Author's Note: As you can tell by the Trigger Warning, both here and in the description, you can tell that this story is not going to be appropriate for all readers. I warn you that if you are affected by mental illness, please do not read this story, because the last thing I want to do is trigger people.

This is not a pro-anorexia/bulimia story. I'm not writing this for some people to say 'Oh, maybe I'll do the same.' Maybe this can help someone to quit while they're ahead, or make others feel like someone is there.

Anorexia is not cute, not glamorous, and not sexy. It's scary, and the most deadly mental illness. I can't stand people who tell people to 'Go starve themselves', I can't stand people telling people who are struggling to 'Just eat', and I especially can't stand some websites that encourage people (In most cases, young adults/teenagers, sometimes people younger than ten years old) to go on these extreme diets and convince them to make themselves extremely ill, brainwashing them with pictures of dying people and twisted quotes about being skinny. These are known as 'Pro-Ana', or 'Pro-Mia'. Stay away.

Obviously, I'm not bashing on naturally skinny people. It's okay to be whatever size as long as you're eating right. And of course, I am not criticising people who are suffering from eating disorders. I've been there, I simply would not dare to.

This story has characters who glamourize mental illnesses, and make fun of mental illnesses. This is not done to try and offend, but rather show the unfortunate truth of how people can react, and the reality of suffering from something. Any 'opinions' written in are obviously, not mine, so if you feel that you may be offended, again, I ask you to please click out.

If needed, helplines and information will be linked at the end of this chapter.

"Have you lost weight, Milla?" Galinda turned to her friend.

As per usual, the pink possé had decided to miss their class. The not-too-usual warm weather was shining down on Galinda's group of friends as they sat on the field. A history class taught by a talking goat couldn't possibly be better than this, right?

"Yes, clearly." Milla responded with a roll of her eyes, looking down at herself.

"Are you on some sort of diet, again?"

"Yeah. Some weird detox thing. It's working wonders, just admit it." She smirked. Milla was not the self-conscious type. If she liked something about herself, ("And I mean, what's not to like?") you would be sure to know about it. Her Barbie doll figure was no exception to that rule.

"You don't need to diet, you know you already have a stunning figure."

Another roll of the eyes. "Well, yeah, you would say that, wouldn't you?" She looked Galinda up and down with a smirk.

"...I'm sorry, what?"

Milla turned away, as ShenShen gasped, grinning wildly.

"I know why you want to lose weight! It's that new boy, Fiyero, isn't it?! You want to get his attention!"

The pink tint that flushed her cheeks was unmistakeable. "Oh, shut up, ShenShen!" She grinned right back, hitting her friend playfully.

"Milla, what did you mean by 'I would say that'?"

"Did you hear that he's throwing a party at the Ozdust tonight?"

"Shit, no way! That's not enough time to do my nails, hair, and buy a new dress!"

"I thought your dad cut you off?"

"Shut up, ShenShen."

"Milla, tell me-"

"Well, maybe the party is the perfect time to hook up with him!"

"Milla!"

"Oh, sorry Galinda." Milla turned to face her once more. "So what do you think of this prince?"

The young woman's eyes softened, looking down a bit. "He's gorgeous... Hey Milla, what did you mean when you said that just now?"

"Said what?"

"That only I would say that you had a good figure."

A roll of her eyes, followed by an exasperated sigh.

"Well, it's natural to be envious of people with better figures."

"I am not jealous!"

"Oh, Sweetie." ShenShen looked at her with sympathy.

"No, seriously! I'm not obsessive over my weight or anything, I mean, I like my body."

"Even with all that puppy fat?"

The glare that Milla received would have been enough to silence most.

Most.

"Oz above, Lin! Don't be so defensive! We know you're the biggest out of the three of us, but ShenShen and I are naturally thin. Of course, you could stand to lose a few pounds, but it's nothing to be so concerned about."

She simply responded with a smile through her gritted teeth. "Well, thanks for your honesty, girls. How... thoughtful of you."

And with that, the Queen bee stormed off.

One term into Shiz University, and Galinda was barely scraping through. She processed this as she threw the door open, pacing down the main corridor, wiping away a tear that had silently fallen down her face.

She wasn't big. She knew that.

But she wasn't skinny either.

On her rampage down the corridor to her dormitory, she saw that idiotic green girl that she was forced to share a room with. Anger took over as she stared at her. Elphaba was skinny.

And Galinda was better than Elphaba, right? Elphaba was green, Galinda was not.

...Elphaba was skinny, Galinda was not.

Elphaba turned around to her roommate, before looking away, remaining silent and continuing to walk. She had never been an expert on conversational skills. Besides, she and Galinda may have gotten better at tolerating each other, but they certainly weren't friends.

Galinda practically screamed in frustration before shoving Elphaba into the wall with full force, running to their dorm room in a flurry of self-hate.

The door slammed behind Galinda as she locked it with shaky hands. She stood there for a few seconds.

Dead silence.

A brief pause.

Looking down at her bright pink claws, the blonde slowly took off her clothes, stripping down to her lingerie. Her soft blonde hair flowed past her shoulders. She placed her hands over the parts of her that she wanted to- was going to change.

Her stomach was more or less flat - not as toned as she would like, but it was okay. It needed some slight improvement. She needed to change that.

She had gentle curves, that complimented her figure - they stuck out a little -too- much, in her opinion, but they were okay. They needed some slight improvement.

Thighs, wrists, arms-

Stop Galinda! Stop, this is really sick, okay?! You're not fat. She didn't even say you were too fat, exactly.

...A little bit of weight. That's all I'm going to lose. And I'll feel good about myself for it.

The girl attempted to compose herself, drying her tears.

What always made Galinda happier no matter what?

Ever the fashionista, wearing a dress she liked was something that made her feel good about herself.

Her face brightened as she took out her hot pink mini dress that she had gotten from her mother last term. She easily slipped it on, adjusting the straps. Grinning, she moved to the side, tossing her hair gently and giving her award winning wave to the mirror. She continued to stare at herself for quite some time, before frowning.

Her stomach stuck out slightly. Her stomach never stuck out.

It will be okay soon. I'll work out, I'll loose a little bit of weight, and it will all be alright. I'm sure of it. Galinda gave the mirror a weak smile, kissing it gently and leaving a bright pink lipstick mark on her pristine mirror.

As she was about to close her shining oak wardrobe doors, her gaze fell onto a circular box that had been dumped at the very back of the closet, behind her many pairs of stilettos. She had completely forgotten what it contained, and so, biting her lip, she decided to see what was inside that triggered her curiosity so.

An ugly old hat, a present from her clueless grandmother. Galinda loved her, and she meant well to send her such... Fashion statements. She smiled to herself. Oz, she missed that lady. Christmas break seemed so far away, and she eagerly awaited the next opportunity she could visit her family.

She took the simple black hat out of the box, holding it in her hands.

It smells like old people.

She giggled to herself, wiping a stray tear away that had slipped down her cheek.

As she did so, the green bean walked through the door. Her weak smile turned to a grin as she turned around to face her roommate, holding out the hat.

"Elphaba, look, I'm sorry about earlier, and I wanted to make it up to you by giving you something to wear at the Ozdust tonight..."

Maybe there was one thing that would make her feel better about herself...

Understanding Eating Disorders: www . /ariannarebolini/ things-people-dont-understand-about-eating-disorders #.tgb57EL0R

www. .edu/ handouts/ eating_disorders_disturbances .htm

Recognising An Eating Disorder:

www. / health/m/gallery /0,,20665980,

www .futuresofpalmbeach eating-disorder-treatment /signs/

Hotlines Across The World:

togetherweare-strong .tumblr helpline

Special thanks to Maddy for proof-reading this chapter. X