Had to let that last happy chapter linger for a bit.
Thanks, James Birdsong and Fae'sFlower for the reviews! You guys are so consistent! My heart is full :)
Fae'sFlower, my bad! I've been reading here for years also and I always see your username on the reviews lol! I've left reviews on some of your fics too! But under different usernames, I think haha. It's my first time writing and posting stories. When you left a review on mine, I just couldn't help but ask haha! Thank you for your consistency BTW. Your reviews do give me boosts of serotonin!
Short chapter ahead.
Let me know if you want me to post the next one on the same weekend (or you'd want to wallow in our Elphie's pain for a while longer)!
Day 795
June 2020
Avaric, Galinda, and Crope were in the city. Actually, they have been coming and going for the past few months. Since their first visit over nine months ago (wow, time flies), she hadn't seen them in almost a year—before that, almost five—but recent events had called for their reunion once again. And all of them happily agreed.
When she first got together with Fiyero, he asked her to get in touch with their old friends. She was reluctant at first, but after a few months in the relationship, she decided to give it a shot. Since then, all of them corresponded through social media messages and occasionally, video calls—as Galinda would insist. She did miss them. After all, she never intended to leave them all clueless and hurt all those years ago. Somehow, she wished Boq and the others didn't need to tend to hectic business at that time so she could see all of them again. But she understood the circumstances.
Galinda hugged her tightly when they first saw each other again, in person. The bubbly blonde had aged, she noticed, but her face still shone like porcelain. And her light curls bounced along with her.
"I've missed you so, so, so much, Elphie!" she wailed. "Finally! My ElphieeEeEee!" she screamed as she threw herself at the taller green girl again in a bone-crushing hug.
The four friends visited a local pub later in the night, to unwind after a common gathering. It was a clammy Summer evening, and all of them sighed in relief as they entered the cool air-conditioned dining area.
In contrast to the glowing emerald exteriors of the EC skyline, the pub was mostly made of darker tones. Wooden tables and metal stools illuminated by low-hanging pendant lamps were scattered across the cool interior. Bartenders wore white dress shirts with black aprons behind similar dark wood counters.
Elphaba glanced at the signage to the left of the main doors. "Nox, est. 1768," it read. The industrial tick-tock era, she thought—that explained the interiors. The tick-tock era always interested her. The mechanical and engineering industry was something she never got her mind around, but it was interesting. She hoped they would have a great night together. It was a tiring day, after all.
Once seated and with their orders served, the group of friends laughed and screamed as they told each other stories about their recent ventures.
Elphaba laughed heartily as she watched Galinda punch Avaric and Crope on the arm when the two made an—amusedly similar—impression of one of the blonde girl's exes; he was rich and naive, but haughty—much like most of her previous types. She was proud of her friend for breaking up with all of those previous men. You deserve better, she always told her in their calls. And her friend would hug her through the screen, teary-eyed.
After another round of roaring laughter at the two men's antics, the conversation calmed and they talked about their current situations. Avaric asked Elphaba a question, and it took a while for her to realize the weight of the topic—when all eyes turned to her.
For a moment, time seemed to stop; yet the clock continued to tick. When she looked up, she suddenly noticed how her eyes glazed over; a small lump formed in her throat.
"I'm sorry," she said. "But, I—Uhm, I think I have to go."
The last thing she heard as she exited the pub doors was Avaric yelping in pain, as Galinda hushedly scolded him and smacked him with her handbag. She'd have to message them apologies when she got home.
She didn't know why she felt the way she was. It was over, anyway—her and Fiyero. It had been a long time ago. She had no right or entitlement over him. But still, it tore her apart. For why did she even think of another possibility other than what was in the present? She mentally kicked herself.
Blinking back tears as she walked the way home, Avaric's question kept repeating itself in her mind—like the wheels of a train or the motion of a rowing sailor's arms—rolling, raking, and tiring.
"Is it hard—now that Fiyero has someone new?"
I actually debated between Crope and Boq. But I decided Boq might be stressed with work and his upcoming wedding in Munchkinland, while Crope was just having fun at the theatre…so there's that. Boq is still great tho!