I was convinced I had updated last Thursday, but it turns out I didn't. Oops. Sorry!

Fae'sFlower: No alter egos for a while, sorry. I've kept them only minor characters, since the story is mainly about Elphaba and the crew. You'll get to know your alter egos a bit better in chapter 13, though!

11. Hard To Resist

As it turned out, she didn't get a chance to talk to Fiyero alone until late that afternoon, when he came to the library to fetch her for dinner. He grinned when he saw her and she looked at him suspiciously.

"What?"

"Nothing," he said, shaking his head, still grinning. "Just happy to see you."

She blushed at that, but she refused to show him the effect it had on her when he said such things in a such a casual tone of voice. She scoffed. "You're just happy you found me because you're one step closer to eating dinner now."

She could tell that he knew what she was doing, but his grin just widened. "That, too." He perched on her desk and reached for her pile of books, starting to pack them into her bag. "Finish up and come with me. I'm hungry."

"You're always hungry," she muttered, but she was smiling and she did as he had said. Once she'd packed everything, Fiyero swept her bag off the desk and swung it over his own shoulder.

She scowled at him. "Give that back."

"No," he said. "I'm a gentleman, remember? I'm not going to let Her Royal Highness Princess Elphaba Thropp-Diggs of Oz and future Miss Emerald carry her own bag."

She shuddered, realising with dawning horror that that was actually her official title now – minus the whole 'future Miss Emerald' thing, of course. "It's just Elphaba Thropp, a.k.a. the resident green girl," she corrected him, "and she is perfectly capable of carrying her own bag, thank you very much."

"Oh, trust me," he said, his blue eyes dancing. "I know." He didn't give back her bag, though.

She sighed, pretending to be irritated, and he pouted at her. "Come on, Fae."

"Insufferable," she said under her breath, which earned her another of those grins that made her feel weak in the knees. That reminded her… she had something to tell him. Not here, though, with all these people around.

She kept procrastinating as they left the library and headed across campus for the cafeteria. Just as she had almost finished gathering courage, however, Fiyero solved the issue by bringing it up himself.

"So," he said lightly. He didn't look at her, which told her that despite his attempt to be casual about his question, he was anxious to ask it. "Have you given my suggestion some thought? You know, about… well, about us?"

She took a deep breath. "I have," she said, wondering for the thousandth time if this was really the right decision, then reminding herself of her resolve to confront her fears. "I, um… I guess I'm in if you are."

There. She'd said it.

Almost subconsciously, she already mentally braced herself for his rejection – maybe he'd even laugh at her – but of course, that didn't come. Instead, his grin returned, only even wider and more beaming than before.

"Really?" he asked, stopping her. "Do you mean that?"

"I wouldn't have kissed you if I didn't like you," she pointed out. "And I won't say that I'm not scared, because I've never done anything like this before, but… well, until I try, I'll never know, right?"

"Right," he agreed quietly, taking a step closer to her. He cupped her face in both his hands and leaned in. He was so close that their breaths mingled, but he didn't close the final distance between them, probably wanting to give her a chance to back out; so Elphaba was the one to bridge the final gap and press her lips against his. He responded instantly, kissing her back, but she drew away fairly quickly.

She chortled a little when she saw the disappointed look on his face. "We're in public," she reminded him. "I won't have our classmates gaping at us – or worse. Imagine a reporter having sneaked onto campus again and snapping a picture of us."

He sighed. "I know. You're right." He quickly brightened again, though, as they continued to walk in the direction of the cafeteria. "So… can I take you on a date tonight?"

"You can have a TV date in my dorm room, because the next Miss Emerald episode is on tonight," she said with a little smirk and he cursed.

She swatted at his arm. "Behave."

"Yes, ma'am," he said, grinning again. "Fine. TV date it is. But tomorrow..." He faltered. "Wait. Tomorrow's Saturday. You probably have another Miss Emerald event, don't you?"

"Actually, I don't," she said. "Next week's episode is about the presentation of our talents, so the TV crew is coming to our homes and schools in order to film presentations of our skills in front of our family members and friends." She rolled her eyes. "It's from Monday until Wednesday and I'm not looking forward to it, but I guess you're lucky, because I don't have any plans tomorrow."

He looked decidedly pleased about that. "Tomorrow, then. I'll take you on another outing away from the competition craziness," he promised. "You liked that, didn't you?"

"Very much," she confirmed. "Did you, though? Does me using you as a pillow for hours as I read a book really count as a nice date for you?"

"Are you kidding?" he asked with another one of those grins. "As long as it's just the two of us spending time together, it's a perfect date for me."

Elphaba didn't know how it was possible. They entered the cafeteria together, yes, but they weren't holding hands or even touching as they came in and made their way over to the table where their friends were sitting. The moment Glinda laid eyes on them, however, her eyes widened and she said instantly, "Oh my Oz, you two are together."

Both Elphaba and Fiyero could only stare at the blonde.

"What?" Boq asked, confused.

Glinda fluttered her hands at the couple impatiently. "Elphie and Fiyero! They finally admitted they're in love with each other! You have, haven't you?" she asked. "You are together?"

Fiyero was the first to find his voice again. "We are," he said finally, bewildered. "But… how did you…?"

Glinda giggled. "Oh, you know I have a sixth sense for such things." She winked at him, then squealed and threw her arms around Elphaba. "I'm so happy for you, Elphie! When did this happen? Something must have been going on for a while already, I'm sure of it. This didn't just happen overnight. I mean, of course I know you two have liked each other for a long time," she prattled on, "but I never thought either one of you would act on it. To be honest, I wasn't completely sure if you liked one another that way until recently – you're both so hard to read and you were always beating around the bush, both of you. Then at the ball, though, I thought I noticed something, but I was sure I would have to intervene somehow to make something happen. I never thought you'd get around to it yourselves! Wait – I know. Was it the trip into the village the other day? When Fiyero saved you from our beauty pageant talk, Elphie? That's so romantic!"

Elphaba and Fiyero could still only gape at Glinda like she'd grown two heads and Nessa, taking pity on her sister, suggested, "Why don't we all get something to eat first, Glinda, and then Elphaba and Fiyero can tell us exactly what happened?"

Unfortunately (for Glinda; Elphaba thought it was quite fortunate), they'd been late for dinner and they had to eat quickly and hurry back to the girls' dorm room in order to be in time to watch the new Miss Emerald episode, so Glinda hardly got the chance to interrogate her friends. In fact, as Fiyero and Boq carried Nessa's chair up the stairs, she pushed her thoughts of Elphaba and Fiyero aside and started panicking over the competition.

"What if the people don't like me?" she asked anxiously. "What if they think I'm too blonde and ditzy, or too stupid, to be Miss Emerald? What if I come across as a total idiot on TV and I'll be eliminated in the semi-final?"

"Or me," said Nessa as the boys placed her chair on the floor and she wheeled herself towards the door. "Maybe I won't make it to the finale, either. People will probably hate my chair."

"I'd say it was very unlikely for me to make it to the finale," said Elphaba sarcastically, lowering her voice, "but of course Oscar is manipulating the whole thing so I can stay in until I find Bomb Threat Woman. Or Guy," she amended when she saw the look Glinda threw her.

"I do think you're right about it being a woman," Glinda admitted. "You don't have proof yet, though."

Elphaba pressed her lips together. "I will."

"Who are we suspecting here?" Boq asked curiously, but Elphaba waved him away.

"I'll tell you later," she promised. "Right now we have a show to watch."

Chistery was already waiting for them at the door when they arrived. Oscar wasn't present this time, finding himself unable to get away from the City right now; but since he'd already heard that Elphaba had done great at the ball, he was confident there wouldn't be a problem. Dr Dillamond didn't join them this time, either, having excused himself because he had a lot of work to do. He'd watch the show in his office as he graded some papers.

They all huddled in front of the TV together and the opening tune played again, which made Elphaba groan. Glinda shushed her.

The young witch let her head drop against Fiyero's shoulder. "I'm not sure I want to see myself dance," she confessed.

He chuckled and pressed a kiss to her hair. "We did great," he said confidently. "I mean, I was your partner – how could you have done badly?"

She raised her head to glare at him and he laughed again. "Joking, Fae." He pulled her back against him and they watched in silence for a moment.

"Hey, Yero?" she whispered at some point.

"Yeah?"

"How is this any different from what we usually do?"

He looked at her. She was right – they'd sat like this dozens of times already. Fiyero was generally a person who liked to touch, always putting his hand on someone's shoulder, or his arm around someone. It had made Elphaba uncomfortable at first, but she'd gotten used to it by now. Even the kisses, as she had pointed out to him a couple of days ago, weren't new; he'd been doing that for weeks, if not months, already.

"I may have been grooming you a little over the past month or so," he confessed. "You know… the kisses, as you pointed out the other day, and some more touching than usual. I figured that once I'd finally muster up the courage to act on my feelings for you, it'd be a much easier transition for you if you were already used to such things. Even then, I knew you'd probably be scared and you'd find it difficult to adjust."

She shook her head in mild amazement. "How do you know me so well?"

He shrugged. "We've been friends for over a year," he reminded her. "I paid attention."

She was quiet for a while, processing this new information. On the screen, Macy was shown dancing with her partner, that arrogant look on her face Elphaba knew so well. She did a wonderful job, of course. Cashel and Reven were giving commentary on each girl's posture, movements, choice of escort, dress, hair, and make-up, and probably a bunch of other silly things Elphaba didn't care about.

"So," she said quietly after a while. "What changes, then? Between us?"

He grinned. "I was hoping you'd ask that. See, I get to do this," he bent down to kiss her softly on the lips, "now."

She raised an eyebrow. "And that's all?"

"Pretty much," he said. "Well, we'll probably spend more time together than before – just the two of us, that is."

She thought of their 'escape trip' and smiled a little. "I don't think I mind that so much."

"Good." He combed his fingers through the ponytail she was wearing her hair in. "You were already used to the kissing and the touching, we were already talking a lot… Aside from dates and kissing – proper kissing, that is – I think there's not much that will change."

"I think I like that," she admitted and he grinned at her.

"I rather thought you would."

"Regardless of how adorable the two of you are and how badly I want to hear this conversation," Glinda cut in, "could you please continue it later? We're trying to follow the episode!"

Both Elphaba and Fiyero apologised and Glinda giggled at them before returning her attention to the screen.

Nessa and Boq looked very sweet as they 'danced' together, she in her chair. Karise didn't do so well, continuously stepping on her partner's toes and looking decidedly unhappy in her frilly cupcake dress. Caila didn't misstep, but she looked tense and not as graceful as she could have been. Lunare made the whole thing look rather scandalacious, constantly sharing sultry looks with her date, both of them grabbing the other in places that weren't entirely appropriate, and Nessarose sniffed indignantly.

Umbia was a little shy in her dancing, just like she was in real life. Micaela and Nathalinia did great, as did Glinda herself and, as they all admitted, Elphaba, too. Reven and Cashel praised the green girl for not just her dancing skills, but also the way she looked and the partner she had chosen ("The princess of Oz and the prince of the Vinkus! Don't they just make a lovely pair?"). Faye and Saraphina, however, were the real stars, sweeping across the dance floor with fluent steps, and doing complicated moves, lifts, and dips with their dance partners that had Reven and Cashel gushing enthusiastically.

The final five minutes of the episode, of course, were about Elphaba and her fight with Pfannee – or, as Reven and Cashel presented it, "Princess Elphaba's fight for equal treatment of the minorities in Oz".

"This is ridiculous," Elphaba complained. "I put one girl in place over one remark she made about Fiyero's people and now I'm suddenly fighting for equal treatment of minorities in Oz? When did this happen?"

"They probably count it with your love for Animals and your fight to have them treated equally," Nessa reasoned. "Between those two things, I suppose one could say that you're fighting for equal treatment of minorities, don't you?"

Elphaba had to admit that that was probably true.

"Besides," Chistery added, "you've been so afraid this whole time that people wouldn't believe you'd make it to the finale because of your skin and your temper. Now they all think you're a hero, which would make that more believable."

"You're right," she said with a sigh. "I guess it's a good thing, then."

Glinda turned off the TV and then turned around to face her friends. "All right," she said sternly. "The show is over. Now, Elphie, we want to know what the story is of how you and Fiyero got together."

"Elphie?" Glinda asked later that night as they were lying in bed. The others had stayed quite a long time after the show, wanting to know everything that had happened, which had exhausted and irritated Elphaba. Fiyero hadn't minded the questions so much, but even he had grown annoyed in the end – especially with Glinda, who kept asking questions that were absolutely none of her business.

Elphaba wondered how long it would be before the press found out about her and Fiyero's relationship and there'd be another article about her in The Ozian. She'd briefly contemplated keeping the whole thing a secret for that reason, but then decided it wasn't worth the trouble. What did she care what other people thought about her? She'd been getting hell for one thing or another her whole life already – be that about her skin or her relationship with Fiyero, she didn't really care. As long as he wouldn't care, anyway, which he said he wouldn't.

"Elphie?" Glinda asked again. "Are you awake?"

Elphaba shifted a little. "Yeah."

"I'm sorry. I know the whole questioning about you and Fiyero went a little far."

The green girl sighed. "It's fine, Glin," she said tiredly. "I know you, after all."

Glinda giggled. "That you do."

She was quiet for a moment, then asked again, "Elphie?"

"Mmh."

The blonde propped herself onto one elbow and looked over at her friend. "I know I promised to leave you alone about the beauty pageant," she began. "You know, unless something really urgent comes up or you're about to commit a major social or fashion blunder…"

Elphaba rolled her eyes, even though her roommate couldn't see that in the dark. "Yes."

"…but, well… you realise the talent judging is coming up next week."

"I do."

"And you don't have a talent picked out yet."

"I do."

Glinda sat up suddenly. "You do?!"

"Yes, I do," Elphaba repeated calmly. "Fiyero suggested one on our day out, after you all made it very clear to me that I don't have any talents that I could possibly use for this," she couldn't help adding sarcastically.

She could tell by Glinda's voice that she was probably blushing, slightly embarrassed. "Yes, well… we didn't mean it like that, Elphie. You have plenty of talents. Just… none that really seemed suitable for an occasion such as this one." She bounced a little, obviously excited. "So which talent did you pick?"

Elphaba smiled into the darkness. "That's for me to know and for you to find out next week," she said in a sing-song voice, turning onto her other side. "Good night, Glinda."

She had to ignore the blonde's protests for almost a quarter of an hour before Glinda finally shut up and Elphaba managed to fall asleep, a slight grin playing around her lips at the mere thought of her friends' reaction to the talent she was about to show them the next week.

Drop a review with your favourite lines and I might update again tomorrow to make up for the update gap this time! ^_^