AN:
Oh god, what an insanely long wait! I apologise!
I was sick and I was exhausted and wow, this is such a ridiculously long chapter!
I don't even know what else to say other than that I hope that I didn't fill it with too much superfluous waffling (Why else would it be so long?) Anyway, I hope the wait was worth it, so please enjoy!
WARNING:
The Aphobia is strong with this one! In the end at least.
o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o
Chapter Five
A thin ray of morning sun filtered through the small gap between the curtains, tickling Glinda's nose. She stretched, wiggled around to lie on her other side and buried her face in the pillow where no light could possibly disturb her. Her body hadn't received the recommended minimum of seven hours of sleep in over a week, and she probably hadn't felt this well rested in over a year or more. So, naturally, her subconscious mind seemed determined to make this current state of relaxation last forever. Sighing into the luxuriously soft pillow, she was about to return to a phase of deeper sleep, when suddenly something clicked in her brain, and she rolled onto her back, immediately wide awake.
"Oh shit."
Her mind began to race through a kind of emergency checklist to gauge the situation. For a few moments, she just lay there, perfectly still, apart from the pronounced heaving of her chest. Her hands rested flat on the sheet, fingertips tentatively stroking the far too delicate, silky fabric. A quick look around told her that the room was nicely decorated, but definitely plain and impersonal enough to be a guest room. A thought, an association popped into her mind and she already had an idea how to verify it. Her eyes darted up, recognising the artful stucco ceiling at once.
She was at Elphaba's house and it suddenly made sense, for the last thing she could remember, was being in Elphaba's company. She also believed to remember that she hadn't had a single drop of alcohol the previous night – not one. Looking back down, she could confirm, that she was still fully dressed, bar her shoes, wearing the exact same outfit she'd worn before passing out... And after all, it was Elphaba's house.
Yes, Elphaba's house, where Elphaba lived. The thought of having her green friend nearby was strangely comforting. Even though they had not known each other for particularly long, and even though her reasons for trusting her were beyond evidence or logic, she considered Elphaba safe. In fact, she was possibly one of the safest people Glinda knew and Fiyero might very well have been the only one among her long-term friends to rival her in this department.
Glinda released a deep breath. All worst-case scenarios ruled out, she already felt a little calmer, but still tried to rack her brain and piece together what exactly had happened. She remembered the night market and she remembered getting into Elphaba's car afterwards. She remembered how cosy and warm it had been and how exhausted she had felt. That's where her blurry recollections fizzled out. In the end, she supposed, she must have fallen asleep in the passenger seat. Oh, merciful Oz!
She covered her face with her hands, utterly mortified. Perhaps, after her week of hell, it was no wonder that she had ended up drifting off, but that was still no acceptable excuse and furthermore, Elphaba didn't even know half of it! What must she be thinking of her now, crashing out in somebody else's car just like that? Had she been able to walk up the stairs on her own feet at least (although most certainly with Elphaba's assistance) or had Elphaba been forced to carry her all the way, while she'd been snoozing away, unconscious like a passed out drunk?
The mental image alone made her want to die of embarrassment and yet, she replayed it in her head over and over. She thought of Elphaba, who definitely looked like she could lift her without difficulty and then, she pictured herself cradled in those strong arms, limp, her own extremities dangling from her side and her head tilted backwards. She realised how close their bodies would have been. A wry laugh escaped her lips. The entire situation was disturbing. And a bit funny. Disturbingly funny. She only hoped Elphaba could see the humour as well.
It occurred to her, that she would have to go downstairs soon and face her friend. The notion terrified her more than it probably should have. Superficially, she knew that it was just a little mishap, by no means the end of the world, but Glinda was still fairly unaccustomed to the entire situation. Up until last night, the upkeep of certain social standards had never been a big issue for her. She had always taken pride in her own sense for propriety, even when she found herself, more often than not, in much less virtuous company. It was how she saw herself, how she wanted others to see her. Now it was like that perfect image had been chipped and she was disappointed in herself. And, however unreasonable her fear might have been, she was worried that Elphaba would be disappointed as well.
But it was all no use. There was no turning back the clock now. Mistakes had been made and she would have to own up to them now. She resolved to go downstairs as soon as possible in order to make sure that she wouldn't also appear lazy to boot. On her way down the stairs, she wondered how used Elphaba was to having friends stay over at her place. How many of those friends had nodded off in her car or maybe on her couch, requiring her aid in order to reach a more adequate sleeping location? She would hate to be that first to ever have done such a thing, the memory of the incident forever engraved in Elphaba's head.
'Hey, still remember how you fell asleep in my car that one time? How I had to drag you up the stairs all on my own?'
Elphaba's voice in her head was so taunting that, instead of finding her in the kitchen where she was probably having her Sunday morning breakfast, Glinda was severely tempted to run away from her by leaving through the front door, which she was so conveniently passing this very moment. She didn't, however, for she also understood that it was her own fears and anxieties talking, not her emerald friend.
Approaching the kitchen, she began to tiptoe, not wanting to be heard and anticipated. She would much rather be the one to sneak up and survey the situation first than having Elphaba's eyes scrutinise her the moment she appeared in her field of vision.
Luckily, it seemed like her attempt at stealth was crowned with success. Standing in the doorway, presumably undetected, she watched Elphaba, engrossed in a book and slurping steaming hot tea. The other chairs at the small kitchen table were empty, safe for one, which was covered by a blue hoodie that Glinda had not seen before. It didn't quite look like Elphaba's style, which made her slightly nervous.
Her eyes scoured the room for Elphaba's brother or perhaps another visitor, but could find no sign of the jacket's owner. She was hopeful, but not convinced that they were alone. Unfortunately, whether there indeed was another person or not, she could hardly hide in her guest room for the rest of the day. Still a little tense, she nodded to herself in encouragement and moved closer, this time purposefully making noise to herald her arrival.
Somewhat begrudgingly, Elphaba lifted her gaze to determine the source of the footsteps and rustling, but when she realised who it was, her lips twitched into a pleased, crooked smirk. The all-important book quickly became irrelevant.
"Hey, there! Good morning," she said, arguably a little too cheerfully.
Glinda's reaction turned out a bit more moderate.
"Morning."
Walking up to the table, she once more took the opportunity to ascertain that no one else was currently present.
"Shell isn't at home?" she asked and Elphaba shook her head.
"I have not the slightest inkling where that sad fool might have spent the night, but one thing is sure: if he didn't sleep here, he won't be back before noon. He simply can't do without his twelve hours of sleep."
"Like a polar opposite to you?" Glinda was intrigued. "Perhaps," she mused, "it's how the universe preserves its balance: for every short sleeper there must be a sack rat."
Elphaba cast her a funny look, seemingly not at all convinced.
"I have a better explanation for you," she snorted. "The thing is, that short sleeping is considered a hereditary sleeping disorder. In my opinion, our wildly different sleep patterns only confirm what Shell and I already suspected since we were little: that we are of different parentage."
Glinda had no reply to that. Even in this modern world, such a revelation would still be shocking enough to some, especially considering the fact that Elphaba's supposed father was a man of faith and a religious leader at that. She herself was only mildly taken aback by Elphaba's bluntness. Her offhand mention of such a delicate matter begged the question whether she truly didn't mind or only pretended not to. Ultimately, Glinda decided that it was better not to probe any further for now, just in case.
Finishing her tea with one last swig, Elphaba pushed back her chair and rose to her feet. She refilled her cup with more of the same, offering Glinda to either have some, too, or use the coffee machine if that suited her better. Glinda went for the coffee. As the machine warmed up, she watched Elphaba open the fridge and conjuring forth an array of vegetables and other mostly healthy-looking ingredients.
"You like omelettes?" Elphaba asked her without turning around.
"Uh, yes," Glinda confirmed and Elphaba went on to empty the entire content of the night market-bought egg carton into a large bowl. She felt stupid, standing there, while Elphaba, who had already done so much for her in the past twelve or so hours, was making her such an elaborate breakfast. "Can I… maybe help somehow?"
Elphaba paused, casting her a quick glance. She looked surprised, either because she wasn't used to others pitching in, or maybe because she remembered Glinda's confession regarding her non-existing kitchen talents.
"If you insist," she said slowly. "You could chop the mushrooms and the capsicum, and I guess I'll do the snow peas, onions and herbs then." The blonde nodded. "There, um, are small kitchen knives in the top drawer next to the sink and a wooden cutting board hanging above the toaster."
Glinda quickly gathered the utensils needed and put them down on the kitchen bench next to where Elphaba was standing, so they could share the ingredients. As it turned out, Elphaba's scepticism had, at least in part, been justified. While it was usually not a great hinderance in the rare cases when she actually prepared a meal from scratch, Glinda had to admit, that her chopping skills were not very advanced. Some of the pieces turned out chunkier than she supposed they should and all of them were as uniquely shaped as snowflakes. She told herself, that the unsightly vegetables would be hidden in a tidy wrap of egg, but her ears still turned slightly red, when she felt Elphaba's amused look on her.
At first, the busy silence between them had come as a relieve, but truth be told, processing the food was not quite demanding enough a task to warrant such a state of pretended heightened concentration. The longer she remained quiet, the bigger the elephant in the room seemed to become and eventually, it all became too unbearable for her.
"I-I'm sorry for the trouble I caused you last night," she began as nonchalantly as she could manage, yet markedly staring at her capsicum. "You must have been really annoyed when you noticed that I had fallen asleep in your car. And on top of that, you even let me sleep at your place, which was awfully kind of you. I just really feel I should apologise for imposing myself on you as I did."
Elphaba finished mincing the onions, put her knife down and turned around to casually lean against the counter, propping herself up on her elbows.
"Not at all," she replied with a shrug. "And if it makes you feel better, I actually did drive to your apartment building to try and get you home. But you must have been pretty whacked, because you just wouldn't wake up. And I suppose, the only name on the panel was your flatmate's? Because I couldn't find a tag that read 'Upland.'"
The light pink tint on Glinda's ears rapidly spread across her cheeks and nose, presumably her entire face even, judging by the almost burning hot sensation she felt.
"Oh, wow, that was so, so thoughtful of you," she almost stammered.
Her bad conscience was only fuelled by the realisation that Elphaba must have tried to deliver her to Fiyero's address, since that was the one she had used that last time she had so generously offered to drop her off. It had seemed too complicated to explain her reasoning back then and assuming that it was a one-off occurrence, she hadn't seen a problem with it. Apparently, she'd been wrong.
"I confess, I'm not sure how exactly it should make me feel better though, knowing that you went to such lengths, only to end up standing in front of locked doors," she chuckled nervously. "It seems a little mean."
"Oh no, that's not at all what I had meant to point out!" Elphaba was quick to clarify, rubbing her neck sheepishly. "I just thought that it might have made you uncomfortable, waking up in a foreign bed, wondering how you got there. I figured, it would be important for you to know that I only brought you here as my last resort. I didn't want it to look like I took advantage of the situation or whatever."
Glinda glanced up at her, blinking, then averted her eyes again. 'Advantage?' What kind of advantage was there in burdening oneself with an uninvited guest overnight and the following morning?
Nevertheless, a small smile slowly began to creep across her face. Elphaba was simply too caring, too knowledgeable, too perfect. Having a friend like her definitely was worth the rocky start they'd had and one day, she might even admit to Fiyero that she would be forever grateful for his intervening, which ultimately had made it all happen.
"Are you finished with that?" Elphaba enquired before taking Glinda's butchered vegies to the trolley next to the stove.
She expertly whipped the egg, poured a small portion of it into the pan and spread the other ingredients on one half before flipping the other half over, creating a fluffy, yellow pocket.
"Got any plans today?" she asked, playing with her spatula while waiting for her creation to finish cooking.
"I'm afraid, I do," Glinda sighed. "I have so much work to finish till tomorrow, it's not even funny. Now that you were so hospitable as to provide me with not only a bed, but also breakfast, I feel like I owe you some entertainment. Alas, this weekend has already been distracting enough and if I rock up at the office on Monday with a half-finished report, I might as well see myself out."
Nodding, Elphaba immediately proposed to drive her, but Glinda couldn't let that happen. The prospect of maybe being found out if that were to happen was too terrifying.
"There are heaps of trams around this time of day" she tried to assure Elphaba. "One of them goes all the way from the little takeaway place around the corner to my flat."
Elphaba didn't dare argue with that. She was respectful like that and a no was clearly a no.
In the end, Glinda hadn't been in a great hurry to leave Elphaba's place after all. As per her conscience's insistence, she'd left soon after they'd finished their breakfast, but her definition of 'breakfast' was a conveniently loose one, entailing idle chatting and playful banter as long as they took place at the table and while plates and silverware were still present, even in the absence of any actual food. As a result, it was early in the afternoon, when she finally opened the door to her own apartment.
Tibbett was lounging on the couch, not watching the weird talk show that was running on the television. The moment he noticed her walking into the living area, he perked up.
"Wow, Sweetie, you were M.I.A. again last night! Crope already wanted to call the police, but I told him that it would be very counterproductive if we made such a fuss every time you went on a date, because you might just give up on it altogether and then it would be our fault if you die an embittered old spinster's death."
He took a deep, theatrical breath and collapsed onto the couch again. All Glinda could do was stare at him in bewilderment.
"Well, first of all," she intoned, "you simply could have tried calling my phone and secondly" – she took a step towards him, leaned forward a little more and sniffed – "Tibbett, are you stoned?"
"Perhaps the tiniest bit," he groaned, rubbing his irritated eyes.
"For goodness' sake! That's just great. And where's Crope? I sincerely hope you didn't accidentally leave him in whatever hole you got this stuff from!"
This very same moment, the apartment door swung open again and Crope came in, carrying a brown paper bag with the local supermarket's logo.
"Oh hey! Our better third has returned!" he rejoiced.
"You are okay then?" she asked suspiciously while he made his way to the kitchen, unpacking a large bottle of cranberry-orange juice, chocolate bars and a jar of peanut butter.
"Yes, all good on my end, no worries," he quickly confirmed and got bread, jam and a knife out to make sandwiches for his boyfriend. "I've had enough bad experiences with weed, so I was the sober driver last night. I also wasn't quite as desperate as poor Tibbs here to impress that Korrell guy by matching him breath by breath."
"Do I know this 'Korrell'?" Glinda frowned.
"I highly doubt it. We met him at yesterday's gay bar. He works there."
"And he gets stoned on the job?"
"Well, it actually seems to be part of his job description," Crope told her with a half-hearted shrug."
Glinda was about to give up on them. She didn't really want to know what kind of questionable establishments were they frequenting, or what in Oz was going on in those boys' silly heads. Although she did consider them her friends in some ways, it sometimes seemed prudent to think of them as just her flatmates. This way, she had the freedom to decided that Crope and Tibbett's nightlife was definitely none of her business. Irritated nonetheless, she shook her head and marched off towards her room.
Just when she'd reached for the door handle, Crope asked, "And what have you been up to all night? I hope nothing scandalous?"
"No, only a sleepover at Fiyero's."
The lie came easily by now. Whenever she needed to conceal her true activities and whereabouts from probing and plotting minds, it worked like a charm. Until that day, that was.
"Interesting," Crope mused, a wide grin spreading across his face. "You two sure spend heaps of time together recently. Are we to expect a comeback?"
Glinda was caught so off guard by his suggestion and the eyebrow wiggle that followed, that, for a clock tick, it almost seemed as though she'd give away the true reason why that was not even a remote possibility. She wasn't going to out neither herself, nor Fiyero just like that though and so, once she had regained her footing, she replied with a masterful eyeroll.
"Don't be ridiculous. Our relationship has long evolved beyond that. Going back to seeing each other in a romantic setting would be like dating my brother if I had one!"
Her answer seemed to confuse him.
"Then what in Oz are you two doing all the time?" he demanded incredulously. "If that's the case, you really have to get out of each other's hair and concentrate on finding your respective partners, or it will never happen. Anyone who sees you two together will think that you're already taken and not even try."
Coming to think of it, Glinda realised that she'd actually be quite fine with that. She definitely wasn't overly desperate to find that love of her life just yet, especially considering all those uncertainties and endless complications that would be involved. While it might be nice to find someone, who'd cherish and dote on her, she simply couldn't be bothered going through all the trouble at this point. Sooner or later, her parents would start nagging for sure, but so far it was only her mother who'd, once in a while, innocently ask for up to date info about her romantic situation.
Unfortunately, she also knew that Crope and Tibbett were less patient to see her paired up with a dashing guy or gal.
"He's having a rough time," she told Crope to justify her frequent visits. "The coming out to his parents hasn't been a very positive experience, I'm afraid."
It wasn't exactly a lie, but it was a very manipulative way of telling and simultaneously contorting the truth. She knew her flatmate would immediately jump to the wrong conclusion, which would also get him off her back for the time being.
Indeed, she was right.
"Yeah, that's tough sometimes," Crope nodded thoughtfully before brightening up again. "You should bring him over when he's free. We can introduce him to some people if he needs help to find his feet and stuff."
Glinda smiled appreciatively, mainly because the focus had finally switched away from herself.
"Thanks. At a later time perhaps. It's… a bit too much for him right now, I think."
Crope once again bobbed his head in understanding. When he turned around to grab a tray for the snacks and drink he had prepared for Tibbett, Glinda seized the opportunity and quickly disappeared behind her own door. She only had a few more hours left to finish her work, which was going to be a fabulous excuse to not grace the boys' company with her presence again until maybe later in the evening.
On Monday, Glinda was off to a good start at work. After finishing all of her catch up assignments on time, she was able to begin the new week with a blank slate and for the first time in a while, she felt like she was in absolute control of her workload and not the other way around. The following day, she was assigned only one new project instead of two or three as she had come to expect and was happy to collect brownie points for helping out her co-workers. She was motivated and buzzing from morning to home time and it could hardly have been better, except for one problem: the moment she left office and had nothing else to occupy her mind with, she thought of Elphaba and, as ridiculous as it sounded even just in her head, she already felt she missed her.
The first time she'd left the office early, she'd boarded the tram, played with her phone and suddenly felt a strong urge to send Elphaba a text. What should she say though, she'd wondered? What excuse would she give for messaging her for no apparent reason and only a day after they had last met? She didn't want to be perceived as bothersome or even clingy. There was no rational reason why she should crave the unusual, green woman's attention and companionship. There were plenty of other friends she could hang out with or talk to over the phone. There were Crope and Tibbett with whom she had to converse on a daily basis, whether she wished to or not. In short, she was not at all deprived of human contact and was certainly not dependant on just that one particular person to humour her inexplicable cravings.
So, she hadn't texted her. She also didn't call her when this strange urge plagued her yet again the following day, seemingly even stronger than before, demanding that she dialled Elphaba's number. Instead, she placed her phone in her desk drawer and closed the door to her room when she headed for the kitchen to prepare a quick frozen curry meal. She was going to great lengths to distract herself and even had bought some of that really fancy, but sinfully expensive ice cream everyone was talking about. At least half of it had already disappeared in her tummy by the time the microwave announced that the main course was done.
"Oh. My. Oz!" Tibbett exclaimed when he came home from his own work and noticed the container on the bench top. "Is that that new ice cream? Is it really as good as everyone says? Can I please, please try some?"
"Help yourself," Glinda replied and pushed a clean table spoon, fresh from the dishwasher, his way. His eyes lit up even more.
"Wow, I can have a big scoop then? How generous."
He scratched a well-sized chunk out of the container, then slowly and with relish sucked it off the spoon.
"And?" Glinda asked after a little while, having finished her meal and about to put the rest of the ice cream into the freezer.
"I'm not sure yet. It's totally delish for sure, but it mainly tastes like nougat."
"Ha! I thought the same. There definitely isn't enough good nougat ice cream out there though, so it might still be worth it. What do you reckon?"
"If you pay for it," he grinned and reached to steal one more spoon full of the sweet treat. As he popped it into his mouth, however, his expression changed into a frown. "Coming to think of it, it's a bit out of character for you to spend so much money on something so unnecessarily extravagant, unless it's your birthday or something. Is something up?"
"No," she replied just a little too tenuously. "What should be wrong?"
"Well, sweetie, I'm your friend, not a psychic. But if there's anything you want to talk about, Crope and I will be all ears."
She offered him a fleeting smile before turning around and putting away the ice cream.
"Of course, you will," she chuckled softly, suppressing a sigh.
Tibbett left again to pick up Crope from his community theatre rehearsals and Glinda stayed behind by herself. It was strange. There wasn't much she could have told him even if she had wanted to confide in someone. She didn't have a clue why she was so focused on Elphaba all of the sudden and now that it was Tuesday evening already, she reasoned that contacting her wouldn't be so bad either. A simple text, two days after their last meeting, would probably not make Elphie hate her just like that. Still, she hesitated, despite knowing that it would most likely provide her with the closure she needed right now.
She moved on to watching some TV and reading a page or two from the romance novel she had started months ago but almost forgotten about. When she was ready to go to bed, she retrieved her phone from the drawer, feeling foolish in hoping against hope that Elphaba might have sent her a message. At least, she was able to handle the disappointment when there was indeed nothing.
On Wednesday, thoughts of talking to Elphaba again haunted her even at work. It was difficult to concentrate on anything, let alone those Oz-damned calculations. Her only comfort was that there were no client meetings that day, which meant that there was no need to actually talk to people and possibly betray her pointless anxieties. To that end, she also skipped her breaks and stayed at her desk to munch on a sandwich while correcting one of her spread sheets for the fifth or sixth time.
She left the moment the clock struck five, fully aware that her muddled mind had not done very well at all and that a lot of the rubbish she'd produced would have to be revised and partially rewritten later. To do that efficiently, however, she would need to clear her head first and so, she finally plucked up her courage and called Elphaba's number.
With baited breath, she waited for the ringing to end and Elphaba's voice to greet her with some sardonic remark or another. After twenty-six seconds, Elphaba's voice rang out at last, but it was only her voicemail. More deeply disappointed than she cared to admit and at a total loss of what to tell the lifeless device, Glinda let her hand drop, staring at the screen for a moment before ending the call. Releasing a frustrated huff, she quickly boarded the tram that had just arrived.
In the evening of the following day, Glinda and her flatmates had dinner together. It had been Crope's idea that they should eat together on the first day of every month as some sort of bonding exercise. They rotated cooking duty and while she dreaded every time that it was her turn to produce a more or less enjoyable meal, she absolutely loved the food the boys spoiled her with on all those other occasions. This particular time, especially after the day she'd had, she thought she definitely deserved a treat.
Ever since her attempt to call Elphaba, her anxieties over contacting her friend had lessened to a more tolerable degree, but that didn't mean she no longer desired to see or talk to her. She also was worried now that something between them was off, since Elphaba had not acknowledged her call at all. Of course, not leaving a message when she was unable to reach her probably wasn't working in her favour and perhaps Elphaba thought she'd dialled her number by accident. Still, she couldn't stop thinking how receiving a quick message or call would have been quite reassuring.
On a more positive note, she'd been able to complete her work - it only had taken her three hours of overtime, causing her to arrive late for dinner. Thankfully, Crope and Tibbett weren't usually fussy about stuff like this. They already knew how stressful her work could be.
Half-way through the delicious creamy pasta dish, Glinda heard her phone's ringtone sound through the closed door to her room. Rolling her eyes, she excused herself. She swore that if it was her mum, she'd say 'Hi, bad timing,' and hang up; if it was Fiyero, she'd just decline the call and text him later.
It wasn't Fiyero and it definitely wasn't her mum. Instead, it was Elphaba's name that was showing on the display. Her heart almost missed a beat.
"H-hello?" she tentatively answered the phone.
"Hi." It was Elphaba's voice. Definitely Elphaba's voice. "I don't know if you wanted me to call back yesterday, but you didn't leave a message, so…"
"No, that's fine," Glinda immediately interrupted her.
Hoping this conversation might take a little longer, she gestured for the boys to go on without her and disappeared in her room again. She kicked the door shut and flopped into her swivelling desk chair, impatiently swinging it left and right.
"I just called to see how you were, I guess."
She almost cringed at herself. Sweet Oz, how feeble that sounded! What kind of reason was that? But it was more or less true, so whatever.
"Oh, okay."
Elphaba sounded amused. There was just the tiniest laugh that accompanied her reply, but Glinda was still able to hear it. Was this good or bad? Well, it wasn't terrible, she supposed, because Elphaba didn't seem outright annoyed, but for Glinda, there was a very fine line between amusing Elphaba and making a fool of herself.
Reluctant to risk humiliation, she remained silent for a moment, as did Elphaba. Eventually, it was the green woman who spoke up.
"Well, I have this gettogether going on at my house tomorrow. It's just gonna be a handful of friends. You're welcome to join in if you're not too intimidated."
An invitation to see Elphaba! Halleluiah! A delighted giggle escaped her mouth, much to Glinda's horror. Mustn't sound too eager, she reprimanded herself. Still, her stomach turned the loop at the thought.
Would she be intimidated to meet a bunch of people who all knew each other? Who knew Elphaba? Probably had known her for quite a while longer and much better than Glinda? Yes, she might be, surely would be and most likely terribly so. But there was no way around it.
"Sure," she replied as casually as she could manage after clearing her throat.
"Great," said Elphaba and paused. "That should be interesting."
'Interesting?' The word worried the blonde just a notch, but she shrugged it off.
They quickly went through the details, which Glinda jotted down diligently. Her head felt too giddy to retain information accurately. After putting down her phone, she sat quietly, surprised at her own reaction, the disproportional onslaught of emotions. After briefly wondering what could have been the cause, she settled for relief. She was relieved that they were okay, that things apparently wouldn't be awkward between them. She was relieved to have talked to her and especially that Elphaba had called her out of her own free will. And she was relieved that she now knew that she'd see her again and very soon at that.
She couldn't hide the spring in her step when she returned to the dining table, no matter how much she knew it would intrigue her flatmates. When they asked, she truthfully answered that she was going to Elphaba's on Friday and that immediately gave them enough fodder to launch a full-blown investigation. Since she had long used Fiyero as a shield to keep her meetings with Elphaba a secret, they had many questions and Glinda did her upmost to answer them without incriminating herself too much or giving them wrong ideas concerning her relationship with Elphaba. They immediately 'shipped' them anyway, planning how to encourage what they understood to be a perfect love story in the making. Needless to say, Glinda couldn't take it very long and returned to the sanctuary of her own room soon after finishing her food.
Glinda left work as soon as she could to catch the tram to the city centre. After turning up late to their most recent appointment, she was determined not to let it happen again. In fact, she was half an hour early when she texted Elphaba that she'd arrived.
"Hey, you're early," Elphaba remarked, either impressed or shocked or maybe both. "Did you sneak away from work when your boss wasn't looking?"
"Not really. I started early to make sure I wouldn't end up staying after hours, but it wasn't very busy. Half of the office left almost an hour before I did."
Elphaba nodded.
"It is Friday, I suppose. Sometimes I'm glad if my team stay long enough to even take an afternoon tea break. Shall I help you with those?"
She pointed at the two giant, pastel pink paper bags Glinda was struggling to keep off the ground.
"Oh, yes. Thank you."
Glinda felt frustratingly short when the taller woman took the bags from her and carried them with enviable ease.
"I made some cupcakes," she explained as she hurried up the stairs to follow Elphaba inside.
Elphaba cast a sceptical look over her shoulder.
"I thought you don't cook. Are you a baker then?"
"No." A light blush coloured Glinda's face and she fell a little behind. "It's just a packaged cake mix. To be honest, I'm glad they didn't burn."
Her confession earned her a hearty cackle.
When they reached the kitchen, she realised that she was not the only early bird.
"So, Boq, this is Glinda," Elphaba immediately informed the Munchkin who was sitting at the kitchen table, preparing fruit skewers. She turned around to Glinda. "Glinda, this is Boq. We work together. He is part of the investment team."
She believed to recognise him from that one fateful visit to TMB, but couldn't be sure. She had to admit that she wasn't very practiced in telling Munchkins apart.
"How do you do," she said perhaps a touch too charmingly, elegantly extending her hand for him to shake.
Elphaba stifled a snort, but Boq only smiled at her and lightly returned her gesture.
"Pleased to meet you, Miss Glinda," he said with a small nod.
Another snort.
"Are you two toffs done now?" Elphaba asked flatly.
The blonde and the Munchkin exchanged glances, then started laughing at themselves, somewhat awkwardly.
"Wow, look at this," Elphaba exclaimed, recapturing their attention.
She had just taken out the first of several boxes from the bags.
Boq raised himself to his tiptoes in order to see better.
"Those look delicious!"
"Well, they are just made from a mix," Glinda repeated, brushing a strand of hair out of her face and gingerly tucking it behind her ear.
"But they don't come all fancy like that," Elphaba pointed out. "I think, we discovered your secret talent, Miss Glinda."
The colour of Glinda's cheeks deepened. Admittedly, she had spent a good portion of the previous night decorating the miniature cakes. She'd felt bad for not making them from scratch and had hoped that the buttercream roses and sugar lace butterflies would sort of make up for that flaw.
The others turned up not much later. Brrr arrived exactly on time, in the company of a Monkey named Chistery. From what Glinda was able to gather, he was a relatively recent rescue case and the Lion was his mentor, partially responsible for his everyday care, but mainly in charge of helping him to adjust to life in the outside world. The poor guy barely spoke a word, although Glinda couldn't tell whether it was a speech impediment or a result of his shy and nervous disposition. Brrr suggested that there were rumours that Chistery and some others had been freed from the Wizard's own facilities, but even he didn't know for sure and Glinda couldn't imagine that it was actually true. After all, the Wizard himself had introduced the ban on Animal experiments almost two decades ago and the political implications would be huge.
The last to arrive was a young Vinkun woman and Glinda immediately recognised her from the pictures Elphaba had shared with her a while ago. Sarima showed up fashionably late. Judging by the low-cut tunic and tiny jeans shorts, she'd popped by her own place after work to change out of her presumably more modest uniform. Even Glinda's Casual Friday outfit, consisting of a lace-trimmed, peach-coloured blouse and long, slim-fit, black pants with heeled bootlets felt childishly prim in comparison and it made her feel slightly self-conscious.
It got worse, when Elphaba finally re-emerged from the wine cellar and Sarima swiftly traversed the room to greet her with purposeful, maybe even demonstrative kisses on both cheeks. Glinda quietly watched from the side lines, biting her lower lip. She was almost bewildered by the boldness, the self-confidence that seemed to radiate from Sarima. And she was just a bit envious of how easy and natural it appeared to be for her to approach people, not hesitating once to use body contact to assert her presence. Elphaba had barely betrayed any special reactions to this kind of greeting, but she also hadn't lifted as much as a finger to dodge it.
She watched them exchange a few words, trying to ignore the odd feeling in the pit of her stomach, the way she had to shift her weight several times from one leg to the other. Eventually, the pair, Sarima still extremely close to Elphaba, walked over to make the necessary introductions.
"Hi, I'm Sarima," the Vinkun said immediately, holding out her hand. "You're Glinda?"
'Pull yourself together,' was all Glinda could think and so, she put on her brightest smile, took a superficially confident step forward and firmly shook the hand on offer. In the back of her head, she tried to figure out whose story her opposite had heard about her and which version. Did she know her as Glinda: Elphaba's acquaintance or maybe friend, Glinda: the candidate Pfannee and Shenshen would have preferred or perhaps Glinda: the girl who wasn't good enough for the job they later hired Sarima for?
"Hi," she replied a little belated. "Yes, it's Glinda. Looks like you've heard of me. Well, and I have heard of you. I'm glad you're having fun with Avaric," she added with a wink. "I don't think I would have survived working with him every day."
To her delight, Sarima immediately jumped at the topic.
"I totally get that," she agreed. "It's just a guilty pleasure of mine to yank such pathetic guys' chains a bit. If nothing else, it makes going to work a tad more interesting."
"Good on you, but if it were me, it would drive me insane to the point where I'd go on permanent leave," Glinda groaned.
The conversation went on a few more minutes, and Glinda silently congratulated herself for saving a potentially awkward situation.
They had wine, cake and the fruit sticks in the dining hall. Brrr was busy handling Chistery's excitement for Glinda's cupcakes, reminding him to remain seated in his chair about every other minute. Glinda was sitting next to Elphaba and opposite Boq. Sarima sat to Elphaba's right. There was a lot of talk about work between the two women. Boq also occasionally piped up, but since he was not part of the same department, he mostly kept to himself.
At some point, he seemed to have noticed Glinda's perhaps slightly lost expression. Leaning forward, he said, "I admit, it is still somewhat of a mystery to me how you and Elphaba got to know each other. Could you enlighten me?"
Casting Elphaba one final glance, Glinda adjusted her position to fully focus on Boq.
"Well, what has she told you?"
The question was delivered perfectly offhand, but in truth, a nervous flutter spread through her body. How much did Boq know?
"Only that you met at a job interview and out of nowhere" – he clapped his hands – "Best friends forever."
She was a bit taken aback by the comment, but ultimately put it off as a joke. Shrugging, she cleared her throat.
"Well, that was pretty much what happened. If you're looking for more juicy details, I guess I'll have to disappoint you."
His eyes narrowed and he thoughtfully tapped his finger against his lips. After a few clock ticks, he said, "I don't buy it. I've never heard of anyone who made friends at a freaking job interview. It sounds absurd."
Glinda swallowed, considering how much she should reveal.
"Fine, Elphaba invited me to have a coffee with her," she admitted, waving her hand dismissively.
Boq perked up at that, looking pleased with his investigation skills.
"Don't grin like that," she snapped good-humouredly. "Before I went in for the interview, she poured coffee all over my blouse, I deserved an apology! There was nothing to it."
If anything, Boq's smirk only broadened.
"Did she also tell you that the spilt coffee was standard procedure? Does getting stuck in a lift ring a bell?"
"Yes, but… well, she-"
Glinda stopped herself there. Yes, of course, Elphaba had told her about Avaric's instructions and sneaky methods of candidate assessment, but his grin disconcerted her.
"It's just that this is the first time," Boq continued, "that I've heard anything of an apology, let alone any form of reparation. What does that mean, you think? That you're the chosen one?"
She could think of a few possible explanations right on the spot, mainly having to do with Elphaba wanting to return her ring without too much of a carry-on for others to witness or with Elphaba taking all the blame for the disappointing outcome of her interview. These were all no details she was comfortable sharing with Boq though, since her sexual orientation was the key to making sense of them and coming out so someone she hardly knew was something Glinda simply wasn't going to do. Lifting her glass to her lips, she made a point of ignoring his queries.
The Munchkin studied her carefully and seemed to be drawing his own conclusions.
"Alright, keep your secrets. I've heard women like to shroud themselves in mystery. But answer this one question for me, and please answer it honestly: Are you dating Elphie?"
"Wait, what!?" Glinda coughed out a little too loudly, spilling a few drops of wine.
For a split second, everyone's eyes were on her, but thankfully, the moment passed quickly and the others went back to their own conversations.
"Was that a no," Boq chuckled, "or the shock of being found out?"
"A big no," she intoned.
"Oh…" said Boq contemplatively. "So, you don't swing that way? Like not at all?"
Glinda exhaled deeply in frustration, but she never even had to think of an answer. Suddenly, the noisy clinking of porcelain and glass drew everyone's attention to the centre of the table. Chistery had jumped up from his seat and was now sitting in the middle of the half empty pastry tray, stuffing his face with cupcakes.
To Glinda, the sight was almost droll at first, but she quickly realised that no one laughed or even chuckled. Watching the scene for a little longer, she too, could no longer find it funny. Chistery wasn't a naughty pet, stealing some treats; he wasn't an ill-disciplined toddler either. Animal or not, he was an adult and that meant, the only equivalent to compare his actions to would be a fully grown, young man jumping onto someone's dining table because he wanted more cake. Given the circumstances, it wasn't embarrassing as such, but evidence of the mistreatment and neglect the Monkey had suffered throughout his youth, evidence of how lightly they had disregarded his dignity.
"May I?" Brrr asked, abashed, his ears tilted downwards.
Elphaba nodded and he slowly, unwillingly climbed onto the table. Cautiously, he put one mighty paw in front of the other. Getting closer to Chistery, he made a deep, calming purring kind of noise. The Monkey looked up abruptly and Brrr paused. When Chistery edged away from him, he sat down.
"Come on, pal," he said quietly, "no need to turn this house into a jungle. There's enough food to go around, I'm sure."
Chistery replied with a wild shriek, flashing his teeth. Although Glinda spoke neither monkey, nor Monkey, she was certain that he was trying to say something along the lines of 'only over my dead body.'
Brrr furrowed his brow, producing a very low frequency growling noise. After taking a deep breath, he tried again nodding encouragingly. Alas, his attempt at persuasion failed. With another animalistic cry, Chistery jumped up, grabbed a few cupcakes and a skewer and made for the mantelpiece before leaping upwards, pulling himself onto the chandelier. Resigned, the big Cat heavily jumped off the table.
"Leave him be for now," Elphaba suggested. "If we're lucky, he climbs back down by himself."
Sarima stood and began cleaning up the mess on the table. Boq quickly made to help her.
"You're okay?"
Glinda jumped a little, previously unaware of Elphaba's approach. She'd been watching Chistery, swinging on the chandelier as though it were a piece of playground equipment.
"Never a dull moment with these guys," the taller woman said with a heavy sigh, but still sounding rather fond. "I hope, you're not feeling too foreign amongst everyone? I realize I got quite distracted earlier."
"It's fine," Glinda replied, waving the apology off. "Boq kept me entertained."
She had meant nothing by it or at least she thought she hadn't. Yet something in her voice or her expression seemed to have tipped Elphaba off.
"Huh… Perhaps, I shouldn't leave you two alone too much."
"It's fine," reiterated Glinda, eyes blinking rapidly as she looked away. "He's just very… inquisitive."
"Indeed?" Elphaba hummed, arching her brows.
A good while later, Chistery was still holding out on his lofty perch.
"Movie and popcorn are ready," Boq announced from the doorway.
Elphaba and Brrr, both sitting on the floor, exchanged looks.
"I'll get him down," Elphaba finally decided.
She pulled herself to her feet and disappeared for a few moments. When she returned, she was carrying an aluminium step ladder on her shoulder. The ladder was erected on the dining table with no regards for the antique quoxwood. Before ascending, Elphaba instructed Glinda to climb onto the table top to secure the side rails.
Although it took some effort to remove Chistery's vice grip from the chandelier, Elphaba's mission eventually turned out to be a success. The Monkey protested ferociously at first, but Elphaba didn't yield, tightly pressing him to her body and rocking him like a child. Watching affectionately, still sitting cross-legged on the table, Glinda wondered if she had done it all dozens of times before.
Brrr walked up to Ephaba and nudged her with his paw.
"The others are waiting. Shall I take over?"
Craning her neck, she looked at the Animal in her arms.
"He's sleeping now. I think I'll just keep him like this until he wakes up."
"Has anyone ordered Pizza yet?" asked Boq when the small party had finally congregated in the small drawing room where the projector and screen had been set up.
"Nope, so thanks for volunteering," Sarima replied grinning, snatching the bowl of popcorn from his lap."
He sent her an annoyed stare but got up anyway.
"The flyer is pinned to the fridge," Elphaba called after him.
"I know!"
Still carrying Chistery, Elphaba clumsily plopped down on the sofa. Sarima shuffled closer, feeding her a piece of popcorn. Glinda almost turned away, finding it strangely difficult to watch. She had no idea what Boq had been going on about earlier. If anything, it looked like Sarima was the one about to attempt a seduction of their green friend. She shrugged off her immature jealousy and took the last remaining seat on the sofa to Elphaba's right. When Boq returned to find his original seat taken, he stubbornly sat down on the armrest next to Glinda. Feeling a little bad, she apologised and offered to swap, but he declined.
Someone had hit the play button and the movie started. It was a historical drama about the life and death of Ozma the Warrior which Glinda had seen and liked before, but for reasons beyond her current grasp, she found it impossible to focus for even one straight minute. She cast a side glance at Boq, who had his arm propped up on the backrest of the couch, leaning in her direction. She couldn't fault him per se, as his seat must have been the most uncomfortable spot of them all but she still found herself shuffle away from him. Eventually, she, ever so slightly, bumped into Elphaba. The conversation with Boq still fresh in her mind, no matter how absurd it had been, this also made her uneasy and so, she backtracked an inch or two.
Boq's phone lit up and buzzed a couple of minutes later, and Glinda, grateful for the opportunity of a brief respite, immediately volunteered to get the food from the delivery boy. Someone, presumably Elphaba, had left out some money on the side table by the door, so she took the three boxes and tipped the kid generously. Before returning to the others, she grabbed some plates from the kitchen.
No one seemed to have moved at all by the time she re-entered the drawing room. She had at least hoped that Boq would have upgraded his armrest roost for the comfier seat on the couch proper. Having no good excuse to change her own seat as a result, she considered sitting back down where she had started, but she just couldn't will herself to do so. Instead, she picked up a large pillow that had dropped from the couch to the floor and tossed it in front of the screen, next to Brrr. Grabbing a slice of chicken and cranberry pizza and a plate, she took up her new spot.
The following two hours of the movie passed considerably faster than the first twenty minutes had. When their cinematic adventure had come to an end and the lights were turned back on, Sarima jumped up to search the laptop for some decent music. Boq convinced Elphaba to let him check out her wine cellar.
Elphaba walked up to where Glinda was still lying on her pillow, head propped up on one hand, phone in the other to check for any messages from Fiyero or her flatmates in case they got worried again. She carefully managed to lower herself into a kneeling position.
"The others just decided to stay overnight. You're very welcome to do the same."
Glinda looked up at her, uncertain what she wanted or how she should reply.
"You're quite used to this then?" she asked out of curiosity and also to buy some time.
Elphaba laughed.
"When you have so many guest rooms to spare, you fairly quickly get used to people spontaneously inviting themselves to extend their stay. We have boxes of cheap toothbrushes and travel sized tubes of toothpaste, stacks of bath towels, bulk packages of female hygiene products and several plain t-shirts in three different sizes. The beds are always made and there's extra bottles of shampoo and shower gel in every bathroom."
This revelation almost rendered Glinda speechless.
"No kidding?" she laughed incredulously and Elphaba groaned.
"I wish I were!"
At least Glinda now knew that her more or less accidental self-invitation had been nothing out of the ordinary for her friend.
"So?" Elphaba probed again, tilting her head expectantly.
Glinda cast a fleeting glance at her phone. It was pretty late already. If she were to decide not to stay, this was probably her last opportunity.
"Sorry," she said, smiling apologetically. "I think it would be better if I went home now."
Nodding, Elphaba staggered to her feet.
"That's fine." Rearranging her hold on Chistery, she freed one hand to help Glinda up. "If you want to get your stuff and say your goodbyes? I'll get the car out."
Blinking, Glinda cocked her head.
"Wait, what?"
"I'm driving you, of course."
She could feel the heat flush her face. It had never been her intention to rob the other guests of their host and then there still was that silly misunderstanding about her real address, which she was too embarrassed to resolve.
"B-but what about Chistery," she pointed out, lightly touching his small, soft hand with her own.
"He's out like a light," Elphaba smirked. "I'll put him to bed before we go."
"I see."
Glinda admitted defeat. While Elphaba went upstairs to tuck in Chistery, she collected her cake boxes from the kitchen and tossed them into the pastel pink paper bags.
Boq came in with a bottle of wine and something else.
"Absinthe?" Glinda read out from the green label.
"I always wanted to try this stuff," he beamed, a mischievous sparkle in his eyes.
"Oh my, Master Boq," she teased, shaking her head in amusement, "you're more adventurous than I had given you credit for."
"Well, to be honest, I have not quite made up my mind yet. I'm not sure if my curiosity will triumph over my voice of reason. At any rate, I do hope Elphie and Sarima and maybe Brrr will raise a glass or two. Should be interesting. And I myself would be much more inclined to give it a go if you were to participate as well, Glinda."
"Well, I hate to disappoint, but unfortunately, I'm already on my way out."
"Yes," Boq said, visibly deflated, "that really is disappointing."
"Chin up, Boq," Elphaba scoffed as she joined them, "the fewer drinkers, the more to drink. If the quantity is right, this high-proof sugar-water will most likely be all you need to improve your mood."
She wiggled her eyebrows at the Munchkin, then motioned for Glinda to come with her.
They met Sarima in the hall. Brrr was upstairs to check on Chistery.
"Say 'bye' to him from me, okay?" Glinda asked the Vinkun as she waved at her.
In the car, Glinda could feel Elphaba casting her quick glances whenever the road did not demand her undivided attention. She tried to ignore them, but in the end, her insecurities got the better of her. Exhaling deeply, she leaned back in her seat and turned to look at Elphaba properly.
"A penny for your thoughts?" she challenged, attempting nonchalance.
They came to stop at a red light and Elphaba used the opportunity to give her an extended, searching look.
"Did Boq bother you?" she asked as the car started moving again and Glinda knew she had to be careful how to formulate her answer.
"Not as such," she replied, absentmindedly scratching at her already chipped nail polish. "He is just very, well, inquisitive. And he seems to have little instinct when it comes to personal space," she added.
Elphaba made a thoughtful humming noise.
Glinda watched her, studied her profile in expectation of an actual response. When none came, she turned to look out of the window. Her expression was one of indifference, but her fingers were drumming an agitated rhythm on the armrest. Now that she'd been forced to recall her interactions with Boq, she was reliving the uneasiness she had felt as well. She thought her reaction might be considered silly and childish and tried to will the inconvenient feelings to just go away.
Only, they didn't. The tapping intensified, then came to an abrupt stop. Glinda gave in. Chewing the insides of her cheeks, she tried to look at Elphaba through the vague reflection in her window. She saw that Elphaba's eyes still flicked back and forth between her and the road every now and then. Although she wasn't verbally pressing for answers, she still seemed anxious to find out more and so Glinda decided to grant her wish.
"You know, he said something very strange," she told her, flopping back into her seat, eyes on Elphaba. She paused. "He thought… we might be dating."
She chuckled quietly as if she thought it was funny, but couldn't help looking down fairly quickly.
Elphaba pulled over and parked across the street from Fiyero's apartment building.
"He adores you," she said slowly, her eyes still fixed straight ahead. "He probably asked to make sure he wasn't butting in or maybe to assess his chances."
"Oh." Although Glinda might have suspected as much, having it laid out for her still made her uncomfortable. She shifted in her seat. "Do you… Do you think, I might have unintentionally encouraged him?"
"Hardly," Elphaba laughed, turning her head to show Glinda her small, yet reassuring smile. "I doubt he'll give up so easily though."
Glinda nodded.
"Well, at least I know now to be on my guard next time we meet."
She looked up at Elphaba, who stared back blankly. Her heart started beating slightly harder. She was nervous, she realised. Not knowing what Elphaba was thinking, disconcerted her.
"I… will see you, when I see you, I suppose?" she offered with a faltering smile.
Elphaba shrugged casually.
"Give me a call if you get bored in between."
Encouraged by Elphaba's offer, but mostly because she had been planning on it the entire evening, Glinda leaned on her right arm and, ever so slightly, lifted herself out of her seat to place a quick peck on Elphaba's cheek.
"Good night Elphie," she said, holding the other woman's gaze just long enough to see the astonishment in them.
When she got out of the car, Elphaba didn't follow. Glinda waved her goodbye and, after just a moment of hesitation, Elphaba started the motor, nodded at her and drove off. Glinda was pleased that she had evaded the embarrassing scenario of Elphaba waiting for her to whip out the key card that she didn't possess, as this was not really the building she lived in. She also didn't feel like seeing Fiyero that night, so, as soon as Elphaba's black car was out of sight, she turned on her heel and walked to the nearest tram stop.
She thought back to that ephemeral, seemingly insignificant, kiss she had bestowed upon Elphaba. She was just the tiniest bit proud of herself for doing it, yet mostly, she was disappointed and frustrated. Rather than just a diversionary tactic, it had been an attempt to emulate the ease and comfort she had observed between Sarima and Elphaba. Glinda was fond enough of Elphaba to hope for some measure of intimacy in their relationship, yet physical nearness still put her on edge. That was especially true for kissing, even if it was just a small, harmless peck. She knew that there had been nothing to it, really. It should have come naturally to her. Unfortunately, it hadn't. It had felt forced, like a dare, and truth be told, she didn't even think it was something that would get significantly easier if she just 'practiced' some more. The only possible conclusion was that she was a hopeless case.
The following morning, she woke up rather late, but still earlier than she would have preferred. Considering the customarily irregular public transport schedule at night, it was almost a miracle that she had made it back home soon after midnight. The apartment had been dark when she stepped inside, and the fact that the door to Crope and Tibbett's room had been wide open, confirmed that she had indeed been the first one to arrive home. She had briefly wondered where the two boys might be, but her own curiosity came not even close to that of her flat mates, and so, she had not given the matter much thought.
Unwilling, she dragged herself out of bed, reasoning that there was no point prolonging the procedure if she already knew that she wouldn't sleep another wink. Once she was semi-presentable, with her hair brushed and pulled back into a simple ponytail and dressed in her comfy but cute home outfit, she made her way to the kitchen.
Seeing the dining table occupied by not two but three men took her by surprise and, suddenly feeling not well enough dressed, she stood rooted to her spot.
"Hi!" the admittedly good-looking man greeted her from across the room, lifting his hand for a fleeting wave.
"Hi," Glinda replied somewhat meekly.
Now, she really felt compelled to meet him properly before grabbing her cereal from the kitchen. Tentative and anxiously tucking a loose strand behind her ear, she walked toward the small group. Tibbett grinned widely at her and it didn't need much imagination for her to guess how that stranger had ended up at their apartment so early in the morning, having breakfast at their table.
"May I introduce the prettiest part of our beautifully queer trio," Crope announced, "Korrell, meet Glinda."
She had a little aha moment just then, but thought it more tactful not to acknowledge that she had heard of him before, especially considering the circumstances of the boys' first encounter with him. Korrell, blissfully unaware of the way she was already judging him after mere two seconds of acquaintance, offered his hand for her to shake, his grin lopsided and dashing.
"Hey, how are ya?"
Glinda shook his hand because she saw no option not to.
"Nice to meet you," she replied, simply out of habit.
"Interesting," he remarked as he noticed the black ring on Glinda's right middle finger. You're ace?"
"Yes…"
Although his tone of voice had sounded fairly neutral, Glinda immediately felt apprehensive. She slowly retracted her hand and watched him carefully, while Korrell sized her up from head to toe.
"You're not trans, are you?"
Glinda stared at him in perplexity.
"No, I'm not," she answered stiffly, narrowing her eyes.
"You're into girls then?" he tried again, his grin still in place, but looking less and less natural.
She realised what he was going for and summoning every ounce of strength within her, she pulled back her shoulders, making sure to answer truthfully, yet as provocatively as she could.
"As of now, I have never been in a relationship with another woman, nor do I expect to find myself in such a relationship in the future."
Just as she had anticipated, his expression darkened. He worked his jaw and lifted his chin up, so he would peer down on the already short woman at an even more severe angle. His look spoke of nothing than absolute condescension.
"You have no fucking right then to call yourself queer, do you?" he concluded, his voice sharp and cold.
Although she'd tried to steel herself for this, Glinda's chest tightened, making it hard to breathe. The sudden, so shockingly overt hostility hit her harder than she had hoped.
But Korrell wasn't finished yet.
"You're a cishet imposter," he went on in the most accusatory tone, getting louder with every word. "No one gives a damn shit if you're too frigid to get screwed. Stop calling it an orientation. And fucking stop whining for attention and acceptance in spaces reserved for those who truly face discrimination and oppression."
She clenched her fist when it began to tremble. This was the first time she'd encountered the hate she'd read so much about online in the real world and it wounded her more than she had always imagined it would. Strangely, his words struck a chord with her, made her doubt, even though she'd never before just remotely understood the acephobes' position when she'd read entire exposés on the so called 'discourse.' Somehow, she felt like she couldn't successfully defend her own stance any longer, and so, she drew a different card in her campaign to justify her fellow aces' place in the queer community.
"Well, tell that to my friend," she spat, although not quite as aggressively as she wold have liked, "who got disowned by his parents, his entire family, simply because they do apparently give a toss whether he has sex or not."
Korrell only sneered. Obviously, her argument had missed the mark.
"A guy who doesn't want to bonk? That's messed up. Has he seen a professional yet? We men have needs, instincts. It's natural. Maybe he's some kind of weird robot."
She immediately regretted her mistake. Having involved Fiyero in the debate made it all the more unbearable. She blinked rapidly, hoping to keep the tears at bay. Her lungs seemed almost incapable of catching just the smallest breath. When she spoke next, every word seemed like a struggle for air and courage.
"If you are so resistant to being disabused -" She swallowed hard. "- then I believe it is time you should leave."
But Korrell wasn't the least inclined to heed her request. Smiling confidently, he sat back down in his seat.
"Why do I have to leave? I have hardly had any breakfast yet. But you may leave if you like. I won't stand in your way."
"I live here," Glinda cried, aghast at his cockiness.
"But since you're not the primary tenant, you can hardly kick me out," he goaded.
At long last, one of the boys spoke up.
"No, she's right," Tibbett said firmly as he stood up.
Crope copied him. Although he said nothing, his expression was almost murderous.
Korrell's eyes darted from Glinda to Tibbett, to Crope and back to Glinda. She stared back at him, praying he would finally leave before her resolve broke.
Her wish was granted. With an indignant huff, he rose to his feet and slowly walked towards the main door. He casually picked up the sports bag next to the shoe cabinet, slipped into his lace-less sneakers and opened the door. Not once did he turn back around. When the door snapped shut with a resounding bang, he was gone.
The loud noise was followed by perturbed silence. Neither of the three dared to move. Glinda had closed her eyes in an attempt to calm the storming sea of emotions within. The boys exchanged worried looks, unsure how to proceed.
"Glinda…"
Tibbett was the first to open his mouth, but when she turned around and opened her eyes to meet his, she found she couldn't take it.
"I'm sorry," she snivelled, then darted off towards her room, furiously wiping at the tears that had started to roll over her chalky white cheeks.
