A/N: Yes, Elphie is a bit OC. Sorry.

Someone knocked on the door the next morning and Elphaba had the most overpowering impulse not to open it… she got up and opened it. "Hello?"

Fiyero stood there, fully clothed with flowers… bright pink flowers. "Here." He held them to her and smiled broadly.

"How did you get up here? You're not—"

He put his fingers to his lips and gave the flowers to her.

Elphaba tried not to let on that the flowers had blinded her. She took them and placed them in a random vase, and then came back to him, fully aware that her left eye was twitching.

"Don't we have school today? Go get your books," he said. "I'm still going to walk you to class."

Elphaba—in a random attempt at sarcasm—said, "Where's that biscuit I was promised?"

He shrugged. "They were out."

Elphaba sighed and got her books. He grabbed them suddenly and started to walk away. Elphaba gaped in surprise and ran after him. "Master Fiyero, I can carry them myself." She tried to take them away.

Fiyero wouldn't let her. "Umm… let me think about that for a second… no."

"But… it looks odd…" she said. "I am not incapable of carrying my own items, you know."

"I do know," he said. "I just want to carry them for you, and I don't care if you tell me not to. I'm doing it. I'm paying you back. You saved my life."

"I did not!"

"Whatever you say," he responded, but didn't give her books back.

Elphaba fumed whilst walking and aimed a kick at him a time or two. She missed each time and he took no notice that she had tried to boot him at all. Soon, they reached the building in which their class would be held. It was Life Sciences with Doctor Nikidik.

Elphaba became stubborn and stern at this point. "Now give them back. I don't need you to draw unwanted attention to me."

"No," he responded. "I have to get you seated, first. Then I'll give you your books."

"Oh, you have to be kidding me."

"No, I'm not," he said with a confused side-glance aimed at her. "Why would I be kidding you?"

"That was rhetorical," she mumbled, pushing in before he could hold open the door for her.

Inside, the air was muddled with many voices all mingled together and the flow of body heat made it as musty as usual. The whole back part of the room was already taken up by other individuals and Elphaba cursed. They would have to sit at the front of the room, which meant that they would have to walk down the isle… which would draw attention to them, which would cause them to see Fiyero being courteous to the green girl… which might bring about trouble. Elphaba didn't know what kind of trouble, but she had a bad feeling about this.

Elphaba did a quick jog down the isle to a seat near the front, and was about to sit down when someone grabbed her arm. Seething, she stepped back and let Fiyero pull out her chair before she slumped down into it. "Thanks," she murmured ungratefully as he dropped her books into her hands. He sat down next to her.

She felt eyes burning into her back and turned around to Avaric. "What?" she said. "What're you looking at?"

"Oz's hottest new couple," he replied, whispering so Fiyero couldn't hear and forming his hands into a square. "Smile, lovers."

"Master Avaric, no need to be immature and juvenile," Elphie said, suddenly turning her expression into one of the utmost seriousness. "You needn't not express your obvious jealously of one with such first-class manners, with foolish claptrap. It's not very pretty, dear." Elphaba fluttered her hand in a sort of wave and turned back to the front of the class.

"Don't be catty with me. I know very well about what Glinda was trying to do," he said. "It was quite obvious, actually."

"Well, shut-up about it, then. I don't need a married prince to think that I'm sweet for him." Elphaba glared at him. "So, if you want to stay alive and well, then I would suggest that you stay out of it."

"I can do whatever I want," he reminded her. "You're not my mother… thank God."

Elphaba cocked her eyebrow. "What you fail to understand is that I don't need to be your mother."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"I have my ways of torture. I don't need to be a maternal figure to have that." Elphaba turned away and tried to concentrate of the professor, despite his monotone vocals and mumbling, and the fact that Avaric was poking her in the back half of the time.

When class was finally out, Fiyero was keen to hold open the door for her and carry her books once more. Everyone was looking at them with a sort bewildered expression. Perhaps they knew of Fiyero's childhood marriage, or perhaps they were too shocked of his 'choice'—the green girl—to remember that. Whichever way, no one looked too pleased or happy to see him with her. She was reduced to growling. And then they called her a rabid frog. That helped her situation in no way.

Soon, Elphaba had to do it. She had to lose him. She had to get away. She didn't want to go absolutely insane. So, she rearranged her face, and turned toward him. "Fiyero, dear, I need to use the ladies' room… so… would you be so kind as to give me my books back?"

"I trust you don't need your books, Miss Elphaba. What are you going to do with them in the restroom? Wipe—"

Elphaba couldn't bear to let him finish that sentence. "It doesn't matter… maybe I want my books in my sight at all times. Maybe I don't want to lose them. Maybe I'm just weird like that. Who knows? And you, certainly will never know, so just give them to me before we waste anymore time and my bladder explodes from the sheer pressure of—"

Likewise, Fiyero couldn't let Elphaba finish her sentence and handed her the books instantaneously, practically throwing them into her hands and staring her down. Elphaba nodded at him, and then ran, with semi-fake haste, away.

Once a ways away, she ran behind a building and then threw her books to the ground, and punched the air. "Yes!"

Someone giggled, which sent Elphaba's head up to see a pretty red-headed girl and some young man laughing at her. Elphaba straightened up and grimaced. "What? What are you looking at? Do you wish to present with important news? Some dirt on your worst enemy, perhaps? Something serious, you say? Do tell, for I'm positively craving good gossip and would love to sit her, being inundated by how Grata totally cheated on Deleroy."

The girl scoffed at Elphaba angrily and pushed off, dragging the poor boy by the arm. Once they were gone, Elphaba ensued, by picking her books off of the ground and brushing them off in quite an obsessive compulsive manner. She also brushed off her own skirts and nodded decisively; she would keep herself professional, until arriving at her room.

Elphaba pushed herself into her room, hoping that—by any chance—that she could get some alone time before having to push off again. No such luck.

Elphaba winced, and tried a suspicious leave, only to be pulled back by her, admittedly strong, roommate, who demanded the reason of her presence… and the lack of Fiyero's…

Elphaba rolled her eyes. "You see… I'm already pissed, and this… isn't working out for me, Galinda. So…"—she took tiny steps toward the door—"I'm going to have to give him up and—"

"Don't give him up yet!" said the blonde loudly, sitting on her bed.

"But I can't take it anymore, and you have no say what I do, so—"

"But, I need you to keep this up for just a little bit longer!" Galinda threw up her hands angrily in protest.

"But, I can't take it anymore!" And she stormed to the door once more.

"No!" Galinda said loudly, but too lazy to actually get up to stop her. "You haven't even allowed me any fun with this!"

Elphaba's jaw dropped and she immediately started to protest, "Galinda—!"

"No! This is a once in a lifetime chance! Let me take something from it, considering I made it happen!" Galinda said sulkily.

"Galinda… 'Once in a lifetime'? We could easily fling him off the deep end of the lake and then save him once more! It would happen all over again—" Elphaba stopped herself and thought deeper into the situation. "And all so easily…" Her jaw fell once more, and she proceeded to pull her hair anxiously.

"Well, Elphaba," said Galinda, grabbing a pear from the bowl of fruit. She munched on it, and Elphaba didn't mind as long as she wasn't eating her apples. "If we did that, wouldn't he start to suspect something?" She then, in a very lady-like manner, dabbed at her lips with a kerchief.

Elphaba rammed her head angrily on the dresser.

"My thoughts exactly," Galinda mumbled through her pear, and beginning to take her leave. Before she closed their door, she swallowed and said, "And, remember, don't dismiss him until I get my own chance at the merriment. Understood? It's only been one day, and you're already annoyed. Give him a chance. I say… a week? Okay"—she giggled—"Elphie?"

Elphaba didn't answer and Galinda—taking that as an answer—closed the door softly, leaving Elphaba to whack her head against the firm wood a few good times. She took a quick whiff of Fiyero's flowers and sneezed, but her face was expressionless and then she finally headed off, readily prepared for more oncoming torment.