Goodness, this Henry Arc has really gotten me writing...

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As promised, a special shoutout to my hundredth reviewer; LeFay Strent, you're awesome!

*Unbeta'd*

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Away we go!

Chapter 17: Time to Wake Up

THUMP.

Alice's head shot up with surprising speed, spinning around to access the situation. She found a thick book lying on her desk, her entire class staring at her. And standing right in front of Alice was Mrs. Jones, her English teacher. Alice blushed a deep red, slumping down in her seat.

"So Miss Smith, not only did you not finish your homework, you had the audacity to fall asleep in my class?" Mrs. Jones asked, a deep frown on her face.

"Uh...Sorry, Ma'am." Alice muttered, her blush deepening as she bowed her head. She could easily hear her classmates snickering and whispering behind her. Mrs. Jones on the other hand, didn't seem to notice.

"If you're going to waste your time sleeping, you'd best not do it in my class."

"Yes, Ma'am."

Mrs. Jones gave a harsh nod, picking up the book she had dropped on Alice's desk and heading back to the front of the room. Alice stayed slumped in her desk, her cheeks still red.

It was that Edward boy's fault. All of it! He had been showing up on her lawn every night for the past three days. True, it was partly her fault for going out there to talk to him instead of calling the police, but still! She kept telling him to leave her alone and he refused.

And of course, there was the whole dream thing.

When she had left school on Friday, the dream had been exactly that. A dream. But the night before she had told Edward all about it. He had seemed excited about it and since Alice for some reason loved making this stranger happy, they had ended up discussing it for hours. Which was why she hadn't finished her English homework (or any other homework for that matter) and ended up falling asleep in class again.

The bell rang shrilly and Alice leapt out of her seat, desperate to get away from the embarrassment that Mrs. Jones had caused. Knowing the people in her class, the episode would be well known by lunch. The thought brought another blush to Alice's cheeks and she ducked her head to hide it. Considering she was in a busy hallway filled with moving bodies, this wasn't a good idea.

"Oof!"

"Ack! Oh man, I'm sorry!"

"No, no, " Alice said quickly, grabbing her books and getting up. "I should have been paying more attention."

"No, I should have too."

Alice brushed herself off, finally looking up at her victim. She froze for a moment, staring at the blonde haired boy in wonder. It was guy from her dream! The one in the garden!

"I don't think we've met before. Are you new here?" She asked. He nodded, giving her a smile.

"Yep. I moved here from Minnesota last month," He stuck his hand out towards her, "I'm Henry Sutton."

"Alice Smith. It's nice to meet you, Henry." Alice replied, shaking his hand and smiling.

"Say, I know this is a bit sudden, considering we just met, but would you like to go get some coffee on Saturday?"

Alice blushed again, but this time it was for a much different reason. "Well...sure, why not? Sounds fun."

"Great!" Henry replied, still smiling. "I'll see you then."

Alice nodded, giving him a wave. She stood there watching him, not moving until the bell rang, echoing loudly in the now empty hall. Alice's eyes widened as she realized what this meant.

"Shit!"

.

.

.

"Care to explain why you were late to Chemistry?" Emily asked, looking up at Alice as she twisted the cap off her waterbottle. Alice just sighed, pushing her tray to the side and flopping over the lunch table. Emily made a little noise, quickly pulling her own tray out of the line of fire.

"." Alice mumbled, her voice muffled by the table.

"Sorry, could you repeat that in English?" Emily asked, picking up her sandwich and taking a bite. Alice pulled herself up dramatically, pulling her tray back so she could eat.

"I crashed into this guy outside my English class and we ended up talking. Then he asked if I wanted to get coffee with him on Saturday and I said yes."

"You said yes to a guy you crashed into in the hallway?"

"...Yes."

"Good grief, Allie. You don't even know him! He's probably gonna show up high and try to rip your pants off or something."

"Hey! You don't know that!" Alice responded, pouting a little. "It'll be fine, trust me!"

.

.

.

Edward seemed to have the same view of Henry as Emily. Well, almost.

"You can't! Allie, promise me you won't go!"

Alice raised an eyebrow, confused as to why Edward was panicking all of a sudden. She hadn't even meant to tell him about Henry, but it had just kind of slipped out. But then, she had told herself she wasn't going to talk to Edward but she had kind of ended up talking to him anyway. They were currently sitting together in her neighbors old tree house.

"Why not? It's not like anything bad will happen."

"Alice, you can't go out with Henry. He's a murderer!"

"Excuse me?" Alice exclaimed, leaning closer. "And how would you know, Edward?"

"Because he almost killed you!"

"What?" Alice asked, her voice lowering. She already knew that Edward thought he knew her, that Edward believed the the History class dream was real. But claiming she had almost been murdered? That was taking it a bit too far.

"Who do you think you are, Edward? As if you know who I am and what's happened to me! You're damn lucky I haven't called the cops, 'cause I'm pretty damn sure you're an escaped mental patient!"

"Alice-"

"No! I'm tired of this! You keep showing up at my house even though I've told you to leave me alone! I can't finish my homework and then I get in trouble! God, you didn't even see me the first time we talked and now you just won't go away!"

"You're the one who keeps talking to me, Allie. And-"

"I know! I know." Alice cried, frowning. "And I don't know why. Any sane person would have called the police and forgotten about you! God, what's wrong with me?"

"Nothing. You're perfect, Allie." Edward whispered, so softly that Alice almost didn't catch it.

"What did you just say?" She asked, turning towards him.

"Nothing." He replied, his voice louder this time. Alice's frown deepened and she crossed her arms.

"I'm going to see Henry on Saturday. That's final."

Edward heaved a sigh. "Fine. But I'm coming with you."

"What? Absolutely not! I'm seventeen, not twelve!" Alice exclaimed, embarrassed.

"I won't let him see me. Just let me come with. I have to know you're safe." Edward replied, looking her in the eye. Alice blushed, opening her mouth and finding that she could no longer speak. Finally, seeing no other option, she gave him a nod.

~X~

"Have you been talking to Alice again, Brother?" Al asked, looking up as Edward entered their apartment.

"Yeah. It's still so weird, the doctors don't get it at all. It's like she's awake...but she isn't." Edward replied, slumping down on the couch and covering his eyes with his human arm. "She knows I'm there and she knows she talking to me, but it's like I'm in her mind with her. She keeps saying that we're outside on her lawn or something."

"You told her what happened, right?" Al questioned, taking a seat beside him, his armor creaking as he moved. Ed peeked out at him for a moment before turning away again.

"You need some oil, Al." He said, sitting up. "She thinks it was all a dream. She knows what happened, but she thinks everything was a dream. Including us. But I think she's starting to realize that's a lie. She keeps talking to me even though she claims she doesn't want to. And...Henry has shown up in her mind."

"What? Do you think she's going to make herself relive it or something?"

"No...I don't think so." Ed replied with a frown. "She said she was meeting him for coffee. I convinced her to let me come with, even though I can't physically go. I'm thinking she has to face him again to wake up or something stupid like that."

"Then help her, Brother. If she has to fight him or face him, help her."

"I'm trying! But how are you supposed to help someone fight if the battle is taking place in their mind?"

"Just...make sure she knows you're there, Ed. I think that would help more than you think." Al said calmly, getting up. Ed watched his brother leave the room, a light blush on his cheeks. Just what was Al implying?

Nothing. You're perfect.

Good god, what was he implying?

~X~

"Are you sure you have to come with me, Edward?" Alice asked, adjusting her bag. They were currently in the parking lot of the cafe that she and Henry were to meet at. This was Alice's last ditch effort to rid herself of Edward.

"Yes, I'm sure. You can just call me Ed, you know." The blonde replied, his golden eyes glinting in the sunlight. It was beautiful.

Alice looked away in an attempt to hide the blush that she was sure she had. She was here to have coffee with Henry, not Edward. She needed to stop this.

"I know. But..."

"But what?"

"Uh..." Honestly, Alice didn't know. She had tried to call him Ed, but the moment she had, everything had felt...weird. Alright, that was a weird way to put it, but Alice didn't know how to describe it. All she knew was that if she started calling him "Ed", she would start believing him about the dream. She was not about to do that.

"I don't know, okay? I'm heading in. Don't you dare embarrass me." She said finally, giving him a look before spinning on her heel and heading inside.

The cafe was a quaint little place that Alice had only been to once before. It had a homely feel to it and smelled of coffee and chocolate. A very nice smell in Alice's opinion. She spotted Henry at a table near the back, seated underneath an impressionist's rendition of the Mona Lisa. He smiled when he saw her, giving her a wave. She automatically smiled back, weaving between the other tables.

"I'm glad you're here." Henry said as she sat down across from him. He green eyes shone in the lamplight and Alice couldn't help but compare them to Edward's.

"Wouldn't miss it for the world." Alice replied, giving a soft laugh. She leaned forward a bit, watching as he waved for a waitress and placed his order. Alice gave the menu a quick look before ordering coffee and a muffin. Once the waitress was gone, Henry leaned back in his seat, smiling still.

"So, tell me about yourself, Miss Allie."

I will win this game, Miss Allie.

Wh-what? Where had that come from? Giving her head a slight shake, she proceeded to tell Henry what he wanted to know, asking her own questions when appropriate. Her coffee and muffin were delicious and this date was turning out to be quite fun. In fact, it would be perfect if Alice didn't have a bodyguard.

Edward had come in about five minutes after she had and had taken a seat on the other side of the cafe. Henry hadn't even noticed him but Alice couldn't keep herself from glancing over at him every so often. He looked so lonely, sitting there by himself. Alice found out that she wasn't the only one who thought that when a woman sat down across from him and started talking to him. Edward had been polite and smiled at her but eventually he must have turned her down because she left and he didn't.

Alice let out a small sigh of relief as the woman left, a bit confused as to why she would react that way. But she didn't really have time to spend wondering about it.

"Say, would you like to go see a movie or something, Allie?"

Alice quickly turned back to look at Henry, a light blush dusting her cheeks. When had she given him permission to call her Allie?

"Sure. What do you want to see?" She replied, hoping he hadn't noticed her watching Edward.

"I honestly don't mind. You can decide."

"Alright. There's theater right down the street, we walk from here." Alice said, getting up. She was confusing herself. Yes, there was a theater down the street but it wasn't nearly as nice as the one by their school. So why was she suggesting they go to that one? One glance at Edward gave her an answer. She actually wanted Edward to follow them. What was wrong with her?

Henry came back from paying, offering her his arm with a smile. She took it, smiling back and letting him lead her outside. Alice was so distracted by her thoughts that she didn't realized Henry had turned the wrong way until he lead her into an alley.

"Henry?"

"Sorry, must have taken a wrong turn."

Wrong turn? How does one take a wrong turn when their destination is on the same street as their starting point? Suddenly Alice was very nervous.

He almost killed you!

No, no. There was no reason to worry. Only the Henry in her dream had done that. Right? Right. It made sense that Henry was lost, right? He had only been here for a month.

At least, that's what she kept telling herself until Henry pulled out a gun.

"H-Henry?" Alice exclaimed, dropping her coat and stepping back.

"Sorry, Miss Allie. It's nothing personal."

Alice's eyes locked on the barrel of the gun as it was aimed at her. Oh god, she should have listened to Emily. She should have listened to Ed! She didn't want to be killed like this!

"Please, p-please don't! I'll give you my m-money or whatever, just p-please don't k-kill me!"

Hush, Darling. This is all part of the game.

"Please!"

There was a very loud cracking noise as the gun went off and Alice screamed. She squeezed her eyes shut and threw her arms up as if it would help stop the bullet. She braced herself but the bullet never came.

"Leave her alone, Henry."

Alice's eyes flew open to find that Ed was standing in front of her, a steel wall slowly disintegrating in front of him. It took her a few moments to realize what had happened.

Ed had somehow found her and blocked the bullet with a wall. An alchemic wall. He had saved her.

He had saved her.

Henry was running now, gun still in hand, but Ed didn't give chase. Instead, he turned to her, concern apparent on his face.

"Alice? Are you alright? He didn't hurt you, did he?"

"N-No. You...saved me. You saved me...Ed." She said, trying to wrap her mind around what had just happened. Ed's alchemy, Henry, the way Ed was looking at her right now.

Did it mean the dream was real?

Had Ed been right?

"Is this...really...a dream, Ed?"

"In a way, yes." Ed replied, walking over to her.

"Then...what I thought was a dream, was real?"

"Yes."

"But, how to I get out of this dream then?" Alice asked, her brow furrowing. All of sudden, she wanted to leave. She wanted to leave this alley with Ed and never look back.

"You just wake up."

~X~

"You just wake up." Ed said softly, smiling at Alice. She was finally realizing the truth. He could only hope that she would wake up soon. Fate decided to take charge much sooner than he anticipated.

Alice sat up so fast that Ed wasn't entirely sure she was actually awake until she turned to look at him with wide green eyes. And then she burst into tears.

Edward didn't have time to do anything but gasp before she reached up and grabbed him, pulling him down. Ed let out an audible 'oof' as he fell over Alice and landed beside her in a heap on the bed. Alice didn't seem to care though. She just threw her arms around him, her hands clenching the back of his shirt like a lifeline, her face buried in his shoulder.

It only a took a second for Edward to respond. He wrapped his arms around her, holding her close and burying his face in her hair. They stayed like this for a long time, neither of them speaking or moving; the only sound was Alice's slowly dying sobs.

In the end, it was a trembling Alice that broke the silence.

"I love you."

This game...is over.

And I won.

Ohhh snappppp.

Finalllyyyy finished the Henry Arc. I was kinda beginning to hate it... OTZ

This chapter kinda screams EdxAllie. It's about time. It's taken them 17 chapters and a psyco killer to do anything! Geez.

About the whole talking in a kinda-coma thing. I have NO CLUE if something like this is possible. Let's just pretend it is. Because I have no experience with psychological things outside of what you learn in like, Health. So yeah. Feel free to correct me. (Anyone notice when she started calling Edward "Ed"? It has a bit of purpose! :) )

I'm gonna be honest with ya'll and say that I don't know what to write next. I'm more than likely gonna try and incorpate something from the actual plot and go from there. If you guys have any suggestions, please share! I'd be very, very grateful!

Please tell me what you liked, didn't like, would like to see, etc. I know there's people reading and not reviewing. Please, please review! I'd be so happy!