I had so much fun writing this, you would not believe it. Granted, Valentine's Day was a long while ago but I started writing this chapter by that time so please excuse the cupid tardiness. Have some chocolates or any kind of Valentine's Day sweets while you read this chapter. You deserve it for coming this far! (Just a heads up, this chapter is kinda long. Good luck! I told you, you deserve candy for this.)

Chapter 16

Valentine's Day creeped up on me without any notice. I mean, it normally does and before I met Alice, it was a meaningless day that was only different for the mortal kind, not us spirits. Well, besides Cupid of course. Still, I didn't realize the purpose of it until Sadie asked me that Saturday morning if I had anything in mind for Alice.

"...What would I have in mind?" I asked, looking up at Sadie as she stood in front of the couch armrest.

She raised her brows, her mouth open in surprise. That expression sure did make her blue eyes bigger in a comical way. "You know Valentine's Day is today, right?"

"Yeah, so?" I turned back to the newspaper in my hands.

Sadie gently tugged the newspaper down from my vision, and I gave her a warning look. But her serious face outmatched mine this time. She was speechless as she crossed her arms, hell, she even tapped her foot to add seriousness to whatever the occasion was.

"Alright, clearly you're trying to act mature, so I'll play along." I shook my head as I folded up the newspaper, chuckling.

"Pitch, Valentine's Day is a day to celebrate true love! It's a day to celebrate everlasting love with the person that matters to you with flowers and chocolates and fancy dinners!" she said sternly, but soon a smile crossed her mouth at the gestures of affection she listed.

That made a heavy feeling like a rock drop into the pit of my stomach. I forgot how much this day meant to humans, and I completely forgot that Alice was one of them. It wasn't that I was forgetful, it was that I've grown so used to their presence around me I considered them like myself, never aging and unphased to the days that floated by. For so long I considered, why must Valentine's Day just be one day? If you love someone with all your heart to the point you cannot fathom the idea of them being out of your life, wouldn't every day be Valentine's Day?

Then again, once you've received chocolates and flowers every day, it'll get a little old.

"Well?" Sadie asked, a hint of desperation in her voice.

"I'm screwed," I moaned, burying my face into my hands, "I don't know what to do."

"What about flowers? Alice loves flowers. You just gotta get the right colors for the roses." Sadie suggested as she sat next to me. She looked pitying at me. I didn't quite like that. I hate it when people give me a piteous look.

I shook my head, "Too cliché. Not only that but flowers die, while love is undying. They'd just sit in a vase and do nothing afterwards."

"Chocolates, maybe?"

I made a face showing disapproval, "Not sure about that. She'd be expecting that, you know?"

"Yeah, chocolates are pretty common. So you're looking for something really special? Like, rare special?" she asked.

I slowly nodded, thinking through with what could possibly pass as a good idea. I'd give her anything she would ask for, but to be quite honest, I don't know what she wants. She's modest, and keeps her wishes to herself unless I ask her or when Sadie probes her for answers. Not only that but on Valentine's Day, you have to be inconspicuous with your gifts. There was only one wish that I knew Alice wanted, and it was something I could never, ever give her.

She wanted her parents back.

Exactly. I can't give her that. No magic, either good or wicked forms, could let her see her parents one last time. No spirit alive has that kind of power. The only thing we could do is allow her to watch her memories of her parents, but that would just make her hurt and lonely inside.

"Hey! I have an idea!" Sadie's bright voice snapped me from my melancholy state as she jumped forward to stand in front of me, eyes sparkling with excitement, "You like to dance, right?"

I blinked, unsure where this was coming from. "Well, I guess."

"And you're kind of a fancy person too, right?" Sadie asked, folding her arms in pride.

I rolled my eyes before nodding. She wasn't exactly right, but she isn't one to know the definition of sophistication or regality. Sadie was literally jumping on the balls of her feet with whatever she had in mind to help me.

"How about a dance with her?!" Sadie burst, "Cause when she was eighteen she really, really loved fairytale stuff and in June the senior prom was coming up and-!"

"Whoa, whoa, Sadie," I laughed, gently pressing my hands on her shoulders so she could calm down and stop jumping, "Slow down, alright? What are you getting at?"

"Alice…" Sadie took a breath before saying clearly, "couldn't go to prom at her high school because she couldn't afford a dress, and her date bailed on her. It was her dream and she used to dream about going back in time and just going alone."

"So...just have a dance with her, but only us?" I asked. I honestly didn't know what 'prom' was, but I assumed it was a giant dance party with the entire student body in formal wear.

"Yeah, like a date, but prom, because she missed it."

Impressive. This girl is certainly creative. I think she noticed the impressed expression I wore as I was thinking, because she grinned again and began jumping up and down, this time quicker before I could tell her to stop before she drilled a hole in the floor.

"I could do that...that would be worthwhile. With just us, soft music...under the stars…" I had to admit I was smiling at the thought.

"Hey! Loverboy!" Sadie snapped her fingers in front of my eyes, making me both stop and raise a brow at her word choice, "Come on! We have no time to lose!"

Alice was due back to the house around five thirty or six, and by then the stars would be out. Luckily for us, the weathermen predicted a warm night, around forty to fifty degrees, so it wouldn't be as cold as usual. Sadie led me to Alice's bedroom by the hand, eagerly running down the hallway to get to some location she needed to go to. I'm telling you, running in a robe isn't easy, especially when you're bending over to reach the height of a ten year old who's pulling you at lightning speed.

"Before Mommy and Daddy died, they left us savings that we got as Christmas presents. Gramma also gave us money to go into an emergency card. Since Alice had a lot of scholarships from her college, she also put money in the emergency card."

Sadie yanked open a drawer in the desk east of Alice's bed and pulled out a rectangular card with a head of an ancient Greek soldier on the front, with bold numbers imprinted into it sharply. It had a shiny look to it. I knew it wasn't currency, because I've seen what the American dollar and coin looks like, so this must be some sort of card that can be used like it, in a way.

"This is definitely an emergency." Sadie said, grinning widely.

Apparently it was a credit card, something people use to pay with if they don't have enough cash in their wallet but enough in their bank. At least that's how Sadie told me when we walked towards the center of town. I knew it had to be more complicated than that, but for now her information would have to do.

"First, we gotta buy stuff for decoration. You have anything in mind?" she asked as we perused through aisles of a massive store. I noticed Sadie's childlike behavior when she peered down the aisle of candy and toys, but also a sense of maturity in not begging to go down there and keep walking, unlike what other children do.

"...paper lanterns?" I suggested, completely unsure if where I was going was going to be completely expensive.

Wouldn't Alice get upset with our spending? I know this money was meant as a gift to splurge on but for special 'emergency' occasions like Christmas and other holidays and dire events like accidents, but something like this made me worried. I didn't want Sadie getting in trouble if Alice didn't want us spending money on something that we'd never use again.

Then again, it was in fact Valentine's Day. It was meant for Alice, too. Maybe this once this could be excusable.

We ended up leaving that store with a good amount of yellow paper lanterns that were reusable, along with pink and red rock candy for Sadie. She insisted that since it was her idea she should at least get some for being creative. Who was I to argue? Though the sound of her drilling her teeth into hard candy made me cringe. Kids these days, with their choice of unhealthy junk food. No one would catch me dead chomping away at hard candy like that.

"Now we gotta get you a suit," Sadie said, stopping in front of a store that simply said Men's Warehouse, "A really fancy one, too!" She smiled as she licked a rock candy stick before throwing it into a nearby trash barrel.

"How are we supposed to get one when they can't see-?" I started as we entered the building, but was cut off by one of the store clerks.

"Well, hello!" the man knelt down to Sadie with a broad smile, "And what brings you and your father by today?"

"Father?!" I blurted, stunned. I was shocked at the title along with the fact that this person can see me. He could be fifty or sixty years old!

Freak.

"He's actually my sister's boyfriend. He needs a suit," she leaned in and said softly, "he forgot today was Valentine's Day."

"I did not! I just-!" I started, but the man smiled and stood up.

"Well, lucky for you we still have an array of choices. Go ahead and take a look, the specials are all in the back," the man took a look at my robe and smirked back up at me, "Though uh, we don't carry cloaks and robes here. Sad to say."

Though he laughed as if it was a joke, I sarcastically laughed before he turned his back and walked back over to the register, and I cursed at him under my breath. Sadie must've heard because her eyes went wide as gumballs, but then continued leading me towards the section the man pointed to.

As we walked down towards the back of the store near the dressing rooms, I leaned down and whispered, "They put them at the back because they know people will be too lazy to go back here, and see the expensive, good ones in the front."

"You want an expensive one?"

"No."

Sadie grabbed a grey looking blazer and put it in my arms to try on, "Then let's get dawdling!"

Alice just finished the daily editor's meeting by the time her shift was about to end. Nothing really changed since the last one, promising others to still be used to the steady flow of incoming reports and such. Once Alice was inside the building, her mind was focused on her work at full blast. She wasn't exactly a workaholic, but knowing that unlike her job at the bookstore, people liked having her around and she proved worthy of the editing staff.

She had two work friends there, Emma and Thomas, who were a married couple. Most of the colleagues there were married or beginning a family, and some were even elderly with so many anniversaries behind them they had laughing wrinkles imprinted into their skin to show the happy years they've had with their loved one. It kind of made Alice feel left out. She was the only one still in the dating phase.

...Maybe a part of her was wishing she was married. She wasn't sure.

Emma knew Alice would feel left out on Valentine's Day since everyone had something planned. Being her friend, she told Thomas to wait in the car for her so she could quickly talk to her. Going up the stairs was hard for her since she was six months pregnant, but she did it in the name of exercise. Besides, and Alice knew this as well, Emma was a kick ass strong woman that would not back down from a challenge, and a flight of stairs and a bulging womb wasn't going to stop her either.

She finally made it to Alice's small office, a smile on her face. But then her smile slightly fell as she saw Alice in her office, looking so dejected.

Alice stared out the window, holding one of her desk photos in her hands gently. She looked up at Emma's knocking on the side of the door and softly smiled.

"Hi, Emma." Alice greeted as she put the picture of her parents and sister back near her computer.

"Hey. Tom and I are going out to eat for dinner, and we're inviting you to come with us. Wanna join? It'll be at that Italian restaurant that just opened up down the road." she offered, rubbing her lower back.

Alice beamed but shook her head to politely decline, "I can't. I've got a baby sister and a boyfriend that need food."

"Can the guy cook?" Emma asked, watching Alice pack up her backpack with papers and her empty lunch bag.

Alice shrugged as she stood up, her winter coat over one shoulder. "I'm not sure. I mean, I don't remember making quiche, but I found it in the fridge one day."

Emma laughed at that as she walked beside Alice towards the door to leave the building. "Oh, man! Trust me Alice, if you've happened to find quiche in your fridge that you didn't make, he can definitely cook."

"Does Tom cook?" Alice asked as they stepped out into the evening air.

Emma nodded, "Probably more than he should. He has an entire collection of recipes he still has yet to try," she grinned at Alice, "You should try his croque-monsieur, it's pretty good."

"He likes...French food?" Alice raised a brow.

Emma knew Tom was into the French language, basically learning new cultures and languages, so it didn't come as surprising when he began making foreign foods with their gourmet kitchen. Thanks to her and Alice, Tom now likes Mexican food as well, but the poor bloke still couldn't speak fluent Spanish worth his life. At least Emma can, somewhat. Teaching him came at a price. Especially when he tried commenting on how cute a dog looked in the language but actually said 'but'. That definitely drew eyes at him, and Alice was there to witness that hilarious moment.

"Yeah, he's gotten me into it since we were dating. Hell, his cooking is the reason I got married!" Emma and Alice laughed at her joke, "But a croque-monsieur is basically a fancy term for a grilled ham and cheese. Don't tell Tom, cause he'll try to explain to you why it 'isn't' and how it 'has a different technique'."

"But it doesn't?" Alice smiled as she dug around her pocket for her car keys.

"Nope." Emma giggled, sidling up to the passenger seat of Tom's dark blue Volvo, with him happily sitting in it listening to music.

Tom noticed Alice standing near her car and rolled down his window, smiling kindly, "Hey Alice! You coming?"

"She's got dinner at home, love. It's just us this time," Emma said as she sat carefully in her seat, but then smiled up at Alice, "But you'll come next time we ask you out, right?"

"Sure." Alice nodded, giving a tiny smile to show gratitude for being thought of.

As Alice drove home, her high beams on due to the darkness despite it being near dinnertime, she thought about what Emma said about her marriage, her relationship with Tom. She was so happy, glowing with life and love. Alice wanted that. But with how things were now, she knew she could never see that happen. She had other worries and concerns in her way, like making sure Sadie was properly raised since no one else could, and she had her own responsibilities that distracted her from really enjoying life, besides being around Pitch.

...What would life be like if she was married to Pitch?

Alice turned her blinker on at the stop sign and took a left, her mind both focused on the slippery road and on her thoughts. It made her both excited and nervous at the idea of being married to him. Nervous because at any second she could lose him since the bond between them is forbidden, and also nervous that since he is a king in technical terms, she'd be given more responsibilities a normal wife wouldn't have. Would she dwell in the darkness of the Earth's core like he does? Would her entire lifestyle become dark, and she'd have to sacrifice life on the surface to life in the darkness?

Worse...what if Pitch had another dominating, tyrannical streak to take over the world's belief and all the other spirits would perish? She would have to be by his side no matter what she thought of the matter.

But she knew those thoughts were irrational. She saw Pitch slowly change, and from the bottom of her heart she knew he would never force her to side with someone and be that domineering person the Guardians say he was before.

What would Pitch think of the matter of marriage? Would he agree with committing to that, despite being immortal?

Now that she thought about it, it couldn't work. Even if she did get married to him, he would outlive her. He'd still look thirty or late twenty something, while she would age onward towards her grave. That made a shiver run down her spine and her mouth pull into a frown. She knew that would both hurt her and Pitch, knowing that she would die and he would continue to live on.

Would he move on from that? After she passed on and many years later, would he fall in love with someone else yet keep her in his mind?

Alice had to put those thoughts at bay. If she were less serious about the subject, or maybe if Pitch was mortal, she'd be daydreaming about what the wedding would be like and what song she would walk down the aisle to, or what color the bridesmaid dresses would be.

Maybe black.

Alice smiled at that little joke in her head as she parked the car and shut it off. The weather was still slightly warmish, but she kept her coat on anyway. Just as she unlocked the front door and trudged into the front room, she was met with Sadie right smack dab in the center of the room, staring at her seriously.

"Sadie? Where's-" She started, but Sadie cut her off with a suspicious question.

"Do you still fit in your prom dress?" she blurted, keeping her straight face on.

Alice raised a suspicious brow, and saw her little sister fidget a bit before regaining her composure. Alice dropped her backpack on the floor near the door and hung up her coat, thinking.

"Um, I think I do? Why?"

"I need a picture of you in it for art class. We're doing this picture thing where we have something looking out of place, and I wanna get a picture of you in your prom dress out in the snow."

Alice smiled at that, and Sadie did too, but for different reasons. While Alice smiled in admiration for taking her classes seriously, Sadie grinned because she knew Alice would not decline. Of course she would help her baby sister! Alice led her to the attic and brought down the long box containing her dress, bringing it to her room.

"I'm surprised you're not waiting until Sunday like you usually do. I'm glad you're on the ball." Alice said, shedding out of her clothes and pulling on the lavender dress.

Sadie liked Alice's prom dress, too. Surprisingly, it still fit her. The dress hugged her waist but flowed outwards like the elven dresses from Lord of the Rings, touching the floor like a ghost. Tiny little crystals lined the waist and the deep v-neck, spreading into a fleur-de-lis in the middle of her stomach.

"It's a little tight, but I can manage." Alice said, looking at herself from behind in the mirror. She forgot how much the dress exposed her back.

"Put your hair down," Sadie commanded, "That ponytail looks ridiculous with the dress."

"So you're a fashionista now, huh?" Alice laughed, pulling out her white hair tie and letting her dark auburn tresses fall to her shoulders. "I'm going to need to dye my hair soon," she noticed, touching her hair gently as she peered into the mirror, "It's getting too dark again."

She turned to Sadie and and raised her hands in a form of saying ta-da! Sadie could tell she wasn't used to being in the dress, and by the crinkle in her brow it told her that she was remembering how her prom night was never meant to be. Or that she wasn't a very big dress enthusiast.

Welp! It's about to happen now!

Sadie led Alice out of her bedroom and towards the sliding glass door, quickly opening it. Alice stepped out, watching her feet as to not trip on the hem of her dress against the threshold of the door.

But then she looked up…

I stood in the middle of a homemade, polished dance floor, looking extremely handsome-as usual- in a black suit and a red tie, neatly pressed and formal. I shyly smiled at her, unsure of what to do or even what to say. The shocked face she wore clearly told me that Sadie succeeded in surprising her older sister.

Paper lanterns hung around on strings in a square formation, encircling the little dance floor. Off to the side was a table with a picnic blanket draped over it with an old CD player belting out Alice's favorite collection of soft guitar and flute songs. Beside it was a bottle of red wine and two beautiful wine glasses, glimmering from the light of the moon and the lanterns.

Alice didn't realize she was smiling broadly until her cheeks started hurting. I grinned back, my eyebrows raising in concern at seeking her cheeks shine with tears.

She lifted up the hem of her skirt a bit and ran towards me, and I laughed at seeing she still wore her red casual shoes underneath. She collided into my chest, softly crying happily into my shoulder as my arms wrapped around her securely.

"Happy Valentine's Day, my darling Alice." I whispered, kissing her neck.

"I love you. I really, really love you." Alice repeated as she pulled back, smiling up at me.

I chuckled one last time before releasing her, and bowed to her. I extended a hand as I rose back up, smiling gently, "May I have this dance?"

Alice beamed again, and her hand was soon in mine, holding on tightly. Her body fit perfectly close to mine as I held her close and guided her to the music, allowing her to rest her head on my shoulder in peace. I looked over at where the porch was, and saw Sadie smiling happily at us.

I beamed and mouthed, 'Thank you.'

Sadie nodded, her dimples showing from her genuine smile.

I didn't know that the reason she had her hands behind her back was not because of confidence of her achievement, but that they were hiding an object from our view.

A letter.

Once the kitchen clock struck ten thirty at night, Sadie crept back outside stealthily as to not wake up her sister and the Boogeyman. Everything in the backyard was cleaned up, not a single trace of the little dance party was left behind. Only wonderful memories.

The moon shone brightly on the melting snow that lay in the branches of trees and on the soft ground, glimmering with brilliant white light. Stars twinkled in the sky, and Sadie watched them before going over to the banister of the porch and placing her hand on it. She wore her favorite pair of winter pajamas, white, yellow and blue polka dots with her black socks to keep her feet warm in the chilly night. Her hair was a little mussy from rolling around restlessly in her bed.

She wasn't sure if this was a good idea, leaving a note like this out in the open. But sometimes when Sandy makes his rounds she's usually asleep unless he comes early to play with her. She had no choice but to leave it outside, since the Sandman respected people's privacy in their own homes.

What if Alice or Pitch woke up before her, went outside and opened the letter? She knew Alice's response would be calm and collected, maybe even understandable, but Pitch...well, he's unpredictable.

Was Sandy still his enemy? She wasn't sure. Pitch could be a rather confusing man, and didn't necessarily voice his opinions on people unless someone was listening and he felt like gloating. His relationship with Sandy is getting better than before when they tried killing each other, but still...you never know.

Sadie placed the folded letter written in her own handwriting on the banister before whispering a soft, 'Happy Valentine's Day' before running back inside. The last thing she wanted was to be caught outside after she was previously sent to bed by her sister. Or worse, getting caught by her newfound crush.

Dear Sandy,

Happy Valentine's Day. I don't really have a gift for you, cause I don't have money. I don't know what boys like on Valentine's Day. If I did have money I'd give you a really big blanket to cuddle in or a yellow nightcap. Something sleep related since you enjoy it so much.

I really like you, Sandy. You mean a lot to me.

Love,

Sadie Xaviers