AN: Thank you all sooooooo much! Virtual cookies for every single one of you - your reviews make me so happy! :D

BlueD: That dream sounds awesome :P. And yes, I had the same spaz attack when I heard the song for the first time :3. (I'm not sure if Fiyero really can draw, by the way. In this story, he can - thanks to Failey and the lyrics she sent me in her review ^_^.)

Also, I was reading You've Got Mail by Vinkunwildflowerqueen again today (read it, it's such an amazing story) and I was just thinking... it would be really cool to have a pen pal. You know, just someone anonymous you can ramble at in an e-mail without fear for consequences. I guess I'm already doing that with some of you - Wicked-related things, anyway :).

I had a pen pal myself once, this girl I met on vacation when I was six. We played together for two weeks and now, thirteen years later, we're still in touch, though not all that often. But still... we've seen each other, like, three times in all that time, and we're still in touch. I think that's pretty cool :).

Anyway - rambling. Yes. Got it. Moving on.

Chapter 10. Acceptance

'You know? You should really stop skipping classes,' she told him one day, about a week later.

Fiyero looked over to where she was leaning against a tree, arms crossed, one eyebrow arched. He dropped his head back on the floor, returning to the position he had been in before she had come across him – lying on his back in the grass, chewing on a stem of grass, doing… nothing. Oh, how he loved to do nothing. Faintly annoyed, he retorted, 'Why?'

'Because,' she said, arching her other eyebrow as well, 'you're not going to be of much help to me if you get kicked out of school.'

She had a point there, but he wasn't willing to admit it. Instead, he just sighed. 'It doesn't matter if I follow classes or not. I'm too stupid to pass my exams, anyway,' he muttered.

'Of course you're not stupid,' she said, sitting down cross-legged in the grass next to him. 'Or, well, not really stupid, anyway.'

'Gee, thanks.'

'You're welcome.' Her voice was just as sarcastic as his had been. He was actually secretly enjoying their little game. 'But still. I can't pass,' he insisted. 'I don't even know how to study.'

'I'll help you,' she offered, pulling out her own stem of grass to chew. 'I can tutor you, or something.'

'Sure.' He sat up, grinning broadly. 'But I'll teach you something in return.'

She scowled at him. 'Like what?'

'Let me teach you…' He thought about it for a moment, then said, 'Let me teach you how to dance.'

She scoffed. 'Dance. You want to teach me how to dance? I can't dance.'

'And I can't study. That's what the 'teaching' part is for,' he teased her, but she just glared at him. 'No.'

'Aw, come on, hon,' he said, and her glare intensified. 'Don't call me that.'

'Why not?' He wasn't willing to let her off the hook yet - and he enjoyed provoking her too much. 'Do you prefer baby? Sugar? Darling? Sweetie pie?'

She looked up and locked eyes with him. 'You do know I study Sorcery, right?'

He was faintly surprised by that. 'What does that have anything to do with it?' he wanted to know.

Now, he could almost swear she looked amused - if only a little. 'I'd stop calling me any of those stupid pet names, if I were you… unless you fancy crawling around like a newt for the rest of your life?'

Oh. Now he got her point. He gulped. 'Fine, Elphaba. No pet names. Got it. But can I at least keep the 'Fae'?' he begged her, pouting at her and widening his eyes. 'Please?'

She rolled her eyes. 'You can keep the 'Fae',' she conceded.

'Yay!' He grinned at her. 'So you'll tutor me, and I'll teach you how to dance-'

'I didn't say you could,' she interrupted him. He made his pleading cute puppy face again – or he hoped it looked like that, anyway. 'Please?'

She sighed, clearly irritated, but she gave in nonetheless. 'Fine. Perfect. Just… wonderful.' She let out a breath and ran her fingers through her hair again. She wore it in a ponytail today, he noted, just like she did usually; he'd never seen her hair any other way but in either a ponytail or a braid. She had a nervous habit of running her fingers through it, which caused tresses of it to fall out and frame her face. He thought she only looked more beautiful when that happened, though he didn't dare telling her that; she herself only tucked the loose locks behind her ears in exasperation to prevent them from falling into her face.

Her voice snapped him out of his thoughts. 'What are you staring at?'

He quickly averted his eyes. 'Nothing.'

She kept staring at him. 'There seems to be an awful lot of 'nothing' going on in that head of yours.'

'Like I said. Brainless.'

'Not really.'

'Would you stop doing that?' he snapped, sitting up and looking at her. She recoiled a little, clearly surprised by his outburst. 'What?'

'That. Telling me everything I'm saying and doing is a lie.'

'It is.'

'It's not!' he almost yelled, jumping to his feet. 'It's not, okay? I'm genuinely self-absorbed and deeply shallow, and I'm brainless, and I am not unhappy! I'm the happiest person in the world! Can't you see how happy I am?' he pretty much screeched at her.

She just quirked an eyebrow at him, an amused smirk tugging at the corners of her mouth, and he realised he had pretty much just proven her point. He sat back down with a sigh. 'Just don't… don't do that, okay? It's freaking me out. It's like you can read minds, or something.' He narrowed his eyes. 'Wait a minute. Those Sorcery lessons…'

She suppressed a smile and sat down next to him. 'No, I cannot read minds,' she assured him. 'And I'll stop saying it if you want me to… but you and I both know that I'm right.'

'How?' he wanted to know. 'How do you know? And why do you feel the need to rub it in?'

'Because you need to see it first to do something about it,' she said. 'And because I can't stand people who pretend to be something they're not.'

'Says Miss I-never-show-other-people-how-I-really-feel.'

She got angry. 'That's different, and you know it! You have no idea what I went through before I met you!'

'No, because you won't tell me!'

She lowered her voice. 'I have a secret to keep. A secret that could mean the difference between life and death. Don't you think I have a right to be a little wary?'

'You already told me the secret!'

'That doesn't mean I have to tell you everything! What happened to me is none of your business!'

He threw his hands in the air. 'Then how do you expect me to help you?'

'I don't know!' she said in exasperation. 'I don't know, okay? No offense, but I have no idea what help you could possibly be. You barely know anything about the Objects of Power or the Shadows, you're not magical, so I don't know what you need to do in order to help me!'

He fell silent at that. 'What if it's not 'helping' in that particular sense?'

She narrowed her eyes at him. 'What do you mean?'

'Well…' He thought about it for a moment. 'You're right – I barely know anything about Shadows and lockets and Objects of Power. It's not my knowledge that can help you, and I don't think it's my physical strength either – I've never had any training in that area…'

She smiled innocently at him. 'Good to know I can take you down whenever I want to.'

He scoffed. 'No offense, Elphaba, but you're half a head shorter than I am and you're not exactly muscular, either. I think I can take you.'

'Try me,' she suggested with a mischievous grin, and he rolled his eyes. 'I don't want to hurt you…'

Before he knew it, she had him rolled over and pinned to the ground on his stomach, his cheek pressed down into the grass. 'Say what?'

He groaned and tried to flip her, but he couldn't even wriggle himself free. He heard her chuckle and he tried again, succeeding in breaking free this time. He tried to get to her, but she dodged him and ran away, laughing. 'Catch me if you can!' she challenged him over her shoulder, and he smiled and started chasing her. It was the first time he had heard her laugh, and the sound surprised him. He hadn't thought her capable of making a sound so… so carefree, so happy.

Her laugh rang through the air as she ran as fast as she could through the Shiz park, sending her ebony hair flying behind her. He sped up and lashed out to catch her; she dodged him again and ran behind a tree. Suppressing a grin, he inched closer to the tree, rounding it in one move. 'Got'cha!' he yelled, appearing from behind the tree.

But she wasn't there.

Suddenly, he heard a triumphant howl from above him and before he could even look up to locate the sound, he felt himself being smashed down on the ground as her weight landed on top of him. She wasn't exactly heavy, but the impact of her falling down on him, from what must have been about four metres high, was still enough to make him gasp for air for a moment. She straddled his stomach, crossing her arms in front of her chest and smirking at him as he tried to catch his breath. 'I… didn't… see… that… coming,' he gasped, and her smirk widened. 'I know.'

She let go of him and he rolled on his side, still gasping. 'Oz, Elphaba… where did you learn all that?'

She shrugged innocently. 'Fighting classes. Kickboxing. I figured it could come in handy against the Shadows.'

'I guess you're right about that,' he said, still a little breathless. He winked at her. 'I like a woman who knows how to take control every once in a while.'

She rolled her eyes at him. 'Dream on, Princey boy.'

'Oh, I will,' he said, and she sighed, looking irritated once again. 'Would you please drop the popular dancing-through-life playboy act? It makes me feel the urge to gag.'

He scowled at her. 'Huh. I've never had that reaction from a girl before.'

'Well, I'm not your everyday girl.' She rose to her feet, brushing grass stems off her skirt. 'And I'm not impressed.'

He caught her hand and pulled her back down. 'I'm sorry. I know you're not like those other girls.'

She sighed and pulled her legs up to her chest, staring in the distance. 'You could say that.'

He caught her chin and turned her head to look at him. 'I meant that in a good way.'

She looked at him so intently, and he suppressed a shiver. He had never felt this way about a girl before… but he had felt this way about her ever since the dreams had started.

'So how do you think you could help me?' she asked softly, and he blinked at her. 'Huh?'

She smiled a little. 'That's what you were saying earlier. You didn't think you could help me with your knowledge or your physical strength, but?'

'Oh. Yeah.' Now he remembered, and he fidgeted a little. 'I think…' He took a deep breath and looked her straight in the eye. 'I think I can help you.'

She tilted her head a little to the side, confused, and he tried to explain. 'I don't think you need my help with the Shadows. I think you need my help because… because you need someone. Someone to be there for you, to have your back, to l-' He quickly swallowed that word, astonished with himself. Did I really just almost say the L-word? He wasn't sure how he felt about that; he was sure, however, that if he'd say it to her, she'd run away. And she wouldn't come back. 'To care about you.'

She scoffed at him. 'That's ridiculous.'

'Is it?' He inched closer to her, gazing into her eyes intently. 'Tell me, Fae – what I said to you before, when I told you I finally thought I understood you… about who you really are. Was I wrong?'

She averted her eyes, which in itself was answer enough for him. Her voice was barely above a whisper when she said, almost inaudibly, 'No.'

He tried his hardest not to look smug, but somehow, it felt as repaying her for the things she'd said about him. She might be able to read minds – or, well, not literally, but still, it was creepy – but he could do that, too. Now it was her turn to be uncomfortable.

Right now, she was still avoiding his eyes, and he started feeling a little bad for her. He poked her sides, making her squirm, in an attempt to lighten the mood. 'So?'

'So what?' she asked, trying to wiggle away from his fingers. He grinned and tried to tickle her, but before he could blink his eyes, she had him pinned to the floor again. He scowled at her. 'You're no fun,' he whined. She just cackled.

'So,' he said, returning to their earlier conversation, gazing up at her, 'do you believe me now? No, let me rephrase that. Do you think it's a possibility that it's that kind of help I might be able to give you?'

She bit her lip. 'I suppose it's possible,' she admitted reluctantly, and he grinned at her and used her distraction to push her off him and pin her down. 'Now I've got you.'

She snorted. 'You know I could free myself any moment I'd like, right?'

He cocked his head. 'You're bluffing.'

She gave him a wicked grin. 'If I bring up my knee right now, it would hit this very sensitive spot and I'm pretty sure you'd let me go if I did.'

He glanced down and blanched a little when he realised she was right. 'Oh.'

She chuckled. 'Don't worry, I have other ways as well.'

'Huh,' he muttered, feeling a little taken aback. 'Do you suppose you could teach me once? Fighting? It might come in handy…'

She shrugged. 'Sure.'

He looked down at her and suddenly, a sense of déjà-vu hit him. The way she looked now, she seemed to have appeared straight from one his dreams. Her green skin illuminated by the sun, that cast shadows on her face as it shone down upon them through the leaves. Her ebony hair had freed itself from the ponytail and fanned out on the grass, some twigs caught up in it. Her chocolate brown eyes dark and unreadable, as always, but with a spark of insecurity inside them. Her lips parted as she licked them a bit nervously. 'What?'

He could tell she felt uncomfortable under his intent gaze, but he couldn't stop staring. Carefully, he brought up one finger and slowly started tracing her features, beginning at the end of her one eyebrow, travelling down her jaw line… She shivered and his eyes were drawn to her lips. Oz, what he wouldn't give to be able to kiss her right now.

And why not? he suddenly thought. Feeling bold now, he lowered his face to hers, slowly. She just stared at him with those huge eyes of hers and his breath caught in his throat. Their faces were mere inches apart…

Suddenly, she wriggled herself free and jumped to her feet. 'I have to go.' With that, she ran off.

He sighed and dropped back onto the grass, mentally kicking himself. That's why not, Fiyero. Because she barely knows you and she has trust issues even beside that. You scared her away.

He just hoped he hadn't blown it forever.

When Elphaba entered her dorm room, Karestely was lying on her bed, writing a letter. She looked up when the door opened and flashed her roommate a beaming smile. 'Hey, Elphaba!'

The green girl couldn't help but smile back. 'Hey.'

Karestely, she had discovered, was the classic example of the girl everyone got along with. She had three or four close friends, with whom she'd go out and talk and share secrets; but she'd sit next to anyone in class or at lunch time, she'd talk to anyone, and she was always cheerful and bubbly, flashing around smiles wherever she went. Though she wasn't Glinda, Elphaba was happy to have her as a roommate – Oz knew she could have been paired up with someone a lot worse.

Now, the Quadling girl wobbled her legs in the air. 'So… You've been spending a lot of time with Prince Fiyero lately, haven't you?'

Elphaba froze and her roommate laughed. 'Oh, don't worry, I'm not thinking anything. And I won't tell anyone, either. I was just curious. He usually doesn't stick with a girl for more than a day or so.'

'You've known him for long?' asked Elphaba as she sat herself down on her bed, and Karestely shrugged. 'He only came in this year. Apparently, he's been expelled from two other universities already; that's probably why he's still a sophomore. He seems nice enough, I suppose, but he lives up to his reputation.' She made a face. 'It would be nice if you could snap him out of that.'

Elphaba chuckled. 'Yeah… I guess we're friends,' she admitted, trying not to think about their almost-kiss just a few minutes ago – had that only been a few minutes ago? 'But I want him to stop dancing through life, and I've told him that.'

Karestely giggled. 'You go, girl! It's nice to know you made a friend – you seemed a bit lost when you first got here.'

Lost. Yes, she supposed that was exactly the right word for how she had been feeling. She was surprised to find that she didn't really feel that way anymore. At least not as bad as before. 'Yeah… I was… I don't know.'

'Hey, you don't have to tell me,' Karestely reassured her. 'I'm not asking you to. It's just something I noticed. You seem happier now, and I'm glad.'

Elphaba flashed her a brief, but genuine smile. 'Thanks, Karestely.'

'No problem.' The girl picked up her pen again and resumed her writing, and Elphaba sat herself down at the desk, intending to do some work for the History and Politics classes she had the next day. When she opened her book, however, her eye fell on a small pile of pink stationery that Karestely had left there. Her stomach clenched.

Pink goes good with green…

She shook her head, clearing it of memories, and started working.

The next day, when she left class, a voice suddenly spoke in her ear, nearly giving her a heart attack. 'So how about those dancing lessons?'

She whirled around to scowl at him. 'You can't just sneak up on people like that!'

He seemed genuinely surprised. 'I wasn't trying to 'sneak up on you'. I was just walking towards you.'

She rolled her eyes, but didn't say anything as she started making her way out of the History building. He kept up with her pace. 'So?'

'No.'

He pouted. 'Please?'

'No.' She couldn't very well go dancing with him – not after what happened yesterday! Or, well… what almost happened. What if something like that happened again? The mere memory of him so close, his warm breath caressing her cheek, his lips almost touching hers, made her head spin and her stomach do somersaults. She suppressed a shiver. She couldn't. She wouldn't. This was all too complicated right now. 'I can't.'

That only seemed to increase his curiosity. 'What do you mean, you can't?'

'I don't want to, okay?' she snapped. 'Leave me alone.' She clutched her books against her chest and continued walking, but he just walked with her, moving in front of her and walking backwards so that he could keep facing her. 'Okay, whatever you want. Let's start with you tutoring me, then, and we'll do the dancing lessons later. Does that sound better?'

She suppressed a sigh. She couldn't very well say 'no' now, could she? She'd promised him that she would help him… and despite everything, she really didn't want him to flunk out of school. 'Fine, then. I'll tutor you. I have to return this book to the library first and then we can get started.'

He grimaced. 'In the library?'

She looked at him pointedly. 'It's where people go to study, Fiyero.'

'I don't like libraries,' he whined. 'I know it's where people go to study, but it's boring, and old and dusty and musty… hey…' His face brightened. 'That rhymes. Dusty-musty…'

She rolled her eyes at him. 'You're such a child.'

He flashed her a grin. 'I know. But seriously,' he continued. 'Can't we just go to my room? It's silent there, too… only much more comfortable.'

She heaved a sigh. 'Why are you so opposed to libraries?' she demanded in exasperation, and he opened his mouth to repeat his boring-old-dusty-musty argument, but she cut him off by holding up one hand. 'Never mind. That was rhetorical. I suppose we could go to your room… if you really want to,' she conceded reluctantly, and he beamed at her. 'Yay! Okay, let's go return that book of yours then and after that we can get started, right?'

Much to Elphaba's surprise, their tutoring session actually went pretty well. He was easily distracted at first, but once he got the hang of the subject, he showed that he really wasn't as brainless as he pretended to be – he was actually quite smart. She helped him with his Literature essay and proofread it for him when he'd finished it, nodding approvingly. 'This is actually really good,' she said, and he chuckled. 'You don't have to sound so surprised,' he teased her. 'You said I wasn't brainless.'

'And this proves my point.' She gave him back the essay and he nonchalantly shoved it to the side with his other books and notes. 'Now it's my turn,' he said smugly, before walking over to the middle of his room, shoving aside the clothes, scribbles, and drawings that were scattered all over the floor, and looking at her expectantly. She eyed him warily. 'Your turn…?'

He grinned and turned around to put on the music. He held out his hand to her. 'To teach you how to dance.'

She stepped back a little, eyes wide. 'Oh, no.'

'Come on, Fae,' he said teasingly, purposefully repeating his earlier words – the words from their dream. 'I'm not that bad, I promise.'

'Don't do that,' she said flatly, and he sobered. 'Okay. But still – I won't bite. It's just a dance, Fae. I'm not asking you to marry me or something. Just one dance. Please?' He gave her his now familiar pleading look and as always, she sighed and gave in, accepting his hand. 'One dance,' she warned him. 'Not more.'

His grin widened. 'Not more.' He showed her some basic movements, then took her hand in his and rested his other hand on her waist. She tried her hardest to ignore the way the feeling of that hand seemed to be burning through her dress.

Her other hand automatically fell onto his shoulder, and he looked down at her with a smile. 'Ready?'

'No,' she said gruffly, and he laughed. 'Let's go then.' He started out slowly, allowing her to get used to the movements of the dance; and when she got it, he sped up to fall into pace with the rhythm of the music. 'Now, this isn't so bad, is it?' he asked her, and she rolled her eyes. He grinned at her. 'Come on. Admit it.'

'Fine. It's not so bad.'

He laughed again and pulled her even closer. The music ended and a new song started playing, but he didn't let go and she didn't pull away. It was a slower song this time, and both his hands travelled to her waist as her arms slipped around his neck almost instinctively. She tensed a little when she realised what they were doing, but he seemed to read her mind. 'Relax, Fae,' he whispered in her ear, his breath tickling her skin. 'I'm not going to hurt you.'

And she believed him. Somehow, she just sensed it; when she looked into his azure blue depths, she could see the sincerity and genuine care for her behind his popular façade, and she allowed herself to believe him. What else could she still believe in at this point? So she rested her head against his shoulder and closed her eyes, breathing out and letting go for perhaps the first time in her life.

He noticed, and he caught the significance behind it. She was finally accepting what he had been telling her all along; she was accepting his help and his care. She was accepting him. It must be a huge step for her, but he was glad she'd taken it.

Now all he had to do was take care he didn't chase her away again.

Virtual apple pie for those of you who review!

...

No. Shall I make that chocolate cake? Just for the ones among you who read Love is all you need and are still traumatised by... um... pie. :3