Part 1

Returning to Wonderland

Alice

1

The Idea

There was a rapping on the door, and I looked up from my book. "Who is it?" I asked, as I marked the page, and set the book down on the coffee table.

"David!" a male voice came from the other side of the door. I smiled, and bounded over to the door. I quickly swung it open, and threw my arms around the person in the doorway. "Nice to see you again!"

"Alice, could you please release my neck?" he asked, a little out of breath.

"Oh! Sorry, David." I apologized, as I released him, and stepped aside so that he could walk in.

The man standing in the doorway was about my age, and was a few inches taller than me. He had dark brown hair that covered his forehead, and went messily past his ears. His deep brown eyes had an impish glint in them, as he smirked at me. He wore a long, brown leather jacket, a red t-shirt, and jeans. In his left hand, he held his brown hat. Overall, he was quite handsome.

"Is your mother home?" he asked, as he sat down on the couch. I closed the door, and plopped myself down next to him. "Nope! She's gone for the next day!" I informed him.

"Really?" he asked, as the mischievous glint in his eyes got more pronounced. Then he noticed the book I was reading. He rolled his eyes, and picked it up. "Alice in Wonderland? Really?"

"Hey, it's a good read!" I told him, laughing lightly as I snatched it away from him.

Suddenly, a smile lit up his face. "That's what we should do!"

"What?" I asked, completely lost.

"Go visit Wonderland!" he exclaimed, jumping to his feet.

"What?" I demanded, shocked. "I think I got a lifetime dose of Wonderland, thank you very much!"

"Come on, Urchin!" he joked, and I rolled my eyes. "Hatter, no!"

"It's where we met! It would be somewhat romantic!" he told me, obviously trying to sound seductive while persuasive. I am sad to admit that it was actually working.

"I don't know, Hatter…" I rubbed the back of my neck nervously.

"Then to go see Jack?" he asked, sounding disgusted as he said the name. Even the blind could see the tension between Jack and Hatter when they were in the same room.

"No, not to see Jack! You'll have to think of a better reason than that!" I informed him with a smirk.

Hatter bit his lower lip, and started to pace around the coffee table. After a few circles, he rushed over to me, pulled me to my feet, and told me excitedly, "How about this," he was now being seductive again, "we'll go because it would be romantic, to see Charlie, and for a surprise somewhere in the middle. How about that?"

"A surprise?" I asked suspiciously.

"I promise it won't be too much, okay? Nothing major like a parade or something!" he told me.

"Let's see; romance, Charlie, surprise. …Fine, Hatter, you win!" I told him, sighing in defeat.

"Thank you, Alice!" he exclaimed, picking me up out of excitement. I laughed, as he spun me around.

He sat down, putting me in his lap. After we caught our breath from laughing too much, I asked, "When are we leaving?"

"How about now?" he asked. He didn't wait for an answer, though. He just picked me up, and walked towards the door.

"You're mad!" I proclaimed.

"As a hatter," he told me proudly, as he swung me over his shoulder. He opened the door, and was careful to bend his knees as he walked out so that I wouldn't hit my head.

"David, put me down!" I laughed, as he put me so that he was carrying me properly.

"No thank you!" he shook his head, as he walked towards the street where I had originally when through the "Looking Glass."

"I have a question for you," I told him, as we started to go down the backstreet that led to the Looking Glass.

"What?" he asked, as he glanced at me.

"What makes hatters so mad?" I asked, smirking at him. He rolled his deep brown eyes, but still answered, "The mercury in our glue."

"Ah, okay." I gave a slight nod. "Can I ask you something else?"

"You just did," he informed me, giving me a impish grin.

"Besides that."

"Alice, you know that you can ask me anything!"

"Why did you pick the name David as your alias?" I questioned.

He chuckled under his breath, confusing me even more. "What's so funny?"

"Hatter isn't my real name, Alice," he informed me.

"It isn't?" I gave a shocked look, and he shook his head. "David is my birth name. It's like Jack. You're Royal Ass isn't his real name!"

"H-David…" I said in a warning voice, making sure to use his real name. Even though I wasn't still dating Jack, I didn't like it when Hatter/David made cracks about him. Jack was actually a pretty decent guy, but he just wasn't right for me, like I was sure that Hatter/David was.

"Sorry," he muttered, then he added, "And you don't have to call me David."

"But it's your name!" I reminded him.

"You can call me whatever you want, Alice!" he told me with a sincere tone in his voice.

"Which one do you prefer?" I asked, as we turned the corner down another backstreet.

"Either or, it doesn't matter to me. But please, in Wonderland, don't let too many people know my real name. I have a repetition as a mad, iron fisted hatter!"

"You are mad, and you do have an iron fist. You're just not a hatter anymore!" I told him, as I took his hat, and placed it on my own head. I was the only person he let touch his hat. That, and my mother because he tried to be polite. But I was only one who was allowed to wear it.

"You don't know what my job is!" he reminded me. "As a matter of fact, you just learned that David is my real name!"

"David, are you really still a hatter?" I asked, giving him a suspicious and disbelieving look.

"It's the only thing that keeps me from going sane!" he joked, then added more seriously, "Anyway, I'm only a part time hatter. I mostly work at a tea shop."

"Why? Except for the fact that you're still getting high off of mercury?"

He chuckled, but answered anyway, "Because it's the only thing I know how to do, Alice! And anyways, it pays enough." he shrugged, and flashed a smile.

"I'm getting you a real job!" I informed him.

"What if I don't want one?" he asked, with an almost challenging hint in his voice.

"Hatter, I worry about you, okay. All of that mercury can't be good on your health! It'll lead to a short life!" I told him, crossing my arms with his hat falling down, coving my forehead.

He chuckled, then gently moved the hat rim up with his nose. He didn't say anything until we got to the large mirror, then he set me down to my feet. "You have no clue how old I technically am in this world," he whispered to me, before he gently pushed me forward, causing me to fall through the Looking Glass. …Again.