11. He's a Tramp

"Hey, Alice! Move a little closer to the geek." Boris said, frowning at his digital camera as he waved his cousin closer to the white-haired man. The brunette glared a little but nodded, mimicking the pose the blonde-wigged Alice made on the other side.

They all stood in the United Kingdom showcase in World Showcase; Blood and Elliot holding several large bags of tea as they waited patiently for the small group to take their pictures and get a move on. Julius sat off to the side, trying to ignore the plans Ace and Nightmare were suggesting to him, while Gray just shook his head at the three. Pierce, Peter, Dee, Dum, and Alice were all taking a picture with the costumed woman, while Boris worked the camera and Vivaldi shopped in a store nearby.

"Did you take the picture yet?" Dee and Dum demanded impatiently from in front of either side of both Alice's; fake smiles planted on their faces incase Boris didn't take it yet. Peter stood in between the women, feeling as though he were on cloud nine when Alice latched onto his arm for the photo- completely ignoring his brother and the Wonderland-based character at his other side.

"One minute…" the pink-haired teen said, pressing down on the button. The red light on the front blinked for a minute, but when Boris pulled the camera away, the group loosened up and said their goodbyes to the meet-and-greet character before heading on their way.

"Off to France then, my lady?" Blood questioned, holding out his elbow to Alice as he neared him. The brunette rose an eyebrow. "It'd be a pleasure to lead you there."

"Oh, don't listen to him!" Vivaldi cried angrily from behind, violently tugging the girl away from her brother. "He's nothing but a tramp!"

"Coming from the feminist." Blood replied curtly, and Vivaldi glared at the raven-haired man. He turned back to Alice, slyly pulling her under his arm. "Shall we go, Alice?"

"Um…" Alice felt uncomfortable near the man; intimidated by his touch and gaze. Something about him screamed "RUN!". Before she had a chance to refuse him- or attempt to- Peter pulled her out of the way.

"Alice would never let you escort her!" the snow-haired man hissed, hooking arms with the maiden. "She's going to let me! Isn't that right, Alice?"

"U-Um, I really don't need escorted." the brunette answered honestly, removing his arm from around hers. Peter's face fell; crimson eyes wide with sadness. Alice felt a pang of guilt at his miserably, puppy-like expression. He resembled a saddened, desperate child. The brunette sighed, averting her eyes from the sight so she wouldn't become sucked in.

"Come on, let's go." she said in defeat, holding out her hand to the snow-haired man. Peter analyzed the hand quickly; his expression lighting up with sheer joy as he placed his palm in hers, quickly escorting her to the bridge over to "France". Julius glared bitterly at the two from behind, and Nightmare winced at the hate filled thoughts that prodded his mind from the navy-haired clockmaker.


"Blood…" Elliot eyed his cousin suspiciously as they trailed slowly behind the others, not enjoying the selfish smirk spread across the Mafioso's face. "What are you up to…?"

"You know, I think it's time I get to know the young miss better." the raven-haired man noted, more to himself than the relative to his side. Elliot's eyes widened.

"Blood… You're not going to… Well, she's not going to end up like the other women, is she?" Elliot asked cautiously, raising a worried orange eyebrow at the male. "Besides, Peter's pretty hooked on her, and she seems on good terms with him- for whatever psycho reason she has."

"The rabbit won't be a problem." Blood replied confidently, waving his hand in the air as if to wave off the mere thought. "He'll make everything all the more interesting, if anything."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Elliot asked seriously, not enjoying this. He didn't particularly mind or even care what happened between his boss and his prostitutes, but this Alice girl seemed rather nice from what he understood. She got the bloody brats to behave a little at least, and even more surprising, she had Peter smiling! He'd feel guilty seeing anything happen to the miracle worker.

"She's something I don't have, Elliot." Blood explained, sharing a brief glance with his subordinate before returning his attention to the loud, splashing fountain ahead that somehow went almost silent against the bustling crowd and French tunes that echoed about the showcase. "And I always get what I want. Always."

Elliot didn't respond to this. He merely watched his cousin with a concerned gaze, a strangely familiar aura running off of the tea-loving man. Elliot didn't like it; not one bit. Not that he'd object, of course. Blood was more than just his cousin- he was his boss in the mafia business. The Mafioso didn't care if he was related to you or not- if you pissed him off, he'd shoot. Elliot preferred his head on his body, mind you.


"I don't think we'll be able to get real fish for that… We could always dress Nightmare up as Flounder, but where would we find a costume? I'd be Sebastian of course. We'd make my dad Scuttle, but since he's not here, we'll have to settle without one. Hmm… Hey Julius, do you feel better as Ariel or Eric?" Ace pondered, tapping his chin thoughtfully as he followed the navy-haired man into the French gift shop- Nightmare and Gray at his side. When the clockmaker didn't answer, Ace rose an eyebrow, waving a hand in front of his friend. "Yoohoo! Hey, Julius! Pay attention, buddy!"

"Shut up, Ace." Julius seethed, roughly shoving the man's arm away. Ace smirked smugly.

"Touchy, touchy." the brunette teased, poking the man's cheek. Julius growled. Ace laughed, shrugging him off. "You want Alice, don't you?" Julius looked away from his friend moodily, and Ace took that as a yes- and an invitation to sling his arm over the clockmaker's shoulders. "Well then we need a game plan! I'm thinking we start with some roses- maybe white ones? Does she like roses?"

"She's your sister, you should know." Gray said, raising an annoyed eyebrow at the man. How he'd been tricked into going allowing with these three was beyond him.

Ace shrugged. "I pay attention to babes, not her." he replied before turning back to the navy-haired man. "What do you think, Julius? White roses? I could probably steal them from somewhere…"

"Red roses." Julius interrupted lowly, hardly paying attention. Ace grinned widely, glad his friend started to cooperate.

"Great! We'll start with stage one in the morning. I call it, 'Briar Rose!' Watcha think?" Ace asked excitedly. When he didn't get an answer, the brunette blinked in confusion; surprised to find that Julius was on the other side of the shop. "Hey, Juliet, wait up!"

"Shut up." Julius hissed, punching the crimson-eyed man roughly in the arm. Ace winced, but shrugged it off.

"Hey, watcha looking at?" he asked curiously peering over the man's shoulder. He smirked when he saw Julius glaring almost enviously at Peter and Alice by the fountain. Peter seemed to be talking excitedly about something, and Alice giggled once in a while, shrugging her usual shrug. Ace snickered at the sight, patting Julius on the back. "Jealous?"

"No." Julius's tone was low and blunt, but Ace knew he was lying. So did Nightmare.

"That's not what you're thinking." the mind reader said slyly; chuckling darkly as he leaned against the doorway to the sunlight-paved ground outside, smirking at Julius cockily.

"Don't you have something to whine about, you green caterpillar?" Julius replied flatly, briefly glaring at the silver-haired wimp before returning his attention to Alice. "Go bother the lizard."

"You're mean!" Nightmare cried, half-offended. Not that Julius gave a rat's ass.

"You're annoying." the clockmaker replied, rubbing his temples as if it could ward off the mind reader. Nightmare stuck his tongue out childishly, looking away like a sulking child.

"Staring at them isn't going to get you what you want." Ace said, eyeing the couple as Peter nodded eagerly from the fountain, finally getting up from his seat and heading towards a nearby stand for some pop. "Now's your chance. Go!" Roughly, the brunette shoved Julius into the sunlight, allowing the clockmaker to stumble in the light. He shot his friend a glare, but quickly turned his attention to a now-alone Alice. He stepped forward, prepared to take his spot by the female…

When a bloody Hatter took his place.

Julius stared numbly at the two, feeling uncomfortable just standing there. Looking closer at the raven-haired man, Julius wrinkled his nose in disgust, glaring. He knew who this man reminded him of- Alice's ex-boyfriend. Sure, he was older and had kids, but there was no denying the similarity between the men. He was sure it wasn't him, though- he had a scar across his cheek from an "accident" in the locker room when Julius was still attending high school… Not that Alice needed to know about the man's involvement in that "accident", right?

Julius frowned at the couple, his eyebrows pushing into a v-shape. It was bad enough he had to worry about Peter getting in his way… Now this guy? The clockmaker huffed noisily, leaning against the side of the gift shop uncomfortably, waiting for another chance to steal Alice away.


Elliot watched from afar as Blood seated himself next to Alice; the Mafioso smirking as the girl shifted her weight to add a little distance between them. Elliot didn't like what was happening, but what could he do about it? Blood was in charge; he had no right to speak up.

Blood grinned down at the brunette, leaning lazily back on the fountain wall. "Well, hello there, young miss."

"Hi." Alice replied, her tone uncertain as she glanced up at the man. His gaze had her feeling troublesome. The brunette played the tips of her hair uncertainly, hoping it would distract her. "You're… Blood, right?"

The man nodded an affirmative. "Blood Dupre, at your service."

Alice nodded, hardly paying attention. She was wishing Peter would hurry up with those Cokes about now. "I'm Alice. Alice Liddell."

"So I've been told. So, tell me, Alice." Blood leaned forward then, picking up a stand of her hair between his fingers. Alice flinched at his touch, scooting a little away. Blood smirked, brushing his lips against her hair. "How old are you?"

"S-Sixteen." the brunette stammered, quickly pulling her hair from his grasp and scooting farther away. Blood merely moved closer, much to her discomfort.

The raven-haired man nodded smugly, frowning just the slightest. Damn. He was too old for her. Not that it would stop him in the slightest, but it might cause problems if many were to find out both of their ages. Composing himself, the man grinned, brushing his fingertips across her cheek. "What a coincidence. I was sixteen once, too."

Alice glared, shoving his hand away. He was making her feel awfully uncomfortable. Standing up, she huffed, crossing her arms firmly in front of her chest and averting her eyes so she didn't have to look at him. "Look, I don't appreciate you hitting on me. If you're old enough to have kids, you're too old for me."

"But they're only adopted." Blood tried to wave it off, but Alice shook her head.

"I'm sorry, but I'm not into you like that." she replied, trying to be her politest but also firm. She didn't want to cause a scene.

Blood's face dropped into a glare, and he stood up swiftly; in front of the girl in a flash of black and white. She hardly saw him make his way in front of her. Gripping her wrists gently but firm, he murmured, "Now, now. I don't ever recall saying I was hitting on you. You shouldn't think of yourself so highly."

Alice struggled uncomfortably in his grasp, and that was Ace's cue to step in.

"Haha, hey, Hat man!" the brunette said with his usual out of place laughter, waving at the man as he walked- more like skipped- to the couple. Alice sighed in relief, glad that her brother could actually be useful once in a while. "What's with the harassment on my sister? She doesn't look too happy."

"I'm not harassing her." Blood replied suavely, releasing Alice's now red-rimmed wrists. This did not go unnoticed to the brunette. "We were having a discussion."

"Pretty heated discussion you have there." Ace said, and neither could tell if he was being truthful or sarcastic. "Be careful about seducing my sister, alright? She's fragile." Ace smirked at this, placing his hands on the female's shoulders.

"Oh, aren't you just a knight in shining armor." Alice deadpanned, and Ace laughed loudly, earning a few confused stares.

"Well, I suppose we'll be taking off now. Elliot and I have reservations to make." the hatter said, waving the brunette off as he nodded for Elliot to follow- far, far from these two. Ace smirked in satisfaction, slinging an arm over his sister's shoulders.

"Thanks, Ace." Alice finally said when the men were out of sight, sighing in relief. Ace grinned, patting her on the back.

"No problem. You have to return the favor, though." he replied easily, poking her cheek. Alice glared, gritting her teeth.

"Why am I not surprised?" she demanded with a huff, placing her hips agitatedly on her hips. It was then Peter and Julius decided to interrupt.

"Alice! What happened to your wrists? !" Peter cried, dropping the Cokes on the ground to hold on the girl's hands; examining the red stain around it. Alice blinked in confusion.

"Oh, um, it's nothing-" she tried to lie, but Julius appeared on her other side.

"Alice! Are you okay?" he demanded, picking up her other wrist; mimicking Peter. Alice glanced between the two in confusion. "That damned b******."

"I'll shoot him in the head when I see him!" Peter declared.

"His ass is mine." Julius growled. Alice sighed, shaking her head at the two.

"Guys. Guys. Relax. I'm fine. It's over with, so let's move on." she insisted, breaking from their hold to look around in confusion at the showcase. "Hey… has anyone seen Boris?"


Meanwhile in World Showcase, a wild goose chase was going on.

"Hey! Have you seen the rat?" Boris demanded, finally meeting back up with Dee and Dum in the Morocco Pavilion. His topaz eyes shifted from left to right, prepared to spring on the redheaded kid at any moment. The twins shook their heads sadly.

"We went all over Mexico-" Dee explained.

"-and all the way back to Canada. We can't find him!" Dum finished angrily. Boris sighed.

"Okay, well keep your cellphones on in case we find him. He has to be around here somewhere…" Golden eyes glanced around the pavilion, but he sighed, dismissing the twins in the opposite direction to which they were headed.

All the while, Pierce sighed deeply in relief; silently thanking God as he crawled out from behind one of the walls in the pavilion. His poor frame shook in great fear, and pearly whites clattered against each other. He knew he wouldn't be able to get a wink of sleep tonight.


Yay! I finally finished this chapter! 8D Cheers~! I'm going to try to work on more Peter x Alice moments, but there's also gonna be some Julius x Alice mixed in there; mainly due to Ace. XD I think I made Blood OOC, but I really don't care. I'm tired now. ;~; Off to bed~!

*pause* Hmm? What's that? The winners? Winners for what…? OH! THE WINNERS! *smacks head against desk repeatedly* You'll have to excuse me, sleep deprivation gets to you. T_T

Everyone wins- AGAIN. DX *tosses Dee plushies* OH YEAH? SEE IF YOU CAN GET THIS! XD

Previous Answer: Mulan [Again]

Winners for this get Dum plushies- child AND adult forms. Oh yeah. And please, no cheating- it takes away from the fun in the game. ;~; Good luck~!