AN:
Hey, lovelies!
Didn't expect me back so soon? Well, here I am. This is a short story, spanning two or three parts. Expect old and new scenes, but 100% from Elphaba's PoV. This goes from The Interview Chapter 26 till mid Chapter 29. I hope you'll enjoy!
Happy reading!
xoxo
MLE (=^_^=)
Part One
"Well, Ladies and Gentlemen," said Avaric, adjusting his tie and once more scanning the documents before him, searching for answers. He pursed his lips, then looked up at his round table of senior managers, frustrated that none of them had anything valuable to offer either.
"I know, I've said it plenty of times by now," he growled, gesticulating with his hands, "but we really must not forget that the prime objective of the restructure is to cut costs within the department. Not only should we use staff more efficiently, we should also aim to completely remove positions that are no longer required. I reckon, if we target the most junior employees, we could pull it all off with minimum expenditure on severance packages. Thropp. Your input. Give me something."
Elphaba looked up, her chin resting on her fingers. They'd been through this at least a hundred times. It seemed absurd to her that Avaric presented them with the same proposal over and over again, yet somehow still expected a different outcome to manifest itself, as if by magic. While she did agree that the company's finances could be managed better, she didn't see any improvements that could be made where her boss wanted them. If any level could afford to cut costs, it was the very top; however, that naturally was a conclusion he did not like to hear.
"The legal department are fully engaged and lagging behind their quotas," she reiterated once again, shaking her head. "We can't possibly lay off staff and expect them to suddenly perform better. They are already operating under a strict and efficient hierarchy, and even supervisors and managers are performing menial tasks on top of their higher duties to keep the department afloat."
Avaric huffed indignantly and hit the table with his flat palm.
"Then they are not good enough! Get rid of them! Find someone who can work harder and faster. You are the head of HR. Make it happen! I need human resources, not human deadweight."
In a private one-on-one conversation, Elphaba would have rolled her eyes and told him to get a grip; in front of everyone else, such a stunt would land even her in hot water.
"I will put together another performance review for you," she said instead, her tone impassive. "You'll have it by Friday."
He wasn't happy with that, but had run out of empty demands.
"Do what you must," he growled and snapped his file shut before dismissing his underlings.
While everyone else was quick to file out of the meeting room, Elphaba stayed behind, organising and re-organising her folders. She felt restless, but not because of Avaric. Rather than his unserviceable crisis over truly necessary budget commitments, her thoughts were with a certain blonde and her problems, which continued to elude Elphaba. If only she'd talk to her; but they hardly saw each other anymore, which was another point of concern. They'd been fine, she'd thought, up until after her birthday party. She wished she could at least figure out what she'd done wrong, or what had come between them. Of course she'd tried to ask Glinda directly—only to be told that it wasn't about her. She found it hard to believe that that was true.
There was a knock on the glass window, and Sarima stuck her head through the door.
"Hey Fae, are you done for today?"
Elphaba pushed her reading glasses up her nose and waved her hand.
"No, not yet. I'll have to go over to Legal in a moment and talk to Carenna, find some proof for Avaric that they are doing all that's humanly possible to do their job."
"Oh, fun," snorted the other girl. "Okay then, I might as well stick around and get a head start on my own assignments. Text me when you're done?"
"You're inviting yourself again?" asked Elphaba pointedly, cocking an eyebrow.
"Yeah, why not? I told you, Yash is on nightshift all week, and you already know that I can't cook to safe my life. I do have a date with an old friend lined up tomorrow night, but I figured if you prepare food for yourself anyway, you might as well make a little extra for a guest."
"Sure," replied Elphaba drily, "why don't you stay the night as well? I mean, since we have the same commute."
"Yeah, cool."
Elphaba shook her head, bringing her hand up to her temple to rub it firmly. Perhaps there was a headache coming on. She uttered a sigh and let her hand drop, then picked up her materials and walked over to the door. Stopping next to her colleague, she gave her a dour look.
"Fine. I'll let you know when I'm finished, and you can have dinner at my place. I still have work to do though, so I need you to disappear after that. And no alcohol, because I don't have the time to drop you home."
Once back at her place, Elphaba took two pieces of home-made, half-finished lasagne out of the freezer and popped them into the oven. Waiting for the food to cook, she pulled out her laptop, placed it on the dining table and went through her schedule for the next couple of days. Sarima took it upon herself to be useful and set the table. When she came around to put down Elphaba's plate, she snuck a peek at her diary.
"Oh, you're meeting little Miss Princess for dinner on Monday?" she commented nonchalantly. "Why do you put that in your calendar? You never put my name down anywhere."
"Because it's hard enough to get rid of you as it is," retorted Elphaba tersely. "You already make plenty sure that I don't forget about our arrangements, so there is no need.
"And by the way, why do you insist on calling her that?"
Shrugging her shoulders and grinning playfully, Sarima leaned backwards against the neighbouring chair.
"I don't know. She's just so… pretty and sweet, and—and delicate."
Elphaba tilted her head.
"And naïve and innocent?"
"Uh-huh," nodded the Vinkun and laughed. "That's her."
But Elphaba's expression veered quickly.
"She's a grown woman, just like you, just like me. Stop infantilising her."
The smirk on Sarima's lips vanished. She watched her friend as she pulled up a blank flowchart template and began writing.
"You're acting funny," she finally decided and Elphaba gave an apathetic scoff.
In the kitchen, the oven started beeping, informing the girls that dinner was ready to be served. Sarima scurried ahead, gathering the necessary oven mittens and utensils, while Elphaba was working herself into a typing frenzy.
"It's burning, Elph!" shouted Sarima a minute later, jerking Elphaba away from her work and into action. "How do you turn this bloody oven off?"
Arriving at the scene, Elphaba found that Sarima had grossly overstated the damage to their food. Admittedly, the cheese on top was a tad browner than she'd have preferred, yet the lasagne still looked perfectly edible. Taking the mittens out of Sarima's hands, she opened the oven.
"It always looks a bit darker through the glass. See? All good."
Sarima had a quick look and folded her arms.
"Well, if I hadn't scared you a bit just then, it surely would have burnt."
They took their meal to the table and ate in silence. Sarima was the first to finish her food and begged her host for a small glass of wine. Reminding her of their earlier agreement, Elphaba remained unrelenting. With a huff, Sarima took out her phone.
"So…" she began after a while, eyes firmly trained on the device in her hand, "what do you really think about Miss Prin—Glinda."
Elphaba stopped chewing, but didn't look up from her plate. A flood of words immediately drowned her thoughts. Words she had no intention of speaking out loud in front of her flippant friend.
"Well, she's…"
She grappled for something to say that was at least kind of flattering, but mostly neutral, something that would serve as a defence and a distraction at the same time. Unfortunately, the right phrases continued to elude her. All she could come up with were hymns of praise, which were for one, probably mawkish exaggerations, and secondly, likely to give away feelings she wasn't ready to discuss with anyone. It was pitiful and ridiculous. She wasn't normally the type who was given to sentimentality. Yet here she was.
"Blonde," she deadpanned after quite a while and attempted a chuckle.
Had she given the answer more spontaneously, her swerve might have worked, but after so much hesitancy and deliberation, Sarima could smell the red herring from miles away.
"Oh. Dear. Oz!" she exclaimed and put her phone away to gape at the green girl. "You like her!"
"Of course I like her," Elphaba tried to deflect, despite realising that it was an absolutely futile effort. "I don't waste my time with people I don't like. I even like you, and you're a whole lot less likeable upon closer acquaintance."
"No, Fae," laughed the Vinkun. "Don't play dumb with me! You like like her."
Elphaba put her fork down and pushed back her chair.
"I'm done," she muttered as she rose to her feet. "Would you like something sweet now?"
There was no reply from Sarima. She merely watched her as she came closer to gather her plate and cutlery, and eventually disappeared into the kitchen. When Elphaba returned with a bowl of vanilla ice-cream and chocolate drizzle, she still appeared subdued, thoughtfully biting the nail of her thumb.
"Here. I've got another half hour, then I really have to start working, 'kay?"
"Yeah, okay," said Sarima quietly as she accepted the dessert.
Elphaba once again sought distraction via her laptop. It wasn't half as distracting as she would have liked.
"Gosh, can you stop that already?" she soon snapped at Sarima who'd been staring at her relentlessly. The sensual way she tended to lick her spoon after each bite was still the same when she seemed to be in deep contemplation, and it began to severely grate on Elphaba's nerves.
Sarima finished the last scoop of her ice cream and pushed the empty bowl aside.
"Sorry, I just can't help it," she defended herself, heaving an exasperated sigh. "I mean, I think of you and… and her. And I think I should warn you. Not because I think she's repressed as hell—I'm sure you'd be up to the challenge—but because I know a little lipstick lesbian when I see one, and that girl is all straight cheerleader, I swear. She's the kind of chick who gets voted prom queen and marries some rich asshole, then fakes a happy marriage to keep up her public image. I don't really know what she's doing hanging out with the likes of us in the first place, but soon she'll find it too exhausting and return to her roots. Don't delude yourself, Fae. I fucking know what a catch you are, but she… she's not for you."
Behind the screen, the muscles of Elphaba's jaws were flexing, her teeth grinding like millstones. Her fingers had stilled as she could no longer summon the words that had previously occupied her mind.
"Thank you, Sarima," she said with emphasis and false serenity, "for elucidating the situation for me. Now, if you don't mind; it's really getting late."
The girl on the other side of the table did not immediately move. Lips pursed, she eyed Elphaba a while longer before casually picking up her phone.
"Yeah, I better head home," she said after a brief glance at it and let her mobile slide back into her work bag on the chair next to her. Slowly, she unfolded her legs to get up and proceeded to gather the handles of her bag, as well as her coat. "Thanks for having me. Dinner was delicious."
Elphaba dutifully bobbed her head.
"I'll see you out."
She led the way and grabbed an umbrella from the stand, then opened the door while Sarima zipped up her high, black leather boots.
"You know, Elphaba," said Sarima, turning back one last time before walking through the door, "I really just mean to help. So don't shoot the messenger, alright?"
"I'm not shooting anyone," Elphaba grumbled, looking somewhere to the side. "See you at work tomorrow."
"Yes. See you at work."
Closing the door, she leaned against it and exhaled.
"Shit," she murmured to herself, running a hand through her hair.
She hadn't planned on revealing her crush to anyone. Even Boq, who was forced to bridle his own affections for the beautiful blonde, was still in blissful ignorance of the fact that he was by no means the only one in his sphere who struggled with such problems. Given that Sarima had been able to suss it all out so effortlessly, Elphaba seriously wondered whether she was as good at hiding her feelings as she'd thought she was. What if Glinda had noticed and distanced herself in order to spare both of their feelings?
Elphaba swallowed hard. This would explain so much.
She was aware that she hadn't always played it safe. Sometimes, when she'd felt particularly bold, she'd abandoned caution and leaned a little closer, acted a little more playful than she was wont to do, done things just to please her, even if they were entirely against her nature. Each time, she'd simultaneously hoped and feared to be found out. Whatever the outcome, she'd always expected a more immediate response, not the slow, painful drifting apart her behaviour appeared to have triggered instead. Without solid evidence of either appreciation or rejection from Glinda's side, Elphaba had thought her oblivious to her occasional overtures. All evidence reconsidered, she could have been terribly wrong.
She hit the ancient quoxwood door with her fist, then pushed off and began to briskly walk back to the dining room. Grabbing her laptop, she fled upstairs to her office, glad she'd so much work waiting for her. Carenna had given her all the files and reports she needed, and she already had access to the legal department's intranet and virtual drop box. She had less than two full days to summarise and rehash all the most important points for Avaric; there was nothing better to fight romantic angst than drowning oneself in work.
Friday was a catastrophe.
Even though Elphaba had managed to finish her review on time, Avaric was not to reason with. He scanned the pages unenthusiastically and reluctantly agreed that it indeed seemed as if there was not much to gain from restructuring the legal team. Nonetheless, he insisted that she find some other department they could save money on. To that end, he tasked her with writing a preliminary report about all the different sectors, with the goal of identifying the worst performers. This time, in the privacy of her boss's office, Elphaba did voice her dissent, highlighting the CFO, COO, and Avaric himself as the most suitable candidates for substantial pay cuts; well, she might just as well have proposed his resignation.
Despite everything, he respected her, and even though he wouldn't let it on, he feared her great-grandfather's wrath. In contrast to any other man or woman under his command, she was safe in making such outrageous suggestions. However, that didn't mean that they made any difference in the end.
"Oh Thropp, you amuse me to no end," replied Avaric, snickering to himself. "Thank you for that, it's been a tedious, boring day. That review of yours was even dryer than the rest, but at least you made me laugh."
Elphaba scowled at him, but knew that it would be a waste of breath to try and persuade him any further. She watched him pack his bag, trying to remember amidst her supressed rage whether there was anything else she needed to tell him. She came up blank.
"Now," he said, shrugging off his suit jacket, "I'll be away for the weekend. For the love of Oz, don't try to call and bother me with any more of your boring nonsense. I would appreciate it if I could have your report by Monday afternoon. Before that, I don't want to hear a single word about it. Understand?"
Elphaba narrowed her eyes before nodding grudgingly.
"Splendid. That is all."
Turning sharp on her heels, she was glad to escape the oppressive air of his office. The moment the door closed behind her, she let out a long, irritated squeal. She didn't care about the looks Avaric's assistants exchanged behind her back. She didn't even care if Avaric himself might hear her, seeing as he was getting ready to leave as well and, to the best of her knowledge, could be close on her tail.
After stomping down several flights of stairs, walking off at least a measure of her frustration, she tempered her anger in order to begin and plan ahead. Her weekend was obviously ruined, and she was almost relieved now that Glinda hadn't agreed to meet her on either of those two days. By the time their Monday dinner would roll around, the files already had to be on Avaric's desk. The timing was perfect.
She pushed open the door to her own floor and headed to her office to pack her belongings. There was no point in staying here if she could do all of her new assignment in the quiet and comfort of her own home, away from the ringing phones and stupid questions of her subordinates.
On the way out, she ran into Boq.
"Hey, Elphie," he yapped breathlessly, trying to keep up with her long, fast strides, "I'm going to see a movie with some friends this weekend. Would—would you like to come along? Everyone else is going to bring their better halves, and I don't want to feel left out half-way through."
"What a charming invitation," snarled Elphaba. "Nevertheless, I'm afraid I have to decline. I'm snowed under. Just find yourself a girlfriend already, okay?"
Boq stopped following her immediately. She had neither the time nor the heart to look back, but fully expected him to look after her with a dejected expression on his round face. She grimaced at the thought. She hadn't meant to be so severe on him; it was just that she found it particularly difficult to filter her words when her brain was otherwise occupied. She pushed away any feelings of guilt and pressed ahead. She had work to do.
Shell whipped up some toasted sandwiches for a late dinner, making sure to prepare two extra slices for his sister. He brought them up to her study, where she'd been barricading herself ever since coming home roughly nine hours ago. Stopping at the door, he listened first, wondering whether she might have fallen asleep already. The steady typing filtering through from the other side said otherwise.
"Knock, knock!" he announced and pushed down the doorhandle.
Elphaba did not look up from her screen.
"What do you want, Shell?" she demanded, her voice betraying her sheer frustration.
"Why, dear sister mine, do you automatically assume that I want something? I merely came to make sure you keep up your strength."
She shot him a quick side glance, her fingers still drumming rhythmically on the keyboard.
"You brought food," she observed. "You definitely want something."
Cursing mildly under his breath, he stepped closer to place the plate on her desk.
"You're going to be this busy all weekend?" he guessed with a good measure of apprehension.
"Yep."
Making a very unhappy noise, he circled around to the other side of the desk to see what she was working on. Elphaba hated the feeling of anyone hovering over her shoulder. She started typing faster and louder.
"Looks fucking boring," he intoned. "Maybe you could do with a break later? Tomorrow night, perhaps?"
Indulging in a deep groan, she finally allowed her hands to rest.
"What you're really asking is whether you can invite your ratty friends for a house party or something of that sort. Am I right?"
"Well, if you put it that way… So, can I?"
"No!" she exclaimed, impulsively hitting her palms on the table. "I have an impossible deadline to meet and probably won't sleep more than a few hours this weekend. If you don't want your rapscallion pals to get murdered by an irritable, overworked, insomniac witch, then keep them away from this mansion of horrors."
Shell grunted his discontent and kicked the rug on the floor. He began heading for the door, but paused midway.
"Why is it always you who makes all these decisions?" he grumbled, casting her a sullen glare. "You don't own this place."
"No, but I'm its custodian. And your older sister by a decade. Do you have any more questions?"
Apparently he did not.
After his departure, Elphaba took off her reading glasses and massaged her eyes. She checked the time on her laptop. It was pretty late, but she hadn't reached tonight's goal just yet. Perhaps another hour or two would do. For now, however, she needed a break, if only to visit the toilet. She stepped out of her room and walked along the gallery. Before she could reach the bathroom, she heard shuffling in the foyer, followed by a loud bang of the door. Most likely, Shell had left to find entertainment and comradery elsewhere. At least she would be able to work in peace.
Returning to the study with a cup of coffee in her hand, she tried to hype herself up for another productive round. She took one small sip and wrinkled her nose at the taste. She placed the cup next to her computer and made to sit, when she noticed the missed call notification on her phone.
"Idiot," she murmured, fully expecting it to be a message from Shell who'd probably left behind his keys or forgotten to unplug the sandwich press.
She picked up and unlocked her phone, then froze when Glinda's name appeared on the display. Somehow, merely reading it was enough to trigger a very visceral reaction, especially since she hadn't at all prepared herself. Part of her was excited and craved to hear her voice. But why was she calling her in the first place? Maybe she'd decided to cancel their Monday meet-up. A text would surely have sufficed, but it could always be that she hoped to soften the blow by telling her 'nicely.'
Jaw set tensely, a nervous flutter in her stomach, she checked her voice messages. There was only a very short recording of nothing more than faint background noise, almost as if Glinda had briefly considered saying something but had ultimately decided against it. Elphaba didn't know what to do with it. Should she be concerned?
She closed her eyes for a moment and drew a deep breath. There was no point in getting frazzled over something without even the shadow of a proof. She'd have to call Glinda back to figure it out. It was as simple as that. In theory.
Rolling her head, she loosened her stiff shoulder muscles. She stretched her arms and let herself flop into her large leather chair. Folding one leg over the other, she leaned back leisurely. She liked to come across as someone who was in control, liked to think that she really was. Yet she needed to get there first. Believe it or not, it wasn't a natural state she always was in by default. Especially when it came to Glinda.
Another stretch of her neck. Some part of her spine made that awful popping noise. It helped though. One more exhalation and she was ready.
Glinda answered promptly, robbing Elphaba of any opportunity to meditate to the ringing of the phone. There was an audible gasp for air that puzzled her just enough to delay her greeting. Instead, it was Glinda who spoke first, uttering her name in a voice so thin and shaky that Elphaba's heart almost stopped.
"Hey. Glinda. What—what's up?"
She reminded herself to keep calm and her tone levelled. This was Glinda. Sure, she had a number of problems and issues to work through, which was tough enough. She was not, however, the most likely type to get herself into real trouble, or contemplate something potentially life-threatening or anything like that. Perhaps she just needed a friend to talk to. Elphaba could be that friend, would be that friend in a heartbeat, anytime. She peered at the laptop on her desk and pushed the lid shut. Fuck sleep. Sleep was overrated.
"Glinda? Are you okay? How can I help?"
The girl on the other side mostly sniffled in reply. Elphaba bit her lip.
"I, uh… what do you need? I'll try my best, just say the word."
Glinda coughed slightly and released a shuddering breath.
"Gosh, Elphie, I'm so sorry," she managed, then paused again.
Sorry?
"What—"Elphaba had nearly asked her what she'd done, but had caught herself at the last second. "What happened?" she enquired instead, speaking as softly and evenly as she could manage.
In the silence between her question and Glinda's answer, she became painfully aware of the pronounced heaving of her chest, the tightening in the hollow pit of her abdomen. She immediately scrapped her preconceived notions of what kinds of predicaments Glinda was or was not likely to get herself into; she was obviously in a greater pickle than Elphaba had guessed.
"Elphie, I need you."
The admission tugged at her heartstrings, pulling her soul in all possible directions at once. There was a very slight, obviously misplaced, sense of joy, which was quickly crushed with a plethora of shame and guilt. This was not the time for that and she was a selfish jerk for ever feeling this way.
"Do you want me to—to come to you? Where are you?"
"I'm at"—Glinda blew into the mic of her phone—"Lake Chorge."
"Wait, what—" Elphaba was flabbergasted, but Glinda gave her hardly any chance to voice or process her confusion. Instead, she swiftly added to it.
"I'm at a hotel with a guy. The name is Caprice-in-the-Pines. And… gosh, this is so embarrassing, but… I need you to come and get me."
Elphaba had jumped up before she'd even finished talking.
"Yes. Yes, of course," she murmured almost distractedly as she gathered her wits, searching the room for anything she might need. She didn't want to dash out of the door, utterly unprepared, forced to turn around later and squander time. Her eyes fell on the cup of coffee and she emptied it in one big gulp, just in case the rush of adrenaline was not quite enough to keep her sufficiently alert for the journey. Rather heavy-handed as she set down the cup, she made it roll over and off the saucer.
She flew down the stairs.
"I'm coming. Are you alright though? Has he—" The words were almost choking her, too terrible to contemplate, let alone speak out loud.
"I'm fine," Glinda assured her faintly.
Elphaba paused at the foot of the stairs, exhaling deeply, her nails digging into the ornate wood of the railing like the talons of an eagle.
"Good," was all she could manage in return.
She pushed herself off from the post to grab her jacket and her car keys. The car itself was inconveniently parked safely away from the road, so that she had to hurry down another set of stairs, down to the cellar, from where she could access the garage.
Glinda was awfully quiet now, offering no further explanations. Which was fine. It didn't matter. After all, she didn't owe her anything. Elphaba's willingness to help was not conditional. That didn't mean that Elphaba's imagination remained entirely inactive.
Phone clamped between her ear and her shoulder, her fingers worked deftly to remove the lock from the beam that held the barn gate-style doors closed while her head conjured up the image of some faceless jock in expensive designer clothes. She envisioned him wrapping his greedy arm around Glinda's waist, the blonde leaning away from him in discomfort. She took hold of her phone again and shook her head to rid herself of the highly speculative picture. This sort of guesswork provided no real benefit and was borderline inappropriate. It was better to stick with the meagre facts she did possess.
She pushed the gate open with an exasperated kick, then sprinted back to the car and slipped into the driver's seat. At the push of a button, the engine roared to life.
"Alright, wait a second. I'll put you on speaker," she told Glinda and began fiddling with a cable and the Bluetooth function of her phone. "Don't hang up; I need to know that you're alright."
Glinda made a meek noise of assent.
As soon as it was all operational, Elphaba pulled out of the garage. She used her remote to open the gate in the yard and closed it as she exited, but didn't give a damn about the garage door.
"I'm on my way now. Hold out for me there, yes?"
Glinda's unresponsiveness began to unnerve Elphaba. She cast a glance at her phone, but the screen was blank, of course, betraying nothing of worth. Shifting uncomfortably, she cleared her throat.
"Glinda? You're still there, right? Are you doing okay?"
"Yes." Glinda's reply still sounded gut-wrenchingly feeble. Elphaba's hands tightened around the stirring wheel. "I-I think he's asleep now," the blonde supplied without being asked.
"You think?"
Elphaba realised she had to start working on a decent rescue plan. And what were they going to do after she picked up Glinda? Lake Chorge was a good distance away from the EC; they would need to find some sort of accommodation on the way.
Luckily, Glinda was beginning to try and help her out a little.
"I locked myself in a separate room. He was drunk as hell and now he's leaning against the other side of the door. But I have my own corridor access."
"That's good," nodded Elphaba, doing her best to focus on the more practical information, rather than her friend's description of the intoxicated man loitering in front of her room. That was just plain creepy and did nothing for her composure.
She made it through the inner city on her own before enlisting the help of her navigation system.
"Just passed Shiz Gate," she updated Glinda. "Satnav says traffic is clear tonight. Will be there in approximately one hour and fifty minutes. All still good on your end?"
She could hear her sniffle.
"Yes. It's quiet. Gosh… Elphie?"
"Hmm?"
"Thank you."
The tiniest of smiles tugged at the corners of Elphaba's lips. Even her bad conscience couldn't fight it.
"It's fine. Don't mention it. As long as we get you out of there as soon as possible."
"Oz, I'm such an idiot. I was so stupid, so careless, so gullible."
"Aren't' we all from time to time?" tried Elphaba, but Glinda scoffed. Maybe she didn't seem the right person right now to make such an assertion.
More apologies and self-critique followed. There was so much of it that Elphaba found it impossible to respond to and shoot down each and every one of the things Glinda said, though she made a valiant effort.
"Halfway along the Yellow Brick Road now," she announced eventually. "Ten more kilometres to the Neverdale Exit."
"Great," hiccupped the girl on the other end of the line.
"No worries. And Glinda?"
"Ah-huh?"
"I appreciate that you're trying to keep talking. It really reassures me to know that you're alright. But… is there something else you'd like to talk about? Maybe to distract yourself? I think you berated yourself enough for one night."
"Have I?" A deep sigh. "Elphie?"
"Yeah?"
"I didn't mean for this to happen."
Working her jaw, Elphaba shook her head.
"No one does."
"I… He approached me. He's one of my clients and, as crazy as it sounds, also the son of one of my mother's acquaintances. He kept asking, and she kept pushing… In the end I became weak and gave in."
Elphaba strained her eyes to concentrate on the road ahead. She sincerely wanted to listen to what Glinda had to say. If confession offered her a measure of relief, she wanted to afford her this opportunity. It was only that she wasn't sure how to reconcile this task with the heightened attention the traffic demanded of her. Her own feelings for her friend only made matters worse. She tried dissociating herself to some degree, with mixed results.
"You—you agreed to be his lover?" she asked and involuntarily accelerated when her foot twitched nervously.
Focusing stubbornly on the markings on the pavement, she steadied her foot, steadied her hands. She hardly noticed that her breathing had stilled in anticipation. Naturally, the long pause between her question and Glinda's answer did little to mellow her concern.
"Yes and no. He knew from the start that I had no genuine interest in him. We more or less agreed to simply pose as a couple. But he definitely nurtured some hopes to change my mind over time. I merely decided to ignore that. Which wasn't very clever."
Elphaba hummed thoughtfully in reply.
"I'm so sorry, Elphie. I was such an ass. I wasted so much time with him, with this man who I knew wasn't good for me. I tried to please him as much as I was able to, tried to meet at least his minimum expectations of a girlfriend… All in repayment of what he conditioned me to believe—what I already somehow believed—to be a favour he was doing me.
"All the while, you kept asking me to come over, to catch up, to come out with you and the gang; until you gave up. I kept declining over and over until I freaking forced you to give up. That is so… screwed up. Do you think you can forgive me? Please forgive me, because if I already can't, at least someone needs to."
By the sound of it, Glinda had begun to cry. Elphaba wanted to comfort her, but struggled to muster a suitable response.
"There's nothing to forgive," she said at last, but Glinda didn't seem to acknowledge that.
Unsure whether she had anything else helpful to add to the topic, Elphaba remained silent. She turned left and took the Neverdale exit, then stopped the car at a traffic light. Glinda seemed to have nothing left to say either. Dejected, she closed her eyes and leaned her forehead against the stirring wheel. She exhaled through her nose and her body relaxed somewhat. She suddenly realised how exhausted she really was.
Behind her, another driver honked their horn. Her head snapped up and her hands and foot moved automatically to get the car going again. Casting a glance in the rear mirror, she saw a red sedan. They indicated and began to overtake. Annoyed, Elphaba let them, but soon sped up, changed lane and passed them in turn. There was no time for delays. She needed to get to that hotel as soon as she could.
Having overcome the temporary lull in her vigour, Elphaba decided to try and rekindle their conversation.
"Glinda?" she started and paused.
She felt foolish before even uttering the words she was about to say. She'd absolutely meant what she'd said earlier. Granting forgiveness seemed unnecessary and almost demeaning to her, given the context. Glinda had hurt herself more than Elphaba, so why make this about her? On the other hand, if Glinda really needed to hear it…
"I do forgive you, okay?" she said gently, hoping it came across sincerely enough. "And how… how are you dealing with all of this? I hope he didn't push you too far? Other than tonight, I mean."
What she was really asking was whether he'd taken advantage of Glinda's willingness to go out of her way and please him. Oz, if he had; she didn't quite know how she'd be able to walk back out of that hotel without confronting him first.
"No, he didn't really," Glinda answered, allaying Elphaba's fears. "I mean, I can see he was kinda heading in that direction, but at a very, very cautious pace. At least for now."
It was another half hour before Elphaba at long last pulled up in front of the Caprice. It was well past midnight, and nobody seemed to take note of her arrival, which came as a great relief. She didn't intend to make a big fuss. All she wanted was to grab Glinda and get out of there.
"Alright. I'm here. Grab your stuff and get ready. I'll be with you within a few minutes."
Trying to act as unperturbed as humanly possible, she strolled through the door of the hotel. The women at the front desk seemed the only staff around, which surprised her. There should have been security hovering around the vicinity of the entrance area, but perhaps she was simply that fortunate and they'd left to make their rounds or something. One of the receptionists had definitely noticed Elphaba, but she brushed it off, stubbornly continuing on her path with no particular haste, exchanging a few idle words over her phone. She got lucky. Nobody tried to stop her or ask any annoying questions.
She took the stairs rather than risk the cell signal cutting out in the lift.
"Okay, which floor are you on?"
"Top of the building."
Looking up the centre of the stairway, Elphaba gaged the number of levels. She certainly had her work cut out for her.
"Getting there," she reassured her a few minutes later, slightly out of breath as she was taking two stairs at a time. "What—what room number?"
"The suite's right across from the lift. I can't remember the number of my own room, but it's the one to the left. Don't knock, you might wake him. Especially if you end up at the wrong door."
"Understood."
She finally pushed open the heavy fire door and stepped into the corridor. There were three doors opposite the lift, presumably belonging to the same suite. She darted towards the left one as Glinda had instructed, but stopped short. Which left did she mean? Elphaba's left, or the left as one would leave the room? She wavered for a moment, then decided on the door to her right. It probably didn't matter too much anyway, as she wasn't supposed to knock. Still, she thought it would be more reassuring if she were right there in front of her when Glinda opened the door. For both of them.
She briefly sucked at her lower lip and changed doors again. She took a deep breath.
"Right. I'm here. Are you coming out, or—"
She was cut off by the opening of the door.
There she stood, the girl for whom she'd flown across half the country in the dead middle of the night. She definitely looked a bit worse for wear. Her eyes were rather red and sore, and Elphaba could only conclude that she'd done a whole lot more crying before and maybe during their call than she'd realised. Her cheeks were flushed and her hair was tousled. Out of the current context of her distress, the effect would have been quite alluring. Elphaba's gaze fell on the form-fitting black dress, the delicately braided straps, the golden accents. A thin, fine necklace glittered as her chest moved up and down with every breath.
Glinda was always gorgeous—that was a given—but this particular outfit evoked memories in Elphaba that made her insides twitch in all the wrong ways. They took her back in time, to their peculiar night at that weird, half-psychedelic, Animal-friendly gay club. She distinctively remembered feeling insecure as hell among the noise and the neon lights and, especially, in Glinda's strong and overwhelming presence. She'd been so confident in that outfit, in that setting. She'd seemed so unrestrained and happy. Elphaba had barely been able to keep it together.
She remembered a girl that worked there flirting with Glinda and she'd been jealous. She remembered Glinda dancing and flirting with a tall redhead she didn't seem to know and her jealousy had made her get up from her safe seat and onto the dancefloor. She'd felt uneasy and exposed. Out of place. But they'd danced and somehow it had felt strangely good. She'd almost regretted leaving after that, but it had been for the better anyway. She'd always been half glad, half sad to never again have found herself in such a sexually charged environment with Glinda. It was safer this way. But sometimes she literally craved the temptation, the vague possibility that something could actually happen between the two of them. This was Glinda, of course, so she wasn't hoping for much. Perhaps a kiss would be nice, or a quiet, hesitant admission that she liked her, too.
Glinda shifted uneasily and Elphaba was torn from her inappropriate reveries. Her eyes cut to Glinda's. She bit her lip and looked away in shame. What in Oz was she doing? She noticed that she was still holding her phone and stuffed it into her pocket.
"I'm ready," she heard Glinda say, and wordlessly, she took the biggest of her bags from her. Slipping the strap over her own shoulder, she was slightly startled at how heavy it was.
They took the lift this time and Elphaba risked a few nervous glances in the blonde's direction. She was still extremely tense, seemingly clenching her purse as if her life depended in it. Her eyes were unmoving, unblinking and focused on one and the same spot throughout their descent. Elphaba didn't know any words that were guaranteed to make her feel better, so she opted not to speak at all.
Glinda didn't move, even when they reached the foyer and the doors opened. Touching her elbow lightly, Elphaba bade her to get going. Glinda looked up at that and her posture changed. Her shoulders pulled back and her back straightened. She lifted her chin and briefly tilted her head to offer Elphaba a small smile. Ostensibly confident, she stepped out of the lift.
The receptionists greeted her by name and the security guard had returned to his post as well, acknowledging her with a polite nod and wishing her a good evening. She replied to all of that with grace and poise while Elphaba could barely mask her astonishment as she walked beside her.
When they reached the car, a young man with a squeaky, unsettled voice pointed out to them that they were not supposed to park there, but Elphaba blew him off with a simple, "Yeah, whatever, we're as good as gone." Uttering a few more indistinguishable reprimands, he scurried away.
"You get into the car," Elphaba told Glinda, "I'll just quickly throw this into the back."
She popped the pink duffle bag and two more smaller items into the trunk and circled around to the driver's seat. After sitting down, she realised that Glinda wasn't sitting next to her. Confused, she turned around. She was relieved when she found her on the rear bench, however, was puzzled as to why she had chosen to sit there.
She asked if she wanted to come and sit in front, but Glinda seemed uncomfortable with the notion. Wondering whether it was a matter of trust, Elphaba couldn't help but feel upset. She turned around and hid it reasonably well.
Pulling out her phone, she began searching her go-to travel app for local accommodations. The Caprice was the only full-fledged hotel in the mostly rural area, but there were a number of motels to select from. She rung up every single one of them, but they were all either fully booked or did not accept calls this late in the night. There was no choice but to expand her radius.
In the end, she was able to secure a room in a backwater town another forty kilometres north from where they were. She was happy enough with that, considering that the only alternatives would have been to drive two more hours back to the capital or sleep in the car. The first option was out of question, as Elphaba knew it wasn't safe; the second option was the last thing Glinda needed after all she'd been through.
They stopped at a gas station on the way. Elphaba's concern for Glinda's wellbeing hadn't allowed her any stops on the way to Lake Chorge, even when her petrol gauge had come dangerously close to the dreaded red bar. She pumped up the car and let her know that she was going inside to pay. To her surprise, Glinda opted to come along.
Elphaba grabbed a pack of chewing gum and paid, then waited for Glinda to finish her impromptu shopping trip. The hygiene articles she understood, but the six pack of random flavoured beer mixer defied her explanation.
"Still got lots of plans tonight?" she wondered out loud, her eyebrows quirked in genuine bemusement.
Glinda's face flushed charmingly as she tried to justify her purchase. Elphaba half-heartedly accepted her reasoning and helped her with the bag of toiletries while the blonde held on to her drinks.
Back at the car, Glinda headed straight for the front passenger seat, which Elphaba took for a good sign. She gave her a long, searching look when she was reasonably sure that she wasn't looking, then started the engine.
Driving demanded most of Elphaba's attention on their second leg. The area was so isolated, that most lengths of the road were unlit and, occasionally, badly maintained. They were narrow, too, so that every time when a car approached from the opposite direction, Elphaba found it easier to slow down drastically and move to the shoulder. It reminded her of pretty much every region in Munchkinland, yet she hadn't driven there in ages, and rarely ever at night.
Now and then, Glinda tried to strike up a conversation, yet she was too distracted to give elaborate answers. Eventually, the blonde opened her first bottle of beer. Elphaba cast her an uncertain side-glance, ultimately resolving not to comment. It wasn't up to her to regulate Glinda's behaviour. She was old enough to know how she wanted to deal with that situation she was in.
They arrived at the motel and Elphaba felt a wave of relief wash over her. By the look of it, it was a reasonably friendly, safe place, which meant that she could finally let down her guard a notch and rest. To say that it had been a long day would have been a massive understatement.
The shine of the headlights had alerted the manager to their presence and coaxed her out of the small office building. Elphaba recognised some Munchkin heritage in her, which wasn't too surprising in the area. Munchkin farmers were hard workers and a few decades back, when the crops in their home region had started failing more oft than not, many of them had emigrated to rural Gillikin where the conditions were more favourable.
They were shown to their room—a poky, cramped space which was most certainly not built with a functioning kitchenette in mind. It was pretty clean though and featured a convertible sofa bed, which was all they really required. The manager lady offered them a short tour, but Elphaba, desperate for Glinda to be left in peace, declined politely, expressing her thanks and wishing her a good night.
Her hand still resting on the doorhandle, Elphaba hesitated. Craning her neck, she glanced over to the couch where Glinda sat, silently and cautiously surveying her surroundings. She bit her lip and lowered her gaze to collect her thoughts. The bed. They should get started on that, so they could both go to sleep as soon as possible.
She turned around and searched for clues. Next to the bathroom stood a bulky storage cupboard, exactly the kind of place where she'd expect to find pillows and everything else they might need. On her way to the other end of the room, she stopped next to the sofa.
"You okay?"
Glinda nodded, looked up briefly and flashed her a meek smile. She took a deep breath and let her smile widen.
"I think I'm starting to feel a lot better."
"Good. Do you think you could help me with the bed?"
Neither of them had much experience with sofa-sleepers, but they managed. Glinda even laughed a little when one of the springs flicked in an unexpected way, causing her to jump and let go of the part she was trying to pull out. Once the bed was set up, Elphaba moved on to the cupboard and proceeded to toss blankets, pillows and bedclothes in its direction. Even though Glinda was trying to help with the preparations, Elphaba noted that she made hardly any progress. It was understandable, she supposed and tried to work faster so they could finish before Glinda would realise it as well and become too self-conscious. When everything was ready, she quickly redirected her attention to the kitchen.
"Oh, look," she said, showing off a yellow cardboard box she'd discovered in the very back of the cabinet. "There's tea. They probably have those tiny milk pods in the fridge, too."
She opened the mini fridge and found the milk, grateful for the predictability that came with these kinds of accommodations. She checked the electric kettle. It seemed hygienic enough, so she rinsed it out and filled it with enough water for two big mugs of tea. As the water began to seethe, music started to play. Curious, Elphaba half turned around and spotted Glinda fiddling with a phone dock on the bedside table, which evidently doubled as a speaker. Silently chuckling to herself, she finished preparing their hot beverages.
"That's clever," she remarked, motioning with her chin towards the dock before handing over one of the mugs. Glinda shrugged but seemed at least a tad pleased with herself.
Due to the lack of chairs, Elphaba made to sit next to her on the edge of the sofa bed, just far enough to the left to afford her a minimum amount of personal space.
Not here, said a weak spot in the spring base, dipping down so low that she began to flounder and ultimately lost her balance. She fell backwards, slightly bumping into Glinda and landing on her elbows. It all happened so fast, that she was momentarily stupefied, blinking as her brain tried to catch up. Her cup had somehow ended up in Glinda's hand, though she couldn't quite explain how. The blonde seemed similarly confused, staring at her without moving. Elphaba noticed the warm liquid running down Glinda's arm and slowly dripping down onto her shirt.
Glinda was the first to react, exclaiming "Shit!" and scrambling off the bed to divest herself of the mugs. "Are you oaky?" she asked on her way back to Elphaba, eyes wide, her concern obvious.
Vaguely peering in the direction of the sore spots the tea had caused, Elphaba's mouth twitched.
"All good," she declared firmly. "Hardly felt a thing."
It was true; if Glinda hadn't miraculously managed to take that cup away from her, the damage would have been far worse. This was a minor scald at most, similar to what one would sustain when accidentally touching a hot pot but retracting their hand immediately.
The other girl, however, seemed disinclined to take her word for it. Hands thoroughly dried off, she climbed onto the bed, right next to Elphaba and briskly pulled back the stained shirt to assess the damage herself.
Forget the teeny burns; Elphaba's entire body was instantly on fire, her head most of all. Luckily, Glinda wasn't looking that way at all, giving her a chance to breathe and calm down a mite. Still nervous, she ran her tongue over her lips.
"What in Oz are you—"
Elphaba's protests were interrupted midsentence as Glinda tenderly stroked the faintly purplish blotches. Throwing her head back, Elphaba hoped to conceal the fresh bout of blushing on her cheeks.
"Do you have any of your ointments with you?" she heard her soft voice say, oozing with compassion, almost as if Elphaba had been severely wounded.
She scoffed a choked laugh.
"Do you put your leg into a cast every time you scrape your knee?" she snarked, her tone not half as sharp as she would have liked it to be in order to distract from her befuddled state.
She fixated her eyes on the ceiling fan, waiting for Glinda to let off, to move away and give her an opportunity to regain control over her mind and body. The last thing she anticipated was for Glinda to lean down and place a gentle kiss on the irritated skin. Yet that was exactly what she did next.
Elphaba froze, completely overwhelmed. Her breath hitched and her jaws clenched so hard it was almost painful. It was a better sort of pain than the one flaring up in her chest though. Her hands clawed at the blanket underneath her until the suffocating sensation began to subside.
The moment she regained a measure of motor function, she shifted in a miserable attempt to flee from Glinda's attentions. Surprisingly, it actually worked to some degree. Glinda seemed suddenly have become aware of their close proximity and backed away. Elphaba rolled onto her side, facing away from Glinda, and pushed herself up and off the bed.
"I—I'll check if there's any oil in the panty," she mumbled and padded over to the kitchen. "I didn't bring any of my own, but in a pinch cooking oil will suffice for an impromptu clean-up."
It took her a while to find what she was after—perhaps because she was still so out of it—but after a few long moments, she finally located a big jar of coconut oil. It was definitely far better than what she'd expected.
She awkwardly showed off her prized discovery, then realised that she didn't even know what she should change into after her sponge bath. Keeping the stained shirt would entirely defeat the purpose and was likely to send Glinda into a renewed fit of worry. Unfortunately, she hadn't thought to bring anything else—only herself, her car and everything in it. Which did not include any emergency overnight supplies.
After a while, Glinda caught on and came to her 'rescue' presenting her with a folded, light blue garment. Reluctantly, Elphaba accepted her offer and disappeared into the bathroom with it.
Her first step was to give the small bundle a shake and drape the newly-revealed shirt over the towel rack. She eyed it with a good amount of scepticism. The size seemed about right and she had no right to complain about the colour. At least it wasn't pink. It was Glinda's shirt though. The thought caused another blush to creep up her cheeks and she decidedly turned the other way, concentrating on gathering the cloths and towels she would need for her cleansing routine.
She stripped down to her underwear. Only belatedly did she realise that the door was still unlocked. She corrected her oversight as swiftly and quietly as possible and went to sit on the rim of the bathtub. Listening for sounds from outside, she didn't immediately start washing herself. She felt ridiculously self-conscious but was unable to figure out why. Maybe it was the still fresh recollections of her tea accident and its aftermath. Maybe it was just the kind of effect Glinda had on her. At any rate, she had to get a grip and get over herself. She couldn't stay in here all night now, could she?
Determined to move on, she grabbed one of the cloths and unscrewed the lid of the coconut oil. It was quite warm in their quarters, due to the central heating and their landlady's generosity. The oil was semi-liquid and easily slid out of the jar when Elphaba tilted it. Giving it a brief sniff, she judged it adequate and began to lather her skin with it.
She started with her hands, her arms and her shoulders, moving the cloth gently and slowly across the length of her body. She was stalling and she was aware of it. Most of the time, she completed her baths in a much more resolute fashion, with little regard for delicacy or self-indulgence. Now she was stealing time, but as long as she kept going, she was merely delaying her return to the main room, not avoiding it altogether.
Adding more oil to the cloth, she began cleaning her back and her abdomen, wiping across the blemishes the tea had caused. They didn't cause much discomfort at all, other than the heightened awareness of the fact that Glinda's lips had touched this very same spot just a few minutes ago. Elphaba first stared at the area, then used the cloth to try and rub away the phantom sensation of soft butterfly kisses.
In her frustration, Elphaba accidentally dropped the cloth.
"Damn."
Heaving an exasperated sigh, she got up to find another one.
The remainder of her routine was completed in a hurry. Once every accessible part had been covered in oil, she reached for a towel and rubbed away as much residue as possible. Letting the oil soak in, she sat and waited a bit longer, trying not to think about how she was soon going to share a bed with Glinda.
When she re-emerged from the bathroom at last, Elphaba could barely decide what to worry most about: the shirt that didn't even properly cover her boxer briefs, her nearly irresistible roommate, or the empty bottles of beer mixer that she'd immediately spotted on the kitchen counter, plus the one Glinda was currently nursing. Unsure of herself, of her surroundings, she cast about for something to say but came up empty.
Glinda gazed up from where she was sitting on the bed and offered her a sweet smile.
"I know it's not your kind of look, but it's cute," she said, most likely just to reassure her and not because it was the truth. Then, she cast her a startlingly mischievous grin. "Come, let's play spin the bottle!"
She raised her bottle to her lips and emptied it with one long draw. After replacing the lid, she slipped off the bed and onto the floor. Elphaba watched it all in bewilderment, trying to discern how much the alcohol had to do with her actions and whether her friend had any clue where she was trying to go with this.
Seemingly irritated by Elphaba's unresponsiveness, Glinda looked up at her and pouted.
"Oh, come on, Elphie! I don't even mean the kissing version, just a harmless game of truth and dare."
Elphaba hadn't even been aware that there was a kissing version of spin the bottle, or she'd instantaneously have been absolutely mortified at the mention.
"In my experience truth or dare rarely is harmless," Elphaba replied slowly and pursed her lips thoughtfully. "Besides, there's only two of us."
Glinda exhaled, rolling her eyes.
"Technicalities. Now sit."
Elphaba struggled to resist such strong determination. On top of that, she remained keenly mindful of what Glinda had suffered this evening. All she wanted to do was to reassure and indulge her. If a simple game had any potential to cheer her up, she was obliged to comply. Brows still furrowed in mild apprehension, she sat on the spot the blonde had chosen for her.
The bottle was spun for the first time and stopped pointing at the television, right between the two girls.
Elphaba snorted, feeling validated by the failed attempt. Glinda, on the other hand, had an easy solution for their problem and adjusted the bottle so that it indicated Elphaba.
"Great," she exclaimed enthusiastically and looked at Elphaba, eyes glinting. "Truth, right?"
Elphaba leaned back slightly and schooled her face, intent not to betray the rolling unease she felt deep inside. She cocked her head.
"You think I'm scared of your dares?" she queried in her loftiest tone of voice.
Glinda appeared unfazed.
"Nope. But I think you might be bold enough to answer a truth."
Despite the risk involved, Elphaba gave an indifferent wave. She'd already agreed to play, so there weren't many other options and no good reasons to overthink this.
But then she did anyway. In spite of Glinda's smug attitude only a few seconds ago, her question was not immediately forthcoming. It unsettled Elphaba, who began to wonder which part of it was so difficult to formulate. Could Glinda possibly even be afraid of asking it?
The other girl grabbed a new bottle, and removed the lid, then held it in a vicelike grip. Elphaba's concern grew.
"Have you seen Sarima of late?" Glinda blurted out, rather abruptly, and moved on to gulp down more of her beer mixer, as if it had been the most daring question of the century.
Elphaba batted her eyelids in the wake of it, well and truly puzzled. Was she simply that drunk or what was she getting at?
"Is that your truth or are you just making conversation now?" she retorted, trying to read her.
Glinda didn't offer much to work with, only a vague shrug.
"Well," began Elphaba cautiously, watching her opposite closely, "in fact I have. We work together, you know."
"Oh," replied Glinda, acting as if she'd been caught unaware. She licked her lips and nodded pensively before admitting that she'd all but forgotten about that.
So it was the alcohol. Relieved, Elphaba chuckled and reached for the bottle.
"I think that's the point of the game where I confiscate this."
Though sulking, Glinda surrendered her drink easily. Her eyes still fixed on the bottle, she ventured another question, asking if Elphaba had seen her "privately."
It's the alcohol, Elphaba reminded herself. Instead of answering straight away, she took a sip of the beer and pulled a face.
"This is disgusting."
Scrambling to her feet, she walked over to the sink and flushed the offensive drink down the drain. It wasn't even much of a waste; she was actually doing the world a favour. And giving herself a moment and some physical space to breathe, if she were honest.
"Yeah, I guess I've seen her," she told Glinda as matter-of-factly as she could manage, continuing to rinse the bottle, as well as all the others on the counter. "Two nights ago, actually. She came over after work."
The blonde remained quiet for an extended period of time and Elphaba felt the strong urge to turn around and look. She resisted.
"Shell thinks…"
At the mention of her brother's name, Elphaba's ears pricked up.
"Hopes, rather," corrected Glinda, "that the two of you are screwing each other."
This time, Elphaba did turn around, gaping at her in pure horror. The revelation had come so sudden, so unexpected, that she wasn't even able to conceal any of it. That little shit. How dare he interfere with her personal relationships like this, potentially sabotaging any chances she might have to get closer to Glinda.
But she was forgetting herself. It wasn't Glinda's fault and there was no need to make her more uncomfortable than necessary. Clearing her throat, she shuffled to turn around properly and leaned against the counter.
"He said that?" she probed, just to be completely sure and avoid any misunderstandings. "To you?"
Glinda's nod sparked a downright inferno in Elphaba's belly, but by now she was reasonably well prepared and stifled any outward reaction. She would deal with her brother later. He was the only one who should witness her fury and by Oz, she'd make sure he would. The full blaze of it.
She hardly heard what Glinda said next, but it was most likely for the better, helping her to contain her outburst. An irritated sound was all that escaped her lips as she pushed herself away from the counter. She headed back to her spot on the floor, her mind fiercely determined, but her face stoic. She grabbed the bottle and gave it a forceful whirl, putting all her anger into it. In an almost fate-like coincidence, it landed dead straight on Glinda.
Elphaba raised her gaze and unwaveringly focused her eyes on her friend. She wasn't going to push the big question that lay on the tip of her tongue; this was really not the time to corner Glinda or risk alarming her. She didn't even have anywhere else to go if she were to decide that she was no longer comfortable in Elphaba's presence. But there were still a few things she needed to clarify.
"That guy we left behind at Lake Chorge," she said calmly, "do you have any feelings for him?"
She saw the light in Glinda's eyes flicker and dim, until she averted her gaze altogether.
"Fuck, no," she muttered, staring at her own hands, fingers wrestling with each other. "I told you earlier. I was just trying to get my parents off my back. That's all."
Elphaba didn't say or do anything in reply. She just sat, pursing her lips and moving sluggish thoughts around in her head. In the silence that stretched between them, Glinda decided to elaborate.
"Like with Fiyero, right?" Elphaba blinked, then narrowed her eyes suspiciously while Glinda continued. "We were never in love as such. Our relationship served a purpose. To keep the curious stickybeaks at arm's length."
The justification was only superficially valid. In reality, Glinda was comparing apples to oranges. Elphaba was quite certain that she wasn't that naïve, that she was fully aware of the significant differences.
"It's not the same at all," she pointed out firmly—if not to convince Glinda, then to show her that she knew and wasn't going to buy into such shaky excuses. "You and Fiyero have a very special relationship from what I understand. One of deep trust and respect. And, yes, love. In a way. Did you really, fully trust that dude before tonight happened?"
Glinda's mute shifting and fidgeting was the only answer Elphaba needed. When Glinda even went as far as to try and defend his actions, she nearly lost it. It was one of her most avid ambitions these days to help Glinda. Not just tonight, when there was an acute emergency to deal with, but also in general. Because she knew that the blonde wasn't happy and that she was suffering, stuck in the golden cage societal and parental expectations had trapped her in. She didn't have a specific goal in mind. The goal was whatever Glinda wanted, what was best for her. Elphaba preferred not to consider herself part of the final picture, fearing that it would lead her to selfishly insert herself when it was not in Glinda's best interest. However, all of that aside, how could she even begin helping someone who seemed so far out of reach?
Exhausted, Elphaba pinched the bridge of her nose. Where were they at again? Ah, right. The loser from the hotel. Her supposed boyfriend. Or ex-boyfriend. She hoped.
"Does he know that you're ace?"
Glinda gave a scoff and shook her head.
Well, this was hardly a surprise. Elphaba had expected as much but needed to confirm before making her final judgement.
"So this isn't like the thing with Fiyero at all," she said in conclusion. "You weren't as desperate then. But now…" She paused and tilted her head, looking at the girl in front of her as if she was seeing her for the first time tonight. A thought randomly popped into her mind and she decided to roll with it. "It's almost like you're running away from something."
Merciful Oz. That look that Glinda shot her now, so full of astonishment and vulnerability. By no means did Elphaba consider herself a particularly empathetic person, yet this one time, she seemed to have hit the mark, bang on. A myriad of expressions flashed across Glinda's face before she relaxed a little. It was heart wrenching enough to watch; Elphaba didn't even want to begin imagining how it had made the blonde feel.
Elphaba once again reached for the bottle—this time to pick it up and place it next to the others, declaring the alleged game over. She finally was on to something, but probing any further was not a good idea at this point. Glinda wasn't in the right state of mind, and admittedly, neither was she. Hopefully, another opportunity would present itself soon.
It took Glinda a few extra moments to persuade herself to get up from the floor. When she finally staggered to her feet, legs slightly wobbly, Elphaba took a step forward to steady her, but decided against assisting her when she appeared to manage well enough on her own after all. She watched her gathering a couple of things and distracted herself with her phone while Glinda crossed the room, heading for the bathroom. A clock-tick or two later, she heard the shower turn on and quickly stepped outside to retrieve a book from the car.
She didn't immediately go back inside, waiting by the door instead. The sky was overcast and not much to look at, but the nippy wind did wonders for sobering up her dizzy brain. Taking several deep breaths and inhaling the cold autumn countryside air, she mentally prepared herself for the night.
They had shared a cramped couch before. Much more cramped, actually, and a proper, normal standard couch—a sofa sleeper really didn't quite compare as far as compulsory body contact and intimacy went. Yet the circumstances had been fairly different then. Elphaba's own emotions had been less high strung back in those days and the general atmosphere had been more relaxed. Besides, it had been more or less an accident.
It had also been one of her more daring moments, and she still couldn't wrap her head around what she'd been thinking when she'd teased Glinda the following morning, pulling her back down after she'd jumped up in shock. Shell had made it terribly awkward when he'd strolled into the room, all cocky and intrusive. But who knows, he might also have inadvertently saved the day. Elphaba really couldn't tell what else she might have done in her ecstatic rush. Nothing too drastic by any means, but probably forward enough to make Glinda uncomfortable. She would have hated herself to no end.
It soon became too cold to bear, especially since Elphaba was wearing not much more than the shirt Glinda had lent her. She returned to their room, drew all the curtains and turned off the lights, safe for the one on the bedside table. She frowned at the phone dock until she found the off button for the speakers, then did her best to get comfortable and opened her book. Glinda re-emerged when she'd barely read half a page.
"You drive to your friend's rescue in the middle of the flipping night, and the one, single thing you bring along is a book?"
Elphaba put the volume aside and considered Glinda. Her little grin was gorgeous and spoke of a slightly improved mood. Or so the hoped. She couldn't help the lopsided smirk forming on her lips.
"You're feeling better? I heard hot showers can do this to people."
"Hot showers dry out your skin," dismissed Glinda with a flawless toss of her hair.
Elphaba watched her approach with some trepidation. If Glinda's cocktail dress had been somewhat revealing, her silken nightgown offered even more tantalising glimpses. She had to sternly remind herself that Glinda had chosen it for her own comfort, to be worn privately. It wasn't really meant for anyone else's eyes and most definitely not for the coveting gaze of someone who might (at least occasionally, she had to admit) wonder what lay hidden beneath.
The small lump in her throat appeared to grow and become more uncomfortable with each step. Glinda herself looked like she had her own doubts, pausing in front of the bed. To make it easier on both of them, Elphaba scooched over to the other side, affording Glinda plenty of space to lie down without having to climb across first.
Glinda switched off the light and the girls snuggled into their respective pillows. Instinctively, they decided to both lie on their sides, facing each other. Elphaba's heart beat hard in her chest, despite her general fatigue. Glinda was so close. Even if she moved to the furthest edge of the bed, she would still be able to easily reach out and touch her. Of course she was better than that. Knew better than that. Her mission was not over yet. She still needed to protect Glinda. That was her mantra, and she repeated it in her head until calm returned to her body.
She closed her eyes.
"Elphie?"
Glinda's voice and the sound of her soft, quivering breath compelled her eyelids to flutter open again and her eyes to search for her silhouette in the dim light.
"Hm?"
"Thank you."
Elphaba stiffened as the two simple words flushed her cheeks with searing heat. She swallowed hard to steady her own voice.
"No problem," she murmured, masking any uncertainty with affected sleepiness. Still, she smiled as much for Glinda as to herself.
With that, she closed her eyes and once again she tried to sleep. She could hear Glinda shuffling and scrabbling beside her, but chose to ignore it all. It wasn't surprising that she found it hard to settle down after the kind of night she'd had. Regrettably, Elphaba couldn't help her with that.
Or at least she hadn't planned on it, out of caution and her own perceived need for restraint.
This notion was turned straight on its head when she first realised that Glinda was, in fact, inching closer and closer towards her, when their bare legs first made contact, sending a jolt right up Elphaba's spine. It might have seemed like an accident at first, however, after a brief pause, Glinda advanced even further, eventually reaching for her and huddling so close that she could rest her head against Elphaba's chest.
If the blonde hadn't been so drowsy with sleep, she would certainly have made some sort of offhand remark about the crazed beating of Elphaba's heart, only to discover that it was wholly and entirely beating for her. Elphaba thanked the gods for the late hour, their exhaustion and, last but not least, Glinda's blood alcohol level for aiding her in concealing her secret for a while longer.
Glinda shifted again, this time to wrap her arm around Elphaba's upper body and pull them even closer together. Elphaba exclaimed softly in her surprise and forced herself to think of the icy wind outside their door. She took a few breaths, relaxed into their new position as best she could and gently pulled free her arm so she could return the embrace.