"I know the truth now, I know who you are... and I don't love you anymore."
Oh, how those venomous words spilled forth, sharp and bitter, directed cruelly at Alice. Each syllable dripped with anger, each sentence wrapped in a shroud of pain. There were tears—not of grief, but of betrayal from a so-called friend. Who could have imagined that the Hatter, with his cunning and craftiness, had so cleverly orchestrated this rift between them? His intent, it seemed, was to manipulate their feelings, to turn them against each other, and ultimately to shatter the fragile bond they had built. The figure impersonating Sasaki shook his head vigorously, disbelief etched across his features. Frustration bubbled within him, mingling with confusion.
"It never was and never will be. You don't know how you've betrayed me, and somehow, you have everybody fooled."
" . . . " Alice looked. . . dejected, desolate, oh so very hurt. But there were no tears. Oh no. Tears were not something she was going to give willingly, not when she had cried so many times in the past. After all, crying only makes her feel more miserable. But ah, would Sasaki say this so willingly, so cruelly to someone he called a friend? She didn't want to believe it, didn't want to think he'd do that to her. " Love. . . " She muttered under her breath, her lower lip quivering. Oh, his tears, they hurt her so. She hated seeing him cry.
He hates you, he mocks you, he wants you to fall. Oh, my sweet little Alice, you were nothing at all. A page torn to pieces, a story misread. Oh, little Alice, a life left unfed.
Alice could feel the tight grip on her shoulder, unseen fingers pressing down, revealing the ghostly outline of a hand that wasn't there. She could feel his breath against his cheek as he hovered right behind her. Yes, this was all his doing! Sasaki wouldn't ⸻ He wouldn't. . . right? But what if this was real? What if this was her reality, and she was the one refusing to see it? She released a long breath, her body shivering, eyes closed shut. It's not real. It's not real. She told herself time and time again, forcing her eyes closed before opening them again, trying to make the illusion to fade, to convince herself it would disappear if she refused to see it. But he was still there, looking at her with hatred in his eyes, without the love he previously held for her. No. No, no, no. " You. . . You're not real. " She pointed at him with a trembling finger as the other fearfully tugged at her dress. The grip in her shoulder got tighter enough to bruise, making her flinch. The presence behind her was growing impatient, anger coiling tighter with every passing second. " S-Sora wouldn't ⸻ Sasaki wouldn't say these things to me. "
Oh, Alice, how naïve you are! Turn away, turn away, Sasaki was never the boy from that day. Not the boy that once smiled in your innocent view, but a beast wrapped in wool, deceiving you, too.
She could hear his laughter inside her head, threading through her thoughts. It made her dizzy, her body rocking faintly, like she was being pulled off balance by something that was not there. " F-Fuck off! " She pushed the entity, hands phasing through him, the effort only making him laugh louder. That only angered Alice further, hands balling int fists before she once again lunged forward. But. . . she was met with nothing, and the force of it sent her stumbling forward, collapsing onto the ground. A tiny yelp left her lips, knees bleeding, the anger on her face nearly palpable. " I HATE YOU! " She yelled from the top of her lungs as she stared at Sasaki. No, she wasn't saying it to him, but to the man behind the illusion.
And then, finally. . . tears.
They came unwanted and unwelcome, and no matter how much she held them back, they came anyway. Oh, at that very moment, she felt so very alone. " Sasaki's my friend. My. . . m-my only friend! You have no right to turn him into something ugly. No right to make me doubt him! " She stood up, blood dribbling down her knees, tears rolling down her cheeks ⸻ but oh, that anger, that hatred in her eyes made the Mad Hatter so utterly delighted. " I wouldn't ever betray him nor fool him. " She pointed at the apparition that resembled Sasaki. " And someone as bright as the sky would never hurt me like this. " She sobbed ⸻ she could feel that smile that curled the Hatter's lips.
The ground shifted beneath her, rippling outward in uneven waves as the apparition finally, finally started to fade away. It vanished as suddenly as it had appeared, and all that remained were the faint, amused giggles of the Mad Hatter. She shook her head as the dizziness took over her, reality shifting around her. " No. . . I'm not alo- " Her voice was cut clean near the end, her knees buckling as she hit the ground, the world around her going black.
But the laughter? It always. . . always lingered.
@dichotomouskey - thank you!
