The Successful Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (But Better Pacing and More Plot)

Chapter One: The Debut of Dr. Jekyll's Theory

"Now, Henry, you need to go straight to bed at a reasonable time every night." Hastie Lanyon, a young fair skinned man with shockingly white hair and red eyes told his brunet friend, Henry Jekyll. However, Henry was off in his own world, admiring London.
"You've lived here your entire life? And you never noticed how pretty it is?" He asked, his tone filled with childish glee, and a complete disregard for Lanyon's advice. He didn't notice someone slip his wallet from his pocket, but they caused a racket as they ran past him and down an alley. Henry suddenly ran after them, recognizing his one of a kind wallet anywhere, Lanyon groaning in annoyance and following after. The two cornered the thief when they took a wrong turn and found themselves at a dead end dirty alley.
"Now then, do you think you could give me my wallet back? I'm happy to give you money, sir or ma'am!" Jekyll flashed a warm smile at the dirt covered boy who looked over at him.
"Oh yeah, I give you this," he shook the wallet a bit, slightly speaking with his hands, "and you two run off and get the peelers!" He shoved the wallet into his pocket, glaring at the two. Lanyon grabbed Jekyll's arm, trying to pull him away. Jekyll just gently pushed him off, and approached the boy.

"Your skin.." He titled his head, looking at the boy's skin curiously. He hadn't seen vitiligo before.
"You're being rude y'know." The boy snapped.
"Oh, my apologies! It's just fascinating to me, because it's curious, isn't it?" Jekyll's smile only got bigger.
"It just sounds like you want a lab rat." The boy told him, starting to feel a bit subconscious of the paler parts of his skin that noticeably stuck out against his original darker skin. He knew it wasn't a bad thing, but he didn't know the cause nor had he ever found one. And that caused him to worry about what others thought of him.
"A lab rat? Why would I want one?" Henry asked, "I could just ask you questions about it! And ask questions if I find others with the same skin condition you have. Which I'm sure it's not a bad thing, there's a definite scientific answer as to why!" He was happy that he even got the chance to speak with this boy. "But what's your name?" He completely changed the topic.

"... Gabriel." Gabriel responded.
"Henry I think we should leave- I can get you another wallet!" Lanyon said hurriedly.
"Hastie, I'm not worried about my wallet." Jekyll stated, shutting down Lanyon's attempt to leave the situation. Gabriel tried to leave the two boys to squabble, but Hastie grabbed his arm.
"Give the wallet back, and I won't report you to the peelers." He said, his grip tightening.
"Let me go." Gabriel snapped, his hand going into his inner jacket pocket.
"Give the wallet back." Hastie's grip only got tighter.
"Hey, hey!—" Jekyll tried to get Hastie off of Gabriel. "He needs the money, Hastie." He said. Gabriel blinked, confused as to why a rich white boy cared about someone like him.
"He just needs to get a job! It isn't hard!" Hastie stated.
"Yes it is, he can't get clean or buy new clothes due to limited money. He has so many more obstacles than we have!" Jekyll kept trying to justify Gabriel's crime, while Hastie kept saying it was his fault he was poor to begin with. Eventually, Hastie let go of Gabriel and left to go back to his parents' house. Jekyll looked at Gabriel, and sighed.
"I'm sorry about him. I know it's not your fault." He said.

"You spoke of me as if I didn't have free will to defend myself." Gabriel stated.
"He wouldn't have believed you anyway." Jekyll crossed his arms, but it was more of him trying to hug himself. "You can keep the money. I just need the wallet back." He changed the subject again.
"Why do you need this? It's tacky." Gabriel stated.
"Hastie's parents and mine will get angry that I lost his gift to me." Jekyll explained.
"Ah. Well," Gabriel took out the money and gave the wallet itself back. "I'm glad I met someone like you. If you end up teaching or raising kids, you should try and make them like you." He told him.
"Doesn't everyone think like this?" Jekyll tilted his head a little.
"No. You saw it today with your friend." Gabriel placed the money in his pants pocket, quickly walking away.
"Hey wait!—" Jekyll rushed after him. "I have a question."
"What?" Gabriel looked at him, stopping in his tracks.
"Do you maybe want to attend the school Hastie and I go to? I can cover for you!" Jekyll stated. "And I'll even bring money so you can help your family or yourself if you don't have a family."
"What would going to a school teach me?" Gabriel asked.
"You can go to college and get a degree in something. That way it'll be much easier to get a job." Jekyll explained, his signature warm smile back on his face. He smiled so much that Gabriel started to think maybe it was fake or Jekyll was trying to cover for something.

"I can't read or write. I'm only able to talk." Gabriel stated. "And even then it's kind of limited."
"Oh I can teach you then." Jekyll informed. "Writing and reading is quite easy once you get the hang of it. I take it you understand how money works, right?"
"I have a vague idea. You need a specific amount otherwise it's too little. But if you give too much you get more back." Gabriel said, his take on money strange.
"No no, you don't get more money, you get what's called change, because your money had covered it completely." Jekyll corrected. "So shop owners have to give you what's left over from the money you gave them."
"I'm starting to regret learning anything." Gabriel sighed.
"I promise it'll get better, just trust me!" Jekyll grinned, as Gabriel blushed a little.

"Henry Jekyll, what do you have to say for yourself?" Jekyll's mother stood in the hallway, staring at her son. Behind her, was his father.
"What is it, mother?" Jekyll titled his head, confused.
"Hastie's parents informed us that you were robbed! And you allowed it to happen?" His father snapped, causing Jekyll to shiver a little out of fear.
"I don't believe that would constitute a robbery if I allowed someone to take my money." Jekyll stated. "I, in fact, gave to someone who needed it more."
"Henry, sweetie, who was this person?" His mother asked, coming closer and placing her hands on his shoulders.
"Oh he was a street urchin. I also offered to tutor him on how to read and write!" Jekyll smiled at his good deed, but his parents thought differently.
"Son, those people are just lazy citizens. Don't bother helping them." His father told him. "They can't bother to get a job, and don't bother to send their kids to school."
"No!— Please father, that's not why they don't have homes. It's a cycle that needs t—" Henry was cut off by his father snapping at him to be quiet. Jekyll's mouth clamped shut, not looking at his parents.
"Go to your room. I've had enough of this nonsense." His father said. Jekyll pulled himself away from his mother's grasp, running to his room and gently shutting his door despite how ticked off he was.

He was right, wasn't he? It made perfect sense, right? It was a cycle, of course it was. An adult person lives on the street, which, means they can't afford certain basic things, like an education, new clothes, food, and shelter. And if they have kids, they can't afford the uniforms or any that Jekyll's parents could afford, so they can't go to school. They learn how to speak, but they can't read or write or count or really have an understanding of the world because they're too busy trying to support their family. For as beautiful as city was, it had such a rotten underbelly that Jekyll intended to destroy. Those ideals his parents and Hastie held... they needed to be separate.

Separate from everything good, because he knew that they were good people. They just didn't understand, or maybe they were being blinded by something. So if he could allow them to become their true good selves, they could fix the poverty in this city. And if he could get the people running this city to see... then people like Gabriel wouldn't exist, because they would be able to properly go to school, they'd be able to get an education like Jekyll's.

And it was here that Henry Jekyll, at the ripe age of sixteen, first starting researching the two egos of man.