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

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

tune

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.

She was focusing all of her energy on not losing her mind, of slowing her breath and taking it all one step at a time. She remembered only one piece of advice from the many psychologists her dad had filtered her through and this was that no one should be expected to eat a whole feast at once. It's better to deal with things slowly and one at a time, to treat every morsel of information like it was something beautiful and alien, in need of deep examination before she could bother thinking about the next thing. This way she could never overwhelm herself, she could let big things, even world-altering information like this, slip into her pores like it was a comforting lotion instead of deadly acid.

Jasper seemed surprised at her actions and that was a normal reaction she supposed but she did wonder how much time it would take someone who remained in her company for so long to no longer be in shock when she shifted so drastically or bursted out something that was not supposed to be said or split open a knee and stood up like it was a scratch.
Although his fidgeting and awkward half-smile could also be credited to the reality-shattering prophecy he had just shared or his transformation into a literal jumpy rabbit.

One bite at a time, April. One unforgivably insane piece of information before the next.

"It’s kind of ironic, isn’t it? Alice was chasing her white rabbit through a jungle of hysteria and mine will be arm-in-arm with me, strolling through as a guide.” April paused. "Although, from what you said, I imagine we won't exactly be sightseeing. And if I am to end up at Wonderland one way or another I should like to go as soon as possible, for the red queen's wrath can't be worse then ours principals after a school fight like the one I participated in."
Her breathing was shaky but she didn't want to loose her stance, her brain was chugging along much slower now, cautiously and considering all the angles before her. She appreciated what Jasper was trying to do for them, even if it was highly unbelievable.

"I accept your conditions, obviously, I seem to be very uneducated even with how much I thought I understand about Wonderland. Will everything go in the same order as the book, in meeting people I mean? Or perhaps the movie is more accurate? And this queen of ours, is the goal to really harm her? Because I have never killed a person before, nor less a queen. I do suppose my martial art years may now have some actual purpose, and if I am to die in Wonderland, I can't express how much I'd prefer that then somewhere up here, don't you agree?" April stopped herself again, realising questions were bubbling and boiling right out of her mouth as they did when she was close to forgetting another person was present. When she thought she was alone. "Still Jasper, whatever happens now, whether this is all some intensive over imagination of my bored mind or not, I’m going to follow mr. white rabbit, you, straight down the rabbit hole. Don't worry about me leaving your side.”

April finally managed to muster up courage. She didn't care how insane she felt or sounded around Jasper, because surely his birth town was much more so and could even explain the never-ending rock concert that was the echoing in her brain. Surely, she was just as sane as the original Alice was, maybe slightly less so considering her willingness to enter a unknown world of certain danger. But she had Jasper, who may look frail to some on appearance seemed agile and wise, and Alice, well, she never did.
"We are friends, are we not?" She tried for a smile. “And before we leave I must ask. This Mad Hatter of ours, do you suppose he is still very fond of tea?”

When April had referred to Jasper as Mr.Rabbit, he swallowed down the tears threatening to bubble up. This was what he had been running from his entire life. This was why his parents had tried to get him away from Wonderland. But it was too late now. Jasper had heard enough of Horatio’s stories to know that there was no turning back now. He shoved down the tears before they spring into being, leaving himself a bit misty-eyed, which was better than crying in front of someone who still had so much hope. He was forced to admit he still had hope as well, perhaps too much considering the situation and his own past, but hope wasn’t something that was easy to crush. It always crept back in through the cracks in his armor, just as it was doing now.

At April’s question, Jasper gave a surprised chuckle. “I wouldn’t know the answer to that, but I’m guessing so,” he responded with a wan smile. “As for our friendship, yes. We’re friends. I suppose this is a rather ironic twist of fate, but we do what we have to in order to stay alive, and hopefully break this curse, or whatever it is that we’re now trapped in. It’s all I’ve ever known, in a way.”

He paced back and forth as he spoke, and he had been pacing since April had started speaking about the irony of the whole situation. It helped get his nervous energy out, and it was a good way to remind himself he had two human legs, and he could walk like a person. His parents had always warned him about his abilities, and to be careful using them. While there were many people in Wonderland who didn’t possess such abilities, there were also a multitude who did, who had some sort of uncanny power or mutation. Jasper’s had run in his family, or maybe it was just part of being the White Rabbit. His own role was one of the few that seemed to be largely inherited from family members, a fact that both gave him pride and uncertainty.

But before they took off to the upside-down world of Wonderland, there was one person Jasper thought they should speak with. Horatio had done this whole game before, he should know how to help. He’d also known the last Alice (and current Queen of Hearts) and could give them information on her. So, his mind was made up. Horatio, then the forest April had frequented, except this time, they were going to get lost on purpose. That was how they would find the Rabbit Hole. Or rather, it would find them.

“Okay, I suppose we should head out then,” Jasper said at last, pausing in his pacing to turn and look at April again. “Before we go straight to the Rabbit Hole, we should talk to my uncle. He’s not actually related to me by blood, by the way. I just call him my uncle because he might as well be now. Anyway, he’s from Wonderland too, and as the last March Hare, he can give us some useful advice. He can’t go back though, because in order to escape with me he made a terrible bargain with the sisters from the well, and if he goes with we’ll all pay the price. I can tell you more about it on the way, or he can tell you himself if he sees fit. At any rate, it would be better to go in knowing a little than going in nearly blind. He knows more than I do, and we need all the help we can get. Sound good?”