Alice and What Came After
Disclaimer: I only own Sarah, Connor, and Chase. This version of Hatter and Alice are based on SyFy's version of Alice, written and directed by Nick Willing. Rex, Sid, and Nancy all belong to those fine folks across the pond at ITV/Impossible Pictures.
Chapter Fifty-one: Pieces of a Life
With her father's permission, Sarah began to date. Their first few dates were supervised by her brother. Having Connor watching their every move made their dinners out awkward. But even Connor knew better than to stare at them when they went to a movie.
Their last "chaperoned" date was at a movie theatre. Connor sat a few seats down the aisle from them, where he could keep an eye on them without overhearing their conversation.
Sarah shared a tub of popcorn loaded with butter and salt with Chase. They each had separate drinks and candy, but Sarah claimed that she'd only eat a few pieces of popcorn. He'd believed her since they'd had dinner before arriving at the theatre. She did have a hearty appetite, but he didn't think she would eat an entire large popcorn on her own after cleaning her plate at dinner.
Well, that was until during the previews, Chase reached into the tub to snag a handful of popcorn and came up empty handed.
"What happened to all the popcorn?" he whispered into her ear. The lights had dimmed as trailers rolled across the screen.
"What popcorn?" she mumbled, her mouth full.
"It's empty. Did you eat it all?"
"No…"
"Then where is it?"
Sarah shrugged, not meeting his eyes. "Nancy ate it?"
"She's at home with Sid…" Chase argued.
"She followed us?"
"Nice try. What happened to all the popcorn?"
"Connor ate it?"
"If you wanted your own, all you had to do was say somethin'…"
She finally met his eyes. "Can I have my own?"
"Little late for that, isn't it?" he muttered, tipping the bucket from side to side. A few unpopped kernels rolled around the bottom of the bucket. Other than that, the carnivorous cardboard tub was empty.
"Just a bit."
"I'll be back."
Chase stood up, slipping past a few other couples to reach the walkway. He disappeared in the darkened theatre, leaving Sarah alone with her untouched candy.
Her brother took the empty seat as an invitation. Did he do something?
No…
You sure? What's all the fuss about?
I ate all the popcorn.
Didn't ya just eat all the rolls at dinner and everyone else's entrées?
No… just yours.
She could feel him rolling his eyes in annoyance. It made her smile.
So what? Did he decide you were too much of a pig?
No! He went to get more popcorn, you idiot!
Sure… If I were 'im, I'd jump through the Glass and never look back…
Haha, very funny, Conn. Just wait until you get a girlfriend…
After they got home that night, Hatter announced that Connor didn't need to shadow her anymore. She thanked her father with a big hug.
"Can ya tell him to stay outta my head as well as my life?" she suggested.
Her father laughed. "He's just bein' a brother, Jabberwock. He's tryin' to protect ya."
"My invading my privacy?"
He smiled at her. "Don't worry, luv. He'll grow outta it. He's got dinosaurs to study and Sid and Nancy to keep him on his toes. He'll get distracted soon enough."
Hatter's predictions were spot on as always.
Within three months' time, Connor was still her annoying twin brother, but he was buried in his work. He'd decided to get a jumpstart on his college thesis by analyzing old fossils.
As soon as Sarah got off school, she took the subway back to the shop. She'd run in, give Chase a quick kiss, and drop her bag off in the back workroom. She'd tie on an apron and join him up front with the customers.
With her badge pinned on and her hat cocked to the side, Sarah poured on the charm like her father did. She'd man the register, prepare the teas, and bus the tables. The only thing she didn't do was serve the tea.
The last time anyone let her serve a tray full of hot teacups, she went to the hospital with second and third degree burns from the boiling hot water. Since that disaster not only burned her skin, but landed her amidst a pile of broken china pieces that required her to receive close to thirty stitches along her body, her father had forbidden her to serve.
Every single one of the employees at A Taste of Wonderland knew not to hand her anything hot, least she drop it or burn her skin again.
"Two cups of Earl Grey?" she confirmed with the couple at the register. "Anything else? How about one of our bakery-fresh scones?"
"Not today," said the woman. "Just the tea, please."
"Okay. They'll be right out."
Chase brushed past her, reaching for the tray and pot she'd prepared. He balanced the new tray along with an old one he'd cleared from a table. "Just water?"
"Yup-p!" she called over her shoulder. She popped the "p" in his face with a sly grin.
He winked at her before disappearing into the kitchen.
"Next!" Sarah called.
Chase took her out to a Broadway show for their one year anniversary. He even bought her a new dress for the occasion.
The dress was a color she didn't wear often—a very bright red. It contrasted well with her dark hair and pale skin. She didn't mind wearing it for him.
There was an outline of a white heart intermixed with the red, just above her breast, reminding her of Wonderland. It was a small detail that had a lot of meaning to her and to their relationship. Just because of that, she loved a dress she would have ordinarily burned.
"How did you…?" she asked after trying on the dress. It fit her perfectly. All she had to do was slip on a pair of strappy black heels, push her earrings in, and hook on a matching necklace. Just like that, she was ready to go.
"I had your mum help me out. She knew what size to get. Do you like it?"
"I love it, Chase!"
She wrapped him up in a hug, kissing him soundly on the lips in thanks.
"I'm glad you like it. You all ready to go?"
"Yeah."
He offered Sarah his arm. She took it eagerly, feeling very much like a girl for once in her life. She'd even done make-up, straightened her unruly hair with a flat-iron, and pulled on thigh-high stockings to cover her pale legs.
It was a night to remember. Broadway had a way of transporting her into the story. She'd kept her eyes glued to the stage scene after scene. Sarah even forgot about Chase sitting at her side until after they'd exited the theatre.
"That was amazing!" she said as they walked around to the stage door.
"I thought you might enjoy it. I was a bit worried that you wouldn't like all the singing…"
"No, no. I loved it! 'Cell Block Tango' was my favorite song!"
Chase smiled at her. "Figures that you'd pick a song sung by murderers…"
She elbowed him. "It's catchy!"
"The entire show is catchy, Sarah! It's Chicago!"
Connor and Sarah both graduated high school a year ahead of schedule. They were sixteen-and-a-half at the time. Connor took a two week break before launching himself into summer classes.
Sarah took the first half of the summer off. Advanced Placement exams—one of her brother's ideas—had wiped her out. She spent her free time with Chase, seeing movies, hanging out, and teaching him the finer points of tea.
But she couldn't let her younger brother show her up too much.
Against her better judgment, Sarah took a full load of summer courses between July and August. She knocked out most of her required courses that her AP scores hadn't covered, leaving her fall schedule open for electives.
"I can't believe I'm dating a college girl," Chase muttered one night when they were washing dishes at the shop.
"Oh, shut up. It's only the summer. It's not even a real college. It's a community college."
"So? You're in college."
"If you ever want to switch places, just let me know."
He laughed. "Yeah, I don't think your dad would be too happy with that."
"The cross-dressing part or the college part?" she taunted.
"Hmm… both?"
Sarah was due to graduate from the community college the fall before she turned eighteen. She planned to move on campus and quit working at the tea shop. Connor decided on a different college just down the block from her.
Chase promised to take the subway down and see her on his days off.
Everything was set up. Everything was perfect.
Just before Christmas, before she turned eighteen, Sarah had sex with Chase for the first time. Except for Connor popping in and out of her head, she'd enjoyed it. She had taken the lead, showing him that she wanted this as much as she did.
It wasn't magical like books painted it, but it wasn't horrible. The second time was much better—and Chase seemed to get over his fear that he would hurt her.
However, that December night was the beginning of the end of their relationship.
Author's Notes:
This is my second attempt at this chapter. The other one was over 2K words. It focused on a single date between Sarah and Chase when she was seventeen. I thought a few small peeks at these two years would be the better way to go. Bits of the original chapter will be seen in future chapters.
A&WCA is starting to wind down. I'm shooting for 55 chapters plus a prologue and epilogue. That means only four more chapters and an epilogue. Sad, isn't it?
Anyways, please let me know what you think! I'd love to hear your ideas about why Sarah and Chase break up. And Connor will get his first girlfriend before this story is over—I promise. But it won't be a long-term girlfriend. That's for Between the Glass. :)
