(A/N: thanks if you reviewed! This is short I think, but emotional and stuff. I hope you like! Please review!)
Brennan came to the palace again the next day, a look on his face that said he had a specific mission. Elphaba opened the door for him.
"Oh, hey Brennan, I wasn't expecting you--"
"One date." said Brennan.
"Excuse me?" asked Elphaba.
"Just give me one date with you. I really like you Elphaba, and I want to give us a try." Brennan said, taking her hand. James, Galinda and Daniel were all listening from around the corner, "I've tried to just think about you as a friend, to be friends and everything, but I can't. I just..."
"Oh, I don't know Brennan...." Elphaba said softly, looking down. He touched her chin and she looked back up at him.
"One date." he said. She looked back down.
"I thought—I thought you just wanted to be friends." she muttered.
"Couldn't we try to be more?"
"I've already been in one relationship before, and I thought it was real, but it turned out...it wasn't. I don't want our friendship to end or anyone to get hurt." Elphaba said, looking back at him.
"Oh, are you not ready for something like this?" asked Brennan.
"Excuse me, Brennan, I need to tell Elphie something, you just stay, standing right there." she pulled Elphaba behind the corner where Daniel and James were standing. Daniel looked like he'd just been punched in the gut.
"Daniel, are you ok?" asked Elphaba.
"F-fine." Fiyero managed to say. What did she man she thought the relationship had been real? It had been, it had been everything. He felt terrible that it still hurt her, even now.
"You don't sound fine." Elphaba said, concern in every crevice of her voice.
"He's fine." said Galinda and Fiyero silently thanked her for speaking for him, because he didn't know if he could at the moment.
"Elphaba, you should say yes." said James, "I know you and Fiyero were in love, but Fiyero's not coming back. You should give Brennan a chance."
"You think?" Elphaba asked. Galinda and James nodded, "I suppose I could just try to be with someone...else." Elphaba walked back to where Brennan was, "I suppose one date couldn't hurt. But if it doesn't work, you won't...hate me will you?"
"No, I could never hate you." Brennan said softly, "Thank you, for giving me a chance."
************
As much as Fiyero hated to see them together, as much as it killed him, he had to watch. He discreetly followed them as they walked down past the city part of the Emerald City to the lakes. By the lake shore's were little shops, much like the ones in the Vinkus at the plaza. He held her hand as they walked together and then they stopped at an ice cream parlor. He sat at the table next to them, a newspaper in his face. He felt like such a stalker, but he had to know that she couldn't possibly give her heart to....Brennan... to anyone really.
"Mm, thanks for the ice cream." said Elphaba, licking her spoon.
"My pleasure." said Brennan, "It's good." Elphaba was hit with a wave of familiarity as she looked at the ice cream parlor, it looked almost exactly like the one she frequented in the Vinkus, back when Fiyero—
"So, you and Fiyero...you were very...?" Brennan began, not knowing how to word his sentence.
"I don't want to talk about him." Elphaba said quickly. Fiyero felt a pang to his heart at her bitter words.
"Oh, I'm sorry." said Brennan, "Hey, I saw you reading a book the other day, so I got you the next one in the series." he handed her the book. Fiyero felt his blood run cold, he was giving her a book? Fiyero gave her books, not Brennan. Fiyero flipped the edge of the newspaper over only slightly so he could see the book, it was Harry Potter.
"Oh, thanks Brennan." said Elphaba, "That's so thoughtful of you." she accepted the book, it reminded her of Fiyero. This whole date just said Fiyero. It was killing her.
"Do you want to head down to the lake?" he asked.
"Sure." she sighed, taking his hand. When she held his hand, she was always reminded that he wasn't Fiyero, because Fiyero's hands were different when they held hers. She didn't know what the difference was exactly, but she'd memorized the feel of her hand in his.
************
They walked around the shore of the lake, hands entwined tightly. She leaned her head on his shoulder as they walked. Suddenly, she was fighting back tears as she was reminded strongly of those precious Sunday's with Fiyero.
"Can we stop walking?" she asked, "I'm getting tired." she said. Maybe if she stopped walking with him on the shore, she'd forget Fiyero.
"Sure." said Brennan, "There's a rock over there." he led her over to the large rock and they sat there together, watching the sunset. No, this was not helping, this just made those Sunday's the ever more clear, so she tried to read her book to take her mind off of things. This definitely didn't help, she always read books at sunset with Fiyero, on a rock, by the ocean, not with Brennan. Brennan wasn't Fiyero, he wasn't ever going to be, no one ever would be. Suddenly, Elphaba found she fighting back tears again. She couldn't handle this.
"Brennan, I want to go home." she said, her voice had her tears in it.
"What why?" asked Brennan, startled.
"I just—can't stay here." she said.
"By the lake? We could go somewhere else." he said.
"No, it's not the lake, well, it is, it's everything! I just want to go home." she said.
"Ok, wait, why are you crying? Did I do something wrong?" he asked, panicking. He took her hands in his.
"No!" Elphaba pulled away from him, letting the tears fall, she tried to wipe them away, but they kept coming, "No, you're doing everything right!" she cried, "And you're not supposed to do everything right and make everything so perfect, Fiyero is supposed to do that, and...You're. Not. Fiyero. You're not him. The lake and the sunset, getting ice cream and giving her books and sitting with me and reading them, you're not supposed to do this, this is what I do with Fiyero and you're not him." tears were coming faster now, and they burned lightly. Fiyero watched from behind a tree, listening intently.
"You still love him." Brennan said gently, not mad at her at all.
"No—I..." Elphaba began, "Well...of course I do! And he just—he just...left me! He promised me –to-t-to always be there, and he's not here, but you are, but this is where he should be. This is our thing and it's just so wrong with anyone else." she cried harder and Brennan quickly went to her and brushed away her tears and rubbed her back. Fiyero felt his heart soaring and falling at the same time. He was so angry with himself for making her feel so terrible, but she still loved him, she always would. Fiyero wanted to go to her and tell her that this could still be their thing, they would be together forever. He was supposed to be the man she cried on, he was supposed to be the one to comfort her when she was sad, he wasn't supposed to be the reason she was sad.
"I'll take you home now." said Brennan softly, helping her stand up and jump down from the rock.
*************
"I'm sorry things didn't work out." said Elphaba, "I'm sorry--"
"Shh, you don't have to apologize." said Brennan, "It's fine, I'm ok, I just hope you'll be. I'll see you later, ok?"
"Ok." Elphaba went back inside and Brennan left. Fiyero had gotten home before them, and was pretending to clean a window while he waited for Elphaba to get back. Galinda had been waiting to. She leapt at Elphaba when she walked in.
"So?" she asked, "How was it?" then she noticed Elphaba had been crying, "What's wrong? What happened?"
"He's not Fiyero." was all she said, before running up to her room.