Taking Notice -modern high school Kristanna-

High school was supposed to be a time of experience, a time to find out who you are and where you want to go in life. High school was about making friends and maybe even falling in love.

For Kristoff Bjorgman, it was none of those. For Kristoff Bjorgman, it was exactly the same as every other time in his life, lonely and full of hate.

The only thing he looked forward to everyday was seeing his classmate, Anna Fjord. She was a lively spirit, always upbeat and cheerful, welcoming to everyone she met.  They never spoke, but she was enough to give him at least a little faith in humanity.

His best friend Sven was the only other thing that made his days bearable. The pair had been best friends from the moment Kristoff arrived in third grade, having just moved from the small village in Norway he was born in.

Sven was his only friend, and if he was to be honest with himself, the only person that could stand him for longer than 5 minutes.

Since he was young Kristoff had suffered from depression, beginning at the early age of 5, when he was forced to move to the states after his biological parents abandoned him. It was the beginning of a long string of abandonment that molded him into who he was at that point.

The family that adopted him at 14 loved him, of that he was certain. He held just as much love for the older couple, as well as the large family he had been welcomed into with open arms. However the fear he would be abandoned by them as well, and memories of being left behind hung over him, dousing any opportunities he had to show just how much they meant to him before they began to take shape.

In his short life of 19 years Sven was the only person to never abandon him no matter what happened.

Making his way up to his seat in the back of the English class the blonde settled in, pulling out a notebook as well as a sketch pad, opening the pad and beginning to draw, oblivious to the fact he was 15 minutes early and alone when everyone else was still mingling in and around the cafeteria.

When Sven entered the room he sighed softly, shaking his head at the sight of his friend, bent over his sketch book, charcoal stick flying across the page.

Settling in his seat beside him the brunette didn’t need to look to guess what his friend was drawing, it was always the same. Either his family, Sven himself, or Anna. Charcoal was his medium of choice for portraits of the young red haired woman, so seeing the stick in his hand he knew immediately it was another portrait of the woman. Looking over the blondes shoulder he was surprised to see the beginnings of a scene holding many different people, many leaning near each other as though whispering. Upon closer inspection he realized it was the beginning of their locker hallway at school, recognizing the design of the lockers in the background.

“What’s that?” He asked softly, wincing when the blonde stiffened, looking up at him from under blonde bangs, brown eyes wide.

“Uhm just a small sketch project.” He answered, closing the sketch book and hiding it in his bag as students began to trickle in. Pulling out a bottle of hand sanitizer and paper towel he quickly cleaned his hands of the charcoal residue before looking back at the brunette.

“It’s nothing major. Just a quick sketch I’ll finish later.”

Opening his mouth to respond Sven was cut off by their teacher entering. While the woman was kind, she didn’t take well to not paying attention and talking over her.

Deciding to talk to his friend about it later he filed it away, unable to shake the image from his mind. He knew Kristoff had a photographic memory and could draw based on just a quick glance at someone, but surely he wouldn’t draw something as painful as the other students in the hallways that were always gossiping about him just loud enough for him to hear.

When the door burst open he heard Kristoff chuckle softly, looking up to see none other than Anna standing awkwardly in the doorway, quickly shuffling to her seat at the front of the room, groaning when she was given a slip for detention, her small friend Olaf Snow patting her shoulder, trying to hide an amused grin himself.

During class the blonde was usually left alone, but once the bell for lunch rang out, it was like an unspoken rule that he was now free game. Many a time he had fallen when leaving class because someone had tripped him, sending him careening to the ground in a silent heap.

He made no move against his tormentors, much to the ire of his companion.

“Why don’t you ever fight back?!” Sven hissed, slamming his tray down beside the blonde, flinging himself into the chair.

Shrugging the tall blonde pushed his food around, looking up at his friend with a glare.

“I don’t want to hurt anyone okay? You know that. Now just drop it alright?”

“But why?! No one would mess with you anymore if you would just fight back!”

“Drop it Sven!” Slamming his fork down the blonde stood, throwing his food away before storming out of the cafeteria, heading for the large oak tree that the pair usually took their lunch beneath.

Unbeknownst to him Anna had overheard his outburst, witnessing him storm out. Waiting a while Anna stood, politely excusing herself from her friends before hurrying out the glass doors, scanning the grounds for any sign of the blonde. Seeing his bag at the base of the tree she hurried towards it, confused when she didn’t spot him anywhere. Hearing a soft gasp above her she looked up, surprised to see Kristoff, high above her perched on a branch, looking down at her with wide eyes, sketch book in hand and charcoal smudged across his cheek.

“Hello Kristoff!” She called, waving up at him, a bright smile on her face.

“H-hi.” He mumbled, unsure what was going on.

“How’d you get up there?” She asked, looking around for a low branch or some sort of hold.

“I climbed, how else do you think I got up here?” He commented dryly, chuckling as she tried to jump at the lowest branch, unable to reach it.

“But how?! It’s so high!”

Tucking his book under his arm Kristoff climbed down, jumping down to stand beside Anna once he was able.

“It’s not that hard, just grab the branch, and pull yourself up.” He explained before realizing the woman was paying no attention to his words, too busy staring at his cheek.

“Wh-what? What is it?” He asked bringing a hand up to swipe at his face. Looking At his hand and finding charcoal he blushed. Digging in his bag he quickly found his sanitizer and a towel, wiping his cheek clean.

“Is it all gone?”

Taking the towel from the blonde she giggled, standing on her toes to reach his opposite cheek she rubbed at a spot, smiling when she was finished.

“There. Now it’s all gone.”

“Th-thanks.” He stumbled, feeling himself blushing red. This was the woman he was always wishing he could talk to, but never having the courage to approach, and here she was talking to him.

Looking around he didn’t see any of her friends, suddenly confused by her presence.

“What exactly are you doing out here? I don’t see any of your friends around.”

He watched as she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear before clasping her hands in front of her he held back a smile, thinking it was cute.

“Oh…I came out to find you.”

“Find…me?” He echoed, brown eyes wide the blush that had died making it’s way back onto his cheeks.

“Well yeah. You looked upset when you left, and…and I heard what you said. I-I wasn’t trying to eavesdrop I swear! I’m so sorry! It’s just you looked so upset and you’re too cute to look so sad! Wait what?” Looking down at her hands she blushed red, small hands coming up to cover her face.

Chuckling softly, his own face red Kristoff rubbed his neck, smiling at the woman.

“Th-thanks…I think. I’m okay though. I just…had an argument with Sven.”

Looking up at him Anna felt a blush forming on her face. She had watched him from afar for so long, they were almost always in the same classes, and had been since she had transferred to the school in the ninth grade. He was older than her by 2 years, but due to moving around so much he had been held back twice, allowing them to be in the same classes. He was an enigma to her. Someone she wanted to know, but was always too nervous to say anything.

“What…what were you drawing?” She asked softly, smiling up at the shocked blonde.

“Just…just something I remembered." Looking down at her he frowned, growing nervous. Was she just talking to him because she felt pity? Or did one of her friends put her up to it so they could find out something to hold over his head. Crossing his arms he leaned against the tree base, attempting to hide his growing nervousness.

“Why are you out here?”

“I told you why. You looked upset so I followed you.”

“Why though? It makes absolutely no sense. We’ve never spoke, you have your group of high class friends, so…why follow me?” He inquired, his voice soft, as though he were dreading the answer.

Placing a small hand on his arm the woman smiled.

“It’s simple. You look like you could use a friend.” She answered, smile brightening at the blush that over took his face.

“I…but…won’t your friends…I don’t know…get upset?”

Frowning she looked up at the blonde, not understanding what he meant. Her friends were nice, they accepted people for who they were.

“Why do you think that?”
“Well you’re…yknow…you. And they’re…well off. And me…I’m nothing in comparison. I’m just some guy with a crappy personality.”

“Well…I don’t think you have a crappy personality.” Anna commented, smiling up at the tall blonde.

One blonde eyebrow rose at her admission, lips quirking up in a half smile.

“How would you know whether or not I have a crappy personality?”

“I hear you talking to Sven sometimes, and you never fight back when people hurt you, even though you should. Sure you can be rude to them, but they’re always rude first. And right now, you’re not telling at me for coming to find you.”

Opening his mouth to speak he quickly closed it, blushing pink.

How was it this woman whom he’d never even spoken to knew him so well?

“What makes you think you know me so well?” He snapped, becoming highly uncomfortable with the situation at hand.

Now it was Anna’s turn to blush, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, a nervous habit she picked up as a child.

“I…watch you sometimes…in class and at lunch. You always look so forlorn and sad…I guess…I just wanted to try to cheer you up.” She explained, her voice losing it’s edge and volume as her words went on, ending near a whisper.

Turning to walk away she was surprised to feel a large but extremely gentle hand on her wrist, stopping her from leaving. Looking over her shoulder she saw Kristoff wearing what could only be described as a sheepish and sorrowful expression.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to be so rude.” He mumbled, releasing her wrist quickly.

“It’s alright. I shouldn’t have just come out here like I did.”

“No that’s…that’s not what I mean. I was rude when all you were trying to do was be kind.”
Smiling she reached out to pat his shoulder.

“It’s fine really. So…want to go back inside?”

Rubbing his neck sheepishly Kristoff shook his head.

“No I think I’m going to stay out here.” Lowering himself to the ground he pulled out his sketch pad, surprised when he felt her sit down beside him, leaning over his shoulder to look at his book.

“Can I see?”

“No.”

Expression falling the woman pulled away, sitting cross legged beside him, clearly hurt.

“Maybe one day, but just…not yet.” He amended, hoping she’d understand.

His art was a delicate subject for him, and most of the time Sven didn’t even see his pieces. If he did see them, they were meticulously chosen before he was given permission.

“Oh…okay…”

Catching a glimpse of the woman’s expression he sighed, it was obvious she didn’t understand. Digging in his bag he pulled out an older book, flipping to a water colour of Sven before passing it to her.

“It’s not that great, but…I’m really meticulous about what pieces are seen, so please excuse my hesitance to show you.”

Taking the book reverently the redhead smiled, softly running her fingers along the image.

“It looks amazing Kristoff! Do you take an art class?”

Shaking his head he shrugged, rubbing his neck.

“No. I don’t show my pieces to people. They’re not really done to be shown. I just do it to do it.” Looking over at the book he sighed softly.

“It’s the only thing I’m good at.” He mumbled, dragging his eyes away from the sweet expression on her face.

He couldn’t do this. She was from a completely different world. Friends at school was one thing, but anything more was impossible.

Looking up with bright bleu eyes she held the book to her chest reverently. “Can I…would it be alright to look at a few more?”

Brown eyes widening he swallowed thickly, unsure if it was wise, but he nodded slowly anyway.

“S-sure…I mean…if you really want to. Go ahead.”

Releasing a happy noise she sat the book in her lap, gently turning the pages, gasping when she came to one of herself.

“Kristoff…”

Looking over he winced, eyes widening in terror. She was never supposed to see any of the pieces he had done of her, ever. It made him seem like some sort of stalker. The way she said his name, a soft gasping whisper terrified him the most.

“A-Anna I’m sorry. You…you weren’t supposed to see that. I’m so sorry. I-oh god. I’m so sor-“

“Kristoff wait! Stop talking for a moment and let me speak!”

Nodding he curled his shoulders in, a subconscious gesture to make himself seem smaller.

“It’s wonderful. How did you do it?” She whispered, astounded bleu eyes meeting worried brown.

“I…I have a photographic memory. We were sitting in math one day and you just looked so…happy that I…I felt like I needed to draw it. I’m sorry it’s weird.”

“Nono! It’s amazing! You’re so talented! You need to do something with it! Like…ohoh!! You could enter them in contests!”

Laughing softly he shook his head, taking the book back and stowing it away in his bag once more.

“No way. They’re no where near good enough for that.”

Grabbing his arm she shook it, holding back a laugh when it barely moved him.

“But it is good enough!! It looks so good! But…I understand. You have to be comfortable enough to show them off. Thank you, by the way.”

Looking towards the building when the bell rang she pouted, blowing a puff of air up at her bangs in irritation. Allowing the blonde to help her up once he stood himself she smiled, beginning to walk away. Turning back she jogged over raising up on her toes to plant a kiss on his cheek, giggling at the blush that took over his face.

“Thanks again. I’ll see you in class!”

Watching her run off Kristoff lifted a hand to his cheek, confused and elated by the turn of events. Maybe things were headed in a better direction possibly. Slinging his bag over his shoulder he jogged to the building, catching up with an apologetic Sven before making their way to their next class.