"Sir! Sir, you dropped this?" A man that had a height of about six feet waved furiously at Alexander, putting on a street-show just to get the boy's attention. London's early atmosphere glowed up the whole city. The sun desperately tried piercing through the thick cake-batter clouds; an un-rippable lace holding it back like a spider's web. Alexander looked up and sighed in relief.

"Ah, yes, my locket. Thank you, kind Sir." The man nodded graciously as Alexander picked up the gold-encrusted locket out of the man's tea-stained glove. "Oh, you're a butler, I see."

"Uhm, yes. I am. How did you know that, Sir?" Alexander noticed the embarrassment in his tone. As his answer, Alexander gracefully dropped fifty-three Pounds where the stain layed imbedded in the old glove fabric.

"Oh, no no no. I refuse to take this. Please, I can't accept this."

Alexander smirked. "You can and you will. Now, I must be going. Have a terrific day, Sir."

The man stood motionless on the cobblestone road as a carriage clopped by beside them. His eyes lit up. Almost like he was truly satisfied in that moment. "Th-Thank you. Very much," the man replied, extending his arm to his cranio and tipping his hat off slighty into a formal bow.

"You don't have to thank me. You did me a great favor. I would be utterly lost if I were to misplace this locket. I'm sure your master is very proud to call you their butler," Alexander answered, doing his special half-smile as he spoke his last sentence.

"Why thank you! You are just too kind! Have a great evening, Mr..."

"-Please, call me Alex. Enjoy the rest of your day as well. Goodbye." The two shook hands firmly before Alexander continued to walk back to his cranberry manor. Edwin, his own butler, would be done preparing dinner with the cook when he got back. As he continued his walk back home, he gathered his thoughts together like a rake and leaves on a comfortable autumn day with the September cicadas playing their song that Alexander treasured. Alexander would always watch Edwin outside raking when he was a toddler, listening to him hum to a song he would hear in the cafe.

His eyes wandered, looking at the clouds with remarkable curiosity as his mind crawled to the thoughts of his parents. Not remembering much about them, he put together the puzzle pieces of the things he did know. They died in a carriage accident. Edwin agreed to be his legal guardian. Alexander grew up with Edwin, guiding him through childhood like a horse getting pulled too hard by the bridle. Edwin would always say, "Good heavens, my Lord, did your parents death really mature you."

Alexander shook his head horizontally, shaking the thoughts away. He didn't like remembering the past much, although, memories, however, know perfect times to slither up your spine and poison every nook and cranny of your mind like a cobra. Every now and then, Alexander would stop to say hello to a friend or shop-owner on his mid-afternoon stroll. The day seemed very optimistic, he thought, not because of the weather necessarily, but this one thought that seemed to never vary or leave the exit of his busy-working mind. It was one of those important thoughts where they would swirl around the banks of your brain like leaves caught in a gust of wind. It was a girl named Alice that haunted his every thought, move, and emotion. She was his crippling doubt, everything he hid about himself, and every reason why he told himself over and over that he wouldn't fall in the love the same way again. His heart begged to be with her. His mixed emotions twisted his guts and bobbed around among the butterflies that formed early in the morning when he saw the blond-haired, green-eyed beauty.

The sun started its evening dance over the horizon, creating silhouette characters and staining the gray sky with magenta and tangerine watercolors. Alexander had reached his destination to home, giving his dahlia manor a good look. The perfection of his home radiated off the precise landscaped garden, detailed stone chimmney, clipped lawn, and aligned lit candlesticks in the windows. He felt a rise of pride grow inside him affecting his facial expression; his lips jumped and curved into a huge smile as his eyes glowed with passion.

"Welcome home, my Lord. Was your walk all right?" Edwin asked instantly, holding the grand maroon door ajar and removing Alexander's hat.

"It was fine. I met someone. A butler," Alexander confessed. He headed straight to the dining room where an arroma of ham punched his nose. Edwin followed close behind. "He found my locket I carelessly dropped. Kind, huh?"

"Very kind. I wish there were more individuals like that man." Edwin pushed in Alexander's chair and whipped out a cloth napkin and set it on his master's thigh. "Enjoy your meal, Lord Phantomhive. Oh, and just to remind you, I'd like to speak with you before you go to bed."

"Of course," Alexander sputtered in between hungry bites of ham and fixings.
***

The old flooring of the manor squeaked and moaned as Alexander went upstairs to his bedroom. Edwin was already in his room laying fresh linens on his bed. Alexander slipped into the chilly drafted room and looked at Edwin. He opened his mouth to say something, but no words were spoken. Instead of forming words, he decided to walk into the washroom and put on his pajamas for bed. He paced back into his bedroom after to find Edwin sitting in a chair beside the bed. Edwin caught him looking at him, grinned, and began to speak, "You can get into bed, Master. I was just curious as to what has been on your mind recently. You seem awful... happy. Not that it is a bad thing or anything, I was just wondering... why?" Edwin studied his little fifteen-year-old Master. His eyebrows under his choppy black hair were kitted together.

"It's nothing, Edwin. Probably just the weather," Alexander suspiciously concluded. He rolled over on his side and fell fast asleep.

A wave of golden curls fell just below her broad shoulders. Alexander's confusion made his body toss and turn endlessly through the night. His thoughts were being thrown around at a million miles per hour, getting twisted up into one big sappy dream. Four words began repeating in his head: Love is a risk. As it was said so many times mentally, he said the words aloud as well. Images of a beautiful girl with golden hair and cat-like grassy eyes were bobbing around in a current of thoughts in one big hurricane of his brain. He awoke with a gasp, rubbing his eyes desperately and realizing that Edwin was still in the lounge chair beside him. Reality snapped back like a rubber band to skin.

"Is everything all right, Lord Phantomhive?" Edwin questioned, standing over him nervously. "I believe you were just having a dream of some sort."

"Edwin-"

"Yes, Master?"

"Don't leave for the rest of the night. That is an order," Alexander ordered, calming down and letting his spine rest against the mattress.

Edwin smirked as he put his head back in the chair all while whispering back softly, "Your wish is my command, Sir."
***

Dusk returned to dawn; the sun teased London with long, transluscent streaks of sunshine that strained Alexander's sleepy vision. It was a busy Saturday morning. Everyone was out in the city shopping, running errands, and preparing horses for carriage rides to work. Alexander seemed to be the only person in London with no plans. A risky idea struck Alexander's mind and he reluctantly shook his head to himself in refusal. His fingers began tapping furiously against his work desk impaciently, or maybe he was just bored. Probably a mixture of both.

"I-I have to see her. I can't keep going on like this- pretending I'm okay. I need her here... I need her here," Alexander whisper-screamed to himself. Like they were given a mind of their own, his legs ran down all eighty-two steps to the kitchen where Edwin would be working with the chef. He had no idea where his courage came from, but as soon as he came in eye-to-eye contact with Edwin, he recklessly blurted out, "I-I'm in love, Edwin. I'm hopelessly in love. Help me, help me please, Edwin." A tear began teasing the corner of his eye, not afraid to fall onto his cheek and intimidate Alexander. "I must see her. Please. Please tell me you understand."

"Of course, Lord Phantomhive. We shall leave now," Edwin retorded, giving the chef a Finish-the-Meal-Please look along with a nod. Alexander tried to hold back the tide in his mind that made long, waves crash onto his cheeks. He cursed at himself for being so needy and emotional. "Where would the young lady be at this moment; at home? Working? Hm?"

Alexander's blood froze. His lungs breathed in and out snowflakes. Where would Alice be? He gave Edwin an educated guess, with no back-up evidence. "Cafe. The one on White Birch Street. The one where you buy the doughnuts and tea and I saw her working there, yesterday morning," Alexander panted, sounding more like a toddler with every word he had spoken.

Edwin smirked. "Then that is where we shall go, Master."
***

The carriage screeched with a stop. Alexander hopped out, giving Edwin a little wave. He embraced the cafe entrance, spotting Alice almost instantly, and he couldn't help thinking how beautiful she had looked, even with a sandy colored apron on and her golden curls tied up. Her eyes eyes lit up with an electric green aura as Alexander approached her unsure.

"Alice," he breathed.

"Hello, Alex," Alice beamed, waving softly.

"Alice. You are going to think I am so crazy right now, but I don't even really mind. I-I love you. I love you with every breathe that enters my lungs, every beat of my heart, and every fiber of my being. Please, don't shut me out and call me a creep. I think you are so beautiful," Alexander proclaimed, not caring that the whole cafe was looking at him. "You're all I ever think about. You're my everything. You're all I ever wanted, Alice."

Alice's hands were together, just at the base of her chin. Her eyes began tearing up like smoke had flew into her eyes. "Alex. Oh, Alex-" Before Alice could say anything else, Alexander jumped over the cafe counter and stood in front of her, putting his hand gracefully on her face, traveling the map of her complexion. His thumb tapped her bottom-lip once as he gazed into her ocean-green pools. They stood like that for a while, Alexander softly holding her in his arms.

"I love you too, Alex. More than you'll ever know," Alice breathed, a sense of a smile in her tone.

Love is a risk. A risk worth taking. People come into our lives for a reason; for the better... or even for the worse.