Chanty420: I'm glad you weren't confused.
Wickedly Hope Pancake: YAY! Fangirling does have its advantages! And I'm glad you like the change! Don't forget to send me your one-shot prompt for the "Nia".
spiritwarrior27: LOL! Sure!
ExoticPeachBlossom: Thanks! I'm glad you like it!
Bunny (Guest): It will! Don't worry.
Elphaba'sGirl: Galinda? Sure… Galinda. And why are you hiding?
NellytheActress: *No response* That's all!
I'mFlyingHighDefyingGravity: LOL. Yes, I knew. I loved that duet with Sharpay and Ryan.
A little bit of Gelphie in this chapter, but nothing too much.
Galinda slid her key into the keyhole. She didn't know what she was going to say to Elphaba. What could she say? Would Elphaba even speak to her? The blonde slowly pushed the door open, a dark room greeting her.
"Elphaba?" she whispered, turning on the lights. She frowned when she saw Elphaba's sleeping form.
Sighing, Galinda took off her jacket and placed her purse on her dresser. She would just have to speak with Elphaba later. She undressed and slipped into her pink nightgown.
"Good night, Miss Elphaba," she whispered to her roommate as she turned off the lights and slipped under her covers, though she doubted the green girl heard her.
When Galinda awoke the next morning, she found Elphaba still sleeping in her bed. The blonde slowly arose from the bed, trying not to disturb the sleeping girl. She quickly showered and dressed in a white blouse and knee-length skirt. While she was applying her makeup, the sound of sheets rustling caught her attention. Turning, she saw her roommate slowly rise from her bed and walk to the bathroom. Finishing her morning beautification –as she liked to call it– Galinda walked to her bed and sat down. She decided to talk to Elphaba before they parted ways for the day.
The toilet flushed and Elphaba emerged again, heading straight for her dresser. She opened up the top drawer and reached inside, her fingers scanning for her clothes. She pulled out her underclothes and walked to her closet. Galinda watched curiously as Elphaba felt the fabric of her clothes, trying to pick something out. Elphaba pulled a white blouse and long, navy skirt out before disappearing into the bathroom again. Elphaba came out fifteen minutes later, fully dressed.
"Miss Elphaba?" Galinda whispered.
Elphaba stiffened and turned towards Galinda's voice. "Y-Yes?"
"I just wanted to apologize for last night."
"Oh?"
Galinda took a step towards the green girl. "I honestly didn't know my ex-friends were going to do that."
"Ex?" Elphaba questioned.
"Anyone who's mean to my roommate and new bestest friend is not a friend of mine," Galinda said proudly.
Elphaba's eyebrow disappeared into her hairline. "Bestest friends?"
Galinda's face fell. "I… only if you want to be."
Elphaba thought about it for a moment. She never had a best friend, or a friend in general. "I… I'll think about it." With that, she quickly grabbed her cane and hurried out of the room.
"Fabala, what happened at the party last night? Why did you leave?" Nessa asked at lunch that day.
Elphaba put her sandwich down and sighed. "It was just getting really loud. I felt headache coming on and needed silence."
"Fabala, you were covered in punch."
"You… you noticed?"
"Is that even a question? Yes! Of course I noticed. Fabala, what happened?"
"Why didn't you say anything then?"
"You would have had a fit."
"And you didn't think I would now?"
"Not with all these witness around," Nessa smirked.
Elphaba bit her lip and sighed. "It was a prank."
"By who?"
"Miss Galinda's friends."
"Are you alright?"
"See? This is why I didn't want to tell you. I don't need your pity. Not now. Not ever."
"Fabala, calm down. I'm just worried about you."
"Well, stop being worried about me," Elphaba snapped. "Please," she added, more quietly.
"Fabala..."
Elphaba quickly stood up and walked away. She needed to clear her head. She needed to leave. With her hand sliding against the wall, she made her way down the hallway. She found the door leading to the courtyard and pushed it open. Following the path, she walked back to the bridge. She stood at the top and closed her eyes. She knew she shouldn't have snapped at her sister. She would go back and apologize later.
"I knew I would find you here," a voice interrupted her.
Frowning, Elphaba opened her eyes and turned towards the voice.
"Though, I don't see why Suicide Canal is such a popular spot for you," the voice chuckled.
"I like listening to the rushing water," Elphaba explained, a lips turning upwards into a soft smile. "It's so… peaceful."
"Ah, I get it."
"Is there a particular reason you're here, Fiyero? Or are you just here to annoy me?" Elphaba asked.
Fiyero smiled. She didn't sound as harsh as last time, so he took that as a good sign. "I can't just come here and talk to you?"
Elphaba scowled. "Talk to me? About what?"
Fiyero shifted his weight. If he didn't phrase this right, he could risk certain death. "I… um…" He looked up at the green girl, who was giving his direction a confused, almost scared, look. "I… I've never met a girl like you, Elphaba Thropp."
A frown and Fiyero winced. That did not come out correctly. "Let me rephrase that. What I meant was I… I really like you. And um… I was wondering if you… wantedtobecomemygirlfriend."
"Wait, what?" Elphaba asked, not catching the last part.
"Elphaba Thropp, will you do me the greatest pleasure of becoming my girlfriend?"
Elphaba became as stiff as a rock. Did… did Fiyero just ask her to be his girlfriend? She wasn't even sure she was going to let Galinda in as her friend, and now she had a boyfriend request. Terrific!
Fiyero stood still, waiting for Elphaba to either say yes, or to throw him into Suicide Canal. He hoped it was the first one, because the latter didn't sound like a lot of fun. He saw the green girl's mouth open, but no words came out. Finally, she spoke.
"Who put you up to this?"
"Great! So, maybe we can… wait, what?" Fiyero asked.
"Who put you up to asking the blind girl to be your girlfriend?"
"What makes you think that?"
"Your reputation isn't exactly working for you, Mr. Oh-so-scandalous-Winkie-prince-who-dates-every-girl-he-sees."
"N-No one put me up to this, Elphaba. I truly mean it."
"How do I know you're not lying?"
Fiyero, smiling, took Elphaba's hand and brought it to his face. "I, Fiyero Tigulaar, swear to you, Elphaba Thropp, that I came to you on my own accord and would like ask you to become my girlfriend."
Elphaba just stood there, her hand still resting on Fiyero's cheek, trying to process everything. "Well," she breathed. "You're either telling the truth… or a really good liar."
"The first one."
Elphaba was silent for a moment. "Fiyero, I… You don't have to pity me. I already get enough of that from my father and sister."
"I'm not pitying you." He reached for her hand and gently squeezed it. Elphaba paused, feeling Fiyero's soft skin over hers. She enjoyed it. Quickly realizing what she was doing, she quickly pulled her hand away.
"I… I have to go." Turning, she walked down the bridge and followed the path back to the building.
At least she didn't say no, Fiyero thought. But she didn't say yes, either.
When Elphaba returned back to the dorm room later that evening, Galinda was there, sitting at her vanity, doing her nails.
"Galinda, are you in here?" Elphaba asked, closing the door behind her.
"Mm," came a distracted reply.
"I… I thought about what you said earlier," Elphaba began, shuffling her feet.
Galinda perked up and looked expectantly at the emerald girl. Elphaba bit her lip. She could almost hear Nessa's voice inside her head.
Fabala, you need some friends. It's not healthy to keep yourself walled off from the rest of the world.
"I would like to be "bestest" friends, as you put it," Elphaba said, putting air quotes around "bestest".
Galinda beamed. She jumped out of her chair and ran to give her new friend a hug. Elphaba stiffened, not expecting the bone-crushing hug. "Oh, Elphie! This is Ozmazifying!"
"Elphie?" Elphaba questioned, raising her eyebrow.
"Of course. Elphie. That's my new nickname for you. You don't mind me calling you, Elphie, do you?"
"Ah… it's a little... perky."
Galinda took Elphaba's response as a 'yes'. "OMIOZ! What should we do first as best friends?"
"Galinda, calm down," Elphaba whispered, folding her cane and slowly walking over to her desk to set her books down.
"Elphie, I can't calm down! We're bestest friends now! We need to do something together! Some girl bonding time! Ooh, can I give you a makeover?"
Elphaba froze. "A… what?"
"A makeover. It's what girls give each other when they're bonding," Galinda explained, dragging Elphaba over to her bed and making her sit down.
"G-Galinda?" Elphaba whispered, turning her head to follow the blonde's footsteps. She felt Galinda jump onto the bed behind her and she winced. "I never said yes."
"But you never said no," Galinda smirked, beginning to undo Elphaba's braid and brush it out.
"Can I turn back?"
"No."
Sighing, Elphaba gave in. "A-Alright."
Smiling, Galinda continued to brush out Elphaba's hair. "You have really silky hair," she blonde sighed, running her fingers through Elphaba's hair. "I wish I had hair like yours."
"Thank you," Elphaba smiled, playing with the hem of her skirt.
Giggling, Galinda finished brushing her roommate's hair. She jumped off the bed and ran to her vanity, trying to find someone to adorn Elphaba's hair with. Her eyes rested on a beautiful pink flower clip. She picked it up and skipped back to Elphaba. Carefully, she clipped the flower into her roommate's hair. She watched with a gentle smile as Elphaba's hand slowly rose and touched the flower in her hair.
"Why, Miss Elphaba," the blonde gushed. "You're beautiful."
"That has a positive connotation, does it not?" Elphaba asked, lowering her hand.
"Of course," Galinda said, giving the green girl a strange look. "How did you not –"
"I was born without sight, so no one bothered to explain the concept of beauty to me."
"Oh."
Elphaba frowned, realizing she shouldn't have said that. She knew Galinda's pity was coming next. "Please," she whispered gently. "I don't need your pity."
"I wasn't… I mean, I didn't…" Galinda whispered.
Elphaba stood up and groped back to her desk. She bumped into it and her fingers scanned the desktop, searching for her book. She finally located it when a soft hand stopped her.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to offend you," Galinda whispered.
"You didn't offend me. It's just a natural instinct for people. I'm used to it. It's just that… No one's ever called me 'beautiful' before."
"Never?"
Elphaba shook her head. "Never."
Galinda smiled, gripped the green girl's hands and squeezed. "Well, allow me be the first person to say that you, Elphaba Thropp, are indeed, beautiful."
Elphaba blushed. "I- I am?"
Galinda nodded. "You are."
Elphaba smiled and giggled. "Thank you. Um… Galinda, can I ask you something?"
"Sure, Elphie," the blonde chirped. "Anything."
"Can I… feel your face?"
"Uh… why?"
"I want to know what you look like."
Galinda smiled. "Of course, Elphie." She led her green roommate to her bed and helped her sit down. Sitting down next to her, she took Elphaba's hand and guided it to her face.
Elphaba turned towards Galinda as her fingers delicate traced over the blonde's face, starting with her cheek, working her way up to her forehead and then down to her nose and lips. "Your skin is really soft," she smiled.
"Thanks," Galinda smiled, allowing Elphaba's fingers to trace the soft curve of her lips.
Elphaba lowered her hand and smiled. "You're beautiful, too."
"Thank you, Elphie," Galinda smiled, throwing herself against the green girl.
Elphaba stiffened, but quickly returned the hug. "It's getting late. We should probably get to sleep."
Galinda nodded and slowly loosened her grip around the green girl. She skipped to her drawer and pulled out her nightgown before disappearing into the bathroom to change. Smiling, Elphaba got her nightgown out and changed. She lifted her hand and felt the flower in her hair. She carefully unclipped it and placed it on her dresser. A click and the bathroom door opened, revealing Galinda in her night attire.
"Goodnight, Elphie," Galinda whispered, giving Elphaba a gentle hug.
"Goodnight, Galinda," Elphaba smiled, returning the hug before climbing into bed.
BOOM!
"AHH!"
Gasping, Elphaba bolted upright in her bed. A thunderstorm was waging through Shiz. The green girl clutched her blankets as the thunder shook the room. Growing up in Munchkinland, she was used to thunderstorms, though she still didn't like the loud noise of the thunder.
"E-Elphie?" Galinda whispered from her bed, shaking in fear.
Elphaba turned her head towards Galinda and her face softened. She pushed the covers from her legs and felt her way over to Galinda's bed. She stopped when she felt Galinda grab onto her arm, stilling her. She sat down and pulled the blonde into her arms. "It's alright, Galinda."
Galinda whimpered and buried her face in Elphaba's nightgown.
"It's just a thunderstorm," Elphaba whispered soothingly. "It will be over soon."
Galinda looked up at her roommate, who was holding her protectively around her. Smiling at the warmth coming from Elphaba's body, she calmed down, the thunder not bothering her anymore.
"I… I don't like thunderstorms."
"Neither do I," Elphaba admitted, tenderly stroking Galinda's hair.
"H-How do you do it?" the blonde whispered sleepily, covering her mouth to yawn.
"Do what?" Elphaba asked.
"Live without sight."
Elphaba chuckled. "I don't know. I just do. Life is full of obstacles. It's all about how you overcome them."
Galinda giggled softly and yawned.
"Better?" Elphaba whispered.
"Yeah. Better."
Elphaba smiled. Lightning illuminated the room and Galinda shrieked.
"What's wrong?" Elphaba asked as Galinda threw her arms around her.
"Sorry. Lightning," Galinda whispered. A crackle of thunder and the blonde snuggled closer to her roommate.
"It's okay," Elphaba whispered.
Nodding, Galinda slowly relaxed and closed her eyes. She felt Elphaba help her back under the covers and smiled. "Goodnight, Elphie," she whispered sleepily.
"Goodnight, Glin," Elphaba whispered back.