Heyy :] Soo this is my first Alice fanfic, and I got this idea from listening to two songs [Lady Gaga - Bad Romance & Rihanna - Rockstar 101. Yeah, I know, weird right? But if you've read my other fic Sweet Escape you should know by now I'm anything but normal :L] Anywho, um...I'm not really sure what to say. I'm a HUGEEEE Alice fan, and ever since I saw it I totally fell in love with Wonderland and it's weirdness and how everything is just plan wacky :D So somehow I got the idea of taking a darker approach to it ;]
This is set a month after the mini-series, and all will be explained! I know it's a probably a little uninteresting but next chapter is when everything kicks off :P
I really hope you like it! If there's any questions feel free to leave a review and ask :]
Em xx
"Alice?" Grumbling, Alice buried her face further into her pillow and tried to hold onto sleep. "Alice, wake up."
"Don't wanna wake up," she mumbled. "'S too early."
"You said we needed to get up at eight – it's almost ten." Startled, Alice's head shot up off the pillow and she stared at the man leaning over her.
"Ten!" she gasped.
For a moment, Hatter could only look at her. She was propped up on her elbows, wild-eyed and her lovely long hair was everywhere, but she still managed to pull it off and look beautiful. Truthfully, he didn't think he'd ever get over the way she looked in the morning, or at any time for that matter. "Really!" Alice asked, sitting up fully and pulling her hair out of her face. Unable to keep a straight face at her concern, Hatter gave her one of his famous dimpled grins.
"Nah, love," he said. "I'm just kidding. It's half eight." Alice rolled her eyes and rubbed her forehead with the palm of her hand.
"Very funny," she said. "But thank you." Still grinning widely, Hatter leaned down and kissed her temple.
"No problem. I'll go put the kettle on." Alice couldn't help but smile after him as he walked away.
She couldn't possibly be mad at him – that was kind of impossible, and whenever she did get annoyed with him it didn't last very long. Besides, they really did need to get a move on. Reluctantly, Alice pushed the covers off and got to her feet, looking around in a daze for the clothes she'd laid out the night before. She really wished they didn't have to get up this early. Not on a Saturday at least. But they both worked weekdays, and neither was happy about getting up at all on Sundays, so Saturday was the only day left. Alice yawned and pulled on a pair of jeans and a blue t-shirt, then shambled into the kitchen. Her and Hatter's apartment wasn't big, but she liked that about it. It was cosy and welcoming; she never could wait to get home after a day at work. Especially if Hatter was already there.
A month had passed since Alice had unexpectedly found him in her hallway, looking nervous but ecstatic to see her again. She'd attempted to try and explain the whole kissing each other thing to her mother, but Carol had simply raised her hands, said "I don't want to know, Alice." and gone to watch her show in the living room.
It took a day, Wonderland time, before Hatter was able to follow her through the Looking Glass. Jack had presented him with a single satchel, containing a key, a folder of documents, a cell phone and a hefty amount of money, and then given him Alice's phone number and address. Then, the next thing Hatter knew, he was being pushed through the Looking Glass by one of Jack's Suits. The key had been to an apartment near Alice's house, the documents every possible kind of I.D under the sun and the money enough to last for a long while. At first Hatter had found Alice's world confusing, but he was a fast learner and quickly adjusted.
In the beginning, although she never said it out loud, Alice felt like her visit to Wonderland had changed her. Mostly where Hatter was concerned – before falling through the Looking Glass she'd been terrified of getting attached to someone, of letting them in, because deep in her heart she couldn't shake the feeling that they would leave her. Leave her like her father did. But now...now she often told her Hatter just how much she loved him, and a couple of days ago she'd finished moving the last of her things into his apartment – now their apartment. Likely her mother thought she'd gone crazy, but Alice didn't care. As long as she had Hatter, she was happy.
He was leaning against the kitchen counter when she walked in, already fully dressed and sipping his tea. His odd taste in clothing hadn't left him in Alice's world, and today he was wearing black jeans – which he'd developed quite a liking for – a deep blue silk shirt with a silver paisley pattern and a black leather jacket, just like the one he'd worn when they'd first met. To top it all off a black trilby hat sat on top of his unruly hair. Hatter saw movement out of the corner of his eye and looked up, smiling broadly at her. "We match," he said, gesturing from his shirt to hers. "I like it." Alice laughed softly when he winked and picked up her own cup of tea from the counter. She hadn't really liked it before meeting Hatter, but since then she'd acquired a strange fondness for the stuff. They drank their tea in comfortable silence, occasionally catching each other's eye and smiling, trying to get some excitement together for the long day ahead.
They tried to visit Wonderland once a week. So far, they'd managed to. Alice would've tried to visit every day if she could, but it just wasn't possible for them. So they settled for every Saturday – which, in Wonderland time, meant they only saw dear old Charlie once a year. They spent a day in Wonderland before heading home, but seeing as Wonderland was pretty much unpredictable Hatter had come up with the idea of going fairly early. That way, if something happened and they ended up staying a few days longer than intended, their absence would go unnoticed. "Ready to go, love?" asked Hatter, waiting patiently by the front door.
"Yeah," answered Alice as she slipped on her black jacket. "Did you remember that book for Charlie?"
"I already put it in your bag," he said with a smile. "Along with all the pictures that Jack asked for."
"It's odd, but I think I can understand the fascination Wonderlanders have with the 'real world'," said Alice, opening the door.
"I don't blame them," Hatter said as he locked the door behind them and slid the key into his pocket. "Your world's amazing – a different kind of amazing, true, but still."
He interlaced their fingers as they walked, unable to stop the warmth that spread in him from the contact. He was so lucky to have her, to have his Alice. All the effort he'd put into getting her to trust him, the times he'd risked his life, the torture, leaving everything behind – it was all worth it. Hatter would do it all again, for her. What he'd been doing before he met Alice, that wasn't living. That was simply existing. But she'd given him purpose, made him feel loved for the first time in forever. She saw the good in him, thought incredibly highly of him and refused to let anyone convince her otherwise. She saw the bad too, but accepted it and loved him for it, and he didn't think that anyone would ever be able to do that.
They spent the ten minute walk laughing and smiling the way they always did when they were together, wondering what interesting new contraptions Charlie would have to show them and whether or not the Jack and the Duchess would have had a child yet. The last time the four of them had spoken it was definitely something the King and his Queen had been thinking about, having gotten married soon after Hatter had followed Alice through the Looking Glass. "If they have, I hope for Jack's sake it's a boy," said Hatter, laughing. "Can you imagine him having a mini-Duchess to deal with on top of the full-grown one?"
"Now that's something I would like to see," Alice said as she grinned.
The Looking Glass was just how they left it, propped up against the wall of the abandoned building looking brand new, although with an antique feel to it. "Home sweet home, here we come," Alice murmured under her breath. She squeezed Hatter's hand, excitement filling her. Apart from her lazy Sundays at home with Hatter, this was always one of her favourite parts of the week.
"Let's hope they remembered we were coming," Hatter murmured back, grinning.
"One the count of three, then?"
"One."
"Two."
"Three!" They instant Hatter's foot connected with the shimmering surface of the Looking Glass he was overwhelmed by the sensation of tumbling. Colours swirled and sparkled all around him as he fell, the exhilaration and speed leaving him short of breath. Next to him, maintaining a tight grip on his hand, Alice was laughing despite the slight breathing issue and the smile on her face made Hatter's heart pick up its pace. He loved seeing his Alice happy.
They landed with a light thud in a heap on the stone floor of the room that held the Looking Glass, still not accustomed enough to the journey to be able to step gracefully out of the Glass like the Suits could. Laughing, Hatter picked himself up and then held out a hand to Alice, helping her to her feet. "You alright, Alice?"
"I'm fine," she said, dusting herself down. "We really need to practice our landings." Hatter laughed again and she smiled warmly, genuinely happy to be back. "Well, Jack," she began as she turned around. "Aren't you going to say – " Alice froze, her sentence unfinished. "H-Hatter...what's...what's happened?" Hatter moved closer to her, eyes widening, but didn't answer her question.
The last time they'd visited the hall had been brightly light, welcoming and full of people waiting to greet them. It had been noisy, but warm and familiar, and the atmosphere always felt like one of celebration. This can't be the same place, thought Alice. It just can't be...The hall before them was dark and gloomy, lit only by the moonlight that filtered in through the large window behind the Looking Glass. Cobwebs hung from corners of the ceiling and the Looking Glass itself looked dusty and old. Their voices echoed off the walls; Alice moved even closer to Hatter, repressing a shudder at how cold the room suddenly seemed. Where was everyone? "Alice," Hatter began quietly. He reached out and took her arm. "Maybe we should go...this doesn't feel right. Not at all." He'd spent his entire life listening to his instincts, and they'd saved his skin more times than he liked to think about. And right now an alarm bell was going off in the back of his mind, shrieking loudly that this was all wrong. Very, very wrong indeed. Hatter's eyes darted around the room, taking the scene in, his mind spinning with questions and failing to come up with any reasonable answers. Had the Glass malfunctioned? Or was it working fine – but something had happened while they'd been away? Where was Jack? Why was the place looking so old and unkempt?
"Hatter!" Alice's startled whisper dragged him out of his bewildered thoughts, and he looked down at her. She faced him with eyes full of fear and confusion, tugging on his arm. "Look!" she whispered, turning her gaze straight ahead. Hatter looked up too, and instantly pulled her close to him. He held her tight, ready to push her back through the Looking Glass if he had to. In one of the darkest corners of the hall a gaggle of Oysters had once stood, waiting to go home. Now in their place was nothing but shadow and darkness.
And from out of the pitch black loomed a pair of bright green slitted eyes.
*Le gasp!* What's happened! :O I'm off to put up the next chapter :] Reviews are always appreciated xx
