A/N: This may be kind of short, but oh well. Also, I'm changing my penname to either elphabathedelirious32 or fabalafae32.

Disclaimer: I don't own it.

"Elphaba!"

"No."

"You have to."

"No."

"We have to leave!"

"No, actually, not like this."

"You've never cared how you looked before. Why start now?"

"I've never looked like this before!"

Fiyero stopped pleading with her through the closet door and exchanged glances with Liir.

"It can't be that bad," ventured Liir.

Elphaba cackled from the closet. "Oh, yes, it can," she answered.

"Elphaba, come out," said Fiyero firmly. "We've got to go."

"Then find a bathroom downstairs and take turns."

"Elphaba-Elphie-Fabala-Fae!"

"Fine! Just don't call me that!" Elphaba emerged from the closet reluctantly. Fiyero stifled a laugh. She looked so…wrong. Her bony frame was lost completely in the men's clothes they'd found for her, and her face was drawn in even sharper lines with her black spun-coffee hair caught up in a hat. She gave him a look down her funny pointed nose.

"I told you," she said.

"It doesn't matter."

"It does. How am I supposed to hide my color?"

Fiyero pulled her woolen hat down lower. He adjusted her collar, turning it up around her ears. "There," he said, satisfied.

Elphaba peered at herself in the looking glass. "Hm," she said. "What's my name supposed to be?"

"That's easy," said Fiyero. "Ell."

"All right," Elphaba said slowly, still staring at herself in the mirror. She made a slightly shorter than usual, lanky, man.

"This is very disconcerting," she said. Then- "Oh, curses, my voice."

Fiyero considered her voice, low and rich like pouring the coffee her hair so resembled. Only, most of the time she made it as sharp and serrated as the sound of grinding coffee beans.

"It's fine," he said. "Just make it harsher."

Liir found that ironic and laughed.

Elphaba glared at him.

"What?" he protested.

"Did you mean something by that?"

"Maybe," said Liir.

"Can we please get the hell out of here before we're lynched?" begged Fiyero. "Allegedly again?"

Elphaba snorted. "Okay, let's go."

The three slipped downstairs. The party had resumed, although the talk mostly revolved around the er, unexpected resurfacing of the Wicked Witch of the West, but no one noticed three men in plain dark clothes coming down the steps. No one, that was, except Glinda, who was anxiously awaiting them at the bottom. She jumped about a foot when she saw Elphaba.

"Elphie…"

"I know," Elphaba said grumpily. "And it's Ell, incidentally."

Glinda's face looked like it was about to shatter from holding in her laughter.

"Oh, go ahead and laugh," said Elphaba. "Don't break your face on my account. I know how much it means to you."

Glinda made as if to slap her, but hugged her instead.

"You'll start a nasty rumor," warned Elphaba.

"I don't care," said Glinda. "You're my best friend, Elphaba, really, you are now." She drew back to look into Elphaba's impenetrable eyes. "Will I ever see you again?" she asked.

"Nothing in life is ever certain," Elphaba replied, and then almost inaudibly, "but I hope so."

Tears in her blue eyes, Lady Glinda watched the three walk towards the door and disappear into the night.