World Spins Madly On \\ Claudius Casual

[JANE EYRE]

((Putting it here since Jane's already 21 so this is looking back to her birthday))

Jane's 21st wasn't a big deal to her. It was just another year, another year to find new responsibilities and another year to grow in character and mind. After seeing her young friend Helen Burns die, birthdays didn't mean as much as they might have if she had been given a different life.

She hadn't made any plans for her birthday night, she had assumed that she would just stay in and maybe take a bubble bath. But Claudius, dear Claudius, had different plans. Jane wasn't one to object, so she had gotten dressed when he called to tell her that he was taking her out for a night on the town to celebrate her birthday, and he had declared that he was going to buy her her first drink.

Politely turning him down wasn't really an option, since he was being so kind and generous with his offer.

Claudius had arrived and taken Jane to some bar; it was a nice establishment surely, not at all grimy or dirty like she had imagined all bars were like (it was how they looked on tv after all). No, it was a nice, warm atmosphere and it was easy for her to relax in the booth. Claudius had patiently bought her different drinks to try until she found one she liked. By the time that Jane had figured out that she liked whiskey, though, her face felt warm and she leaned heavily into the cushion of the booth.

It really shouldn't have been such a surprise that she was a lightweight.

[CLAUDIUS CHANDLER]

ooc: Fair enough! Thanks for setting this up again Kay - you're a star! ;D

bic:

You couldn't say no to Claudius Chandler.

He had a knack for getting people to agree with him, to do what he wanted. Sometimes all he needed to do was flash that winning smile or his. On other occasions some choice flattering words would do the job. Behind the closed doors of Hamlet Enterprises, bribes and threats were the order of the day. Claudius may have been a smiler, but he was smiler with a sinister streak.

He was certain Jane knew this. She had got to know him before the attempted rehab, when he had still been a drunkard and a villain. Well. Not much had changed in that regard, but he liked to think the rehab had helped...a bit. He was now no longer as devil-may-care as he once had been, sobered up at the very idea that he wasn't the young, carefree man he was once, but instead a man who refused to believe he had grown up.

But a change in personality and outlook couldn't change the past. Claudius was back to his old ways, alcohol wise, and he could never forget the reason for his dependency in the first place. He had murdered Hamlet, his brother...and it alarmed him how, having taken Jane (Jane, of all people, what the hell was he thinking...?) out for a drink, seeing how the alcohol affected her, that past came flooding back.

It looked as though this weight of remembrance was crushing the man, the way he was almost slumped on the table, still retaining his grip on his whisky glass, but barely. Seeing Jane in a similarly slumped state, he spoke up, anxious;

"Jane? Are...are you doing OK over there?"

He laughed, weakly. This was no laughing matter, yet he couldn't keep that foolish smile from his face.

[JANE EYRE]

"Jane? Are...are you doing OK over there?"

Jane clutched her glass of whiskey tightly between two hands and nodded her head, giggling. She was fine. She felt a little fuzzy and warm and like her head was really, really heavy but she felt good. If she had known drinking would be this fun, she would have been more eager to get to drinking.

"Oh, I'm fiiiine, Claudius." Jane nodded her head again, firmly, and giggled at how the room looked when she did. "I feel good. You this...this...whiskey is really good. Very tasty." Jane looked down at her glass and the amber liquid in it, enjoying the color and the way it reflected light. She made a mental note to buy whiskey for artistic reference. Oh, she wondered what it'd be like to paint drunk. It was probably quite fun. Finger painting. Painting on big pieces of paper. Painting on people.

She made another mental note to ask Perry if he wanted to get drunk with her and then let her paint on him like he was a canvas.

Jane smiled over at Claudius and sat the glass down clumsily so she could reach over and pat his wrist. "Thanks for taking me out...it's really...really nice of you. And fun. But mostly nice. Thank you. You're a good friend."

[CLAUDIUS CHANDLER]

Claudius' laughter was weak; Jane's alcohol fuelled giggling was in a whole other league. It would be startling even if she weren't drunk - as pleasant a person as she was, Claudius had always found her to be quite serious (especially in comparison to him). But this was new, and strange. Claudius couldn't say he enjoyed it - as much pleasure as he would take in making Jane laugh ordinarily, this was a whole other matter.

"Oh, I'm fiiiine, Claudius. I feel good. You this...this...whiskey is really good. Very tasty."

Chandler nodded, dumbly. She was very far gone now. It should have come as no surprise to him that Jane would be a lightweight and yet... this had all happened quickly, far too fast for Claudius' liking. He wanted it to stop - this wasn't the Jane Eyre he knew. Just as Hector had revealed to him the truth about himself, so Claudius was now seeing another side to Jane's character - one that he had brought about. She may have been happy, she may have been feeling 'fiiiine' but Claudius certainly wasn't.

He was about to say something when Jane placed her glass on the table and reached over to him, patting his wrist and smiling as though to comfort him. What could he do but smile back?

"Thanks for taking me out...it's really...really nice of you. And fun. But mostly nice. Thank you. You're a good friend."

Claudius' smile faded a little at Jane's words. Jane hadn't wanted to get drunk, had told him to ensure she didn't, yet there she sat. He was anything but a good friend. He should have known it would jar if he were to be regretful in the face of Jane's happiness, but his drunken states since the attempted rehab had taken a turn for the mournful.

He withdrew his hand from Jane's touch slightly before moving to take her hand in his, holding it tightly as if to emphasize the severity of his words. He was no longer smiling.

"I-I'm not a good friend, Jane...you're too good...to me. You told me, 'member, you told me...not to let you get drunk. And I did. And...and...seeing you like this..."

He broke off, as if unsure whether or not he could continue. He hung his head, no longer looking at Jane but instead at his half empty glass. Then,

"Reminds me of...me. And...what I've done."