"Alright, class, settle down." Their professor wiped down the board and turned to face them. "It's time for your group projects."

The students let out a collective groan, and Elphaba felt her face twitch in a reflexive scowl. There was nothing worse than group projects. Or as she knew them, "Enough work for multiple people, but absolutely no help from anyone else" projects.

Fiyero plopped an arm on the back of her chair in a stretch, and she didn't bother glancing at him when she removed it. At least he'd made it this far in class still awake.

"Now your partners have been randomly selected. Before you ask, no you can't change partners. I don't care if your best friend is dying and that is her one last wish." He shot a subtle look to the gaggle of gigglers around Galinda in time to see Pfannee's eyes widen in surprise. As if she hadn't tried the same ploy the last hundred times. "And no complaints. I honestly don't care."

She snorted at that, and Fiyero sent her a questioning smile. She nodded toward Pfannee, and he huffed. He leaned closer to whisper, "If I have to work with her, please murder me. Can you imagine weeks of that?"

"Better you than me." Elphaba imitated Pfannee's stuck-up derision, "I can't work with her. I'm allergic to Artichokes."

Fiyero hand fell comfortingly on her shoulder, but he thankfully chose banter to reassurance. He'd yet to grasp that she couldn't care less what those prima donnas thought of her. He shook his head. "Is that better?" He adopted a mock swoon. "Oh, you're the smartest, Fifi. Aren't we just the perfectest couple…I mean, group? Giggle, giggle, giggle!" He fluttered his eyelashes at her, and then let his smile dissolve into a frown. "Ugh."

"Yes, such a curse you bear."

"Glad you recognize." His arm fell back over her chair. "It's a hard life, being this handsome." She rolled her eyes, and he laughed.

"And folks, try to keep the shocked gasps and giddy shrieks quiet so everyone else can hear their pairings," the teacher wrapped up his lecture and produced a sheet of paper. "Here we are: Adisen and Caprice."

Shenshen and Pfannee burst into the exact giddy shrieks the professor had complained of, but both Fiyero and Elphaba drew a sigh of relief. He caught her eye and grinned.

"…Nuern and Owin. Radir and Quay. Sopra and Sweten. Tenmeadows and Thropp. Tiggular and Upland."

Fiyero's surprise was palpable, but she fought down the urge to look at him. Instead, her eyes flicked to her partner, who wore the same guarded scowl as hers. Avaric? She'd been paired with Avaric? Did their professor hate her? Kumbricia's broom, that was worse than Pfannee!

The professor dismissed them to meet with their partners, and Fiyero reluctantly trailed across the room to his beaming girlfriend. She watched Avaric walk toward her. The tall, whip-like boy was a lethal mix of Fiyero's brawn and her own sharp tongue. She'd rather eat like piranhas than be partnered with him.

He stopped in front of her, not bothering to sit. Probably a power play. "I split up the work. You do your half, I'll do mine, and we never have to speak of this again."

She crossed her arms. "Like I'm going to let your incompetence affect my grade. We're working together so I know it's done right."

"Conceited much? What makes you think I can't do just as good work as you?"

She shot him a look that said he'd asked the stupidest possible question. "You can suck it up and work with the freak for a couple weeks. I'm not contagious. Tomorrow at the library, five o'clock. And don't worry, we'll stop in time for your precious drinking."

"Aw, worried about my social life? I'm touched."

Elphaba would have sworn he would be the most obnoxious partner on the planet, but Avaric actually turned out to do pretty good work. The next afternoon, he surprised Elphaba by being there early, and when, after several solid hours of working, he saw her subtly rubbing her eyes, he suggested they come back Saturday morning.

"Won't you be hungover?"

He flashed her a smile. "Clearly you've never drank with a professional." He eyed her a minute as she packed up her books. "Want to?"

"Huh?"

"Come out. Grab a drink." His face was guarded, but he appeared genuine.

But she shook her head. "I'm not much of a drinker."

He ran his eyes over her. "That's a shame. I bet you're interesting as hell when you let loose." Then without another word, he headed down the stairs. She stared after him a minute, off-balance, but focused on her mental to-do list instead. And if he still crept into her thoughts, it was only because he was her project partner.

AN: Thanks to all who have read and reviewed my last couple stories. I thought I'd do this one as a kind-of two part, so the next chapter will finish it off by this time next week. Toughest Case should be coming out this weekend, thanks to the rush of inspiration from so many great fics the last couple weeks. As always, thank you for reading and taking the time to review. I really appreciate it.