A/N: So, the next couple of chapters will focus on Alice before I switch back POV's-ish. Sound good? Anyway, here's chapter number three.

Chapter 3: The Man at the Diner

Alice resolved to forego college plans indefinitely at first. After all, she wasn't sure if higher education was meant for her. She had received decent grades in high school, B's and a couple A's. But, it wasn't like the big universities lusted after her mind or anything. As to majors, she was virtually clueless about what she wished to major in. She had a mind of her own, but she was skeptical about taking on taxing jobs in the future. Taxing on her mind, taxing on her life. Not to mention women didn't get hired as often compared to men in high-paying jobs.

She just didn't know. All she knew, after some further consideration, was that college wasn't for her. It was for some other people her age but not for her.

So, at age twenty-two, she was at her second job (her first being at the public library...which got tedious) in waitressing at Bob's Diner. A cliché name for a restaurant, though that certainly didn't deter the customers.

Obviously, the chefs did a great job at preparing the food, so it would be a packed place at certain times, particularly during lunch and dinner. As for breakfast, typically, people would eat something quick at home before work in this city. Alice liked waitressing only slightly more than library employee. Like nearly every other job, it still had its drawbacks like dish washing. And sometimes, tips would be stingy.

But, that was simply how it worked in workplaces like these. At least her salary was live-able enough to the extent she had her own apartment now. Her mom and dad still sent her money, though, in spite of her protests. Honestly, she hated to be a burden to her parents any longer than she had to. Besides, her teenage brother Henry was still living at home. Maybe all this money should be aimed toward his college fund or something.

She even called up her mom on this matter, but Sally assured her that it was no trouble. Plenty of money had been poured into Henry's account over the years. Reluctantly, Alice gave in and stopped complaining by cashing in the checks at Gotham National Bank. As long as there was money in her pocket, she wouldn't worry herself too much.

In the meantime, her life had been, actually, fairly dull. So this was what life was like once you were in the adult world. It was weird that, in her many childhood imaginings, she had pictured herself a rich lady throwing parties for anyone who would come and free to do whatever she liked.

Now that she was a full-grown woman, however, she discovered that this was not so. At the very least, if you were in the working world straight out of high school, you were bound to have a great deal less freedom. Alice almost wished that she had stayed that innocent child who felt sure that being a grown-up was so much fun. Ha, she begged to differ.

Outside of work, she focused on putting food on the table and doing the mundane grocery shopping.

Grocery shopping for one...Well, as lonely as that sounded, it did turn out to be cheap for her. And she would make Sally happy by shopping the healthy way. Plenty of fruits and veggies for a salad or whatever she felt like whipping up through the guidance of a slightly worn cookbook. Her health was important to her, and she absolutely loved salads. Chopping up some green pepper, throwing in some lettuce...Something about putting a dish together put her in a good mood. She discovered that she had a joy of cooking her mom had as well. But, really, the sky was the limit in terms of preparing a meal.

Maybe that was why waitressing, for the most part unfulfilling, had appealed to her a little. For, as she went from table to table to jot down orders, she could smell savory meat scents and fruity scents and all sorts of good smells coming from the kitchen. They wafted toward her, getting caught in her nostrils. The one drawback to enjoying these delicious scents was that they gave her hunger pangs. Lunch break could never come soon enough and when it did, she chose to eat here. Bob's Diner offered some tasty grilled chicken sandwiches. Alice would order one with a side of fries and a side of Cobb salad. Every once in a while, she would mix it up, but this was what her lunch normally consisted of every day.

Ah, but what a boring life this was, what a completely ordinary routine. The same things happened every day: she got up, ate a quick breakfast, did bathroom stuff, went to work, made a stop at the grocery store, and went home for a night in.

The night in was usually her relaxing in a sagging old couch and watching TV. Sometimes, she would watch a movie on there, settled in that couch with a cup of black tea. Usually, it would be a romance flick that she would sigh over, wondering when her turn would come. Vowing to not disregard her mother's advice a second time, she listened in her junior year by not dating. With her work schedule, she had been too busy to remotely think about it. Only when she watched these romance movies did it cross her mind.

Her routine seemed to stay the same daily, with her nights in causing her to long for the simpler days when she could hang out with her close friends. Most of them decided to move on to college, so there was no way she could arrange a night on the town with any of them. They'd be busy studying for the exam.

One day, though, one fateful day broke up the monotony of this endless day-to-day existence. It would be enough to brighten her whole week, much less that one single day.

When the noon hour came, so did the hustle and bustle of a stream of customers. For some odd reason, the lunch rush felt like more of an onslaught than usual. Walking back and forth from one end of the diner to the other, Alice felt especially harried. If there weren't other waitresses around and her by herself, she probably would have fainted from exhaustion.

Luckily, the stream tapered off at some point, much to her relief. She had started to get stressed from seeing all the people she had had to serve. As she cautiously approached a table in the back corner to fill a man's coffee cup, she was thrown totally off-guard by his appearance. He was poring over this morning's paper, casually flipping pages once in a while. And God, was he handsome!

The man had a head of dark hair, shiny and somewhat wavy. His eyes were lowered, so she couldn't see what color they were. She had a feeling they were as dark as his black hair and deep. Gulping nervously, she knew she needed to get on with pouring his coffee already. She was acting totally unprofessional here.

However, her hands had begun shaking so badly that when she poured the warm liquid, she completely missed the target...spilling it directly on the paper.

Clearly, this got the man's attention as he looked up with a confused expression on his face. The newspaper was soaked through, hopelessly stained.

Alice was beyond mortified.

While the man stared questioningly at her, she could only gape while a rush of warmth spread through her cheeks down to the back of her neck. She wasn't just blushing either. She felt like she was full-on burning.

"Oh...Oh my God, I'm-I'm so sorry, sir. Here, let me help you clean this up. I-I didn't mean for it to spill l-like that, honest."

To her mixed surprise and alleviation, he chuckled. "Don't worry about it. Accidents happen."

Well, this was embarrassment on her part then and total calm on his. How come he wasn't up on his feet yelling at her? She might have expected that of anyone else.

At least he took it in stride. His laughter, warm and inviting, had sent shivers down her spine. The hairs on the back of her neck rose up. She didn't even know this man's name, and already she physically responded to him. Keeping her breathing even, she filled his cup with what was left of the pot.

He grinned at her. "Well, least you don't make the same mistake twice, I'll give you that."

Very shyly, Alice returned his smile. They were total strangers, yet he was being so friendly toward her. In recent weeks, the attention she got from the opposite sex was limited to gross older men. This one seemed to be about her age, maybe a year or two older.

Though sorely tempted to strike up a conversation with him, she was well aware that if she dawdled, she would get in trouble with the manager Bob Townsend. Besides, her hands kept trembling the slightest bit, her cheeks aflame with the color red. Probably candy apple red, too. She had to leave this situation before she turned into even more of an anxious schoolgirl around him.

In the split second she turned away, the man stopped her. "Hey, wait. What's your name?"

"Alice Pleasance," she murmured, awestruck from the tone of his voice, too.

He leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms behind his head in a laid-back manner, the picture of confidence. "Well, Alice, I'm Billy. Billy Logan."

Billy Logan...That name stuck in her head for the remainder of the day, echoing and resounding like the lyrics of a favorite song. Heck, even his name sounded like it could have belonged to a famous actor. To have that go with his natural movie star good looks was a perfect fit. The best part was he seemed to be a nice guy and not in a deceiving way either. Obviously, he'd been taught some manners but also had a personality that attracted her to him.

Oh, she was beyond thrilled that she had met this guy!

The next day, Billy Logan showed up at the diner around the same time. Near automatically (but did it look desperate?), she came to his table to take his order. This time, it wasn't coffee to go with his lunch but a large Coke and a pork chop sandwich. When she returned with his meal, he requested that she sit with him.

"That's probably against policy." Alice shifted her feet awkwardly. "And my break isn't for another half an hour yet."

Billy frowned but pensively. "Can you maybe convince your boss to—?"

"OK." She nodded, eager to talk to him. "I'll see what I can do."

Miraculously, Mr. Townsend allowed her to have her break early, much to her delight.

This seemed to please Billy too once she told him, and without further ado, she avidly plopped down in the chair across from him. They proceeded to engage in easy conversation, asking questions, just to get to know each other. She was embarrassed to admit to him that this was her full-time job and that she'd skipped out on college. After all, while they talked, she couldn't help but notice that he seemed incredibly smart, too.

"It's OK," he assured her. "Lots of people don't go to college. I'm majoring in Business so I can know more about how it works."

"And why's that?" Alice asked, intrigued.

Billy explained to her that his father owned a construction company in the city, simply called Logan Construction, and that he was to own it pretty soon. His dad planned on retiring within a couple years and expressed a preference for his son to take over the family business.

Hm, so it sounded like he was fairly well-off in terms of money. Not like that mattered to her much, as it wasn't one of her main interests. His easygoing personality, on the other hand, she was very much interested in. Coyly, Alice wondered if she could go on a first date with him. She'd never met a guy she wanted so badly to date.

Now, this was either a good thing or a bad thing, but whether consciously or not, Billy had turned on the charisma. Lightly, she talked to him about what her interests were, and he in turn told her his...

...And before she knew it, Bob was calling to her that break had ended.

Upon learning this, she sighed sadly, doubtful that anything came of their conversation other than finding a new friend. If he'd like it that way, then OK.

Before she could pick up her notepad, his warm hand stopped her. "Do you want to go out some time? I'm just curious."

Oh, she thought he'd never ask! "Uh, yeah, definitely."

Billy grabbed her pen and wrote his number on her hand. So began a promising future.

A/N: So, when I watched "Mad as a Hatter", I noticed that Billy looked like a well-put together guy. So, I decided to make him well-off in terms of money. Also, I don't think he had a last name, so I gave him one. It's important that Billy's like this in the third chapter. Because he eventually changes. It's just a very gradual process.

Oh, and reviews would be very much appreciated. I like to read feedback.