Ok, so here is the next chapter, I know I haven't updated in a while, been busy with the holidays! :D Hope this is ok, please review after as always!
For once Elphaba Thropp was struggling with her concentration in class, the fact that she could barely grip her pencil securely had something to do with it and the way she was desperately trying her hardest not to let sweat form on the bridge of her nose under her glasses was very distracting. She had promised herself long ago that she would never let affections cloud her judgement or get in the way of her life but now it appeared she had not stood by her philosophy.
Elphaba had completely lost concentration in the class and her avid note taking had been severely interrupted. All the voices in the room had suddenly blended into one whole resonance in her mind and she was quickly awakened from her trance by Fiyero's hand on hers. She quickly snapped her head towards his almost angrily and he nodded towards Doctor Dillamond.
"Miss Thropp I asked you a question," Doctor Dillamond addressed her sourly.
"You did?" Elphaba asked, confusedly, she could not honestly remember Doctor Dillamond issuing her with such a thing, had she really lost concentration that much?
Fiyero's facial expression showed he was clearly worried; it was sincere as he wondered what was going on in the green girl's mind. Elphaba never lost the train of thought in a lesson; she was never unable to answer a question put to her.
"I asked you how the citizens of the Emerald City faced problems after the events of the Great Drought, especially those in the poorer regions of our renowned capital?" Doctor Dillamond repeated kindly to her, his brow furrowing slightly as he noticed Elphaba struggling.
Elphaba could feel all eyes on her, whispering was coming from the back of the classroom and she could almost feel without even having to look, Galinda's eyes boring into the back of her head in a concerned manner. The heat was rising once again in her cheeks and she wondered why on earth this had never happened before. It was only when Fiyero nudged her knee and handed her a slip of paper with a clue to the answer on that she recomposed herself, remembering where she was and more importantly who she was. Her eloquent tongue seemed to follow and she spouted almost every single detail of the Great Drought's repercussions as her answer and Doctor Dillamond seemed impressed whilst the rest of the classroom looked peeved that she was back to her usual dull self.
"Are you ok?" Fiyero asked her once she had finished listing each and every quote from the research she had to back up her answer.
"Mm, hm," Elphaba smiled politely at him, it was slightly forced and all she could manage, "thank you," she continued, trying not to make the conversation too long out of fear that she would embarrass herself further. Since when was it so difficult to be around him?
Fiyero merely nodded in response, catching on that she wasn't really in the talking mood, yet he wondered what on Earth was going on inside her head. "An awful lot", he answered to himself, "she has after all just found out she is going to become a major part in the ruling of Oz, Lurline knows what emotions that stirs up inside you, no wonder she's behaving strangely, her whole life has changed overnight."
Fiyero made a point of heading out of the classroom as quickly as possible before Elphaba noticed he was gone after the lesson and he caught up with Galinda, pushing her into a side corridor swiftly as she struggled against him, not knowing who it was behind her.
"Glin stop fighting me," Fiyero said cantankerously as he let go of her arms.
"Well don't manhandle me into a confined space unknowingly then, I had no idea who you were, you could have been attacking me," Galinda huffed angrily, haughtily as she straightened her jacket.
"Yeah well I am not attacking you, I assure you, I need to talk to you," Fiyero said as he tried to make the situation more relaxed.
"Gee Fiyero you haven't half made a big show of 'talking to me', can't you just do the normal thing and accompany me into the grounds or something?" Galinda said sarcastically, slightly vexed at Fiyero's behaviour.
"This is important ok, it is not really garden talk Miss Arduenna Upland," Fiyero stated clearly, using an honorific as a way of trying to win Galinda round, "it's about Elphaba, I didn't want to be overheard."
"Well if it's about Elphaba could you not talk to Elphaba about it?" Galinda asked, slightly confused and mystified.
"Not really Galinda, she's the subject of my concern, she's behaving oddly," Fiyero began, "in class just now, something's going on with her."
"I noticed too Fiyero, I think maybe the fact that she's becoming the next 'you-know-what' is getting to her slightly," Galinda stage whispered dramatically, eventually catching onto Fiyero's reasoning.
"But Galinda she has been fine talking to me about it before, she keeps blushing and reddening every time I approach her recently, she thinks I haven't noticed but I just bypassed it as Elphie being Elphie," Fiyero continued, making it clear that Galinda wasn't right in his opinion.
"Fiyero if you had just found out you were going to be Oz's next 'you-know-what', would you not be slightly apprehensive, slightly nervous, slightly embarrassed at all the attention, slightly excited?" Galinda listed pithily yet ardently at what she thought was Fiyero's heedlessness to the current situation.
"Yes I understand..." Fiyero started before changing tack, "...hold on, why in Oz do you keep calling the Grand Vizier 'you-know-what'?"
"Shush," Galinda hissed dramatically placing her finger to her lips and dragging Fiyero further away from prying eyes and meddlesome students, "you must not say those two words, ok?"
"Why?" Fiyero asked nonchalantly.
"Because Elphie said so, she vetoed all talk of 'you-know-what', she does not want anyone, no student whatsoever to find out," Galinda said murmured quietly yet resolvedly.
"Oh, that makes sense," Fiyero smiled, the reality finally dawning on him, "I caught the end of your conversation earlier."
"Right then, so now we're finally on the same page," Galinda started but Fiyero interrupted her.
"Wait what does veto mean?" Fiyero asked confusedly as he racked his brains trying to answer his own question.
"It means to refuse something," Galinda said, thinking deeply herself.
"Since when did you become a walking dictionary?" Fiyero smiled at her in incredulity.
"Since Elphaba bought me one and said I needed to expand my vocabulary," Galinda answered as if it was the most normal thing in the world for friends to do for each other.
"She really needs to have more faith in us, and she needs to be proud of what she's done, of the person she is, I don't know why that's so difficult for her, she's so darn modest," Fiyero said, changing the conversation back to its original topic, but speaking more to himself than to Galinda.
"Oh Fiyero just leave it will you, if you push too hard you will push her away as well," Galinda warned him and he realised that if he did begin to interrogate Elphaba deeply on the matter she would not react well.
"Do you think I should talk to her?" Fiyero asked her, his voice changed, it had taken a more benevolent tone.
"I think you should do whatever you think is right, can I go now? It's just I have old Doctor Who DVDs to watch." Galinda smiled, asking him kindly.
"Yes, sorry Glin, and thanks, I think," Fiyero smiled back at her, placing a quick kiss on her forehead before jogging off in the direction of the library.
X-X-X-X-X-X
"Can I have a word?" Fiyero asked quietly as he eventually came across Elphaba in one of the private study rooms in the library, similar to the study area they had first met in.
Elphaba didn't look up she just chided herself inside her head before plastering a rather false smile on her face and turning to Fiyero, "Of course."
"Thanks, it's just I couldn't help wondering you seem a bit, well, preoccupied today, I know you said you were ok before but I know you Elphaba, I can tell when you're lying to me." Fiyero said kindly as he took the seat next to her.
"Oz damn it," Elphaba cursed to herself, "how did somebody as brainless as Fiyero manage to read me so well?" "That would be because he's extremely conscientious and knows you too well."
"I, I, just," Elphaba stuttered before taking a deep breath and thinking up what she was going to say, "there's somebody that I really like and it's complicated but what with everything that's going on I keep getting distracted and flustered and its silly really, I shouldn't be telling you this."
"Elphaba slow down," Fiyero smiled at her reassuringly, tucking loose strands of her beautiful raven hair behind her ears, "you can tell me anything, we're friends."
"Friends," Elphaba smiled, loving how the word rolled off his tongue and her own.
"Yes, friends, who can tell each other anything, do anything for each other and who will not leave each other again." Fiyero beamed at her, taking her hand in his own.
"Why is my life so damn confusifying Yero?" Elphaba said as unexpectedly tears began to well in the corners of her eyes.
"Come here," he said softly opening his arms to her and Elphaba stood up before moving to seat herself in his lap, his arms wrapping around her waist tightly, he placed a long kiss on her forehead as she rested her head on his chest.
"You know I should be savouring these moments because in a few months time my whole life is going to change," Elphaba muttered almost incoherently.
"Your whole life might be about to change but that doesn't mean that I can't hug you anymore, Galinda, Boq, Nessa and me will always be here, we're not about to abandon you," Fiyero assured her, instinctively wrapping his arms tighter around her.
The two were interrupted by the loud cough of the Ox behind them, a librarian, Elphaba quickly leapt away from Fiyero and the comfort of his embrace, muttering an apology of some kind to the Ox.
"I did not mean to intrude I was asked to pass on this message to you Miss Elphaba," the Ox said, handing over a folded piece of paper to her before nodding and leaving.
"Thank you," Elphaba called after her before unfurling it and reading.
She began to gather up her books and such and Fiyero looked at her in confusion.
"My sister has asked to meet me in the gardens of Crage Hall, apparently there is something she wishes to tell me," Elphaba explained hastily as she slung her satchel over her shoulder.
"Ok, well don't let me hold you up," Fiyero smiled thoughtfully before watching Elphaba rush out of the library.
X-X-X-X-X-X
Elphaba was out of breath by the time she reached Nessarose in Crage Hall, she sat down on the bench next to her sister's wheelchair rather ungracefully as she tried to regain control of her breathing.
"You know you needn't have rushed over here Fabala," Nessa smiled at her, offering her a bottle of lemonade.
"I didn't know if it was urgent, what did you need me for?" Elphaba asked her, taking the proffered drink and unscrewing the cap hastily.
"I was just asked by Father to pass on a message to you," Nessa informed her and Elphaba visually paled, slowly removing the drink from her mouth and turning to her sister, "he is coming to visit tomorrow, he will make a detour, on his way to the Emerald City, he wishes to congratulate you on your new position and he wants to discuss what this entails for the family's future, he shall stay for a week or so."
"Oh Nessa he shouldn't waste his money coming up here, after all it's going out of his way, he would be passing the Emerald City on his way here," Elphaba protested, beginning to panic, it sounded too good to be true, her father would never congratulate her of his own free will.
"Oh Fabala stop fussing, he's coming whether you like it or not," Nessa said angrily, despising the way her sister spoke of their father with such an ill-mannered attitude.
Elphaba had no idea what to think, her relationship with her father was not exactly fantastic, they hardly had what you would call a father-daughter bond of any kind. If anything it was more a father-slave bond. Frex had hated Elphaba since the day Nessarose was born and Melena had died, nothing would ever change that. He treated her more as a servant that was only present to cook and clean than his little girl. Elphaba knew that he would always think of her as cursed, as second best and no highfalutin job was going to alter that opinion.
I know this is a Wicked FanFic but I am not currently writing any Doctor Who FanFics, if I was I would have put this at the end of one of those chapters, (you may have noticed I slipped the reference in early in the chapter and here is the reason). This chapter is dedicated to Elisabeth Sladen who passed away yesterday. I was a massive fan of hers and I adored and admired her work greatly. She was a big inspiration to me and I know an enormous amount of people will miss her. May she rest in peace.