Alright-y. Thanks to my reviewers.
Disclaimer: Do not read Wicked if you are illiterate. May cause confusion.
...Oh, fine! I don't own it. Happy?!
008. Weeks
For the next few days, Fiyero sat in Life Sciences next to Elphaba's empty chair. He couldn't remember one day that Elphaba was absent before this, let alone for this long. In spite of himself, he began to worry. He fidgeted and found it hard to pay attention.
"Master Fiyero," Dr. Nikidik, the new professor addressed him, "have you developed a twitch, or is this your way of disrupting the class?"
Fiyero stared back at him blankly. "'Scuse me?"
Dr. Nikidik raised an eyebrow and gestured to Fiyero's hand. Fiyero looked down to see his hand unconsciously tapping his pen, quite loudly, against the desk.
"Sorry." He dropped the pen and folded his hands in his lap.
"It'd better not happen again, or it will be an extra essay for you. All of you," the professor said sharply.
Avaric elbowed him in the ribs, glaring.
Fiyero didn't pay attention for the rest of the class. He kept wondering where the quirky green girl was. When the ending bell rang, he sprang from his seat and went to the courtyard.
"'Scuse me," he stopped a girl who was on her way to class, "could you direct me to Miss El-… Miss Glinda's dorm?" He assumed that she wouldn't know or care about the residency of Elphaba.
"Sure," she said kindly, "Crage Hall, just that way. She's on the second floor." She pointed towards a large white building across the way.
"Thank you very much," Fiyero smiled gratefully.
"So, you and Miss Glinda?" she said wryly.
"No, it's not like that," he replied quickly, and rushed off before she could ask anymore. Honestly… He thought. Girls and their gossip.
He pushed open the doors to Crage Hall and climbed the stairs to the second floor. He read the nametags on the doors until he came to a door labeled 'Glinda Arduenna' in loopy pink letters and 'Elphaba Thropp' in a thin, spidery, black scrawl. He knocked.
"Just a minute!" He heard a voice call through the door.
A moment later, a petite, curly-haired blonde opened the door smiling brightly.
"Hi." Her eyes quickly scanned over his tan, sapphire-studded hands, one of which was holding a familiar black cloak.
"Uh… Hi, Miss Arduenna. I'm Fiyero Tiggular. I'm looking for Elphaba…?"
Glinda's face fell. "Oh… I'm so sorry…"
"Did something happen?"
"She's been in the hospital wing for the past few days. She's pretty ill." Glinda left out the bit about the water. "She'll probably be there for another week at least."
Fiyero was speechless. For some reason, he couldn't imagine Elphaba ever being sick. He thought her too stubborn to give into any ailment.
"I could take you to her…" Glinda offered. She'd seen the worry on his face. "I'm about to go there anyway. The nurses said that she could finally have visitors today."
Fiyero merely nodded. Glinda stepped out of the room and closed the door.
"So, how do you know Elphie?" she asked as they walked along.
Fiyero smiled slightly. " Elphie?"
Glinda's eyes widened. "Don't tell her I called her that! I promised that I'd only use it in private, and even then she throws pillows at me."
He chuckled. "Your secret's safe with me. To answer your question, she's in my Life Sciences class. We're working on a long-term project together."
"Oh. So, that's it?"
Fiyero furrowed his brow. "Did she tell you something different?"
"No"
Fiyero felt part of him inexplicably droop.
"I just thought that maybe… oh, nevermind." Glinda waved away her words as they entered the infirmary. They silently located Elphaba's room.
"Wait here," Glinda instructed. She entered quietly, kneeling at the edge of the hospital bed. Elphaba seemed to be sleeping. She looks so different here… She looks helpless. Glinda felt terrible seeing such a normally strong young girl in such a state.
"Elphie?" She called softly. Elphaba's eyes slowly fluttered open. She forced a slight smile.
"Hey." She whispered. Glinda threw her arms around her, a few tears slipping from her eyes. She'd always been sensitive to the sick. She discovered this while volunteering at a hospital in Gillikin. But this was the first time she'd ever known a patient, which made this situation seem so much more devastating. Elphaba winced at the sudden contact. As she was, anytime than anything touched her it felt almost as if someone was rubbing sandpaper against a fresh sunburn.
"Thank Lurline you're okay. I wasn't sure you were going to make it, the way you looked a few days ago."
"Shh… It's okay. I'm fine." She laughed quietly in spite of herself. "A little water isn't going to kill me. But suffocating me might." She hoped that Glinda would let go before her eyes started tearing from the pain.
Taking the hint, Glinda loosened her grip on Elphaba. She sniffed a bit.
"I forgot to tell you! You have another visitor."
Elphaba looked puzzled. "Who?"
"You can come in now!" Glinda called. Fiyero stepped in slowly and Glinda took a seat in a chair out of the way.
"Fiyero," Elphaba said, surprised.
"Hi. How are you feeling?"
She sighed. "Like I've been hit by a freight train."
Fiyero winced sympathetically. "What happened? When I last saw you you seemed fine."
"It was the rain," she said simply, as if it was a completely understandable response.
"The rain? How on earth could rain—"
"It's a long story. Maybe another time."
"Alright. Well, I have something for you. You left it at the café." Fiyero held up her cloak. Elphaba groaned.
"I'm so stupid! If I'd just remembered to bring that with me, I wouldn't be in this situation!" she ranted, taking the cloak from him and throwing it at a chair.
"Are you implying that the rain got you a little wet and you ended up in the hospital?" Fiyero asked, disbelievingly.
"That's exactly what I'm implying. It's a complicated allergy," She explained, "For example: Rain water isn't exactly pure water. It has minerals and a few other things in it, but we still consider it water. It touches me and I feel pain. It touches me for a while and I get sick. Distilled water- I was unwillingly a subject of this experiment in grade school- actually blisters my skin on contact like a burn might. The more pure the water, the more damage it does is how I've come to understand it."
Fiyero raised one eyebrow.
"What, you don't believe me? Ask the nurses for some distilled water and try it." She held out her arm, daring him.
"Fiyero, just believe her! She's sick enough already," Glinda insisted from the corner of the room, unable to keep quiet for such a long period of time.
"Don't worry. I believe her. I don't see why she would lie about it." he assured Glinda. "I'll leave your cloak here. I'm going to go find Boq. He's helping me and my family with the irrigation issues we're having at home, being an Agriculture major and all." He kissed her forehead lightly. "Feel better." He waved at a shocked Elphaba as he walked through the door.
Glinda emerged from her corner, giggling at Elphaba's stunned expression. "Speaking of Boq—"
"Wait, I know that name," Elphaba realized, "He's a Munchkinlander, right? A short dirty-blonde fellow with curly hair?"
"Right." Glinda smiled.
"What about him?"
"He helped me get you here. You owe him a thank you."
"More than one." Elphaba corrected tiredly. She vaguely recalled the instance Boq had told off some of her classmates in day school for throwing rocks at her when it was announced that she and her family were going to Quadling Country. She remembered the kids saying things like 'Froggy's moving to Swamp Country! How fitting.' Some goodbye party that was… She rubbed her temples, her head beginning to throb from all of the stimulation of the day.
"Is your headache coming back?" Glinda asked quietly.
Elphaba nodded.
"Then I should go. Get better soon and rest well." Glinda stood to leave.
"Hey, Glinda. Thanks for bringing me here and checking up on me," she said quietly.
Glinda smiled. "What are friends for?"
Hmm... Elphaba thought as she drifted off to sleep. Friends.
Okay... not too proud of that chapter...seems a bit boring to me.
...Oh, lordy... bad chapter countdown: 3 to go.
Review?? ( I really think I need counseling for this obsession... I have my introduction all planned out. "Hi... I'm Carolyn and I'm a review addict." insert chorus of "Hi Carolyn"s )