Chapter 14

Someone may not come off as very likable in these two chapters.

The blonde with the pastel yellow sundress and matching accessories took a tentative step forward.

"Elphie?" she whispered her name again, as if anything above a whisper would make the apparition before her disappear. "Is that you?"

Was there more than one Wicked Witch of the West? Was there more than one unfortunate person with skin the colour of sin? Was there more than one person with the face that had graced more than a thousand Wanted posters, whose name struck fear into everyone's heart?

"Hello Glinda," Elphaba replied, trying to keep her voice steady.

It was half a second before a bright smile replaced the confused look on the blonde's face. Glinda dropped her handbag on the ground and rushed forward to give her best friend a hug.

"Elphie!" she squealed. Elphaba raised her arms and wrapped them around the shorter girl's shoulders tentatively. "Elphie! Elphie! Elphie!" Glinda called her name repeatedly as she squeezed her best friend harder and rocked her from side to side.

The Gillikinese released Elphaba from her deathly hug after a while and pushed aside a stray lock of hair that had come loose from her hair pin. "Oh, sweet Lurline! I thought that I would never see you again! Today is the best day of my life! Oh Elphie!"

Glinda held Elphaba's hands wide and looked at her. She put a hand to her mouth.

"Oh, look at you! You've cut your hair!" she touched Elphaba's hair. She took a step back and gave a critical look, her fingers forming a V under her chin. "It's a bit… but you look good in this hairstyle!" She giggled as she held the green girl's hands again.

"It's so good to see you!" the blonde said as she led her friend to the couch in the living room, patting the space next to her.

"Oh Elphie," Glinda gave a wistful smile. "How have you been? Have you been eating well? Have you been sleeping well?"

Elphaba nodded her head tentatively. Glinda waved her hand with a giggle like she always did. "Oh of course you are. You are staying here now, aren't you? Do you always do this? Hiding in empty houses?"

Elphaba kept quiet, not correcting the petite girl's assumptions.

"Have you been here long?"

A brief shake of her head. Glinda chattered on as if there was no tomorrow.

"Oh, Elphie, you won't believe it, but this place actually belongs to us." Elphaba's eyes widened. "Us, yes. Fiyero and me," Glinda giggled as she placed a hand on her heart. "What a coincidence that you chose this particular house out of so many. This is actually Fiyero's house, not technically ours, but I did help him with his house hunting. He bought it off the market a few years ago as an investment but we never rent it out."

The blonde took a breath. "When he first bought it, I thought that we would move in after we got married, or use it as a place for our weekend retreats but now…" she looked down at her lap for a moment before perking up again. "Well, I am glad that we didn't or you would have ended up staying in another house and I will never get to see you! It all works out just great!" And the blonde threw up her hands in exhilaration and wrapped them around the green girl again.

"I miss you so much, Elphie! You have no idea how much I miss you. How I wish that I could see you every day, without all this cloak and dagger stuff!" She stifled a sniff as she rested her cheek on the taller girl's shoulder. She let out a contented sigh before she continued with her ramblings, talking about the good old days. Elphaba looked up when she heard an almost inaudible click. The door opened, revealing a figure – Fiyero, his arms carrying a bag of groceries. The prince's eyes widened with surprise; he had no idea that Glinda would turn up. The feeling of Glinda in her arms (and the girl's ramblings) and Fiyero at the door reminded her of the mess that she was in. She burrowed her brows and shook her head slightly, hoping that the blonde would not be aware of her slight movements and tried to wave him away with her fingers.

Go.

Glinda would never know that he was at the door if he turned and walked away. Elphaba would talk to her best friend and leave the house once night fell. Glinda would never know that Fiyero was here. She would never find out what had happened last night.

Go, she mouthed when he hesitated.

He shook his head.

Go, she repeated. Please. Fiyero stood there, not moving, and then he slowly placed the grocery bag on the floor next to the door and backed off. His eyes never left hers. He did not hide how he felt.

Elphaba closed her eyes. She wished that she had the courage to keep her eyes open, to see him leave, to show him that she wanted him to leave. But she kept them shut. She had no idea what she would do if she looked at him again, at the crushed look on his face. There was no way she was going to hurt Glinda, not sweet, kind-hearted Glinda. She tried to focus on Glinda's voice, on what the blonde was saying as she continued to hug her best friend. Elphaba opened her eyes again when she thought that Fiyero had left, only to see that he had stepped into the house quietly after closing the door behind him, the crushed look on his face replaced by one of determination.

No, Fiyero. Please, no.

"Hello, Glinda," he spoke calmly, repeating the same words that Elphaba had said earlier.

Glinda spun around at the sound of his voice.

"Fiyero?"

She spread her arms wide at the sight of the Arjiki, like a mother hen that was trying to protect her brood.

"Look Fiyero, listen to me. I can explain. This is not what you think. She is not the Wicked Witch," she babbled. "I mean, she is that person but she is not wicked. She's… she's not really wicked, you know. She's not a terrorist – "

Elphaba put her hand on Glinda's shoulder, and the blonde covered that hand with hers and turned around.

"No, Elphie, let me do this. I can talk him out of it. He'll listen to me," she spoke in a hush voice, trying to convince the green girl as she turned to face Fiyero again.

Glinda stood up and took a few steps forward, occasionally turning back to ensure that she was blocking Fiyero's sight of the green girl.

"You have to believe me, Fiyero. She's not evil. Those are just rumours, you know. If you get to know her you will know that she is just being misunderstood. So if you are carrying a gun, please don't take it out …" She shook her head. "Her name is Elphaba, and she is my best friend."

"I know," Fiyero replied simply.

Glinda's eyes grew wide. "You know?"

He nodded his head.

"I know. And I knew that she was here. I asked her to stay."

Glinda looked at him, and then at the girl behind her, confusion written all over her face.

"You… I don't understand."

"Glinda, I can explain," Elphaba raised her hands, trying to calm the blonde down.

"I'll explain," Fiyero interrupted as he made his way to the couch, past his fiancée and reached for the green girl's hand. Elphaba tried to pull away but he held onto her hand firmly. She tried to shake his hand off, but that only drew the attention of the blonde.

She looked at their hands together, and then looked up at them.

"What – "

Fiyero took a deep breath before he continued.

"I've been seeing her, Glinda. I'm sorry, but I'm in love with her. I'm in love with Elphaba. And I am leaving with her."

"What?" the two girls chorused at the same time, disbelief in both their voices.

Elphaba was the first to recover.

"You can't!" Elphaba hissed, and Fiyero spun to face her. "You can't do that! What kind of brainless decision is that?"

"Yes I can," he looked at her with steely eyes as he laced his fingers with hers. "I am going with you, whether you like it or not. I've thought about it on the way back. I can't let you leave without me. I won't let that happen."

"Don't be ridiculous, Fiyero," Elphaba tried to speak brashly. "You don't know what you are talking –"

He raised his voice and cut her off. "I know what I am talking about. I know what I am doing. Do you know how it has been for me? Not knowing where you are? Not knowing if you are alive or dead, if you are cold or hungry?"

"So it's sympathy for the less fortunate, Captain?" Her words dripped acid. "Well, there are more unfortunate people out there. Why don't you direct your attention to them and give me a break."

"Elphaba, it's not that, and you know it. I love you and I know you feel the same way too – "

"I don't! Get this into your head, Captain." She jabbed a finger at his head. "Because I don't feel anything for you!"

The anger in his eyes faded, replaced by a sadness that made her regret the words that she had said. He seemed to notice the slight change in her demeanor. "You can't hide your feelings from me," he said, his voice softer. "I used to think that I was just being foolish, but you can't deny it anymore. Not after last night."

Glinda gasped. This was her fiancé, the man whom she had been with for so many years. He was not perfect, despite how much promise he had shown at the beginning of their relationship. He studied too little when he was in Shiz and he was too obsessed with his work after he had joined the Gale Force. But he had always respected her in their relationship, a huge contrast to the scandalacious reputation that surrounded him when he was younger. He had never spent a night with her and had never acted inappropriately. His actions (or lack thereof) cast doubts in her mind sometimes; it made her wonder if he was not physically attracted to her. She had tried to tempt him, even tried to seduce him, but he had always declined her respectfully, saying that he would not take advantage of her. And now Glinda wondered if those were just excuses, for it seemed that he had not hesitated in spending the night with another woman who was not his fiancée, a woman whom he was not supposed to know, a woman who was inferior to her in every single way.

"Fiyero, if this is your way to get back at me for Chuff…" The look on his face stopped her.

"Glinda, you don't understand. This is not about the baronet or any other man who is currently besotted with you. I can't explain how I feel, I can't explain why. I cannot even explain why I am supposed to know her and yet I don't remember a single thing about her. You can call it a spell or anything, but I can't stop thinking of her since the day I saw her at the Throne Room."

Glinda took a step back and bit her lip. She looked at her fingers, at the sparkling engagement ring that adorned her ring finger. She was Glinda the Good. She was beautiful, smart and popular. Her parents adored her. Everyone wanted to be her friend. She was the right-hand woman of the Wizard. Every woman envied her and every man wanted her. She was engaged to the man she loved, the handsome prince that so many girls had a crush on. She was the epitome of the perfect woman.

She twisted the diamond ring. It was supposed to be her engagement ring, but Fiyero did not buy it. He did not propose to her. He did not bend down on one knee and ask her to marry him. The engagement was a sham, and so was she. She was nobody, just a girl who had been living in a web of lies for years, propped by all the expensive jewelry and beautiful gowns. Every word she said to the Ozians was scripted. Every smile that she offered hid an aching heart. She looked at the man before her, his hand clasping the hand of another woman so tenderly. He could not remember her and yet that did nothing to diminish the love that he had for her.

She tugged at the ring, a sudden desire to throw it at him and cut his pretty face, but the jewelry was stuck. Glinda tried to pull the offensive ring out of her finger, ignoring it when her skin turned red and her knuckle began to swell from the abrasion, but the ring refused to budge. Elphaba rushed forward and covered Glinda's hands with hers.

"Don't do this, Glinda." The green girl tried to pry her fingers apart. "You'll hurt yourself." Glinda jerked her hands to brush Elphaba away, but the green girl tightened her grip. "Glinda, please." For the first time in her life, the concern in Elphaba's voice grated on her nerves.

"Go away," she hissed at her best friend as she pushed her away, intent in getting the ring out. Her shove caught the green girl unaware, and the latter stumbled backward, tripping over the coffee table. Glinda looked up at the sound, in time to see Fiyero catch her from behind.

"You OK?" he asked as he wrapped his arms protectively around the green girl and pulled her up, oblivious to the fact that his fiancee was taking everything in.

Elphaba gave a brief nod to the man who had broken her fall. She took a step toward the blonde again, but balked when Glinda shot out a hand, her manicured finger pointing accusingly at the pair.

"Go!" she screeched. "Get out!" The shocked look on both their faces caught Glinda by surprise, and her lips quivered as she felt the anger slowly seep out of her. Her legs buckled and Glinda sank to the floor with a cry. The tears began to fall, staining her cheery dress a darker, solemn shade. "Just go," she said as she heaved in between sobs, her face buried in her dainty hands. "You've always been in love with her anyway..."

AN Got a new project at work, so updates may be affected.