I don't understand/
why anyone would be so good to me/
is there something else?/
something you're trying to achieve/
I'm not a believer/
What I see is usually what I get
~o0o~
When Elphaba made it back to campus, everyone was talking about the party as always and she bumped into Nessa.
"Oh, Elphaba, isn't it wonderful?" she gushed and rushed out what Elphaba could no doubt recite by heart. "Oh please, Elphaba, try to understand!"
"Okay," said Elphaba. "Have fun."
Nessa looked surprised. "You aren't going to lecture me?"
"Do you want me to lecture you?"
"No, I suppose not," she said.
"Just don't drink the punch," Elphaba warned.
Nessa giggled and nodded.
"Okay." Her smile faded. "You're not going, are you?"
Ouch.
"No. I don't want to cramp your style."
Nessa laughed. "Where do you hear such things?"
Elphaba shrugged. "Do you need help getting ready?"
"No!" she cleared her throat. "I mean—no thank you. Some friends from my class will be helping me."
You'd think that would stop hurting after four-hundred-and-nineteen cycles.
"Alright then," said Elphaba. "Have fun."
She then bumped into Galinda and her entourage, all with the dresses they bought for the party and chattering excitedly about it.
"Miss Elphaba!" said Galinda. "We were just talking about you! I thought you might like to wear this hat to the party tonight! It's so sharp—"
Elphaba took it and placed it on her head.
"Oh, Oz, she put it on!" Pfannee whispered gleefully.
"I won't be attending the party tonight," said Elphaba.
"But it won't be the same without you there!" said ShenShen.
"No it won't," Elphaba agreed. "If you want someone to stand there and look ridiculous, might I suggest you find Fiyero and ask him to hire a clown?"
They looked at her like she sprouted two heads. Elphaba rolled her eyes and walked away. Whatever. Maybe if she strong-armed Morrible into letting Galinda join the sorcery program again, it would be the key to getting her to 10:07 tomorrow.
So she did just that, and rather than go to her dorm and ignore Galinda getting ready for the party, she went back into town.
Being the capital of Gillikin, Shiz really had a lot to offer and was the second largest city in Oz after the Emerald City. Elphaba could spend years doing something different each day.
She paused outside a second-hand store. She had money. Maybe she could buy some of the things Frex had always denied her; just to do it.
Or look and admire.
She had the portal in her hair and she had to hope she wouldn't be trapped in this time loop forever.
Elphaba entered the shop, which was empty save for the person at the register who was either a very small old woman or a very large old Owl. She couldn't be sure.
She wandered over to a kiosk full of postcards first since they were closest. As she picked one up to examine it, the bell above the door chimed.
"Miss Elphaba! I thought that was you. Glad I made the decision to catch up. Long time no see."
She turned to give Fiyero an exasperated look.
"We just had lunch together," she said.
"Yeah, but that was hours ago!" he insisted. "Also, I didn't expect to see you out here. Yech! I hope you aren't planning on spending money on that hat."
She glanced up at the brim.
"I didn't," she said. "My roommate pawned it off on me. I kinda like it. It's weird, it has character."
Fiyero looked up at it. The pointed tip brushed the chandeliers, lamps, and thingamabobs hanging from the ceiling thanks to her already tall frame.
"Yeah, I guess it does," he said. "What brings you in here?"
"Just meandering," she said, turning towards a display of postcards. "You?"
"Got lost after booking the band," he admitted.
"They don't teach you tracking skills in the Vinkus?" she teased.
"I'm a prince not a ranger," he said. "And it's a little tough to head East when there's a building in your way. Trees are easier to move around. Unless you're in Quox."
"Fair enough," she conceded. "But if you find the canal, you can usually walk the bike trail back. Also, the school is on the West side."
"Huh, noted." He stuck a hand in his pocket and glanced at the old postcard in her hand before wandering away.
She moved on to the clothes and tried on a pair of lace wrist cuffs beautifully decorated with satin bows and beading. They reached the base of her fingers and covered part of her arms. She liked how delicate they made her large hands seem, unlike full gloves that rarely fit.
"Hey! Look what I found!"
She jumped and turned around to face Fiyero. He presented a creepy-looking doll with wide, haunted eyes.
"Odd choice for a date to the party, but who am I to judge?" she said.
He paused for a beat, then laughed.
"You're funny, El," he said.
"So, we're already on nicknames now?" she asked, uncomfortable with the sudden familiarity.
This wasn't like when he called her 'duchess', a term that he seemed to use with a tone that either had slight contempt or teasing.
Rather than look at him, she turned towards a rack of scarves.
"Oh, is Munchkinland like the Rose Kingdom where you can't use someone's first name until the third date?" he asked and she wasn't sure if he was teasing or not.
"No," she said, running her fingers down one of the scarves, enjoying the cool feel of the silk and the texture. "I've just never been given a real nickname before. Not one bred from familiarity, anyway."
"El kinda seems like a no-brainer," said Fiyero. "And I am a no-brainer."
She scoffed lightly.
"What's your middle name?"
"Fay," she muttered. "It means 'raven.'"
"Ah, cause of your hair?"
"I guess…"
After a brief awkward silence, Fiyero held up the doll again.
"How many souls do you think are trapped in here?" he asked.
"Hard to say," she said, moving around him as a wicked thought came to mind. She brought her lips to the shell of his ear. "But there's always room for one more."
She dragged a nail up his spine, making him let out a weird shudder-scream. He flung the doll onto the pile of gloves.
"You break, you buy!" the Owl-Woman called out.
Elphaba cackled and slapped her knee.
"Ha-ha, very funny," he said, checking the doll for damage and sticking it on a spare surface when he found none. "'Raven' suits you well, trickster."
Elphaba's smile faded and she wondered if she took it too far.
"Reminds me of a book of ghost stories and urban legends I have," he said, turning around with a grin. "Have you read it? It's got creepy drawings and stuff."
"I don't think so," she said.
"Oh, it's great, I'll loan you my copy," he said. "My Aunt Morta gave it to me for my ninth birthday and I stayed up all night to read it and the next three weeks not sleeping a wink thanks to it. She still sings the 'Hearse Song' that's at the beginning of the book to tease me."
"The 'Hearse Song'?"
"Don't ever laugh as a hearse goes by for you may be the next to die," he sang in a low, spooky voice and grabbed a scarf from the rack, wrapping it around her shoulders. "They wrap you in a big white sheet, a lacy shroud that falls down to your feet."
Elphaba chuckled as he spun her around. "So it's a song book, too?"
"Only the creepy ones," he said. "This scarf suits you, it matches those gloves."
She looked down at it. It was a watered black with bright red flowers.
It wasn't like she could waste money and she could hold onto it for however long this loop lasted.
Keeping it around her shoulders, she moved on. Fiyero started to follow, froze, then backpedaled, shoving aside a rack of clothes.
"Oh, yes!" he gasped and pulled something off the rack. "Please fit, please fit."
He put it on, revealing it to be a cobalt blue leather jacket. It had gold studs on the shoulders and arms, some of which had fallen off, but it didn't detract from swagger.
"Yesss, it fits!" Fiyero cheered. "How's it look?"
He posed, holding it closed to hide the red of his vest.
"I like it," said Elphaba. "It's cool."
He turned to look at his reflection in a mirror with a sign pasted on it that read: Warning! Cursed.
"It is, isn't it? Can't believe someone would give this up!"
"Well, it is typically for motorcyclist safety," she pointed out, "Maybe they sold their motorcycle, too."
"I bet I could make it a fashion statement," he said.
"Keep using your driver and I think it's more of a necessity."
"He's not that bad," said Fiyero unconvincingly.
Elphaba found a section full of old books and eagerly started poring through them.
"Oh, I've read this one," said Fiyero, taking down a book with a blue cover.
"'The Earl Who Adores Me'?" Elphaba read.
"I read it once to impress a girl," he said. "She said I reminded her of the love interest. I won't say the Earl and I aren't similar, but I'd at least hope that if I did fall in love I wouldn't be such an idiot about it. And I'd deny it if anyone else asked me, but I read it all in one sitting. It is steamy."
He fanned his face
Elphaba laughed and took the book just as Fiyero pulled another one down and flipped it open, his jaw dropping in surprise.
"This is a first edition," he whispered. "And she only marked it for four bits?! It must be worth thousands!"
Elphaba looked at the cover.
"Ego and Bias," she read. "Let me guess, another book read to impress a girl?"
"No, to impress—" he paused. "Well, anyway, it's a good read. Oh and don't get the wrong impression about me. Sure I like to read a good story every now and again, but there are plenty of other things I'd rather do before I pick up a book."
She took the book from him, running her fingers along the well-loved spine before tucking it under her arm. It had been an option in her linguification class in high school, but all the girls in class had gone rabid over selecting it, so she had decided not to join the fray and selected 'Are We Men or Mice?' instead and 'The Nonconformists' for extra credit.
She had to be realistic with what she could buy, but it didn't stop her from spidering her fingers along the other volumes and promising herself she'd come back and read them all.
Fiyero would wander off and just when she thought he got bored, he would run back to show her something weird or haunted or both.
"I think my great grandma owned this vase and bequeathed it to my grandma," he said and turned it over to look at the bottom. "It is my grandma's. Lost in the move my ass."
Elphaba snorted and indeed saw a stamp marking it as property of the royal family.
"I should buy it and put it back in Grandma Eudora's house," he said. "See how she reacts."
Elphaba laughed. "It's pretty hideodious."
"Sure is a conversation starter, though," he said, turning to show her the raunchy painting on one side.
Elphaba burst into laughter, blushing more than she ever had in her life. She pressed her hands to her face, peering at it between her fingers.
"Your great grandma owned that?!"
No wonder his grandma got rid of it. Elphaba tipped her head in wonder.
"How do they even get in that position?" She wondered, then glanced at Fiyero and felt the heat race from her ears to her neck. "Know what? I don't wanna know."
Fiyero chuckled. "I learned my first dirty joke from Gam-Gam. Want to hear it?"
"Alright."
"A naked man and an Elephant cross paths and the Elephant says to the naked man, 'That's a cute little thing, but how do you drink with it?'"
Elphaba clapped her hand over her mouth and sank to her knees, not sure if it was the joke, the awkwardness of the situation, or the image of an old lady telling it to an impressionable young child that she found so hilarious. Despite her admittedly limited dealings with men, she wasn't completely naive. When she gave herself the talk on reproduction, she found some books in the children's section that talked about the different reproductive organs for boys and girls and how they would change as they grew older. It was matter-of-fact, straight forward, and oodles better than the talk they were given in school.
"Yeah, Gam-Gam was a riot," said Fiyero. "Can you breathe?"
She nodded and slowly rose back to her feet.
The clocks in the ship all went off at the same time in a cacophony of bells, chimes, tinkles, and cuckoos.
"Four o'clock," Elphaba noted and picked a silver pocket watch off a table, flipping it open. It was beaten and battered, which was likely why it wasn't in the glass case with the other small timepieces. "Huh, this watch only has twelve numbers."
"Weird," said Fiyero. "And here I thought twenty-six hours a day wasn't enough. What's that writing mean?"
Elphaba squinted at it, wiggling the watch to try and get the light to hit it right.
"It says: To Ozzie, Love… Winifred."
"Geez, maybe I need glasses," said Fiyero. "It reminds me of this book I found once. I went with my parents to visit Kiamo Ko—my castle in the mountains—to assess the damage from a fire and my sister and I found it in the attic. It had this funny writing in it no one could understand. I guess it made sense to someone cause it got stolen shortly after."
"Odd," she said, putting the watch down.
"Can I try your glasses on?" he asked.
"I suppose." She handed them over.
"How do I look?" he asked. "Huh… your sight isn't that bad. My sister's is way worse."
"I don't think glasses are your thing," she said, taking them back. "And I could go without them, but I get awful headaches if I do. I'm farsighted."
"So you… can only see things close?"
"Other way around."
When the clocks chimed for five, Elphaba realized how long she'd spent in the shop with Fiyero.
"I'm going to pay for these," she said, carrying the things that interested her to the counter.
"Yeah, me too," he agreed.
Elphaba let her hair out of its braid so she could make use of the portal. It was easier to stash things when it was loose.
"Where did they go?" Fiyero asked in amazement.
"It's a portal," she said. "I don't quite know how it works myself, but it's pretty convenient."
Fiyero stuck his hand in, then hissed and withdrew it. His skin came out all red.
"Oz, it's cold in there!"
"Yes, I really wouldn't put anything alive in there," she said. "Are you okay? Here."
She stuck the book into her hair and clasped his hand into both of hers. His skin was freezing.
"Yeah, serves me right," he said.
Thankfully the redness was fading back to brown.
"Better?" Elphaba asked.
He flexed his fingers and nodded.
Elphaba quickly let go so she could plait her hair.
"You could leave it down," said Fiyero.
"I could," she agreed and tied it off. "Need help getting back to school?"
He shook his head, then cringed and nodded.
"Okay," she laughed. "Come on."
"You know, you could come to the party," said Fiyero. "Not too late to change your mind."
"I already told my sister and roommate I wasn't going," she said. "It'd just be awkward if I made myself a liar."
"Okay, good point," he said. "Maybe the next one?"
"I thought you just threw the one," she said.
"Then you could be my date next time there's a party," he said.
She furrowed her brow. "Your date?"
"Yeah," he said. "This is the most fun I've had for a long time."
"Oh." She stopped walking.
Oh…
"What's wrong?" Fiyero asked. "You know the way back to school, right?"
"I… yes," she said, feeling her defenses raise.
This was ridiculous, utterly ridiculous. Like he'd actually like her like that, especially after a few hours. Maybe it was all an elaborate act to get her to go to the party and once she was she'd be humiliated again. Galinda was his date and the girl he liked, Elphaba was just a novelty.
"That was easy," said Fiyero sunnily as the school came back into view. "Mind if I walk you back to your dorm?"
"Well, it's already getting late," she said. "You still need to get ready for the party. I was just making myself scarce to avoid my roommate. She takes forever to get ready and tonight she has Curly, Mo, and Shemp over so I was going to turn back and get dinner once I got you back to campus."
"It's not going to take me two hours to get ready," he said. "Why mess with perfection anyway? I should eat, too. I learned the hard way not to party on an empty stomach."
Wasn't like she could stop him, but she was not going to the party so he could tell everyone that she was dumb enough to think he actually liked her. She'd been burned by that more times than she cared to admit.
She'd keep on her guard until she was safe in her dorm room.
They found a small place selling hot sandwiches, bags of chips, and fountain drinks in paper cups.
"You don't have to walk me back to my room," she said.
"Then how will I know where to pick you up for breakfast in the morning?" he asked.
Oz, he sounded so genuine she didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
"Isn't it against your philosophy to be up before noon?" she asked.
"If it's your first meal of the day, it's breakfast," he said.
"I can't really argue with that," she conceded. "But I have class at 10:15. As do you, might I add."
"Let's go back to that diner," he said as she unlocked her door. "Those peach pancakes on their breakfast menu sound amazing. Peaches are my favorite fruit."
"I like blackberries," she said. "We have briar patches on our property and I'd pick fresh blackberries. I'd scratch my hands pretty badly, but I think it's worth it."
"Oh, yeah? Ever had a peach and blackberry cobbler?"
Galinda stormed around the corner.
"Who are you talking—FIYERO?!" she squawked and closed her robe. "What are you doing here? I'm not even close to being ready!"
"Just seeing El to her room," said Fiyero. "Breakfast at the diner. If it has to be after class, so be it."
"Have fun at your party," she said.
"I will." He looked at Galinda. "I didn't know they made curlers that big."
She squeaked and ducked out of view.
Fiyero left whistling cheerfully. Elphaba entered her dorm, kicking the door shut behind her while Galinda and the girls gawked.
"You know Fiyero Tiggular?" Milla whispered.
"Sort of." Elphaba sat down on her bed and pulled off her boots so she could settle in. She'd remove her corset after they left.
"How?" Galinda demanded.
"I wondered what it was about him that sent all of you swooning, so I asked him out to lunch."
"What would you two even talk about?" ShenShen scoffed.
"Just… whatever comes to mind," said Elphaba. "Now, I have a large sandwich that smells amazing and definishly isn't on any of your meal plans. Any more questions and I will eat this in front of you. Slowly."
"Just a few more questions," said Galinda. "You really asked him out?"
"Yes."
"And he said yes?"
"Mm-hm."
"Why?"
"Curiosity," she said. "But it was nice. We had fun."
Galinda scoffed and sat down to finish styling her hair.
"I'm going to dance with him tonight," she said. "I'm sure he'll have fun with me."
More so than you, was implied.
"You know," said Pfannee. "I really think you should reconsider attending the party."
She opened Elphaba's closet and took out a simple black frock. Her familiarity with her wardrobe concerned Elphaba, but she decided she didn't want to pick a fight over it at the moment.
"You'd look so… at the party in this!" she said, having trouble coming up with an adjective that wasn't an insult.
Elphaba pulled the sandwich out of the bag and unwrapped it, the smell filling up the room quickly. Desperate times called for desperate measures.
"Look at all this bread," she said, picking up a half. "Hot, melty cheese, roasted, seasoned vegetables." She took a huge bite, dragging a piece of melted cheese into a long, gooey string. "Mm-mm-mmm!"
If looks could kill, she'd be dead where she stood. Pfannee dropped the dress onto the floor and they all finished getting ready like they weren't starving. Which Elphaba didn't understand. She didn't eat because she was weird about food. They didn't eat because they thought their beauty correlated to how much they weighed.
Of course, maybe she'd feel different if she herself wasn't as skinny as a scarecrow. People already made her feel like she was taking too much room.
Still, she grinned wickedly and tucked the sandwich back in the wrapping until they finished admiring themselves in the mirror and left to meet their dates for the party.
Only Galinda remained behind until eight when Fiyero picked her up.
"Last call, El," he said.
"No."
He shrugged and left with Galinda.
Elphaba changed into her pajamas and settled on her bed to read and eat.