AN: Hey, guys. Sorry for the late update - I was at a friend's, having a sleepover and a Game Of Thrones marathon.

Caricature of a Witch: Maleficent is awesome, isn't it? :D Also, the girl talk was based on an actual conversation I once had with my sister... mention 'snail' or 'propeller' to her and she'll cry with laughter :P.

Musicgal3: Leave it to you to give me the longest 'aww' ever that does not mess up my review page... :')

Thedoctor24601: Don't worry, it wasn't justyou ;).

And no, guys, Frex is not going to do anything creepy in this one. I doubt whether he'll even appear in this story at all!

Chapter 15. A sister like you

Fiyero kept his promise of taking things slowly; and much to her own surprise, Elphaba found herself gradually growing more comfortable with the new status of their relationship.

He never pushed her. Their first date was just them having coffee together, the way they had done lots of times when they were still 'just friends'. Fiyero wrote more music and Elphaba helped him with the lyrics. He took her out for dinner or lunch once or twice, but never anywhere too fancy, knowing she wouldn't be comfortable with that. They didn't kiss again the way they had that first time – Fiyero was too afraid to scare her off and so he mostly stuck with kisses to her cheek, hair, or forehead, sometimes even fearful to wrap his arm around her shoulders or waist as they walked. Every touch seemed to have so much more meaning now, and he knew she could feel that, too. However slowly, they were forging a new kind of bond… one that was still very fragile, and one he was terrified to break.

One day, he waited for her after her class, a smile on his face. When she emerged, he took her hands in his own.

"Come," he said, his eyes twinkling. "I have a surprise for you."

"Fiyero, you know I hate surprises," she protested, but he just tugged at her hands until she rolled her eyes and allowed him to lead her through the hallways, across the courtyard and into one of the other buildings. He took her to a door at the end of a small hallway and then stopped her.

"Close your eyes."

She scowled. "Fiyero –"

"You trust me, don't you?"

She hated it when he guilt-tripped her like that – or that was how it felt, anyway – but she obediently closed her eyes, even though her scowl remained on her face. She could hear Fiyero opening the door and then he led her into a different room. He gently sat her down on a bench and she heard him closing the door behind them.

"Alright," he said. "Open your eyes."

She did.

They were in a classroom filled with music. There was sheet music drawn on the blackboard, there were guitars in one corner and violins, cellos, and flutes in another. Stacks of music books, as well as loose pages of sheet music, were on tables, on the floor, and in the window sill. She was sitting on a piano bench, with in front of her a beautiful piano, and she reached out to lightly touch the keys.

"I found this room the other day," Fiyero said, approaching her, "and it gave me an idea." He sat down on the bench beside her and ran his fingers over the keys. Then he looked at her.

"One day when I played guitar for you, you mentioned you would like to learn how to play an instrument," he said. "Would you like to learn how to play the piano?"

She held her breath, eyes shining. "Really?"

He smiled. "Yes. I told you I play different instruments… and somehow, you just strike me as a piano kind of person." He covered her hand with his. "Here, let me show you."

They spent the rest of the afternoon in that music room, him teaching her the different tones and having her play relatively easy tunes as he explained to her how she could combine two or more notes to form a chord. She allowed him to guide her fingers across the keys, even leaning into his side a little bit; and he turned his head to press a kiss to her temple.

"We had a piano at home," Elphaba said softly at one point, her fingers playing with the keys. "My mother used to play. I don't remember all that much of her – I was not even three years old when she died, after all… but I do remember her playing. I always loved listening to her. She tried to teach me a little at some point, but I was so young…" She trailed off, her sadness at the memories almost tangible.

Fiyero squeezed her waist comfortingly.

She turned in his arms to look at him.

"Thank you," she said sincerely. "For teaching me."

He smiled and kissed her forehead. "You're welcome."

She surprised him by cupping his face in her hands and kissing his lips. He immediately responded, though, tangling his fingers in her long, silky hair as he kissed her back. When he finally pulled away, he touched his forehead to hers, smiling at the slightly shy look on her face.

"Hey, Fae?" he whispered, his breath tickling her cheek.

She met his eyes. "Yeah?"

He kissed her again, briefly and softly this time. "I love you."

A dazzling smile lit up her face and she wrapped her arms around his neck. "I love you, too."

He grinned at her, still not believing she was actually saying this to him, let alone feeling it, too.

"Yero… I would love to stay here, but it's getting late," she pointed out. "I really need to go if I want to get some studying done tonight."

"Can I take you out on a date tomorrow night?" he asked her. "You can pick where we go, if you want to."

She hesitated. "But tomorrow is a week day," she protested meekly. "And I have that report due next week…"

"You can study during the day and I won't bother you," he promised her. "Just come find me whenever you're ready."

"Okay." She kissed his cheek. "I'll see you tomorrow."

He caught her hand. "I'll walk you back."

She didn't even protest, having learnt by now that it was of no use.

In front of her door, they stopped and she turned to him. He smiled and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

"Good luck studying," he said.

She kissed him and he wrapped his arms around her, deepening the kiss. They were so absorbed in what they were doing that they didn't notice Galinda standing in the doorway until they finally broke apart, both of them flushed and breathless.

The blonde stood there looking at them, one eyebrow lifted and an amused expression on her face.

Elphaba immediately jumped back, looking red as a tomato.

"Bye, Yero," she choked out, leaping into the dorm room and slamming the door shut behind her.

Galinda giggled. "She is so adorable, don't you think? Being all embarrassed about me seeing the two of you kiss… she's such a private person!"

"Um, Galinda," said Fiyero a little irritably, "I think anyone would be embarrassed if their best friend would be studying you kissing your boyfriend as if it were some extremely interesting project."

The blonde looked puzzled. "Why?"

Fiyero sighed, running his fingers through his hair. "Never mind."

Galinda frowned as she stared at the closed door. "Good thing I was going out anyway," she muttered. "It doesn't seem like Elphie would be very willing to let me back in." She huffed and Fiyero had to stifle a smile at her genuine confusion.

"You know, Glin?" he said with a small chuckle. "You really are something."

She beamed at him. "Why, thank you, Fifi." She patted his arm as she brushed past him, humming softly to herself as she went off to wherever she was going this time.

"I hate him!" Nessarose shrieked, her face bright red as she wheeled herself across her room with wild arm gestures. "I hate him, I loathe him, I despise him! I wish he would just drop dead on the spot!"

Elphaba and Galinda exchanged a look. When Madame Morrible had come to find the girls, explaining that Nessarose was throwing a fit and 'Miss Elphaba' would probably be the best person to comfort the wheelchair-bound girl, Elphaba and Galinda had been surprised. Galinda hadn't thought Nessa capable of throwing fits at all; and Elphaba, though familiar with the girl's antics, had hoped that Nessa had grown past it by now. Apparently, that hope had been unfounded.

"Nessie," Elphaba asked gently now, knowing how to deal with her sister when she was like this. "What happened?"

"Is this about Boq?" asked Galinda.

That only made things worse. Nessa's eyes narrowed and she spun around to point a finger at Galinda accusingly.

"Don't you dare mention that name in my presence!" she screeched. "I will not hear anything about him ever again!"

Elphaba knelt down in front of her sister.

"Nessa, tell me what happened," she said urgently. "What did he do? Are you okay? He didn't hurt you, did he?"

Nessarose shook her head wildly. "No, he didn't hurt me! Not physically, at least. He's a Munchkin – he couldn't hurt me if he tried, wheelchair or not!"

Galinda stifled laughter at that, but Elphaba remained completely serious, a thousand scenarios in her mind that involved Boq being horrible to her sister in some way. She swore to herself that no matter what he had done, she would make him pay for it.

"Was he mean to you?" Elphaba asked her sister. "Did he cheat on you? He didn't behave inappropriately, did he? Because if he did, Nessa, I swear I'm going to –"

"No!" Nessa shook her head again. "It was nothing like that! He just…" She sighed, a scowl on her face. "He… when we first started dating, he promised me he'd treat me like a princess." Her lower lip wobbled. "He said that every month, he would take me out for a fancy dinner and we'd go do something nice together, for every anniversary… because… because he loves me and he wants me to feel like a queen…" She crossed her arms, tears standing in her eyes now. "And he forgot," she seethed. "Not only did he forget about dinner – no, he forgot our anniversary. He forgot it! Can you believe that?"

Galinda gasped in horror, even as Elphaba stared at her sister, speechless.

"So then I broke up with him," Nessa declared. "It was the most humiliating, rude, and inconsiderate thing that ever happened to me, and I refuse to be treated like that. I won't tolerate this behaviour of him."

"This," Elphaba said in a low voice, "this is the most humiliating and rude thing that ever happened to you? Boq forgetting about your anniversary?"

Galinda caught on to the dangerous undertone of Elphaba's voice and she threw a worried glance in her best friend's direction. She knew that when it came to being humiliated, Elphaba was practically an expert; people treated her rudely all the time, and even though the green girl normally pretended it didn't get to her in the slightest, Galinda understood that Nessa was taking it too far right now.

Nessa herself, however, didn't realise anything was amiss.

"Yes!" she exclaimed in response to Elphaba's question. "I mean, can you believe him?"

"Did you even remind the boy?" Elphaba asked through gritted teeth. "Did you even explain to him what he did 'wrong'," she used her fingers as quote marks, "or did you just break up with him and storm off?"

"Of course I didn't remind him!" Nessa raised her chin defiantly. "He completely ruined everything. I hate him. He humiliated me and I will not stand for that!"

"Nessa," said Galinda softly. "You do realise who you're talking to about rudeness and humiliation, don't you?"

Nessarose didn't seem to understand at first, but then she glanced at Elphaba, who was looking rather murderous, and her scowl returned.

"Yes," she sneered, "I do realise that. But maybe you, Galinda, don't realise that not everything is about my sister, even though she always tries to make everything about her!"

"Excuse me?!" Elphaba demanded, and Nessa stuck her chin forward.

"Always," she spat, "always has everything been about you. You were the one all of Munchkinland knew, because of your skin. You were the one who always embarrassed Father in every way possible. You were the one the entire student population of Shiz has been talking about for the past year. Everything is always about you!"

"Oh, so I'm doing it on purpose now?" asked Elphaba sarcastically. "Really, Nessa? Are you really going to do this? Do you think I like people talking about me all the time? Well, I'm sorry I picked the wrong skin colour when I was given the choice of how I wanted to be born!"

"And you should be sorry!" Nessa shouted. "You should be sorry for standing out all the time, for always drawing attention to yourself, and especially for not being a supportive sister when I need you to be!"

"Nessa!" Galinda said, shocked.

Elphaba could only gape at her sister.

"You are never there for me!" Nessa accused, tears in her eyes.

"I have been taking care of you my entire life long!" Elphaba hissed. "Sweet Oz, Nessa! I comforted you when you were scared, sad, or sick; I read you stories, I sang for you, I took you for walks. I bathed you, I dressed you – I did everything for you! And I did not mind. I still don't, and I never complained about it. But don't you dare tell me that I'm never there for you!"

"Then why are you choosing Boq over me?!"

"Because him forgetting an anniversary is an incredibly petty and stupid reason to be breaking up with him! The boy adores you, Nessa!"

"Well, clearly not enough!" Nessarose said angrily. "And you are a horrible sister for choosing his side and not mine!"

Galinda tried to soothe the younger girl. "Nessa, come on…"

Elphaba shook her head. "You're just not used to any of this," she said. "You're used to the whole world revolving around you, like it did at home."

Nessa reddened. "And what is that supposed to mean?!"

"It means that you are spoilt, Nessa! And I know that's not your fault, but you really need to snap out of your own world and think more about other people's feelings, instead of your own!"

Nessarose's eyes narrowed until they were nothing but dark slits.
"You are just jealous," she said, her voice like ice and her words piercing like daggers. "You always have been. You are just jealous of me because Father loves me to death, yet he would hardly care if you jumped into Suicide Canal tomorrow!"

"Nessa!" Galinda cried in shock, eyes wide. She quickly looked at her friend. Elphaba had paled visibly, but Nessa would not give in. She merely huffed, crossed her arms, and turned around.

Galinda placed a hand on her roommate's arm. "Elphie?"

Elphaba shook her off. "I'm fine, Glin," she said, but her voice sounded strange and choked and Galinda could see the hurt in her eyes as she turned around and fled the room, leaving her sister and best friend behind.

Elphaba wrapped her arms around herself, blinking back tears. Why was she so upset, anyway? Nessa was right, after all. She knew that. She'd known that her entire life long.

She all but ran across campus, only slowing down when she reached the tree line. Still hugging herself, she kept walking, not sure where she was going, but not really caring, either.

If Nessa so much as sprained a finger, Frexspar Thropp would be immensely worried. He would take the first carriage to Shiz to see his youngest daughter, and he would make sure that she would get the best care possible.

If Elphaba were to jump into Suicide Canal, as Nessa had said, would he care?

She couldn't help but wonder about that as she walked. Would he be sad?

She almost laughed out loud at that, because she knew the answer as well as Nessa did: no. No, he would not be sad. She'd be surprised if he'd even show up for her funeral. All Frexspar would feel if his oldest daughter died was anger, because he would see it as her failing to keep taking care of her sister.

She couldn't blame him, either. What was she, after all? A green-skinned freak. A walking disaster. An abomination.

Wrapping her arms tighter around herself and trying her hardest to keep her tears at bay, she veered left, heading for Suicide Canal.

I'm kind of devastated right now. Last Saturday, I booked tickets for the final two performances of Willemijn Verkaik as Elphaba in October and I've never been so excited for anything in my life... and on Monday, it was announced that Willemijn has to have surgery because of a back injury and she will play her final show this Saturday. I can't go, and I'm really upset about it.

Of course this is much worse for her than it is for me, and so I'd like to dedicate this chapter to the amazing and perfect Willemijn Verkaik. I hope she will recover soon and feel much better afterwards.

Also, I'm trying to look at the bright side - the other cast members will still be there, Savannah, Jeremy... and I still get to attend a muck-up matinee and a final performance.