It was a short ride to the party. Elphaba would have much rather walked; the night was beautiful for it. As the drove up to the house, Fiyero helped the girls down. Instantly, Elphaba noticed Averic greeting everyone at the door.
"Fiyero!" he greeted his friend, "Nice to see you!". Turning to Galinda, he kissed her hand, "Fair Miss Galinda," he smiled, "what an honor for your presence. And must I say you look absolutely stunning in that dress!"
"Why, thank-you!" the blonde squealed. She ironed out the wrinkles with her hand. The dress was another bright red, but not quite as revealing as the one she had on earlier that evening.
Finally, Avaric adverted his attention to Elphaba. "Nice to see you again, Miss Thropp. But I thought you weren't into parties."
Elphaba grinned: "Well, you have Galinda to thank for that."
"An act for which I am most grateful" Avaric smiled at Galinda.
Galinda wasn't too sure as to what he meant. But her politeness made her answer: "You're welcome?"
The host smiled. "Do come in, my friends" he chuckled, "The drinks are being served as we speak."
"Elphie," Galinda whispered, "what does he mean by 'most grateful?"
"Exactly what I was trying to avoid in wanting to stay home tonight" the other sneered.
The threesome entered the main house where soon encountered Nessarose and Boq. Both were equally as surprised to see Elphaba there. Nessa also remarked about the dress.
"I didn't know you owned something like that" she remarked.
"Neither did I" replied the older sister, "Until Galinda found it in my closet."
The house soon began to get rather crowded as other guests arrived. In the beginning, it was rather tame. The students engaged into talks about school, roommates, what they thought they ate at the cafeteria the past week.
Elphaba began to think that she might actually enjoy herself. She stood on the sidelines and watched Fiyero and Galinda dance. Partway through, the students insisted that she and Galinda preform the dance they did at the Ozdust several months before. Reluctantly, she joined her roommate and they led the dance. To her surprise, it proved to be a favorite among the students, who followed her every move.
Soon after it was announce that dinner was to be served. Everyone was glad to notice that Avaric had hired a professional catering service. Needless to say, everyone was tired of the cafeteria food—whatever it might have been in life.
After dinner, all retired to the back room with a large fire place. Servers passed out drinks and desserts while Averic began the games. "Okay," he called out, "we have a choice: Spin the Bottle; Truth or Dare; and Strip Poker."
"Strip Poker is rather boring" someone cried out. He was met with agreement from the others.
"Quite right" joked the host, "I'm sure we all know what everyone has under their clothes. Well, then what shall we do?"
"Spin the Bottle" called out another.
The other students agreed.
"Very well, then" Avaric smiled. He pulled out a rather large bottle. "Due to our size, I'll suggest that we do this one group at a time."
The first group consisted of Galinda, Nessa, Boq, Averic and twenty others. Avaric insisted that Galinda be the first to spin. She did so. Fiyero and Elphaba watched from the crowd. Much to everyone's surprise, the bottle pointed to the school nerd. Galinda swallowed hard as she approached him. The nerdy boy looked up at the blonde, drool flowing from his lips. Everyone, with the exception of Elphaba, Nessa, Fiyero and Boq, laughed and jeered as the two sets of lips met.
Galinda smiled it wasn't as bad as she thought it would be. Atleast he had the decency to wipe his mouth before she made contact.
Several spins later, it was Avaric's turn. Everyone cheered as the bottle pointed to none other than Galinda. Instantly, Boq took a keen interest in the situation. He was well aware of Avaric trying to win Galinda's heart. He didn't mind too much that she was dating Fiyero—he was a good friend and he could see that it wasn't Galinda he was interested in. But Avaric, he was king of the jerks. Boq moved closer to the circle as Avaric approached Galinda. Avaric place his hands on the sides of Galinda's head and brought her mouth to his.
Although the rules of the game were to only kiss the other once, Avaric refused to let go. Galinda struggled to get free of his grasp, but he only held her tighter. Suddenly, the two fell to the floor. It was at this time Boq decided to intervene.
"What do you think you're doing, Munchkin boy?" Avaric yelled as Boq pulled him off Galinda. Elphaba quickly ran to the side of her friend.
"Trying to teach you how to respect a lady!" was the reply.
Avaric only laughed.
This outraged Boq. Losing control, he punched his host squarely in the jaw.
Avaric staggered back in shock. Shock that a little man such as Boq could deliver such a strong blow. This angered him. He raised his hand to strike back, but was quickly stopped by some friends. He looked at Boq who also was being held back by Fiyero and others. Avaric smiled: "You're right. I should have acted better." Having been released form his hold, he turned to Galinda. "I beg your forgiveness, Miss Galinda. I have not acted respectfully to you. I am deeply sorry."
Galinda didn't know what to do. She looked to Elphaba for help, but the expression in her eyes told her that she was to make the decision on her own. She turned back to Avaric. "Apology accepted, Master Avaric" she finally said.
"Thank-you, my lady" the host smiled as he helped Galinda to her feet. He turned to the rest of the group, "Shall we continue?"
The second group included the five friends. Fiyero was the first this time. He got a random girl who made Galinda jealous but Elphaba reassured her that Fiyero would never fall for another. Later, it came Nessa's turn. Everyone smiled when the bottle pointed to Boq. They cheered as the two kissed. Even Elphaba found herself smiling.
Elphaba's turn was rather interesting. The bottle ended up pointing to a frog that had hopped in through an open window from the nearby pond. Elphaba laughed as she joked about green and green. Before anyone could hurt it, she picked up the frog and, before returning it to its home, kissed it—much to the delight of the laughing audience.
Finally, it was Galinda's turn. A gasp came over the party as the bottle pointed to Elphaba. The two roommates came nose to nose with each other not knowing how to go about the deed.
"Awkward..." Boq sung out.
The girls looked at him. "Tell me about it" Elphaba replied.
"Elphie?" whined Galinda, "What do we do?"
The other only shrugged.
"Come on:" someone called out, "Let's see some kissing here."
Galinda and Elphaba looked at each other, neither prepared for lip contact.
The room became alive with chanting students. "Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!"
In desperation, Elphaba grabbed Galinda by the shoulders and pulled the smaller girl to herself. Quickly, she gave the blonde a kiss on the cheek and Galinda returned the act. To their relief and delight, it satisfied the students.