Galinda walked into her room dropping all her shopping bags on her bed after getting back from the city with her friend. She sighed kicking off her shoes, exhausted, but then remembered the essay. So she exhaled loudly, put her shoes back on, grabbed her books and headed to the library where she found Elphaba. "Oh hey Elphie!" she said smiling when she saw her friend.
"Hey, Galinda," Elphaba said, putting down the book she had been reading. The History of the Vinkus. Fiyero's name had already come up three times.
Galinda bounced over taking a seat next to her friend dropping all her stuff on a table. "I hate essays. Like truly loathe them. They are horrendible." She sighed.
"Do you want help? I finished mine... I was going to make it thicker, but I helped Boq instead. I probably could but... I don't want to." The feeling of laziness was new to Elphaba, and she didn't recognize it.
Galinda looked over to Elphaba, "Really?!" she said, nearly crushing her in a hug. "You would do that! OH thank you so so so much Elphie!"
"Galinda, if you kill me I can't help you," muttered Elphaba, trying to breathe.
"Oh!" Galinda squeaked letting her go. "Oops!" she giggled. "Anyway," she said spreading all her books out. "Where to start?"
Fiyero strolled into the library, needing to finally start his essay. He began to walk through the library casually, until he saw Galinda and Elphaba sitting at a nearby table. He tried to quickly sit down at another table without being noticed. With all the fights lately, he thought it would be best to avoid them if possible. Especially Elphaba.
But before they could start she noticed Fiyero. "Oh Fiyero dearest!" she called out to him.
"Probably with what you have so far... have you even started it?" Elphaba raised an eyebrow at her - and then her pink friend screeched across the library. "Galinda, SHH!"
Fiyero closed his eyes with frustration for a moment, knowing he had been found out. However, knowing he couldn't very well ignore Galinda's yells, he stood up slowly and walked towards their table. "Hello ladies, how are things today?"
"Galinda, part of the point of the library is a place to study in quiet," hissed Elphaba, ignoring Fiyero at the glare from the librarian. "Geez."
"Oh!" Galinda giggled again, "I'm sorry!" she said but smiled at Fiyero when he walked over. "Are you working on your essay too? Come over at sit with us!"
Does he have too? Elphaba didn't speak out loud, hoping he wouldn't notice the book she had been reading...
"Oh, I appreciate the offer, but I'm not sure that's the best idea," he said, not taking his eyes off of Elphaba. "Oh by the way," he said smugly, "I'm mentioned twice on page 74," he smirked, motioning towards Elphaba's book.
Galinda looked back and fourth between the two of them still not quite knowing what to believe about the two of them.
"And once on another page. Your point?" Elphaba raised an eyebrow at him.
"Just making sure you were paying attention," he said sarcastically. "Anyway, as much as I'd love to join you ladies, I'd feel terrible about interrupting roommate bonding time."
Roommate bonding time? Who does he think he is? A prince. A scandalacious prince... Yup, the voice in her head was definitely Galinda's.
"Well, you two can work on the essay," Galinda said smiling and yawning, "I think I'm going to go take a nap," she said getting up. "I will take you up on that offer later Elphie! Bye Yero!" she said giving him a quick kiss.
Fiyero hardly had time to process what Galinda had said before her lips were on his, and within another moment, she was gone, leaving him staring at Elphaba.
"Bye," muttered Elphaba, watching her leave. Swinging her head up to look at Fiyero, she stared at him flatly for a moment. "Are you going to start yelling at me? Or should I just leave now?"
"I would yell, but I'm a little scared to make her angry," he tried his luck at a joke as he pointed at the librarian, hoping to lighten the mood.
"Everybody is," said Elphaba, rolling her eyes. "She beat one kid with one of the atlas' last year for burning one of her books...At least, that's what I've heard," added Elphaba hastily. "From her mouth. And others."
Fiyero smiled a bit, realizing that no one was fighting yet. Testing the waters, he ventured, "Can I ask you a question? And will you answer me honestly?"
"... yes?..." Elphaba pulled back in her chair, crossing her arms as she watched him warily. Why was he being... semi... nice?
"Did I do something to make you mad? Because we've obviously been having some...problems lately. And if there's something I've done wrong, I want to apologize for it. I just want to understand why we're always fighting."
Elphaba blinked at him. And blinked again. And, for a moment, she was stunned into silence. Softly, she answered, "You're asking me if you did something wrong?"
"Well, I do recall you complaining about my general existence," he smiled a bit. "I can't exactly change that...but I'd like to know what I did to make you dislike me so much."
"You're...
just..." Elphaba shook her head, dispelling the feelings of
shock. "You're one of them. The popular crowd; you have to be
perfect - or as perfect as possible - to get in. And... and you're
with the people that would choose to throw things at me and call me
names rather than sit and talk, or even ignore me... it's defensive,
I guess." Elphaba blinked. Did I really just say that?
Elphaba,
you're getting soft...
Fiyero knew he had asked her to be honest, but was still taken back by the sudden outpouring of emotion. "But you and Galinda are friends, and Oz knows she's in that crowd. Is there no way we could be friends too?" he asked, placing a hand on hers on the table, being as genuine as possible.
Elphaba blinked, and hastily pulled back her hand. "I suppose," she muttered. "And if you haven't noticed, Galinda's... different... then they are. She's with them, but she's not part of them."
"I think you perceive Galinda through Emerald-tinted glasses. She may seem different to you, but she is practically their leader," he admitted, but quickly caught himself. "Nothing against Galinda of course, but I'm just saying to give people a chance...to give me a chance."
"Galinda also sees things through swirly pink glasses. Everything is as she wants it to be. She doesn't see reality." Elphaba hugged her arms closer, asking herself why she wanted to give him the chance. Giving herself the reasons she shouldn't.
He continued to leave his hand on the table where her hand had been, wishing she would still accept his symbolic offer of friendship. "Listen, can we start over? For real this time. Not because of Galinda or Nessa or Boq or anyone. But can you and I just start over?" he asked timidly, all the while asking himself why he cared so much.
"I... guess... we could try. I don't know why you want to," she added with a roll of her eyes. "Oz knows this'll bring down your social status."
Fiyero wished he could answer her question, but he didn't know why he so desperately sought her acceptance either. Her intellect was certainly admirable, and her passion was inspiring, but he couldn't help but wonder if it was something more. "Listen, do you want to get out of here?" he asked, completely forgetting his unfinished essay. "I always feel like Boq or Galinda is going to come walking in here any minute, and we don't seem to do very well with others around," he joked, thinking of their last encounter at the cafe. "You want to go for a walk or something?"
"Um,
sure. Let me just check this out..." Elphaba absently grabbed
the Vinkus book she had been reading before. Her feelings of...
contentment... now that they were on... agreeable terms?
That was
the phrase she supposed. They were bothering her immensely.
Fiyero
was pleasantly surprised that Elphaba actually accepted his
invitation, and moved to pack up his own items. Watching her silently
for a moment, he finally smiled and asked,
"Ready to go?"
extending his hand, hoping that she would take it.
Having just come back over from the librarian's desk, she eyed his hand and wrapped both of her arms around her books, pulling them to her chest - with both hands busy, she couldn't hold his hand. (Though part of her wanted to. Wow, these feelings changed fast...) "Ready."
Fiyero struggled not to look discouraged as she very clearly avoided taking his hand, but realized that it was amazing she had agreed to the walk in the first place, and baby steps were probably the way to go. "So," he said as he started walking, "what should I know about you?"
"I'm green." Elphaba couldn't help but smile at the most obvious answer.
Fiyero rolled his eyes at Elphaba's answer, but was not the least bit surprised by her highly sarcastic remark. "That's just the color of your skin...I want to know something REAL about you."
"Um... I like to read?" Elphaba shrugged her shoulders, still clutching her book. "Trust me, there isn't much to know."
"I doubt that's true," Fiyero stared at his feet as they walked. "I think you're one of the most complex people I've ever met, I'd love to understand what makes you tick." Wait, did I just say love? "I mean," he caught himself, "what's going on in that brain of yours?"
Ah-did he semi compliment me? Um... Elphaba felt a blush work up in her cheeks, even though the compliment hadn't really been a compliment. Or had it? Oznits, she was confused. "What makes me tick? Most everything." Elphaba swung her hair to the side, covering her cheek. "Cruelty, I guess."
"I don't think you're cruel," he looked up to face her. "I think you build up a wall against those you don't trust...but really, this has been one the nicest conversations I've had all year. It's real...and not a trace of cruelty."
Elphaba bent her head over her book, refusing to look up at him - and refusing to accept the flutterbies that had arrived in her stomach at that. "I-um. Okay."
"Sorry," Fiyero said quickly, feeling the pain of her obvious rejection, "I didn't mean to make you feel uncomfortable." He sighed and returned his gaze straight ahead as he walked.
"You didn't!" Elphaba looked up quickly, hastily denying that. "It's just... I'm not used to things like that said." Why was... you know what. I'm not even going to ask myself why I care anymore... I do, and I'm stuck with that.
Fiyero felt his spirits lift with her response, and wanted to keep the conversation going, for he truly wanted to understand what she was thinking, and if her thoughts were of him. "So Elphaba, if you could do anything you wanted right this moment, what would it be?"
What kind of question is that? "Find out why you're being so nice to me," Elphaba said, then quickly pressed her mouth shut. Whoops.
"I'm being nice to you because I like you." It was the most honest thing Fiyero had said in a long time, but he quickly regretted throwing himself out there like that. "I mean, I consider you a good friend and all..."
Elphaba paused, turning to face him. "You do realize that being friends with me might drop your social status, oh high and mighty prince."
"If my friends feel the need to judge our friendship like that, then they're not friends worth having."
Elphaba opened her mouth, shut it, turned, and kept walking. He's not what I expected. Not at all.
Fiyero hated it when Elphaba got silent. He truly wanted to understand what she was thinking, he knew she had a lot to say. So when she didn't respond to his comment, he took advantage of the moment, asking, "You're quiet, what are you thinking about?"
"It's more of a stunned silence than a pondering silence." Elphaba was still not quite there, still trying to comprehend that Fiyero... might actually... be nice.
"Stunned? Do you really think I'm that shallow?" It was Fiyero's turn to feel stunned now...stunned by her honesty, stunned by her negative perception of him.
"Not shallow, persay..." Elphaba paused. "No, shallow is the word I'm looking for. I mean, you kind of have to look at yourself in my eyes..."
"Well if you'd look at yourself through my eyes, you'd see a woman who is beautiful both on the inside and the outside. A woman who is just too afraid to let others care about her."
Elphaba's cheeks would have been bright red had she been a "normal" color; as it was, they were flushing so bad they seemed almost black. Without saying anything, she kept walking. Granted, the main reason she didn't say anything was because she didn't know what to say... and her feelings were so conflicted right now, a headache was creeping up on her.
Fiyero was made nervous by Elphaba's continued silence. Is she quiet because she knows I'm right and just scared? Or does she totally hate me and think I'm talking crazy? He looked Elphaba's direction, seeing she looked a little flushed, "Hey are you alright, you look a little flushed...do you want to sit down?" he asked, pointing to a nearby bench in the otherwise empty park.
"I'm fine," she said softly. "Just... surprised, that's all." Surprised might be the understatement of the year, she thought, looking at him out of the corner of her eye - and trying to ignore the butterflies. Stop it! He's Galinda's boyfriend! The Galinda-esque conciense was screaming at her. She ignored it.
Not only was Fiyero questioning Elphaba's feelings, but now he was starting to question his own. You idiot, she obviously doesn't want to be here, she's hardly even talking to you. And why do you care so much? he asked himself, but couldn't ignore the feeling in the pit of his stomach telling to stay as close to Elphaba as possible. However, he nervously said, "Listen, you're really quiet, so feel free to tell me if you don't want to be here...if you have other things to do..."
"Oh, no, I have nothing else to do," Elphaba said quickly, then wished she hadn't said it so quickly. Then wondered why she cared. Again. The Galinda voice didn't speak up. "I don't have any other friends anyway, so why not be here?"
"So that is what you consider me then? A friend?" He loved and hated the sound of it at the same time. He loved that she was finally beginning to accept their friendship, but hated the simplicity of the word. He had hundreds of friends, but she stood out in a different way.
"I guess that's the word..." Elphaba shrugged, eyes darting to the ground. It fit the criteria she knew would be the criteria for a friend, but... why did her stomach flutter now? Because he's being nice to you, and you're not used to it. Shaddup.
For the first time in the conversation, Fiyero was at a loss for words. Self doubt started to set in, and he scolded himself. Fiyero, you need to calm down. She's only hanging out with you because she has nothing better to do, no one else to hang out with. Yet he couldn't help but let his hand hang down next to hers as they walked, hoping desperately she would take it.
Elphaba was acutely aware of Fiyero's hand next to hers, but ignored it. He's Galinda's boyfriend, Nessa's crush. Everybody's favorite guy. It's for his own good. Besides he's only hanging out with me because he doesn't have anything better to do, and he needs to stay on Galinda's good side...
Now the silence was practically unbearable, so Fiyero reverted to the subject that had gotten them talking in the first place: Galinda. "So are you going to that party Galinda's planning?"
"She's already told me that she has three different outfits for me to try on. I could break both my arms and she'd still make me go." Elphaba grinned. "As long as I don't look like a Lurlinemas tree, I should be okay."
Fiyero laughed, but couldn't help but picture Elphaba dressed up rather than in her normal turtlenecks. "Well I'm sure you'll look fine, and hopefully I'll see you there, I just haven't decided if I'm actually going...I mean, the party was my idea and all, so I guess I'm obligated to...but with Galinda and I being on a break, I don't know if that would make things too awkward," really stopping to think about Galinda for a moment, part of him wishing he was with her.
"It probably would." Elphaba paused. "But let's see. We're putting you, Nessa, and Galinda in the same room... the party'll be awkward to begin with."
Fiyero laughed at her joke, his thoughts brought back to Elphaba as quickly as they had left her. "So, will you be bringing a date with you?"
Elphaba snorted. "That's a good one."
He smiled, "Well if you'd like, I'd be happy to accompany you..."
Elphaba blinked, squeezing the book tighter to her chest. "Um, are you trying to get Galinda to kill me," she asked, not willing to give her honest answer. (A big yes, granted, but then Galinda really would kill her.)
"Like I said, Galinda and I are on a break. And besides, she'd probaby find it more sweet and adorable than anything," he laughed. "In all seriousness though, let me take you to the party."
"Um..." Is he joking or... oh geez. Wizard, help me now if Galinda tries to kill me... "Okay."
"Umm...okay? Don't sound so thrilled," he half-joked, truly hurt by her lack of enthusiam. "You don't need to feel obligated or anything...I understand if you don't want to go," he mumbled as he picked up the pace of his step, moving in front of Elphaba so she couldn't see the look of hurt on his face.
"No, no, I do want to go with you," Elphaba said, instinctively reaching out and grabbing his hand to slow him down.
Fiyero felt the warmth of her hand in his, listened to the urgency of her voice as she stopped him. He turned very slowly to look at Elphaba, not wanting the moment to end. Could there really be something here? he asked himself, unable to ignore his feelings or her reaction.
Unwilling to pull her hand away, but unwilling to admit she wanted it to stay there, Elphaba was at a crossroads. "Well, it's just that I'm worried that Galinda would hate me and that Nessa'll be even more mad at me and I don't want to alienate the few people I have and-"
"You're not alienating anyone," Fiyero interrupted her, stepping closer to Elphaba without letting go of her hand, until they were standing only inches apart. "And if your friends treat you badly just because you're happy, then those are friends not worth having. You are happy...right?"
With him standing so close to her, Elphaba was finding it hard to concentrate on why she should be stepping back and not doing this. "Yes."
Fiyero felt the sudden need to kiss her. He didn't know where the urge came from, but it overwhelmed him as he stood there, inches from Elphaba. He leaned in slightly while he looked into her eyes, making it more than obvious he was hoping their lips would meet. But he intentionally stopped halfway, trying to find out if she felt the same way.
Elphaba was thick when it came to boys. She wasn't that thick. "Fiyero... Yero, we shouldn't do this."
"I know, we shouldn't," he breathed, taking the scent of her in as he moved a little closer.
"Then..." It was getting harder to think rationally. "Why are we?"
"Because it feels so...right." He wanted to pull her to him so badly that it hurt...but he restrained himself, wanting Elphaba to prove that this was mutual.
"And Galinda?" Elphaba breathed out the question, looking up at him, blue eyes shining. "I can't hurt her."
What about Galinda? he repeated to himself, nearly forgetting the blonde he had been pursuing all along. He cared about Galinda, he didn't want to hurt her either...but Elphaba's presence was so intoxicating, it overwhelmed and excited him. "Fae...," was all he could whisper as he lightly grazed his fingers against her cheek.
Elphaba could feel herself trembling slightly, noting her body turning more towards his. "We really shouldn't be doing this," she repeated softly, trying to convince herself more than anything.
Fiyero continued to caress her cheek, stating quietly but clearly, "I don't care about what we should be doing, I care about what we want to be doing. Do you want this?"
"What we want isn't necessarily what's right," Elphaba said softly, trying to find a way not to answer that. To save her own skin from what it wanted most. Her hand still interlocked with Fiyero's, she wrapped the other one tighter around the book, squeezing it harder. "The consequences alone..."
"Do you want this?" he repeated, no longer caring about anything but the two of them.
"You do realize Galinda is now officially going to kill me?" Elphaba squeezed the book tighter, trying to remind herself why, why, why this was all wrong (regardless of the complete feeling of right.)
"Do you want this?" he asked once more, leaning back slightly, "because if you don't..."
"Yero, please don't make me answer that," she whispered softly, glancing down before looking up again, meeting his eyes.
"I'm not going to make you do anything you don't want to," he sighed, actually taking a step back this time, but still gripping onto her hand.
"No, Yero, I do, it's just..." Elphaba let the sentence trail off, looking at him. His hand felt nice with hers.
That was all he needed to hear. Without hesitation, he pulled Elphaba towards him. And after what felt like an eternity of build-up and anticipation, he finally moved his lips to meet hers.
Elphaba was not ready for that - but, quite frankly, she didn't care that she wasn't ready for it. With a small gasp right before their lips hit, she let him kiss her - and couldn't help but lean a little in herself.
Fiyero felt relief wash over him as he felt Elphaba kiss him back. Experiencing Elphaba's non-verbal cue, he began kissing her more passionately, putting a hand behind her neck to hold her close.
Elphaba dropped his hand, absently sliding her arm around his waist to bring them closer. All thoughts forgotten, she was moving on instinct now - the only thing keeping her other hand close to her was the book she carried.
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Galinda left her room wanting to get out of her room, and decided to head to the park. She noticed Fiyero and Elphaba walking together and tried to catch up to them but once she did she wished she hadn't. Galinda stopped in her tracks, when she saw their lips, unable to believe that her best friend was stealing her boyfriend….
