.

She blinked and turned to look up at him, her eyes bright. “Was that good?”

“Very.”

She sat up, putting one hand on the floor and turning slightly so they were face to face. “Remember when you danced with me at prom?”

“The last dance, because that was how long it took me to get up the courage to ask you?”

She nodded slowly, her eyes watching something deep inside him. He watched back, wondering what she saw. “Even though we’d both showed up alone, and we talked to each other every day, and you always ate lunch with me and shared your apple slices even though the rest of the hockey team saved a spot for you.”

She leaned closer, just barely, and the tip of her nose brushed against his. “Why were you so nervous, Kris?”

“Because you were a pretty girl, and I was me.”

“And what about now?”

“Well. Some things never change.”

Her lips brushed over his, just barely, but he held still, just in case it was a mistake. He felt her mouth curve into a smile. “You don’t have to be so shy this time. You can kiss me back if you want to.”

“Are you sure?”

“I wanted you to kiss me at prom.”

“I thought you were just leaning on me that much because your shoes hurt.”

“Silly boy,” she whispered, leaning so close that her lips moved over his as she spoke and then he did kiss her like he wished he had seven years ago except maybe it was for the best that he hadn’t til now because really, this was more than worth the wait.