illume |tag: alice, maybe others|

[madderhatter]

[/i] wrong with him. Perhaps the Hatter was driving him more insane than he'd thought, or maybe he was developing masochistic qualities. Maybe the Hatter was getting sneakier about influencing his decisions, to the point that he wasn't even noticing anymore. It could have been any of those things, truly, but it didn't change the fact that he was actually going to this beach bash, and that he was going for the sole purpose of pleasing little miss Alice Day.

He really was losing his mind.

Derek really didn't understand the situation with Alice. He knew that the Hatter was fascinated by her, and he knew that for whatever reason, so was he. They could agree on the subject of Alice. The Hatter seemed to think she'd be a fantastic playmate and party buddy, however, and Derek sought to keep her out of harm's way. It didn't take a genius to know that with these spirits, if there was an Alice, there had to be a Queen and a cat. A specific, tricky cat. While the Hatter didn't seem all that concerned about this, Derek had come to understand that some of the spirits took themselves very seriously. 'Off with her head' would be extremely bad, and so, he intended to keep her safe.

No, he didn't just 'intend to'. He was obsessively determined to. The problem was that she somehow appealed to the chaotic, irrational part of his brain, the part that the Hatter was pulling apart, and it made him willing to go further to look out for her than was usual for him. He couldn't help himself, and it was also why he was headed for the beach bash, even though he didn't want to go and didn't want to tempt the Hatter into showing up with the party atmosphere. Alice had asked him, and so he would go.

Picking his way over the sand towards the bonfire area, which was where she'd said to meet her, it definitely occurred to him that his boots weren't the best option, but it wasn't like he even owned flip flops. He wasn't a 'beach' kind of guy. He didn't seem to have sand in his shoes, yet, but he wouldn't have been surprised if he carried half of the beach home with him that evening. This was going to be a blast.

Oh, and he didn't see Alice, yet. She was probably off with one of her school friends (he wouldn't blame her), which left him to grab a soda and find a spot to look out for her a little away from the fire. That was the plan, but things didn't often go according to plan with him, which was why he wandered off about 30 seconds after he'd decided he was going to stand around and wait, headed out towards the water like he was following the moon or a star to his destination. Perhaps he was following something, because it was only a short walk before he heard a girl's delighted laughter and saw a slight figure dancing through the surf and the edge of the beach. Grinning, he quickened his pace just a little to get to her faster, but he didn't interrupt her fun. He just watched, drinking in the image and filing it away.

He might not be all that aware and appreciative of something like this later on down the road, so he wanted to enjoy it while it lasted.
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[alice]

show my cards, gave you my heart
^{wish we could start all over}

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Everything today had gone pretty well as expected. Alice had met and talked with new people, went on rides, nearly ate her weight in sno-cones, puked it all up afterwards after a ride on the scrambler. The crowds were thick and the air was hot and mothers were mortified by the amount of skin girls showed on the beaches. The Atlantic Ocean was a welcome break from the heat and of course Alice had gone swimming periodically through out the day (a must). The noise and the heat and people all combined to make what would have been a fabulous day, filled with fun, laughter, park rides - the whole nine yards.

If only it hadn't been so terribly predictable.

Alice supposed this was the only sort of fun the people of Memory were capable of. Apparently Memory was a family-oriented town (being filled Disney spirits, it was basically the equivalent of a New England Disney World) made up of family-oriented fun. There was a schedule for everything, back up plans for bad weather, alternative activities for those who couldn't handle the tame roller coasters on the Pier. And Alice had participated in the scheduled fun, there was no stopping her. She wanted to get her kicks any way she could, and, admittedly, there was no denying the enjoyable environment. But she did begin to crave something a little more weird, more bizarre. Something completely unexpected.

Alright, Alice, now I know you're up there. Alice grumbled in her head, kicking a spray of sand into the water. She walked down the edge of the beach, shoes in hand, while the water lapped at her feet (entirely too playfully for the foul mood she was in). And the silence that met her words did nothing to help Alice out of her funk, so the girl continued strolling along the waves in a moody silence.

Really, was it so hard to awaken the character in her head? She knew she played host to Alice in Wonderland, and Alice would love to wake her up! She could just imagine how well the two of them would get on, imagining wonderful day things - new worlds, fantastic ships that sailed the stars, talking flowers and animals... Was the cartoon Alice really so stubborn? Alice was practically begging for her to wake up, but, as always... Nothing. Never a word in response.

Lame, Alice frowned at the water, overcome with the unfairness of it all. Practically everyone she knew had their character awakened... Even if they didn't necessarily want it so. Her thoughts strayed to Derek, host to the Mad Hatter and Alice's dearest friend, and how miserable he was with the insane character in his head. Nevertheless, the thought of him and how crazy he could be put a smile on her face, and soon Alice found herself giggling quietly. The insane things Derek could say when overcome by the Hatter, the magic tricks, the tea parties... Soon her giggle was a laugh, and her angry, stomping feet were lightly splashing in the waves.

Where is he, anyway? Alice quickly dug her phone out of her pocket, checking the time. He promised he'd be here... She turned and surveyed the bonfires that dotted the beach, checking the groups around the flames for his familiar face. But, rolling her eyes, Alice knew that was a futile place to be looking - the man made efforts not to be a party animal. So Alice instead searched the darker parts of the beach, and soon found him, half illuminated by the sliver of a moon.

"Derek! Hey!" She called and jogged over to him, million-watt smile on her face. She quickly looped an arm with his in a friendly manner and admitted, "Didn't know if you'd show up."

[madderhatter]

[/i] talk Derek into going when he normally would have, and it wasn't the easiest thing in the world to do.
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[alice]

show my cards, gave you my heart
^{wish we could start all over}

[/color][/center]

Such extreme shifts in her mood weren't uncommon for Alice, and she found (if she was paying attention enough to look) that Derek was usually a direct influence on such. It didn't have to be him, physically there with her, although that was when the influence was strongest. No, Just thought of the him and once his funny little stories could perk her back up, and for the longest time Alice thought that was only because of the dormant spirit in her. Alice and the Mad Hatter were of course connected in the Disney film, though the Alice there was easily exasperated by the little man. This time around, Alice just figured the spirit Alice had made a decision to enjoy the Hatter's company, and now preferred the bizarre and unexpected over the mundane and normal. Alice thought, the first time Derek revealed the nature of the spirit living in him, that that was the only reason she started finding excuses to see him, kept lingering around the places she knew to be his beat. He was the Hatter and she was Alice and it was as simple as that.

But as she hooked her arm on his and beamed up at his still half-darkened face, she knew that wasn't the entire reason. Alice loved Derek when he let the Hatter slip through, entertaining her endlessly... However, with his constant battle with the Hatter and Derek's efforts to keep the majority of his spirit contained, Alice was finding Derek just as enjoyable when he was just Derek. Sure, he was more stern around her that way, overprotective and infinitely more responsible, but there was a realness to Derek that just wasn't there in the Hatter. Just a look at his eyes now and Alice could tell they were harder than when the Hatter came out to play, but they were also more... Alice's smile faltered a bit and quickly looked out on the ocean. Boy she was feeling funny tonight... She didn't normally go for deep, meaningful evaluations in her head, preferring the light-hearted, don't-think-too-far-ahead attitude she normally maintained. Alice dropped her arm from around his and clasped her hands behind her back instead, taking a few playful skips away from Derek before she started writing sappy poetry in her head.

Derek reminded Alice of his promise to her and she couldn't help but smile at that. That's true, he did promise - after awhile. It had taken Alice the better part of a half hour to convince the man, having to assure him ten times over that they would have loads of fun, that things wouldn't get too crazy, that if he found the town's company unenjoyable, it could just be the two of them. Finally he had agreed and to his word, he'd appeared.

"I'm surprised you're not with your friends out here. You didn't ditch them for me, did you?" He asked, though there was a slight lilt to his voice that suggested he'd wanted her to. Alice smiled deviously at him, catching the tone, but in the end she just shook her head. "I've had enough of 'friends' today," she air quoted, then replaced her hands behind her back. But realizing how that sounded, quickly backtracked. "Not you, though, I mean. Just... I dunno." She shrugged her shoulders and flicked her hair out of her face. "Everyone else was totally boring in comparison." Alice shrugged her shoulders again, though angled them instead towards Derek, the subject of the "in comparison."

"But hey, what the hell are you wearing?" Alice asked, quickly changing the subject before she started saying... things, and pulled a hand from behind her back to point at his boots and jeans. "I said 'beach bash' not 'tromp through the woods,'" she laughed and walked back over to him, seating herself in the sand and tugging vainly on Derek's boots while he still standing.

[madderhatter]

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[alice]

show my cards, gave you my heart
^{wish we could start all over}

[/color][/center]

Alice smiled when Derek chastised her, plucking as she was at the laces of his boots. She could hear the amusement in his voice which, if she ever cared to think about it, she never really heard from him at any other time. It wasn't that Derek was an unhappy person - serious and disgustingly law-abiding, maybe - but that little spark in his voice seemed like her spark. It was an in between sort of voice. He wasn't far and away with the Hatter, but he wasn't Sergeant Grey, either. He was Derek, and that alone made Alice squirm with the feeling that he was exclusive. A secret Derek.

His earlier remark to make sure that he didn't disappoint still rang in her ears, and as Derek hopped from one foot to another, taking his shoes off, Alice was thinking of ways to cash in on that casual promise. His boots thudded to the ground next to her, spraying her legs with sand in much the same way the surf crashed against the breakwater. She glanced quickly behind her and watched the waves for a second, then turned to consider Derek's face. He needs warming up, she thought to herself, her eyes pointed now at the bonfires that littered the beach, scattered like embers in a dying blaze. The air was heavy with music from dozens of radios and iPods and all across the strand Alice could see the silhouettes or glowing faces of the people of Memory. Teenagers danced stupidly around fire pits while adults lounged and talked, sipping wine. Over all the atmosphere was infectious - it was relaxed, it was crazy. Alice loved it, both feelings of it, but she wasn't sure just how Derek would react if he were immediately thrown into it.

So Alice briefly touched the sand on her leg, the spray that reminded her of the ocean a stone's throw behind her, and suddenly she was bent over, hands on the cuffs of Derek's jeans. With quick fingers she rolled up first one pant leg, then the other, up to his knees and then she was standing, grabbing his hand and dashing off towards the water. She still hadn't acknowledged Derek's remark about a "tromp through the woods" next time she was bored - but she knew she didn't have to, at this point. The two of them weren't exactly big on planning, and anyway all thoughts of anything more distant than right now flew out of her head as her feet landed in freezing salt water. Alice shrieked happily at the abrupt change and the splash that reached the hem of her shorts, and looking behind her, she smiled at Derek.

Alice dropped her hand from his and again skipped a couple paces away. "Isn't it weird," she started, bringing the tips of her toes out of the water and looking at them curiously, "how you can't pinpoint where you feel the difference of the hot air and the cold water?" Because, she reasoned in her own head, even if her toes were out in the warmth of the air they still felt cold. "I wonder if it's the same with..." she murmured, and bent to cup a handful of the Atlantic. She turned and faced Derek, her hands clasped in front of her (but no matter how tightly she held them, the water still dripped through her fingers), and carefully she walked closer to him, bringing her hands up, closer to his face. "Faces!" Alice finally finished and clapped her hands together gleefully, spraying the water towards Derek.