Disclaimer: Wicked is sadly not mine.

A/N: So this chapter was very fun for me to write! I told you guys I only needed to get over that silly mid-story hump. So now that I'm on the other side, all I can see is green grass. Haha! So I really hope you guys enjoy this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it! Thanks to all my readers, favoriters, alerters, and reviewers! You guys are fantastic with a side of awesome!

The next morning, Elphaba awoke to find Galinda humming at her desk. She grimaced when she turned over and caught a glimpse of the time. Elphaba thought it was a strange occurrence any time Galinda was up and perky before Elphaba even had a chance to have her morning coffee. Galinda without coffee was simply too much to handle sometimes. Like now.

"Oh, Elphie, you're awake! I'm so excitified! Now you can try this on! I've been working on it all night, and I want to make sure I got your measurements right." Galinda lifted the fabric off of her desk in a flourish. It didn't even look like the drab curtains that had been hanging in their room yesterday.

Elphaba, ever the skeptic, eyed it cautiously. "Curtains, Galinda."

Galinda stopped mid bounce and gave Elphaba a somewhat menacing look. "Would you just let it go, Elphie? Besides, I thought you liked to be different. A curtain dress is definitely different."

Elphaba laughed mirthlessly. "I don't like to be different; I'm forced into it." The two girls looked at each other, both uncomfortable by the heavy turn the conversation had taken. Elphaba, feeling responsible for her roommate's now serious expression, attempted to get back some of the bounce that Galinda had had. "But I suppose I'll embrace my uniqueness. Just for you, though." Elphaba gave Galinda a small smile.

Galinda beamed at the green girl and bounced over to her bed, pulling Elphaba up. "Okay, now you just go and put this on. I'll wait here."

Elphaba took the "curtain dress" into the bathroom. She looked at it cautiously, still not convinced that Galinda could make curtains look good. But as Elphaba pulled the dress over her head, she quickly realized why Galinda would win the fashion contest. The dress was simply beautiful. Elphaba couldn't imagine anything that would make her look…elegant. But that's exactly what she looked like. She walked out of the bathroom slowly, relishing the way the dress swished around her calves.

"Oh, Elphie! Look at you! You're so pretty!" Galinda bounced on the bed, clapping her hands together.

And then Elphaba did a very un-Elphaba-like thing. She twirled. Elphaba twirled. And she had felt pretty doing it. She allowed herself to be open to the idea that she was possibly something more than the asparagus or the cucumber or the frog. She could be pretty. When she looked at Galinda again, the blond's mouth was open in a perfect "o."

"What?" Elphaba snapped, her heavy shield back in place.

Galinda closed her mouth. "Nothing. It's just…wow. I'm good." The corner of Elphaba's mouth tilted upward almost imperceptibly. "Elphie, you have to promise me you'll do that on the runway!"

Elphaba's face fell. "No way."

"Pleeeeeease?" Galinda pouted, her face scrunching in a very cute and very persuasive way.

Elphaba felt herself wavering, but she fought it. "I will not twirl onstage, Galinda."

Galinda crossed her arms. "Fine. But I'm just reminding you, I have control over your wardrobe."

"Isn't this it?"

"No, silly! There has to be more than one outfit! Oz, Elphie, one would think you've never even heard of fashion."

"Well…" Elphaba started. Galinda playfully swatted her arm, and the roommates smiled at each other.

"So Elphie, you have to tell me if this dress fits you alright. It looks marvelicious from here, but how does it feel?"

Elphaba took a few steps in the dress, enjoying the feel of it. "It actually feels pretty perfect. How did you guess my measurements?"

Galinda turned a deep shade of red. "Well, actually, I may have measured you in your sleep." She looked away quickly.

Elphaba laughed at Galinda's awkwardness. "How ever did you manage that without me noticing?"

"Well, you're a very deep sleeper. One time, there was an ant in the room, and I screamed and screamed and you never even turned over." Galinda nodded sagely.

Elphaba smiled. "An ant?"

"Elphie, don't laugh. It was huge! I was afraid it was going to carry me away. They can carry a lot of weight, Elphie. It's scary sometimes."

Elphaba tried to hold in the laughter, but she couldn't. She let the waves roll over her, enjoying the feeling of being completely carefree. When she came back to reality, Galinda had her arms crossed and was tapping her foot. This sent Elphaba into another fit of laughter. Galinda turned the green girl toward the bathroom and threw in a frock for her to change into. When she emerged with the dress draped over her arm, she was back to normal.

She handed the dress back to Galinda, who was already sketching another design. Elphaba paced the room for a moment, too anxious to sit but too curious to let her questions go. She needed to know, for her own sanity. So, taking a deep breath and sitting on the edge of her bed, she hesitantly pulled Galinda from her work.

"So, Galinda…"

"Mmm?" Galinda said, her tongue sticking out of her mouth, her face full of concentration.

Elphaba took a deep breath. She needed to know, she reminded herself. Not knowing would drive her mad. "Can I ask you something?"

That got Galinda's attention. Elphaba never sounded so hesitant, and Elphaba certainly never asked if she could ask a question. Galinda turned in her chair and faced the green girl. Elphaba was looking at her feet, which were tapping the floor nervously.

"What is it?"

"Well…I was just wondering about…Fiyero." Galinda's face fell. "I mean," Elphaba quickly continued, "you don't have to tell me if you don't want to. I'm just…well, you know me. I'm curious."

Galinda nodded. "Elphie, I just…I don't think I like him very much anymore. He's just…he's too serious all the time."

Elphaba tried to not let what she was feeling show on her face. It was a very terrible thing to feel happiness that your two best friends weren't happy with each, Elphaba tried to tell herself. Her traitorous heart wouldn't listen though, and it sped up its rhythm. "So…what does that mean for you two?" Elphaba could barely force the question out, but she had to know.

Galinda sighed. "Elphie, I know you like him as a friend and everything, but I just don't think we'll be hanging out with him much anymore. I think I'm going to break up with him."

"Are you sure?"

Galinda nodded. "I'm sure. Whatever it was that we had…it's gone now." Galinda sat thoughtfully for a moment. "Elphie, have you ever fallen out of love before?"

"Well, you'd have to be in love at some point to fall out of it." Elphaba smiled sadly.

"Well, it's not fun. Everything feels…weird. Like, I swear I thought that when Fiyero and I were talking about his…thinking—" Galinda shuddered at the word "—I thought I heard him say something about liking you. Which is weird."

"Thanks, Galinda," Elphaba said, but she didn't really care. Her mind was racing too fast to care what Galinda thought about Fiyero's thinking.

Galinda smiled. "No, not weird that he likes you. Weird that he told me. I mean, of course he likes you. You two are friends, and you can't be friends with someone you don't like. Well, not real friends anyway. And you two are real friends. So why would he bring that up?"

Elphaba shrugged. She didn't trust her voice, so she turned away from Galinda and acted like she was gathering her books for class. In reality, she was elated by this new information. But she forced herself to keep her hopes to a minimum. Fiyero was a strange boy, and Elphaba couldn't predict his motives. But no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't suppress the butterflies that fluttered in her stomach when she remembered that her first class of the day was with the prince in question.