(The following chapter contains some graphic-ish depictions of gore, so steer clear if that creeps ya out! Kids be warned.)

Thank you all for the reviews! I tried to get this chapter out as soon as I could! I'll try to update at least once a week 'till the end of the story ^.^ it's summer, so hopefully that should make it pretty easy, lol!

Thanks,

- carrotcakeprincess

The wind howls outside my window. Bright flashes of lightning keep me awake- thunder follows suit.

I can't sleep.

The whole household avoided me after the problem at the shops. Images of bloodied, bullet-ridden corpses fill my mind, and I can't shake them, no matter how hard I try.

There's nothing to cuddle here, either. No stuffed animal, no heavy blanket, no other place to go. I'm pretty much stuck here, alone in this room, in a mansion filled with cold-hearted killers. And I associate with them. I'm friends with one of them.

I drag myself up out of the uninviting bed, and I shut the window's doors tight. It doesn't muffle the sound any, and the light from the lightning still comes in through the skylights, illuminating the room with the unbelievably tacky hats- even the skylights are hat-shaped. I can't ignore it.

I can't ignore any of it. The tacky hats, the day's events, the fact that associating with this lot may have, in fact, been an unbelievably huge mistake. Perhaps the biggest mistake that I've ever made.

I walk softly across the cold tile floor, shuddering a little every time I hear a crack of thunder- it's unpleasantly familiar.

I quietly open my door just enough so that I can slip out of my room. I step softly down the hall, going to the familiar door I had visited just a little while ago.

The wide halls are empty- no staff walking to and fro to tend to the rooms. The sound of thunder is quieter here, and there are few skylights to let in the flashes of light. Even the rain sounds gentler, and more forgiving- and the carpet under my feet is warmer, too.

I reach the door.

Underneath the door, light escapes the crack- it's a warm glow, like a lamp. I thank the stars for how convenient it is.

I knock lightly- and I can hear quiet mumbling from inside of the door, so I take that as a sign that I can come in. I creak the door open just as much, closing it behind me.

Elliot is sitting at his desk- a few books are open and strewn across the wood surface, and there's a pile of paperwork. He turns his head as he sees me walk in.

He's wearing reading glasses- his hair is pulled up in a ponytail, likely to keep it out of his face as he works. He's still wearing the same clothes.

"What's wrong?" He asks, clearly reading the expression on my face.

I take a breath, rubbing my upper arm nervously. "Can't sleep. I just can't help but think about...certain things... that happened today."

Elliot's expression softens; he looks concerned. "I'm sorry about that- if I'd have known we were going to have company beforehand, I wouldn't have gotten you involved."

"You don't have to apologize. It wasn't your fault." I say.

"It'll take a few minutes for me to finish this paperwork- why don't you draw all of the curtains so the light doesn't bother you? Once you're done, you can look at some books on my bookshelves, if you'd like.

I nod, walking over to the curtains all around the room and drawing them all. The curtains are a nice, thick, violet fabric. There are no skylights to let in the light.

The room is dark now- but the thunder still roars. It's not so bad here, though.

I walk over to each of the bookshelves in the room, browsing their contents- there are various different topics. The one closest to his desk on a green shelf includes books on law, strategic theory, and philosophy- oddly, nothing I ever really knew he liked. There are also a few pseudo-scientific texts on topics like alchemy. I move away from this one, deciding that the topics are a bit too dry for today, at least- I'll revisit them later, maybe.

There are two bookshelves on a wall- both with clock faces, with their backs facing each other. There are fewer books on these, but the topics seem to be more fiction-based- mainly adventure and fantasy novels, and a few classic stories I recognise. Before I choose a book, I spot another small bookshelf.

This one has mainly recipe books. I see a few carrot-based cookbooks, and on top of that, an apple-based cookbook. I pick up one of the more interesting looking carrot-related cookbooks, deciding that maybe it would be interesting enough to keep my attention, but not enough that I wouldn't be able to tear myself away.

I take a seat on the couch and look at the recipes. There are a lot of nice illustrations, and the steps are clear and concise.

I look up from the cookbook every once in a while. Elliot is still hard at work- he seems intensely focused on his work. I smile a little. It's honestly kind of cute.

He looks up at me every once in a while, too. I can tell- even though I focus in on the cookbook, I can see him glance up in my direction, the ears being a telltale sign.

Eventually, he puts down his pen, rearranges the stack of papers, and puts away all his books. I put the cookbook aside.

"I don't believe you plan on leaving, huh?" Elliot says with a knowing smile as he puts the last book back in its place.

"Not particularly." I admit. "It's loud in the guest room- and there are way too many skylights, so even when I close my biggest window, I can't get it to be this dark."

"Would you like to sleep on the couch or with me in the bed?" He asks.

I snicker. "You know, usually they take me out to dinner first."

"I promise I'll be on my best behavior. No funny business." Elliot says, with a smirk and a wink. "At least, not too much."

I giggle a little, catching myself quickly. "Um, it would probably be for the better. I'm not sure I can handle being that close to the window all night."

He laughs. "Oh, so that's your excuse?"

I open my mouth to come up with a snarky retort, but a loud crack makes me flinch- the image of the corpse pops into my mind again, only dark and rotted now. I take a deep breath and try to calm myself.

Elliot climbs into bed, pulling out the covers and patting the space next to him. I grab the purple pillow from the couch and crawl in next to him.

His blankets are warm- his comforter is soft and a spiced orange color. He sets his reading glasses on the table at the foot of the bed- I hand mine to him and he does the same.

"G'night, Amber." He says, giving me a pat on the shoulder.

I close my eyes.

I don't exactly get to sleep quickly- I sit awake, my brain not even beginning to let me sleep, body tired and psyche bruised.

I let the day's events mull in my mind- and I can't help but wonder what exactly is up with this Wonderland place, after today's events and everything prior.

Elliot's breath evens out besides me pretty quickly as I think, and eventually he falls asleep- he snores, just a little, just quietly, in his sleep.

Eventually I fall asleep, too.

I see a corpse in front of me, bloodied and battered- but it is not the same as the one I first saw. It is different now. It's a woman- no, a girl- in a blue dress, with a bloodied apron and a bow on her head. I recognise her immediately.

She is the girl who told me about Wonderland. About Hatter Mansion.

A name sits on the tip of my tongue, but I can't recall it.

I see a sword with a heart on the hilt lying next to the lifeless body, covered in dry blood- it is not the sword that killed her. Her hands have the same shade.

I see clocks littering the floor- most are broken, and some tick- but the ticking is slow, growing slower every other tick. Something about it sends a shiver down my spine.

The loudest tick, however, grows quick.

Quickening, and in sync with my heartbeat- I feel like my own is about to burst out of my chest. I hold a hand to my chest, only to find a wet, empty hole.

I pull out a clock.

A clock covered in red.

I turn on my heel, meaning to run- but as I turn my eyes settle on a grandfather clock, loud and unrelenting in its ticking.

Bodies litter the floor.

I wake up, but not with a start. My eyelids slowly flitter open. Where am I? The room is dark, but it's warm- it doesn't smell like mine, more like spice, firewood and parchment. It's a nice smell.

My eyes adjust to the darkness- but, I can't exactly see much of anything, without my glasses, and something's keeping me from moving my arms much at all. It's warm in here.

I suddenly recall the dream. I mean to reach up towards my heart, just to make sure it's still there- and I find a hand on it, a hand that is distinctly not mine.

I am suddenly fully aware of the breath on the back of my neck, the arms wrapped around me, and the body pressed up against my back. I momentarily panic because whoever it is is not letting go.

Then, thankfully, I remember where I am, finally- Wonderland, Elliot's room.

Elliot's room.

I can feel my face go scarlet in the early morning haze. I try to remember why exactly I'm here, and thankfully it comes easier than remembering where I was in the first place.

There's a gentle ticking noise- not coming from the direction of the furniture, but behind me- is it coming from Elliot? I can't imagine why he'd keep a pocketwatch on him at night. I try to move a little, but it's not exactly easy.

I manage to move my head- Elliot moves a little, too, but moves me a little closer instead of releasing me from his grip. His breath is even, and he has this quiet little snore which is almost cute.

"How are you a part of the mafia. I mean, really?" I whisper. He nuzzles his face into my neck. "Come on; you said no funny business. This is cheating. Get off."

Elliot snores a little louder in response.

"This is unfair." I pout.

He stirs a little- but he settles right back into sleep. He mumbles something, too, but it's incomprehensible.

"Okay, you butt, you moved. Now you have to wake up. I'm not letting you go back to sleep." I say, nudging him a little. "Come on."

"Five more minutes." He mumbles.

"I've literally been awake for twenty minutes. At least let go of me."

He nuzzles his face closer to me and hugs me, still likely not fully awake or aware of the situation at all. "But it's so comfy."

"Do you realise who you're holding right now?" I ask.

Elliot's eyes open slowly. He blinks for a few seconds, and then looks a little flustered, releasing me from his grip after a moment's conflicted hesitation. "Oh."

"Yeah, oh is right." I sit up and stretch a little. "You were holding onto me for dear life."

Elliot's ears kind of droop. "Sorry."

"S'alright. I probably needed it after the day- and the dream- that I had." I give him a gentle nudge with my fist on his shoulder and a smirk.

Elliot smiles back at me.

"I should probably head back to my room now." I say with a yawn. "Thanks for letting me spend the night, though- I really needed it, after, you know...all that."

"Any time." He replies.

I give him a little wave and walk down the hall- I pass a familiar-looking pair of maids and they look at me, giggling and smiling.

I give them a little wave and a smile, and walk on my way.

I decide to wander around the mansion for the rest of the day.

My first order of business is to find a floor that is ideal for sock sliding, as is the most important possible thing.

I wander around the giant mansion, trying to keep an eye out for where the maids are going so I don't end up getting lost. Something about the idea of getting lost seems kind of funny to me, for some weird reason.

I end up finding the perfect floor.

There are no maids around.

I slip off my shoes and take my place at one side of the room.

I break off into a run, get into sliding position, and smoothly glide across the floor, stopping just in front of the other wall.

I get back into position on that side, run, and slide again.

As i turn to return to position and turn on my heel to slide for the third time, I am suddenly faced by an extremely pink person wearing a boa and odd eye makeup, a crop top, and...cat ears?

"What are you doing?" He asks. Oh my goodness, he has eyes- they're not normal eyes, in fact they're honestly more like cat's eyes with the slit pupils, but he doesn't have the weird eyebrowless, eyeless face other people here do.

I take a second to pause, pondering that this person with eyes may not be quite so friendly, despite all of the pink. "...Sock sliding. Do you live here?"

"Nope." He says with a smirk. "Do you?"

"...Yes?" I say, not sure if I should answer

He looks over me for a second, and then grins widely. "You're an Outsider, aren't you?"

"...Yes."

I can hear the twins' voices faintly in the background as this weird cat man who walked in on me doing something utterly childish and ridiculous looks at me, almost a little disgruntled. At least the homicidal children will save me if things go south.

That honestly isn't very comforting.

"Of course they'd keep you all to themselves. I feel like they've done this before with other outsiders..." The cat boy, with a hushed voice. He gives me an even bigger grin. I have no idea why he keeps smiling at me. "...I have an idea."

"What is this idea of yours?" I ask, mimicking the way he said it.

The cat boy grabs me by the arm and dashes towards the nearest door. I squeak in shock while trying to struggle out of his grip, but it's not really easy.

I see Elliot out of the corner of my eye.

"See ya!" The guy says, waving with his free arm to Elliot, his other arms containing the squirming mass of me.

He shuts the door behind him, and lets me go, and...

...this is not Hatter Mansion.

It's pink. And it doesn't have hats in it.

No, it can't be Hatter Mansion, especially because it looks so much like the man who just kidnapped me would own it.

I get back on my feet, looking around- I turn around on my heels, opening the door behind me with the intention to run back in, but I'm greeted with a facefull of closet.

"Where did you take me?!" I shriek, looking around at my surroundings.

The man chuckles at my misfortune, almost doubling over. "You're hilarious, no wonder they want to keep you~!"

I snap over in his direction and grab him by the shoulders, pushing him against the nearest wall- it catches him off guard, so he stumbles backwards and gives me a very puzzled look. "You're going to tell me where I am or I swear to whatever war deity is convenient, I'm going to hurt you."

"Okay, now I know why they like you." He says, swallowing heavy and giving me a nervous smile. I glare at him. "I'm B-Boris Airay. I took you to the Amusement Park. This is my room. I just thought because you've been cooped up in that mansion, that you might want a bit of a break."

He leans forward and sniffs me a little bit. I pull back, letting go of him immediately.

"What the heck?" Why did he smell me...?

"You smell a lot like that rabbit." He notes, giving me a smile. "Are you two together~?"

"No, we're not!" I shriek, reaching my hand back to slap him in the face. He flinches as I make the motion, so I stop my hand in mid-air.

Dang it, how am I supposed to interrogate someone so cute?!

He's adorable. His little pink ears are folded up beside his head as he's flinching. He looks back over and opens up a single eye when he realises that I'm not slapping him.

"Are you mad?" He asks innocently, staring up at me with adorable, wide eyes- oh my goodness, I'm falling for the cat trick. It's always the eyes!

I am powerless to resist the cute.

"No, Boris, I'm not..." I say with a sigh. "I kind of did want to explore things outside of the mansion, so I guess this is...okay...I'm still kind of ticked off at you, though! You shouldn't have done that so out of the blue. I'm going to just leave now, so-"

Boris droops a little more, giving me an even more pitiful kitty face.

I can't help it. It's too cute.

I begrudgingly accept that this cat is not going to let me leave without letting him tag along. "You can lead me around this... amusement park place. And it better have roller coasters, or else it's not worth it."

His ears immediately perk up, his face lighting up, too. "You like roller coasters?! You're gonna love this place!"

He grabs me by the hand and leads me to his door- we run right outside, which is weird, but less improbable than when he catnapped me from the mansion. He smiles widely and gestures to all the roller coaster tracks in the air.

Oh my goodness.

"This is awesome!" I shout, bursting out into laughter.

Boris smiles. "I'm glad you like it! Makes getting kidnapped worth it, right?"

I nod, breaking out in a run towards the first ride that I see.

"H-hey! Don't leave me behind!" Boris shouts from behind, clearly trying to catch up with me. "I'm your guide, remember?"

We ride as many roller coasters as possible- he leads me all around the park, showing me everything, but we really only stop to ride the roller coasters.

This is the best theme park I've ever been to. So many roller coasters! So many death-defying roller coasters! I haven't screamed on a roller coaster like I have here!

I am not kidding about the death-defying part, though. These are probably some of the most daring coasters I've ever been on.

I seem to keep up my interest of the crazy roller coasters more than Boris does. When we start going on the bigger ones, he seems to get a little queasy. I am unreasonably thrilled about everything, it's not even funny.

"Hey, Amber," He says, putting a hand on my shoulder- he seems a little shaky, almost like he's keeping. "Can we go on something calm? I'm going to barf if we don't take a break from all the death-defying things."

I pout comically, sigh, and give him a sympathetic look. "Sure, Boris. What's your reccomendation?"

He points to a boat ride with a hand clapped over his mouth. I help him over- wow, his boa is fluffy, he must take care of it well- and we make our way to the entrance.

He sits on the side of the boat closer to the exit, and I sit on the other side. We pull out of the loading station and we enter the creepy doll ride. Boris still looks like he's close to puking, which is a little...concerning.

"You all right?" I ask.

"...No." Boris responds, leaning over one side of the boat.

"Sorry; If you'd have told me earlier I would've let you take a break." I giggle.

Boris gulps, and then breathes a little heavy over the side. He sits up again. "I think I'm okay now, but I want to ask a favor."

"And what is what?" I figure bringing me here is reason enough to deserve a favor, even if he did sort of kidnap me to bring me here.

"Pet me." He says.

I do a double take. "What?!"

"No, not like what you're thinking! I'm a cat. Just, scratch my ears or something, please- it helps calm me down." Boris pleads.

I hesitate, and then I sigh. "You're too tall, so I can't really reach your ears."

"No problem." Boris says. He leans over and puts his head in my lap. He isn't even facing the area of the ride that is creepily filled with dolls, he's just staring up at me expectantly, like he knows I can't resist.

I want to argue, but I can't bring myself to do it.

I reach to his ears and scratch up behind them. He purrs in my lap, so much that he's vibrating a little. I can't decide if this is strange, adorable, creepy, or all of the above.

He nuzzles into my stomach, and then he sits up a little. He rests his head right on my chest, and I flinch.

"B-Boris! Get off before I make you get off!"

Boris laughs a little, pouting up at me without taking his head off. "But your heartbeat sounds so nice~! It's really fast."

"That doesn't change the fact that you're being creepy! If you're wondering why it's so fast, it's because I want you to get the blank off of me!" I say, physically pushing him to the side. "Listen to your own dang heartbeat, Boris!"

"Hey, it's not something I get to hear everyday! Yours isn't anything like mine." He says, with adorable eyes. "Here, I'll prove it."

He grabs my head and brings it over to his chest. I stumble a little bit, and my hands reach out for the nearest immediate steady surface.

First of all, whatever is underneath this layer of whatever fabric it is this vest is made out of- Leather? Vinyl? I can't tell- the sound is already muffled up, but.

This isn't a heartbeat.

This is a clock ticking! I can't even hear the heartbeat underneath it, it's too loud. What is it with these people and pocketwatches?!

Oddly, the dream comes to my mind.

The obvious hits me like a freight train about two seconds late. They all have clocks for hearts. That's what the dream was telling me all along.

So Elliot doesn't actually keep a pocketwatch around 24/7? It's just...

I sigh. "Well, now I feel awfully stupid. How did I not realise this sooner?"

Boris shrugs. "Now you know. Now sit back so I can listen to it more."

"No! You've lost heartbeat-listening priveleges, Boris. We're going to get off this ride and I'm going to make you ride the teacup roller coaster again." I growl. He gives me a horrified look.

"Please, not that!" He begs.

I giggle evilly. "Then stop harassing me about my heartbeat, Mister Cat, and maybe we'll go on a tamer ride."

Boris sighs and sits back up, crossing his arms and getting all huffy as we approach the loading dock. Boris gets out first- he reaches out a hand and helps me up.

We walk towards the exit, and as we walk outside into the park, I hear gunshots over my shoulder- they hit on Boris's side, and I instinctively shove him in front of me.

"H-Hey!" Boris says. I smile sheepishly, setting him back beside me.

I look for the source of the gunshots; the ears are unmistakable.

"Hi Elliot!" I say, with a cheery wave.

Elliot looks like he's just about to murder someone. I can tell by the way he's looking at Boris that the someone he's about to murder is definitely not me.

"You stupid damn cat- how long did you intend to keep her here?!" Elliot says, stomping towards Boris and holding his gun out.

Boris hugs me closer and rubs his cheek against mine. He smirks slyly. "She's adorable! So as long as possible, of course."

Elliot brings the gun closer, and Boris pulls out a gun- wait, where did he get that? How did he pull it out so quickly?

Does everyone in this place have magical shapeshifting guns that they pull out at any convenient time?!

"Give her back, you mangy flea-infested cat." Elliot growls, pointing the gun right at Boris's head. Boris points his gun right back at Elliot's.

"No, you rotten rabbit." Boris replies. They both cock their guns.

I struggle out of Boris's grip. "Woah, woah, woah! No one's going to shoot anybody, or I'm not going to go or stay with either of you! I might leave anyways, if you two are going to treat me like property instead of like a person."

Boris and Elliot both hesitantly lower their guns. I give Boris a look, and he lets me out of his grip. I stand between the two animal-eared people, their ears drooping.

"Now, tell me, Elliot, how long did you intend for me to stay solely in the Mansion?" I ask, narrowing my eyes.

"...A while." He says, being as non-specific as possible. I roll my eyes at it, intending to chew him out about it later.

"And you, Boris, you shouldn't just kidnap me out of the blue! I don't care if you can do the weird door magic thingy. I live in the Hatter Mansion! These people are- no offense, Elliot- the frickin' mafia! They're gonna try to kill you if you kidnap what they think," I say, staring directly at Elliot for a moment. "is their property! So just ask if you want me to come over to the amusement park, okay?"

Boris nods weakly. They both stand there, looking guilty.

"And Elliot, you really shouldn't keep me cooped up in the mansion! I go stir crazy. I start talking to myself- more than usual- it's not pretty. I should be able to roam freely! Are we clear? Absolutely crystal clear?"

Elliot nods.

"And lastly- this one's for the both of you- I am no one's property to be kept, dang it! I'm a person, not a prize to be won or fought for. Do you both understand me? Because if you don't, I will slap you both. I will go be friends with other people. Do either of you want that? Because I can go right now and find different friends, I'm sure I can find someone here who's even worse than the two of you."

"No!" They both shout in unison. "I understand!"

I cross my arms, staring at them both.

They look so adorable. I don't know how I can be so stern with them when they look this cute. It's probably the ears...it is totally the ears. But I'm used to scolding small children.

"All right, don't just sit there. I'm done scolding you both. It's been really nice hanging out with you, Boris, but I think I'm going to go home- I'm kind of tired." I say. I walk over to him and give him a big hug. "It's been fun!"

"Y-yeah!" Boris says. "It has."

I walk over to Elliot, and he glares over at Boris again- I give the both of them stern glares, and they face away from each other.

"Bye!" I say to Boris as Elliot and I start walking back with a wave. He waves back as we work our way to the exit of the park.

Elliot is extremely silent until the moment we step out of the gates of the amusement park, and suddenly he starts fuming.

"I don't like you hanging around with that stupid cat." Elliot grumbles, crossing his arms. "Why do you like him so much?"

"He reminds me of a friend from back home." I say calmly.

Elliot mumbles under his breath. "I still don't like it."

I huff. "Well, you can deal with it, because even though I live with you, I'm not bound to you. You're my friend, and I like you, but I haven't known you long enough to be able to trust your decisions. You're not my boyfriend or my best friend, so you don't get that much input."

Elliot bites his lip and looks kind of angry. I realise that I should probably stop making matters worse, because I'm already sort of pushing it. He walks a little closer to me, and takes a sniff. I hope this isn't going to become a regular thing.

"You smell too much like him." He says.

"What is it with you people with ears and smells? He said the same exact thing about you when he sniffed me, right before he tried to listen to my heartbeat without asking."

Elliot literally steams. "I'll skin him alive."

"Woah there, angrypants, if anyone's going to skin anything it's going to be me, okay? At least I know him well enough for it to not have shocked me as much once I realised that he wanted to listen to my heartbeat and not just, you know, rest his face on my boobs. That would've been a disaster."

Judging by the silence, I've said too much.

"I'm going to kill him."

"No, you aren't." I say, stopping in my tracks and staring right at him. "He's my friend, and I care about him, and even though you're my friend you have no right to kill him."

"I'm from the mafia; I'll do whatever I want to, and I'll kill whoever I feel like, especially if they're threatening to take away someone I love." Elliot growls.

"No, you won't-" I start, intending to argue, but after processing what he said I stop in my tracks.

What did he just say? Nope, it's not possible, I'm hearing things.

My face goes red. "D-did you just say you love me?!"

Elliot nods.

What.

What.

"You mean, you l-love me like a sister, right? Of course that's what you mean. Haha, it's so silly of me to think...!" I say, stuttering like an idiot.

"No." Elliot says, shaking his head. He tilts my head upwards. "I love you- not like a sister. Not like family. I want to be with you."

I burst into nervous laughter, but the seriousness in his expression makes me more than a little uncomfortable.

There is no way.

Where's the camera, where's the celebrity host, I must be on the most elaborate episode of Punk'd to date. They set up this world, they did all of this, they must have done this just to see my reaction. They're going to come out from behind all of this fake greenery and I'm going to be on national television.

But it's just me, Elliot, and the breeze.

Elliot looks nervously down at me and leans forward, tilting my head upwards- he kisses me softly once on the lips, for just a moment.

I stutter, confused and conflicted and altogether shocked.

"I-I'm sorry, Elliot, b-but." I stop to swallow down a feeling of sickly nervousness in my throat. "I'm going to need some time. T-to think about this. I'm...I'm so sorry!"

I step back, turning on my heel and breaking into a run. I follow my gut and go in a random direction- anywhere that will give me a break.

Elliot calls from behind, but I don't look back.

I keep running.