AN: I'm here! I didn't have wifi at all the first day, and just on my phone the next day - I was starting to fear I would have to leave this story on hiatus until I'd get back... but thanks to Dad, I have internet on my laptop now, so I can update. Hooray for my Dad!

Here it is - the feared Chapter 20. Enjoy!

Chapter 20. Dances with princes

As Elphaba opened the door the night of the ball, she wondered for the umpteenth time why she had let Galinda and Fiyero talk her into this.

When she saw the look of utter and complete awe on Fiyero's face the moment he laid eyes on her, though, she remembered.

"How," he said, his voice sounding thick, "how can you possibly believe you are not beautiful?"

She fidgeted with her purse awkwardly.

"I don't look horrible, I suppose…" she conceded, still not looking convinced.

Fiyero shook his head and pulled her close, pressing his lips to hers in a kiss that left her completely breathless. When he let go, her face was flushed and she had to take a moment to catch her breath.

"You are beautiful," he told her firmly. "Gorgeous. Absolutely stunning. In fact, 'beautiful', 'gorgeous', and 'stunning' don't even remotely cover the way you look right now. Oz, Fae."

She blushed, shifting her weight from one high heel to another awkwardly; and he took her hand, trying to make her feel more at ease.

"Shall we go?"

They walked to the OzDust Ballroom, where the ball was being held, together. The moment they got there, they heard an excited squeal and Galinda came towards them, smiling widely and waving at them.

"Elphie!" she gushed once she reached them, slightly out of breath. "I so wish I could have seen Fiyero's face when he first saw you like this – you look so beautiful, Elphie! – but you know my date wanted to go a little early and I had agreed to meet the girls here, so… doesn't she look amazifying, Fiyero?"

"She does," he agreed softly.

The dress Elphaba was wearing was strapless and a dark purple colour. The front of the skirt reached her knees, but the skirt was long in the back, almost – though not quite – brushing the floor. It had a beaded sash just under the bust and it was made of a soft chiffon, which flowed down from her waist. Galinda had loaned her a pair of matching heels and her make-up had been kept light, but the blonde had made her roommate's hair into a real piece of art – all curls and braids and hair clasps, with purple and silver threads woven through it.

Fiyero held out his hand. "Do you want to dance?"

She shook her head, backing away. "No, thank you."

"I wasn't really asking." He grinned and pulled her towards him, all but dragging her over to the dance floor, despite her protests. He took her hand in his own and placed the other on her waist as he started to move to the music. She grumbled a little, but gave in.

"Why did you ask if you were going to take me dancing, anyway?" she demanded.

He chuckled. "I was trying to be polite."

She rolled her eyes.

Over Fiyero's shoulder, she could see Galinda dancing with her date, a sophomore. The blonde looked beautiful in a ball gown made of light green silk, with a poofy skirt and a sparkly bodice. She was wearing the tiara Fiyero had given her for her birthday and the jewellery set she had gotten from her parents. She looked beautiful and radiant as she swirled across the dance floor in the boy's arms and for the umpteenth time, Elphaba found herself wondering what Fiyero saw in her when he could have had Galinda.

His breath tickled her hair as he whispered in her ear, "I know that look. What are you thinking about?"

"Nothing," she said a little too quickly.

He narrowed his eyes. "You're worrying about something," he stated. "That is your worry-look."

She huffed a laugh. "Yero…"

"Stop thinking and just dance," he told her. "Thinking is highly overrated, anyway."

This time her laugh was genuine. "Well, you would know," she teased him and he chuckled.

She tried to escape the dance floor once the song was over, but somehow, Fiyero managed to convince her to stay for another song… and the five songs after that.

She didn't really mind, though. Despite her dislike of dancing in general, she didn't find dancing with Fiyero such a bad thing – he was skilled enough to guide her through the steps without making her look like a total idiot and she liked being in his arms. It made her feel safe, somehow. Protected from the stares and whispers that always came her way.

That feeling instantly disappeared, however, when she caught sight of Cedence.

The girl was wearing a deep red dress that really brought out her eyes and shiny, copper-coloured hair… and that made her look more like Aliyra than ever, somehow – maybe because Aliyra also wore red in the picture on Fiyero's room. Elphaba stared at the girl, suddenly realising something.

Fiyero noticed the way she tensed in his arms and looked down at her in concern. "Fae?" When he saw that she was looking at something, he turned around to follow her gaze. His breath caught in his throat and his eyes widened.

Elphaba looked away, detaching herself from him, but he hardly seemed to notice.

She bit her lip. She was trying to be okay with all this, she really was; but she just couldn't help but feel that it was too soon. He was not over Aliyra yet, that much was clear, and maybe right now was just not the time for them. She feared he could never give her his full attention as long as he had not processed what had happened to his fiancée.

"Fiyero," she said.

He didn't respond. He was too busy staring at Cedence.

She punched his arm. "Fiyero!"

"Huh?" He shook his head and frowned at her, annoyed. "What was that for?"

"I'm just going to go and get a drink," she said, avoiding his eyes. "Can I get you something?"

He shook his head, already looking at Cedence again. "No, thanks."

He didn't say anything else and she made her way off the dance floor, tears stinging her eyes. Galinda caught her and started chattering to her about her date, but Elphaba wasn't listening. Her eyes were trained on Fiyero, who had made his way over to Cedence and was now talking to her. The girl was practically hanging around his neck, giggling and fluttering her eyelashes at him – Elphaba suspected she was drunk, or at the very least tipsy – and the dark-haired witch looked away, biting her lip.

Galinda, only now noticing her friend's demeanour, looking confused. "Elphie? What's wrong?"

"Nothing," the green girl choked out, but the blonde did not buy that for a clock-tick.

She followed Elphaba's gaze and grimaced sympathetically. "Oh, Elphie… he doesn't like her like that, you know. You're the only one he loves."

"He doesn't love Cedence," Elphaba agreed sadly. "But I'm not the only one he loves, either."

Galinda looked at her, puzzled; but Elphaba just turned around and walked to the table with refreshments to get herself something to drink. She stuck to the wall as she sipped it, watching Cedence flirting with Fiyero at the other side of the room, and she sighed.

When he finally detached himself from the overenthusiastic girl and made his way over to Elphaba again, he was smiling. His smile quickly faded, however, when he saw the look on Elphaba's face.

"Fae?" he asked her anxiously. "What's wrong?"

He tried to slip his arm around her waist, but she stepped aside.

"We need to talk," she told him.

She stalked through the crowd and out the door, stopping in a small courtyard, where she waited for Fiyero to catch up with her. Once he did, slightly out of breath from running after her, she looked up at him and said bluntly, "I think we should take a break."

He stared at her. "What?" he asked rather stupidly.

She repeated her words and he blinked at her, as if not understanding what she was saying.

"A break?" he echoed dumbly.

She took a deep breath. "Well, not a break, actually." She closed her eyes for a moment and then looked up at him again. "I think we should break up."

He just kept on staring at her.

"Is this because of Cedence?" he finally demanded and she hesitated.

"Not entirely," she said finally, lowering her eyes. "But it's part of it."

"Fae –"

"You're not over her, Fiyero," she said softly. "Over Aliyra. I believe you when you say that you love me, but I think you love her more."

"You think wrong," he protested, but she held up a hand to silence him.

"You're thinking about her all the time," she said. "You dream about her. You call me her name, and I tried not to mind. I really did. But seeing the way you were looking at Cedence just now, purely because she looks so much like Aliyra… it's not right. This… us… is not right. And I think we have to end it."

"How can you say that?" he asked, shocked. "I mean –"

She shook her head. "My decision is final," she said.

That rubbed him the wrong way. "It's not just your decision, you know," he snapped. "There are two people involved in this. I have a say, too. And I'm not letting you break up with me. Not for ridiculous reasons like the ones you just gave me."

A flash of hurt briefly crossed her face. "Those reasons are not ridiculous," she said icily. "They're the truth."

"We can work through this, Fae –"

"No, we can't. It's better if we end it now," she said again, sounding firm. "This was never right to begin with, Fiyero. You and Aliyra, that was right. She was beautiful and regal, a lady… I'm not any of those things. I'm not suitable for you and you know it."

He stared at her again. "So that is what this is really about," he said.

She narrowed her eyes. "What?"

"You being insecure," he said. "You still think you're not good enough for me, don't you? Because you're different… because you're green." He shook his head. "Fae, you're the most beautiful and the smartest person I know," he said, "but you're ridiculous."

"It's over, Fiyero," she spat at him. "Stop it. You can't change my mind."

"Oz dammit, Elphaba, just admit it!" he shouted. "Don't blame this on me, or on Aliyra, or on Cedence! Just look into my eyes and tell me why you want to break up with me!"

"Because you deserve better!" she yelled back at him. "Because you had someone better, and I can never live up to your expectations, Fiyero! I am not Aliyra and I never will be!"

"I don't want you to be!"

"Yes, you do, and we both know it." She turned around. "Goodbye, Fiyero."

He grabbed her arm, yanking her back a little rougher than he had intended.

"No," he declared gruffly. "I'm not letting you walk away from me, Fae. Not like this. I'm not letting you go so easily."

She tried to wrench herself free, but he just tightened his grip on her.

"I'm sorry," he said. "You're right about Aliyra – her death did hit me hard, and I understand it must be difficult for you to hear me talking about her all the time and… and everything… but I thought we had agreed to work through this together." His voice broke. "I can't do this without you, Fae."

She softened. "Yes, you can." She brought one hand up to cup his face. "You're strong," she told him. "Much stronger than you think. You'll be fine. But I think we need to keep our distance from one another for now… to give you the time to process what happened."

He eyed her warily.

"Okay?" she pressed.

"No," he said. "Not okay. Fae…"

"Stop it, Fiyero." She pulled herself free. "I can't do this anymore. Not like this."

"I'll change."

"No, you won't. Not until you take some time for yourself."

He sighed. "Fae… you'll only make things worse," he said pleadingly. "By doing this, you'll only drive me further away into my grief, and you'll drive yourself further into your insecurities, until neither of us will know a way out anymore. We need to stick together. Especially now. I love you. I need you… I need you to be there for me, and I know you need me, too. This is a bad idea, Fae. Please."

"No." Her eyes flamed. "Stop it."

"I'll never stop," he said. "I'm not letting you go."

"That's not up to you to decide," she hissed. "I'm going, whether you like it or not."

He sighed again, shoulders slumping. He had been a horrible boyfriend and he knew it… but he hadn't done it on purpose. He loved her.

"A break, then," he agreed wearily. "Just for a little while… if you think that's best. But nothing else. We're not breaking up, Fae."

"Yes, we are."

His eyes widened. "Elphaba!"

"What if a break is not enough?" she asked him quietly. "Fiyero… you'll always love Aliyra more than you love me, and I can't do that. I can't be your second choice."

"What?" he exclaimed, shocked. "How can you think that?"

"Oh, stop," she snarled. "We both know it's the truth!"

"No, it's not!" He grabbed her shoulders and shook her. "Oz dammit, Elphaba, where is this coming from? I thought we agreed to work on this. I thought we were going to be okay!"

"Well, maybe we're not!" She pulled herself free and wrapped her arms around her own waist, hugging herself. "It's just not right, Fiyero," she insisted. "You need a girl like Aliyra and I can't be that girl. I thought we could work through this, too, but it's been going on for so long already and I feel like it's not getting any better at all. We're just too different. Maybe this is just not meant to be. Not every story has a happy ending, Fiyero."

"Ours does," he said stubbornly. "Only you won't give it a chance."

She narrowed her eyes and turned around.

"Just… just stay away from me, Fiyero," she said over her shoulder, so quietly that he almost didn't hear her. "I'm done."

With that, she all but ran back into the ballroom. He tried to run after her, but found himself blocked by other people; and by the time he had made his way through the crowd and scanned the room for a glimpse of something green, Elphaba was already gone.

Yep. I'm mean like that.

It's really beautiful out here, the view is wonderful, and it's very inspirational... so I'm working on a Fiyeraba summer fic. It includes summer, beach, Fiyeraba (duh) and... pie. The symbolic kind. I had the idea when I was looking at a dessert menu yesterday and got an overload of pie (among them was 'special pie', which sounded interesting). So. *cackles*