[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/QPwjDVl.png[/img][/center]
[indent][color=coral][sub][i]As Alice[/i][/sub][/color][/indent]

[i]Her breathing was heavy, carrying a rasp to it as she bolted down the dark street. One might have noticed her reddened face, glistening ever so slightly with sweat had she not been wholly obscured by the jet black hoodie covering her head and the scarf tightly wrapped around her neck. Every time she went out, she knew the clothing choice was a mistake. Was it a fashion statement or purely functional? She'd have to settle on a happy medium...[/i]

The bounding of Alice's shoes impacting the sidewalk was loud enough to wake backyard dogs into a barking frenzy. Or perhaps it was the clanking of the heavy satchel draped over her shoulder as it whipped in the October winds. Alice didn't care. No, now wasn't a time for silence. Rather, haste was all that mattered in the mind of the young girl. She had taken much longer than anticipated in her night out. Alice had only come to that realization as she tore down the sidewalk, picking up her pace even more. The harrowed party with her friends was fast approaching, and there she was not dressed up or ready at all and still blocks from her house. It was either an error in judgement of time or Alice was trying to put off having to deal with a large group of rowdy teenagers as long as possible. They were her friends of course, but exhausting nonetheless. She would have chuckled at the thought was she not so fervently sprinting. [i]Strange to call a simple gathering exhausting considering her current predicament.[/i]

Alice skidded to a halt on the side street. Finally her house was in sight. She didn't have a lot of time to work with, but she imagined she'd make it to the party nonetheless. Her friends would likely string her up if she bailed, or at least, she imagined they would. [i]Bail one too many times and suddenly there's a witch hunt.[/i] Alice would have to work fast, though. She had quite the plan, but shooting through her back door and into her room, she realized her arrival was going to be a bit more delayed than first expected. At least her father wasn't around to bother her. [i]Had he been at the church that late?[/i] Alice would never find out, nor did she particularly care. It was all enigmas in the small weaver family. Taking her hood down, Alice huffed as she looked into her full-body mirror. Covered in sweat, hair disheveled, and without makeup, she had some work to do. Without hesitation or even a moment's rest, Alice skidded across the floor to her laptop. It only took a few seconds to queue up some music. With her favorite indie hip hop jams on repeat, Alice wasted no time in getting ready. She had to appear perfect after all— the only way she'd dare portray herself.

After a quick shower, Alice ran her hands through her short brunette locks. She certainly didn't have the perfect hairstyle for her costume or the perfect hair color for that matter, but she figured it was light enough for the meaning to get across. Her outfit was already laid out and ready to wear. Before she put it on, Alice spent a moment admiring both her handiwork with the costume and her mental ingenuity that had birthed the idea. She had conceded to the fact that her idea was universally the best costume idea that she could ever come up with within a minute and a half of contemplation. It took a bit more finesse than she had first expected. Having done little to no sewing in her life before this, though, Alice was entirely impressed with the blue and white dress sat before her. Of course, it was mostly complete as she had it, but the lace flourishes that were embroidered along its lining were all her own work. Alongside that, Alice had made a point to lengthen the dress a bit to allow it to just brush her knees. It looked more rough, but she was pleased with it nonetheless, whether for fear of the cold or the opinions of others.

It was the perfect fit for her— in a number of senses. An homage to Carroll's nineteenth century literature and modern humor that was basically required for Halloween costumes. At least, that was what Alice thought. Without cleverness, who would she be? Definitely not Alice on her [i]Adventure's in Wonderland.[/i] A unique blend of wit and puns while still maintaining a cute look— exactly what she needed. Of course, the costume alone wasn't nearly enough, no. Alice [i]as Alice,[/i] had to go beyond simplicity. Leaving her hair almost the exact same way it was normally styled save for a simple headband that accentuated the color she had draped around her body, the next move was makeup, and that was where Alice would shine. Her look was subtle, [i]as always,[/i] but Alice still managed to fit herself with some flair with small symbols of each suit in a deck of cards just below her eye. The perfect mixture of diminutive while also showing off... [i]Just like her...[/i]

In her rush to get out of the door, Alice spent quite a bit of time not rushing and instead hesitating to make sure she had everything she might need. She never did leave the house without one of her satchels. There were too many handy things to carry around. Tonight, her bag would be filled with a small makeup kit to provide touch-ups and it would also offer a place to store the black zip-up hoodie when she arrived at Ron's house alongside whatever else may have already been prepared in the bag's various pockets. Of course she wasn't going to be wearing that dress out in the open. It was by far to flashy for her usual style, but it was time to shine for the holiday. In transit, however, Alice reverted to her covert look from the earlier hours of the night. [i]Anything to take eyes off of her.[/i]

Alice always enjoyed the quiet walks she took at night. More often than not, she found herself ambling along the dim streets near to her home, but in this instance she moved with purpose. Late enough as is, Alice had somewhere to be. Luckily for her, little Sterling Heights made her journey a quick one. Distracted by the hypnotic patterns of distant fire in the sky, Alice arrived before Ron's house before she knew it. There was a brief moment of hesitation in her step as she crossed onto the house's driveway. [i]Was she late enough? Perhaps she should have waited longer.[/i] Shaking the silly thoughts from her head, Alice made haste to escape the cool outside for the much needed warmth within, shedding the hooding and draping it over her arm as she knocked upon the door.

[color=coral]"Time to go among the mad people,"[/color] Alice spoke in a introspective voice as she mottled the Carroll quote. There was more where that came from. She knew that, and reveled in it as much as her friends may have dreaded it. There was almost a bit of a dance to her step as she entered, only continuing in her tirade. 

[color=coral]"Who in the world am I? Ah, that's the great puzzle..."[/color]