Rifiuto: Non Miriena

A/N: Sorry this one's so short

Question: will elphie's love for yero be slightly greater than her love of the stage?

Answer: you'll have to read to find out

Thanks to lizziemagic for reviewing 16 and 17, and to KarmelKisses2 for reviewing 17.

August, Day Seven

Galinda watched the girls, wanting so much to be a part of them. She wanted to be as outgoing as her roommate, as carefree, as 'in' as she was. Hell, for lack of a better word, she wanted Elphaba's life. Why not be honest, that's what she wanted. She was sick of her life, and wanted a new one, and if she had to go about getting a new one by taking someone else's, then fine, that's what she'd have to do.

Short of killing her, that is.

She watched them silently, comparing herself to Elphaba. Elphaba had the grace of a dancer; she was only about five foot three, but to Galinda, was tall and slender, with ebony hair and piercing violet eyes in a heart-shaped face. She was everything Galinda wasn't, everything Galinda wanted to be. And if she had to get Elphaba out of the picture, she'd do just that. Not that she wanted to, but if she had to, she had to.

She glanced around, seeing classmates, teachers, before finally landing on Elphaba's small group of friends. They stopped their chatter and locked eyes with her for several minutes, before returning to their conversation. Before she knew it, the performance had ended, and to thunderous applause, the girls left the stage, joining their friends in the audience. Elphaba rushed to Fiyero, throwing her arms around him in a tight hug, before pulling way and turning to her sister. She wrapped the younger girl in a hug and kissed her cheek gently. The two conversed silently, and seeing her chance, Galinda approached Elphaba and her friends.

She tried hard to think of something to say, but could only come up with,

"You did good."

After a few moments, Elphaba, who had turned towards her, nodded.

"Thanks."

Then, Galinda returned to her dorm; Elphaba followed thirty minutes later, having said goodbye to her friends. Sitting on her bed, Galinda watched her roommate shimmy out of her dance costume and change into her pajamas, before she too climbed into bed, book in hand. Once she was settled, Galinda asked,

"How do you do it?"

"Do... what?" Elphaba asked, looking up from her book.

"Be you?"

Slowly, one perfectly plucked eyebrow raised.

"Excuse me?"

"How do you be you?"

"I'm not understanding what you're asking." Elphaba said. Slowly, Galinda settled on the bed across from her.

"How do you... become you?"

Suddenly uneasy, Elphaba set her book down and climbed out of bed, backing away from Galinda. The other girl watched her roommate, with a calmness that surprised even her.

"Wh... why do you want to know that?" Galinda shrugged.

"I'm just... trying to reinvent myself."

"I know. And you're failing at it." Elphaba said, keeping a close eye on her roommate as she inched towards the door.

"I know that." Galinda said, rolling her eyes. "So I figure, why not take over as someone else?"

"Okay, you're seriously scaring me." Elphaba said, backing away from Galinda and going to the door.

"Really? Sorry. I just... I don't want to be me." Galinda said, moving towards Elphaba, until she'd backed her against the door. "So I'll be you." Then, she grabbed Elphaba's ponytail and pulled. A struggle ensued, and eventually, the door opened and Elphaba stumbled out, rushing towards the head's office. Other students came out to see what the commotion was, and realizing something was wrong, were able to contain Galinda while Elphaba rushed to get the head.

With Morrible in tow, Elphaba told her about Galinda and what she'd been planning. Galinda of course laughed it off, and deciding it'd be best to take her to the infirmary, she escorted Elphaba and a couple other girls- who walked with Galinda between them. Once there, the nurse strapped Galinda to a bed, and thoroughly examined her, before calling the school shrink.

After several minutes, the woman determined that Galinda had had a slight mental breakdown caused by stress, and suggested she stay in the infirmary for the next four weeks, prescribing a medication to help her sleep, and telling the nurse to keep a close eye on her. After the others left, the nurse gave her a sedative, and she drifted off to sleep.