AU: Obviously I don't own Alice in Wonderland. I just changed the characters and story line to my own twisted whim. Please bare with me as I go through and do some much needed updating and editing. This story has sat dead for a long time and I don't know exactly how it's going to turn out. Thank you to all those who have read and reviewed and I do apologize for leaving it for so long. I had lost interest to be honest and I am hoping to get it fixed up and finished as time goes on, however long that may be.

Chapter 1

Alice slammed her locker shut with a fierce shove. It clanged, the heavy metal shivering under the force. She hated Physical Education. Hated it! Why did they even put students through that kind of hell. Walking briskly over to the wide, wall length mirror in the girls locker room, she threw her books down on the counter and examined herself. She let down the tight pony tail she had pulled her crimson red hair into. It fell in curly waves around her face and shoulders as she shook her head to get rid of that strange feeling one gets when their hair has been pulled too tight for too long. She sighed and stared back at her reflection in the mirror. Her dark green eyes held a sense of boredom and sadness, that she noted, seemed to stand out among everything else. She had a naturally pale complexion but now it was colored a light pink from being in the sun too long. Her cheeks were flushed and she sighed again. She was sun burnt. Her full, heart shaped lips twisted into a frown. Her eye liner had all been wiped away. Groaning she reached into her small jean purse and pulled out her stick of ninety-three cent eye liner. Carefully she applied it underneath her eyes and on top of her eyelids, coating her eyes in thick black makeup. Then she put her eye liner away and pulled out her dark red lipstick, covering her mouth perfectly with it. Examining her face she grinned, almost looking predatory.

She backed away from the mirror examining her clothing. She had on knee high, black, high heeled boots that laced up the sides and zipped in the front. Her skirt came down to just below her fingertips and was the color of ebony. Her corset was black and it had buckles adorning the front of it. Underneath the corset she had on her black fishnet shirt. Her hair fell in tiny ringlets around her shoulders giving her the "I'm sexy and dangerous" look. Smiling at herself she gathered her books and walked out of the girls locker room. Almost immediately she felt alienated. She didn't know a single one of the girls in her class nor did she really care to know them. All of the guys either considered her a slut or they were afraid of her so they weren't paid the time of the day either. She slid herself up into a corner and waited for the bell to ring. It was the last class of the day and she was ready to get out of the hell hole.

The minute the bell rang she was down the hallway and away from all of the strange people that she didn't know, knowing for a fact that even if they had introduced themselves she wouldn't have cared enough to remember their names. She just wanted to go home. She hated school with all its ridiculing teachers and the judgmental stares from the students. She hated the home work that she was forced to do every night in order to maintain her A average. She hated the expectations that everyone had for her what with Art Club, Speech Team and Drama Club. The only reason she was even in any club was because of her parents. They were so domineering. They had to have her be perfect, which was why they were always on to her about the way she dressed. They hated the Goth clothing she wore just as much as she hated the Preppy clothing they wanted her to wear. When it came to her clothing, at least that was one thing she could control and she wasn't giving in.

It took a whole five minutes to get to her locker and gather her things. The warning bell for the buses rang and she slammed her locker shut. She was going to be late, again. God she hated Physical Education, especially since her locker was on the other side of the school. Walking as fast as she could in her heels she made her way back toward the P.E. section to try and make it to her bus. She was too late. As she walked out the door her bus was pulling away. As it made it's way out on to the highway she cursed her self to hell and back and then started in on the school and it's administrators and the teachers and anyone else she could think of. Storming back inside, heels clicking smartly on the tiled flooring, she made her way towards the office. She was going to have to call home again and listen to her parents rant for the whole duration of the ride home about how irresponsible she had been for missing the bus, again. Alice really wasn't in the mood for it but what could she do?

As she passed the trophy display case in the main hall she heard someone call her name. Quickly she spun around to see who it was. Not many people paid enough attention to her to know her name, let alone take the time to try and talk to her unless it was to taunt her or make rude comments.

"Yes?" she asked softly, looking around but finding no one. "Who's there?"

No one replied. She turned back around to leave when she heard her name again, almost like a whisper this time. Spinning around so fast she almost fell over she shouted, "Who's there!? Is this some kind of sick joke?"

Again no one answered her. In a flash of anger she threw down her bag and stomped it into the ground. "Damn this place! Damn this school and everyone it!" she screamed, stomping on her bag between each word. "I hate this place. I hate my parents for making me come here! I hate my life!"

Suddenly hysterical laughter filled the air around her and she paused, looking back behind her.

"Not there Alice...over here. The case..." said a soft voice barely above a whisper.

She turned slowly to look at the trophy case. Nothing. No one was there. All she saw was her own reflection.

Tears forming in her eyes she reached down and picked up her mistreated bag, dusting it off.

"Who ever is there, this isn't funny!" she cried, slinging the bag onto her shoulders.

More laughter filled the air and a single tear fell from her eyes, sliding slowly down her cheek. She sank to her knees, more silent tears falling from her eyes.

"It isn't funny any more. It isn't funny..." she sobbed, clutching her bag tightly to her chest.

She couldn't take it. The teasing, all the taunting. She couldn't handle it any more. She was so tired of putting up with everyone's shit that all she wanted to do was die.

"Dear Alice, you're so tired...you're hurting..." came the soft voice again, this time attempting to soothe her.

It was a male's voice but it sounded slightly feminine. It slid over her skin like a warm blanket and she shivered. Something wasn't right.

"Who-who's there?" she choked through her tears.

"Shh...Sweat Alice, all in due time. You'll see...everything will get better, but it must get worse before so."

"What do you mean?" Alice asked, her voice growing frantic.

"You'll see, sweat Alice, you'll see." it said, the sound of it's voice flowing over her gently to calm her.

She reached up and brushed away the tears, smearing her eye liner. She knew it looked liked someone had punched her and she was sure her parents would be furious at the sight, thinking she had really gotten herself into a fight but at the moment she didn't really care. She just wanted to go home. She wanted to sink onto her water bed and turn off all the lights and turn on her music and listen to the soft rhythms as it lulled her into serenity.

Standing, she straightened her skirt and made her way to the office. There was no one there. Everyone had already left. That might have been why no one had heard her screaming and come running to see what was wrong. She tried the door but it was already locked. Cursing her luck she tried the exit. It too was locked. She was stuck inside of the one place she didn't want to be. School. Taking a seat on one of the benches that lined the long walls she curled herself into a tight ball. Closing her eyes she tried hard to hold back the tears that threatened to fall.

All week she had been hearing those voices and all week she had been ignoring them. She had first thought it was some kids playing some sort of sick joke on her but when she couldn't find anyone around she decided against that idea. This time though the voice had been someone different. Someone who seemed to know what was happening to her. All of the other voices were completely incoherent and said things like, "I'm late I'm late!" or "All ways are my ways!". They never answered her back or tried to sooth her. Once she even thought she had seen a large grin materialize in the girls bathroom mirror.

"I must be going crazy..." she choked. "I have to be. This isn't right. I'm loosing it. I'm over the edge..." she mumbled.

"Sweet Alice, you're not loosing it...you're not over the edge..."

Alice jumped. It was that voice again. So soft and comforting. So soothing.

"Who are you?" she cried out, sitting up from her fetal position.

"Dear sweet Alice, come to play...my, my, my, just not your day..." said another voice, this one thick with hysterical laughter. "It's your unbirthday! Come on Alice, you don't want to be late!"

Alice started to shake. "Who are you? What do you want?"

"The case Alice, the case! You must come to solve the case!" said another, more frantic voice, filled with fear.

"Case? What case?" she called out down the empty hall way.

Something white flashed before her and she jumped up from the bench. The white blur ran down the hall way. It was mumbling something she couldn't understand. Suddenly it sprang backwards and landed right in front of her. Alice screeched and the white blur jumped away and disappeared. The same hysterical laughter filled the air around her once more and she started to run. She covered her ears and fled down the hall, making a sharp right to run down the English hall way. She couldn't hear the laughter any more but she kept running. She ran all the way down to the Industrial Tech department and stopped at the bench sitting by the workshop. She fell onto it and let herself go. She cried until her chest hurt. She couldn't make them stop and she couldn't make them tell her who they were. They just kept laughing at her. Just kept laughing. Just like the kids on the play ground so many years ago...just kept laughing.

"Alice, you freak! Look what you did! You ripped it's head off." said a tall girl with short bobbed blond hair.

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to. It was stuck and you asked me to help you!" Alice retorted, stepping away from the tall girl.

Another girl with long brown hair tied up into a bun shoved her from behind. Alice fell down face first into the dirt.

"You broke my doll!" the blond haired girl screamed, throwing the mangled doll to the ground before her, dust rising up around her feet.

"I'm sorry!" Alice said, choking on the dirt that had floated into her mouth.

"You're sorry? Do you know how much that doll cost?" the blond asked nastily.

Alice meekly shook her head. She hadn't meant to break her doll, she was just trying to help get it unstuck from the tree.

"More then your mother could ever afford!" the girl shouted, grabbing Alice by the hair and yanking her to her feet.

Alice held back the hot tears that scorched her eyes. The brown haired girl started to laugh.

"Aw, look," she taunted, "She's trying not to cry. Poor baby..."

Alice glared at her and the girl started laughing. The blond joined in and shoved her back down to the ground.

"Why don't you just stay there. That's where you seem to belong." Another girl snorted from behind her. This one was short with long black hair that had to be dyed. No one had hair that black without some help.

They all laughed at her as she tried to stand up. Each one took a turn knocking her back down. The teachers weren't any where around to help her and the other children didn't seem to care what was happening.

"Freak!" the black haired girl hissed, kicking her side.

Alice whimpered, curling herself into a ball. They all laughed, and wouldn't stop. Alice started to cry and they laughed harder. She couldn't make them stop. She was helpless. Finally after what seemed like hours the bell rang and recesses was over. The girls left her there, curled up in a ball on the hard ground. It took a few minutes but a teacher finally came over and helped her to her feet, dusting her off and giving her a tissue to wipe her eyes. She was sent home early that day and got grounded for fighting at school by her parents. When she had told them what had happened they told her to grow up, that she was in the fourth grade, and that she should start acting like it.

All through school there were many other altercations with others that ended much the same way. She had always been picked on for one thing or another. She was too smart, her clothes were too shabby, she was too short. She had never seemed to be good enough for anyone, not even her own parents.

Alice moaned softly, rocking back and forth on the bench. She hated those memories. Hated the way she couldn't do anything to protect herself. Just like she couldn't do anything now. A soft gloved finger slid gently under her left eye, wiping away her tears.

She shot up, looking around. She couldn't see anyone. Now she was imagining people touching her too. How much worse could it get?

"You're not imagining things. I'm very real. In fact, I'm as real as it gets."

"You, who are you? What do you want?" Alice asked.

The lights flickered slightly and a shadowed figure appeared in front of her.

"Why dear Alice, to drive you mad." the figure answered.

The lights flickered on to dim and there before her stood a man, about a foot taller then her dressed in a white suit. Even his boots were white. His hands were covered by white satin gloves and lace cuffs came down over them, only showing his fingertips. A white top hat was placed atop his head. Long black hair cascaded down his back to his waist. It wasn't curly like hers but pin straight. He lifted his head and his face was covered by a porcelain mask. On it there was a tear painted under the right eye and a moon spooning the left. The mouth was painted in the same black as the other shapes. Her mouth fell open slightly. Even with the mask, she was amazed at how dashing he looked.

"And as for who I am..." he said, his voice radiating around her like a second skin, "I'm the Mad Hatter."

Alice shook her head. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. The Mad Hatter was from an old story book called "Alice in Wonderland" which was where her name came from. The Mad Hatter wasn't real. He couldn't be and if he was, he certainly didn't look like the man standing before her.

"Oh I'm real." the man said, raising his hands in the air with a careless flick of the wrist. "I've told you. I'm as real as they come."

Alice closed her mouth. "You can't be..." she stuttered, her whole body starting to shake from the shock.

"But I am." The Hatter replied coolly.

Alice just shook her head, her eyes wide in shock. She couldn't make her mind believe what her eyes were seeing. It just couldn't be real.

The Hatter took a step closer to her and bent down making himself eye level with her. She wished he would remove his mask so she could get a better look at him, then wondered if that was a good idea. What if he wore the mask for a reason rather then just for show? It would be extremely rude of her to ask him to remove it just because she was insecure.

The mouth on the mask cocked into a grin and she realized that the mouth wasn't painted at all. It was his mouth and the mask only came down to his nose. His skin was just that pale.

"Oh my dear Alice. My dear, sweet, Alice. How little you know. Your mind is so full of imagination and yet when your wildest fantasies come true you act like you don't want them to. I'm surprised you don't know me. You made me up...in a way. You wished me here anyway. That much you did do."

Alice frowned at him. "I'm not your Alice." she said darkly, putting the stress on the word your. "I'm no one's Alice."

"Hmm...Well, we shall see about that won't we?" he asked as more of a statement then a question.

Alice took a deep breath and started to move away from him but he caught her by the wrist. She tugged hard trying to free herself but he jerked her to him, holding her close to his body. She wriggled but the more she fought him the tighter he held her.

"Let go of me!" Alice screamed. "Let go!"

"Go ahead and scream, Love, no one will hear you. They've all gone home for the night and I know for a fact your parents aren't worried about you." The Hatter said, his lips hovering dangerously close to hers.

"No...Please...let me go." she said, her voice turning to nothing but a pathetic whisper.

"You're so afraid of me...but I'm not the one that hurt you." he said, whispering soothingly into her ear.

She swallowed hard and fought back the sudden urge to cry. She wouldn't cry again. She would make herself sick if she cried any more.

"You're in so much pain..." he said, his breath hot against her neck.

She whimpered softly and leaned into him. His body was so warm and comforting. She didn't trust him, she didn't even know him, but she couldn't help but long for him to hold her. To tell her everything would be okay.

"You want to be free...but it will only get worse my dear Alice. It will only get worse before it gets better."

"I want to go home.." she sobbed, holding on to his shoulders like he was the only thing keeping her sane, and maybe he was.

"Close your eyes. Relax. I'll take you home." he said, kissing the top of her forehead with his soft, black, painted lips.

Alice closed her eyes and sighed as his lips touched her skin. So soft. So gentle. Darkness took her over as he held her tight and she felt herself slip away. Then she felt nothing.

The Hatter held her limp form in his arms and he looked down on her and smiled sadly.

"Poor child. Poor Alice. If you only knew how bad it will get." he said, laying his head on hers.

Gently, he stroked her pale cheek with his gloved hand. She was so beautiful. He didn't understand why she didn't see it. He had been watching her for longer then she knew. He had been watching her that day on the play ground too but had resisted the urge to run out to help her. If only she knew how he longed for her. How he wanted her to notice him. To accept that he was real. This wasn't the first time she had seen him. There had been several other times that she had met him but every time she shut him out of her memory and refused to believe that he was real. Every time he had to start over. It was growing tiresome and he felt like he would never achieve his goal.

Wonderland needed her now more then ever and he was more then willing to do anything it took to get her to understand that they needed her help. The case still wasn't solved and the queen was growing restless. The Queen of the Ace of Spades wasn't known for her patience. In fact, she was known for her lack of.

The Hatter stared down at Alice, so peaceful in his arms and he kissed her lips softly with his own.

"I'm sorry my Alice. I'm so sorry for what I'm about to put you through. You may hate me in the end but you must realize it's for the best." he said, clinging to her body.

His own body began to dissolve into mist, enveloping the sleeping Alice. Soon he was standing in her bedroom. He lay her down on her bed and undressed her, picking out a nice pair of night clothes for her to wear. He then dressed her in a pair of pink pajama pants and a black t-shirt. Tucking her in he sat down on the side of her bed.

"Rest sweet Alice. You have a very long journey ahead of you, you just don't know it yet."

With that he bent down and planted one more tender kiss on her lips before he dissolved into mist and was gone.