Fiyero had forgotten how nice it was to dance and be gay without his every step having some sort of political implication. Galinda, as ever, was a sporting partner, talented in step as she was flawless in beauty, and he wasted the first hour away, simply relishing in the absentmindedness the music inspired.

The musician's slowed their tempo and while she peered up at him beseechingly, hoping for a kiss that once upon a time he had given to her, Fiyero took the opportunity suggest drinks. As they sipped their punch, people began parting as a frightening figure crossed the room. The instant Madame Morrible approached them he was edgy. Part of him wondered, knowing how powerful she was, that she would take one look at him and see that he didn't belong, but she hardly seemed to even notice him or his tension as she approached Galinda with that awful smile plastered on her face. He decided not to take a risk silently hung back as he listened to their exchange.

How he had taken the minute details for granted! He couldn't possibly have understood the implications of what Morrible said the first time he had heard them, not having known or cared who Galinda's roommate was or what generosity said roommate displayed when she had coerced the headmistress into including the blonde into her sorcery seminar. He could only imagine what Galinda was thinking as she stared at the brand-new wand after Morrible departed.

"What is it?"

"I got what I wanted…" she said pensively.

"Then what's the matter?"

A smile then lit up her face with false light, like that of a light bulb being switched on, and she said cheerily with a flourish of her wand, "Nothing."

He decided it best not to prod. He could be content knowing that hers and Elphaba's friendship was, in a way, destined, regardless of the details he didn't know.

"Then let's dance."

She giggled giddily as he spun her energetically around the dance floor. He couldn't contain himself; soon, he would be seeing his Elphaba and this world, this ridiculous time-travel, would no longer be so foreign and frustrating. The person that made his life make sense would be here and they could have a fresh start.

He wasn't sure how much time had gone by before he heard the telltale gasp of the crowd and the halt of the musicians that announced Elphaba's arrival. While everyone jeered and hissed and spoke crudely about her, Fiyero was entranced the moment his eyes found her. He cared not, as everyone else did, that she did not have on an elaborate dress, sparkling heels or have her hair pulled up into a fancy up-do; he didn't care how untraditional her skin was; in his mind, she was absolutely beautiful, even under that hideodeous hat that for a moment he forgot was it out-of-place.

The Ozdust disappeared around him. The lamps only existed to illuminate her. The sounds faded together. He rocked on his feet, the draw to her so utterly strong that he wasn't sure if he should give in to it or turn away, lest he did something regrettable.

"That's my roommate," Galinda whispered at his side, her voice tight as she gripped his arm. Her voice pulled him back into reality a little bit but not enough for him to remove his eyes. "Please, don't stare!"

"How can you help it?" he murmured, mesmerized.

She pulled off the conical hat then, and without the wide brim the bright lights of the Ozdust ignited her features, which were hard but still panicked as she stared around the room. Struck with intense déjà vu that seemed layered upon itself, he associated this first moment she came into his life with when he found her in the throne room with the Wizard and she seemed equally flustered at her sudden audience. And yet still, he felt faint with reoccurring memories and feelings of this exact moment, of bewilderment and intrigue, instinctual aversion and that deep, perplexing allure. She was green, after all. A green woman. A woman who was green. A woman with green skin. A kind of attractive woman with skin that was green.

After a moment her shrewd eyes closed and she smiled a wry, self-depreciating smile, for she seemed to comprehend she was the victim of a cruel practical joke. He wondered now why he had stayed the path; couldn't he have prevented this? It was breaking his heart. But when she finally looked up, Fiyero wanted to beam with approval when she defied everyone there by jamming the hat back on her head and entering the Ozdust anyway. That was the Elphaba he loved, and he loved her more when she stomped her way to the floor, took a deep breath, and started to dance.

She was alone and there was absolutely no music, but she danced anyway, devoid of knowledge how to and in spite of everyone who could but didn't. She acted as though she didn't care at all what any of them said of her and he was so proud of her for that.

He remembered uttering something similar to Galinda that night, fascinated back then that this absolutely odd stranger could be so bold. He brought the words forward again, even though he was choked up on emotions the young Fiyero wouldn't have known how to feel: "She certainly doesn't give a twig what anyone else thinks."

"Of course she does," Galinda said feebly. "She just pretends not to. I feel awful…"

He didn't feel like asking why. He knew the answer. And just as it was supposed to happen, Galinda made her way through the crowd to Elphaba and joined her, setting the ball rolling on a friendship that would change all of their lives forever.