A/N: Okay, I'm really sorry about how long it took for me to get this up, but about a week ago, I found out that I was moving. So for the past week I've been house hunting with my family. Which is not fun when you have two younger brothers who fight all the time. Plus, I was pretty depressed; I don't want to move. So inspiration didn't come to me until a few days ago.
But on the bright side, I saw Wicked this last Friday. And it was INCREDIBLE. Which, as you can imagine, was the event that gave me a tiny glimmer of inspiration. Then this chapter was born! Not the best one, but at least things get moving a bit.
Disclaimer: do I even need to say it? No, I don't own Wicked.
Elphaba turned the doorknob to her dorm as quietly as she could. It was still rather early, and there were no classes that day, so she assumed that Galinda would still be sound asleep in her mass of frilly things.
As she stepped into the room, she was suddenly hit in the head with a flying pink object. It bounced off and landed on the floor in front of her. She bent down and picked it up. It was square and soft. Hot pink in color, with the word "Galinda" spelled out in neat cursive in the center. Edged with a frilly light pink lace, there was no doubt that this was her roommate's pillow. But why had it just been pelted at her head?
Elphaba looked up to see a rather ticked-off Galinda standing in the middle of their room, tapping her foot impatiently.
Well, that answered her question.
"Elphaba Thropp, where in Oz have you BEEN all morning?" the petite blonde yelled with such strength that the green girl took a step backward. "I have been sitting here for hours, worrying my head off about you! You had no right to do that to me!"
"Galinda, first off. Calm down, I'm back now." Elphaba started, "I just…woke up and couldn't fall back asleep, so I went to go take a walk, that's all."
Galinda launched herself at Elphaba and hugged her with all her might.
"Oh, Elphie! Don't ever do that to me again, promise me you won't!"
"Galinda…"
"PROMISE ME!"
"Fine, I promise."
Galinda then flounced over to her vanity and proceeded to apply her makeup for the day. After a few minutes and after an absurd amount of mascara and foundation had been applied, she studied herself in the mirror and smiled, obviously satisfied. She then strode over to the closet, flung open the doors, and began throwing dresses everywhere.
After almost every dress she owned (and that was quite a lot of dresses) was piled on the floor, a satisfied "aha!" came from the inner depths of the closet. Galinda pulled out a rather poofy looking hot pink dress and matching heels, then bounced off the get changed and accessorized.
Once Galinda emerged from the bathroom, she twirled once and asked her roommate how she looked.
Elphaba, who was in the middle of reading her latest book, merely glanced up before giving her answer.
"Pink."
Galinda clapped her hands together and squealed.
"That was exactly what I was going for!"
Elphaba rolled her eyes at her overly enthusiastic roommate and went back to her book.
Galinda left the dorm and called out behind her, "Fiyero is meeting me in the courtyard, I'll be back later!" before closing the door, leaving Elphaba to read.
But her peace was short-lived, for there were about five minutes of silence after Galinda left until someone knocked on the door.
Elphaba stood and opened it, slightly annoyed at the person on the other side of that door, whoever that person may be.
She was surprised, however, to see Madame Morrible standing in the doorway.
"My dear," she said, inviting herself in, "I have wonderful news."
With that, she reached out and handed Elphaba an emerald envelope. Elphaba admired it for a moment before turning it over and fingering the gold seal on the back.
"The Wizard…" she whispered before carefully opening the envelope. She unfolded the letter and began to read, a grin spreading across her face as she did so. She read it once, and then twice, just to make sure it was truly reality. When she decided that it wasn't just a cruel prank, she looked up, eyes sparkling.
"He wants to meet me?" she asked in disbelief.
"Yes, dear. You leave in a week. I have no doubt that His Ozness will be impressed with you." Madame Morrible replied, and then swept out of the room.
Elphaba stared at the closed door for a moment before flinging it open once more and running out into the hallways.
She didn't stop running until she was standing in front of Galinda and Fiyero, who were both asking her if she was okay and if she needed any medical attention. She nodded her head yes to being okay and scowled at both of them for their second concern, but couldn't explain herself any further, considering she was out of breath from her mad dash to the courtyard. Instead, she just handed Galinda the letter.
As she read it out loud, her smile grew larger and larger, until Elphaba couldn't believe that a smile that big could fit on someone's face. She had finally caught her breath and was now grinning back at Galinda.
"Elphie! This is wonderful! The Wizard!" Galinda squealed and Elphaba laughed before the blonde reread the letter to herself once more.
Suddenly she felt a strong hand on her shoulder, and she turned around to see Fiyero standing behind her, smiling ever so slightly.
"Congratulations," he said in a low voice.
"Thank you," Elphaba answered quietly.
The two stood in a moment of silence, staring at each other, before Galinda squealed again. Elphaba looked away, feeling her cheeks flush once more in a deep blush before turning to face her roommate.
"This calls for a celebration!" Galinda said excitedly, "I'll invite Bick and Nessa and we can have a mini party!"
So that night, Elphaba, Galinda, Fiyero, Boq, and Nessa headed out for the 'mini party' Galinda had planned. The group ordered a round of Winkie beers, and the celebration began.
"Oh Elphaba," Nessa exclaimed, "I'm so very proud of you, and I'm sure father will be too. Aren't you proud of her, Boq?"
The munchkin was caught off guard, seeing as he had been staring at Galinda so intently that the conversations around him had been drowned out. Having no idea what Nessa had just said, he simply nodded and smiled.
Satisfied, Nessa reached for Boq's hand, but he quickly stood when he saw her, knocking over his chair as he did so.
"I…I…Nessa, I just can't do this anymore." He stuttered, then walked out of the restaurant.
"Boq!" Nessa called after him, but he didn't turn around. When she started to wheel toward the exit, Elphaba held her back, trying to keep her sister from causing a scene.
Galinda stood and offered to go find out what was wrong, seeing as Fiyero was now holding Nessa back as well. She was quite strong for a woman in a wheelchair.
Galinda pushed open the doors and stepped into the night, letting her eyes adjust to the sudden darkness. When she could see, she could make out an outline of a man's body sitting on a bench nearby.
She slowly walked over and sat down carefully beside him.
"Bick…" she started.
He whipped around and stared at her with angry eyes before replying, "It's BOQ, Miss Galinda. Boq."
"Right, Boq. I'm really sorry."
He studied her for a moment before sighing.
"That's alright."
"Boq. Why did you storm out on Nessa like that? Can't you see that she loves you?"
He sighed once more before answering, "Miss Galinda, can't you see that I don't love her?"
Galinda stared at Boq.
"Then…why are you pretending to?" she asked.
His answer was so quiet she almost missed it. Almost.
"For you."
"For…for me? Boq, I don't understand."
"Of course you don't. I've only been telling you of my feelings for you ever since I first saw you, but you have never even remembered my name until now. Of course you don't understand, I've never meant anything to you," He said angrily before adding on quietly, "You told me to invite Nessa to the Ozdust. You told me I would be your hero if I asked her. And I obliged, happy to do anything that might please you. And from that night on, I have had to pretend to love her. All because you said it would make you happy."
Galinda gasped and Boq looked away, feeling like a rather large idiot.
"But I'm tired of pretending, Miss Galinda," He said, standing up, "I'm tired of pretending that I love Miss Nessarose and that I don't love you."
And with that, he kissed her squarely on the mouth and marched away, not looking back.
Galinda stared at his retreating figure before bringing her fingers to her lips, not wanting to believe that the fact that her heart was racing was because she had feelings for the munchkin boy.
Back inside, Nessa had calmed down a bit, and when Galinda walked back inside in a daze, she immediately asked what had happened.
"Oh…nothing. Boq was just tired, that's all," Galinda replied distractedly, "Come, Nessa. Let me take you back to your dorm."
After everybody had left, Fiyero turned to Elphaba and smiled.
"I guess the party is over."
"Yeah, I guess it is."
"Care for an escort?"
Elphaba hesitated before nodding, and the two stepped out into the chilly night air and walked together in silence.
When they reached the courtyard, it was Fiyero who spoke.
"I had fun with you this morning."
Elphaba turned around and looked at him straight in the eye before answering quietly, "I had fun, too."
"You know," Fiyero said, taking a step closer, "I was kind of hoping I would find another excuse to see you again."
"Why would you-" Elphaba started, but was cut off when Fiyero pressed his lips against hers.
