Mzel wasn't a friend of Galinda's. It was quite clever of the blonde to enlist Elphie's bookish friend to help with the surprise. As someone on the fringe of Elphie's life, and someone not really a part of the Main Group, Mzel was in the perfect position to get Elphaba to a dinner party without the green girl ever suspecting there would be a group of people waiting there to meet her.
Mzel had suggested that they grab some dinner to celebrate Elphaba's birthday, and Elphie had agreed. To be honest, very little had been mentioned about her birthday, outside of Galinda's happy shrieks regarding its approach. "OoooOOOooohhh, Elphie, four more sleeps!!"
"Yes, Galinda."
"OoooOOOooohhh, Elphie, three more sleeps!!"
It had gone on and on. But Galinda got overly excited about everything.
Mzel had escorted her to the restaurant, and she had rounded the corner to see Fiyero and Galinda on one side of the table, Boq and Nessa on the other, and a few empty seats on either side and at each end. Not wanting to leave Mzel alone with people she didn't know, she sat next to Nessa, despite the empty chair at the head of the table next to Fiyero.
"Are you surprised?"
Galinda's face was so excited. Elphaba had to admit that she'd thought that it might be nice for her friends to do something, and that it didn't seem like Galinda to let nothing happen. But she looked into the eager eyes of her little friend, and, smiling, exclaimed, "Yes!"
Galinda nodded with satisfaction, and Fiyero offered an endearing smile from next to his perky girlfriend.
The night went on, and all the young friends managed to get along. Elphaba managed to chat with Galinda, Mzel, and Nessa, leaving Boq and Fiyero (who were farthest from her) to talk about their Chemistry course, which was currently getting the better of both of them, before Galinda reprimanded both and told them that "schooltalk" was "unacceptable".
At the end of the evening, they walked Nessa back to her dorm off Morrible's suite first, then Mzel. Boq parted ways with them, wishing Elphaba a sincere "Happy Birthday" before he went, leaving Fiyero to escort his favourite girls back to their dorm. One on each arm, he chuckled. "Whose birthday is this, anyway? I get two girlfriends?"
"You have one, Fiyero," Elphaba reminded him sternly, raising an eyebrow. "And she's so small she barely counts as an entire person, anyway."
"Hey," Galinda giggled.
Galinda kissed her boyfriend at the door to their dorm, then disappeared inside to organize all the gifts she had for Elphie. "Elphaba," Fiyero said, when she turned to follow the blonde in. "Wait... I have something for you."
"Fiyero," she started to say, but he cut her off.
"I know you'll say I shouldn't have, but I saw this and thought of you." From the inside pocket of his jacket, Fiyero produced a Vinkus scarf. "It reminds me of home, and makes me feel safe. I thought..."
"It's exquisite," she said, running her fingers over the smooth and intricate embroidery. "Thank you so much, Yero."
"Happy birthday, Fae," he murmured, leaning in to kiss her softly on the cheek. He pulled back, and she nodded her thanks, but he pulled her back to him again, kissing her firmly on the lips. The kiss was over before it began, but it had been real. Cheeks burning, he dipped his head and turned to disappear into the shadows.
Elphaba was greeted by a mountain of brightly-wrapped gifts when she entered, dumbfounded. She tucked Fiyero's gift away quickly, and proceeded to open the many trinkets Galinda had managed to collect for her. She was impressed with her room mate's restraint - most of the items she'd picked were mostly functional. Her lips still tingled with the memory of Fiyero's lips there, but she allowed herself to get swept up in Galinda's excitement and brush it off as a simple birthday thing.
Years later, when Fiyero would go in search of a scarf and come across the one he'd given her for her birthday, she would say to him, "Oh, Yero, not that one, please. It's so special to me..." leaving him to have to find one of his own to tie around their waists as they moved together.
And years later, she would remember how loved she had felt, then, by all those who had shared that day with her, and think back about those she'd lost along the way. The scarf remained, though most of Galinda's trinkets did not - but nothing would have been necessary to remind Elphaba of the first birthday she'd ever had where she felt truly happy.
My tiny, curvy, goodly best friend organized a surprise dinner for me, the tall, surly one. It was lovely. Anyway, I know it's stupid, but I simply couldn't ignore some of the parallels between all of us at that table and the land of Wicked. I waited till my actual birthday (today) to post it, however. Happy Easter!