[ originally, helen wasn't going to put in an appearance to this party. after her last moments with jean-luc, during which he had adopted a persona so entirely unlike the one she had come to associate with him, she needed a distraction. it hurts to imagine him becoming anything like john and right now she can't think of what happened between them in the clinic. she needs something else to focus on. that's why she spent last night curled up on james' couch and why she fully intends to do the same tonight. she hadn't intended to go at all to this party, but rebekah had insisted.
in return, helen planted the seed in someone else's ear and she's formally dragging james. she hopes dr. halsey puts in an appearance so she can shove her at james and hope they get along better the second time around than the first. either way, she's going to pick a table and stick to it unless otherwise prodded and hope her costume doesn't pull too many people towards her. for once she doesn't feel like being a social butterfly, even if she could really use the distraction. ]