"Ugh, I'm never going to find the right dress!"
Frustrated, Elphaba put off the dress that she had been trying on.
"You really do clash with a lot of colours", Glinda admitted emphatically and hung the dress back on the rack.
The two of them had, like a lot of other Shiz students, gone to the town to find the right attire for the Lurlinemas Ball.
Glinda had dragged Elphaba along after the latter had protested that she didn't want to buy a new dress because she could still just wear her plain green frock.
"You are not going to turn up at the ball wearing that thing again!", Glinda had blurted out indignantly.
"Haven't you learned anything from me?"
They had decided to look at dresses in a boutique called 'Tupitta's Dresses, Gowns and More'.
So far, Elphaba had tried on gowns in various shades of green (because according to Glinda, nothing went as good with green like another shade of green), but the shades available all looked like something mouldy or were an unnatural colour that clashed horribly with Elphaba's skin that had more of a grass-green hue.
Next, she had tried on a red gown ("It is the complementary colour of green, this is surely going to look great!").
Sadly, this one looked even more horrendous than the first few.
They went through a couple of other colours then, purple, blue and even a pink one Glinda insisted on, but nothing looked quite right.
"I'm giving up", Elphaba said with an exhausted sigh.
"Let's search for Fiyero then", Glinda said,
"I'm not entirely sure if he is capable of picking a suiting attire for the ball by himself. Also I want to make sure he matches my dress."
She had picked a moss coloured ball gown, floor length flowing fabric and with beaded straps and corset.
They found Fiyero in another boutique several stores down the street, standing
in front of a rack full of jackets, looking a little clueless.
"See, we've come at exactly the right time", Glinda noted and hurried to Fiyero's side to assist him.
As they had finally found the desired perfect outfit, Fiyero noticed that Elphaba wasn't carrying a box from any boutique.
"Haven't you found anything yet?"
"Nothing matches me", Elphaba explained with an apologetic shrug, displeased to find that her heartrate had increased the second he had starting talking to her.
"You know, I did happen to come across a dress earlier that made me think how great you would look in it."
"You, uh, you did?", Elphaba said unbelieveingly, slightly embarrassed that she even needed the help of two people to find anything she could wear.
She cleared her throat.
"So, where did you find it?"
"In the store next door, let's go right over and check if I was right once I've paid."
Moments later, the three friends had made their way over to the third store of the day and Fiyero sought out the dress he had discovered while strolling through the shop in search of a suit jacket.
"There!", he exclaimed triumphantly and quickly walked over to where the dress was hung up.
"It is gorgeous!", Glinda squealed once she laid eye on the gown, that was simple but magnificent in its simplicity.
It was made of a black fabric but shimmering with different tinges of green, blue and purple, depending on which way it was met by the light.
The corset of the dress was covered in lacey fabric and didn't have straps.
"Fiyero, this is...perfect!", Elphaba brought out, stunned by the beauty of the gown and by the fact that she actually wanted to wear it.
"Try it on, try it on!", Glinda urged her, excitedly scurrying from foot to foot.
Elphaba obeyed and took the gown to the adjoining changing room.
When she stepped out again, both Glinda and Fiyero's jaws dropped.
"Wow", Fiyero blurted out.
Glinda said nothing at first.
Then Elphaba observed her smile grow wider and wider.
"Elphie, you look fantastic!"
"I'm not sure if I also feel fantastic, I'm not used to dresses like this."
"But have you had a look at yourself yet? This quite possibly is the prettiest thing I've ever seen you wearing, no offence!"
"I have to agree", Fiyero tossed in.
"And you have to admit, Glinda, my taste in clothes is impeccable."
"It is, it is, but now, Elphie, you have to look at yourself in the mirror!"
"I suppose I can risk a look, if you insist."
As she stepped in front of the mirror, she couldn't believe her eyes.
The dress complimented her skin colour, made it glow and not look so disturbing.
It hugged her slender figure and emphasised her tallness in a flattering manner.
There was no other word for it, it was perfect.
And most importantly, Fiyero had picked it out and that made it even more perfect.