Even Marcus had to say that hiring Elphaba was the smartest thing that Jessie had ever done. She had Jessie's schedule running silky smooth. Jessie, who was notorious for being late to everything but fan functions, was on time for press galas and photo shoots. Marcus didn't know if he should give Elphaba a raise or just set the two of them up on a date. It was hilarious to watch the two skate around the issue. Marcus chuckled, watching Jessie avoid anything resembling a date, and Elphaba do the same. If someone didn't do something, Jessie would stare at the woman for years and never say a word. Marcus watched Elphaba work at the computer, waiting for his opportunity. He got two cups of latte, knocking on the office door.
"Marcus, can I help you?" Elphaba asked, curious why he was there.
"No, I thought you could use some coffee." Marcus said, offering her a cup and hearing her sigh audibly.
"Thank you Marcus, you are a lifesaver." She said, taking the cup and sipping on it eagerly, "I thought I might've been in trouble for Jessie being late to the appointment this morning."
Marcus chuckled softly, "Late? Not for her. She hates interviews; I always factor in thirty extra minutes from the time I tell you. So she was actually fifteen minutes early."
Elphaba chuckled, "Yeah, she doesn't seem to like the mass attention."
"If she could spend her days teaching the kids and interacting with fans she'd be thrilled." Marcus agreed.
"But she does handle it rather well, she is very humble."Elphaba noted.
"She's like that with everything. She'd rather her name not be attached to anything." No matter how hard Marcus tries to get her to accept awards she just doesn't want the attention.
"It's a strange trait, especially given the fact that she is the champion." Elphaba has noticed that most other champions in this world seem to enjoy all of the attention they get for being the champion.
"But it's Jessie. Lovable good hearted sucker." Marcus said, the affection and pride evident in his voice, "Are you doing anything tonight?"
"Not really, I was just going to make sure Jess's itinerary for the rest of the week is ready to go. Why do you ask?"
Marcus chuckles leave it to Jess to find another woman who has a similar work ethic to herself. "Well, the guys and I are gonna have a pizza and movie night, we were hoping you might get Jess there."
"She doesn't have any plans, I'm sure I can arrange it. I'll make myself scarce." Elphaba had noticed how much Jess had been working recently. Perhaps a night with her friends would be a good way for her to relax.
"No, don't do that. We want you there. You're part of our team now. About time you acted like it." Marcus was going to finally try to get these two together on a date-ish type evening.
"Thank you, Marcus. I'll be there too." Honestly it had been a very long time since she had been invited to anything. At least it was only a small group of people.
"And what kind of Pizza do you want?" He asked, getting a shrug.
"Veggie works." Marcus nodded, leaving. It honestly took Elphaba a few minutes to process what had just happened, as she sipped the latte, smiling wide.
()
Jessie finally had a free day, other than the one morning meeting. She got to make it down to see her fans at the hospital and the boys and girls clubs. When she got back, she looked rejuvenated, practically skipping into the gym.
"Jess, where have you been?" Rick asked, seeing the wide smile on her face.
"I had a free day." She walked over to Rick and began straightening out some practice dummies.
"You forget it was movie night?" He asked.
Jessie stopped what she was doing and looked at him,"Shit, is it?"
"Yeah, and we've got two doozies. An oldie but goodie and something even you haven't seen." There was a confident smirk on his face when he mentioned the new movie.
"Finding one I haven't seen is going to be quite a challenge." Jessie stated as she finished straightening out the dummies.
"Mikey found it yesterday. I've never even heard of it."He said.
"Sounds like fun." Jessie said a smile crossing her face as she saw Elphaba walk into the room.
Rick chuckled. He'd never seen Jessie react like that to anyone. It was a relief, she was so serious all the time, it was nice to know she could relax, "Elphie, we're doing movie night tonight. You coming?"
"Yeah, Marcus invited me." Elphaba said with a smile.
"Awesome! Apparently they've got one I haven't seen before. I'm a major movie buff, so I can't wait to see it." Jessie said, excitedly.
"We'll meet you upstairs around sixish." Rick said, he saw the two women looking over each other and felt a bit like a third wheel.
"I'll have the pizza ready." Jessie said, as he walked off.
"I haven't seen too many movies." Elphaba admitted, as Jessie carried over a brown bag.
"Plenty of time to catch up. I thought you might like lunch." She said, shyly.
Elphaba smiled, taking the bag and looking inside. "Tuna on wheat and pasta salad. Good choice." Elphaba said, heading back to her office.
Jessie stayed put, unsure if to follow or stay behind. She felt her stomach twist up when she talked to Elphaba sometimes. But she knew that wasn't what Elphie needed. She needed a friend to help her get back on her feet, nothing more nothing less.
Elphaba looked up, seeing Jessie still outside. She really was extremely respectful, a fact Elphaba was grateful for, sometimes she was too respectful. She would've enjoyed Jessie's company for lunch today, but she also didn't want to force Jessie into anything. It was nice to have someone hanging on her every word. Especially someone as wonderful as Jessie was. It still blew her mind the things that Jessie did and not only didn't take credit for, wouldn't even acknowledge being a part of. The more she learned about Jessie, the more she liked her, quirks and all.
Jessie reminded her of Fiyero; strong, brave, selfless, foolish, naive, sweet, and charming. When Jessie stood up to Tony in the diner, it had nearly sent her into a flashback. Just like Fiyero, she had no fear of what would happen to her. Maybe that's what made her go back to that truck. Whatever the reason, she was glad she had. Jessie had easily been the best thing to happen to her on this Oz forsaken world.
()
Jessie took a shower and changed. She could easily put this into the column of one of her better days. Since waking up in the hospital she had her share of good and bad. For some reason, they all seemed to be better since Elphaba came into her life. Part of her wanted to ask Elphaba out, the other part knew better. Girls like Elphaba didn't go for girls like her period, no one did, but that didn't mean she couldn't admire from afar and keep her mouth shut. Jessie had a small smile as she spread the zucchini and yellow squash out over the pizza crust. Hearing the doorbell ring, she saw Elphaba grab it, and went back to focusing on the pizzas.
"Oh, I love movie night!" Mikey said, inhaling the smell of the pizza baking.
"You like any night that you don't have to cook." Jessie teased back, getting a laugh.
"Well, you do make a kicking pizza." Rick said, sitting at the kitchen counter.
"Thanks," She looked at Elphaba, "I used to work in a pizzeria, among other things." Jessie explained to Elphaba, getting a nod.
"Why she draws cooking duty for most of these." Mike said, joining Hank.
"So what are we watching tonight, or is it a surprise?"Elphaba asked, curiously.
"It's a surprise. But one's a classic and the other is brand new." Marcus said as he set up the entertainment system.
"Brand new, huh?" Jessie said, grinning, "The last time you said brand new, I knew it from sight."
"Well, not this one. It just got released last month."Mike said, getting a nod.
"Ohhh, sounds like fun. Action, romance, comedy?" Jessie asked, excitedly.
"Action. I think you'll like it." Hank said, winking at her.
"Oh, I love a good shoot em up. What about you, Elphaba?"Jessie said, not wanting Elphie to feel left out.
"I prefer more peaceful movies." She said, honestly. She had seen enough violence to last her a lifetime.
"Then we'll play the classic first. Nobody gets hurt." Marcus states as he puts the DVD in.
"Well, except for the bad guy. But I don't think getting splashed with water is all that bad." Mike quipped.
Elphaba almost froze in her spot when she heard that. There was only one movie where the 'bad guy' was defeated with water. She had been exposed to the movie once, just once. It angered, hurt, and depressed her all at once. It was so far from what actually happened, it made her, Glinda and Fiyero all look ridiculous. It was obviously Dorothy's account, but at least they did make it look like a dream, for better or worse. It still didn't make it easier to watch.
"Elphie?" Jessie said, snapping her fingers.
Elphaba looked up, confused, "Huh?"
"Did you want zucchini and yellow squash on your pizza?"Jessie repeated, taking note of how distracted Elphaba looked.
"Yes please, excuse me a moment." Elphaba said, walking to her bedroom. If she had to face it, she would prefer to be in the proper mindset.
"What's her trip?" Rick asked, a little irritated.
"I'm not sure." Jessie said, honestly, "Maybe she just needs a few minutes."
"To each their own, I guess. How long before the pizza is ready?" Rick asked, getting a shrug.
"Go ahead and start the movies. All that's left is the baking." Jessie said, putting the finishing touches on Elphaba's, and putting them in the oven. Jessie was about to go check on Elphaba when she came out, sitting in the recliner. Jessie sat on the couch next to her. As the movie started, Elphaba inwardly groaned seeing her worst fears realized. That annoying farm girl and her yapping little mutt started the Oz awful movie. The beginning scenes did teach her something about Dorothy; however, she really was raised in a barn.
"The Wizard Of Oz. Classic." Mike said, sipping his beer.
"Yeah, I never missed it back in the day." Jessie admitted.
"Who's your favorite character, Jess?" Rick asked.
"The cowardly lion." Marcus said, laughing, as he sat down.
"No, really Jess, who?" Rick said, not believing it.
"The cowardly lion." Jessie said, with a grin.
"Not Dorothy? I thought all little girls wanted to be Dorothy." Mike said, getting a laugh.
"No, she had it far too good for me to admire. Having an aunt and uncle that love her enough to raise her and not appreciate it because they didn't pay her enough attention so she ran away. No, not my favorite character." Jessie said, dismissively. The kitchen timer went off as the tornado approached the farm.
"I've got it." Elphaba volunteered quickly before Jessie got up.
"Are you sure?" Jessie asked, getting a nod.
"Yeah, I've seen this movie." She said, heading for the kitchen. She didn't want Jessie or anyone else to see the tears in her eyes.
She had been with Fiyero in the forest when she felt the tornado in the distance. She could feel Nessa in danger. Elphaba was able to out fly the wizard's guards and anything they tried to do to bring her down, but she wasn't fast enough that one time it really mattered. By the time she had arrived, Glinda had already given her sister's ruby slippers to that dreadful little girl. As she pulled each pizza out, she wiped away residual tears. She could hear those damn munchkins festivating her sister's death.
"What a thing to celebrate, huh?" Jessie said, with a scoff.
"Well, she did torment them." Mike reminded her, getting another scoff.
"Really? Someone wanna tell me what the woman did? At least what was bad enough to have them celebrating her death? And those voices. Sounds like they got into the helium." Jessie said.
"Come on, Jess. Wouldn't you celebrate if Kano got killed in the next Mortal Kombat movie?" Mike asked.
"Not really. I wouldn't weep over it, but I wouldn't celebrate, either." Little did anyone know she'd already seen Kano's death for real.
"Liar." Marcus said, getting flipped off, as Elphaba brought in the pizzas. When Jessie took hers, she held Elphaba's hand a second longer.
"Thank you." Jessie said, looking at her sincerely. She got a shy smile and a slight blush.
"You're very welcome." Elphaba said, a genuine smile on her face. She sat back in the recliner, eating her pizza and watching Dorothy free Fiyero. She frowned up a bit. He played the role of brainless very well, but she was one of few that knew better. He stood up for her against the wizard's guards, knowing they would kill him. She was just glad the spell worked. Watching him dance around with Dorothy reminded her of their meeting after he had turned. The way they danced in the field, and he made her laugh. She hadn't laughed since Nessa died. His smile lit her night. He was such a nice man, and she couldn't have felt any guiltier. At least the Grimmerie saved him, more than she could do for Nessa or Dr. Dillimond.
"OK, seriously, her aim wasn't off. If she really wanted to cook his ass, he would've been fried. She wanted the slippers, nothing else." Jessie said, bringing her back from her thoughts in time to see her on screen persona throw a fireball at Fiyero. She rolled her eyes. That never happened, she would have sooner thrown that fireball at Glinda. She never considered it, even as mad as they had been at each other.
"I don't know. I mean, straw and fire don't mix." Mike said.
"Come on, dude. Think about it. If she evaded the wizard and people were that scared of her, she didn't get that way from making mistakes." Jessie pointed out.
"What do you think, Elphaba?" Marcus asked, dragging her into the conversation.
Elphaba froze as she tried to think up an answer that wouldn't give herself away. "Well, I don't think she was aiming at the scarecrow. I mean, if you look at where that fireball went it seemed to be aimed closer to the dog. Doesn't she always complain about the dog throughout the movie?" Hopefully they would buy that and wouldn't try to pull Elphaba into the conversation again.
"See! Thank you Elphaba." Jessie said, giving her five.
"Great the girls are going to team up on us." Mike said, winking at Rich.
"Yeah, tell me about it." Rich said, rolling his eyes and chuckling.
"Oh, look! It's the tin man." Marcus said, changing the subject.
"I still wonder how a metal man gets stuck in the rain. You would think he'd know better." Jessie said, matter of factly, getting a chuckle out of Elphaba. Jessie was right, however. It had never been explained, and did seem kind of out of place. Boq had a temper and was a bit silly hearted, but even he would not have done that. Luckily, everyone stayed quiet until the lion.
"There's your favorite. I don't understand that one." Rick said, getting a shrug.
"I love the lion." Jessie said, grinning.
"But why? He's like the smallest character." Mike said.
"He thought he was a coward until his back, or Dorothy's at least, was against the wall. That's when he rose to the occasion and protected her no matter what. That's awesome, at least to me." Jessie said, matter of factly.
Elphaba listened, smiling a little. From what she knew of Jessie, it would make sense that would be her favorite character. She knew a few of Jessie's issues, and it explained so much. Like why she was as brave as she was foolhardy. One day, she'd have to tell Jessie the real truth of the lion she liked so much. But that thought was quickly dismissed when they entered the wizard's palace.
She hated that palace, that trip. Poor Chistrey if she hadn't been so trusting. Not that Morrible and the Wizard hadn't planned it nearly perfectly. They had her believing everything hook line and sinker. Nothing good ever came from that hellhole.
Jessie looked over at Elphaba and recognized it. That was the look Jessie had on her face now when she saw Shang Tsung. There was definitely something more here. Elphaba, at least to Jessie, looked like she was either going to cry or hurt someone. She glanced around at the guys relieved to see that no one else noticed. Jessie was still contemplating this when the journey to the witch's castle began.
For seeing her own death, Elphaba seemed to take it in stride. That may have been because her and Fiyero had planned it nearly perfectly. Simple Ozians, no one questioned why a woman rumored to be allergic to water would have a bucket of well water handy. Seemed perfectly normal, right? She was thrilled they were so ignorant as to believe absolutely everything they heard. Of course, Fiyero planting the idea in the little farm girl's head didn't exactly hurt either. The only thing that hurt was thinking about the conversation that her and Glinda had minutes before Dorothy appeared. That curtain hid her dear friend from sight, and protected her. If anyone knew that they not only maintained contact but also considered each other best friends, Glinda would have been as cursed as she was. She honestly wondered if Fiyero was still looking for Glinda. She found the spell to open the portal before he had promised he would come for her.
"Poor guys. They always had exactly what they needed. They just didn't think so." Jessie said, a sad smile on her face. It had taken her a long time and a lot of help from Sonya not to fall into the same trap, and she did from time to time even with the help.
"Yeah, they lack the only thing you do, confidence." Mikey said, beginning to collect the plates.
"I don't lack confidence. I know I can kick your ass."Jessie said, getting up to collect the cups. Taking the opportunity, Elphaba went to the bathroom to finish crying and getting rid of the evidence. She really didn't want anyone to ask questions about it.
"So how did you get so lucky?" Mikey asked, putting the plates in the sink.
"So lucky?" Jessie asked, confused.
"Yeah. Your roommate is smoking hot." Mikey said, getting a look from Jessie.
"Speak about her with the same respect as your mother, OK?" Jessie said, getting a laugh, as Marcus walked in.
"So what's so funny?" Marcus asked, as Jessie got out a chocolate marble cheesecake.
"I called her roommate hot, and she told me to be respectful." Mike stated with a shrug.
"What's wrong with that, Jess. You think she's hot, don't you?" Marcus was hoping to confirm his suspicions.
"I think she's beyond hot, but I think she's way the hell out of my league." Jessie said, honestly.
"Well, she's not out of mine. Think you could put in the good word for me?" Mikey said, getting a glare.
"Not cool." Jessie said, rolling her eyes, as Marcus elbowed Mikey in the ribs.
"OUCH! Jeez! The nun decides she's not gonna make a move, and you elbow me?" Mikey said, getting another elbow.
"Mikey, don't start on her about this, please." Marcus said.
"Okay...geez! I'll back off until she decides when she makes her move." A grin spreads across his face, "Besides, I wouldn't want to 'accidentally' lure her in with my awesome chick magnet hair."
Marcus snorts, "Chick magnet hair? It must be faulty, cuz it seems to repel them all away."
Elphaba had been outside of the kitchen door, and actually found herself in shock. Not only did Jessie think she was hot, but so did Mikey? Not that Mikey was her type. Not that she had a type. Hearing them coming out, she turned on her heels, quickly walking back to the bathroom. Did Jessie really think she was beautiful and out of her league?