Doglover645: How was NiatheWickedLover a legendary pen name?
Thedoctor24601 (Guest): Who needs Frex's opinion?
This chapter is dedicated to the 200th reviewer, NellytheActress! Which actually works out because I planned out the story ahead of time and this chapter was scheduled to come next.
"Elphie, come on!"
"Glin, the party's not until tomorrow."
"We still need to buy Nelliee's present! And I need a new dress."
Elphaba sighed. "Why did I even agree to go to this party?"
"Because you can't decline a party invitation. Especially from a princess."
"It's probably just some big prank."
"Why would Nelliee want to draw attention to you on her birthday?" Galinda pointed out.
"You'd be surprised with some people."
"Elphie, just come with me. I hate going shopping by myself," Galinda whined, giving her roommate her best puppy-dog eyes, though her efforts were wasted.
"Glin, we don't need to go shopping. You have more dresses than the actual store," Elphaba pointed out.
"Well… that's true," Galinda admitted. "But I don't have the right shade of pink that will match my new shoes. And you need a new dress."
"I do not need a new dress. And how do you not have the right shade of pink? Everything you own is pink."
"How do you know?" Galinda asked, burying herself in her closet.
"Because I know you."
"And what's so wrong with pink?" Galinda stuck her head out of her closet and quirked an eyebrow at her roommate.
"It's so… perky."
"And how do you figure that?"
"It just sounds perky," Elphaba shrugged, turning towards her roommate with a half smile.
"Sounds?" Galinda asked, slowly approaching the green girl.
"When Nessa and I were younger, she tried to explain colors to me."
"How did that go?"
"The key word is 'tried'."
"Oh."
"It's okay," Elphaba shrugged nonchalantly. "It's just a meaningless detail to me. I've never understood colors and I never will."
"Elphie…"
"No. I'm sorry. It's my fault," Elphaba said quickly. "I don't want your pity."
Galinda was silent for a moment, unsure of what to say. She slowly turned back to her closet.
"So… when are we leaving?" Elphaba asked suddenly.
"Huh?"
"When are we leaving... to go shopping?"
"You want to come with me?"
"Do I have a choice?"
"No."
Elphaba chuckled. "Lead the way. We must find you the perfect shade of pink."
Galinda giggled as she helped her roommate to her feet and the two set off to the town square.
"Glin, how long is this going to take?" Elphaba complained as Galinda dragged her into their fifth store in forty-five minutes.
"Only a few more minutes," Galinda said, half distracted by the dresses.
Elphaba didn't even bother to try and suppress her tired sigh. She was getting tired. And when she got tired, she got crabby. And when she got very crabby, someone could end up in the hospital, which she didn't want to happen. "Glin…"
"FOUND IT!" the blonde exclaimed, making Elphaba jump in surprise. "This is it! This is the dress! Ooh, I'm gonna go try it on." Squealing, Galinda ran to the dressing rooms, leaving Elphaba alone.
"Glin?" Elphaba whispered, hoping the blonde was still by her side. Not hearing a response, she sighed. She waited patiently for her friend to return. While she was waiting, a sudden breeze came through the door and one of the dresses slowly grazed her arm. The material felt soft, almost like silk. Curiously, Elphaba felt through the dress rack, enjoying the different feels of the fabrics underneath her fingertips.
"Miss Elphaba!"
Elphaba jumped, startled by the sudden voice. "Nelliee?"
"What are you doing here?" the princess asked, approaching the green girl.
"Am I not supposed to be here?" Elphaba asked, a hint of harshness in her voice.
"Um… that's not what I meant."
"Then what did you mean?"
"Oh my Oz, this dress is so pretty. You should try it on," Nelliee said, grabbing a dress and pushing it into Elphaba's hands.
Elphaba backed away. "No, thank you. I'm fine."
"But it would look so beautiful on you."
"Alright, what's this about?"
"Pardon?"
"What's going on? Why are you being so nice to me?"
"Why am I being nice to you?" Nelliee repeated, raising an eyebrow.
"I know you're planning to humiliate me in some way."
"I'm not planning anything."
"Yet you're being nice to me."
"I'm not going to be mean to you unless you give me a reason to be."
"Like when you first came here?" Elphaba asked incredulously.
Nelliee froze. "You sound as though you want me to be mean to you."
Elphaba opened her mouth, but closed it again. Nelliee sounded like she was genuinely trying to be civil to her.
"I'm really sorry for the way I treated you," Nelliee said, her voice softening. "It was wrong of me. But I would like to start over."
"So you inviting me to your party?"
"Believe me, if I didn't want you at my party, I wouldn't have invited you."
Elphaba didn't know how to take that, so she remained silent.
"Look, if you don't want to be friends, just say so and I'll stop trying. I won't torture you, but I will stop trying."
"No!" Elphaba said, almost too quickly. "I mean… I'm sorry. I just…"
"It's okay. I get it. You can still come to my party tomorrow. Just remember, formal wear is optional, gifts are mandatory." And with that, she left.
"Elphie!" Galinda called, running over to her friend.
"Hi, Glin," Elphaba smiled.
"I just tried on the dress. It's perfect! And… where did you get that?"
"N-Nelliee gave it to me."
"Nelliee was here?"
Elphaba nodded. "I don't know what she was doing here, though. She just sort of… appeared."
"It's pretty. You should try it on," Galinda said, taking Elphaba arm and leading her to the dressing rooms.
Elphaba tried on the dress and came out. Galinda gasped. The dress was a V-line, deep blue and went all the way down to Elphaba's ankles. The sleeves were short, stopping at her mid-arm. The top had sequins, making the dress shimmer in the light. The skirt was slightly frilly and also had a few sequins on it.
"Elphie, you look beautiful," the blonde gushed.
Elphaba smiled softly. Nelliee was really trying to at least be civil to her. "Thank you," she said before going back inside to change back into her regular clothes.
"You should wear that to Nelliee's birthday party," Galinda said as she led Elphaba out of the shop.
Elphaba blushed. "Maybe I will."
The next day passed quickly. After classes, Galinda had immediately snatched Elphaba from her last class and dragged her back to the dorms.
"Glin, show down! Please!" Elphaba practically begged.
"Sorry, Elphie. But we have to get ready."
"We have six hours."
"That's hardly enough time."
Elphaba sighed, but decided not to argue.
Galinda quickly changed into the dress she bought, a short, dark pink party dress with a bow in the back. Elphaba changed into the dress Nelliee had picked out for her. She tried to protest when Galinda announced that she was going to do her makeup, but somehow, Galinda had won the argument and gave Elphaba a light blush and a little bit of mascara and lip gloss. "Ready? Let's go!" she said, grabbing the presents they bought for Nelliee; some Gillikin perfume from Galinda and a necklace from Elphaba, and the two girls were off to the Ozdust.
"I'm so happy you both could come," Nelliee smiled as Galinda and Elphaba walked in.
"Happy birthday, Nelliee," Galinda said, handing the birthday girl their gifts and giving her a hug. She was wearing a beautiful light blue gown with a golden belt. Her red hair was curled and a sparkly tiara was placed neatly in her hair.
"Happy birthday, Nelliee," Elphaba said, giving Nelliee a shy smile.
"Thank you," Nelliee smiled, taking the gifts and adding them to her growing mountain of presents.
"There's Fifi, Nessa, and Boq!" Galinda said, leading Elphaba over to one of the tables.
"Hi, El," Boq smiled.
"Fabala, your dress looks beautiful," Nessa smiled.
Elphaba blushed at the compliment. "Thank you."
"You look magnificent, Fae," Fiyero smiled, passionately kissing his girlfriend.
"That's a big word," Elphaba smirked.
"Copy cat," Galinda muttered under her breath, glaring at the prince.
Fiyero decided to ignore Galinda's comment. "I learned it just for you."
"How thoughtful of you," Elphaba smiled.
"I know, right?"
"Everyone enjoying the party?" Nelliee asked, appearing behind Galinda.
"Oh, yes. Thank you for inviting us, Nelliee," Nessa smiled.
"My pleasure," Nelliee said, pulling up a chair in between Galinda and Nessa.
At that moment, Pfannee and ShenShen were arriving. Nelliee saw them through the window and did her best to keep a straight face.
Then… it happened.
As soon as Pfannee and ShenShen entered the Ozdust, they were drenched in a mysterious liquid. Screaming, they fell to the ground, slipping as they tried to push themselves to their feet. The whole Ozdust became completely silent. No one dared to move or say anything.
"Sweet Oz…" Boq muttered.
"What? What is it?" Elphaba asked, clinging to Fiyero's arm.
"Pfannee and ShenShen covered in… paint. Green paint," Fiyero said slowly.
"My dress is ruined!" ShenShen wailed.
"Mine was custom made!" Pfannee cried, wiping the paint from her face.
A few people started snickering. The snickering soon turned into giggles, then full-blown laughter. Embarrassed, Pfannee and ShenShen ran out of the Ozdust, leaving their presents behind, much to Nelliee's pleasure.
"Glin?" Elphaba whispered, turning towards her friend.
"Yeah?" Galinda sniffed, wiping a tear away from her eye.
"Did you have anything to do with that?"
"With what?"
"Pfannee, ShenShen and the paint?"
"What? Of course not, Elphie. When would I have had time to do that?"
"Then if not you… then…" Elphaba trailed off. "Nelliee?"
"Someone had to do it," Nelliee said nonchalantly.
The whole table gaped at the princess. "What?"
"But, why…" Nessa began.
"Word gets around fast at this school. And I agree with Galinda. Those two deserve revenge for what they did to you."
"You didn't have to do that," Elphaba said.
"It's no trouble. I didn't really like them, anyway. They were becoming very annoying."
"But why green paint?" Nessa asked.
"It was the first color I saw," Nelliee shrugged. "It doesn't matter what color the paint is. The point is… it's paint."
Elphaba sighed. "Did Galinda tell you…?"
"I did not tell her to do this, Elphie. I'm just upset that I didn't think of it sooner," Galinda pouted.
"Hey, you snooze, you loose," Nelliee smirked. "And I heard that they attacked you."
"I mean, it was a great prank," Galinda said, still upset about not having thought of the idea first. "But not as good as annihilation."
"Aw, man! I should have done that," Nelliee said, snapping her fingers. "Next time."
"There won't be a next time," Elphaba said.
"But, Elphie…" Galinda whined.
"No, Glin. This is enough. I think they learned their lesson."
"But I said I would annihilate them for you."
"Big word," Nelliee nodded in approval.
"Thank you!"
Elphaba shook her head. "I appreciate what you are doing, but really, this is enough."
"Fine," Galinda huffed.
"Everyone's starting to dance. Gotta go!" Nelliee said, jumping up and dancing with the first boy she saw.
"May I have this dance, Fae?" Fiyero asked, squeezing Elphaba's hand.
Blushing, Elphaba nodded and allowed Fiyero to help her up and lead her to the dance floor.
"I'm exhausted!" Galinda exclaimed, dramatically flopping down on her bed once they got back to the dorms.
"I'm sure. You danced with about seven different boys," Elphaba smirked, taking off her shoes and disappearing into the bathroom with her nightgown.
"They asked me to dance, I said yes. It's that simple!" Galinda said, lifting her head to talk and then flopping back down as Elphaba came out of the bathroom. "Goodnight, Elphie."
"Goodnight, Glin. Fresh dreams," Elphaba said, listening to the soft snoring sounds Galinda made as she fell asleep.
Yes, folks. The green paint has made a comeback. Major throwback! Actually… this sounds like a "Nia". What story is the 'dropping of green paint' from? (Hint: You may have to dig back into my older stories for this one).