AN. This chapter is dedicated to Wickedozgirl, who got me a signed copy of Delta Goodrem's new single! Thanks Liana!
There's a quote from The Big Bang Theory in here.
Twenty-Seven
Oscar, it seemed, had invited almost everyone at Shiz and their families to the debutante ball, and everyone was excited- even if it was the ball for the green girl, it was still going to be held at the Wizard's palace.
Fiyero knew without having to ask that he'd be Elphaba's escort to her debutante ball, but he'd still decided he wanted to be given the chance to actually ask her and for her to say yes.
And he knew exactly how he wanted to do it.
He turned up at Identity one day when Elphaba was working, Cailean and Fyonn in tow.
"Table for three, please, Miss," he greeted her.
Elphaba smiled and grabbed three menus. "You guys remember I can't give you discount, right?"
"Damn," Fyonn sighed as she led them to a table.
"It was worth a try, right?" Cailean asked.
Elphaba laughed. "Sure. Do you want to start with drinks or order now?"
"I think we'll start with drinks, please Lady Fae," Fyonn replied.
"Do you know how sad I am that I can no longer call you Little Orphan Elphie?" Cailean pouted.
Elphaba rolled her eyes. "I can't tell you how much I'm going to miss that particular nickname," she said sarcastically. "So, what do you want to drink?"
"Chocolate milkshake, please, Fae," Fiyero answered.
Elphaba stared at him. "You're joking, right?"
"Why would I joke about chocolate milkshakes?" Fiyero asked innocently.
"Ok, but I didn't realise I was dating a six year old," Elphaba teased as she dutifully wrote it down.
"Boys, what about you?"
Fyonn puffed out his chest. "I'm going to order a real drink- can I have a virgin Cuba libre, please?"
Elphaba raised an eyebrow. "Rum and coke without the rum?"
"Yes, and could you make it diet, please? I'm trying to watch my figure," he replied.
She turned to Cailean warily. "Cailean?"
"I'll have a Shirley temple with a crazy straw please," he grinned.
"Oh, can I have a crazy straw with my milkshake, please?" Fiyero jumped in.
"Me too!" Fyonn added.
Elphaba stared at them in exasperation. "Why do I bother?" she asked seemingly no one as she walked away.
"Your boyfriend and his friends are weird," Dev said solemnly to Elphaba as she handed him the drink orders.
She rolled her eyes. "Tell me about it."
"Here you go, Cabbage," he said, placing the drinks on the tray.
"Thanks, Dev," Elphaba replied, not even reacting to the nickname. "You know, soon you're going to run out of green things to call me."
Dev grinned and shrugged. "Then I'll pick one and stick with it."
"Because Oz forbid you use my name," she said dryly and left before he could reply.
When she got back to the table, she found the three boys laughingly arguing over something.
"What's going on?" she asked, as she delivered the drinks.
Fyonn was holding a newspaper as he explained. "We're dating whether there's any truth to horoscopes. Cailean says no, Fiyero and I say yes."
"I don't think they're right all the time, but I think they can be," Fiyero argued. "Fae had one come true."
Elphaba rolled her eyes. "First of all, that was rigged. Secondly, no it didn't."
Fiyero looked outraged. "I'm sorry, did you or did you not meet a charming and persistent young man?" he asked her.
Elphaba was smirking teasingly as she answered. "Yes, but the second half said if I gave you food you'd go away. And you didn't."
Fiyero snatched the paper from Fyonn and handed it to her.
"Fine, I'll prove you wrong. Read your horoscope," he challenged.
Elphaba rolled her eyes, but gave in. "Today your loved one will ask you a question. Say yes."
She blinked, her first thought being that it was very vague- even for a horoscope. She lifted her gaze from the paper to look quizzically at Fiyero.
To her surprise, Fiyero got up from his chair, and knelt down before Elphaba on one knee. She paled and took a small involuntary step backwards, and a sudden hush fell over the restaurant.
"Fiyero, what's going on?" she asked nervously.
Fiyero took her hand and cleared his throat. "Elphaba Rozek, would you do me the honour of allowing me to escort you to your debutante ball?"
Elphaba could feel all eyes on her and she blushed furiously, just wanting to have the ground swallow her whole.
"Y-yes," she finally answered, with a small nod.
Fiyero beamed, rising to his feet and kissing her lightly as the other customers applauded.
Elphaba buried her head in his shoulder, completely mortified.
"I can believe that just happened," she moaned. Then she pulled back at looked at the newspaper in her hand.
"How did you do this?" she demanded.
There was no question in her mind that Fiyero was involved and this was no coincidence.
He shrugged casually. "I went to the newspaper office and asked to speak with whoever did the horoscopes. It turns out she thinks they're a load of crap, so when I told her the story of how we met and asked her to print an oddly specific Aries horoscope, she agreed."
Elphaba shook her head slightly in amazement and kissed him again.
"Thank you. But really, who else would escort me?" she asked pointedly.
Cailean chimed in. "Um, excuse me, Miss? We'd like to order now if you can stop with the lovey-dovey stuff."
Elphaba rolled her eyes and got back to work.
Galinda and Nessa were absolutely furious when they heard the story, and Galinda punched Fiyero in the arm.
"We were doing nothing, is it too hard to merit us a lunch invitation when you're planning to do something like that?" she demanded.
Fiyero looked faintly alarmed. "Ok! I'm sorry! I promise, next time I'll invite you."
"Oh, there will be no next time," Elphaba said flatly.
Fiyero pouted. "Why not?"
"Because it was the most embarrassing moment of my life," she answered.
Fiyero sniffed. "I was trying to be romantic."
"Well, be romantic not in a room filled with people," she retorted.
Fiyero sighed. "Fine."
Elphaba didn't really have to organise too much for the ball, it was mostly being taken care of by Oscar and the palace staff.
One thing she and Fiyero did have to do, however, was dancing lessons. They would be required to waltz at the ball, and although Fiyero knew a little from growing up as a prince; Elphaba knew nothing.
The Arts teacher at Shiz, Madame Leidy had agreed to give the pair a few lessons on the weekends around Elphaba's work shifts. Their first lesson was arranged for one Saturday morning, three weeks before the ball.
Elphaba was surprised when she and Fiyero entered the classroom to find Nessa, Boq, Galinda, Fyonn and Cailean there too.
"What are you all doing here?" she demanded.
"Watching," Boq grinned.
"Eating popcorn," Cailean added.
"Great," Fiyero muttered.
Elphaba scowled at him. "You can't complain, at least you know what you're doing."
Madame Leidy entered the room just then, ready to begin.
"Oh, excellent, you're both here. Are you ready to start?"
Elphaba sighed. "Sure, let's get this over with," she agreed.
Madame Leidy spent the first twenty minutes with them lecturing them all on the proper waltz posture and etiquette. Elphaba felt slightly better when she made Galinda and Cailean demonstrate both the good and then bad; and then she turned to Elphaba and Fiyero.
"Alright you two, come here," she ordered and they dutifully did so.
"Now, you stand here, and Mister Tiggular, you're here," she positioned them appropriately. "Very good. Now, Mister Tiggular, you place your right hand… here," she said, moving Fiyero's hand to just under Elphaba's shoulder blade, which effectively drew them closer together.
"I forgot the perks of waltzing," Fiyero said brightly and Elphaba glared at him.
"Watch it," she warned him.
Madame Leidy ignored them. "Alright. So, keep your arm straight… like this. Miss Elphaba, place your hand on Fiyero's shoulder… that's right. And you hold hands like… very good."
She then took them through the basic foot movements, and had them practice moving in a small circle, with no music playing.
"Not bad. Are you ready to try it with music now?" she asked, pleased with their progress.
Elphaba nodded. "Sure."
Madame Leidy went over to the record player in the corner of the room to start the music.
"Is it easier with the music?" Elphaba asked Fiyero hopefully.
He thought about it and shook his head. "Not really."
"Damn," she sighed and he chuckled.
"Sorry, Fae."
They practised with the music a few times, and when Madame Leidy dismissed them for now, Fiyero turned to his girlfriend.
"You did really well," he praised her. "You've picked it up fast. We'll have no trouble at the ball."
Elphaba didn't look convinced. "Uh, Yero? Remember my dress?"
Fiyero's eyes lit up at the memory of said dress. That made Elphaba blush, but she stick to her point.
"Hey!" she snapped her fingers in front of his face to gain back his attention.
"What? Yes, I remember the dress," Fiyero replied innocently.
"So you remember the big, puffy skirt I was talked into?"
Fiyero grimaced as he understood Elphaba's point now. "Oh, right. That might be a bit harder," he agreed.
"You'll be fine, Elphie," Galinda reassured her, joining them.
Elphaba severely doubted that, but didn't have the time to argue.
"I have to get to work," she sighed.
Fiyero kissed her quickly. "Ok. I'll pick you up after?"
She smiled. "Sounds good. Bye guys," she waved to the others and hurried from the room.
"So, what's Elphaba's dress like?" Fyonn asked Fiyero interestedly, who hadn't missed his friend's facial expression earlier.
Fiyero shoved him good-naturedly. "None of your business."
It was a week and a half before the ball that Fiyero got some news that he knew would make Elphaba more nervous than she already was. He knew she was mostly doing this for Melena and Nessa, but she wasn't really looking forward to it.
"But you should have seen Melena when we were looking at dresses," she'd told him.
It made sense to Fiyero. "This is the first thing she's gotten to do with you as mother and daughter, really," he nodded.
So, Elphaba was resolved to suck it up and get through the night.
The news he had would not help with this.
"My parents are coming," he told her, sitting down next to her in the cafeteria.
Elphaba was startled. "What? Why?"
Fiyero shrugged. "Oscar invited them. So, they're coming."
Elphaba sighed wearily. "Great. Just what I need."
"It'll be fine, Fae," he tried to reassure her.
She looked at him incredulously. "Fine? Fiyero they hated me- hated the very idea of me, until they found out who my father is!"
"And once they meet you, they'll love you for you," he retorted.
Elphaba scoffed sceptically, and Fiyero leaned over and kissed her tenderly. "They will, I promise."
"You can't promise that Yero," Elphaba said gently.
"I can," Fiyero insisted. "Because they'll talk to you, and find out how brilliant, funny, loving and amazing you are, and they won't have a choice but to love you."
Elphaba's face softened into a smile and she leaned forward and kissed him.
"For the love of Oz, will you two get a room?" Boq demanded playfully, as he and Nessa arrived.
Elphaba blushed, but Fiyero only looked annoyed at the interruption.
"Great timing," he greeted him.
Boq shrugged. "I try."
"What's going on?" Nessa asked her sister.
"Fiyero's parents are coming to the ball," she replied.
Boq and Nessa both cringed, knowing the circumstances surrounding Fiyero's parents.
"Oh, this will be interesting," Boq commented.
Elphaba sighed. "I just want this to be over already."
Finally, at long last, the weekend of the ball arrived. As Fiyero's parents would be staying in the apartment this time, Oscar had invited the group and Melena to be guests for the weekend in the palace.
Melena whisked Elphaba, Nessa and Galinda away early on Saturday morning for a long day of pampering. Elphaba didn't really see the point, but patiently allowed herself to be pampered to within an inch of her life.
Galinda, of course, was in her element and seemed to be enjoying this more than anyone.
"What's next?" she asked excitedly as they left the spa.
"We'll go and get our hair and makeup done," Melena answered. "Elphaba, have you thought about how you want your hair tonight?"
"Down," Elphaba replied immediately.
Galinda and Nessa exchanged smirks.
"Fiyero likes it down," Nessa explained to her mother, who smiled.
"Of course he does."
Elphaba blushed, and Melena laughed gently. "Alright, down it is. Let's go or we'll be late."
At the hair salon, Elphaba sat there as her hair was washed, dried, curled and pulled back, secured with a beautiful hair clip.
Galinda was having her blonde curls pinned up elegantly, whilst Nessa had decided on a simple French braid.
"So, does Fiyero have any say on your makeup?" Melena asked Elphaba teasingly.
Elphaba blushed, but answered nonetheless. "No. But I do- I don't wear much."
"I know how!" Galinda offered, coming forward.
Even Elphaba had to admit that with her hair and makeup done, she was getting kind of excited for the night- if only to see Fiyero's reaction when he saw her. But once Melena and Galinda had helped her into the beautiful white dress and she'd completed the outfit with the white elbow-length gloves, Elphaba felt beautiful.
Melena looked slightly teary when she saw her daughter. "I'm so glad I was able to do this with you," she said softly, when they were alone so Nessa and Galinda could get themselves ready. "Thank you, Elphaba, I know you didn't really want to do this."
Elphaba smiled faintly. "It wasn't all bad," she admitted reluctantly and Melena chuckled.
There was a gentle knock on the door.
"Come in," Melena called.
The door opened and Fiyero entered, looking very handsome in a suit- looking like the prince Elphaba sometimes forgot he was.
As Elphaba turned to face him and he took her appearance in, he froze and could only gape at her.
Melena smiled knowingly and decided to give them a moment. "I should go make sure Nessa's okay," she excused herself.
Her exit seemed to spur movement back into Fiyero.
"What are the symptoms of a stroke?" he asked hoarsely, moving forward.
Elphaba rolled her eyes. "You're not having a stroke."
"No?" Fiyero asked challengingly, reaching her and slipping his arms around her waist. "Because I'm pretty sure my heart stopped beating for a second just now."
"That's not a stroke, that would be-"
Fiyero cut her off with a kiss. "Elphaba, shut up. You look amazing, can we not argue about the technicalities?"
Elphaba smiled. "You don't look too bad yourself. You look like a prince," she said softly, lifting her hand to his face and stroking his cheek with her thumb.
Fiyero chuckled and kissed the palm of her hand through her glove. "I am a prince."
"Yes, but you don't act like one most of the time," she explained, her gaze soft and eyes shining.
Fiyero kissed her again slowly. "Well, if acting like a prince gets you to look at me like this, I'm going to do it a lot more," he murmured.
Elphaba giggled softly, moving closer to him. "Good."
They jumped apart as the door opened and Oscar entered.
"Oh," he said in surprise, clearly not expecting to see Fiyero there. "You're both here. Er… good. We're about to start soon, everyone's just about ready. Fiyero, you'd best get to the ballroom. You know what you have to do?"
Fiyero nodded. "Yes, sir."
When they were announced, Oscar would lead Elphaba into the room and then turn her over to Fiyero for the first dance.
Fiyero gave Elphaba one final kiss and left the room, heading for the ballroom.
"Fiyero, wait up!"
He turned to see Boq, Nessa and Galinda approaching. Galinda was dressed in pink, of course; whilst Nessa was wearing pale blue.
"Hey, you girls look great," Fiyero complimented them. "You too, Boq," he smirked.
Boq rolled his eyes. "Thanks."
Galinda frowned. "Are you okay, Fiyero? You look awfully flushed."
It was Boq's turn to smirk. "He just left Elphaba. I'm guessing he's short of oxygen."
Fiyero glared at him. "Shut up. Come on, they're starting soon."
As Elphaba and Oscar headed slowly towards the ballroom, hindered by Elphaba's uncertain steps with her long dress and heels; Elphaba thought Oscar seemed unsure of what to say, and she had nothing to say to him.
"I appreciate your doing this, Elphaba," he said finally, as they stood outside the ballroom.
"I'm doing it for my mother," she replied.
"I know," Oscar said quickly. "But nevertheless, I still appreciate it. And… you look… lovely."
Elphaba looked at him. "Thank you," she answered.
Then they heard the announcement from the other side of the doors.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, may I present, Miss Elphaba Rozek, daughter of Melena Thropp and our Wizard."
Elphaba cringed slightly, but took a deep breath as she and Oscar stepped into the room. He guided her to the dance floor, where Fiyero was waiting. She could feel all eyes on her, but she fully relaxed for the first time when Fiyero took her hand and led her to the centre of the dance floor.
"Are you ready?" he muttered to her.
"Sure," Elphaba muttered back. "Are we betting on whether what happens first- me stepping on your toes or you stepping on my dress?"
Fiyero chuckled. "What are the stakes?"
"I hadn't thought that far ahead," Elphaba replied.
The music started and Fiyero's hand came around to her back and she placed her other hand on his shoulder. Elphaba could feel all eyes on her and she was still tense as she and Fiyero began to dance.
"Relax, Fae," he murmured in her ear. "You're doing fine."
Elphaba let out a breath and forced herself to relax slightly. And soon, other people began moving onto the floor with them, including- much to Elphaba and Fiyero's amusement, Galinda and Boq.
"I wonder how long it took him to ask her to dance," Fiyero chuckled, and Elphaba laughed.
"Poor Boq. He looks like he's about to faint."
"Do you think he's breathing?" Fiyero asked, not entirely joking.
They got through the dance smoothly, with no missteps or errors, much to Elphaba's enormous relief.
"Do you want to get the other horrendible part of the evening over with?" Fiyero asked her quietly as they escaped the dance floor.
"Which would that be?" Elphaba asked.
"Meeting my parents."
She grimaced briefly, then sighed. "I guess it's better to start off with a bad night and get better, rather than ruin a good night with something bad."
"That's the spirit," Fiyero encouraged.
He found his parents across the room and piloted Elphaba in that direction.
"Mom, Dad?"
Lada and Bohdan turned and Elphaba tightened her grip on Fiyero's hand.
"I'd like you to meet Elphaba. Elphaba, these are my parents, Lada and Bohdan," Fiyero introduced and Elphaba curtseyed respectfully.
"It's nice to meet you," she said politely.
Bohdan nodded. "You as well, Elphaba. We've heard much about you."
"That's a lovely dress you're wearing," Lada complimented her.
"Thank you," Elphaba replied awkwardly.
Just then, Cailean clapped Fiyero on the shoulder from behind. "Fiyero, can I borrow you for a sec? Hey, Elphaba, you look gorgeous. I'll bring him back in a clock-tick," he promised her and whisked Fiyero away, leaving her with his parents.
Bohdan initiated a conversation with her, and the three of them chatted politely for a few minutes, before Elphaba excused herself.
When Fiyero returned, he found no visible sign of Elphaba.
"Well?" he asked hopefully.
His parents exchanged a look. "She seems to be a very nice, intelligent girl," Lada finally answered, seemingly relucatant to admit it.
Bohdan agreed. "She is. And it's a very smart match- even if we're not talking about the possibility of marriage," he said, recalling his son's words at Lurlinemas.
Fiyero finally spied Elphaba in the room and smiled at his parents. "We will be one day, Dad. I'll see you later, have a good night."
He disappeared, leaving his shocked parents behind and made his way through the room to Elphaba, who was out on the balcony.
"Hey, you okay?" he asked, taking off his suit coat and draping it over her shoulders, as it was cold outside.
Elphaba nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just needed some air. There's so many people in there, and I only care about like half a dozen of them."
"Welcome to my life," Fiyero replied and she sighed tiredly.
It was only then Fiyero had a thought that if she was unhappy with this life and the attention, perhaps she wouldn't want to marry him and have to deal with this permanently as the Vinkun Princess.
"Hey, Fae?" he asked, wrapping his arms loosely around her waist from behind. "Do you think we have a future?"
Elphaba said nothing for a moment, wondering if he was joking or being serious.
"I don't know, I'd have to read my horoscope," she teased lightly and Fiyero laughed quietly, kissing her neck softly.
Then she turned within the circle of his arms to face him. "I think so… I hope so," she admitted faintly.
Fiyero was both relieved and thrilled by her answer and lowered his head to hers.
"I think we do too," he whispered, kissing her softly. "A very long, happy future."
Elphaba closed her eyes with a soft smile. "Good."
Fiyero kissed her once more and pulled away. "Do you want to get out of here?" he asked.
Elphaba's eyes lit up at the idea, but she hesitated. "What about all those people?"
"Trust me, the only people who'll notice we're gone are the half a dozen you care about, and you'll be with one of them," he pointed out.
"How do you know you're one of them?" she teased and laughed at his facial expression.
"Come on. We'll come back in a bit," he assured her and Elphaba gave in.
"Ok," she agreed.
That night found Galinda and Nessa entering Elphaba's room after the party had finished, where Elphaba had only just come in herself.
"Did you have fun tonight, Elphie?" Galinda asked.
Elphaba paused thoughtfully as she began to wipe the makeup off her face. "It wasn't all bad. I think one is definitely enough, though. What about you girls?"
They discussed the party for a few more minutes, and then Nessa asked her sister a question.
"So, does it feel how you thought it would? Knowing the truth about who you are?"
Elphaba considered it carefully. "In some ways I feel I know myself better. It's kind of nice to be able to look in the mirror and know I have my mother's eyes, or my father's nose-"
"Or Fiyero's hickey on your neck," Galinda noted mischievously.
Elphaba blushed and her hand flew to her neck. "Shut up."
Galinda giggled. "Did you think we didn't notice that you and Fiyero disappeared for forty-five minutes?" she asked.
"Nothing happened, we just talked," Elphaba replied.
Both girls stared at her pointedly, so she amended. "Ok, so we didn't just talk. But still, nothing happened."
"What did you talk about?" Nessa questioned.
Elphaba shrugged lightly. "Everything, nothing. Our future."
"I think that future involves another white dress," Galinda hissed to Nessa in a stage whisper, who laughed.
Elphaba rolled her eyes. "Maybe," she confessed.
When she was finally alone, Elphaba looked at her reflection in the white ball dress, thinking about Galinda's words.
Yes, she and Fiyero had discussed- among other things, the idea of them getting married… one day. It was another thing Elphaba had never really thought of much before, but she couldn't deny the image of her and Fiyero getting married, with her sister and her mother by her side, was a beautiful one.
Whether or not Oscar was in that picture too, Elphaba wasn't sure yet. She didn't know what the rest of her life held for her past graduation. But she was excited to find out.
The End