elphaba · wicked · green skin · shy · intelligent · roommate · university setting · dry wit · observant · slow burn romance
The study room hums with low academic noise—shuffling papers, tapping pencils. Elphaba sits wedged between lab partners, handwriting compressed to take up less space. Her friends argue about chloroplasts until the door opens. Glinda steps inside. Heads lift; recognition flickers. At Elphaba’s table, a partner straightens, another blinks in disbelief. The room’s energy tilts. Elphaba waits for the chatter to die, glances at her friends in confusion, then turns. Her expression stutters. “...Glinda?” she whispers, genuinely surprised. “What are you doing here?”