What on earth was Elphaba doing at a festival of love by themself? Well, they knew. It was their day off and they were going to do something different. Upon arrival at the permanent fair on the outskirts of the Emerald City, they realized exactly why Galinda had been unavailable. She had likely planned a romantic day with her girlfriend and Elphaba would have been a third wheel. Sometimes Elphaba was a third wheel on their dates, but this wasn't an appropriate day to tag along.
And now they were the solitary idiot surrounded by lovey-dovey couples.
Oh well. They were here and had already paid for entry and some tickets, so they would go on a couple rides and that would be that.
Sighing inwardly, they went to the ferris wheel and queued up. People were staring. Even if they weren't looking their way they were staring.
Elphaba did stand out from a crowd. Green skin, forearm crutches, and to boot they were dressed head to toe in black surrounded by couples wearing mostly pink and white.
Did it have to be so windy? Elphaba was regretting chopping their hair short now. At least when their hair was long they could braid it on days like these. Now it was too short to be put up and too long to stay out of their face.
Maybe they should just shave it off completely.
Twenty minutes later, it was their turn.
"Those can't go on the ride," said the operator.
Elphaba frowned and snapped their fingers, the crutches transforming into bracelets.
"That's fine," he said, waving for them to sit down. "All alone?"
He was judging them, wasn't he?
"Yes," they muttered.
"Any other single riders?" he called out to the line. "Single riders!"
Elphaba rolled her eyes. They were fine riding alone.
"I'm single and a rider!" someone not in line replied and jogged over.
"Well, aren't you a lucky girl?" the woman who was waiting to go on next said, while clinging to the arm of her date.
"Not a girl," said Elphaba.
The 'Single Rider' started slightly upon seeing Elphaba, but handed over his tickets before sitting down next to them. The bar was lowered and the ride moved so the next gondola could be filled.
Elphaba glanced at their forced companion. He was handsome with sienna skin and dark curly hair. The blue diamond tattoos peeking from behind his hat and scarf told her he was Vinkun; they curved just slightly towards his cheekbones.
"Hi," he said, smiling. "Fiyero."
"I would have been fine riding this by myself," they said.
"Well that's a long name," he joked.
They rolled their eyes. "Elphaba."
The ferris wheel started up soon enough. Elphaba smiled at the view of the Emerald City at the top. Fiyero lifted the camera on his chest to take a snapshot of the view. After two rotations, there was a huge, howling gust of wind and the ride made a weird sort of lurch before stopping completely. Couples chattered about the sudden stop.
Elphaba frowned and looked over the side. The ride operator looked to be calling someone on their radio.
"You know, I don't think this is supposed to happen," said Fiyero.
"Thank you, Captain Obvious," they snipped.
"It's called peer review, Lieutenant Sarcasm," he responded.
Elphaba sighed and watched as someone ran over.
"Ladies and Gentleman!" she called through a bullhorn. "Please remain calm and in your seats. We will get the situation resolved as soon as possible."
Groaning softly, Elphaba opened their purse and took out their pocket book. They flipped it open to the notes section.
"What's that?" Fiyero asked, leaning over her shoulder.
"Bucket list," they muttered, crossing off 'go to a fair' and jotting down next to it 'ferris wheel broke, stuck.'
"What else have you done today?" he asked.
"Nothing. This was the first ride of the day," they said.
"Then I don't think you can cross it off," he said.
"I've seen enough." They stuffed it back into her bag.
Unbelievable. They should've come at night, they had just hoped that coming when the fair first opened would beat the worst of the crowds.
Fiyero settled back the best he could, his grip tightening slightly as another gust of wind came through, wobbling the gondolas.
They said absolutely nothing until the sirens of a fire engine blared out.
"We're saved!" Fiyero cheered.
The ladder was used to bring down riders. Elphaba winced just slightly when the ride creaked and groaned and ran their thumbs over their fingers.
They were at the very top, so they were last. The ladder moved higher, then stopped.
"Nearly there," called Fiyero.
The firemen chattered and gestured wildly, the truck was moved, but it didn't do any good.
"The ladder is too short!" the woman from earlier called. "We'll try to find a taller one!"
"Oh, sweet Oz!" Elphaba groaned.
The firemen packed up and left since their presence didn't do much good now.
"So… why come to a love festival by yourself?" Fiyero asked.
"If I choose not to answer?"
"I can find some other way to pass the time," he said, then popped his lips.
Elphaba weighed their options.
He popped his lips again.
"I didn't realize today was Amora's Day," they huffed. "I just knew there was a fair. I had originally invited my best friend but she's doing something special with her partner. The dates didn't register as I have never celebrated the holiday. I am a major fan of the day after."
"And what's the day after?" he asked.
"Discount Chocolate Day."
He laughed. "Yeah, hard to beat that."
"Your turn. Why are you here by yourself?"
"I really like funnel cake," he said.
They raised an eyebrow.
"I just felt like doing something different," he said. "It's not exactly fun to be dateless during Amora's Day."
"I've always been dateless this day," they said. "It's not the end of the world."
"But do you have fun?"
"No."
"Exactly, case in point," he said.
Okay, they walked into that one. Elphaba shivered, wishing they had worn a warmer coat. They didn't because they had thought they would be walking around a lot. It was stupid of them, they were always cold these days.
"Well," said Fiyero, drumming his hands on the bar. "At least we're together in this."
"Help!" Elphaba cried.