AN:

Hello, my lovelies!

I totally didn't expect to see you guys again so soon! I mean, I did threaten to not update for a while... Well, let's just say I'm addicted to writing this and somehow still managed to carve out some time to do so. That being said, don't be surprised or alarmed if one of these days I actually do end up disappearing for a while...

Anyways, this should be a fun chapter for you all! Don't believe me? Try and read it, then tell me what you think!
Happy reading everyone!

xoxo MLE
(=^_^=)

Chapter Fifteen

Elphaba felt confused and a little dumb. What was she doing here? Shouldn't she just have left her roomie alone? What was she trying to accomplish, trying to find out? None of this was her business.

Except now it had become her business, because she'd found her friend crying in her bedroom. That was something she couldn't simply ignore. But why, oh why then, hadn't her first question been whether Galinda was okay, or whether she needed something?

'I don't understand.'

What a stupid thing to say! As if Galinda owed her an explanation. Wasn't that just rubbing salt into the wound?

Transfixed, immobilised by her regret over how she'd so far dealt with this situation, she remained standing a step away from the doorway. She watched Galinda from the distance, trying to decipher every minute gesture. Needless to say, she wasn't good at this sort of thing.

The blonde on the bed didn't move much. In her overall stillness, the heaving of her chest stood out. She wasn't sobbing, but silent tears continued to roll down her flushed cheeks in regular intervals. Every now and again, she'd wipe at them and blink.

It was a strange sensation to be on the receiving end of her watery stare, especially as Elphaba tried and failed miserably at reading it. What did Galinda want from her? Was she dreadingly awaiting a verbal thrashing? Was she asking for help or quietly pleading to be left alone?

At length, Elphaba decided that she'd do more damage by doing the wrong thing, rather than not doing anything at all. Scratching the back of her neck and averting her eyes, she mumbled something about being downstairs in case she needed anything before starting to turn away.

"What is it?"

Hearing Galinda's voice, she stopped to look at her.

"Hm?"

She saw her take a deep breath and exhale shakily. She lowered her gaze and bit her lip before speaking again.

"What… do you not understand?"

Feeling her ears grow hot in embarrassment, Elphaba took a subconscious step further away from the door.

"Nothing. I, uh, didn't mean to pry. I'm sorry."

"I don't mind talking about it," Galinda replied astonishingly quickly, looking up at Elphaba. "I don't want any misunderstandings or misconceptions to further complicate things between us. Goodness knows we've had enough of that going on already. I'm tired of this shit. Ask away and I'll try to answer."

"Uh, okay…"

Elphaba shuffled back around to properly face her. Another moment of awkward silence. Finally, Galinda sighed and patted the spot next to her on the bed.

"Stop standing around like a damn beanpole and come sit with me," she said impatiently. "I'm not going to shout out the answers."

Her stomach dropped. Her first impulse was to duck her head and walk away, but she couldn't without offending her friend. Sheepishly, she glanced at Galinda as she sat there, with her dress undone.

Her dress. The blood in Elphaba's ears began to roar. How hadn't she noticed this earlier? A memory from their weekend in Frottica, when Galinda had changed clothes mere inches away from her flashed through her mind. Whether on accident or by design, she'd gotten an eyeful of more than she'd bargained for, but the other girl hadn't seemed bothered either way. Obviously, it was Elphaba who was making this unnecessarily difficult.

With small steps, she moved forward, hesitating first at the door, then by the bed, before slowly taking a seat. She made sure to concentrate on Galinda's eyes, her hair or even her mouth if need be, but nothing below her neck.

"You can help me do up my zip if my state of dress makes you uncomfortable," said Galinda with slight smile while her cheeks blushed delicately.

Mortified that she'd been seen through so easily, Elphaba merely bobbed her head, then became indefinitely more anxious when Galinda presented her with her bare back.

Despite her unease, Elphaba couldn't deny her eyes the freedom to fleetingly roam across what curious fingers would never dare to touch. There was nothing sexual about it, only pure adoration and wonder, disbelieve even. She hand't expected Galinda's skin to still look just as flawless, soft and exquisite up close.

The girl before her shifted and adjusted her posture, making her shoulder blades ripple beneath her skin. Elphaba would never have thought that she'd ever consider the words elegant and shoulder blades in the same sentence. They were nothing but weirdly shaped bones, hidden below layers of thin soft tissue. Well, she supposed she'd been wrong, at least in this case. They were mesmerising.

The sound of Galinda clearing her throat reminded her of the task at hand. Zip. She found the slider all the way down at the bottom where her sacrum would be. With her jaw set in grim determination, she reached out to grab it. It wouldn't budge, until she grudgingly used her left hand to pinch at the fabric below and hold it down.

She counted the vertebrae as she moved up along Galinda's spine. Pushing aside her luscious curls to finish the last stretch, Elphaba noticed how the spiny process of C7 stood out in the most gorgeous manner a bone possibly could stand out. Only in the last millisecond did she stop herself from actually remarking on it. Thank Oz!

"Done," she murmured, relieved and a tad weary from all the tension.

Galinda rotated back around and folded her hands in her lap, sitting straight and prim.

"Okay," she said after a brief pause and gave her a serious, but encouraging nod. "First you: what was your first thought? Why did you come to see me?"

Now that Galinda's outfit hand been sorted, Elphaba found it easier to look literally anywhere but her face. Her gaze fell onto her roomie's hands. Despite her overall serene façade, her knuckles were white, and Elphaba felt terrible for putting her so on edge.

"I was worried that something bad might have happened," she said slowly, forcing her eyes to move up. "That chick must have been really pissed for one reason or another, or she wouldn't have slammed the door the way she did."

Red lips quirked into a tense line. Galinda looked self-conscious and apologetic.

"I broke off our makeout session and sent her home all hot and bothered. Most people would be pissed after that."

"But that's what I don't quite understand," Elphaba pressed on, shaking her head and throwing caution to the wind. "What was she doing here in the first place? Was this—was this planned? Or was this a date gone wrong?"

"I didn't lie to you, if that's what you're concerned about," Galinda replied.

Elphaba barked out a laugh.

"You couldn't possibly have! You kept it pretty vague from day one, leaving me to guess and make sense of the little hints you did drop. I could have been wrong about my conclusions, which still wouldn't mean you lied."

"I wasn't sure how much you actually wanted to know, or whether you wanted to talk about it."

That was a good point. How much did she want to know, how much should she want to know? What kind of relationship did they have? Admittedly, Elphaba was rather new to this whole friendship business.

"I'm probably more curious than I ought to be," she admitted, redirecting her gaze to her wiggling toes. "Because we live together, and because I don't have anyone else to talk to about this sort of stuff. But I won't push it."

"Hey, don't worry, okay?"

Galinda lightly put her hand on Elphaba's thigh, causing a surge of electricity to shoot through her body and her back to straighten. As her head snapped up, she inevitably looked right at the open door. The thought of escape was alluring, but she convinced herself to stay put. This was a good conversation to have. There was no reason to run away, other than her cowardice.

"You know," said Galinda after a pause, "I also never get a chance to discuss these things IRL. None of my friends know. Not even about my preference for girls."

Out of the corners of her eyes, Elphaba considered her. She couldn't really bring herself to face her head on.

"And how does that work? I thought you aren't drawn to anyone that way."

"Okay. Let's drop the euphemisms and all that crap."

Galinda got up, tucked her leg under and sat back down, now fully turned towards Elphaba. Reaching for the green girl's shoulders, she compelled her to do the same. They locked gazes and Elphaba felt a little shy. She could see that Galinda was also nervous, but her determination, the spark in her eyes, easily outshone any insecurities she might have had.

"I'll start. You can decide for yourself whether you want to talk about your own experiences or not. Just because I open up, that doesn't mean that you have to do the same. This is not a quid pro quo. Understand?"

She nodded stiffly.

"Good. Here we go.

"I'm about as ace as they come. Sexual attraction? Error code 404, page not found. On the other hand, I'm not entirely opposed to sex."

"With girls?" interjected Elphaba without thinking.

Galinda flashed her an unidentifiable grin.

"Yeah. It's a matter of aesthetics, chemistry and gut feeling. I've never found guys appealing in any of those ways. Does that… trouble you? Because we live together, I mean."

She shook her head and Galinda's grin turned into a much softer, prettier smile.

"Anyway, I don't have much of a drive. I don't need sex. I can go without for months, maybe longer. If someone told me I could't do it ever again, I'd just shrug and move on."

Furrowing her brow, Elphaba cocked her head.

"Then why engage in it at all?"

"Because it can be fun," replied her friend easily. "Because it can be satisfying. And for—" she stopped, running her thumb over her own lips, then biting the nail. "And for stupid reasons."

"Stupid reasons?" repeated Elphaba, puzzled.

Galinda fidgeted, readjusting her position and clutching at the expensive fabric of her dress.

"Validation," she said at length and sucked in a sharp breath. "Feeling more normal. Those sort of things." She swallowed and added, "You don't need to tell me that those are fucked up. I understand that just fine."

Unsure what to say, Elphaba watched her in silence. She couldn't remember having ever seen her friend so vulnerable. She felt honoured that Galinda had shared so much, but also overwhelmed, because she didn't know how to act in return. Wasn't it her job to console her now?

"Well, I can relate to those more than the fun part," she offered tentatively, but it didn't have quite the desired effect.

"Gosh, Elphie!" exclaimed Galinda, eyes wide and etched with concern. "I didn't mean to say that what you did was stupid! I really didn't!"

Surprised by her unexpected change in demeanour, Elphaba first stared at her blankly, then cackled mirthlessly.

"If not stupid, then what would you call it?" she rebutted before turning away and squeezing her eyes shut.

Galinda gave her a second before reaching out to cup her cheek and guide her back.

"There was so much you didn't know," she said softly. "I'm sorry that you felt like you had no other choice."

"And I'm sorry that you're incapable of stopping yourself from making the same mistake over an over again, in spite of your better judgement," replied Elphaba, without looking at her.

Wordlessly, Galinda dropped her hand, and only at the sudden loss of contact the full weight of her words truly registered with Elphaba.

"Apologies," she said, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Really. Shit, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean for this to come out so judgy."

Galinda took her hand by her wrist and slowly pulled it away from her face. She held it tightly between both of hers.

"I know."

The silence that followed wasn't uncomfortable, but it couldn't go on forever. Unable to come up with a better idea, Elphaba eventually decided to try and continue their earlier conversation as if nothing had happened.

"Have you ever fallen in love?" she asked.

While pondering her answer, Galinda began playing with her fingers again. It made her feel vaguely antsy, but before she could say anything to that affect, her friend gave her hand a squeeze and released it.

"Not as much as most people would expect," she said. "Maybe once? That doesn't mean that I'm going to put myself out there and join the dating game, hoping to find someone to spend my life with. It was more like that famous exception that proved the rule, you know? I still feel much more comfortable identifying as aro ace."

"That makes sense," said Elphaba.

"How about you? Have you gotten anywhere with your journey of self-discovery?"

The taller girl grimaced and hiked her shoulders.

"Maybe? It's good to know that I'm not alone, but the specifics of it all continue to elude me. In the end, I suppose it doesn't really matter. It's not like I was cut out for romance and stuff. Not only am a green person, I'm also on my way to becoming a single parent. What a catch."

"You know exactly what I think about your self-deprecating talk," Galinda told her sternly. "But I'm not going to argue when I know that there's no point. That being said, you're right to not fuss over labels when you don't think that they're overly helpful."

"Perhaps in the future. But for now junior has to be my priority, and frankly, that's already more than I can handle."

It was an almost careless admission, especially in light of their numerous disagreements on the matter. Realising that a bit too late, Elphaba gave Galinda a cautious glance. The expression on her face spoke volumes, but no objections were voiced. They were both equally interested in keeping the peace for now, and this was a discussion for another day.

Nodding to herself, Elphaba rose to her feet.

"It's getting late," she sighed, running her hand through her hair. "Thanks for the talk. I appreciate your candidness."

"You're welcome. As I said, I don't really mind. Ask away if anything of that sort should come up again."

"Will do. Oh, and one more thing?"

"Yes?"

"It's cool, you know… I don't object to you bringing girls home. For the fun and the—the satisfaction." She cleared her throat and grinned. "And if you give me fair warning, I'll make sure to lay low and stay out of the way. To make it easier on everyone involved."

"It won't happen again," Galinda assured her with unnecessary fervency. Elphaba felt guilty for how inexplicably happy that made her.

"You don't have to make such promises," she said dismissively, more to herself than her friend. "At any rate; goodnight. Fresh dreams. I'll see you tomorrow evening."

"Evening?" Galinda's pout made her look disproportionately disappointed.

"I've got work in the morning and a birthday meetup with Boq at three."

"Oh. Then please convey my best wishes. Maybe we should invite him over sometime for tea or dinner."

"I'll make sure to ask him," said Elphaba, raised her hand for a wave and made to leave.

"Uh, Elphie?"

She stopped dead in her tracks and looked over her shoulder. She'd never ignore Galinda, even when she was growing increasingly tired.

"Yes?"

The blonde on the bed smoothed out her dress and gave her an uncertain look.

"I wish you could stay."

"Stay?"

Galinda chewed her lip.

"Sleep here tonight? Please?"

What an unusual request. A bit more than a week ago, Elphaba had been surprised that she hadn't minded sharing a tiny bed, but it had been out of necessity. This time, the bed was larger, yet there was no practical reason whatsoever. What should she make of that?

She had a weird feeling about the idea, but somehow she couldn't deny her friend's request. In the absence of a solid, reasonable objection, it seemed cruel to say no.

"Malky is going to miss me," she feebly pointed out after they'd both already slipped under the blanket. The kitten had spent the last couple of nights rolled up next to her on her bed.

Galinda ran her her hand up and down Elphaba's arm.

"He isn't stupid. The door is open and he'll come looking for you."

Her words held true. When Elphaba woke up in the morning, she found the little ball of fur rolled up between them, kneading with his paws and purring gently as he slept.

When Elphaba arrived at the café it was about fifteen minutes past the arranged time. A delivery of canned vegetables had arrived just before the end of her shift, and her boss had insisted she help the puny teenage boy who'd come to replace her.

"Apologies for being late," she said as she approached the table.

Her eyes darted across the patio while she covered the last couple of metres with her long, swift strides. She preferred quiet corners to hide in, rather than open outdoor settings. But at least it was spring and the surrounding vegetation had recently exploded into all shades of green, with young, tender leaves and the occasional flower. If only she could position herself close enough to a hedge, she'd blend in and fade into the background.

Boq stood and opened his arms in greeting.

"Happy birthday, old chap," she said, honouring him with a fleeting hug.

"Happy birthday, twinnie!" echoed the Munchkin and playfully punched her upper arm.

Arching an eyebrow, Elphaba looked back and forth between the short, pink boy and her tall, viridescent self.

"Oh, you know what I mean!" he muttered and pushed an envelope and a bunch of chocolate flowers into her hands.

"Chocolate poppies?" asked Elphaba.

"My parents raised me to always be polite and give a girl flowers for her birthday. Since you don't appreciate the dying kind, I came up with an alternative."

"Very thoughtful."

She put the bouquet down and dropped the envelope into her satchel. After searching her bag, she produced a little gift of her own and handed it to her friend.

"You shouldn't have!" he protested—not in the usual way, which only indicated false modesty, layered on top of greed; he definitely meant it.

Elphaba scratched her neck and nodded for him to open it.

"I got rid of my old apartment, and I'm not currently paying rent where I live. I've got a few coins to spare."

They were interrupted by loud hollering and the tooting of a party horn.

"Happy birthday!" two male voices shouted out in unison, making Elphaba's head whip around.

"Who are they?" she muttered glancing down at Boq.

"Friends," he replied, his face and ears red as a strawberry. "I do have friends besides you, believe it or not.

The pair hurried closer and smothered the birthday boy with kisses and hugs. Elphaba pitied him. He didn't look like he enjoyed the special treatment more than she would have.

"Okay, okay! That's—Yes, yes enough of that. Settle down, you lot," she heard him squeak out. Chuckling, she bided her time. "Good," he breathed at last, rearranging his curly mop of hair and fumbling with the gift bag in his hands. "Introduction time. Elphaba, this is Crope and Tibbett. Crope, Tibbs, this is my childhood friend Elphaba."

The boy called Tibbett took a step forward as if leaning in for a handshake. Elphaba chose to greet them with a small flutter of her fingers instead. Thankfully, they got the message.

The group sat down and spent the next few minutes fussing over the menus. Boq suggested that he could foot the bill, but the others unanimously insisted that it would be better if everyone could pay for their own food. Eventually, they agreed to let Boq order a bottle of sparkling wine.

Despite her initial distrust, Elphaba soon came to take a shine to the boys. They were silly and altogether a little too full on, but had never once flinched at the sight of her. Occasionally, she'd pretend to look elsewhere or focus solely on Boq, but as far as she could tell, they didn't use any of those chances to stare at her discoloured skin.

As it turned out, Crope and Tibbett had a healthy appetite, ordering two slices of cake each and a big mug of white and dark cocoa, respectively. Boq had a fancy sandwich with several cups of coffee and received a small surprise sundae on the house. Elphaba spent most of her time quietly observing the unlikely friends, nursing her one single cup of mineral tea for over an hour, ignoring the wine.

"By the by, Galinda sends her love and best wishes," she informed Boq when the conversation about the previous topic had lulled somewhat.

Boq froze and stared back at her in shock.

"I probably should have invited her, too" he said, visibly appalled by his oversight.

"Perhaps you could have." Elphaba shrugged, draining the last drops of tea from the cup. "But you hardly know her. I should say you look a bit silly right now, and for no good reason."

"But she is your lovely roommate," he protested and Elphaba hardly knew how to interpret his words.

"She may be lovely, Boq—no, she is lovely, I agree—" At his knowing expression (which didn't make a whole lot of sense to her) she threw up her hands. "Not to me! I don't mean me! Please, that look! Spare me!"

Out of the corners of her eyes, she noticed Crope and Tibbett and their wide grins. For the first time, they appeared truly intrigued by her. Not in a bad way, she could tell. Perhaps she was generally oblivious to the people around her. It was a tried and tested survival strategy. But she was not oblivious enough to not take note of their very conspicuous affection for each other. It was difficult to be that blind. She herself didn't care either way. As she'd learnt, her roomie had similar leanings, which was fine. Yet the idea of her and Galinda together; that was preposterous.

She gathered her things in a hurry, made the necessary excuses before rushing off. The bouquet of chocolate flowers in her hand swept a metal ash tray right off the neighbouring table as she passed, and her satchel rudely poked an unsuspecting patron in the side. "Apologies," she mumbled, then dashed through the gap in the surrounding hedge. She didn't look both ways as she lunged across Railway Square and was nearly mowed down by a young Calf on a skateboard.

Walking, rather than taking the bus back home, Elphaba cut through Ticknor Circus and marched up and down Scholars Hill. It took her more than an hour, but at least it gave her time to think.

With her head clearer and physically removed from that stressful situation, she now regretted her reaction. She hoped her actions hadn't offended Crope and Tibbett, or worse, invalidated her own rebuttal of Boq's tacit claims. Deep down, she feared she might easily have accomplished both in one fell swoop.

Galinda was working on her laptop when she arrived, but made sure to look up and smile when she entered the living area.

"Had fun with Boq?" she asked innocently. "What did he say in regards to the invitation?"

The invitation! She hadn't really had much of a chance to bring that up. Luckily, that was something she could arrange over phone, or when they bumped into each other at uni next week.

"I forgot," she admitted, hiking her shoulders. "I did communicate your birthday wishes though."

That was when Galinda noticed the chocolate poppies.

"Boq gave them to me," was Elphaba's truthful answer to her question.

She didn't want to elaborate further and didn't bother denying her friend's conclusion that he most likely had received so much confectionary that day, that he simply had to share it. There was a good chance that she would have gotten away with it all. What she hadn't considered were her newfound acquaintances.

"Elphie?"

Sitting on her bed, pressed into the corner of the wall, she casually looked up from her book to find Galinda standing in the doorway, hands tightening around her phone.

"Happy… Happy Birthday," the blonde said quietly and averted her gaze.

Astonished, Elphaba let her arms sink.

"Crope and Tibbett told me," Galinda went on to explain. "They didn't know it was your birthday either, until Boq told them later. They somehow gathered that we lived together and asked me to congratulate you on their behalf."

"Who don't you know?" Elphaba wondered out loud as she put her book aside for good.

"Well, that would be telling," said Galinda, smiling tentatively. She waited for a moment before asking, "Why didn't you tell me?"

Lowering her head, Elphaba let her face disappear behind a curtain of midnight black tresses.

"I don't care about my birthday. Once I turned eighteen and was legally independent, getting older lost its appeal. I don't need an annual reminder of how many people don't care about me."

"I suspected as much," sighed Galinda. "Which is the only reason why I'm not cross with you."

She finally put away her phone. Without asking for permission, she walked straight into the room and plonked down close to Elphaba on the bed.

"You know, you do seem to be on track to make a decent number of friends though," she remarked, sounding a lot more chipper than before. "Crope and Tibbett? Out of all people!" She laughed.

"Boq's friends, not mine."

"And yet they care. And then you've got me. I care. In fact, I care so much that I have decided to mark this day with a small outing."

She reached out to brush Elphaba's hair aside and tuck the silky strands behind her ears. It took all of the green girl's willpower to not slap her hand away.

"Thanks, but no thanks," she said, training her eyes on her lap. "I'm not in the mood."

"Gobbledygook!" dismissed Galinda cheerfully. "Well, it's your birthday, so I'll let you choose: movie first, then dinner, or dinner first, then movie?"

"Movie? Like Wizzflickz, right?"

"What kind of outing would that be!"

Elphaba ran her hand through her hair.

"Oh boy."

"Fine, we'll go and see the movie first," decided Galinda. "This way you have time to adjust. It's gonna be dark in the theatre, no one's gonna pay you any mind, okay?" She exhaled and put on a bright grin. "Okay."

It wasn't the most opportune time when they arrived at the cinema. Two new blockbusters had come out just the day before, and they were fully sold out. The entire building was abuzz with excited movie goers. Elphaba held her head low and half hid behind her jumper's hood. Even Galinda had turned quiet. She grabbed one of the free magazines from the holder in between the big show cases and disappeared into a secluded nook to find the schedule.

The remaining films that played around the same time slot were an animated children's movie, a horror flick, and a costume drama. Elphaba gave her friend a hopeful look.

"We don't have to watch anything. We could just grab some pizza on the way and head back home."

"No way! I hardly ever get you to leave to house unless it's for uni or work, so I'm determined that you must have fun tonight! Enjoy your freedom while you still can," she added with a brief glance at her midsection.

Elphaba peered down at her stomach. There was truth to that, though they clearly disagreed on what exactly constituted fun.

A few minutes later, the decision was made, and they bought tickets for the period piece. Loaded with big buckets of popcorn, they made their way through the second to last row until they reached their seats. There were only a handful other people in the theatre. When the lights dimmed and everyone fell silent, they might as well have been entirely on their own.

Though Elphaba didn't care for the ads, she watched the previews with mild interest. She wasn't going to set another foot into a cinema any time soon, but took mental notes of the movies she might watch once they came out for streaming. Or maybe she'd pirate some she was particularly keen on, so she didn't have to wait quite as long.

The few remaining lights died out, heralding the start of the film. Elphaba cast a glance at Galinda who was busy munching her popcorn. A good portion of her bucket had already disappeared into her tummy, and chuckling to herself, Elphaba lifted her own bucked to refill her friend's. The blonde looked at her before breaking out into a fit of giggles.

"It's gonna be your fault if I get fat!" she chided her playfully, then continued devouring her snack.

"All you have to do is stop eating," remarked Elphaba, eyebrows raised and a crooked smirk on her lips.

Galinda swatted at her and, with a smile, reminded her to pay attention to the screen.

Dutifully, she redirected her gaze and tried. A couple of minutes in, she realised that it wasn't working in the least and gave up.

An irritating restlessness took over her body. She lost track of how often she changed position and shifted in her seat. Occasionally, she stole furtive glances at Galinda, hyperaware of how weird she was behaving and making sure to not look more than twice within one scene. Eventually, she was caught. Of course she was. It had only been a matter of time.

Galinda held the eye contact and reached out to cover her hand with hers.

"Are you alright? You seem agitated. No one can see you, right? Pretend it's just us."

"That's not it," muttered Elphaba dismissively and melted into her seat, trying and failing to disappear between the hinges of the folding chair. "It's fine, just keep watching. I'm okay."

Mustering every ounce of willpower she possessed, she managed to watch a full scene without getting sidetracked. It wasn't a bad movie. The premise was interesting enough and the tension was obviously building at this point in the plot. There were muskets involved, swords and revolution. Not enough Animals, however, she determined with disapproval.

When she felt her concentration slip again, she tried to keep it hidden from Galinda. Reaching into the kangaroo pouch of her hoodie, she half pulled out her phone and set the brightness as dim as possible. She suddenly wondered how accurate the story they were watching was and searched for reviews. From there, she found blogs and encyclopaedia entries about the real events that had inspired the film.

"You're being extremely rude."

The sensation of Galinda's hand on her wrist made her jump and flush with embarrassment. She turned her head, slightly tucked between her shoulders. But her friend's expression was warm, complete with a soft curl to her lips and caring eyes. Despite her words, there was not a trace of displeasure.

"Sorry. I can't focus."

Galinda nodded almost unnoticeably before moving around so that her upper body was facing sideways. She gave the armrest between them a little push, then lifted it until it disappeared in the gab between their backrests. She scooted closer and Elphaba's heart skipped a beat.

"What—"

"We're as good as alone, remember?" said the blonde in a hushed tone and flashed her an encouraging grin.

She reached for the still nearly full popcorn bucket in Elphaba's hands and set it down next to her own on the floor. She reached for a green hand and held it gently.

"What's wrong? You have me worried. If you're not anxious about being in public, then what is it?"

"I—I don't know," Elphaba replied automatically and—more or less—truthfully.

Galinda took a moment to study her, but ultimately shook her head.

"Sometimes I think I know you so well by now. But at times like this, I realise that's only an illusion. I know nothing. I can't figure you out at all."

"If it helps: I can't figure myself out," laughed Elphaba tensely.

"I can see that."

They stopped speaking for a while, yet neither of them turned back towards the screen. Galinda remained as she was, absentmindedly stroking Elphaba's knuckles with her thumb. Meanwhile more and more of Elphaba's conscience pooled towards that simple, yet mesmerising sensation, until she forgot all about the world around her. The loud music and noises from the speakers faded so far into the background that she could barely hear them. She felt calm and peaceful. Of course Galinda was merely caressing her hand, but to Elphaba it felt as if she was soothing something deep within her. Her soul? Elphaba didn't believe in the existence of souls.

"Elphie?"

Her mind snapped back to reality and blood instantly shot to her face, ears, and all the way down her neck. Oz almighty! She couldn't thank the surrounding darkness enough for its concealing effect. It wasn't like she'd been thinking about anything inappropriate, but in a way, all of it seemed inappropriate to her. She wasn't used to being at the receiving end of so much compassion.

"I'm sorry," she half stuttered. "Did you say anything?"

Galinda tilted her head.

"No, I didn't. Not yet. But I could tell you'd left me for a moment and I was a bit concerned."

"Sorry," said Elphaba and coughed the rid herself of the lump in her throat.

"I'm going out on a limb here, but it's the only thing I can think of right now… Does your behaviour have anything to do with last night?"

"What?"

Elphaba blinked. Her stomach knotted into an uncomfortable twist. She hadn't even thought of exploring where exactly her anxiety had come from, but going by her visceral reaction, Galinda's guess must have hit a target.

"I—well, now that you say it," she replied and rubbed her face.

Galinda nodded, subdued.

"I'm so sorry, Elphie. I hate myself for this."

"No! You didn't do anything—"

"But I made you uncomfortable somehow. Can you tell me what it is? I'm sure we can work on it." She paused and bit her lip. "I know you're the last person on the planet who'd consciously judge someone for stupid things, but… You know, internalised homophobia is a thing. If it's the realisation that I—Well, I already promised that I won't bring anyone else home. There's no reason to be upset with yourself. It will get less apparent with exposure. You already made friends with Crope and Tibbs. I'd say you're on the right path."

Elphaba considered that. She couldn't deny that seeing Galinda and the girl together like that had sparked something within her. But that didn't mean that she was appalled by the idea of Galinda being with other women. Did it? Besides, she couldn't care less bout Boq's friends. While she very much preferred to not imagine any details, the concept of them sharing their bodies with each other didn't seem too different from any straight pair making love.

"What if it's not that?" she asked Galinda helplessly. "I suppose I'll still get over it, even if I can't figure out what my real problem is."

"Yeah, maybe," replied Galinda and withdrew somewhat.

Their hands separated, and Elphaba nearly panicked at the loss of contact.

"It's not you, I promise!" she blurted out, maybe too loudly. Cringing at the sound of her own voice, she briefly scanned her surroundings. Nobody was looking. "Sorry," she whispered and worked her jaw. "It's just me being stupid or whatever. Would it be too much to ask that you be patient with me?"

To her disappointment, Galinda's expression remained unusually guarded.

"Elphie?" she said at last and Elphaba looked at her expectantly, hopeful in a way, though she didn't know what she was hoping for. The blonde opened her mouth and closed it, shaking her head.

"Whatever is on your mind, you have to say it," Elphaba told her firmly.

Galinda stared at her like a deer in the headlights, and she could see her chest rising and falling. At the pit of her stomach, Elphaba could feel the coil of anxiety wind tighter and tighter. What was it that Galinda didn't want to tell her?

"Okay." Chuckling nervously, her friend averted her eyes to look all the way to her left. Her elegant forefinger repeatedly traced the outline of the cupholder on the armrest. "Don't be alarmed if I'm wrong. It's a guess as wild as they come, so don't freak out. Can you promise me that?"

At this stage, Elphaba was sick to her stomach.

"You're being very vague," she said as calmly as she could.

She gave Galinda all the time she needed to gather her courage, but she couldn't remember when she'd last summoned this much restraint. She couldn't tell whether she was starving or about to vomit. At the back of her mind, she wondered whether it was a pregnancy thing. Her eyes intuitively darted for the popcorn bucket, but it was out of reach.

"Elphie, is there any—any chance you might be jealous?" Galinda asked, and Elphaba felt thrown off balance. Her lips parted but produced no sound, and Galinda continued. "I know you have a lot to work through right now, so I'm either super off, or you're totally unaware of your own feelings. Yet I can't help but think… hope, maybe?" She smiled sheepishly, but looked oh so pretty in her fluster. "That you might be interested in me in any capacity that's not strictly friendshippy."

"You hope?" repeated Elphaba, incredulously. What was this wild dream she was in? Should she pinch herself, knock her head against the next best pillar, maybe?"

Galinda momentarily covered her face with her hands while Elphaba looked on, speechless and perplexed. When the blonde—after a few deep breaths—curled her fingers into her palms, her eyes glistened in the sparse light reflecting from the screen.

"I thought I knew who I was and what I wanted, but you turned it all upside down," she said, her voice so thin that it was barely audible over the background noise. "I know what you've been through and how confused you still are about your own identity. It's not fair to dump this on you. I'm sorry, I meant to help, not make it worse."

Words had never been more elusive to Elphaba. It was all too unreal. Even if she set aside her preoccupation with the pregnancy, the emotional mess caused by her unfortunate encounter at the Philosophy Club; that a person like Galinda could harbour true affection for her in any shape or form was not something she'd ever dared to fathom. There was no shortage of reasons for that. Most baffling, how could the most perfect girl possibly fall in love with the weirdest misfit Oz had to offer? There must be a mistake.

That was it: a mistake, a misunderstanding. Though she could tell that Galinda wasn't lying, she couldn't have meant what Elphaba thought she had. She remembered her sudden flight from Boq's birthday get-together in the afternoon and figured she knew the root cause of her unusual readiness to jump to such a ludicrous conclusion. The ridiculous notion of her and Galinda as a couple was still spooking around in her head. That was all it was.

She exhaled and some of the tension left her body, leaving a strange pain in its place. Gritting her teeth, she decided to ignore it. But what now? Galinda was still expecting an answer. What was it she wanted to hear?

"You're the most amazing girl I've ever met," she replied diplomatically so as not to keep Galinda on tenterhooks for too long.

She was still in the process of searching for a proper answer, when her thoughts were abruptly seized, shaken and flattened as if by a mighty earthquake. The culprit? A pair of wonderfully soft lips, firmly pressed against her own.

It took her a clock-tick to register what exactly was happening. With wide eyes, she took in the sight of Galinda's head so incredibly close to her face, which was positively aflame. She felt her mouth part ever so slightly at the sensation of being kissed, and once she'd kind of grown accustomed to that, she noticed Galinda's hand on her cheek, keeping her close with gentle pressure. As crazy as it all seemed, there was no point in doubting the reality of sensations the likes she'd never felt and had no competence to imagine.

Far too soon for her mind to properly process the incident, Galinda withdrew, but she didn't shy away in regret as Elphaba had feared she would. Instead, their gazes locked, and she was positively aglow with excitement.

"I'm not sure if I understand what precisely just happened," whispered Elphaba before she could stop herself.

Galinda's face blanched.

"D—did I overstep?" she gasped, pulling back her hand and bringing it up to cover her lips. "Did I misinterpret—"

"Yes and no," replied Elphaba, her heart aching at the distraught look in the blonde's eyes. "I hadn't really meant to say that I—Well, but now that it happened, I can only think about how right it felt. Perhaps you were right and I simply wasn't aware of—"

She was cut off by another, more urgent kiss. Galinda's arms found their way around her neck and held her firmly in place as she rose to match her height, giving her greater leverage. At first the feeling was overwhelming, paralysing every part of her, except for her racing pulse. Soon enough, however, the stiffness melted away like ice in spring and allowed her to become more responsive, more appreciative.

It was insane how quickly she went from disbelieve to acceptance, to absolute ecstasy. Her heart must have taken over, bypassing her brain altogether, for none of it followed any reason or logic. Though as long as she felt Galinda's body pressed against her own, she did not care.

Unfortunately, it was only a question of when until they had to come back down to earth, face reality rather than raw emotions and sort out what to do next. After sitting back down, a leg tucked beneath her, Galinda continued to distractedly run her hands up and down Elphaba's arms. They were both a lot calmer now, and the continued touch helped Elphaba believe in the truth of it all.

"Are you alright?" she heard Galinda say. She blinked and nodded.

"What do we do now?" she asked, casting worried glances across the dark, unfamiliar room she'd almost forgotten about.

Galinda's hands glided down her her arms one final time and grasped her verdigris hands.

"I say we get out of here," she said, with a bold grin, leaning a tad closer.

Elphaba didn't need to be told twice and jumped up, pulling Galinda with her. Neither paid much head to the popcorn buckets that were knocked over, spilling their sweet contents across the floor.

"Home?"

"Home."