"How do you know where you're going?" Amara demanded, hastening to keep up with Envy's long strides. Navigating through snow and ice in high heeled boots presented a bit of a challenge.
"I took the chance to explore this end of the city when I got away from you the other morning."
"I see..." Amara glanced around uneasily. There were a bunch of businesses along this strip of sidewalk, and the large parking lot to their left was still half-full. Despite the winter darkness, it wasn't all that late in the evening. There were still plenty of people around - still plenty of potential casualties...
Envy came to a stop by one of the shops to their right and pulled the door open, glancing at her expectantly. She glanced in the windows and froze.
Why on earth would he want to take her here…?
"Envy, this is a liquor store. What the hell?"
He shot her an impish grin. "You promised..." his voice had a sing-song note to it.
She stared at him incredulously. "You've got to be kidding me."
"Are you coming or not ginger brain? I'm not going to hold this door forever."
Slowly, she shook her head at him. "...I can't believe you."
With reluctance, she strolled past him into the store's bright interior. While she'd technically been of legal drinking age for just over half a year, she'd never been much into alcohol. She usually only drank with Rachel, and never got nearly as intoxicated as her blonde friend. Thus, she really didn't know what to look for in such a large store full of fancy bottles. She wasn't even sure what she liked…Rachel was usually the one that picked stuff out.
The store clerk was thankfully occupied by another customer in the far corner, the hum of the refrigeration units competing with their cheerful banter. Envy glanced around curiously, though he didn't look the least bit out-of-place in his Enver form.
"I didn't realize you drank." Amara raised an eyebrow at him.
He snorted. "I don't."
She frowned in puzzlement. "Then why exactly are we here?"
"Because something tells me you'll be more fun when you're drunk." A knowing smirk tugged at his lips.
Her jaw dropped. "Excuse me?! Easier to manipulate, you mean." She glared daggers at him.
His smirk slipped to a pout. "Saw through that, huh?"
"You're an idiot."
The smirk came back in full force. "Says the girl who already agreed to go along with my plans for the evening."
"No way am I getting drunk. I don't even like drinking!" she protested, struggling to keep her voice down.
"Well, then I guess you'll just have to consider your options. Either you keep your promise and no one gets hurt, or we get to find out just how many people I can maim and slaughter before you manage to take your own life. Your choice." Envy's tone was infuriatingly innocent.
Anger simmered dangerously close to the surface of her calm façade. She clenched her hands into fists. "Have I ever told you just how much I loathe your very existence?"
He offered her a taunting grin. "Awe, no need to get angry ginger brain. This'll be fun," he said, walking farther into the store.
"What I consider to be fun and what you consider to be fun are two very different things," she muttered, following after him with a glower. No way. She wasn't letting him get her drunk and then parade around doing whatever the hell he wanted. There had to be some way to control him…
And then a thought occurred to her.
"If you're going to make me drink, then you have to drink too."
He paused, glancing back at her with dark eyebrows arched high on his tanned forehead. "And why on earth would I do that?"
She stared at him thoughtfully for a moment, then glanced away, reaching out to straighten a wine bottle on the shelf next to her. "Oh, that's alright. You'd never be able to hold your liquor as well as me anyway..."
Maintaining an innocent face while bluffing was not usually her forte, but the anger in her veins proffered the necessary assistance. The fact that she was a lightweight was completely beside the point.
His eyes narrowed. "I could never be outdone by a human."
She met his gaze again with a sudden smirk. "Prove it."
He stared at her for several moments, clearly trying to figure out how to respond. She'd trapped him nicely, and both of them knew it.
His expression slipped into a flat glare. "Fine."
She managed to limit her surge of triumph to a small grin as she brushed past him toward a part of the store that looked vaguely more promising than the elegantly labeled bottles currently surrounding them. There was no sense in irritating him further than was necessary while out in public. But at the same time, the back of her mind prickled with unease.
How on earth would his body respond to alcohol?
Given the affect the Neocitrin had had on him, this might very well turn into something she would live to regret...