Strength
A.N. Thanks for the reviews.
Disclaimer: I don't own these characters.
Ten minutes later, Fiyero sat with Glinda in one of the many on-campus cafes. It was not terribly crowded, which Glinda was thankful for. She really hoped she wouldn't run into any of her old "friends".
They found a table in a back corner and got to work. They decided that they should surprise Elphaba with the party, seeing as how she probably wouldn't want to go if they told her in advance.
"So when should we have it?" Glinda asked.
"Well, I was thinking this Saturday, the first of December."
"Two days? Fiyero, we can't plan a party in two days! I certainly can't, anyway."
"Yes, but I'm the party master, remember? You people didn't even know how to have a party until I…"
"Yes, yes. I know. And if you think we can have this all planned out by then, then by all means let's do it. Now, who else should we invite? Will Nessa be back by then?"
"Oh, I forgot about Nessa. You know, even if she's not, I think we can do this party without her. Something tells me that when she does get back, she's not going to be in a party mood for a while. Now, that would make the guest list you, me, and Boq."
"Wow, what a bash." Glinda said sarcastically.
"It doesn't matter. The point is not how many people are there. It's that the ones who are truly care about Elphie. This does pose a bit of a problem, though."
"What?"
"Well, first of all, where are we going to do this? We can't do it in your room, because me and Boq technically can't go up there. Same thing with my room. You girls can't go up there. And also, how are we going to set up the party and keep it a secret? One of us has to stay with Elphaba. Since you live with her, you would obviously be with her, but then you wouldn't be able to carry her to the party."
Glinda thought for a moment, and said, "Ok, I think I solved the whole thing. You must be rubbing off on me, party master. Here's what we're going to do. We're going to have the party outside, in the early afternoon. The building right next to ours is practically empty on Saturdays-all the girls live nearby and they go home on the weekends. There's a patch of grass in between the buildings that would be perfect. And as far as setting up, here's what I'm thinking. At about 10:45 that morning, you come over. You come over every day so it won't look that strange to her. I'm going to leave at about 11, and go get Boq. We'll go down to the area and get everything set up. At 12:45, you bring Elphaba down. We'll have lunch out there."
Fiyero was silent for a moment, amazed that Glinda of all people came up with the perfect plan. "Yeah…that sounds good. Ok, you go tell Boq, he'll do anything you ask him to. I'm going to go check on Elphie. And when you get back I'll go out and buy decorations. Tomorrow we're going to have to do the gift shopping, we'll go in shifts I guess."
As an afterthought, Fiyero purchased a muffin to bring back to Elphaba. He had told her they were getting food, after all. He then went back up to her room, thankful for the ease with which he could sneak into the girl's building. When he got to the room he found Elphaba exactly where he had left her; reading on the bed.
Amazingly, both Fiyero and Glinda were able to keep their party a secret for the next day and a half. Elphaba could sense that something was going on, but she wasn't sure what it was. Fiyero showed up at the girl's room at exactly 10:45 on Saturday. Once Glinda had left at 11, he began to go through his usual routine of getting Elphaba dressed. Elphaba was still not accepting of this by any means. The two of them still had an argument every day about whether or not Elphaba could dress herself. It was part of the routine. After Fiyero had once again won the argument, he spent more time looking through Elphaba's closet than usual. Everything looked the same, but he managed to find the one dress that was slightly different from the rest. He wanted her to look special today. "Maybe I should have let Glinda handle this part." Fiyero thought to himself as he got Elphaba dressed. As he watched her brush her hair, he couldn't stop smiling at her. He had to turn his head away a few times so she wouldn't get suspicious of anything.
The two made small talk for the remaining half an hour before Fiyero had to bring her to the party. Elphaba noticed something was strange about Fiyero. He seemed to have something else on his mind.
At about 12:35 he said "Elphie, let's go outside. You look like you could use some fresh air." Normally Elphaba would have protested, but she did not because if she went with him, maybe he would tell her what was bothering him.
Fiyero carried her out of the building and in a direction she had never gone before. As he walked, he spoke to her but he kept speaking more loudly every few feet.
Meanwhile, Glinda and Boq had set up a pretty nice looking party area. Boq was thrilled at getting to work with Glinda for and hour and a half, and Glinda had actually began to see some redeeming qualities in Boq. The two of them were finishing hanging up the banner (a difficult task for the two vertically challenged decorators) when they heard Fiyero's voice around the corner. They quickly ran behind the one tree in the small lot.
Before they rounded the corner, Fiyero directed Elphaba to close her eyes. When she refused, he simply put his hand over her eyes and continued around the corner. Elphaba couldn't do much physically to fight this off.
"Fiyero! What are you doing? Take your hand off of my…eyes. What is this?" Fiyero had taken his hand off of Elphaba's eyes, and she looked around at the decorated courtyard. There was a blanket on the ground by the tree with bags of snacks and lunch for everyone. There were balloons everywhere in every imaginable color. And on one of the walls was a banner that read "Happy Birthday Elphie!"
"Well, Glinda and I decided that we couldn't let your birthday go uncelebrated. So we threw you a party. What do you think?"
Had Elphaba's arms not already been wrapped around Fiyero's neck, as she always held them when he carried her, she would have thrown them around him now. "It's…it's beautiful, Yero! I love you. Thank you so much."
Fiyero put Elphaba down on the blanket and the others sat down around her. They ate lunch and even had cake, which Glinda had purchased from a nearby store. Had she made the cake herself "it wouldn't be a very happy birthday" she explained.
Once they had eaten, Fiyero got up and ran behind the tree. When he returned he was holding three brightly wrapped boxes-Elphaba's presents.
Elphaba had to stop before opening them to savor the moment. This was the first time she could ever remember receiving birthday presents. In her family, the day of her birth was not something to be celebrated. Slowly, she opened the boxes. As Fiyero watched her, he noticed her cautiousness. It was as if she didn't know how.
Boq had given her a necklace, and Glinda had purchased a dress for her that she was ordered to wear for Lurlinemas. The dress was black, but a much more fashionable black than what Elphaba was used to. It was detailed using a very fine gold thread. It was thick enough to show, but not thick enough to cause damage to one's eyesight. Even Elphaba had to admit, she kind of liked it.
Fiyero's present was the last one in the pile. Elphaba opened it even more slowly than she had opened the others. Taking the lid off the box, she removed an emerald green stuffed bear, wearing a locket around its neck.
"I just figured that since your first Lurlinemas present was a stuffed animal, your first birthday present should be one too." Fiyero explained.
Elphaba stared at the bear for a moment and began fingering the locket. The inscription on the front read "My Fabala". On the inside, a second inscription read "Elphie, remember that I'll always love you. Fiyero."
Had Elphaba been able to stand up, she would have leaped up and hugged Fiyero. Instead, she signaled to him by extending her good arm and he knelt down so she could embrace him.
The party lasted for about an hour more, until a sudden snow squall drove them back inside. Actually, it was much more than a squall. By the time everyone was back inside, the snow had already began to accumulate on the ground. Elphaba, sitting in a chair by the window for once instead of in her bed, watched the snow build up on the roads outside. She had always loved to watch snow, from a safe distance indoors, that is. Rain had always scared her a little bit, but snow always seemed safer to her. Maybe it was because snow was quieter than rain.
Glinda sat down in another chair next to her, and Fiyero stood behind both of them. They all watched the snow for a few minutes, as if watching the ground slowly turn white was the best entertainment they had.
After a few minutes, Fiyero said "I better get back to my building before this gets too bad. It looks like it could be a big storm. Would you like me to put you to bed before I go?"
If he had asked her this a week ago, Elphaba would have said yes. But tonight, she smiled and said "No, just lift me onto the bed. I can manage the rest by myself later."
"Really? You can get your clothes changed and everything?" Fiyero asked, knowing what the answer would be.
"Well, no. But I'm sure Glinda is more than capable of assisting in that department."
"Yes, Fiyero. I can assure you that I am. Besides, we haven't spent much girl time together in the past few weeks. Go ahead. She'll be fine." Glinda said. She was getting very excited at the prospect of having an evening alone with her friend. Not that she wasn't completely happy for her and Fiyero. She was, and she thought they were adorable together. But there are certain things that can only be discussed among female friends. Plus, Glinda had begun to feel a little awkward being there every night as Fiyero took care of Elphaba.
Fiyero looked from one roommate to the other. He was still a little hesitant to leave Elphaba. But when he saw the smile on her face, something told him she would be alright.
A.N. Well, midterms are over and I just survived the blizzard of 2005, hence the snowstorm. I'll get the next chapter up as soon as I can. Please review.