A/N: Hopefully this author's note doesn't confusify you. Okay, so, I was thinking about the whole Nessa and Boq "Last Night" conversation, and why it was only funny because what they were talking about (make up) sounded a lot different to a third party listening in (Fiyero, innuendos.) So that got me thinking- how could I do a sort of encore to "last night" (because you guys had such a great reaction to that, it only seemed fair to revive it somehow)?

Then, an idea hit. Therefore:

Disclaimer: I am not Herbert Kretzmer,Stephen Sondheim, Steven Schwartz, or Jonathan Larson

He really shouldn't have turned the corner right then. That's what he got for taking shortcuts. His mother always warned him not to take shortcuts. Sure, she was probably referring to cutting corners than to actually finding a quicker route back to his dorm, but at the moment he didn't care.

Because she was there.

Cursing himself silently, Boq strode forward with his eyes straight ahead, trying as hard as possible to ignore the girl in the wheelchair parked against the wall of the hallway. This was rather difficult, as her tiny frame had been forced into an-ahem- rather tight-fitted gown of eye-popping scarlet to compliment the bright, almost vulgar shoes that laced all the way up to her calves.

Not that he was looking at her. Or her legs. Or anything having to do with the insane menace to society.

Still, it was rather hard to ignore said sociopath when in addition to this very bright outfit she was also banging her head against the wall.

Don't ask, The Common Sense Sprite whispered in the munchkin's ear. Walk far, far away, without looking back- possibly to a placid meadow in a secluded spot, where you can reflect on your tangled romantic life and come to a logical conclusion about it.

As usual, the Common Sense Sprite was killed by Curiosity, and in spite of himself Boq sat down on the bench across from where she had positioned herself, just outside Madame Morrible's office.

"Um, Miss Nessarose?" he pressed tentatively. "Are you alright?"

Nessa, who had been doing her banging with her eyes shut, opened them blearily, and groaned at the sight of him.

This was new.

"Happy?" she asked, ignoring his inquiry. "Got what's coming to me, haven't I? Failed my exams, haven't gotten a decent rest in two days, and seemingly the only girl still single at Shiz- even my green sister taken!- despite your Pretty Princess Glinda, in addition to having dubbed double vowels out this year, taking me hostage all morning in an attempt to clownifiy me with makeup."

"…Not very fun, is it?" Boq said quietly.

Nessa buried her face in her hands. "I'm sorry, okay?!" she wailed, and unlike her scene with Fiyero earlier in the day her distress was genuine. "I think we've all pretty much established that I am stupid; so stupid I throw my entire future away with a NAP!"

"Wait, what?" As usual, nothing she was saying made any sense. "So- they really failed you? Already?"

"No," Nessarose admitted bitterly. "Not really. I talked to Morrible about it, and since the usual punishment of brick laying is too strenuous and doesn't exactly apply in my case-" she gestured disgustedly down at her mangled feet "-I get to take it over, with an extra credit paper on some loony who's only famous because her sister was a martyr and she accidentally glued her beau's head to his heels."

"Well…" Boq could not manage to fathom why had he had entangled himself into such an awkward conversation. "You got saved from a life of manual labor- that's pretty good, don't ya think?"

The look she gave him would have frozen an entire lake on the most boiling day of summer. "All of my life I've depended on this hideous chair with wheels," she hissed. "How do you think THAT feels???"

"Um," For once he didn't think she was just scrounging for pity, given that she wasn't making any blatant attempt to show off her heels. But Oz, she could be scary! "Not so good?"

Her response to this was to turn away and continuing the rapping of her skull against the rather unsightly wallpaper.

"I love how you rhyme about your pain, though," he joked half-heartedly.

The rapping stopped. "Don't."

Boq allowed himself a small smile at her expense. "Alright, I'm sorry, that really was rather tactless of me-"

"No," she said forcefully. She sat up straight again, and looked him dead in the eye. "I mean, don't say you love me- any part of me- unless you mean it. Really mean it, Boq."

He stared at her, in the back of his mind wondering if his mouth was ajar. What was wrong with this girl? How could she be so timid and shy one minute, and so bullying and frank the next? Weren't girls always supposed to be coy? That's why men were attracted to them in the first place, right? They had mystery about them. Nessarose always spoke what she felt, no matter whom it hurt, no matter how strong the emotion. There was no mystic about her whatsoever, and yet he still for the life of him could never figure her out! It was baffling!

"I-I'm sorry," seemed the best reply he could think of.

Nessa looked at him for a minute with reproach (what was there for her to be offended about??) then closed her eyes and muttered, "Go, leave me alone."

Boq nearly fell off the bench. "What did you say?"

The younger Thropp all but growled at him. "Leave me alone."

Physically impossible as it may be, Boq was certain that the words had leapt out of her throat and were now attempting to strangle him, "W-what," he choked, "D-did you just tell me- me- to leave you alone???"

"I can't deal with this anymore," she replied vehemently. "All my life I've strived to be independent- not to have to rely on anyone- so why if it's causing you so much pain, why should I keep harping on you?"

"Y-you'd do that for me?" he stammered.

She curled her lip. "For both of us," she correct frostily.

Oh Oz. OH DEAR OZ. SHE WAS BEING RATIONAL!!! THIS CHANGED EVERYTHING!!!!

"Nessa?"

"What?" she asked impatiently.

"Uh, Nessa, now that I matter less to you-" she made a less than encouraging sound of disgust "-I-I'd really like to make amends about this whole thing- do you think we could still-"

"I swear to Oz, if you say 'be friends'-"

"No, no!" Boq cut in quickly. "I meant- well, you know there's a Wild Wonders of the Ev concert on Sunday?"

Nessarose blinked once. Twice.

"Are you," she drawled slowly, "seriously asking me out after I just used all my force of will to reject you?! Oz, is that what the matter with boys is, they only want what they can't have?! Is THAT why that blonde little ball of lobotomy is the most sought after piece of meat at Shiz-"

"Hey, hey, hey!" Boq cut in, highly affronted. "I never once mentioned the word date, Nessa, I just thought that since it's a standing room only concert, you'd be guaranteed to get a front row view, and as your escort, so would I! We wouldn't have to speak or even associate with each other, so long as we were close enough to each other to fool security, and if we both had enough fun at the concert it might build some good blood between us again!"

Jaw clenched so hard Boq wondered how she could manage to speak at all, Nessarose said docilely, "Glinda could get you up front if she really wanted to, she's popular enough with everyone, they'd let you block their view along with her."

Boq swallowed. "Miss Gal- Glinda is taken," he said in a constricted voice, "as you very well know, Nessa!"

The younger Thropp cocked her head to the side. "All for the best, if you ask me-"

"No one did."

"-I mean, really, it makes the pain you would have felt when you proposed courtship to her while she was single much less raw-"

"Shut up, Nessa-"

"Tell me," Nessarose said acidly, "Tell me Boq, what do you think GALINDA would have done if she had actually accepted your invitation to the Wild Wonders of the Ev concert? Oh, yes, she'd her little eyelashes and gush about how much fun she was having, then get so terribly worn out from the whole thing that she'd need a glass of punch. You'd offer to fetch it for her, and she'd eventually accept after some polite fussing," her voice took on a high-pitched, mocking quality, "oh, save it Boq, just save it, oh my sweet, my brave, my fav him, don't leave me till the last song has ceased-"

"You are as ridiculous as you are rude and outspoken!"

In spite of this, Nessa continued cruelly: "Oh, but what's this? A FRAT BOY? Taken, me? Oh no- all alone and loveless here- gasp! Check my makeup in a compact mirror- but yeah handsome it's just you and me! And WWOTE! We deserve-"

"You deserve to be put down, you wicked little brat, now for the last time shut your damn mouth!" Boq shouted, causing several passersby to stop and stare. Both the munchkin and cripple stared fearfully at the door to Morrible's office, but when no Carp-like headmistress appeared they resumed their argument.

"You," Boq said in a lowered voice, chest heaving with indignation, "I don't know who you think you are, but you don't know everything. You don't know anything. You aren't any sort of descent, you have no sense of tact whatsoever-"

"Go on," dared Nessarose. "Go on, you're right, I'm not a lady, I'm not delicate and womanly, I'm not good, I'm not nice, I'm just right!"

"You aren't either!" he protested. "You're impossible, that's what you are! Impossible to shut up!"

"How would you know?!" angry tears were starting to leak from her eyes, "how would you know, when you've never even tried?!! You just sit there and whine, please hush Nessie, make the icky reality of your words go away! Dear Oz, Dillamond doesn't bleat half as much as you!"

"I'll make you shut up," Boq said, hands trembling with fury. "By Oz, I will!"

"Have a go, then! Have a go!" Nessa all but screamed.

And then he was kissing her, how or why he did not know, but his mouth was on hers and she couldn't talk, couldn't hurt herself but cutting her tongue on Glinda and couldn't say anything to make him insane. He couldn't figure her out for a minute and it made him crazy, crazy and stupid and his lips were crammed against her face and Oz it felt good in a way only the channeling of fury can- finally, from this madness, something good.

"For the love of Oz!" a voice cried, making the pair of them jump, "can't you two get a room?! Honestly, you already scarred me for life once."

The Prince, a stack of exam forms in his hand and his father's pockets most likely considerably lighter after bribing the headmistressfor a retake opportunity, walked out of the office doorway and stamped down the hall, still grumbling to himself. As he turned the corner, he nearly collided with a passing Crope, and busied away without an apology.

"Oz," Tibbett- who of course had been tailing behind Crope, said uncertainly, "What bee flew up his bonnet?"

"As if you didn't know," Crope said brusquely, then caught sight of the still-entangled Bessa. "And what have we here, then?" he said, raising an eyebrow.

"None of your business," Nessarose said defensively.

"I'd say it is," Crope said with obvious amusement. "Oh Tibby," Tibbett perked at the use of his old nickname, "I believe you owe me ten coin." Tibbett deflated again.

He said affably: "Oh, come, Cro, she could have just made a grab at him, there's no physical evidence that it was consensual."

Crope's eyebrow went up again. "Are we investigating a crime here, Master Tibbett? Is this the Victorian version of Matlock? No, it is not. We are fulfilling a wager. Buck up, I'm sure your Princey will reimburse you-"

"FOR THE LAST TIME," Tibbett yelled, "HE IS NOT MY PRINCEY!!!"

Those who were passing though the hallway that day really need not lament the fact that day time television, and therefore soap operas, had yet to be invented.

"Wait," Boq said slowly, "Are you seriously trying to tell me you two made a bet as to whether or not Nessa and I-"

"If he's not your Princey than why do I hear he broke up with Galinda? No straight man could give that up."

"It's Glinda now, my little gossip monger," Tibbett said impatiently. "And he broke up with her for Elphaba."

Crope blinked. "You seriously expect me to believe," he said slowly, "that Fiyero Tiggular dumped Glinda Upland for the Artichoke?!"

Tibbett raised his hands in the air. "Apparently he has a Vegetable fetish or something- I'm not judgmental, so I'm not going there. And, I'm sorry, why is it unbelievable that Fiyero dumped her for another girl, but completely plausible that he dumped her for me?"

"Duh," Crope scoffed, "'Cause your flaming like that, you dork."

It was now Tibbett's turn to give The Eyebrow.

Busted, Crope stammered, "I-I mean, if he was really- then of course he'd break up with- it has nothing to do with-"

"You think I'm Glinda-grade hot," Tibbett teased, grinning from ear to ear.

"I NEVER said- where are you dragging me off to?!"

"Don't ask, don't tell, my darling!"

Bessa watched the two boys scamper off into Oz knows what kind of high jinks before finally having to take stock of there situation.

"Oh," Boq said suddenly, realizing that after all this time he was still sitting on top of Nessa's lap. "Sorry, I'll just-"

"Don't fret," Nessarose said, flushing. Thinking of Glinda, she added, "I can't feel any pain."

"Okay, then," he replied awkwardly.

"So….what was that?" Nessarose asked tentatively.

Boq wiped his brow. "I dunno," he said, shrugging. "You just…made me so mad, and it just made me think…I mean, it was the only thing I could think of to make you stop."

"I see," she replied quietly, her tone hurt.

"No, no," he said hastily, cupping her cheek. Taken aback by his own forwardness, he let go quickly and started toying with one of her curls. "I mean, it started out that way, I guess, but….this is all really complicated, I'm sorry I'm not really good at this sort of thing-"

"I noticed," she said, smiling weakly.

"Yeah," seemed the only suitable answer to this. He continued to play with her ringlet. "Did Glinda do these? They're really…bouncy. And fun."

"Like her?"

Boq swallowed. "Let's not talk about her."

Nessarose lowered her gaze. "But I thought you loved Glinda."

He tilted her chin back upwards. "I did love Glinda," he admitted. "I did. But no one has ever loved me as dearly as you. No one has truly love me, as you have, Nessa. Love without reason, love without mercy, love without pride or shame-"

Nessarose vaguely wondered if all this was meant to be complimentary, though was enraptured none the less.

-love unconcerned with being returned, no wisdom, no judgement, no caution, no blame."

Okay, seriously Boq, is this a declaration or a critique?!

"No one has ever loved me as deeply as you. No one has ever shown me what love could be like until now- not pretty, or safe, or easy, but more than I ever knew. Love within reason, that isn't love- and I've learned that, from you."

Slowly, Nessarose smiled. It started small, hesitant, until it developed into an all-out beam. Blushing, Boq slowly eased off of her lap and said, "Um…yeah. So, can we take this one day at a time?"

Her brown eyes were sparkling. "Anything," she replied blissfully. "Walk me back to my dorm?"

Boq looked puzzled. "But didn't you say when I first walked up that it was raining?"

"Ah, Biq," Nessa said, grinning amusedly. "Don't you know? Rain will make the Roses grow."

"Ew! I think I just brushed something pickled! Why am I doing this again?"

"Because I'm worth it. Now stop being such a priss and let's have some fun."

"I am a priss, take me or leave me."

"I pick take."

"Excellent choice, I happen to be on sale."

"Too bad, I have a monopoly."

"Oooh, I love playing dirty board games!"

"You're sick. Kiss me."

...XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO...

"How did you get the key to this place, anyway?"

"A friend dropped it off as an apology. Can we continue?"

"Please."

………..OXOXOXOXOXOOXOXOXOXOXOXOOOXO………

"Do you hear something?"

"What the- WHY IS IT ALWAYS MY BLOODY CLOSET?! HAVEN'T THE TWO OF YOU CAUSED ENOUGH TROUBLE OVER THE PAST FEW DAYS!!!"

"AAAAAH!!!"

"RUN TIBBY RUN!!!"

"SHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIN!!!"