A thousand things were going through her head, and she was glad that she had to be somewhere so she would have a chance to think.
Galinda walked over to her bed and watched Elphaba. She unbuttoned her jacket and set Datura on her pink comforter. The cat crouched low to the bed, her eyes scanning the new surroundings. Her small, pink nose twitched as she took in new smells. Galinda reached over and ran her fingers through the long soft fur, quietly comforting her.
Galinda's heart was still fluttering around in her chest as she watched her roommate tend to the fire. She still couldn't believe the events that had just happened. The blonde had been terrified when she lost control of her emotions and kissed Elphaba. She had run out into the freezing cold in an attempt to get away and hadn't expected Elphaba to run out to the garden to fetch her. Galinda had been even more shocked when Elphaba had returned the embrace that was flung at her. She had been fully prepared for her roommate to push her away and tell her the same things her father had told her. And imagine her surprise when Elphaba had kissed her.
She kissed me.
Galinda closed her eyes and brought her fingers to her lips. She could still feel how soft they were, she could feel the warm breath against her skin and her thumbs gently caressing her cheeks. Galinda had become breathless, she didn't know how long they had kissed but it felt like an eternity. Kissing her roommate had been the most wonderfully frightening experience in her life.
She opened her eyes to find Elphaba over at her desk, gathering some books and notes. Datura was on the other side of her bed now, sniffing around. Galinda wanted to talk to Elphaba, wanted to be held, to be told everything was okay. But her roommate wouldn't even look at her, and hadn't since they got into the school. Did she regret what she did?
Elphaba turned around with a pile of books in her hands and noticed that Galinda was watching her. She looked down at her books then back up at the blonde, before walking over to her.
"Galinda I have to go," Elphaba said, standing in front of the blonde. Galinda closed her eyes as she tried to stop the tears from falling down her cheeks. Elphaba's heart ached.
"Galinda, please stop crying," she said softly, swiping her gloved thumbs underneath her puffy eyes. "I'll be back later tonight; we can talk then if you want." Galinda sniffled and nodded, eyes still closed. Elphaba bent over and kissed the blonde's forehead before heading towards the door.
"Be careful nobody sees Datura," she said while exiting the room, the door clicking softly shut behind her.
The cat's ears perked up at her name, before she continued exploring the room. Galinda watched her jump off the bed and cautiously walk across the floor.
Galinda sighed and stood up. She shrugged her jacket off and walked over to the wardrobe, placing it on one of the many hangers. She looked at her roommate's side of the wardrobe and ran her fingers over all the dark fabrics. There wasn't one light color on her side. The two could not be more different, Galinda had a few dark colors, but she preferred the light warm colors.
Sighing, Galinda closed the wooden doors and walked into the bathroom. She turned the water on in the tub and poured in some bubble bath she had bought, the fresh smell of roses filled the room. She ran her fingers through the water as it got higher. Once it was full, Galinda turned off the water and stripped herself of her clothes.
A shiver ran up her body as the cool air met her bare skin, and she quickly stepped into the warm water, letting her body get used to it before plugging her nose and ducking her head underneath the bubbly surface. Galinda emerged from the water, rubbing her eyes with her fingers then flipping her hair out of her face. She washed her hair and body before allowing herself to relax.
Galinda lifted her legs up and set them on the edge of the tub. She gathered a small amount of bubbles that were floating near her in her hands and blew on them, sending them flying in the air. She watched them slowly float down and land back on the water.
She heard the bathroom door creek open, and turned her head to see Datura walking in, her ears perked up in the air as she continued to explore, every little sound causing her ears to twitch. Galinda picked up more bubbles and blew them in the direction of the small cat. She giggled loudly when the bubbles landed on her fur, causing the small cat to jump. Datura brought her paw out and batted at the bubbles that were now resting on the floor. Her small pink nose sniffed at them, causing a series of sneezes to follow.
Galinda got out of the tub giggling; she grabbed a towel and dried off her body before wrapping it around her head. She pulled the plug in the tub before slipping into her pink robe.
Datura darted out of the room, Galinda not far behind. The blonde went over to the wardrobe and picked out a long, thick blue dress that had a light blush sash across the middle. She slipped into it and was towel drying her hair when she heard a knock at the door.
Galinda paused at what she was doing and looked around for Datura. The cat was nowhere to be seen so she opened the door, revealing a slightly flustered Milla in a long green skirt and top.
"Hey Milla," Galinda said, stepping aside and letting the brunette in the room.
"Hey Galinda," Milla said walking over to the blonde's bed, her curls bouncing softly as she sat down, "I know we planned the girls night for this weekend, but do you mind if I talk to you now?"
"Of coarse I don't mind," Galinda said grabbing the towel and sitting down on the bed next to the brunette. Milla, seeing Galinda up close, looked at the blonde curiously.
"Have you been crying?" she asked. Galinda stopped toweling her hair dry and looked at her friend.
"Um...sort of...I mean..." Galinda stuttered, not really sure how to answer. She needed someone to talk to about what had happened, and Elphaba wasn't there and neither was her Ama.
"You were, I can tell. What were you crying about?" Milla asked worriedly. Galinda looked down at her hands and picked at her manicure. She had to repaint them soon anyways.
"Um...I'll tell you after you tell me what you wanna talk about," Galinda said nervously. Could she really tell Milla?
"Okay, but no backing out," Milla said with a smirk. Galinda smiled nervously but nodded.
"Okay...so um...you remember Boq?" Milla asked, her fingers pulling at the thread to her skirt.
"Yea, you two are dating right?" Galinda asked as she watched Milla's fingers fiddle with her skirt. Her green skirt.
"Yea, we are...dating...but um...something happened last night...and today..." Milla said, her cheeks taking on a rose color.
"Did he hurt you?" Galinda asked, her attention now on her friends face.
"Uh..no...no he didn't hurt me...but we uh...we had sex," Milla said, her face flushing. Galinda stared at her wide-eyed.
"You and Boq had sex! When? Where?" Galinda asked, her problems placed on the back burner in her head for the moment. Milla chuckled nervously.
"Well we went on a date last night. He brought me to a really nice, fancy restaurant and he kept telling me how beautiful I was and then we went to one of those new drive-in movie's, Boq has his own carriage and we started to kiss during the love scene of the movie, and then.." Milla paused, a huge smile on her face. "Then he told me he thinks he's in love with me." Galinda brought her hand to her heart and couldn't help the smile on her face.
"Oh, Milla that is so romantic!" Galinda said excitedly. Milla blushed but nodded.
"Yea, it was. Well we continued kissing, and he started to touch me in places he had never touched before and I couldn't help it. It felt so good. They he asked me if he could...uh make love to me..." Milla blushed again.
"Right there in the carriage!" Galinda interrupted, her eyes wide. Milla nodded.
"What did you say?" Galinda asked.
"I didn't, I kissed him senseless...then he lifted my skirt..and...you know..." Milla trailed off.
"Did it hurt?" Galinda asked after a moment of silence.
"At first it did, it felt a little awkward too...but then it started to feel good," Milla said as she started to pick at her skirt again.
"Did you..." Galinda started, a blush on her face. Luckily, Milla caught on.
"Not the first time," she said. Galinda stared at her wide eyed again.
"You did it more than once?" She asked. Milla nodded, a small smile on her face.
"Yea, we ended up ditching the movie and he snuck me into his dorm room. His roommate, Averic, was away with Pfannee that night. I didn't leave his room till almost noon today," Milla said, her smile widening.
"That's so exciting!" Galinda giggled, Milla joined in a second later. When the giggles had died down Milla looked at Galinda seriously.
"I think he may be the one," she said, a dreamy expression on her face. Galinda smiled and couldn't help thinking if there was a one for her. She didn't know where she and Elphaba stood, they still hadn't talked. A few moments past as Milla got over her dreamy state.
"So I told you, now you spill," Milla said, nudging Galinda's knee,
"Why were you crying today?" she asked, Galinda looked at her nervously.
"Oh...um...well there were...a couple..reasons," Galinda said quietly, he voice shaking a little. Milla reached over and grabbed her hand encouragingly.
"Well, firstly my papa wrote to me," Galinda started sadly.
"Is everything okay at home?" Milla asked, her thumb stroking Galinda's knuckles in an attempt to sooth the blonde. Galinda shook her head.
"No, my mama is really sick. She has a bacterial disease," Galinda said softly, squeezing her eyes shut to stop the on coming tears.
"Oh Oz Galinda, I'm so sorry, is she going to be okay?" Milla asked. Galinda shrugged.
"Ama said there's a cure but it doesn't work on everyone," Galinda said, her voice shaking a little. Milla pulled her into a hug.
"I'm sure everything will be fine," she said once they parted from the hug. Galinda nodded.
"What else happened?" Milla asked softly, still holding onto the blonde's hand. Galinda looked down at her hands, still unsure how or if she should tell her.
"Um, something happened with Elphaba and me..." Galinda trailed off, deciding she could trust her best friend with his information.
"Did you two fight again? I thought you were getting along now?" Milla asked, noting that Galinda wasn't looking at her.
"N-no...we didn't fight..." Galinda started, plucking at her blue dress.
"Whatever happened, you can tell me Galinda," Milla said reassuringly. Galinda glanced up at her friend, her bottom lip pulled under her teeth.
"Well...I was talking to her about...stuff...and then I...I kissed her..." Galinda trail off, not daring to look at her. She felt a tear slide down her cheek when Milla didn't say anything.
"You...and Elphaba kissed?" Milla asked, trying to figure it out in her head. Galinda nodded.
"But it was an accident right?" Milla asked, taking her hand away from the blonde's. Galinda shook her head.
"But..how...I mean...your not...your not like that...You told me you weren't!" Milla said getting up from the bed and pacing. Galinda watched her. This was not the reaction she was looking for. Neither girl spoke for a while.
"I have to go, Boq is meeting me in the cafeteria for dinner," Milla said calmly, walking towards the door.
"Milla, wait," Galinda said getting up form the bed, "Do you hate me?" She asked, another tear rolling down her cheek. Milla paused, hand on the door. She turned slowly and looked at the small blonde.
"Please don't tell anyone, please?" Galinda asked when Milla didn't respond right away.
"I just..need to think about this...I'll talk to you later," She said, then exited the room. Galinda sat back down on her bed eyes closed as tears streamed down her face. She let her body fall on the bed, her arms grasping one of her pillows and holding it to her chest. She cried silently, wishing that someone would just hold her. Galinda turned her head when she felt something wet on her neck.
Datura was sitting next to her, her small tongue licking her exposed neck. Galinda pulled the cat into a hug and buried her face in her long fur. Datura didn't try to get away but sat there, letting the blonde cry into her fur. After a moment, Galinda pulled away, her hands wiping at her wet face. She ran her fingers through the soft fur of the cat, who was licking at the place Galinda's tears had wet her fur. After a while, Datura lay down next to the blonde, purring softly, her light blue eyes staring at Galinda.
"I just don't know what to do," Galinda whispered before closing her eyes.
X
Galinda was jerked awake by a loud pounding on her door. Datura darted off the bed and hid while Galinda made her way over to the door, wiping the sleep out of her eyes as she did. She opened the door thinking that maybe it was Milla. She drew in a breath as she saw who was standing in front of her.
"Papa," Galinda said, her heart fluttering. The man in front of her had handsome features, his eyes blue as a summer sky. His hair was short and so blonde it looked white.
"Galinda," he said, his voice low and an unreadable expression on his face. Galinda opened the door wider so he could enter the room. He walked across the carpet, his eyes scanning the entire room.
"Where's your roommate?" he asked, eyeing the photograph on Galinda's night stand.
"She's not here right now," Galinda said as she watched her father. She walked across the room and stood in front of the fire
"And Ama Clutch, is she out?" he asked walking closer to the nightstand. Galinda nodded, her heart pounding. Something wasn't right.
"Is...is mama okay?" Galinda asked nervously. Her father picked up the photograph of her and Elphaba and turned towards Galinda.
"She's doing as well as she can, given the circumstances," he said, examining the picture. Galinda nodded, not taking her eyes off him.
"You get along with your roommate then?" he asked, turning the picture frame over in his hands as he walked towards Galinda.
"Y-yes," Galinda answered, her heart pounding faster as he got nearer to her.
"Galinda, I thought I made it clear last time," he said, his eyes narrowing down at her. Galinda backed up a little.
"W-what do you m-mean?" Galinda asked, her voice shaking.
"Damn it Galinda, don't play stupid!" he said, his voice angry.
"You were seen kissing this thing...this green thing!" he screamed pointing to the picture of them together. Galinda's heart was pounding so hard she thought it might pop out of her chest. How did he know?
"Papa I didn..."
"Do not lie to me Galinda!" he yelled, throwing the picture frame hard against the wall behind Galinda.
Galinda flinched as she heard the glass smash when it made contact with the hard wall. Tears were falling down her cheeks as she looked over at the mess on the floor.
"I told you that it ended that day! Do we have to go over it again?" he asked, his voice low and dangerous. Galinda was shaking, her breath had become shallow and she willed her tears to stop.
"Papa please...just lis..."
"NO! YOU LISTEN TO ME!" he yelled, advancing on her quickly. Galinda tried to move out of his range, but he grabbed hold of her wrists tightly and held her in front of him.
"Do you realize what this could do to me? To your Mother! She's dying at home while you're here at this stupid University making it with your ROOMMATE! Do you ever stop to think about your family? What you're doing to us!" he said loudly, his voice grating at her ears. She tried to get out of his grip but he just held on tighter.
"Look at me when I'm talking to you!" he said loudly, shaking her harshly.
"Papa, please..you're hurting me..." Galinda whimpered, more tears falling down her face.
"Don't speak to me about pain Galinda," he said, his voice dangerously low as he twisted her arm before pushing her back against the wall, releasing his hold on her wrists.
Galinda leaned against the wall her breath coming in short gasps. She cradled one of her wrists in her hand, and tried to concentrate on her breathing.
She was breathing so hard and concentrating so much on calming down she didn't here her father talking. Taking this as a sign of her ignoring him, her father swung his arm back and backhanded her across the face. The force of the impact was so hard she lost her balance and fell to the ground, landing awkwardly on her wrist. She cried out as she felt a searing pain rise up her arm, fresh tears fell from her eyes. Galinda scrambled to get up when she saw her father walking towards her.
She managed to get to her feet, but her father was upon her in a flash, she brought her arms up in front of her face in an attempt to block whatever was coming her way. But that attack never came. Galinda jerked her head up when she heard her father yell.
He was walking in circles, his hands trying to grab at something on his neck. Galinda gasped when she saw that the something was Datura. She had firmly embedded her claws into her father's skin and was growling madly.
Galinda saw her father's hands grasp the cat's fur and pull, tearing her off his neck. He threw her to the ground a few feet in front of Galinda. While her father was checking his neck she quickly grabbed Datura and ran into the bathroom, locking the door behind her. Datura wiggled out of the blonde's arms and fell to the floor.
Galinda jumped as she felt her father pound against the door and she quickly backed away from it. She ignored his threats and made her way to the wooden cabinet, reaching in side for her pill bottle. She ran to the sink, trying hard to breathe properly so she could swallow one of the pills. When she finally got it down, Galinda leaned against the wall, her whole body shaking.
Datura was pacing back and forth in front of the door, a low growl emanating from her throat. Her hair was standing on end making her look twice the size she was.
The pounding on the door finally stopped, she heard the bedroom door slam shut and everything was quiet.
Shaking violently, Galinda legs gave out and she slumped to the floor. She pulled her legs to her chest as loud sobs wracked her body. She could taste blood in her mouth but was unable to do anything about it. She had never been that scared in her entire life, and she couldn't get her body to stop shaking.
Datura had stopped pacing the floor and had made her way over to the shaking blonde. She nudged the blonde's arm and was gently scooped up off the floor.
Galinda held the cat to her chest as sob after sob escaped her lips. Datura was rubbing her face against Galinda's, occasionally licking her cheek or nose.
X
Elphaba walked up to her room, books in hand. She had thought about everything that had happened to her since coming to Shiz, eventually coming to what had happened that day. She had come up with every possible reason as to why what happened had happened.
She opened her door slowly, knowing that Galinda would probably be in the room waiting to talk. But to her surprise, the blonde was no where to be found. She shrugged, taking her jacket off and placing it in the wardrobe then walked over to the desk to drop her books off. She was a little relieved to be alone, she would be able to think a little more about what to say to the blonde when she came back from dinner, or where ever she was.
Elphaba placed her books on the desk and walked towards the bathroom. On her way, her boots made contact with something hard that splintered when she stepped on it. She moved her foot to find the broken picture frame containing the picture Galinda had made her take with her. The glass was scattered in large, jagged pieces.
Elphaba frowned and bent down to pick up the glass. She stopped half way when she heard a soft whimper come from somewhere in the room. She looked around and found the bathroom door closed. Elphaba stood up and walked towards it, placing her ear against the wood. She could hear faint whimpers coming from the other side. Elphaba placed her hand on the knob and turned, only to find it locked from the inside. She jiggled the knob a few times before calling Galinda's name.
"Galinda? Are you okay?" Elphaba asked, afraid that the blonde may be mad at her. She heard a faint voice come from the other side.
"Galinda, open the door It's just me," Elphaba said. After a moment, she heard the door jiggle as it was being unlocked. When Galinda didn't open the door Elphaba turned the knob slowly and walked into the bathroom.
"Galinda what are you..." Elphaba started but stopped upon seeing Galinda. Datura scooted by her legs into the room.
Galinda was leaning against the wall, her eyes rimmed with tears as she looked at her roommate.
"Galinda what happened?" Elphaba asked, walking towards the small blonde. She could see her body shaking a little, and noticed her lip was bleeding. Elphaba hesitantly pulled the blonde into a hug, Galinda wrapped herself around her roommate like a vine, her whole body shaking as more sobs racked her body.
Elphaba was stunned, and didn't really know what to think. She slowly lead the blonde out of the bathroom and walked her to the nearest bed. She had to pry Galinda's hand off her so she could sit her down properly.
"I'll be right back Galinda," Elphaba said getting up and walking back into the bathroom. She gathered a dark washcloth and a few of her bottles from the wooden cabinet. When she entered the room again, Datura was sitting on her bed next to Galinda.
Elphaba pulled the desk chair in front of the small blonde and sat down.
Galinda had managed to stop shaking, and she watched Elphaba tip one of the bottles onto the washcloth before replacing the cap.
"I'm going to clean that cut, this may sting a little," Elphaba said, gently dabbing the cloth on her split lip. Galinda clenched her teeth tightly, more tears leaking from her closed eyes.
Elphaba watched Galinda's expressions to make sure she wasn't hurting her too badly. She allowed her other hand to gently cup the blonde's chin as she cleaned the cut, making sure Galinda's tears didn't touch her skin.
Elphaba stopped dabbing at the cut and placed the cloth on the bed. She picked up a small tube and squeezed a white cream onto her finger, gently wiping it over Galinda's lip.
Galinda could feel her heart start to pound again. She could feel Elphaba's fingers tracing her lips with the cream that instantly soothed the burning of the cut. She held her breath as she felt cool air being blown onto her lips.
Galinda closed her eyes when she felt Elphaba's thumb trace her bottom lip softly, and silently gasped as her thumb continued onto her chin and up her cheek. She felt Elphaba slowly turn her head to the right then to the left, her fingers grazing her forehead and neck.
"What are you doing?" Galinda asked quietly, opening her eyes to look at her roommate.
"Looking for more cuts or bruises," Elphaba said softly, continuing her little exploration of Galinda's face.
"There aren't any more," Galinda said quietly. Elphaba stopped her search and sat back in the chair. Confusion and worry etched into her features.
"Galinda who did this?" Elphaba asked softly. Galinda looked down at her hands and noticed the bruises around her wrist.
"My papa," she said quietly, closing her eyes as more tears gathered in her eyes. Elphaba eyebrows knitted together.
"Why did he do this?" Elphaba asked, a note of anger in her otherwise soft voice. Galinda looked up at Elphaba, blue eyes locked with brown.
"I don't want to talk about it right now," Galinda finally said, crossing her arms in front of her defensively. Elphaba nodded and got up off the chair. She gathered the bottles and wash cloth before heading to the bathroom.
Elphaba came back in the room and sat down next to the blonde on her bed.
"Elphie?" Galinda asked quietly.
"Yea?" Elphaba responded looking over at the small blonde.
"Can you lay with me?" Galinda asked, her fingers picking at her dress, a sudden wave of fatigue hitting her.
"I'm just so tired, and I don't want to be alone," Galinda said quietly, her voice a little shaky. Elphaba looked over at the small blonde and they locked eyes again.
"Um, I..." Elphaba started but couldn't finish when she saw how vulnerable Galinda looked. She ignored her racing heart and nodded.
"Um okay," she said nervously. They still hadn't had a chance to talk about what had happened at lunch.
Galinda got up and went over to the wardrobe, pulling out a nightdress and disappearing into the bathroom.
Elphaba sat on her bed a moment, her mind racing. They probably wouldn't get a lot of talking done tonight, not with everything that had happened to the blonde. Neither of them had finals in the morning, they could get it done then. Nodding to herself, Elphaba quickly slipped into her own nightdress, then wondered which bed Galinda wanted to lay in.
Galinda carefully pulled her nightdress on then left the bathroom. Her heart was racing, she couldn't believe she had asked Elphaba to lay with her tonight. They hadn't had a chance to talk and she wasn't sure how Elphaba really felt about the whole thing.
Once in the room she saw Elphaba standing in between the two beds. She had on a long sleeved black nightdress and her hair was pulled into a tight braid that rested over her shoulder.
"Um, which bed?" Elphaba asked as calmly as she could. Galinda shyly pointed towards Elphaba's bed.
Elphaba went over to her bed and pulled back the comforter, then climbed beneath the blankets. Galinda hesitated before climbing into her roommate's bed. They looked at each other, both nervous, neither of them daring to make the first move. Finally, Elphaba scooted further under the blankets and rested her weight on her hands, waiting for Galinda to get more comfortable.
Galinda's heart was racing as she scooted closer to her roommate, both girls now lying on their backs, blankets pulled to their chests. Slowly, Galinda scooted even closer and rested her head on Elphaba's shoulder.
Elphaba stiffened at first but relaxed as she felt the warmth from the smaller girl's body. She could feel her shaking slightly, and realized she was probably just as nervous and unsure about all this as she was. She was the one who asked to lay with you, she was the one who kissed you first. Elphaba thought to herself.
Growing a little more confident Elphaba wrapped her arm around Galinda's shoulder and pulled her a little closer. She felt the blonde's small hand grasp her nightdress and felt her body shaking again. Her tears leak through her clothes and Elphaba gritted her teeth against the slight pain. She pulled the blonde closer as she cried, whispering soothing words to her.
Galinda buried her face into Elphaba, trying to stop her tears. She could feel her roommate's hand gently stroking her back and after a moment, she lost her battle with sleep, the events of the day taking their toll on her, Galinda closed her eyes. Her body pressed close to Elphaba's. She couldn't remember the last time she had felt this safe.
Elphaba felt Galinda's breathing grow even. She looked down at the sleeping blonde, pushing damp strands of hair out of her face. She had no idea what had happened after she left that room, and found herself wishing that she hadn't. She felt the weight of something on the mattress and looked at the end of the bed to find Datura kneading at the comforter before curling up in a tight ball.
Elphaba closed her eyes and willed her heart to stop pounding. She could feel every part of Galinda's body pressed against her, could feel Galinda's legs half on top of her own. She stared at the ceiling, the moon outside casting its glow into their room, creating shadows.
Finally, her cheek resting on the top of Galinda's head and her arm wrapped protectively around the blonde's shoulders, sleep found Elphaba. The moonlight cast its glow over the two sleeping women, the only sound in the room being their soft breathing