A/N: I've always thought a lot about Alice and Jasper's first meeting, so I figured I could take advantage of this series of one shots to do a one shot wherein an unknown person observes their first meeting. I hope you like it and until the next update then, cheers!
Chapter 2: Through The Eyes Of A Waitress
It was always raining when she came, twirling into the diner, her hair wet from the downpour, looking as if she'd come straight out of a swimsuit edition magazine. She came every rainy day for 5 months in a row, always waiting.
The first time she came in I think my eyes nearly bulged out of my sockets – she was beautiful! She was more than beautiful – she was indescribable.
She was a short, petite thing. Looking at her, you'd imagine one gust of a strong wind could simply blow her away. She had short, black spiky hair and was as pale as I'd ever seen. Her eyes were a strange golden/topaz color I'd never seen before in the entire course of my 45 years in this life. She was dressed impeccably – I didn't know much but I knew the clothes she wore were designer items, any idiot could see that.
She'd sat down on a stool at the counter, the stool closest to the entrance and shifted her lithe frame so she had perfect view of the door and therefore anyone who chose to enter or leave. For several minutes I was entranced as I watched her simply sit there. She was so still you'd think she was a statue if it weren't for the fact that she shifted in her seat every so often or crossed and uncrossed her legs.
"Can I get you anything, miss?" I'd asked her once I'd gotten over my peculiar staring trance. She didn't even look at me, simply shook her head and continued to watch the door.
"How about some coffee then?" I'd asked, thinking she must at least be thirsty even if she wasn't hungry. Again, she shook her head, but this time the shake was accompanied by words. And when she spoke, it was as if I was hearing soft, tingling bells. She had the voice of an angel!
"I don't need anything, thank you. I'm waiting. I might be waiting for a while, I'm not sure." I didn't know how to respond to that, but it turns out I didn't need to, because as soon as she said it she went straight back to ignoring me. What a strange little thing she was.
I lasted a week before I broke down and finally asked her for her name. If she was going to come in every rainy day – which we had a lot of here – and simply sit like a statue on the stool, not eating or drinking, I figured I should at least have the courtesy of her name.
"What is your name, little miss?" I'd asked, almost fearful she'd get upset with me for asking, or she would simply continue to ignore me. So imagine my surprise when this time she actually turned around to face me.
"I'm Alice," she said with a little giggle at the end. Even her giggles sounded like music send down from the heavens. I'd never met anyone like her.
"What are you waiting for, Alice?" The words had come out before I'd even realized I was going to say them. Alice didn't seem surprised or upset by my question.
"My soul mate. We're going to be together forever, as soon as he gets here." She sounded so sure of herself, but how could she be? She'd been waiting for a week now and no one had shown up. Perhaps someone had tricked the poor thing into believing this soul mate business. I would hate to see such a young and sweet, yet peculiar girl be crushed when she realized she'd been deceived.
"That sounds nice. What's his name, dear?" I'd asked instead of voicing my thoughts. There was no need to worry her if it turned out that I was wrong after all. But she didn't answer me, instead she turned back to the door to continue her vigil.
Rainy day after rainy day Alice would come in and sit on her stool and every day would end the same – she'd sigh in disappointment, then shrug it off, then leave, only to come back the next day. It was kind of heartbreaking to watch.
Sometimes I'd talk to Alice, sometimes I wouldn't. I usually did most of the talking and she'd listen – sometimes she'd answer a few questions, but mostly she'd remain silent, her gaze firmly upon the door.
"Tell me about your mystery man," I asked her once and the smile that graced her face was so beautiful I had to turn away to compose myself. I'd never seen such utter love and adoration on a face and I feared once she gave up on her waiting, those looks would never flutter over her face again.
"Oh, he's wonderful. I swear he's the most beautiful man I've ever seen, and the most compassionate. I know he's had a hard life, but he'll be happy with me. We'll be the happiest we've ever been." And that was all she said about it before she turned away from me.
Months past and nothing changed; the mystery man never showed up and I feared he never would. So it came to a huge surprise when one day, about 4 months after I'd first seen her, Alice bounded into the diner more exited and hyper than I'd ever seen her.
"It won't be long now. No, not long at all," She sang and she danced around in circles before finally taking her place at her regular stool. I smiled at her a little grimly – I did not understand how she could stand to wait day in day out with the outcome always remaining the same. It became more painful to watch with each passing day. The more sure she seemed that he was coming soon, the more sadness I felt for this strange girl who'd most likely be crushed and torn apart once she realized she'd been fooled.
So I never expected it to happen, and when it did, I could not keep my eyes of the scene or stop my heart from trying to beat it's way out of my chest.
Alice had been coming here for 5 months now, and this day was no different than all the others. As usual, it was raining and Alice sat staring at the door. Everything was the same until midday came and the bell over the door chimed as a man walked in.
The man was muscular, but lean. He had honey blonde colored hair and skin as pale as little Alice'. His eyes were so dark I could've sworn they were pitch black. Unlike Alice' clothes, his outfit had seen much better days. He was wearing a pair of worn out trousers, and a white cotton shirt that was frayed at the edges. He seemed nervous and he almost looked as if he were in pain.
When Alice saw him her entire face lit up like a Christmas tree. She hopped off the stool and skidded over to him, stopping barely a meter before him. The man seemed wary of her, yet also curious and confused.
"You've kept me waiting a long time." I heard Alice say, by now long used to the angelic sound of her voice. The man still looked confused as he tilted his head toward Alice.
"Sorry ma'am," he said, a southern accent in his voice. If this was Alice' soul mate, I was confused – he didn't even seem to know her!
Alice held out her tiny hand, smiling at the man, looking as confident that he'd take it as she did the day she said that he was coming. And sure enough, after a brief moments of hesitation the man placed his hand in hers and I could already see the adoration start to shine through in his eyes.
"We'll be so happy together, Jasper. You'll see," Alice said and without a backwards glance she dragged him out of the door, back into the rain. I kept my eyes on them as long as I could, but then suddenly they were gone and somehow I knew I'd never see either of them again.
After all my doubts and fears that little Alice would become yet another brokenhearted soul, it seemed as if I were wrong after all. And for that, I was happy.
