A/N: Ok, so Tally (WickedxWitch) and I decided to combine our talents and create this little ficlet...Tally wrote Galinda, and I wrote Elphie, and we ended up with...this. Enjoy!!!
Disclaimer
We don't own Wicked. Sad, but true. However, if we did, we'd share it vicariously with all of you )
Oh, and the title is 'borrowed' from Sandi Thom's album. It seemed to fit rather too well to pass it up!
Smile...It Confuses People
Elphaba all but skipped down the corridor to her dorm room, her emotions all over the place. Finally something was going her way...she would actually get to meet the wizard! The wizard! Dipping a hand into her pocket, she ran her fingers over the edge of the ticket Madame Morrible had given her, unable to believe it was actually real. Reaching the room, she couldn't keep a smile from spreading across her lips, lighting up her green features, as she pushed open the door.
At the time, Galinda was sprawled, oblivious, against the pink covers of her bed, doing her nails. Of course, she was supposed to be doing her homework, but it could wait. She was supposed to meet Fiyero that evening and the nail polish she had on at the moment was in no way matching the dress she planned on wearing. If that wasn't an emergency, and a good reason to put off her homework, she didn't know what else was. Just when she was blowing her nails dry, the unmistakable sound of approaching footsteps echoed outside the door, clearly getting closer. Well, she wouldn't stand getting another lecture from Elphie, not today. Skillfully, she shoved the small bottle under her pillow, and sprang towards her desk, just as the door burst open
Elphaba was so caught up in herself that she didn't notice the flush that had appeared in Galinda's cheeks after throwing herself across the room to the desk. Pushing the door shut behind her, she manage to stop a tune humming itself out of her lips, remembering that she was Miss Elphaba, sarcastic and detached, not a silly little schoolgirl. Nevertheless, the smile still lingered on her lips as she folded the umbrella Madame Morrible had lent her, leaning it against the wardrobe, and slipped off her coat, before picking a book at random from the shelf and settling herself in a chair.
Galinda turned her head to meet the eyes of her green roommate. She was about to dismiss her with a nod of her head, pulling off her most preoccupied expression; actually, she did that for a slight moment. Then she did a double take. Something was... not quite right. She couldn't put her (perfectly manicured) finger on it, but something was definitely strange about her roommate.
Elphaba felt her roommate's eyes on her, and raised a curious eyebrow (it wasn't as if she could concentrate on reading when she felt like this, anyway). "What? I haven't changed color, have I?"
Galinda did not reply, as it suddenly dawned on her what was it that seemed wrong with her roommate. And now that she figured it out, she couldn't help but feel slightly terrified. Elphaba never smiled. Ever. Not even when something really funny happened in class, like when Biq tripped over something in Social Sciences the previous week. But now she had a broad, brilliant smile... it was quite disturbing, to say the least. "Is something wrong?" she asked, slight concern sneaking into her voice.
"Wrong?" Elphaba frowned slightly, wondering how in Oz Galinda had come to that conclusion when she was quite clearly deliriously happy, despite how she'd tried to conceal it. "I don't know how you've been brought up, Miss Galinda, but surely even in your social circles a smile signifies pleasure."
"Not in your case," Galinda replied, half to Elphaba, half to herself. She was planning on teasing her roommate a bit more about that unusual fact of her smile, and she was sort of annoyed that Elphaba was bright enough to pick up on the reason she suspected something was wrong.
Elphaba was slightly offended; not that she let it show. Surely she wasn't that sullen around her roommate? "How do you mean?" she asked, trying not to let Galinda see that she was actually interested in anything she had to say.
"Elphie, you're smiling," said Galinda, pointing out the obvious. "In other people's case, yes, it does signify pleasure. In your case? I have to say it's slightly disturbing. And you cannot fool me. Something is wrong. Tell me what it is. Tell me, tell me." It worked once; there was no reason why it wouldn't work again.
Elphaba rolled her eyes at Galinda's persistent whining, and closed her book, setting it on the edge of the corner table next to her. "You really want to know why I'm smiling? Why for the first time in my life, I'm genuinely happy?" She felt her voice catch slightly at the last part, not sure why she suddenly had an urge to share her news with someone, anyone, annoying blonde roommate or not.
Genuinely happy? Elphaba? Now she was curious. "Of course I want to know that, Elphie. That's what roommates are for!"
Once again, Elphaba raised an eyebrow skeptically, not entirely sure whether the blonde girl was serious. 'I… well…" Get a grip, she told herself; it's not like you're sharing something deeply personal. "You know how Madame Morrible mentioned, that first day at Shiz, how there was a possibility the Wizard might want to meet me? Because of my...talent?"
Her talent. That talent that made her, Galinda, not get her way for the first time in her life. That talent that made her loathe Elphaba from that first day they met. That strange, unexplained talent that seemed to take hold on her green roommate at times with no apparent reason. What it had to do with anything? She nodded, not quite following. "Yes, I remember that day most vividly," she said, hoping that the sarcasm in her voice wouldn't escape her roommate. To be quite honest, she thought she deserved to express her bitterness, even if it had been months since then.
Elphaba smirked at Galinda's disgruntled expression, knowing that that day, at least, she had got one over on her. Not that she cared about beating Galinda at anything. "I never actually believed her," she admitted. "But just now… she came to find me. The Wizard wants to see me. Me! In person!" She couldn't contain her excitement, and didn't entirely regret her outward show of emotion towards Galinda. Maybe she'd actually start thinking of her as human if she saw she had human emotions as well.
It took a moment for this information to sink in, but when it did, Galinda shot out of her chair. "The Wizard?" she exclaimed. Of course, she resented Morrible's liking of Elphaba because of her 'talent', and the fact that Elphie was her favorite student, well everyone's favorite student, but she didn't let it cloud her instincts. This was an opportunity. Not her opportunity, but for once, Elphie would get a chance to prove herself to others, to people much less small-minded than their ignorant classmates. The Wizard, in Oz's name! "He asked for you? Personally?"
"Apparently so," Elphaba shrugged, but a warm feeling had spread over her, seeing that Galinda did care after all. For once she wasn't being her self-centered, ditzy self, and Elphaba realized that she wasn't the only one to hide her true colors. After all, Galinda was the closest thing to a friend she had at Shiz, and her reaction to this only confirmed it.
"Well, what did he say? When does he want to meet you?" There were so many questions whirling in Galinda's head, it was so hard to keep track of them all. Oz, she was so bad at multitasking. And she wanted to know everything, everything, about that little piece of news.
Elphaba restrained a Galinda-like giggle at the blonde's eagerness for gossip. "I don't know what he said, Galinda, but Madame Morrible gave me a ticket to the train that leaves for Emerald City the day after tomorrow. So I guess he's pretty keen," she smiled. "But surely your homework is more important than interrogating a mean green thing," she smirked.
"Oh, who cares about that hideodious homework anyway?" Galinda asked, dismissing the pile of books and parchments with a wave of her hand. Then something occurred to her, and she walked over to Elphaba and brought her to a standing position by a pull at her arm. It was time to get practical. "We have to get you packed!"
"What? Galinda, please, I'm not leaving for another 2 days, and I think I am perfectly capable of packing my own things." Despite her protestations, Elphaba continued to smile as the small blonde tugged on her arm. It felt nice to be looked after, for once.
Galinda gave her a horrified look. "You not only bounce into this room smiling, now you're putting off things to the last minute? Why, why, Miss Elphaba, I'm glad to see I've finally managed to have some effect on you!" she announced, smiling victoriously.
Elphaba rolled her eyes once again. "Oz help me the day Miss Galinda Upland realizes that Miss Elphaba is, in fact, human and female."
"Does that mean I'm finally allowed to do your nails?" Galinda asked sweetly, all but pushing Elphaba onto her bed.
Elphaba stumbled over her feet as Galinda pushed her backwards. "Galinda, please. I am not a child's plaything!"
"I wasn't going to do that right now, we still have to pack!" Galinda stated, pulling a shabby suitcase from under her roommate's bed. She looked at it thoughtfully for a moment, then at Elphaba. "Hmm… maybe you should borrow one of mine. The initials may not fit, but-"
"Galinda," Elphaba had to stop her before it got out of hand. "Galinda," she repeated, when the blonde showed no sign of having heard.
Galinda stopped what she was doing (which was hopping in attempts to reach the top of her closet where several empty suitcases were placed out of her reach). She turned and flashed an innocent smile at her roommate. "Yes, Elphie?"
Elphaba sighed. She was quickly realizing that it would probably be less painful to just let Galinda do her thing. "Nothing, Galinda. Nothing. Do continue."
Galinda looked at the top of the closet, then at Elphaba, who was much taller. "Well, I would appreciate some help, if you don't mind," she said, sort of annoyed.
Elphaba smirked at Galinda's request, and couldn't resist some teasing of her own. "I'm sorry, Galinda, did you want me to do something for you?"
Galinda huffed in discontent. She knew what Elphaba was trying to do. "Never mind, I'll just do it myself," she said through clenched teeth, standing on her tiptoes. She would reach those suitcases, no matter what. She always got her way. This time would not be different. She reached out her arm, stretching herself up as high as she possibly could-
Elphaba couldn't restrain herself, and let out a giggle that came out as more of a cackle, seeing Galinda tip the edge of the bottom case. Sure enough, the inevitable happened, and, almost in slow motion, Elphaba watched the cases tumble over the edge of the wardrobe. "Galinda," she managed to get out in between laughing and breathing. "Galinda, watch out. The cases… falling…"
She saw it a second before it happened, let out a terrified shriek, so thin she could hardly believed it was her own voice, and ducked, raising her hands to defend her head a moment before three white suitcases crushed to the floor with an incredible noise. Once she regained her shaky breath, she looked up to glare at her green roommate, who was now laughing. At her. "What is so funny?" she spat, rising from the floor and dusting off her skirt.
Elphaba swallowed, trying to control herself. After (nearly) regaining her composure, she smiled innocently. "Nothing, my dear Galinda. Would you like some help with those cases?"
"No, thank you, I can manage just fine," Galinda replied quite coldly, hoping it would get her green roommate to apologize. She spent a moment eyeing the fallen suitcases, then chose the middle-sized one. "Here. This one should do it. The initials don't match you yours, I'm afraid, but somehow I doubt that would bother you."
Elphaba said, completely seriously, "Actually, Galinda, I think having your initials on the case might be a bit of a problem."
"How so?"
"People might start thinking that I am Miss Galinda Upland of the Upper Uplands,"
Elphaba did her best to bite back a grin.
Galinda sensed her friend's mockery, yet she was determined to turn it in her favor. "Well, it will only help your social life. You'll finally have a social life," she pointed out, directing a newly-manicured finger at Elphaba.
"My dear Miss Galinda," Elphaba spoke, once again, in all seriousness. "Just because my social life does not overlap with yours does not mean that it is totally non-existent."
Galinda cocked an eyebrow. She was willing to go along with this. She knew there was an extremely plausible chance she'd also win. "So you're claiming to have a social life," she said, "with real people? That I know nothing about?"
Elphaba grinned. "Miss Galinda, you really do like to ruin all the mystery. I believe you'd find me no fun if there was nothing you didn't know."
Galinda watched Elphaba for a moment. She couldn't decide whether the enigmatic smile on her roommate's lips implied that she did indeed have a social life that she herself was oblivious to. Then, she decided to use a different approach. Pulling off her best pout, she said, "Alright. I thought we told each other everything. I guess I was wrong." With that, she turned her back on Elphaba, repressing a smirk of amusement.
Elphaba dropped the grin, in favor of a mock-sympathetic look, with more than a hint of sarcasm. "I'm sorry, Galinda. I didn't realize you cared so much."
Galinda's eyes narrowed, but only for a slight moment. She turned to face her roommate again. "So tell me. I thought I was your only friend. Who is it that wants your company?"
Elphaba raised an eyebrow. "You really don't think I have a clue about socializing, do you? I must say, Galinda, I'm hurt. I hate to bruise your ego, but you are not the only person who enjoys my company." She cast a fleeting thought to Fiyero, but pushed it away before she said something she regretted.
Galinda raised one eyebrow, now intrigued. But she thought she had a pretty clear idea who was it that her roommate was talking about so secretly. "Don't think I didn't pick up on your precious secret, Miss Elphaba," she said casually, throwing a glance at Elphaba as she flopped herself on her bed, lying on her stomach and propping her arms against a pink fluffy pillow.
Elphaba's stomach flipped, but she kept her face straight, void of anything that could give her away. "Who, then, Galinda? Who do you think I am worthy of friendship with? Besides your pretty blonde self, of course." She cursed herself for her sarcasm, her natural defense mechanism.
"I'm not the only one who noticed, you can be sure of that. Some people came to seek my confirmation. Some people who saw you together," she said, a slow, satisfied smile curling on her lips as she detected the terrified expression on Elphaba's face. She tried to conceal it with an indifferent sneer; not very successfully. Galinda was certain she was going to win this one.
Elphaba bit her lip, looking away. This was it. The moment she had been dreading. "Galinda, I… I don't know what to say-"
Galinda shook her head. "There's nothing to say. Everyone saw. The library is not the best place for lovers' encounters, which you would have known if you consulted me on time," she said, shaking a finger at her friend's.
"I just…" Elphaba finally registered what Galinda had said. "The library?" Now it was her turn to be confusifi- confused. She refused to slip into Galinda's vocabulary.
"Oh, go ahead, deny it, just as I expected from you," Galinda said. "See? I know you so well, Miss Elphaba."
"You do not know me at all," Elphaba fired back, certain that Galinda was just winding her up, as usual. "I go to the library alone. You must have mistaken someone else for me."
Galinda rolled her eyes. "Of course I'm mistaking someone else for you, due to the fact that every second student at Shiz is green-skinned," she shot back. The look on Elphaba's face implied she wasn't expecting this. "And if you're going to have an affair with someone, you could at least choose someone your size, your height. Or show some consideration to your sister." She couldn't help but sound preaching; it had been a burden on her heart for a while, and now that it was finally in the open, she saw no reason why she shouldn't speak her mind.
Elphaba was speechless for a moment, before dissolving into fits of laughter. She couldn't help it; the idea was so ridiculous, absurd. "Boq?" she managed to gasp out. "You think… you told people… Boq… and me…" She could hardly breathe now, and the look on Galinda's face only served to fuel her cackling.
Galinda was slightly shocked by her friend's outburst, not because of the sound of wild giggle coming from someone who barely smiled up until 15 minutes ago, but because she just dismissed her suspicions as if those were nothing. "So you're going to deny it? Don't be afraid to confess your feelings, Elphie; it's bad to keep things inside. And there's no point to, really. Everyone saw you with Biq."
Elphaba held up a hand to Galinda, motioning for her to stop, as if it were too much for her. Finally, she managed to control herself, but as she opened her mouth to speak, she hiccupped, an entirely new feeling for her, and she started giggling again.
Galinda sat up, now annoyed. It felt as if this attack of giggles was directed at her. And she did not like to be laughed at. "You can laugh as much as you want, but that was a wicked thing to do to your sister," she scorned, hoping that would bring her green friend to her senses.
Elphaba had the courtesy to look slightly bashful, but other than that, a smirk flickered on her lips, and her words were punctuated with the occasional 'hic'. "I'm sorry to disappoint you, Galinda, but Boq is no more than a friend. I'm afraid your gossip and rumors were just that." She frowned slightly then. "And surely you don't think me so heartless as to do something like that to my own sister?"
"Well, you were the one implying so strongly I do not know you," Galinda said quite bitterly, "so how would I know you wouldn't do that to Nessa?"
Elphaba sighed; she'd fallen into her own trap. However… "You really shouldn't make assumptions about people, Galinda. Surely it goes against whatever social etiquette you have. It does mine." Having got over the fact that Galinda wasn't talking about Fiyero but Boq, Elphaba felt herself relax, not realizing how tense she'd been.
Galinda considered her options, then looked up at Elphaba. "I'll apologize if you will too," she half said, half asked, somewhat hesitantly.
Elphaba was stunned by the sudden change in atmosphere. From excited to hysterical, Galinda was serious now, and looking into her eyes; Elphaba saw that the blonde was truly sorry, however amusing the situation had been. She smiled and somewhat shyly offered a slender green hand. "I'm sorry."
Galinda slowly took the hand offered to her. "I'm sorry too," she replied, shaking hands with her roommate. She was quite surprised that Elphaba took her request seriously and made no cynical remark. There was this tension in the room, and she never handled tension well, so she did the only thing she knew to make it go away. She sprang to her feet once again, pulling at Elphaba's arm. "Now… packing!"