Maddie stared at her MirrorPhone; Raven hadn't replied to her last three messages. A big raindrop plopped onto the screen. She was standing outside her father's Haberdashery and Tea Shoppe waiting for her friends to arrive, but they were nowhere to be seen. The rainclouds above her were a heavy grey and the pitter patter of an oncoming storm began to increase.

After the events at the grove, Maddie hadn't felt like herself for a few days. She would leave sharply after her classes and spend her evenings alone in her dorm room with Earl Grey. It wasn't until this morning that she had finally agreed to Raven's proposal to spend some time outside with her friends. There was a Geografairy pop quiz on the cards and Maddie had been avoiding anything that made her feel gloomy, so a study jam at the tea shop was a nice compromise.

With the rain falling heavier and no sign of Raven or Cerise, Maddie put her MirrorPhone back into her skirt pocket and made her way inside the shop. The bell above the doorframe chimed its jolly ring as she closed the door. She gave a great sigh. Not having her muchness made her feel positively blue. She meandered to the shelf on the far side of the shop and started to re-organise teacups according to how blue they were.

The bell above the door chimed once more. Maddie turned expecting to see a red-cloak or a purple haired figure but instead she saw the wash of a dark red coat. You stepped into the shop, your boots squelching on the welcome mat. You were used to storms back onnthe ship, but on the way to the shop the storm must have caught up with you because it had blown inside out, resulting in one very soggy Neverlandian.

Maddie clutched her teacup tightly, not making a sound. The water droplets ran from your hat to the tips of your H/C hair until they splashed onto floorboards below.

You hesitated, unsure of Maddie's uncharacteristic silence.

Y/N: Raven hexted me about a Geografairy study group at the tea shop. Am I late?

Maddie shook her head. Was this Raven's doing? You placed your hat onto the coat stand and took a seat at the table closest to her. Your wet clothes clung to your tall frame. Maddie moved to the kitchen and boiled the kettle. She wasn't sure which kind of tea this situation called for.

The tea shop possessed an extensive myriad of teas, as was expected from the Hatter family. It was such a magical place unlike any other in Book End. The first thing that you notice as you walk through its doors is the copious amount of extra doors that line the walls and ceiling. They were rather useful for transporting you to new places. Or old places if you had visited them before. There were clocks in every direction that you looked and they all declared that it was time for tea at any hour of the day.

By the shop front was a marvellous display of hats and their matching hat boxes. Maddie enjoyed stitching odd buttons and trinkets to hats that looked lonely, so you were always guaranteed a unique piece of headwear. The shelves and bookcases were filled with all sorts of knick-knacks that they had salvaged from Wonderland and since this was an enchanted tea shop, the objects would often like to fly and whizz around on their own accord, whether to pour customer's drinks or just in the mood to float by and say hello.

Maddie set two cups of peppermint and liquorice tea on a small tray and carried it through to the table. You were no longer in your chair; you were admiring a painting on the wall that looked strikingly like the Mad Hatter and his daughter, only it was upside-down.

Y/N: Is your father here this evening?

Maddie stopped in her tracks.

Maddie: Not today. He's gone to market to find a new blend of tea.

The storm outside rallied against the window pane. A low, muted rumble of thunder swept over the village. You spun to see Maddie. Something was very curious. On any other occasion, Maddie would be over the moon about discovering a new kind of tea.

Maddie felt a knot tying up in her stomach. She didn't know what to do with herself. Was it really you that had been causing her curse? Were you the reason she had lost her muchness?

You could see that something was plaguing her. You took a step towards her; wanting nothing more at that moment than to comfort her.

All of a sudden, there was a great crack of lightning that illuminated the street. The rain pelted down and the power zapped out, leaving the shop in total darkness. It gave Maddie such a scare that she dropped the tea tray. It hit the ground and the cups smashed into tiny pieces.

Y/N: Maddie!

You cried out over the roar of the storm outside. You reached for her in the darkness but lost your footing and slipped on the tea-drenched floor. You clawed at the air, clasping onto anything that you could, in this case, Maddie's wrist. You fell backwards, but instead of landing on the floorboards, you came crashing through one of the teleporter doors and Maddie came toppling through with you.

The door burst into shattering shards, Maddie and you shielded your eyes from the debris. You fell downwards through a dark and endless tunnel, faster and faster. You scrambled to keep hold of Maddie. You couldn't see a thing. The tunnel became cold and wet and you could feel the downpour of the rain. It was as loud as a lion's roar.

You held on to each other as best as you could and you landed with a thump onto what felt like wet grass. Down you rolled, down a steep, steep hill. Tumbling hat over heels until you finally landed at the bottom of an overgrown knoll surrounded by haggard tree stumps.

Maddie clutched her head, her eyes still adjusting from all that falling. Her tights were torn and she was fairly sure she still had pieces of door stuck in her hair, but luckily she had made it unscathed.

Y/N: Maddie! Are you hurt?

Maddie: I'm fine, I'm fine. Let's get out of this rain!

She lifted you up and supported you as you hobbled over to a hollowed out oak tree. It was a snug fit, but at least you were out of the storm.

Y/N: I like storms at sea, but this is ridiculous.

She gave a half-smile and returned her attention to the tree.

You sat in silence for a while, listening to the relentless rainfall. Maddie shivered. Instantly, you wrapped you arms around her, enveloping her in your coat to keep her warm. Maddie found herself unexpectedly pressed against your chest. She had never been this close before and the surrounding shell of the tree only emphasised the small space between you.

She could feel your heart beating and it matched her own. A soft flutter: Ba-bump. Ba-bump. Ba-bump. Your body was warm against her and she felt safe. She looked up at your face; you had a small scrape above your right cheekbone, but it didn't seem to bother you. Your tousled hair brushed against the top of her head, sending tingles down her spine. You mistook this for more shivering, and held onto her even closer.

You looked into Maddie's eyes and the way that her lashes perfectly framed them. Her nose was as cute as a button and speckled with the faintest of freckles. Her lips…Her soft pink lips. Oh what he would give to kiss those lips. But something held you back. You had to be sure.

Y/N: These past few weeks have been so enchanting.

Your gentle voice broke through the silence. Maddie could feel the vibrations through your chest as she leaned into you.

Y/N: Every day that I see you my world seems brighter, more wonderful.

You stared into her sparkling turquoise eyes.

Y/N: I really like you, Maddie.

Maddie could feel her face blush. She felt jumbled and giddy. You slowly reached his lips closer and Maddie could feel hers doing the same as though they were lost in his lullaby. But something stopped her. No matter how nice this warmness was, there was no escaping the image she had of you and Tina in the grove and it sent her heart plummeting back into her tummy.

She withdrew away from you. There was no doubt in her mind that you were behind it all; the reason for all the tweedle-trouble. Was this just a game to him? Some sort of tricksy prank they thought was funny? She desperately wanted to bombard you with babble but the words wouldn't come. Not even in Riddlish.

You felt her recoil. Tina was right all along…

Y/N: I can't keep fooling myself like this. I really thought that you…

You shook your head.

"Who was I kidding?" You thought.

The rain came to a stop until only the tiny patter from the trees dripped through. The moonlight shone brightly through the broken clouds forming a spotlight on the grassy knoll.

You gently released Maddie from your embrace and helped her exit the hollow tree. You scouted the knoll, not saying a word. Now that the storm had passed, you could identify where the door had dropped you; somewhere on the outskirts of the school grounds.

Y/N: It's this way. Let's go.

Maddie followed, desperately wishing she could turn back her pages. She didn't like this chapter. Not one little bit.