Chapter 2: Complications

By: KillRumdar

Your mind was spinning. The charged words from Galinda, the way she leaned in closer than necessary, and the weight of Elphaba's intense gaze—it all left you scrambling to make sense of what was happening. You had come here to help with a magical project, to prove yourself academically, and now you were caught in the middle of something far more complicated, something you hadn't signed up for.

You glanced between them, searching for answers, but the silence that followed Galinda's question only deepened the confusion clouding your thoughts. Elphaba's fingers still drummed lightly on the edge of the table, her jaw clenched, while Galinda, her usual radiant self, simply watched you, a sly smile tugging at the corners of her lips.

"I… I'm not sure what you're asking," you finally stammered, the words slipping out before you could fully process them. "This—this wasn't what I thought—"

"Oh, darling," Galinda interrupted, her voice smooth and almost teasing, "it's not about what you thought. It's about what we knew."

You blinked, utterly lost. "Knew? What do you mean?"

Galinda exchanged a glance with Elphaba, and something passed between them—something unspoken but understood. It wasn't just a look; it was like they were communicating on a level you couldn't access. Elphaba sighed, running a hand through her dark hair in a rare show of frustration before her eyes flicked back to you, her expression hardening again.

"We've noticed you before," Elphaba said, her voice quieter now but no less intense. "For a while, actually."

Her words hit you like a shock. Noticed you? Your stomach twisted as you tried to make sense of what she was saying. You barely knew them—sure, you'd seen them around Shiz, but they had never given you a second glance. Or so you thought.

Galinda nodded, her fingers still resting lightly on your hand, as if this revelation were something casual. "You're not just any student. You've got something… special about you. Something we've been keeping an eye out for."

Your pulse quickened, your mind racing with questions. "What do you mean by special?" you asked, your voice a little sharper than you intended. "I don't understand—why would you be watching me?"

Elphaba leaned back in her chair, folding her arms across her chest, her eyes narrowing. "Because you're different. You may not know it yet, but there's magic in you."

The room felt like it was closing in on you, the air too thick to breathe properly. Magic? You? You weren't like them—you weren't studying witchcraft or trying to master arcane spells. You were here to help with research, to assist with a project, not to wield power of your own.

Galinda's smile softened, though the mischief in her eyes remained. "Oh, don't look so surprised, darling. You've felt it, haven't you? That little… tug? That sense that there's more to you than meets the eye?"

You swallowed hard, unsure of how to respond. Had you felt something? Maybe. Sometimes. But it had never been anything you could explain, just an odd sensation here and there—like a flicker at the edge of your consciousness, quickly gone before you could fully grasp it.

Elphaba leaned forward now, her dark gaze holding yours with a magnetic pull. "We didn't request you just because you're good at your studies," she said, her voice low and steady. "We requested you because we sensed you."

"Sensed me?" Your voice was shaky, barely more than a whisper now.

Elphaba nodded. "There's magic in you, whether you realize it or not. Something that resonates with us, with the kind of work we're doing. But…" Her voice trailed off, her expression tightening as if she were weighing her words carefully. "This—" she gestured vaguely between you, Galinda, and herself—"wasn't supposed to happen tonight."

Her last words were firm, the emphasis unmistakable. There was a slight edge of irritation in her tone, directed mostly at Galinda, whose only response was a soft, knowing smile.

"I suppose I got a bit carried away," Galinda admitted with a light shrug, her fingers tracing idle patterns on your hand. "But really, can you blame me? We've all been curious about what might happen if we brought someone else into our little… arrangement."

Elphaba shot her a glare, her voice sharp and cutting. "This was supposed to be about the project. About the magic. Not… whatever this is turning into."

Galinda laughed, a soft, melodic sound that somehow made everything feel even more surreal. "Oh, Elphie, don't be so rigid. You've been thinking about this just as much as I have. I've heard you call out her name and mine in your sleep, and I guarantee by the way you were moaning it wasn't a nightmare. You're just afraid to admit it."

"I said I wanted to think about it," Elphaba snapped, her words laced with frustration. "Not jump into something we can't control."

Galinda's fingers gave yours a gentle squeeze, her smile turning a little softer, a little more sincere. "There's no harm in exploring new possibilities. Especially when those possibilities could be… quite exciting." Her eyes flicked toward you again, her meaning unmistakable.

You felt a rush of heat rise to your face, a mix of confusion, intrigue, and something you couldn't quite name. Part of you wanted to pull away, to retreat from the strange and overwhelming situation you found yourself in, but another part of you—the part that had always been drawn to the unknown—was undeniably curious.

"I don't… I don't know what you want from me," you admitted, your voice trembling slightly.

Elphaba's gaze softened, just a fraction, but there was still a storm behind her eyes. "We don't want anything from you," she said, her voice calmer now but still intense. "We want to understand you. To see if your magic can work with ours…"

"And," Galinda chimed in, her fingers brushing lightly against your wrist, "to see if maybe there's something more to explore between the three of us. Something we haven't tried yet."

Elphaba shot her another look, clearly annoyed, but didn't argue this time. Instead, she leaned back in her chair, her arms crossed, her gaze flicking between you and Galinda. "We weren't supposed to bring this up tonight," she muttered. "We were supposed to test her with the project first. But now that we're here…"

You were completely out of your depth, unsure of how to respond, unsure of what was even being asked of you. The idea that you might have magic—real, untapped power—was overwhelming enough, but the implications of what Galinda was suggesting… you weren't sure you could handle that.

But there was no denying the pull you felt toward both of them, the way their energy seemed to wrap around you, drawing you in even as you tried to make sense of it all. You could feel the intensity between them, the unspoken connection that seemed to bind them together, and now they were inviting you into it—into something deeper, something more.

Galinda's voice was soft, almost hypnotic, as she leaned in closer, her eyes locking onto yours. "Don't you want to see what could happen? To see how far we can go together?"

You felt a pulse of warmth in the pit of your stomach, a strange pull toward her words, but your mind was spinning too fast to keep up. This—whatever it was—was too much, too sudden, too… overwhelming. You blinked, trying to shake off the fog of confusion and desire clouding your thoughts.

"I— I need to go," you stammered, your voice cracking slightly. You pushed yourself up from the table, the chair scraping loudly against the floor. "I didn't expect any of this, and I… I just need to think."

The weight of Galinda's gaze lingered on you, but her expression softened slightly, as if she hadn't expected you to react so abruptly. She didn't move to stop you, but her fingers lingered on the edge of the table where you had been seated, as if the ghost of your presence still intrigued her.

Elphaba, however, wasn't so composed. She stood suddenly, her movements sharp and rigid, her eyes blazing with frustration as they flicked to Galinda. "This is exactly why I didn't want to bring this up tonight," she growled, her voice low and dangerous. "You always push things too far, too fast. Now look what you've done."

Galinda tilted her head, her expression almost playful despite Elphaba's obvious anger. "Oh, Elphie, don't be so dramatic," she replied, her voice dripping with sweetness, though there was an unmistakable edge beneath it. "She'll come around. She just needs some time to adjust."

Elphaba's fists clenched at her sides, her jaw tightening as she stepped toward Galinda, her frustration simmering just beneath the surface. "Time?" she hissed, her voice rising. "You think this is about time? You're always doing this—playing games, pushing people until they break. You didn't even ask me about doing this tonight."

Galinda shrugged, her eyes flicking toward you briefly before settling back on Elphaba. "You didn't say I had to ask, Elphie. I thought we were past that point."

Elphaba's face darkened, her expression caught somewhere between anger and disbelief. "You thought wrong."

For a moment, the room was filled with nothing but tension, thick and suffocating. You felt like you were standing on the edge of something dangerous, something that had been simmering between them for longer than you could understand. It was as if you had stumbled into a conflict that had been brewing long before you ever set foot in this tower.

Galinda's smile returned, but this time it was sharper, more dangerous. "Then punish me, Elphie," she said, her voice soft but challenging. "You always get so cross when I step out of line. So why don't you do something about it?"

Elphaba's eyes flashed, her anger flaring, but there was something else there too—something darker, something that lingered just beneath the surface. She stepped closer to Galinda, her fists unclenching as she reached out, grabbing Galinda's wrist with a force that made you flinch.

"You think this is a game?" Elphaba growled, her voice rough, her breath hot as she leaned in close to Galinda's ear. "You think you can just toy with people like this, like they're nothing?"

Galinda didn't pull away. If anything, her smile widened, her eyes glinting with a mixture of challenge and delight. "Oh, darling, I know I can. But I also know you like it when I do."

Elphaba's grip on Galinda's wrist tightened, and for a moment, you thought she might actually lash out. But instead, she held herself back, her jaw clenched so tightly you could see the muscles straining beneath her skin.

"Leave," Elphaba said, her voice barely more than a whisper, but the command in it was unmistakable. "Go. Now."

It took you a moment to realize she was talking to you. Your feet felt rooted to the floor, frozen in place as you watched the scene unfold before you. You wanted to move, to leave, to escape the strange and heavy atmosphere that had descended upon the room, but your body wasn't responding.

"I—" you started to say, but your words faltered under the weight of Elphaba's glare.

"Go," Elphaba repeated, her voice sharper this time. "Before this gets even more complicated."

Your heart pounded in your chest, the tension so thick you could almost taste it. You nodded, your movements jerky as you turned on your heel and hurried toward the door, your breath coming in shallow gasps. The moment you stepped outside, the cold night air hit your skin like a slap, pulling you back into the present. You barely registered the sound of the door closing behind you, the muffled voices of Elphaba and Galinda fading as you put more distance between yourself and the tower.

Get the chapter a day early (or get the next two chapters) on our writing group's blog https://fictioneers.thinkific.com/pages/blog.