Not So Plain Jane - One Little Mistake

[x-jeangrey.livejournal.com]

Chance meetings are all well and good, as long as Jane takes the time to think about what's going on. Luckily for Jay and unluckily for her, this time she doesn't.



Jay looked around in awe. He'd played restaurants before, some of his best performance memories were from The View back home in Cumberland, but this place was different. More upscale in a way, but also more laid back, almost like a jazz bar. Folks were just sitting around drinking and noshing and schmoozing, all relaxing after the work day.

It hadn't been too hard to get this gig, mostly just making googly eyes at the manager and shifting his accent to something a lot less hick and a lot more Southern gentleman. He'd come alone this time, aware that he was just inviting disaster but pretty numb to it after the events of last week. Tonight he had the opportunity to play slower, more emotional material, an opportunity which he often lacked with younger crowds, and he was going to take full advantage of it, come homophobe or mutant psychopath.

Jane made no bones about hiding the fact that she was unimpressed with her companions. At the moment, they were simply waiting for the man she was meeting, which meant the only entertainment she had was her HFC escorts - lackies. She'd spent most of her first week with the club refering to them as such to their faces but, while the simmering indignation they couldn't show was kind of amusing, the game had grown old and she had eventually bothered to learn their names.

"Michaels, get me another screwdriver while we wait. He's late."

"Of course, Highness," the man said, raising a finger to catch a waiter's eye.

Set-up took all of a minute. Jay just had to plug in the microphone, pull up a stool, and take a seat. He had his old acoustic guitar with him tonight, not the fancy electric one that Forge had built him because that one, despite its beauty and sound, just couldn't get the melancholy of Jay's deeper tunes. Somehow, he suspected that Forge had programmed that on purpose.

Without any sort of preamble, Jay struck a chord and started, something slow but pleasant and happy. He couldn't help but grin as people put down their drinks and looked up at him, mesmerized by his voice(s). How could he have ever considered giving this up?

Not having been paying attention before, the music didn't register with Jane. Fuming silently about her contact's lateness, it wasn't until the absolute focus of the rest of the room registered that she even looked up. Oh, well, that was unexpected. Jane sighed to herself, then took another drink. Maybe Jay would just not see her; Jane was getting tired of the arguments and 'discussions'. Even when they were entertaining they just weren't that fun anymore.

Jay was just taking in his audience, not really paying anyone any special attention. Yet. That's for later, when the inevitable guy who knows a guy who knows a guy shows up and wants to offer him another gig.

It was rather tough to ignore the group in the BDSM fetish gear, though. Especially when one of them was your ex-teacher. To Jay's credit, he didn't falter when he spotted Jean, but he did offer her a smile and a wink as a greeting.

Well, so much for that idea. Jane sighed, and nodded to the boy - not a particularly welcoming nod, but it wasn't hostile either for once. He was, actually, really good and it would be impossible to ignore that. Reaching up to rub her temples, she scanned the room once more for the man she was supposed to be meeting, ignoring Michaels who was completely taken up in the music.

Jay had only heard bits and pieces of rumors about what was going on with Jean beyond what he been publicly announced, but her group unsettled him. Aside from the one guy who looked like he was getting ready to pounce, they all looked kind of predatory. Especially Jean.

He finished the song, smiling at the audience as they applauded. After a brief introduction, he started another song, a folk-rock Mraz-type song. He scanned the room again, smiling at all the captivated patrons, but his gaze lingered over Jean and her cohorts whenever he got to them.

Most of Jane's party were entranced just as much as the rest of the room, although they were well enough trained not to show it to such an extent, but it stoped mattering as the man she was waiting for entered the room. What such a respectable looking business man was doing making his way towards this strange group would have been the question on everyone's mind, if half of them hadn't known already and the other half know better than to ask. The man paused and nodded his head in what could almost be called a bow before sliding into the seat across from her.

It certainly was the question on Jay's mind. He wasn't really up on the conspiracy theories he knew some people had, but he was starting to form his own now. Each one as inplausible as the next, but to him they explained this odd form of dress and her choice of company. He continued to gaze (almost stare) at her as he seamlessly wove one song into another, pondering what could be going on.

Jane was perfectly aware of Jay's gaze, but she didn't care. The newcomer probably would if he knew he was being scrutinized so closely, but he was facing away from the stage and drawn enough into their business that he wasn't looking about. Some of the entourage had noticed, however, and were starting to glower.

Once Jay finished his song and accepted the polite applause, he excused himself for a short break. "Hey, Doctor Grey," he greeted, cautiously approaching her and very much ignoring the evil death glares from her company. "How're you?"

Jane cursed internally as the man across from her tensed at the sudden intrusion. "Busy, Jay," she said shortly, hoping to cut off any small talk or any other interruptions.

Unfortunately, she wasn't fast enough.

"What is this?" the man across from her asked. "Are you playing games?" And, at the same time, one of the lackeys leaned closer, and quietly said, "Should we deal with him, Highness?"

"No," Jane snapped, frustrated enough not to even pick up on her bodyguard's slip. "Jay, I will talk with you later, if you like, but now is not a good time."

Jay frowned, both at her cold demeanor and at that queer title that fellow used. Highness? Highness of what? "Um, sorry? Just thought Ah should say hello." Even if she doesn't have any interest in speaking to, much less seeing, anyone from her 'former life.' "Enjoy the rest of your evenin', then." He nodded to her, almost like a bow, and then glanced at the menacing-looking men surrounding them. "Gentlemen."

A quick bathroom break, and then finish the set. And then home, because this little exchange had freaked him out, and he really didn't need his fourth show to also end in disaster.

Jane was too busy trying to smooth things over to even give Jay a second thought until after the set was over and he was long gone, and when she finally realized what had happened, it was too late.