Elphaba was the strangest creature she had ever met, Galinda decided absently, having woken yet again to find her room mate's lamp still burning. It was simply another curious thing about the green girl that she never seemed to sleep at night, made even more so by the fact that she was always the first of the two to retreat to bed. But Elphaba would not sleep, either choosing to finish a book or else lay stiffly on her back with her dark brown eyes latched on the ceiling, almost ominous in the way they never seemed to blink. If Galinda happened, for whatever reason, to wake at three or four 'o' clock in the morning, Elphaba would seldom have moved, still either reading or lying there with her eyes wide open like an eerie green doll. Galinda had always thought herself to be an early riser, but each morning Elphaba would have dressed and have left the room by the time Galinda had dragged herself out of bed in enough time to complete her beauty routine before class.

Tonight was one of those nights in which Galinda had woken at an irregular time and, inevitably, a small beam of light from her room mate's lamp was still penetrating the room's darkness. Galinda wondered silently how in Oz Elphaba managed to function on so little sleep. It might explain, perhaps, why she was always so irritable.

She turned quietly onto her side to sneak a look at Elphaba, expecting to see her reading as usual. But though a book was laid open on her pillow, Elphaba's eyes were focused not on the page, but on the tiny triangle of sky visible through a gap in the closed curtains. Galinda followed her gaze curiously, but saw nothing more significant than the fact that it was a very dark night. Perhaps there was no moon tonight, she mused vaguely, not really caring one way or the other. Giving a mental shrug, Galinda closed her eyes, hoping to drift back into the dream she had been having. She couldn't remember it, but knew that it must have been a good one: she never had nightmares.

Before sleep could come to her, however, Galinda heard the creak of worn bedsprings, followed by the soft creep of footsteps past her bed. She ignored it, assuming Elphaba was simply going to the bathroom, until she heard a slow click as the door unlocked, followed by a hushed thud as it was quietly opened and closed.

Galinda frowned as she opened her eyes to squint through the darkness at the door through which Elphaba had just exited. The lamp had been put out and she could barely see. But where in Lurline's name could that green freak going at this time of night? Curiosity burned through her and it was barely twenty seconds before Galinda had decided that she could take it no longer. She shuffled out of bed, groped quickly for her shoes and raincoat (the sky had looked bleak earlier and she had only washed her hair that night) and then crept out of the door in search of Elphaba.

Elphaba clasped her knees close to her torso, eyes fixed on the black, velvet sky. It was a new moon tonight and few stars were visible save for one bright one just off to the west. That was the one she was interested in.

Starlight, star bright…

Elphaba closed her eyes. It was the same star she had wished on as a very small child after Nessa's birth, after her mother had died. Elphaba knew from books she had read since that the star's name was Vega, that it was the fifth brightest star in the night sky, that it was the second brightest star in the northern celestial hemisphere and that it was a relatively nearby star at only twenty five light years away from Oz; but none of that really mattered to her.

It had been a new moon when Elphaba's mother had died: an insignificant detail perhaps, but one that Elphaba had remembered right through her childhood and into her college years. Every time the moon had been new in those years since, she had wished on the star Vega, always making the same wish. For Nessa's safety and happiness.

Galinda's heartbeat quickened with fear as she found herself outside in the overbearingly dark night. Darkness made her nervous at the best of times and yet she was all alone under the cold night sky. Might Elphaba really be out here?

Galinda thought she had seen, from two landings above, an eloquent shadow slip through one of the doorways to the grounds, but had no way of being sure that it had been Elphaba. What if- and the thought caused Galinda to wrap her arms more tightly across her chest- the shadow she had seen had been that of an intruder? What if she had unintentionally followed a rapist or murderer out here?

This was all Elphaba's fault, she thought crossly, starting as the snapping of a branch sounded from somewhere above her. If that green girl hadn't gone wandering off in the first place, she wouldn't have had to follow her. She would have been safe and warm in her bed at that moment instead of traipsing around outside in the cold, dark, scary night.

Galinda knew, of course, that she didn't have to be out here, that she could go back if she wanted. But she was so cross with Elphaba that she almost wanted something to happen to her, just so that the green girl would feel guilty. That would serve her right. But then again, Elphaba probably wouldn't even care if anything did happen to her, Galinda thought, pouting.

She continued to walk as she thought, and was so wrapped up in her contemplation that she stopped focusing on where she was going and didn't notice the green figure huddled at the roots of the gnarled sycamore tree.

Elphaba saw the person's outline as he or she moved towards her but was not given enough warning to move out of his or her way. Besides, she didn't really think anyone would be idiotic enough to trip over her. But a second later, Elphaba found her vision completely obscured by blonde curls and sparkly pink raincoat and quickly corrected her thoughts. No, there was one person at Shiz who would be idiotic enough to trip over her.

"Miss Galinda," Elphaba said tersely, once she had freed her mouth of blonde hair and pink sparkles, "Would you please get off me?"

Galinda obliged and scrambled to her feet, but Elphaba didn't miss the look of disgust on the blonde's face upon realising whose lap she had fallen into. This annoyed Elphaba greatly, only on top of the fact that her pesky room mate had just interrupted some of the only alone time she ever had these days.

"What are you doing out here, Miss Galinda?" she asked in irritation, also climbing to her feet. Her moment was ruined now; she needn't stay out here any longer.

"I could ask you the same question, Miss Elphaba," Galinda replied haughtily, dusting off her coat, "I was simply being a good room mate and making sure you didn't get yourself into any trouble."

Elphaba was about to protest furiously that somebody like Galinda was hardly capable of preventing any trouble when the blonde's words properly sunk in. Her brown eyes narrowed dangerously.

"You followed me?"

Elphaba watched in mild amusement as Galinda's mouth opened and closed before she stubbornly turned her blonde head away and began to march back in the direction of the school. It was typical really; Elphaba thought, that somebody like Galinda would walk away upon realising she had dug herself into a hole.

She began to follow in Galinda's footsteps back towards the school- slowly as she was eager to put some distance between the two of them- when a rumbling noise in the night sky above caught her attention. Elphaba froze and glanced upwards: then without missing another beat, she turned and darted back under the sycamore tree.

It was not a moment too soon, as just seconds later, sheets of rain were tumbling from the sky, pouring onto the tree under which Elphaba stood and falling in bucketfuls around her. Suddenly extremely aware of the fact that she was wearing nothing more than her nightgown, Elphaba retreated from the rain further, pushing her back right up against the tree trunk. A large droplet fell through the branches onto her bare foot and she hissed in pain, drawing it closer in.

"Miss Elphaba?"

She turned in surprise, only to see Galinda standing beside her, blue eyes filled with concern.

"Miss Galinda, I'm fine," she insisted, gritting her teeth to hide the fact that a drop of water had just fallen on her head, blistering her scalp.

"You're not fine at all," Galinda argued, shrugging off her raincoat and extending it carefully so that Elphaba could take it without the wet side coming into contact with her skin. Elphaba wondered at the consideration in this, but shook her head stubbornly.

"Miss Galinda, put that back on this instant," she demanded, "You'll freeze in just your nightgown."

"And you'll do a lot more than freeze in just yours, Miss Elphaba," Galinda pointed out. Elphaba was about to argue when a huge gust of wind caught the tree they were under, causing the branches to shake a torrent of rainwater onto various parts of Elphaba's body and she squeezed her eyes shut to prevent herself from crying out as pain exploded all over her. She found her back being moved gently from the tree trunk and then the warm weight of Galinda's coat on her head and shoulders. This time Elphaba didn't protest and simply slid her arms inside it in defeat.

When she felt Galinda pulling gently on her hand however, she shook her head frantically.

"Galinda… the grass…"

"Oh, silly me, of course," she heard Galinda mutter, and the next thing she knew; the blonde girl was sliding off her shoes and trying to place her feet inside them instead. Elphaba flinched as the smaller girl's fingers pressed against a welt on her right foot which the rain had created, but made no further protests about her acquired clothing. All she wanted now was to get back inside and out of the rain which was making her so darned weak.

Then the dainty shoes were squished onto her feet and Galinda was in front of her, making sure the hood of her raincoat was covering her face properly. When the blonde finally gave a nod of approval, Elphaba swallowed in trepidation, realising what was coming next.

"Ready, Elphaba?" Galinda asked, taking her hand once more and Elphaba nodded, gripping Galinda's hand despite herself.

And suddenly, all too soon, they were running against the black sky as it threw bucketfuls of water at them: Elphaba in Galinda's raincoat and Galinda in her nightdress. The delicate white shoes pinched at Elphaba's feet with every step- they must have been two sizes too small for her- but she kept running, knowing that without them the pain would be a hundred times worse.

Soon- although it seemed much longer to Elphaba- they were back on the interior side of the door they had left through and the rain continued to pour, but Elphaba was inside and couldn't be hurt by it. She watched the rain for a few seconds before turning back to Galinda, who now bore great resemblance to one who had just been thrown headfirst into a lake.

"Oh Galinda, I'm sorry," she said guiltily, realising that the tiny blonde was shivering, "Here, have your coat back."

She began to take it off but paused, frowning, as she realised Galinda was grinning broadly.

"What?" Elphaba asked defensively, wondering if Galinda was laughing at her. She tugged the coat off too quickly and flinched as a few drips of water fell from it onto her hands.

"Be careful," Galinda scolded, taking the coat away from Elphaba and shaking off its excess dampness out of harm's way, "And it's nothing. Just… Well…" She glanced from her coat to Elphaba and back, smiling sheepishly. Elphaba resisted the temptation to roll her eyes.

"I know I looked ridiculous in your coat, Galinda," she said defensively, "There's hardly any need to reinforce that fact."

"Actually, Elphaba, you didn't," Galinda replied, sounding rather surprised, "I think you'll find, in fact, that pink actually goes rather good with green." And with that, she exploded into giggles.

Elphaba looked at her incredulously for a moment, but then suddenly found that she was laughing too. Granted, there was nothing funny about her allergy to water or the angry red welts which had appeared in the places where her skin had reacted to it; but Elphaba had to admit that now she was safe inside, the situation was rather funny, with Galinda standing there dripping wet and herself in shoes which didn't fit her, having just handed back a pink sparkly raincoat. But more importantly, Elphaba hadn't laughed in a long time- not properly- and she found she rather liked having somebody laugh with her rather than at her. Perhaps there was something in the giddy little blonde that Elphaba hadn't seen originally.