As soon as she was out of sight, Elphaba had begun to run down the hall, stupid tears glazed over her eyes, blurring her vision. She didn't blink, because if she did, the tears would fall. She didn't stop, because she was afraid she would cry if she stopped, so she kept running. She ran outside into the forest and finally stopped, leaning against a tree. She still had her books in her arms, and they were starting to feel heavy. She sat down and set the books down in front of her. She waited until the moisture in her eyes disappeared and breathed in deeply. There was a sudden noise and Fiyero appeared, clambering through a bush.
"Elphaba, are you all right?" he asked, coming to her side immediately.
"I'm fine Fiyero." said Elphaba, offering a soft smile. Fiyero looked at her more closely. Bruises lined her arms and wrists.
"Oh Elphaba..." Fiyero murmured softly, he held her wrists gently, examining the damage done to her arms. Her skin was so soft and smooth, Fiyero reveled at the touch. He let his hand graze over her arm softly. He felt an electric shock go through his body as he let his hands gently graze over her arms. Elphaba felt it too, and an involuntary shiver shook through her spine.
"They were pretty rough weren't they?" asked Fiyero, softly.
"It doesn't matter," said Elphaba, "I'm fine."
"Don't say it doesn't matter, of course it does! Elphaba, I'm so sorry." said Fiyero, looking up to meet her eyes.
"What are you apologizing for? You didn't do anything." said Elphaba softly. They made direct eye contact, neither wanted to break the spell, but Elphaba gave in after a while. She gathered her books together and stood up.
"Here, let me carry those for you." said Fiyero, putting his hands out.
"You can carry half." said Elphaba with a grin and she rolled her eyes. She handed him 3 of the six large books and smiled at him. He smiled back, but his heart was still breaking at what those other boys had done to her. His eyes followed the bruises trailing down her arms, he looked away as his heart splintered again.
"Um, I suppose I should...what I mean is...well, back there, you...if you hadn't come he would've..." Elphaba stammered nervously, she blushed and stopped walking and looked at Fiyero, looking into his eyes, "Thank you." she whispered. Fiyero smiled softly.
"Anytime." he said. Absentmindedly he brushed a stray strand of hair behind her ear. She blushed and looked down, then continued to walk.
"So, would you like to go to the coffee shop? Everyone's still waiting on us." said Fiyero after a while.
"Sure." said Elphaba; she put her jacket on to cover up the bruises. They walked in silence for a while, neither wanting nor knowing what to say. Finally, Fiyero blurted out.
"Why didn't you cry? Why don't you cry?" Fiyero asked suddenly.
"Excuse me?" said Elphaba, caught off guard, she wasn't sure if she heard him right. Fiyero immediately regretted asking, although he still wanted to know.
"Why didn't you cry? It must have hurt. You always act like people's rude comments, or behavior like that don't hurt at all, it must." she Fiyero.
"I don't do crying." said Elphaba.
"Why?" asked Fiyero.
"For one, tears burn like fire, also because if I cry, then I'm weak, then they know it hurts, then it'll get worse and worse, and then--" Elphaba was going into hysterics now, her voice was rising and she just stopped talking as tears sprung to her eyes. She quickly breathed in deeply until the moisture in her eyes went away. Fiyero hugged her lightly.
"Alright, I see why, but sometimes you should cry." said Fiyero.
"I don't think so." Elphaba said, pulling away, "Just drop it Fiyero, I don't want to continue this conversation." Fiyero sighed but obliged. He continued to walk next to her, not knowing what to say. He didn't think he'd ever seen Elphaba like that. They walked into the coffee shop together and Galinda quickly spotted them and bounded forward.
"Oh Dearest, you found her!" Galinda bobbled. Fiyero smiled and nodded. Galinda grabbed Elphaba's arm and pulled her to their spot by the fireplace where Boq and Nessa were. Elphaba's face twisted in pain as Galinda added pressure to her bruised arm, but she quickly composed herself and followed Galinda. Fiyero sighed as he watched Elphaba slip into a mask of happiness and interest in whatever Galinda was babbling about. He'd observed and stared at Elphaba so much lately, he could read her expressions easily. He could tell when she was really smiling, or if it was fake, and right now, it was fake as she was probably sparing Galinda the worrying for her. Fiyero continued to stare at her longingly, he wanted nothing more to go over and embrace her warmly and never let go, protect her from everything and everyone, but he couldn't do that, but he could help ease the pain, if she let him.