Seo Hyun here! I'm sorry if this update is late! I know I haven't updated for a days…. And I promised myself I would update by this Sunday, but it was 9/11, so we went to Washington D.C. Sorry if the story starts to get a bit weird... I'm kind of lost on the story line! :P Please enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Heart no Kuni no Alice!

Chapter Eight: Just for Tonight

Right after Julius and Alice walked off together, they realized that they were lost (for the second time) in the woods. They stayed on the path, but soon it got really dark and there was no light.

"Julius, I'm scared… I can't see anything," said Alice in a quivering voice. Julius just held her hand. "Don't be scared."

Before Julius could say anything else, something rustled from the bushes. "What was that?" asked Alice. For some reason, it felt like déjà vu all over again…. The bushes rustled even more and suddenly a figure popped out.

"AHHHH!" screamed Julius and Alice. They started running aimlessly in any direction and both crashed into a tree. The figure approached them.

"Go away!" screeched Alice. She started to kick and then heard a groan. "Owww…." said the figure.

"Is that… Ace?" Julius recognized the voice.

"Yep! That's me!" said Ace in a cheery voice. "Alice-chan! You didn't need to kick me 'there'. It really hurt you know!" He said while rubbing his "precious" spot. Ace turned on his flashlight and shined it in both of the tweens' faces.

"Ace, sorry… but you shouldn't have scared us like that!" said Alice in an annoyed voice.

"It's your guys' fault for running off for no reason!" said Ace. "Say, we're you guys on the run from authority?" asked Ace in a teasing tone.

"We weren't doing anything, you human trafficker," said Julius in a cold tone. "Ouch, no need to be Mr. Grouchy!" said Ace, who was "hurt" by Julius's words.

"Just take us away from the amusement park and the hatter's mansion!" yelled the two.

"Fine, fine! But we gotta camp first! It's way too dark and you have no idea what kind of creatures might be lurking in the dark," said Ace in a sinister tone. The two felt a shiver go down their spine before following the knight to his campsite.

"Why's there only one tent Ace?" asked Julius.

"Why not?" said Ace with a goofy smile.

The two of them sighed before going inside the tent with Ace. For the longest time, they just stared at each other's faces. Ace smiled reassuringly to the both of them, but they felt uncomfortable just being with the knight.

"Alice, come here," said Ace. "Why?" asked Alice. Ace didn't give an answer and just grabbed her arm, putting his ear to her chest. Alice's face flushed as he hugged her and stayed in this position.

"Hey! Get off of her!" said Julius, feeling a bit jealous. Alice squirmed beneath Ace, but he was way too strong. "Alice, relax, I'm just listening to your heartbeat."

"My-my heart?" Apparently Alice had forgotten that the role-holders all had clocks as hearts. Ace smiled sadly. "Your heart is not the same as ours Alice," reminded the knight. A memory flashed across Alice and suddenly turned to Julius. "You're the one that fixes their clocks right?" Julius already knew his role as a child and nodded his head.

Ace let go of Alice and shoved her over to Julius. "Go ahead, I'm not looking," smiled Ace. He turned around and snuggled into his sleeping bag. Alice and Julius looked at each other, blushing. Slowly, Julius moved his head over Alice's chest and began to listen to her heart beat.

Ba-dump…. Ba-dump

The sound was sweet and it was so different, so unique from his clock. Alice felt herself blush, but then she calmed down and hugged him. Both of them lay down next to each other, holding each other tightly. The lantern grew dim and the both of them began to fall asleep.

Their position shifted and Julius was holding Alice to his chest. She heard his clock beating.

Tick-tock… Tick-tock

The sound was completely different from hers, but it beat the same time as her heart.

Julius could smell Alice's hair, which had a clean and sweet smell. He breathed it in as he held her tightly. The two of them unconsciously looked at each other with dreamy eyes.

"Julius?"

Julius didn't say anything, as he began to lean in closer to Alice's face.

Back at Clover Tower:

"NIGHTMARE-SAMA!" shouted Gray. Ever since Julius disappeared with Ace, clover tower has been out of control. Broken clocks filled his desk and the entire room. Gray had no idea how to fix the clocks and all he could do is fill out the paper work for each clock. He began to pull his hair as stress began to build up.

"Nightmare-sama! Honestly! You must help find someone else to repair these clocks or else Wonderland's going to be in trouble!" lectured Gray. He found the incubus hiding underneath his desk sucking his thumb.

"But Gray! I'm really tired myself," said Nightmare. "Plus I saw A—"

Gray cut the incubus off. "I don't care! I'm tired too, but at least I'm doing some work to make the tower function! If we don't find Julius soon or someone else, Wonderland might as well be dead!"

"But A—"

"No 'buts' Nightmare!"

"But—"

"I said-"

"BUT ALICE AND JULIUS WILL BE TURNING NORMAL SOON!" shouted the incubus. He never raised his voice like this before. Gray was shocked. Nightmare began to hack out a bunch of blood, but he continued.

"I just felt something. Alice and Julius are together, but it seems like their bodies will be turning back to their adult forms. The only catch is…. I think they have to…." Nightmare's voice trailed off.

"They have to do what?" asked the ex-assasin.

"I think they'll have to—kiss." said Nightmare with uncertainty in his voice. Gray slapped his forehead and sighed. He stayed silent and dragged the incubus by the collar, taking him to work.

"NOOO!" cried out Nightmare as he was being dragged into the room of broken clocks.

Back at the campsite:

As Julius leaned in closer to Alice, a hand grabbed Alice by the waist tugging her away form Julius. Alice yelped and turned around to find Ace holding her.

"Ace!" growled Julius.

"Shhh! Just for tonight, Julius," winked Ace. Julius looked at the knight with weird eyes. Ace just smiled and blew a kiss to the eleven year old boy that kicked him in the shin.

"Ouch…"

"Serves you right…."

This chapter was okay... I think I could've done better but I'm already loosing the story from not doing it so long! X( Well, it seems like Nightmare knows what's going to happen, but what will the events be that lead up to that... Kiss? hahah XD Any suggestions, comments?

Thanks for reading and please review! ;D