it could have been better

Two men sat across from each other in silence, the room lit by the nearby fireplace. This, of course, was the home of Dr. Henry Jekyll, a well decorated manor, as one would expect from a high class individual like him. Seated on the opposite side was his lawyer, and his closest friend, Gabriel Utterson. The two had been talking over a glass of wine, long after everyone else had retired, as they often do on these nights. Jekyll leaned back in his chair, briefly glancing at the other.

It was then that Utterson broke the silence. "Jekyll. If I may ask," he spoke, slightly leaning forward to look at him, "what is it that has improved your mood so greatly these past few weeks? I have noticed you have been doing better, it seems."

The question made him pause for a moment, glancing away. "Ah, yes, well, I recently have been able to lift a burden from myself. It has been... freeing, in a way."

"Whatever do you mean by that?"

"It's quite complicated, I'm not sure if you would understand"

"I'm sure I could," he responded, somewhat insulted.

Jekyll sighed, setting his glass down and leaning forward onto his elbows. "Can I trust you, Utterson?"

Utterson blinked at the sudden change of character. "Yes, of course you can," he assured him.

With a more uncomfortable air surrounding him, he said, "Do you recall, some time ago, when I mentioned my scientific endeavors to... remove the evil from one's soul?"

An expression of concern quickly crossed Utterson's face. "Do you mean that you have tampered with the very fabric of your soul?," he exclaimed.

"I wouldn't consider it ‘tampering with the fabric of my soul.' More so..." he paused, searching for the words, "... giving the evil an outlet, per se."

"Whatever could that mean, Henry?" Utterson inquired, his concern for his friend only growing.

"It is nothing bad, my dear Utterson, just difficult to explain," Jekyll said, waving his hand to dismiss his worries.

"I would like an explanation, considering how you've tried to split your soul. I care about you, Jekyll. I want to know if you're alright."

He shifted in his seat, brows furrowed in thought, hands gripping each other. There was an uncomfortable silence as he considered what to say. "It would be easier to show you than to explain," he said quietly. "Though I don't think that would be the best of ideas."

Utterson stared expectantly at Jekyll. "Show me what?"

Jekyll quickly stood up from his seat. "Come to my lab," he said, before promptly walking out of the room for him to follow.

Trailing behind, Utterson questioned what he could be implying with this. Was it some machine, or concoction he had created? What did that mean, ‘an outlet?' He stared at his own feet, being dragged out of his thoughts when he arrived out by the door to Jekyll's lab.

He had rarely been invited into this building, only a few times getting to see the scientist at work. It currently brought him a sense of dread, of expectancy to what Jekyll had planned.

The door locked behind the two, Jekyll leaning against the counter, silently avoiding eye contact. Utterson stood in the doorway, glancing around the room, almost searching for an answer he would soon receive.

"Gabriel... can you promise that nothing you hear or see will leave this room?"

Utterson nodded, waiting for what would entail.

He turned around, reaching for a red vial before dropping in some of that salt that was on the desk. The liquid turned to a purple, then a bright shade of green before Jekyll turned around to face Utterson, gripping the vial in his hand.

They stared at each other for a moment.

"Don't panic," he said before downing half the tincture.

The effects weren't sudden, but soon after Jekyll sunk to the ground, shaking and breathing heavily in pain. Utterson quickly rushed over to him, and was met with an almost incomprehensibly mouthed "I'm fine" from him.

He stared in horror as his friend's body seemed to reshape, the sound of bones cracking filled the air. He wasn't able to do anything about it, just watch the agony unfold. He refused to tear his eyes away.

After a minute or so, which felt much longer to both participants, the potion had completed its effect, leaving the now-shorter man looking out into space while the other stared at him in disbelief.

From what Utterson could tell, the man (was he a man? He looked barely human) sitting before him appeared nothing like his good friend Henry Jekyll, despite the fact that he was in his place. Was this some kind of trick?

"...Harry?" He asked who he assumed was Jekyll.

That seemed to snap him out of his trance, who looked at him innocently and smiled, as if nothing had happened, "Yeah?"

His smile was unnerving to look at, though he wasn't sure why. It gave him a sense of wrongness, that this wasn't how it was supposed to be. His mere presence gave the same effect.

"Why do you... look like that?" He said, gesturing toward him.

"The potion."

Utterson paused in confusion. "... how is this an explanation, Henry."

"Aha, well, you see-" he said, standing up quickly before gripping onto the table to stabilize himself, "-I've created this concoction that shifts my countenance to be unrecognizable, as you've seen," he spoke quickly, pointing toward himself, "which then allows me to let myself go for enough time to make the labors of the day less tiring." He rambled this all without inhibitions, and was left short of breath.

While Utterson tried to take in all this information, Jekyll adjusted his belt to keep his pants from falling, rolling up his sleeves and such. He hummed, filling the silence of the room.

"Henry..." Utterson began.

"Edward," He interrupted.

"I- what?"

"My name. When I'm like this, I mean. Edward Hyde," he explained, adjusting his sleeve absentmindedly.

Utterson now noticed how significantly shorter his friend was now. He had to look down to meet his eyes, a stark contrast to how it usually was. This ‘Edward Hyde,' who was supposedly a mask for Jekyll, was apparently made for him too... well he was quite ambiguous as to what exactly he got up to ‘like this'.

"Why?"

The question seemed to catch Edward off guard, his long ears perking up a bit. "Er, well, I wouldn't say that this was the intended outcome but it's a positive one nonetheless. It's helped, I guess. So I continue to use it." He quietly laughed in embarrassment, glancing away.

Utterson, while not only confused about this situation, was concerned for him. There was no way that changing your form regularly was a good idea.

Edward seemed to realize something, tensing up again, "Gabriel, you won't tell anybody about this, right?" He started shifting around, grabbing his arms, "if this got out it would be the end of me," he said more quietly as his voice trailed off.

"No, no, of course not, Harry. Your secret is safe with me."

He seemed to relax a bit at this notion, shoulders falling down. A silence fell between the two. Utterson took the time to observe him, to get a glance at his changed form.

He was right, that he was unrecognizable. Even if he did tell someone that this man was in fact Henry Jekyll, no one would believe him. Despite the impression of Wrong that emanated from him, Utterson still saw him as his friend, surprisingly. He feels like he should be disgusted by him, though he isn't.

Edward shifted uncomfortably from the eyes that make him feel exposed, uncovered, his secrets laid out in the open. He had technically shown the side of himself he never planned to show anyone, especially not Utterson.

Would he leave him, knowing how broken he really was? That he was just a facade, that his true self could be considered horrifying? He was deep enough in thought that he didn't notice when Utterson had come closer to him, staring into his eyes.

He blinked. "Uh. Hey, Gabriel."

"Your eyes are strange."

"Oh, yeah. They more closely resemble the eyes of a cat than a human, which makes them reflective. I can see in the dark, essentially."

"Hm," Utterson hummed in response. He lightly cupped the other's face with his hands to get a better look at him, turning his head slightly.

Edward, somewhat dumbfounded by this and distracted from his thoughts, leaned into the touch. Utterson was standing above him in height now, looking down, which was odd since usually it was the other way around.

Utterson stared at the strange man who, though appearing nothing like him, was his closest friend. He wasn't entirely sure how to take this, that his friend had been lying to him, and his solution to his problems was more lying. He didn't seem to mean any harm like this.

He sighed, stepping back from Edward and toward the door.

"Where are you going?" Edward said anxiously.

Already at the exit, he responded, "I would like to continue our evening, if you are willing to join me."

He glanced around for a moment, eyes landing on the potion. "Should I, uh, change back?" He asked, pointing towards it.

"If you wish," Utterson simply stated before unlocking the door and walking through.

Edward stood there for a moment, contemplating, before following right behind his friend.