A/N: Hey guys! So lots of stuff has been going on, and this story's kind of been put on the back burner for the moment. Don't worry, I'm ahead on chapters, so I'll be able to keep updating. But it's gonna be put down to only once a week. Also, I apologize for not responding to reviews as often (a lot of stuff has been going on lately). However, you can always talk to me on my tumblr (lily-onher-grave).

Now I promise I'm done talking so you can enjoy the chapter. Reviews are awesome, Gelphie is awesome, and you guys are awesome. :)

The week was dragging by. The threat of finals was a little over a month away, but it was still looming darkly on the edge of Glinda's mind. Elphaba, too, was preparing, spending even more time than usual buried in her books. Glinda noticed, however, that more often than not she had an old journal with her instead of her lecture notes. The green girl had carried that book around like a lifeline ever since Dr. Dillamond had left. Although she had no idea how to ask about it, the blonde was growing more and more curious.

But she couldn't focus too much on that at the moment—not with everything else going on.

Everywhere she went now, people would cast thinly disguised stares in her direction. Whispers would echo off the hallways when she walked by, and the few words she caught weren't exactly complimentary. Glinda Upland was used to attention, but not like this. More than once, she wondered how Elphaba could ever stand it.

Despite the rumors that now floated uneasily around her, and despite the events outside Crage Hall, she was still planning to go out with her friends on Saturday. The weather had warmed slightly that week, and while the blonde was looking forward to snow, she was eager to make the most of the clear ground while she still could.

Still, it wasn't exactly the ideal weekend to look forward to. That, combined with her roommate's secrecy about the journal and the thought of finals creeping closer, made the week crawl by as she waited with nervous anticipation.

Almost just to distract herself, Glinda devoted much of her time to studying, especially when it came to sorcery. After a few tense spells to prove she was harmless, Elphie had agreed to not run away every time the blonde practiced magic. In fact, the two had taken to studying together in their room.

These were the afternoons that Glinda loved most. Each girl kept to their side of the room, buried in books or papers. The gentle scribbling of pen on parchment provided just enough noise to keep the blonde at ease. There were no interruptions, no hurtful rumors or vicious classmates. Nothing but companionship and knowledge, floating gently between them as they went about their separate tasks.

On these afternoons, nothing seemed impossible for the blonde. The peaceful quiet of their dorm seemed to calm her down, and something about the green girl sitting at her desk allowed Glinda to channel her energy more precisely. Her breathing was steadier, her hands trembled less when she went to cast. The words she needed came clearly to her mind, and she never stumbled over pronunciations. Once, she even swiped one of the healing dummies from the sorcery building and practiced on it back in her room. It took only one try to pull the spell off perfectly.

Glinda didn't know why, although she did wonder about it a lot. Perhaps it was something to do with Elphaba's own magic. Perhaps it was the fact that she was, for the first time since moving to Shiz, with someone who accepted her for who she was beneath the painted exterior.

She shook her head, coming back from her thoughts and into the present. Elphaba was jammed into the corner of her bed, trapped against the wall by an ever-growing pile of textbooks and journals. She was hunched over a small stack of papers, writing furiously on what seemed to be the seventh page of her life sciences essay. Glinda looked back at her own bed, where she was sitting cross-legged in front of her sorcery book. She turned her attention once more to the page on beginner pyromancy spells.

Palm up, she read, with the fingers cupped gently, as if holding a bowl. Slow, steady breathing is essential for both conjuring and controlling the flames. The energy should come from the center of the palm, where the bones of the fingers begin.

Glinda's brow furrowed. The fingers didn't begin in the middle of the palm. She looked skeptically at her hand. "…Elphie?"

"Mm?" The green girl didn't even look up.

"I think this book is wrong."

Ever the defender of books, Elphaba looked over, somewhat interested. "Glinda, that's a sorcery book. I wouldn't know anything about it."

"It's talking about bones," the blonde said, still gazing down at her hand.

Now her roommate was curious. She gently removed herself from her barricade of texts and made her way to Glinda's bed. "But that's biology," she said, looking over Glinda's shoulder. "What does that have to do with magic?"

Glinda pointed to the passage. "There are focal points in the body where energy flows better. You know, like your gut, the spot in your chest where your lungs meet, the balls of your feet and palms of your hands. Energy is pooled there, and you draw on one of those points to convert it into magic. With training, you can even open up more energy stores, like the base of your skull or the small of your back. There was a famous sorceress once who…why are you looking at me like that?"

The green girl was indeed staring at her in wonder, marveling at the knowledge that had just poured from her roommate. She shook her head slightly. "You…never mind. It's nothing. So, what did you think was wrong?"

The blonde held up her hand again. "It says the center of your palm, but then it also says where your fingers start. That's not the same place."

Elphaba grinned. She grabbed Glinda's hand and squeezed the center of it, rubbing her fingers gently back and forth. "Here. You feel that?"

For a second, all Glinda could feel was a tingling where green skin was connected with hers. She swallowed. "Um…"

"There are multiple layers to your fingers. The first one begins right about here," Elphaba told her, squeezing the spot. "If you probe a little, you can feel them. See?"

Glinda pulled her scattered thoughts together and took her hand back, shifting her fingers over it just as Elphaba had. Sure enough, she felt distinct ridges beneath her skin. "Huh. I never knew that."

"Well, you never paid attention in life sciences." Elphaba grinned before looking back down at the sorcery book. "It's interesting that the two interlace, though. I always thought sorcery and science to be complete opposites, but if magic is affected by the body…and then it, in turn, would affect…" She trailed off, and Glinda watched as her eyes lost their focus, already running through some vast store of knowledge and theories, known only to her.

"Um, Elphie?"

The green girl snapped back to attention. "S-sorry. Interesting. So, uh, what spell are you trying to cast anyway?" She seemed eager to change the subject, but Glinda narrowed her eyes, unsure if she wanted to let that happen. But before she could press the matter, Elphaba was looking at the book again.

"Fire?" Her eyes widened slightly, the green girl's way of displaying complete shock. "Need I remind you that we're inside?"

The blonde giggled. "It's perfectly safe, Elphie."

Apparently Elphaba didn't think so, because she was quick to scramble off the bed and retreat to her side of the room. "I'm not sure I believe you. Have you ever done this before?"

"Well, no."

"Oz help us."

Glinda stuck her tongue out. "You have no faith in me. Just watch." She held out her hand and took a deep breath, focusing on the center of her palm. The skin there started to warm ever so slightly. Despite herself, Elphaba sank onto her bed and watched, curiosity evident in her eyes.

Nothing happened. Glinda's palm was warm with energy, but she couldn't start a spark. Her brow furrowed and she fought to keep her breaths measured. What if she couldn't do it? What if Elphaba laughed at her? Or worse, what if the flames blazed out of control, and one of them ended up hurt?

Her palm heated up suddenly, and she jumped back a little. There was a soft fwoosh and then, sure enough, a tiny fire was glowing. It flickered, hovering an inch or so above her hand.

"I did it!" the blonde exclaimed, jumping to her feet. "I actually did it!"

Elphaba made a faint noise. "So you didn't know what you were doing?" Her face had turned a slightly paler green than usual.

Glinda giggled and held her hand closer to her face. The flames danced about, a slight pink tinge to them. She turned and beamed at her roommate. "Aren't they gorgeous?"

The green girl just blinked, still flustered. Glinda realized, with a sudden, exhilarating rush of joy, that she had just impressed her roommate. "Come on," she said, going over to her desk and rummaging around. "This calls for a celebration."

"A celebration?"

"Yep," the blonde said happily. "Let's go to the canal, set a blanket up by one of the trees. I haven't been able to sit in the sunlight in ages."

Elphaba raised an eyebrow, quickly regaining her composure. "That would be because it's cold outside."

Glinda finally found what she was looking for. She grabbed a glass jar and held it over the fire in her hand, scooping up the flames. "This will keep us warm," she said, giggling again at the look on her roommate's face. "Now come on! You can even keep studying; I just want to go outside!"

The green girl mumbled something under her breath, but nevertheless she slipped on her boots and followed her roommate out the door.

To Elphaba's surprise, the flames worked. Glinda spread a blanket beneath one of the trees lining the Suicide Canal and placed the jar of strange fire behind them. It warmed their backs enough to make sitting outside rather pleasant, and soon Elphaba relaxed. No one was out wandering the campus in this weather. She didn't have to worry about rumors or classmates crashing into their peaceful afternoon, and Glinda even seemed content to just study quietly beside her. The green girl smiled to herself, just a little.

"Elphaba? What are you doing out here?"

She looked up from her book to find Boq passing by. He changed direction and walked up to them, followed closely by Crope and Tibbett. "Are you crazy?" the Munchkin asked, "It's freezing out here."

Glinda smiled a little and reached behind them. "Little things like the weather don't bother those who are resourceful enough," she said, holding up the jar of flames for the boys to see. She giggled at the stunned look on their faces, and even Elphaba smirked.

"I don't know what's stranger," Crope said. "Fire in a jar, or the fact that Miss Glinda and Miss Elphaba are together in public."

"It seems that Shiz is full of all sorts of magic today," Tibbett agreed.

Glinda returned the jar to its spot, smiling a little at the use of her new name. "Yes, well, you mustn't tell Morrible. Using spells outside of class is prohibited."

"Breaking the rules, Miss Glinda?" Tibbett said, gasping dramatically. "You have been spending time with the green girl."

"You know, there are people saying our lovely artichoke bewitched poor young Glinda here. Perhaps it's true." But Crope smiled good-naturedly at both of them. Elphaba just rolled her eyes.

"Of course," Tibbett began, dropping his voice to a whisper and waggling his eyebrows at Crope, "There are other ways of bewitching that have nothing to do with magic."

Before either girl could respond, Boq had smacked both boys over the head. "Knock it off, you two. Being inappropriate on your own is one thing, but around ladies it's just—"

"Oh, don't burst a vein, my dear Munchkin," Crope said, throwing an arm around Boq's shoulders. "It's all in good fun."

"Besides," Tibbett added, "I personally think that pink goes rather well with green."

Glinda tried and failed not to blush at that. Elphaba closed her book and set it to the side, looking up at the boys. "If it's so cold, why are you all wandering the campus?"

"Trying to get rid of us, Miss Elphaba?" Crope and Tibbett pouted. "Do you not enjoy our company?"

For some reason, Glinda found the boys endearing. Their humor was light-hearted instead of malicious, and she welcomed the change. "Well," she said lightly, cutting her roommate off before she could respond, "I daresay you can't pull off that pout half as well as me, but you're welcome to sit with us." She expected Elphaba to grumble, but instead the green girl just crossed her legs to make room for the boys.

Boq blushed furiously as he sat down on the blanket. "Y-you're too kind, Miss Ga—I mean, Miss Glinda."

"Oh, here we go," Crope and Elphaba said together, both rolling their eyes. This set Glinda and Tibbett into a fit of laughter, and even Boq grinned sheepishly.