A/N: I know it's late, but happy new year everyone! I hope 2012 is a wonderful year for you all! Sorry for not updating sooner, I was away over new years, and then my family and I went on holidays for a week, so I didn't have internet access on my computer. But I'm back now, and posting chapter 9!
Hope you enjoy, and make sure to keep reviewing! Thanks guys! :D
When Elphaba returned to her room the next morning, she was greeted by a mess of blonde curls on her pillow. The blonde head stirred slowly as Elphaba shut the door quietly.
"Elphie? You're home?" mumbled Galinda quietly.
"Yes, Galinda, I'm home. Why are you sleeping in my bed?" asked Elphaba, confused.
Galinda sat up, rubbing her eyes, which on closer inspection were red rimmed and slightly swollen. "Galinda? Have you been crying?"
"No, I'm just really tired..." answered Galinda, but her voice shook and gave her away.
"Sweetie, what's the matter?" she asked, concerned for her best friend.
"Nothing, I'm fine!" said Galinda, but a tear welled in her eye and threatened to spill down her cheek.
Elphaba rushed over to her bed and pulled Galinda into her arms. The sudden comfort made Galinda break down, and she sobbed into Elphaba's shoulder as Elphie rocked her back and forth, whispering comforting words into her ear.
When Galinda had finally calmed enough to speak again, she said hoarsely, "I'm sorry, Elphie. I'm just overtired, and I guess it's making me all emotional."
"Galinda, why are you so tired? Haven't you been sleeping?" asked Elphaba.
Galinda hated lying to her best friend, but she didn't see any other way around the situation, save telling Elphie that she was in love with her.
"No, not really. I don't know why, though."
"Well, maybe you should try and have a sleep now then," suggested Elphie. "I'll lie with you until you fall asleep."
Galinda agreed, and lay back down on the bed, closing her eyes and relishing Elphaba's warmth pressed against her. After a couple of minutes, Elphaba softly started singing an old Munchkin lullaby that her mother used to sing to her. By the end of the song, the blonde's breathing had evened out and Elphaba knew she was asleep. She carefully pulled herself away from Galinda and tiptoed to the door, shutting it silently behind her.
Elphie decided to walk around campus for a while, and eventually came upon her tree. She sat underneath it, like she had months ago when Fiyero was breaking up with Galinda, and thought. She thought about Galinda, and wondered why she had been acting so strange lately. She also thought about her night with Fiyero, and how special he had made her feel. She had never been loved by anyone, not by her father, nor her sister, until him. She hadn't said the words out loud, but she knew deeply and positively that she was in love with Fiyero, and all of a sudden had the urge to tell it to his face.
Smiling, she stood up and skipped, very uncharacteristically, to Fiyero's room. She knocked on the door and waited, hearing a loud thump following by Fiyero swearing loudly.
"Who is it?" he called.
Elphaba laughed. "It's me, Yero! Can I come in?"
Fiyero opened the door to his girlfriend, who flung her arms around him and said enthusiastically, "I love you!"
"I love you too, Fae... Is there a reason for this?" replied Fiyero, confused.
It was only then that Elphie stepped back and noticed Fiyero's appearance. Her eyes looked at his dishevelled hair, then travelled down his naked body. She began to giggle. "Yero, was I interrupting something?" she asked with a cheeky wink.
"I was sleeping! I didn't get much sleep last night, thanks to you and your insatiable appetite!" responded Fiyero.
Elphaba couldn't control her laughter. "Sorry, babe. But I know you enjoyed it, so you can keep half the blame to yourself!" She grinned and added, "So, you sleep naked, do you?"
"Come here, you!" Fiyero grabbed Elphie and pulled her to him, kicking the door shut and kissing her.
Feeling playful, Elphaba tackled Fiyero to the floor, landing on top of him and laughing as she kissed him back. She felt him harden beneath her body and trailed her hand down to touch him.
"Fae, why do you do this to me?" he groaned as she began to move against him.
Fiyero took all of Elphaba's clothes off quickly, and they made love on the floor, both feeling more adventurous and wild than the night before. The carpet behind the door was also where they fell asleep together, until Fiyero was awoken by his stomach grumbling in anticipation of lunch.
XXX
Elphaba went back to her room after lunch with Fiyero, breathless after the 'goodbye' kiss she received from him, to find Galinda just beginning to stir. The blonde looked up as Elphie opened the door and slipped inside.
Before Elphaba could speak, Galinda said in a rush, "Elphie, I'm so sorry about this morning! I don't know what came over me, but I didn't mean to ruin such a special morning for you. It should have been all about you, and I'm so sorry!"
Elphie looked at her blankly, before smiling slightly. "Galinda, I don't care about that. I'm perfectly happy. I just wanted to make sure you're okay, because you were so upset this morning! I don't understand what happened to make you cry like that!"
"Neither do I!" laughed Galinda. She sat up and beckoned to Elphaba. "Now, come here and tell me everything, Miss Elphaba Thropp!"
"Galinda, I'm not going to tell you all the details. This is between Fiyero and I, can you respect that?" asked Elphaba softly.
"Of course, sorry Elphie," nodded Galinda, ashamed at herself for letting her excitement overcome her.
Seeing the crestfallen look that Galinda tried vainly to hide, Elphaba said, "But I will tell you one thing... It was an amazing experience and I love Fiyero so much more for it. I'm so happy I met him!" She smiled and jumped up on the bed, giving Galinda a huge hug.
"Oh, Elphie, that's great! I'm so happy for you!" the blonde replied, seeming enthusiastic when inside, she was concealing her broken heart, which was getting harder to bear every day. She knew it would come out eventually, but she was trying desperately to hold onto her secret, knowing how shocked and probably disgusted Elphaba would be, and most likely Fiyero too. They would be ripped apart, and even Galinda knew that their current friendship was much better than nothing at all.
She hugged Elphaba back, pleased that she was able to keep her tears in check, and plastered a happy and excited smile on her face, putting up a mask which Elphaba fully believed, and vowed to herself to not let her Elphie find out about the constant battle between her head and her heart.
A/N: Just a quick note, I wasn't actually meaning to draw things out this long, so the next chapter is going to revert back to my original plan, which I will try and stick to from now on! So I will be skipping forward another couple of months in the story, and prepare for some drama!