Elphaba was awoken by the loudest most annoying screeching she'd ever heard, it had to be Galinda. She opened her eyes slowly and saw Galinda standing over her, coat in hand and fully dressed.
"What in Oz do you want so early on a Saturday morning?" asked Elphaba grumpily, sitting up to rub her eyes.
"Elphaba, it's the Saturday after the Emerald Ball, I have to get all magazines about it." said Galinda, rolling her eyes, "Now hurry up before they're sold out!"
"What?" asked Elphaba, "You mean you want me to go with you to get stupid magazines about stupid celebrities?" Elphaba crossed her arms and gave Galinda a sharp look, "After you made me stay up all night and rant on and on about Lucas?"
"Yes!" Galinda stomped her foot, "Hurry up!" with that, Galinda stomped to Elphaba's wardrobe, pulled out a dress, threw it at Elphaba, then threw Elphaba into the bathroom to change. In the bathroom, Elphaba took as long as she possibly could just to piss Galinda off. When she came out of the bathroom, she was immediately grabbed by Galinda and pushed out the door.
"I still don't see why I have to come." Elphaba grumbled as she walked beside Galinda.
"Because I'm Galinda Upland, I can't go anywhere alone." said Galinda, rolling her eyes.
"And being seen with the green freak is really going to boost your already unbelievable popularity?" asked Elphaba skeptically. Galinda stopped to think about that. She was relieved that she didn't have to answer as they reached the doors to the OZ GOSSIP store. Because the answer would've been no, people would have been disgusted at the fact of her hanging out with Elphaba.
"Oz gossip?" asked Elphaba raising an eyebrow. Galinda ignored her and rushed inside. She quickly maneuvered her way to the magazine area. She picked up every magazine with a headline or anything on it involving the Emerald Ball. They even had a whole magazine devoted to it. It was like the 50th anniversary for the ball, so the magazine was a chronology of every ball leading up to this most recent one.
"This is such a waste of money." Elphaba said as she glanced at the magazines. One headline caught her eye however, 'Hottie Prince Fiyero, seen with gorgeous mystery date.' Below there was a black and white photograph of Fiyero, who was making a big show of kissing her in front of Nicholas. She quickly grabbed the magazine and stuffed it behind a shelf so that Galinda wouldn't see it, or anyone for that matter. Although, she doubted anyone would realize it was her without the green skin, the black and white made her skin look ordinary. Elphaba silently thanked the unnamed god that no one had invented colored photographs yet.
"Elphie, c'mon, let's go." said Galinda, who was already half-way out of the door, a large bundle of magazines in her arms.
"You bought all of those?" asked Elphaba.
"Of course silly." said Galinda, "Now I have to go and read them all."
"When you finally sit down to read, this is what you read." Elphaba rolled her eyes, "How educational." she added with sarcasm. Galinda rolled her eyes and hurried on ahead.
*****************************
For once, the dorm was quiet and peaceful, Galinda too absorbed in her magazines to chatter. Although there was always the occasional squeak or 'oh my oz' outburst. Elphaba was reading a very interesting book on Animal Rights; of course, when the silence was peaceful atmosphere was sliced right through by a VERY loud shriek from Galinda.
"OH MY OZ!" she cried, running over to Elphaba, waving a magazine in the air, "Is this you?!!!" She was waving a glossy magazine in front of her where there was a black and white picture of her walking down the Emerald carpet with Fiyero, his arm around her waist as he was whispering a joke into her ear. She was laughing at whatever the joke was and it was actually very decent shot.
"Um...yes?" said Elphaba hesitantly.
"OH. MY. OZ!!!!" Galinda practically screamed, "You went to the Emerald Ball and you didn't tell me?!"
"I didn't think it was that important." said Elphaba.
"You danced with ALL of these guys?!" Galinda asked, she had turned that page where there were multiple pictures of Elphaba. In each one she was dancing with a different guy,, and in one, she was kissing making out with Fiyero in front of Nicholas.
"Uh....perhaps?" said Elphaba, shifting uncomfortably.
"You even danced with Nicholas, the hottest man alive?!" Galinda asked.
"Well, I wouldn't call him the hottest man alive...." Elphaba began, but Galinda had turned the page again and wasn't listening as she skimmed the article.
"You met Fiyero's parents?!" Galinda was staring wide eyes at a picture of Fiyero, Elphaba and Fiyero's parents. They were laughing with each other, "And Pier Von Johl offered you a modeling contract, and you turned it down?!" Galinda asked incredulously.
"Huh? How do you know that?" asked Elphaba. Galinda just jabbed a finger at the article.
"Oh, they didn't put my name in the article did they?" asked Elphaba, now worried.
"No, all of the magazines just refer to you as the 'mystery girl' who accompanied Fiyero to the ball." said Galinda. Elphaba heaved a sigh a relief. Galinda's eyes suddenly lit up, "Ooh! You must tell me all about it!"
********************
All around the campus, people were wondering who this 'mystery girl' was. It was true, they'd never seen anyone more gorgeous, and it was so fitting that Prince Fiyero, the guy every girl wanted, was dating this 'mystery girl', now the girl that every guy wanted. No one could tell it was Elphaba (thanks to black and white photographs) and her name wasn't given in any of the magazines (thank Oz). Elphaba was walking with Fiyero through the courtyards, heading for the coffee shop, when they ran into Crope and Tibbet.
"Hey, guys," said Crope, he shot Fiyero a look, "You lucky man."
"Huh?" asked Fiyero confused.
"You're dating her." Crope pulled a picture out of his pocket that was cut from a magazine.
"Wait, aren't you gay?" asked Fiyero, still confused.
"Yes, but this right here, is the only girl I would ever turn straight for." said Crope matter-of-factly, Tibbet nodded in agreement. Elphaba started laughing then. Fiyero sent her a glance and a glare at Crope and Tibbet. Crope and Tibbet looked at her questioningly, and then glared at her, misinterpreting her laughter.
"Oh, you're just jealous Elphie." said Tibbet, "Because you can't look like this girl right here."
"You mean you guys don't realize who that is?" asked Elphaba, she'd almost stopped laughing by now. Crope and Tibbet leaned over the picture and squinted their eyes at it, trying to see what Elphaba could and they couldn't.
"No." they said in unison.
"You mustn't tell anybody." Elphaba said first. They nodded in synchronization, "Alright, it's--" Elphaba started laughing again, "It's me." she finally blurted out. Crope and Tibbet's eyes both widened as they stared, open-mouthed at Elphaba, and then back at the picture. Their jaws dropped even more when they realized that the girl in the photograph actually was Elphaba, the green, socially-challenged girl standing before them. Elphaba burst into laughter at their expressions, and Fiyero was soon to follow. At the sound of their laughter, Crope seemed to recover as he snapped his jaw shut.
"Well, you look damn sexy in this, so I'll keep the photo." said Crope, pocketing the photograph and winking at her, before grabbing Tibbet by the arm and dragging him away. Tibbet was still staring open-mouthed at Elphaba; he didn't seem to have recovered from the shock yet. Elphaba laughed and wiggled her fingers at him mockingly.
"So, now you're 'mystery girl'." Fiyero mused, tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear. Elphaba rolled her eyes.
"Yes, I suppose, it's so archaic. I'm just glad nobody can tell that it's me." said Elphaba, "Ready for coffee?" Fiyero nodded and they headed off towards the coffee shop together, resisting the urge to hold each other's hand.
*******************
Galinda was walking to the coffee shop to meet up with the gang when she was stopped by Lucas.
"Um, Galinda? Can I talk to you?" asked Lucas bashfully. Galinda nodded and followed him to a clear bench in the bright courtyards.
"I—uh, I just wanted to say sorry for the whole fiasco at the dance the other day." said Lucas, rubbing the back of his neck and keeping his eyes on the floor, glancing up at her occasionally.
"No—I'm sorry," Galinda said softly, "I shouldn't hav kept pressuring about Elphaba and things. Do you forgive me?"
"I—of course, I forgive you." said Lucas, "Do you forgive me?"
"Yes." said Galinda. Lucas sighed with relief and looked up to meet Galinda's eyes. He was suddenly hit with a sudden rush of realization. Never had he really looked at Galinda. He always saw a bubbly, shallow blonde airhead. Now he saw a beautiful girl with golden curls, deep blue eyes that shimmered in the light and smooth soft porcelain skin that he suddenly felt the urge to touch. Galinda looked up at Lucas shyly and noticed how incredibly handsome he suddenly seemed to be. She laid a hand on the side of his face and held it there, gazing into his copper eyes. Before either knew what they were doing, Galinda stood on her tip-toes and pressed her lips against his in a unexpected but wonderful kiss. When they pulled apart, they stared at each other with understanding. True, they were both in love with the wrong people, but perhaps....they could love each other. Lucas slid his hand around Galinda's.
"Coffee?" asked Lucas, smiling charmingly at her. Galinda just nodded and they walked to the coffee shop, hand in hand and smiling at each other like fools. People smiled at the adorable couple, some glared, some pointed, but Galinda and Lucas were oblivious, together, gazing at each other in their own happy little place.
*************************
Galinda and Lucas stepped charmingly into the coffee shop, holding each other in each other's arms and smiling like love-struck fools. The rest of the charmed circle was already there and waved them over. Galinda and Lucas sat down together with them in a circle on the floor, propped up against chairs. Galinda climbed into Lucas's lap and giggled at his surprised expression, then he leaned in and kissed her quickly on the cheek. The rest of the circle stared in shock, then Elphaba smiled brightly.
"I do believe you have some explaining to do Miss Galinda." she laughed. Elphaba sat next to Fiyero, but she did not sit in his lap, or very close to him, no one was to know of their relationship, what an uproar that would make through Shiz.
"Well, me and Lucas are..." Galinda paused, as though for a dramatic effect, "...together!" she giggled and kissed Lucas on the cheek. Lucas grinned sheepishly. The group laughed and congratulated them on their relationship. The group began idle chatter then, laughing, joking and teasing one another. Most of the jokes were made about Lucas and Galinda and the two lovers were blushing nearly the whole time. Galinda was really getting fed up with this whole teasing of her and Lucas, so she decided to distract everyone.
"Hey, who wants to play spin the bottle?" asked Galinda quickly. Avaric cheered, Boq blushed, Nessa shook her head, Crope and Tibbet high fived each other, Galinda giggled, Lucas looked worried and Fiyero looked at Elphaba with a look she didn't quite understand. Everyone stared at each other and then stared at one another, deciding who they'd like to kiss, and who they definitely wouldn't. Everyone except Elphaba, she had a confused look on her face.
"What's spin the bottle?" she asked.
"You've never played?!" Galinda shrieked. Elphaba shook her head.
"It's an unholy game that is sinful." said Nessa, sticking her nose in the air.
"Everything's sinful and unholy to you." Elphaba rolled her eyes and Nessa huffed.
"I'm leaving, I will not play this terrible, terrible game, may the unnamed god punish you all." and with that, Nessa flagged down a random boy from Shiz and had asked him to take her back to Shiz. The boy agreed reluctantly, being polite, which made Elphaba smile. There weren't that many polite people at Shiz. Once Nessa was gone, Elphaba turned back to the group.
"So, what is this sinful game you guys are talking about?" she asked.
"Well, here's how it goes." Galinda began, "We sit in a circle on the floor, which we already are, and put an empty bottle in the middle. Everyone takes turns spinning it. When the bottle stops spinning, whoever it points at is who the person that spun it has to kiss." Galinda finished with a cheerful giggle and clapped her hands.
"That sounds really.....stupid." said Elphaba, "What if it lands on someone of the same gender?"
"Then you still have to kiss them." said Galinda.
"I'm not playing, but I'll stay and watch, it could be amusing." Elphaba grinned at Fiyero mischievously before continuing, "And in case you haven't noticed, Galinda you'll be the only girl playing which means that for the most part of this 'game' the guys will just be kissing each other." Elphaba started laughing at this as all of the guys got disgusted looks on their faces.
"I'm fine with that." Galinda, Crope and Tibbet said.
"I'm not." said Fiyero, Boq, Avaric and Lucas.
"Ugh, fine." said Galinda, "I'll just have to find some more girls..." Galinda stood up and began walking around the coffee shop. The circle of friends watched her warily, Elphaba keeping her laughter at bay. Galinda would really go far to play a kissing game. 3 minutes later, Galinda came back with 4 other girls. They were Pfanee, ShenShen, Violet and Triella. They were all shallow and annoying and always hung out with Galinda. They shot Elphaba disapproving glances and stuck their noses up at her.
"Alright, everyone sit boy, girl boy--" Galinda began when she felt a light tap on her shoulder.
"Are you guys playing spin the bottle?" asked Marissa, eyeing Fiyero, "I'd love to play."
"Sorry," said Galinda insincerely, "You can't play, we're full. You'd mess up the boy-girl balance."
"No I wouldn't." said Marissa.
"Yes you would." said Galinda, "We've got six boys: Boq, Lucas, Fiyero, Avaric, Crop and Tibbet and six girls: Me, Pfanee, ShenShen, Violet, Triella and Elphaba."
"Whoa, no way in Oz am I playing." said Elphaba upon hearing her name. Galinda shot Elphaba a glare and Elphaba realized she was just trying to get rid of Marissa. 'Sorry' she mouthed to Galinda.
"See, the vegetable's not playing." said Marissa, "So that means I can!" she quickly sat down next to Avaric, staring at Fiyero. Avaric licked his lips and let his eyes wander over Marissa's curved body. Elphaba rolled her eyes and Galinda shot daggers at Marissa before settling herself next to Lucas.
"Alright, someone go and get a beer bottle and drain it." said Galinda.
"I'll do it!" Avaric said he quickly, he shot over to the small mini bar and got a beer, draining it quickly as he walked back to the circle and sat back down. He smacked his lips with a satisfied, 'ah' as he placed the now empty bottle in the middle of the circle. Everyone watched him before exchanging tense glances with one another.
"Go get some more beer." said Crope, speaking for everyone, they were all going to have to get a little drunk before they went through with this. Avaric leapt up happily and came back with several more beers. Everyone quickly grabbed one; even Elphaba who didn't usually drink, but decided she'd go ahead and have one. She didn't want to be the only sober one even if she wasn't playing. As everyone took a long swig of their drinks, the tension faded away and everyone's eyes glinted with excitement.
"I'll go first." said Galinda, taking another sip. She reached forward and spun the bottle. Everyone stared at the bottle as it spun.
"Bet Boq rigged it to land on him." said Avaric. Everyone laughed out loud at that and Boq blushed furiously before throwing something at Avaric. Avaric ducked just in time, laughing at the Munchkin. The bottle began to slow and it stopped on none other than Boq. Everyone roared with laughter and Boq turned beet red. Galinda looked about ready to puke.
"How fun is this game now Galinda?" asked Elphaba, raising her eyebrows and laughing at the look on Galinda's face.
"Oh shut up Elphie." Galinda snapped before going over to Boq. She closed her eyes tight and kissed him as quickly as possible before sprinting for the restroom to 'wash her mouth out'. Everyone laughed at this. Boq looked embarrassed and a little hurt at Galinda's reaction, but other than that, he looked slap happy at the prospect of kissing Galinda Upland. When Galinda came back, Marissa was spinning the bottle and it landed on Fiyero.
"Aw shit." said Fiyero under his breath. Elphaba laughed quietly and patted his shoulder.
"Make it quick." she said so that only he could hear. Fiyero grinned at her.
"Don't get jealous." he said so only she heard. She rolled her eyes. Marissa was suddenly right in front of Fiyero. She climbed into his lap and pushed him aggressively against the chair he was leaning against. Then she covered his mouth with her own and kissed him far more than once. Elphaba felt her blood boil and her eyes darken. She contained any outbursts, but as Marissa kept kissing Fiyero, her Yero, she couldn't help but yell.
"Alright, someone stop her before she licks his face off!" Elphaba shrieked. Marissa pulled back slowly and seductively and winked at Fiyero before slinking back to her seat by Avaric. Elphaba was half tempted to climb on top of Fiyero herself and make-out with just to spite Marissa. But of course, she didn't.
"My turn!" Crope called. He spun the bottle and it landed on Elphaba, he looked at her hopefully.
"I already told you, I'm not playing." said Elphaba quickly.
"Damn it." said Crope.
"Why would you want to kiss that anyway?" asked ShenShen, pulling a disgusted face. Crope ignored her as he reached out to spin the bottle again. It landed on Pfanee. ShenShen started giggling uncontrollably as Pfanee shoved her best friend over.
"But he's gay!" she complained, "And he's a lowlife Munchkin." she added. Crope ignored her.
"You think I want to kiss those ugly puffy looking things attached to your face?" asked Crope annoyed. Everyone laughed at this, except Pfanee. Crope quickly pecked Pfanee on her 'lips' and bolted away. Pfanee hurriedly took a long gulp of her beer, fluffed her hair and wiped her lips on the back of her hand.
"Alright, Lucas honey, why don't you take a turn?" asked Galinda. Lucas shrugged and spun the bottle. It stopped on Fiyero. Both of their jaws dropped and the circle rolled over with laughter.
"No way in hell is that happening!" Fiyero yelled, moving away from Lucas as though Lucas was already trying to kiss him. Lucas backed away from Fiyero in return.
"Do it, do it, do it, do it!" Avaric, Crope and Tibbet chanted, still laughing. Elphaba and Galinda exchanged amused glances.
"No!" yelled Lucas and Fiyero.
"You have to." said Pfanee and ShenShen at the same time, "It's the rules." Lucas sighed in exasperation; he knew the group wouldn't quiet down until he kissed Fiyero. He quickly pecked Fiyero on the nose, but made it look like the lips before shooting back to his spot by Galinda. Everyone laughed at that, Crope and Tibbet holding their sides, Boq rolling around on the ground, Pfanee, ShenShen, Violet and Triella were completely out of control and Galinda and Elphaba laughed good-humoredly.
"Alright, alright," said Fiyero, "My turn. And because of that, if it lands on a guy, I get a free pass." he grumbled, spinning the bottle. It spun in a circle at least 12 times. Fiyero had spun in hard. Galinda found herself wishing two things at once. One, she didn't want it to land on her at all. What if it ruined things with Lucas? What if she couldn't handle it? What if it hurt Elphaba? Although, on the other hand, she was crossing her fingers behind her back hoping it would land on her. It'd been a long time since she kissed Fiyero and she missed it. Her kiss with Lucas was magic too, but she had a craving in her for Fiyero's kiss. Galinda held her breath as the bottle slowed down. It stopped on her. Fiyero looked up at her and sighed in relief. She was probably the best person there that he'd kiss (save for Elphaba of course). Fiyero went and kneeled in front of Galinda, not even seeing the conflict in the situation or the fight raging on in Galinda's mind. Elphaba looked away pointedly, examining her fabric of the carpet. Lucas glared at Fiyero. He knew that Galinda still had feelings for him, he didn't know how strong, but they were there. He was trying his hardest to make those feelings Galinda had for Fiyero melt away, just as he was trying his hardest to make his own feelings for Elphaba float away. Fiyero smiled at Galinda.
"It's not like you've never kissed me before." he joked before leaning in and kissing her. Galinda gasped as Fiyero mouth pressed against her own in a shallow kiss. Fiyero was about to pull back when Galinda suddenly found herself kissing him back. She wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him closer. Kissing Fiyero, Galinda found it was so easy to fall back in love with him. Galinda suddenly felt arms envelope her from behind and Fiyero push slightly against her shoulders as he pulled away. Lucas had pulled Galinda by her waist out of her kiss with Fiyero. Elphaba looked at Galinda with a mix of hurt and sympathy. Fiyero looked a bit bewildered and glanced at Elphaba to make sure everything was fine between them. She offered a small smile, which he returned as he sat down next to her.
Tibbet, Violet, ShenShen and Triella all took turns spinning the bottle. The group laughed when ShenShen had to kiss Marissa. When the split-second kiss had ended, both girls drained a whole bottle of beer. By now, the crowd was all pretty drunk. Elphaba had only had half a bottle of beer, but found herself drinking more each time Fiyero had to kiss or was kissed by someone. It was Avaric's turn now and he was probably the most drunk of them all. He clumsily spun the bottle. Everyone watched as it slowed to stop, pointing directly at Elphaba. Avaric stared hungrily at her. She started to inform Avaric that she wasn't playing, but before she could, Avaric had leapt across the circle and had her pinned beneath him on the floor. He held her wrists down and kissed her fiercely, over and over again. Elphaba struggled beneath him, but he kept kissing her. His mouth was suddenly at her collar-bone, making its way lower and lower. Elphaba shrieked and cried out. Fiyero was there in an instant, shoving Avaric off her roughly and punching him squarely in the face.
"Damn Fiyero!" said Avaric, raising a hand to his face, "It's just a game!" he bellowed.
"She said she wasn't playing, and you knew it!" Fiyero yelled back, punching Avaric again. Avaric stumbled back drunkenly. Elphaba was wiping her mouth and skin where Avaric had kissed her. Fiyero punched Avaric again and pulled his arm back for another punch, when he felt soft skin on his. Elphaba had laid her hand on his arm.
"It's not worth it Fiyero." she said quietly. Fiyero slowly brought his arm down. He looked at her and without thinking, pulled her into his arms and kissed her fully on the lips, making out with her in front of the whole group, even Pfanee and ShenShen, the girls that spread most of the gossip.
"Let's get out of here." said Fiyero, cocking his head towards the door. Elphaba nodded and followed him. Marissa had eyes the size of the moon. Pfanee and ShenShen looked like the just wee-d their pants. Boq's jaw was to the floor, Lucas instantly struck up a conversation with Galinda, as though to serve as a distraction. She was quick to talk back to him. Avaric looked like he'd just choked on a bottle cap, spit it back out, choked on it again and then eventually swallowed it.
"Wait, does that mean that she was that girl at the Emerald Ball?" asked ShenShen (secretly she had gone out to by a dress and shoes to look just like her). Nobody answered her. Once the shock had subsided, Pfanee and ShenShen exchanged knowing looks, smirked and bid their goodbyes.
"Don't tell anybody!" said Galinda as they were heading for the door.
"Galinda, this is huge news," said Pfanee, "How can we not tell?"