Hey everyone! I'm sorry for the late update. It's just that I've been really caught up in stuff lately. The track season started (you don't want to see me run my 9-minute mile D:) and after the first week I hurt my knees really bad.
Anyways, onto the review replies! Thank you all very much for reviewing! You have no idea how much it means to me!
daciela: That will be revealed soon...how soon, I don't even know. *sinister laugh*
Aizawa Li Syaoran Vessalius: Yeah, the photo album will be showing up A LOT. I hope that satisfies you! =D
Noise of Echo: Thanks! And yeah, Oz and Alice have a - spiritual, maybe? - connection going on. Something like that. I dunno. Oh. And about the Abyss...we'll see about that. *rubs hands together evilly*
ChocolateSunshine500: YES. OUR OZ WILL ALWAYS BE OZ, EVEN IF HE WAS ORIGINALLY A STUFFED...A STUFFED... *runs off crying* And try to get used to the cliffhangers. They usually start popping up whenever I feel like being evil. Which is often. XD
ILoveXB: Alrighty, I'll be looking forward to it very much! Thanks!
Alex-Chan 1234: Haha, thank you very much! But...this is only the beginning. DUN DUN DUN.
That…was why I was asking whether you wanted to know more about yourself.
"Is something wrong, Alice?"
She blinked for a moment, realizing suddenly that she had been poking at her food. Quickly, she shook her head in response to Oz's question. "No. Just a little…just thinking," she revised.
Oz wasn't convinced, but he didn't push it. Alice had been strange ever since he had left her to talk with Sharon. Since she had opened her eyes in the hospital, he could barely find himself to be comfortable around her. Rather, he was afraid to be. He didn't know how to treat her after an entire year and she could not even recognize his face. He shoved some mashed potatoes into his mouth with a fork. No...no matter what, he had to act normal if he wanted Alice to remember him.
"Is the food good, Alice?" Sharon asked, sipping at some water.
Alice glanced up in surprise, the fork dangling from her fingers. "Huh? Oh…yeah…"
"Since she quite clearly doesn't like it, why did you have me cook an extra serving?" Gil asked his sister in irritation.
Sharon glared at him. "You dare ask me that?"
Gil remained silent.
"I think…I'm done," Alice said suddenly, standing up. Her plate was completely filled, with not a single dent created in it. "I'll go for a walk outside."
She left the dining room, leaving Oz, Sharon, and Gil to listen as the front door opened and then gently closed. "What's her problem?" Gil asked, scowling at the full plate. "Honestly. Are you sure that's Alice? She used to eat everything within a ten-foot radius of her and always slammed the door."
"She lost her memories," Sharon reminded him, solemnly cutting up some steak. "You can't blame her."
"But even if you lose your memories, you should still be you."
"I'll go with her," Oz abruptly said, getting to his feet and following Alice out the door.
"Wait!" Gil called uselessly. "What about your…food…?"
It was relatively cool outside when Alice first stepped onto the sidewalk. A breeze greeted her gently with a brush across the cheek. She slowly began to walk, focusing on the sound of her feet softly colliding with the cement.
Who…am I? She kicked a pebble. Why did I lose my memory? Why am I covered in wounds? Desperately, she searched the depths of her mind, only to be fiercely stabbed with a sharp dagger of imaginary pain. She winced, and withdrew from her thoughts.
"Alice?" Oz's voice came from behind her. "Are you okay?"
She didn't turn, but continued her stroll. "I'm fine."
There wasn't a response. Alice didn't say anything to break the silence. She wasn't even sure if she wanted to talk to him. Oz didn't walk beside her, but instead stayed a safe two feet away. "You don't seem fine," he finally said. "I can't blame you, but…Alice would love steak for dinner. No matter what the circumstances."
"Would I want to be Alice?"
She heard Oz's shoes skid on the sidewalk as he stopped in surprise. "What is that supposed to mean?"
Alice tucked her hands into her pockets, trying to find the best words. "I…Why am I like this?" she asked. "I don't know who I am. I don't know who you are. And when I asked Sharon, she told me that I might not even want to know why I was injured in the first place." Alice turned to look at Oz. "Do you honestly think that I'll remember anything?"
"You will!" Oz said confidently. "I'll take care of that."
Alice blinked for a moment. "For example," he continued, closing the distance between them. "Right now, you would hit me across the head and tell me to stop being so arrogant."
She turned her gaze to stare at the ground, gradually feeling frustration taking over her nerves. "That's exactly what I'm talking about," she said through clenched teeth. "You and Sharon both say things like how I'm still me, even if I can't remember myself. But that isn't true." She shut her eyes. "I don't know how the old me would react. I don't know my old personality. I don't know me!"
When she glared back up at Oz, he didn't reply. He just looked blankly down at her until she continued, aggravated. "I don't get you, either! You're too persistent about making me remember!" She buried her face into her hands, finally getting a whole wave of emotion since she woke up in the hospital: anger and confusion. "It's not going to happen! I'm never going to remember! I'm not the Alice you know! I'm never going to be Alice!"
She suddenly felt a weight on top of her head. Alice lifted her face and glanced up at Oz, who was beaming almost proudly while ruffling her hair. What's wrong with him? She dropped her arms to her sides. I just yelled at him and he's smiling…
"I told you, didn't I?" he remarked. "That you would scold me for being so confident in my abilities." He took his hand back, leaving traces of warmth seeping in through the roots of Alice's hair. "Even if you don't know who you are, Alice, I do. Sharon does, Gil does; we all understand you. We won't give up on you." He lowered his face to look at her in the eyes. "You are our Alice. You are our best friend. And, like it or not, you're also the girl I love."
Alice felt her heart do an uncomfortable flip. "And if you don't remember, that's fine, too," Oz continued, striding past her a few steps. "Like I said, you're still Alice. No matter what it is that you know or don't know, we will be there for you. I will be there for you."
He turned back around and held out a hand. Silently, and without question, Alice reached out and placed her comparatively small hand in his. A hint of a smile drifted past Oz's lips as the two of them continued on their neighborhood walk, with Alice's hand in his...as if it belonged there.
"So exciting!" Sharon exclaimed as she ran in the grass, her arms spread to each side as if mimicking a bird. "And today is so beautiful!" She lifted her face to the sunlight, breathing in deeply. "Thank goodness it's spring break for school! Otherwise we'd be sitting in class." She groaned at the mere thought.
"Why must we do this…?" Gil complained as he trudged along after her, carrying a standard picnic basket.
"Oh, lighten up!" She picked up the camera that hung around her neck on a sturdy black strap and began snapping pictures of the landscape. "I read on the internet that for people who have memory loss, it's very helpful to visit memorable places!" She turned to Alice, who was shuffling along in the grass next to Oz. "What do you think, Alice? Any memories rushing back at you?"
Alice paused. "No."
Sharon was unperturbed. "That's okay!" she said happily. "We'll change that very soon!" She lifted the camera and click! Out printed a Polaroid of Alice looking up at the open skies. "And we'll make some new memories while we're at it!"
Minutes later, a red-and-white checkered sheet had been spread out on the ground, and the four of them sat together while munching on various foods. Alice wordlessly ate a sandwich that was overly caked with peanut butter. "So what's the importance of this place?" she asked.
"I'm glad you asked!" Sharon exclaimed, as if just expecting for Alice's question to appear. She pulled her bright pink backpack to her side. It was bulging with compiled items of everyone in the group. She reached into one pocket to bring out the photo album that Alice had allowed Sharon to carry while on their trip. Without hesitation, Sharon flipped through the pages before stopping straight in the middle, slapping a finger down on one picture.
Alice leaned over to peer at it. It was of her and Oz, standing side-by-side and huddling in thick layers of weatherproof coats, scarves, and mittens. Little white bits of what could only be snow were captured in the scene. Oz was beaming, as usual, and holding up a solid peace sign. Alice was just…well, Alice.
"This is January first," Sharon explained, smiling. "New Year's Day, and also, your 'birthday'. We came here to celebrate it. You turned sixteen." Her voice faltered a little. "It was…it was only four months ago."
The atmosphere quickly became awkward. Alice's throat became thick, forbidding her to speak. She blamed it on the peanut butter. "Quit being such a downer, Sharon," Oz said, laying back into the grass. "What matters is now, isn't it?" He glanced over at Alice and flashed his famous smile.
She suddenly found herself extremely interested in the sandwich she was holding.
"I don't understand why we're here," Gil muttered. "Honestly, Alice didn't even enjoy it the first time we came here." He looked over at Sharon. "In fact, you got hit in the face by one of her snowballs. There aren't good memories for you either."
Sharon gritted her teeth, pretending to smile. "It was a snowball fight, Gil. Quite obviously, someone had to have gotten hit."
Gil rolled his eyes. Sharon turned back to Alice, still emitting remnants of a hostile aura. "Well, Alice, if you can't remember anything, that's okay. As long as you enjoy yourself today."
"Sharon." Alice suddenly said.
"Yes~?"
"I'd like to hear about my past now."
"Oh, that's ri -" Sharon cut herself off, slowly turning to look at Alice. Alice was under a perfect composure, eating her sandwich calmly. "Your past? As in, your past past?"
Alice nodded. Gil and Oz exchanged uneasy glances. "I thought about it a lot last night after coming back from my walk...and..." She closed her eyes. "I want to know." Her violet eyes reappeared, filled with determination. "Even if it isn't pretty."