I'm so sorry about the wait! I've had the worst case of writer's block EVER lately. BUT, I now have a beta. So, extra special thanks to the amazing 0Verdigris0 for checking this chapter through for me, and telling me where the apostrophe should go in "writer's block" :D. (Psst. Read her story 'Don't Leave Me.' It's much better than anything I've written!)
More hours later than she had cared to count, Galinda tentatively pushed open the door to her dorm and padded softly inside; her hands gently grazing the walls as she used them as a guide across the room. The blonde was fully aware of the danger of leaving the lights off for a second time, but tonight she certainly did not want to awaken her room mate by switching the light on. Thankfully, Galinda managed to reach the bathroom without encountering any obstacles and, after changing into her nightdress, she reached her bed with equal ease.
Usually, Galinda slept on her side, legs curled up to her chest so that she lay in a neat ball. Tonight, however, she pulled her blanket firmly over her head, dragging one of her pillows under with her so that she could clutch it protectively and do her best not to shoot glances at her sleeping room mate every few seconds.
It didn't work. Try as she might, Galinda just couldn't find a position comfortable enough to fall asleep in. She tried lying flat on her back, before shifting onto her side with the pillow clutched to her chest. When neither of those worked, she tried her usual trick of curling into a ball, but even that failed. And she was so tired. Growing irritated, Galinda punched her pillow to relieve some of her frustration towards the current unfairness of life in general.
Awoken by the sound of her room mate thrashing about in her efforts to get comfortable, Elphaba opened her eyes in search of the source of the disturbance.
"Galinda?"
The writhing stopped abruptly, but there was no response. Elphaba turned onto her side so that she was facing Galinda's bed, and tried to make out her expression in the dark. But it was no use; the blonde was buried so far under her covers that her face was hidden, and the darkness was so consuming that it was difficult to make out a single thing anyway.
"Galinda, are you all right?" she whispered; her second try for an answer. For a moment there was still no response, then:
"I'm fine," came a barely distinguishable voice. It sounded muffled; choked somehow, and Elphaba wondered whether Galinda was crying. She sat up slightly, peering at the lump in the middle of the pink blanket.
"No you're not. What's wrong, Galinda?"
There was a further pause, which Elphaba used to get into a more comfortable position. As she was shifting around, the green girl heard a mumbled response from the bed next to her.
"Sorry?"
"I said," sounded Galinda's voice slightly louder, "As though you care."
Elphaba frowned, refraining from uttering a biting remark about the immaturity of Galinda's comment only because she knew the blonde was somewhat justified in saying it.
"Galinda, I… I didn't mean the things I said earlier. You know that, don't you?"
Again, there was an infuriatingly long pause, during which Elphaba began to wonder whether the fluffy barrier of Galinda's bed covers was causing her voice to take an unusually long time to reach the blonde's ears. That was the only reason she could think of for the continually delayed responses.
Finally, "I know," came the barely audible whisper.
"Then what are you so upset about?"
"Nothing."
Elphaba sighed, her bed creaking loudly as she climbed carefully out of it. The sudden cold that was present outside her blankets hit her sharply- the dormitories at Shiz had never been particularly warm at night- and Elphaba felt herself give an involuntary shiver. Still, she made the swift journey across the room and plunked herself on Galinda's bed next to the blanketed bulk which was her room mate.
Obviously taken by surprise by the sudden weight on her bed, Galinda emerged, looking more dishevelled than Elphaba had ever seen her. "Elphie- Miss Elphaba, rather, what are you doing?"
"So we're back to Miss Elphaba?" Elphaba's eyes swivelled across the room as she fought to suppress the surge of disappointment which had just hit her. "I must have really upset you earlier," she added quietly.
Galinda neither confirmed nor denied this, but her expression as she stared fixatedly at her pillow said it all; so Elphaba soldiered on. "I- I'm not used to having ties to people, Galinda. I've always been free to act without thinking about the consequences, because I've had nothing to lose in that respect." She glanced at Galinda, who was still gazing at her pillow, though her expression looked a little softer now. "Or rather nobody to lose," she was unable to stop herself from adding quietly.
Neither girl spoke for a moment or two. Then Elphaba, suddenly feeling awkward at the closeness of the situation, rose sharply from the bed. She intended to head back to her own bed and pretend their conversation- or lack of it on Galinda's part- had never happened. But before she had taken so much as a step, Elphaba felt a hand on her wrist. The grip was not strong, but it was enough to send an irrepressible wave of resistance through her body to her feet, and make the green girl pause in her tracks. Elphaba stared at the hand on her wrist for a second, before turning slowly to meet Galinda's eyes. She found them staring fiercely back at her, blue as ice but blazing as fire. No words were spoken but, just as had been the case in the teashop, no words were needed. Galinda's meaning was clear without her making a sound: 'don't you even think about going back to bed.'
A slightly wicked smile playing at the corners of her mouth, Elphaba eased herself back onto the foot of Galinda's bed, her eyes not leaving the other girl's. Still, neither girl spoke. To Elphaba it felt as though it was beyond words; above it, even. Then the moment died as both girls attempted to speak at once.
"I'm sorry about-"
"I never meant-"
Galinda let out a tense giggle, before shaking her head. "There's no need to apologise. Lo- friends have tiffs like those all the time."
Elphaba gave a half-shrug, her eyes scrutinizing the room again as though there might be an eavesdropper hidden beneath one of their matching desks. "I wouldn't know, would I?"
Galinda's eyes moved to her right hand which was still grasping Elphaba's wrist, and her expression turned to one of concern. "Elphie!"
Struck by the urgency in her tone, Elphaba looked back at Galinda inquiringly. "What's wrong?"
"Your arm feels like a block of ice," she answered incredulously, beginning to rub her hand up and down Elphaba's arm, for which her nightdress provided only a very thin cover. "You must be freezing."
Elphaba smiled slightly, feeling goosebumps sprouting which had nothing to do with the temperature. In actual fact she'd stopped noticing the cold until Galinda had commented on it. "I suppose it's a little cold," she shrugged, though ruining the nonchalant effect she had been aiming for by giving another shiver. Tiny as the movement was, it didn't go unnoticed by Galinda, who narrowed her eyes before releasing Elphaba's arm and shuffling herself to the far side of her bed. Elphaba watched her, bemused until Galinda pulled back one corner of her covers invitingly. Suddenly realising what the blonde was implying, Elphaba's eyes widened and she shook her head quickly. "No."
"Oh, but Elphie!" There was that pout again. The one that always made Elphaba feel ready to move the world for. She turned her face away deliberately and shook her head. "I said no, Galinda," she repeated.
Galinda didn't make any further vocal protest, but Elphaba could sense that pout behind her, practically burning into the back of her head. "Galinda, stop it!" She wouldn't look at the pout. She wouldn't. "Look, it makes no sense. I'll be just as warm in my own bed, which is only about four feet away from us."
"But I wanted us to talk some more," Galinda insisted, "And talking across the room doesn't have nearly the same effect as when you're here with me."
Elphaba finally succumbed to her urge to face Galinda, who promptly began to flutter her long eyelashes persuasively. "Please?"
Elphaba sighed, knowing full well that her battle was lost. How could she possibly compete with that look? "Oz, I don't know how anybody ever says no to you," she muttered, reluctantly slipping her legs under the blanket.
Galinda beamed triumphantly. "They don't."
Elphaba returned the smile weakly, shuffling around as she tried in vain to find a position that made her feel as though she was back in her own bed, and not sharing a bed with her achingly beautiful room mate.
Galinda pulled a face as the mattress springs creaked beneath them. "Sweet Oz, Elphie, stay still, won't you?" On the word 'still,' she pounced, grabbing Elphaba's wrists and forcing the green girl onto her side so that they were facing one another. Elphaba blinked cautiously; no matter where she looked, all she seemed to see were piercing blue eyes staring back at her. "Galinda…"
Galinda looked at her for a moment, before nodding and letting go of Elphaba's hands. But far from releasing her, Elphaba felt the blonde's arms immediately weave around her, coming to rest ominously on her hips. Elphaba gulped slightly, part of her longing to pull away. But another part- a much stronger part- told her to relax; to become comfortable in her position.
A few seconds passed, before Elphaba's dark eyes moved questioningly to Galinda's face.
But there were no answers to be found there. The blonde's eyes had fluttered closed, and her breathing had deepened. Oz, Elphaba could feel her breathing.
"I thought you wanted to talk to me, not fall asleep on me," she mumbled, but her eyelids too were beginning to droop. No, she told herself fiercely, you can't fall asleep. Not in Galinda's bed you can't. But the more her mind tried to argue, the more her body protested tenaciously. Galinda's bed was so much warmer and cosier than her own; or perhaps there was just something oddly comforting about the way her arms had become gently entwined around Galinda's waist. Now, when had that happened? Elphaba tried to dwell on the matter, but she was rapidly losing control of her mind as sleep threatened to consume her. I'll just rest my eyes for a second or two she thought blearily, before allowing her flickering eyelids to close completely.
A moment later, she too was asleep, her relaxed arms still around Galinda's body as though protecting her from the world's unknown horrors. And for once, Elphaba dreamed peacefully that night. It was almost as though Galinda was a fluffy, blonde dream-catcher, intercepting the green girl's usual nightmares before they could seep into the pink quilted bed they shared.
