forum don’t go down the rabbit hole (alice in wonderland o/o)

Started June 23, 2020 by @MusicElle-is-here

tune

Jasper blinked, staring after her as she left. April was weird, and coming from him, that was saying something. He glanced down at the walkie talkie. Well, he supposed it was something. Maybe he and April could truly become friends.

(time skip?)

(yeah, that sounds good!)

Jasper stood looking out at the sea of faces in the cafeteria with his tray in hand like always, eyes alighting on his usual table. He should just go there, but he wondered where April was. He already felt like he was more similar to her than anyone else in the school.

April kept her head down. That could be her defining sentence, one to describe her entire personality and existence. Today though, specifically, she was keeping her head down at lunch, weaving wordlessly through the jungle of limbs that could be mistaken as well-organised, cheery students. That was, if you didn't know the cohort.
April knew what they spoke about during lunch, that most of them were so eager to get to their tables so no one could speak about them while they were gone, or perhaps so they didn't miss the latest gossip.
Either option bored her so incredibly she'd rather put herself through a day of Mrs Dellaway's math class than listen to any of them. And Mrs D was like ninety something with a strong passion to talk of her knitting.
April sat with her back to the food benches, listening to the sounds of kids shoving and screeching to get to the still-hot cafeteria food of which there never is much. The food was only ever good on Fridays when the school ordered a bunch of pizzas from the local pizzeria, then even April would dare to get the food from the evil hands of the crusty lunch ladies.
It was just a normal lunch, her fork poking mindlessly at leftovers from last nights pasta, translating a book from a different language with her textbook and half-listening to a pop song playing through her earphones.
Then she sensed it.
April had never been able to explain it, but when trouble rose. She knew it was coming.
Only from people around her, if you meant her harm, April could practically smell it. And it was hard not to smell Brian Wells. The schools biggest bully, generally popular just because of this and really bad B.O.
He was standing behind her, probably to pour something over her head, but whatever he was planning she could feel his wicked smile like she had eyes on the back of her head.
She grabbed her lunch tray and whipped it around, hitting his head in one clear whack. The sound resonated through the cafeteria, people looked over.
"Get away from me!"

Jasper’s eyes shot over to April, eyebrows rising. Even he had to admit that she looked a little crazy, wielding a lunch tray against Brian Wells. He was definitely intimidated, and Jasper would be lying if he said that he and Brian hadn’t had a few run-ins. But how did she react so fast? Brian looked more surprised than Jasper had ever seen him.

"Witch!" Brian screeched at her, stepping back. "How the hell did you see me coming. You saw it! She's a bloody witch!"
Except he didn't say bloody. Brian Wells addressed the people around him, his friends were getting out of their seats, all of them walking slowly towards her like she was a bomb ticking away.
April tucked her arms tightly at her side, feeling the glares of every set of eyes in the room and the rising nauseous. She had done it again, predicted the danger ahead of time. And now she was even more screwed.

Jasper set down his lunch tray next to his friends and hurried over to assess the situation. Brian was probably overreacting, but the interaction still unnerved Jasper. He glanced back at his friends, all of whom were either watching the scene play out or giving him weird looks. He wasn’t usually one to get involved in fights, particularly ones that he wasn’t anywhere in the vicinity of, but he was not only curious, he also felt that he had to protect April. It wasn’t even a conscious decision; the way he was drawn to April was almost magnetic.

“Hey, what’s going on here?” he asked, his voice holding steady. Thankfully. Though while Jasper’s voice didn’t waver, the scared undertones of fear in his face were a giveaway. His anger was already cooling off now that he was in the midst of so many bigger, stronger bullies.

Curious and curiouser. April watched Jasper approach the school's most feared troublemaker with obvious fear, and yet something about him screamed an out-of-world confidence. Like he'd seen much worse than Brian.
She'd manage to control her angry shaking, and was promptly staring down the bully's minions that were creeping towards her with vicious intent. They all wanted to make her pay for such a simple hit.
The cafeteria was silent and staring, everyone was horrified and likely angry and there was a mess that the janitors would hate her for.
So, the usual Monday then.
April was thankful for her new friend, because as he stood and approached with a simple question teachers appeared out of nowhere like he'd summoned them, others shrank away fearing punishments. Only Brian stood tall like a statue, glaring her down and waving Jasper off.
"It's none of your business. Stay out of it." He grabbed April's arm fiercely and grinned. "Let's take a walk, huh witch?"
He whispered the last part to her, threatening April without saying outright, knowing that they were well in sight of the teachers around them. Except he didn't say 'witch'.

Jasper took another step towards Brian, eyes narrowed. He was still afraid, but gaining confidence. Most of the other bullies appeared to have given up when teachers started arriving, but Jasper held his ground as long as Brian stayed by April’s side. When the other boy had grabbed her arm, it made Jasper even angrier. He knew he would have felt violated, and the fear on April’s underneath her glare was evident to him. Then again, he’d always been strangely good at knowing how people truly felt.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you, Brian,” Jasper said with a dark gleam in his eyes. For a moment, it was almost as if shy, nervous Jasper had become someone else entirely, and he was sure that Brian noticed it. Jasper kept walking until he was only a foot or two shy of being nose to nose with Brian. “Leave her alone.”

April pulled at her sweater, readjusting it in amazement as she realised Brian had released her from his grip. Jasper seemed taller then she remembered in that moment and far more intimidating. His energy had snapped, doubling in intensity within seconds.
She wasn't sure how she felt about being protected, she'd never considered she'd have someone to do that kind of thing for her in the first place, but April was sure glad for a friend like Jasper.
There was something unhinged in the murderous glare of Brian Wells as he stalked off, ringing one finger under his neck as a threatening sign that he wasn't done with her yet.
April gulped.
She fidgeted on the spot, her eyes bouncing over the quiet cafeteria, uncomfortable with the new attention and her practical saviour. Jaspers face was still friendly and soft like she remembered, his menacing gaze had vanished completely when the danger faded. April couldn't decide between thanking him profusely or scattering and vanishing herself right there.

Jasper released his angry glare, his soft, delicate features going from stone to worried in a number of seconds. Worried was more or less his resting face at this point, since it was his default emotion. He scanned April for any injuries but didn’t find any. Would things just get worse for her until he had no choice but to bring her into Wonderland with him? Or was this just some sort of fluke?

Either way, Jasper was convinced that it was really her. April was the real Alice, which meant that their fates were interwoven. He had no choice but to stick by her now, though he was glad it was at least someone he could get along with. He blinked, his big hazel eyes looking even bigger with his round glasses. His nose twitched, a tic he had picked up at some point when he was younger. He shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans.

“Are you okay? What was he trying to do to you?” Jasper asked, his curiosity and worry getting the better of him. It wasn’t impolite to just ask her if she was all right, was it?

The way Jasper was looking at her way new, a subtle change that was somehow plain as day. Her head was spinning but she felt like it wasn't just because of the meaty boy that had shaken her violently, screaming insults. She was used to that sort of thing, wasn't she?
No.
Something else was causing the mindless, dizzy sensation resounding from her pores to the base of her heel, like something had finally ended. Or, much more likely, begun. Jasper's face was soft and kind, searching her own with worried lips pressed tightly together. April was a storm, always, but in that moment the flickering of her own expression had to resemble the most horrendous tornado. He was the thing grounding her.

"I'm fine." The words leave her mouth with a bitter reluctance, a sort of lie that she had to give. "Thank you for that."
Electricity, that's what the feeling is, the urge to run or fight, bouncing, twisting, growing in the pit of her stomach and stretching wide. Dangerous, explosive, so very April.
She wanted to diffuse the feeling, to meet it with it's demands, to go to the forest behind her house and feel at home, away from the school and the people in it who, she had decided, were stranger then her by a mile.

Jasper nodded, though somehow he doubted she was being entirely honest. Her usually turbulent—at least from what he had observed so far—expression was more stormy than ever, and she looked as if she would bolt away any second. It was a similar way to the nervous, pent-up energy Jasper was beginning to feel as well. And it made him more sure than ever he was right.

Being right didn’t feel good. It felt like the end of an era, or the beginning of one, perhaps. Either way, it made his stomach turn. The way he felt was getting more and more electric, reminding him of the only time he’d used his Wonderlandian magic, though he’d almost forgotten how at this point with how rarely he’d tried. It was for the best, though, as his sanity would be a ticking clock once he started using it more. And sanity was something of precious rarity in Wonderland, so different from this strange world, practically gray in comparison.

From what Jasper had heard, he and April would begin to feel more and more out of place here until they left now, since meeting her was always the catalyst to this story. Why hadn’t he just stayed at home, being homeschooled and away from the possibility of meeting her? Then this whole mess wouldn’t have to happen at all.

But Horatio had warned him of the inevitability of it all. Even if Jasper rarely left the house, April would accidentally stumble upon him getting groceries or knock on their door to sell Girl Scout cookies—whatever Fate thought was best. Jasper blinked, trying to rein in his thoughts. He often daydreamed and lost track of the conversation, but never had he gotten so panicked in his own head at school before. He tried to shake it off.

“Are you certain that you’re all right?” he ended up asking, knowing it had probably been several seconds since April’s last reply.

She is not sure. Nothing feels sure. April feels light and breakable like icy fingertips. She shifted from foot to foot and tried to reel in on Jasper's stable eyes, eyes that were meeting her own in a gentle but strong hold.
April managed a nod. "I'll be alright. Thanks to you."
She wasn't sure why, but a smile came to her lips, as minuscule as it was, she really did mean it with sincerity towards her knew friend. She felt ashamed, casting her glance away from him suddenly, that she had involved him in this, caused him trouble. Knowing that Brian Wells would have his revenge, sooner rather then later.
April had known Jasper for hardly any time at all and he was already reaping the consequences, she was waiting for him to leave.
"Maybe I should just go home." She murmured, pulling at the sleeves around her fingers.
The static feeling was as strong as ever, somehow more so when Jasper was next to her, like if they touched something would turn on, or explode. The electric air made her jumper fuzzy and rippled.

Jasper's stance and face was contorted with a controlled anxiety, she couldn't decide whether he was scared of her or determined. Either was he didn't look nearly so helpless and shy as he had the day they first met. Something had shifted when he came to her air. She felt sick thinking about it, leaving was always the best option.
She scooped up her satchel that was trapped beneath one fo the overturned chairs at her abandoned table. Somewhere in the distance teachers were shouting.
"I think I'm going to go."

Jasper watched her, eyes furrowed his confusion. She could definitely feel this strange new anxiety, he was sure of it. She looked guilty somehow, like she felt bad about what had just happened. Trust me, I’m going to drag you into far worse trouble than you’ve ever brought me, he thought, biting his lip.

“Wait!” the word was out of his mouth before he could stop it. “Wait.” He repeated, quieter. Calmer. “I have to tell you something. If I’m being honest, you probably won’t like it, or maybe you won’t even believe it, but I think I owe it to you. It’s not your fault at all, everything that’s happened recently and that will continue to happen is all my fault. I wish I hadn’t dragged you into this but it’s too late, I have to tell you why. I think it’s only fair that I tell you. I’m so sorry about everything. I hope you don’t hate me after this. I just have to let you know the truth.” Jasper had begun rambling again, his anxiety spiking. He had to tell April about Wonderland and about the curse.

Would she even believe him? Jasper had no clue. But he owed it to her to try. It would worse to leave her in the dark until they inevitably ended ip in Wonderland than to tell her now and risk sounding like an idiot, or worse, a crazy person. But whether she believed him or not, he knew the end result would be the same, so he had to try. He searched her expression for any sign that she would believe him, hoping against hope that she would at least attempt to understand.

She turned back to him, it was something instinctual. Something she couldn't stop even if she wanted to. The world could have imploded in that moment and she still would've looked back into Jasper's eyes.
They were wild, darting about the place. Worried.
He'd said she wouldn't believe him, wouldn't understand or like it, but April could see the glint in his eyes. The same anxiety coursing through his brain, the same feeling, like they'd just heard the clock signalling the ending of their lives beginning to chime.
"What do you know?" She muttered, sure not to be loud enough that students goggling at them as they left for class could hear. "What kind of truth is there?"
He was looking at her like she was an injured deer, like her life hung in his hands but he wasn't going to do anything about it. His look had always been genuine and kind, but now there was terror.
The cafeteria seemed louder then usual, pounding in her head, scuffing off shoes boomed, laughter cackled and the glares emitting from around the room could have lit fires.
The only soft, safe thing was coming from Jasper, his concern, his fear.
"What aren't you telling me?"

Jasper sighed, drawing in and blowing out a strong breath in an attempt to fortify himself for the talk he was knew was about to come. "It's not really a discussion we can have in public," he muttered anxiously, messing with his already wild hair. "How about we skip class and hide out behind the school or something? I'll tell you everything, I promise. You might want to mentally prepare yourself, because it's a doozy. Like I said, I'm sorry for dragging you into this mess, and it's all my fault. I should've stayed–" He shook his head. "Anyway, let's go before the teachers start patrolling the halls and catch us. I really don't need that today, and I'm assuming neither do you."

He looked back at her, gazing into her eyes for a moment. Did she trust him? Only one way to find out, he supposed. He probably wouldn't, if he were in her position. Having a boy you'd known for less than a week tell you that you're a part of a curse, a magical storybook cycle that continued every generation? Madness. The thought almost made him laugh. Wonderland was the epitome of madness. As fierce and brave as April was, this was going to be over her head. Then again, if she was truly the right Alice, maybe she was the key to saving them all. Jasper bit his lip. The last Alice hadn't done so well about the saving thing, though she'd gotten the closest to stopping the curse. She was lured by greed, consumed by want and risked all of them for her own personal gain. Jasper just hoped April was different.

"Ok. Anyplace but here." She nodded and grabbed his hand instinctually. "I know a spot."
Jasper was right about the teachers, April was already in trouble for multiple instances, most including staring out the window. and blowing up the chemistry lab.
Without another word, she took off, dragging Jasper behind her. He was just as fast as her and this really surprised her, he was like a new born pup or some rabbit. They dashed through the corridors, down to the library and up the stairs behind the librarians office, to the school's roof. It had originally been designed for a popular 'green thumbs' club in the school, but after a pot growing incident in the 80's the school shut it down.
Now April spent most of her time up there.
She was quietly impressed, diving deeper into her thin trust for her new friend, that Jasper had both kept her pace easily and let her drag him along into territory probably unknown to him. He followed her blindly, faithfully.
They had both trusted one another instantly, April that Jasper had something deadly important to explain and Jasper that April could keep them out of trouble in her spot. That was a magnetic pull, something beyond friendship.
Alien to her, metallic in her mouth, but there was something very familiar in it all too, something she truly understood.
Madness.

April twisted locks of her hair between her fingers, tugging slightly at them, at this thought. She wasn't wearing any rings to twist and began to wander off in her own thoughts, thinking of where she might have left them. April knew her mind was trying to distract itself, slowly reaching a growing panic, somehow knowing whatever this news was, it wasn't anything good. She tried to put on a placid face, throwing herself down between the abandoned pots and overgrowing weeds to look up at Jasper. Her kind-faced, stronger-and-faster-then-he-looked new friend.
He was resigned, maybe a little scared, anxious, in urgency, slightly confused, unsure and yet?
There was hope there, too.

Jasper studied the spot, taking a liking to it. It seemed like the sort of place he would have liked to hang out at in different circumstances. If he were actually a part of this world, and deserved any sort of place in it. He shook off the thought, knowing that now was his time to tell April everything. He stopped when she did, looking around for several beats before fixing his gaze back on her. He took another deep breath, ready to dive into his crazy explanation for the first time. He'd never breathed a word about any of this to anyone other than Horatio.

"Okay," he said at least, the word breaking the thin silence. He took another breath, nodding like he was steadying himself, which he was. "Okay. So, like I mentioned, this isn't easy to say. I've never, ever told anyone about this, but I feel like you need to know. I know you feel the pull between us, not like any sort of attraction, I mean like…almost a magnetic pull. Like fate, if you will." He chuckled nervously, though there wasn't much humor in it.

"So, I'm going to assume you've heard of the story Alice in Wonderland, right? Classic children's tale. Anyway, you know how the story goes, Alice goes down the rabbit hole to Wonderland, so on and so forth." Here Jasper paused for a moment. "Well, and here's the crazy part, Wonderland exists. It's a real place. I don't know how people here know about it, whether Lewis Carroll was a part of the story we've been trapped in for ages, or whether he just heard it from someone who was, or was some sort of voyeur who managed a peek into what lies there, but it's real. I–it's my home."

"Basically, I believe that you're the next Alice," he ventured at last with surprisingly strength behind his voice. "I escaped Wonderland, hoping to end the cycle, but ever since we met I've had an odd feeling, and after the events that transpired just now, I'm nearly certain that you're the one I'm supposed to find. You see, the last White Rabbit, as you would be familiar with the term, was my dad. So I guess it's always been my destiny to find you. And I tried so hard to avoid it, believe me I tried. But I should have known that fate would find a way to bind us together. So here I am, and here you are, and here lies the dilemma before us. One way or another, I am assuming that the both of us are going to end up back in Wonderland, and if we don't go there willingly, the Queen of Hearts might send someone to find us, and you had best believe that won't end well for anyone. And I'm so sorry that you're a part of this mess now and you probably won't believe me because I'm aware I sound insane right now and…" He took a breath, looking up at April's face. "Do you believe me?"

"Are-are you making fun of me?" Her face was hot instantly, she blinked back rising tears. "My whole life I've wanted to be that girl. Sure, lewis's Alice was scared but she was a tiny girl, she didn't realise the truth of the place. Wonderland isn't evil! It can't be! My whole life I've-"
April stuttered over the words, grasping at nothing that could express her love of the imaginary world. "I've-"
She rolled her hands uselessly, she failed, staring hopelessly up at Jasper like maybe through glossy eyes he could feel her horror and loss at the thought of her only sort-of friend teasing her like this.
"I know that people call me Alice, I get that it could be fun to tease me about it, but, you're too real!" She rushed away from him at those words, towards the edge of the roof.
Anywhere would be safer, better, then trapped with Jasper, with such honest eyes but words that couldn't be true.
"I didn't think you were like them. I really did feel a pull, something dangerous and yet, meant to be." April forced a sob down, daring further away from Jasper. "How can I believe you?"

Jasper bit his lip, knowing he was losing her. He desperately thought of a way to convince her that he was telling the truth. “April, no, it’s not like that!” he cried, his own face getting hot with anxiety. Fear began creeping its cold claws into his stomach. “Please, I’m telling the truth! I know what it sounds like, but…”

At that point, it dawned on him. The one quick, easy provable way that he could demonstrate he was serious. One thing that she could not explain away. After all, seeing is believing, right? Or at least that was how the saying goes. He only hesitated a bit before he started speaking again. If he only transformed for a few moments, surely his sanity would be okay. Mostly.

“I can prove it,” he ventured quickly, practically spitting out the words. “I can change shape, into a rabbit. Watch.” And with that, he closed his eyes in concentration. As rusty as he was with the magic, it took him a terrifying few seconds before a glittery sheen appeared on his skin as he shrunk down, changing shape in nearly the blink of an eye. Then instead of a fidgety, gangly boy, a fluffy white rabbit sat in his place. The animal sniffed a few times, raising a paw experimentally as if remembering how, and then turned to face April with as close to an “I told you so” look on its face as a rabbit could have.

After another couple of seconds, the rabbit began to glitter, growing taller until Jasper stood there once again. He twitched his nose, in a very rabbit-like manner, then scratched at his ears quickly before looking at April. “How else could you possibly explain that?” he asked at last. “Do you believe me now?”

April was a statue. Breakable, frozen and cold to the touch. You could talk to her for hours and rarely know if she was listening, her emotions were unreadable and her stance was strict.
But what else was knew?
April was also probably having the worlds smallest panic attack, that ended just as quickly as it began. Her heart rate dropped to below sea level, an analogy which like the situation made no sense, her legs shook uselessly, the minimal food she had devoured rumbled anxiously against her stomach. Her friend was there, tall, lanky and kind until he was not. Whatever Jasper would tell her next, be it truth or lie, she could not deny him.
In fact, when she had seen the small rabbit that was her friend, half of her instincts urged to rush forward and pick the thing up, let the silk fur slip through her fingertips, to demand the truth from a cute button-nose.
Jasper was staring at her patiently, but there was an edge to his waiting, she imagined him stamping his foot like a rabbit might do. If what he was saying was true, what he was hinting at and how he was explaining it all, they were both in inevitable danger.
But again, what else was knew?
Maybe this explained all of her weird memories, all of the times she could outmanoeuvre bullies and her lack of pain. Did all the Alice's have congenital pure analgesia? Would she get to meet the Mad Hatter? Leave this horrible world and finally leave to one that might accept her? Too many questions exploded like a dam of betrayals washing over her, confusion, hurt and fear, but one thing was for certain; for the meantime she was on Jasper's side, and he had answers.
"You're-" She faltered. "Mr. White Rabbit? And I'm Alice?"
The words felt ridiculous in her mouth, as a child she'd often pretend she was Alice and go off into the woods to play alone, which probably didn't help her weirdness factor. Other little girls dreamt of being princesses in make-believe games, and April wanted to party with insane people. Her father had even bought her a similar dress, thick frocked and light blue with two pockets at the front, which came with white stockings and the little headband. The only difference was the lack of a white apron and lace around the hems. It had been a silly thing, but a fond childhood memory all the same.
The next words are out of her mouth before she can stop it. "When do we leave?"

Jasper blinked at her question, not having expected her practically 180 degree change of mind so quickly. “As soon as you’re willing, I suppose,” he answered the question, still fidgety from his transformation. Of course, the boy was never good at staying still for long periods of time, but after he transformed it was different. His body had to understand it was a human body again, so his mannerisms always seemed to become more rabbit-like for a bit before returning to normal.

He checked his phone for the time. “I guess at this point it doesn’t actually matter if we skip school,” Jasper concluded, putting his phone back in his pocket. “I just want to add, before you make your choice of when and whether you want to go with me, though like I said, you’ll inevitably stumble upon Wonderland in some way or other, and it’ll be much more pleasant with me as your guide, some cautions. First of all, while it is beautiful and there are kind people there, it is not the storybook. There is danger around every turn and you must never trust anyone unless I say otherwise. Second, do not, under any circumstances, reveal your identity as Alice. After years of being gone, certain people’s loyalties may have shifted, and the Queen will certainly want your head. And third, don’t leave my side. Please. This one is for your safety and sanity as well as my own. That place carries so many memories for me, and not all of them are good. There is a lot I don’t remember, since I wasn’t that old when I got out, but Horatio always told me stories about it.”

Jasper shook his head slightly. “Anyhow, it’s up to you when we go. The sooner the better, honestly. I’m sure now that we know, the people in Wonderland will know that the next Alice has been found soon after and the longer we wait, the more on the look for newcomers they’ll be. Not to mention the more anxious the Queen will be to have you imprisoned or dead.”

He huffed out a breath. “Sorry to be a downer. I’m sure that all sounds just lovely to you.” The last bit was sarcasm, and Jasper adjusted his glasses with a glance over at April, waiting for hwr to respond. She’d seemed almost eager, which he wasn’t sure how to feel about. He just hoped she didn’t expect a candy-colored dreamworld.