Work Text:
Glinda’s car was quiet except for the music playing on the speakers. Elphaba sat in the passenger seat, looking at the houses they were driving past. They were all relatively large, with big front yards and nice vehicles parked in the driveways.
Glinda usually filled the silence between them, but tonight she quietly sang along with the songs she had been playing instead of talking. “A new playlist,” she had told Elphaba. The music was different from what Glinda had usually played during their drives together. Elphaba was used to the upbeat, poppy songs that the blonde would loudly sing along with and toss her hair to. The girl singing sounded like she was sad and filled with longing. Glinda turned up the volume a few notches before singing along with the chorus.
It was an oddly melancholic tune for the drive to a party, but Glinda seemed into it, so Elphaba didn’t think much of it. She did notice that the blonde had stopped paying attention to the GPS routing them to their destination and was about to miss a turn.
“I think you need to turn onto this street right here.”
“Oh!” Glinda turned right hard, causing everything in the car to shift. “I got caught up in the music. Sorry, Elphie.”
They turned into a cul-de-sac and saw people commingling outside of a house at the end of the circle. It took them a moment to find a free spot to park, but soon enough they were out of Glinda’s tiny pink car and headed towards the party.
Elphaba watched Glinda as she walked. She had a small pink purse on her arm and two tiny clips keeping her hair out of her face. She was wearing a baby pink sweater and some light blue jeans, both of which fit as if they were made specifically for her, and her favorite necklace, a golden chain with a small iridescent orb dangling from it. Elphaba always felt it resembled a bubble, which was perfectly Glinda. Her pace was quicker than usual, which meant she was slightly ahead of Elphaba instead of right by her side as she normally would have been.
Elphaba wasn’t the best at picking up on certain social cues (due to a complete lack of a social life before this year at Shiz) but she could tell something had been bothering Glinda for days. The blonde returned to their shared room on Tuesday evening and had clearly been crying. Even after continued and repeated questioning from Elphaba, she never shared what was bothering her. To make matters worse, they had midterms next week, and both girls had been so busy studying and preparing that they hadn’t really talked much.
Ever since their friendship blossomed, Glinda had been an open book. Sometimes Elphaba felt like Glinda’s diary from the way the blonde would talk to her in a stream of consciousness manner. She knew Glinda’s grades and test scores, she knew all of Upland family drama, she knew what Glinda had eaten for breakfast, lunch, and dinner every day for the past week, she could fill out an entire notebook of her likes and dislikes. She could tell you the exact level (372) of the mobile game Glinda was stuck on. Hell, she even knew when her cycle started and ended. Glinda never really hid anything from her, so her lack of forthcoming about whatever it was that had upset her earlier in the week was concerning, to say the least.
Elphaba was taken aback when Glinda had asked her earlier in the day to accompany her to this party. She didn’t seem like she was in much of a mood to drink or socialize, and she hadn’t talked to Elphaba much over the last few days. There was something different about the way she asked, something about the tone of her voice– ”I really want us to go together” –that made Elphaba say yes immediately. It actually seemed to surprise Glinda because it usually took a bit more convincing than that.
They made their way up the front yard of the house, Elphaba still slightly trailing behind as Glinda opened the door. There were hoots and hollers as she walked in, which wasn’t unusual considering she was, well, Glinda. Within moments, Glinda was surrounded by a few girls who were complimenting her outfit and her make up. Elphaba was used to this. Glinda got attention anywhere they went together, but it was the good kind of attention, not the kind you get when your skin is green.
However, since Elphaba and Glinda had become friends, pretty much all of the bullying and staring Elphaba endured from their classmates had stopped. At this point, nobody would dare speak ill of Elphaba in front of Glinda, which worked out well because she and Glinda were together all the time. Elphaba could stand up for herself, but it felt nice to have someone by her side, genuinely defending her. It made situations like this party a lot less stressful, too.
Elphaba hovered next to the circle of girls, awkwardly waiting, unsure if she should separate or wait for Glinda to be done with the conversation. Thankfully, Glinda did break away at that moment, looping her arm through Elphaba’s.
“Let’s get some drinks, Elphie.”
Elphaba’s body buzzed at the contact, and she relaxed a little. Maybe she had just been overthinking Glinda’s odd behavior from earlier in the week. She knew something had upset her, but maybe it really wasn’t a big deal. Glinda insisted it hadn’t been, after all.
Glinda pushed through the crowd of people and they made their way to the kitchen. There were liquor bottles all over the island in the middle of the kitchen, crushed beer cans, the remnants of crushed up weed, half empty cups, chip bags and crumbs galore. Elphaba watched as Glinda opened the fridge and looked for something to her liking, and her eyes lit up momentarily right before she pulled out two bottles of a fruity ale.
Elphaba wasn’t much of a drinker. In fact, she’d never been drunk in her entire life. She’d had small glasses of wine at some parties throughout her adolescence, and a few drinks at the parties she’d attended before this one, but that’s all. The thought of being inebriated and lacking inhibition scared her, honestly. She already found it difficult to control her emotions as is, and alcohol would only make it worse. Still, she had curiosities and desires just the same as everyone else did, so she allowed herself to indulge, if only slightly.
Elphaba watched as Glinda fiddled with the bottle opener, trying to pry the caps off with no success. Nobody should be able to look so perfect while doing something so incorrectly, but Glinda managed to. It was part of her effortless charm.
Right as Elphaba was about to offer her help with the bottle caps, a tall boy with sandy blonde hair appeared seemingly out of nowhere and stepped a little too close to Glinda.
“Why don’t you let me help you out with that? A lady like you shouldn’t be getting her own drink.”
Elphaba rolled her eyes. She hated when men talked as if women were helpless, even if Glinda was looking pretty helpless at that moment. She also hated watching anyone flirt with Glinda, which was justifiable in her mind because Glinda was not single.
Glinda was rolling her eyes and sighed before responding, “I’m perfectly capable of getting my own drink, Avaric. I don’t need any help.”
“It appears you do need some help, though,” he replied, motioning to the bottle that Glinda still hadn’t been able to open, a sleazy grin crawling across his face.
Elphaba could feel herself becoming more agitated with every passing moment. She recognized the boy, but she couldn’t place where from. She had definitely seen him around Shiz.
“Okay, let me be more specific: I don’t need your help,” Glinda said firmly, clearly irritated now. Elphaba could tell she was holding back, but she wasn’t sure why.
“Oh, come on, Glinda, I can—”
“She said she doesn’t need help,” Elphaba had finally cut into the conversation. It’s not that Glinda couldn’t handle herself. Normally she did, with grace, but something was off about her tonight. Plus, this guy screamed slimeball. He shouldn’t even be allowed to get near her. “Back off.”
Avaric put both of his hands up in surrender, “Whoa, whoa, whoa. Sorry ladies, but I feel inclined to help when I see a damsel in distress. It’s just in my gentlemanly nature,” he explained with a shrug.
“Distress?” Elphaba scoffed. “It’s a bottle. She’s fine. Clearly your presence isn’t welcome here. Don’t you have other people you can bother with that gentlemanly nature of yours?”
Avaric looked like he was about to bark a few choice words back at Elphaba, but he caught Glinda’s gaze and closed his mouth tightly. Even he was smart enough to realize it wasn’t a good idea to antagonize Elphaba in front of her. Eventually, he just shook his head and scoffed at Elphaba, and then gave Glinda another one of his sleazy smiles before he started to walk away. “Catch you later, Glinny ,” he said over his shoulder. Both girls rolled their eyes in unison.
“Oz, he’s disgusting,” Glinda said, and followed it up with an overly exaggerated gagging noise.
Elphaba chuckled and nodded in agreement, then grabbed the bottle opener so she could finally get their drinks open. She popped the top off one, but before she did the other, Glinda put her hand over the lid to stop her. Elphaba looked at her and raised an eyebrow.
“Well, aren’t you going to show the damsel in distress how to do that, so I never have to live through something like that again?”
Elphaba raised her eyebrows and laughed, showing Glinda the correct way to hook the opener on the cap. It popped off with ease. Each girl grabbed the bottle the other had opened, and they clinked them together with a little “Cheers!” before leaving the kitchen to roam the rest of the house.
“Who was he? I recognize him from school,” Elphaba asked.
“He’s one of Fiyero’s friends,” Glinda responded.
Fiyero.
Elphaba couldn’t believe she didn’t realize it until that very moment. Fiyero wasn’t with them, and Glinda hadn’t mentioned him once the entire evening. He had gone with girls to the other parties they had attended earlier in the year. In fact, the three of them had become an interesting little trio. Glinda insisted that Elphaba accompany her most places, but Fiyero came along often as well. So, they did a lot together, the three of them. There were certainly times when Elphaba felt as if she was imposing (not to mention watching them cozy up to each other made Elphaba feel sick to her stomach in a different way than she had ever felt before), but Glinda reassured her every time.
“I want you to be here.”
But why wasn’t Fiyero here tonight? Was he busy? He wasn’t one for studies, schoolwork, or anything else of importance, really. His family was wealthy so he didn’t have a job, either. Parties were right up his alley, and he rarely missed them. Clearly his friends were here, so where was he?
Elphaba was put off by Avaric openly flirting with Glinda, without an ounce of shame. Everyone at Shiz knew Glinda and Fiyero were dating. Many people had tried to court Glinda before Fiyero’s arrival, but once they became an item, the attempts stopped almost immediately. Everyone thought they were perfect for one another, so it made sense that nobody would try and get in the way of that. So why was Avaric doing such a thing?
Between Glinda’s behavior, Fiyero’s absence, and Avaric’s flirting, something felt off about the evening to Elphaba. She looked over at Glinda, who had already finished half of her ale. Another oddity. Glinda wasn’t above drinking by any means, but she was always in control and tended to sip on her beverages slowly. She said it helped her maintain a steady buzz instead of getting drunk.
Before Elphaba could ask her once again if everything was alright, Glinda’s friends showed up and swarmed around the two of them, but mostly Glinda. Elphaba watched as Glinda chatted with them, laughing, and she second guessed herself once again.
Maybe she is fine. Fiyero is probably just busy, or late. Avaric is just a creep.
Elphaba watched as the group traveled towards the makeshift dance floor in the living room. Glinda held her hand out to Elphaba, beckoning her to the dance floor as she had done many times before, but Elphaba just shook her head and waved back with a smile.
“Elphie, pleaseeeeeeee!” Glinda whined.
“You know I don’t dance,” Elphaba shouted over the music, “just go and have fun!”
Elphaba wasn’t kidding; she wasn’t a dancer at all . Glinda knew that after being rejected many times, but she was fine with it. She still offered her hand every time, and it made Elphaba’s heart soar.
Glinda pouted but didn’t linger long before she made her way closer to the music.
Elphaba went to sit on the stairs and watched Glinda throw back her bottle of ale to finish it before she started to dance with her friends. Glinda looked more relaxed at that moment, like she was finally letting loose after days of being tense. She looked perfect, actually. When didn’t she? She was dancing, laughing, and having a good time. Elphaba decided she had been worrying for no reason.
Everything is fine.
***
Elphaba decided to head back to the kitchen to get another ale. She wasn’t sure why, but tonight she felt less inclined to worry about losing control. She was enjoying watching Glinda cut loose and dance. One more drink wouldn’t hurt her.
One of her classmates, Boq, had struck up a conversation with her, and to her surprise she was actually enjoying it. He had clearly been drinking, she could tell from the slight slurring of his words and his flushed cheeks, but surprisingly she didn’t mind. She was confused when she returned to her spot on the stairs to see he had left. But moments later she heard him yelling from the back door.
“Elphaba! Come out here!”
Elphaba scanned through the dancers, and Glinda was still with her group, another ale in her hand. Elphaba wasn’t sure why she felt the need to constantly watch over Glinda, she just did. It felt instinctual. Elphaba liked taking care of Glinda. Probably too much for her own good. She felt uncomfortable leaving the blonde unsupervised.
Unsupervised? Elphaba rolled her eyes at herself. Glinda wasn’t helpless, and she hadn’t ever shown she needed supervision in the first place. In fact, Glinda was the most responsible person Elphaba knew, in most regards anyway. She never let herself lose control at these parties. Plus, she was with her other friends.
Elphaba shook her head slightly, stood from the stairs, and headed towards the backyard to follow Boq.
She slipped between the party goers until she finally walked through the back door. There was a circle of people sitting in the grass. In the middle of the circle, there was a small wooden board with an empty wine bottle sitting on top. Puzzled, she looked at Boq.
“What did you want to show me?” she asked him.
“This!” He pointed at the circle and grinned at her.
She raised an eyebrow. “What is ‘this?’ A drinking game?”
“Oh, Elphaba, come on. You know!”
“I really don’t,” she replied flatly.
Boq looked at her, confused. She returned the same look back to him.
“Oh, wow. You really don’t know.”
“Yes, we’ve established that. What is this nonsense?”
“A party game. It’s called Spin the Bottle.”
Elphaba looked back at the circle of people, which had grown slightly larger now. She could hear more people from the house emptying into the backyard. She scanned through the people sitting, most of them were vaguely familiar. Two boys in her literature class, Crope and Tibbett, were sitting next to each other, clearly the ones orchestrating this game. She saw one of Glinda’s friends, Milla, too. Finally, when she had made her way around the entire circle, she saw the last face she expected to see.
Fiyero.
He was here?! But how? She hadn’t seen him once all night, and she assumed Glinda hadn’t either. She thought back on Glinda’s behavior from the hours and days prior. Maybe they were in a fight. About what, she had no clue. Elphaba had never seen them argue before, not seriously argue at least. Maybe they had decided to show up separately tonight, for some reason or another—
Before Elphaba could continue her train of thought, she heard one of Glinda’s friends squealing behind her.
“Oh my god! Spin the bottle! Let me in!”
Elphaba turned around and saw Glinda, standing behind the rest of her friends, holding a different drink this time.
Wow, Elphaba thought, she’s more indulgent than usual tonight.
Pfannee and Shenshen made their way to the circle of people and worked themselves in, but Glinda held back, looking down at the drink in her hand.
Elphaba, at that moment, had completely forgotten about Boq, so she was startled when he continued to explain the game.
“It’s easy! Everyone sits in a circle, and whoever starts the game just spins the bottle…and when the bottle stops, the spinner kisses whoever the open end of the bottle is pointing to…and then whoever was kissed gets a chance to spin the bottle and kiss someone else!”
Elphaba’s stomach dropped and a deep blush covered her face. Kissing? She thought this was a game ! Why would they be playing a game that involved kissing?! She thought about it for a moment, and then realized who she was at this party with: a bunch of drunk and probably horny teenagers. Of course their games would involve kissing.
Elphaba could feel herself fidgeting. She had never kissed anybody before. Actually, there was only one person she had ever met who she had a desire to kiss at all. But that person had a boyfriend, was her roommate, her best friend, and of course, a woman.
Elphaba wasn’t really stuck on that last point, just the rest of them. She tried to chalk it up to the fact that nobody had ever treated her like Glinda did. Glinda made her feel special, she made her feel beautiful , she gave her attention, and Elphaba could feel all of it was genuine. It was never forced or awkward with Glinda. Wasn’t it natural to feel something strong towards her? Was this the feeling of real friendship? It didn’t help that Glinda was incredibly touchy-feely, constantly holding her hand or looping their arms together. It was all incredibly “confusifying” (as Glinda would say), but Elphaba valued Glinda’s friendship more than anything else, so she buried her desires deep within herself.
Her eyes quickly skimmed the circle of people again. Frankly, she felt no inclination to kiss anybody in the circle of people sitting in the grass.
Boq spoke up again, the alcohol clearly emboldening him.
“Come on, Elphaba! It’s fun! Everyone should play it at least once in their life, you know!”
“Yes, Elphaba, please join us! There’s nothing quite like playing this game with first timers,” Crope chimed in, waggling his eyebrows.
Unsure of what to do, Elphaba finally looked back over at Glinda. The blonde gave her a weak smile, which made Elphaba’s stomach drop. There was clearly something else there, Glinda wanted to say something to her but wasn’t.
Why is she acting so different? She’s never reserved like this, especially at parties.
“Elphie, you don’t have to play if you don’t want to—”
“Both of you should play!” Boq shouted suddenly. For someone who was usually reserved, Boq was really letting loose tonight. Elphaba wasn’t surprised by his sudden offer, though, because Boq had a very obvious crush on Glinda.
Glinda rubbed her finger on the cup in her hand. Elphaba could tell something was off, she didn’t seem nervous, just. Has she ever played this before? Did she not want to play because it’d upset Fiyero? It seemed Fiyero was perfectly fine with the game, but he was also quite different from Glinda. Maybe Glinda felt she was above kissing anyone else. Her standards were high.
Elphaba could feel all the eyes on the both of them, everyone anxiously awaiting their decision. Glinda was staring at her too, so deeply it sent a shiver down her spine.
Why isn’t she saying anything?
Elphaba’s mind was moving so quickly she couldn’t keep up with it. She felt a sudden and desperate need to fit in with the people who were finally accepting her, and she felt overwhelmed with despair and embarrassment because she’d never come remotely close to kissing anyone in the 19 years she had been alive. Is this her chance? It’s just one kiss, maybe two. It’s not as if it was a terrible group of people to choose from, just none that particularly interested her. Is it just the alcohol talking? She didn’t have that much. And why is Glinda still staring at her like that?
Elphaba let out a slow exhale and finally answered back to Boq.
“Alright, alright, fine. I’ll play along with your ridiculous game.”
There were drunken cheers all around. Everyone on the ground began shifting to create room for the newest player, and right as Elphaba began to walk over to the circle, she heard Glinda from behind her.
“Well, I suppose I’ll join too,” Glinda said, her voice now confident as it usually was.
More cheering came from the group, except it was louder this time. Practically every person in the circle was giddy, because now they had a chance to kiss Glinda Upland, even if it was just part of a game. Boq looked like he may pass out. Elphaba could feel herself blushing, too, as the reality set in. Glinda was now part of this nonsense, which changed everything. Now she had a chance to kiss Glinda, too.
Knowing my luck, the bottle will never point toward me anyway, regardless of who spins it.
Elphaba watched Glinda finish her drink, and she expected the blonde to trudge over to the opposite side of the circle where Fiyero was sitting and take a seat next to him. But she didn’t. Glinda was pushing Boq aside so she could sit next to Elphaba.
Elphaba knew Glinda often chose to be by her side even when Fiyero was an option, but this was different. As far as she knew, the couple hadn’t spoken all night. Was she avoiding him? Elphaba was tired of wondering.
“Are you sure you want to do this? Also, what’s going on with you and Fiyero? Are you guys in a figh—” Elphaba whispered before she got cut off.
“I broke up with him.” Glinda responded quickly and quietly, but she was obviously avoiding eye contact.
The words were clearly only meant for Elphaba to hear, but nobody else would have anyway, because the entire group was shouting and laughing in anticipation.
“Glinda, what—”
“We can talk later, Elphie.” Glinda still wasn’t looking at her, but she rested her shaky hand on the top of Elphaba’s for a moment, trying to convey that she was okay, for now at least.
Elphaba felt her own hands getting clammy and she wiped them on her pants before she heard Tibbett loudly and dramatically clear his voice.
“Shall we begin?”
***
Tibbett volunteered himself as the first one to spin the bottle, and it stopped on a boy Elphaba didn’t know. Everyone laughed, and the two of them shared a quick kiss before the bottle was spun again. This time, it landed on Shenshen, and this kiss was even faster than the last.
Elphaba felt herself relax the tiniest bit.
At least none of these kisses seem to be all that serious.
A few more people went. Shenshen landed on another boy Elphaba didn’t know, and their kiss went a bit longer but was still chaste. That boy ended up landing on Milla, and Milla landed on Boq. The kiss between those two lasted longer than all of the rest, and both Milla and Boq were blushing profusely when they broke apart.
Elphaba smiled and wondered to herself if Boq had ever kissed anyone before this.
Boq took his turn to spin, and the bottle landed on Crope. Everyone in the circle began snickering and laughing. Everyone knew something ridiculous was coming.
“I hope you’re ready, Boq, because I’m going to give Milla a run for her money,” Crope said as he moved over the circle towards where Boq was sitting. Elphaba could tell Boq was mortified, but Crope’s kiss was firm and quick, nothing like Milla’s. Everyone was giggling, but Milla and Boq were still blushing.
“My turn now!” Crope said in a delighted fashion as he grabbed the bottle.
Any time the bottle was spun, Elphaba’s stomach did backflips, waiting and wondering if she would be the chosen one. This time she thought she may be as she watched the bottle slowly coming to a stop near her. It wouldn’t be so bad, at least with Crope she knew it wouldn’t be serious. But the bottle stopped just shy of her and landed on Glinda.
Glinda gave Crope a devious smile, and he squealed.
“Sorry boys and girls, but I’ve won this round!” Crope shouted.
“Nobody wins in this game, Crope,” Tibbett chided with a laugh, “but you are correct, and I am incredibly jealous.”
Elphaba felt a wave of jealousy wash over her as she watched Glinda lean over towards Crope. She looked down and noticed Glinda’s hand was still resting next to hers, her pinky finger sticking out so it was just short of Elphaba’s.
The kiss was longer than most of the others that had just been shared, but Glinda and Crope began to giggle and then they parted ways. Even in that moment, when Elphaba knew it wasn’t serious and Crope was definitely not into women, she still felt the jealousy burning inside of her. And it would only get worse, because now it was Glinda’s turn.
Elphaba once again looked around the circle of people. She didn’t want to watch Glinda kissing any of them, but pretty soon she would be forced to watch, a tortured spectator. She locked eyes with Fiyero, who just gave her a small smile. It’s not like she hadn’t seen it before, but she wasn’t even sure if she could handle watching Glinda and Fiyero kiss, not in this setting. She glanced over at Boq and almost felt ill. That’s a thought she wouldn’t even allow her mind to touch.
Her feelings towards Glinda, whatever they were, had been bubbling under the surface for months now, but they’d never felt as strong as they did in this moment. She wasn’t sure what she could do other than ignore everything as she had been.
It’s just a game. It’s not going to mean anything. Stop worrying. Just close your eyes. You don’t have to watch. She can kiss anyone she wants to.
“Go, Glin!” Shenshen yelled.
“Now now, you know better than to rush me!” Glinda grinned as she reached for the bottle, “I’ve got to work my magic and make sure it lands where I want it to.”
Everyone laughed at that, Fiyero even chuckled, but Elphaba subconsciously pulled her knees up to her chest and hugged them. She felt nauseated now. None of this was funny to her. She looked over at Pfannee and Shenshen, who were laughing at Glinda’s joke. They were Glinda’s friends, too. Why weren’t they stressed about this?
Because friends don’t stress about friends kissing people. That isn’t what friends do.
Glinda finally spun the bottle. Elphaba was sure it was her nerves, but she couldn’t help but feel the bottle kept on spinning for much longer than it should have. When it finally started to slow down, Elphaba watched the open-end pass people by, one by one. She thought it may stop on Glinda herself, and she wondered for a moment what that would mean for the game.
But it didn’t. The bottle moved just a little more, and then it was pointing right at Elphaba.
Elphaba had been so worried about watching Glinda kiss someone else, she didn’t consider for a moment that she may be the one on the receiving end.
The circle of people had been lively before this, but as soon as that bottle stopped moving, everyone quieted down almost immediately. Elphaba immediately looked up at Fiyero, who seemed surprised more than anything. He wasn’t scowling, in fact, she couldn’t quite place the look on his face. Then she looked over at Glinda.
Glinda’s big doe eyes were wide, almost panicked. Elphaba felt a pang of sorrow deep in her gut. Was the thought of kissing her that worrisome, that disgusting?
Crope, thank goodness, broke the silence.
“Oooh, roommate kiss! I’m not sure we’ve had one of these before!”
Tibbett rolled his eyes “Yes we have, you dummy. Us.”
The others started to laugh, but tension remained in the air as everyone sat and waited to see what happened.
Glinda still hadn’t said a word, which surprised Elphaba, because Glinda was the most confident person she knew. A normal Glinda response was easy to imagine: “Alright, Elphie, pucker up!” before laying a quick one on her just as she did with Crope. But Glinda wasn’t normal tonight.
Elphaba, feeling the pressure from the small crowd that was now watching the circle, knew she had to say something. Even if Glinda was in complete shock, she needed to say something.
“Glinda, you don’t—”
Glinda started to shake her head, the panicked look gone now, just a timid smile on her face.
“Oh E-Elphie,” Glinda’s voice unexpectedly cracked when she said the nickname, “I—it’s totally fine. It’s just a little kiss, no?”
Glinda was so obviously trying to put up a front, to put on the mask she wore constantly around these people. Elphaba knew her better, though. She could tell by the look on Glinda’s face that something definitely was wrong and had been all night, and this was probably the cherry on top, making everything worse.
Before Elphaba could think of a response, she saw Glinda hesitate and then begin to lean towards her, slowly. Elphaba’s heart was pounding, her palms felt like they were dripping with sweat, she felt as if every atom in her body was buzzing. She hoped she didn’t look as frazzled as she felt.
Elphaba could feel Glinda moving closer to her, blonde hair falling slightly in her face. Glinda’s eyes were still open, but only halfway. They lingered there for a moment. The blonde’s lips were parted, and Elphaba could see the lip gloss Glinda had used earlier in the night shining, and she could smell the alcohol on her breath. Elphaba closed her eyes, she could feel herself trembling, and she may have been imagining it, but Glinda looked like she was, too. The backyard suddenly got very quiet, or maybe that was just her mind blocking everything else out. Why did this feel so much more serious than any other kiss that had been shared thus far into this stupid game? Was it even worth the inevitable awkwardness bound to come between them after the fact?
Just do it. Everyone else did it. Nothing bad is going to happen. Glinda will laugh it off and everyone will move on. Stop being a coward. Do it.
Finally, Elphaba let go of her fear. She inched closer and prepared herself, but the space was now empty. No lips, no breath. Nothing.
Elphaba’s eyes fluttered open. Glinda was gone.
She felt a rush of embarrassment flow over her as she sat in silence, baffled. She looked around the circle, and her classmates seemed to be as confused as she was. A few of them were looking towards the gate that led to the front yard, others were looking at the back door that led into the house. They were all avoiding eye contact, except for Boq, who clearly felt guilty about what had just transpired.
Unable to handle the silence and awkward stares, Elphaba pushed herself up and hurried back into the house.
***
Elphaba should be angry, she thought. Glinda hadn’t ever been needlessly cruel to her in such a way before, not even when they first met. Even though it was just a game, Elphaba knew that Glinda was smart enough to realize how insulting it was to just up and leave her there without an explanation. Elphaba had never spoken about it, but she knew Glinda was aware she hadn’t kissed anyone before. It just went without saying. Hell, she’d barely touched anyone, aside from her sister, before she met Glinda. It was incredibly obvious how behind Elphaba was with many social aspects of life, but Glinda had never judged her for it. But she didn’t feel angry, not really. Just confused and concerned.
Elphaba walked through the house, the blaring music making her head pound, as she searched for the blonde. She wasn’t in the kitchen, on the dance floor, or in any of the bedrooms on the first floor. Elphaba wondered for a moment if she had gone upstairs, but based on her experiences at prior parties, she figured there were scandalous things happening up there, so she didn’t bother checking. Finally, she opened the front door, but Glinda wasn’t out there either.
With a sigh, she pulled her phone out of her pocket and started typing a message.
ELPHABA T [9:02PM]: Where did you go?
Unwilling to continue searching at that moment, Elphaba walked out into the grassy yard and plopped down, pulling her knees up and burying her face in her crossed arms. She should have known better than to play that stupid game, than to have hope that maybe for once her life could be normal.
She heard someone clear their throat behind her, and she turned around to see Fiyero standing there, in an uncharacteristically sheepish manner.
“She really does have a flair for the dramatic, doesn’t she?” he asked.
Elphaba laughed dryly. “That does without saying. I don’t suppose I can blame her for storming out of there, though. The thought of kissing a green freak like me would send anyone running.”
As jealous as she had been of him at times, Elphaba didn’t really mind Fiyero. They’d built something of a friendship during their time spent together via Glinda.
Fiyero settled down into the grass next to her.
“I’m sure that’s not what scared her off.”
“If it wasn’t that, which I’m sure it was, then it was certainly the embarrassment of having to do it in front of so many people, especially her friends.”
Fiyero shook his head before replying “Not quite that, either.”
“How would you know?”
“Because that’s not how Glinda is.”
Elphaba sighed. She knew Glinda wasn’t like that, but what other explanation was there? Then she remembered what Glinda had told her earlier.
“She told me she broke up with you. What happened? ”
Fiyero chuckled. “Much has happened between us. We had a long conversation on Wednesday which is when we decided to break up, and—”
“Wednesday?!” Elphaba cut him off, incredulous. “Wednesday is when she broke up with you?”
“…yes, Wednesday. It was more of us mutually agreeing to end the relationship than her dumping me, though. She didn’t tell you that?” he asked, clearly confused.
“She didn’t tell me until today. Tonight. Right when she sat down in that circle.”
Fiyero raised his eyebrows. He rubbed the back of his neck and looked up at the night sky above.
“Well, that does surprise me, with you two being so close. But as I was saying before, she and I had a long talk. There is much on her mind, Elphaba.”
“So why hasn’t she talked to me?!” she snapped unintentionally. “We’re supposed to be best friends! She tells me everything, almost too much! She’s told me about her fears, her dreams. She’s cried through thunderstorms to me, she’s shared secrets with me! She’s become the most important person in my life! How could she not tell me something like that?”
Truthfully, Elphaba felt hurt, and maybe a little jealous too. Glinda, her supposed best friend, felt she could confide in her now ex-boyfriend about whatever was going on, but not her?
She continued, “She’s been acting weird for days, even before Wednesday I could tell something was wrong. She was acting like I was the crazy one for asking her if she was okay.”
Fiyero shifted, clearly thinking hard about what he should say next. It was silent for a moment until he finally spoke up again.
“Elphaba, try not to be angry at her. I want to give you reassurance, but I can’t share what Glinda told me in confidence. I know she trusts you, and she will tell you. You know that as well as I do.”
Elphaba shook her head in disagreement.
“I’m not so sure, not after what happened earlier. I’ve never seen her look at me that way before, I know you saw it too. All the other times she looks at me, her eyes look light. Happy. Joyful. Good. But earlier tonight, the look in her eyes…I can’t help but feel like something has changed.”
Once again, Fiyero shifted in discomfort.
“Are you okay, Fiyero? I mean, about Glinda.”
He looked at her and smiled.
“I’m just fine. I care for Glinda deeply, but I don’t think we’re meant to be a couple. She’s become more of a trusted friend than anything else.” She could tell he meant it. His words were genuine.
Then Elphaba had a realization.
“Wait, did you tell that Avaric guy that you and Glinda broke up?”
Fiyero rarely ever looked truly annoyed, but it was written all over his face at that moment. He sighed.
“Unintentionally, yes. When I showed up alone, he kept on pestering me about why Glinda wasn’t there. No joke, he wouldn’t stop asking, and I finally got so frustrated that I let it slip that we weren't together anymore.”
“Wow. He wasted no time, then.”
Fiyero laughed and shook his head. “Glinda wouldn’t give him the time of day even if he was the last person on this planet. I’m not worried about him.”
Just then, Elphaba felt her phone buzz in her pocket. Then again. She pulled it out immediately.
GLINDA U [9:17 PM]: i’m in my car.
GLINDA U [9:17PM]: can you come here?
Elphaba stared down the street and saw Glinda’s pearlescent pink car, still parked in the spot from earlier. She stood up quickly, clearly startling Fiyero, but he followed suit and brushed the grass from his clothing.
“Finally found her, eh?”
“Not so much found as she told me. She’s in her car.”
“Ahh.”
It got quiet again.
“Good luck, Elphaba. I know Glinda well, almost as well as you do, and one thing I know she would never do is hurt you on purpose.” With that, he patted her shoulder and walked back into the house.
***
When Elphaba made it to Glinda’s car, she tugged on the handle a few times with no success. The blonde inside startled and hurriedly moved to unlock the doors. Elphaba slid inside and closed the door behind her, inhaling deeply to calm herself. The car smelled just like Glinda did: floral, sweet and clean. It had become her favorite smell and it was intoxicating. She fixed her gaze to the car parked ahead of them and picked at the frayed hole in the knee of her jeans, not quite ready to look at the girl in the driver’s seat.
They sat in silence for a moment, but it wasn’t long before she heard a tiny “Elphie” and instinctively looked over.
Glinda had been crying. Her eyes were puffy and red, and there were crumpled up tissues in her cup holder.
Elphaba hadn’t a clue what to say. Many ideas danced through her mind, but none of them felt right.
I’m sorry about Fiyero. I’m sorry about the game. I’m sorry I embarrassed you.
Glancing down at the keys in the ignition, she noticed Glinda had gotten a new keychain. It was two small pastel colored rabbits; one was pink and the other was green. She couldn’t help but smile at that.
“I didn’t realize you’d get so worked up over something as silly as that game,” Elphaba finally spoke. She decided against an apology, for now.
Glinda let out a loud sniffle and wiped her nose with another tissue. Elphaba couldn’t help but think about how cute she looked, even after she had been crying.
Glinda sighed. “It’s not the game that upset me, Elphie. Well…not really. I suppose the game was part of it, but—”
“Why didn’t you tell me about what happened with Fiyero sooner?” Elphaba cut her off, realizing she had run out of patience. She needed to know.
Now Glinda was shifting uncomfortably next to her, hands fidgeting in her lap. Elphaba pressed on.
“You can tell me, Glinda. You don’t have to be afraid. You never have to be afraid around me.”
Glinda let out a shaky exhale, a single tear rolled down her cheek as she shook her head.
“Did something bad happen, Glinda?” Elphaba felt guilty questioning her in such a way, but the behavior from her roommate was so unusual, it scared her. “…did he do something to you? Did you get hurt?”
“Absolutely not! He’s done nothing wrong. He’s been extremely kind and understanding, actually…” Glinda replied, voice raised slightly. She sniffled again and looked out the window, clearly avoiding eye contact.
Elphaba nodded silently. She knew Fiyero would never do anything like that, and she felt stupid for asking. He had just told her that they mutually decided to end things.
Glinda closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
“I’m sorry, Elphie. I know I should have told you about what happened with Fiyero sooner, and I wanted to, but…it’s not only about him. This has been the hardest and most emotional week of my life, and I know I’ve made it harder on myself by not being open with you...”
Elphaba wanted to say something, to reassure her in any way she could. Suddenly she didn’t care at all about the kiss or being left behind. She was only worried about the blonde’s wellbeing. But she could tell Glinda had more to say, so she stayed quiet and listened.
“Do you remember earlier this week, when the three of us were eating together in the dining hall, you excused yourself early to go study?”
Elphaba raised an eyebrow, confused. “I do remember.”
“When you left, I felt this… need. I wanted to follow you.”
“To the library–sorry, the book place? But you hate it there.”
Glinda laughed, genuinely this time.
“Oh, that I do. But where you were off to wasn’t really important, I just wanted to…be with you. To be around you.”
Elphaba’s stomach did a backflip. This wasn’t where she expected this conversation to go. Glinda was always quite forward, no exception here tonight.
“I hadn’t really allowed myself to think much of it before, the strange magnetic pull I feel towards you. Honestly, it feels as natural as breathing, so maybe that’s why I didn’t. But that night, watching you leave, I couldn’t help but wonder why I felt that way. I knew I’d see you later, but it felt…wrong, to stay there instead of joining you. Then, I looked over to Fiyero and something dawned on me. Not once had I felt such a pull towards him. It never bothered me to be away from him. I hardly ever thought of him when we were apart, not anymore at least. But you…”
Glinda finally looked over, but Elphaba was looking down at her hands, clearly nervous. The blonde continued.
“I don’t know why, but…I hate being away from you. It’s like I can’t ever be close enough to you. Even at night, when we go to sleep, it’s still not enough. I’m not sure it’d be close enough even if we shared a bed.”
The words made Elphaba feel faint, but in a good way. She could feel herself blush as a smile creeped across her face. She looked over, and Glinda’s cheeks were tinged pink, too.
“As the night went on, I couldn’t stop thinking of you. I sat there with Fiyero, but all I could think of was our fingers intertwining, our nights spent together in our room laughing into the early morning, our walks together around campus, the nights you’d given me comfort, and the nights I’d done the same for you. All of those memories swirled around in my mind for what felt like an eternity. And then, when I finally looked at Fiyero again, I realized that…I felt nothing. Nothing compared to what I feel when I look at you.
“I felt terrible once I realized that. Absolutely awful. I excused myself to leave. Fiyero followed me, of course, but I asked him to just give me some space. He begrudgingly listened, and I went into the bathroom and cried for a very, very long time. It was not pretty.” Glinda let out a tiny laugh.
Out of pure instinct, Elphaba reached over and grabbed Glinda’s hand. The blonde smiled and interlaced their fingers.
“I realized a lot that night, Elphie. I broke up with Fiyero the next day.”
Elphaba sat quietly in the passenger seat, shocked at what the blonde had said. Now she knew why Glinda had looked so upset earlier this week. Still, she didn’t fully understand why their friendship had suddenly become a hurdle in Glinda’s relationship.
Elphaba wasn’t completely clueless. She realized the dynamic between Glinda and herself wasn’t all that conventional. The blonde didn’t treat any of her other friends, or even Fiyero, the way she treated Elphaba. In fact, the more Elphaba thought of it now, the more she realized just how much thought and care Glinda put into being her friend.
During the evenings shared in their dorm, Glinda had made it a habit to come up behind Elphaba without a word and play with her hair, untangling any braids and rubbing the back of her neck. The first time she ever did it, it startled Elphaba but Glinda responded with a quiet “Just relax,” so Elphaba did, and then it became routine. Glinda also loved to leave little gifts on her desk. Once, after Glinda had noticed Elphaba’s insanely meticulous notes, she had left a nice set of multicolored pens on the desk with a tiny slip of pink paper that read “So your notes are as pretty as you are. – G.” She did such things often, but it never felt forced, and Elphaba always appreciated it. Sometimes she left a little snack when Elphaba had gotten caught up studying or missed lunch.
And of course, there was the time when she returned to their room to find one of her own flannel shirts neatly folded on her desk. She hadn’t worn it in a while because there was an obvious tear on the sleeve, so it had been sitting in their shared closet for weeks, untouched. When she unfolded it, wondering why Glinda had moved it to her desk in the first place, she realized the tear had been sewn up and repaired. Elphaba assumed that Glinda had taken it in to get it fixed, but later that night, Glinda told her she had done it herself. That brought Elphaba to tears.
Glinda was also a very affectionate person, and she admitted such. But Elphaba watched Glinda’s interactions with her other friends. No looping her arms in theirs. No hand holding. She’d hugged them a few times, but it wasn’t a common occurrence. Yet it was completely different when she was around the blonde. Just as Glinda had admitted earlier, it really felt like she couldn’t be close enough. Their arms or hands are always linked together. They’re always sitting next to each other in class, the dining hall, or wherever else they’d end up. Glinda hugged Elphaba often and at random, sometimes for seemingly no reason at all.
Sitting there in the passenger seat, Elphaba began to think about all of those acts of kindness from a different point of view. For weeks and weeks, she had convinced herself that it was friendship and friendship alone that had prompted Glinda to act in such ways, forcing herself to not think of it any further. Glinda’s confession was making that increasingly more difficult.
Elphaba clenched her jaw, not realizing how long she had been silent.
“But why didn’t you tell me about what happened sooner?” Elphaba asked. “Is this—is what happened my fault? Do I take up too much of your time, should I have given you both more time alone? Did I overstep? I never meant—”
Glinda was shaking her head quickly, squeezing green fingers as she did so.
“No, Elphie, no. I’m okay. Fiyero and I just aren’t meant to be together. Not to mention, I was the one always bringing you along. It was my choice for you to be there, and I’m glad you were, every single time.”
It was quiet in the car, save for the sound of the heater blowing and music playing softly. Elphaba ran her fingertips over Glinda’s knuckles absentmindedly.
“So, I’m guessing that means the wedding you told me about way back when is off, right?” Elphaba wasn’t sure if it was the time for jokes, but the tension in the air was thick, and she had to say something. Thankfully, Glinda laughed. Elphaba asked another, more pressing question, her curiosity getting the best of her now.
“Glinda...why did you leave me, back there? I’m not easily embarrassed, as you well know, but everyone was just staring at me. I don’t really blame you, why would you want to kiss a freak like me? But I never thought—”
Glinda cut her off suddenly, looking very offended. “What do you mean, ‘a freak like you?’ Elphie, how many times do I have to tell you that your skin does not and will never bother me?”
“Maybe it doesn’t bother you to look at it, but kissing me is a different story…” Elphaba trailed off. It was hard to hide the pain in her voice. The shame she’d always felt about her appearance had gotten easier to deal with since she arrived at Shiz and became friends with Glinda, but right now, it was back in full force.
“Elphie…you’re beautiful. I don’t lie about such things. And without a doubt, I’d never be ashamed of kissing you.” Glinda squeezed their hands together tightly, blushing once again.
Elphaba smiled weakly and let go of Glinda’s hand. She should just let this entire situation go, too. Everything Glinda had just told her moments before the shift in conversation had made her heart feel like it was going to explode. But she didn’t mean any of it like that …did she? Elphaba had never heard anyone else speak of her in such a fond way, not a soul on the planet treated her like Glinda did. She’d never imagined someone would want to actually be her friend, let alone her best friend. She never allowed her mind to wander into the “something more than friends” territory about anybody, Glinda most of all. It just seemed pointless to dream about a reality that would never come to be. Still, she desperately wished to understand Glinda’s motives. She felt embarrassed for pressing the issue so desperately…but something deep within her wasn’t allowing her to give up on this conversation.
“You said earlier that the game is why you left. You kissed Crope without issue. I don’t think it’s unreasonable for me to think you may be ashamed—”
“I didn’t want to kiss you in front of all those people,” Glinda cut her off.
Elphaba’s heart sank, but before she could respond, Glinda suddenly grabbed her hand and stared at her with her big brown doe eyes.
“I didn’t want to kiss you in front of all those people because I wanted a moment like that to be just for…us. I wanted it to be special. I didn’t want anyone else to be part of that memory, and I certainly didn’t want you to be kissing me because of some silly party game meant for teenage fools. I wanted you to want to kiss me because it’s…what you wanted. I could tell you were nervous and I didn’t want to pressure you into anything or feel pressured, but you started to lean in, and I just—I panicked.”
Elphaba’s ears started to ring. Her heart was pounding.
What did Glinda say?
“What?”
“I am so sorry, Elphie. I never, ever should have left you like that. I just…couldn’t let the others be a part of something like that and I had no clue how to handle it. Shocking, I know, me not being able to handle a social situation. But I’ll never leave you like that again,” Glinda looked at her with a genuine look of remorse.
Elphaba was still stunned into silence, the wheels in her head turning faster than ever before. She ruminated on Glinda’s earlier confessions, dots connecting in her mind, but the conclusion she was reaching…it couldn’t be true, could it?
“What do you mean?”
“I meant what I said,” Glinda responded, biting her lip.
“You want me to kiss you because…I want to kiss you?” Elphaba couldn’t believe what she was hearing.
Glinda shifted in her seat slightly. Elphaba was so used to the confidence that normally radiated from the blonde that it felt unusual to see her like this. Shy. Nervous. Like she had one million thoughts going through her mind, but she wasn’t sure which of them to share. But then she looked back over, and Glinda was just staring at her.
“Yes. I want you to want to kiss me. No bottles or other people involved,” Glinda finally breathed out, quietly.
That was all it took. Elphaba didn’t even realize what was happening, her body just started to move, working off of instinct. As her hand cupped Glinda’s cheek gently, she leaned forward and softly pressed their lips together.
The kiss was quick, only lasting a few seconds. Glinda’s lips tasted like strawberries thanks to her lip gloss. However, reality set in quickly. Elphaba realized what she had just done and immediately put some distance between herself and the blonde.
“Glinda, I am so sorry, I–” Elphaba stuttered out immediately.
“Elphie,” Glinda said as they locked eyes. Her tone was different now. Lower and deep. “Why are you apologizing?”
“Because I…I shouldn’t have done that…”
It’s almost as if a switch flipped in Glinda. Her reserved nature from earlier in the evening was long gone now. She had a determined look in her eyes now.
“Why not?” the blonde cocked her head slightly as she asked, slowly leaning closer to the girl in the passenger seat.
“B-Because you and Fiyero just broke up…and I–we…”
“I don’t care about Fiyero.”
Elphaba could feel Glinda’s gaze on her. It was different this time. It was a look of hunger, a look of desire.
“But I…I should respect your boundaries,” Elphaba croaked.
Glinda continued to lean closer, her face just a few inches from Elphaba’s now.
“I just told you that I wanted you to want to kiss me, didn’t I?” Glinda’s voice was sultry and thick. Elphaba hadn’t ever heard her speak like that before. Her breath hitched.
“You did.”
“So wouldn’t it be more disrespectful to deny me of my wishes?” Glinda asked, raising an eyebrow. She looked tantalizing, her lips plump, her long eyelashes batting away.
“I suppose it would…” Elphaba barely got the words out. Was Glinda really asking for this? Was this even real?
“So don’t deny me.”
Before Elphaba could spiral in her thoughts any longer, Glinda snaked her hand behind her neck and pulled her close, gently but firmly pressing their lips together again.
This time, with Glinda taking the lead, things felt different. Elphaba melted as she felt Glinda touching her neck and her jaw. It started slow but began to build quickly. Their kisses became needier and more passionate by the second. Feeling more emboldened now, Elphaba slipped her tongue into Glinda’s mouth, and the noise that came out of the blonde in response lit a fire low in her stomach. She’d never touched a drug but she imagined this is what being high might feel like. To Elphaba, time had simply stopped. Nothing in her life could compare to this feeling, this moment.
They only pulled away from one another when Glinda had tried to adjust herself to get closer and accidentally honked her car horn with her hip, startling both of them. They giggled in unison before just staring at one another.
“Wow,” was all Elphaba could muster.
“Yes, wow is absolutely correct, Elphie,” Glinda responded, trying to catch her breath. Elphaba realized the blonde now looked completely different than she had not long ago. No more red eyes, solemn expression gone. Now Glinda was grinning, glowing almost, showing off her perfect smile, unbridled joy smeared across her face.
After processing everything that just happened, Elphaba felt overwhelmed with emotion. How was it possible to feel so giddy and overjoyed, but also terrified at the same time?
“Glinda,” Elphaba said quietly, almost a whisper, “I’m afraid.”
Glinda’s smile was immediately washed away, a look of concern taking over. She put one hand on Elphaba’s shoulder and the other on her arm. “What’s wrong?” she asked as she started to draw tiny circles on Elphaba’s forearm with the tip of her finger.
Elphaba wasn’t sure how to answer the question. She wasn’t upset, Oz no, she’d just experienced the most wonderful moment of her life. But she did feel fearful. Fearful of something going wrong, of everything changing, of losing Glinda, losing the person that means the most to her. She couldn’t let that happen.
Glinda was a catch. People would line up for miles for a chance to date her. She was beautiful, no, ethereal. She had the voice of an angel and she could command a room. She was so popular, people gravitated to her everywhere she went. While she did tend to wear something of a mask while she was in public, in private her demeanor was even sweeter. She was so caring, so gentle, and she was funny, hilarious actually. Glinda was the first and only person to make Elphaba laugh so hard she cried. It may not be reflected in her school work, but Glinda was also as sharp as a tack and incredibly quick-witted.
What did the tiny blonde see in Elphaba? It wasn’t just her looks that made her undesirable. Elphaba was bristly. She could be crude. She wasn’t charming and she definitely wasn’t easy to get along with. She had trust issues and family issues. Her only trait to be proud of was her intelligence, but was that something Glinda cared about? She had dated Fiyero who was a self-professed air head, but he was also charming and attractive.
Glinda sat silent, waiting for Elphaba to answer her question.
“I guess I’m afraid of…losing this. Losing us,” Elphaba wasn’t sure how to verbalize what she felt. “I don’t know what any of this means.”
Glinda’s worry seemed to ease a bit at that.
“Well, what do you want it to mean?” she asked.
“I don’t know,” Elphaba replied, honestly. “I wasn’t expecting you to say any of that, the breaking up with Fiyero…the stuff about me.”
Elphaba could feel Glinda start to pull away from her
“It’s not a bad thing!” she exclaimed, trying to reassure her as quickly as she could. “Don’t let go.”
Glinda didn’t let go, but she repositioned herself so she could get a better look at the girl beside her.
“I’m so glad you don’t think it’s a bad thing,” Glinda reassured her.
Elphaba was truly lost for words. She had no clue how to proceed with this. Once again the car was quiet.
Glinda slid her hand down Elphaba’s arm to intertwine their fingers, clearly deep in thought, and then out of nowhere she asked an unexpected question.
“Elphie, will you dance with me?”
Wondering if she looked as confused as she felt, she asked Glinda, “You want to go back to the party?”
“No, silly. I mean right here. In the street. Just us.” Elphaba still looked unsure, so Glinda continued. “I can play music from my car, it’ll be quiet, we won’t disturb anyone. I haven’t seen a car pass by since I came out here.” Elphaba watched as Glinda put on the most powerful pout she’d ever seen. “Pleaseeee Elphie,” she begged.
When she didn’t get an immediate response, Glinda’s pout shifted back into her look from earlier. Yearning. Desire. “Please dance with me, Elphaba,” she asked again, much more serious this time.
Even if she was nervous about dancing, because dancing just wasn’t something that she did, Elphaba couldn’t deny her after that.
“Okay,” she replied, and reached for the door.
Glinda picked up her phone and scrolled through her music, looking for a song to play. She ended up choosing a slower song, kind of R&B but not really.
Elphaba stood in the street and waited as Glinda rolled her windows down so they could hear the music better. Then she popped the door open and immediately rushed over to where Elphaba was standing, not wanting to miss any of the song. The blonde grabbed Elphaba’s hands and guided them to her waist, then put her own arms around Elphaba’s neck.
They weren’t really dancing, mostly just swaying together and enjoying the music. It was a nice song, Elphaba had decided. She wasn’t expecting Glinda to rest her head on her chest, but it was a welcomed gesture, and it made her legs feel like jelly.
“Elphie,” Glinda said, voice laden with affection, “isn’t this nice?”
“Very,” Elphaba responded, smiling without realizing it.
They swayed together as the song went on.
“I think our kiss was nice, too,” Glinda said quietly.
Elphaba froze, but only for a quick moment before she continued swaying Glinda. She felt her grip on the girl’s hips get a bit tighter.
Hearing Glinda mention their kiss was enough to convince herself to let go, to be in the moment and say what she wanted without fearing what the future may bring. To let the walls fall and crumble. At least for right now.
“It was more than nice,” Elphaba responded, finally. Then she leaned down to the blonde’s ear and tucked some of the hair away.
“It was thrillifying,” she whispered. She could see the grin spreading across Glinda’s face, knowing she loved it when Elphaba used her made up words.
Glinda looked up at her, still smiling, then she laid her head back on Elphaba’s chest. Then she let out a laugh.
“Such a flirt, Elphie. You always know exactly what to say. How do you do it?” Glinda asked.
“I don’t know if that’s true. I haven’t had a clue what to say to you all night.”
Glinda swatted at her arm. “Stop that. You do always know what to say to make me feel better. But you aren’t wrong about tonight being…different than expected.”
“What did you expect?” Elphaba implored.
“I didn’t expect Fiyero to be here. I’m not sure why. Frankly, I haven’t thought of him much since we broke up. But I definitely didn’t expect Boq would be able to convince you to play spin the bottle of all things. Really, Elphie? That just doesn’t seem like your style.”
“Honestly, it isn’t.” Glinda laughed at that. “I guess when you look like me, you have to take what you can get. That was my logic, at least.”
“Well, I hope you’re happy with what you got,” Glinda replied, looking up to wink at her, “I don’t usually give out kisses so easily.”
Elphaba grinned at that, but she knew they needed to talk about everything that had happened over the past week. She wished they could live in the bliss of that moment forever. As if on cue, the song finally ended.
They stopped swaying and Glinda pulled away from Elphaba, but not much.
“Glinda, I did mean what I said earlier. I am afraid and I don’t know what any of this means for me, for us. I don’t know what it’s like to feel…romantically about someone. You are the only friend I’ve ever known, but the more I wonder about you, and how we are…do friends act this way together?”
“No,” Glinda sighed in response, “all friends are not this way together. Not at all.”
Elphaba looked down at Glinda, who looked up at her with hope in her eyes.
“But I don’t think we’re just friends. I–I don’t know if I can only be your friend, not anymore. I know now that I want more than that…especially after tonight.”
Elphaba felt a flutter in her stomach and realized that this is what people meant when they talked about getting butterflies.
Glinda, desperate to fill the silence, kept talking.
“I like you, Elphie. A lot more than as a friend.”
Elphaba couldn’t help it, she grinned bigger than she thought was humanly possible, hands instinctively coming in embarrassment to hide her face. Glinda grabbed her arms and stopped her.
“Don’t hide that from me,” she said sweetly. “I want to see you. All of you. In every way.”
Elphaba could tell that Glinda wasn’t trying to be charming, she was just being honest, but it worked all the same. She felt like she could faint at every word Glinda was saying.
“So what does this mean, Glinda?” Elphaba asked once again. She knew what she wanted, but she needed to hear it from the other girl.
“I want to be honest, Elphaba. I respect you very much and I’d never want to pressure you into anything, or make you feel uncomfortable, so do keep that in mind. But I can’t deny this feeling anymore. It hasn’t even been a week since it became clear to me what my feelings mean and I’m going insane already. Every time you look at me, my heart feels like it’s going to backflip straight into outer space. And as soon as we kissed…it was over for me, Elphie. I know that much for sure.”
“I can’t deny this feeling, either,” Elphaba responded without missing a beat. “You’d think after weeks of watching you with Fiyero, I would have gotten here sooner. Turns out the mere thought of you kissing any of the people in that circle earlier was enough to make me spiral.”
Glinda laughed and smiled, and Elphaba swore she saw her kick her feet as if she was a giddy little schoolgirl.
“Elphie, you understand now, yes? Why I couldn’t kiss you over there?” Glinda asked with a seductive look on her face. She leaned closer to Elphaba, stopping just short of her lips.
“I want you to be mine, darling, only mine. I’m not one to share.”
Elphaba closed the gap between them this time, tangling her fingers in Glinda’s hair as they kissed in the middle of the road, directly under the streetlight, almost as if it was a spotlight for them. After a few moments they slipped into a strong embrace, the type two lovers share after being separated for an unreasonable amount of time.
“Hold on,” Glinda murmured as she walked back to her car. She played the song they were just dancing to again, and wandered back over to Elphaba.
“Dance with me again, Elphie.”
So they danced together again, under their personal spotlight in the middle of the street.