Author's Note: Wow, it has been a long time since I updated. Sorry about that! I'll try to update faster from now on.
A sharp intake of breath from Galinda caused Elphaba and Fiyero to break apart and turn toward the door. Their eyes widened in horror.
"Glin…" Elphaba began, jumping to her feet, but Galinda let out a sob and fled from the room. Elphaba whipped around to glare at Fiyero, her eyes blazing.
"You brainless idiot! What was that all about?" she yelled.
"I'm sorry," Fiyero said, because he didn't know what else to say.
"Oh, you're sorry," Elphaba said scathingly. "That doesn't make things any better! What were you thinking?"
"I wasn't," Fiyero said.
"That's obvious," Elphaba snapped. "Or was this your plan all along? To use me in order to break up with Galinda?"
"No, it wasn't, I swear," Fiyero said. "I – I don't know what came over me."
Elphaba could feel her fingers start to tingle, so she bit back a response and inhaled slowly to calm herself before she blew up the entire dormitory.
"I'm going to go find Galinda," she said. "But I hope that empty head of yours at least knows that this conversation is far from over."
"Wait, Elphaba," Fiyero said. He reached out to grab her wrist again, then thought better of it and snatched his hand away. To his relief, however, she didn't leave yet.
"Can I go talk to Galinda first?" he asked hesitantly.
"I think you've caused enough damage already," Elphaba said.
"Please," Fiyero begged. "This is all my fault, and I don't want her taking out her anger on you."
Elphaba sighed in resignation. "I'll still have to talk to her sooner or later, but okay. Though if I find out that you've hurt her any more than you already have, I'm going to murder you."
"Understood," Fiyero said, not doubting Elphaba one bit. He got up and hurried out of the room before she could change her mind.
Elphaba sunk back onto her pillow, moaning in frustration. She was absolutely furious at Fiyero, of course, for getting them into the situation they were in. But even more so, she was angry and disappointed with herself. She could've easily pulled away from Fiyero as soon as he kissed her. Instead, she'd gone along with it for a few seconds, perhaps even relishing it.
What had she done?
After a long, agonizing wait, Galinda returned to the dormitory. Elphaba, who had been lying with her face buried in her hands the entire time, sat up instantly upon hearing her roommate's footsteps.
"Galinda?" she said tentatively. Galinda didn't respond, choosing instead to lie down on her bed facing away from Elphaba.
"Glin," Elphaba tried again.
"Go away, Elphaba," Galinda said listlessly. Elphaba flinched at the tone of her voice.
"We need to talk," she said. "You deserve a full explanation and apology."
"I don't want to hear it right now," Galinda said. "I'm not sure if I can trust you anymore."
That stung Elphaba even more than the command for her to leave, but the green girl took a deep breath and persisted.
"Please, Galinda. Ask me anything and I promise I'll give you the honest truth."
Galinda slowly sat up and turned to look at Elphaba. Her face was tear-streaked, though the fact that she was making eye contact seemed slightly promising.
"There are so many questions I could ask right now," Galinda said finally. "But I guess the thing I want to know most is why you let it happen."
"I had to ask myself the same question while I was waiting for you," Elphaba admitted. "How could I kiss my best friend's boyfriend? And you might hate me even more after you hear this, but I realized that I was being selfish. I lost myself in the moment, and I simply enjoyed the feeling of being wanted."
"Did you ever stop to think about my feelings?" Galinda exploded. "I found out that the two people I trusted most in the world both betrayed me at the same time. And guess what? It hurts! A lot!"
"As a matter of fact, no, I didn't think about that. By the time I had the chance to think, it was too late. In case you weren't aware, Fiyero initiated that kiss, and he didn't exactly ask permission," Elphaba shot back.
"Elphaba, my best friend kissed my first serious boyfriend before I did. How wrong is that?" Galinda cried.
"I know it was wrong! I acknowledged that!" Elphaba exclaimed. "I'm just so tired of putting others before myself. My entire life has been about helping Nessa and preserving my family's reputation. No one has ever cared about me. Not even myself."
Elphaba could feel her fingers prickling again, but she ignored it, too riled up to stop. She marched over to Galinda, her eyes burning with fury. "And you know what, Galinda? If your boyfriend doesn't want to kiss you, then you need to do what you do best and take a good, long look at yourself, because I'm pretty sure the problem isn't me. It's you."
At her final word, Elphaba jabbed her finger at Galinda. There was a loud popping sound and a puff of smoke, and the next thing Elphaba knew, Galinda had crumpled into a heap, unmoving.
"GALINDA!" Elphaba screamed. She pressed her palm to the blonde girl's chest, checking for a heartbeat. To her immense relief, she could still feel it pulsing. However, it was incredibly faint, and Galinda showed no signs of stirring.
Elphaba took in a shuddering breath and shook Galinda lightly. "Wake up," she whispered. "I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to do that. Please, just wake up." But Galinda remained completely still.
Tears began to squeeze out of Elphaba's eyes as she covered her mouth with a trembling hand. This couldn't be happening. Hadn't she already screwed things up enough that day?