A/N: futrCSI1490 wrote on this challenge and graciously allowed me to take it up as well. (Please go read theirs as well!) It requires you to put on your music playlist, hit shuffle and the first 5 songs get written on. No skipping allowed. I got lucky on this first five, we'll see what happens later.

As usual, no copyright infringement is intended whether it be with the characters or the song lyrics. Sometimes I'll post lots of the lyrics, sometimes I won't. Depends on my mood and how it fits with the drabble.

Please enjoy and please review!

True Colors - Jenna Ushkowitz from Glee (originally by Cyndi Lauper)

You with the sad eyes
don't be discouraged
oh I realize
it's hard to take courage
in a world full of people
you can lose sight of it all
and the darkness inside you
can make you fell so small

It had been years since he had been here. And he didn't want to come today, but I'll admit that I forced him. They were dedicating the memorial to his clan today and I knew he should be here. His head tilted forward and his eyes were hidden behind his hat. I knew why. He wouldn't want anyone to see him as upset as he was. After each name was read, a barely visible shudder would overtake his body. But I saw.

He tightly held my hand. I knew that I was his lifeline today. Mallymkun and Thackery and all his other friends were here, but it was me that needed to be strongest. I didn't know those lost that day. I just knew the legacy left behind.

But I see your true colors
shining through
I see your true colors
and that's why I love you
so don't be afraid to let them show
your true colors
true colors are beautiful
like a rainbow

I knew what they left behind. A wonderful man. A man who would give anything for his friends. A man whose colors were brighter than anyone I knew. And not even those of his clothes or his eyes or his fingers (though, those were quite colorful as well). Tarrant's soul was a rainbow of love, friendship, bravery, loyalty and fun. I wished I could see that today.

Show me a smile then
don't be unhappy, can't remember
when I last saw you laughing
if this world makes you crazy
and you've taken all you can bear
you call me up
because you know I'll be there

After the ceremony, there was a reception for those in attendance. It wasn't the kind of parties that the Hightopps used to throw, but it was meant to represent them. I knew Tarrant wouldn't be in the dancing mood, but I was hoping to at least get a smile out of him. All week long he had been moody and withdrawn – a far cry from the Hatter I knew. We sat and ate quietly until a familiar song began to play. It was the first song we danced to as a married couple. I stood and held out my hand, silently asking him to join me. I knew that Mirana was playing this song intentionally and I didn't want to disappoint her.

He took my hand and followed me on to the dance floor. We swayed a bit before I drew him into a dance slightly more lively. It wasn't a futterwacken, but it was something at least.

Finally, as the song ended, I was afraid that Tarrant would run off. He looked so full of emotion. He fell to his knees in front of me and I waited for the tears to come. I was just about to join him on the floor when he put his arms around my waist and kissed my swollen stomach. It would only be another month and our daughter would be born. Proving that the Red Queen hadn't won. She hadn't left Tarrant as the last Hightopp. There would be others.

He looked up at me and whispered, "Thank you."

I knew that there were a myriad of things he was thanking me for. And he didn't have to thank me for any of them.

We danced a few other dances before we finally retired back to our chambers. When we returned home, we both laid on the bed and held each other. I felt it was all worth it when I looked up at him and received his trademark grin. It was all I needed.

Bye, Bye, Bye – N'Sync

I don't wanna make it tough (wanna make it tough)
But I had enough
And it ain't no lie (Bye, bye baby...)
Bye, Bye
Don't wanna be a fool for you
Just another player in your game for two (I don't wanna be your fool)
But it ain't no lie
Baby bye, bye, bye...

How did I let this happen? How could I be standing in this gazebo, looking down at this man, with his stupid smile, in front of all these people? Why didn't I see it coming? Of course my mother is trying to get me married. It's all part of the plan for good English ladies. A plan I certainly never agreed to.

My sister is beaming at me. Lowell is looking as bored as ever. Good. My mother has such an expectant look on her face. The Chattaways are giggling. Everyone else is staring … waiting for me to answer.

How can I say yes? How can I possibly spend the rest of my life with this man … and his mother. I can't. I just cannot do it. My freedom would be even more gone than it is right now. I would be stuck … trapped.

But how can I say no? How can I keep being a burden to my mother? I don't want to disappoint her or my sister. But … it's Hamish.

Why must this be my place in life? Why can't I just have my adventures, my dreams, like I want to? My dreams. My Wonderland. What I wouldn't give to just be there at this moment. Surrounded by my silly friends from there. Especially … no, I don't want to think of him right now.

I feel faint. I don't know what to do, so I do the first thing I can think of. I run. I run as fast and as far as I can.

I don't even know where I'm going, but I know it's away from that party. I can't face any of them right now. Especially Mother. I'll just rest by this tree. This tree with an abnormally large hole by it.

Curious … I wonder what's down there? I stick my head into there and see nothing but darkness – that is until I'm falling down the hole. I scream as I continue falling. I wonder where I'm going. Ah well, as scary as it is, it's got to be better than that party. Bye bye! Bye, Hamish!

Saving Me – Nickelback

Prison gates won't open up for me
On these hands and knees I'm crawlin'
Oh, I reach for you
Well I'm terrified of these four walls
These iron bars can't hold my soul in
All I need is you
Come please I'm callin'
And oh I scream for you
Hurry I'm fallin', I'm fallin'

I sit as still as I can in my cell. I can hear the pitter patter of Mally's feet pacing in her cage, and want desperately to tell her to sit down as well. But I can't. This isn't her fault. It's no one's fault really. Or perhaps it's all of ours. Mally shouldn't have said Alice's name. I shouldn't have reacted so poorly to the knave suggesting Alice seduced him. Alice should have never tried to rescue me.

Alice. Sweet Alice. I wonder if she was safe. Did she make it out with the Vorpal Sword? Of course she did. She had to have. Why did that foolish girl try to rescue me? I'm just one man. One crazy, mad man. No one should care for me. And yet, she seemed to. I wasn't sure if I had asked her why she was always too small or too tall outloud, but her smile told me that I did. Was she thinking the same thing?

No, Tarrant … don't think on such things. She wasn't thinking the same thing. You are the Mad Hatter and she is the Champion. There is no connection there at all. Never will be.

Why do I keep thinking of her like this? Surely it's not … Gasp! It is! How could I be so slurvish? How could I fall in love with her? She almost made me forget what I have sworn to do. And Alice Kingsley has many more important things to deal with than a lovesick hatter. Not that it matters. I'm sure tomorrow I'll be without my head and it won't matter anymore.

Matter … hatter … She was so sweet when I fell into the madness. She wasn't afraid in the least. Brave girl. Of course she's escaped. She's taking the sword to the White Queen and all will be well again. Well, for the rest of Underland.

And yet, there is that part of me that just won't be quiet. He is yelling above all the other voices. Telling me that Alice wanted to rescue me desperately. As desperately as I wanted her to succeed and we could run off to Mamoreal together. Or anywhere else together.

No … no. Tarrant! Remember what it is you're in here for. The cause. The resistance. She will win and nothing will have been in vain. And yet … I just want her. She would be the one to save me. Perhaps not from this cell, but from the turmoil in my head. The voices are usually quieter when she's around. But … perhaps not.

Wait ... What's that noise? Chess? Perhaps there is hope after all … even if it does come from Chessur. Hold on, Alice, I'm coming. Save me when I find you.

Show me what it's like
To be the last one standing
And teach me wrong from right
And I'll show you what I can be
Say it for me Say it to me
And I'll leave this life behind me
Say it if it's worth saving me

Crush – Lea Michelle from Glee (Originally by Jennifer Paige)

I see ya blowin' me a kiss
It doesn't take a scientist
To understand what's going on baby
If you see something in my eye
Let's not over analyze
Don't go too deep with it baby

As I rode to Mamoreal on the back of the bandersnatch, I began to think of my time in the workshop with the Hatter. What did he mean when he asked why I was always too small or too tall? Did he want to kiss me? Did I want to kiss him? It wasn't like I had much experience with these things. I had men giving me looks, and I had a man propose to me, but I hadn't felt a single thing for any of them. How strange to feel like this about the Hatter after just meeting him. Surely it couldn't be love…

It's just a little crush (crush)
Not like I faint every time we touch
It's just some little thing (crush)
Not like everything I do depends on you

But, I reasoned, I hadn't just met him. I had known him for years. I just hadn't seen him in years. And while I certainly didn't have these feelings when I was 6, the man was someone different now. A completely different Hatter. Someone I could relate to already. Someone who lived on the outside and always felt the scorn of people finding him different. Of course, I related to that.

It's raising my adrenaline
You're banging on a heart of tin
Please don't make too much of it baby
You say the word "forevermore"
That's not what I'm looking for
All I can commit to is "maybe"

But I was on the outside for so long that it hardened my heart. I didn't want to fall in love. I didn't want to become my sister. Of course, she was still a dear person, but I couldn't imagine living life like her. Always tied down with Lowell. Not that I didn't want to be with just one person. The thought was very appealing, but only if it was the right person. If I could find someone who could accept me for me, then I would consider it. But that didn't seem likely. Not with Mad Alice.

And the one person that could understand and accept me sat in a dungeon cell, I'm sure, waiting for his execution. An execution that was all my fault. I'm so sorry, Hatter. I've made such a mess of things. Underland, the resistance, your life. I can only hope you make it out of this. I would love to see you again. To finally get that chance to kiss you. I think I love you.

Out of the Blue – Debbie Gibson

Without you, without you
I always thought that everything was fine without you
Never knowing you'd be mine
Suddenly my world has changed
And I just wonder why
All it took was just one smile

Now with you, out of the blue
Love appeared before my eyes with you
A dream come true
I never thought I'd realize what love was
What love was, what love was...

It was that smile. That smile that split his face when he first saw me. Of course, I didn't realize it then, being that I was only a few inches tall and quite disoriented with things. But looking back, that gap-toothed grin was the end of it all. I thought I would be fine alone, but with that smile … well, I kissed my heart goodbye.

I need you, oh I need you
And every day I love you more and more
Without you (dreams and tears)
I know what it's all for
Suddenly I see you there
And everything's ok
Don't know why I feel this way

I needed her, that was certain. The voices were quieter when she was near. Almost to the point of silence. My head just wanted to focus on her and for those fleeting moments, my brain actually shut everything else out. I was confused at first. Why did I run across the table to be next to her? Why did I want to kiss her at Salazen Grum? And when I figured it out, it was like a bolt from the blue. It all made sense. Love. I loved her more each time I saw her. And I was very certain that as soon as I got the Tweedles, Bielle and the pups to Mamoreal, I would see Alice and love her even more. If I could just get the Tweedles to walk faster!

We are together now
Never take my heart away
All the love I found
Is here to stay (out of the blue)

I almost didn't have to turn to see who had joined me on the balcony. His presence was just that strong. Or was I just that in tune with him? I knew that my heart belonged to him and nothing was going to change that. As much as I wanted to stay away from love and be my own person, I also just wanted to be with him. My head kept telling me that this was a dream, but my heart argued something very different. This was real. Hatter was real. This love was terrifyingly real. If it was a dream, it was a dream come true.

It's like a dream come true
I never thought I'd fall in love with you
Out of the blue
Love appeared before my eyes with you
A dream come true
I never thought
Here with you

As we lay here, I stroke her hair. She is long asleep, very tired after a day of preparing, an afternoon of ceremony, an evening of dancing and a night of lovemaking. But I just can't bring myself to fall asleep yet. I just want to watch her sleep. I hope she dreams of me. The smirk on her face suggests that she is. My sweet Alice. My bolt from the blue in blue. My miracle. My dream come true.

End Note: Well, what did you think? I think I like drabbles for now. Little plot bunnies that don't necessarily have to be a certain length to make me happy. I hope you enjoyed. Let me know!