Again, sorry for how long this chapter took. Apart from not having time, I had to edit it like a gazillion times because this chapter was being insanely annoying and not working. Hope it turned out well, after all that XD

The 'Ozpasses' that will come up later in this chapter, are kind of like the Ozian equivalent of a passport. But they're slightly different. In my head, an Ozpass is a cross between a passport and an ID card... and you need to show one whenever you want to use any kind of transport, check into hotels, that kind of stuff.

Chapter 7

The 'Welcome to Southland Tours' party was where Fiyero realized how adorable Elphaba was when she got irritated. Her eyes would narrow, her nostrils would flare and she would either start spluttering or come up with a series of witty retorts.

Fiyero thought it was extremely cute... which is why he decided to keep annoying her.

He'd follow her around and purposely do something he knew would rile her up. He'd disturb her when she was reading, make stupid comments, use awful pick up lines on her... basically anything he could do to aggravate her. He had just been having fun, of course, but it didn't take him long to realize she didn't view it in the same way. She started avoiding him, insulting him and worst of all, she started getting annoyed with him even when he wasn't trying to annoy her. Once, he had been hooking up with Galinda in her room when Elphaba had walked in and looked at him with such detestation that he had been rendered speechless.

She'd yelled at him too... with complete and utter repugnance in her voice. He had pretended to shrug it off, like it was no big deal, but the truth was that it really bothered him.

He had never wanted her to hate him.

Which is why when he found out that Avaric had Elphaba as his partner for the museum trip, he had asked him to switch.

"I can't let her hate me," Fiyero said, "Let me partner with her."

"Why?" Avaric had asked confused, "Who gives a shit if the artichoke doesn't like you?"

"It's not about her in particular," Fiyero lied, "I'm just not used to having girls hate me."

Avaric didn't take much convincing once he found out that Fiyero's partner was Milla, but he still had his doubts.

"They won't let us switch partners," he had said, uneasily.

But Fiyero wasn't about to let it go.

"Just tell Milla that when she goes to get her ticket, she should ask if she can switch partners with Elphaba. Tell her to say it's because... uh... Elphaba and I both majored in Art History. That we want to intellectually discuss the art or something," he had suggested.

"No one's going to believe you could do anything intellectually," Avaric had quipped. But he had done it, and Fiyero found himself partnering with Elphaba.

Which is when he screwed things up... again.

He had planned on being respectful and quiet while she looked at the art, but his short attention span had instead made him act like a complete clotpole. He started making these god-awful art puns... and even when he realized that they were irritating her more than they were amusing her, he couldn't stop. He didn't know what it was, but Elphaba Thropp made him... skittish. He felt strange around her. And for some reason, that made him act like a complete idiot.

When she exploded at him, he decided he needed to make amends... and fast. Which is when Fiyero came up with the 'go-ask-that-man-a-dumb-question' plan.

It made sense to him; Fiyero's relationship with his best friend was built on the foundation of the 'shenanigans' they got themselves into. They'd do something ridiculous, but they'd do it together and by the end of it, they'd have a story to tell everyone. It was these idiotic plans (and the memories they had as a result of them) that brought the two boys together. Fiyero had thought that if he and Elphaba could do something risky together, it might... well, help them bond.

But Elphaba was right, Fiyero was completely brainless. He went too far and it backfired in his face.

He had avoided Elphaba since then. A part of him was keeping a respectful distance because he knew she was livid with him, but a part of him - granted, a part of him that he didn't like to acknowledge - was hurt.

You are completely and utterly brainless, and you're probably never going to amount to anything in life

Her words had been resounding in his mind since the day of the museum incident, but - as usual - he did his best to block them. He didn't want to think about what she had said... or what it had, in turn, made him realize. Life was easier when one was brainless and didn't think about things, he reminded himself.

"Could you hurry up?"

Hearing her voice, Fiyero felt a flush of anger. But, once again, he pretended like it had no effect on him. He waved a listless arm at her.

"Wait your turn, grasshopper," he drawled, before turning to the cashier girl. He gave her a wink and she giggled and blushed.

He wasn't actually interested in flirting with the cashier girl... but he did want to annoy Elphaba. And not because he wanted to see that cute expression on her face.

"You know," he said to the girl, "You remind me of something I saw in my garden this morning."

"Really? What?"

"A beautiful flower."

The girl began giggling and blushing profusely, and Fiyero almost groaned out loud. He always used that line because it was the dumbest line in the book. Based on a girl's reaction to it, however, he could usually tell how easy she would be to impress.

He could hear Elphaba sigh impatiently behind him.

"The train is going to leave soon. Are you even buying anything?"

He waved the bottle of rum in the air, still not turning to look at her.

"Hurry up, then!"

He finally turned around to face her, his expression bemused.

"Alright fine. If you're so damn impatient, you can go first."

"What..."

She looked alarmed as he gestured towards the front of the line. But she silently walked over and paid for the ruby slippers she wanted to buy. Fiyero wondered idly why she wanted ruby slippers - she didn't seem the type to wear them - but of course, he didn't ask. He just waited passively on the side as she finished, and then went back to the front desk with his alcohol. She walked over to the door with her purchase, paused thoughtfully and then stalked back to him.

"You know," she said, interrupting his conversation with the cashier for the second time, "You still haven't apologized to me."

"Apologized for what?" he asked, in a clipped tone.

"You know for what," she snarled.

He obviously knew what he had to apologize for. More than that, he knew it was something he should apologize for. But her words that kept coming back to haunt him - you're probably never going to amount to anything in life - didn't let the apology come out.

"What about your apology?" he demanded.

For a second she was taken aback, but then she scoffed, "My apology?"

"Umm... do you guys think..." The cashier girl tried to intervene, but the two of them ignored her.

"Yes, your apology. From the day we met you have been making snap judgements about me. But here's the thing, you don't know me. So stop acting like you have me all figured out."

"I never..."

Fiyero gave a dry laugh, "And you're also too stubborn to admit your mistakes."

She gritted her teeth, "My mistakes? You've been nothing but arrogant..."

"Oh really? When we were stuck in the train together, who was ignoring who? I tried so hard to talk to you and you just treated me like... like I was dirt on the back of your shoe. And then you tried to make me look like a fool in front of everyone during the party. And you say you don't make snap judgements? You had barely spoken to me for fifteen minutes and you thought I was lying about being able to play the piano!"

"I..."

Her face was slowly getting a darker shade of green. He tried to shut off the small voice in the back of his head that thought it made her look absolutely bewitching.

"I'm going to catch our train," she snapped.

She turned around abruptly and stormed out the door. Still fuming, Fiyero paid the cashier and threw a group of wide-eyed spectators a dirty look, before following suit.

I can't believe her. To come up to me and demand an apology. Who does she think she...

He froze. The still air suddenly filled him with a painful sense of awareness.

The platform was completely empty.

The train.

Fiyero looked around, manically, almost as if checking to see if the train was, perhaps, hiding from him. But unfortunately, it wasn't. It was gone... along with his friends, his luggage and his Ozpass.

This was not good. This was not good at all.

He heard a gasp behind him and turned around to find himself, once again, face-to-face with the last person who probably wanted to see him.

"You missed it too?" he asked her, stupidly.

Elphaba bit her lip. "I... I don't know how that... What are we going to do?"

She was trying extremely hard to hide the panic in her voice, but it was obvious it was there.

"Alright, let's just calm down..."

"Calm down?" Her worried expression suddenly turned angry. "I'm stuck in the middle of nowhere with you. I'm pretty sure this is the perfect moment to freak out."

"Why are you angry with me?" He demanded, "This isn't my fault. You're the one who decided to confront me in the middle of the shop. I let you cut in front of me... if you had left right after buying your stupid shoes, you would have caught the train."

That shut her up. She stood there for a moment, unsure of what to do.

"I guess we could check the information booth..." Fiyero suggested, "See when the next train comes."

She nodded reluctantly, "Alright. You wait here. Let me go check."

Fiyero stood fidgeting on the side as she went to talk to the man at the booth. He watched her carefully, his heart sinking when she started walking back to him, looking crestfallen.

"Apparently there's a tornado coming," she said, reaching him, "They've cancelled all trains for the next three days."

"But... we have to get there by tomorrow night, otherwise we'll miss the next train."

She glared at him, "I know that."

"I guess we could... rent a carriage and travel together."

The idea surprised Elphaba. It was actually much better than her idea of trying to find a bus. She didn't exactly want to go traipsing all over Oz by herself, and the suburban buses were not known for their functionality. There was a very high chance of one of them breaking down... in which case she'd have no chance of catching up to the tour train. But then again, a carriage trip with Fiyero? While it was a good idea, after everything he'd done to her, she wasn't about to sound eager to spend two days in close proximity to him.

"Oh no... no. I am not traveling with you." She said, faking a forcefulness she didn't feel.

She watched him for a moment, waiting for him to respond. Something flickered in his eyes, but it disappeared quickly.

"Ok, fine. Do your own thing then."

Wait... what?

He turned around and started walking away. She gaped at his back. Was he serious? He was just going to leave her to get to Traum by herself? She didn't know how to drive a carriage! But he continued walking, heading back towards the shop they had just fought in. He just wants to continue flirting with that stupid cashier girl, she thought heatedly.

Well, who needed him anyway?

She straightened her shoulders. Her whole life she'd done everything herself. So what if she couldn't drive? She could easily figure out some other way to make the two day journey.

She started walking down the road which led to the nearest town, looking left and right, hoping to see somewhere she could catch a bus, when a policeman in a dark gray uniform stopped her.

"Good evening," he said, eyeing her suspiciously, "Where are you going?"

"I.. er... have to get to Traum," she explained, "I missed my train, and there aren't any trains for the next few days, you wouldn't happen to know if there are any..."

"You're not from here."

It wasn't a question. The man was looking at her skin distastefully, and Elphaba pulled at her sleeves nervously.

"Not quite..."

"Can I see your Ozpass?"

This was what she had been dreading. She had realized soon after she witnessed her train disappearing into the distance, that she was trapped in a strange area without her Ozpass.

Without it, she knew, using transport anywhere would be close to impossible. She had hoped that she would - somehow - be able to convince the people at the bus company to let her use the bus without it, but even then she knew it was unlikely. And the policeman who had stopped her didn't seem to be the kind that was swayed easily.

Things were not going well.

"Well, you see," she said, feigning confidence, "The train I was supposed to catch..."

The man gave her a look. "So you don't have your Ozpass?"

"Not right now, no... but it's in my bag, on the train."

"You know you can't just walk around Oz without an Ozpass, right? I'm going to have to take you down to the station..."

Elphaba could feel the panic begin to rise in her chest. If they took her to the station and called her father, this would be the end of the journey for her.

"Look, there's a reasonable explanation..." she said, quickly, but the man silenced her with his hand.

"I'm sorry... the rules are the rules."

He pulled out a notebook and began scribbling in it when a smooth voice cut in.

"Hello officer."

Oh great. She tried to ignore the slight feeling of relief she felt. Just what I need.

The man looked up and blinked a few times and the tall boy standing before him.

"Can I help you?"

Fiyero smiled, "Yes. I'm Fiyero Tiggular."

Elphaba ground her teeth. What was he doing? As though by saying his name he was somehow going to make the...

Tiggular.

Where had she heard that before? The name sounded extremely familiar.

Wait. Tiggular? As in...

Elphaba audibly gasped, but quickly pretended it was a yawn. It was an unnecessary precaution, however, since the guard was ignoring her. Instead he was leering at Fiyero with a servile expression on his face.

"Prince Fiyero! What an honour."

"I'm sure. But it would be an even bigger honour if you could stop harassing my friend."

The man looked at Elphaba with an alarmed expression, "Was I harassing you?" he asked her, affronted. He turned back to Fiyero, "My lord, I was merely asking the lady..."

"It's all forgiven." Fiyero said, wearily, "Now if you could just please point us in the direction of the nearest carriage rental shop, we'll be on our way."

Fiyero listened as the man gave him directions, but Elphaba's mind was elsewhere.

He's a Prince?

And not just any prince. The 'scandalcious' playboy prince who threw the Vinkus's most outrageous parties?

The prince Galinda had been promising she'd one day meet and marry?

If only Galinda knew, Elphaba thought, mildly amused.

But while Fiyero's revelation left her slightly amused, and very surprised, it also left her miffed. Partly because he had completely lied about who he was, and partly because she didn't like it that he had 'saved' her. She wasn't a damsel in distress. She didn't need him to help her. She could have dealt with that man herself.

Stop being stubborn, Elphaba, she chided herself, He helped you. Why can't you just be grateful?

The officer had sidled away after apologizing profusely to Fiyero, and the Vinkun prince had finally turned to face her. He gave her a wan smile.

"It's about a twenty minute walk from here, you coming?"

She nodded and followed him wordlessly as he took off down the road. She kept her eyes glued onto the pebbles on the ground as though they were the most fascinating thing on the planet.

Thank him, you dolt.

"Fiyero... I..."

"I'm sorry."

She looked up at him, surprised.

"Excuse me?"

He made a face, "You heard me. Don't make me say it again."

"Sorry for what?"

"For... everything. For the museum... for irritating you. For making you hate me... I'm sorry."

"I..."

He was looking at her intensely, and she was astonished by how genuine his words sounded.

"It's fine," she mumbled, "I'm sorry too. And thank you..." she gestured behind them, "..for that."

He grinned, and she could see his azure eyes light up, their familiar twinkle returning.

"So we're friends, now?"

"I suppose so..."

"Awesome. Otherwise this would have been a really boring trip. But at least this time you can't ignore me by reading your book, huh grasshopper?"