Disclaimer: Read the title of this oneshot.

AN: Hey Guys! So I FINALLY finished this oneshot! it's 1:10ish where I'm at, I finished it five minutes ago. I feel really happy that it's finally done now, cause it took FOREVER haha. Not sure about the ending, really... I may go back and edit it later, idk.

Oh and apparently, putting notes on your stories and not putting a chapter as well is against the rules.. So for those who either have forgotten or just didn't know, my current multi chap, On the Way There, is on a (hopefully) brief hiatus at the moment. I went on my phone and found that everything, story ideas, my songs, the entire OtWT story, everything was gone. The only things left were my social security number (thank oz), and an idea I had for a oneshot that I won't ever use unless I am desperate. Thank you for your understanding. :)

Enjoy!

It had been a week since that day with the Lion Cub, and Elphaba hadn't spoken to Fiyero once. It certainly wasn't for lack of trying on Fiyero's part, she just wouldn't stop avoiding him. The worst part was, Fiyero couldn't figure out why, and it was killing him.

On the eighth day, he finally found Elphaba leaning against a tree in a park near the Shiz Library. She was sitting on a blanket, her nose stuck in a book. Her long, dark hair had been pulled back in her signature braid, but it was coming undone, so there were a loose strands of hair here and there. She looked peaceful, beautiful, Fiyero thought.

"Hey," he said, walking up to the spot where she was sitting. He sat down next to Elphaba on the blanket, and she glanced up from her book.

"Hi," was her reply. She looked back down at the page and continued reading. It was quiet for a minute or so.

"I just thought I should apologize for what happened a week ago.. I never should've run away back there. I'm sorry," Fiyero said, breaking the silence.

Elphaba gave him a skeptical look. "Fiyero, what are you sorry for? Everyone on this campus, with the exception of Galinda, would've run away. Honestly I don't blame you for wanting to get away from the green bean. Most people do."

"I'm not most people, Elphaba. You of all people should know that by now," Fiyero replied.

"Besides, you're my friend. I'm not going to be prejudiced and judge you by your skin like most people do. In fact, I happen to love your skin. I think it's one of your best features."

Elphaba blushed. "We're friends?," she asked, changing the subject.

"Aren't we?," Fiyero asked in reply.

"You know me better than pretty much anyone else. I'd like to think we are," he told her honestly. Elphaba blushed again.

"I just... I've never really had friends before.. Not until Galinda came along, anyway. This is all sort of new to me, I guess. But, I would like to think that we're friends, too, Fiyero.

And what did you mean by that? I know you better than anyone?," she asked him, confused.

"That day, you saw right through me, Elphaba. Like I was made of glass. No one, and I mean no one, has ever done that before. And, I'll admit, it scared me a lot. You saw through my façade. No one before you has ever done that. No one has ever called me out for pretending to be what people seem to expect me to be, until you. So I guess you know now.. I'll tell you, I'm not the smartest person ever- definitely nowhere near as smart as you- but I'm not as brainless as people think I am. You know that, which means you know me better than pretty much everyone," he explained.

"Oh. Fiyero, I didn't just mean that you weren't as empty-headed as you acted. You said that you were, if I recall correctly, "genuinely self-absorbed and deeply shallow." Coming here and apologizing to me proves otherwise. Like I said, you're not. Otherwise you wouldn't be so unhappy, I told you that."

"Which is another reason I got scared and ran away," Fiyero mumbled.

"What?," Elphaba asked, not understanding what he meant.

"You saying that. It's true, I'm miserable. People look at me and they see, to use Galinda's exact words, "Fiyero Tiggular, the Winkie prince whose reputation is oh so scandalicious." They only see what my reputation says I am, not me. They don't see Fiyero Tiggular, the person. You caught me off guard when you said that, Elphaba. I got scared because I knew it was true. That was one of the reasons I ran away back there.."

"Believe me, I know what you mean. People look at me and they see the Artichoke. The Green Bean. Asparagus, Broccoli, I even got "Tree" one time. They don't care enough to look past that and see Elphaba Thropp, the human being who has feelings and isn't just a walking, talking vegetable.

"But you know that's not true.." Fiyero told her, smiling.

Elphaba was taken aback for a moment. "What? Fiyero, I thought we just agreed that we were friends. Have I misjudged our relationship? Because honestly, I thought better of you," she asked him angrily.

This just proves my point. No one wants to be friends with the artichoke. Not even Fiyero, Elphaba thought sadly.

"No, no, I didn't mean it like that," Fiyero frantically explained. "I just meant that you know what people say about you isn't true! Not that I was agreeing with what they say! In fact, what people say about you, what they call you and how they talk to and about you, it pisses me off. I can't understand why everyone has such a negative opinion of you, honestly." He ran his fingers through his hair nervously, awaiting Elphaba's response.

She sat there for a moment, stunned by what Fiyero had just told her. She wasn't expecting him to say anything like that- why should she? No one had ever said anything like that to her before. It surprised her.

"Fiyero," she started slowly, looking into his azure eyes.

"H-how am I supposed to believe that, when I've been told otherwise my entire life?"

He knew what she meant. It must've been difficult for her, being judged by the mere color of her skin since birth. He could relate though, having had a similar experience because of his title and reputation.

He was silent for a moment, before daring to slip his hands into hers. Elphaba looked hesitant, and slightly taken aback by this movement, but still she didn't move. She did, however, avert her eyes from his face, looking at the ground so that he couldn't see the slight blush creeping onto her cheeks.

"Elphaba," Fiyero began quietly, getting her to look up at him.

"You're supposed to believe it because it's true. The people who make fun of you are jerks and idiots who have nothing better to do than put other people down like they do you. I wish I could say I was never one of those people, because I said something horrible to you the day we met, and I'm really sorry. I shouldn't have.

But you're better than all of those people, you are. You're strong, intelligent, kind, funny, and absolutely beautiful, and anyone would be lucky to be your friend. I only wish that one day you'll be able to see that, instead of what everyone tells you."

Elphaba was speechless for a moment, as Fiyero tried to read her expression.

"Fi-Fiyero, that's the nicest thing that anyone has ever said to me," she said slowly, stuttering a bit.

"That will change soon, then," he replied, somewhat surprised at her statement.

"I find it ironic that the one person who deserves all the kindness in the world, is given the opposite treatment. It baffles me, how things happen that way. I know that you pretend it doesn't bother you, but stuff like that, especially since it's thrown at you all the time, I know it can't be easy to simply shake it off. So, Elphaba, if you ever need a shoulder to cry on, for any reason, I'm always here for you," Fiyero told her sincerely.

Elphaba was stunned by Fiyero's words. Never in her life had anyone ever told her anything like this, not Nessa, not even Galinda. She had to fight back tears at his words.

"Th-thank you, Fiyero," Elphaba whispered, trying to comprehend what he had said. She still couldn't understand how Fiyero- how anyone- could say things like that and mean it. It wasn't every day that someone was nice to her for once.

Then, Elphaba did something she rarely did to anybody: she hugged Fiyero. She clung to him as if he were keeping her alive, and letting him go would kill her. Fiyero blushed, which went unnoticed by Elphaba, and hugged her back. And they stayed like that for a long time, silent tears streaming down Elphaba's face.

"Elphaba? Are you okay?," Fiyero asked her after a while, when he heard her sniffling.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she answered as normally as she could, although you could tell in her voice that she had been crying.

"You sure? You can tell me anything, you know. You can trust me. I won't bite," Fiyero smiled. "Much," he added, smirking.

Elphaba took a deep breath, trying to calm herself. "It's just that, no one has ever told me anything like that, Fiyero. Not even my own family. I guess you could say I'm sort of shocked... I wasn't expecting you, of all people, to say anything that- that beautiful to me. I don't deserve a friend as good as you are, Fiyero."

She paused for a moment, thinking.

"And I'm sorry, too.." She said sheepishly.

"Whatever for? What have you to be sorry for right now?" Fiyero asked her, confused.

"For crying all over your shirt..." Elphaba explained, a bit embarrassed.

"I told you I'd always be here if you need a shoulder to cry on, didn't I? That's a promise, Elphaba. I'm always here for you, of you need me."

Elphaba smiled, but after that, it was quiet for a few minutes. Elphaba went back to reading, and Fiyero sat there, thinking about their previous conversation.

After a while, Fiyero said, "Sooooooo... About that day, you know, with the Lion Cub... I-" Elphaba cut him off.

"Not here, Fiyero. Not now," she said, nodding her head to her right. Fiyero glanced over to where she had indicated, knowing what it was before even seeing it, but looking even still.

When he turned his head, he saw a petite blonde girl in a frilly, light pink dress walking over to them. An alarm went off in Fiyero's head.

"Oh. Okay," he said, realizing what Elphaba meant. "Yeah that conversation can wait for when we can talk in private.." He trailed off as Galinda neared the two.

"Hey Elphie! Hey Fifi! Oh hey your names rhyme!" Galinda giggled, high on life.

"Hi Galinda," Fiyero said, dissapointed that she had chosen now of all times to say hi. It wasn't that he didn't like her as a friend, it was just that he was finally getting closer to Elphaba, and now the moment was gone. Seeing Galinda with him would probably cause her to put her guard up more anyway, he realized.

As if on cue, Elphaba stood and began to pick up her belongings. "I-I have to go. Big exam to study for," she said, excusing herself and swiftly walking away.

Before she could get too far, however, Fiyero shouted, "Elphaba, wait!"

She turned around. "Yes?"

"We will continue our conversation later, won't we? I kind of wanted to ask you something.." He asked, trailing off.

"I don't know, Fiyero," she replied. And with that, she turned around and made her way back to Crage Hall.

"What were you two talking about?," Galinda inquired, her curiosity rising.

"Oh you know, this and that. Nothing important really," he answered her, knowing that what he said would confuse, an quite possibly upset her. But Fiyero didn't care right now. He was kind of mad at Galinda. Sure, he really had no reason to be, but that didn't stop him.

Galinda pouted for a little while, but stopped when she realized it was a lost cause. She wasn't going to get another word out of Fiyero about the subject.

Elphaba unlocked the door to her dorm and rushed inside, careful to close the door behind her. Tears started streaming down her face, even more so than when she was with Fiyero.

Face it, Elphaba. You're not that girl. He loves Galinda, not you. Who would ever love an artichoke, anyway? Certainly not Fiyero, that's for sure.

It was ONE awkward moment in a clearing, that's all. Nothing more, nothing less. He doesn't see you as anything more than a friend. Get that through your head and wake up from this stupid daydream of yours. Realize that he was never yours in the first place and he never will be. You're not that girl, Elphaba. You're not that girl.

She repeated that phrase to herself over and over again until she finally fell asleep in her bed. It had been a long day.

The End!

Oh and special thanks to Elphaba-WWW for helping me with a chunk of this story! Without her, I'd still have major writer's block!