Disclaimer: Wicked is mine only in my wildest dreams... but in my friend's wildest dreams, she has a car with a wireless steering wheel. It's pretty sweet from what I hear.

Enjoy.

009. Months

Elphaba was in the infirmary for two weeks, miserably. Glinda, Fiyero, and sometimes even Boq stopped by to give her the assignments she had missed, by her request, of course. The day she got out, she insisted that she be allowed to do what she wanted and not be waited upon.

"I'm a fully capable adult, not an infant!" she argued with them, "I don't need to be checked on every two hours to see whether I'm hungry or not. If I'm hungry, I'll eat!"

Two months after her hospital stay it was spring recess. She and Fiyero still met to discuss their notes and findings, but it seemed that they were getting nowhere in their mission to close the gap between humans and Animals.

"Maybe we should take a break from researching all of this stuff," Fiyero suggested,"Maybe the answer will just come to us one day." He had been staring at a single note-filled piece of paper pounding his fist rhythmically into the center of his forehead for the last half hour. He looked more than eager to stop working.

Elphaba sighed and shook her head. "I don't see how relying on luck will do us any good, but I admit, as much as I love this library, I'd love even more to get out of it."

"Then let's go," Fiyero said, throwing his books into a bag.

Elphaba scrunched her forehead. "Go where?"

Fiyero's eyes gleamed. "Come on. Get your things. You can go back to your dorm to change. I'll be there to get you at six."

"Where—"

"Six." He smiled and walked out the door. Elphaba sighed, worked for another hour and went back to her dorm.

"Glinda, I think Fiyero's gone mad," she said as she plopped down on her bed.

"What'd he do?" Glinda called from behind her make-up compact.

"He just decided in the middle of studying that we should take a break from research."

" He wanted to take a break from research? You're right, he's gone completely out of his mind," Glinda replied. Elphaba's sarcasm had rubbed off on her. "Is that really so strange?"

"No, telling me to come back here and get changed and saying that he'd be by to get me at six is strange," Elphaba said pointedly.

Glinda froze for a moment and spun to face Elphaba. She squealed and attacked her with a gigantic hug.

"I'm so PROUD of you!!" She shrieked, squeezing Elphaba harder with every syllable.

"Did I miss something?" Elphaba croaked in the death hold. Glinda released her.

"Fiyero asked you on a date!"

Elphaba laughed. "Oh, no, no, no. It's not a date. And he hardly asked."

Glinda crossed her arms over her chest. "Then what is it?"

"It's a spur-of-the-moment get-together between two friends that just so happen to be of opposite sexes."

Glinda rolled her eyes. "Call it what you want, but wear that nice black dress and change quickly. You only have fifteen minutes." Glinda went back to adjusting her hair.

"Whatever you say, Fairy Queen Glinda," Elphaba teased as she disappeared into the bathroom with recommended dress. Glinda, who bore an uncanny resemblence to the Fairy Queen Lurline, hated to be recognized for the likeness.

"Oh, very funny, Elphaba the Deliriously Naive!" Glinda retorted. "But if he tries to kiss you, don't tell me I didn't warn you!"

"Elphaba the Delirious?" Elphaba called back through the door. She briefly poked her head out, smirking. "I like it." And she disappeared once more behind the door yelling: "And he's not going to kiss me!"

Not unless I tell him to... (cackle)

Ahem... anyhow. I appreciate the comments on the last chapter. They made me happy, as always.

I'm going to apologize now for the sad, sad excuse for a chapter that's coming up. I mean, I still have to edit it, so it may not be as pathetic as it WAS but the time it's actually posted... It's disappointingly short. And then? The bad chapter. So, "Brace yourselves, lads", as Slightly might say.

e.r.