Disclaimer: Same as previous chapters.
A/N: I Dont Walk I Glide and James Birdsong: Thanks for your reviews!
Here's another chapter, sorry for taking so long.
Chapter 8
Galinda woke up the next morning with a big smile on her face. She then realized she had Elphaba pressed against her again, just like the last time she had gone to sleep. She really could get used to this.
The only difference was that this time she was facing Elphaba and from the moment she opened her eyes she saw her love already awake and looking back at her with so much love in her eyes that Galinda felt herself swoon.
"Morning Glin. Did you sleep well?"
"Morning Elphie" the blonde said snuggling against her friend… change that to girlfriend, snuggling against her girlfriend. She then inhaled deeply, enjoying the green girl's scent.
"Wait, did you just call me Glin?" she said looking lovingly at Elphaba.
"Yeah, don't you like it? I can come up with something else like…"
"No, it's ok. I like it" Galinda said cutting the other girl's sentence. "But, where did it come from?".
"Well, I guess I wanted a nickname for you other than my sweet, to make it more personal, you know. And Glin just came to me. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that Dr. Dillamond calls you Glinda. But I know you are not very fond of that mispronunciation, so I can think of something else".
"No Elphie, it's really nice, I like it. And, let's face it, you could call me anything you'd like and I would still love it. Because it'd be something just between us, something special. I still want you to call me my sweet though" she added giggling.
"Your wish is my command" Elphaba said with a playful tone.
"Really? Mmhh, then… kiss me"
Elphaba was about to joke about that request when she saw the change in Galinda's look. It wasn't playful anymore, there was something much deeper in it.
To be honest, Galinda needed that kiss, she needed to feel Elphaba to make sure she wasn't dreaming. So she was happy when Elphaba leaned in and kissed her deeply.
After a few moments they parted for air. "It wasn't a dream. Last night really did happen and today we know how each other feels" Galinda said out loud without realizing it.
"In some way it's a dream my sweet. At least for me, it's a dream come true."
After a few more kisses and the acceptance that they'd have to leave their room eventually, the girls were finally heading down to the cafeteria holding hands. Once they arrived there they realized it was almost empty, and just a few students where left eating. Glancing at the nearest clock Galinda realized it was past lunch time. Elphaba had actually been serious when she mentioned how late it had been getting.
They approached the counter and ordered some food to go. From the beginning they hadn`t planned on staying there to eat, the plan had been to go buy some food and then go back to their room.
After they closed their bedroom door once they had gotten back from the cafeteria, the blonde pulled Elphaba to her for a kiss. She really couldn't stop doing this, and Elphaba didn't seem to mind. Actually she seemed eager to comply.
In some way Galinda was amazed at how natural this all seemed. It wasn't awkward like she feared it'd be. On the contrary, it was anything but that. It just seemed right.
As the days passed it felt even more perfect for both of them. Galinda learned that she loved Elphaba more than what she realized. Or maybe, by being together she was starting to love Elphaba more and more.
And who knew the green girl could be so attentive and romantic. Sure, she had been a kind and caring friend, and Galinda still had to reassure her sometimes that it was okay to kiss each other and have intimate touches and gestures. But Elphie was a fast learner.
In the end, all galinda seemed to think about these days was Elphaba. And she loved this, she loved every second of it.
After exactly a week since they had started this new stage in their relationship, Galinda woke up in Elphie's arms again. She had thought earlier that she could get used to this… well, she had. They had been sharing her bed for the whole week and she realized she had never slept better in her whole life.
She opened her eyes to see Elphaba still sleeping, so she stroke her cheek lovingly, taking advantage of this special moment in which she had her girlfriend all to herself. Girlfriend, they hadn't said that term aloud to one another yet, but that's what they were, right? I mean, you don't go kissing people randomly and dating them without earning that title, right?
As she kept her eyes on Elpaba, Galinda remembered how weird the other girl had been acting the day before. For the first time in a week Elphaba had said she was thinking about sleeping on her own bed that night and Galinda had had to make a pretty convincing argument for Elphie to lay beside her instead of sleeping somewhere else. Her argument was primarily based on the fact that they should wake up on each other's arms on the day of their one week anniversary and that if Elphaba wouldn't get into her bed, she would have to get into Elphaba's during the night. So whether Elphie liked it or not, it was going to happen.
Remembering all of that, Galinda decided to go get some breakfast so she and Elphie could talk about whatever was bothering her.
After getting dressed quietly, going to the cafeteria and getting some food, she headed back to her dorm and opened the room's door to find Elphaba making her bed. She smiled at this and placed their breakfast on the table they had next to Elphaba's desk.
"Hi Elphie" she said beaming and hugging Elphaba from behind.
Elphaba stiffened at first but then stroke the pale hands that where circling her waist. "Hi Glin. You woke up early today"
"Or course I did, we have to enjoy each second of our one week anniversary as much as we can" she finished, turning Elphaba around and leaning to kiss her.
Elphaba moved away before Galinda could touch her lips to hers, which shocked the blonde.
"Elphie? What's going on?" the blonde asked worried.
"Nothing Glin. I'm sorry, it's just that… I need to talk to you about something very important"
"Okay" answered Galinda sitting in one of the two chairs placed around the table and giving Elphaba her full attention. "What is it?"
"My sweet, this last week has been perfect, amazingly perfect"
"I know Elphie, it was. But I don't…"
"Please let me finish Glin" Elphaba interrupted the blonde before she could continue "I love you and I love this, what's happening right now between us. But your friends are coming back tomorrow, almost everyone is just coming back from spring break tomorrow. And even though we haven't discussed this yet, once they come back and discover we are dating each other, things won't be pretty. I mean, even if we don't tell people about our relationship right away, they'll treat you differently just because we'll seem even friendlier around each other, and I don't want to see you get hurt because… because of me. So, I'll do the right thing and if you want to stop this before everything goes back to normal in this school, I'll understand your decision."
Galinda felt the sadness on Elphie's voice as she spoke. True, they hadn't actually told anyone at school about their relationship because before the big return from spring break there was barely anyone left in the building. On the other hand, she hadn't even told Fiyero yet, for Oz Sake (she just thought it would be unconsidered to break up with me in a letter, he deserved better). But eventually she knew they were going to have to tell everyone and that moment was close, and even though it terrified her, she was ready, she was.
"Elphie, I love you. Please, don't doubt us, we can do this. Don't doubt me. I know it will be hard, and I was actually thinking that maybe we should just tell everyone right away instead of waiting. We are gonna have to put this in the open sooner or later anyway. And if we do it right away, people may not care that much. After all, they'll have a lot to talk about regarding their recent vacation. This might just be the right time to announce we're dating, they'll be several things going around campus to distract them"
"I don't wanna push it, my sweet. But, are you sure you wanna do this? Honestly, if you change your mind right now, it will hurt. But you'll always have me as a friend, always. I just don't wanna push you into doing something that you're not confident about"
Glinda got up, at that moment she knew that nothing else mattered besides what she and Elphie had been sharing these past days. "I'm sure about this Elphie, I love you"
Elphaba responded by giving her a bright smile and capturing her lips in an intense kiss.
Oh my Oz, Galinda thought feeling her knees go weak during that wonderful kiss. How can she manage to do that? To make a kiss feel like the sweetest thing and at the same time make it as passionate as possible.
While recovering her breath, after they had parted, just like she could hear Elphaba doing, she saw the other girl pull away and walk toward her nightstand. Galinda kept watching her, curious at what Elphaba was doing until she saw her girlfriend took something out of the nightstand and head back toward her with a small black box in her hand.
"Happy one week anniversary my sweet" she said handing the box to Galinda.
The blonde was totally surprised by this "Oh Elphie, you didn't have to give me anything, I didn't buy you anything!" she said getting sad and anxious at the same time. She turned around and reached for her handbag "I'll go get you something my love. And then we can…"
"No Glin, it's okay" Elphaba responded laughing. "Just open it please? You can get me something for our second week anniversary.
Galinda realized that she was being irrational, she couldn't just storm out there and go Oz knows where on a Sunday to get Elphie Oz knows what. Besides, she already had a gift. She had found the perfect present, but it had been too late. It was a gorgeous bracelet, but after she had made the order three days ago, she had to wait a week for it to arrive.
"Besides, you can't leave wearing your night clothes" Elphaba interrupted her thoughts.
Galinda looked down and realized Elphie was right. What was about this girl that made her forget about everything but her?
Both Elphaba and Galinda started laughing at this and Elphaba handed the blond the black box again. "Here Glin, open it" she said.
Galinda took the box and opened it slowly; her breath hitched at what she saw inside. Reaching for her gift, she took out a gorgeous necklace with a beautiful stone at the end of it; a stone that looked like a combination made from an emerald and a pink diamond.
"Oh my Oz Elphie, this is… it's… how? it's too much"
"No it isn't. Here…" Elphaba responded taking the necklace from Galinda's hand and putting it on her while the blonde still looked shocked. "I love you my sweet. Nothing will ever be enough to prove that to you"
"Oh Elphie, I love you too, with all my heart" The blonde replied by throwing her arms around her girlfriend and kissing her deeper than she had ever kissed anyone before. "I love you and whatever comes our way, we'll face it. Because together we are"
"Unlimited. Together we are unlimited my sweet" Elphaba whispered, leaning into Glinda to capture her lips in another blissful kiss.
And so, the next day arrived and Galinda woke up early with a mission on her mind. A lot of students had come back to Shiz the day before, but many more were due to arrive today or until tomorrow's afternoon. They had permission to arrive at Shiz until Tuesday because of the announcement Madame Morrible had made right before spring break started. Telling everyone about a faculty member meeting that was going to take place all day Monday and Tuesday's morning.
That had given Galinda a couple of days more before having to face Fiyero and her "friends". But now it was time to do it, considering they were all arriving that morning.
So Galinda pulled herself out of Elphie's embrace and got ready to leave quickly. Before actually leaving she wrote a note to her girlfriend, not wanting her to worry. She hadn't told Elphaba about the conversation she was planning to have with Fiyero and her friends (Fiyero had said in his last letter he would be arriving in the first train and Galinda figured the girls would follow close), because she knew she had to do this alone. She left the note on her nightstand and after kissing Elphie on the forehead she left to face what was to come.
Upon arriving to the train station, Galinda realized she had gotten right on time because the passengers had just started getting down. She started looking for Fiyero in the mass of people and when she spotted him she waved, he waved back and walked toward her.
"Hi sweetheart" he said hugging her "Your last letter got me worried, is everything okay? When you said you needed to talk to me right after I got here I couldn't help but worry"
He is a really good guy, Galinda thought. "Could we go somewhere to talk please?" the blonde asked pulling away from the hug.
"Sure. Do you wanna get some breakfast?"
"Okay"
"Ok, then let me ask if one of the guys can take my luggage along with theirs to my dorm"
After one of Fiyero's friends offered to help with his luggage, they left the station, entered a coffee shop near it and ordered something to drink.
"Ok, what is it Galinda? I'm really starting to get worried. Are you okay?" "Is Elphaba okay?"
"Mmm, actually, it's about that… She… I mean we…"
GALINDA! The blonde suddenly heard someone screaming her name and was horrified at seeing Shensen and Phanne step into the coffee shop.
"Galinda, we were yelling after you since you left the station. We understand that you and your boyfriend want to have a little reunion" At that she send a smile toward Fiyero "but that doesn`t mean you can pretend not to hear your friends"
Oh, she really hadn't. Had she actually heard them, she would have asked Fiyero to go somewhere else, somewhere far away from that place.
"Do you mind if we sit dear?" Both her and Fiyero were about to protest but the girls were already taking sits next to them.
"Actually Miss Shenssen, we were having a private…"
"So I guess you were just about to tell her, right?" Shenssen interrupted Galinda while turning to look at Fiyero.
"In a moment, yes" Fiyero answered clearly disliking this interruption. But, tell her what?
"What were you going to tell me?" Galinda asked looking at Fiyero.
"Ok, so it's a secret, but a very special ball is going to take place soon in the Wizard's Palace, Galinda. A famous ball that hasn't happened since the year he took power. A ball that would make history" this time Phanne interrupted.
That caught Galinda's attention, could it be… "The Emerald Ball?"
"That's right dear, the Emerald Ball" Shenssen continued.
Galinda had heard about this ball. Who in the highest levels of society hadn't? It had been a yearly event during the Ozma's regiment and the last one had been held almost 18 years ago.
"Wait here, we'll go say hi to our friends right there and we'll be right back" Phannee said pointing to a group of people on the other corner of the room and then getting up pulling Shenssen with her.
"It seems some big changes are about to happen in Oz, just like Elphaba said" Fiyero suddenly said. "Everyone is seeing this ball as a sign of that. Only a handful of people will be invited, maybe that's why your friends are so excited"
"That ball will be amazing" Galinda said. She really knew it would be the event of a lifetime. "Are you invited?"
"Well, my family is…"
But before Fiyero could continue Shenssen came back to the table. "Hi, the conversation was getting quite boring over there" she said while sitting back. "And we have to start planning for the event Galinda!"
"Start planning what?" Galinda asked confused
"Well silly, I'm going because one of my father's youngest business partners asked me to accompany him. Isn't that exciting? And since you're going too…"
"But I haven't been invited" Galinda clarified feeling sad at the fact.
"But Fiyero has, you are going together, right?" She said looking from one to the other.
"Of course" Fiyero said offering Galinda a kind smile. "I mean, if you want to…"
Before Galinda could answer, Shennsen interrupted again "Well, that's settled. Your mom was so happy Galinda, she was extremely proud of you. Your parents said they weren't expecting anything else less from you".
"My parents? When did you see them?"
"During my time in the Emerald City, you should have seen your mom's face, she was so happy and proud"
Before Galinda could react to that comment, Phanne came back to the table followed close by a group of girls. Why was there always people following them everywhere? Couldn't they get a life?
"Galinda dear, I've just heard the most disturbing news"
At that Fiyero asked Galinda if she wanted to order something else or if he should just pay. Understanding that meant he wanted to leave too, Galinda told him she didn't want to order anything else and Fiyero excused himself before leaving the table.
"Galinda, seriously" Phannee continued, clearly unhappy they were leaving so soon. "I just heard you have been spending time with the, the green bean! Is that true?" she asked clearly outraged.
"No! You couldn't! could you?" Shennsen asked mimicking Phanee's reaction.
Galinda then realized every female in the group before her had the same horror expression on their faces.
The blond gulped. What now? This wasn't supposed to happen this way! She wasn't supposed to be ambushed by every female in a 15 feet ratio. There wasn't supposed to be a ball in a few months that would be everything she had ever dreamed of. She wasn't supposed to crush her parent's hopes and happiness by not going there because she was dating… a girl, a green girl, a green girl with almost no social status. But she loved her, right? That's all that mattered.
But then she saw again the expression on the girls' faces and couldn't help but imagine her parent's tears and looks of disapproval at her decision. And when she saw Fiyero coming back to their table, she realized he was everything she had ever hoped for. At this moment she had everything she had ever hoped for in life, everything everyone else expected from her. Holding back her tears, she realized that loving someone wasn't enough. She was too weak, she wasn't strong enough.
"Well?" Phanne asked clearly exasperated because Galinda hadn't answered yet.
The blonde swallowed and with a fake smile added "Of course not! She's a freak after all, isn't she?"
What was she doing! She questioned herself while everyone else around her laughed.
"Are you ready?" Fiyero asked once he reached the table, clearly he didn't know what had just happened.
Galinda nodded getting up and saying a quick bye to everyone. She felt in a trance; what had just happened?
Once they were out of the coffee shop, she also said goodbye to Fiyero, agreeing on meeting him tomorrow at class. He reminded her that they hadn't had the chance to talk about what she had been worrying about, but she apologized and said she had decided to organize her thoughts first.
After saying goodbye to Fiyero and taking a few steps away, she started running to her room, crying and hating herself for what she had just done.
She was so lost in her thoughts that she didn't notice someone watching her leave, someone who had also just left the coffee shop and had heard everything the blonde declared about her roommate.
