Standard Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of Hatter or Alice, nor do I have any claim (except emotional) to Wonderland.

Chapter One – The First Day

The Road I'm On, by 3 Doors Down

She said life's a lot to think about sometimes
When you're living in between the lines
And all the stars they sparkle and shine everyday

He said life's so hard to move in sometimes
When it feels like I'm towin' the line
And no one even cares to ask me why I feel this way

I know you feel helpless now and I know you feel alone
That's the same road, the same road that I am on

He said life's a lot to think about sometimes
When you keep it all between the lines
Of everything I want and I want to find, one of these days

What you thought was real in life somehow steered you wrong
Now you just keep drivin' tryin' to find out where you belong

I know you feel helpless now and I know you feel alone
That's the same road, that same road that I am on

What you thought was real in life somehow steered you wrong
Now you just keep drivin' tryin' to find out where you belong

I know you feel helpless now and I know you feel alone
That's the same road, that same road that I am on

Alice sat on the bus seat, her legs drawn up underneath her. She kept a close eye out the window, feeling excited and anxious and afraid, all at once. Logically she knew that there was no way her mother would find her here; she was still at Mrs. Kelsey's house, working on the fundraiser until at least six. Still, she wouldn't relax until the bus pulled away.

"Can I sit here?"

A boy stood in the aisle, shifting uncertainly from foot to foot. At first glance, Alice was inclined to send him looking for another seat. He was dressed weird – brown pants that looked too tight, a loud silk shirt with green and yellow paisleys on it, and some kind of straw hat on his head. But then she looked beyond the clothes to the face. He was definitely a hottie, and didn't look much older than Alice herself. Maybe seventeen or eighteen. He had an adorable British accent.

"Sure," she replied with a shrug.

A little eye-candy sure wouldn't be bad, as long as he wasn't too annoying or anything. Alice turned back to the window as the boy sat down and stowed some kind of bag under the seat. The seats were close together, and he bumped repeatedly against her shoulder.

"Sorry," he apologized.

Alice shrugged again. Hottie or not, she really wasn't in the mood to talk right now. The longer it took to get moving, the more certain she became that her mother would find her note and come drag her off the bus. Mentally she berated herself; she should've mailed the note, given herself more time to get away.

"Stupid," she muttered to herself.

"You talking to me?" the boy asked, his eyes narrowed.

"No. Sorry. Just talking to myself."

"Talk quieter."

Alice exchanged a glare with him before pressing herself closer to the window. She should've told him to find another seat. The bus was crowded, but it wasn't full. Maybe he'd decide to move on his own if she just ignored him.

Then finally…finally!...the bus started to move. Alice let out a breath and closed her eyes. She was on her way, and there was nothing to stop her now. She reached down into her backpack, which was bulging at her feet, and pulled out her iPod. She popped in the ear buds and rested her head against the window. Incubus started singing about taking the wheel and steering, and Alice nodded in time with the music. That's exactly what she was doing – making her own decisions, doing what she wanted to do.

She felt a tap on her shoulder and looked over at the boy, who was staring at her. She pulled one of the buds out.

"What?"

"What is that?" he asked.

"What is what?"

He pointed at the iPod. Alice almost laughed, but he looked so serious. Had he really never seen an iPod? Did he live under a rock?

"It's my iPod. Not one of the fancy ones, but I like it." She had in fact saved up half the money to pay for it, and her mother had given her the other half for her birthday.

"What does it do?" the boy asked.

Alice looked at him for along moment, then pulled out the other ear bud. "It's music. You listen to it." She handed the buds to him and he hesitantly put them in his own ears.

This time Alice did laugh, at the expression on his face. His eyes were wide as saucers and he had both hands pressed over his ears. He looked really cute just then, and she took a minute to give him a closer study. Big brown eyes, a stubble-covered chin, and brown hair that stuck up all around his hat. Not the kind of guy Alice usually went for, but then the usual guys had been pretty disappointing lately.

"This is bloody brilliant!" he said, too loudly. Alice took the ear buds back.

"It's just an iPod." Alice flicked it on pause. "Don't you have MP3 players where you come from?"

"No."

"Yeah, well, welcome to the 21st century."

"The what?"

"Forget it." Alice popped the ear buds back in and started the music up again. This guy wasn't exactly a brainiac, but she hoped he'd get the hint. She sighed when he tapped her on the shoulder again.

"What?"

"Could I…could I listen some more?"

Alice started to say no, but the look of longing in his eyes made her feel guilty. It wasn't her fault he didn't have an iPod, but that didn't mean she couldn't be nice about it. She kept the left ear bud in and passed him the other one. He gave her a tentative smile and Alice shrugged, embarrassed. She adjusted a bit in the seat so she was closer and the cord didn't need to stretch as far.

"Thanks," the boy said. "My name's Hatter, by the way."

"Alice," she replied.

Hatter's eyes widened a bit again, but then he just leaned back in the seat and enjoyed his half of the music.

Alice closed her eyes and tried not to mind sharing the ear buds, even though it felt strange to have the music only coming in one ear. Her mother wouldn't approve of her being so friendly with a stranger, which only made her feel better about doing so. Sixteen wasn't too young to be in charge of her own life, no matter what anyone said.

"It's my life," Alice murmured under her breath.

*o*o*o*

"Alice? We've stopped."

Alice woke up and blinked her eyes. She was embarrassed to find that she'd fallen asleep with her head on Hatter's shoulder, and jerked upright in her seat.

"Where are we?" She looked out the window and saw they were at some kind of rest stop along the highway. A quick glance at her watch told her it was twenty of ten.

"I think the driver said…um…Pen…Pencil…"

"Pennsylvania," Alice supplied. She motioned for Hatter to move out into the aisle and followed him, stretching to get out some of the stiffness from sitting so long. They'd transferred busses in Philly over two hours ago; how the heck big was Pennsylvania?

"Twenty minute stop," Hatter said.

"Great." Alice grabbed her backpack and slipped it on. Hatter started to follow her. "Hey, don't leave your bag. Someone could steal your stuff."

She got off the bus and took in a lungful of fresh air. Oh, that was good! She wished she'd had enough money for a plane ticket…this drive was going to take forever. Alice headed into the rest station and made right for the bathroom. There was one on the bus, of course, but she was hoping to avoid having to use it; the smell was not good.

Hatter followed her through the door of the ladies room and she pushed him back out.

"Can't you read?" She pointed to the other door. "Boys in there, girls in here. Jeez."

Alice took a little extra time to brush her hair and braid it up for the night so she wouldn't have to deal with big knots in the morning. She also washed her face and brushed her teeth.

When she left the bathroom, she found Hatter contemplating the vending machines. Apparently he'd been able to figure that out, at least, since he already had a bottle of Gatorade in one hand. Now he was studying the candy.

"What do you like?" Hatter asked.

Alice looked over the selections. "I like the Crunch bars."

Hatter got two and handed her one. "Thanks for sharing your music."

"You don't have to," Alice said.

"I know."

"Well, thanks. I'll save it for tomorrow. Already brushed my teeth." Alice looked out the door and saw that people were starting to board the bus. "We better go. I hear they'll leave you behind if you don't get back on right away."

Hatter trailed her back to the bus and let her slide into her seat before he plopped back down in his. Alice tried to get comfortable, propping herself partly against the window and folding her legs up under her. She watched, amused, as Hatter tried the Crunch bar; his grin after the first bite was so big that it popped out a dimple Alice hadn't noticed before.

"You've so much good stuff here," he remarked.

"I guess," Alice said. She'd never really thought about it before. Still, if he'd never seen an iPod or eaten a Crunch bar, she wasn't sure what his hometown had to offer. Maybe they were all farmers or fishermen or something. Hatter certainly didn't look like he belonged to either of those groups, though.

"I'm gonna get some sleep," she said. "You want the iPod?"

"No, thanks. Think I'll read a bit." Hatter pulled his bag onto his lap. Alice couldn't help leaning over a bit, trying to get a look inside; all she could see was books. He pulled one out and stowed the bag. "Will the light bother you?"

"Nope." Alice got back into position and closed her eyes.

"Want me to wake you if the bus stops again?"

"Nope."

"Oh. Okay. Goodnight."

"Goodnight."

The bus started up again and they were soon underway. Alice opened her eyes, just a little, and saw that Hatter was already engrossed in his book. She couldn't make out the title, but it looked old. He looked awfully cute sitting there, lit up by the overhead light and little else. She smiled to herself as she closed her eyes and settled in to try and get some sleep.

AN: Special thanks to Kittyinaz who suggested this song. And for all their help in developing this little story, I have to thank Alaina Downs, Celticbriarrose, Kittyinaz, Smiles2Go, and my wonderful hubby.

The song Alice listens to on her iPod is Drive, by Incubus. It was one of the many songs in contention for official fic song. Also suggested by Kittyinaz.

I have never taken an overnight bus trip, much less one cross-country, so I'm totally pulling this out of my head. I referred to a few websites for general info, but the rest is complete fiction. So before you say anything…yes, I know there are probably mistakes.

This was originally going to be in with the song fics, but it started taking on a life of its own. This will be five chapters total, and I hope you like this alternate take on how Alice and Hatter met. Please review and tell me what you think…feedback is my friend!