Disclaimer: Same as first chapter.

Chapter: 3 Partners

"Guess what?" Maria asked excitedly. She and Liz were sitting at a booth inside Rainey's Tavern, one of the more popular hangouts of the Kenmont crowd. Located about five blocks from the University, Rainey's had the best Buffalo wings around, and also the cheapest draft beer. And Rainey's never carded.

"What?" Liz asked after taking a small sip from her beer mug.

"I met this really cool guy today outside of lecture hall," Maria continued barely coming up for air. He's the one who told me about this place. His name is Michael, and he said he would be here tonight." Maria stopped speaking to look around.

"Lucky you," Liz mumbled around a tortilla chip. She was starving. "I met this real—jerk today," she said after swallowing.

"There he is," Maria waved excitedly. "And he brought a friend," she stage whispered.

Liz glanced up from her bowl of nachos and froze. No freaking way, she thought eyeing the two guys heading towards their table. Was her karma really this bad?

"Damn!" She whispered in disbelief.

Maria turned to her in confusion. "What's wrong?"

Liz shrugged uneasily. "His friend is the jerk I just mentioned."

"Well this should be interesting." Maria deadpanned.

Liz bristled like an angry cat as she watched the two guys approach their table. She wondered idly if Mr. Debate Team Captain had set this up. Then again, she was giving him too much credit by assuming he was bright enough. He reminded Liz of one of those overly preppy and polished Abercrombie & Finch models, all teeth and hair. To give credit where credit was due, he had toned it down since earlier. He now wore blue jeans and green Henley that did amazing things for his eyes. And…

"Hey," Michael said smiling at Maria when they reached the table.

"Hey," Maria said smiling back just as brightly.

This was going to be a long night, Liz thought somewhat meanly, as this went on for several seconds. Maybe she could slip out unnoticed, say she was going to the bathroom and not come back. Liz was just about to make her move when Michael introduced his companion to Maria.

"This is my friend Max."

Max snorted. "He means his only friend."

Maria laughed. "Nice to meet you Max." She then introduced Michael and Liz. When it came time to introduce Max and Liz she mock grimaced, "I believe you two have already met."

Max smirked, and he and Michael took a seat. "You could say that."

"Barely," Liz agreed looking bored.

Max just smiled again then placed an order for wings and beer. He, Michael, and Maria launched into a discussion on sports, while Liz silently plotted her exit strategy.

Faking a yawn, she said, "Wow, it's getting really late. I think I'll call it a night."

"But it's only ten o'clock," Maria whined.

"I know." Liz said feigning regret. "But I wanted to study for an hour or two before going to bed. She ignored Max's speculative look. So what if he knew she was leaving because of him. Smug bastard!

Max smiled inwardly. Liz had been trying to ignore him for the last ten minutes, unsuccessfully he might add. Max knew from the moment he sat down, she was searching for a reason to leave. He wasn't going to allow her to, at least not that easily. It was time to up his game.

"Studying?" He mocked. "Seriously. It's only the first week of school. You must be one of those people who have to work really hard just to maintain a C average." Max said and the table went silent.

"For your information, I've always been a straight A student," Liz said and Max smiled almost gleefully. Gotcha, he thought.

"Great. Then you can stay a little longer."

Liz shook her head and Max's smile dimmed. "What was good enough in high school might not be good enough for college. I don't plan on finding out." She stood to leave.

Max shrugged carelessly. "So you get a 'B' for once. It's Friday night. Live a little grandma."

Maria giggled and Michael choked on the beer he'd just taken a sip from.

Liz frowned incredibly insulted. She said bitingly, "B's won't get me a scholarship into Law School, Mr. Know-it-all."

"Maybe not," Max said challengingly. "But you start winning debates, and I know over a dozen Firms here in Washington that would gladly pay your way through Law School."

"What's the catch?" Liz asked sitting back down. She knew there had to be one. There was always a catch!

"There isn't one," Max reassured her.

"Yeah, cause life is rarely that simple. Who are these Firms, and what's in it for them?" Liz asked while Michael and Maria silently followed the conversation.

"Political interest groups," Max ticked off on his fingers. "Lobbyist for the NRA, and on and on. So when you're ready to sell your soul to the Devil, just let me know." Max smirked. "I'll put in a good word for you."

Liz snorted. "Not likely."

"Well," Max said standing up , "As much as I've enjoyed this—conversation, I have to be going now." He nodded to Maria, "It was nice to meet you, and Michael I'll catch you later." He winked at Liz. "I'll be seeing you around."

Max stepped outside into the muggy air with a smile. The look of utter disbelief on Liz's face as he got up to leave, after stalling her, left him feeling flat out victorious. It might have been a small victory, but Max had won round two. Hopefully, the rest of his evening would go as well.


Max pulled up outside the two story house and turned off the ignition. He glanced at his watch and cursed. It was almost eleven. Exiting the car, he cut through the yard heading for the back porch. He found Charlie sitting on the back stoop, nursing his usual gin and tonic.

"Where in the hell have you been?" The Professor asked sharply.

Max shrugged, then took a seat on the steps. "Got held up. Had to stop by the dorms for this." Max held a sheaf of papers.

Charlie glanced carelessly at the papers in Max's hands. "And what precisely would that be?"

Max radiated excitement as he said, "This is the key to my future. I worked on this play all summer long. And it's good Charlie, really good."

Charlie sighed. Then went quiet for a few seconds before speaking. "This is our year Max. Our big year. We finally get to go up against Harvard's debate team. Do you know how long I've been planning for this?"

Max dropped his head into his hands. He was fuming. Just like his father, Charlie was refusing to listen to him. Well maybe he would hear this: "That's the thing," he said lifting his head to stare directly at Charlie. "I don't have time for debate team anymore."

Charlie's mouth curled angrily. "Not this shit again. We do this dance every September. And frankly, it's getting old," Charlie rose to his feet and stormed into the house. Max followed him.

"I mean it this time," he said watching Charlie refresh his drink. "If my dad is ever going to take my writing seriously, I need to quit debate."

Charlie slammed his glass down on the counter. "Don't be naïve, Max. Quitting debate won't solve a damned thing between you and your father!"

"No it won't," Max agreed running a weary hand through his hair. "But it's a start. If I walk away now, before I'm a senior…"

Charlie stared at him in disbelief. "How do you just walk away from debate?"

"Easy. I don't love it like you do Charlie," Max quietly stated.

"What if I told you we'd be debating before the Supreme Court this spring?"

Max snorted. One thing about Charlie, he knew how to bate a hook. "Is this a hypothetical question?"

Charlie lifted his glass and took a drink. Setting it down, he asked a question of his own. "Would it make a difference?"

Max shrugged. "It might."

Charlie gave a feral smile. "It's not a hypothetical. We'll be going up against Hodges and Sweeny and the topic is abortion."

Max leaned back against the kitchen counter and closed his eyes. He was torn. He'd never won a debate against those two bastards. Add to that, debating before the Supreme Court, on the topic of abortion and Max was hooked.

"Ok, I'm in.' Max said opening his eyes.

Charlie smiled, his blue eyes clearly showing triumph. "That's what I thought you'd say."

Manipulative bastard, Max thought. Then, "I have one condition."

"Name it."

Max stared at Charlie with serious eyes. "I want you to read my play and give me your honest opinion on it."

"Done." Charlie easily agreed, with a good-humored smile.

"And if it's any good," Max continued, "I want you to help me convince my father."

Charlie's smile dimmed slightly. "You don't ask for much," he said ruefully.

Neither do you, Max thought as Charlie nodded in agreement.


"Quiet down everyone," Charlie said from the podium. It was Monday afternoon and class was in session. Once the room was silent, he began to speak.

"The platform we will be debating on this semester is abortion. That's right ladies and gentlemen," he said when there were several groans from the audience, "good ole Roe vs. Wade. The affirmative will be debating against abortion and the negative in favor of. Which side do you think will be easiest to defend?" he asked the class.

"The negative," Liz spoke up immediately.

"Why?" Charlie asked interestedly.

Liz shrugged. "Because no educated free thinking person believes abortion is wrong. Only Jesus Freaks." She spoke ironically.

"I disagree," Max said instantly. He was sitting in a row of seats directly across from Liz. "There are tons of people who believe abortion is wrong. And not all of them are religiously inclined either."

"Yeah, asshole conservatives," Liz said pointedly.

"Proud to be one," Max said with a smirk and the class laughed.

"All right, all right, settle down," Charlie called the class to order. "I'm going to be dividing you guys into partners. I'm trying something new this year, so each experienced debater will be partnered with a newbie. And since Mr. Evans and Miss Parker feed so well off each other, they'll comprise our first team."

Max smiled broadly and Liz slumped in her seat. It was going to be a long year, she thought glumly.

A/N: For some reason Max sort of took over this chapter. Go figure. On the topic of abortion, I apologize in advance if I offended anyone. Any opinions expressed in this story are strictly hypothetical. I have never been pregnant nor have I had an abortion. That said: I have no set stance on the topic.