Beyond the Laughing Sky

"Well, well, what do we have here?"

Bill blinks and looks around in confusion. All that surrounded him were trees, bushes with small, white flowers, and he was standing in front of a pale yellow crossroad. He doesn't recognize the place. He doesn't know where he is.

Bill pushes back his uneasiness and turns to the sound of the voice, looking up on a wide tree, the person who talked to him sitting in between the 'v' of the tree limbs; only to do a double take when he sees the owner of the voice.

The boy was his age, probably shorter than him, with black, wavy curls that curled around his forehead and the back of his neck. He was fair skinned with doe brown eyes that look bigger thanks to the glasses that were perched on his nose. But that wasn't what caught his interest.

He had a black, downy cat tail, which was curled around the boy's ankle and fuzzy black ears placed on the top of his head, up and alert and turned towards him. The boy was wearing a white button up shirt with blue palm trees, dark gray trousers, and he was barefooted.

"I would ask if you're Alice but then again Alice isn't a boy unless Alice had a sex change."

Baffled, Bill could only look at the boy until he looks down. He wasn't wearing his blue baseball t-shirt and his pair of short jeans. Not even his white converse.

Instead he was wearing a short sleeved, white button up shirt with a baby blue vest over his white shirt along with a white ruffled tie. He had a pair shorts on, the same color of his vest, the bottom part of the shorts folded up to show the inside of the pants were white with blue trims. He had white and blue striped, over the knees socks on with a pair of laced up, ankle length black boots.

What the hell?!

"Wuh-wait, wuh-what's guh-going on?!"

"I don't know, why don't you tell me Alice? Or is it Alex?"

Bill shakes his head, "Nuh-neither. My n-name is nuh-not Alice or Alex or a-anything that s-s-starts with tuh-the letter A. My name's Buh—," here, he takes a deep breath, "My name is Bill."

"Bill~" the boy, no the cat, no the creature, purrs as he repeats his name, eying him with mischievous eyes. Bill felt an odd tingle going up his spine, feeling fluttery sensation in his stomach.

"Wuh-what's your nuh-name?"

The noirette smirks, "The name's Richard but you baby-cakes can call me Richie; although if I have to tell you the truth, almost everyone calls me Richie."

His name is Richie? The name suited the…person.

"Ruh-Richie, w-where am I?"

Richie tilts his head, "Don't you know? You ought to know since you after all came here uninvited."

"I'm s-s-sorry."

"Why bother to apologize? No need to cry over spill milk."

Bill eyes him before looking at the different directions the crossroad offered.

"D-do you k-know a w-way out?"

"Well some go this way," here, Richie stretches lazily as he points over to his head to point to the right, "Or some go that way." Now he points to the left. "Some just don't have any fucks to give and pick a random road."

Bill stares at him in confusion and a hint of irritation, "Do yuh-you or do you nuh-not know the way o-out?"

"Of course I do~ But if you don't want to take my word for it, you can go and ask the mad people if they can help you."

"Mad…people?" he questions slowly as he turns to the crossroad sign. Just as Richie said, on the sign that said "This Way/That Way", he can see the word "Mad People" on the bottom of the words.

Nervous but curious, he turns to the other male, "A-are t-t-they really muh-mad? As in, a-are they…?"

Richie's ears twitch as he eyes Bill with unfathomable eyes, "If you're asking if almost everyone in this place has a loose screw, then the answer is yes."

Feeling a moment of apprehension, Bill asks, "Even you?"

An abnormally wide grin spread across Richie's face, the grin curving up to his ears—if he had human ears—exposing rows of sharp teeth, looking far too entertained and his eyes glinting with mischief.

A Cheshire grin…

"Yes Bill, even me." And then he laughs. His cackles were loud and sharp, his sharp canine shining in the glow of the moon. And just as sudden as he had laugh he abruptly stops, staring at Bill with amused yet calculating eyes.

Bill stares back boldly, refusing to let his uneasiness make him cower in front of the other male's presence.

This seems to please the creature.

"I think you fit right in Bill~"

"Wuh-what are y-y-y-you tal—"

And then unexpectedly, Richie was in front of him, so close to him that their upper bodies were almost pressed against each other. Bill flinches back in surprise.

Again Richie's lips curl up into that wide Cheshire grin, looking up at him.

"The first Alice belonged to the Mad Hatter."

Then Bill feels fingers coiling around his auburn strands, pulling his head down and pressing him closer to Richie until both of their foreheads were pressed together. He can feel Richie's tail curl around his leg.

"Maybe this Alice belongs to me."

Before Bill could question or protest, he feels firm yet soft lips press against his, stealing his words and his breath away. Heart pounding against his chest, Bill could only stare dumbly at the closed eyes in front of him, the glasses surprisingly not colliding with his face. While chaste, the kiss felt good and he closes his eyes and tries to reciprocate the kiss. Just as he was getting the hang of it, he feels Richie pull back. He couldn't stop the whine that escaped his lip at that action, much to his mortification.

Richie placates him by rubbing his cheek with his thumb, being careful with his claw, "So what do you say Big Bill? Want to stay here with me? Be the mate of the Cheshire Cat?"

"Y-you don't even k-k-know muh-me."

"You don't know me either but that didn't stop you from kissing back."

Not knowing how else to retaliate, Bill huffs. While confused and a bit annoyed, he leans against the hand against his cheek.

"Aren't w-we going to fuh-fast? We buh-barely k-know each o-other."

"This is Wonderland baby; you live the day as if you're going to die the next day."

Closing his eyes, Bill thinks about the situation.

Well, he doesn't know a way out. His parents don't really pay attention to him, probably don't really even care, and he really didn't have a reason to want to go back since no one is really missing him…

Opening his eyes and staring at Richie, he answers, "I k-know it's d-d-different here but cuh-can we tuh-take it easy? I-I-I would luh-like to get to k-know you."

Richie rolls his eyes at his request but he answers him by raising himself on his tippy toes and giving him an Eskimo kiss.

"Fine, you win Big Bill. We'll take it "slow". But I'm still stealing kisses from you."

Blushing, Bill laughs softly, "I cuh-can't argue w-with that. K-k-kissing feels nice."

Wiggling his eyebrows, Richie teases, "Just nice?"

Bill sticks his tongue as his answer.

Purring, Richie begins to nuzzle Bill's neck, "I can't wait for you to meet my friends. They're very odd but insanely fun."

Feeling excited but nervous, Bill couldn't wait. But still—

"Hey Richie?"

"Yeah Bill?"

"D-do you a-anything else to w-w-wear? This o-outfit is r-ridiculous!"

The noirette smirks, "I don't know, it's a good look on you."

Bill stares at him with a deadpan expression.

"Okay, okay, fine. We'll find something for you to wear."

"T-thank you Richie."

"Yeah yeah no problem pretty boy."