A/N: Almost the chapter you're waiting for! Hope you like it, keep the reviews coming! The more people that review, the faster I will update!

Elphaba, from her safe place under her tree, had heard the voices of Fiyero and Galinda talking. Unwilling to eavesdrop on what would not be a pleasant conversation, she snuck out the other side of the tree.

Hearing a loud, indignant, "You're WHAT?" from behind her, she quickly made her way back to the room she and Galinda shared.

She was prepared for Galinda to return in tears, so was not surprised when less than ten minutes later, a blonde mess appeared at the door, mascara running down her face in black streaks from watery eyes, meeting a quivering top lip.

Feigning surprise, she asked in a concerned voice, "Galinda, what's the matter?" The blonde burst into tears again and ran to Elphaba's bed.

Launching herself at the green girl, she hiccupped, "Fi-y-yero b-broke u-up with m-me!"

Elphaba wrapped her arms around her friend, feeling genuinely terrible for her. "Oh, Galinda, I'm so sorry. Did he say why?" Elphie was almost afraid of hearing the reason that Fiyero had given Galinda, but knew she had to ask.

Sobbing, Galinda managed to get an answer out, "He said that last night's date was a disaster, and I shouldn't have abandoned him at the dance, and... Elphie, he said that he l-likes someone e-else n-now!" These last few words were accompanied by Galinda dissolving into more tears, crying into Elphaba's shoulder hysterically.

Elphaba was suddenly alarmed. She couldn't help but think, "Is it me that he likes?" Of course, she would never voice that out loud to her roommate, especially in her current condition.

"Galinda, I'm going to run you a nice, hot bath, and you can relax for a little while, okay?" Elphaba needed to do something productive, to escape the thoughts swirling around her head. She would leave Galinda to calm down, and perhaps go to the library and study for a while.

Galinda merely nodded, and Elphaba extracted herself from the blonde's grip and went to run the bath.

XXX

Fiyero felt so much freer after he talked to Galinda. He knew she would be upset, although he couldn't fathom why, seeing as they barely knew each other, but he knew that his heart was not with Galinda, but rather with her funny, beautiful, green roommate.

He was wandering around the campus, trying to decide what to do, when he saw a familiar green girl hurrying in the direction of the library, armed with a large stack of books and papers. Fiyero, with a flash of inspiration, realised that one way of getting to spend some time with Elphaba would be to ask for her help with homework. She was extremely intelligent, and truth be told, he actually was struggling with the most recent History assignment. He rushed up to his room to retrieve his papers and headed back to the library.

Seeing Elphaba nestled in a corner, surrounded by books, he smiled in adoration. She was in her element, and he could tell that nothing made her happier than being where she was now. He approached her, and she looked up when she heard his muffled footsteps on the carpet.

Smiling nervously, she greeted him, "Hi Fiyero."

"Hello, Elphaba. I was wondering if you'd be able to help me a little bit with this History essay. I'm afraid I don't really understand it..." He trailed off as he witnessed Elphaba blushing slightly. "Unless you'd rather be alone?"

Elphaba moved a stack of papers from the desk and set them on a spare chair next to her. "Of course I'll help you, Fiyero!" She was happy to see him, albeit nervous, and admitted to herself that she was excited to spend some more time with him, when she wasn't drunk. She just hoped that she wasn't betraying the trust of her best friend. Elphaba was not really sure how these things worked, as she had never had a friend before, let alone a potential love interest.

Fiyero sat down and handed her his half-finished essay, "Here, I've done about half, but I don't think it's what Dr Dillamond wants, it doesn't sound right."

Elphaba quickly read through the work-in-progress, and smiled at Fiyero, "You're right. You've made a few really good points, but they need to be stronger. You need more evidence and examples to back them up, and you also need to be a lot more specific. I think you're definitely on the right track, you just need to tighten up the vocabulary and tie loose ends together."

"Really? So the points I've made are okay?"

"Yes, I especially like the topic you picked, about Animal rights. I didn't think you were interested in that kind of thing."

Fiyero looked down guiltily. The truth was, he had wanted to get to know Elphaba better, and thought he could start by finding out more about her interests. When he had found out that she was passionate about Animal rights in Oz, he decided then and there to base his History paper on that.

"Well, I suppose I just wanted to study something different," he replied, only telling her half of the truth.

XXX

They worked solidly for more than an hour, both working on their separate essays. Elphaba gave Fiyero tips every so often for how he could improve his writing, but other than that, they barely spoke, enjoying the comfortable silence. Finally, Fiyero stopped writing, leaned back and stretched.

"I'm finished, Elphaba," he informed her with a grin.

"Really? Excellent, do you want me to go through it for you?"

"Yes please!"

Elphaba took the essay from him and began reading. Every so often she would make a small note in the margin, and after a few minutes she handed the paper back with a big smile on her face. "Fiyero, this is great! I've written just a couple of comments down, but this is a massive improvement!"

Fiyero grinned, and replied happily, "Well, I guess I just have an amazing tutor."

Their eyes met, and on instinct, Fiyero leaned forward slightly. Elphaba didn't move, save for tilting her head a bit to the right. She knew what was about to happen, and realised she would not be able to stop it even if she had the slightest urge to try and control herself.

Just as their lips touched the tiniest bit, they were startled by a loud yell.

"HEY!"

They looked up to see Galinda running across the room towards them, and she didn't look happy at all.