Chapter Seventeen: Curiosities

When he got out of the shower, she was in her nightclothes and on the bed. She didn't say anything to him. He knew she wasn't happy with him. In truth, he wasn't happy with him. His body absolutely hated him right now. But he wanted to be sure. Well, he was sure. He wanted her to be. If she regretted it in the least afterwards, she might run from him. He couldn't risk that. At the moment, however, she was in his bed and he wasn't sure he could sleep in that full-sized bed beside her without going crazy. But he sat down on it anyway.

"You realize tomorrow is the day before school starts," she said softly.

"I do. What about it?"

"I can't stay the night tomorrow night. Not the day before classes start!"

He wanted to smile. Nothing was going to change the way she was about schooling. But smiling might seem strange. And he was disappointed. Fiyero sighed. "Whenever you're ready."

"I was ready." She rested a hand on his chest. "I was very, very ready."

"Next time, then." He put his hand over hers. "Elphaba, I'm sorry."

"Sometimes I wonder if you even want to."

"You know I wanted to! Don't give me that. I think it was obvious enough."

A smile played at her lips at that and she looked at him. For a moment he was afraid she was going to try to tempt him. He knew there'd be no stopping him if she got him started again. But a moment later she simply laid back in the bed. "I guess I can believe that, then."

"I…" He caught himself. Saying "I love you" now was a bad idea. After what had just happened, it was stupid. And it would scare her. Besides, things were just too complicated. Saying that would only make them more complicated. "Maybe next time," he said, both to her and to himself.

She looked at him strangely. "You said that already, Fiyero. And it's late and you had me all worked up and now I'm tired."

He didn't know how he planned to sleep with the images of her running through his head. The look on her face when he'd touched her had been the most fantastic thing. He could only hope he didn't have any dreams about her. "I understand. Goodnight." Fiyero closed the lights.

The next morning, they ate breakfast peacefully, talking about what their schedules were. Fiyero was pleased to know they had at least three classes together. At least if he needed help, he'd have someone to study with – that is, if he could focus. Maybe once they actually got the act over with he wouldn't be so focused on it. It was a longshot, but he still had to hope. He did like their conversations just as much as he liked touching her (or her touching him). They didn't speak about the previous night. She left after breakfast.

He went over to the fireplace and picked the blanket up off the floor. It might need to be washed, although part of him didn't want to wash it. Fiyero shook his head and tried to get the images out of his mind.

She didn't come at all the next day. He wasn't surprised. Elphaba was probably poring over her books getting ready for classes to begin. He tried to do the same, but he could not seem to stay focused. He spent almost the entire day daydreaming about her.

The first class on Monday morning was one they shared. He got there early. She had gotten there earlier. Fiyero took the seat beside her. "Good morning."

She had her nose in her book. Elphaba looked up and smiled at him. "Good morning." She looked around. No one had entered the lecture hall. She folded her arms across her chest. "And by the way, I'm still ready, I still want to. Insert whatever it is you wanted to hear from me, okay?"

Fiyero almost laughed. She said it, and he knew she meant it, but she just seemed frustrated with him. Instead, he smiled at her. "I'm glad to hear that. Want to stop by my apartment after class?"

"For Oz's sake, no! We will take our time with this. And that means it's not happening during the school week. I need to study. There's a reason it would've been easier the other night. Now that classes have started, Oz only knows how much I might need to study on the weekends, too."

"Then we'll study together." He intended a few other activities, as well.

She raised her eyebrows at him. Clearly, Elphaba saw right through him. "We'll see."

At that point, several other students came in. One of them was Elphaba's roommate, who was being trailed by a Munchkin boy who was practically drooling after her. She saw Elphaba but pretended she didn't. Galinda decided to sit several rows behind them, the little Munchkin boy sat beside her. Two other girls sat on the other side of her. Galinda was ignoring the Munchkin boy and whispering with the two girls instead. Fiyero felt bad for the Munchkin. He started waving at him, trying to get him to come sit with them.

"What are you doing?" Elphaba hissed.

"He's all alone."

"No he's not, he's next to Galinda."

"He might as well be alone!"

Elphaba buried her face in her hands. "Why are you doing this?"

He didn't understand what bothered her so much. After a moment, the young Munchkin noticed him, looked at him strangely and walked over to them.

"Hi…" The boy had brown hair and brown eyes. He was plain.

"Hi. I'm Fiyero. I just noticed you seemed kind of depressed sitting over there by Galinda." Fiyero realized that maybe he'd been much too friendly. How did things work out here? "I just got here from the Vinkus. I hope I don't seem strange."

The boy seemed unfazed. "You know Galinda?"

"Sort of. She's Elphaba's roommate."

Elphaba hadn't said anything up to this point. She glared at Fiyero. "Not by choice."

Fiyero sighed and turned back to the Munchkin. "What's your name?"

"Boq." The boy stuttered a little.

"Nice to meet you. Please, sit down." Fiyero gestured to the seat next to him. "How'd you meet Galinda?"

"Shen-Shen and I knew each other from Munchkinland," Boq pointed at one of Galinda's confidantes. She did seem pretty short, now that Fiyero thought about it. "She introduced me. Isn't Galinda so beautiful?"

Fiyero saw Elphaba trying her best not to look like she wanted to hear his answer. It made him happy, in a strange way, to know she at least cared. "Beautiful is different in the Vinkus."

"What's it like out there?"

"It's warm." Fiyero looked over to Elphaba. "When Elphaba first got out there she hated how hot it was."

Elphaba gave him yet another glare.
"You're from the Vinkus, too?" Boq asked Elphaba.

"No."

"She was hired to teach my siblings. My parents thought she was so intelligent, they helped her pay for school." He thought using the word "hired" made her sound less like a servant. "She's from the City."

Boq's eyes widened. "That sounds cool. It must've been so interesting!"

"You could say that," Elphaba might have smiled the slightest bit. He wasn't sure.

"You're the only person from the Vinkus I've seen here," Boq said to Fiyero.

"Not a lot of Vinkuns are lucky enough to get to Shiz. My family is just… wealthy enough to be able to send me." He decided that mentioning his royalty could wait a little.

"Not a lot of Munchkins could afford it, either. We barely could. My parents wanted me to go to Shiz so bad that they're eating nothing but what they can grow on their farm until it's all paid for."

Elphaba's face changed at that. It looked like maybe she was sympathetic. Or jealous. Perhaps because she'd never had parents to show that they loved her?

"That's intense. Is it hot in Munchkinland?" Fiyero was curious.

"Mostly just dry." Boq shrugged.

At that point, a Goat walked into the room. Several students started whispering loudly. He heard the word "Animal" many times. When the Goat cleared his throat, there was complete silence. Classes had begun.