Here's the next chapter! Thanks to everyone that read last chapter, and to all reviewers! It's really amazing to have people actually enjoy what I've written! I hope that this next chapter does not disappoint!
Same disclaimer as last chapter: I don't own any of the characters, etc, etc, etc.
CHAPTER 2
The next few weeks flew by, as the whole campus became engulfed in a mountain of projects and assignments. It had been a particularly nasty day Galinda reflected as she trudged through the fall fog back to her warm room. When her foot accidentally sunk into a large puddle on the pathway, she silently cursed herself for deciding to wear her new, open toed heels. She was stressed. Exams would be announced soon, and she had several essays to compose before the next week was through. She really was trying to keep up in her classes, but it seemed that the more she tried to understand, the stupider she felt. She had even taken to sitting next to Elphaba in class. It was quieter than lounging in the back with Pfannee and the others, but for some reason it was more distracting.
Elphaba was always completely focused on the lecture, but Galinda often found herself mesmerized by her neighbor more than the lesson. She had caught herself staring at Elphaba in class more and more over the past few weeks. A smile formed on Galinda's lips as she pictured her tall, lanky roommate in class franticly scribbling down every word uttered by their professors. But it disappeared quickly when Galinda recalled how Madame Morrible had chastised her in sorcery earlier that day.
"Miss Galinda!" the large woman had interrupted one of Galinda's staring spells. She jumped with the surprise at the voice that had jarred her from her reverie. "Maybe, if you paid attention to my lecture instead of copying Miss Thropp's notes over her shoulder, you might pass this class. However," Morrible continued with a malevolent smile, "my personal opinion is that you do not have what it takes. I hope you'll prove me wrong. I doubt you will." Then, with one final glare at the blonde, Morrible turned and resumed her lecture.
Galinda was utterly embarrassed. She could feel the heat rise in her face as it reddened. Quickly, she bent her head, sunk down low in her seat, and pretended to be absorbed in Morrible's instructions. However, she could still feel the eyes of the entire class, especially her green neighbor's, lingering on her for the remainder of the lesson. When class was dismissed, Galinda had been the first one out of the door.
At least Madame Morrible had assumed that Galinda had been copying Elphaba's notes. It would have been harder and more humiliating if the blonde had been forced to explain her newfound fascination with Elphaba. In fact, she was having a hard time making sense of it herself. She acknowledged that it was kind of amusing to watch the green girl fervently soaking up a lecture. It certainly was a vast improvement over actually paying attention to the material itself. But deep down Galinda knew that the inherent humor in Elphaba's note taking technique was not the real reason for the daily visual infatuation.
Galinda shook her head, as if to clear it of any further thoughts on the matter. She entered her residence hall, and started to climb the stairs that lead to her shared room. She reminded herself that her classes were now over for the week, and that she didn't have to think about anything school related for the next few days. She could have all weekend to recover, and with any luck her roommate would be preoccupied in the library for most of it. She wrenched open the door to her room ready to relax, and let her mind unwind.
'Maybe, I'll call upon Miss Shenshen or Miss Pfannee and see what their plans are tonight.' the blonde pondered as she absentmindedly dropped her books on her fluffy, pink bed. She turned to her mirror to examine her curls, when a strange feeling came over her. Suddenly, she spun around, and her eyes went wide as she caught sight of her lime-colored roomie watching her escapades.
"Hi!" Elphaba quipped cheerfully from her side of the room where she had been curled up reading in bed. There was a small smirk on her face that indicated that she had been watching Galinda since the blonde had entered the room.
"Sweet Oz!" Galinda exclaimed as she leaned against her wardrobe for support. "You scared me!" She moved to sit down on her bed and took a moment to compose herself before looking up at the green girl confused. "Aren't you supposed to be at the library or something?"
Elphaba raise an eyebrow at the blonde. "Why? Were you there looking for me? Did you want to copy some more of my notes?" She paused and a wicked smile spread over her face. "Or did you not get a chance to fully memorize my face in class?"
Elphaba didn't know why she had said that last sentence, and regretted its utterance immediately as she saw Galinda's eyes well up with tears. Elphaba had been aware of Galinda's gazing during class for quite some time, but she had never really intended to mention it to the blonde. She admitted that she enjoyed teasing all of her "friends," especially Galinda, just to see their reactions, but somehow this topic was different. She could mock Galinda's haughty airs and frivolous attire because that was the face that Galinda presented to all of Oz, but the stares that Galinda had been giving her recently were different. They were special. It was as if that interaction with Galinda was reserved for her and her alone, and she desperately did not want to loose that connection.
Galinda wasn't sure why Elphaba's comment had affected her so. True, it had been a shocking revelation for the blonde, because up until that point she had been completely unaware that Elphaba was conscious of her classroom gaping. But why had it agitated her so? Why was she crying? Why did the world feel like it was spinning faster and faster around her, and was going to crash at any moment? She was confused and frightened. She needed to be reassured by the green girl. She didn't understand why, but at that moment, the only thing she wanted in all of Oz was to be held tightly and comforted by a pair of emerald arms.
Elphaba winced as the first tear leaked out of one of Galinda's beautiful blue eyes and traveled down her perfect pale cheek. She leapt up and moved towards Galinda's bed, but paused when she actually reached the distressed girl. She was not used to comforting others, and realized that she had no idea how to calm her roommate. Her mind raced as she tried to come up with a plan to make Galinda feel better. She desperately glanced around their room searching for something to help her, when her eyes unexpectedly met with the whimpering blonde's. For a few minutes, time seemed to a stop. Elphaba's breath got caught in her throat and her heart leapt in her chest. She felt dizzy and sick, her head ached, and there was a ringing in her ears. Galinda's eyes were red and gleamed with tears, but they were still beautiful. Elphaba was amazed that even in an upset state Galinda still had a certain radiance about her. She hated herself for hurting her.
Elphaba was the first to break away from the gaze. She shamefully directed her eyes down toward her feet feeling awful for making the other girl cry. "Galinda," she whispered, her voice was hoarse with emotion, "I'm so sorry."
Galinda had watched the shame and misery play across her roommate's face, and knew that the green girl had not intended to hurt her. Slowly, she rose from her bed and walked over to Elphaba. She tentatively raised her right hand to stroke the taller girl's cheek. Galinda marveled at how soft the olive skin was. This was the first time that she had ever made skin-to-skin contact with her roommate, and her fingers tingled with the new sensation. She let her hand linger for a moment before enveloping Elphaba in a big hug.
Elphaba was stunned to have her roommate suddenly clinging to her. She blinked several times to recover from the shock. Her left check still prickled from where had been caressed. She slowly let out her breath, which she had unknowingly been holding since her apology. She relaxed into Galinda's embrace, and laid her head down on top of the shorter girl's. Galinda was so warm and soft. Elphaba closed her eyes and breathed in deeply. Galinda smelled of lavender and expensive perfumes. Although Elphaba was unaccustomed to this type of interaction, she had to admit to herself that the experience was rather nice.
Galinda smiled blissfully when Elphaba pulled her close, and returned the hug. She breathed in, and could smell her roommate's unique scent. It was a mixture of wool from the green girl's garment and sandalwood. Galinda felt safe and protected wrapped comfortably in the emerald embrace. She sighed with contentment, and snuggled deeper into her roommate's chest.
The two girls remained entwined for what seemed like an eternity; until they were interrupted by the courtyard bell that signaled the start of dinner. Reluctantly, Elphaba gave the blonde one final squeeze, hesitantly kissed the top of her head, and dislodged herself from the other girl. She looked down at her perky roommate satisfied to find all signs of tears had vanished. A broad smile spread across her face, which was immediately returned by Galinda.
"Oh, Elfie!" Galinda exclaimed, "you look posilutely radiant when you smile!"
"Elfie?" the olive girl scoffed. She raised an eyebrow at her companion.
Galinda gave her an impish grin in return. "Yeah!" she retorted, "Elfie, now that we're friends, I thought that we could have nicknames for each other, or something like that!"
"You really don't have to do that." Elphaba commented as her typical aloof nature threatened to return.
Galinda saw her roommate's skeptical face, and knew that she needed to be more convincing. She reached out and cupped one of her roomie's olive hands in hers and continued "Please, Elphaba. What have you got to lose?"
Elphaba stared down at the delicate fingers cradling her hand for several minutes. "I suppose you're right." she sighed, "But Elfie?" She gave the blonde a perplexed look, shook her head, sighed again, and returned her gaze to their interwoven hands. A small smile started to play across her lips as she opened her mouth to comment on Galinda's choice of nickname, but this was interrupted by a knocking on the door.
Both girls pulled apart quickly. Galinda dashed to the door to answer it while Elphaba returned to her book.
Galinda pulled open the heavy wooden door to reveal Shenshen and Pfannee. Immediately, Pfannee started to chatter. "Miss Galinda!" she exclaimed, "Miss Shenshen and I just stopped by to inquire about your dinner plans. We were hoping we could all walk over the dinning hall together." When she paused briefly to take a breath, Elphaba interjected.
"Have fun girls." she said and gave Pfannee and Shenshen a sardonic grin, "I would join you, but fortunately for you, I am not hungry." She picked her book back up intending to continue reading.
Galinda ignored the angry glares that Pfannee and Shenshen shot at her roommate, assured them that she would meet them downstairs momentarily, and rushed them out of the room before anymore comments were made. After they exited the room, Galinda whirled around and marched over to her roomie. A worried frown marred her usually beautiful face. "But Elphaba!" she protested, "You're so skinny and undernourified! You really do need to eat. Please come with us! I hate to think of you sitting up here wasting away… alone." She paused before adding with earnest, "I know, I would appreciate your company."
Elphaba smiled at the blonde's display of concern, and at the honesty of her request. "I appreciate the offer," she acknowledged, "However, I really am not hungry, and I do have a lot of work to do here. But… thank you."
Galinda opened her mouth to protest again, but Elphaba silenced it by raising her hand to the blonde's lips and nodding to the door. A jolt of electricity shot through the green girl as she touched the blonde's lips. She shivered as a new sensation swept over her body, and left her with a tingling feeling all over. She closed her eyes, and took a moment to compose herself before she spoke. "I'll be fine." she said softly, and gave the blonde a reassuring look. She paused for a second before adding "Please go… Glin."
Galinda was temporarily speechless. Her lips burned where green fingers had made contact, and her face burst into a magnificent smile in response to her new nickname. This new sign of intimacy from the emerald girl melted away all of her other concerns. "Well, I hope you're happy." she relented giving into Elphaba's wishes. She sighed in defeat, and started off to dinner. However, when she got to the door she paused, and turned back to her roomie. "I'll see you later… Elfie." she said genuinely. Both girls had broad grins plastered across their faces as Galinda exited the room.
