“Go away.”
These are the first words that greet Glinda the moment Elphaba catches sight of her standing in the stairwell.
They are the first words Elphaba has spoken to her since their screaming match out in the cornfield that got Fiyero strung up like a scarecrow.
Glinda takes a moment to just stand there and take stock of everything. Elphaba is crouched in the middle of the room, hands outstretched in a pleading manner towards one of the winged monkeys from the Wizard’s tower. Her face is gaunt and pale green, far from its natural, rich emerald color. Her cloak lies limply around her sharp shoulders and her hair is tied back into a bun that is rapidly coming undone underneath her hat.
She looks like an absolute vision and Glinda wants nothing more than to gather Elphaba up in her arms and fly them away to where no one would find them, to keep Elphaba safe and run away with her like she should have when Elphaba had turned to her with bright, wild eyes and a freshly enchanted broom.
But the Ozians are coming and Glinda has a job to do and very little time to do it.
“They’re coming for you,” she says. Elphaba stands, hands moving rigidly back to her sides, and glares.
“Go away.”
Glinda huffs. “I know you don’t want to hear this but someone’s gotta say it,” she says, ignoring the growing scowl on the green girl’s face. “You are out of control. Seriously, they’re just shoes!” She gestures widely with her arms. “Let it go.”
“Oh, for Oz’s sake,” Elphaba groans and turns away.
Glinda takes a step down, grimacing at the way the aging wood creaks beneath her heels. “You can’t go on like this!”
Elphaba spins back around and storms to the bottom of the stairs. Glinda, still several stairs above her, looks her in the eye and holds her ground. “I’m the Wicked Witch of the West,” she replies, with a borderline maniacal grin. “I can do whatever I want!”
“No,” Glinda replies, balling her hands into fists. “You’re Elphaba Thropp, my best friend, and if you know what’s best for you, you’d give up this— this crusade before you get yourself killed!”
Silence falls between them, broken only by Glinda panting from her outburst. Elphaba tilts her head down, the brim of that stupid, ridiculous hat, still perched securely on her head after all these years, casting a sharp shadow over her face. The silence stretches on and on until Glinda is about ready to snap and storm out again, personal mission be damned, when Elphaba chuckles. It starts softly at first, hoarse and unfamiliar, before growing louder and louder, until the green woman is bent over, clutching her stomach as she wheezes hard enough to kick up a small cloud of dust.
Glinda can only watch in bewilderment and growing concern for her former roommate’s sanity. How long has it been since Elphaba actually laughed?
“What?” she grinds out, crossing her arms.
“It’s—” Elphaba cuts herself off, waving helplessly at the air. “It’s just funny! One would think that you would be the one obsessed with shoes.”
Despite herself, Glinda feels her lips twitch into a grin. “Yes, well, I like to think I’ve changed since you left me to deal with the Wizard’s guards in that cold, dusty attic,” she replies airly.
The laughter stops almost immediately and Elphaba whips her head up, brown eyes sharp and piercing. Glinda meets her glare unflinchingly.
“I asked you to come with me—”
“Yeah, while they were busy breaking down the door!” Glinda exclaims. “I didn’t exactly have a lot of time to think it over.”
“I don’t think your answer would have changed if you’d had an entire week,” Elphaba sneers before shaking her head. “I thought you were my friend.”
“You kissed me and then flew away on an oz-damned broomstick,” Glinda shoots back crossing her arms. “I think I win!”
“I wasn’t aware that it was a competition,” Elphaba replies.
“I’m not trying to make it a competition,” she says. “It’s just what happened.”
Elphaba nods, beginning to pace, thoughtfully placing one hand on her chin. “‘Just what happened,’ you say? Well, I think you and I have very different memories of what happened that night, or did that disastrous press conference skip your mind?”
Glinda feels her lips curl into a snarl. “Okay, you know what?”
Elphaba gives a disinterested hum, eyeing her.
“I don’t even know why I bothered to come here,” Glinda says, pressing a hand to her head.
“I did tell you to go away,” Elphaba replies.
“I should’ve known you’d be like this,” Glinda scoffs. “It’s been years, Elphie, but you’re still the same.”
Elphaba’s lips twitch into a bitter grin. “Well, you know what they say,” she says. “Time changes everything. And nothing.”
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