Of Love and Loathing, Part 5/? by elphies_galinda, PG
Title: Of Love and Loathing, Part 5/?
Author: elphies_galinda (and galindas_elphie <333)
Rating: PG
Pairing: Gelphie (of course)
Summary: What is this feeling, so sudden and new? My heart is pounding, my head is spinning, and all I can think of is you…. Continuation of Elphaba and Galinda’s outing. Galinda is confronted by her friends Pfannee and Shenshen, and she is forced to choose sides.
Disclaimer: Wicked is our anti-drug!! …because we don’t own it. *sulks*
“I can tell,” Shenshen sniffed, beholding the green girl with an icy, green glare. Her fiery hair tumbled in gorgeous waves down her back, and she flipped a lock of it over her shoulder as she approached. On her face was plastered a smile that looked more like a shark’s hungry grin, and her hard, verdant gaze glittered with hostility.
“Miss Galinda, darling,” she began, swiftly linking her arm with the blonde’s, “Miss Pfannee and I were just headed to the quaint little jewelry shop on the corner. You know the one I’m talking about? Well, there are these darling sapphire earrings I simply MUST have, to go with the dress I’m wearing to the Ozdust. Oh, don’t look at me like that, I told you all about it! You remember, the blue one! Oh, I KNOW you do.
“Anyway, I found this diamond-and-sapphire necklace that would be simply SCRUMPTIOUS to go with that dress! But then, they didn’t have the earrings to go with it! I was crestfallen, but then I found these! Oh, you have to come see!”
Shenshen finally paused in her gushing over the earrings to take a breath, swiftly leading her little blonde friend toward the door of the dress shop. As if she had forgotten something, some bothersome trifle, she waved her hand flippantly in the air.
“I suppose you can come too, Miss Elphaba. If you wish,” she practically sneered over her shoulder, her tone nearly daring the green girl to tag along.
Galinda pulled herself from Shenshen’s grasp almost immediately, her mind reeling from the effect of her words and the sudden movements toward the door. Her eyes immediately flickered to Elphaba; she involuntarily flinched at the sight of her. What could she do? She knew that she should show some form of courteousness toward the green girl-it was the most reasonable thing she could do given how she had so quickly warmed up to her….
Wait… That wasn’t right….
The blonde’s heart ached suddenly, realizing that she had a choice to make. She could stay with Elphaba, who didn’t really seem all that bad… but that would cause her friends to abandon her. Or she could go with Pfannee and Shenshen, leaving Elphaba like she should do.
She looked down at the beautiful pink dress her green roommate had picked for her. This was so difficult….
It shouldn’t be, her cold conscience told her. You know your place and she knows hers. Stay where you belong.
Galinda glanced back at her roommate, an apology ready at her lips. When she tried to speak, however, it wouldn’t come. It was as if the world shifted and became altered, restoring what once was and eliminating the changes made. She no longer viewed Elphaba as a potential friend-as strange as that was-but as a green freak, an inferior, a monstrosity on the face of Oz.
As it should be….
She looked back at her friends, a pompous air surrounding her once again; the thickness of it made her stomach churn. “Miss Elphaba? Coming with us? I think not!” the blonde answered. “The little freak followed me here! She is not to be a part of our company.”
Elphaba glared at the blonde through long, dark lashes, her green hands clenching into fists at her sides before relaxing. Beneath the anger that blazed in her chocolate eyes was a faint, but unmistakable disappointment. Was this the girl that she had just been shopping with? The one with the adorably mussed curls and cheeks flushed pink in frustration as she tried to don the gown that made her cobalt eyes sparkle like sapphires in the sun? The girl that made Elphaba smile in spite of herself at her mere enthusiasm?
No, the raven-haired girl thought to herself, her dark eyes narrowing. She didn’t know where that girl had come from, or where she had gone, but the blonde she was facing now was undeniably her stuck-up, snobbish roommate, the one Elphaba loathed with all that she was.
“Just go, Miss Galinda,” she sighed, her voice sounding tired. And tired she was, of the whole situation. She looked at the blonde pointedly as she spoke again, her eyes clearly conveying the message that would only be understood by the two of them.
“I shan’t ‘follow’ you to a shop again.”
Galinda momentarily felt her heart stop as the look in her roommate’s eyes struck her to the very core of her being. She suddenly felt cold, lost, afraid…. But the feeling lasted for only a moment. Their connection, however frail, was broken with that one look. The blonde’s heart immediately froze over, sealing itself from any other form of feeling other than the immense hatred that once again readily consumed it.
She strode back into the dressing room, slamming the door behind her, and began to remove the dress that she at one point adored. Now it was nothing but a curse, an atrocity, a symbol of the wickedness that Elphaba was. This isn’t me, the blonde thought as she pushed the dress from her body, stepping out of it and quickly putting it back on the hanger. This isn’t me. She possessed me. I shouldn’t have trusted her; she can’t be trusted….
Galinda put on her own dress-the one with the ruined front, colored a dark, murky brown instead of a flawless white-and quickly walked out of the small room. Without daring to glance at her, she thrust the beautiful gown into Elphaba’s arms and proceeded to walk away. Her friends would follow her. She knew they would.
I hope they will….
Shenshen chuckled cruelly at Elphaba as Galinda stalked off, motioning with a blue-polished finger for Pfannee to follow her. She quickly caught up with Galinda, yammering on about all that she had planned for the evening and gushing over again about her sapphire earrings.
Elphaba sighed as the trio left her sight, partially with relief and also with disappointment. Of course, she only had herself to blame for the latter. If she hadn’t allowed her hopes to rise in someone so deceitful as Galinda, there would be no room for disappointment.
She glanced down at the beautiful gown that had been thrust angrily into her arms, almost smiling as she remembered the flickering sparkle in her roommate’s azure eyes. Try as she might, the green girl couldn’t deny how absolutely stunning Galinda had looked as she twirled happily in the dress, her eyes bright as it sparkled and shimmered around her, though her hair was beautifully imperfect and her cheeks a blushing rose.
It was from the influence of these thoughts that Elphaba crossed to the counter, laying the beautiful garment on the smooth surface.
“This one, please,” she told the clerk, fishing in her pocket for her wallet.
X/X
Never again.
Galinda growled under her breath as she trudged up the stairs to the second floor of Crage Hall. Her arms were screaming in agony-six shopping bags weighed them down, three in each hand. It was almost enough to make her never want to go shopping again, especially with Misses Pfannee and Shenshen!
But no, she must continue this routine. It wasn’t just for the sake of appearances, like so many other aspects of her life….
The blonde let the bags drop at her sides the moment she made it to the top of the stairs, letting out a huge sigh of relief as the blood once again returned to her limbs. She then allowed herself to rest against the wall; her exhausted body relished in the sensation of relaxing. Today had to be the most hectic day of her entire life. Not only was she dragged from store to store and forced to try on Lurline-Knows-How-Many dresses, but she was pressed about why she had even dared to be seen with the Green Freak.
Apparently they were too stubborn to accept her answer of, “It’s nothing,” so she combated their constant questionings with silence until they got the picture. Eventually they did, but she could still sense their wonderings even though they were unspoken.
She didn’t want to think about it anymore-she didn’t even want to have to face Elphaba again! What had happened in the dress shop was too humiliating for her. It could have ruined her reputation if it hadn’t already!
You weren’t thinking of any of this before Pfannee and Shenshen showed up. Why are you doing this now?
Galinda frowned. That was a pretty good point…. She did enjoy Elphaba’s company, loathe as she was to admit. And she was exceptionally good at selecting outfits….
It was as if she were a normal person for once.
“But she’s not,” the blonde told herself before picking up the heavy bags again. “This doesn’t change a thing.”
Yet with that one concluding sentence, she felt a stubborn longing that not even the Unnamed God could eliminate.
Elphaba glanced up from her books for a split second as a loud thump resonated through Crage Hall. She turned her attention back to her studies - it appeared Miss Galinda was back, no doubt with her arms full of countless things she didn’t need.
The green girl ignored the slight pain in her wrist, continuing her paper with her elegant script. She tried to focus her attention solely on her work, though she could feel her cheeks growing hot at the knowledge that Galinda’s dress, the one she had picked from the store, hung from the handle of her wardrobe at the other end of the room.
As Galinda entered their room, Elphaba thanked the Unnamed God for the umpteenth time that her desk faced away from the door.
Galinda pushed the door open the rest of the way with her foot, cringing when it accidentally slammed into the wall. She quickly realized that doing that was not the best idea; she weight of the bags suddenly shifted, forcing her to pitch forward in an ungraceful manner. The blonde squeaked, quickly dropping the bags in an attempt to regain her balance. However, in her flailing she forgot all about the direction of her feet, and so the sudden stab of pain that shot up her leg surprised her in more than one way.
The blonde grit her teeth, pausing in her movements to allow the pain to settle before she stepped forward again. Better, but it still stung.
She kicked her bags to the side, uncaring as to what happened to them next-they really weren’t what she wanted, anyway-and trudged over to her bed. Unceremoniously she plopped on to the soft silk sheets, curling into a ball at the center of the mattress. When was this day going to end?
Elphaba jumped, ever so slightly, when their door crashed into the wall. For a split second she pondered a glance over her shoulder to take in the situation, then decided against it. Her hand quit its pause, her green wrist flicking occasionally as she wrote.
She kept waiting for some sort of gasp or squeak of surprise, shock… what she was expecting, she wasn’t sure. But she knew Galinda would do something when she saw the dress hanging from her wardrobe. When a small, surprised squeak came to her ears, Elphaba finally turned, realizing too late that the sound was one of pain. She tried to keep a smile from her lips while the blonde flailed about the room, finally flopping onto the bed. The smile itself was not unkind… if one hadn’t known any better they might think that the green girl found her roommate endearing. Certainly, if Elphaba had seen the look on her own face, she would have flushed with an angry embarrassment and immediately returned her attention to her work.
Instead, the green girl didn’t pay any particular thought to the uncommonly non-hostile way she was gazing at Galinda. She did, however, turn back to her work before sapphire eyes could meet her own.
“You’re welcome,” she said in a soft tone, one that was either so infused or so lacking in emotion that a person could never know for sure what it meant.
Galinda’s eyes snapped open the moment she heard a small sound come from her roommate. It sounded almost like she was muttering something beneath her breath. The blonde sighed and rolled her eyes. For someone who claimed to be more mature than half the students at Shiz, she sure was using some pretty childish antics….
Her bright blue eyes flickered to her green roomie, and she sighed quietly. For the thousandth time already, she had to admit that she enjoyed her time with Elphaba today…. It was the first time she could ever truly feel like herself. Even with Pfannee and Shenshen--her best friends in all of Oz!--she never felt so comfortable…. Maybe she was wrong. Maybe she was really wrong to judge Elphaba so quickly. After all, Galinda knew she wouldn’t like it if she was shunned from the rest of society for no reason…. Beneath the green skin, she seemed like a normal, wonderful person.
Not to mention that she apparently had amazing tastes in dresses….
Galinda sighed once again, this time in frustration with herself rather than at Elphaba. She knew it was selfish of her to think about it over and over again, but she still couldn’t believe she had passed up such a beautiful dress. And it looked to be one of a kind!! The blonde cursed under her breath. Why did she have to be so stupid all of the time?
Her gaze went to her closed yet filled wardrobe, her disappointment steadily increasing as her mind tormented her with the thoughts of actually wearing the perfect outfit…. But then the thoughts stopped altogether, as well as her breath. She blinked twice, believing that the sight before her would vanish, but it didn’t. She couldn’t believe it. How did this happen…?
Then it clicked.
The dress she fell in love with was hanging on the handle of her wardrobe, practically glowing in its perfection.
Elphaba had bought it for her.
Tears sprang to the blonde’s eyes as she lifted herself from her bed. A part of her wanted to scream; another part of her wanted to cry. But she remained in a sitting position at the foot of her bed, staring at the dress in wonder. It was all too good to be true….
“Thank you,” she whispered after a long period of simply staring in shock and awe. She looked at her roommate’s back again; she felt the tears fall at last, but she didn’t wipe them away. “Thank you so much, Elphaba.”
Elphaba glanced over her shoulder to see the tears streaming down Galinda’s face, and she barely even noticed that the blonde had left the honorific out of her name. Her roommate was suddenly transformed into a person again, and the green girl felt a smile tug at her lips, though she was careful to keep it at bay.
It suddenly occurred to her that no one else saw Galinda Upland the way that Elphaba was seeing her now. She was always wearing the mask, always prioritizing her rank over her actual self. It was sad, Elphaba thought. Sadder than the cause of her own reputation.
“A deal’s a deal,” she said, letting a tiny smile lift her lips before turning back to her paper.
“But…you didn’t….” Galinda glanced from the dress to her roommate, biting her lip as she fought for the words to say. She wanted to thank her with every word in every known language, maybe hug her. But she also felt unsettled. Her words from the last few hours were bitter and childish and wrong. Elphaba shouldn’t have acted on that. She didn’t have to do it….
The blonde stood up and moved toward her green roommate. A part of her still wished to get away from her, but she was determined to beat that one part of herself until it was dead. There was no point in fighting anymore. Not now that Elphaba had done something for her….
“I really do appreciate what you’ve done,” Galinda said slowly. She cleared her throat. “But…why? I don’t understand….”
“A deal’s a deal,” Elphaba repeated patiently, glancing up at her roommate beside her. She smiled a small, almost shy smile, one that would go nearly unnoticed if one wasn’t paying particular attention. She still loved to confuse Galinda, but she never would have tried it like this before. And the old satisfaction from such actions, while somehow different, remained.
“Besides,” she continued, finishing the sentence she had been writing when the blonde approached her, “what else would you wear to the Ozdust, after I ruined your other dress?”
Galinda froze, her sapphire blue eyes widening ever so slightly. The Ozdust. One of the most awaited-for social events in Shizian history. Her reaction of surprise was initially directed on the fact that Elphaba knew of the Ozdust Ball, but then it shifted to the purpose of the dress. The blonde bit her lip. There was no doubt in her mind that she would be the talk of the night. It was impossible for any other girl to get a dress better than this….
“I appreciate it,” the blonde said slowly. She glanced toward the wardrobe, where the dress was boldly presented to her, before looking back at the green girl. “I’ll pay you back,” Galinda added. With that final note she walked back to her bed, where she hoped the silence would reign again.