Then There's Me

By witch-of-the-west9482

Summary: A look into Elphaba's home life. Mainly focuses on how Frex treated her compared to Nessa. Elphaba's POV.

Author's Note: Hellos! This is my first ever fan fiction, and I'm really excited to have you all read it. I got the inspiration for this piece from a new show on Broadway called Next to Normal. (The song that proved to be so inspirational is called "Superboy and the Invisible Girl.") You should go see it because one of the characters—Aaron Tveit—was the Fiyero I saw! It's also really awesome! That's pretty much all I have to say, so enjoy!

Disclaimer: Both Wicked and Next to Normal do not belong to me.

"Take a look at the Invisible Girl.

Here she is clear as the day.

Please look closely and find her before

she fades away."

"Superboy and the Invisible Girl" From Next to Normal

All my life I've tried my hardest to please him. I always helped around the house as much as I could. I made sure to give Nessa everything she wanted and more. Constantly catering to her every whim. I worked so hard in school, always pouring over my books, and reading as much as I could to not only escape the hell he made my life, but to gain more knowledge. I can't count the number of times I didn't sleep with the hope that if I could get just one point higher on a test, it would make him notice me. He never did.

Well, that's a lie. After my all night study sessions, I would crash onto my bed the next day and try to sleep, but he would barge into my tiny room and demand that I wake up that very instant. He told me I was lazy and should help Nessa or the servants instead of selfishly sleeping.

Nessa was\s all he cared about and we both knew it. Nessa always told me that he loved me as much as he could, trying to soften the cold, hard truth. And I believed her. Not to reassure myself that he loved me, but to have it concrete in my mind that he didn't love me and I'm unlovable. He told me this everyday, so why wouldn't it be true?

See, all I did was make mistakes and ruin everything for everyone. Nessa did not make mistakes. Nessa was perfect; she was everything he'd ever wanted and more. Why would my father even want me? What was I to him but a constant reminder of Nessa's only flaw and the death of my mother? I was just the green girl. He didn't even call me by my name. It's either "Green" or "Girl." I was invisible to him, still am today.

I don't even think any of his friends knew of my existence. I was just a rumor that the people of Oz spread to embarrass him. Like him, they only cared about Nessa.

"So Frex, how's Nessa been?" I heard one of his friends say to him once as I dusted the shelves outside his office.

"Oh wonderful! You know my little Rose, perfect as usual. Would you like to see her grades?" He asked as he pulled out my report card. That's right, my report card. When Nessa wasn't doing very well in school, he showed everyone my report card instead of hers. He just covered up the first name, and as if by magic, Nessa was a straight A student.

Nessa always got what she wanted. If Nessa wanted straight A's, I did her homework and tutored her. One summer, when Nessa was eleven and I was fourteen, Nessa wanted nothing more than to go away to acting camp. Nessa went away, with Nanny of course, and it was just the two of us in the house. That was an awkward situation. The same friend that had asked about Nessa had suggested he spend some time with me. So people did know of me! That was a shock.

He called me down from my room where I was reading, and I was in such a hurry to get downstairs to him that I accidentally brought my book with me. He sat me down at the dining room table and tried to make conversation with me. He asked me what I was reading, only because he saw the book in my hand. I told him. He asked me a few more questions that I could answer with no more than three words. He then started talking about Nessa. All he did was talk about Nessa. Nessa this, Nessa that, what about me?! In my fourteen years on this planet, the only thing I had ever heard about was Nessa.

So naturally, I lost my temper. Just as I thought we were making some progress he brought up Nessa and started the comparisons between the two of us. It was maddening! I slammed my book down on the table and screamed, "She's not here, I am here" at him. Needless to say this did not please him. So I faded into the background as usual.

Nessa was, and still is a princess. She's Supergirl, and as he's told me too many times to count, Nessa does no wrong. Well, if Nessa's Supergirl, I'm the Invisible Girl. Supergirl is perfect, as for the Invisible Girl; she's not there.

A review would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!