(A/N: Well, Hannah and I co-wrote an Elphaba/Dr. Madden fic that was basically this same story, but I was too lazy to edit it, so I just rewrote it with the changes I wanted to make. Most of Dr. Madden's lines are Hannah's, though. Also, I made up Dr. Madden's first name, although I think I might have stolen it from someone. If I did, sorry! Enjoy!)

Looking Up

Elphaba couldn't believe Galinda had talked her into going to the Ozdust. She especially couldn't believe the person her roommate had invited to be Elphaba's date for the party.

Dr. Madden was standing silently beside her, probably feeling just as awkward as Elphaba. Elphaba had insisted that Galinda needed to see Dr. Madden for help with her obsessions, and, somehow, in Galinda's mind, that translated to Elphaba having a crush on him. Yet another reason for Galinda to be getting help.

As they stared at the dance floor, not saying anything, a new, slow song began. "Um…do you want to dance?" Elphaba offered. They were at a dance, after all. It was only polite to ask him to dance.

"Sure," Dr. Madden answered. "But I have to warn you, I suck at dancing."

Elphaba shrugged. "That's okay, so do I." They walked onto the dance floor and started dancing. Elphaba managed to step on Dr. Madden's feet fifteen times in the first ten seconds. "Sorry," she mumbled.

Dr. Madden laughed softly as he twirled them around. "That's okay. A lot of my patients have a habit of stepping on my feet when they're mad at me, so I'm kind of used to it."

Elphaba smiled slightly. "Speaking of being sorry, I apologize for Galinda making you come to this, and if you're having a horrendible time, I understand, and…"

"No, no," Dr. Madden assured her. "It's fine. I haven't been on a d…gone to a party in a long time. It's nice. And…I think you're really smart and pretty and fun to be with."

Elphaba felt her face grow hot. No one had ever told her anything like that before. "Thanks," she whispered. As the song ended, she said, "I think that's all the dancing I can do before I break someone's bones."

"You're actually doing fine," Dr. Madden told her. "Better than me, at least. But if you want to be done, that's okay."

"Dr. Madden?"

"Please, call me Robert."

"Okay." Elphaba smiled at him. "I'm really glad Galinda convinced us to go to this party."

(A/N: Reviews are love!)