Disclaimer: All characters are property of Gregory Maguire, L. Frank Baum, and Stephen Schwartz. I am simply borrowing them for my amusement. ;)
Note: This is basically a one-shot, however, if there is a decent amount of interest, I may develop the story further. Reviews are appreciated... and before you comment, I never said I was good! ;) hehe The story basically takes place after the dance at the Ozdust. Though in my story the whole 'Popular' thing does not occur. Instead, you have this...
Things Change
It was after the Ozdust, the night when everything seemed to change.
The rain was coming down in sheets, wind howling and whipping the branches of the trees, casting strange and eerie shadows across the room with each flash of lightning.
The two inhabitants of this particular room couldn't be anymore different. To the one side, lay Elphaba Thropp. Her side of the room, well, it was…simple, even dull some would say. Decorated in dark colors, creating almost a void in the rest of the darkness of the room. All but the almost glow of the young woman's skin – an emerald in the mist of darkness. She was resting soundly, exhausted from the nights events, and stretched under her dark blankets.
Turning to the other side of the room, that closest to the window, sat Galinda Upland, a sharp contrast to that of her co-inhabitant. Yes, her side was draped in bright pink and ruffles, and not to forget her many fashion statements placed here and there. Everything her roommate seemed to detest, if not somewhat made nauseated by.
Terrified of storms, Galinda sat curled at the head of her bed, knees drawn close to her chest and arms wrapped tightly around them. Speaking softly to herself, "why does it have to storm so? And why did I have to be so stubborn and demand the bed closest to this stupid window…" At that moment, thunder shattered and echoed across the night sky. She flinched and shut her eyes tightly, wishing away the chaos of the storm. "Stupid storm."
Elphaba finally made movement as the thunder interrupted her slumber. Stretching and glancing about the room before falling back asleep, she stopped when she discovered her roommate huddled like a frightened child.
"Galinda?" she asked as she blinked through the lightning flash. "What are you doing?"
"N…nothing" she got out just before another clap of thunder erupted and she let out a whimper. As another flash of lightning lit the night sky, it was then that Elphaba noticed tears slowly falling down Galinda's cheeks.
She was silent for a moment not sure if she should say or do anything. But remembering earlier in the evening, when Galinda came to her rescue and danced with her when the others were staring and laughing, she thought she should reach out as well. Even though none of that would have happened in the first place had it not been for her roommate... She heard another whimper come from the girl across the way, bringing her out of her thoughts. I may regret this but… "Galinda, you can take half my bed if you wish."
"No, no, that's okay" the girl stated a little too quickly. "I mean… I just…"
"Suit yourself," the green girl stated before turning away from her. Settling back into sleep she mumbled to herself, "irritating little… why do I even bother?"
Galinda wiped her tears away and laid her head down on her knees. She sniffled and closed her eyes, trying to find something, anything, to think about to get her mind off the storm. Another clap of thunder and that was it.
She jumped out of bed. Padding over to the other side of the room, getting enveloped in the darkness, she stood a moment debating on waking Elphaba to see if the offer still stood or head back to her side and stay in fear the rest of the night.
The blond haired girl, finally getting the courage, was just about to tap a green shoulder when, "Galinda, you're creeping me out," the green girl stated without turning around, making Galinda jump.
Totally caught off guard Galinda forgot what she was going to say. "Oh…um… I'm sorry. I…I…I…"
Growing slightly more irritated, Elphaba never turning around stated in an unpleasant tone, "Well? Are you going to stand there stuttering all night or are you going to spit it out so I can go back to sleep?"
At that point Galinda thought that maybe this was a really bad idea. She just got Elphaba to not totally hate her, only to do something stupid like this. She was just about to turn around and head back to her bed when another round of thunder crashed. Jumping she decided it was now or never, "I was just wondering if I could take back what I said, if the offer still stands. I really hate storms."
She stood motionless waiting for a response. Still facing away, Elphaba simply scooted closer to the other edge of the bed. Galinda took that as a yes and wasted no time climbing in under the covers. Laying down she pulled the blankets up around her and stared up at the ceiling. After a few moments, she slowly began to calm down and feel safer. Turning her head towards her green friend, yes friend, she whispered "thank you Elphaba." She got a grumble of some sort in return, causing a slight smile to appear on her face before closing her eyes and finally drifting off to sleep.
