AN. I guess we're doing daily (well, nightly) updates for this fic...

Thank you to those who are reviewing. It's always lovely to hear from you and hear your thoughts, just to know that people are reading!

3 Down: A powerful and active dislike or hostility. (9)

Fiyero knocked lightly on the door and stepped back slightly as he waited; managing to carefully position himself both to appear nonchalant, and to convey that he wasn't at all trying to be nonchalant. Two girls passed him, and he flashed them a well-practised smile; causing the brunette to avert her gaze and giggle quietly as her cheeks flushed, and her friend fluttered her eyelashes coyishly at him.

If Galinda had opened the door right now, the girl would have cowered under her furious gaze; rather like some kind of bird being warned away from a competitor's territory by another during mating season. Instead, when the door was opened, it was Fiyero who had to suppress the urge to cower under the gaze of his girlfriend's roommate. If Galinda was a bird, bright and cheery; Elphaba was some kind of cat. A panther, maybe. Sleek, graceful and with a tendency to watch you mistrustingly, waiting to strike out and attack at the slightest provocation. Which Fiyero seemingly couldn't help himself from testing, mostly to distract himself from the unnerving feeling like she could see right through him when she stared at him, almost unblinkingly.

Elphaba's expression was not so much one of fury at the moment- actually she looked completely unimpressed as she realised who was on their doorstep, but for some reason that was almost worse. And honestly, Fiyero wasn't impressed to see Elphaba either.

"Is Galinda ready?" he asked, forgoing any normal greeting like 'hello' or 'how are you?' because that was not the relationship they had.

"Nope," Elphaba replied and promptly shut the door.

Fiyero blinked at the door, and lifted his hand to knock again. The door was flung open before his knuckles could land and Fiyero smiled at Galinda.

"Hi," he greeted her.

Galinda beamed, reaching for his hand and pulling him into the room. "Hi, dearest. I'm sorry about Elphie's frightful rudeness," she apologised, looking over her shoulder to where Elphaba was curled up on her bed. "I just need one more minute and then we can go."

"Sure," Fiyero agreed. "No rush. The later we are, the more of an entrance you can make," he grinned at her and Galinda giggled.

"Exactly! Have a seat- and you two, be nice," she warned them both, ushering Fiyero to sit at her desk chair. "You two can manage to get along for one minute, can't you?"

Elphaba shot Galinda an exasperated glance. "Galinda, we're not children. Despite Fiyero's maturity levels- alright," she interrupted herself as Galinda eyed her pointedly. "I will be… civil," she promised reluctantly.

Fiyero scoffed under his breath, highly doubting Elphaba was capable of such a thing. Galinda either didn't hear it, or chose to ignore it, but Elphaba's dark eyes flashed to him dangerously.

"One minute!" Galinda sang out, disappearing into the bathroom.

The moment the door closed behind her, Elphaba ignored Fiyero and returned to the newspaper in her hand. Fiyero craned his neck to peer at what she was doing, and noted the two-thirds completed crossword she was poring over.

"Give me a clue."

Elphaba didn't lift her head from the paper, but her lips thinned into a tight line. Fiyero had a hunch she was swallowing back a decidedly uncivil remark right now.

"Come on, I'm bored."

She did raise her head at that, to stare at him incredulously. "You have been sitting there for literally thirty seconds."

"And?"

When she just stared at him, Fiyero nodded towards the paper.

"Come on, green girl. Give me a clue. Prove that we can be civil."

Elphaba's jaw tightened fractionally, but if Fiyero had come to know anything about Elphaba Thropp in the few weeks since he'd come to Shiz, it's that she was stubborn as all hell. Fortunately, so was Fiyero. And he could wait.

"'Ruined'. Five letters. Second letter is A," she finally said.

Fiyero made a show of leaning back in the chair, stretching out his legs leisurely. He had a reputation to uphold, after all.

"Broke."

"Where is the A in 'broke'?" Elphaba demanded.

"That wasn't my guess, I'm thinking out loud," Fiyero shot back.

Elphaba scoffed. "Doesn't thinking go against your ridiculous life philosophy?"

"It's not ridiculous. Just because it doesn't meet your high standards-"

"My standards?" Elphaba repeated, arching an eyebrow. "Your philosophy is 'nothing matters so don't try'. You've set the bar so low that I don't even need to lift my foot to step over it."

"And is your life philosophy to be a judgemental snob?" Fiyero asked.

Elphaba's eyes flashed as she tossed the newspaper and pen aside, turning to face him directly. "Where do you get off calling me-?"

"Oh, please. I had been here literally five seconds before you started judging me," Fiyero retorted.

"I don't think me taking offence that your driver almost ran me over while you took a nap is 'judging' you," Elphaba said icily. "You turn up, and your first priority is convincing people that instead of caring about their education, they should focus on some inane social event?"

"Party," Fiyero enunciated slowly. "Or 'dance'. You know, 'social gathering for fun'? Five letters- second letter is A?"

Elphaba glared at him. "You know what, Tiggular? You can just-"

"That's enough."

Elphaba and Fiyero both turned to see Galinda in the open doorway to the bathroom, her hands on her hips and a frown on her face.

"I am so tired of this- this… oh, Oz what's the word? This animosity between you two. I can't be in the same room with both of you for one minute without you two sniping at one another!" Galinda exclaimed.

"Can't you two just please get along? Elphie, you're my friend!"

"Yes, and we only started getting along two weeks ago," Elphaba pointed out. "It took us a whole semester to become friends."

Galinda waved a hand. "Whatever. But we're friends now, and I would like to be able to spend time with my friend and my boyfriend at the same time. Is that so much to ask? I really don't understand what the issue is between you two."

"My issue is the stick up her-"

"Fiyero."

Elphaba regarded Fiyero coolly. "It's fine, Galinda. I'm sure it's really difficult for Fiyero to comprehend the idea of actually caring about an education. After all, it's not like he's going to have to run a province one day or anything."

Fiyero's stomach twisted slightly under her gaze and he quickly launched to his feet, turning to Galinda.

"Shall we go?"

Galinda's face relaxed into a bright smile. "Oh, yes! Pfannee and Shen-Shen will be waiting."

"Great," Fiyero said.

Galinda grabbed her purse off the end of her bed and her coat, bidding an airy farewell to Elphaba as she headed for the door. Fiyero followed her out of the room, turning at the last moment to face Elphaba.

"Kaput. Five letters," he said, and then shut the door behind him.