Fiyero found the bubbly blonde girl exactly where he thought he would find her. Galinda was sitting in the cafe sipping hot chocolate whilst gossiping with her prissy girly friends, Pfanee and Shenshen who were giggling at her badly made jokes as Fiyero approached them.

"Galinda I need a word," Fiyero said to her urgently, his voice showing his was not going to stand any nonsense.

"Good morning Master Tiggular," Shenshen giggled at him, batting her eyelashes at him in the most irritating way.

"Galinda, now," Fiyero said sternly as he grasped her arm and tugged her up and away from the table.

"Fiyero what has gotten into you?" Galinda asked him, shrugging his superfluous hand off her shoulder angrily as he led her out of the cafe.

"Avaric hurt Elphaba again, in Life Sciences, Dr Dillamond asked me to take her to the med centre but she refused help as always and went on her own, I was wondering if you'd come with me to see if she is ok?" Fiyero explained to her.

"Prince Fiyero Tiggular, the Arjiki tribesman who has led his men through the Vinkun deserts and Thousand Year Grasslands in the height of summer is asking a lowly Gillikinese girl for help?" Galinda said teasingly.

"Please Galinda, Elphaba has made it clear she doesn't want visitors but you are her best friend," Fiyero pleaded, he needed to know that she was ok.

"Ok, ok," Galinda said, tossing her hair over her shoulder before flouncing off down the corridor in the direction of the med centre.

The two arrived just as Elphaba was walking away in the opposite direction. The two watched as the green girl let her hair out of its usual braid so that it flowed down her back, covering the patch of gauze that had been stuck to the back of her neck.

"Elphie," Galinda called out to her, rushing forwards in front of her friend.

"Galinda," Elphaba smiled back in an over cheery tone that clearly showed sarcasm.

"Are you ok?" Galinda asked her, choosing to ignore her friend's love of pessimistic and cynical humour.

"I guess Prince Charming here informed you of my whereabouts," Elphaba said, ridiculing the boy who had been so kind to her in a callous manner. Fiyero though, knew that Elphaba was not at all unfeeling or heartless, he understood why she defended herself the way she did and he wanted so badly to be the one to show her that not everyone in the world was out to get her.

"We were just concerned about you that's all," Fiyero said, looking slightly glum at Elphaba's insensitive mood.

"Well I do not need you to be concerned about me, I have lived my whole life with no one being concerned about me and that is not about to change now, I don't need anyone," Elphaba said angrily, her voice getting louder.

"Ok then fine, I have tried desperately to befriend you Elphaba but you don't seem to care, do you want to know why you have no friends? It is because you make it so difficult for people to connect with you." Fiyero ranted at her angrily, Elphaba was taken aback by his sudden outburst, "You are cynical, sarcastic, unfeeling and unfriendly, and you make it impossibly difficult for people to get close to you. No wonder everyone here feels the need to ridicule you, you are the most unmanageable person I have ever met in my entire life."

Fiyero was red in the face by the time he had finished his rant at Elphaba and she was now smirking slightly, her shoulders had sagged and her head was hung but somehow she looked pleased with herself.

"Well I'm glad somebody had the guts to tell me," she said with a final sad smile before moving past Fiyero and Galinda, knocking Fiyero's shoulder back as she went.

"Nicely played Fiyero, thank you for upsetting her even more," Galinda said angrily as she smacked him hard on the upper arm.

"Ow, was that really necessary?" Fiyero said, contorting his face and clutching at his arm like a child.

"Oh shut up you big baby and go after her," Galinda instructed. Fiyero was impressed, for a small person the little blonde girl could be surprisingly authoritative.

"Galinda I only told her what she needed to hear," Fiyero explained to her.

"Well maybe that's so, but that doesn't mean you had to be so outward about it and shout it in her face whilst standing mere millimetres away from her. You may not know it yet Fiyero but Elphaba is the most incredible person I have ever met and she has had the most horrendible life and she never asks for pity from anyone. She doesn't want people feeling sorry for her and she does not care that everyday people point at her, stare and make snide remarks and laugh at her as if she is some kind of toy they can all play with. She has feelings too believe it or not, she is human and she cares deeply about a lot of people and a lot of issues. She is the most kind hearted person I've ever met and she may appear cold and heartless but I assure you she is not. Never before in my life have I had a friend who is willing to hold me in their arms when I'm upset so that I can get to sleep, never have I had a friend who speaks comforting words to me and really means what they are saying. Elphaba is one in a million Fiyero Tiggular, I just hope you realise that one day."

Fiyero was left stunned as Galinda marched away from him as quick as her little pink heels would carry her and she had genuinely left him speechless. He hadn't realised quite how far strung the bond between the two girls was, it was clear that they truly cared about each other. Fiyero decided to act upon the blonde's instructions and so he headed to the library in search of Elphaba, he was well aware he had been in the wrong and needed to apologise.

When he approached her he found her sitting in the study area alone, the fire was not burning heartily as it had been the day he arrived and the room was cold. Elphaba was huddled up on an arm chair in the corner, her knees pulled up to her chest with an old book rested on them. Fiyero could hear something dripping in the distance and landing quietly and it was only when he cautiously approached Elphaba he realised she was crying, it was her tears landing on the pages of the book that was making the sound.

At that moment in time he felt like his heart had been torn out of his chest and somebody had stabbed him in the gut. It was his fault, he had caused this, she was upset because of what he had said.

"Elphaba," he whispered quietly, meekly as he walked across to her.

Elphaba didn't look up but she hastily rubbed her eyes with the back of her hand and sniffed loudly, trying to recompose herself.

"Elphaba I am truly, truly sorry for what I said to you," Fiyero started meaningfully but she cut him off.

"Don't be," Elphaba said to him, glancing up at him with red raw eyes briefly before looking down again.

"What?" he asked her, seemingly confused.

"I deserved every word," Elphaba said, nodding to herself as she spoke, "because everything you said was true Fiyero and I have known it for a long time. I know what people think of me and I was waiting for somebody to tell me exactly what they thought. The truth is I have been selfish Fiyero. I have been so disgustingly and sickeningly selfish my whole life I've brought this on myself."

"No, no don't you ever say that," Fiyero started, carefully placing his hand on top of hers and he crouched down beside her chair, "You should have heard the speech Galinda just gave me about you Elphie, she loves you to pieces it is so easy to see and I think you are the most remarkable person, I've ever met. I have known you for all of two days and I already know that you are the best friend I have ever had, you are far from selfish Miss Elphaba Thropp."

Elphaba looked up at him with confusion in her eyes, he'd just let rip at her earlier and now he was complimenting her? She wasn't about to argue though, she had run out of energy, she just let another tear silently slip down her cheek as Fiyero brushed her raven hair back behind her ear gently, cupping her cheek and stroking it gently with his thumb in a comforting gesture.

They stayed in pretty much the same position for the rest of the afternoon, Fiyero slipped into the armchair beside Elphaba and allowed her to snuggle into his side and he eventually heard her breathing fall into an even pattern, she had fallen asleep.