Author's Note: I own nothing, unfortunately, otherwise I would have this published. Okay, I know I said one a week, but it's Christmas Eve, I'm feeling generous and last night I finished the 12th chapter so it's not as though I'm getting ahead of myself. Hope you love it; reviews are like free front and centre seats to see Wicked so please press the little blue button. Merry Christmas xx

"Alright, Galinda, here I am; clean and fresh and scrubbed from all grass. At your service," she sat on her bed and added under her breath, "unfortunately."

"I heard that." Galinda took a pink towel and began to dry Elphaba's hair and she braced herself for the inevitable tugging. When it didn't come, Elphaba opened her screwed up eyes and saw that her friend was already half done. Galinda managed to do it in a way that didn't pull at her individual strands; whenever Elphaba tried to dry her own hair she never really paid much attention to the task because she always saw it as quite inconvenient and laborious. She had never considered that a gentler approach might be quite rewarding. "I can see that smile, Elphie! What did I tell you?"

"Just because I'm not writhing in pain at the moment does not mean I am a convert." Galinda rolled her eyes. "I'm just waiting for you to stab me in the eye with one of your make-up sticks."

"Elphie, really! Would I do that to you?"

"For the sake of beauty, you may have to."

"Well, if it's for the sake of beauty. . ." Elphaba flashed a panicked look at her friend but her racing pulse slowed when she saw the laughter in her face. "Elphaba, trust me. I won't make you wear anything that would make you uncomfortable; that would defeat the point."

Elphaba frowned. "So . . . what is the point?"

"To make you feel elegant and beautiful and confident. Not that you ever really needed more confidence. You've always been very spunky!"

"Well, then thank you." Elphaba smiled, relieved that she would not be dragging her feet all night in a ridiculous frock. Though Galinda's idea of comfortable and her idea of comfortable may not be exactly the same, still, Elphaba trusted her.

Yes, she was going to have to trust her.

Within five minutes, Elphaba found her hair in big pink rollers – intended to emphasise and maintain her natural ringlets, said Galinda – and pinned against the back of a chair while a strange black substance on a small pole was coming dangerously close to her eyes. "You see, Elphie, a thicker coating on the upper eyelashes draws attention to your eyes without making them seem too heavy or overdone. And the hint of tintified silver powder on your eyelids is so . . . mysterious!" Galinda squealed in delight as she primped her own makeup.

Elphaba blinked away an irritating itch in her eyes, before she was accosted by Galinda yet again with a dress she did not dare lay eyes on. "What is it? Is it frilly? Or bustled? Because I am NOT-"

"Oh Elphaba, shut up!" She shoved the dress at Elphaba and spun her round. "And put that on." Apologising, Elphaba retreated to her bed and, eyes closed, slipped the material over her head. It was soft . . . silky . . . and most importantly it was absolutely free of frills. She opened her eyes and looked down; it was black and fell straight to her ankles and when she stuck out her right leg she saw that it was slit just above her knee. "Oh Elphaba! You are positively stunnifying!" Galinda led her out to the mirror and began to remove her rollers. "Now, how do you feel?"

Elphaba looked herself up and down. She could barely recognize herself. Her clothes and hair and makeup changed the way she looked and even the way she stood. She couldn't help but let a big stupid grin spread from ear to ear across her face. Elphaba heard the thought pass through her mind. Pretty. She blushed. "I don't know what to say. Thank you."

Galinda nodded and left her to pack her own purse with the supernatural little implements she had used on Elphaba. In front of the mirror, Elphaba swayed and twirled on her tiptoes and found herself giggling.

Galinda shook her head in satisfaction. As usual, she was right. Making up Elphaba hadn't actually been as difficult as she thought; it was all about emphasising her good points and knowing how to colour-coordinate. Elphaba was very pretty, she just had very little experience in beauty therapy and truth be told, up to this time in her life, she did not seem to have very much to smile about.

Elphaba had revealed to Galinda her father's indifferent behaviour towards her; how she missed her mother's infrequent but treasured moments of attention before she died and Nessarose's constant religious indulgence. All three had quite obviously caused Elphaba years and years of stress especially considering that she was expected to cope with them by herself. Galinda liked to think that by listening, she helped to unload her mind.

By no means was Elphaba the only beneficiary of their friendship. Galinda certainly had tens of dozens of friends to throw around, and she always had a full social calendar. But since befriending Elphaba, Galinda had discovered the essence of a true friendship; trust and honesty, and Elphaba had both of those in spades. She was so private and reclusive that when she gave you her friendship and confidence it was fierce and passionate and she protected you like nobody else in Oz. Galinda had never had a friend like her and she probably never would again.

Galinda looked up when she saw Fiyero standing at the door. He looked very handsome, as she had expected, and she watched as he took a breath to compliment her but stopped when he saw Elphaba dancing with her reflection. Galinda was thrilled; she would get a glimpse of the male reaction to her experiments.

Fiyero felt like he had been jolted to the spot when he had opened the door. He had been looking forward to Galinda's experiments on Elphaba and what image would greet him when he arrived at Crage Hall. Truth be told, his imagination had allowed him to picture a little of what he might see. But he remembered that he should probably be picturing Galinda, and he did. And she looked very pretty.

But when he opened the door she simultaneously evoked his memories and shattered them. She was dancing. Dancing. And her face was lit up with pure happiness as she put her hands on her hips and admired her figure.

Fiyero knew his own expression must be a picture and once he realised that Galinda was looking at him he reshaped his face to a more appropriate look. Smiling at her, he turned back to the green girl and enjoyed the last few moments before she realised he was there.

Galinda and Fiyero did not know exactly what they had expected Elphaba to do when she saw that her little performance had an audience, but they were still surprised to watch her turn almost to stone, blush a deep red and then dart quickly into the bathroom, leaving the two of them in silence.

Elphaba's hands flew to her face. She felt utterly humiliated and she would have immediately removed her make-up had she known what to use, how to do it or where to begin. Of all the people that could have walked in at that moment, why did it have to be Fiyero Tiggular? Even if it had been Pfannee or Shenshen, they at least were girls. She didn't know why it bothered her so much that it was him. She didn't want to know. The fact that his presence sent her heart racing and robbed her mind of all coherent thought absolutely terrified her. Deep down she still felt the sudden jolt that moved between them as it had in the woods.

She was just too afraid even to think it to herself.

"Elphaba?" Galinda's concerned trill came from the other side of the door and Elphaba bit her lip trying to decide whether or not to answer. "Come on, Fiyero isn't going to tell anyone if you don't want him too. Elphie . . ."

"Don't call me that."

Galinda sighed heavily. "I'm sorry."

Elphaba took a slow breath, steadied her nerves and clicked the lock. When she finally had the courage to look up, she saw Fiyero sitting on Galinda's armchair. He was focusing on his wallet, possibly trying to close it or count his money. Just as she was relaxing, thinking he did not really care what she looked like and had already forgotten whatever it was that had caused her to retreat to the bathroom (which she preferred to the potential tirade of insults), he looked up and immediately got to his feet.

Elphaba eyed him carefully. She wanted to second-guess his reaction and prepare her witty and cutting response. But he smiled, genuinely, and stared at her. "I was going to say, before you ran, that you look beautiful, Elphaba."

Silence. "Thank you." She looked at Galinda, who nodded in encouragement. "I . . . was just um . . ." She failed to think of anything to say and let her sentence trail off, thinking she did not really have to finish it. Fiyero never took his eyes from her, even though she could not look at him and kept her eyes on the ground. Elphaba smiled, happy that it was at least curiosity and not repulsion of her looks that kept a boy's attention.

Galinda smiled; at least now Elphaba might be convinced of her own beauty. "Alright. Let's get going."

Elphaba jumped. What did she think she was doing, letting herself wallow in these ridiculous moments? In the corner of her eyes she caught her reflection and in a moment the glamour had gone and she looked pathetic. She was trying too hard and her skin made her look ridiculous. More so than ever, she hated it. She hated that it was a part of her and there was nothing she could do about it. Inside, she screamed at the top of her lungs. She felt the all too-familiar feeling of longing for normality in her appearance and the accompanying punch in her heart.

"Galinda, I don't know about this." Galinda's face fell. She turned to see Elphaba staring at herself in the mirror, suddenly self-conscious. Though Elphaba may not have been socially outgoing she was always confident, and Galinda hardly ever saw the shy fear that now crept into her friend's face. Quietly, she said, "I can't do this! Look at me, I'm ridiculous. Everyone will . . ." her voice dropped, "laugh at me." Elphaba sat on the bed, dejected and depleted.

Galinda made to persuade her, but Fiyero put a hand out and she was quieted. He walked over to her and offered his arm. Elphaba stared at it in surprise and confusion. "Miss Elphaba, I would be thrilled if you would accompany me tonight. I promise to protect you from any idiot that dares to laugh at you."

He wasn't teasing her but she knew he thought she was being pedantic. A nice gesture, however, and she felt that this sudden friendship between them was too precarious not to be rocked by a moody turn from her. He quite obviously wasn't repulsed by her skin and she appreciated that. Softly, he whispered to her, "Please come. You really will enjoy it."

Elphaba looked at Galinda then back at Fiyero and a sudden feeling of guilt overwhelmed her; she couldn't say no after what Galinda had done for her and her pathetic self-pitying was her own problem. So she smiled as genuinely as she could. "Fine. But if I don't I am holding you personally responsible."

Galinda grinned. Elphaba placed her hand in Fiyero's and for the second time at Shiz, she looked forward to her evening with only a slight feeling of trepidation.

Have a totally Wicked Holiday! xx