"Club Pulse?"
Jango, dressed in an inconspicuous dark gray outfit, read from the neon sign hanging above the closed door, "Strange name."
"It's only called that because of the lights inside." Zam, looking much more relaxed in a casual green dress replied, already tapping her feet along to the music emanating from inside the building, "Come on, it's really cool." She grabbed his wrist and tried leading him inside. At his resistance, Zam arched an eyebrow, "What's the matter? Having second thoughts?"
"When you said we were going to a club, I thought you were kidding." Jango replied.
"Oh, come on! We deserve a break after this job and you know it."
"Breaks are supposed to be relaxing. This doesn't seem relaxing in the slightest."
Zam rolled her eyes, "Breaks are supposed to be fun. You'll have a good time, I promise!" She said. She gave him the most winning smile she could muster and, with an exasperated sigh, he caved.
"Alright, Zam. Just promise you won't make me stay later than we have to."
"I promise. Who know? Maybe you'll like it." With that, she pushed open the door and lead Jango inside.
The pounding music enveloped them like a tangible entity. Jango wished for the muted peace of his helmet. Colored squares of light adorned both the walls and the floor, flashing like a living pulse. The center of the floor was filled with a variety of different beings dancing and twisting to the thumping music. "Seems like a good place to get a seizure." Jango muttered.
Zam only laughed, "I know! Isn't it great?" She strode up to the bar while Jango followed, keeping his eyes fixed straight ahead.
The bartender was a tall middle-aged woman with shocking red hair and a smattering of freckles across her face. When she saw Zam, a grin appeared on her face. "Zam!" The rest of the babble after that was incomprehensible to Jango. She seemed to be speaking in a Clawdite's native tongue, which Jango had heard Zam speak occasionally. Still, he understood not one word of the conversation.
Zam replied fluidly in the same language. The bartender nodded and motioned for them to sit down. Jango and Zam seated themselves at the bar while the bartender poured them drinks. "See?" Zam said, "This isn't so bad, now is it?"
Jango shrugged, "It's okay." He was starting to get used to the flashing lights and thunderous music, but he still didn't see the point in being here. He certainly wasn't here to talk to anybody or 'party' in any sense of the word. He was only here because Zam wanted to be here.
Zam took a long drink from her glass before looking at Jango, "So, are you just going to stay at the bar and be a wall flower?" She asked with a smirk.
Jango shrugged, not moving from his seat. Jango thought he saw a flicker of disappointment on Zam's face, but it was gone in a flash, "Okay then. I'll go see if anybody I know is here. Maybe I could introduce you or something." She said and walked away. Jango watched her go and sighed. He felt like he was ignoring her and it made him feel like a terrible friend, but what else could he do? He could hardly be the same person in public as he was when they were alone together. Even if nobody recognized him here, it just didn't feel right to him.
He picked up his glass and contemplated the clear blue contents. He wasn't sure what it was but Zam had gulped down the stuff as if it was tamer than fruit juice. He took a small sip. It even tasted like fruit juice, sweet and tart. He took a few tentative gulps of the stuff, tasting before he swallowed like he was trying to test it for poison. The drink, whatever it was, didn't burn like liquor did, but there was still a warm sensation as it went down. It was surprisingly pleasant. He took another gulp.
The club really wasn't so bad. The pulsing lights didn't seem as harsh as before and the music was actually starting to sound almost enjoyable. He looked towards the center of the room. The place was packed with people dancing, drinking, talking… Where had Zam gone off to? He didn't remember what she had said earlier. He moved unsteadily off the chair and onto the floor. Everything seemed to pulse with sound and color like some sort of lunatic's dream. Jango looked around for Zam, but there were too many people and the ground felt as if it was swaying beneath him. Fierfek, what was wrong with him? He wandered around, stumbling through the hordes of people until he finally heard Zam's familiar voice. Her voice was raised and she sounded tense. Jango's brow creased and he followed the sound of her voice until he finally found her, standing at the edge of the crowd. Jango couldn't help but stare. Zam was beautiful, glowing under the flashing lights as if there was a flame held under her skin. He had never really seen her in a dress before, even a casual one like the one she was wearing now, and was surprised to see that it suited her well. The emerald color made her green irises sparkle even more. He wondered how he hadn't noticed it earlier.
Jango was so transfixed watching her that he almost didn't notice the woman she was talking to. This woman was either a Zolan or a Clawdite in her natural form, judging by her appearance. She was yelling and gesturing wildly, glaring down at Zam as if she were something stuck on her shoe. Jango frowned and moved closer. The woman was speaking in Basic and Jango could make out a few words. "You urchins belong… slums… abominations… get out!"
So, she was Zolan. Zam had told Jango a little bit about the Zolans before, though his memory of what she said was quite hazy at the moment. Something about them thinking that Clawdites were abominations.
"Kriffing sha'buire…" Jango cursed under his breath. He looked at Zam, who was glaring back at the woman, a hurt and angry expression on her face. Jango felt a surge of anger tear through him. He usually wasn't this emotional, but for some reason everything seemed intensified. He couldn't think straight and all he knew was that he was fed up with this woman harassing Zam. He staggered gracelessly towards them. Both women looked up at his approach, "Is'ere a problem?" He asked, the words slurring together as he spoke.
The Zolan woman didn't seem to notice, "Yes, in fact there is." She scowled, "I've asked this degenerate to leave this establishment several times, yet she refuses. If she doesn't leave soon, I'm afraid I may have to call security."
"You don't even own this place! Your father does and he has no problem with Clawdites!" Zam snapped, too indignant to notice Jango's altered state, "Besides, you can't have me thrown out for being a changeling. Hell, I'm in disguise right now, what do you care?"
The woman turned to Jango, "This is a private establishment owned by my family and I have every right to throw her out. It's perfectly reasonable, don't you think?"
"I think," Jango growled, "That you're a racist piece a' Cantina trash."
It was silent for about ten seconds while both women stared at him in shock. Zam suddenly burst into laughter, simultaneously scandalized and delighted. The Zolan woman gaped, before suddenly lashing out to slap Jango across the face. Even with slowed reflexes, Jango instinctively caught her hand before she could strike him and twisted her wrist painfully to the side. "I also think," Jango continued, "That you should let 'er stay."
The Zolan woman whimpered. "Okay, okay, she can stay." She said after a moment.
Jango released her hand, "That's better." He said. Zam continued to stare incredulously.
"I'll tell my dad what happened." The Zolan woman muttered, "Neither of you will be allowed in here again." With that she turned and stalked off.
Zam looked at Jango, "Jango, I'm not sure if I should laugh hysterically or take you to a doctor. What were you-" She suddenly stopped, turning to glance at the bar, "How much have you had to drink?"
"I only 'ad one glass." Jango said, swaying slightly. Really, these flashing lights were not helping his quickly deteriorating sense of up and down.
"And what exactly was in that glass?" Zam asked.
Jango shrugged, "I dunno. Tasted like fruit juice."
"Well, that's not very- Wait a second. Uh-oh." Zam faltered.
"What?" Jango asked.
"Wait here." Zam said, turning and weaving through the crowd back to the bar. The bartender gave her a smile as she approached. Zam spoke in rapid fire Clawdite, "What did you give my friend to drink?" She asked, pointing at Jango across the room.
The bartender shrugged, "Same stuff you usually order." She said.
"What?" Zam squeaked, "You're not supposed to serve that to humans!"
"He's human?" The bartender snapped, "I thought he was a Clawdite!"
"Does he look like a Clawdite to you?" Zam retorted.
"I thought he was in disguise, like you!" The bartender groaned, "Please don't tell my boss. He'd fire me!"
"I won't tell him." Zam promised, "Is my friend going to be okay?" She asked anxiously.
"Well, he's pretty much going to feel like any human whose had one too many. Disoriented and emotional. He's probably going to have quite the headache tomorrow morning. Or whenever he wakes up."
Zam thanked the bartender and walked back to Jango dejectedly. Great. She had taken him here so they could spend some time enjoying themselves and instead she had accidentally gotten Jango drunk.
She grabbed Jango's arm and started pulling him towards the door, "C'mon, we have to leave." She said.
"Why?" Jango asked.
"Because you're drunk." Zam answered bluntly, "They gave you the wrong drink."
Jango looked bewildered, but he didn't stop Zam from leading him out of the club.
Zam waited by the hover lane and hailed a taxi, while Jango stood by, staring unfocusedly out at the city lights. Zam managed to flag down a hovertaxi and get Jango inside. She gave the droid driver the directions to the hotel they were staying at and leaned back, rubbing her temples with her hands. Gods, she had screwed this up. What if Jango thought she had done this on purpose once he had sobered up? What if things were unbearably awkward between them after this?
"I'm sorry, Zam."
Zam looked up, shaken from her thoughts, "It's not your fault." She sighed, "You didn't know how strong the drink was."
Jango shook his head, "No, no, not that. Fierfek, I'm messing this up." He rubbed his eyes blearily, trying to wake himself up enough to make sense, "I mean, I'm not that good of a friend and I'm sorry for that."
Zam was caught off guard but still managed a weary laugh, "Jango, I know that's gotta be the alcohol talking. You're a great friend. You've saved me from being killed plenty of times."
"Yeah, that makes me a good partner. But wha' bout in that club? Before I was drunk, I was ignoring you. What kinda friend does'at?" He sighed, "And if I can't even be a good friend to you, how can I be something more?"
Zam had a feeling she knew where this was going, "Jango, stop talking. You're over emotional right now and you're going to say something that you're going to regret in the morning and then you're never going to talk to me again because it will be so incredibly awkward between us and it will be all my fault and-"
"Zam, I love you."
Well damn. "I love you too." The words fell out of her mouth before Zam had time to stop them, "B-but, uh, I mean…" Her words failed her for a moment as she floundered at what had just been spoken between them. "But you're drunk." She added finally, "So I don't really know if you actually… you know… love me."
"But I do love you." Jango insisted, the repeated use of the 'L' word making Zam jump slightly, "What do I 'ave to do to prove it?"
"I won't believe you unless you're sober." Zam said decisively.
"Then I'll tell you when I'm sober." Jango said, just as decisively.
"But what if you don't?" Zam said, burying her face in her hands, "I mean, you have the excuse that you're drunk and you might not feel the same way in the morning. But I just told you that I love you and I'm sober. Oh gods, I just hope you don't remember."
"Zam, I love you when I'm sober too." Jango said, his voice raw, persistent, and emotional, "If I don't, then I should keep getting drunk, because I'm obviously smarter this way."
Zam laughed a bit at that, "Thanks Jango." She said. They were both silent after that, but it wasn't an uncomfortable silence. They were both just too tired to keep talking. After a few minutes, they were both fast asleep. After far too short a time, Zam was awoken by the droid driver buzzing them awake with an annoying siren it had installed to the dashboard of the cab. Zam wondered how may drunk customers the droid had to put up with on a nightly basis if it needed to install that piece of equipment. She paid the driver and half-dragged Jango out of the cab and onto the curb. Zam had to support him to keep him from stumbling as they walked into their hotel. Zam walked with Jango to make sure he made it to his room. Before she left, Jango put a heavy hand on her shoulder, "Tomorrow, when I'm sober, I'll still love you." He said tiredly, "I'll prove it." Zam managed to give him a distant smile, "Get some rest." She said. Jango looked at her for a moment more, his eyes unfocused, before walking back into his room and letting the door close behind him.
Zam made it back to her own room, and immediately collapsed on the bed. Some day this had turned out to be. She had gotten her best friend drunk, exchanged declarations of love in a taxicab and was now lying in bed dreading the coming morning. Still, she knew she'd need a well-rested mind to face the next day's perils and so she slowly and reluctantly closed her eyes.
It was a while before Jango woke up the next morning, which left plenty of time for Zam to sit in her room and worry herself sick. What if he didn't remember anything and assumed Zam had gotten him drunk on purpose for a cheap laugh? No doubt he'd be furious. Zam hoped he knew her well enough to know that she wouldn't go that far with a joke. What if he remembered everything and was creeped out by the fact that she had told him that she loved him? What if he no longer wanted to have anything to do with her?
Zam eventually heard the sound of movement coming from Jango's room, which meant he had woken up. She listened for the sound of approaching footsteps, but heard nothing but the sounds staying in his room. He was probably recovering from the hangover as best he could. Or packing his bags so he could get the hell away from Zam. The suspense was going to make Zam explode if he took much longer.
Zam waited what seemed like days but was probably more like an hour for the telltale knock on her door. At the long awaited sound, she practically flew across the room to answer the door. Jango was standing there, a slip of paper in his hands.
"Good morning, Jango." Zam said with a nervous smile that probably made her look psychotic, "How are you feeling?"
"Besides a headache, fatigue, and amnesia, I'm feeling alright." Jango replied. His words weren't particularly reassuring, but he was smiling. Why was he smiling?
"Amnesia?" Zam repeated, "So you don't remember anything that happened last night?"
"Not really. I remember going to that club with you and then waking up this morning feeling like somebody had hit me with a sledgehammer." He winced slightly before continuing, "And strangely enough, I found this in my pocket when I woke up. It's written in my own handwriting, but I don't remember writing it." Jango unfolded the slip of paper and held it out to Zam. In shaky, but distinctive handwriting it said:
'Tell Zam that you love her.'
The message was about as awkward as they came. "I, uh, I c-can explain. It's, uh, it was just…" Zam stammered before trailing off. How could she possibly explain that away? What could she possibly say just to-
"Zam, I love you." Jango's words interrupted Zam's thoughts.
Shock, relief, confusion, and joy all crossed Zam's face in the space of a few seconds before Zam finally managed to squeak, "I love you too."
They spent about ten seconds standing at the door grinning at each other as if they had both gone mad, before Jango finally broke the silence, "I've wanted to tell you that for a long time…but I have to know; what exactly happened last night?"
Zam smiled sheepishly, "Well, you were at the bar at Club Pulse and the bartender thought you were a Clawdite in disguise, like me. So, she gave you what I usually order. It's a pretty tame drink… if you're a Clawdite. The fruits in it make it much more potent to humans. In short, you got drunk. When I realized this, I took you out of there to avoid any further altercations."
"Further altercations?" Jango interjected, "Did I get into a fight or something?"
"Nothing too serious." Zam said with a laugh as she remembered the scene he had caused with the Zolan, "Though I have to say, you were a pretty mean drunk when you were angry."
Jango looked perplexed, obviously lacking any memory of what Zam was talking about.
"Anyways," Zam continued, "We left the club and got in a cab, where you… well, you told me that you loved me." Zam turned pink as she said this and waited for Jango to interrupt. When he didn't, she continued, "And I kinda let it slip that I loved you too, but I told you I couldn't believe you unless you were sober. So, we eventually got to the hotel and I took you to your room. You told me that once you were sober, you'd prove that you love me."
"And the note?" Jango inquired.
"You must have written it after I left to go to my own room." Zam said.
Jango thought what Zam had said over for a moment, before looking down and smiling, "I can't believe it took me until I was drunk to tell you that I love you." He said, "I should've told you earlier."
"So… was it a good idea to take you to Club Pulse or what?" Zam said, grinning mischievously.
"I guess everything turned out for the better." Jango admitted.
Zam laughed triumphantly, "See! I told you it would be fun!"