AN: Oh My God! Nearly three hundred reviews and two hundred followers and favorites! Not bad for an unpopular and unheard of crossover, if I do say so myself. You guys are awesome! I'm glad to see I still have all of you guys still following my story. Seriously, I was afraid you would all ditch me for the new Frozen/ROTG crossover.
RECENTLY RE-EDITED (11/7/16)
Disclaimer: I don't own Rise of the Guardians or Alice: Madness Returns.
Look around
There's no one but you and me
Right here and now
The way it was meant to be
There's a smile on my face
Knowing that together everything that's in our way
We're better than alright
Between the Raindrops ~ Lifehouse ft. Natasha Bedingfield
~O~
Jack waited an hour after dinner the next evening before he headed for Alice's room.
Dinner had been surprisingly uneventful that evening. Everyone, including North, had been quiet throughout the meal. Tooth and Sandy were unable to attend. They were held up by their jobs, so it was just the other three guardians, and Alice, dining that evening. North had been pleased to see Jack and Alice behaving civil towards each other while Bunny had been suspicious, but since it probably wouldn't be a good idea to dig up forgotten bygones right in the middle of dinner, where there was plenty of ammunition for a fight, the pooka didn't call attention to it.
After dinner was over and the spirits dispersed from the hall to go about their business, Jack wandered aimlessly around the workshop until his internal clock told him it was about an hour before sunset in Burgess, and that now would be a good time to leave.
Just like last year, Jamie's mom would hold Sophie's birthday party in their backyard sometime in the early evening where it would only last a couple of hours. Jack and Alice wouldn't be attending the event, of course. It was Sophie's party, the attention should be on her - not on the two mystical spirits who would draw the attention of all her party guests. Not to mention, Jack would have to help Jamie come up with a believable excuse to tell his mom why all Sophie's friends were talking to thin air, and that was something he would rather avoid.
Jack strolled through the many guest hallways of North's domain, twirling his staff between his fingers as he made his way to Alice's room. A few passing yetis gave the spirit strange looks when they saw the snow globe in Jack's hand, being tossed into the air and then caught again, but they were ignored. When he finally came to the hallway where Alice's room was, he stopped short when he heard a familiar Australian accent.
Not wanting to chance having an awkward run-in, Jack tip-toed to the edge of the hallway, making sure to stick close to the shadows before peeking his head around the corner. At the end of the hallway, Bunny stood outside Alice's door. Alice wasn't in sight, but Jack could faintly hear her voice. Not enough for him to be able to make out what she was saying, but enough for him to know that she was there.
"You sure you're alright?" Bunny asked in a low tone that Jack almost missed.
He felt bad for eavesdropping on the pair, albeit unintentionally, but he figured he was only doing half wrong since he could only hear Bunny's side of the conversation.
"You're actin' all peaked...I just wanna make sure before I go...okay, okay, I'm goin'...I will, don't worry."
Jack twisted the snowglobe in his hand as he listened to Bunny's quiet responses until he finally bid Alice a goodnight. When he heard the footsteps of big rabbit feet moving down the hallway, towards his hiding place, Jack's eyes widened and he flattened himself against the wall. He tried to make as little noise as possible so Bunny's oversensitive ears didn't pick up on his presence. For a second he thought he was going to be spotted, but luckily for him, Bunny was too busy mumbling under his breath to notice Jack and he passed right by him.
Once the pooka disappeared into the labyrinth of dark hallways, Jack let out a breath he didn't even realize he was holding. He moved down the hallway and stopped in front of Alice's door.
After allowing himself a moment to collect his nerve, Jack raised a fist and knocked on the dark wood. A moment later, he heard the muffled sound of Alice's voice calling, "Come in".
He spotted Alice sitting in front a vanity in the corner of the room. She sat with her back straight and one leg crossed over the other. She didn't turn to greet him when his image showed itself in her mirror. Instead, she continued brushing her dark hair with a silver hairbrush. The overhead light of the room was off, leaving one solitary lamp to bathe the room in a dim glow, making Alice's hair appear dark scarlet.
As she combed her hair, Alice glanced up into the mirror at Jack's reflection.
"Did Bunny see you in the hall?" she asked.
He shook his head. "No."
"Perfect," she smirked, putthing down the hairbrush. "It would've tipped him off otherwise."
"Did you tell him where we're going?"
"Of course not," she scoffed. "Could you imagine the conniption fit he would throw? Don't mistake me for a fool, please."
"Okay, sorry," Jack apologized, holding both hands up in defense. "What did you tell him, then?"
Alice picked up her Omega necklace from the vanity top and hooked it around her neck. "Simply that I am not feeling well at the moment and wish to turn in early for the evening."
"And he bought that?" Jack asked dubiously, holding on to his staff with both hands and leaning against it.
"Bunny is not that difficult to deflect once you know how to. Granted, he was skeptical at first, but all I had to do was use the words 'feminine matters' before Bunny all but dashed for the door. It was rather comical."
Alice almost jumped when Jack laughed. She looked up at him through the mirror and watched as he laughed in that carefree way of his that left her a bit envious.
"That's hilarious," he snickered. He always found Alice's ability to drag Bunny from his comfort zone funny, almost as funny whenever Tooth teased and hugged the pooka, leaving him flustered and tongue-tied. "Wish I could do that. I'm really running low on excuses, but I don't think it would have the same effect coming from me."
"No, I don't think so either."
She watched as Jack sobered up. He reached up a hand and ran it through his white hair and Alice followed the movement, almost admiring the unique coloring of the short strands and how soft they looked, not unlike a fresh pile of snow. His bright smile was also dazzling, but Alice chose not to linger on it too long, instead choosing to check her eye makeup one last time before standing.
"Well," Alice breathed as she smoothed out the wrinkles in her apron, "shall we be on our way, then?"
"Yeah, sure," Jack agreed before taking his weight off his staff. "Do you have a coat you can wear? It might be a little cold where we're going."
Alice walked over to the room's wardrobe and opened it, scanning its contents. "I think there might be one in here I can wear. Strangely enough, a lot of these are in my size."
"Hmm," Jack hummed, scratching his cheek.
He watched Alice pull out a black pea coat with silver buttons from the wardrobe. She held the coat out in front of her, noting that it resembled that old red coat she used to wear in London, only in much better condition. She slipped it on and buttoned it up before tying the belt tight around her waist.
Jack had been lazily trailing his eyes around Alice's guest room, waiting for her to finish, when he looked back at her and nearly did a double take. With the black coat now covering up her strange fashion sense, Alice looked completely human. Human enough for her to be able to walk down a busy sidewalk and not be looked twice at. The coat stopped a few inches above her knees, covering up her blue dress and leaving the white stripes of her stockings as the only color on her. The coat wasn't unflattering. It was slimming and accented her slender figure beautifully.
Jack didn't realize he was staring until Alice walked over to the balcony doors and unlocked them.
"Is that orb in your hand one of those teleporting snow globes of North's?" she asked, pointing.
Jack looked down at the tiny image of Burgess floating inside it. "Yeah, how did you...?"
"Bunny mentioned them a few times during his visits. Is that what we'll be using?"
He nodded. "I figured it would be faster and less awkward than flying because then I would have to carry you, and that would be kinda..."
"Yes it would," Alice agreed. "No matter. A portal will do, but just as a precaution, I would prefer if we used it out on the balcony. I'm working on a little project over there on the desk and I don't want any loose papers to escape."
"Project?" Jack perked up, his gaze focusing in on the scattered pile of papers on the desk. He only managed to catch a glimpse of a few sketches, that looked suspiciously like the workshop area of North's domain, before Alice stepped in his view, blocking them.
"I don't think so, Mr. Frost," Alice smirked, crossing her arms under her chest. "If I can't see your mysterious papers, then you can't see mine. It's only fair."
"Oh," Jack frowned, feeling sick at the mentioning of the articles that were still hidden away in his room. "Could you at least tell me what they are? Seriously, I don't do good when it comes to secrets. It'll drive me crazy for days until I eventually become desperate enough to break into your room and find out myself."
Alice cocked an eyebrow at him and put her hands on her hips.
"You would allow yourself to sink down to a level of distaste suitable for a sewer rat just to satisfy your need to know about something that isn't even any of your business?"
Jack blinked at her a few times before responding with, "uh yeah, pretty much". When he received an unimpressed look in return, he shrugged his shoulders. "Hey, at least I'm honest about myself."
"Well, if you must know, they're sketches."
"Of what?"
"Possible ideas for new sections of Wonderland."
"You have to make blueprints for that?"
"I'll have you know, Mr. Frost, a lot of planning goes into making new sections," Alice huffed, crossing her arms again.
"Really? Can't you just-" he held up his free hand and wiggled his fingers mystically for emphasis, "-imagine them up, or something?"
Alice scoffed, "hardly."
"Have you ever tried?"
She paused. It only lasted a second, but Jack saw anyways. "Well no, not yet. I've been a little preoccupied with other matters."
"Then how do you know?"
"I just do," she said tautly, ending the conversation as she stepped out on to the balcony. "I really think we should be going now. I would imagine children still have bedtimes in this day and age."
Jack kept the disappointment from his face as he nodded and followed her outside. It seemed like every time he was starting to get somewhere with the mysterious spirit, she shot him down and watched him crash. He wished he could understand her better. He felt guilty about poking around in her past, even more so when he discovered the tragedy behind it, and he knew the only way he could ease that guilt without telling her what he had done, was to listen to her side of the story. He didn't expect her to trust him enough to confide in him about something so personal so soon, if ever, but it couldn't hurt to try. He didn't want secondhand information anymore. He wanted to hear it straight from Alice, no matter how unpleasant it might be.
"Let's do this," he said.
He had the snow globe set to open up a portal to Burgess and he gave it a few shakes before throwing against the ground. When it impacted, a portal of swirling lights and colors sprung up from where the globe hit. Jack looked at Alice for her reaction, but she seemed unimpressed by the iridescent rip in time and space. He held out a hand for her to grab for support, knowing from experience that a trip through a globe portal could leave someone's head a mess if they weren't used to it.
"Ladies first?" he asked, unsure.
Alice ignored his offered hand and stepped past him. She entered the portal, leaving Jack standing alone on her balcony until he dropped his hand and followed behind her, the portal closing as soon as he stepped all the way through.
~O~
Jack had set the portal to open up on the outskirts of the suburban town. He wanted to kill some time before visiting Jamie and Sophie by walking exploring the town. He wanted to give Alice time to take everything in, let her to get reacquainted with the world. He didn't want to just appear right in the middle of town, though, and shove Alice into a maelstrom of lights, people and technology a century ahead of the time period she left so many years ago.
So to avoid getting his teeth kicked in, the portal opened up just beyond the tree line of the forest that surrounded the town. In retrospect, Jack should have went through the portal first because when he exited the portal, Alice hadn't stopped to wait for him and he was now standing alone. No real surprise there.
"Alice?" he called out tentatively at first, but when no one answered he went louder. "Alice!"
Jack gathered up a large gust of wind and shot up into the air, giving him a bird's-eye view of the town and a better vantage point.
With the familiar feel of the wind holding him up, the winter spirit scanned the area below. It was difficult picking Alice out from the other people walking around town and he blamed the black coat she was wearing. He moved further into town after he didn't see her along the tree line. While he searched, Jack wondered how on earth he managed to lose Alice so fast. It was like he blinked and she was gone!
Bunny would kill him if he didn't find her.
Luckily, just when Jack was about to fall into a panic picturing all the ways Bunny could hurt him for losing Alice in a highly populated area, his heart jumped in relief when he finally caught sight of her standing by a small fountain in the middle of town. He dived down towards solid earth again, aiming to land right next to Alice.
"There you are!" he exclaimed, once his feet touched rough pavement. Alice didn't turn to look at him as she reached out a hand and ran it under the cold water of the fountain. "You can't just go running off like that. I nearly had a heart attack! Do you have any idea how much pain Bunny would inflict on me if you got hurt?"
Alice stopped in her curious observations of the fountain lights and fixed the pale spirit with an acidic glare. She did not appreciate being scolded like a child.
"I'm not some damsel who needs be protected. Remember, it was you who asked me to come here."
"Yeah, I know. I just wanna make sure nothing happens to y-"
Jack's words died on his lips when Alice moved closer to him and growled, "I can take care of myself."
She whipped back around and walked away from him with sharp strides, leaving Jack to follow behind her like a kicked puppy, mumbling under his breath.
"Whatever you say, ice queen."
If Alice had heard the comment, she didn't say. She went back to exploring the things around her, absorbing all the strange lights and sounds. There was so much to take in, but determined, she cataloged everything she could, only stopping on one thing for a few seconds before moving on to the next thing that caught her eye. Jack trailed a few feet behind her, twirling his staff between his fingers while watching her reacquaint herself with the real world. She seemed to be taking in everything surprisingly well for someone who had been locked away in a world of her own creation for over a century, and Jack had to admire her for that.
The pair walked along the edges of sidewalks and away from the townsfolk. It wasn't until they reached a long row of mom-and-pop stores, that Alice ventured towards the middle of the walkway. She was too distracted by the streetlights overhead with Halloween decorations hanging from them to notice that she stepped into the direct path of a group of chatting teenagers. They, of course, didn't see Alice standing in the middle of the sidewalk, but Jack did.
"Hey," he called out to the woman, "you might wanna look out. Those kids are going to walk right through-"
Before Jack could finish his sentence, the teens walked through Alice like she was nothing and continued on their merry way. He cringed at the sight, having felt that terrible sensation of being walked through so many times before. It was a very hollowing, unpleasant feeling, like someone walking over your grave.
Alice stopped and looked after the group of teens as they walked away. Jack held his breath, preparing for a reaction from her, but only to be surprised when there wasn't one. All she did was look after them for a few seconds, taking note of the strange beeping devices in their hands before moving down the sidewalk again like nothing happened. Jack watched in awe as she went on her way, not even flinching when more people walked through her. He couldn't comprehend how she was able to brush off something that used to absolutely torture Jack. So many times had it physically hurt when someone walked through him, causing him to curl further into himself in loneliness and rejection.
And then there Alice was, walking down the sidewalk, ignoring the people passing through her as if it nothing was amiss. The people were just as invisible to her, as she was to them.
Jack stared after her before he shook himself and ran to catch up.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa," he chanted after he managed to fall in step next to Alice. "What was that? How did you do that?"
Alice pulled her gaze away from a bakery with beautifully decorated cakes and pies in the window and looked at the pale spirit walking beside her.
"Do what?"
"That!" Jack gestured behind them at the teenagers. "They walked right through you, like you didn't even exist! How can you just keep walking like it doesn't bother you?"
"Because it doesn't," she said.
She gave him an odd look before moving on again, still of nonchalance that made Jack's head spin. She didn't get far before he came up behind her again.
He tried to speak, tried to get out a properly formed sentence that would make her explain herself, but Jack's mind was blank. And it didn't help that Alice was too immersed in the world around her to pay any attention to him. He didn't know why Alice's disregard of being walked through elicited such a strong response in him. It should make sense that someone as cold as Alice would be indifferent to that sort of thing, but it just wouldn't click for Jack.
Without thinking, he reached out and wrapped his free hand around Alice's wrist, stopping the girl in her tracks and making her turn to face him. She looked down at the pale hand curled around her wrist before looking back up at his face.
"What are you-"
"Why doesn't that bother you?"
Her brow furrowed. "Why should it?"
"Because they can't see you." Jack stressed the last part with an undertone that Alice was familiar with, but couldn't quite identify. "Doesn't it make you feel like you don't exist? Doesn't it hurt?"
She shook her head. "No."
Jack swallowed, trying to keep his voice steady. "W-what about when you first became a spirit?"
She shook her head again. "No, not even when I first became a spirit."
"Why not?"
There was silence between the two spirits as Alice took in the boy standing across from her, staring with wide eyes.
Alice had already concluded by observing his extroverted personality that even after three hundred years, Jack was still sensitive about being an apparition to the mortal world. He was a people person, simple as that. He was at his happiest and most comfortable when surrounded by people he can play and talk with, especially children, which was probably why he was a natural at being a guardian. For the first time, Alice felt her heart go out to him. It was nothing short of a tragedy when someone like Jack is forced into isolation, cursed to be invisible to the beings who could easily give him what he craved most; companionship. It was clear by the way Jack did everything he could to avoid stepping in front of the people on the sidewalks that three centuries of the same result didn't help ease the pain.
Maybe that was why his eyes were so prying, why his grip was so firm, unconsciously causing a light coating of frost to trail up the sleeve of Alice's coat. Maybe he thought Alice held some sort of secret method to making it hurt less.
"Because..." Alice trailed off, turning away from his intense gaze to focus on a grocery stand selling pumpkins across the street. "In my experience, being invisible is the only guarantee way to escape people who wish to use you for their own selfish gain. It's easier for me because those people were the only kind I ever encountered when I was human."
Making yourself hollow and numb, that was the secret. Something Alice was a master at.
When Jack finally released her wrist, she let it fall back to her side.
"I'm sorry," Alice sighed, feeling the need to apologize.
"Yeah..." Jack murmured, moving to walk past her. "Me too."
The next half hour was spent in silence with Alice continuing her observations and Jack following behind with his staff on his shoulder and his free hand stuffed in his hoodie pocket. He kept to the edge of the sidewalks and away from the people. His eyes focused on the ground beneath his bare feet while his hood was pulled up over his head and his white bangs hid his face. Occasionally, Alice would send a glance behind her to see if he was still following. He was being so quiet, it unnerved her. She wasn't used to this silent Jack Frost. She stuck close to the edges of sidewalk also, more for his sake than hers.
Despite her extensive vocabulary, Alice was at a loss for words, so they were both silent, allowing the sounds of everyday life after sunset in Burgess to surround them. It wasn't until Alice almost walked out in front of an oncoming car that Jack finally broke the silence.
The traffic signal across the street told them that the intersection was safe to cross, but the approaching red car showed no signs of slowing down for any pedestrians, visible ones included. The few mortals who walked with the two spirits saw the car coming and quickly stepped back, but Alice had been too focused on a man playing a saxophone on a nearby street corner, to realize what was happening until she heard Jack's voice call out.
"Alice, get back!"
Jack reached out and wrapped his hand around the belt of Alice's coat. He yanked her back on to the sidewalk just as the car turned the corner, missing her by a half second.
Jarred by the rough pull around her waist, Alice lost her balance and stumbled over the concrete curb. She let out a gasp when she felt her back collide with Jack's front, acutely aware of the metal monstrosity that missed her by mere inches. A pained "umph!" escaped Jack when Alice ran into him, her elbow connecting with his stomach and the back of her head hitting his nose.
Alice almost fell to the ground, but Jack saw it coming. His left hand let go of Alice's belt at the same time his right hand let go his staff. He caught her around the waist, but he nearly lost his own balance in the process. Thankfully, without having to do any conjuring, the wind blew against the winter spirit's back, keeping him on his feet. For several seconds, the two spirits stayed as they were, waiting for the world to stop spinning. The people around them scrambled to fix themselves after a random breeze swept over them, out of nowhere, while others cursed the speeding car for running the light.
Jack fought to keep back the blush that would bloom across any male's face if they found themselves holding a very pretty girl in their arms, not matter how innocent the situation. Thank MiM that Alice was facing away from him, though.
Eventually, Alice fixed her crooked footing and loosened her tight grip on Jack's hoodie sleeves. Feeling her move, Jack loosened his own hold and tried to ignore the warmth pressed against his chest and the scent of hazelnut tea and violets.
"Are you alright?" he asked, rubbing the bridge of his smarting nose.
She nodded while holding a hand against her heart, trying to calm its distressed beating. "Yes, I'm fine."
"Whew, that was a close one, wasn't it?" Jack laughed halfheartedly to break the tension. "One second later and I would've had an interesting time explaining myself to the other guardians."
"My apologies," Alice turned to face her "savior". "I should have been looking where I was going."
"No, it's not your fault." Jack shook his head, glaring at the fading tail lights of the red car. "We had the light. That jerk is just hell-bent on getting someone killed."
He looked back Alice to see her smoothing down the front of her coat and brushing back her hair from her face. He felt bad for pulling back so hard, but he figured it was better than seeing her get hit by a car and sprawled out over the cold asphalt of the street. Spirits like them were intangible to humans only, not inanimate objects. They may be more durable than mortals, but taking a speeding car to the face would ruin anybody's night.
"Still, I should be more aware of my surroundings," Alice scolded herself. "Especially on the street where there are moving automobiles."
"You know what cars are?" Jack asked, bending over to pick up his staff.
"Yes, I read a few books on them, but I've never seen one in person until now," Alice explained as they waited for the traffic light to turn in their favor again. "The very first car was invented ten years after I became a spirit, but that was in Germany and I never left England before I retreated back into my Wonderland."
"Where'd you get the books?"
"Bunny brought them to me," she replied, crossing the street after Jack when the light said it was safe, but the pair looked more carefully anyways, just in case. "He used to bring me all sorts of things. Books, trinkets, jewelry and old devices like a gramophone, music boxes, a radio and even an old telephone. I never used it, of course, but it was interesting to take apart and study its interior. I tried to give it to Hatter as a gift - he enjoys mechanical things - but he smashed it against a wall."
At the mentioning of the famous book character, Jack's earlier grievances about his inability to be seen and the car melted away faster than his snow under the sun, and his mood lighten considerably.
"You mean the Mad Hatter?" When Alice nodded, Jack smiled. "So what's the real Mad Hatter like?"
"He's a gormless, time-obsessed blowhard psychopath who tortures his party guests in the most despicable ways conceivable by man and is completely incapable of shutting that jibber-jabbering mouth of his for more than five seconds."
"Oh."
Silence fell again as the two walked out of the shopping center of Burgess. They were headed towards an area that contained apartment buildings, the town park and the bronze statue of the town's founder, Thaddeus Burgess.
"So," Jack drawled, trying to strike up another conversation. He wasn't in the mood to be quiet anymore. There was still adrenaline flowing through him after saving (something he'll definitely brag about in the future). "I couldn't help but notice that you said Bunny used to bring you stuff. He doesn't anymore?"
"No," She answered as she wrapped her arms around herself when a chill swept past them. Jack, of course, didn't take any notice. "Not anymore."
"Why not?"
"I don't know," she admitted. "He just stopped one day and never told me why, but I suppose it was his subtle way of telling me that if I want to know more about the Outside world, I would have to leave Wonderland and find out for myself. He never really approved of my choice to leave this world. He doesn't like how secluded I've become, I imagine. There have been a few instances where he's tried to coax me out of Wonderland with Carroll's storybooks, but I paid no mind."
"I'm sure he meant well," Jack offered up. "Bunny can be a bit overbearing when he feels he needs to be, but I know he was only acting in your best interest."
"Oh I don't doubt that," Alice said. "Bunny is my oldest and closest friend. I value his opinion above anybody else's, even Cheshire's. But ultimately, my decisions are my own. I will always take everything he says to heart, but when it comes down to it, Bunny has no control over my actions. However, that doesn't mean he isn't an important influence on me though, mind you."
"Of course."
Now this was nice, wasn't it? The two of them strolling down the street on a nice, Autumn night actually talking, and not fighting. Seemed almost surreal.
"So what was the last thing Bunny ever brought you?"
"I believe it was a large stack of newspapers from different countries, depicting the progression of World War II."
"Oh wow, that was pretty long ago," Jack said. "Well, by human standards, anyways."
Another silence fell as they walked. Every now and again, Alice would ask Jack about something in their surroundings and he would answer, but other than that it was quiet. Being back in the real world wasn't as bad as Alice thought it would be. In all honestly, she didn't really know what to expect. She expected it to be more technologically advanced of course, which it was (dazzlingly so, with all the bright lights and bizarre sounds), but nothing beyond that.
She hadn't been nervous about going out into a mortally populated area. The townsfolk were her main concern at first. Alice was quite adaptable, what with her ever-changing, ever-random Wonderland, but she had never been much of socialite, not even before the fire. When she was a child, Alice always preferred to be alone, or with her older sister, Lizzie. The children in Alice's old neighborhood were always so nasty to her, making her shy and reclusive. She wasn't particularly fond of other people because of that, so it had been a relief to discover that she was still invisible. Once that was out of the way, she felt free to explore the little town that Frost was so fond of without worry.
They were out of town square now and were walking along empty streets. It was a nice night, but Jack was starting to get bored with just walking around a town he already had committed to memory. He spun his staff between his fingers again while his eyes trailed up towards the moon, wondering when it would be a good time to start his snowfall rounds. Usually, Burgess grew cold enough for snow in late November, but this year the temperature had dropped fast. He wondered how mad Sam Hein would be if he made it snow just a little on Halloween.
"Frost?"
"Hmm?" Jack hummed in acknowledgement, looking back at his companion see that she had stopped.
She stood with one hand held up by her mouth as her face curled up in an expression of confusion and curiosity. Her eyes were focused on something across the street and when Jack followed her gaze, he saw a group of young boys around Jamie's age standing outside a convenience store.
"What are those boys doing?" she asked, pointing.
Jack squinted to see better. At first, he thought they were just making faces at themselves in a stainless steel ice freezer, but once he saw what they were holding in their hands, he snickered.
Hearing him, Alice turned her questioning gaze on him.
"They're looking at their tongues in the reflection," He explained, laughing at Alice's bewildered expression.
"That's ridiculous. What on earth for? "
Jack opened his mouth to explain the concept of slushies to his modern-starved companion, but he stopped when a better idea popped into his head. He gave Alice a sly smile before motioning for her to remain where she was.
"Stay here. I'll be right back."
Without waiting for a protest, Jack took off in a jog towards the convenience store before disappearing inside behind a middle-aged woman with a silly, yellow sun hat on her head. Alice watched him go with crossed arms and an indignant huff. She let her eyes wander while she waited. When he finally came back to her, he had a large cup in his hand.
"Why were you in there so long?" she asked when he reached her.
"I had to do some sneaking. I didn't want anyone to see a floating Styrofoam cup and think the store is haunted. That sort of thing tends to be bad for business," Jack laughed before holding up the purple slushie for Alice to take. "Here, drink this."
When all she did was stare at the cup skeptically, Jack just rolled his eyes. "It's not going to make you shrink, if that's what you're worried about. Drinks in this world don't do that."
Alice narrowed her eyes at the jab, but decided to appease the annoying git by taking the cup. Ignoring the ridiculous bendy straw, she peeled off the lid and looked down at the cup's contents. It looked like half-melted, purple snow and smelled pleasantly sweet. Still skeptical, she brought the rim to her mouth and flinched when the slush hit her lips. She hadn't expected it to be so cold, but the beverage was as sweet as it smelled and it tasted like a fruit she hadn't had in decades.
After she took a few deep gulps, Jack reached out and grabbed the cup, pulling it away.
"Whoa, not all of it at one time," he warned. "You'll get a brain freeze."
"Now tell me, what does this have to do with anything?" Alice asked, her mouth feeling tingly from the icy drink.
"Go look at your tongue in the reflection," he said, pointing to a parked car before taking a long drink of the slushie himself, downing almost all of it (he was impervious to brain freezes).
Alice rolled her eyes, finding the situation asinine, as she walked over to the vacant car and looked in the side mirror. She nearly jumping backwards when she saw the color of her tongue.
"Oh! It's purple!"
Jack laughed at her reaction.
Okay, that was really funny. She looked so amazed.
Despite earlier incidents, the night wasn't turning out half bad. But as Jack went on to further explain how the slushie turned Alice's tongue purple, he prayed the rest of the night would go just as smoothly.
As it turned out, the universe had just one more curve ball to throw at them, and it was probably the worst one of the night.
Jack was telling Alice about the kids she was going to meet (their names and appearances, and how to tell which was which) as they took a short cut through an alley. It was getting late and Jack figured they should get a move on. He didn't want to keep Jamie and the others waiting up. It would definitely attract the attention of the Sandman.
They were just passing the back of a small, family-run diner when the back door of the restaurant flew open and two men came stumbling out, coughing loudly as black smoke drifted out of the kitchen. The grimy smell of smoke and burnt meat hit them in seconds.
Jack watched in amusement as the older man shouted at his clumsy teenage son for carelessly burning the hamburger and almost setting the kitchen on fire, again. Jack had seen this happen a couple times before while he wandered the town, listening in on conversations and watching people. It was always the same diner, with the same father and son, fighting over the same thing each time. It never ceased to be funny. It kind of reminded Jack of him and his father, back when he was a human boy living in the colonial times. He would always get lectured by his father for slacking off in the fields, playing games with his little sister when he was supposed to be watching the sheep, or doing his chores.
He chuckled at the memory while still watching the shouting match as the two males tried airing out the kitchen. He didn't even notice Alice wasn't standing next to him anymore until the sound of someone being sick reached his ears. He turned around and spotted Alice a little distance away, bending over a trashcan, throwing up into it.
Shocked, Jack ran over.
"Hey, are you alright?"
Alice's firm grip on the sides of the trashcan tightened harder as her body gave another painful lurch, emptying itself of what little she had in her stomach. She gagged three more times before her insides finally settled and she was able to breathe again. When she heard Jack's voice, she let go of the trashcan and moved away from the winter spirit before he could touch her shoulder. She gingerly walked over to a brick wall and leaned her back against it. Her eyes stung with the pain of her cramping stomach and her face burned with humiliation. Suddenly feeling hot underneath her coat, she let out a groan and started rubbing her temples in slow circles to help soothe her pounding head.
Jack watched her closely, trying to figure out what had made Alice sick all the sudden. When she shuddered in disgust at the lingering taste of vomit in her mouth, he told her he would be right back and jogged over to the diner. Smoke was still floating out of the open door, but Jack ignored it and stepped inside. He rooted around the kitchen for a few minutes before he found a clean drinking glass. After filling the glass up with cold water, he returned to Alice, no longer paying attention to the arguing father and son.
She was still leaning against the brick wall with her head titled back and her eyes closed, taking in deep, steady breaths.
"Here," Jack handed her the glass before he had the chance to freeze the water inside. He watched as Alice sipped the water. "Sorry for making you sick."
Alice looked at the pale spirit from over the rim of the glass. "What makes you think that this is you fault?"
He looked towards the ground and shrugged his shoulders. "It was the slushie, wasn't?"
At his misunderstanding, Alice would have laughed if the real reason hadn't been so depressing.
"No, it wasn't. It was the smell coming from that restaurant. I have an intolerance to that smell. It brings up some rather bad memories for me."
That was an understatement, but Alice forced herself to remain passive as she fought to ignore the images of burning wood and screaming voices that rang through her already aching head. Now was not the time for that. Not here, and not in front of Frost.
At first Jack didn't understand what she meant. How could the smell from the diner possibly make her sick enough to throw up? It was only the smell of smoke and burning meat-
Oh.
Now Jack's stomach churned at a terrible realization. If his skin already hadn't been on the verge of being blue, Jack could have sworn his face turned green.
The smell reminded Alice of her- oh god, that was horrible. If Jack wasn't feeling guilty before, he was definitely feeling it now, but he hid his reaction so Alice wouldn't pick up that he knew about the fire and her family's death. He swallowed the lump in his throat and reached out a shaking hand to rest on her shoulder. She tore her intense gaze from the ground when she felt a chilling pressure and looked at Jack with striking eyes.
"Sorry," he murmured, taking the empty drinking glass when Alice handed it back to him. "Let's keep walking. The further you get away from here, the better you'll feel. I'm sure Jamie has something in his house that can help."
Alice shook her head and pushed away from the brick wall. She hated the idea of medicine. "No, I'll be fine."
"You sure?"
"Yes," she nodded before walking down the alley way again. "All I need is little fresh air and I'll be as right as rain."
Jack didn't push further. He just left the drinking glass on the ground and followed Alice.
It grew silent again as they made their way towards Jamie's house. There was a bit of light conversation between them as they walked, but not much else, leaving Jack to think about how weird the night had been so far. They went from strolling through the town, to Jack having an emotional moment, to Alice nearly being flattened by a car, to sharing a slushie with her and then Alice throwing up said slushie because she smelt burning meat that reminded her of how her family perished in a house fire.
Jack couldn't say it had been the weirdest night he had ever had, but it definitely made his list. Hopefully, they left all that misfortune behind them as they entered the neighborhood that housed Jamie Bennett and his friends.
AN: I thought making Alice sick every time she smells burnt meat would be an interesting touch. In an interview with McGee, he once said that after defeating the Dollmaker, Alice more or less conquered her own demons (which is why I don't have her constantly going into hysteria rage whenever her past is brought up). But I thought that, even though she won and now has a solid hold on her mind, Alice is still going to have her little ticks, sort of like with war soldiers with PTSD.
~Scorpiofreak~