Chapter 10
It quickly became apparent that Elphaba had underestimated Fiyero's attention span.
Fiyero would meet Elphaba for lunch on the days their schedules allowed it, and he'd eat dinner with at least Elphaba most nights, unless he had a date, but those were oddly few and far between. It didn't seem at all in line with his reputation, but she didn't question him about it. Fiyero's dating life was of no concern to her.
He would often go out to the pub or The OzDust after dinner with friends he'd made in his Economic class or his building, which Elphaba had no trouble telling him was a waste of time.
"It's called having fun," he teased her lightly.
"How can you form a real friendship based around drinking and talking about sports?" Elphaba demanded.
"Very easily," Fiyero shrugged. "Come to the game with us this weekend and see."
Elphaba scoffed. "Yeah, sure."
Fiyero either ignored her sarcasm or didn't pick up on it, because somehow Elphaba found herself attending the game with Fiyero and his friends that weekend. None of his friends really spoke to Elphaba, but Fiyero sat next to her and took the time to explain all the rules to her so she knew what was happening on the field.
Elphaba couldn't help but notice there were a lot more girls in the audience than the last game she attended, many trying to gain Fiyero's attention. He didn't seem to notice, however. Elphaba figured he was more than used to it.
Nessa seemed to feel less guilty about abandoning Elphaba to eat with her friends now that her sister had a friend of her own; although she liked to eat dinner with her sister, so that they could catch up the other on their days.
Actually, the Vinkun prince seemed to surprise Elphaba almost daily as they got to know one another better. He wasn't a fan of lessons, no surprise there, but was quick with numbers; and although he protested they were boring, he seemed to remember a lot of what he had learned in Law classes at previous schools. They had many conversations about what she was covering in class, and he'd even offered to proofread an assignment for her once and had provided surprisingly thoughtful and helpful feedback for her.
On a Thursday night at the end of January, Elphaba got out of her creative writing class and found Fiyero waiting for her.
"Hey," he greeted her. "Guess what came this afternoon?"
Elphaba sighed tiredly. "Fiyero, I hate guessing games."
He grinned. "I know."
He withdrew a sheet of paper from his coat pocket and waved it at her. "My parents finally wrote back."
Elphaba's heart skipped a beat. "They did? About the article?"
He nodded. "Yeah. Want to hear what they thought?"
Elphaba eyed the letter warily. "I don't know. Do I?"
Fiyero chuckled. "Come on. Want some food? Coffee?"
Elphaba readjusted her bag on her shoulder. "I could do with some tea," she agreed.
They headed into town to The Wilted Rose. Fiyero asked about Elphaba's writing class, but she was rather vague in her responses. She was still trying to open up about her writing to him, but she found Fiyero's interest in it almost baffling. She just wasn't sure how to take it.
"Can you believe it's February this weekend?" Fiyero asked her as they sat down and ordered.
"I can't believe you've been here three weeks already and haven't gotten kicked out yet," Elphaba replied teasingly.
"Trust me, my parents are as shocked as you are," Fiyero chuckled.
Elphaba tilted her head sympathetically. "Yero, I was kidding."
"So was I. Mostly."
"What's the longest you've been at a school?" Elphaba asked curiously.
"A year and a half. Dahl University in the Vinkus. My first one," Fiyero replied. "It's where I did my Law classes. Shortest was my last school. Four months. And it would have been sooner if I'd had my way. It's the only school I've actively tried to get kicked out of."
"I wouldn't sound so proud about that," Elphaba told him.
"See, now you sound like my mother," Fiyero grinned.
Elphaba winced slightly. "Sorry."
Fiyero's face softened. "Fae, I'm kidding," he reassured her gently. "It's fine."
He pulled out the letter again, holding it so Elphaba couldn't see it. "Alright, let's see here. 'Received your letter… glad you've settled in… don't get expelled, yada yada yada- "
"Fiyero," Elphaba cut him off warningly.
Fiyero held up a finger. "Ok, here we go. 'We were pleased and surprised to hear about the interview you gave the school paper. Confusified, as to how they convinced you to do it, but we're looking forward to solving that mystery. Or perhaps it's not so much a mystery, given that the reporter's name does appear to be female.' My dad thinks he's hilarious," Fiyero explained, looking up at Elphaba.
"That's where you get it from then, I'm assuming?" Elphaba retorted. "Keep reading. The relevant parts."
She drummed her fingers nervously on the tabletop as Fiyero skimmed the letter.
"Upon reading the interview, your mother remarked that it sounded like Shiz was doing you a world of good already. I have to agree. Please convey our most sincere compliments to Miss Elphaba. The article is truly wonderful, and Mom's having it framed.' He goes on, but… meh, it's not that interesting."
Actually, it was interesting, at least to Fiyero. His father had passed on what information he knew about Elphaba's family, not that there was much. They hadn't been aware that his eldest daughter was green, for one thing.
'His first wife, who must be Miss Elphaba's mother, died in childbirth if I remember correctly. He remarried about a decade ago, but I don't remember to whom. Your mother thinks that she might have been a teacher.'
It hadn't lessened Fiyero's curiosity as much as he'd hoped it would. He just had many more questions for Elphaba. But he was oddly pleased that his parents seemed to like Elphaba. He'd already written back to them that afternoon, not even realising until he was done just how much Elphaba's name had been mentioned.
'She sounds like she's been a good influence on you,' his father had commented.
Fiyero supposed he was right. He hadn't even realised until earlier that week that he was attending (most) of his classes and even doing some work. Not typical behaviour for him, but the disapproving look Elphaba gave him when he told her he "couldn't be bothered" going to class… it made his stomach squirm. He couldn't work out why though.
Fiyero smiled warmly at Elphaba as he folded up the letter and returned it to his pocket. "They loved it. Honestly. My dad makes a joke here about hiring you as my Press Secretary after you graduate, and I'm not sure he's kidding."
Elphaba laughed slightly. "Press Secretary? What, to make you look good?"
"I think that's the general idea," Fiyero grinned.
"That sounds like it would be a never-ending job, and utterly exhausting."
"Oh, but being a lawyer and putting away criminals on a daily basis is going to be a walk in the park?" Fiyero challenged her teasingly.
Elphaba rolled her eyes. "I haven't decided what kind of law I'm going to practice yet. I don't know. Maybe I'll defend people instead. Maybe I'll go into politics, like my father."
"But why law?"
Elphaba shrugged. "I've always been fascinated by it. We've got family friends whose youngest son studied law here. He's an estate lawyer in Munchkinland now. He'd come back from Shiz and tell me all about his classes and what he was learning, and I'd just ask a thousand questions," she chuckled.
Fiyero smiled a little wistfully at her. "It must be nice. To be so passionate about stuff."
Elphaba smiled weakly, not sure how to respond.
Their food arrived, and immediately captured Fiyero's attention. He was a fan of The Wilted Rose's all-day breakfast menu. Fiyero returned the letter to his pocket and tucked into his food as though he hadn't eaten for days.
"Did you not have dinner earlier?" Elphaba asked, wrinkling her nose slightly as she watched him dig into his food.
"Nah, I was waiting for you."
Elphaba stilled, fork poised over her plate. "You didn't have to do that."
Fiyero looked up and smiled. "I know. I'm just a nice guy," he said modestly.
Elphaba rolled her eyes.
"Besides, I like eating with you," Fiyero admitted.
Elphaba chuckled. "Really?"
"Why is that funny?" he asked her seriously.
Elphaba averted her gaze, toying with her pasta. "I guess it's not. It's just… different. Even the people I'm friendliest with on the paper wouldn't want to eat with me. My roommate can't stand being in the same room as me. Nessa and Xia are the only person I really have here to talk to."
She smiled faintly at him. "I guess you're the person who knows me best other than Nessa. Here, at least. You're pretty much the only person who's made any effort. And that's just unexpected. But not a bad thing," she reassured him.
Fiyero chewed thoughtfully on a mouthful of eggs and bacon. "I get that."
"What?"
"About people not making the effort to get to know you."
"You do?" Elphaba said sceptically.
He shrugged. "You called me out during that interview," he reminded her. "I like that. You don't treat me any differently because I'm royalty. Very few people do that. It means that you're one of the very few people I can completely be myself with. I don't have to pretend that I am who everyone thinks I am."
"If you like that, why don't you just be yourself with everyone? Drop the 'dancing through life' crap?" Elphaba asked, resuming her meal.
Fiyero smiled at her sweetly. "But then how would you know you were special?"
Elphaba couldn't help but laugh.
When she bid Fiyero goodnight after their return to school, she headed upstairs, mulling over she'd read or study before going to sleep that night.
As she opened the door, Pinar was storming around the room. She whirled around on Elphaba before she'd even shut the door.
"You know, you could think of other people," she shot at her. "You can't just waltz in whatever hour you feel like it. What if I'd been trying to sleep?"
Elphaba stared at her pointedly. "It's eight thirty," she replied. "And that's a bit rich, coming from someone who spends all night at The OzDust and gets back after midnight. I don't recall you trying to keep the noise down, so I could sleep."
Pinar scoffed. "Like it's all about you. It's my room too," she said and then promptly stormed off into the bathroom, slamming the door behind her.
Elphaba rubbed her suddenly aching temples as she heard water begin to run in the bathroom, collapsing on to her bed with a sigh.
Pinar had grown increasingly nasty the more time that Elphaba and Fiyero spent together. She'd taken to yelling at Elphaba over the littlest things, from leaving too much water on the floor after she'd showered; to studying too loudly. Elphaba usually found her easy enough to ignore, but even she had to admit that her dorm room was becoming an increasingly toxic place to be.
"PMS?" had been Fiyero's suggestion when she ranted to him, Nessa and Xia over dinner one night after a particularly horrendible incident.
Elphaba snorted. "Since September? Oz help us all if that's the case."
Elphaba wasn't stupid enough to think Fiyero had nothing to do with Pinar's mood, although she had been horrendible since returning from vacation. But she wasn't the only one who was acting different since Fiyero's arrival. Overall, all the students of Shiz still seemed flummoxed by the sight of Elphaba and Fiyero spending time together.
"Are you and Fiyero Tiggular like friends now?" Boq asked Elphaba one afternoon when they were both in the Gazette office, about two weeks after the article had come out.
"I think so," Elphaba replied absent-mindedly, not looking up from her article she was proof-reading. "That's what he says anyway."
Boq made a noise in his throat, which made Elphaba look up in amusement.
"You just don't like him because Galinda likes him," she laughed slightly.
Despite Galinda's initial heartbreak over Fiyero's declaration of his single status; that hadn't stopped her from flirting with Fiyero shamelessly every time she saw him. Although she'd gone from glaring furiously at Elphaba to staring at her as though there was something very puzzling about her that she simply couldn't understand. She'd even spoken to her quite civilly a few times, although only in the Gazette office and never if any of her friends were around.
Rais had, for some reason, given Galinda an advice column for the paper. Elphaba suspected it was because it was less work for him than fixing up her articles. All Galinda's columns so far seemed to quote the same book- some dating guide or something, and contained some not so vague references to Fiyero.
"I just can't picture you being friends with him," Boq remarked to Elphaba. "He doesn't seem very… studious."
Elphaba snorted. "He's not," she agreed, returning to her article.
"I just didn't think you'd have anything in common."
"We don't," Elphaba said dryly. "Yet somehow, I can't get rid of him."
She wasn't entirely joking, although she didn't see it as a bad thing. While she and Fiyero didn't have many common interests, she found him easy and interesting to talk to, and she was beginning to think he understood her far more than she'd ever expected him to.
Elphaba looked up at Boq again and put down her pen.
"Look, Boq. If you like Galinda, ask her out."
Boq reddened and glanced around to make sure no one was in earshot, although it was perhaps the worst kept secret on campus.
"What if she says no?" he asked, lowering his voice.
Elphaba didn't bother lowering her own voice. "Of course she's going to say no," she said candidly. "But then at least you'll know that you tried, right?"
Boq gaped at her and Elphaba sighed.
"It's nothing against you," she reassured him. "But you're not her type."
"How do you know what her type is?"
"I'm pretty sure her type is rich," Elphaba said flatly.
She checked the time and then stood up. "I've got to go, I'm meeting Nessa. See you later."
When she left the Gazette office, she found Fiyero sitting on a bench outside, flicking through that week's issue of the paper, which had come out that morning.
"This needs comics," he greeted her. "And puzzles."
"I'll pass that suggestion on to the Rais," Elphaba said, rolling her eyes. "What are you doing here? Don't you have class?"
Fiyero shrugged. "Politics. I decided to skip."
Elphaba fixed him with a stern look and he laughed.
"Dr Bower's out sick. Chill, Fae. So, I thought I'd have lunch with you instead."
"I'm meeting Nessa for lunch when she gets out of her Art History class. But I'm sure she won't mind you joining us, if you want," Elphaba retorted and then did a double take as his words registered. "Fae?"
"Yeah, I've decided that's gonna be my nickname for you," Fiyero said nonchalantly, rising from the bench and falling into step alongside her.
Elphaba's brow creased. "Why?"
He grinned. "Sorry. You have to be a Level Ten Friend to find that out."
Elphaba scowled. "You can't do that. Call me by a name without explaining why but expect me to answer to it."
Galinda rounded the corner as they neared it, and she immediately beamed at Fiyero as the three came to a halt.
"Fiyero! What an incredible coincidence," she cried, completely ignoring Elphaba. "I heard your Politics class was cancelled and was thinking how nice it would be if we had lunch."
Fiyero smiled. "Sorry, Galinda," he replied. "I've already made plans. Raincheck?"
Galinda's face fell slightly but she forced a smile. "Of course," she gushed, twirling a curl around her finger.
Her finger stilled as her gaze moved to Elphaba and her shoulders stiffened.
"Your article this week was very… interesting," she said politely.
"Thank you," Elphaba replied, just as politely.
Galinda nodded, threw another alluring smile in Fiyero's direction and then brushed past them with a toss of her curls, heading towards the Gazette office.
"You're not really going to have lunch with her, are you?" Elphaba couldn't resist asking once they were out of earshot.
"Not if Pfannee and Shen-Shen are there," Fiyero answered, making a face. "Oz, they're awful."
Elphaba laughed in agreement. Fiyero changed the subject, waving the paper in her face.
"Did you see this?"
Elphaba sighed. "You know my nine-year-old brother is more mature than you, yes?"
Fiyero merely grinned.
"See what?" she sighed again, taking the paper from him.
He pointed to something on the page as they entered the Arts building.
"The Valentine's Day Fair? What about it?"
"Are you going?"
Elphaba made a face. "Doubtful."
Nessa exited the classroom as they approached and smiled warmly. "Hi."
"Hi. We still on for lunch?" Elphaba asked her.
Nessa agreed, not even questioning Fiyero's unplanned presence. "Yes, of course. Can we go somewhere other than The Wilted Rose, though? I'm starving."
"The pub?" Fiyero suggested and the girls agreed.
That being decided, he turned back to Elphaba.
"Why won't you go to the fair?" he almost demanded as they made for The Hare and Turtle.
"Are you talking about the Valentine's Day Fair next weekend?" Nessa chimed in. "Elphaba says Valentine's Day isn't worth festivating. It's not a real holiday."
"Sure it is," Fiyero argued. "It used to be the Brunhilla Festival!"
"Yeah, used to be," Elphaba retorted. "No one except the most Orthodox Lurlinists has festivated that since the Wizard arrived and changed it to Valentine's Day. Besides, the fair isn't even actually on Valentine's Day. It's the day after. If it was that important, it'd be held on the actual day. The only purpose of Valentine's Day is to make single people feel bad about being single and guilt those in relationships into making a fuss."
"Not true," Fiyero corrected her. "It's an excellent day to meet girls."
Elphaba rolled her eyes. "Not interested in that, but good to know."
"Are you going to the fair, Nessa?" Fiyero asked her.
She nodded. "Yes, with the girls. Well, Norfina and Vicnia. Salmythe has a date, so she's going with him," she corrected herself.
Fiyero turned back to Elphaba. "Come with me," he beseeched her. "Just for an hour."
"I think being there with me will kind of get in your way of meeting girls," Elphaba pointed out.
Fiyero grinned. "Maybe that's the point."
Elphaba rolled her eyes and shook her head. "So, I'm your shield? Great. That sounds like my idea of a perfect day."
Fiyero just looked at her imploringly, until she gave in.
"Oh, for the love of Oz. Fine. I will go. For one hour," she told him firmly.
He grinned at her. "That's all I ask."
Elphaba was sure she'd regret her decision, but it seemed to make Fiyero happy. And for some unknown reason, that seemed important.
That night, Nessa was writing a letter to their grandparents while Xia worked on an assignment for one of her classes when there was a harsh knock on the door. Xia hadn't even put her pen down before the door opened and Elphaba let herself in, glowering.
"Pinar?" Nessa guessed.
Elphaba huffed and threw herself onto her sister's bed.
"How is it possible for one person to be so horrendible?" she demanded.
"What has she done now?" asked Xia.
"I ducked to the library to return a book, and when I came back, she was poking around my desk. When I called her out on it, she accused me of using her makeup."
"But you hardly ever wear makeup," Nessa frowned.
Elphaba sighed. "She only did it as if that would make me forget she was going through my desk. Although I don't know what she was hoping to find. We're not studying anything similar. I don't think."
She ran a hand through her hair frustratedly.
"I'll only be here for a bit," she said apologetically. "I think she's going to The OzDust tonight."
"It's fine, Fabala," Nessa smiled.
Elphaba looked to Xia. "Am I distracting you from your work, Xia?"
"Not at all, Miss Elphaba," Xia reassured her.
As she returned to her work, Nessa lay her book aside and turned to her sister.
"So, you're going to the fair with Fiyero?"
Elphaba rolled her eyes. "For an hour. To keep him from being mobbed by girls, apparently."
"You could have said no," Xia pointed out.
Elphaba made a face. "I tried. He's irritatingly persuasive. You saw the puppy dog eyes, didn't you, Nessie? Try saying no to that."
Nessa stifled a smile. "Uh huh."
"What 'uh huh'? There's no 'uh huh'," Elphaba frowned.
"I'm just saying," Nessa said innocently. "Fiyero's been here for, what, a month now? And he spends a lot of time with you."
Elphaba's eyes narrowed. "Because we're friends. You're going to the fair with your friends. I'm not making a big deal about that, am I?"
"My friends, while lovely, are not a gorgeous single prince," Nessa giggled.
Elphaba rolled her eyes and got off the bed. "I'm going to see if my room is free now. Goodnight."
Nessa smiled. "Goodnight. I'm writing to Grandma and Grandad. Shall I send them your love?"
"Yes, please. Bye, Xia," Elphaba replied and left the room with a wave, ignoring the look on her sister's face.
The next morning, after she left the weekly breakfast meeting at the Gazette office to get her next story assignment, Elphaba decided to set up for the morning in The Wilted Rose, after deciding the dining hall coffee was just not going to cut it this morning.
She wanted to do a final edit of a short story she had written for her writing class before she submitted it that night. The café wasn't always the best place to write, but for editing purposes, it was fine.
The assignment had been to write a short story in the gothic genre, after they'd studied a novel in the genre. Elphaba had always quite enjoyed reading gothic literature, but she'd surprised herself with how much she'd enjoyed writing it.
"Hey, Fae."
Elphaba looked up as Fiyero slid into the chair opposite her.
"Hi. Is your Economics class over already?" Elphaba asked, checking the time.
She'd been there for nearly two hours and hadn't even realised it.
"How was it?"
Fiyero shrugged, reaching for a menu. "It was alright. I don't totally hate Econ," he admitted.
Elphaba smiled slightly. "Really? There's a class you actually like?"
"I didn't say that. I said I don't totally hate it," Fiyero corrected her.
She rolled her eyes exasperatedly. "It would ruin your image that much to admit to enjoying one of your classes?"
Fiyero merely grinned at her. "What are you doing?"
"Working."
Fiyero leaned forward, peering at her papers. "Working on your… secret writing project?" he asked, lowering his voice.
Elphaba chuckled, pulling the papers closer to her. "No. It's just an assignment for my writing class. I'm just doing a final edit."
Fiyero sat up straighter, closing the menu. "Can I read it?"
"No," Elphaba refused immediately.
"Oh, come on Fae," Fiyero wheedled her. "You haven't let me read anything you've written."
"Not true. You've read any articles I write for the paper, and a few Law essays."
Fiyero looked at her pointedly. "Elphaba."
"What? It's a very small list of people who have read what I write. My parents, my teacher and the odd bit that gets shared in class. That's only because I have no choice. Even Nessa only just got added to the list, and she's my sister. I've only known you for a few weeks."
"Yes, but I'm dashingly handsome and incredibly charming," Fiyero grinned at her.
Elphaba stared at him pointedly, which he ignored.
"Please?"
He looked at her imploringly. Elphaba caved more quickly than she wanted to admit.
"Fine," she sighed and slid it across the table to him.
Fiyero beamed as he took it and immediately settled back in his chair to read it.
Elphaba watched his face carefully, trying to interpret his facial expressions to gauge his reaction to the story. She tapped her fingers impatiently on the tabletop, chewing on her nail on the other hand.
"So?"
Fiyero held up a finger. "Shhh. I'm reading."
Elphaba held back a sigh and waited.
Ten minutes later, she was still waiting, rather less patiently.
"Well?"
"I'm still reading."
"Oh my Oz, how slow do you read?" she demanded.
Fiyero merely hushed her again.
An age later it seemed, he looked up, just in time to stop Elphaba from chewing off her own finger.
"Well?" she asked again, holding her breath slightly.
"It's great, Fae. Although I do enjoy a good ghost story," he replied, handing it back to her. "Best story I've read in ages."
Elphaba rolled her eyes. "I don't know if that means much coming from you but thank you."
Fiyero picked up the menu again. "Hey, I read."
"More than the comics section in the newspaper," Elphaba teased him and he grinned.
"I also read the sport pages. Speaking of the paper, what's your next story?"
Elphaba tucked her work securely in her bag, but her eyes lit up as she answered.
"Oh, it's great! It's a study that they do every five years, to track the popularity of degrees. Like, Rais was telling me that last time, they discoverated that students majoring in Literature has gone up twenty per cent in the last five years."
Fiyero raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"
Elphaba laughed. "Ok, so you won't be reading the article."
"No, I'll read it!" Fiyero reassured her quickly. "I mean, you write it, I'll read it. But it doesn't sound like a thrillifying read."
She smiled. "Yeah, no one else seems to think so either," she said dryly. "Rais was going to give it to one of the senior writers, but no one wants to deal with all the research it takes. Luckily, I don't mind it. Anyway, what are your plans for the rest of the day?"
Fiyero stared at her blankly. "The day? I'm still deciding on breakfast- if someone would quit distracting me from the menu."
Elphaba rolled her eyes. "Fine. I'm going anyway. I want to see how much research I can get done before I go to writing class tonight."
"You're not going to sit with me while I eat?"
Elphaba stared at him exasperatedly, and he grinned. "Fine. Go. Are you eating before or after class tonight?"
Elphaba shrugged. "I think I'll just grab a sandwich on my way to class. I think I'm going to go to the library after class and try and get some more work done."
She bid farewell to Fiyero and headed to the Gazette office, going to the archives to dig out the last few studies for a bit of context.
She settled at her desk to take notes, tuning out the bustle of the office around her. She hadn't been working very long before someone cleared their throat beside her.
"Ahem."
Elphaba glanced up to see Galinda standing next to her desk with pen and paper.
"I'm doing a Valentine's Day survey for the next issue, and Rais wants as many people in the office to do it as possible," she said before Elphaba could say anything.
Elphaba slowly put down her pen. "What kind of survey?" she asked warily.
Galinda looked at her as though that was an odd question. "A survey about love. You know, who believes in love at first sight, do soulmates exist. That kind of thing. They're all yes and no questions. Will you do it?"
Elphaba shrugged. "I guess," she agreed half-heartedly.
Galinda beamed and handed her a sheet of paper. "Great. Just return it to me when you're done."
"No need," Elphaba replied, already speeding through it and handing it back to her.
Galinda took it and glanced at her answers. "You don't believe in love at first sight or soulmates?" she asked incredulously.
"Nope."
Galinda gaped at her. "Sweet Oz, it's a wonder you believe in love at all," she muttered, walking away.
Elphaba rolled her eyes and returned to her work.
She found the research for the article completely fascinating, looking at the statistics of what Shiz students had chosen to study over the past few years. She became so immersed that she forgot all about food and the time, to the point she hadn't even noticed the sky darkening until a lamp switched on nearby, making her blink as the words before her suddenly came into sharp focus.
"Why did I have a hunch I'd find you still here?" a familiar voice asked.
Elphaba blinked away spots to see Fiyero leaning casually against her desk.
"What are you doing here?"
"I could ask you the same question. You know it's a quarter to five, right?"
Elphaba gasped, jumping up from her chair and fumbling for her things. "Crap. Crap, crap, crap!"
"Language, Miss Elphaba," Fiyero scolded her lightly, grinning.
She glared at him. "Shut up. I've got to go. I'm not going to have time to eat before class," she realised, mentally kicking herself for losing track of the time.
Two hours of class at this time of night was not easy on an empty stomach, no matter how much one enjoyed the class.
"Yeah, I figured," Fiyero nodded and handed her a paper bag.
Elphaba paused, midway through putting on her coat. "What's this?"
"Roast beef sandwich, apple, packet of crisps, chocolate bar and a bottle of water," Fiyero listed. "I wasn't sure what you'd be in the mood for," he shrugged as Elphaba gaped at him.
"You bought me dinner?" she asked, rather touched.
He shrugged again, rather nonchalantly. "I happened to be in the dining hall earlier and realised I hadn't seen you. I put two and two together, and took a shot," he grinned.
"I'm also pretty sure you're dying to tell me whatever facts you've already found out since you've been here," he said, following her out of the Gazette office as she headed out, still putting on her gloves, hat and scarf.
"So, you can tell me tomorrow and I promise to pretend I care."
Elphaba wrapped her scarf around her neck and turned to him with a bright smile. Before she stopped to think about it, she stepped up to him, rising lightly onto her toes to press a kiss to his cheek.
"Thank you," she said quietly and then hurried off to her class, leaving Fiyero rooted to the spot in the middle of the hallway.