quarter 2
As rudely reminded by a curt text from Glinda later that night, Elphaba still finds herself on carpool duty the next morning. As she glares daggers into the Upland front door, she braces herself for the painful drive that she is about to endure. No doubt the blonde will find ways to make this arrangement as strenuous as possible, because if there’s one thing Glinda Upland adores, it’s being in control of a situation. Elphaba hates her? Fine, she’ll hate Elphaba even more. And so it’s no surprise when she waltzes down the driveway, steps into the truck like she owns it, and without a word gestures vaguely at the wheel before starting her makeup in the small sun visor mirror she pulls down. Elphaba, after a moment of stunned silence, understands she’s telling her to start driving, and the dismissive act only makes her grit her teeth further.
She lurches backwards onto the street, intentionally braking as abruptly as possible to disturb Glinda’s meticulous make-up process. Annoyingly, the girl has an impressively steady hand, and finishes her mascara with only a quick glare thrown towards the green girl. The drive passes in a tense silence, and Elphaba all but bolts out once she’s parked at school.
The day is miserable, to say the least. In the presence of others, Glinda acts sickly sweet, cooing at Elphaba, arm tucked in the crook of her elbow. But only Elphaba notices the challenging glint in her eyes, or the way her perfectly manicured nails dig into her arm. As soon as they find themselves alone, the act is dropped in seconds, and the two glare at each other with more vitriol than ever before, even their outright rivalry in past years.
Unfortunately, it seems the plan doesn’t seem to be a total waste, so it’s not an option to call it off. The cheerleaders have taken to practicing in the gym on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and already Elphaba feels less icy glares thrown at her when she walks down the hallways. They aren’t quite warmed up to the idea of respecting the basketball team yet, but progress is progress.
As for the basketball girls, they take a little more convincing. When Elphaba announces the Tuesday after the dreadful hockey game that they’re going to start sharing the space, she’s met with expressions of outright disgust and annoyance. And truthfully, she can’t help but feel a twinge of agreement. Still, she squares her shoulders, and remembers this will pay off. It has to pay off. They spend their now gym-less days on outdoor conditioning, running miles in the surrounding neighborhoods. The puffs of their breath form clouds in the air, and even under several layers Elphaba wonders if she might freeze. The team does not speak a word to her as they shuffle into the locker room that night, and she has to grit her teeth in an effort to keep quiet. It’ll pay off when they win Nationals. It has to.
And they come around, soon enough, when they arrive at their home game on Friday night to find a line of (somewhat unenthusiastic) cheerleaders on the sidelines. Glinda, standing in the center of their small group, tilts her head and shoots a smug smile her way. You’re welcome, she mouths, and Elphaba rolls her eyes. But it works, as she watches her teammates play with more vigor, barreling down the court, flinging the ball through the air. There’s no boost to morale like attention, and they sweep the game to the sound of a cheering home section and a thrum in their ears. Yes, this will pay off. Elphaba grins and bears Glinda’s antics a little less resentfully the following week.
. . . . . .
“Elphie, darling, do you happen to have the homework for Morrible done? It must’ve slipped my mind to complete it last night.”
Elphaba looks up to find Glinda sliding into the chair beside her, and narrows her eyes at the blonde. She’s wearing her hair down today, soft waves gently tucked behind one ear.
“Right, slipped your mind. Are you sure it wasn’t just laziness and lack of academic integrity?”
Glinda gasps in mock outrage, bringing a hand up to her heart in indignation. “My, Elphaba, what an accusation. Can’t a girl just get some homework help from her girlfriend?” To any surrounding student, it likely sounds like playful banter, but Elphaba notices the mocking edge to Glinda’s voice. She weighs her options silently, and decides she’d rather not put up with the cheerleader’s pestering the entire block. Reaching into her bag, she finds the worksheet and slides it over to Glinda’s desk.
“Just don’t copy it word for word. And next time do it yourself, it really wasn’t that hard.”
“Yes, yes, thank you.” As she begins to copy down the answers, Dr. Dillamond comes to the front of the room, clapping his hands to get the class’s attention.
“Alright everyone, today we’re going to be continuing our work on Munchkinland history.” Beside her, Elphaba can hear Glinda let out a huff of boredom. She pinches her lips in annoyance and focuses on Dillamond again.
“We’re going to be splitting into pairs and doing a small research project, nothing too long. Together, pick an event in Munchkinland history we haven’t covered in class, and write a 2 page paper on it.” The class groans at this, and Glinda pokes her in the elbow to get her attention. Elphaba doesn’t need to turn to know she’ll ask to partner up, so she only turns to nod slightly in agreement before turning back to the front.
Dillamond laughs at the class’s reaction, and waves his hands for quiet. “Come on now, it isn’t too bad. You should be done in a week, so.. today is a Thursday, correct? Alright, then by next Thursday.”
Elphaba frowns at the reminder of the day, all too aware that that means practice today will be a painful venture into the cold streets. It’s now been a couple weeks since their agreement began, December nearly over, and while the cheerleaders are much friendlier now, the days without their gym are still not quite enjoyable. They’ll alternate between runs or practicing at the outdoor court of a nearby park, which does prove to be somewhat fun, but for the most part the best part of those days is still when they go back inside to the warm locker rooms.
That too is different now, though. While the basketball team once filed into a locker room of sneering cheerleaders and snide remarks, Elphaba is pleased to note there seems to be a friendship forming between the two teams. Shenshen smiles at Milla when they enter, asking her about their English homework, and Elphaba sees Sarima go to talk to a small group of cheerleaders in the corner. And as for herself, she now has a locker next to Glinda, though perhaps her newfound friendship is a little less authentic. She grits her teeth at the sight of Glinda leaning on her locker, already changed, tapping her foot impatiently as she waits for Elphaba to walk over.
“By all means, take your time. We’ve got all day!” The blonde crosses her arms, narrowing her eyes at the approaching basketball player.
“Jeez, Glinda, what’s got your pom poms in a knot? I just got here.” She begins to rifle around her bag, not sparing the impatient blonde a second look. She pulls a sweater over her uniform and throws her bag over her shoulder before beelining towards the door, hearing the other girl start in surprise and scramble after her.
“No need to rush, we’ve got all day,” Elphaba throws over her shoulder with a smirk. She hears the responding huff of irritation and finds a small zing of satisfaction in annoying the blonde. Two can play at this game.
. . . . . .
The following Thursday rolls around, and with it their last game before winter break. It’s an away game this time, against Gillikin High, and the cheerleaders only agree to come if they can squeeze into the team’s bus. Elphaba allows it grudgingly, knowing their support has unfortunately been rather helpful, and spends the ride pointedly ignoring how nice Glinda’s hair looked in the ribbons she had tied it in today. That girl was a pest, true, but she was a rather beautiful one. But that was beside the point. She forces herself to tune back into Sarima’s lively retelling of Morrible yelling at Fiyero in her class earlier that day, laughing with the rest of the team until her thoughts are free of a certain blonde.
The game is a hard one, but they expected this. Gillikin High is rich, and their athletic program reflects it. The gym floor shines as though brand new, and their side of the bleachers is packed with blonde moms with perfect hair and their stern looking husbands. As the game starts, a flash of blue catches her attention from the corner of her eye. It’s Glinda and the cheerleaders, looking particularly invigorated, and the sight makes her smile. Behind them, a small crowd of Shiz students and parents are assembled, either there for their children or due to the sway of the cheer team’s influence. Either way, it’s the biggest student section they’ve ever had at an away game, and the team seems to sense the urgency to win.
The opposing team is good, and Elphaba feels the sweat pouring down her face from the effort to keep up. It's the fourth quarter and they’re down 40-38. With only 2 minutes left on the clock, Elphaba forces herself to push past her exhaustion and tracks the ball as it moves, desperate for a way to pull through. Faintly, she can hear Glinda’s shrill screams as she cheers them on, the blonde’s competitive streak showing.
Milla has just regained possession of the ball, barreling down the court, but she’s nearly surrounded by the other team. A girl behind her yells for the ball, but Elphaba eyes the clock and knows that passing back won’t get them anywhere. She’s dismayed to see 30 seconds left, but in a split second sees one of the girls next to Milla step back. Seeing her window, she waves her hands in the air, yelling, and Milla hurls the ball to her. Barely catching it, she turns and jumps, shooting for a three desperately as the last few seconds tick away. Time seems to slow as it moves through the air, an elegant arc as the crowd roars in anticipation. Everyone seems to hold their breath as it grazes the rim, and then it gracefully sinks into the net, and the clock blares, and Elphaba is suddenly being engulfed by her teammates dogpiling around her.
She’s won the game, with no time to spare, and the adrenaline courses through her veins so strongly she can barely hear a word anyone says to her. A smile is spread across her face, and she laughs in disbelief, as the Shiz players and cheerleaders celebrate around her. And then suddenly in front of her there’s Glinda, elated, a smile so genuine unlike any she’s given Elphaba before. There’s no sarcastic quip on her tongue, or teasing glint in her eye, only pride and excitement as she wraps her arms around Elphaba’s shoulders. And then she’s leaning in, right there on the court, in the center of all the celebration, and she’s kissing her. Elphaba freezes in shock, the feeling of soft lips on her own and arms wrapped around her neck, and then she’s kissing Glinda back, a smile forming at the whoops and whistles their teammates throw their way. She settles her hands on Glinda’s waist, pulling her closer, and when the cheerleader pulls back there’s a soft look in her eye and a smile playing on her lips.
“You’ve been on a winning streak lately, I must be your lucky charm,” she quips playfully. Elphaba, in a daze, only laughs in response.
. . . . . .
The next day, there’s some understanding that it’s best to leave that can of worms unopened. Neither speak a word about it, but there’s less bite to the snarky remarks said under their breath, and when Elphaba drops her off after practice the next night, Glinda murmurs a thanks before slipping out of the truck. It’s small, but the edge has softened slightly, and Elphaba for one isn’t complaining.
And then it’s winter break, and Elphaba spends her week playing videogames with her siblings and cooking for visiting family. It’s not that she doesn’t love her family, but over awkward dinners and tense looks shot at her over the table from her father, it’s hard not to miss a certain blonde who always seems to diffuse tension with ease. She considers shooting Glinda a text more than once, but finds she wouldn’t have much to say. Considering she’s her fake girlfriend, she doesn’t really have an excuse to seek out her company. And a few days ago she wouldn’t even have thought to want it. How strange.
And then the perfect excuse is placed into her hands, funnily enough by Fiyero, when he calls her Wednesday night.
“Elphabaaa. What are you doing Friday night?”
“Um, sleeping? It’s break.” There’s a small pause, and Elphaba furrows her brow. Had she forgotten something?
“Please tell me you’re joking. Elphaba, Friday night, as in New Year’s Eve.” Right. It seemed she had.
“Oh, right. I don’t know, why?”
“So no plans then? Perfect. You’re coming to my party, and you’re bringing your girlfriend. No buts. I already invited the cheerleaders and the basketball girls and the hockey boys, so really you’ll be missing out if you don’t come. I even convinced Boq! Do you know how rare it is for me to get that man out of his house?” Elphaba laughs at the last part, and nods before realizing he can’t see her through a call.
“Alright, alright, no need to convince me. I’ll ask Glinda, she’ll probably say yes.”
“Perfect. See you soonnn.” And he hangs up with a click, leaving Elphaba to tackle the herculean effort of texting Glinda without sounding completely desperate.
hey, fiyero’s having a party this friday. come with me? Oz that’s awful, she quickly deletes the entire thing.
fake girlfriend alert, we have to go to a new year’s party together. She cringes and erases that one too. She frowns at herself, knowing this shouldn’t be this hard.
After a frankly embarrassingly long time of deliberation, she drafts a good enough text and hesitantly hits send before throwing her phone onto her bed. She’s both unsurprised and oddly relieved to hear her phone buzz not a minute later, Glinda’s response lighting up her screen.
fiyero told me to invite you to his new year’s party this friday
aww elphie, asking me to be your new years date?
i clearly said fiyero asked me to
let’s not get ahead of ourselves here miss glinda
if you wanted to kiss me again you could’ve just said it ;)
just kidding elphie just pick me up on the way there pretty please
yeah yeah
you must owe me hundreds in gas money by now
the gift of my presence is more than enough! i don’t owe you anything
Elphaba doesn’t dignify that with a response, but she can’t help the small smile that it draws from her as she reads the message.
. . . . . .
The party is crowded, Fiyero’s house fairly big but his social circle far bigger. Glinda wades through the crowd expertly, dragging Elphaba by the elbow behind her. It takes the green girl a moment to realize the smaller girl is beelining towards the kitchen, and she’s happy to find Fiyero and Boq there once they find it.
“Elphaba, you made it!” Fiyero tips towards her, clearly more than a few drinks in, and hugs her.
She laughs, patting him on the back before gently pushing him back. “Hi ‘Yero. Hi Boq. Party seems rather successful.”
Fiyero puffs his chest in pride, nodding. “Yeah, I’m kind of the best New Year’s Party host ever. Not to brag or anything. Hi Glinda!” He smiles brightly at her, as if just noticing she’s here. She smiles at his antics and greets him in response, before dragging Elphaba over to the drinks. It’s nothing particularly fancy, so Elphaba grabs a can of beer and watches with interest as Glinda does the same. She hadn’t really thought the other girl to have that drink of choice, and Glinda must catch the surprise on her face because she smiles mysteriously and shrugs.
“What can I say, I’m full of surprises.”
The two stay and chat with Fiyero and Boq for a bit, before Glinda drags Elphaba into the throng of people in the bigger room. Music is blaring from someone’s shitty speaker, couples intertwined on the couches and friends laughing on the floor. A song comes on, one Elphaba vaguely recognizes, and Glinda turns to her with a gasp.
“Oh, I love this song! Elphaba, we have to dance!” There’s a shimmer in her eyes and a looseness to her the green girl has never seen before, and she finds a warm feeling curling in her gut at the sight of it.
“Dance? Glinda, barely anyone’s dancing, just jumping around and yelling!”
“Elphie, that is dancing. My goodness, loosen up.” And grabbing the taller girl’s arms, she begins to tug her deeper into the crowd, until they’re surrounded by movement and noise and chaos. And Glinda dances, arms thrown around, eyes closed, tugging Elphaba until she does the same. She feels a little ridiculous, but also free, and happy, and the slight buzz of the beer is enough to taint any embarrassment she might’ve thought to have. The crowd pushes them together until there’s barely any space between them, and when their eyes make contact, only inches apart, a dopey smile spreads across Glinda’s face that makes that funny warm feeling come back. She finds that when they’re not competing in their made up games, the other girl is really rather sweet.
They stay for a couple of songs, moving aimlessly and freely, until they tire out and Elphaba tugs Glinda out of the crowd and over to the stairs. She knows her way around Fiyero’s house well enough, after all she had dated the guy, and she pulls Glinda by the hand up the stairs and to the guest bedroom until she finds her destination: the window that leads onto a small roof, perfect seat for two. She cracks the window open with some effort and then clambers out, gesturing for Glinda to follow her.
There’s a slight chill in the air, but the night is cloudless and the moon shines down softly on them. Glinda’s light skin and blonde hair seem soft in the bluish light, and as she turns to smile at Elphaba the dark haired girl finds herself at a loss for words. Glinda opens her mouth to say something, but just as she begins to speak they hear a loud cheer from downstairs, and then as one the crowd begins to chant: 10.. 9.. 8..
The two look at each other quickly, and a faint blush spreads across the blonde’s face. Elphaba too, flushes slightly, and looks down to the ground below them, so far and distant from their little corner up here. And then she remembers the basketball game, and the smile on Glinda’s face, and the feeling of dancing with her, and she steels her resolve.
7.. 6.. 5..
Elphaba turns back to the other girl and leans in slightly, looking in Glinda’s eyes. They widen a fraction, and then the cheerleader is pitching forward too, a hand resting lightly on Elphaba’s jaw.
4.. 3.. 2..
She can feel the ghost of Glinda’s lips on hers, and then the clock is striking midnight, the cheers from the party below filtering through the open window, and she’s kissing Glinda Upland. Light hands frame her face, pulling her closer, and that warm feeling is spreading, setting her fingers and lips on fire, melting her from the inside.
“HAPPY NEW YEARS!”
They stay up there for more than a little longer, lost in the feeling and the moment, and when she drops Glinda off at home afterwards it’s more than a couple hours into the new year.