Lobster Boil

[Clarke Hudson]

Clarke had changed her outfit maybe a dozen times. How did this feel like it was more pressure than New York fashion week? This is what people wore to a lobster boil, right? Who was she kidding.. She had no idea. She anxiously pushed her hair away from her face one more time before she grabbed her black clutch off of the dresser and made her way downstairs. It was a short walk down to the pier. Every thing was a short walk in this town. She felt the eyes and stares on her from some of the elderly women, which she tried to meet with a smile but was quickly turned away from. Great. Clarke tapped her fingers on her clutch, watching anxiously as she kept looking over her shoulder. Kids running around laughing, little old women getting together in groups, old men sitting down on benches along the pier, watching over everyone protectively. She was beginning to wonder what she was even doing in this town. What sort of life could she create where everyone was deadest on hating her? The male prospects in this town were….. limited.. she noted as she watched one of the younger men spitting dip out onto the pier. Ew. Clarke went over to a stand where they were selling peach ice cream, apparently making waffle cones on the spot. “Sorry, fresh out” the girl in her early 20’s said to Clarke, before handing an ice cream cone to someone behind Clarke. Alright, great. She was just going to find jack so that she could at least let him know that she wasn’t ignoring his act of kindness. Clarke stood on the tips of her toes, losing herself in the crowd as she tried to find her…Jack.

[Jack Hudson]

Jack lifted a crate of lobsters that had been boiled and though he intended to just set it down, the weight of the crate slammed against the pier floor. “Sorry,” he said with a lazy laugh, picking up one of the lobsters that had bounced out of the crate. Well some seagull should be really happy. He broke it in half, so that the predators wouldn’t have a hard time with the shell before tossing it off of the pier. Jack reached up, adjusting his hat that was starting to grow damp from beads of sweat. This was hard work. It was hard to imagine what his father did every year, with no resemblance of a complaint. But if he was going to carry on his father’s memory, he was going to damn sure do his best to showcase the traits that made him loveable in this town. No complaints. And with that, he threw another lopsided grin on his face. It was nice to see this town rally behind his family for an event like this; particularly since things with Christine had gone so sour. It wasn’t in Jack’s nature to talk about people poorly, so once Christine decided to tell her version of what happened, he begrudgingly fell into the role of villain. That felt like it was his story now. He had shaken the hands of several gentleman, and had been the recipient of some welcome, and unwelcome, hugs from the women in the community. Out of the corner of his eye he noticed a slight disturbance; looking over his shoulder he noticed that Christine and Thayer were… drunk? Not a great idea in a small town. But whatever they were talking about seemed like it was going to be topic of discussion for the next week. Jack shook his head slightly, adjusting his hat again before he set off to get more lobster for people to enjoy.

[Grayson Foley]

Grayson sat at a picnic table with a couple of men from the hardware store in town, discussing some equipment he was in need of and wondering if they could order some materials.  Grayson had a lot available to him at the university but when it came to field work in this town, they expected him to be thorough.  And he was.  He just also ended coming up with his own equipment sometimes.  "We'll getcha what yer needing, Foley," the oldest gentleman said.  He was missing a tooth.  He'd been missing a tooth since Grayson could remember going into the hardware store with his dad as a kid.  Grayson was a townie.  He'd always thought he'd be out of this town as soon as he could.  He'd gotten good grades, the best in his class actually.  Thrown his life into academics so he could get a scholarship to college, which he had.  Had immediately gotten his masters and just thought he would move somewhere not far enough that he'd forget this place, but far enough to feel like he'd escaped... the small town feel of it.  Grayson had never felt like there was a lot here for him.  Tough it had called him back with purpose and then some.  His career at the university and in town was actually quite fulfilling.  He just couldn't shake the feeling that something was missing in his life.  He'd accomplished all his goals, checked all the boxes; and yet somehow now that he'd done all the things he said he was going to do, he felt like he'd run out of goals.  He needed another one.  Something to chase down. And that was when he stood up, telling the men he'd had enough of business talk and wanted to grab an ice cream, that his new purpose walked right by him.  "Well if that wasn't the most beautiful girl i've ever seen, I'll be damned..." he murmured.  "Close yer mouth, boy, yer catching flies."  He was right, Grayson was gawking.  And there was no way a girl like that would go for him.  She was so... classy.  Grayson wasn't much  of a looker in high school.  He'd grown up a bit and all that, but all the girls here that were still single remembered him as nerdy Grayson from 9th grade biology.  It was really sexy.  Ole Toothless was right though, he was being a dork.  "Damnit Grayson, yeah.  i'm... being weird. Alright."  He rolled his shoulders back, "You are not 16, you do not have braces, and you are really fucking smart.  Do women like that these days?"  He asked himself out loud, Toothless just shrugged.  His last girlfriend had been in undergrad and Grayson had not felt like he knew what he was doing at the time.  "Wish me luck," he added.  "You actin' like you never seen that gal before, where you been?"  Grayson looked at him quizzically, "That's Richard Hudson's girl, from his affair with that ritzy city woman.  Yer looking to be a social pariah, you are."  Okay Grayson hadn't been back in a few weeks.  Alright, it had been longer than that.  How'd he miss all that gossip?  He watched her approach the ice cream stand and was immediately denied.  Well, that wasn't very welcoming.  Maybe Grayson really had missed a lot.  He settled on watching her from afar for a bit, to try an gauge his chances.

[Avery Grace Andrews]

Avery helped her mom and a few other women from church that were fussing over a food table full of side dishes and other treats.  They'd been busy since they arrived, but she thought she could maybe slip away since they seemed to have things under control.  Maybe she would go get some ice cream for Jackson, he did say he wanted some so it wasn't like she was being eager, right?  She slipped away, giving her mom a squeeze on the shoulder.  Lot's of old women waved to her, she got a few winks from old men that could very well be her grandpa's age.  She tried not to think about what Jackson had said about people trying to set her up.  She thought she could see him across the pier when she got a glimpse of Clarke out of the corner of her eye, looking like a vision compared to Avery in her jeans.  She stopped abruptly and changed direction, headed toward Clarke.  "Hey," she said, getting her attention, "... I'm Avery," she said, offering her hand, knowing she was drawing looks in their direction.  "I work just down the street in Miss Grace's, the seamstress?  My family owns it."  She wasn't sure Clarke would even want to talk to her, but she was gonna try anyway.  "I love your dress... is that linen?"  She eyed it carefully, and then offered, "I've been meaning to stop down in your shop.  I'm sure you get that a lot, in like a fake nice way... but really I have."  Avery glance around making sure no one was in ear shot and then said quietly, "There is NO good coffee in this town. No where.  You're a godsend."

[Jack Hudson]

Even though it was cooling down in the evening, working so hard was making him work up a sweat. So as he set down what should be the last crate for at least the next half hour, Jack unbuttoned his flannel shirt and took it off to try and cool down. He wiped his hands on the front of his white t-shirt before looking around to see if anyone new was there that could peak his interest. He took a few steps, making small talk with some of the townies that were hammering away at their lobsters before he finally spotted Grayson. Jack excused himself from his conversation, making his way over to Grayson. “Couldn’t risk ruining your manicure in order to help me out?” he teased with a wide grin before he stepped closer to give him a warm hug. “Man, welcome back…” he said taking a step back. He was thankful that Grayson wasn’t someone in this town that had held the Christine situation against him. Unless he was. And he unknowingly just hugged someone who wanted to punch him. Jack narrowed his eyes slightly at the thought. He could take him. But then, all guys thought that about their friends. He looked over his shoulder at everyone again. It had been a while since he had seen Grayson. In that time his father had died. He and his fiancée ended their engagement. She got engaged to Thayer. His new sister came to town. He wondered how much of that Grayson had already found out about, causing him to be anxious as he reached up and adjusted his hat once more. He had noticed Avery wasn’t at the table with the fixin’s anymore, but when he caught her in his line of sight again he noticed that she was talking to Clarke. So she did show. Both of them. Nerves washed over him; but because of which person?

[Clarke Hudson]

Clarke was near tears, quickly slamming her clutch against her hand when someone approached her. She lifted her eyebrows at the person who had braved coming over to talk to her. But maybe she was going to ask her to leave. Maybe she was going to tell her that her presence here wasn’t welcome. She introduced herself; which seemed like an indicator that she was not in fact about to tell her to fuck off. She even complimented her dress, causing Clarke to look down at herself and then smile back at Avery. That was polite, considering Clarke was feeling like a fish in water. But as Avery kept speaking, Clarke noticed that her mouth had been left open in an amused grin, her eyebrow lifting in entertainment. This girl was… honest. She let out a quiet laugh. “Actually,… no. No one has been polite enough to even pretend to want to come in. I mean… I am being shunned in this town, and the only person who wants my business is my brother’s ex-fiancee? That’s seriously ….weird.” she said, giving a quiet laugh. Clarke widened her eyes. “Oh my god. I shouldn’t have said that. I’m so SO sorry. I’m not mad at the people in this town. I don’t blame them for wanting to protect Jack. I didn’t mean that the way it sounded. I just didn’t expect…. I don’t know what I expected.” she narrowed her eyebrows, giving a shake of her head. “I’m sorry. I just rambled because people don’t usually let me talk to them this long, and now I am seeing that is probably for the best,” she said, nervously reaching up to scratch the top of her forehead. “Please come in for coffee.. any time. There really is nothing like New York coffee.” she said, giving a nervous smile. “Especially when you pair it with a slice of pie.”

[Avery Grace Andrews]

Avery wasn't sure which art of what she said was good, but something made Clarke seem comfortable enough to talk to her, expressing to Avery her frustration with the town's behavior.  "Honestly, it's not as weird as you think.  I'm sure Christine wanted to take a dig at Jackson.  But," she offered, "Every person in town is invited to that wedding so really, it's great business for you."  She  watched as Clarke back tracked a little and the door swung shut a little from where she had let it open.  Avery placed a hand on her arm, trying to be somewhat comforting, "You don't need to apologize.  People here are protective... but you deserve to be here too, as long as you choose to be.  It just all blew up so quickly, but I'm sure things will start to blow over."  She could already see a few old whispering and Avery had to refrain from  rolling her eyes.  "If they're gonna shun you, I guess they'll probably shun me too," she laughed, "But we can be shunned together with the New York coffee," she joked.  "If you make a good apple pie, you've just made yourself my new best friend."  This was good.  Actually, Avery wasn't usually the chatty type, but could read people pretty well.  She liked Clarke.  She got a good feeling about her.  "I was actually going to grab Jackson some ice cream, I told him I would.  But I'm sure one of us will find him in this chaos.  See you in a bit?"  Avery left Clarke's side to go grab ice cream, stopping when she nearly ran right into Grayson, "Look where you're going much?" she teased.  "Tell me everything you know about the girl you were just talking to."

[Grayson Foley]

Grayson watched from a distance when Avery Andrews stopped to talk to Clarke.  She looked like she was being nice.  That was good.  If Avery was being nice to her than she must be nice.  Andrews was quiet but she didn't fuck with fake people.  Grayson was shaken from his thoughts by Jack, giving him some crap about not helping him out and a hug.  He'd been through some shit, that was for sure.  Grayson gave his friend and extra tight hug, pulling back and saying, "Well see I was going to.  But then I literally saw my future wife."  He stopped, pointing across the pier, "That one over there, the blonde with Avery.  Who I also just found out - ohhh she is your sister, holy SHIT."  He said, running a hand through his hair. "Sorry, it literally only just sunk in.  I've been away for too long.  Man, you have a sister.  That's, like - yeah I see the resemblance now.  You should be  flattered, because I think she might be the most beautiful- too soon?"  Grayson, crossed his arms, looking at the girl and then looking at Jack, "We should definitely get beers later." He watched Avery leave and go toward the ice cream cart, which he also started towards, "Jack, I just had a thought, a thing I have to do, but meet me over there?" he said, forming a plan in his mind, practically plowing Avery over.  She shoved him back teasingly as he asked what all she new about the girl.  "That's Clarke.  Jackson's sister.  She's from New York and she likes good coffee."  "Oh okay, I like coffee, sounds like we are destined."  "Yeah? Who's that for?" she asked, Grayson holding two cones proudly, "Clarke, obviously... Wait now, who's THAT for?"  He teased as they both started back toward Clarke where Jack was now standing.  "... Jackson.  I told him I'd get him an ice cream so he didn't miss it."  "Sure, sure.  Just doing a guy a favor, I see that.  Sure," he teased.  Yeah, sure as hell wasn't trying to get in his good graces.  But Grayson was doing the same thing right now.  "Clarke, nice to meet you, I am Grayson, friend of Jack here.  I thought you were in need of some ice cream," he smiled, offering her the cone.

[Jack Hudson]

Jack stood there, hands in his pockets, eyebrow tilted as Grayson spoke. Giving a Sam Elliot nod as it finally dawned on Grayson that he was talking about his sister. Not that she really felt like she was his sister. She felt more like an obligation right now, not that he would ever admit that out loud to anyone. But a sister? Far from it. I guess maybe he could understand that the idea of her being attractive was...gross.. But he wasn't opposed to Grayson thinking so right now. He listened as Grayson continued to talk about her being beautiful, "People have been saying we look a lot alike," he said dryly, suggesting that the idea that she was as beautiful as he is handsome was sort of obvious, even if he was joking. Meet him over... by... his sister? Is that what he meant? He watched as his friend ran off toward the ice cream cart, getting himself in a conversation with Avery. He tilted his head slightly as he watched her, curious if she was getting some ice cream for him. He doubted that she even remembered that he had asked; it had been more of a pleasantry than anything. Sometimes Jack didn't know how to talk to people in this town. "Isn't he supposed to be big city smart?" he heard one of the old men question about Grayson, causing the old fart in the rocker next to him to offer his own opinion. "Goes to show you a skirt can make you dumb no matter how smart you are." Ain't that the truth. Jack took in a deep breath. Well, he had invited her out here. He supposed it only made sense that he go and talk to her anyhow. Jack made his way over to Clarke, who all too quickly beamed up at him. "Evening Miss Clarke," he said, giving a small nod. "Did you uh... have some lobster? Our... Richard ..." he said, gesturing to every thing around them before just cutting his own sentence off. He cleared his throat and lift his eyebrows. "I saw you talking to Miss Avery. She's a fine young woman to associate yourself with in town," he said. Nothing like the Christine's of the world. He imagined she'd leave this town some day, taking a little bit of sunshine with her. She had a tendency of staying above the gossip of the town, being something that made it brighter instead of making it feel so closed off and small.

[Clarke Hudson]

Jackson? Clarke watched the girl, letting a slow smile spread across her features. It wasn't often that a genuine smile came about for her since she came here. But... she listened as this young girl talked, and even nodded a long to some of what she was saying. Well, she was cute as a button. She didn't even mean that in a condescending way. This girl was cute as a damn button. And... she was into Jack. Oh, her apologies. Jackson. Clarke opened her mouth to say something to her before she left, but instead turned on her heel, watching the girl trail off to the cart not even aware at the gazes that followed her. "Well, well" she mused to herself. She wasn't left alone long before Jack came up to her, awkward as ever. But she lit up like a damn lighthouse. "Miss Avery, hm?" she said, feeling the joy in her own tone as her eyebrow playfully shot up. "That girl is sweet on you." she mused. Jack made a face. Oh, so he was going to act like he wasn't aware of the effect that he had on people in town, too? Okay. Be stupid. If anything made Clarke feel more confident it was knowing that she was right about something. "Miss Avery isn't 'into' me he said. She's just a really nice girl." he said, adjusting the baseball hat against his still sweaty forehead. "Yeah, I am sure she is nice. But I don't care how nice someone is. They aren't going to go out of their way to make themselves a pariah at the hands of some Small Town villain. No one volunteers for that." she said, giving him a shake of her head. "Alright Miss New York, make a wager on it?" he questioned, causing Clarke to tilt her head back slightly and laugh. "Oh I am absolutely down for an easy win.," she said, putting her hand out toward him. "That girl likes you, loser tells Mrs.Duncan that her caramel rolls taste like aluminum ass." she said, holding her hands straight. "Well if you want this town to hate you, I sure can't stop you," he said before spitting in his hand and shaking hers sternly, causing her to make a grossed out face at his exchange.

[Avery Grace Andrews]

Avery smirked as Grayson introduced himself to Clarke, handing her the ice cream.  It was obvious, as Gray had practically said so with as many words, that he was into Clarke.  As she watched the exchange, she could see that, those two.  Clarke was from the city, a bit more cultured than the people in town.  And Gray... much as he loved being a hometown boy, Avery got the impression hat he was meant for so much more.  He should've been out of here a long time ago.  While Grayson chatted up Clarke a bit, Avery remembered the cones she was also holding, glancing over at Jackson suddenly, "Oh, here," she smiled shyly, "I didn't forget.  They were near out when we got over there," she added.  She held her own cone up to her mouth, licking a bit that was dripping and twisted the cone along, glancing at him, "The lobster was wonderful, by the way.  Are you off duty yet or do you still have some work to do?"  She wondered if he wouldn't maybe want to stay and hang out.  Or maybe he planned on spending time with Clarke, which was definitely fine too.  Or maybe he planned on going home.  She didn't want to come off as desperate, but the guy hadn't been single since high school, and now that he was, she couldn't help feeling like if she didn't try and show interest now, she might miss her chance.  It was just that she also didn't want to be too eager too soon, as he was literally only JUST getting out of a relationship.  She was sure he still needed some time to process too.  She wasn't sure how soon was too soon.

[Grayson Foley]

Grayson had no idea what to even say to her now.  He didn't want to be over bearing; his mom always told him he needed to learn when to shut up.  But he also got the feeling she was really hesitant about him.  Maybe not just him, but basically everything.  After handing her the ice cream and introducing himself, he paused and then added, "I don't stay in town for long periods of time, so I haven't had a chance to stop in your shop yet. But I'd love to, if that's- I'm mean it's a shop, I'm sure you want customers."  He added awkwardly.  Avery was talking to Jack, and Grayson smiled politely, "Do you have wifi?"  He could use a good coffee shop in town to set up camp and work.  Not that she'd want him around all that often, or that he was trying to invade her space, it was just good to get out of the house.  Sometimes he needed a good change of scenery when he was working.  He was working on furthering is education while shouldering a research grant at the university, and sometimes he just needed to get out of the house.  After some thought, he figured, of course she has wifi, that's stupid.  He was being a dork.  He stopped talking, wondering why a pretty girl from New York would be interested in himself.  Not that he didn't think girls were interested in him, he knew that he had some interest.  It just seemed like sometimes he set his sights a bit high for himself.  "So... what's everyone doing after this?" he asked, trying to fill the gap.

[Jack Hudson]

Jack smiled at Avery as she reached out to hand him ice cream that was already starting to melt. It was surprising how hot it could actually get in Maine. He lifted his eyebrow, trying not to show an eager amount of appreciation. "That was mighty kind of you, Miss Avery." he said, giving a polite nod. "Thank you," he offered, thinking to himself on how he was going to be able to pay her back. Maybe he could drop some fresh lobster off for her at Miss Grace's. He looked over at Grayson, lifting his eyebrow in amusement. "Friend is an overstatement," he said jokingly. He lowered his head, bringing the ice cream to his lips. Holy crap that was good.. almost better than the first drink of a cold beer after all the work he had been doing. Almost. He nodded in appreciation though at Avery saying the lobster was good, chewing on a piece of peach that had made its way into the ice cream without being crushed. "Thank you, I really appreciate that. I think I might be off duty.. it depends on what the men are doing at the end of the night. The lobster is pretty much all out. But if any of them have plans tonight, I'll stick around to do the clean up. I can always check in on them later. Or hit the pier really early in the morning for clean up," he said, swallowing his ice cream. He looked over at Avery and reached up to get some ice cream off the side of her lip with his thumb. "Be careful. Anyone sees you wasting that, and you'll be scorned for years to come in the summer." he said, wiping his hands on the side of his jeans. "Anyone interested in getting a drink when everything is said and done tonight?" he looked at the four of them. It had been a while since he had actually been out. But being around the town, remembering his dad.. he missed that sense of community. Maybe being a hermit was something he didn't want to do anymore. Maybe he deserved to be out in this town just as much as anyone else. "Oh hey, Clarke. Your kitchen sink... Grayson is the best plumber in town. He'll help you out in trade for some pastries." he said, turning to Grayson to give him a huge grin.

[Clarke Hudson]

Clarke looked at Grayson as he spoke, her lips slightly parted, and her eyebrow slightly lifted as he spoke. Did he need her for this conversation? "I do have wifi.. hopefully I'm better known for my scones soon though," she said, giving a slight breath out quickly. Did she have wifi? She narrowed her eyes as she looked at him, not even trying to hide that she was giving him an assessment as she looked him up and down. Nice shoes. Dressed nicer than the rest of this town. She narrowed her eyes as she got to the features of his face. He wasn't working a lot of hours in the sun like Jack, but he also wasn't a prissy. "Hm." Clarke muttered, again.. not hiding her assessment. But, it was clear that he was struggling, for whatever reason. She could throw him a bone. Or a donut. So she took in a deep breath, thinking about what she would want said at her funeral as she looked at him and started speaking matter of factly. "I was a ballet at the American Ballet Company in New York, I recently left. I opened a bakery, and I am in way over my head. I recently learned that the local town gossips go for the throat more than Page Six does. I like the Yankees... and my favorite movie is Something Borrowed. When I am baking I like to listen to true crime podcasts, or have the shows on in the background. And I am just now realizing city girl moving to a small town is the premise for every murder...." she said, trailing off with a certain concern in her face as she narrowed her eyebrows. Damn.

A drink. She looked up at Jack as he mentioned a drink, and looked possibly entirely too eager. "YES!" I am dying for a old fashioned." she said, causing Jack to laugh. "I'm not sure you'll find what you're looking for here, but they'll give it a try." he said, adjusting his hat for the upteenth time tonight. "GRAYSON!" she heard a familiar voice calling out, before looking over her shoulder. Christine was marching her way over to them. "GRAYSON FOLEY!" Christine said before forcing her way into the groups standings. She smiled, very drunkenly at all of them. "Well what do we have here?" she said, looking around at all of them. "Two guys. Two girls. Jack Hudson are you on a double date with...." she said, looking at Avery up and down. "Who are you again?". Jack clenched his jaw, seemingly not wanting to deal with Christine's business tonight. "You know her name, Christine.Why don't you head home?" he said to her quietly, trying to keep it discreet. "Oh, you want to take me home, Jack?" she said, loud enough for everyone to hear in a 30 foot radius. "I am soon to be married. You missed your chance. Ship has... SAILED." she said, looking at him and then laughing drunkenly. "Just don't put your ship in a poor version of me's harbor." she said, tilting her head at Avery again before she took a sip of her beer. "Whoa , hey tha-" she started to say but Jack shook his head at her, clearly not wanting to get her more involved than she already was. In his defense, it probably would be bad for business to have your one and only first order canceled the week before it was meant to be done. "Where is Thayer?" Jack asked, seemingly looking for his car keys as he patted his pockets. No way. Nuh uh. No chance in hell was Christine going to get Jack to leave his big night. That was her plan, right? Take the attention from him? Get him to leave something that was important? Clarke narrowed her eyebrows a bit while she watched Christine. There were a thousand versions of her in New York, but it still didn't make her less worthy of a punch.

[Grayson Foley]

Luckily for Grayson, Clarke was nice enough to throw him a bone.  A dancer, that seemed plausible.  She had nice posture.  He nodded as she continued to tell him about herself, laughing a bit when she mentioned her odds of being murdered, "That it is, that it is.  You ever listen to Serial?" he questioned, "It's decent..." he added, shutting up as he noticed she was giving him the once over.  Assessing him in a general way.  Jack broke the moment, lucky for Grayson so he could get a better game plan, asking if they all wanted to get drinks, and Grayson let out a breath gratefully almost as soon as Clarke was agreeing, "Yeah I could definitely use a drink or two."  A manhattan, huh?  Hmm, so she was a classy girl.  Grayson rolled his eyes at Jack's comment, "Hey come one man I might not be as handy as you, but I could probably google it," he said, smirking.  He had never fixed plumbing.  He could probably handle it.  Probably.  Before Gray could say much more on the subject, they were being interrupted by Christine, who had clearly had a bit too much to drink and was definitely on the verge of causing a scene.  She was rude to Avery, which that alone was enough to piss off both Grayson and probably Jack too, but just making a scene about her marriage was just a low blow.  Gray knew his friend, and he knew his cousin, and one of them was lying about how things had one went down and the other was just too respectful to say otherwise.  Grayson was looking around for Thayer, Jack indicating that Clarke should stay out of it.  The truth was, Thayer was probably just as drunk somewhere.  So much for having a nice evening out.  As much as Grayson disagreed with her way of life, he seemed like the most likely candidate of the group to take responsibility of this shit show today.  Jack patting around for his car lets, but that wasn't happening.  He worked too hard for this event, he didn't need to be dealing with this.  Not after the bull shit Christine had put him through on top of everything else.  "Hey," Grayson said quietly but stern enough to get Christine's attention, "Christine, dearest, dearest, cousin."  He took her arm and gently pulled her from the center of the group, "Come on, let's not do this, not tonight.  You've had a bit to drink, everyone's enjoying the evening."  He sighed, she might not be his favorite person, but deep down he figured she had to be hurting too.  "Let's find your douchebag fiancé, I'll give you both a ride home.  You don't want to make a scene, I know you'll regret it tomorrow, don't you agree?"  It sort of seemed like she agreed, somewhat defiantly, but agreed nonetheless.  "Can I meet you guys at the bar?  I'll just be half an hour probably."  He really wanted to get to know Clarke more, and lord knows he wanted to witness whatever had going on with Jack and Avery, just so he could give him crap about it later, but he also knew he needed to neutralize this situation before Christine hurt someone more.