The Feeling of Being Edward Hyde
He's dark, and small, and Jekyll's clothes don't fit him.
It's quite aggravating. He likes to wear nice clothes, so of course his father is a bigger man than he is, and the soft shirts and smooth trousers are too large and puddle about his bony ankles. He sits on the floor of Jekyll's room, frowning, trying to pin up the trousers, and occasionally cursing.
Mostly, he considers himself good-looking. He has, he thinks, very nice hair, dark hair, unlike Jekyll's, which is grey. His is long and dark. Likely he has a darkly seductive sort of face, a fascinating face, he tells himself pleasedly. What he needs is the clothes to go with it.
He rolls up the trouser cuffs eventually, and turns back the cuffs of the shirt as well. The white of the linen goes well with his thin, slightly olive hands.
He isn't vain, he adds sulkily to Jekyll, who is lurking at the back of his mind. He's just looking himself over. He likes the new feeling of being Out, and knowing what he looks like. Jekyll is always nagging, always half-worried. That's the trouble with being a good man all your life, he informs Jekyll's presence. You don't learn to fully enjoy things that aren't strictly good, in the moral sense of the word.
He tightens the laces of Jekyll's large boots over his small feet, and leaves the house. What he needs is a tailor, and he's every intent of getting one. A tailor can hem up the damn cuffs, which are already coming down.
The tailor isn't there when he stops by the shop, because of course it's rather late. Unfortunately, he's always forgetting that sort of detail. Normal men don't keep his hours. The world doesn't keep his hours.
But to his amusement, there's a girl hovering around the tailor's shop. She seems to be lost, and he stops her.
"Good evening," he says, trying out his voice, which, although not quite new, is still a novelty because it's his. A very nice voice!, slightly higher, but growlier than Jekyll's. It sounds perfect for him, with his small darkness to fit in with the night. The girl turns to him and starts.
"Good evening."
"You aren't lost, are you, miss?" He smiles.
"I'm afraid I am... I can't recall this part of town at all."
His smile widens. "Where do you live? I believe I can help." He doesn't worry about the trousers. He won't really need them anyway, in a little while. By the way, he adds to Jekyll, as the girl names the street she came from, this is what it's like to live. He's very sorry Jekyll missed it. He enjoys it. Jekyll will learn to like it, too, once he gets used to it. Being a good man is so terribly boring.
And goodness, the clothes don't even matter now. There's an answer to everything, when you're small and dark and quick.
He'll still be seeing the tailor to-morrow, however.
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