Peek

Galinda sat in front of her vanity, but this time, it was not with the intent to do makeup or hair. Instead, she was using the mirror in order to watch her roommate, the green-skinned Elphaba Thropp. Galinda had been in love with Elphaba for quite a while now, but of course she'd never dare to admit it. She had a reputation to uphold, after all. But even so, Galinda couldn't help but sneak a peek at her roommate through her mirror every so often. That mirror gave Galinda the perfect way to stare at Elphaba for as long as she wanted without ever being detected. The blond thanked Oz that her roommate thought of her only as a vain, empty-headed fool. It made the long hours she spent in front of that mirror a lot easier to explain away than to tell the truth about. Elphaba never even suspected...

What Galinda saw most often, while peeking through her mirror, was the simple sight of Elphaba curled up in her bed, reading. She would sit upon her simple black bed with her beak-like nose lost in the pages of some old tome or another. Based on what she read, a range of emotions crossed her face and Galinda knew them all by heart by now. Her eyebrows would furrow at philosophical parts, her eyes would narrow at intense parts, she'd bit her lip at sad parts, she'd smirk/smile at good parts and her rich brown eyes would light up at really good parts. Galinda liked those moments most, and she had since come to wish that she could've been a good book so that Elphaba might've looked at her with the same rare and beautiful delight that was reserved only for her most favorite selections.

But there were a lot of other little traits about Elphaba that Galinda began to notice while she spent those long hours gazing at the green-skinned girl. Sometimes, Elphaba would twirl a lock of her hair around her finger while she read. Or she might start tapping her foot or her fingers. And sometimes she would bite her lip and she would stay that way for hours, the first two front teeth of her mouth always just slightly visible past her dark green lips. Galinda noticed every little trait, no matter how small...

"You know, staring is rude Ms. Arduenna," Elphaba taunted without raising her eyes from her book. Galinda blushed furiously as she realized that she'd been so focused on Elphaba that she had accidently turned around to face the green girl head-on.

"Might I ask what you're looking at?" Elphaba continued tauntingly as Galinda continued to stare.

"Nothing, Thropp!" Galinda said quickly, trying to sound mad. Elphaba raised a thin, disbelieving eyebrow, but she didn't push the issue.

Galinda turned to face her vanity again and sighed in relief. Then she began to paint her nails, not because she wanted to, but because she didn't want Elphaba getting suspicious of her. Never once did it occur to her to wonder why Elphaba had even noticed Galinda staring at all, if she really had been so engrossed in her book.

The answer lay in the fact that Elphaba also enjoyed taking the occasional peek at her roommate. Elphaba hadn't really been reading at all, in fact. She had actually been peeking over the top of her book to watch Galinda. Elphaba hadn't exactly fallen for her roommate, but she was on her way down and she had to admit that even if she didn't love Galinda romantically, she did love her in some way. Elphaba thanked Oz that her roommate thought of her only as a nerdy bookworm. It made the long hours she spent reading a lot easier to explain away than to tell the truth about. Galinda never even suspected...

What Elphaba liked, when she snuck those peeks at Galinda, wasn't just Galinda's gorgeous figure, but rather, what she did with it. Elphaba liked to watch Galinda put on makeup. Galinda would sit tall in her stool, taller than at any class desk, and she'd get to work. Based on where the makeup went, her face would contort in different ways. If it was eyebrow makeup, her eyebrows would raise like she was asking a question. If it was eye makeup, she'd lean real close to the mirror and delicately apply it with a tiny black brush. If it was face/cheek makeup she would apply it with an almost careless flick of the wrist as a large brush swept across her skin. If it was lip makeup, she'd pucker up and apply any shade from a pale peach to dark red. Elphaba, on these moments, had to resist laughing at her roommate's silly face. If it was nail makeup, she'd spent her whole time looking down, but since her eyebrow would line with impressive focus, she'd look angry and sometimes her lips would part without her even seeming to realize.

But there were a lot of other little traits about Galinda that Elphaba began to notice while she spent those long hours gazing at the little blond. Sometimes, Galinda would start humming to herself. Elphaba was never able to make out any real, distinct tune, but she would hear Galinda's soft vocalizations and know that the girl must've been stuck in some sort of musical world, even if it was one Elphaba, herself, was not in-the-know about. But other times, Galinda would tap her foot, or she would mumble almost fretfully to herself. And if she were really focused, Elphaba would catch her with her tongue slightly out, just barely protruding past her lips, and she might flare her nostrils every once in a while as well. Then, of course, every time she finished her beautification process, she would give a proud little smile that Elphaba found quite endearing.

"You tell me that staring is rude, yet you do it yourself? That's not fair," Galinda mocked and Elphaba shook her head as she realized she'd raised her head from her book too far for too long. Galinda had noticed the absence of the sound of pages turning and one quick peek into her mirror showed that Elphaba was looking right at her. But Elphaba didn't even think to ask how Galinda had caught her. She didn't even stop and realize that the only way Galinda could've caught Elphaba staring was through her mirror, or the fact that she had been paying Elphaba enough attention to realize that the pages of her book weren't turning anymore. All of these little give-away clues went right over Elphaba's head.

"I wasn't staring," Elphaba instead replied, voice empty of emotion. "I was thinking."

"About?" Galinda prompted.

"What does it matter to you? You'd find this book all very boring," Elphaba replied, but not unkindly. Galinda only nodded in agreement and turned back to her vanity without a sound. Silence settled upon the dorm again, and the two continued to sneak their secret peeks at one another.

AN: More on the book-canon side, the two girls stealing glances at each other, hiding behind their favorite hobbies. It was based off a prompt I saw wherein a character ALWAYS has a mirror, not to stare at themselves, but the one they loved.