Elphaba walked into her dorm room and was greeted by a flurry of movement. Glinda, eyes red and face pale, flew at her, pulling her into a tight hug with the intent of never letting go. Over the blonde's shoulder, Elphaba saw the rest of the boys scrambling to their feet. They looked out of place in the girls' dorm, but at the moment she couldn't even care.

Glinda stepped back just enough to let her breathe, and the room seemed to darken. They all stared at Elphaba, waiting.

"It…" She swallowed, trying to find her voice. "It's gone. She destroyed it."

"Elphaba," Boq breathed, stepping forward.

"Dillamond's journal," she said. "The entire thing…the only information we had left…is…gone." She didn't even care that Glinda was there, listening to every word. It didn't matter anymore.

Glinda squeezed her tighter. "Are you alright? Did she…?"

"She didn't touch me," Elphaba said quietly. "It was a warning."

Fiyero spoke up. "But…it's okay, right? We've done so much without her knowing. We can keep going, right?"

The boys all looked up at her, eyes wide, struggling to not show their fear. Elphaba knew they wanted a bold answer. They wanted her to be snarky and passionate and daring. They wanted her to say that they weren't done, they would never be done. Morrible couldn't stop them.

But Glinda turned into her and buried her face in the crook of her neck, and all Elphaba wanted to do was cry.

"I…don't know," she said thickly, tightening her arms around the blonde. "I don't know what happens now."

Surprisingly, it was Tibbett who broke the silence that followed. "We should go. We'll leave you two be."

Crope nodded. "Dinner at six, if we don't see you before then. Let's go, guys."

They nudged Boq and Fiyero into motion. Glinda reached for Fiyero's hand and started to say something to him. Boq pulled Elphaba to the side.

"We'll figure something out, Elphaba," he said, too quiet for anyone else to hear.

She looked at her feet. "You know you're not supposed to be here. If you guys got caught in the girls' dorm…"

"We couldn't leave Glinda, and this seemed like the safest place for her to be."

Elphaba closed her eyes. "…Thank you."

"It's going to be okay. This isn't the end."

She nodded and watched him and the others leave. Boq could say it all he wanted, but Elphaba wasn't convinced. The journal was one of the last things they had to go off of, and now it was gone. There was nothing left. Morrible would ruin anything they managed to accomplish. For one lingering moment, Elphaba wondered what she was even doing here anymore.

Glinda stepped back into her arms. Their eyes met, but there was nothing to say. Elphaba let herself be led back to the bed, where she laid down and held Glinda close. They didn't move. They didn't speak. They simply lay there, and Elphaba closed her eyes, trying to find some comfort in the sound of Glinda's breathing.

Dinner was quiet that night. The other students were roaming around, enjoying the warm weather before they were forced to think about finals and summer plans and all other sorts of responsibilities. But the group at the back of the café was silent as they ate, each lost in their own thoughts. Even Crope and Tibbett were subdued, pushing their food around on their plates without actually eating much.

Elphaba seemed hesitant as she and Glinda said a quiet goodnight to the boys and made their way back to Crage Hall, but Glinda just held her hand and waited. When they walked into the room, the green girl lingered at the door. She leaned her head back against the wood and let out a breath. "Glinda, I…"

Glinda looked at her, but Elphaba just shook her head. She pushed away from the door and went to her wardrobe to pull out a nightgown. The blonde watched her for a moment, then moved to change into her own nightclothes. She could be patient.

Glinda slipped into Elphaba's bed and patted the spot next to her. The green girl smiled, but her eyes were sad. She settled in next to the blonde, lying so they were face to face. Then she took a deep breath.

"You deserve the truth."

Glinda reached down until she found Elphaba's hand and intertwined their fingers. "You don't have to tell me anything you don't want to. I'm just glad you're safe."

Elphaba looked down at their hands, then back up at her. "You deserve the truth."

The blonde stayed silent. Elphaba closed her eyes, sighed quietly, then opened them again.

"I'm just gonna…start from the beginning and…tell you all of it. You'll already know a lot, but…"

Glinda squeezed her fingers and nodded. Elphaba bit her lip, her brow furrowing. Then…

"The day Dr. Dillamond left Shiz, he gave me his journal." She started with the basics: what Dillamond had told her, his warning about Morrible, what the journal contained. She told Glinda about what the research meant, how excited she was in those first few weeks, burying herself in the library late at night, working on something that could actually make a difference in Oz.

"That's why I wanted to stay here over Lurlinemas break. But something else happened when I was home. I met a Bird who was wandering through Munchkinland. When he found out I was working with Dillamond's research, he wanted to help." She didn't say Peric's name, but she told Glinda all about him—how he wandered through Oz causing trouble, how he wanted to help with Dillamond's work, how he became her only friend on the Colwen Grounds, helping her with the research and the Eminency decision. "He's the one who suggested writing to Dillamond," Elphaba said quietly.

"Where is he now?"

"I…don't know." She wouldn't talk about the Resistance. If Glinda knew about it, then she'd be in even more danger. Besides, it wasn't something Elphaba wanted to think about right now. She would have to, and soon, but not tonight.

So she went on, talking about Boq, and how he pestered her from the beginning. How Fiyero overheard a conversation and stole the journal from Morrible's office, forcing his way into their secret. She told her about Crope and Tibbett cornering her, about everyone jumping in to the research without a second thought, helping her in any way they could, even after everything that had happened.

She didn't talk much about the meeting with Dr. Dillamond. In all honesty, she couldn't. But she told her about everything the Goat had told her—how the Wizard was manipulating the country to stay in power, how it might just all be a way to cover up how weak he was. How he was linked to Morrible, using the headmistress as a way to control the next generation of educated citizens.

She told her about how things had been changing—books and supplies were going missing, campus rules were getting stricter, and Morrible was getting closer and closer. She had known for weeks now that her time was running out, and now, it seemed, it finally had.

What she didn't tell Glinda was that she had no idea what to do next. What she didn't tell her was that Dillamond had told her to finish her studies, but had never been able to tell her how to do so with Morrible hovering over her. What she didn't tell her—what she couldn't even begin to fathom telling her—was that somewhere, hidden in the Emerald City, shrouded in rumor and violence, was a group that knew her name, knew the work she had done, and was quite possibly waiting for her to come looking for them.

And at the end of it all, she told Glinda how much she loved her. She apologized for the lying and the secrets. She said Glinda deserved better, deserved someone who could protect her, not drag her into this mess of secrets and danger. She told her how she wished things were different. How she wished they could just be safe and happy, far away from the research and Morrible and the Wizard and all the horrors that were rising around them.

Glinda said nothing. She studied Elphaba for a long while when the green girl was finished. Then she leaned in and kissed her, slow, soft, and steady. The silence of their room rang in Elphaba's ears, broken only by quiet breaths and the occasional rustle of sheets. She pulled Glinda closer—she may not have deserved her, but that didn't mean she was strong enough to let her go—and reached up to cup her face. Her fingers met wetness, trails of silent tears down the blonde's cheeks. But because it was Glinda, she let it burn.