"Alice, why do we need to ride this… public thingy."
"Because we need to go grocery shopping and my cars in the shop." Alice said frustrated. "You know that."
"But people smell funny on there." He whined meeting her eyes. She smiled at him, no matter what, his confusion made him so cute.
"You chose to move to this side, you ought to face the consequences." She said patting him gently on the back.
"I moved here to be with you, but look how that ended."
"And you still chose to stay." He crossed his arms angrily. His mind kept wandering back to Maggie. And the last memory they shared in the field they spend hours playing. He wondered how the hell she managed to live her life this way. No proper tea time, voting, and all that garbage. He didn't understand the rules, how could any person do it this way?
The bus pulled up in front of them and they got on. Alice paid the fair for both of them and he looked around on the bus. Everyone looked so weird, minding their own business. He wanted to dance and shout to change the somber mood about this thing. As he scanned the area a girl caught his eye. His heart dropped to his stomach and felt as if he was going to be sick. The girl had Maggie's face, and her dirty blonde hair. Her skin was covered in soot and ash and the dress she was wearing was as well. Alice lead him to the seat across from her. He couldn't stop staring. The girl looked so out of place. He wanted to scream, run, jump, and hug the girl. She looked up at him and their eyes met. His heart dropped further when he saw she wasn't the girl he thought she was. Alice looked at him curiously and then looked at the girl across from them and her mouth dropped open.
"What happened to her?" She whispered to him. He just shrugged and looked at her blankly. "We have to do something; the poor thing is so filthy!" He shook his head.
"No, you know better than to pick up strangers on these things! What if she killed her family? What if she's killed 100 good looking men or something?" She raised an eyebrow at him.
"How the hell can you be so critical and heartless? This right here is why we aren't together anymore!"
"Fine, you wanna help Maggie you can help her." The girl glanced up at them when the name was spoken. Alice looked at him questioningly and he looked away. He didn't mean to say that. He knew it wasn't who he wanted it to be. He was disappointed in himself for thinking, even for a second he'd see her again. Alice got up and moved next to the girl.
"Hi, my name's Alice." She said and Hatter shut his eyes. He didn't want to hear the girls voice. He didn't want to help the girl. He just wanted to be back in his tea shop. He opened his eyes and looked at Alice and the girl. The girl was smiling at her. His heart fell again. It was the same smiles that use to make his heart beat a million miles a minute.
"My name's Chessie." The girl said with a croaky voice. Her green eyes twinkling in the faded light.
"I know this sounds weird, but I have a warm shower and a lot of clothes if you want to let me help you. I have a couch for you to sleep on and a lot of tea." The girl looked over at him.
"What's your name?" She asked politely searching his face.
"My name's Hatter." He said stiffly.
"Does your boyfriend mind?" She asked Alice. Alice turned a light shade of pink and started stumbling on her words.
"Oh, he's not my boyfriend… well… he use to be but, that's not important." The girl smiled at her.
"You use to love him, but you're the one who stopped first." The girl said and Hatter instantly looked over at her again. He was feeling a lot of different emotions; he wasn't sure which one to pick. Everything felt like it was bubbling beneath his skin.
"How did you know that?" Alice asked looking confused. The girl looked over at Hatter and smiled.
"I just do. I may not be a murderer, but I'm good at reading people. I can see things that they cannot or chose not to see." He made eye contact with her for a second, but couldn't hold the stare. She was too much like Maggie to not be Maggie. He had a million questions running through his head, and he wanted to ask them all to her, but he looked at her and saw that now wasn't the time. Her green eyes looked so deep and sad. Feelings he had never seen in Maggie. He didn't think Maggie was capable of a single bad emotion.
"Our stop is soon; would you like to stay with us?" Alice offered again, feeling deeply for this girl. She had never seen anything so small look so sad. The girl looked frail and long. Her curves were accentuated by the pink dress she was wearing. He couldn't help think she looked to similar to Maggie. The girl bit her lip and looked at Alice. Her green eyes searching her; then she smiled.
"Yes." She said simply. She smiled and looked unsure of herself. She looked over at Hatter and their eyes met. She stared at him curiously. He started playing with his shirt cuffs.
"What are you?" She asked when their eyes met again.
"What do you mean?" He chuckled nervously.
"I mean, you aren't from around here."
"I'm English." He replied simply playing with his shirt cuffs again. He felt her eyes searching him. Poking and prodding curiously, it was a feeling he hadn't felt in a long time. It made him nervous and uneasy. She thought he felt familiar. Something about him seemed so familiar and safe.
Chessie had been such a normal girl growing up. Her parents taught her everything about love and how to be content with everything and every chance you were given. She didn't think this is what being an adult would be like. She didn't think that the day she turned 18, would become so chaotic. It hurt her inside to think of her mother. Her mother had given her more than she ever deserved. She supported her in every decision she ever made. She gave her life, and taught her to appreciate that life. She never thought she'd have to be alone in a fire, to suffocate on the smoke. She tried all day to avoid the pain burning inside her chest. She spent hours in the police department and she wanted nothing more than to be able to go back home and have them assure her everything would be alright. She looked up at the man who kept staring at her and she wondered what it was about him that felt so safe. She couldn't read him. He wasn't normal. He was what her mother was, and she didn't even know that. She just knew her mother was strange, and this man was something like she was. His brown hair and chocolate eyes were just as curious as hers were. They took turns staring at each other, trying to figure the other one out. She glanced at the Alice girl who sat happily next to her. She smiled at her when their eyes met. She was thankful to meet her. She hadn't met someone so friendly in such a long time. She began to think they didn't exist. The bus stopped and Alice held out her hand to Chessie. She took it and held on tightly as she was lead off the bus and upstairs to an apartment.
"It may not be much, but I can assure you that you'll be comfortable." Chessie smiled at her. She was never much of a talker, always just an observer. After all, people were easier to watch then to become a part of. "My shower is down the hall to the left, I'll leave some clean clothes outside the door for you to change into." Chessie smiled and headed down to the shower. Hatter filled a pot with water and put it on the stove. Alice was staring at him curiously.
"What was that?"
"What do you mean?"
"On the bus, why did you call her Maggie?" He shrugged.
"She looks like a Maggie doesn't she?" She narrowed her eyes at him.
"There's something you aren't telling me."
"Does he matter?" He sighed sadly. "Does it really matter? You're just curious. It's pointless." Alice began to feel angry with him. He was closing himself off and she didn't understand why. As much as she wanted him as a friend, she didn't like it when he did this.
"Do you know her from your world?" He chuckled.
"No, actually I don't. If I had I would've been the one to offer her a place to stay. Some tea perhaps. I think she needs it."
"Your kind of tea or ours?" He smiled.
"Mine. Did you see her eyes? The hollowness, the sadness?" She nodded sadly. "I think she could use a cup of happiness."
"I wonder what happened." Alice said sitting in a chair with her back hunched. "I mean, I've never seen someone look so lost on the bus." He shrugged. "She's so dirty…"
"Something we could probably never fathom. I mean unless we've gone through it ourselves, we are incapable of understanding." She looked at him with big eyes.
"She's only a small girl." He rolled his eyes.
"She's an adult Alice. She's a big girl. I'm sure she's more than capable of taking care of herself. She doesn't need you." She rolled her eyes at him and got up to get herself a teabag.