Hey everybody! I am SO SO SO SORRY for not updating sooner. Things have been TOTALLY hectic for me these last few weeks, but now I have some time to update. Thanks for bearing with me! Thanks to strayphoenix, harryrulesmyworld, JayxKay, topazchick08, Celestial Secrets, MysteriousReviewer, Valinor575, Hobbit69, Heart of Magic, GrrArgh, and Lovelinelivelong639 for reviewing! Glad you liked the Caleb stuff. Just to clarify, last chapter there was a line that read "So before a pillar became his pillar," which was supposed to read "So before a pillar became his pillow." Just thought I'd clear that up.

Disclaimer: Nope, don't own them yet.

Chapter 7

Something Strange

A gentle breeze rippled over Heatherfield, the handiwork of a hidden Hay Lin as she worked her magic on two figures standing in the distance. Shimmering brown locks brushed the eyes of a young man. Warmth that only a sunset could give filled the night, yet his gaze ignored the sky, sharing the stare of adoring auburn eyes instead. He wrapped an arm around her, a girl of dark-skinned beauty. She looked up at him through spheres of glass, thoughtlessly letting her fingers intertwine with his. The beads that held her hair clicked as the two let night arrive behind them, just holding each other, shyness keeping tabs on their words, fighting back the urge to reveal a love that two sweet souls wished to share…if only one of them would work up the courage to say something.

Taranee Cook sighed as she gazed into the photograph, trying to call forth the feeling of the moment. Of course she remembered it, she was the one who'd taken the picture. She was also the one standing in Nigel's embrace, ready to blurt out the L word and hope he'd return her favor…but a perfect picture was a still one, a captured moment without a hair out of place. Funny how the picture felt like it was missing something…like it might've been complete if someone had said…oh, I don't know…"I love you"?

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Matt Olsen hated blank paper. Matt Olsen also hated that he had a perfectly good idea for a song and the perfect girl as the perfect inspiration but it was six in the morning and he had a pen in his hand and the thoughts in his head but no matter how hard he tried the words just wouldn't flow onto the paper and GOD DANG IT HE NEEDED SOME COFFEE! The singer sighed, surrendering to his writer's block and letting his pen wander to the top of his paper, drawing a little red heart in the corner of a sea of white. Rich, dark red…just like her hair…

Will Vandom. Her name was like a song within itself. An angelic choir of lyrics, and he couldn't trace a word. She was so mysterious sometimes, like she had a whole other life apart from the sort of graceful swimmer, a whole other self somewhere far from the little town of Heatherfield…

He smiled as he thought himself some inspiration, willing his beautiful ideas to take shape on the blankness before him. He felt his face begin to relax into a frown again, but before his frustration could cloud those visions of soft, chocolate eyes and cascading locks of red, his hand found the phone.

"Joel? It's Matt...yes, I know that it's six in the morning…no, I didn't have that nightmare about the man-eating mushrooms again…shut up, man, I was only five when I watched that movie…listen, I need some help with this song, do you think you can come over? Great…and could you stop at Starbucks on the way? I need my morning coffee."

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Just as it was written that Elyon would return, it was written that we would meet again…

Cornelia shot up out of her sleep, tears tugging at her ice blue eyes as she remembered the moment…and remembered where she was right then. Her own loneliness was wrapping her in its chokehold of an embrace, Caleb's arms up in Candracar, along with the bright future that had faded like Meridian under a tyrant with no heart.

The earth goddess couldn't hold it in any longer. Too many memories were crammed into that comparison alone. Her fingers caught in her golden curls as her eyes shut tight, boyd rocking back and forth in a painful anxiety. She grasped her blonde locks tighter, shaking her head as she scolded herself. She was the grounded girl; she wasn't supposed to fall apart.

"Only you two could do this to me…" she whispered to two people that were worlds away. "Only you could undo me…even if you didn't mean to…"

A hand clamped over her pale pink lips, suppressing a scream long overdue. Her free hand clamped over her cell phone, fingers jabbing randomly at buttons until she could hear a ringing.

"Hello?"

Cornelia froze as she heard Irma's tired voice travel through the line. Of all people, the earth girl had blindly called Irma. Irma, whose first words with Cornelia had been a fight. Irma, whose powers had thrown Cornelia's for a loop just days after they'd received them. Irma, who was getting very impatient one the other end of the line when Cornelia didn't answer her.

"Irma?" Cornelia managed, trying to squeeze the edge back into her faltering voice.

"Cornelia?" On the other side of Heatherfield, Irma began to wake up as she heard her friend's voice…and how utterly depressed it sounded. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong," Cornelia said a little too quickly, regretting that she starting to snap at Irma already.

"So…would you like to enlighten me as to why I'm on the phone with you at six thirty in the morning if nothing's bothering you?"

"What, friends can't call just to say hi anymore?" the blonde girl asked feebly, trying to give herself some cover.

"Cornelia, the last time you 'called to say hi' was when you found out that Paul Tulloch was taking Elyon to our first junior high dance in sixth grade instead of asking you to go. What's wrong?" the ex-water wielder pressed.

Cornelia sighed, drawing her knees up to her chest as she realized just how much her feelings were aching to be poured out to someone. "Can you come over?"

Irma's eyebrows went up as she heard Cornelia's request. But before she could blurt out something like "Are you crazy?" Irma found herself saying something more like "Okay."

"Thanks," Cornelia said, smiling a little. "And could you stop at Starbucks on your way over? We've got a lot to talk about."

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Joel Phoenix was a calm person. If the Oracle of Candracar were to challenge him in meditation, the lyricist would probably stand a good chance. However, when a friend calls another friend at all hours of the morning to go on a coffee run for them, calm often takes a backseat to the wonderful world of fury. So it's no small wonder that the poor clerk at Starbucks was jolted from his sleep by the door slam of a very ticked off writer in need of his beauty sleep.

But as Joel stood waiting for his coffee, rubbing at the golden stubble he'd forgotten to shave that morning, he couldn't help but look up as the front door of Starbucks slammed again, threatening to tear off its hinges if one more sleep-deprived customer happened to vent their anger.

Irma Lair, wavy brown hair flying out behind her with no clips in sight, marched her way over to the counter, muttering her order before folding her arms over her chest and slouching quite ungracefully against the counter. Joel raised his eyebrows in amusement, wondering if he should dare approach the girl whose reputation of short-tempered reigned in Sheffield's social ladder.

"I didn't think the wicked drank coffee," he finally decided on, smiling as she whirled around at his words, scowl turning into something resembling a normal expression.

"And I didn't think you talking goats left the farm," Irma tossed back, foot tapping impatiently as the guy behind the counter struggled with the espresso machine.

"Must you witches always hide behind your sarcasm?" Joel asked calmly, quite enjoying the reaction he was getting out of the girl. He'd never seen anyone like her, so easy to set off, yet quite alluring in her little way, even in the early hours, with her hair flowing free like it did…as if it were fanned out in the water…

"Must you animals always…um…"

"Two double espressos!"

Joel took the coffees from the counter, not making any move to leave as Irma waited for hers. "Saved by the coffee?" he tried, downing a gulp of his own.

"And very glad to be," she replied, finally letting her sarcastic demeanor take a holiday. "Who's the other for?"

"My dear friend Matt decided that this morning would be the perfect time to wake me up and send me out for coffee to keep us awake while he tries to cram his feelings of boundless love for Will into one song," he replied with an eye roll or two. "You?"

"Cornelia says nothing's wrong, wants me to come over, wants me to come over with coffee, then wants to talk about what's wrong." Joel just nodded. When he didn't say anything else, Irma plowed ahead. "So if Matt doesn't get his morning coffee, something b-a-a-a-ad happens?" she asked, unable to resist the lure of sarcasm as she tried her hand at a goat voice.

"You still going to be saying that when that song steals the show?" he smirked.

"Two white chocolate mochas!"

Irma took up the coffee and turned back to Joel. The two just stared at each other for a minute, unsure of whether to fuel the conversation or let it fizzle into the last of the sunrise coming up outside of them.

"Um…"

"Yeah…"

"I'd better…"

"Head over to Cornelia's…"

The two smiled at their own awkwardness.

"Till next time, Miss Elphaba." Joel gave a mock bow, which Irma rewarded with a smile.

"Until then, Doctor." And with that, the two walked their own way, Joel to profess a love that wasn't his, Irma to piece together a romance she couldn't help but envy. And neither of them knew it. But as she walked away from him, Irma snuck a look over her shoulder at the boy who was turning out to be not so quiet after all.

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The Queen of Meridian gazed out at her kingdom, letting her straw-blonde hair fan out behind her in a gentle breeze. The rebel leader stood amid Candracar's Congregation, a plain white flower in a sea of magic. The Oracle gazed at both of them, and then upon the tear-streaked face of a young guardian. He wanted to reach out to all of them, to help them to understand their sadness. But the Oracle was not to intervene…too much. So he did the next best thing. And those of the other worlds heard the guardian's words, words that made all of their hearts ache for life before magic.

"Only you could undo me…even if you didn't mean to…"

All right, not exactly my best chapter ever. I apologize for the lack of Wicked stuff in this chapter. Thought I'd throw in some more Cornelia/Caleb angsty romance, a little Taranee/Nigel on the side, and a little Elyon, too. I PROMISE that next chapter will definitely get the story underway. I just thought Irma & Joel needed some more interaction before next chapter. There's a lot of action going down next chapter, so if you want it up, I'll need 43 reviews. Thanks for bearing with me these past few weeks guys! You're the best!