Chapter Text
Raindrops fell against the otherwise crystal clear glass of the library at Shiz University just after the thirteenth hour, accompanied by a gentle cast of moonlight. The large book filled building had an ancient charm about it that pulled in even the most hesitant onlookers. Deep chestnut shelves with rusted gold lining below curved ceilings, and walls that featured eighteenth century murals. The ladder being Elphaba’s favorite quality of the building’s.
She was often here, studying—sitting…
The library was her most beloved place on campus. Here, between the rows of shelves—entranced in the multitude of lives within the pages—she was never herself. Her solitude wasn’t interrupted by curious stares or malicious words as it was every time she dared to step out in public. In the library, she could hide away and pretend, just for a moment, that she wasn’t the odd showgirl for Shiz student’s entertainment. Inside of these four walls she was Elphaba Thropp… intelligent, quick-witted, beautiful, loved, and accepted.
She sat crisscrossed on the ground between the shelves of the history section. It was finals season and she was determined to maintain her straight-A streak. This course was one of her favorites because it challenged her to see things from perspectives that rivaled her own. It seemed simple enough to do, yet it was a skill most people lacked. Especially when it came to sharing spaces with the green girl.
Elphaba, however, was used to the immediate hatred for what they did not understand. Her existence should be impossible, and therefore it was wrong.
She was wrong.
Rhetoric that had been repeatedly burned into her brain by way of her abusive father. Despite the damage his hands cost her over the years, his words created scars that went much deeper than any physical injury she sustained at his hands ever could. It was because of him that she seldom ever fought back against her torturers all through her childhood, and struggled to do it in adulthood. Instead, she learned to endure—to take whatever it was people did to her without making a fuss about it.
She walked with a fragile confidence, always one excruciating interaction away from running back home to her apartment. While the library was comfortable for her, the apartment she’d been renting for the last four years was her safe place. The only place she could truly lock herself away in to spare the world of the uncomfortable sight of her.
It’s the same reason she always chose to sit between the aisles in the library instead of at the tables meant for sitting. Others were at those tables, even if it was just one person, it was still one more than would ever be kind to her.
This particular night, there were a few people utilizing the quiet space. One of whom was currently weeping from what Elphaba could hear. The girl had been crying for the better part of the last ten minutes and Elphaba was growing more annoyed with the distraction.
She slammed the textbook in her lap shut and shoved it in her worn purple backpack she’d gotten freshman year at Shiz. After pushing herself to her feet to investigate the noise, she poked her head out from the aisle.
The culprit— a small blonde haired girl with her head down on the table. Elphaba watched the girl’s shoulders hitch with every sob. The annoyance she felt disappeared to morph into pity. She reached around her back to grab the pack of tissues she kept inside her backpack. She understood what it was like to cry in public and she had always hoped someone would check on her when she did, of course that never happened. She was forced to clean herself up, and wipe her own tears with the added step of applying a cream for her water allergy.
With the tissues in her hand, she hesitantly came out of her hiding spot with the intentions of giving them to the crying girl, but the closer she got two things plagued her mind:
The crying girl was Galinda Upland, resident it-girl at Shiz University.
And…
No one ever reacted pleasantly to her appearance, and this probably wouldn’t be any different.
Her hands became sweaty, but she quickly dried them on her pants hoping to avoid the allergic reaction. She was out in the open now, anyone could see her. She felt totally vulnerable, but the sliver of a chance that Galinda would appreciate the gesture kept her feet moving tentatively towards her.
Galinda’s sobs were low and Elphaba could see that she had two notebooks and a textbook out on the table. Perhaps finals season was also agonizing for those who didn’t care about their grades too. Everyone knew Galinda’s priorities at Shiz were being captain of the cheerleaders, leading the fashion club, and attending every single party on campus and off. She was the popular girl of popular girls, she got special treatment from the dean, and every boy and girl hung off the perfectly manicured tip of her finger.
So, seeing her in the library, apparently defeated, came as a shock to Elphaba. She slid the tissues on the table near Galinda, then scurried off towards the exit. She could offer support… from a distance, but she couldn’t set herself up to be laughed at or gawked at.
“Hey!”
Elphaba kept walking. Surely, she wasn’t the person being screamed at. No one ever called after her.
“You, with the purple backpack!”
Correction—no one ever called after her… until now.
And, of course, it was the last person she’d want to have a conversation with. She and Galinda would never mix. They came from different worlds. Galinda was born with a pink spoon in her mouth, and Elphaba came into the world kicking and screaming, already disadvantaged.
She stopped in her tracks, slightly afraid to face Galinda. She didn’t mean to cause a stir—she never did.
“Hi! Thank you for these,” Galinda said from across the room once Elphaba faced her. “This whole finals thing has really got me all jumbled up.”
Elphaba braced for Galinda’s realization of her verdigris. The inevitable gasp, scream, or run away from her.
Galinda opened up the tissues and wiped her eyes. Then she stood up and flipped her hair behind her shoulder as if she’d practiced this very action from birth. If Elphaba hadn’t seen it with her own eyes, she’d never believe this same girl was just sobbing one minute ago.
“I’m Galinda,” she said with her hand outstretched.
Elphaba’s mind stopped working. Did Galinda mean for her to touch her? She took a step back for good measure.
“It’s rude to leave someone waiting, you know.”
Galinda’s confidence intrigued Elphaba, but not enough for her to speak just yet. She spent most of her time at Shiz not speaking because it never went well when she did, and after being told for years that she should just “shut up”, she didn’t really see the point of it anyway.
But Galinda Upland was relentless…
“Hello? Aren’t you gonna say something? Or are you gonna keep staring at me creepily?”
Elphaba opened her mouth and closed it twice before she pulled the courage to speak from within herself. She hid her hands in the sleeves of her dark green hoodie, instinctively. Then she brought her right hand over her mouth to shield what she could of herself from prying eyes. “You’re welcome.”
Galinda nodded, satisfied. “What’s your name?”
Elphaba’s eyes shifted to the table next to Galinda. Her nervousness became evident by the way she tapped her foot on the worn carpet. “Elphaba,” she mumbled.
“W-what? I can hardly hear you,” Galinda said, taking an assured step forward.
Elphaba stepped back… into the way of the window’s light stream. The moonlight exposed the very thing she was trying to hide in the darkness.
Galinda gasped and moved back. Surprising to no one, certainly not Elphaba. This whole interaction was going exactly as she knew it would.
But still… it stung.
Her head dropped and she felt like everyone was watching her. To disappear would be easier than to sit here and be picked apart visually. She turned on her heels and headed for the exit once again.
No matter how many times people recoiled at the sight of her, it affected her all the same. She felt ashamed of herself and unworthy of occupying the same space as those who judged her. She pulled out her gloves then pushed through the library doors only to be caught in the whipping wind and harsh rain. Pulling her hood over her head, she shuffled down the stairs as quickly as she possibly could. Lucky for her, the rain was dropping in the same direction she was walking which meant she was able to stay covered.
“Hey! Wait up!”
Oh for Ozsake, she thought to herself. There was no way that little Galinda Upland in the mini skirt and tank top was chasing after her in the rain well after midnight. She soldiered on, hoping that Galinda would get the hint and leave her.
“Hey!”
She kept going towards her car, trying to get her keys from her bag before she arrived at her car door. Then she heard a shriek from behind her under the sound of the quick pelts of rain hitting the ground. Her head whipped around to see Galinda on the ground with her books spread around her and her backpack open. The feeling of the rain against her face stung. She would pay for this when she got home and had to combat an allergy flare up.
She hurried over because no matter how much social interaction unnerved her and her skin burned, leaving another girl in the rain, injured and alone was something she’d never do. She knew all too well the feeling of being utterly alone and hurt, and she wouldn’t wish it on anyone else. No one deserved to feel what she had, especially not Galinda who had technically been nice to her.
She crouched down next to Galinda, who was holding her ankle. It looked like her heel got caught in a crack and snapped. Elphaba grabbed Galinda’s books and put them back in her bag, sealing it with the zipper. Then she looked at the soaked girl in front of her. “Are you okay?”
“I twisted it, but I’m fine.”
Elphaba watched Galinda stand up with a wince. Her injury looked painful, and the rain wasn’t helping this major inconvenience one bit. She felt even more awful given that Galinda was chasing after her when she hurt herself. “Do you live here?”
“A-across campus,” Galinda stammered as she held herself. She had begun to shiver.
The clattering of her teeth grabbed Elphaba’s attention. She looked into Galinda’s face for the first time since they’d been in such close proximity, and immediately understood why she was as sought after as she was. She was objectively stunning despite being soaking wet and freezing cold. She had the biggest brown doe eyes under fluttering eyelashes, and a sharp jaw structure. Her nose was a little red from the coldness, but the color only contributed to her natural beauty. Elphaba couldn’t help but stare.
“You left before I got your name,” Galinda said.
Elphaba pulled her hood down further. “I didn’t think you wanted to know it after—”
“You startled me.”
Elphaba didn’t react. “Get home safe.”
She started to walk to her car.
“Hey! D-do you think you could give me a ride?” Galinda asked. “It’s just- my dorm is on the other side of campus. I walked here thinking it would be a nice way to clear my mind and well… you know,” she waved her hands around above her head.
Elphaba scoffed at the girl’s astounding lack of awareness and general precaution. “You don’t even know my name. I could be a kidnapper.”
“Well are you?”
Elphaba shrugged, “Maybe… Do you still want a ride?”
Galinda giggled.
Elphaba’s breath caught in her chest at the sight of Galinda’s dimple. She looked positively adorable when she smiled which Elphaba knew from seeing her around on campus, but up close her beauty was disarming. She was flawless in every sense of the word.
“Yes. I still want a ride nameless green girl.”
Elphaba unlocked her car door, taken aback by the mention of her skin. The reminder that she was different hung between them as they both got into her small car.
Elphaba started the engine and turned the heat up.
“What is your name?” Galinda asked again. “You have to actually tell me this time.”
“It’s Elphaba.”
“Elphaba,” Galinda repeated. “I like it.”
Elphaba’s lips turned up in the slightest, the smile didn’t quite come across, but she did feel something close to happiness for the compliment. She had never received one before. She wondered what it was like to have someone enjoy a feature of hers so much that they felt compelled to tell her.
Even though it was her car, she felt nervous to talk. This was the first time she drove anyone around in it besides her younger sister Nessarose.
“T-thank you. You’ll have to tell me where to go.”
“Make a right up here,” Galinda instructed. “So… are you like… sick?”
Elphaba sighed. She expected that it would come up at some point… It was exhausting having to explain her existence to everyone who asked. “No. I was born this way. It’s not contagious. It won’t rub off on you, and I don’t know why I’m this way.” The words left her mouth dryly and prepared. It was the same spiel she gave to everyone. It was curt and informative. It covered the most asked bases and didn’t overshare what people didn’t care to know.
“Oh! Well what year are you? Keep straight,” Galinda said.
She just moved on without a care in the world. There were no funny remarks or rude questions. She was completely satisfied that Elphaba was just green…
Elphaba stuttered, “Fourth.”
“Were you studying for finals too?”
“Yes.”
“It’s so confusifying isn’t it? I can never come up with the right words for Linguistics class and the numbers get so mixed up in my head for math.”
Elphaba snickered, “Confusifying? That’s not a word.”
“No word was a word before it became a word,” Galinda rebutted. “And don’t make fun of me, it’s rude.”
That stopped Elphaba entirely.
Galinda was absolutely right, making fun of people was rude.
“I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay… What are you studying?”
“Advanced History.”
“Oh, advanced huh? Are you any good at writing essays and math with letters?”
Elphaba chuckled, “Yes.”
“Must be nice, turn left here,” Galinda instructed.
They pulled into the parking lot in front of Galinda’s dorm room.
“Thank you, again. I’ll try to cry quietly next time,” Galinda joked as she got out of the car with a limp.
Elphaba laughed softly, then waved goodbye. She watched Galinda walk into her building before she pulled away. How Galinda could remain so cheerful after crying, falling in the rain, and having so much trouble with her class was a mystery to Elphaba. Just one of those things would send her into psychosis.
She admired Galinda’s resilience.
She found her to be more interesting personally than she came across publicly. While she was very bubbly and assertive, she was also curious and seemingly harmless.
Despite the rising purple skin and pain she was feeling, Elphaba drove herself home with Galinda on her mind.
———
The next night, Elphaba packed her bag to retire from the library. She was exhausted after a six hour study session. This history class was taking up every bit of her free time. She had a thirty page essay due on a topic she was only mildly interested in. Nonetheless, she gave it her all just as she did all her other lessons.
As she walked through the shelves, she noticed a flash of pink disappear around the corner. Then she heard quiet mumblings of dissatisfaction. When she turned, she was met with Galinda filing through books.
“Oh, Elphaba! Hi!”
“H-hi,” Elphaba hesitated.
“Look, it’s all better now,” Galinda said, wiggling her ankle around in the air.
Elphaba smiled. She was happy that Galinda wasn’t hurt long term.
“Do you understand this book place language?”
”Huh?”
“I’m looking for a book, but I can’t seem to find it. This place is so… odd.”
Elphaba bit her lip, awkwardly. She could help Galinda and risk making a fool of herself as she so often did, or she could just deny her and leave. As much as she wanted to take off out of fear, something about Galinda looking at her with so much hope bolted her feet to the ground. She couldn’t turn away from her no matter how hard her mind screamed at her to do just that. “It’s sorted by genre, then the author's last name.”
Galinda nodded and focused back on the shelf. She used her finger to search the spines until she landed on one. “Found it! Thank you.”
She whirled past Elphaba back to that same table she was at yesterday and Elphaba watched her helplessly in awe of her. Galinda wasn’t like anyone she’d ever come in contact with before. She had no interest in her skin condition and even less in bullying her for it. Her gaze didn’t linger on Elphaba’s body and when she did look at her it was out of genuineness rather than malice. She had asked the usual questions, but she didn’t press Elphaba to reveal more than she wanted to.
It was weirdly comforting for Elphaba and she found herself wanting to talk to Galinda more. She walked over to Galinda’s table, unsure of why.
“You said you were good at math, could you help me?” Galinda asked. “It’s just- this stuff does not make sense to me at all.”
Elphaba glanced down at what she was working on. “Um it’s because you’ve got the order wrong.” She looked to Galinda for any signs of anger at her redirection, but there was none. Galinda was focused on the page. “Move this here and this one over two,” Elphaba said.
Galinda erased and rewrote the problem as Elphaba suggested, and then she was able to work it out. She squealed with excitement, “I did it! Thank you!”
Elphaba smiled. Galinda’s excitement was radiating off her body and so infectious. It made Elphaba want to help her more. “You didn’t really need me.”
“Of course I did, silly! You're good at this, sit,” Galinda commanded with a gentleness in her voice. It wasn’t a question, but the statement left room for Elphaba to reject her if she chose to.
The rejection never came. Elphaba sat down across from her as a precaution. She didn’t want to ruin her good luck or push the universe for more grace. The fact that Galinda was even willing to be close to her was more than enough for her.
Galinda worked through more problems with Elphaba’s help. She asked non-school related questions every few minutes, but nothing too personal. In their short time together, she’d found out that Elphaba lived off campus and had a job though she wasn’t sure what. She also found out that Elphaba was a bit of a recluse and was now trying to convince her to go out.
“There’s something for everyone here. You just haven’t found your thing yet! I could help since you helped me with my math.”
Elphaba’s covered hand came over her mouth again. Galinda’s offer was enticing, but entirely out of reach for her. She could love every club and organization that Shiz had but it wouldn’t change the fact that no one would want her in those spaces. “I-I shouldn’t. Thank you for offering though.”
“Oh pleeaaseeee, just try one! I’ll go with you,” Galinda begged with her bottom lip poked out.
“Galinda, that’s very kind of you, but I’m not a people person.” Elphaba continued, “People don’t receive this well.” Elphaba waved her hand across her face.
Galinda frowned, “So! You can’t hide away forever.”
Elphaba scoffed, “You literally jumped away from me when you saw me.”
“Because you startled me. I’d never seen a green person before… and now I have.”
“No one will be as kind as you,” Elphaba confessed. The awkwardness filled her body and regret ran through her. She should’ve never said that. It revealed too much about how she saw the world.
“It’s settled! I’m gonna teach you how to live a little.”
“Gal-”
“No arguing, here,” she said, pushing her phone towards Elphaba. “Put your number in.”
“What?”
“How else am I supposed to contact you if I don’t have your number? We could keep meeting here at late hours, but I have no plans to be here after finals. So, you should probably just give me your number.”
Elphaba looked down at the phone then back up at the beautiful girl in front of her who was somehow interested in spending time with her. None of this felt real and she struggled to wrap her head around the facts.
Two days ago, she was content to be completely alone (or so she told herself), and now she had the most popular girl in school asking for her number. This had to be a cosmic joke—or a prank! Definitely a prank.
“Galinda, if this is some joke so you can get everyone a laugh please just leave me alone.”
“This isn’t- I’m not joking. You helped me so I want to help you, that’s all.”
Elphaba sighed. She wasn’t sure if Galinda was telling the truth or not, but saying no to her felt more anxiety inducing then just agreeing. She typed her number into Galinda’s phone and slid it back to her. “I won’t feel right if it’s just you wasting your time on me.”
“It won’t be a waste, but if it makes you uncomfortable, then you can keep helping me with my studies, and we’ll call it a deal.”
Elphaba nodded, “Mutually beneficial.”
Galinda’s lips curled upwards and her dimple indented her cheek. Elphaba was mesmerized in an instant. She was pleasantly nervous and terrified of this arrangement, but getting to see Galinda’s face repeatedly seemed worth the trouble. “Elphie, now that we’re friends, I’m gonna make you my new project!”
The nickname caught Elphaba off guard. It was perky, but she didn’t mind it. It felt like Galinda. “Oh you really don’t have to do that…”
“I know! That’s what makes me so nice!”
Elphaba laughed, but rushed to cover her mouth.
“Stop doing that. You have a beautiful smile,” Galinda said as she reached over the table to pull Elphaba’s hand away from her face.
When Galinda’s fingers slid into Elphaba’s hand, her heart nearly jumped out of her chest. Galinda’s touch felt innately right on her skin. Her lips parted so she could suck in the breath she forgot to take. Then before she knew it, the warmth of Galinda’s hand was gone and her palm felt unnaturally cold. The regular temperature of her body was no longer warm enough.
“This is the part when you say ‘thank you’,” Galinda said, playfully.
“R-right. Thank you.”
“Oh, this is so exciting! Are you free tomorrow?”
Elphaba nodded. She was free most days. She had only her classes and work, neither of which took up her entire day.
“Well, then,” Galinda started, gathering her things. “We have a lot of work to do. I’ll text you. Bye Elphie.”
Elphaba waved her off and watched her leave.
What the hell just happened? She asked herself with a soft smile on her face.