Hello my lovelies! For some reason, after I posted the last chapter, inspiration hit me and I'm already working on chapter 5. So yay for that! In this chapter we have Elphie's reintroduction to the group, Fiyero's language troubles, and a semi-cliffhanger. Promising. Okay you guys, I'm not really one to plead for reviews, but let's just say that if you leave one, perhaps with some ideas for what you want to see in the story of just general praise, you might see chapters faster. Wink wonk. As always, enjoy!
Glinda didn't look up when Elphaba sat beside her under the tree where the Charmed Circle always ate. After all, she'd told Elphie 12:45, and if there was one thing the girl was, it was punctual. So Glinda expected it. She didn't look up when every pair of eyes snapped up to take in the form some of them hadn't seen in close proximity for months, nor did she look up when eyes slowly widened and jaws dropped. She didn't even look up when those same eyes shifted back and forth between both of them. She didn't look up, because looking up would signify that something was out of order, and Glinda wanted this transition to be as smooth and hassle-free as possible.
"What the fuck?"
Shit.
"Yes, Crope?" Glinda finally made eye contact with her roomie, who couldn't decide between anger and pure shock.
"She-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named just sat down beside you like the past six months never happened!" the boy indicated Elphaba with his first finger, not that there was much need.
"Really? I know I've been atrocious, but I didn't think I was Voldemort-level awful. And didn't your mother ever tell you it was rude to point?" Elphaba raised an eyebrow, clearly amused.
"Didn't your mother ever tell you it was rude to dump your girlfriend with no explanation?" Crope rebutted.
"Crope!" Glinda admonished.
"Well, seeing as how my mother spent my formative years either under a man or under the ground, I don't think she ever got around to teaching me what a healthy relationship looked like." Crope sat back, speechless.
"Elphaba! That is no way to talk about our dearly passed mother! She was a faithful, decent woman," Nessa scolded from her place beside Boq.
"Right, and your pink skin and Quadling features are a testament to that," the green girl smirked.
"Elphaba! I know it's been a while, but don't feel the need to make up for all the missed snarking in one sitting," Glinda intervened before someone killed Elphie.
"Sorry," the brunette muttered to no one in particular, crossing her arms and leaning against the tree.
Glinda sighed. This wasn't going to be easy, was it?
Later, in the math lecture she shared with Fiyero, the Vinkan motioned for her to sit nearer to the back with him.
"So what is going on with you and Fae?" Fiyero's use of the pet name, which she hadn't heard since the breakup, startled her.
Glinda remembered the first time he'd called Elphaba that.
It was a lazy, too-hot summer day and the air units had decided to overheat. Glinda and Elphaba lounged in Glinda's bed while Fiyero sprawled out shirtless on Elphaba's. Technically, men weren't allowed in the female dorms, and most definitely not shirtless, but it was too hot for the RA's to bother checking anything and Fiyero brought ice cream, so the girls were less inclined to care. If he'd been another man, Glinda might have been sneaking looks, but even though the prince was attractive, Fiyero was just too pretty for Glinda's tastes. She couldn't date someone prettier than her.
"It's too fucking hot. I'm going to melt," Elphaba moaned.
"It's your fault for wearing black all the time," Glinda responded, her Gillikin twang shining through as her speech got lazier. She couldn't even bring herself to care.
"Oh come now, Fae, you should be used to it, growing up in Quadling Country," Fiyero's breathy timbre sounded, though neither girl had the willpower to look.
"It was extremely humid, but never this hot. Even Munchkinland was balmy in summer. What's your excuse, Great Hunter?"
"I'm not the one who was complaining, Your Eminence."
"Wait, Fae?" Glinda butted in.
"Ah, it comes from the Vinkan form of Elphaba's name. It's easier for me to pronounce, as Ozian is not my first language," the dark-skinned man explained. Not much talking was done after that, all three drifting off into restless sleep.
Ever since, Fiyero had referred to Elphaba as Fae, with perhaps a touch more affection than Glinda was ever comfortable with. Hearing it again brought back memories of simpler times, and a dull ache clenched her heart, but only for a moment. No sense looking back now.
"We've discussed where we stand and have decided that for our own good and the good of those around us, we should try to get back to where we were pre-relationship," Glinda whispered as the lecturer started to speak.
"So Fae will be, um, resuming her place in our circle?" Even living in Oz proper for a few years now did not ensure that Fiyero knew Ozian perfectly, and he still stumbled on words and their meanings. However, being tutored by Elphaba meant that he had picked up some of her phrasing and intonation, which after the breakup had been hard to deal with. It was why Fiyero was perhaps closest to Elphaba, and why he'd tried to steer clear of Glinda for a long time.
"Yes. But we're taking things step-by-step, and seeing how it goes. Which by the looks of today, isn't so great," Glinda frowned.
"Do not be... disinclined? Dis...dis...discouraged! Do not be discouraged by Fae's roughness, it is how she deals with things, after all," he shrugged.
"I suppose you're right, I guess I just need t-"
"Hey, you two in the back! Either be quiet or leave, if this lecture is so boring!" the lecturer interrupted, startling Glinda and Fiyero.
Fiyero grinned and gave her a wink as he turned to face the front. Glinda smiled back, happy to have a friend who didn't automatically distrust her ex-girlfriend.
"What are you doing?"
"walking into my apartment"
"Want to go see a movie?"
"elphaba I thought we said we weren't going to try dating right now"
"Not like a date-date, just a friend-date."
"is anyone else going"
"No."
"are you sure it's not a date-date"
"I promise. I just want to hang out with you."
"alright I'll go"
"Thank you."
"you're welcome and stop using punctuation and capitals in your texts so much"
"Why?"
"you look like you're trying too hard"
"The phone automatically makes the first word capitalized, so you're doing more work than I am. As for the punctuation, I am physically unable to write grammatically incorrect sentences, so therefore I would actually be working harder to force myself to not use punctuation."
"shut up"