Ｃｈｅｓｓｉｅ

Non-Magical Chessie is...

"Al? Come on, wake up," Came a grumpy voice. 

My eyes fluttered open, and I sat up, head colliding with someone else's. "Ow! Jesus Christ," they hissed, clutching their head. 

"Chess?" I asked, vision blurred. 

"The one and only," He winced. "I think I have a concussion now..."

"What do you mean? You're-..." I trailed off, vision completely clearing. "Human. Completely human."

"A blasted hormonal teenage twig!" He shouted, stomping around. "Damn it all!"

"Wow..." I said in half-awe, half-amusement. His appearance had changed; it no longer had the Wonderland wonder to it; it just looked...human. But his violet eyes remained. 

He ran his fingers through his now messy black hair, cursing under his breath. "I look...normal now. I hate it. What are all these...emotions? Allegra, what is going on?! What-" he gagged. "-Are these normal emotions?"

"Welcome to a teenager's life," I said with a snort of laughter, rubbing where my head hit his. "Dang, that hurt."

"You think?!" He huffed dramatically, finally stopping his stomping. "Damn, that hurt! I want to be unstable again. I don't like being sane!"

"You're very...emotional...." I said slowly, standing up. Standing up, I realized that he had grown in tallness. "And tall."

He eyed me from afar, violet eyes narrowed. "I'm not that much taller than before."

"You were as tall as me before," I retorted, crossing my arms as I watched him have his angry fit.

"I liked that better," he grumbled. "I could make fun of you without having to look down." 

He walked over and crouched down slightly, tilting his head. "Although, I could get used to this..." He mumbled, a smirk appearing on his face.

"Just as annoying as always, though," I commented, making him roll his eyes and frown. "And moodier."

"Shut up, short human," he grumbled, standing straight and leaning against a tree. "How do we fix this?"

"You're human now, too. So you can't say that," I chided him and paused in thought. "Well...we could always find the way out of Wonderland?"

"We? No. You," he corrected me, violet eyes drilling through mine, making me uncomfortable.

"What do you mean?" I asked, frowning. "You're human too, meaning there's no reason for you to remain here, right? You could..." I trailed off, shaking my head. "Never mind."

"I could what, Allegra?" he asked, pushing off the tree and stalking towards me slowly. "Finish that, please. I'd like to hear what you have to say."

"Nothing, nothing," I sighed, looking at him.

"It's not nothing," he shook his head, looking back at me, tilting his head slightly. "Do tell."

"..I dunno. Maybe..you could come with me? But that's probably not gonna happen," I shrugged, looking away.

He was quiet for a minute, a smirk on his face, then he spoke up. "Don't tell me you've actually taken a like to me?" He let out a hum and looked around, but his gaze landed back on me.

"No. I've gotten used to you; those are two completely different things, Chessie," I said quickly.

"Mmmhmm," he mused. "I don't think so."

"Agree to disagree," I grumbled and turned around to walk towards somewhere.

He caught my hand and froze. "Oh-"

I blinked, turning back towards him. "What are you doing?"

"I don't know-" he was visibly flustered. What a weird sight..."I just thought about doing that, and then, uh. I...did it...?" He said slowly, letting go.

"You, Chessie, are an interesting individual," I chuckled quietly. 

His mouth pressed into a straight line, and he nodded, looking away defeatedly. I had a feeling he'd brush it away if I asked him if something was wrong, so I didn't ask. Instead, I started walking and waited for him to catch up. "So, where's the exit to this place?" I asked.

He caught up, walking quietly next to me- quite literally quietly. His footsteps made no noise. Meanwhile, mine were obnoxiously loud. "The rabbit hole," he replied, gaze wandering to me before going back to the path in front of him. "Where you came from."

"That would be a happy thing if I remembered where it was," I said sarcastically, groaning in annoyance. "Wonderful."

"You can remember," He replied, stopping. "Just...close your eyes and try to remember the day you got here."

I stopped next to him. "God, that seems like ages ago..." I mumbled and looked at him, a small smile tugging on my lips. 

He smiled back, nodding. "It might've been. Time goes slower here than it does in the Human World."

My smile faded. "What?"

He must've realized what he said, and his gaze grew sympathetic. "Well, when you get back, you're probably going to be slightly older, same with your family."

"You're kidding me, right? You're kidding. Right?" I asked, eyes widening with tears. "Why didn't you tell me this before?! So what, I get home, my parents are old people?! What the heck, Chessie!?"

He looked away for a minute and spoke quietly. "Selfishness," He shrugged. "I wanted to keep you here. For myself. Bad decision. I wasn't thinking clearly."

"It's not like you could anyways! You're insane! Insane people- creatures- can't think straight!" I shouted, moving away from him.

"Allegra, don't you dare run away again."

I froze, not looking at him. "Running away is immature and a good way to get yourself killed," He said bluntly, his voice right behind me. 

"Well, it's a good thing I'm immature, huh?" I replied bluntly, stepping away, only to be yanked back.

"I wouldn't do that. That's where the den of the Bandersnatch is," He warned me in a low voice. "Just remember where you were when you first got here, and you'll be guided back. So stop being childish and focus on getting home. You made such a big deal out of it; you're only wasting your time, yeah?"

I closed my eyes, breathing in, and I turned around, opening my eyes. Chessie was standing behind me, clutching my hand, face slightly red, his stupidly messy hair hanging in his eyes.

Non-magical Chessie is...good-looking? Awkward? Shy?....Stable, even? More human than he was before?

Yeah. Yes, to all of the above.

(Merry Christmas to you all! Consider this part as a Christmas gift, lol)