AN:

Ok, I think this is a slightly weird one... structurally at least, but otherwise, too? Not sure lol

At any rate, I hope you'll enjoy!
Wishing everyone a lovely weekend and, of course, happy reading!

xoxox
MLE (=^_^=)

Chapter Ten

Galinda remained standing by the dining table after wiping it down. Her gaze unseeingly lingered on the freshly cleaned surface. Her right hand, still holding the cloth, rested on the tabletop's edge. To say that this afternoon had taken an unexpected turn was an understatement. In some ways, she'd relished the normalcy this strange situation had offered, but now she feared the likely fallout. To be entirely honest, she'd been rather surprised that Elphaba had played along at all. With their guest gone, however, she wondered whether she'd inadvertently only put their relationship under further strain.

She was to find out soon enough, she realised, when she heard Elphaba shove her key into the lock. Blinking, she brought her vision back into focus. She clenched her hand around the wet cloth and pushed herself off from the table to purposefully march towards the kitchen. By the time her flatmate stepped into the room, she was engrossed in tidying the counter and sink.

She made a point of ignoring Elphaba as she stood in the doorway, leaning with one shoulder against the frame. Still, out of the corners of her eyes, she risked furtive glances to assess her mood. She wouldn't say that the green girl looked happy, but at least her expression was controlled and solemn rather than furious. That had to count for something.

"You do realise how ridiculous this entire show was, right?"

Galinda did her best to suppress the urge to look up at that and feigned blissful indifference.

"If that's your attitude, I don't believe we have anything further to say to one another," she said simply—well, not simply, seeing as it took all of her resolve to not immediately start crying again. The shock of last night's argument sat deeper than she cared to admit.

Unfortunately, Elphaba wouldn't leave her in peace just yet.

"What was the purpose of this little performance anyway? Are you treating this like a defunct marriage that needs to be perpetuated at all cost, its cracks concealed? Don't waste your energy. We are roommates, nothing more. Besides, no one would ever fault you for not putting up with the ill-tempered green freak. Not even Boq. Oz knows he's been tempted to do exactly that many times over in the past. You see? There's absolutely no shame involved in calling it a day and ending our affiliation."

When her lip began to quiver, Galinda turned around sharply, attending to the stove instead and re-cleaning the already clean cooktop. Taking deep breaths and counting to ten, she composed herself. Elphaba was right about one thing: this wasn't worth as much turmoil and pain as she was currently allowing it to cause. She only had to fully admit and accept it. Not that that was particularly easy when she was already more invested in this relationship than Elphaba had ever been.

"Why didn't you let Boq go when I gave him an opening to do so?" demanded Elphaba when it became obvious that Galinda had no intention of answering her earlier question. "Did you merely plan to milk him for gossip, or were you hoping to fully turn him against me? I know that you have no genuine interest in him. Under ordinary circumstances, someone like him surely would be beneath your notice."

Now that was an accusation the blonde couldn't stand for. Whirling around, she angrily tossed her cloth into the kitchen sink before bracing her hands on her hips.

"How dare you make such ignorant claims? You know nothing about my motives to know or even befriend someone. You will be surprised to learn that I'm not nearly half as shallow as you seem to think I am. I met Boq before and we chatted for the while, even though I had not the slightest inkling that the two of you were acquainted. Besides, do you consider yourself so much more interesting and noteworthy than your friend? I never realised how full of yourself you actually are!"

Deigning her no reply, Elphaba let her head roll to the opposite side and silently stared out of the window for a while. Galinda tried to go back to work but couldn't find any more tasks to do. Just when she thought that she had no choice but to leave the kitchen and walk past Elphaba to reach the stairs, the taller girl lazily pushed herself off from the wall and slowly made to return to her room. Watching her drag her feet down the corridor, Galinda contemplated various different phrases to shout her way, anything from insults to words of appeasement. In the end, conflicted as she was, she decided that none of them would do.

On Saturday morning she woke hours earlier than she'd intended. Naturally, she tried to go back to sleep, but her attempts proved hopeless. Lying in her bed, staring at the ceiling, she thought with dismay about the weekend ahead. She didn't know what to do with Elphaba and if it were an option, she'd just spend all of Saturday and Sunday right here in her bed. Or at least in her room. Not being able to help her the way she wanted and probably deserved was breaking Galinda's heart, but hearing all the awful things the girl she'd previously considered her friend now hurled at her was more painful than she could ever say.

Of course, unfounded personal attacks like this were never justified, and Galinda had every right to be angry. But truth be told, she wasn't half as angry as she should be. She'd always considered herself a reasonably understanding, sympathetic person. When it came to Elphaba, however, this understanding reached new and maybe inappropriate heights. She'd most likely let her get away with anything, as long as she could explain her behaviour one way or another. Even if it was to her own detriment. She simply loved her too much.

Yes, as ridiculous as it sounded, that was the exact word that promptly came to her mind whenever she gave her feelings towards the wayward green girl any deeper thought. Its exact nature, on the other hand, continued to allude her.

Or was she merely telling herself that? Perhaps, deep down, she did know, and her alleged confusion over it was nothing but denial. After all, in light of the circumstances and facts at her disposal, it seemed like a foolish scenario to as much as dream of—the two of them, together somehow.

But what if it was true? Considering how increasingly irrational and fervent her need to please her seemed to turn. Quietly and clandestinely she'd begun to fear that, against all odds, she'd fallen in love with Elphaba, and that she had unwittingly allowed for her feelings to progress far beyond an ordinary crush. If that were the case, she'd be truly and properly in trouble.

Be that as it may, whether her suspicions would prove to be correct or unwarranted in the end, she couldn't bear the idea of their quarrel dragging on indefinitely, eventually driving them apart for good. It didn't help that Elphaba appeared rather indifferent when it came to the fate of their friendship. Any sort of unrequited affection was sure to make for a shaky foundation, no matter if actual romance was on the table or not. Galinda knew that she had a fair deal of work ahead of her if she wanted to salvage their relationship, and even more if she wanted it to eventually surpass simple cohabitation.

The greatest challenge—besides Elphaba's general resistance—was her determination to not make any compromises. There was no way that she could give Elphaba what she wanted, which ultimately meant that reconciliation could only be achieved if she could somehow convince her that all her accusations were entirely unfounded and that, contrary to her belief, Galinda would do anything to assist her, bar that one single thing she'd asked for. And it would somehow have to be enough for Elphaba.

But how? What could she possibly do beyond those few, though not entirely insignificant things she was already offering? Already weeks ago she'd suggested that Elphaba cancel her rental in Little Glikkus to save money. Elphaba had dismissed the idea then, but since the situation had changed slightly, she might be more amenable to the idea now. After all, it would go a decent way in paying for the procedure. And Galinda, as the direct facilitator, might somewhat redeem herself in Elphaba's eyes.

But…

Putting it that way, her resolution wavered just the tiniest bit. Did this offer mean that she was going too far? Wasn't it about the same as paying for the surgery outright? Should she retract it instead?

Her head hurt. All this brooding wasn't good for her, and she hadn't had breakfast yet either. She picked up her phone to check the time again and groaned. It was only five past six, which meant that barely half an hour had passed. What in Oz's name was one to do without any real prospect of more restful sleep? It seemed like her sole choice was to seize the day and make the most out of it.

She got dressed in a comfy light pink track suit with rainbow print, brushed her teeth and pulled her hair back in a messy ponytail, then went downstairs. She wasn't sure what she hoped to find there, but what she got was a surprisingly empty kitchen and living room. Elphaba, she guessed, rather worked in her room now that things had gone south, just as reluctant to risk confrontation as she was.

As she prepared herself a toasty for breakfast, she noticed an empty cereal bowl sitting in the sink, accompanied by a half-empty mug of coffee. It was obvious then that Elphaba was definitely already long awake and would not suddenly join her for her meal. Just as she wondered why she hadn't bothered putting her stuff away into the dishwasher, she detected the jingling of keys in the distance, followed by the thud of the door. Elphaba had gone off to work.

Slightly perplexed, Galinda turned her head and stared at the display on the microwave. Six twenty-five. On a weekend. Now this was unusual.

Galinda didn't see Elphaba again that day, nor did she see her on Sunday, though there were little hints that she left behind around the place that indicated that she still came back to sleep and eat. Even as she hoped that Elphaba spent at least some of the time away at her old apartment, simply to avoid contact with her, Galinda rather feared that she was taking on a ridiculous amount of additional hours to shovel in extra money.

'This is your fault,' a small voice at the back of her head told her, but she shook her head and pushed the unwelcome thought away.

On Monday she forced herself to get up early, yet once again, Elphaba was already gone. Frustrated that her effort had been in vain, the blonde inspected the house for clues. There wasn't much to go on this time—a mug and a bowl in the dishwasher, her missing jacket and shoes. There was one room she hadn't checked yet, but she was reluctant to even consider going there. It wasn't quite right.

It was, however, still a long while until nine thirty, when she herself had to leave in order to get to her Architectural Design class. With that much time on her hands, a curious mind, and nothing else sufficiently important to completely distract her, the little devil on her shoulder at length convinced her that this was her house after all, and that she had the right to access every nook and cranny of it. And so she did.

Opening the door to Elphaba's room, nothing immediately caught her eye. The desk was a bit of a mess, with several open books piled upon each other. Only at a second glance, she realised that Elphaba's laptop was buried underneath her biology text. She walked over to pick up the book, and a sheet of ruled paper fell out, along with a ballpoint pen. The paper was replete with detailed notes for the upcoming lecture, but if Elphaba's books, notes and laptop were still here—Galinda turned her attention towards the foot end of the bed, where her roomie tended to keep her satchel. It, too, was still waiting in its usual spot.

Galinda all but sprinted from her architecture class to Doctor Dillamond's biology lecture. They'd finished past the hour again, but she wouldn't be late this time. And so she did, in fact, make it before the doors to the theatre closed. It took less than three seconds for her to realise that Elphaba had not.

Her stomach churned anxiously as she stood rooted at the top of the stairs, staring blankly at the vacant seat in the left corner of the first row. Noticing a weird lump in her throat, she swallowed, but it wouldn't clear. From somewhere on the far right hand side of the room she heard Pfannee call her name, and heat rose to her cheeks in embarrassment when she blinked and realised that the doors had now closed and their professor was poised to begin the lecture. As quickly as possible, head held low, she scurried down the aisle.

At first, she thought that she'd make it to her usual spot among her friends, but when she looked that way, the distance suddenly seemed too great to be bridged. She wasn't really up to enduring the searing sensation of hundreds of eyes following her. The solution was a simple one: Elphaba's seat was free for once, so this was where she headed. She pulled out her notepad, pen, and laptop, then waited for the lesson to start. All this had drawn the attention of Doctor Dillamond, who cast her a passing amused look before addressing the remainder of his students.

Her final class of the day finished at five o'clock, after which she hurried home, expecting to finally find Elphaba there. She didn't. The house was just as empty as she'd left it. Ozdammit, this girl was driving her insane! How could she still be out and about? How could she skip class, presumably in exchange for a few extra hours of work? This wasn't like her at all.

For a few moments, she glared at the front door as though that might make it fling open at its own accord, revealing Elphaba on the other side. When it ultimately didn't, Galinda sighed and went upstairs. Without her housemate around, she had no good reason to use the living area as much and preferred the cosy confinement of her personal rooms.

About an hour later, hunger lured her back down and towards the kitchen. Opening the fridge, she frowned. As long as their tiff dragged on, she couldn't exactly expect Elphaba to cook shared meals for the both of them. All the while, there were plenty of ingredients waiting to be processed—anything from vegetables, to dairy, various sauces and a package of organic chicken that Elphaba had bought just for Galinda alone. She grabbed the chicken and a bottle of marinade. Frying some meat in a pan by itself was something she could manage. As a side she'd simply have a slice of bread for now.

For now.

What if this wasn't just 'for now'? What if Elphaba would never cook for her again?

It was a dreadful thought that Galinda resolutely squished by viciously attacking the chicken with her small paring knife. The resulting pieces were anything but neat and equal in size, but she had other, more pressing concerns to worry about.

Then, just after she'd transferred the meat into a skillet and added the sauce, the door opened and closed with a thud. She could feel herself tense. Her heart leapt into her mouth.

For a moment she merely stood, listened and gathered her courage to face Elphaba. Last Friday—the day she'd last properly seen her—already seemed like an eternity away. Did she even know what to say to her? Was Elphaba at all ready to listen to what she had to say? Well, she'd have to approach her first to find out.

She tiptoed towards the entrance hall and caught her right in the nick of time. Clearing her throat noisily, she stopped her from disappearing straight into her room.

"Ah, look what the cat dragged in," she quipped cheerlessly, folding her arms.

She immediately regretted it when Elphaba flashed her a cold glare through narrowed eyes and briskly turned her back towards her.

"Apologies, Your Highness, for disturbing your peace. I shall retreat to my rat role at once."

"Don't you dare run away again!" exclaimed Galinda, stomping down the corridor to prevent her almost certain escape.

This appeared to confuse her flatmate. Instead of easily slipping through the gap and into her safe haven, she stopped to look back at her.

"What do you want?" she asked impatiently, averting her gaze.

Galinda could see her jaw flexing and her teeth grinding. She was already on edge, despite having exchanged barely a handful of words with her. Unsure how to proceed, the blonde tightened her grip on her arms, digging her nails into the wool of her thigh-length angora jumper.

"What is it?" huffed Elphaba, rolling her eyes. "Same cat got your tongue now? Maybe you should get a dog instead."

Galinda let the stupid joke slide. No one was particularly funny or witty when overworked.

"And what exactly have you been doing those past few days? You leave the house before dawn and return late, only to barricade yourself in your room. You skipped class today!"

"Which is none of your concern. But do not fret, I do intend to make up for my truancy right away. So, as you can imagine, I have much to attend to, and if there are no further questions?"

Galinda had no better response to offer but to frown at her. Scoffing, Elphaba was about to turn away, when she paused and cocked her head.

"What in Oz is this smell?" she asked, flaring her nostrils.

Confused, Galinda followed her example and had a good sniff. Something smelt burnt, but she couldn't really figure out the source before Elphaba urgently pushed past her and darted for the kitchen. After a moment's hesitance, she made to follow her.

"Shit! Galinda, what the hell?"

Galinda arrived just on time to watch Elphaba yank the pan off the stovetop and slam it into the sink, then turn on the faucet.

"Sweet Lurline," she muttered under her breath, "I forgot all about the food."

"You don't say," snarled Elphaba. "What were you trying to cook anyway? Charcoal with a side of molten lava?"

Feeling stupid and incompetent, Galinda chewed her lip and mostly avoided looking her way. Only belated she realised how Elphaba's tone of voice had somehow changed slightly. To the better, as odd as it seemed.

Tentatively, she looked up, observing the green girl a moment longer as she got out a spatula and a swath of old supermarket catalogues. She started scratching and scooping, and removed the singed food from the pan to clean it. Eventually, Galinda was confident enough to step closer and offer her assistance. After all, it was her mess to fix.

"What exactly was this before you nuked it?" asked Elphaba, wrapping up the paper parcel containing the charred remains of Galinda's meal and popping it into the bin.

"The chicken?"

"Poor chook," she replied glumly and exhaled. "I'm afraid it died in vain."

The remark seemed so normal and offhand that Galinda almost felt compelled to laugh. Her lips did quirk ever so slightly, but within seconds, the lingering weight in her chest wiped any trace of a smile off her face. She dropped the scraper and the pan in the sink and irritably wiped her hands on the dishtowel.

"Elphie, I really can't do this anymore!"

"Do what? Cook? Just stick to sandwiches and takeout, I guess. You'll be fine."

Galinda stared hat her incredulously, but the other girl ignored her as best she could. Giving her the benefit of the doubt, she only shook her head.

"No, you know fully well that that's not what I mean."

"Then what do you mean?"

Frustrated, Galinda struggled not to descend into a huff. Was Elphaba testing her?

"Isn't it obvious?" she cried and began waving about with her arms. "I mean this whole situation. Us. Like this. It's unbearable."

Elphaba turned suspiciously quiet in response, bowing her head.

"Yes…" she replied at length. "I—I guess you're right. It was unfair of me to wait and force your hand."

"What?"

Galinda didn't understand.

"I'll… I'll take the first step, okay? I'll pack my stuff and leave. I won't make you ask."

"No, Elphie! Gosh. There must be another way. All I want is for us to be friends again."

Scoffing softly, Elphaba let a faint, sad smile play on her lips.

"I don't see how we could be. Not right now. Who knows; maybe in a couple of months from now, once everything is said and done and the dust has settled. If you're able to forgive me that is."

"Forgive you?" repeated Galinda. "There's nothing to forgive!"

"Says the girl who accused me of murder mere days ago!"

It began to sound more like a sneer now, and Elphaba's expression once more turned grim and apprehensive.

"I certainly did not!" protested Galinda, utterly perplexed at how their conversation could possibly have taken such a rapid nosedive.

"You consider the embryo a human life. I intend to end this human life. By this logic, what else would you call it?"

Galinda faltered and stumbled over her words.

"Well, I don't know. I never—"

"Of course you never!" roared Elphaba "Because you're too busy revelling in how wonderful your life is! But there are people out there who are less fortunate than you. And we have real problems that sometimes require drastic solutions. I apologise if those solutions do not easily fall within your comfort zone. But if you're unable to adapt, may I suggest you refrain from venturing past the boundaries of your beautiful bubble of blissful ignorance and seek less problematic friends elsewhere?"

Galinda blinked.

"This isn't about my forgiveness at all," she realised. "This is about whether you will be able to forgive my lack of empathy, my refusal to help the way you'd like me to."

Elphaba brought her hand up to pinch the bridge of her nose.

"It... doesn't matter. I'm sure we're both equally right and equally wrong at the same time. But the fact is, that there's no middle ground and no way to reconcile our differences. It would be better for both of us if we just stayed away from each other."

With that, she pushed past Galinda and fled the kitchen. Baffled and heartbroken, the blonde knew nothing better to do but stare after her as she disappeared around the corner.

There was no communication or even communication attempts until Tuesday night.

'I'll take over lab duty tomorrow,' Elphaba declared in one single, austere text.

After reading it, Galinda typed out dozens of different replies, until she settled on a plain 'Okay.'

The thought of accepting and respecting Elphaba's desire for solitude did cross her mind, but within seconds, she arrived at the conclusion that she would definitely do no such thing. She put away her textbook and set her alarm, then pulled the blanket up to her chin and snuggled in for a night of uneasy sleep.

Her arrival at the bio lab played out about the same way she'd expected: Elphaba took one bewildered look at her, then turned away and continued her work as if she was still on her own. After casting a brief glance at the list on the teacher's desk, Galinda disappeared into the storage room to fetch test tubes and holders. She'd give the other girl a chance to get used to her presence before pouncing on her.

After a couple of awkwardly quiet minutes, she made her move. Distributing pairs of pipettes, she gradually worked her way around to the trolley where Elphaba sorted through the petri dishes with the E. coli cultures from last week's lab session.

"You know," she said, feigning nonchalance, "I think you're wrong."

Elphaba side eyed her and snorted indignantly.

"Of course you do. That's the root of the issue, isn't it?"

"No!" exclaimed Galinda. "I don't mean the abortion—"

"Shhht!" hissed Elphaba and pressed a hand to her lips to silence her. "How about you shout it from the rooftop, hm? Sounds like a good idea?"

Galinda's cheeks flushed for more reasons than her embarrassment.

"Sorry," she whispered, giving her an apologetic look.

Having lost her footing in this conversation, she moved on to start her next task of retrieving the premixed transformation solutions from the fridge.

"So… so what I did mean," she said a bit later, resuming where she'd left of, "was that you're wrong about our differences being insurmountable. There always is a middle ground. Both parties merely need to be willing to accept compromises."

"And how do you expect I make compromises? Terminate half of the pregnancy?"

"Why do you always have to turn everything I say into ridicule?" snapped Galinda. "Do you really think yourself so superior?"

Elphaba promptly redirected the same energy right back at her.

"Then how about you stop making ridiculous suggestions!" she retorted before stomping off towards the drawers on the other end of the room to grab a couple of bags containing little plastic tubes, filled with liquid.

Galinda waited for her inevitable return before replying.

"My suggestion is not at all ridiculous, if you'd only hear me out."

"Look. You deem abortions unethical. I am going to get an abortion. The divide between our opinions is too great."

"You're right. I don't like the concept very much. But there's a fine but important difference between the act itself and the individual case in which it may be warranted. You see what I mean?"

"No. I'm afraid I don't. It all sounds like justification gymnastics to me."

Shaking her head, Galinda took a bag of tubes from her. Reading the label, she tried to figure out what to do with them.

"These are the Cas9 plasmid solutions," explained Elphaba grudgingly as she ripped open the first bag. "Just put one in each test tube holder."

Both girls started from opposite ends of the classroom. When they met near the middle, they accidentally both tried to insert their last tube into the last empty holder. Their hands brushed against each other and Elphaba quickly retracted hers, averting her face sharply.

"You go ahead then. I'll put this one with the unopened bags under the trolley."

"Elphie. I need you to understand that I really have absolutely no quarrel with you personally. Even if you go through with this procedure. All I ever really rejected was my personal involvement in all of this. So, just in case you're unsure whether my offer still stands, considering everything that has transpired the past few days… It certainly does. I think it would be a great idea for you to cancel your contract for your old apartment and live at my house rent-free. This way you'd save up plenty of money in no time at all."

She watched as Elphaba shifted anxiously on the spot.

"I'm not comfortable with this. Especially since the lack of your support is the very reason why I need to gather such a large sum in the first place. How do you expect me to fully rely on your support in order to raise it?"

"But I am trying to support you," Galinda asserted urgently. "Only, I need to do it in my own way. The outcome would be the same. Don't you understand that?"

"If you're so hell-bent on supporting me, then why are you so hung up on semantics?" demanded Elphaba.

"And why, for goodness' sake, are you so hung up on the details of how exactly I'm trying to help you?"

Neither of them had noticed exactly how loud their argument had gotten until the door to the lab opened and Doctor Dillamond poked his horned head through the small gap, looking back and forth between the two of them.

"Is everything alright, Miss Elphaba? Miss Glinda?"

Elphaba gave Galinda a stern and reproachful glance before apologising to their professor. The blonde blushed furiously and remained silent.

It didn't come as a surprise when she returned home in the afternoon and the house was once again empty. The effect of her call remaining unanswered was all the same deeply upsetting. Her eyes misting over with the precursors of tears, she kicked off her shoes and carelessly left them behind in the corner.

She rushed upstairs and huddled up under the plush duvet, wrapping it firmly around her body. It was a poor substitute for the touches and embraces she really craved, but she supposed she was never going to get any of those—not from Elphaba anyway. Who knew how long it would be until someone else came along who might be worth a second glance, let alone more.

Exhausted from the early morning start and the emotional chaos of the past few days, she ended up falling asleep. When she woke up the following morning, she'd made up her mind.

'My experience was really great. The staff were extremely helpful and comforting.'

'I felt very comfortable and respected. The staff were so lovely and understanding. Very happy with my experience.'

'I highly recommend the services at this place. Everyone was very kind.'

Galinda nodded to herself, took out a pen and jotted down the address, phone number and email.

"Hey there!"

Startled, she jumped and smashed down the lid of her laptop.

"Fiyero!"

"What are you up to?" he chuckled. "Looking at something cheeky?"

"What? No! I was just—"

Dragging a chair over from a neighbouring table, he flopped down next to her, straddling the seat backwards, his arms crossed and leaning on the backrest.

"No worry, just kidding. Hey, err, did you do the homework for arch?"

Galinda chuckled.

"Well, sort of? I'm a bit snowed under, so I did the bare minimum, I'm afraid."

"Fair enough. To be honest, I didn't do any of it, but it wasn't for the lack of trying. I just never used this software before and it's giving me a headache. Would you mind giving me a quick demonstration?"

Offering him a taut smile, Galinda traced the outline of her computer with her forefinger.

"I'm a bit busy right now."

His shoulders slumped in disappointment, triggering feelings of guilt within her.

"Well, I'm free tomorrow though," she added hastily and forced her smile to widen. "You can show me where you usually get stuck, and I'll show you how to do the whole thing from beginning to start. Sound okay?"

"Yeah, sounds great! Where shall we meet? Your place after class?"

She paused to think. Maybe inviting guests over wasn't the best of ideas at the moment.

"I got a pretty late bio lecture at four. That's three hours of downtime between arch and then. How about we meet at the library? I'll try and book a meeting room."

"Thanks. You're a lifesaver," grinned Fiyero as he stood. "I'll grab us some smoothies from the stand on Uni Square, okay? What flavour do you like?"

"The one with blueberry and banana and coconut. I forget the name—"

"No worries, I'll find it," he laughed, winking at her as he left.

Galinda watched him for a moment before re-opening her laptop. She closed the browser window and pulled up her badly completed homework project. Casting a glance at the time in the lower right corner of her screen, she wondered how much she could possibly improve on it in the remaining fifteen minutes till class.

She came back late after running a number of errands downtown. Without wasting any time, she made for the dining table and sat down there, dropping her tote bag on the chair next to hers. She pulled out her pencil case and a pack of envelopes, of which she only needed one. And a brand new stack of large, yellow sticky notes. Her gaze returned to her bag. For a few moments she stared at it intently, remaining doubts rearing and protesting their discontent. She'd ignore them and do what she had to do. It was her only way forward and out of this plight.

Blowing a long breath through her barely parted lips, she delved with her hand deep into the small zip compartment. She produced a thin bundle of notes and hastily stuffed them into the envelope, followed by the folded sheet from earlier that day. Next, she grabbed the sticky notes. Worrying her lip with her teeth, she contemplated what to write.

She took out her favourite pen, glared at it, then swapped it for one she never used. Ever. She started putting words on the square paper, but ripped it to tiny shreds. When she started anew, she wrote in print rather than her usual handwriting. Reviewing the finished product, she gave a feeble shrug. She supposed this was the best she could do. With one swift motion, she picked up the sticky note and pressed it to the envelope. Her heart hammering hard in her chest, she delivered the package to Elphaba's desk.

Now the trick was to forget about it all, to erase every thought of it from her memory. This had never happened. She'd never heard of any money and what envelope? She certainly didn't know anything about any of this.

Instant pasta was her early dinner. She took it all upstairs and didn't return the empty bowl and used spoon until the next morning. Busying herself with her latest architecture assignment, she tried not to listen for any signs of Elphaba's return. Before bed, she watched pointless WizzTube videos and combed her social media for some proper, juicy gossip, hoping her dreams would leave her poor guilty conscience alone.

It was Friday night. The knock on the door of her upstairs bedroom almost scared the living daylights out of Galinda. This was highly unusual, utterly unexpected, and she didn't know how she felt about it at all.

"Coming!" she called, her stomach knotting and tightening.

She put her book down and thrust the blanket aside. She covered the few short steps to the door as quickly as she could, lest she get cold feet and change her mind. Schooling her face, she put her hand on the doorknob and twisted it.

"Hey," she said, the corners of her mouth twitching slightly.

"Hey," echoed her roomie, only quieter.

"Do you"—she cleared her throat—"want to come in?"

Elphaba shook her head briskly.

"No, I just…"

Galinda watched her gaze wander off to the side. Her right hand came up to her arm to scratch it anxiously.

"Shall we have a cup of tea downstairs?" she suggested, and Elphaba once again declined.

"Look, I…" she ran her tongue over her lips. "I know I shouldn't ask you this, but I went to this clinic today—"

Galinda sucked in a sharp breath. Her eyes went from Elphaba straight to the floor. She'd feared that something like this would be the reason for her surprise visit.

"The arrangements have been made, but they stressed that I'd need someone to pick me up afterwards." She paused, scratching her nose. "And no; I asked, but taxis don't count."

Galinda nodded mutely, without lifting her head. How had she not seen this coming? What a thoughtless oversight. She opened her mouth, then closed it without saying a word. No, she really didn't need to insult Elphaba by asking whether she could think of anyone else to do her this favour. If that were the case, she certainly would have.

So, she finally looked up to face her and mustered a weak smile. She reached out, gently placing her hand on the taller girl's upper arm.

"Okay," she said simply and gave her arm a little reassuring squeeze.

Elphaba's eyes widened slightly as if she'd barely dared to hope for such a reply, then softened as she nodded gratefully. She covered Galinda's hand with her own and patted it before turning away, wishing her a good night.

Galinda cradled her hand against herself and felt heat rushing through her chest and flushing her face. She couldn't remember any contact between them feeling this intimate and profound. Under better circumstances, she would have been giddy with joy.

Elphaba was in the kitchen when she came downstairs the following morning. Galinda approached her cautiously, worried she might disturb the fragile peace between them.

"May I cut in?" she asked quietly, with a shy smile on her lips.

Her roommate looked up at her for a split second before coughing uneasily and training her eyes back onto the plate in front of her.

"I'm actually not allowed to have breakfast. I'm just making a sandwich for… after."

Her voice trailed off. Her hand stilled. Her eyes were most definitely not seeing the bread she was buttering. Galinda told herself that she hadn't noticed any of those subtle gestures and stoically walked over to the pantry to find herself a bag of tea and a cookie.

"When…when's the appointment?"

"Eleven."

"Oh. Okay. Do you—I mean, each time I offered to accompany you, you declined, but since you need me to pick you up anyway…"

"I'll be fine taking the bus," answered Elphaba. "Unless, well, you insist."

"If you promise to not hold it against me? Yes, I do."

They left the house half past ten o'clock. Elphaba carried a small gym bag-looking thing, supposedly containing everything she'd need for the next four to five hours. Galinda had packed a couple of things of her own and put them in a paper bag in the boot of her car. Though they had agreed that she was not to come upstairs to the clinic until it was time for the pick-up, she wasn't sure whether she'd feel comfortable enough to simply drive off and go back home or pass the time somewhere else in town.

"You sure you got everything?" she asked, purely out of the need to say something, but with her mind coming up completely blank.

Elphaba gave her a particular kind of look, eyebrows raised, and that was that. No more than a dozen words passed between them for the remainder of the journey.

The drive couldn't have been longer than fifteen minutes, but to Galinda it might as well have been hours. Each delay at a traffic light or roundabout challenged her patience and resolve. Her fingers drummed against the steering wheel. How in Oz was she supposed to endure the actual wait once she'd dropped off Elphaba?

There was a park opposite the clinic with plenty of empty parking spaces. No one wanted to see dead flowers and lacklustre grass in winter, but Galinda thought it looked like a spot that would be popular in summer or spring. She rather surveyed the leaf sprinkled lawn and chopped-back rose garden, imagining them in their prime than gaze the other way at the red brick building with the white accents and columns. Only belatedly did she notice that Elphaba could have gotten out of the car the very instant they'd stopped. But she hadn't. With about as much curiosity as trepidation, she slowly turned her head to give her a glance.

"Take your time," she said, feigning calm, her eyes already trained on the surrounding landscape again. "Take as long as you need. I'm—I'm sure they're used to this kind of thing here."

"They… were very nice to me yesterday," Elphaba replied after a moment's hesitation and took a breath. "Too nice maybe. Strangely enough, I almost felt less insecure when nurse Kersie at the community clinic peered at me like I was a piece of dirt under her manicured fingernails. At least her attitude gave me something to rebel against."

The confession made Galinda gasp and turn around abruptly, grasping Elphaba's hand with her own.

"Gosh, Elphie! I'm so terribly sorry for everything I said when you came home that night! No matter our differences in believes, I should have kept my mouth shut and said nothing rather than fuel the fire. It was thoughtless of me to not take into consideration what you must have gone through there."

Elphaba's hand twitched a little, but contrary to Galinda's fears, she did not retract it.

"I don't know. I reckon you might have tried staying calm if I hadn't—"

Her lips suddenly pursed inwards as she realised that she'd almost mentioned something she'd agreed not to. This time, her hand did move, and Galinda was forced to give it up. Bringing it up to her face Elphaba rubbed at her eyes.

"Listen," said Galinda, "no one deserves to be treated badly, no matter what. You deserve to be treated with respect and kindness. If the staff here are nice to you, it's only because they are used to it all and know that the stigma and everything are nothing but a pile of crap."

"Hear, hear," Elphaba chuckled dourly and scoffed.

"Well, I suppose they also get paid a bit better," added the blonde, hoping that making light of it took some weight off her previously comment.

Elphaba did, in fact, smile for a millisecond.

Time passed, eleven o'clock came and went. Elphaba barely moved as much as a little finger. With her left hand on the door handle, her bag slung around her shoulders, she looked like she was ready to hop out any moment, only she didn't. Eventually, her phone rang, and she grudgingly pulled it out of her jacket before cursing under her breath.

Galinda couldn't decide between encouraging her to go or telling her that it was okay to pull out last second. In the end, she was glad that her inner conflict raged long enough for Elphaba to make up her mind first.

"Let's… just go," she muttered, at long last releasing the handle and burying her head in her propped up hand.

Galinda stared at her, stupefied.

"You mean…?"

"Just drive!" snapped Elphaba as she slumped back into her seat. "I'll… I'll call them later and make another appointment or something."

"Uh, yeah. Sure." Galinda started the car, casting repeated glances her way. "So… homewards?"

"I don't care," answered Elphaba, sounding terribly deflated.

Galinda nodded and pulled out of her parking bay not knowing whether to laugh or cry. Right in front of Elphaba at least, she resolved to do neither.