Sorry this has taken so long. Work got in the way and I had a hard time deciding where to go with this next.
Also, since I forgot last time, I do not own Wicked, nor do I own any of the characters or ideas created by Gregory Maguire, L. Frank Baum, or Stephen Schwartz.
Glinda woke up with a start in the middle of the night, breathing heavy from a night terror. Quietly as she could, she slipped from her bed and tiptoed to her desk, placing her hands there to steady herself as she gulped the fresh air coming in from the slightly cracked window. She looked down at her desk, tilting her head slightly as her gaze fell to the training wand Madame Morrible had given her. It was worth a try, she supposed, to try and magick the pain and memories away. She would whatever she could, at this point. She picked the wand up and snuck off to the bathroom as silently as she could, hoping to not wake the sleeping green girl.
But the green girl had been awake far longer than the blonde. She had never really gone to bed. Not really, at least. She had continued to read for a while as she lay in bed, occasionally glancing up at the silent blonde. Something was definitely not right with her, she could tell that just by the way the girl had held herself earlier that night. Eventually, doing more staring than reading, she had put the book aside, studying the blonde as she tossed and turned in her sleep. It hadn't been long after that when Galinda began to murmur and whimper and cry softly in her sleep. Elphaba had frozen, unsure of what to do as the blonde repeated the same two phrases over and over again.
"No. Please don't."
Elphaba had just begun to ask herself what could possibly have happened to the poor girl on the bed opposite of her when the blonde woke up, panting slightly. The green girl had then feigned sleep as the blonde stood and shuffled over to her desk and then the bathroom.
Silence reigned as Elphaba opened one eye, watching the bathroom door. She could just barely hear whispered words, a sigh of defeat, and a quiet sniffle before the door opened. Elphaba continued to watch the girl as she crossed the room, the moon giving just enough light to reflect off of the trail of tears down Galinda's cheek.
Quietly, the blonde moved back to her bed, sitting down with a pained groan before laying back down, quiet, stifled sniffles still sounding from her bed. Elphaba studied her for a bit longer before closing her eyes again, but not sleeping. Perhaps she would talk to the blonde in the morning, if she would allow her to.
The first thing Galinda was faintly aware of the next morning was the dull pain that still settled over her. She kept her eyes closed as she finally regained full consciousness, clinging to the sleepiness, wishing she didn't have to wake up to the nightmare of reality involving yesterday's events. But that was a silly and childish thing to think, that with a wave of a wand and a muttered incantation, things would be different the next morning. And goodness knew she had tried exactly that.
She continued to lay there for a long time, staring up at the ceiling as she took slow, deep, calming breaths, trying her very best to relax. What else could one do in this kind of situation? She glanced over at her roommate's bed, almost jumping when she saw the green girl sitting up, looking over at her with what appeared to be a concerned expression. Elphaba, the artichoke, concerned? For her? Since when? Galinda made eye contact with her, and the raven-haired girl quickly looked down at her hands folded in her lap. Galinda bit back a comment, feeling far too scared and alone to push the green girl farther away than she had already done. She sighed, pushing herself to sit up, keeping the covers over her as she wrapped her arms around herself, keeping her gaze trained on her sheets.
Elphaba looked back up at her and continued to watch her, a single eyebrow raised as she studied her. Finally, she cleared her throat quietly, causing the blonde to look over at her. Elphaba opened her mouth, unsure of what to say first. "Are… Are you sure you're feeling alright, Miss Galinda?"
Galinda looked up at the green girl, her vision already clouded with held back tears as she took a deep breath. Her bottom lip began to quiver and something happened that neither girl expected. She began to cry, burying her face in her hands, unable to even answer Elphaba's question. Elphaba, who was used to being a motherly figure to Nessarose, was at her side in a second, more of a reflexive action than a conscious one. Before she could even truly register what was going on, Galinda was in her arms, crying into her shoulder. After a few seconds, when what had just happened fully sank in, Elphaba tensed a bit. Here she was, comforting the blonde roommate whom she had declared she loathed completely. Something was wrong with that picture. Or was there? It had seemed like a natural thing to do.
And come to think of it, she really did hate to see the blonde upset. Unless she was purposely pushing her buttons. Then it was okay. But seeing the petite blonde this upset really tugged at her heartstrings, and she still wasn't quite sure why it affected her so strongly. Without really thinking, she began to gently stroke Galinda's hair, quietly shushing her and rocking her a bit.
"Sh, sh, sh… It's okay. You're safe." She continued to murmur words like that as Galinda continued to sob. Elphaba wished she could know what was bothering the poor girl, but she wasn't about to pry into her personal life. For all she knew, she was finally fed up with rooming with the green girl, and was just throwing a hissy fit. But then why would she be letting said green girl hold her and comfort her? "Sh, sh, sh…" Soothing came naturally to Elphaba, she had done it practically her entire life when caring for Nessa. She started to hum softly, and that seemed to help the troubled blonde start to calm down. "That's it… Sh, sh, sh…"
Galinda blinked up at the green girl, her eyes rimmed with red and tears still trailing down her cheeks. "W-Why are you doing this?" She sniffled, blinking again as she studied her roommate. "You're supposed to hate me. I've never d-done anything nice to you. Why are you being nice to me?"
Elphaba smiled a bit, a smile that was hardly there, as she reached up to very gently whisk the blonde's tears away. "Because, my sweet, you're obviously scared or alone or hurting or all of the above, and you need a friend right now. Even if that friend is 'unusually and exceedingly peculiar and altogether quite impossible to describe.'"
Galinda blinked up at her again, a slight chuckle escaping. "That's new… 'My sweet…' Where did that come from?"
Elphaba blushed slightly, not even realizing the nickname she had let slip, her green skin turning a shade darker, causing the little blonde to giggle a bit. "I'm sorry, I must have just accidentally-"
"No, no… I kinda like it." She gave a watery smile before more tears started to trail down her cheeks, her gaze falling back to her lap. No matter what she did, her mind kept wandering back to last night, and she could not cheer up for more than a few seconds.
Elphaba gave a sigh and rubbed her back gently. "Is there anything I can do to help? Do… Do you want to talk about anything?"
Galinda was quick to shake her head. "Not right now. I…" She froze, not sure of what else to say. "No, I… I can't…" Her tears started to fall quicker as she sniffled.
"Sh, sh, sh… No, I'm sorry. That was a bit forward of me." She offered the petite girl her sleeve, so she could wipe her eyes.
"Thank you…" Galinda wiped her eyes and fell silent again. She continued to lean against Elphaba, who was no longer tense and didn't seem to mind anymore.
After a few minutes of deafening silence, Elphaba looked down at the small blonde, who looked like she was staring at the wall blankly. She gently shook her. "Come on, now, we've got class in a few hours. You're gonna want to have time to put your face on and pick your perfectly matched outfit." Elphaba was trying to cheer the blonde girl up, but Galinda merely shook her head.
"I don't want to go to class today." She wrapped her arms around herself, pulling the covers back over herself.
"Oh, Miss Galinda, you say that every morning."
"No." Galinda's voice was firm. "I don't want to go to class, and that's that."
Elphaba was surprised at the blonde's sudden outburst. Apparently, Galinda was, too, because she hid her face in her hands again and began to cry. Elphaba sighed and looked down at her, remaining quiet for a long time as she watched.
"Would… Would you like me to stay with you?"
Galinda blinked up at the green girl, her tears only falling thicker. Elphaba, the bookworm, was offering to miss class just to make sure that she as okay? This girl was supposed to be hating her guts. Why was she being so nice to her? She shook her head. "I could never ask you to miss class just for me."
"Well, let me put it this way, then. Will you be okay if I leave you alone?" Elphaba studied her intently, her dark eyes burning with concern.
The blonde nodded. "I'll be fine, Mi-" She paused, correcting herself and dropping the formal 'Miss.' "Elphaba. I'll be fine." She sniffled and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand as Elphaba looked at her skeptically.
"If you say so… Galinda." She stood from the bed, moving to her closet to get out her clothes for the day and moving to the bathroom to change.
Galinda sighed as she sat on the bed in silence. She would have to tell someone sometime soon. And Elphaba should be the first to know. She was her roommate. And, like it or not, right now she trusted her more than anyone else at this school. That had to count for something. She would tell her when she got back from classes tonight. She swore to herself that she would. A few short moments later, she was interrupted from her thoughts as Elphaba came back out, dressed in a simple dark blue uniform. As she moved to pick up her bag and books, she looked back over at the blonde, who was still bundled up in a ball of covers on her bed.
"You're certain that you're going to be alright?"
Galinda nodded, trying to convince both her roommate and herself. "Yes."
Elphaba watched the blonde, knowing that she wasn't telling the whole truth, but she didn't want to push her any farther past her comfort zone than she already possibly had. She gave a small sigh and walked over to the blonde, placing a soft hand on her shoulder. "Okay. I'll be back as soon as classes are over." She smoothed her hand over the girl's blonde curls and absentmindedly pressed a kiss to the top of her head before moving to walk out of the door.
Galinda froze as she felt the green girl's lips brush against her hair. That simple act had caused something weird to bubble up inside her. Some weird set of feelings that she hadn't felt for a long time, certainly not since last night. She felt safe, cared for, and loved. She sighed, plopping back on the bed as she tried to decipher what exactly she was feeling. Surely she wasn't feeling affection towards the green girl. Was she? It seemed like a hard thing to contemplate. Up until this morning, she had completely loathed the girl, doing everything she could to push her buttons and upset her in any way that she could. She sighed again. This was confusing. Everything was confusing. Not to mention she still felt terrified beyond belief of everything that had happened last night. She could feel more tears welling up in her eyes as she clutched one of her pillows to her chest. This was going to be hard to get through. But maybe, just maybe, she wouldn't have to do this alone.