As everyone else got back into the swing of classes, Elphaba settled into her own routine.
She met with Boq more and more—sometimes to find or return a book, sometimes to give him the latest update, and sometimes just to rant or think out loud to him. He was a good listener, knowing exactly when to stay quiet and when to put in his own ideas, and though she never said it, they both knew she was grateful.
The number of secrets she kept seemed to grow. None of the others knew they were meeting up late at night—although Fiyero had given them a couple odd glances here and there. Glinda had, for the most part, stopped asking questions. She simply let Elphaba work in silence, occasionally placing an apple or a sandwich next to her when she knew the green girl hadn't eaten. And every once in a while, when it was clear they'd both had a long day, she would drag Elphaba away from the desk and sit her down on the bed to play with her hair. Glinda's fingers scratching at Elphaba's scalp or rubbing at her neck always eased the ache of bending over her desk all day, and the silky locks and smooth green skin beneath her hands always brought a smile to the blonde's face.
Elphaba told no one about the letters to Dr. Dillamond, even though they became more and more frequent. As much as she trusted Boq, she needed that sense of security. Even if everything went wrong, the letters would remain safely between her and Dillamond.
Glinda got one week. One glorious, blissful week where Pfannee and Milla and Shenshen were too busy with the start of classes to bother her. One wonderful week, free of insults and rumors and gossip. And then it was over.
Luckily, she wasn't alone when they stopped her outside the café one evening.
"Keep going," Elphaba murmured in her ear. "They're not worth your time."
"Be sure to buy the freak some dinner while you're in there," Pfannee sneered as they walked by. "She's looking a bit thin. Are you sure you're keeping up with your charity case?"
"Is that really the best you've got, Pfannee?" Glinda said shortly, brushing by the girls.
"How did your parents feel about all this, Glinda?" Milla asked, following them inside the café. "Do they support the green bean charity fund, too? Or are they as disgusted as we are?"
"They're pretty important, aren't they?" Shenshen asked, turning to Pfannee. "Lord and Lady Upland?"
Pfannee giggled. "That's right. What did they do when they found out their daughter was a social outcast here at Shiz?"
Glinda tensed, but Elphaba grabbed her hand and squeezed her fingers gently. Her lips twitched into a smirk as she tilted her head down to whisper in Glinda's ear, "Play along."
"So, Glinda," she said, straightening up and leading the blonde over to a table. "What was that spell you were telling me about, before we were so rudely interrupted? You said something about…manipulating clothing?"
Glinda hesitated for only a second. "Oh, yeah. There was this great spellbook I found over break. I learned to do all sorts of stuff—change the material or the color of the clothes, add jewels or patterns. I can even make clothes disappear, if I wanted to." It was a downright lie—one of the first rules of magic was that matter can't just appear or disappear into thin air—but as she and Elphaba cast crooked glances at the other girls, she knew it was convincing enough.
Shenshen and Milla took a few steps back, moving slightly behind Pfannee, who was scowling with her arms crossed over her chest. She opened her mouth to speak, but Glinda turned back to Elphaba, grinning wide.
"Of course, I haven't had the chance to practice that much. But I'm always looking for an opportunity."
"Perhaps Miss Milla would like to volunteer," Elphaba said brightly. "Or Miss Shenshen?"
Milla was out the door in seconds, with Shenshen not too far behind her. Pfannee glowered at them, but Glinda just opened her purse and began searching through it. "I know I wrote the spell down somewhere…"
"Bitch," Pfannee mumbled, turning on her heel and hurrying after the others.
Elphaba collapsed into a chair as soon as she was out of sight, cackling. Glinda beamed and took the seat across from her. "That was evil, Elphie."
"What are you talking about?" Elphaba laughed. "You did most of it."
"It was your idea!"
"And you executed it flawlessly." The green girl gave her a little bow, still grinning.
"What a team we make," Glinda said happily.
"Why Miss Glinda," Elphaba said, remembering what Nessa had said to her. Shiz would be in for it then…I can only imagine the trouble you two can cause if she teams up with you. "I do believe I have corrupted you."
The blonde blushed. "I wouldn't have it any other way."
"Thank Oz."
It wasn't the last she saw of those girls, but things never got as bad as they were last semester. Most of Shiz was bored of Glinda Upland, and they moved on to new gossip. Pfannee held on to a few followers, but most of them were only around when it was convenient. To Glinda, the trio was becoming less and less of a problem, and more of a joke.
She still avoided them if she was alone, but she so rarely walked around campus on her own. Most of the time Elphaba was with her, with her quick wit and sharp tongue, and it was all too easy to talk their way out of trouble with the girls. If Elphaba wasn't there, then Fiyero or Boq were, wrapping an arm around her shoulder and leading her away before anything could happen. And then there were Crope and Tibbett, who never failed to make any situation hilarious.
"Really, Pfannee," Tibbett said with a yawn after one of the girls' more scathing remarks, "Isn't this getting a bit old?"
"Yeah," Crope pouted. He pinched a lock of Glinda's hair between his fingers and lifted it, eyeing her critically. "Who would want to talk about this boring old thing?"
Glinda giggled, swatting his hand away.
"You know," Tibbett said, waggling his eyebrows at the other boy. "We could give them something new to talk about." He grabbed Crope and dipped him for a big, dramatic kiss.
Glinda nearly doubled over with laughter as Pfannee and the others made noises of disgust and wandered off. Tibbett helped Crope back to his feet and pouted.
"I don't think they liked our display of affection."
Crope smirked. "Well. I know I certainly did."
"Here, let me help."
Fiyero knelt next to Glinda and started gathering the remnants of their lunch. She smiled and took the food from him to put back in the basket. Their fingers brushed over each other, and Fiyero started making a game of it, tugging and poking at her hands each time he passed her something. She giggled and batted him away, occasionally throwing crumbs of food at him.
A few feet away, Elphaba shook out the blanket with a little more force than was necessary.
Glinda put the last of their things away and shut the basket. Before she could stand up, though, Fiyero reached forward and snatched it out of her hands.
"Hey!" Glinda scrambled to her feet and leapt for it, but Fiyero just grinned and spun out of her reach. The other boys laughed and hollered, cheering the Vinkan on.
"What's the matter, Miss Glinda?" Fiyero asked innocently, stepping backward and holding the basket far above his head. The tiny blonde didn't have a chance.
She pouted for a moment, then looked at the ground. She flicked her wrist and a branch jumped up, swiping at Fiyero's ankles. The Vinkan fell with a startled yelp. Grinning wickedly, Glinda skipped forward and took the basket back. "Better luck next time, Fiyero," she giggled, reaching out to help him to his feet.
Elphaba grit her teeth, tasting something hot and metallic in her mouth. She swallowed the feeling down and finished folding the blanket.
The six of them had taken to spending Saturdays outside. They would pack food and blankets and huddle around Glinda's flames all afternoon, enjoying each other's company. Some are enjoying it more than others, Elphaba thought, scowling over at Fiyero and Glinda. The Winkie prince had been flirting more and more every day, and Glinda was doing nothing to stop him. It was unbelievably annoying, not to mention sickening to watch.
Glinda caught on to the green girl's bad mood as they walked back to Crage Hall together in silence. "Elphie?" she asked. "Is everything okay?"
"Everything is wonderful," she muttered, stomping ahead into their dorm. Glinda blinked, completely dumbfounded, and followed her into the room.
"Hey, no, stop." She put a hand on Elphaba's shoulder. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing."
"Elphaba."
The green girl shrugged away and crossed her arms over her chest. "He was flirting with you."
Glinda felt the blood rush to her cheeks. "W-who was?"
"You know who," Elphaba said bitterly, spinning around to face her. "Fiyero. He's been clinging to you ever since he started hanging out with us."
"So?" Glinda crossed her arms over her own chest, matching Elphaba's stance. "Am I not allowed to be friends with him?"
Elphaba scoffed. "He wants more than friendship, and you know it."
"He's harmless."
"He's trying to—" She cut off, letting out a breath and running her hands through her hair.
"He's trying to what, Elphaba? Be nice to me? Make me laugh? Ask me out, even? Where's the harm in that? Maybe he likes me!"
"He hurt you!"
Glinda lowered her arms. "He was a different person then. You know that."
"I still don't trust him," Elphaba said, looking away.
"Why not? I've changed." When the green girl didn't respond, Glinda stepped closer and forced her to meet her eyes. "Is that really why you're upset, Elphaba? Because he hurt me?"
Elphaba scowled. "What other reason would I have? I'm just trying to look out for you."
The blonde let out a sigh and turned away. "Okay, Elphie. Whatever you say. But you have nothing to be worried about."
A hand fell on her shoulder and suddenly Elphaba was reaching out, pulling her into a hug.
"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have snapped at you," she said quietly, resting her chin on Glinda's head. "But I'm always going to look out for you, whether you need it or not."
Glinda wrapped her arms around Elphaba's waist. "I know."
"Forgive me?"
"Of course."
Elphaba gripped the journal inside her bag. She couldn't wait any longer. The books she had been getting from the boys' library were helpful, but she needed something more.
She needed to get into a lab.
She wasn't ready to try and recreate Dillamond's experiments. Her nerves couldn't handle that yet. But she was ready to go beyond what could be written on a page. There were materials mentioned in the textbooks and in Dillamond's notes, and if she could get her hands on just a few samples…
Her mind was made up. Now she just needed help. Thankfully, her opportunity hadn't quite made it out the door.
"Boq."
The Munchkin turned to see Elphaba lingering at her desk, slowly putting papers back into her bag. She met his eyes and looked back down at her things. Boq glanced around. Class had just let out and students were rushing to pack their bags and run out the door. He walked over to Elphaba's table and picked up one of her notebooks.
She took it from him and placed it carefully into her bag. "How do you feel about raising the stakes?" she asked under her breath.
Boq grabbed one of her books and began flipping through it. "What do you need?"
"Something we can't get at a library." She stuck her pen into a book and slid it into her bag along the others. "We'd have to break in—actually break in, with no key—to a different building."
"Are you going to tell me which building?" Boq handed her the book he had been holding and watched as she shut the bag.
"Maybe later." She shrugged. "If you have time."
Boq shouldered his own bag once more and led the way out of the classroom. No one else was around at this point, but he still kept his voice low. "I hear the fountain is nice and peaceful after eleven."
"Hm. I've heard it's better at half past midnight."
The Munchkin raised an eyebrow. That late?
Elphaba lifted one shoulder and scanned the area around them. Don't want to be seen.
He sighed but nodded. "You're lucky my first class was cancelled tomorrow."
"Great," Elphaba said brightly. "I'll see you not-so-bright and early then."
She gave him a short wave and hurried off. Boq rolled his eyes and glanced down at his watch, groaning when he realized it would be another eight hours before he found out what Elphaba was up to.