Fiyero's POV
Glinda left for the Emerald City—again—on Friday. She was in the Wizard's good graces since everything went down with Elphie; I was worried about that. Glinda's sudden departure, however, inspired me. Maybe . . . just maybe . . . Elphie would know that ten days of torture, with only propaganda rags with her picture, was too much. Maybe she'd know Glinda was gone. Maybe she'd know what I would do when Glinda left.
I gathered my satchel, my scrapbook of Elphie posters (there were three now), my toothbrush and my pillow. Just in case Elphie didn't guess, I scrawled a note and taped it to the window:
Fae,
I'm waiting for you in your room.
All my love,
Fiyero
It wasn't hard to sneak into dorm room 421, and it wasn't as if I hadn't done it before . . .
"Glinda is going to sleep at Shen Shen's tonight," Fae whispered as we passed in the hall.
"I'll see you later," I answered.
Four hours later, I crawled through the girls' window. I was greeted by candles and chocolate . . . and Fae, her black hair enticingly loose around her shoulders.
I shook my head to clear the memory . . . this time there were no candles, no chocolate, and—most importantly—no Fae to make me forget that anything existed outside of our love. This time even most of her things were gone. Glinda had salvaged a few favorites, tucked unobtrusively in the closet, from the ruthless school officials who'd cleaned out Elphie's stuff. I found a ragged sweatshirt that still smelled like my beloved and wrapped it around my pillow.
For the second time I would spend the night in Fae's bed. But this time, I knew I wouldn't wake up to her kisses.
Elphie's POV
Ten days into defying gravity and I realized I was beyond unprepared. I needed a sweatshirt and old, clean clothes. I wanted my camera and the carefree memories it could bring. I was dirty, tired, and lonely. I wanted a hot shower, to feel Fiyero's lips moving with mine, to tell him . . . to cry on Glinda's shoulder. I wanted to give up, but I knew I couldn't.
Glinda knew the truth, even if she wouldn't admit it publicly. I turned my broom toward Shiz and prayed my friend would harbor me—a wanted criminal—for the night. I never would've admitted it to her, but I missed our 2 a.m. chats and cups of cocoa. I knew there would be chocolate in our room (we were never without it) and Glinda wouldn't let me sleep until I'd told her everything. It would be comforting.
It was just after midnight when I crawled through my window and was greeted by quiet breathing that made my heart leap—breathing that was decidedly unlike Glinda. I knelt by my old bed and stroked the hair away from Fiyero's sleeping face. It was good to stare at him, even for just a moment. I leaned forward and kissed his lips lightly before heading for the shower.
A half hour later, I sat on my bed and gently shook my sort-of-boyfriend.
"Fae?" he muttered, his voice husky with sleep and his eyes half-closed.
A/N
A million (and a half) thank yous to those who added this story to alerts and/or reviewed. I love you for it. I know this is a cliffhanger, but I promise more soon. Maybe tomorrow. I'm spoiling you guys with these frequent updates, but I've been sick and it feels good to lay in bed and write all day.