An Assist From Me to Be Who You'll Be
Disclaimer – I do not own Elphaba or Glinda, or anyone else in this story. I do not own Wicked, and I do not own Legally Blonde.
The train rocked and rolled along the track and on the inside of their booth Elphaba was bracing herself against the wall, sitting with her feet firmly planted on the floor in an effort not to fall over. She watched, amused, as Glinda sat across from her. Unlike Elphaba herself, Glinda had the ability to move along with the train, swaying whenever the train did.
Or maybe it was pure coincidence that Glinda was moving with the train, for the blonde woman was already bouncing in her seat.
"You know," Elphaba said after a particularly rough bounce, "You still haven't told me where we're going."
"It wouldn't be a surprise if I told you, would it?" Galinda said airily.
Elphaba arched a brow.
"You never said that it was a surprise, Glinda."
"Hush," The short woman practically wilted. "Mean green thing."
"Why Miss Glinda," Elphaba pressed a hand over her heart, her voice holding a tone of false hurt. "I'm hurt by your words. Ladies from the Upland clan of the Upper Uplands should not be using such mean language."
"Ladies from the Upland clan of the Upper Uplands should not be speaking to mean green things either." Glinda shot back, but Elphaba wasn't offended. She could hear the teasing quality in Glinda's voice, and she could see the play smile playing on the blonde's mouth.
"I think you have beaten me, Miss Upland." Elphaba sighed dramatically, before beginning to laugh, Glinda joining in a moment later.
They spent the rest of their rain ride in laughter, their chuckles echoing around the compartment.
After they had gotten off the train, Glinda had revealed their location to Elphaba, though there was no need to, for it was obvious to the taller woman exactly where they were; the shimmer and glow of green gave it away.
They were in the Emerald City.
Taking a carriage from the train station to the heart of the city, Glinda and Elphaba were spellbound by what they saw along the way. Glinda was enraptured by the ozmopolitan feel. It was like she was back home again, back near busy cities with hustle and bustle. People decked out in full green passed by, walking to and fro along the sidewalks. Even their driver was wearing green, and his horse was too, if only for a moment; every few seconds the horse would change into a different colour, and it fascinated Glinda.
Yet while the blonde was taken with the people and grandeur, Elphaba was more interested in the history she could see all around her. Huge, majestic buildings that were ancient yet strong. The appeal of the architecture was not lost on Elphaba, and while she liked it, she was sure it would capture Glinda's attention more as the blonde had a surprising love for architecture; if only Glinda wasn't so fixated on the people.
As they went along, the green woman saw countless museums and libraries. Her fingers twitched and her eyes widened in excitement as she thought of the knowledge she could receive from them. Elphaba was sure that it would take her months to visit every museum and library in the city if she chose to go and visit them all.
However, Elphaba knew that she didn't have months in the Emerald City- not yet, at least. She only had one short day, and she knew that since it was Glinda who brought them to the City, the day was going to be spent on something else, something other than a day full of books and ancient artefacts. What that something else was, however, Elphaba did not know.
She still didn't know where they were going or what they were doing in the Emerald city as the carriage ride came to an end. As they hopped off of the carriage and the driver left them, Elphaba saw that they had gotten off in front of a rather modern looking building. The sign that hung above the building itself stated its name in bold letters, but the lettering was so curved and loopy that Elphaba simply could not read it.
It seemed that Glinda could though because when she looked at the sign, a smile spread across her face, and she clapped her hands together with glee like a child.
Glancing between the unreadable sign and Glinda, Elphaba asked the blonde cautiously, "Where are we?"
Glinda did not answer. Taking hold of Elphaba's hand, she led the green girl to the doors of the building before turning to face her.
"Elphie, you trust me right?" Glinda asked, gazing upwards into Elphaba's eyes.
Though she was wary of their surroundings and wondering why Glinda was asking her such a thing in the first place, Elphaba nodded yes.
"Then don't stop now."
Glinda grinned mischievously and pushed the door open. The blonde went in first and then pulled Elphaba in.
When Elphaba got past the door and looked at the scene in front of her, she was nearly blinded by an explosion of colour.
After a moment (spent squinting and muttering about her wounded eyes) Elphaba became accustomed and her annoyance turned into surprise.
"Glinda..." She asked quietly, taking in her surroundings. "What is this place?"
"It's called a boutique, Elphie." Glinda answered, dramatically dropping her voice to the same volume as Elphaba's.
"It's..." Elphaba trailed off and Glinda watched her intently, waiting for her reaction. A moment later, Elphaba seemed to find the words she had been looking for as she turned to Glinda and whispered,
"It's a bit too perky."
Glinda, try as she might, could not stifle the laugh that came out of her throat. Leave it to Elphaba to describe one of the Emerald City's high end boutiques as 'too perky'.
Though Glinda had to admit that from Elphaba's viewpoint at least the store could be seen that way. The walls were lined with shelves with blouses of every sort of rubric. Skirts of varying lengths hung in every corner, and hats sat on boxes that were set all around. Jackets hung on racks nearby, and even shoes were sold there, neatly arranged and put on display for any shopper passing by to simply pick them up and examine them.
Best of all were the wooden dolls, carved into life sized women. Mannequins, Glinda knew they were called. The mannequins were all in the form of women and each one in the store were painted in such a way that both Elphaba and Glinda had trouble telling if they were real people or not. Every wooden model wore a dress and each dress had swirling patterns and tight bodices. Each dress was of a different colour and it seemed as if the entire store had been blessed by a rainbow, for every colour imaginable had to be located in there somewhere.
Finding Elphaba intimidated by such beauty (to Glinda it was beauty anyways) tickled Glinda even more and she couldn't resist the opportunity to tease Elphaba.
"That's what you said about the name 'Elphie' too, Miss Elphaba." Glinda reminded her with a twinkle in her eye. "But you grew fond of that, did you not?"
"True, Miss Glinda." Elphaba nodded sagely. "But at least the name 'Elphie' did not look as if a rainbow had thrown up on it."
"Elphaba Thropp!" Glinda gasped, turning on her heel indignantly to look at the taller woman. She swatted Elphaba's shoulder indignantly. "That's not nice!"
"But the truth always hurts." Elphaba smirked, blocking Glinda's attempts to hit her.
"Speaking of hurting, my eyes burn from being in such a colourful place." The green woman sighed, lifting up her glasses to pinch at the bridge of her nose for a moment. When she was done, she glanced down at Glinda curiously.
"Why are we here?"
"We're here because I am absolutely determined to succeed." Glinda said solemnly, the look in her eyes dead serious as she gazed back up at Elphaba.
"Succeed in... what, exactly?"
"In helping you impress the Wizard!" Another smile, sincere and well meaning, broke out on Glinda's face.
"And coming to a boutique helps us how?"
Glinda tutted and she looked at Elphaba with pity.
"You have much to learn, Elphie." She sighed, before taking Elphaba's hand in her own once more as she started to lead her around the store.
"Elphie, if you want to have the part, you need to dress the part too!" Glinda explained, pausing to flick expertly through a rack containing only jackets.
"Originally, I was only going to buy you a new jacket, but seeing just what this store has to offer inspired me. We need to find you something new to wear; something that makes you look like a woman who is an associate of one of the best defence attorneys in the Emerald City and beyond."
"You can't judge a book by its cover, Miss Glinda." Elphaba quoted, watching from the side as Glinda started looking through a new rack with vigour.
"Books with ragged covers tend to stay on the shelves, Miss Elphaba." Glinda quipped and Elphaba had to force the smile off of her face.
"Elphie, if this pains you so," Glinda told her as she grabbed several blouses from a neatly stacked pile, "Just think of the Wizard. You might not be able to tell him the alibi, but you will be able to show him and the rest of us a woman who dresses to kill."
"And you just know all about that, don't you?" Elphaba mumbled under her breath, but Glinda didn't hear her.
At this point, a woman working at the store had noticed them. Coming up to them she smiled and asked them, "Can I help you with anything today?"
Before Elphaba could refuse, Glinda cut her off with a nod to the saleswoman.
"I'm looking for something for my friend here." Glinda told her. "Something businesslike but still classy and preferably a jacket to match it."
"If you take a look right here, miss..." the woman went into a detailed recommendation of several garments, and Glinda put the blouses down, listening intently. Elphaba hung back from the two, feeling somewhat intimidated by their conversation.
Standing away from them, the green woman observed Glinda from afar. The blonde woman looked like a complete professional with the way she was currently standing. Then again, it would make sense that Glinda would be a shopping veteran. Even if Elphaba didn't know of Glinda's privileged past (which she did) she would still be able to see it in her.
Her stance was not the only thing different, however; Glinda's face was too. Usually set in a blissful, gorgeous smile and matching happy eyes, Glinda's mouth was curled into a thoughtful expression, and her eyes were filled with an intensity that Elphaba had rarely ever seen. As Glinda stared at the clothes that the salesgirl was showing her, Elphaba could see the ideas flashing past her eyes as she regarded each piece.
'If only she had that same kind of intensity in class, she could be great.' Elphaba thought dryly. About to laugh, the chuckle caught in Elphaba's throat as a tiny voice whispered to her 'But she does have that kind of intensity, and she is great.'
And suddenly, it occurred to Elphaba that she did not know why she was there in the boutique. She knew why she and Glinda were there, she could have refused to get on the train to the Emerald City with Glinda and headed straight home. Instead, she said yes... like she had all the other times Glinda had asked her for something.
'Why can I never say no to her?'
Before Elphaba could even begin to think about the answers to that question, the saleswoman and Glinda turned back to her.
"What do you think of these, Elphie?" Glinda asked, beckoning the green girl to come closer.
The saleswoman stepped forward, offering blouses to Elphaba, the selection made up of both what she and Glinda had recommended.
The first blouse was pale blue. Elphaba simply shook her head. Putting it aside, the salesgirl showed her a different one. Elphaba cringed as she saw it, and then glared at Glinda, who was smothering a giggle, for the shirt was bright pink.
Suppressing a laugh herself, the salesgirl put that blouse aside, and held up the third one. Elphaba's eyes lit up as she saw it- it was simply, plain black. The green woman nodded, and it was handed to Elphaba. She fingered the fabric carefully before Glinda snatched it out of her hands to hold onto it for her.
Dragging Elphaba all around the store, they went through the exact same process over and over again for several articles of clothing. Apparently, they (though Elphaba was not sure when she had given her consent) were not shopping for a dress suit anymore, but either a blouse, jacket and skirt combination, or a dress and jacket, for a more personalized feel.
"There!" Glinda beamed, plucking a last skirt from Elphaba's hands and adding it to the pile of clothes they had chosen.
"And now...?" Elphaba rose an eyebrow at her.
"And now, you try these on."
Steering Elphaba in the direction of the fitting rooms, Glinda nudged her to walk to them, promising she would be right behind her.
Sighing, the green woman took the clothes from Glinda and turned away, walking to the change rooms to change into them. However, as she was nearing the dressing rooms, and she paused, mid-step, as something caught her eye.
Elphaba stared at it, intrigued. Slowly, so that she wouldn't drop her load, Elphaba picked it up and carefully placed it on the bottom of the pile, before continuing on her way until she reached the rooms and locked herself in a stall.
Glinda sat outside, waiting, feeling extremely giddy. If there was one thing that hadn't changed about herself since she started to attend Shiz, it was her love for shopping. It did not matter if she was shopping for herself or for others, it excited Glinda to shop in general.
"How are you doing in there, Elphie?" She asked, raising her voice so that Elphaba could hear her through the door.
"Terribly." Elphaba replied.
"Why is that?" Glinda's brows furrowed, for she thought she had done a good job.
"Because," Elphaba said. "There are too many things to try on."
"Oh just try it on, you wicked green thing!" Glinda huffed, Elphaba's laughter wafting through over the door and teasing her.
A moment later Elphaba tossed some of the clothes over the door, and Glinda, confused went to them and pulled them over to her side so they were not hanging over it anymore.
"What's wrong with these?" Glinda asked, looking curiously at the clothes.
"They don't suit me well." Elphaba explained. "They're too loose."
"Try the other ones then!" Glinda called. Things became silent once again, except for the soft faint sound of rustling fabric.
"Does it fit, Elphie?" Glinda asked her.
"You tell me." Was the response, and then Elphaba stepped out of the dressing room.
She was wearing the black blouse, coupled with a blazer and a skirt. While it looked nice, somehow, it seemed completely wrong on Elphaba.
The verdant woman herself did not seem pleased with her clothes. There was a grimace on her face, and when Elphaba caught sight of Glinda's expression, she nodded, silently agreeing with Glinda's unspoken opinion.
"I'll go and change." Elphaba muttered, turning on her heel and heading back into the change room.
Three more times they went through the same thing, both Elphaba and Glinda finding that the clothes that were chosen did not seem to suit her.
Although it was very out of character for herself, Glinda sighed heavily.
"Is there anything left for you to try on, Elphie?" Desperation could be heard plainly in Glinda's voice.
"There is." Elphaba affirmed. "But... it's something that I picked out while you weren't looking."
Intrigued, Glinda told her to try it on. It couldn't hurt to let Elphaba choose- the green girl usually had very good judgement, even though that was not apparent all of the time through her clothing choices.
Yet as Elphaba stepped out of the change room and Glinda caught sight of her at the same time that Elphaba caught sight of herself in the mirror, all Glinda could think was that Elphaba had definitely made a good choice with what she was wearing.
Elphaba had emerged, clad in a dark black dress. It was professional enough that it would pass off as appropriate business clothing, but it had enough class to be able to be used at formal parties as well. Yet it was utterly unique in design- from a distance, it was intimidating, though up close, not so much. However, it seemed like the kind of dress that people would rarely go up to and examine closely. In that same way, it was like its wearer- Elphaba would not let anyone close to her to see her for who she was, unless she allowed them. The entire world was kept an arm's length away.
The dress fit Elphaba perfectly, and it brought Glinda's view of Elphaba into a new light, accentuating the curves that the blonde did not know Elphaba had, for they were always hidden underneath her jackets and loose clothing. It clung to her body perfectly, before flaring out at the waist.
Glinda's eyes trailed up again, from Elphaba's waist to the flat plain of her stomach, past the swell of her bust, along the high buttoned collar by her throat, until she finally reached Elphaba's face.
Elphaba's cheeks were a darker green than normal for some reason, but what caught Glinda was the look in Elphaba's eyes. Normally, they were calm and cool, but now... now, Elphaba's eyes seemed to be vulnerable, and, most surprisingly of all, pleading for acceptance.
"Well?" Elphaba's voice, unusually soft, broke the silence.
Only realizing now that her mouth had fallen slightly open, Glinda closed it and swallowed, clearing her throat, finding herself speechless.
Finally, after another best of strangely tense silence, Glinda met Elphaba's eyes once more.
"Why Miss Elphaba., She murmured. "Look at you; you're beautiful."
If Glinda had not been so in tune with herself in that moment, or if she had not been so in tune with Elphaba, she would have missed the catch in Elphaba's breathing. She would have missed the way her green friend's body seemed to grow a little bit tight with surprise.
She would have missed the almost magical feeling that suddenly filled the air as Glinda kept her eyes locked onto Elphaba's brown ones.
Gazing down at Glinda over the rims of her glasses, Elphaba held Glinda's gaze. Suddenly,, Glinda saw a rare flood of emotion in Elphaba's eyes and the green woman finally tore her gaze away.
"Glinda," She muttered. "Glinda, I can't take this."
"Elphie...?"
"It's too much." Elphaba said quietly. "This dress has to be very expensive. I can't let you buy me this. I know you're offering to pay so I can impress, but I wouldn't be able to pay you back for quite sometimes, even if I worked nonstop-"
"Elphie." Glinda repeated, her voice sharper and louder than before, almost but not quite managing to break the strange atmosphere they were in. "Is this what you think this is?"
The woman turned her gaze back to Glinda, and the blonde could see confusion in Elphaba's eyes.
"Elphie..." Glinda's voice softened. "This is not some sort of trade- you do not have to pay me back. This isn't some sort of donation either, and you are not a charity."
"You are my best friend, Elphaba." The use of her full name signified to the older girl just exactly how serious Glinda was. "This is a gift I want to give to you, because you've done so much for me."
"So take the dress, Elphaba. It's my way of saying thank you." Glinda's lips quirked into a small, shy smile and a tiny voice in Elphaba's head told her that the smile she saw now was more beautiful than any other smile she had seen on Glinda's face before.
"If you say so, Glinda." Elphaba mumbled back.
Glinda nodded, and suddenly they both became acutely aware of how close they were to each other.
They stayed like that for a moment longer before breaking apart, and thereby breaking the surreal yet comfortable mood.
"I'll go and get changed." Elphaba whispered, feeling that keeping it quiet would be best for the next little while. Glinda simply nodded, and wondered exactly what had happened between them as she waited for Elphaba to finish.
They left the Emerald City soon after buying the dress, and a jacket to match. The train ride back to Shiz was in complete silence – it was not that they had no words to say to each other, but more than they were comfortable enough to remain there without saying a word, just enjoying each other's company.
When they reached town, it was just past sunset, the last sliver of bright light passing by the horizon as they stepped off the train and onto the platform. Noticing this, Elphaba turned to Glinda.
"It's getting late." She said. "I'll go with you to your dorm."
Glinda agreed to the escort, and soon they were in a carriage, riding over to the Shiz dormitories.
Once they were in the building, they headed to Glinda's room. When the tiny blonde had unlocked the door and opened it, Maddie came running, yipping as she saw her owner with the green woman behind her.
"Maddie!" Glinda cooed, bending over and picking up the white dog. Coddling her for a few minutes, Glinda then turned to Elphaba.
"Could you?"
She offered Maddie out to the older woman. "Just hold onto her for a little, I mean. While I go and change."
"...Alright." Elphaba took Maddie from Glinda. As the law student went into her washroom to go and switch her clothing, Elphaba sighed.
"Something's in the air, Maddie." The verdant woman told the dog, scratching her behind the ear gently as she spoke. "I don't know if it was some sort of perfume or scent sprayed there in that boutique, but it's been following your owner and me ever since we stepped into that store."
The dog simply barked and wagged her tail. Chuckling softly, Elphaba placed Maddie back on the floor. So excited to see Elphaba, Maddie began leaping up and running back and forth. Elphaba watched her, taking a seat on Glinda's bed.
"You're such a hyperactive little thing." She observed as Maddie began to run in circles and chase her tail. "Just like your owner."
In response, Maddie barked almost gleefully, and stopped chasing her tail to look at the green girl. However, in stopping so abruptly, Maddie ended up skidding across the floor and hitting the door of Glinda's closet hard.
Immediately, Elphaba rose to her feet, panicked. Rushing to Maddie's side, she knelt down to see if anything was wrong.
She got her answer when Maddie jumped onto her feet, unfazed, and tried to lick Elphaba's face.
"Crazy dog." Elphaba muttered, shying away from Maddie's tongue. Glancing at the door to the washroom, Elphaba couldn't help but smirk and whisper conspiratorially to Maddie, "But that's just like your owner too."
The smirk on her face faded when Elphaba heard a loud thud come from the closet.
As if on cue, Glinda exited her bathroom (fully changed out of her business suit and in more casual clothes) and went over to Elphaba.
"Are you alright?" Glinda asked her. "I thought I heard a noise."
"I think something fell in your closet." Elphaba replied, not bothering to explain exactly how things had managed to fall in the first place.
Nudging Elphaba over, Glinda opened up the closet. Lo and behold, a box had fallen from the rack above that supported many other boxes. It had opened during the fall, spilling its contents across the floor; the contents being a single, pointed black hat.
"Oh dear." Glinda sighed. Picking up the hat and then the box, she looked at Elphaba.
"Could you help me?" She asked. Her cheeks flushed in embarrassment as she went on to say while holding out the box and hat to the taller woman, "I... can't exactly reach the top."
Elphaba didn't take either of the items, however. She simply stared at the hat.
"It's not really... my style." Glinda chose her last two words carefully. Seeing how Elphaba was looking at it though, made Glinda drop the box and offer only the hat out to Elphaba. "Try it on?"
"Glinda, I don't know-"
"It's really, uh... sharp, don't you think?" Glinda tried. "Did you know black is this year's pink?"
When Elphaba did not even crack a smile at Glinda's rhyme, but just raised an eyebrow at her, Glinda huffed. "Oh, just try it on!"
Biting her lip to hold back a snicker, Elphaba took the hat and plopped it onto her head.
Glinda had gotten the hat as a going-to-Shiz present from her batty old aunt. Not wanting to hurt her aunt's feelings, Glinda had accepted the gift with a smile and told her she would bring it to Shiz with her. The hat must have somehow gotten mixed in with her belongings, for she honestly never meant to bring it. In Glinda's opinion, it was a dreadful, horrible hat.
Yet, the second it touched Elphaba's head and the green woman ran her fingers along the wide brim, Glinda couldn't help but notice that it looked perfect on her.
"Take the hat, Elphie!" Glinda said to her, grinning. "It looks so good on you!"
"Glinda, no." Elphaba took the hat off and roughly shoved it into the small blonde's hands.
"Why not?" Glinda pouted.
"I... I can't accept this." Elphaba told her quietly, looking away. "You've already given me so many gifts today, and now the hat on top of it all? I don't think-"
"Elphaba, hush." Glinda interrupted her sternly.
Surprisingly, Elphaba listened.
"I told you earlier at the store that the dress and the jacket and everything else were gifts. They're gifts because you've done so much for me..."
Glinda trailed off into her thoughts. Her own words, 'You've done so much for me' echoed in her mind as she thought back to the many deeds Elphaba had indeed done for her.
And suddenly, it hit her.
"You've done so much for me," Glinda repeated softly. "That this cannot even be considered a gift anymore."
Boldly, Glinda stretched the arm not holding the hat out and caught Elphaba's chin, forcing the green woman to look her in the eyes as she said to her softly:
"This is my payment to you in kindness."
"You were the first person, Elphie," Glinda said to her. "To ever see past all of my pink and popularity and blonde to the person inside of me struggling to get out and show the world how smart I was. You were the first to realize even before I did that there was more to me than material wants and needs that I didn't have to rely on social influence and beauty to get me through life, but on intelligence and values instead."
"I don't think I could ever thank you enough." Glinda finished. "But giving you these things is all I really can do. So please, take it."
Glinda held out the hat once again, and after a pause, Elphaba took it from her. She rose the hat up and placed it on her head, blinking as she looked from underneath the brim at Glinda.
Suddenly, Glinda could not resist it.
Taking a step forward, Glinda wrapped her arms around Elphaba and pulled her into a tight hug.
Glinda felt hands that had previously remained motionless sweep across her back. She felt the heat of the palms lingering, first above her shoulders, then by her waist, and then finally settling on her lower back. Slowly, but not hesitantly, Glinda felt arms wrap around her and hold on tight.
"You're welcome." Elphaba whispered into Glinda's ear as the green woman hugged Glinda back for the first time.