I may not have posted a thing this week, but I am writing. Just so ya’ll know.

And yeah, sometimes in a journal. 

If I Knew Then: Chapter Three

Hopefully everyone hasn’t forgotten this fic! Updates for all my fics will be few and far between, I have to confess (except for my CSBB which will update very Monday because it’s already written). Real life has just gotten super hectic.

I have upped the rating of this fic to an M. I typically think of smut and violence when it comes to ratings, but chatting with other writers has given me a new perspective. Elsa’s story in this fic is pretty intense and could definitely be a trigger to some people. That, not smut, is the reason for the increased rating. If the epilogue upset anyone because it wasn’t rated properly, I feel terrible and sincerely apologize.

On a lighter note, I really enjoyed creating Elsa’s group of high school friends or “the queens” as I have been referring to them in my head. I didn’t plan it, but after it happened as I wrote, I just loved it. It makes me wish these three powerful women had interacted on the show!

Summary: In the Arendelle family, Elsa is the “good daughter.” In the Jones family, Liam is the “good son.” With their younger siblings causing their parents such grief, they’ll gladly keep secrets. Especially when Liam’s dad is the pastor of Storybrooke Fellowship. Because the whole church . . . the whole town . . . is watching. But as the years pass, the secrets they keep will become too much to bear.

Rated: M for mature themes, attempted sexual assault, and description of chronic anxiety and panic attacks

To avoid spoilers, other warnings will be given before specific chapters. Please send me an ask if you want more clarification on the content of this story.

This is a long chapter, so there is a cut. Tumblr, however, likes to eat them, so have grace please . . .

Can also be read on Ao3

Tagging @bethacaciakay @teamhook @kmomof4 @snowbellewells @kday426 @snidgetsafan @delirious-latenight-laughs @jennjenn615

Chapter Three: We Were Young

September 1998

Elsa raced down the main hallway of Storybrooke High, narrowing her eyes as she looked down at her wrist watch. Most kids didn’t seem to care about being tardy to class, but Elsa wasn’t one of them. She had only gotten two demerits in her entire high school career, and the thought of getting any more made panic rise up inside her. She hated disappointing the adults in her life, teachers included.

She was so busy looking at her watch and running so fast down the hall that she didn’t see the brunette rounding the corner until they collided. It wasn’t one of those dramatic moments like on TV; nobody went crashing to the ground. They both just startled and stumbled back a step or two. Elsa blinked to see a pretty, statuesque girl whose dark brown hair was dyed red at the ends. She wore heavy makeup, a tight shirt with a plunging neckline, and a tiny scrap of a skirt, but the bright smile that spread across her face and the sparkle in her eyes contrasted with both. Despite her rather scandalous fashion choices, Elsa instantly liked her.

“Oh my God, that was almost a disaster,” the girl chuckled.

Elsa laughed too. “It was really my fault. I wasn’t looking where I was going.” The bell rang, and Elsa groaned. “Not that my rushing helped anything,” she said wryly, pointing a finger at the bell on the wall that had just finished clanging.

“Sorry!” the brunette replied, her face wrinkling in an apologetic grimace. “Would your teacher excuse your tardy if you say you were helping a new student?”

Elsa nodded. “I figured you were new, since I’ve never seen you before. Small town and all.”

“Ruby Lucas,” she replied, sticking her hand out, “my Granny and I just moved here last week.”