What? Why are you looking at me like that? It's not like I haven't written any of this since May… oh yeah. Well I would say sorry – and I will, but I'm not sure that's enough, I do feel bad about this, honestly, I have been for months every review, alert and subscription has killed me a little more inside – which is a good thing believe it or not, because at least it made me feel guilty – maybe not guilty enough to get me to write this for four months – but still.
OK and now for the reason I'm mad enough to continue this utter pile of rubbish:
HAPPY BIRTHDAY SQUINT!!!!!!!!! Who writes amazing stuff, is amazing enough to have reviewed nearly all our drabbles, loves torturing poor Fiyero in the meanest ways possible, has designed our prettiful DTF avatar that has been making me die of guilt for months and she has been nagging me for this chapter since about late May… So yeah HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!!!!!!!! I hope you have a great day!!!
Anyway maybe I should shut up sometime soon and just let you read
He took her to a clearing in the middle of the forest and sat her down.
"First of all," he said, "I believe I have an apology to make, about yesterday, I shouldn't have scared you like that."
"You didn't scare me," she replied calmly, looking into his eyes had they always been a rich gold colour? She could have sworn that they had been jet black last time she saw them – the first day she had come to this school, before the strange exchange students have arrived, "if you have to apologise to anyone it would be Avaric."
Instantly the expression on his beautiful face turned to one of malice, "I'm not saying sorry to him, my only regret is a didn't punch him harder, if you could have heard the thoughts that were on his mind…"
"And you could?" she asked.
He hadn't meant to say that, it had just slipped out – that never happened, nearly one hundred years of living had made him very well practiced at hiding his… abilities what was this girl doing to him?
"Please tell me, I promise I won't tell anyone."
He sighed, did it really matter anymore? The exchange students already seemed to know more about him than they should, what further damage would it do if this exquisitely pretty girl found out some of his abilities too? "I can read minds." He stated simply.
She didn't seem remotely surprised – unusual for a human, "so what am I thinking now?" she asked.
"That's the problem, he stated, in all the decades I've lived I've never met anyone whose mind I could not read…"
"Decades?" she asked, curiosity piqued her voice.
In all the decades he'd lived he'd never met someone who could uncover all his secrets so effortlessly either, "erm… growing slowly is part of my talents as well." He wasn't quite ready to scare her off with the complete truth just yet.
She looked at him sceptically, "growing slowly? How does that work?"
"Yes… it…" he gave up and her continued disbelieving glance, "I can't tell you, it's not safe, it's better that you don't know. All I can say is you were the first person I met whose mind I could not read but then…"
"Then what?"
"The exchange students, I can't read the mind of the green and the blonde one, and the ones I can well they're not from round here to say the least…" he stopped, "did you hear something?"
Bella shook her head, but Edward was not so sure – he had distinctly heard someone mutter 'The blonde one? I have a name.' Carefully he stalked towards the edge of the clearing and looked behind a bush.
"Oh hi Eddy-poo!" squealed Galinda, the video camera in her hand still filming.
"What are you doing?" Edward snarled.
She giggled, "oh sorry, but do you know how adorable you and Bella are, I couldn't help myself.
"I think you should go now," said Edward through his teeth.
Galinda rolled her eyes – a trait she'd picked up from Elphaba, "fine, but I think you'd better get to your lessons too. You're in maths with me," she added quickly.
Severely annoyed Edward followed Galinda back to the building, Bella walking sheepishly beside him.
By the time Edward and Galinda arrived in the classroom – Edward had led Bella to English, there were only two seats left. Thankfully for Edward they were not next to each other, he sat down next to Edward while Galinda took a seat near Jessica.
"Thanks for the camera," she muttered.
"Your welcome," Jessica replied, "you get any good footage."
"Oh yes," Galinda giggled.
Jessica smiled at her new friend, "Great! I'll show you how to put it on youtube if you want…"
Skjfkjdsflkjds
"Dare I believe my eyes? What is the famous Miss Elphaba doing not in a lesson after the class bell has rung?"
"I have French," Elphaba snapped not looking up from her book, "I hardly see the point of going to a fictional lesson to learn a fictional language that is spoken in a fictional country. What is the infamous Prince Fiyero Tiggular doing in a library?"
"Touché," he muttered.
She looked up surprised, "Do you actually know what that word means or was it just a coincidence that you used it correctly?"
He scowled, "and why shouldn't I know it?"
"Oh I don't know, it's a whole two syllables and has an accent."
"Elphie," he whined, "I'm not that stupid."
"Could have fooled me," she said, turning back to her book.
He sighed, what was it with Elphaba? Most girls would be all over him by now if he paid them this much attention, abruptly he looked round – you never knew when some vampire could be reading your thoughts nowadays.
"I'm still surprised at you, you're normally a sponge for any kind of knowledge."
She glared at him, "Well I have more important matters to sort out now – for instance how to get home – more than you're doing I may add. What's your excuse for not being in lessons?"
"Well it's like you said," he replied, "fictional lessons… and stuff."
She smirked, "and I'm supposed to believe you when you say that?"
He shrugged, "not really, but I had to try. So have you found a way to make us go back?"
"Would we still be here if I had?" she replied her tone typically sarcastic.
"Well you could be enjoying it here," he suggested, "there are no sparkly vampires in Oz, and it is a book you like."
She rolled her eyes, "Please Fiyero, I'm not a twelve year old girl or Galinda, twilight's a good book – if you can stand its lack of plot and Bella's constant moaning, but I can hardly meet the Wizard if I'm trapped in a fictional universe."
"So have you found anything remotely useful?"
"Well as a matter of fact I've been researching the film we saw last night. It was originally a book by a man called Lyman Frank Baum, written over one hundred years ago, about thirty years later it was made into the film we saw."
"A real world inside a fictional world?" Fiyero asked, wondering if he had understood correctly.
"Yes, it's most confusifying as Galinda would say, my only suggestion is that Baum heard of Oz and made up a strange story about it."
"Then why would the characters have such an uncanny resemblance to you and Galinda?"
Her eyes narrowed, "are you saying I'm a wicked witch?"
He shot his most charming smile at her, "Only sometimes," he ducked as she threw a pillow at him, "what? You're allowed to call me brainless but I'm not allowed to call you wicked?"
"I'm allowed to call you brainless because it's essentially true, on the other hand I'm not wicked."
"I wouldn't bet on that," he chuckled.
"What counts as being wicked?" she asked him, "Does murdering annoying, brainless princes make you wicked? In that case, I'm getting very close to becoming wicked." She smiled sweetly at him.
"You wouldn't dare," but his voice didn't sound so confident.
"Are you sure?"
"Nah, if you killed me you'd miss me too much."
A loud screeching noise followed by a resounding bang prevented Fiyero from noticing the blush rising on Elphaba's cheeks.
"What was that?"
Elphaba thought for a moment, "well it didn't happen in the novel. So it must be our doing… oh Oz, can I leave anyone unattended?"
They raced outside into the school, where a pile of scrap metal and bricks lay, which might have once resembled a car and a wall. In the middle of the second crash of the day was Mike Newton furiously glairing at a sheepish Avaric.
Pupils and teachers alike were now pouring out the classroom, eager to see the cause of this commotion. However Fiyero and Elphaba were one of the first to reach them.
"What in Lurline's name just happened?" demanded the ever-so-slightly annoyed green girl.
Avaric looked around desperately for a way to maintain his reputation, "You see the thing was…"
By DeeplyShallow (You know – the slacker who didn't write this for four months)
I guess I'm in no position to tell Ink to upload the next chapter quickly :p
PS: Happy Birthday Squint, Fiyero gives you a birthday kiss if you promise not to hurt him too much.