Disclaimer: Seriously, it's at the beginning of the story! ;o)

Chapter Three

Did You Invite the Mad Hatter, Alice?

"Hello!" Pogue called out as he snapped his fingers in front of Caleb's face, breaking him out of his thoughts. "Welcome back to planet Earth."

"Sorry, just thinking." Caleb sighed as he rubbed his hand over his face wearily. He looked around, an old habit of checking on his brothers to make sure none of them were misusing their powers, or in Reid's case, risking exposure. They were at Nicky's again and he could see that Tyler and Reid were at the pool tables again.

"And what has you so far away that even Sarah couldn't get you outta it?" Pogue asked as he gave Sarah a friendly nudge. Caleb smiled at her apologetically as he loosely wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

"I was trying to remember some of the things I used to do when I was a kid." Caleb said as he frowned slightly, staring down at the table as he fingered his cold glass absently. "I can remember playing with you guys and I remember playing with Alice. But when I try to think about what kind of things we did, especially in the forest, it kind of… escapes."

"I bet you've been hitting the liquor cabinet too many times." Reid suddenly spoke from behind them as he leaned between Sarah and Pogue as he reached for his glass. "Besides, Alice is a girl, what kind of fun did you have with her at that age?" He said with a frown as he thoughtfully took a sip.

"We girls can do fun things besides making out and looking sexy." Sarah pointed out with an amused grin. Tyler came up to the table and grabbed his drink as he looked curiously at the rest of the group, wondering what the topic was.

"I'm talking about when we were nine." Reid shot back. "When boys thought girls were yucky instead of sexy." He added, pointing at Sarah before he took a swig.

"Oh, you knew her that long?" Sarah asked curiously, redirecting her attention to her boyfriend. Caleb shifted slightly so that he was a bit closer to her.

"Well, not really. We just knew her when we were nine and then we didn't see her again since then." Pogue managed to say before Caleb could open his mouth.

"Remember the pranks we used to pull?" Reid suddenly said as he laughed. Tyler grinned as he nodded.

"That one time with the cat and Mrs. Henderson?" Tyler asked his friend and he and Reid burst out laughing as Caleb groaned while Pogue chuckled.

"Dare I ask?" Sarah asked as she watched the guys laugh and speak baffling partial sentences that had meanings for them. Caleb shook his head.

"You don't want to know." He told her, still slowly shaking his head, although there was a reluctant smile tugging at the corners of his lips. Reid slapped Tyler on the back and he led the way back to the pools to sniff out another shmuck to hustle.

"Hey, what's up?" Kate asked as she arrived at the table, smiling at what was left of the group sitting at the table. Pogue quickly pulled a chair out for her and she sat down with a small smile of thanks for him.

"Nothing much." Sarah replied as she leaned forward and propped her elbows on the table. "Did you take notes during history? I spazzed and now I can't remember anything." She said with a sheepish grin and chuckle.

"Don't worry, I got your back." Kate reassured her and she slapped the table. "Hey, I'm thirsty. Wanna come with me and get something?" she invited as she stood up.

"Sure, Caleb drank all of mine." Sarah said with a grin and gave him a peck on the cheek to show that she didn't mind as she hoped up and followed Kate to the bar.

"She's not giving you the cold shoulder tonight." Caleb noted and Pogue gave a brief smile as he watched Kate talk and laugh with Sarah.

"We had a talk earlier and I promised that I wouldn't be so overbearing and possessive." Pogue said, a slight frown that flashed briefly across his face was the only sign that he wasn't completely comfortable with the agreement.

"You know, if Reid heard you, he'd say you're pussy-whipped." Caleb pointed out and got a glare in return. He shrugged his shoulders as if to say, that's the way it is.

"Glitter on the mattress!" A voice suddenly yelled out, shattering the normal noise of Nicky's. Reid swore as he missed his shot from the sudden interruption and he straightened up and he glanced at Tyler and saw him staring towards the main entrance.

"Glitter on the highway!" Another voice yelled and Reid frowned. Wait, that was Mira's voice and he knew she was loud, but not that loud. He dropped his cue stick on the pool table and strolled forward to find out what was going on.

"Glitter on the front porch!" Reid saw a girl wearing a short ruffled black skirt over lacy tights and a tux jacket with tails over a blouse that was only partly buttoned. A top hat was jauntily tilted on her head and when she spun around, he could see that her face was painted with a wide curling smile that stretched into her cheeks and her eyes were heavily lined with black, making them seem seductive… or eerily dangerous. A small heart was painted on her white cheek.

"Alice?" Caleb exclaimed from behind Reid and he realized with a shock that it was the girl who was always dressed more modestly than half of the girls at Spenser's and was a bit of a bookworm. Her shirt showed more of her bust and stomach than he ever seen before in the whole time at the academy.

"Glitter on the highway!" Mira yelled and they could see that her face was painted with rosebud lips, white skin and heavily made over eyes. She too had a heart on her cheek and a black beauty mark at the corner of her mouth. She was wearing a crimson Victorian dress that pushed her ample bosom up to dizzying heights and caused Reid to start thinking naughty thoughts. Mostly involving the word "heaving."

"So c'on and give it to me any way you can, any way you wanna do it, I"ll treat you like a man! Oh please, baby, please, don't leave me in a jam, hey Mickey!" Mira and Alice started singing together and Reid finally noticed that Mira was waving around a whiskey bottle while Alice had a rum bottle.

"They're drunk!" Reid exclaimed in surprise to Caleb as he watched Mira grab some guy at random and started dancing with him. Even drunk, she was still coordinated enough to dirty dance with the best. Alice whooped as she tossed her bottle to somebody and managed to get up onto a table and was dancing on top of it, kicking the glasses and stuff on it off onto the floor.

"You get Mira, I got Alice." Caleb said to Reid, his voice low as he started for Alice and Reid could see that familiar disapproving look on his face that he got when one brothers of the group got in trouble or misused his powers.

"Gottcha." Reid replied without fuss and made a beeline for Mira. He gently took her by the arm and she turned to him with a shining smile.

"Reid! Dance with me!" Mira said delightedly and she draped her arms around his neck, rubbing against him. He gasped softly at the feel of her soft curves against him and had to fight for control as he took her by the arms firmly and pushed her back.

"No, you're drunk, Foxy." Reid informed her and she pouted at him, the lower lip destroying his concentration for a moment, damned if Mira didn't know how to use her body to seduce a man. "C'on, Foxy. Let's go home."

"Can we play if I come willingly?" Mira asked, her voice was low and husky as she looked up at him from lowered lashes. Reid groaned as that familiar feeling down low grew and he spun her around so that he wasn't looking at her anymore, though her rear was just as tempting as her front, and started walking her to the door.

"Caleb?" Reid called out, looking back where he saw Alice last. He could see that she was still dancing on the table as Caleb tried to get her down. Caleb turned to Reid.

"Take Mira to the car!" Caleb shouted back, waving a hand at him to get him going. "Tyler's bringing it 'round." He turned back to Alice just in time to see her lurch backwards and she fell off the table. She would've gotten hurt if Caleb hadn't been quick enough to catch her.

"Caleb?" Alice asked as she peered up at his face quizzically before she dropped her head back so that she could now see Nicky's upside down. "Look, they're dancing on the ceiling!" She giggled as she weaved her hands in the air.

He gave a world-weary sigh before turning and carrying her out into the crisp air where Tyler was waiting in his Hummer. Reid had managed to get Mira strapped in, even though she was now giggling like crazy while singing show tunes, in the back seat and was waiting to strap in Alice besides her.

"Got her?" Caleb asked and Reid nodded as he buckled the seatbelt around Alice as she laid her head on Mira's shoulder and joined in the singing.

"At least they don't suck." Tyler commented from the driver's seat, looking back at the girls and then grinned at Reid. "They still can sing pretty well drunk."

"You got it?" Pogue asked, appearing besides Caleb with Sarah and Kate behind him as they looked into the car with equal mix of concern and curiosity. Caleb sighed.

"Yeah. Kate, do you need a ride?" Caleb asked as he looked over to Kate. She shook her head. "Great. Sarah, do you wanna stay here with Kate?" he asked as he took Sarah's hand. "I gotta take them home and get them sober. I hate to do this to you."

"No, it's ok." Sarah quickly reassured him, squeezing his hand. "I hadn't had a chance to have a girly talk with Kate anyway. Here, she dropped this." She handed Reid Alice's top hat. Caleb gave Sarah a kiss that lingered for a moment and then got into the seat next to Alice while Reid jumped into the Hummer to ride shotgun.

"Take care of yourself, Kate." Pogue told her softly and kissed her on the cheek before heading for his bike. He didn't try kissing her like he used to, she would just push him away. He soon peeled out of the parking lot after the Hummer on his bike, leaving the girls standing by the entrance watching the red glow of their rear lights fade into darkness.

"Are you sure you got her?" Caleb asked concernedly as he looked back to see Reid struggling to keep Mira from sticking her tongue in his ear as he tried to get her to go up the stairs.

"Just pick her up, man!" Pogue finally said after watching Reid struggling with amusement. Tyler was already snickering at him, in spite of the death glares. Reid quickly obeyed; at that point, he just wanted to get Mira back in her room before something embarrassing happened. She squealed as he swept her off her feet and was soon following Caleb without any problems. Well, at least until she started nibbling at his earlobe, that made him trip and almost drop her.

Caleb was carrying Alice, she became quiet when they had arrived at the dorm and her face was buried in his neck where it met his shoulder as she curled against him in his arms. "Do you remember where they live?" Caleb asked as he looked up and down the halls, hoping for some kind of inspiration.

"I know where Mira lives, but not Alice." Reid replied as he brushed past Caleb and headed briskly down the hall. Tyler quickly jogged for a moment to catch up with him so that he was in position to open the door for them.

"That's fine, we can just put Alice with Mira." Pogue said as he looked over at Caleb and received a nod of agreement before they followed Reid. They found that Mira's room looked like something out of Arabian Nights with the pillows and layered curtains, all in shades of purple, green and blue. Reid had sat Mira on a soft chair and was trying to talk her out of her lusty mood as Tyler found the coffee maker and started up a batch.

"You can put Alice on the bed." Reid said when he noticed that Caleb had arrived, nodding towards the bed. Caleb obeyed, he laid Alice on the bed but she clung to his neck, whimpering softly when he tried to detangle her from him.

"Hey, it's ok, Alice. You can let go." Caleb murmured softly in her ear and she relaxed and released him as she lay back against the pillows, blinking at him.

"Caleb?" Alice said softly as she looked up at him and she moaned as she grasped the sides of the bed and closed her eyes tightly with a pained look. "Please stop the room from spinning." Caleb was about to speak to her when he heard Reid laugh.

"What?" Caleb asked, looking over to Reid and saw that he was looking at Mira with a huge grin on his face as she determinedly sat hunched in her chair, both feet planted firmly on the floor as she stared into the distance with a glaze look.

"She just said that she can't sit back 'cause she's gotta anchor the room so it'd stop spinning." Pogue answered as he stifled back a laugh, Tyler snickering as he turned from the coffee machine. Even Caleb had to grin as he turned back to Alice.

"How do you feel?" Caleb asked Alice as he started unlacing her high boots. She just moaned, her eyes still tightly closed.

"Ask me when the room isn't spinning, I should've not spun in circles like that." Alice groaned as she lifted her other foot so he could take her boot off easier. "Have you talked to Auntie Gosling yet? She knows the cure for swirlies and dizzies."

"Auntie Gosling?" Caleb repeated, frowning as he tried to figure out what she was talking about. Something nagged him at the back of his mind, but he pushed away as he noticed that Alice was struggling to sit up. "Hey, what's the matter?"

"I think I'm gonna throw up." Alice said, as she turned a shade lighter with a slight greenish tint. Caleb's eyes widened in alarm and he quickly helped her to stand up and hurry for the bathroom just in time.

"I don't envy him." Tyler said with a disgusted look as he closed the door partly to give Alice some privacy, but Caleb could still call out to them for help if need. He looked back at his brothers, Pogue and Reid nodded in agreement as Mira groaned slightly, finally relaxing and leaning back in her chair.

"She's gonna be so pissed." Mira moaned as she covered her face with her hands. "Those bottles were mine."

Alice sighed as she stretched slightly and opened her eyes. Wait, where was she? She sat up quickly and looked around, finally recognizing that she was in Mira's room. But the last thing she remembered was that she was in her room and Mira was trying to cheer her up… the make over… the bottles of alcohol.

"Agrh!" Alice growled as she looked down to the warm body next to her and realized with a lurch that it wasn't a girl next to her, but a boy! She gave a strangled squeak and yanked the blanket to cover her self, causing him to roll off the edge of the bed and land with a loud thud on the floor.

Messy dark hair soon followed by dark eyes glaring balefully at her as Caleb sat up. Alice stared at him in surprise and suddenly worried that they've might've done something more than just innocently sleeping.

"We didn't?" Alice asked and his eyes widened in surprise when Caleb realized what she was trying to imply. He quickly stood up and pulled his shirt straight.

"No! No, we didn't." Caleb quickly replied as he looked over and saw that Reid, Mira and Tyler were still peacefully sleeping on the floor pillows together, the girl sandwiched between the guys. Pogue had fallen asleep on the chair and his head was tilted back as he softly snored. Empty mugs of coffee were scattered around the room.

"Oh no." Alice moaned as she looked around, taking in the scene around her. "What the hell happened last night?" She asked as Reid finally stirred and opened his eyes to see that Alice and Caleb were awake.

"You puked your guts out after dancing on a table at Nicky's." Reid offered helpfully as he gently shook Mira's shoulder. She just gave a soft grunt and snuggled into his side some more, Tyler grumbling at the movements against her back.

"Ugh, that explains the stomach ache." Alice made a face as she frowned and rubbed her stomach; she still looked a bit green around the gills.

"Hey man, wake up." Caleb slapped Pogue on the shoulder and he jerked awake, looking around bleary-eyed as he tried to figure out what was going on. Alice looked over and saw that Mira was still sleeping.

"WAKE UP, MIRA! I'm gonna kill you today!" Alice shrieked and Mira sat up with a scream as she looked around frantically for the source and found Alice glaring at her.

"Sheesh, did you have to scream like that?" Mira complained as she rubbed her eyes and yawned. "Ew, why does my breath taste like coffee and stale alcohol?"

"You got me drunk last night!" Alice protested as she realized what she was wearing and pulled the blanket up higher to her shoulders. "What the hell am I wearing?"

"Oh that sexy shirt? I didn't know you worked out. I thought you sat reading all the time." Reid said, his smirk firmly in place as he gave her a leer.

"Drop dead, Reid!" Alice vehemently replied and then watched in disbelief as Tyler just pushed himself to his feet and stumbled into the bathroom, his eyes still mostly closed. A moment later, they heard him yelp as he realized that he wasn't in his own bathroom.

Mira burst out laughing and Reid quickly joined in with her as he helped her to stand up. Alice scowled, but couldn't keep her mouth from twitching and soon started giggling softly. Tyler came out of the bathroom blushing slightly as Pogue gave him a swat on the butt before he stood up from the chair and stretched the kinks out.

"What time is it anyway?" Tyler groaned as he tried to stretch a knot out of his shoulder from sleeping on it wrong. Everybody's eyes darted around looking at clocks and watches.

"Wow, it's about 9:30am." Alice said as she pulled the blanket around her shoulders and stood up.

"What?! Shit! I'm late!" Mira yelped as she jumped her feet and then swayed from standing up too quickly with a hangover as she put a hand to head to maybe relieve the pain a bit. Reid quickly caught her so that she wouldn't fall and she clung to his arm.

"I'll call Ryan and tell 'im that you got drunk last night and you're so hung over now." Alice said with a dirty look as she found a cell phone that was sitting on the nightstand and flipped it open. Mira lurched at her and knocked Alice back onto the bed.

"NO! Ryan said that he would break up with me if he found out I got drunk again!" Mira exclaimed as she fumbled for Alice's hand reaching high over her head as she tried to keep Mira from the cell while trying to get enough air in her lungs so she could shove her off. And kill Reid for laughing like an ass as he watched the girls struggling together.

"Screw you, Reid! Get Mira off of me!" Alice screamed as she tried to get herself untangled from the blanket that was wrapping around her tightly and binding her movements. She felt somebody pluck the cell phone from her hand and that familiar tingly feeling as their hands brushed against each other.

"C'on, Foxy. I'll tell Ryan you slept with me instead. That better?" Reid asked with leer as he pulled her back from Alice and held her struggling and fighting. Mira froze for a moment and then her heel came down on his instep, causing him to yelp and release her. She turned to face him and she looked like fury impersonated. Hell hath no fury a woman scorned.

"If you dare…" Mira threatened, leaving it hanging as she jabbed a finger in his chest. "I swear I'll…" She made funny angry noises as she mimed strangling and then stabbing towards Reid. "Argh… Pain, lots of pain."

Alice started laughing helplessly on the bed causing the others to look at her like she was insane. Pogue felt his mouth twitch and he soon joined in her laugher as he looked back at Reid backing away from Mira looking very intimidated by her.

"Here," Pogue strode to where Alice was still laughing and held a hand out to her. "Lets get you back to your room so you can clean up." She took his offered hand with a grin and allowed him to pull her to her feet. She fixed her blanket more securely around her shoulders and slipped her hand through his arm so that she could sweep regally out of the room with Pogue.

"Mira, he's not worth it." Caleb said as he walked around the bed and carefully touched her shoulder. "You can call Ryan and explain that… Alice was upset last night and you were up all night with her. How's that?" He suggested as he held the cell out to her. She looked down at it thoughtfully and then gave a brisk nod.

"That works. Check your pants, babe." Mira tossed the remark back to Reid as she walked into the bathroom to make the call in private. Reid scowled and muttered, though he gave Mira a fake smile when she turned and looked back at him suspiciously.

"Damn, I forgot her temper." Reid muttered to Tyler, receiving a snicker in return.

"It was your fault." Caleb reminded him and got a glare from him. He ignored the blonde and picked up his jacket from the floor and shrugged it on. "I'm gonna go and see if Sarah wants to go out for breakfast." He said before leaving.

Reid looked over at Tyler and saw him leaning over to examine some photographs stuck to the mirror. Plus a picture he didn't know Mira even had of him that was rather embarrassing since it was when they got drunk together one night and she made him over into a kitty-cat wearing nothing but tiger stripped thongs, Mira's actually.

"You know, why don't we go and follow Caleb to breakfast?" Reid quickly cut in in front of the mirror in hopes that Tyler hadn't seen that picture yet. But that twinkle in the younger guy's eyes told him otherwise. "If you tell somebody… Pain, lots of pain."

The lyrics Alice & Mira are siging is from Love Shack & Mickey.

Seriously though, I DO NOT aprove of underage drinking or drinking until you're drunk for the matter. But Mira, the free spirit she is, snuck behind my back & got poor Alice drunk too. grrrr... Mira needs to realize I'm the writer, I have the POWER!!! Ok, fine, I never know what my characters are gonna do until I write it so I have little power.

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