That kiss. The fact that Hatter had chosen to stay in her world to be with her made Alice feel so lucky. As Alice is thinking back to that time, she's slowly realizing that she doesn't just really like Hatter; she loves him. Without being aware of it, Alice has been falling in love with Hatter over the past three months. The thought of being in love terrifies her. Sure, she found out her dad never left willingly, but old habits die hard. Alice has always been so guarded and she never allowed her relationships to become love...until now.
(2 weeks later)
Hatter is tidying up his apartment before Alice comes by. Jack had given Hatter his apartment along with the proper papers to make Hatter a legal citizen in Alice's world. These past two weeks have been so hard on Hatter. He feels Alice being cold and distant, but hasn't the slightest idea why. He plans to ask her about this after dinner to find out what's wrong. When he hears Alice knock, his stomach knots up.
Alice hasn't spent time with Hatter as often as she used to. This evening is the third time they've been around each other in two weeks. After some consideration, they decided to order pizza, which quickly became one of Hatter's favorite foods. One hour and one pizza later, Hatter got the nerve to talk to Alice about their relationship.
"Alice, can I ask you about something?" Hatter was already a nervous wreck and she hadn't even answered him.
Alice, unsure how to feel, replied, "Um, sure. What is it?" This was it; the moment of truth. A thick wave of uneasy tension filled the air, leaving both Alice and Hatter with a bad feeling in the pits of their stomachs.
"I've tried to put this off for a bit to see if anything changed, "Hatter explained, "but I get the feeling you don't want me around anymore. Is there something wrong? I would really like to help." Before Alice gives herself a chance to process this, she immediately becomes defensive.
"Why would you think that? Everything's fine," Alice snapped. Though Hatter is already becoming frustrated, he tries his best to remain calm.
"Alice, please, just talk to me. Let me in," Hatter stammered. Those last three words sent Alice into a panic.
"Let you in!? Do you know how hard it is for me to do that? I can't risk it, I just can't," Alice fumed. At this point, Hatter has become extremely terrified of the can of worms he just opened. Neither of them realize what's going to happen until it's too late.
"If you don't want me around anymore, just say so! Maybe I should give you some space, " Hatter shouted.
"Maybe you should just go back to Wonderland!" As Alice storms out of the apartment building to walk home, a small wave of guilt came over her. She only shrugged it off and went home. When Alice came through the door, her mother insisted she tell her what's wrong but Alice had already locked herself in her room for the night.
Hatter is so terribly heartbroken. She really doesn't want him around anymore, he thinks. He walks into his bedroom where he's been keeping the looking glass, per Jack's request. Hatter takes one last look of his room and goes through the looking glass with his tears spilling over.
Alice just couldn't sleep at all that night. She felt so bad for the things she said. She hoped that Hatter didn't believe she meant it. Alice felt the tears flowing from her eyes. Soon enough, her eyes were so sore, it made her finally succumb to sleep.
Alice groggily wakes up to her alarm. She's rushing to get ready so that she can see Hatter and apologize. As she approaches the door, she digs out the key he had given her. As she walks in Hatter's apartment, she calls out to him but there's no answer. She passes by his bedroom and that's when it hits her: Hatter really has gone back to Wonderland.
Distraught, Alice collapses on the floor in front of the looking glass. She cannot stop the tears from falling. She never thought he'd actually leave. After a moment of pure heartbreak, she picks herself up, and without a second thought, falls through the looking glass.