Having been reunited with the old man in the foyer of the chocolate factory, the trio once again decided to part ways. The old man adamantly refused to return to the haphazard glass elevator, and instead, opted to ride in a taxi his son ordered for him. Alice and William sent the man off with a wave. "Are you sure you wouldn't like to go with him, Alice?" William asked. "I would like one last joyride in the elevator if I may be so bold!" Alice said. William laughed with her and the two entered the glass elevator once more.
Once inside, William pushed a handful of shiny metal buttons and Alice watched transfixed once more by the bizarre beauty of the world as it grew farther and farther below her until they had raised to the clouds in the night sky.
"Thank you for coming alive. Thank you for everything. " William turned to her and said suddenly and very uncharacteristically seriously. "Without you, I don't think my father would have been able to stand the sight of me. Much less tolerated a trip to the factory. You're amazing, Alice." He said looking very intently at her. As though he were trying to study her face and commit it to memory. Peering into her eyes as though she held some answer he sought somewhere within them. Their faces were suddenly very close to one another and slice could not help but notice that William seemed to be wearing dusty rose-tinted lipstick. Alice smiled. What an interesting, fascinating man he was. His lips shone in the moonlight, and slice had to pull her eyes away. It wouldn't be proper to stare at him in such a way. She thought. But William reached out and cupped her face with both of his hands. His palms felt soft and warm against her cheeks. His thumbs brushed against her temples. he swallowed. "Alice... I." Alice closed the gap between them. She could have sworn she could hear an ocean in her ears. She was curious as to how William would taste. Perhaps it was his influence that gave her the impulse. or perhaps she simply gave in to her curiosity and desire. Alice kissed him. And felt his face grow hot beneath hers. Alice pulled back and heard him take a shuttering breath. "Alice..." he breathed her name, so softly it made her heart pull. But Alice would never know what his next words would have been. Because at that very moment, the glass elevator lurched wildly, and they both flew towards opposite ends of the glass. Alice screamed. William lunged towards her and cradled her head and shoulders in an attempt to buffer the blows of the glass that seemed to hit them from every angle as they bumbled and tumbled through the sky. A mass of dark hair and a flash of maroon against the night sky.
The glass elevator ceased its wild descent as suddenly as it started. Alice found herself dizzy, seated in a heap on the floor of the glass elevator. Her head pressed against William's chest as he held her tightly in his arms. She clung to him around his middle, and their legs were a jumbled mess. "Alice! I am so terribly sorry Alice my dear Alice, are you alright?" He released her from his grasp and cupped her face once again. Alice leaned in towards him, her face hovering just ever so slightly against his. "Do it again." She whispered. To which William laughed a riotous laugh and kissed her. He kissed her as though it were an exclamation point to his laughter. As though kissing her was the most fun and exciting experience he had ever had the joy of knowing. Alice could not have said how long they sat embracing, suspended in the glass elevator in the sky. It could have been mere moments, or it could have been hours. All Alice knew for certain as she pulled away from William to catch a shaky breath, and saw the stars reflected in his dark, and shining eyes was that she could have stayed there with him forever. William sat up and leaned into her as though he meant to kiss her again when they felt a gentle and sudden shift in the elevator's trajectory. They had started their descent. Alice peered downwards and could see the Dentistry below them. It would not do to have the old man see them both in such a state. Alice stood, and quickly tried to smooth her dress and tidy her hair. William seemed to understand her urgency and clearing his throat, he stood as well.
The glass elevator landed just outside of the Dentistry gate, and William companies her to the front gate, which she locked behind her once more. The two lingered there, neither one wanting to say goodnight. Their fingers interlaced through the gaps in the iron wrought fencing. They leaned into one another, and after casting a worried glance towards the windows of the dentistry, William closed the gap between them once more to give Alice one final hasty kiss. "I will come and visit soon, I promise." He whispered to her. Alice nodded, smiling, and began the walk up to the front steps of the dentistry. "You had better!" She called after him. " Nothing could keep me away!" He called back to her, as he retreated into the glass elevator once more. And so the two parted ways, laughing.
