AN: Sorry for the long wait, but here it is! :)

Fae Tiggular: I loved your threat xD.

Musicgal: Yours too. "I demand an update"... How dare you talk to your Queen like that? :O

Watercolor: I noticed it, too :D. It's funny.

Artsoccer: Musicgal still holds the 'aww'-record, but you broke the 'no'-one :P. Ánd you were my 100th reviewer! :D Thank you so much, virtual chocolate (or anything you like) for you!

Fae the Queen: I updated. NOW YOU UPDATE.

Most of you said that either Elphaba's magic will save her, or that Fiyero will, and of course you were right. Come on, if I'm going to kill Elphaba, I'm not going to do it by having Avaric, of all people, throwing her into a pond! :)

Chapter 10. For the first time

The only thing that saved Elphaba's life, was the fact that Fiyero was close enough to her to lunge forward and catch her.

Now, whenever Galinda had read somewhere in a book that a prince had caught a girl in his arms, thus saving her life, she had always imagined it to be very graceful and very romantic. That wasn't really the case. Fiyero caught Elphaba, but then he stumbled and lost his balance; he was just able to practically throw her off of him and into the grass before he toppled into the pond himself.

Elphaba just lay in the grass for a moment, gasping, trying to wrap her mind around what happened and catch her breath. Galinda immediately kneeled down next to her. 'Elphie, are you okay?' she asked worriedly.

The green girl nodded faintly. 'Yeah, I'm fine.'

Cohvu, in the meantime, had launched himself at Avaric. One well-aimed punch gave the other boy a pretty impressive bruise on his jaw; a second blow effectively broke his nose. 'You Oz-forsaken idiot!' Cohvu roared – neither of the girls could remember ever seeing him this angry. 'You almost killed her!'

'You… You mean it's true?' gasped Avaric, pressing his hand against his nose in a fruitless attempt to stop the bleeding. 'That she's allergic to water?'

'Of course it's true!' Cohvu seemed about to explode. Avaric recoiled a little. 'I don't believe you.'

Now Galinda had to hurry over to her boyfriend to keep him from attacking the other boy again. 'Coco,' she said sternly. 'Listen to me. She's safe, okay? Elphie's safe. Nothing happened. Don't kill him.'

'Why not?' Cohvru growled. 'He deserves it!'

'He does,' Galinda agreed immediately, 'but, you see, then you'd probably end up in jail for a couple of years and I can't miss my boyfriend for that long.'

He gave her a look.

'Just calm down, Coco.' She linked her arm with his and squeezed his hand, which seemed to calm him down. A little.

If he were so protective of any other girl, Galinda might have been jealous; but she knew how deep Cohvu and Elphaba's friendship went. Especially after Fiyero had started dancing through life, and Galinda herself had gone back to Gillikin, the two had grown closer together – but she knew there were no romantic feelings involved. They were more like brother and sister… and she was convinced that Cohvu would react the same way if it were Galinda herself who had been allergic to water and nearly thrown into a pond by an arrogant, obnoxious ass. Just because he cared about Elphaba, that didn't mean he didn't care about his girlfriend, she knew. On the contrary.

Fiyero, in the meanwhile, had crawled out of the water, slightly out of breath; and Elphaba glared at Avaric. 'You want some proof?' She rose to her feet and stomped over to where Fiyero was standing.

He immediately recoiled. 'Fae, don't come near me, I'm wet-'

'That's exactly the point.' She pressed her arm against his, hissing softly as the water burned her skin. Then she held out her arm for Avaric to see. The skin had gone red and small blisters were already forming. 'Now do you believe me?'

His face suddenly looked a few shades paler than the rest of his skin. 'But… b-but…' He swallowed. 'So… so if I had dropped you into the pond…'

She looked at him. 'I told you. I would have been dead right now.'

Galinda let out a soft squeal and wrapped her arms around her friend. Avaric looked about ready to faint. 'I… I only wanted to pull a prank on you,' he protested weakly. 'Not… not…'

'Yes, well, you almost did,' snarled Galinda, stepping in front of Elphaba and placing her hands on her hips. She looked pretty impressive for a petite blonde powder puff that was two heads smaller than Avaric was. 'So why don't you get out of here, Avaric, and leave us alone, or I'm going to let my Coco murder you!'

Normally, Avaric would have made a sneering remark about her nickname for Cohvu; but just one look at Cohvu's face convinced him of the fact that Galinda wasn't really joking about her boyfriend wanting to murder him. So he swallowed any jokes, nodded faintly, and quite literally ran off.

Cohvu looked at Elphaba, his eyes dark with concern. 'Are you sure you're alright?' he asked her, and she nodded and flashed him a small smile. 'I'm fine, Cohvu. Really.' She looked at Fiyero. 'Thank you,' she said softly. 'You saved my life.'

He gave her a lopsided grin. 'Yes, well, that's what princes do, right?' he said jokingly. 'Saving princesses.'

Normally, she would have snorted upon him calling her a princess, but now she was far too happy that she was still alive to be sarcastic. She just smiled at him, enchanting him with those dimples once again.

He returned the smile. 'You're welcome. Couldn't very well let you die, now could I?' The truth was that his heart was still pounding in his chest. He didn't think he had ever been more scared in his life than when he had seen Avaric dropping Elphaba – except perhaps for the time when he had thought that she was killing herself by jumping into the ocean.

Galinda grabbed Elphaba's arm, shaking her head as she studied it. 'Why did you do that?' she demanded, indicating the burn marks on the skin. 'You didn't have to prove anything to him!'

'Perhaps not,' said Elphaba, pulling her arm back. 'But if I didn't prove it to him, I don't think he would have believed it, and that would mean he would try to do something like this again. Now at least he knows I was telling the truth.'

Galinda sighed. 'I suppose that's true,' she complied. She rose to her feet and pulled Elphaba up, as well. 'I'm going to take care of Elphie's burns. Fifi, I'm sure Elphie wants to hug you now to thank you for saving her life, but since that would give her burn marks all over, I suggest you change into something dry first.' She winked at him suggestively. He didn't seem to understand. That was okay.

She would trick him into making a move towards Elphie later.

When he came into the library later, having showered and put on dry clothes, he found his parents there. They were sitting by the fireplace, talking quietly; however, when they heard him enter, they both looked up.

'Elphaba told us what happened,' said Hamold, rising to his feet and enveloping his son in a hug for a moment before clapping his shoulder. 'I'm proud of you, Yero.'

Lori smiled at him. 'So am I.'

He waved them both away. 'It's what anyone would have done,' he said modestly, but Hamold shook his head. 'I don't think so.' His bright blue eyes were piercing as he looked at his son again. 'I think dancing-through-life-Fiyero wouldn't even have noticed Elphaba being dropped into the pond, let alone trying to save her.'

The prince bit his lip, but didn't say anything. It was true, after all, and he felt utterly ashamed of himself once again. What had he been thinking?

Just then, Elphaba emerged from behind a bookshelf. When she saw him, her face broke into a smile. She put the pile of books she was carrying on a side table, then broke into a run and pretty much jumped him, flinging her arms around his neck. 'Thank you so much,' she whispered. 'Without you I would be dead right now.'

He was a bit bewildered at first, but then a goofy grin spread across his face and he wrapped his arms around her. 'Anytime, Fae.'

He quickly let go, however, once he noticed the amused, almost smug, expressions on his parents' faces. He scowled at them, but they just smiled innocently at him in return.

He sat down on the couch and Elphaba curled up next to him, one of her books in her lap, the other ones in a pile on the arm of the couch. Fiyero looked at his parents. 'Where did Avaric go?'

'His father found out what happened,' said Hamold. 'He was absolutely furious. They left – he apologised to us for leaving before the ball, but he didn't want to take the risk of Avaric pulling another 'prank' on one of you.'

'I don't think he would have,' Fiyero declared. 'Cohvu and his fist made quite the impression on him.'

Lori laughed. Elphaba looked up from her book, screwing up her nose in thought. 'I don't think it was Cohvu,' she said slowly. 'I think he was genuinely upset at the thought of killing me. Like he said – he wanted to pull a prank, to annoy me, not actually murder me.'

'But he would have!' Fiyero protested, immediately getting himself worked up again. Elphaba placed a hand on his arm. 'Yero. Calm down. He didn't kill me, okay? I'm fine. Let it go.'

He looked at her. She was wearing her reading glasses – she'd gotten them when she was about sixteen, and though Galinda insisted they made her look dreary and Elphaba herself wasn't too fond of them, either, Fiyero liked them. They made her look even smarter than she already did.

He sighed. 'Fine.'

She squeezed his arm, then shifted her attention back to her book, completely missing the meaningful look that passed between Fiyero's parents.

She pushed him under the water. 'Ha! Now I've got you!'

She was smirking when he came back up, and he splashed sea water in her face. 'You're so mean!'

She stuck out her tongue, then tried to push him down again, but he caught her hands, trapping them against his chest. She was gasping a little, slightly out of breath from chasing each other through the water for ten minutes. Her hair was dripping with sea water and droplets were shining on her emerald skin, shimmering like her dark chocolate brown eyes as she looked up at him. Slowly, he raised one of his hands, tucking a strand of wet hair, that was sticking to her cheek, behind her ear.

They looked into each other's eyes for what seemed like an eternity. Slowly, he leaned down, watching her, entranced, as her eyes fluttered shut. She raised her head a little to give him better access to her lips, and he placed one hand in her neck, gently pulling her closer.

'I love you,' she murmured, and shivers shot up his spine. He moved his other hand to her waist, drawing her even closer to him, closing his own eyes and parting his lips slightly in anticipation. 'I love you, too…' he whispered, his lips a mere breath away from hers. Finally, he mustered all of his courage and leaned further forward, brushing his lips against hers…

Then she poked his side. Hard.

He pulled away, stunned. 'What was that for?'

'For you falling asleep while you should be studying.'

He blinked. It took him a few moments to realise that he was staring up at the ceiling of the library, and that Elphaba was poking him with her foot to wake him up. He grunted. 'What in Oz…'

She smirked at him. 'You were talking in your sleep.'

Immediately, he shot up. 'I was?' he asked, slightly panicky. Had he slipped up? What exactly had he said?

She waved him away. 'Don't worry, I couldn't understand any of it. You were just muttering under your breath. Were you dreaming?'

He nodded mutely. She tilted her head a little, eyes shimmering with amusement. 'Was it a nice dream?'

He swallowed and licked his dry lips. To save his face, he quickly picked up a book and leaned back, trying to look relaxed and nonchalant. He shrugged. 'It was alright, I guess.'

She rolled her eyes at him and poked his side again with her bare foot. 'Yes, well, try to focus. Exams are coming up sooner than you'd like and we're not going to Shiz without you.'

He moaned. 'Oh, come on, Fae. Exams are still months away!'

'Still.' She returned to her book and he stared at the book in his own lap, but his mind drifted elsewhere. Would he kiss her, if the opportunity presented itself? It had presented itself, not even too long ago; when they had been playing around in the water a couple of days before… he had been about to kiss her, but he had changed his mind. He was afraid, though he wasn't sure why. Multiple reasons, he guessed. Afraid that she would run away in disgust. Or slap him. Or just tell him that she liked him as a friend, but as nothing more. Could he handle that? Rejection on her part? He wasn't sure. And he knew how jumpy she could be sometimes – what if kissing her was too straightforward, and he would scare her away?

He was jolted from his thoughts when she tossed a different – and very heavy - book into his lap. 'Try that one.'

'What's wrong with the one I'm reading right now?' he demanded, determined to not let her know that he hadn't been studying at all. A grin was tugging at the corners of her lips, though she was trying to hide it. 'That,' she said, 'is my Geography book.'

'So?'

'So,' she couldn't hold back her grin anymore, 'you don't have a Geography exam, Yero. You don't even have Geography classes anymore. In fact, you dropped Geography almost two years ago.'

He flushed bright red. 'Right.'

She leaned back, resting her head against the arm of the couch and dumping her feet in Fiyero's lap as she raised her book and continued reading. He sighed, staring down at her bare feet. She wiggled her toes and he resisted the urge to tickle them. He knew he should be studying, but he just couldn't focus.

Finally, he gave up, gently moving her feet away and rising to his feet. 'I'm going to find my Dad. I, um… I need to talk to him about something.'

She waved a hand in the air. 'Okay,' she muttered, her mind clearly elsewhere. He shook his head, as always amazed at her ability to focus on her studies. He could never focus on a study book for longer than five minutes, but she could get engrossed in them as if they were exciting adventure stories.

He found his father in his study, busying himself with some paperwork. When he heard Fiyero enter, he looked up, peering at his son over his reading glasses. 'Hey, Yero.'

'Dad?' Fiyero hesitated, lingering in the doorway. 'Could we… talk?'

Hamold studied his son closely, noting the serious look on his face, and nodded, pushing his chair back and rising to his feet. 'Let's go for a walk,' he suggested.

They went outside, strolling along the beach in silence for a moment before Fiyero suddenly complained, 'I don't know what's wrong with me.'

'Would you like a list?' Hamold quipped, and Fiyero glared at his father. 'I'm serious, Dad.'

The King laughed. 'I'm sorry. Please continue.'

'I mean…' Fiyero kicked at a pebble, sending it flying into the ocean. 'I think I do know, but… but it's ridiculous. You're going to laugh at me.'

'Tell me, Yero.'

The prince sighed, then blurted it out. 'I think I'm in love.'

Hamold nodded calmly. 'Of course.'

'What?' Fiyero stared at his father. 'What do you mean, of course?'

Hamold rolled his eyes. 'Yero, even a blind turtle can see that. It's okay. There's nothing wrong with being in love.' He cocked his head a little, thoughtful. 'Does Elphaba know?'

Now Fiyero was gaping at him. 'How do you know it's Elphaba?'

'I have eyes.' Hamold watched as a bird dropped down, catching something from the sea before flying up again. 'Why is this such a big deal for you, Fiyero?'

Fiyero moaned and sat down on a rock, his hands literally in his hair. 'It's not me! I don't fall in love! I mean, I've liked girls before, and I've dated girls – lots of girls, but… but never like this. I mean, I like her. I really like her. I've never been in love before, but I think I am now, and that's weird. I'm the scandalacious Fiyero Tiggular. I'm not supposed to fall in love.'

At that, Hamold gave his son a stern look. 'I thought you were past that playboy prince stage by now,' he said, and Fiyero sighed. 'I was. I am.' He stared down at a small crab making its way through the sand. 'But I'm not sure what I'm feeling right now, and that scares me. I don't know if this is just a phase, or that I'm just happy that Elphaba and I good friends again and that's all there is to it… and I'm also afraid that if I do something, I ruin our friendship. I don't even know if she likes me back, and she is always so wary of people – what if I scare her away?' He sighed again, looking miserable. 'I just don't know what to do.'

Hamold gently placed his hand on his son's arm. 'Yero,' he said. Fiyero looked up, and his father squeezed his shoulder. 'You don't have to do anything,' Hamold said quietly. 'She's not going anywhere. Just take your time. Figure out what you're feeling. Try to figure out what she is feeling.' A smile tugged at the corners of his lips. 'I waited two years for your mother to finally say 'yes' when I asked her out. There's no rush. Leave it be for a while, okay?'

Fiyero gave his father a watery smile. 'Okay.'

Hamold patted his shoulder. 'That's my boy. Now, let's go inside.' His eyes were gleaming as he suggested, 'And perhaps you might just find the answer to your questions at the ball this weekend.'

Fiyero looked confused. His father just laughed.

He knew his son wasn't sure about his feelings, but he recognised the look in his eyes. Even though Fiyero was reluctant to admit it to himself, Hamold could see that he was head-over-heels in love with the green girl.

He grinned to himself. A plan was already forming in his mind; a very simple plan, really.

All it involved was a slow dance… and Elphaba in a beautiful dress.