Of Love and Loathing, Part 2/? by elphies_galinda, PG
Title: Of Love and Loathing, Part 2/?
Author: elphies_galinda (and galindas_elphie <333)
Rating: PG (just in case. Not good with ratings…)
Summary: What is this feeling, so sudden and new? My heart is pounding, my heart is spinning, and all I can think of is you…. Elphaba is forced into a shopping trip after ruining one of Galinda’s dresses. Very point blank. :P
Disclaimer: We do not own Wicked! Only our dreams. *nods*
A/N: My writing is in bold, hers is in regular print. ^_^ Thanks to the reviewers thus far (though it's only been one chapter that's been posted :P)!
Elphaba glided up the stairs to her room, a tray of food balanced on her slender green hand. It was Friday night, so with any luck, her socialite roommate would already have plans for the evening. This would leave Elphaba finally alone in her room, with nothing but her supper and a good book, something she had been looking forward to all week.
She had done a pretty good job of avoiding Galinda for the past seven days: going to bed early, studying in the library, and pretending not to notice her and her posse when they strode through the halls as if they owned the place. Even so, the blonde had kept her on her feet. Thankfully, Elphaba had managed to slip quietly through the week since that unnatural night. How on earth could she ever face Galinda, or anyone else, after that? The blonde had probably told all of Shiz about it, no doubt turning the green girl into some disgusting pervert who couldn’t keep her hands to herself. Yes, Elphaba Thropp was glad to have the evening to herself.
Galinda hummed to herself as she carefully selected one of her better dresses from within her wardrobe, pointedly avoiding even glancing at herself in the vanity mirror--her elusive roommate’s words still hung in her mind despite how much she managed to avoid her. Surprisingly enough, that task had become easier as the week wore on. With the constant nightly outings with her friends and the occasional party on weeknights, the blonde successfully dodged the otherwise frequent sarcastic remarks from the green girl.
Though her outward appearance proudly announced that she was living the best of most possible lives, on the inside she was slowly turning into a nervous wreck. In this entire week, Elphaba could have told anyone about their little “situation” during the storm. Who she would tell Galinda didn’t know, but she had no doubt that the green creature would know someone. Maybe to a random student--Boq! She gasped at the prospect. That little Munchkin boy couldn’t keep his mouth shut to save himself! He would certainly tell everyone at Shiz, thus ruining the perfect reputation and casting her out of society’s good graces….
The blonde began to panic. She quickly slipped into one of the most simple yet tasteful pale pink dresses she owned, checking herself one last time in the bathroom mirror, and rushed to the door. Galinda grasped the doorknob and twisted it, yanking the door open and preparing to make a quick getaway before her roommate arrived--
Elphaba turned her back to the door, reaching behind her to grab the doorknob to open it more easily. Something hit her back, and then she was falling…
The green girl landed on her back, successfully squishing her tiny blonde roommate below her. The food catapulted into the air, dousing both of them in Elphaba’s four-course steak dinner.
A squeak of surprise escaped the blonde as a black-clad form suddenly toppled onto her. There was a crash of metal against the hard-wood floor, then the sensation of a hot substance searing her arm and running down the front of her dress. Quickly she pushed the person off of her--Elphaba, she realized with a wild mixture of anger, surprise, and terror--and looked down at herself to inspect the damage. She gasped, her eyes tearing up at the sight of the precious fabric that was now ruined beyond compare. It wasn’t her favorite, but just the idea that Elphaba did this on purpose made her want to cry….
And she so did.
Elphaba glowered dangerously at her sobbing roommate, rage converting her chocolate eyes to stone. Her plain frock was now decorated in potatoes, steak sauce, and numerous other food items. Why was it that whenever something like this happened, Galinda somehow managed to be in fault?
Galinda sniffled, trying her best to control the seemingly uncontrollable tears. “Look what you’ve done!” the blonde sobbed before burying her face in her hands, ignoring the icy glare that was fired at her. “Why do you feel so compelled to ruin everything, Miss Elphaba?”
Elphaba stared in furious shock at her roommate. SHE ruined everything?! A million insults were on the tip of her tongue, but she couldn’t pick just one. Her hand twitched, wanting nothing more than to slap the blubbering girl, but she didn’t. Instead, she held her composure brilliantly, simply stalking off to the bathroom.
Galinda heard the ruffling of Elphaba’s black skirt as the green girl strode toward another part of the room, obviously as infuriated as she was, if not more. A door slammed, making the blonde’s head jerk up in surprise. In that one, quick movement, her despair spun around and morphed completely into anger. The blonde stood up and dashed to the closed bathroom door and proceeded in trying to beat it down. “I paid for this dress with more money than you could ever hope to get your rotten hands on! How dare you do something like that and just walk away??” she shrieked.
“Easy,” Elphaba replied calmly, unphased by the passionate hammering coming from the other side of the door. “You got in my way, made me spill my dinner, and now I have to clean up. I couldn’t very well do that in our doorway, now could I?”
With one last beat on the door, which hadn’t budged an inch, Galinda let out a fierce growl of rage. “Elphaba Thropp, I’m serious! I demand you to open this Oz-forsaken door and tell me just how you’re going to pay for this!” the blonde cried. The nerve of that girl! Lurline above, if looks were materialized then Elphaba would be dead on the other side of the door in an instant….
Think about your friends, the annoying voice in her head whispered. You’re going to be late. They’ll be horribly disappointed in you….
Forget about them! Galinda’s heart cried in retaliation. Surely they would understand that this was not a matter that could be easily ignored….
“Open the door!”
Elphaba opened the door calmly, as clean as clean could be. She shot an icy look at the blonde.
“If you’ll excuse me, Miss Galinda, I believe I’ll go down to the café and get my dinner… again. When I return, please try not to be loitering right behind the door this time.” She punctuated her request with an exasperated sigh before heading again for the door.
Before Elphaba could manage to get away, the blonde planted herself in front of the exit, firing a deadly glare at the green monstrosity. “No, Miss Elphaba, I will not excuse you,” Galinda growled. “You are going to come with me downtown, and you’re going to buy me a new dress. Or else,” the usually perky blonde added menacingly.
Elphaba stared at her roommate in shock, a huge smile growing rapidly on her face. She bit her lip as hard as she could, trying not to laugh, but that wasn’t working. Elphaba cackled loudly, one hand propping herself up on the doorway, or she would have fallen to the floor. Just the furious look on the blonde’s perfect face, the rage in her normally bubbly tone sent the green girl into hysteria.
“Or else… what?” she gasped.
Elphaba Thropp, granddaughter of the Thropp Third Descending, going shopping with Miss Galinda Upland of the Upper Uplands. Yeah, right.
Galinda frowned, her roommate’s laughter startling her. She grappled for a response, but found that she had none. She could only focus on the sound of the green girl’s laugh--it sounded oddly melodious despite its harshness…. The blonde paused her thoughts and shook her head to clear it. What was she thinking? Melodious? She was horrendifying--the very picture of wickedness, for goodness sakes! Nothing good could ever come of her….
She realized just a moment later that she was staring at Elphaba, and that her mind had strayed from the matter at hand. Quickly she recovered; her eyes narrowed once again, but this time she added a malevolent grin to counter her roommate’s. “You see your precious pile of books on your desk?” she asked, gesturing toward the aforementioned desk with a careless hand. Her grin widened. “I bet they’d be even more precious when reduced to ashes.”
Elphaba’s laughter halted, though the traces of an amused smile still played upon her emerald lips. She wasn’t sure if Galinda was serious or not; you could really never tell with the little blonde. Anyway, she was sure her books were safe for the moment, with herself between her books and her psychotic roommate.
“I’m pretty sure you don’t want me shopping with you anyway,” Elphaba told her, a warning prominent in her tone.
Galinda’s maniac grin suddenly transformed into a blazing glare as her temper finally was pushed beyond her control. She reached out and latched a pale hand around Elphaba’s verdant wrist, squeezing it with a grip she had never known she could possess. A growl passed her lips. “Regardless of those facts,” she hissed, “you’re coming with me whether you like it or not.” The blonde emphasized her point by giving a firm yank upon the captured arm, dragging the green girl toward the door with fierce determination burning within her being.
Elphaba’s body jerked forward as her roommate yanked her along with a strength exceedingly belittled by the blonde’s size.
“YAGH! All right!” Elphaba screeched, ripping her wrist from the pale hand and scrutinizing the red welt that was beginning to appear around it. She glowered at the blonde beneath thick dark lashes.
“Just let me get something from the cafeteria, first.” It was phrased as a suggestion, but Elphaba’s tone may as well have made her statement a written law.
“Absolutely not!” Galinda snapped. She knew perfectly well how this was going to turn out no matter what the situation. Either Elphaba really did go to the cafeteria and stay there for the rest of the evening, or she bolted toward the library before it closed and hide until Lurline-Knows-When. Both would be an avoidance tactic that could very well work. Therefore, the blonde was not gonna let the green creature out of her sight for an instant. “We can get something in town.”
As if I’d really want to be seen with the likes of her….
The green girl shot a look at the blonde that should have slaughtered Galinda on the spot.
“We’re getting something in town first,” she declared. “Then we’ll look for your stupid dress.”