Disclaimer: No, I do not own Wicked. Alas, all I own is a very heavily worn soundtrack and other merchandise.
This is an old story that I deleted several months ago. I have a soft spot for it despite its many flaws, so I decided to rewrite and repost. Enjoy!
It was Fiyero's second week at Shiz University, and, just as he had every day for the last week, he sat at his lunch table and cast discreet glances at the door to the cafeteria. 'She's late today…'
At last she appeared in the doorway, and he studied her as she made her way to an empty table and sat. She was tall and statuesque, and she moved with all the grace and poise of a dancer; he wondered if she's ever been a ballerina, but quickly dismissed the thought as unlikely. Her long, midnight-black hair tumbled down her back in glossy waves, and he stared, transfixed by the way it caught the sunlight that streamed in through the stained-glass windows. He asked himself for the hundredth time why every male in the school wasn't as entranced by her as he was.
Fiyero jolted out his trance when Avaric, former best friend and current irritant, leaned over and asked, "Fiyero, how in Oz can you stare at the artichoke for so long without puking?" Fists clenched, tired of hearing her insulted, Fiyero opened his mouth to defend her—but Avaric was quicker.
"Oy, greenie! We can't decide whether you're more of an artichoke or an asparagus. Which do you prefer?"
The cafeteria filled with barely-suppressed laughter. Fiyero watched the green girl shoot a scorching glare at Avaric, then stand and stalk from the room with her head held high. Only a split second before she disappeared did he see her shoulders sag.
He turned to Avaric and said coldly, "Excuse me."
Fiyero hurried from the cafeteria and peered down the hall, his head buzzing all the while with disappointment at how his friend had changed since coming to Shiz. He caught a flash of black material disappearing around a corner, and followed it out into the courtyard. When he caught up with her, she was sitting cross-legged with her back against the wall, staring at her hands.
He approached her cautiously. She didn't look up.
"Go away."
He didn't. Instead he knelt in front of her and reached out a hand to tip her chin up, though she stubbornly kept her eyes on her hands.
"Things will get better. You'll see," he said softly.
Surprise made her meet his eyes at last. She was stunned to find the most beautiful man she'd ever seen, smiling down at her. Smiling? For the first time in her life, Elphaba Thropp was speechless. She opened and closed her mouth wordlessly, and heat rushed to her face.
The beautiful stranger laughed and said, "I'm Fiyero, by the way."
He held out a hand to help her up, and she surprised herself by taking it. Fiyero pulled her to her feet, and she suddenly found herself standing very close to him—close enough to notice that he smelled like the trees in autumn, and that his body radiated warmth.
Their eyes locked and held for a moment. His were a deep, velvety green; she forgot for a moment how much she hated that color. Then simultaneously Fiyero cleared his throat and Elphaba looked away, and the spell was broken.
"Listen," Fiyero began, "I know you don't know me, but what do you say we go off campus and get something to eat, seeing as the cafeteria is unfit for habitation by decent human beings at the moment?"
"Well…I…"
"Come on," he urged. "I know the perfect place. It's a bit more…secluded."
Elphaba let out the breath she'd been holding and managed a small smile. "That does sound perfect."
Fiyero grinned. "Right this way."