Chapter 2
The game had officially begun.
Galinda spent the rest of the day plotting. Subtlety, it seemed, was not the way to go—Elphaba was entirely too composed for that. No, if Galinda wanted to make her blush, she needed to be strategic. Bold. Unrelenting.
And, most importantly— completely insufferable.
So, the next morning, she put her plan into action.
She found Elphaba in the library, hunched over a book as usual, entirely unaware of the danger approaching.
Galinda smirked and sashayed over, taking the seat directly across from her. “Good morning, Elphie.”
Elphaba didn’t look up. “If you’re here to continue your nonsense, I suggest you reconsider.”
Galinda ignored her, propping her chin in her hands. “You know,” she mused, “I was thinking about something last night.”
Elphaba sighed. “How unfortunate for me.”
Galinda kicked her lightly under the table. “Anyway. I was thinking about how deeply unfair it is that you don’t blush more often.”
Elphaba closed her book with an almost painful amount of patience. “Galinda.”
“Yes, darling?”
Elphaba’s eye twitched. “Why are you like this?”
Galinda grinned. “Because I am determined. ” She gestured between them. “We both know you can be flustered, and yet you refuse to let me be the cause behind it. And frankly? It’s just plain rude.”
Elphaba groaned, rubbing her temples. “This is getting old. Don’t you have anything better to do with your time?”
“I can say with absolute certainty that you are the only thing I wish to dedicate my time towards.” Galinda leaned in, her voice dropping to something teasing. “You’re afraid I’ll succeed, aren’t you?”
Elphaba scoffed, unimpressed. “Not in the slightest.”
“Hmm.” Galinda tapped a finger against her chin. “You say that, but you’ve been very on edge since I sat down. Almost as if you’re anticipating something.”
“I am,” Elphaba deadpanned. “Your inevitable nonsense.”
Galinda beamed. “I’m glad to be on your mind.”
Elphaba groaned. “I refuse to entertain this anymore.”
“Oh, we both know that isn’t true.” Galinda sang, delighted.
Elphaba muttered something under her breath, but Galinda didn’t care—this was fun.
And she was far from done.
The next few days were a war zone.
Galinda tested every trick she had.
A ‘thoughtless’ touch here. A well-placed compliment there. She even went as far as to casually trace her fingers along the inside of Elphaba’s wrist while passing books back and forth.
But Elphaba remained unshakable.
It was frankly infuriating, and Galinda—well, Galinda was running out of patience.
Which was precisely why, when she once again spotted Elphaba talking to that girl in the hall, she saw red.
Absolutely not.
Without thinking, she marched over, slipping an arm around Elphaba’s waist like it was the most natural thing in the world. “Elphie, darling,” she cooed, ignoring the way Elphaba tensed. “There you are! I’ve been looking everywhere for you.”
Elphaba turned her head so slowly that Galinda almost felt nervous. “Have you,” she said flatly.
Galinda only smiled brighter, ignoring the warning in her tone. “Oh, absolutely. I was just thinking about how very lovely you looked this morning.” She sighed dramatically, leaning into her. “Honestly, it’s almost distracting.“
Elphaba stared in disbelief at her. For once stunned into silence.
The other girl—who Galinda was actively refusing to acknowledge—cleared her throat. “I should go then.”
Elphaba turned back to her, looking a bit frazzled. “You don’t—”
“Oh, but you must,” Galinda interrupted sweetly, finally looking at the girl. “Elphaba is simply so busy these days, you know.” She patted Elphaba’s arm. “I do try to keep her social calendar open, but she just insists on spending her free time with me.”
Elphaba choked.
The girl raised a brow and let her eyes dart between the two. “Right. Well…. I’ll see you in class Miss Elphaba. I look forward to continuing our conversation.”
Elphaba opened her mouth to protest, but she was already walking away.
As soon as she was out of sight, Elphaba turned to Galinda with the darkest glare she had ever seen.
“Galinda.”
“Yes, darling?”
Elphaba grabbed her wrist.
Galinda smirked. “Oh, Elphie, if you wanted to hold my hand, you only had to ask—”
Elphaba dragged her down the hall, straight into an empty alcove, pressing her against the wall.
Galinda stopped breathing. Her own heart beating faster than she could have anticipated.
Elphaba leaned in, her expression unreadable. “Would you care to explain yourself?”
Galinda blinked up at her, swallowing hard. “I—”
She hesitated.
Because for the first time since this ridiculous game had started, she wasn’t entirely sure who was flustering who.
And Elphaba?
Elphaba was looking at her like she was onto her. Like she knew exactly what Galinda was doing. Galinda’s heart was hammering so loudly she was certain Elphaba could hear it.
She was too close.
Her hand was still around Galinda’s wrist, her eyes dark with something unreadable, her face far too calm for someone who had just been very publicly claimed in the middle of the hallway.
This was not how Galinda had expected this to go. She was completely unprepared for this turn of events.
“Well?” Elphaba prompted, voice low.
Galinda forced herself to recover, tilting her chin up in what she hoped was an air of confidence. “I have no idea what I need to explain.”
Elphaba arched her brow. “Oh you don’t?”
“No,” Galinda said primly, ignoring the fact that her voice was slightly higher than usual. “I was simply helping you avoid another dull conversation.”
Elphaba hummed, unconvinced. “Interesting. Because it seemed a lot more like you were jealous.”
Galinda gasped , scandalized. “Jealous?” She let out a forced, airy laugh. “Don’t be absurd. I don’t get jealous.”
Elphaba’s gaze flickered down—briefly—to Galinda’s lips.
Then back up.
At that Galinda forgot how to breathe.
Elphaba smirked.
“Oh, I don’t know,” she mused. “Maybe because you spent the past few days trying to make me blush, only to get upstaged by someone who did it without even trying.”
Galinda floundered.
“I—That is—”
Oh, Oz damn it.
Elphaba had somehow turned the game against her. And now she was winning.
Galinda could not let this happen. She refused. So she did the only thing she could think of in her flustered state. She doubled down.
Galinda reached out, fingers curling around the front of Elphaba’s collar, pulling her forward just slightly. Not enough to close the distance entirely—but enough to make a point.
“Do you really think I’d let someone upstage me?” she asked, voice soft, deliberate.
Elphaba stilled, eyes narrowing.
Galinda bit back a victorious smirk.
“Because I think you know,” she continued, tilting her head just so, letting her breath ghost against Elphaba’s cheek, “that if I wanted to fluster you…” She let her fingers toy with the fabric of Elphaba’s shirt, dragging her nails lightly over the cloth. “I would certainly succeed.”
Elphaba didn’t move.
Didn’t pull away.
Didn’t say a word.
But her fingers tightened around Galinda’s wrist. Just for a second. And that — that was enough to make Galinda’s breath hitch.
For a moment, neither of them spoke. The game had shifted again.
Galinda had expected a blush. She would have bet her best pair of heels it was coming. She had not expected this. This… tension. This awareness. She had not expected Elphaba to look at her like this.
Galinda suddenly had the very real realization that she had no idea what to do next.
And—oh.
Oh.
She wanted to close the gap.
She really wanted to.
Elphaba exhaled, slow and measured, gaze locked onto Galinda’s like she was studying her.
And then—softly, deliberately—she leaned in.
For the briefest moment, Galinda thought—
But Elphaba only brought her lips to her ear, her voice barely above a whisper.
“You’re blushing.”
Galinda shoved her away.
“I am not!” she squealed, hands flying up to her cheeks, which, traitorously, absolutely were.
Elphaba laughed, actually laughed. A deep, bellowing, genuine laugh that made Galinda’s heart skip a beat.
It wasn’t fair!
Galinda scowled, pointing a very dramatic finger at her. “That—That doesn’t count!”
“Oh, it absolutely counts.” Elphaba smirked, infuriatingly smug. “But don’t worry. I’m sure you’ll succeed one day.”
Galinda gaped at her, utterly offended.
This was not over. Not by a long shot.
Galinda seethed, actively wishing her own blush away. Elphaba, that insufferable, impossible, horrifically smug woman had completely turned the game on its head. Galinda was supposed to be the one making her blush! Not the other way around!
And now Elphaba was walking away, as if she hadn’t just obliterated Galinda in her own game.
Absolutely not. Galinda refused to let her have the last word.
“Oh, Elphie.” she called in a sing-song voice, stepping forward before she could think better of it.
Elphaba paused, glancing back over her shoulder with an expression of pure amusement. “Yes, my sweet?”
Galinda grit her teeth. The new nickname seeped into her heart in a painfully obvious way. She had no plan—only the sheer force of her wounded pride—but she refused to let Elphaba win, so she simply acted on instinct. Because if Galinda had given what she was about to do even a half second of thought she never would have dared to do something so bold.
She stepped into Elphaba’s space, leaned up onto her toes, and pressed a feather-light kiss to her cheek.
Elphaba froze.
Oh, this was good.
Galinda pulled back just slightly, tilting her head with the sweetest smile she could muster. “Now who’s blushing?”
Elphaba’s expression was unreadable—stiff and carefully neutral. But, oh, Galinda saw it.
The tiniest hint of color, just barely creeping up her neck.
Victory was hers.
Galinda smirked, stepping back with a delighted little hum. “That’s what I thought.”
And then—just to be a menace—she turned and pranced down the hall, leaving Elphaba standing there, shell shocked, hand hovering over her cheek like she wasn’t entirely sure what had just happened.
Galinda grinned.
She had won.
She had finally won.
At least that was what she thought. Until, later that evening, when Elphaba got her back.
Galinda was in their room, brushing out her curls, when she heard the soft opening of their door.
The door creaked open. Elphaba was standing in the doorway, arms crossed, expression unreadable.
Galinda straightened, eyes narrowing slightly. Elphaba stepped inside, closing the door behind her, a smirk on her lips. Galinda’s pulse spiked at Elphaba’s presence. It made her entirely too nervous.
Galinda shot to her feet. “What—”
“You were quite proud of yourself today,” Elphaba interrupted, voice deceptively casual. “Weren’t you?”
Galinda swallowed. “I—”
Elphaba took a slow, measured step forward.
Galinda took an immediate step back.
Elphaba’s smirk deepened. “What’s wrong, my sweet?” she asked, voice soft. “You seemed so confident earlier.”
Galinda’s back hit the vanity.
Oz help me.
Elphaba stopped just in front of her, tilting her head ever so slightly. “Something on your mind?”
Galinda scowled, willing herself to remain composed. “If you think you can fluster me—”
Elphaba leaned in, bringing their faces entirely too close, her hands bracing against the vanity on either side of Galinda.
Trapped.
Galinda was trapped.
Elphaba’s voice dropped to a whisper.
“You haven’t won yet.”
And then—
She kissed Galinda’s cheek.
Soft. Lingering.
Galinda stopped functioning as a person. Her brain short-circuited. She had completely lost control of this game, and at that moment she didn’t even mind.
Elphaba pulled back, utterly pleased with herself, gaze flickering down to Galinda’s lips just long enough to make her dizzy.
And then—
She turned and walked away, vanishing into their shared bathroom. Like she hadn’t just ruined Galinda’s entire existence.
Galinda touched her cheek, gaping at her retreating figure.
This was war.