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We Were Cursed	By : TheGreatWicked Category: M through R > Once Upon A Time Views: 2951 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Once Upon A Time nor any characters within, I make no profit off this story. Its intended only for enjoyment

Chapter List
- 1-We Were Cursed
- 2-Chapter 2
- 1
- 2
We Were Cursed

The Great Wicked

Summary: Even the perfect fairy tale couple has an indiscretion or two under the influence of a curse, Snow White had a one night stand with Doctor Frankenstein and Charming was married to another woman. Strange things happen under a curse, makes you wonder what other Storybrooke residents may have done as well. Jefferson/OFC(Alice)

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Once Upon A Time nor any characters within, I make no profit off this story. Its intended only for enjoyment

AN: It appears that Jefferson was the only other Storybrooke resident that knew about his former life probably due to the fact that he was already mad. If you’ve lost your mind then you have no memories to lose, right? He retains his former memory, like in the series. There is also the appearance of my character portrayal of Alice Liddel, influenced by several adaptations of Alice in Wonderland. Most stories start out mysterious and have a gradual build, not this one. I’m starting you all out with a tasty bit of citrus.

A Friday night in Storybrooke wasn’t a grand affair by any means, the small town really had only had a few places geared towards social interaction. Granny’s Place of course for the occasional meal, the Town Center for whatever shindig the Mayor deemed fit for the locals, a dark and shady bar where the hard workers went to drink and shoot some pool, and finally a more upscale bar that catered to the more upscale clientele of Storybrooke, a very select few. It was run by Will Scarlet, formerly a bartender at the only other bar in town, deciding that he wanted something in Storybrooke to shine. It hadn’t been open long and already it was a bit hit with the towns younger residents, Ruby being one of them.

Finally able to get a Friday night off at Granny’s to go out and enjoy herself with a few close friends, she had half an hour left on her shift before she could go get ready and start her weekend. She’d already finished her work for the night and was pretty much just refilling coffee and wiping down counters and tables that had already been wiped down. Monotony was the mind killer. She was already excited as it was, to cut loose without Granny watching over her and her excitement swelled more when the chime of the door went off and one of her friends stepped through. Just finishing up her own day, was Alice, tired and slightly damp from the misting of rain that threatened to drown the evenings promise.

“Hey! I have half an hour left and then I’ll be at your place and we can go.” She said with a heaviness in her voice that often accompanied a long day. Her smile went to a frown when Alice sat down at the breakfast bar with an look of uncertainty on her face. “What?”

Alice gave a grimace of a smile and then said it, the sentence that killed Ruby’s Friday night. “Ella cancelled. She’s staying home with the baby.”

While disappointed, Ruby was undeterred. “Ok, so we’re a woman down. Doesn’t matter, that just means we’ll have to party just as hard without her. And definitely have a few more drinks for her. Right?”

Alice gave a half smile, “Yeah, about that Ruby.” Ruby listened for a moment, certain she wasn’t going to like what she was going to hear. “Look, it’s been a long week. Maybe we should just stay in and hang out with Ella, I mean, we don’t have to go out, you know?”

At hearing what she knew she wasn’t wanting to hear Ruby began to violently shake her head, “No! No. No. No. No! Alice come on, you can’t do this to me! I haven’t had a weekend off in over a month and a half. I have a great little red dress and some killer heels to match and I have been thinking about this weekend all week long!” Alice looked like she was about to try and talk her down, but Ruby would have none of it. “No, Alice, look at me!” Ruby walked around the bar and grabbed Alice’s shoulders, “Here’s the plan, we are going to get all dressed and sexied up, go out tonight, have drinks and dance with gorgeous men that we don’t know and we are going to dish all about it the next morning when we’re suffering from hangovers, alright? Ella has an excuse she has a baby, but you and me? We are single and young and in desperate need of some sexy men to inappropriately spend the night with.”

When Ruby was passionate about something she almost always got her way, she was very persuasive and in truth Alice wanted to be told that she needed to let loose and have some fun. Ruby stood with bated breath while she waited for Alice to come around. The seconds ticked by and Alice’s tired face gradually lightened up with a smirk and she nodded, “Alright, alright. But, Ruby, what guy? We know every guy in town.” Ruby bit her lip as though she was trying to play it cool and keep a secret.

“You already have a guy in mind, don’t you?” She shrugged her shoulders, in a way that confirmed Alice’s suspicions. “Who is it? Please tell me it’s not Will Scarlet.”

“It’s not Will Scarlet, although I’m an equal opportunity woman and I would never turn down interest.” Just as Ruby often got her way with her sheer charisma, Alice almost always got her answers, by sheer stubbornness. “I’ll show you if you come out tonight.” An odd type of standoff, Alice considered her options. A night in her loft with movies and her cat. OR, a night at a new club with one of her closest friends and the possibility of some gorgeous guy buying her drinks and flirting with her, Ruby’s option almost always won.

“Alright, fine. I’m in, but you don’t go home with a guy unless I do.” Ruby’s facial expression said it all, she looked as though she’d been insulted. “It’s only fair, this whole night was your idea. No on scores unless we both score.” Unknowingly, Alice had made a challenge to Ruby, find a guy to meet Alice’s high expectations, or more realistically get her to hook up with a guy that she didn’t know. Storybrooke, being a small town everyone knew everyone but Ruby always made the best of things and in truth there were some not-too-bad-looking guys around.

“You, have yourself a deal. Please tell me you have something decent to wear tonight.”

“I just need to go pick up my heels, but yes, I have something new to wear tonight.”

“Ok! So go do that and I’ll meet you at your place, we’ll get ready, head out and find a guy to get you some sexy guy to have a nice and naughty time with.” Alice rolled her eyes, not having much faith in the night’s evening, “Come on Alice, have some faith!” Another roll of her eyes before she was being ushered out of the diner by Ruby whom then returned to her wiping of horizontal objects, so much excitement in her that she didn’t even notice the man sitting in the last booth with his back to her, he had heard the whole conversation.

OOO

While it may have a felt like another three hours, in reality it was less than an hour and a half later before Ruby and Alice were stepping out in their best and some heels, headed off to check out the new club, Club Curiosity. Being two pretty young women got them through the door easily and being dressed appropriately, got them in without a cover charge, the night was looking up for the moment.

Ruby was just happy to be out in a new dress and enjoying the looks it was getting her from the male population, nothing was ever too much for Ruby, it reflected in her personality and in her style. The ‘little red dress’, she had mentioned was her new favorite, it was short, cut off at mid thigh and was skin tight, the neck line plunged and was held up by two thin straps, the back almost completely open. She topped it off with a new pair of shiny black peep-toe heels, and a small black clutch. Alice on the other hand didn’t really like dresses, she said they made her feel too vulnerable. But despite the differences in their fashion taste Alice’s own outfit held up to Ruby’s. Rather than a dress, Alice wore a black pair of leather-like skintight leggings, an open back dark blue halter top that dropped generously in the front, and her own favorite heels black with metal studs on the heel. The dark colors she rather preferred made her pale skin and dark red hair stand out.

Despite herself she had to admit, that she was enjoying the looks she was getting as she and Ruby made their way to the bar, she was enjoying herself so far.

Two overpriced drinks and some sultry conversation Alice managed to pull Ruby away from the bar and the made their way to a table near the dance floor. Alice had something called a Hypnotic and Ruby had something that Alice didn’t know what it was called but the drink was bright red, much like Ruby herself.

“So, what do we think so far?” Ruby asked leaning forward speaking loudly so Alice could hear her, with a dubious glance towards the mass of bodies rubbing against each other.

“I think we overpaid for these drinks.” True to her own snappy nature and her sharp wit, Ruby returned her sharp words with a look of distain, one that said ‘You’re raining on my parade’. “Nothing promising so far, I see a lot of guys who are a little too drunk and a few who I’m not drunk enough for.”

Looking towards a group of men that Alice had nodded to and couldn’t help but laugh, “The night is young Alice, we’ll find you someone.”

Alice shook her head and smiled at Ruby’s antics, “So, are you going to tell me who this guy is that you’re looking to get your hands on?”

Ruby smiled, “He’s not here yet,” Ruby took another sip of her drink.

“Do I know him?” Ruby nodded. “Ok, Good guy or a bad boy?”

“Hmm,” She thought for a minute, “I guess a bad boy with a good job.”

Alice thought to herself for minute too, “Public figure?” Ruby nodded, “Facial hair?” Ruby nodded, “Is he packing heat?” She nodded once more, Alice slapped her hands on the table, “You’re trying to nail Sheriff Graham!” Ruby nodded and laughed, Alice was pretty sharp. “Has anything happened between you two yet?”

Another sip of her drink, “He comes in for coffee every morning.” Alice held up her drink and gave a quizzical look as if to say ‘And?’ “And it takes him two hours to drink a cup of coffee.”

“Oh,” Alice paused. “Wait, it takes the man two hours to drink cup of coffee, shouldn’t he be patrolling the streets or something?”

“Alice, it’s Storybrooke. About the worst thing that could happen is an unsightly affair or the mayor doesn’t get her usual seat at the breakfast bar.” Alice nodded, “He comes in at the same time everyday and orders the same thing, sits in the same spot and he doesn’t talk to anyone else until I start wiping down the counter. We flirt a little bit and he always leaves me a nice tip.”

Leave it up to Ruby to make something big out of everyday little things, but Alice wasn’t even listening to her anymore, something had caught her eye. Across the room near the far end of the bar stood someone she’d never seen before, at least not that she could recall, but whoever he was, he was gorgeous. He wasn’t quite wearing a suit, but it was no less dressy. Black slacks from what she could see, a white button down shirt and what looked like a waistcoat over it, he almost looked like he was from another place entirely. And he was gorgeous, he had a hard and strong jaw, heavy eyebrows and two very dark eyes, brown hair that looked like it was on the tail edge of tamed, it stuck up in some spots but the whole look was very cohesive. It was hard not to stare but after a moment Alice could feel heat from his gaze and they locked eyes.

Ruby had now become aware of the fact that Alice was no longer paying attention to what she was saying. It took Ruby flagging her hand over her face to break the sightline between Alice and the guy she was eyeing. “Hello? Alice!” Alice finally blinked and looked back to Ruby, “What on earth are you looking at?”

“Ruby, across the room, far end of the bar, the guy in the waistcoat. Smoking gorgeous.” Ruby very calmly glanced over her shoulder and searched for whomever it was that had grabbed Alice’s attention. Sure enough, Ruby found him and her own eyes went ride upon seeing him as well, after a moment Ruby jerked her head back towards Alice.

“Him?” Alice nodded, looking past Ruby again, “Alice, don’t you know who that is?” Alice looked back to Ruby again this time confused before looking hard at him again, she didn’t recognize him. She shook her head. “That’s Jefferson Hightopp.” Alice was still confused, not recognizing the name, Ruby sighed in disbelief. “Jefferson Hightopp, the rich guy who lives in the mansion on the edge of town? Reclusive rich guy? Rarely seen? Possibly bat-shit crazy?”

“He makes bat shit crazy look sexy as hell.”

OOO

On one of the few occasions that Jefferson left his house on the hill and ventured in to town his stay was usually brief and unremarkable. He had everything he needed in his home and it was only at the urging of the Sheriff that he left his house at all. But regardless he rather liked the mysterious personae it had earned him, the whom most people knew of but had rarely seen, he’d learned to make a sporadic routine of it, although he often came out at times when it was late and fewer people were out. That had been his plan on that particular Friday night a trip to Granny’s because despite himself it was nice not to have to cook for yourself and on a payday weekend, Grannys was usually pretty deserted. He was pleasantly surprised however, on this particular night to catch part of a conversation between the waitress girl, Ruby and her friend, Alice. Had it been anyone else he would have ignored it, but Alice. He didn’t have to think about it or question if it was the Alice. The Alice he had known before the curse, in Wonderland. He knew it was her.

He’d felt his heart race faster when she’d opened her mouth and began to speak, he knew that voice very well and he had barely managed to keep from shaking or turning sharply to catch a glimpse of her. He felt the muscles in his neck straining to keep still, but somehow he had managed to keep perfectly still and calm. Somehow his presence had managed to go entirely unnoticed by the two women. But although they hadn’t noticed him he’d heard every word of their conversation and he suddenly felt himself growing hot under the collar.

He’d known Alice in Wonderland as a young woman and had seen her fight against the Red Queen, he’d admired her heart and spirit and even though he was completely mad at the time, her attractiveness wasn’t lost on him at all. He had probably known she was here in Storybrooke but hadn’t thought to look for her, she wouldn’t remember him why bother? In spite of himself and his unique situation, he wondered if he’d catch her eye the same way she’d caught his.

Club Curiosity, run by Willl Scarlet, he was very familiar with Will Scarlet and held quite a distaste for the man, mostly because he’d taken an interest in Alice. He had planned on cutting his trip to town short in favor of returning to his house, but suddenly found himself considering a change in the evening plans.

With Ruby’s departure a short time later, he paid his bill to Granny and left in search of this new place that Ruby and Alice were heard towards.

As he had suspected he didn’t particularly care for Club Curiosity, the music was too loud, the drink to expensive and catered more to a woman sweeter palette than his, he’d much prefer his tea. People who were more connected than any of them could possibly know wandering around lost in a fog. He’d gotten there before Alice and Ruby and had enough time to survey the crowd, a simple amber drink in an old fashioned glass and he found a place against the wall among the shadows to stay unnoticed, and there he waited. For well over an hour until he spotted that wild red hair. He hadn’t intended on making his presence known to her, yet, inexplicably, among the shadows she had found him. He’d never been able to forget those green eyes, and somehow they’d locked onto him as her friend talked.

His cover was adequately blown when her friend had glanced over her shoulder and seen him, her saw her eyes dilate from across the room. She quickly turned and spoke quickly, he was sure she was telling Alice about the odd rumors she’d heard about the reclusive billionaire or whatever the locals had made up. Where the money came from Jefferson never knew, and he really didn’t want to know, a cruel joke played on him by Regina. Plague him with the money he lacked in his other life, and robbed him of the daughter he desperately wanted to provide for.

Contrary to popular belief, money did not buy happiness. It reminded him of the daughter he could have been spoiling, he didn’t like spending for himself but until he could find his way home he had created a personae of a mysterious man who was possibly crazy. The irony was not lost on him.

Irony aside Jefferson now had a very real dilemma on his hands, he had the attention of two of Storybrooke’s women, one he wanted the other he didn’t care. What did he do? He knew what was on their agenda that night and due to his ability to read lips very well, he knew exactly what Alice was saying. In his years living alone Jefferson had grown rather fond of watching people and with enough watching came the talent of lip reading and Alice’s lips did not disappoint.

All Jefferson could do was stay put and watch and wonder.

OOO

“Alice of all the people in Storybrooke, why Jefferson? He’s weird. He could be a serial killer for all we know.” Ruby did have a flair for the dramatic but even that was a bit odd, Alice gave Ruby a hard look.

“Seriously, Ruby? One: I know every guy in town, it’s not that I’m picky, I have a severe lack of options and Two: When was the last time anyone went missing in Storybrooke. Besides if he’s a serial killer, he could come at me with a knife and …” She cast him another up and down glance settling on his jaw and eyes, “And I’d probably be ok with it.” As she was going to take a sip of her drink she could have sworn she’d seen him smile, well, not quite a smile but the corners of his mouth turn up just slightly.

“Maybe he’s a vampire.” Alice couldn’t even think of a response to Ruby’s strange theories, all she could do was mouth the word ‘Vampires?’ “Well, I’ll give you this, for someone who is rarely seen,” Ruby looked back over her shoulder, “He’s pretty easy on the eyes.” And with that a thought struck Ruby, her competitive streak surged forward. “Well, that aside, I don’t see anything happening between you and billionaire boy.”

“Why? Is he married?”

“No,” Alice looked quizzically at Ruby.

“He’s not wearing a wedding ring, and he’s in a club on a Friday night, he’s clearly single.”

But the answer was much simpler than that, “Oh, he’s single. But Jefferson isn’t really into anybody. Maybe he’s gay. Or worse…”

“Asexual.” The true bane of any single woman was letting your eye fall on a gorgeous, single man only to find that he wasn’t sexually attracted to anyone. In the seventh circle of hell you were trapped for eternity, horny as hell and every single man with you was asexual. An eternity being sexually frustrated. But as the horror of the possible scenario registered, another thing occurred to Alice, “Wait, why on earth would an asexual man be in a club? People come to clubs for social interaction, overpriced drinks and quick hook ups. If you’re asexual then why are you in a public setting with loose men and women?”

“Dunno, maybe he’s studying us all, or searching for another murder victim.” Ruby clearly wasn’t putting much merit behind the whole ‘he’s not a serial killer’ thing. “You read about these things all the time, or maybe he’s into weird stuff. Like bondage or weird fetishes.”

“When has the thought of bondage ever been a deal-breaker for you?” Ruby sipped her drink and gave a look that read simply ‘I have standards’, which Alice knew to be only partly true. “Come on, you’re telling me that if Sheriff Graham came in here and whisked you away to his place and handcuffed you to a four poster bed, you wouldn’t be the least bit into it?”

Ruby zoned out for a moment, honestly considering whether or not that scenario would be a possibility, “You think he’s into that?” Ruby asked, stirring her drink with her finger now imagining all the possibilities, she’d never tried role playing but honestly the idea of Sheriff Graham and his handcuffs in bed wasn’t an entirely unpleasant thought. “What if billionaire boy is into weird fetishes?”

Alice considered the thought, there certainly were some odd people out there and it wasn’t impossible for him to be into something… odd. “Meh, sex is sex and regardless the fetish as long as he gets me off and I walk out with minimal bruising then I’m good.”

“Bruising, Alice?” Ruby laughed, “You’re into rough sex aren’t you?”

Alice gave Ruby another of her hard looks, “Seriously, Ruby? You’re not? Rough sex can be great, problem is most of the time, it isn’t.” Ruby found herself nodding along with Alice, guys with delusions that they’re doing rough sex right but more often than not it just leaves you with bad bruising and feeling high and dry. “Besides, why does everyone make up weird shit about people they don’t know? So he keeps to himself, big damn deal. I keep to myself and no one says anything bad about me.”

“Actually most guys think you’re a prude with unrealistically high expectations.” Alice wasn’t really surprised to hear this. “They also think you’re a virgin.”

“Well thats disappointing, but hey, you’re not rumor free either you know?” Ruby was about to open her mouth but Alice beat her to the punch. “Most women think you’re a scandalous text message away from being a certified home wrecker and most men think you’re as available as a 24 gas station.”

“People suck.” Alice nodded, the world certainly was unkind and unfair. “Huh,” Ruby looked back, “Well whatever he’s into looks like you’ll never know, he’s gone.” Alice’s eyes went wide and she looked past Ruby to see that she was indeed right, Jeffersons dark and towering figure was gone.

“Dammit. Thanks a lot Ruby.”

“What did I do?” She asked genuinely offended.

“You spent so much energy and time trying to make me think I could be hitting on a psycho, serial killer with freaky fetishes that he bailed.” Whatever chances of a fun night Alice had in mind suddenly plummeted and crashed. “Dammit.” The only interesting guy in town was gone. “I need another drink.”

OOO

Assuming his lip reading wasn’t wrong, which, it usually wasn’t, he had to get out of sight, their conversation heating his blood and giving him thoughts that he shouldn’t have. Talking about fetishes, rough sex and handcuffs was a hard thing for a man to deal with and not get worked up about. When they drifted back towards one another he saw his opportunity and slid out of sight to another area where the mass of bodies hid him better, and he had time to get ahold of himself.

Hidden once more near a batch of men who all seemed like they were looking for someone easy to get into bed with, he could see the look of panic and frustration on Alice’s face when she realized he had gone. He couldn’t help but smile to himself, she was disappointed that he was gone. So, she was interested. He didn’t have long to dwell on that subtle compliment, before another conversation caught his ear.

“What about her?” It was three men in front of him, all drinking cheap beer and a few shots, “What’s her name? Ali or something?”

“Alice Liddel?” The first man nodded in her direction as the two women made their way back to their table, both having shot glasses and fresh drinks. “I hear she’s a real man-hater. Never seen a guy win her approval before, pretty prissy if you ask me.”

“Yeah, I wouldn’t even bother unless you like being told you’e not good enough, three different ways.”

“Come on, she can’t be that bad.” The looks his companions gave him, created contradicted his statement. “Well, whats her story?”

“She’s an ice queen and doesn’t date.” One man responded, his voice filled with distain.

“If she doesn’t date, then what’s she all dressed up for? A chick showing off what she’s showing off is just asking for some action.”

“Good luck with that, John. No matter your moves, Alice Liddel will not give you any.” John looked Alice up and down, almost as if he was gauging his chances of success. “Doesn’t look like she’s going home with anyone, but then again maybe she just needs the personal touch.”

Jefferson wasn’t entirely sure of what this mans personal touch entailed of but he didn’t like how they talked about her, not Alice. He felt his hands clench into fists and his blood boil, never in his life had he been filled more with the urge to reach out and hit another person as much as he had felt it right now. But despite that, Jefferson wasn’t an idiot, he knew that there was no way he’d win a fight with three men, what happened next had to be played very carefully.

OOO

“Look, I’m sorry I freaked you out, Alice. You’re my best friend and I’m only looking out for you. What would I do if anything happened to you?” Annoyed as Alice was, she knew Ruby was only interested in her welfare, she couldn’t stay mad at her long.

“Yeah, I know. Don’t worry about it.” Ruby felt better but she wasn’t entirely forgiven just yet, “God I hate this town, nothing ever happens here, its like the whole damn place is wandering around sleep walking. When does life get interesting?”

“Beats hell out of me, but when it does I promise I will have your back for whatever sexy guy you go after, promise!” Ruby placed her hands on Alice’s, “Forgive me?” Alice sighed and rolled her eyes, “Please! Please!” Ruby was very persuasive and despite how well Alice knew her, her puppy look was hard to resist.

“God help the man who you give those puppy eyes to.” The ice had melted and Alice was over the whole thing now, and all was right in the world again.

“You love me, you know it.”

“You know I do,” Their glasses clinked together and a few more drinks were had, regardless how Alice had struck with Jefferson without even being able to talk to him she did enjoy being out with Ruby. “No one else in this town is qualified to be my partner in crime.” Ruby smiled.

“So come on, admit it, you’re having fun.” As Alice was about to concede and reply with what Ruby wanted to hear, Alice’s eyes now locked onto something else but it wasn’t Jefferson.

“Ruby, very calmly, look over your should to your left, near the entrance.” Whenever Alice gave detailed instructions Ruby knew that tit was for a good reason, she did as Alice instructed and looked where she indicated. Standing neat the entrance was Sheriff Graham, appearing to be off duty and looking for someone. Ruby gasped sharply and looked back to Alice when his brown eyes fell on her, “Woman, get a hold of yourself, he’s looking right at you, go and talk to him.”

When Ruby looked back he was still there and still looking her way, he now wore a delightfully mischievous smirk on his rugged face. She wanted to go over and talk to him but then a nagging thought returned to her, “I can’t.”

“What? Why not?” Alice asked in shock clearly having forgotten what they had agreed upon earlier.

“We had a deal, Alice.” Ruby said in a slightly depressed tone, “Remember? Unless be both score, no one scores.” Damn, Alice remembered her words earlier that night, and ruby was holding up her end of the bargain. Ruby was a good friend.

She couldn’t let Ruby pass this chance by, “Ruby, forget the deal, you have the attention of the very single and very straight sheriff, now go and do something about it.” Ruby’s eyes lit up and she smiled, “But you had better tell me the details tomorrow morning. That’s the new deal.” Ruby leaned over the table and hugged Alice and kissed her cheek.

“I love you, Alice! I will give you all the details tomorrow I promise!” Alice nodded and brushed some of Ruby’s hair out of her face before giving her the ok nod, and like that Ruby was off, barely able to contain herself, trying to maintain the thin shred of cool and calm she had.

OOO

Alice had watched as Ruby and Graham got close and cozy, sharing what was left of her drink. She watched for a few minutes as Ruby worked her charm and Graham pulled her in closer with each little smirk and twirl of her hair around his finger. She found herself wondering if there was some truth to what people said about her, were her expectations a little too high? She thought about what she wanted in a man, it wasn’t such a tall order, she didn’t think so. Tall, dark and handsome, strong, charismatic and maybe a bit of mystery. But the more she thought about it, she realized two things: one she lived in a small blue collar town where everyone knew everyone. And two: that she was describing Jefferson.

Alice took some comfort in seeing how well Ruby and Graham were hitting it off and knowing that she was a small part of that for the night. But no amount of comfort from a friends hook up could make her feel any less lonely, and after a few minutes of watching the people around her the novelty of it all wore off and Alice was ready to go home. Just as she was ready to get up, an uninvited guest sat himself down across form her.

“So I have a bet going with my buddies, they say that you’re an ice queen and I say that all you need is the right guy to help you… Melt.” They guy wasn’t unpleasant looking by any means but whatever attractiveness he had was marred by a creepy vibe that could not be ignored.

Alice was indeed at a loss for words for a moment but her quick wit recovered and the ice walls were up again. “I’m trying to think of a way for you to be cruder…” Had this guy walked up to her and asked if he could join her and maybe not have used something so creepy as an opening line, she’d maybe have given him a chance. But he’d already struck out. “Do you even know my name Screwboy?”

“Yeah, you’re Alice. And I’m John, and you look like you could use some company.” Cold as she could, Alice stood up and grabbed her drink.

“Not interested, John.” She walked towards an empty corner booth to sit and forget the encounter, unfortunately he was hot on her heels and so were two of his friends. John was undeterred by her coldness and didn’t hesitate to wrap his hand around her wrist to stop her and pull her a few steps backwards.

“Hey hey, hold on now. I think we got off on the wrong foot and maybe you outta get to know me and my boys here and maybe we can all have a good time.”

If Alice wasn’t interested at first she was furious now, “I don’t like to be touched, John.” She wrenched her hand out of his grip, suddenly feeling the need to have a scalding hot shower.

“How about you tell me what you do like, and we’ll go from there.”

Before the situation got any further out of hand something happened that Alice hadn’t expected, a tall, dark figure emerged from the shadows and quickly stepped in between Alice and her unwanted company.

“There you are darling, I’m sorry to have kept you waiting.” Alice found herself looking up into the dark eyes of Jefferson, whom had appeared out of nowhere and was now standing in front of John. “I hope I haven’t kept you waiting too long.”

Whatever fuel John felt he had was suddenly gone with Jeffersons intimidating presence, “Hey, we’re busy here rich boy.”

He cast a dark look over his shoulder, “Really? It looked to me as though you were harassing my girlfriend.” There was something very frightening about the look Jefferson was giving John and his friends, the shadows fell over his face making his eyes deep and hollowed, and almost unnatural. They must have heard some of the rumors about Jefferson being a possible serial killer because they all slunk back a bit and murmured incoherently before disappearing completely. “Did he hurt you?”

“I wanna run scaling water over where he touched me.” She cooed back as he faced her completely, noting the relief that washed over her. Jefferson stepped in closer and looked down into those dark green eyes, he saw so many memories dancing in them of a time in Wonderland and memories that he knew she didn’t have. “Well, given the circumstances I think it’ll be highly suspicious if we don’t sit down and have a drink together, baby.”

Jefferson smiled, and held his hand out ushering her into the corner booth, she sat down and was pleasantly surprised when Jefferson not only joined her but sat next to her and placed his arm around her. Surprisingly Alice felt comfortable with Jefferson so close to her, considering she didn’t know him or that he was a possible serial killer, or vampire. “Don’t panic but we’re causing a bit of a stir.”

Sure enough Alice looked out into the room and aside from seeing drifting eyes and glances of suspicion she also saw a wide eyed Ruby. Alice grinned and winked at her shocked friend before leaning in close, “You know my girlfriend thinks you’re either a serial killer or a vampire.”

Jefferson smirked, he’d certainly heard some strange things about himself over the years but never that he was a vampire, the serial killer thing he’d heard before. Of all the strange things it was one of his favorites, people were very stupid, but their ignorance was entertaining. The vampire thing was a new one though. “Which one is she?”

“Red dress, next to Sheriff Graham.” Jeffersons eyes drifted out searching for her and the red dress stood out but more so because of her wide eyes and agape jaw. “She probably thinks you’re either going to kill me or turn me into a vampire.”

“Well if it helps my case, I can walk in the sunlight, I can cross the threshold of a church, and I rather enjoy garlic.”

“You feel skittish around crucifixes?”

She flashed a rather charming smile, “Actually I’m rather fond of looking at crucifixes.”

“Well, I guess that rules out the vampire theory, but for all I know you could still be a serial killer.”

“Well perhaps I can put you at ease, would another drink help my credibility as a non-serial killer?” Jefferson tried to keep his calm as Alice reached over to straighten his collar.

“It can’t hurt your chances.”

OOO

Alice tried very hard to keep calm as Jefferson went to get her the proposed drink, In the few moments he was gone Alice grabbed her phone to find a message from Ruby:

What’s going on? Is that Jefferson Hightopp you’re cuddling with?!

Alice glanced up to see where Jefferson was, still at the bar speaking to the bartender, she guessed she’d have only a few minutes till he returned.

Cuddling? No, he just invited me to come back to his place, think he wants to suck my blood?

A moment later, the phone chimed in response.

What?! Please tell me you’re joking!

Still at the bar, handing the barkeep cash.

Of course I’m joking. He’s perfectly normal, Ruby, kind of funny even.

Jefferson now had one drink in hand and was waiting for the other one.

Are you going home with him?

Alice carefully considered the question, he wasn’t coming on to strong, and in truth was being really vague but it was impossible to say there was no mutual attraction.

Don’t know, but if I don’t message you tomorrow morning, send a search party.

Always one to joke to make light of an unknown situation, Alice had time for maybe one more quick exchange.

Fine, but if you wind up dead and cut up into itty-bitty pieces just remember, I was the voice of reason here. Jefferson held out his hand for the other drink.

For once.

The night was about to take an interesting turn, when Ruby sent one last message.

On the chance that he isn’t a psycho-vampire serial killer, have good sex.

Alice chuckled and looked up just in time to see Jefferson looking at her and walking back towards the booth. She quickly slipped her phone back into her clutch, and looked up again in time to see Jefferson extending a drink in his hand before taking a seat next to her again.

“Is your friend still trying to convince you that I’m a serial killer?” He asked having probably seen alice looking down at her phone.

“She seems to think that because you bought me a drink that I’m going home with you and that you’re probably going to chop me into itty-bitty pieces in your dungeon basement.”

Jeffersons eyebrows rose up in surprise or was it amusement? “Well, if it will put her at ease, you can tell her that I don’t have a dungeon in my basement.” He paused, bringing his drink to his lips, “But I do have handcuffs in my bedroom.” He took a lengthy drink.

There had been some very light flirting and some very vague innuendos but ‘handcuffs in my bedroom’ was pretty clear, Alice watched his lips on the drink and his throat muscles work as he drank the amber liquid. A possible serial killer, maybe vampire, possible freak in the sheets, sure she could have found a way out of it: said Ruby wasn’t feeling well or that she had work in the morning, and she could go home alone that night easily. But then again, why should she? She had complained to Ruby that there were no interesting men in town, that she knew every guy in town, and that life was generally boring in Storybrooke.

“Well, thats suspicious. What does a civilized, non-serial killer have handcuffs in his bedroom for if he doesn’t dismember the locals?” It certainly was a loaded question and she decided she would base her decision on what he was about to say.

Jefferson smirked, preparing to take another sip, “If it will help my cause, they’re not really handcuffs.” Trick cuffs? There were only two reasons to have trick handcuffs, either you were a ten year old looking to pursue a career as a magician. Or, it had nothing to do with magic and all to do with safe words, silk scarves, and possibly candles. Instead, cool and calm, Alice brought her drink to her lips, “Prove it.”

Whatever Jefferson was expecting, that answer clearly wasn’t something he thought he’d hear. He watched her finish the drink after neglecting it for some time. “If it will prove my innocence.” While finishing her drink, Jefferson stood and offered his hand. Of all the excuses in the world to get someone to come to your mansion, trick handcuffs seemed like something from a really cheesy porno. But then again, everyone in a porn got laid. “Then I guess we should get going if I’m going to clear my name before it gets to late.”

Why shouldn’t she? She took his hand and stood up and with plenty of eyes on them, they walked towards the exit. Just before she left, Alice flashed a wink at Ruby.

OOO

Thanks.

GW
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We Were Cursed