Breaking the Habit
Disclaimer: I do not own Alice in Wonderland, and this is purely for fun, not profit. I make no money off of this.
Note: This story takes place modern-day, so the Alice from the movie would be dead by now.
Chapter 1: Not Quite There Yet
"Alice! Get your ass down here! We need to leave now!" hollered a semi-tall, black-haired woman. She leaned on the wooden frame of the front door and let out a small sigh. A few moments later, a petite blonde entered the room and zoomed out the open door past the woman who had called her.
The blonde's antics merely caused her friend to raise an eyebrow. "Alice? You do realize that I have the keys to the car, don't you?" Footsteps could be heard in the background, growing louder with each step.
"I'm sorry, Alexis, but we are in a hurry," Alice said breathlessly. She took a few deep breaths; then added, "And you know how I absolutely hate to-"
"Make her wait," Alexis finished with a barely-noticeable smile. Alice flashed her a bright grin .
"Now, I'm guessing that you are ready." Alexis finished glancing over Alice's attire: a dress that was a bit bluer than the sky and, oh, high-heeled shoes. "You do realize that those are not exactly sensible," Alexis drawled, pointing to Alice's feet.
"Well, these were the only shoes I could find," she weakly countered. "And I'll have you know, you're not exactly ready either; I mean, look at you!" she stared at Alexis' long sleeved blue shirt that matched dark pants-so dark in fact, they were nearly black. "She'll kill you if she sees you in that!" Alice squinted her eyes, disbelieving. "You're even wearing sneakers! You do know that-"
"Yes, I do. Now just get in the car before I decide to leave without you."
"Again," Alice added, walking out to the car this time.
"Maybe there is hope for you yet."
When they reached the car, Alice attempted to open the locked door, leading Alexis to comment, "Then again, maybe there is no hope at all. I might have killed it last Tuesday. My wheelbarrow was out of control." She paused with a thoughtful look on her face and added, "Oh, wait; it could have been Thursday when I had that Wiimote. . . ." Alice gave her a strange look, still not entirely accustomed to her friend's antics. They both entered the car after it was unlocked, and Alexis started the engine.
"Um . . . Alexis. . . I must say . . . you're a tad-how should I phrase this?" Alice mumbled to herself, trying to think of a word to describe her friend's peculiarities.
"I blame you. You're the reason why I am going entirely-"
"Mad?" Alice interrupted, letting loose a large grin.
Alexis groaned. "Damn it, I can finish my own sentences! I should hope that I'm old enough by now." She glared until Alice's grin disappeared and the atmosphere became tense, silence filling the car. As the minutes passed (six minutes and twenty-nine seconds, Alice timed,—a new record for her), Alice awkwardly fidgeted in her seat, itching for some sort of noise. She motioned to turn on the radio, only to be faced with another glare; instead, she decided to focus her gaze on the passing surroundings.
Alice tried another tactic after a couple more uncomfortable minutes:
"Are we there yet?" rang throughout the car, but it didn't break the tension; rather, if looks could kill, Alice would be long dead. Her confusion grew, not sure how her comments could affect her friend so greatly. But soon the familiar mansion was in sight. Alice's confusion quickly turned to anxious excitement, though she tried contain it.
"Don't worry," a voice broke her thoughts, "they'll love you." Relief washed over her— Alexis had forgiven her offense, whatever it was—and she beamed, practically jumping out of the car.
"Whoa, calm. At least let me stop the car first. Alexis parked the sports car, and the two girls unbuckled their seatbelts and slammed the doors shut. Suddenly, the mansion's front doors opened, and a young, busty woman ran through the opening, her eyes wide with joy.
"You're finally here!" she trilled, grabbing Alice into a bone-crushing hug. "I was getting so worried. Are you alright?" She continued her ramble with various questions, but eventually pushed Alice away to examine her.
"Oh, you look simply adorable!" she squealed. "I love this color on you; I knew I was right to choose it!" Then, she suddenly turned to Alexis. "And what, pray tell, are you wearing?" The brunette eyed Alexis' outfit seriously. "You forgot, didn't you?" she accused. And before Alexis could defend herself, she pulled Alice into another tight hug. "Alice is a good girl! She remembered, why couldn't you?"
"I did remember," Alexis responded, her eyes hard. "I have everything in my bag; I merely did not feel like putting on this ridiculous outfit yet. And it would be impossible for me to forget— you have been going on about it for the past two months, Courtney."
"Sure, Alexis, whatever helps you to sleep at night."
"Because you touch yourself at night."
"What? That doesn't even make sense!" Courtney protested and Alice gaped at the absurdity. But Alexis merely smirked in response. Courtney continued: "Don't say such things around Alice! She's still an innocent, little girl!" She attempted to cover Alice's ears. Alexis' smirk grew at the ridiculous exclamations.
"I highly doubt that with you around." With that, Alexis walked up the stairs and entered the house, leaving behind a flustered Alice with an outraged, arm-flailing Courtney.
Later on, after several more arguments between Alexis and Courtney, the three women could be found in the backyard of the mansion. The patio was a fair size and a fountain on the left side. The patio's stones were off-white, and they were randomly scattered around. There was a maze-like quality to the surrounding, hedges with metal arches forming various paths through them.
Alice was seated in a lounge chair. She had never seen Courtney yell loudly, and she was beginning to fear that Courtney might run out of breath. Sitting on a sofa nearby, Alexis was clearly amused by Courtney's screams. But her amusement evaporated quickly.
"You are the most inappropriate, crude, vile creature! Alexis, there are times when you do need to shut up. Not everyone wants to hear what you think. You aren't the fucking queen, and no one wants to hear you ramble on, not even Alice." The air changed drastically, the tension growing. Alice waited for her friend's reaction, but none came. Alexis' face turned void of all emotions.
Alice tried to stop the argument from continuing, mumbling something about now they needed to practice, but Courtney didn't hear. She spotted something out of the corner of her eye and changed tactics.
"Courtney? I need to ask you something." This time, she stopped Courtney's rampage completely; the soft spot Courtney held for Alice was proving useful. Alice continued: "Do . . . are there. . . Is there. . ." She struggled to find the right words. By now, she had captured her two friends' attention. "It's just, I thought I saw something. Over there," she pointed toward the hedge, "it seemed to be a white rabbit, though I thought I saw some blue as well." All three of them watched the hedges, but saw no movement.
Courtney turned to Alice. "Are you sure you saw something?" she questioned, then looked at Alexis. "It's your fault, isn't it? You infected sweet, innocent Alice with-"
"Finish that sentence and it may just be your last," Alexis threatened as she stood up to her full height. Courtney merely bristled and crossed her arms over her chest. But before Alice could butt in, she was distracted once more as she saw rustling in the hedges.
"Over there!" She pointed in the direction of the arch. She walked forward a bit in hopes of catching a better glimpse of whatever was hiding in the shrubbery.
"What if it's a thief?" Courtney screeched. "I better go call the cops or get a really heavy frying pan." She scurried into the house, but not before shouting, "Alexis! You better make sure Alice stays safe or it's off with your head!"