(Untitled)

[bennet_beauty]

It was only fitting, Jane believed, that she would hold this party upon such an eventful day. Five years ago, she had arrived upon the island and her whole life had changed. She was no longer the young girl that she had once been and was no longer trapped in the confines of a time when her options were greatly limited. Though the date coincided,

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[lucked]

While Claire isn't necessarily at her most effervescent tonight, still feeling shaken by everything that had taken place in Rapture, and further upset still at Chris' seeming inability to take his medical concerns to the clinic, she does have enough of a smile left in her to know that Eden standing by the walls in her dress, looking as beautiful as anyone, is practically a crime. It's difficult, she thinks to herself, to quite figure out what it is that Eden might need. On one hand, Claire knows that Eden's now as independent of a young woman as they come, that she's come so far since her days in the Company that there really isn't a need to worry. On the other, Claire feels that Eden deserves so much more than what she has right now, and wants nothing more than to be able to give that to her.

Checking her dress for any stains or dirt, Claire nods in satisfaction at her garb (nothing half as fancy as some of the other girls at the ball, but Claire's fine with that, never feels the need to put on appearances anymore) before walking

[wishesandsmoke]

Eden laughs, soft, and shakes her head, reaching over to pat Claire's arm. "Thank you," she says - she means it, too, it's sweet of Claire to fuss over her the way she does, though it still feels to Eden that's supposed to be her job. She's always had an instinct to big sister Claire, though, when the girl's more grown up than Eden sometimes wants to allow, more maybe than Eden herself was at her age. Differently so, anyway, and thank god for that. "You're very sweet. I don't think any of them are here alone, though - not a lot of guys going to balls all on their own. It's fine, I'm enjoying it."

She is, too, for that matter, though she never can help wishing Claire were right, that she were the kind of girl who caught the eyes of men. Maybe a long time ago, when she was very young and very foolish, very willing and very powerful, but here she's a drab thing next to some of the other women on the island. It's alright. Tonight she won't think of how little time she has before she's gone, too. "Isn't there someone you're supposed to be

[lucked]

"I don't know, I think..." Claire looks over her shoulder, grinning back at Eden when she feels the pat on her arm. "I think I can spot a few guys who have come stag, and why wouldn't they? Maybe the tux is a bit more trouble, but after that, there are gorgeous women like everywhere you turn. I think a little discomfort is worth the chance to meet the people here. But yeah, hrm." She purses her lips, glancing around the crowd. "There's Jeff- but he isn't nearly good enough for you. There's that guy with really pale skin, I haven't seen him around anyone enough for it to be a likely date. And- god, I know this is awful of me, but I can't remember his name, but that Chinese guy too, kind of noticeable usually with his robes, although it looks like he's opted for a tux today

[wishesandsmoke]

Eden smiles to herself at that, content to let Claire take a swing at it as she glances around in search of the men in question. She knows most of them by sight and nothing more - her own fault, she thinks, for not making more of her time, getting to know more people - but it's sweet, the way Claire thinks someone isn't good enough. It's not something Eden can judge, since she doesn't know the guy in question, but she can't help a kind of fondness all the same.

"Well, good," she says, "he'd better not neglect you too long on a night like this." Although from what she knows of Chris, she thinks it's good of him to have even come along, since she's fairly certain this isn't even close to his scene. That's the kind of thing you do for someone you care about, though, and he'd better if he has any hope of being good enough for her. "The pale guy is Alcuin, I think you mean? He teaches the ballroom dance class, I took it a while back. A little formal for my tastes. I haven't met the Chinese guy yet, he's cute." Though that adjective's

[lucked]

"I don't feel at all neglected," Claire reassures with a confident grin. Although she's had her share of insecurities over the years, there are times when Claire's pretty sure that she's gotten off the hook easy compared to most girls out there. Fitting or not, she still had the option of being a cheerleader, of having the coveted position of co-captain of the squad. And regardless of whose votes they were, she was also Homecoming Queen as well, beating out a girl who had always made every single effort to be at the top of the hill and at the front of the race. Her hair's pretty tame, her build's petite, but most importantly, somehow Claire has managed to surround herself with decent people, people who never really bothered with the superficial or surface-level details to begin with

[wishesandsmoke]

"I am not," Eden says, laughing as she turns to look at Claire. She feels that way sometimes, yes, and she has to wonder if she needs to try better to hide it (and then, of course, feels guilty for it, since god knows they've had enough secrets between them for a lifetime). It shouldn't be Claire's responsibility to make that stop, though. If she wants something badly enough, she should be able to go out and find it for herself, and just because that hasn't worked plenty of times in her life doesn't mean it's not still true. Maybe she's just getting too used to not having someone like that in her life. After Grigg's disappearance, with Rupert gone, too, it seems increasingly likely she's had all the chances anyone can ask for

[lucked]

Pressing her lips together, Claire tries for what feels like the millionth time, to peer past the smile and the dimples, to look in her eyes and read the thoughts there. Claire doesn't think that Eden's top priority has ever been finding someone to live the rest of her days out with- she doesn't suspect that most people who've worked for the Company do, because there's something to working for a group like that, sometihng about being exposed to so much more that ends up making everything else look and feel small by comparison. But any last crumb of happiness that Claire can try to wrangle for Eden is something that she'll strive for.

"Well, it's only fun if you actually humor me," Claire points out quietly, her smile subdued again. "Otherwise, I'll just tug you out and away from the sidelines to at least embarrass yourself with a nice dance or two. Anything's better than your status quo right now."

[wishesandsmoke]

Eden sighs, exaggerated, playful. "Okay, fine," she says, "let's see what my options are. You know, the problem is, I can never tell who's taken and who's just talking." There are cues, though, to look for, and she knows it, the way people stand and glance, the little touches, the space. It all tells a story she's actually good at reading, if she looks close enough. It's depressing, honestly, how many of them are here essentially arm-in-arm, but Claire's right that not everyone is. She has to wonder if this is even worth it when every man she's been with here or been interested in has vanished on her. Find a new one, and surely he'll be gone, too, before her own time is up. She doesn't even want to consider what happens when it's her turn to be the one to leave.

[lucked]

While Claire knows that she can be rather pushy and wheedling when the mood strikes her, as far as setting Eden up with someone goes, she likes to think that she's been fairly hands-off so far, never pushing the other girl further than she's willing (not like Claire would even have the power to do that in the first place, she tells herself, because Eden's grown too, as impossible as that sometimes feels). So when the opportunity really rears its head, Claire sobers enough to guide the both of them to the side of the area, eyes curious more than pressuring.

"Well, if we're really thinking about options," Claire remarks as lightly as she can, trying to ignore the way her hopes immediately rise to the surface, wanting nothing more than for Eden to have the best of experiences while on the island. "Then we can't just limit ourselves to the guys at this ball. Also, I mean... for all that we talk, I really don't know what kind of guy you're attracted to. I never even met or got to see a picture of that 'no comment' guy in New York."

[wishesandsmoke]

Eden laughs, more startled than amused. It's been a while since she's thought of Mohinder in earnest, but she's certainly never forgotten him. There are still days he drifts across her thoughts, just a flicker of memory. For someone she knew for so brief a time, he left an impression; but then, even back then, kindness was a rarity in her life. "Oh my god," she murmurs, then shakes her head, her smile ruefully nostalgic. "That... wasn't anything. We kissed once, he left the city and by the time he got back, I was gone." Though he was here for a while, things were different between them on the island, and they drifted. She wonders if, if he returned now, she'd have a chance, if he came at a time when she was single.

"I don't know what I'm attracted to," she adds with a laugh. "All kinds of things. Sweet. A good heart. Smart. Uh, tall, dark and handsome. Actually maybe not too tall." She gestures to herself with a wry grin, fighting back thoughts of the men who've been and gown. Half the guys here tower over her.

[lucked]

There's something incredibly sobering about the description, of knowing what actually happened between Eden and the mysterious guy. Because Claire knows, after all, that it's not merely the fact that Eden didn't return to New York in time that ended up creating a barrier- it's the fact that Eden passed away altogether. And not for the first time, Claire feels a very deep hatred towards the Company. Not towards its employees, nor even towards the goal that they originally had in mind, but instead the way that they went about achieving that goal. The things that they did, the people that they were willing to throw in the way, all of it is simply unforgivable, in Claire's mind. But there's little to be done about it, here. If she wants to make a difference, she'll have to go back, and... Claire's not sure whether or not that would be worth all the loss that would come with it. She's not even sure if it's possible for her, for this version of her who lives on the island, to go back. Sometimes she feels like they've just all branched off

[wishesandsmoke]

"I don't think I've ever met that type," Eden says wryly. "I'm sure he'd be fun for a while, but you know... at the end of the day, what matters is finding someone you can just be comfortable with. Someone who maybe makes you laugh." It feels like too serious a topic for the evening, if she dwells too long on these things, but maybe that's just because doing so reminds her of what she's missing. Even those things aren't enough, she wants to say, because she's been with guys who made her think and guys who made her smile and guys she could just sit with and be quiet and not feel she had to say a word, and still she hasn't quite found what she's been looking for. What it is, she's not sure how to say, but Grigg was as close as she's ever come to that spark. It seems more and more likely she'll never really find it. "Grigg was pretty nerdy. Brodie, too, although in a very different way."

[lucked]

Although turning her thoughts back on herself is the last thing that Claire wanted to do, she can't help doing so as soon as Eden starts listing off the signs of attraction, the things that truly ought matter in a relationship. While she'd be hard-pressed to call what's going on between herself and Chris just that, when neither of them seems to have acknowledged it at all. At least not in public. But she shakes herself of the thought (especially when Peeta crosses her mind again, making her heart ache in her chest), smiling faintly instead. If she's feeling lost now, if she's feeling loss now, she can't imagine how Eden must be feeling. (She's so much stronger.)

"I'm just thinking about what dad said to me once, that he totally wanted me to date a nerd, and that it was the best choice mom made. I bet he'd want the same for you," she smiled, eyes downcast.

[wishesandsmoke]

Eden slings an arm around her shoulder, drawing the blonde close so she can press a kiss to her hair. "I think he'd mostly just want us to be happy," she says, then laughs. "And safe. And careful. And chaste until we're fifty." It's too late for her, and she knows Bennet, for all that he cared about her, never intended to protect her the same way he did with Claire. He tried, she knows that. She hopes he's forgiven her, back in their own world and time.

"There's a lot to be said for them," she adds, grinning. "You know, they're... the thing about nerds is that they're passionate about something. It's a good trait in a person."