Guilty Alice: Finding Love In Wonderland

Chapter 5

"Hey, come on guys. That's not fair that you get to keep Alice all to yourselves. Sorry, Alice. Didn't mean to surprise you like that! Look, I mean, you have five guys in your bedroom that suddenly barged in without even being invited, right?" One of the men asked. He had light brown hair with mesmerising, green eyes. He was wearing a chestnut brown coloured hat with a butter scotch yellow and dark brown checkered ribbon tied around it plus a royal blue ribbon right in front of it. Also on the hat was a white card with the fraction 10/6 printed on the front. The man had a white shirt, a trench coat that was the same color as his hat, with dark brown around the cuffs and collar. His pants were blue with a darker blue checkered pattern. To complete his look he was wearing white gloves and a bow around his neck made out of the same material as the ribbon on his hat.

"Uh, yeah I guess you're right." I said surprised. I'm still in shock now and I can't think straight.

"But what can I say? Sitting around waiting for a girl to wake up is not bad at all!" The boy with the hat says gleefully.

"Oh...Oh-kay....Is that so?" I hesitantly nod at the man, you is kindly speaking to me with a big grin on his face. "By the way, this is the first time I've seen an 'Alice' in my life." He carefully inspects me from top to bottom.

"Uh...Is there something wrong?" I ask nervously.

"You're so ADORABLE! I can't believe how CUTE you are!" He suddenly shouts. "What?!" I shout. With a carefree smile on his face, he turns to the man with silver hair, "Hey Ash! Don't you agree?"

"...Yeah" the boy with silver hair responds whose name I now know is Ash.

"Hey. You're not even listening, are you?" The man with the hat says, clearly disappointed.

"...Yeah" Ash responds again with the same attitude.

"Hahaha! That's just like Ash!"

Ash nods his head but, he wasn't even paying attention to any words that were being said. Even though this is the first time I've met him it's obvious. I don't think he's even attempting to hide the fact that he's pretending to listen. He seems...really out of it. It seems like they are failing to have a proper conversation, but I can tell they have a pretty good relationship. These two men, a sleepy-looking young man and a young man with a smile on his face.

I compare the two of them and ask, "So, this gentleman is Ash I guess? How about you?"

"Oh, please call me, Mad! Ash is a bit motivationally challenged, and he looks sleepy most of the time. But for the most part he's a great guy! He's really dependable." The man with the hat, whose name is Mad says.

"I don't want to be depended on Mad...and you don't need to call me a gentleman either. Call me by my name, 'Ash.' Just Ash." He says quietly.

"Oh yeah, 'Alice'. Don't worry about being polite. Just call me, 'Mad', ok?"

"Same here. I hate it when people talk all polite and stuff." Bill says.

"Okay, no problem. Ash, Mad, and Bill, right? Nice to meet you all." I say with a smile.

"Yeah, let's cut the awkward part out, and all be friends. What do you think, Sakuto?" Bill laughs.

"'Alice', you can call me whatever you want." Sakuto blushed.

"Alright. Then how about I call you Prince Sakuto?" I suggest.

"Wait wait, why is he the only one that gets special treatment?" Bill asks me as he teasingly laughs.

"I-I mean, he just looks like a prince so..." I'd feel weird calling a prince by his name. "Hahaha! 'Alice' you're such a funny girl!" Mad's laughter fills the room as he listens to our conversation.

"Am I that funny?" I ask confused.

"Yes! You're amazing! Just keep it up like that! And let's enjoy our one month together." Mad laughs. He's such a cheerful person. I don't see why he thinks everything is funny though. I actually kind of admire his constant joyful mood.

"Hey!" The abrupt, harsh voice catches my attention, causing me to jump. It was the first man that talked to me when I woke up, and he's staring at me with a stern look on his face. He is completely different from the other four men. They talked to me with such ease and kindness, but he just seems unapproachable. He had black and red hair and beautiful, dark red eyes. He was wearing a dark red (almost black) shirt, red pants with a white belt, a chain necklace, and a long half black half red trench coat that had a black and white diamond pattern on the side that was black towards the top of the coat.

"Say your name" the red and black haired man commands. "What?" I ask. He glances away to the side, looking some what irritated. "I said say your name. Do I need to spell it out for you. Not 'Alice' your real name." He says.

"Oh, I'm Mattie Howard." I say.

"So, your name is Mattie" He says. I can tell by the look on his face that he's silently judging me.

"A lovely name for a lovely girl! It suits you better than 'Alice'!' Mad says.

"May I ask you something?" I question. "Hm? Yeah sure, what is it?" Mad's expression turned slightly serious after I said that. "What's this 'Alice' everyone keeps calling me?" The moment everyone hears me, they begin to look at one another.

Did I say something I wasn't suppose to?

"Of course...You being 'Alice' wouldn't know anything about 'Alice.' Originally 'Alice' was what we called a visitor who came from a different world to Wonderland. In other words it's used to call someone from your world." Sakuto says.

Then Bill cuts in, "Yeah, to put it bluntly, people from your world, well this world are just 'outsiders' to us. They're not very welcome in our Wonderland."

"Just because I'm this 'Alice', I was about to get executed?" I ask.

"No, I don't think that's exactly it. Even if the thief that stole the queen's 'heart' was from Wonderland. I'm pretty sure the queen still would've said, 'off with her head!', without even batting an eyelid. She's that kind of person, you know, uh...What do you call those kinds of people again? Oh yeah, tyrant. She's one of those kind of people." Bill says bitterly.

So this awkwardness I felt inside every time one of the five men called me 'Alice' must have been because it sounded like they weren't looking at me for who I am. Who would want to be looked at as just another person from a different world and always get called an 'outsider' instead of their real name? Ash carefully examined my face as I stand there silently. "Are you okay?" Ash asks. "Oh uh, yeah I'm fine. It's just that I'm shaken up sort of after all that's happened today, you know?"

"The feelings mutual" Bill says. "The queen just suddenly shot us over here with barely an explanation of why she was going to send us."

"Yeah, saying something like becoming her partner and making a 'Heart'? Easier said than done, I'm I right?!" Mad says sarcastically. "It'd be great if we could help."

I almost forgot I had to make a 'Heart'. Put simply, making a 'Heart' means I have to fall in love with one of these five boys in front of me.