They met the following morning on a rainy afternoon, figures running and ducking under the archway, a haphazardly formed group staring and blinking at each other. Elphaba, with her thick cloaks, hood pulled high to shield from the rain; Glinda, in deep midnight blues and purples that made her eyes all the more striking; Boq, looking like some Emerald City detective, complete with a bowler hat that one of the other boys immediately took off his head. The boy with the hat, they would learn, was Crope, with ruddy skin and fair blond curls. The smaller boy next to him, tawny skin and large, owlish eyes, was Tibbett, a mischievous air surrounding him much like his counterpart.

The last to arrive to their group was Fiyero. Elphaba had only ever seen him in passing, as he hurried to class much in the same way she did, head down. He possessed a regal air, or he would if his self-consciousness didn't get in the way. His skin was a dark ochre, beautiful and rich, studded with blue diamonds. Elphaba found herself staring, then chided herself; she knew all too well the feeling of being gawked at like some spectacle.

"So," Boq said, once they had all been introduced. "Miss Elphaba, I believe you were the one who had a plan?"

Elphaba nodded tightly. "Follow me. Keep up."

She pulled her cloak over her head and disappeared down an alley. The others scurried behind her, Crope and Tibbett keeping up easily, Boq trailing along on their coattails. Glinda found herself growing quickly frustrated with Elphaba, who weaved and ducked through back alleys as if she'd spent her entire childhood navigating them.

For someone who stood out so much, Glinda remarked at how well Elphaba seemed to blend in with shadows, her cloaks making her look part of the exterior of the buildings. Crope and Tibbett were agile enough to keep up with her, Boq followed clumsily behind.

"Why aren't you hurrying?" Glinda found herself whispering to the Arjiki prince beside her. Fiyero.

"I know where she's going."

"Do you now?"

"Well, no," he confessed, but then shot a grin her way. "But I'm an excellent tracker. I can find her again if need be."

"That's… unnerving," Glinda said, and quickened her pace. Elphaba lead them down so many twists and turns and back alleys Glinda was sure she'd walked miles, never able to find her way back to Shiz. But when they emerged, she was surprised to find herself on a street she knew semi-well, if only for its proximity to the boutiques she used to frequent with Shenshen and Milla. Granted, it was a side street, and one she had never dared set foot down, but at least now she was comforted with the thought she could find her way home if needed. If Elphaba left her.

The thought of Elphaba leaving her was a cold shard in her chest, but she sniffed, pressing on. No matter her feelings, and no matter Elphaba's feelings, Glinda knew she wouldn't just leave.

And if they couldn't be together, then at least she could be near her. At least she could make her presence known, help out with the cause, be part of something bigger than herself.

They ducked into a small tavern, nondescript from the outside, possibly even magicked so no one would notice it there. From the outside it looked quite dingy, the kind of place Glinda wouldn't have glanced at twice. She supposed that was why Elphaba had picked it.

The tavern wasn't much more remarkable on the inside. Dark wood paneled almost every surface, making it feel more claustrophobic than it was. Vaguely anti-Wizard sentiments were plastered on the walls, sentiments that could be waved away if scrutinized. There was one with a man who looked vaguely Wizard-ish, shoving Animals into a cage—though of course no one had seen the Wizard, so for all anyone knew it could be the bar owner.

A Badger stood behind the bar, wiping out a stack of pint mugs. The six of them crowded around a small table in the back, jostling with each other for space. Glinda found herself stuck between Fiyero and Boq, wishing herself closer to Elphaba. But the girl was hardly paying her any attention.

"What's everyone having?" Crope said, standing up. "My treat."

"Crope, you don't have to…" Glinda started.

"My treat," he said more insistently.

The table shifted uncomfortably. Wealth was not something Glinda was accustomed to talking about or noticing, but now she saw too clearly the threadbare patches on Boq's sweater. She knew Elphaba came from some money, though she dressed like she didn't, and Fiyero was a prince, so he must. Her cheeks burned in embarrassment as she realized she'd never considered those without, how someone constantly offering to pay for someone else could create an imbalance.

"I'll have a mead," Fiyero said finally, breaking the silence. "And I'll pay next time. We'll go in a round."

Glinda liked him more for this—not only diffusing the situation but also assuming there would be a next time. She could tell he set the rest of them at ease, too, because they went around the table and ordered. All except Elphaba, who waved Crope off.

"Next time," she said. "I want my head clear for this."

"Didn't know you were such a lightweight, Miss Elphaba," he said, and she scowled at him as he made his way to the counter.

Glinda shifted in her seat, wishing she was closer to Elphaba. Boq noticed, shooting her a sympathetic smile, and she started. She knew he probably still had a crush on her, but if he knew how she felt about Elphaba, he didn't say.

Elphaba herself was fidgeting in that way she did when she was uncomfortable, winding her black hair around her fingers. The hood of her cloak was thrown back, but in the low light of the tavern no one gave her a second glance.

Boq cleared his throat, coughed. Elphaba gave him a sharp glance.

"Did you get the research?" She asked just as Crope returned.

"What research?" Crope asked, and Glinda was pleased to find she already knew the answer.

"You mean Dillamond's research, don't you?" Glinda said.

Elphaba nodded. "I asked Boq to get it—in case Morrible wanted to destroy it, like she…" She shook her head. "It doesn't matter. Did you get it?"

The entire table looked at Boq.

"Some of it. It looks like—like he may have hidden some, I don't know."

"How do you not know?" Elphaba asked. Then, realizing how loud she had become, she lowered her voice.

"Like… I found two pages that maybe mentioned Animals. That's it. And the place looked messy but it didn't look ransacked, didn't look like—"

"Like someone had broken in," Glinda finished, and Boq nodded.

Elphaba frowned. "So you think it's hidden, then."

"I don't know. But that's what makes the most sense, doesn't it? Didn't you say he knew something was off?"

The table now shifted their focus to Elphaba. While used to stares, she wasn't used to the intense scrutiny she suddenly found herself under—worse, scrutiny by people with whom she actually felt some sort of kinship.

"I visited him a few times," she started, and then Elphaba found herself explaining the nature of her relationship with Doctor Dillamond, what his research had entailed, the details of their friendship. She left out how she'd asked his advice about her relationship with Glinda, not even daring herself to look at the girl. It was a good thing Boq was sitting between them; although Elphaba was too aware of how the tavern light cast Glinda in a soft glow.

Stop it, she admonished herself when she found her voice trailing off. She spun the rest of them a tale, with Glinda telling of how Morrible had tried to draw her in her first day at Shiz into some workings against Elphaba.

The table was silent as Elphaba finished, each person looking down into their own drinks as if they might somehow hold the answers. They were all aware there was no going back from this if they decided to become involved.

"You can walk away now," Elphaba said, and they all looked at her. "If you think this is too big for you—too much. I don't even understand the implications of it all, yet. But something is… I don't know. I'm just telling you can walk away from this now."

She held her breath. No one moved. Elphaba found herself wishing desperately that Glinda would get up, walk away, save herself from the rest of this. But as if she knew what the other was thinking, Glinda fixed Elphaba with a steely glare that said I'm not going anywhere.


They agreed to meet the following week on the walk back to Shiz, at a different location so no one could follow them. Boq would bring what pages of Dillamond's research he'd salvaged and they'd begin the long, arduous process of trying to figure out where the rest of it could possibly be hidden.

The group dispersed when they hit the grounds, Glinda following closely behind Elphaba. Elphaba didn't say a word until they'd reached the dorm room, where she immediately took off her cloak and shook out the last few scattered raindrops from it.

"Where do you think he hid it?" Glinda asked, but at one glance from Elphaba she closed her mouth. Elphaba grabbed a piece of parchment and scribbled hastily, holding it up for Glinda to see.

Not here. Morrible probably listening.

Glinda nodded. Elphaba tore up the paper, but before she could do anything, Glinda had magicked it so it burst into flames, not even leaving a char mark on Elphaba's desk.

"You're getting good at that," Elphaba observed.

"Am I?"

"Yes. And Glinda… thank you. For coming today. I know I worry but it's—"

"Because you don't want to lose me," Glinda finished. She sat down on her bed and looked at her roommate. "I know."

"I hate it too," Elphaba said softly, and she glanced over at Glinda. "But it's for the best."

The girls quietly undressed, curling up on their respective beds. Elphaba shoved her glasses further up her nose and held a book up to her face, though Glinda noticed she barely flipped any pages. Glinda practiced small spells under her breath, trying desperately to change the color of Elphaba's bedsheets without her noticing, to no avail. But she thought she did see a small spot of pink on the corner, but maybe that was just wishful thinking.

She reached over and turned off her lamp, whispered a "Good night," to Elphaba, who didn't respond. And as she drifted off to sleep, cold and empty, Glinda wondered if it was for the best after all.