So here's the next chapter... This one's kinda BorisXAlice. I think. But anyway, there shall be JuliusXAlice in the next chapter (unless my plans change) so hold on! Oh, and the upcoming violence isn't actually upcoming violence. So at the end when you reach the at home part I cut off before anything bad happens, so don't worry! :)
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Blood smirked at her cooly, looking at her with a completely disdainful expression, "Well, I suppose since Vivaldi wishes for me to escort I'll have to, anyways. So, shall we?" He asked raising his eyebrows and holding out one hand to her.
Now it was her turn to raise her eyebrows at him, "I think not. I can walk myself thank you very much!"
Vivaldi cut in, "Our annoying little brother will stand over there-" she pointed to Alice's right side, "And We will escort Alice to the beach!"
Then, without waiting for a response from either Alice or Blood, she grabbed the younger girl's hand and began to lead her away from the hotel. But Blood wasn't finished yet. As they began to leave, Alice did her best to ignore him, but when he reached out and grabbed her wrist, she sent him a furious glare and attempted to yank her hand out of his. In response to her desperate attempts to get free, he only smirked.
That bas-...er...bad person! He always tries to make me as uncomfortable as possible...
"Vivaldi," she hissed. "Will you please make Blood let go?!"
But either the older girl hadn't heard her or hadn't cared, "Look!" Squealed Vivaldi, "Isn't it pretty?!"
Ahead of them was the beach, the white sand glistening in the waning light of the sun. The ocean seemed to sparkle as the waves performed a complicated dance, twisted and turning before crashing into the shore. But what made Alice's breath catch in her throat was the sunset. Pinks, reds, and oranges blended together, creating a gorgeous array of colors; something that belonged in a painting.
This is the kind of sunset that I always, always thought I would go and see with mother.
Lorina and she would have splashed in the waves, laughing as the reflection of the sky turned the blue water to a soft shade of gold. Their mother would be sitting on her beach towel, reading, and talking to father. Making sure that Alice and Lorina had enough sunscreen on.
"Alice? Alice, is something wrong?" Vivaldi pulled on her hand lightly, causing Alice to be aware that she had been staring off into space with an almost sad look on her face.
"N-No! I'm fine! It's just...it really is beautiful." She whispered softly, looking back out over the water. Some of her hair slid out from behind her ear a slight breeze picked up, the light catching on it in a way that made the gold even more noticeable than before. Forgetting that Blood still had her wrist, she tried to tuck it back behind her ear. When she felt the back of someone else's hand brush her neck she remembered and shot Blood a glare before asking him nicely, "Will you please let go of my wrist now?"
"No." He answered in a bored voice.
Alice felt a muscle in her eye twitch, "Suit yourself." She said coldly, and, realizing that her mouth was beginning to form into a pout, quickly changed it to a scowl instead. Acting like she didn't notice his hand touching her skin, she caught her loose hair and slipped it behind her ear.
She thought that she heard a slight intake of breath from Blood, but it was probably just her imagination. After all, he was the one who had grabbed her wrist in the first place.
"Is the young miss trying to seduce me?" He said in dry amusement, the corner of his mouth twitching.
Alice's head snapped up and she glared at him, "Of course not! You're the one who wouldn't let go of my hand!"
"You two are taking too long! We are getting impatient!" Vivaldi snapped, "We normally would not do this, but you two have already taken up too much of Our precious time." And with that, she reach down and, tearing Blood's hand from Alice's wrist, pulled Alice into her arms before she began to walk.
"V-Vivi?!" Alice stammered in surprise. Her stomach gave a small cry of protest as her bruises came in contact with each other.
But Vivaldi was ignoring her and walking toward the beach, leaving a slightly pissed Blood to follow in their wake.
Hmmph! Serves him right!
When they reached their destination, Vivaldi set Alice down gently before giving specific instructions to Blood, who didn't appear to be listening or, particularly, care.
She turned to Alice, "We are going to go change. You will stay here until We get back!"
"Vivi, do I really have to wear...this?! It's kind of...tiny! Can I at least have my hoodie-!"
The older girl cut her off with a glower, "No. Wait here."
Alice sighed miserably, before sitting down in the sand, hugging her knees up to her chin. The wind had started up again and had caused her hair to come completely out from behind her ears and fly around her face, but she was too moody to care.
Thank god hat-man is staying silent...
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"Alice! Alice, We're back!"
Alice looked up to see Vivaldi smiling and walking across the beach toward her, clothed in a dark red bikini that showed more skin than one she had given Alice. Slightly comforted by the fact that she wasn't wearing the most inappropriate bathing suit on the beach, the younger girl smiled back.
"Hey, Vivi. You look really...cute in that bikini!" She stood up and dusted herself off.
Vivaldi didn't seem to notice the hesitation in her voice, "We do?" She looked down at herself, pleased, "Thank you!"
"Yeah...so where, exactly, are we going now?"
Vivaldi grinned, "The same place Our brother has just gone!"
Alice looked around in surprise, scanning the beach for Blood. But as far as she could see, there was just a vast expanse of white beach, ocean, and on one side of the beach, a very large rock.
Is that where we're going...?
"Come on!" Vivaldi quickly grabbed her wrist and began dragging her in the direction of the rock.
What is it with the Dupre's and dragging people around?!
Right before they reached the other side of the boulder, which was even larger up close, Vivaldi paused for a moment to examine both herself and Alice. After a couple of last minute fixes and adjustments, the purple-haired girl grabbed Alice's hand before pulling her around the huge obstruction and into absolute and total chaos.
Well damn.
Vivaldi had just dragged her friend into an absolutely wild beach party. Girls in showy bikini flounced about, sporting glasses filled to the brim with (probably) alcohol and mini umbrellas, while various shirtless males showed off their strength by participating in a giant game to beach volleyball.
Ugh...my own personal hell.
"Alice, my love!"
The blonde cried out in surprise as she was suddenly slammed into the ground by an excited Peter.
Gyaaaaaah! He's not wearing a shirt!
"P-PETER YOU PERVERT!" She yelped, struggling in his iron hold before finally punching him in the face. She could feel herself blushing madly.
That might have been a little extreme...
She bit her bottom lip and looked at the rabbit lying in the sand. It was his own fault. He was the one being a creepy stalker. Besides, that hug had hurt.
"But, Alice, you came all the way here just to see me! Oh, I just knew you would!" Peter lifted his face out of the sand to smile up at her.
"I did not come here to see you!" She snapped back.
"But, you-!"
Oh, whatever, Vivaldi we're leaving!" Now it Alice's turn to grab the older girl's wrist and drag her with her.
"No! Alice! Wait, please!" He scrambled desperately to get off the ground.
As Alice disappeared into the crowd, she couldn't help but feel a tiny bit bad as she watched him look after her with huge, sad, eyes.
Well, it's his fault for being such a pervert!
Sighing softly, she released Vivaldi's hand and took a moment to get her bearings. She was now in the complete center of the crowd, with people pushing and pressing against her to try to get to wherever it was that they wanted to go.
"Vivi-!" She called, glancing around, panicked, as she searched for her friend. But Vivaldi's tell-tale purple hair was nowhere in sight.
"Vivi!" She called again, before finally realizing that it was pointless.
I'll just have to get to the edge of the crowd...
A couple of minutes and a lot of pushing and shoving later, the closely knitted knot of people began to thin out. When she reached a place that didn't seem to be filled with hundreds of students, she sighed in relief and took a moment to catch her breath.
"Hey..." She looked up in surprise to hear a masculine voice, one that she didn't recognize. It was a group of some of the boys in her school, "I haven't seen you before. Are you new?" Without waiting for an answer, he continued. "Listen, I was wondering, do you want to come and hang it with us? We could show you around...get you acquainted with some of the people here... So what'd ya say? You in?"
"U-Um... Not thank you, I'm really fine-" she put a hand, trying to refuse their invitation politely. She bit her bottom lip nervously.
Yet another reminder of why I wear my hoodie all the time...talking to strangers is miserable!
"We insist." Said another member of the group, reaching out and grabbing her wrist.
Alice frowned and tried to pull it back, shaking her head quickly. "Like I said, no."
"What's the matter? We not good enough for ya, sweetie?" He leered at her, yanking on her wrist.
She squeaked in surprise as she pulled forward, falling toward him. Suddenly, a pair of arms caught her around her waist, making her flinch in pain.
"Didn't you here her say no?!" Her savior growled, pulling her closer to his chest and gently setting her upright on the sand.
"Boris!" She gasped, turning toward the cat-boy in surprise.
He flashed a quick grin before turning back to the offending party, "Well?!"
"Er...right, sorry!" The leader said quickly, gesturing toward the crowd in a not-so-subtle hint to others to retreat, "We didn't realize she already had a boyfriend...sorry!" He mumbled quickly before disappearing into the crowd.
Trying to ignore the blush that automatically spread across her cheeks at the word boyfriend, she smiled up at Boris, "Thanks. You really saved me back there!"
He leaned in toward her slightly, "Anytime. And your very welcome." Seeing her flush even harder using close proximity and at the fact that she had just realized he wasn't wearing a shirt either, his grin widened, "By the way, did I mention that I love your swimsuit?"
She quickly stepped a couple of paces away from him, fiddling with her hair, "Right. So, ah, do you know exactly what the purpose of this whole thing is?" She gestured toward the party, which was still in full swing.
"Of course!" He said, recoiling in mock horror, "Don't tell me you've never done this before?!"
"What do you mean?" Alice cocked her head to one side, puzzled.
Boris' face quickly changed back to his signature grin, "You'll see. Just promise that I'm the one you'll go with, alright?"
"Um...okay..?" She looked at him for a second in confusion, before turning once again to scan the crowd for Vivaldi.
As soon as she turned away, Boris quickly did a celebratory fist pump before composing himself once again.
"Testing, 1...2...3..." A voice resounded through the the throng, as through through a loudspeaker.
"Eh?" Alice looked around, in confusion, "Wha...?"
"Nightmare. He's going to start the event..." Boris supplied quickly, "It's time, now! Come on!" He reached for her hand and then hesitated for a moment, "It's so you don't get lost in the crowd." He clarified quickly.
She couldn't help but smile at him, "So I don't get lost in the crowd." She agreed, before grabbed his hand and followed him through the mass of people.
"So, here we are at this year's...er...beach festival!" Alice peered over heads and between heads until she managed to catch a glimpse of flashing silver hair, a definitive trait of Nightmare, whom she remembered meeting before as a member of Wonderland.
He must be important...
"Bla, bla, bla, bla, bla...and more stupid, tiring words that Gray wanted me to memorize. Let's begin!"
Alice's eyebrows shot upwards.
Er...Gray must be important.
Suddenly, loud music filled the hall, a mix of different songs all pushed into one. She winced. She had always despised that kind of music. It seemed to her that it was just a bunch of different songs stuck together in the strangest way possible. As she watched, different people paired up, dancing together. Some were amazing, drawing excited cheers from the crowd; others were terrible, causing people to boo and yell at them to stop. She stood, mesmerized, as the crowd changed from one large group, to separate groups, to couples. Soon, there were only a few people (that she could see) that weren't dancing, her included.
She yelped in surprise as Boris yanked her toward him, blushing slightly at her wide-eyed expression. He spun her around in time with the music, causing a matching blush to appear on her own face. As they danced, Alice couldn't help but slowly begin to smile. Everything seemed so insignificant, with just her, the music, and Boris. Gradually, she even began to dance with him instead of just Boris kind of awkwardly trying to spin her around. She giggled at his stunned expression and squeezed his hand gently. He squeezed back, before laughing slightly, the biggest grin she had ever seen on his face.
Maybe all the boys here aren't that bad!
Alice grinned back, finally allowing her happiness to show completely. She cocked her head to one side in puzzlement as Boris blushed and looked away, toward the other couples.
"Hey, Boris?" She asked, calling his attention back to her.
"Yeah?"
"I think this might be the best beach trip I've ever had. You know, if I weren't wearing this horrible bikini."
"Huh, really?" He spun her around, "I think it's looks kinda sexy- er...really pretty on you!"
She raised her eyebrows slightly at him, "Thanks. So does yours."
He stared at her for a moment, "Did you just call me sexy? ...Or did you call me pretty?"
She cocked her head to one side and tapped her bottom lip with her finger, as if pretending to think, "That! The second one!"
He blushed and stared at her in mock hurt, "You're so mean, Alice."
She smiled at him. He smiled back.
And for the second time that week, Alice forgot about her father and Lorina, and forgot about exactly what was her fault. About just what she had done.
And instead, she danced.
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The rest of the field trip passed in a blur of Wonderland. Literally. She could hardly get a moment of peace with Peter's constant hugs, Vivaldi's suggestions to either get a makeover or, more often, suggestion to lose the sweatshirt, which she had finally given back to Alice, and Boris popping up every five minutes or so to either talk about or help her with whatever she was currently doing.
And when Alice finally got back on the bus and climbed out, doing her best to ignore Blood, who was sitting at the front of the bus and smirking at her, she couldn't help but feel a little bit disappointed.
But that feeling quickly changed into fear.
What's dad going to say? What's Lorina going to say? Will they even notice that I was gone?
Biting her bottom lip, she carefully pulled out her spare key and twisted it in the lock. Slipping inside, she scanned the hallway carefully.
Maybe they didn't notice I was missing. Maybe they thought that I was just here the whole time. Maybe-
"Alice!" Lorina's high-pitched voice called furiously, "Where have you been?!"
"A-A field trip, of course!" She tried a smile.
"Sure. I bet you were at some guy's house, weren't you?!"
"N-No, onee-san-" She reached toward her sister, sensing that their reasoning was drifting farther and farther apart.
"You're stuttering! You're lying! That's horrible! And after everything, everything I've done for you so far, Alice, do you know how difficult it is for me?! To have to live with my mother's and little sister's killer?!" Shaking her head slowly, her face contorted in pain in anger, she started to cry softly, "And don't call me that! You are no sister of mine!"
"I-!" Alice started.
"What the hell-?!"
She flinched and turned around to see her father standing behind her, looking angry and very, very drunk.
"What did you do to Lorina, you f***ing ingrate!"
"I didn't-!"
Lorina cut her off with an explanation of how she'd tried to 'lie'.
What's the point of trying, Alice, if it's not going to change anything?
A long time ago, she had been stupid enough to believe that talking it out with her father or Lorina was going to work. She had tried it every time she was hit or yelled at.
But she was no idiot-she learned fast. The next week, she had looked up self-defense strategies. But most of them had some degree of hitting back or running away from you opponent. The week after that, she had looked up ways of protecting you face when you're in a fight.
That had worked.
And as her father moved closer, she mentally went over exactly what she had to do, as it would now be especially important. Having friends was a strange-but good-feeling. And hiding her bruises from them had been surprisingly easy.
The difficult thing would be keeping them hidden.
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Yeah... I should hopefully get updates out faster now that I'm on summer break! *Does stupid looking happy dance* Yay~! *・゜゚・*:.。..。.:*・'(*゚▽゚*)'・*:.。. .。.:*・゜゚・* (Oh and things will get better with Peter and Blood and the Jokers, I promise! ;)
