"You mean you've never been kissed?" came the inevitable squeal as the two girls walked into the hotel room they would spend the night in before their (well, Elphaba's) meeting with the Wizard the next morning.
Elphaba let her feet slip out of her heavy boots and tucked her legs up under her on the bed as she rolled her eyes and asked, "Why does that surprise you so much? Who exactly do you think would have kissed me?"
She shrugged, digging through her suitcase for her nightgown. "It just seems so... You're what, eighteen years old? I just... normal to-" she sighed in a way that seemed almost theatrical (everything seemed to verge on the theatrical with Glinda) and cut herself off. She grinned mischievously. "I always suspected there was some big hidden romance in your past that you had never told me about." Her eyes glittered almost as much as her dress, now laying crumpled on the floor as she put on her her nightgown. "A scandal you would keep to your grave!"
"Oh, how romantic," her roommate said in a complete deadpan as she pushed herself off of the bed and went about finding her own nightdress. "I swear, when I have some big, scandalous romance you will be the first one I tell," she promised as she changed. Yes, some glorious, awe-inspiring romance. With your perfectly handsome, scandalous boyfriend. She snorted at the thought of it.
"You'd better," Glinda said as she sat down at the room's vanity table and began brushing her blonde curls out. Suddenly, the brush clattered to the floor. "Wait a second, that means you don't know how to kiss!"
Elphaba settled back onto the edge of the bed, putting her glasses on the bedside table. "I guess I don't, is that a bad thing?" She hadn't thought so before, but the horrified tone in Glinda's voice made Elphaba feel like she didn't know how to breathe instead of kiss.
"Well, what will you do when someone does kiss you?" She ran back to the bed, hopping onto it and squeezing her friend's hand. "I'll just have to teach you, there's no other way."
"What?" She asked, feeling her stomach drop.
Glinda sat up on her knees, and focused on reassuring her roommate. "Oh, it doesn't mean anything! Besides, it's my duty as your best friend to make sure... or attempt to make sure that you don't wind up embarrassing yourself."
"I really don't think this will work."
"Yes it will." Elphaba began to tie her hair up, but Glinda smacked her hand away. "No, leave your hair down, like it would be after a date- and this kiss will only occur after a date," she said, as if this were the most vital piece of information Elphaba should know. "A date in which you allowed him to buy you dinner, hold doors for you, and walk you home. You are not obligated to kiss him, but if the date went well, you should let him know it at the end of the night, right?"
"Right," Elphaba agreed, not really sure.
"So... so let's pretend this is the end of your first date with some wonderful guy." She pushed her hair out of her face, pretending that she was 'some wonderful guy,'. "He'll say something like, 'You look stunning tonight, Miss Elphaba. I had a lovely time with you and would enjoy spending another evening with you, if you'll have me." She lowered her voice, attempting to be masculine but the result was mostly comical and they both giggled at the effort. Once they had recovered she said, "And then, maybe he'll put his hand on your face, like this," she said, putting her hand on the green cheek. "And you'll both close your eyes and lean in and," she stopped talking and lightly kissed her best friend gently.
They stayed there for a second, Elphaba preoccupied with what she was doing right and wrong and wondering how long they were both supposed to stay there. She pulled back for a second, offering Glinda a small smile but was surprised to see an intense look in her friend's eyes. Surprised to still feel her friend's hand on her face, and even more surprised to feel her friend close the gap between them again.
While the first kiss had been chaste, polite, the second wasn't so much. Elphaba knew that much, even as she let her mouth slip open. Her head whirled in a heady fog as the hand resting on her cheek slipped back to play with her long, loose hair. Glinda pulled her closer, and Elphaba's arms instinctively wrapped around her neck, because it was what felt right. The small white hand not tangled in black hair slid upward from Elphaba's waist, to the base of her ribcage, to her breast.
Suddenly, like a glass of water had been throne at her, clarity came to her. Although she had no idea if she wanted it or not, she knew that for Glinda's sake, she had to end it. Because Glinda wouldn't, couldn't stop herself, but she would be ruined if it didn't stop somehow. She placed her green hand over top Glinda's pale one, moved it away from her breast and pulled away.
The look on Glinda's face was what broke her heart. It shifted from satisfaction, to surprise, to horror, to disgust, not with Elphaba but with herself. In order to protect her friend, Elphaba quickly said, "Thank you for teaching me, Lindy."
The brilliant smile didn't quite reach her eyes. "I think we should go to sleep now," she said awkwardly, with a strange quality to her voice.
Elphaba was already climbing into the bed. "Right, I'm tired and we'll have to be up early tomorrow morning." She mercifully rolled over onto her side so she faced away from her friend. She didn't see Glinda's horror at realizing they had only one bed to share, knowing there was nothing she could do or say about it. She climbed into bed with Elphaba, careful not to touch her, something she had never avoided before.
Elphaba never realized how much an excess of love could hurt someone, that it could hurt as much as a lack of love.