Chapter 2: New Friends.

The sun was just beginning to disappear into the horizon as Coraline put on her favorite hat and vest along with her long-sleeved blue shirt and black jeans, (not the ones the Beldam had given her.)
"Well... I guess they'll have what they want now." Coraline said, "No little brat here to bother them."
A familiar "Reowww..." came from outside the blue-haired girl's window. She turned and saw Cat sitting on the window sill with his head tilted to the right. Coraline sighed.
"Cat, I don't have time right now." she whispered, opening the window, "I've gotta get outta here."
Cat's tail began to slowly wag back and forth, the tip of it flicking a bit with each wag, and his eyes narrowed.
"What?" Coraline asked, beginning to get irritated, "Well, you aren't stopping me from leaving."
Cat purred as if he were sighing and then hopped off of the window sill and onto the roof.
"Thank you..." Coraline said. As she climbed out the window and gently put each foot on the roof, tightly holding her flashlight she had brought, she let out a sigh.
"Hey... Cat?" Coraline said. Cat looked at her.
"I'm sorry..." she said, "I shouldn't have sounded so harsh. After all, you're the one who saved me from the Beldam, and you're one of my best friends. I would say you could come along, but Wybie probably needs you more than I do."
Coraline felt something clench at her heart when she said Wybie's name, and she bit her lower lip. Talking about him wasn't making this runaway any easier. It was only making it worse.
"I've gotta go now." Coraline said.
She wasn't sure, but Cat looked almost... Sad. But it was hard to tell. He was a cat, after all. After petting him on the head gently for a moment, she took a deep breath, and jumped down from the roof. She wasn't as high up as she could've been, but it still hurt when she stumbled upon landing and fell onto her knees.
"Gah!" she shouted in pain. She breathed through clenched teeth to try and ignore the sharp pain in her knees where she had scraped them and continued to walk, looking at the Pink Palace one last time before heading over toward Wybie's house. Although she knew it would only make this much harder for her, she had to at least see him one last time before leaving for good. Dead leaves crunched beneath her feet as she walked up the hill to Wybie's house. There was only one light on, and it was coming from Wybie's bedroom. She bit the inside of her cheek and then let out a deep sigh before climbing up some vines that were growing on the side of the house.
"Just don't cry... Don't cry..." Coraline said to herself in a barely audible whisper, "The last thing you need is for Wybie to see you cry..."
When she looked in the window, she saw Wybie sprawled out on his bed, asleep with the light still on. Apparently he had been drawing, judging from the pencils and paper on his bed. Coraline felt a smile tug at the corners of her mouth. She remembered the time when Wybie showed her all of his artwork; the Creepypasta drawings, the drawings of her and him defeating the Beldam, etc. Then she felt a twinge of pain at her heart, remembering that she would most likely never see him again. At least not for a long time. Carefully she climbed into the open window, (which was open so Cat could get inside if he needed to,) and gently placed her feet on the hardwood floor. With her eyes wide and her teeth clenched, she carefully grabbed a piece of paper and a pencil from Wybie's bed. She then wrote a note.

Dear Wybie,

I'm running away.

My parents wouldn't believe me about the Beldam when I made the dumb mistake of trying to tell them, and now they think I'm crazy.

I heard Mom say that she was gonna call the mental hospital.

I need to get outta there.

There's NO WAY I'm spending the rest of my life in an insane asylum.

I may or may not come back, but if I don't, I just want you to know that... You're the best friend I've ever had.

Love, Coraline, or as you call me, Jonesy.

She folded the note and then put it on Wybie's pillow, right beside his head. After glancing around to make sure no one was watching, she kissed the top of his forehead, quickly. She covered her mouth after she did. The thought of her doing that hadn't crossed her mind, it just sort of... Happened. Well, she wouldn't be seeing him again for at least a long time, so she figured she might as well. Before climbing back out the window, she turned to Wybie.
"Bye, Wybie." she whispered. Then she climbed back out the window and climbed to the ground, sprinting to the woods without looking back.

When Alice opened her eyes, she found herself standing in the middle of the woods.
"Hm... Well, now where am I?" Alice wondered aloud, "Am I out of Wonderland? Well, it doesn't appear to be Wonderland... It seems too ordinary. No, I must be in America now. But where in America?"
Alice looked around and then saw she was now wearing her gray dress.
"Well, I'm definitely NOT in Wonderland." she said.
"Reowww..." a cat meowed. Alice turned around and saw a black cat sitting a few feet away from her.
"Oh, hello there, puss." Alice said, holding her hand out and clicking her tongue to try and call it over to her. Instead, the cat gestured with its head for Alice to follow him. The cat then began walking, and Alice, having gotten the hint, followed him.
"Hm... I wonder where this little animal is going to lead me." Alice wondered, "It seems like things like this are becoming sort of a habit, isn't it?"
Soon, Alice could see a small figure ahead of them. As they got closer, Alice saw it was a young girl.
"Ah! Could this be the person Cheshire was speaking of?" Alice wondered. The cat then meowed again, and the blue-haired girl looked over at them.
"Cat?" Coraline asked, looking at the cat. Then she looked at Alice.
"Who're you?" Coraline asked, crossing her arms, "Another friend of Cat's?"
"Something like that, I suppose." Alice said, "Might I ask what your name is and what you're doing out here?"
Coraline narrowed her eyes and lowered her eyebrows.
"It's Coraline." Coraline introduced herself, "And I'm not doing anything. I'm just... Going for a walk, that's all."
"Oh, come now, Coraline, tell the truth." Cat said. Coraline looked over at Cat and raised a brow.
"Hey! I thought you couldn't talk outside of the other world." Coraline said.
"Well, we're closer to another world than you think." Cat said. Alice, however, didn't seem bothered by the fact that the cat was talking, and Coraline noticed that in a matter of seconds.
"Why isn't she freaking out?" Coraline wondered, "Normally someone would freak out if they heard a CAT TALK."
"Anyway, tell her the truth, Coraline." Cat said. Coraline was silent for a moment, and Alice looked at her, waiting for an answer.
"I'm running away." Coraline said.
"Really?" Alice asked, "That's quite a funny coincidence, because so am I."
"You are?" Coraline asked.
"Indeed." Alice said, "I've spent the majority of my life at an orphanage and an insane asylum for a few years, but let's not speak of that."
"My parents were gonna send me to an insane asylum..." Coraline said, deciding to ignore the fact that Alice had been to one. After all, she was out of it now, right? She didn't seem like a psychotic killer or anything.
"Whatever for?" Alice asked.
"Because..." Coraline was silent for a moment, "Well..."
Then Coraline proceeded to tell Alice everything about the incident. About the first day she moved there, the day she discovered the door, the day they tried to sew buttons in her eyes, and finally, when she and Wybie defeated the Beldam. Alice nodded her head slowly as Coraline spoke to show she was listening.
"You certainly have been through a lot." Alice said, "So have I. And I was around your age, I believe, when I discovered Wonderland."
Coraline listened eagerly as Alice told her about Wonderland.
"Wow..." Coraline said, "So... You believe me?"
"Of course." Alice said, smiling a little. That was the first time she had smiled all day, and since she had to be serious a lot, it was rare that she smiled. But she felt that she could relate to Coraline. Coraline returned the smile.
"So, what's your name?" Coraline asked.
"Alice Liddell." Alice introduced herself with a curtsy, "Pleased to meet you, Coraline."
Coraline grinned. That was the first time in a while that someone had gotten her name right. Well, someone besides her parents or Wybie.
"Nice to meet you too, Alice." Coraline said, "Thanks for getting my name right, heh. Most people call me 'Caroline' instead of 'Coraline'."
"I imagine that gets quite annoying." Alice said.
"Believe me, it does." Coraline said, "Especially after you've corrected them a million times."
Alice wasn't sure, but she had a feeling that this would be her first real friend.
"Oh, Coraline?" Alice asked.
"Yeah?" Coraline asked.
"I just wanted to ask..." Alice paused for dramatic effect, "Would you like to see Wonderland?"