Fiyero decided to get all of the futile questions out of the way first before he got into the more useful knowledge. They talked about the weather, their respective provinces, friends...they even touched slightly on the future, politics, religion. Everything that was prioritized under his real concern.

"Nessa, can you tell me about that peculiar sister of yours?"

Nessa laughed, knowing that the subject was inevitable, but she wasn't offended. Sometimes talking to someone about Elphaba eased her frustration. "What is it that you want to know exactly?"

"Well, a name for a start."

"Her name is Elphaba," Nessa stated plainly.

Fiyero knew that name from somewhere. "After a saint, correct? I'm not that familiar."

"Yes," Nessa said curtly. "St. Aelphaba of the Waterfall. You ought to have known that."

Nodding absentmindedly, Fiyero lost himself in thought. Elphaba definitely was not the religious type. How ironic that she was deserted with such a significant name. He framed his next statement carefully. "I imagine that she's a handful to keep in order."

Nessa laughed easily. "You mean she's difficult. And you're right. She has a hard time following rules."

"Maybe she just thinks differently from the rest of us," Fiyero suggested, unsure of the reason he was defending Nessa's sister.

"What do you mean differently?" Nessa countered, not to start an argument, but to merely constructively question his idea. "Like an Animal?"

"Not necessarily, but maybe she's been hardened to the universe around her."

Nessa understood his argument. "Maybe, my sister and I have been forced to harden ourselves to the world."

Fiyero's support lightened on Nessa's back as he led her forward. "Don't be so quick to assume that. I barely know you Thropps and have you deemed as more worthy of happiness than people I've known my whole life."

Nessa smirked. "Perhaps it's because I'm forced to rely on people. I've had to learn to lay down trust to everyone. Meanwhile Elphaba shrinks into her shell like a turtle."

"How can you live like that?" Fiyero thought out loud, he noticed Nessa's expression and rushed, "I mean living like a turtle. Wouldn't that get lonesome?"

"Elphaba's priority isn't friends. I don't know how she expects to survive at Shiz."

Fiyero's interest suddenly sparked, as if a little ember had finally caught on fire. "Elphaba's going to Shiz?"

"She's been going on about it for years," Nessa answered. "Every little thing I say results in some statement about its superiority and how only people how actually care get in."

"I'm not so sure about that..."

"Anyway, she considers books her friends," Nessa answered shortly, almost disapprovingly.

Fiyero pursed his lips, still hooked on the previous topic. "I suppose that's reasonable...in a very...very obscure way."

"Obscure," Nessa repeated softly and then giggled. "That's a kind way of putting it."

Smiling down at Nessa, Fiyero replied, "You say that, but I can see just how much you love your sister. Now tell me more of your family..."

So while Fiyero was delving into Thropp family history, the eldest Thropp sibling herself sat on a patio with the comfort of a book. She sat alone at a table with her feet resting on the seat of the chair across from her and the book propped open between the table and her abdomen. Every few minutes she looked up, as the shadow of another person crossed the words of the pages and every few minutes she would see her book bag left carelessly on the table with the contents spilling out of it, along with the wallet left in her possession.

How desperately she wanted to rummage through that wallet and find something that proved the prince imperfect. Elphaba could have sworn that she had seen him walk by multiple times, but according to the plan, Nessa and Fiyero wouldn't be passing by this way.

No one in her life had ever offered to keep Nessa company. Granted, Nessa wasn't easy company to keep and neither was Elphaba, but why did he genuinely seem to enjoy himself around them? And that led back to the main question centered on her thoughts. What could his motives possibly be?

Against her better judgement, Elphaba sat up straight, closed the book and reached for the wallet. She had a right to learn about the person she had left with her sister, didn't she? The exterior seemed typical enough; expensive, but plain. She slowly unclasped the button and flipped it open. Already, Elphaba could feel that there was a wad of cash hidden inside and she blushed, feeling like a thief. But, she reminded herself, she was only a temporary thief. A few more hours and she would never have to deal with him again. Elphaba checked the time. Three hours until they would trade off.

Deciding not to go as far as counting the amount of money, Elphaba looked at the pictures held within the clear plastic below the row of membership cards and certificates. The first one was of Fiyero and his friend, whom Elphaba remembered from the party. So that meant that they were close. That they met a lot; that they always partied and did nothing better with their time.

While deducting as much negativity about partying habits as she could, Elphaba couldn't help but notice that Fiyero was different from his handsome friend, but he was still incredibly attractive. So, to add to all of the productiveless partying, Fiyero was also handsome, which meant there would always be girls dying to talk to him. Score: Elphaba, 2. Fiyero, 0.

The next picture was of Fiyero and two elders before a wonderfully staged backdrop. That must have been a family portrait with, presumably, his parents. None of the Thropp family portraits ever turned out this way, mostly because there were no Thropp family portraits in existence and there never would be.

Speaking of which, Fiyero's mother and father were beautiful and Fiyero wore the combination of their features beautifully. They were king, queen and prince and they looked the part. Although Fiyero's father had a much more hardened expression than his son. Fiyero seemed not to be hardened to anything in the world; easygoing all the way through. Now that kind of attitude wasn't to be tolerated if he were called to be king some time soon. Another point for Elphaba.

The last picture was of Fiyero and a girl. She was pretty and she was smiling...and she was about his age. Elphaba found something drop out of her and shatter on the artificial ground. Something about the way he was smiling there. That wasn't the forced smile he had with his parents or the idiotic grin he held as he goofed around with his friend. That was a pleasurable smile; the kind of smile you had when you genuinely enjoyed someone's company.

So there was a relationship. And the girl was beautiful in all of her blonde glory. Her blue eyes ate at Elphaba's soul and her tender smile made Elphaba feel queasy.

Suddenly she felt overwhelming shame for going through something private and hid the wallet in her bag once more. But in the process something else fell out. A key. And it was leaving her with the urge to learn as much as she possibly could in the next few hours. This time it wouldn't be from a book.

"Favourite animal? Favourite colour? Favourite food? Favourite book?"

"Oh my goodness, slow down!" Nessa pleaded in the face of the nonstop questions, but it was all in good fun. "Would it be cliché to say she's fond of all? But she's partial to monkeys. Dark colours; usually blue or black. She's a vegetarian and she likes apples and book changes every three hours or so."

Fiyero lost concentration on his questions and absentmindedly focused on the gravelly ground beneath his shoes. The green girl wasn't just the green girl anymore. She was Elphaba and he was starting to understand her. Well, not quite her, but a few things about her.

"Oz to Fiyero!" Nessa cried out happily. "You're staring again."

"My apologies," he rushed, snapping out of the trance as quickly as he fell into it. "If you haven't guessed it already, you should know just how much your sister intrigues me."

"Then you might be interested to know that you intrigue my sister," Nessa whispered deviously, as if she was delivering the prized secret of the century.

And to Fiyero she was. "What gave you that idea?"

"I've never seen Elphaba so determined to avoid someone on two different occasions. My guess is that she's refusing to let her mind wander freely."

Elphaba stood back and looked at the room. It was plain, even for a hotel room and especially for one of the most expensive Ozian hotels. Still, there were a few things that caught her eye immediately.

For one, there was the book on the floor beside the bed and it was clearly well read. Elphaba closed the door quietly, as if she were sneaking in without permission and strode over to it. The spine was bent and had jagged lines from top to bottom due to overuse. As she flipped through, Elphaba saw pages folded down at the corner, to mark specific spots. She also noted that it was a history book and quite thick. She might just have to give him a point for that.

Part of Elphaba wanted to curl up on the bed and enjoy the book herself, but she still felt as if she were violating a million laws just by standing around and carefully set the book down in the exact position it had been.

The next eye catcher was a note on the dresser with a simple message saying that Avaric had called. Avaric, she assumed, was the close friend in the picture she had seen. Exceedingly obnoxious from what she knew. Maybe she could swing that in her favour and dock Fiyero half a point.

On the surface, there wasn't much else to gain from the room except from the trunk in the corner. Elphaba's brain was raging at her. Would she really want him going through her trunk? But then again, Fiyero and Elphaba were two very different people, who functioned in two very different ways. So, Elphaba decided to compromise in a way where she won. She would simply open the top and see what was inside.

Upon lifting the top, Elphaba's first observation was the letter sitting on top of all of the folded clothes. The seal on the front was vaguely recognizable, but Elphaba couldn't decipher where she had seen it before. Carefully lifting it closer, Elphaba pulled the letter out of the messily opened envelope and dropped it immediately.

She knew what it was because she had received one for herself.

An acceptance letter from Shiz University.

Great. Just fantastic. Now she had to spend the next few years avoiding him as well? She could never shed her skin. She could never shake her history. It was all following her like a suspicious shadow and now she had to worry about this arrogant prince too?

With a deep breath, Elphaba dropped the letter back into place and decided not to sleuth any further. She had had enough for one day.

"You're here early," Elphaba observed flatly, as Fiyero and Nessa joined her on the bench they had used as their starting point.

"I figured you wouldn't mind ensuring your sister's welfare a few moments earlier than expected," Fiyero shrugged. "By the way, I can assure you she had a great time."

Nessa nodded so vigorously that she resembled one of the overpriced bobble head toys being sold in the gift shop behind her. "He's right!"

Elphaba dug through her bag and uprooted the wallet and the hotel key. "I suppose I owe you these then." She held the objects out to him and he took them, his fingertips lingering a little longer on her palm than necessary. Eyeing him warily, Elphaba turned to her sister and asked her a few questions, without noticing that Fiyero was still waiting expectantly. "So what do you want to do now?"

"I don't know," Nessa responded indecisively, she turned to Fiyero. "What would you like to do?"

That's when Elphaba noticed that he was still there and he greeted her surprised expression with a small smile. "I'm content with anything."

"What are you still doing here?" Elphaba blurted.

"Elphaba, that's no way to treat a friend!" Nessa scolded.

"If you prefer acquaintance, I'll go by that," Fiyero laughed easily. "Maybe we can go eat and then view the fireworks?"

Nessa agreed eagerly and Elphaba helped her sister up.

As she bent down to gather her belongings, which she had dropped on the ground, Fiyero bent down as if to help her and whispered, "I got quite an insight into your life today. I wonder if you made good use of your time as well."

Elphaba blushed under his gaze.

Fiyero flashed her his wallet. "You put the pictures back a lot more neatly than I originally had them. If you were curious, the blonde in the third picture is my close friend; nothing more, nothing less."

After dinner, the three decided to take an early seat in the field where the fireworks were going to be displayed. Elphaba sat in the middle, dividing her attention between Fiyero's small talk and Nessa's demands. She asked him of his family and the Vinkus, with Nessa occasionally throwing in her own opinion.

As soon as the sun was down, crowds started to gather around them and they had to stand to avoid being trampled. The crowd formed around them, threatening to form through them, and the three were packed in close together. Nessa kept close to her sister and couldn't help but notice when Fiyero slipped an arm around Elphaba's waist. She smiled to herself, imagining all of the overreactions Elphaba would make, but stopped herself short when she saw Elphaba do nothing more than shift closer to him.

Nessa was soon distracted from her thoughts when the first firework went off with a loud bang and exploded in beautiful shades of red and blue all over the blanketed Quadling sky, followed by another complimentary explosion of yellow. Grinning from ear to ear, Nessa turned her head to share her joy with her sister.

What she saw shocked her slightly. Elphaba was completely mesmerized by the show. Her chin was tilted up in permanent awe and the reflections danced across her face. She was completely oblivious, even to the fact that beside her, Fiyero was all eyes for her, his gaze not leaving her face.

Nessa smiled even wider. There was definitely something there, but those two cowards were too afraid to tell each other or maybe they thought it was too soon. But when had Elphaba ever allowed time to limit her? Or maybe (and this was probably the most educated guess Nessa could conjure up) they were both too damn stubborn to admit it.

Fiyero himself was so fascinated by Elphaba's fascination in the fireworks that he couldn't tear his eyes away. Everyone deserved moments where they could dissolve into the world around them and completely drift away for a few simple minutes. He guessed that Elphaba didn't get many of those. This was hers, but it was also his. Moments where he was captivated by a person rarely happened to him this way. No one would ever be as interesting as Elphaba Thropp; no one more mysterious and no one more downright confusing.

The finale blew into the sky, showering streaks of rainbow coloured sparks through the air and a rush of adrenaline coursed through Fiyero's veins. On an impulse quicker than a heartbeat, he shifted closer to Elphaba, stepped in front of her and gently pressed his lips to hers.

Elphaba didn't know what to do. Who to ask for help. How to respond. Every muscle in her body was tensed, waiting for Fiyero to back off, but he wasn't. Then there was another part of her. Right now, it seemed like the much more logical part of her. That was saying to go for it. In fact, it was screaming.

Slowly, Elphaba's supporting hand left Nessa's back and slid up Fiyero's chest; her fingertips coming to rest on the soft skin at the opening of his shirt.

Then the last streaks faded above them and the crowd dispersed immediately.

Fiyero pulled away and looked at Elphaba, his hand gently holding her elbow and the other one awkwardly at his side. He had never felt so uncomfortable after a kiss.

Elphaba nervously pushed her hair behind her ear and looked at the ground.

"I'll see you around," Fiyero rushed and manoeuvred past Elphaba to bid Nessa goodbye and be on his way.

Watching him go, Elphaba turned back to the field ahead of where they had been standing and pretended not to notice Nessa's facial expression.

Reaching over to switch the lamp off, Elphaba was face to face with Nessa's continuous knowing smirk. "I really wish you'd stop looking at me like that," she sighed.

"I can't help it!" Never before this had Nessa ever sounded like the giddy younger sister. Never before had she had the chance to.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Elphaba replied curtly.

Nessa's face fell so dramatically she looked like a different person. "Please, Elphaba. Being born armless didn't affect my brain. Why must you treat me like a child?"

"Because that's what you are!" Elphaba snapped.

"Don't be mad at me," Nessa giggled immaturely. "I'm not the one who kissed you."

Elphaba rolled over onto her back and stared hopelessly at the ceiling. "It was an accident."

"That was no accident," Nessa countered.

"Nessa, what bribe will it take for you to drop this?"

"Just a few answers," Nessa responded deviously.

"Fine."

Firing the first one off like a bullet, Nessa couldn't help the excitement overwhelming her head to toe. Not so much for her sister, but for the seemingly forgotten concept of romance in the Thropp household. "When did you two start seeing each other?"

"I've seen him every time you've seen him and that's all."

Nessa was puzzled. "Then how come he likes you so much?"

"He doesn't," Elphaba answered.

"He obviously likes you more than me!" Nessa cried jealously.

"Nessa, everyone else in the universe likes you better, so I don't think it matters what one arrogant prince thinks."

"But why did he kiss you?" Nessa sniffed.

"I don't know!"

"Guess!"

"Maybe...he was practicing," Elphaba offered. "He probably has a gorgeous girlfriend waiting in his hotel room." But she was lying to Nessa and herself.

"Practicing?" Nessa scoffed. "Don't be an idiot! He obviously likes you!"

Elphaba groaned and remained silent.

"So what was the kiss like?" Nessa asked cruelly, knowing it was the number one topic on Elphaba's never-to-bring-up-again list.

"What kiss?"

It was late and Nessa wasn't in the mood for this game. "Elphaba Thropp, if you don't tell me I'm going straight to Papa and telling him that you left me with a stranger all afternoon."

"By your own request!"

"It's your word against mine," Nessa threatened.

Elphaba didn't trust those odds. "It was...nice."

"So how long have you returned the sentiment?"

"What?"

"You do love him, don't you?"

"No, I don't."

"So then why did you kiss him back?" Nessa asked thoughtfully, seeing through Elphaba's lies, but not acknowledging them.

Elphaba replied, "It was my first kiss, Nessa. You only get one."

"I don't think I'll ever get one," Nessa said discouragingly.

"It was a coincidence that I got mine tonight," Elphaba said kindly. "In fact, I'll probably never have another one. Yours is coming, don't you worry."

Nessa smiled. "One more thing."

Elphaba nodded.

"Did he use his tongue?"

"Goodnight, Nessa." And Elphaba switched off the lamp.