The Picture of Jane Grey [PARTY THREAD ELECTRIC BOOGALOO - open for everyone!!]

She sat alone at the edge of the couch, twisting a bottle in her hand. A slim black cane rested against the arm of the sofa, within easy reach, something her friends in the infirmary had gotten their hands on for her. Lights, drinks, music, and the other stuff too. Just a little get-together among... friends. Jane tapped her finger against the neck of the bottle, ring clinking against the glass, following the beat.

Clink. Clink. Clink.

Dorm 406 rattled. Her ears could've bled. Too much bass. She just stared out across the room as the people filtered in, one eye fixed on empty space, lost in her own head.

Clink. Clink. Clink.

This whole stunt had put her in some serious debt, but she deserved to treat herself, didn't she? Didn't she? She'd grown up spoiled, no one could blame her. Her smile twitched.

Clink. Clink. CLINK.

Jane throttled the bottle and brought it up to her lips. Bottoms up.

She looked like shit. That was her first thought, catching her out the corner of her good eye as she slipped out of her room, but she didn't bother to look at her until the bottle was empty. Jane tossed it haphazardly to the side, letting it bounce away across the carpet between people's feet. Whatever. The dorm was going to be trashed anyways. Hopefully. Was it a real party if they didn't turn the place upside down? Nothing in 406 felt the way it should've been, not the way it was before.

When and how and why did it all change?

Jane picked up on the trace of irritation, but couldn't work up enough enthusiasm to get annoyed back in turn. She'd figured the others wouldn't have cared much for her little get-together, but she'd thrown up the invitation and thrown all her money into it anyways. If Jules wanted to hole up and never deal with civilization again, she just had to go outside and wander into the woods. Jane wanted this, and this was where she wanted it.

Call her insensitive, but she'd never been one to tiptoe around other people's problems.

All she knew was that she'd dropped off the face of the earth and the next time she saw her she might as well have been a different person. Jane hadn't bothered to nose into it more than that. If she was being honest, she didn't want to know. They could banter like this like old times all they wanted, but something had been lost, and it wouldn't be easy to reverse it back to the way it was.

It was just different.

"How strong are we talking?" she asked. "If you want it, I probably have it."