Erik's POV

A kiss! Never has someone ever dared to kiss poor Erik. Nobody but Christine ever even gave poor Erik a second glance. I was too stunned to react at first, but slowly came to my senses.

"Goodnight." Elphaba closed her door before I had the chance to react. Oh well, I'll see her in the morning, I thought. I walked to my room and closed the door behind me. I will write an opera just for her. I t will be based upon her life in Oz and I will have her perform it when it is complete.

Why, is there some strange unknown force at work when you become one with your work, when you become weary does a greater darker angel of music take over your consciousness? An angel part of a legion of angels that yearn for the music of mortal. Angels cannot sing, a gift only given to mortals?

I made my way to my piano and placed my mask on the ledge. Sitting on the bench, I rubbed my hands along my sore deformity. How it pained me to wear my mask. The material on the inside would rub my flesh raw and cause blisters that would ache for days, but I wore it nonetheless to keep my face hidden.

I didn't realize it was morning until the sun came up. I'd worked on the music until I could no longer make any sense of the notes on the page. Many more nights like this were ahead if I was to complete it soon. How many nights exactly? That was undetermined. I stood from the piano, placed my mask on and left to the kitchen to begin breakfast.

Elphaba's POV

I woke in the middle of the night to a piano being played down the hall. I smiled. He didn't tell me he could play. I pressed the pillow to my face and listened to the music for a while, drifting off during a beautiful sad-sounding song.

The next morning I awoke with the delicious smell of bacon drifting through my door and beckoning to me. I slipped on a black sun dress that Erik bought me the previous day and even dragged a brush through my tangled hair to look halfway presentable. I placed my tall, black, pointed hat on my head as a finishing touch and tiptoed down the hallway to the kitchen, where the smell was coming from. Erik was standing at the stove with light from the window surrounding him, giving him a glow. I sneaked behind him and was about to say boo when he spoke first.

"I know you're there, so you don't need to bother."

"Awww, you ruined it!"

"On the contrary, you didn't seem too careful to tread quietly."

I shrugged my shoulders. "I tried."

"French toast?" he asked.

"Sure." I knew he was trying to avoid the topic of last night's kiss, so I went along with it.

"I heard you playing last night. It was beautiful." Silence.

"Thank you." He said after a while. No conversation continued after that. I wished so much that the awkward silence could pass, but no luck. When Erik was finished with our breakfast, he placed them on plates and poured syrup on them.

"Thank you." I said as he placed my plate in front of me. "Why do you wear your mask around me? I told you I wasn't afraid of your face. It's what makes you you."

He paused, the fork in midair.

""I'm not even used to my own face. I don't expect you to be already."

"He says to the green woman." I muttered under my breath.

He placed his fork down and spoke.

"I'm sorry, Elphaba. I'm just not used to people being so unfazed by my face. Or even to know what my face looks like."

"Well, I don't mind." I said reaching across the table and pulling off the garment. His hands shot to my wrist and tried to pull it away. He took his hands away as soon as he did. I knew he wasn't used to this and needed to get used to not wearing his mask.

"Better" I said, placing the mask on the table next to him. Erik smiled to himself as he took his first bite. I had just started on my own breakfast as a loud knock rang through the house.

"Merde!" Erik dropped the fork he was holding and stood up.

"I'll be back." He said, turning to answer the door.

"Wait!" I said before he could get the chance to leave. I picked up the mask off of the table and held it out to him.

"Thank you." He left.

I heard a cheery girl's voice chime in through the hallway. Curious, I walked to the doorway of the kitchen and poked my head out. A girl with blonde curly locks and blue eyes stood in the doorway.

"I heard you hired somebody else to take my spot in the limelight." She said. That was when I realized this was Meg, the Ooh La La Girl. I'm starting to tell why Erik dislikes her.

"Not to take your spot, to be a partner." Erik replied, with a bored tone as if he'd done this a billion times before. Meg rolled her eyes and snapped at him.

"I don't need a partner. The people love me already."

"Yes, well we'll see about that after Elphaba performs."

"Elphaba, so that's her name, a strange one at that. Where is the girl anyways? Has she performed at a Parisian opera house like I have?"

I gulped. She performed at an opera house before? I was as inexperienced as you could get.

"Please, Meg, you were a ballet rat, like all of the other girls."

"Oh, and I suppose Christine was a ballet rat too?" the moment the words left her lips Erik's hands went to her throat.

"Do it." Meg spat at him.

With a sigh, Erik let her go.

"Don't ever say anything like that again, or I won't think twice about firing you."

"You can't. You owe my mother."

"I promised you a job, not a ticket to stardom. You could work at a food cart." Erik said with a hint of humor. I haven't heard him laugh yet, I realized. That would be something I would have to accomplish.

"Sure, Erik. Where is she anyways? I want to meet the girl before the season starts." I figured this would be a good time to reveal myself, so I walked out of the kitchen, readjusting my hat as I went. Erik heard me coming and turned around, his frame blocking Meg's view of me.

"Elphaba…" he started.

"It's fine." I replied.

He made room in the doorway and Meg took her first look, eyes wide.

"Must you gawk?" I asked, already annoyed with her.

"You're…"

"Green, I know. I've been in front of a mirror before. Just this morning, in fact."

Erik chuckled. Meg turned her attention back to him.

"Is this your new act? A singing green lady? I bet she doesn't even sing well. You just hired her to show off her skin tone."

That hurt. Did he? I looked at Erik. He wasn't looking at me, but at Meg with a death glare that would burn Satin himself.

"Say that again." Erik dared.

Meg opened her mouth just before Erik slammed the door in her face. I still wondered if Erik did hire me for my skin color.

"Did you?" I asked.

"Did I what?"

"Hire me for my…"

"No." he said. "Meg is a snob. She'll say anything to make anybody she believes to be below her feel bad."

That made me feel a bit better, but I still had a bad feeling clenched in the pit of my stomach. We stood in the hallway in silence until Erik pressed his lips against mine. We kissed until my head spun and I needed to take a breath and I pulled back. I smiled. Erik smiled back.

"Does that prove anything?" he asked. I just smiled back.

"You promised me a lesson last night." Erik smiled and pulled me into his music room.

OH MY GOSH GUYS, I'M SOOOO SORRY I DIDN'T UPDATE! I've been busy every weekend, I've got a big science and English project for school, and I've started my Young Author's story. So once again, I'm sorry. Anyway, I'll try to update this more often. HAPPY EASTER!