Elphaba was at Shiz University working part-time waiting tables at one of the cafes on campus. She was a smalltown girl, literally and metaphorically. First, there was Munchkin Land in the east, then there was Quadling Country in the south. As soon as she was able to, though, she left all of it behind for Shiz University up north and never looked back.

A few tables over, someone watched her from behind a menu. Galinda was a flight risk with a fear of falling, always in hysterical retreat from things that were too big for her. She hated that which she could not control or understand. That was why she felt such disgust and disdain, such loathing, for her green-skinned roommate. Elphaba was weird and wild, uncontrollable, unknowable, and untamable. Galinda didn't like that at all.

But as opposite as they were, something tied them together. They both wondered why the bothered with love if it never lasted. For Elphaba, she'd spent her whole life trying to find love, forgiveness, and acceptance. So far, she'd found none. Not from her family, not from her peers, and she didn't have friends, although they probably wouldn't have supported her even if she did.

For Galinda, she'd spent her whole life trying to impress big, important people and live up to impossibly high standards. She might've had friends and family in abundance, but did any of them love her for her? Or did they only want her big reputation? That commonality was enough to override their other differences.

One day, they found themselves lying on the couch in their dorm's student lounge.

"Can you believe it?" Galinda asked. She certainly hadn't expected to one day call her horrid green roomie her girlfriend, and yet here they were.

"No, I honestly can't," Elphaba chuckled, shaking her head as she rubbed Galinda's arm. Just like the prissy, pretty, pink princess, she considered their relationship just as much of a surprise and a plot twister. And yet, look how far they'd come in only a couple short months. The proof wasn't just in their relationship, but also in the fact that they were comfortable enough to be out in public together. For Elphaba, this was especially big. Not only was she sitting out in the open with her green skin visible for all to see, but she was being... affectionate!

"You made a rebel of a faithless man's faithful daughter," Elphaba told her enemy-turned-lover. Even though her father and mother had both engaged in their fair share of illicit affairs, Elphaba never gave up on her high standards and ideals for love. Even if she was faithless in the sense that she believed in love for herself just as much as she believed in the Unnamed God, she was faithful to the spirit of love. Now, after meeting Galinda, Elphaba found that faith in love growing stronger every day. Elphaba was always a rebel, but more out of stubborn, negative defiance than a cause she believed in. Now, thanks to Galinda, Elphaba finally had that cause. She finally had something worth fighting for, worth living for.

ooo

Flash forward and they were taking on the world together. There was a drawer's worth of Galinda's things in Elphaba's space, on her side of the dorm room. That was another testament to how physically close they were becoming. In the past, they kept their room very strictly divided. Now, though, Galinda spent half her time on Elphaba's half of the room, and it showed.

But half of the stuff Elphaba had from Galinda was little odds and ends, gifts and trinkets. For the first time, Elphaba didn't half mind Galinda's overindulgence in materialism. Sure, it made her half of the room very cluttered, but Elphaba was a hoarder, and she kept every single little treasure Galinda gave to her, no matter how superfluous or silly. They were never superfluous or silly to Elphaba.

But even though Elphaba, herself, wasn't very materialistic, she gave things to Galinda as well: secrets, truths, and pasts. On that very first night, she'd come clean about her parents and sister, the story of the little green bottle hiding under her pillow.

"I promise we'll never make your parents' mistakes," Galinda put her arm around Elphaba, and that would only be the first time of many. For the longest time, Galinda kept her vow to Elphaba. But life could just never be easy for the two of them, now could it?

They had dues and debts to pay, and roles to play. Galinda was a high-society lady who was expected to one day wed a high-society man. Elphaba, meanwhile, was a poor girl from a poor part of the country. It seemed like their differences were going to become incompatibilities again.

"I can't see the future," Elphaba sighed bitterly, bills and books strewn about the desk in front of her. "I can't think up any good plans!"

"Then... why not look to the past instead?" Galinda and Elphaba were both in agreement (although perhaps with varying degrees of enthusiasm) that Elphaba was the smarter, cleverer of the two, but sometimes, Galinda knew just what to say and could be oddly insightful.

"Do you remember we were sitting there by Restwater?" she asked. It was one of the nights they'd snuck out of Shiz to visit the big city. "That was the first time you ever really hugged me back, Elphaba," Galinda reminded her. Even though Galinda was the first one to initiate any sort of physical affection between them, with the hug on the night Elphaba told her about the little green bottle, it wasn't until much later that Elphaba felt ready enough to hug back, and hug first. Neither of them would ever forget that very first night.

"You made a rebel of a thoughtless man's thoughtful daughter," Galinda told Elphaba, tapping her on the nose playfully. Although there were plenty of times in which Galinda seemed the opposite of thoughtful, both in terms of heart and brains, it was only because she had such a big reputation to uphold. She could be very cautious and manipulative under certain circumstances. She wasn't daring and bold like Elphaba, she had too much to lose. But now she was starting to realize that maybe Elphaba was everything she ever wanted: someone who truly loved her for her, someone she didn't have to jump through hoops for just to impress. Even if she got on Elphaba's nerves sometimes, Elphaba loved both sides of her.

"And I remember all the emerald lights on Restwater," Elphaba nodded, getting lost in the memories with Galinda. But of them started to believe, for the first time, that even though they were living in a heartless world, they could still remain heartfelt and "heart-full", and their minds ran the exact same track: You are the best thing that's ever been mine.

ooo

But their demons were just as stubborn as they were, and one night wasn't as romantic as some of the others. There was a fight, 2:30 AM, everything slipping right out of their hands. The flight risk went into hysterical retreat first, running out of the dorm crying and not stopping until she was out into the street. This was why she had a fear of falling! Falling for the wrong person, falling for someone she'd disappoint... As pretty as love was, it could be so ugly, too. But barely a minute later, she heard heeled-boots on cobblestone. Both of them were bracing themselves for a goodbye, because that was all either of them had ever known. Neither of them had ever once been good enough, been worth sticking around for before.

But just like the very first night, surprise took them both by the hand. For once, it was Elphaba to show the first sign of affection.

"I'll never leave you alone!" she promised, and Galinda turned around, not with hatred in her eyes as Elphaba feared, but surprise. For Galinda, this was the first time anyone had come chasing after her after she left. When she parted ways with her old clique, none of them bothered to check up on her, but now, here Elphaba was, chasing after her. And for Elphaba, this was the first time she'd spurned someone in a moment of anger only to have them look surprised instead of furious when she chased after them, asking for forgiveness.

For a moment, breathless, neither of them knew what to say. Elphaba's mouth open and closed. Then, in the back of her mind, she remembered Galinda's advice. Then... why not look to the past instead?

So Elphaba said, "I remember how we felt sitting by Restwater, and every time I look at you, it's like the first time. I fell in love with a careless man's careful daughter, and she is the best thing that's ever been mine!"

ooo

Suddenly, they were running again, only this time, they were running back inside. Then, the scene changed, and they were running across campus. Then they were running through the Emerald City. All the time, voices of warmth, encouragement, and protection echoed in their heads.

Hold on, make it last! Hold on, never turn back!

They could tell it was gonna be a long road, but nothing safe was ever worth the drive, and as they would someday come to realize, without all the drama, fights, and flaws, they wouldn't be able to stand together so proud and tall. Even if they had to climb their way up from the very bottom, so long as they were in it for the long-haul together, it would be doable.

They'd start in the lower, poorer parts of the Emerald City, but someday, they'd be living at the top of that big old city. It was a shared dream they had, and together, they were unlimited.

"I'm finally ready to try defying gravity with you," Galinda whispered to Elphaba late one night. They were lying on the couch together again, just like that very first night. Just as before, Elphaba held Galinda close, rubbing her arms gently.

"Do you believe it?" Galinda asked. "I think we're gonna make it now..."

"Oh, I can see it, my sweet" Elphaba nodded, kissing Galinda's head. "Yes, yes, I believe it now."

AN: Following tradition, Gelphie starts my Pride anthology once again! It was my first queer ship, and it helped me realize I was queer too!

(Funny enough, I actually wrote a bunch of Gelphie songfics years ago, and this was one of the first ones, but sadly, I lost the file and was too despondent to want to try to recreate it. Now, though, this anthology has given me the perfect opportunity to at least bring back THIS songfic).

Also, as y'all have probably figured out, each fic per day will be based on a Taylor Swift song. Since I'm a Swiftie with a problem, you have no idea how hard it was to narrow down my favorite songs to just a list of 30! So I apologize now for any song you don't see in this anthology, I probably wanted to put it in too, but I couldn't do her entire discography, LOL! I tried to balance it between songs I love, and songs that felt fitting.