Chapter 4
Maya took a big sip of her drink, the sensation of the alcohol rushing quickly to her head, especially since she wasn't used to having any sort of strong liquor. She shook her head a little and laughed. Phoenix gave her a slightly worried look, and was about to tell Maya to take it easy when his attention was suddenly diverted by Franziska.
"I want a coke," she suddenly said as she looked at Phoenix, "Mr. Phoenix Wright! Purchase this drink for me now."
Phoenix sputtered in response and said, "But...Detective Gumshoe...?"
Gumshoe scratched his head in mild embarrassment and said, "Sorry, Pal...I'm a bit low on cash at the moment..."
"Purchase the drink now!" Franziska said harshly, lashing out lightly with her whip at Phoenix.
"Oww!! Alright, alright!" Phoenix said, rubbing his arm where the whip hit him.
Phoenix hurriedly looked into his wallet before she whipped him again, but he found that his finances were drastically drained due to him just buying three expensive drinks. Phoenix realized that he'd have to step outside the club and find an ATM to keep himself from being whipped to death over a drink. Noticing that this seemed to amuse Miles, this time he felt just a bit annoyed.
"If we can't find an ATM, you're so helping me pay for this." Phoenix grumbled at Miles as both of them, along with Franziska and Gumshoe, made their way out of the club.
A smirk grew on Miles' face as he replied, "And spoil Franziska's fun? I think not."
Phoenix grumbled some more as they left Maya near the bar, and she giggled at the situation. She sat alone for a few minutes, sipping her drink just a little too fast, when Larry suddenly appeared in front of her, taking a break from dancing for a while. Maya examined him and saw that he was pleasantly flushed from dancing, having that goofy charm that she had fallen in love with.
Larry finally spotted her and took a seat at her small table. The table was so small that even if he was sitting across from her, their knees brushed together slightly, and this sent a slight shiver up her spine.
"Having fun?" Larry said with a small smile, his eyes going to her drink, "Long Island Ice Tea! Nice!"
Maya gave Larry a bright smile, forgetting her problems with Larry for a minute and said, "Yeah, I'm having a good time so far."
His smile got just a little bigger, and he said, "That's awesome! I knew you would like it here."
Larry then seemed to study her for a second and then he spoke again, "You know Maya…I didn't get a chance to tell you, but you look really hot tonight in that dress."
Without thinking, he reached forward and threaded his fingers with hers, giving her his classic goofy grin.
Feeling instantly flushed with emotions as he pressed his hand pressed against hers, Maya softly said, "Really?"
His smile turned just a bit into a smirk and he replied, "Yeah, really."
Maya couldn't help but give him a big smile in return, and it was his turn to feel that little pleasant shiver course through him. He kept looking at her, and he began to lean forward to kiss her, but he was stopped by a sudden searing pain in his back.
"Owww!" Larry cried out, letting go of Maya's hand abruptly and whipping his body around to see his attacker.
Franziska approached Larry slowly, and she put a hand on his shoulder that felt very threatening, and she spoke in a dangerously quiet tone, "Don't do anything foolish."
Maya felt a little disappointed at the sudden loss of contact, but she knew that Franziska was right. She couldn't let her feelings be played around with.
After momentarily being scared of Franziska's wrath, Larry decided to turn the situation on its head, smirking and saying, "Me? Do something foolish? Never! And is this some sort of challenge or something? You know, I'll take you on! I bet I could beat you in a contest...like…"
Larry looked around him quickly for inspiration as to what he might challenge Franziska with, and his eyes fell on someone taking a shot of tequila at the bar.
"…Like a tequila shot contest!" Larry said, giving Franziska a smirk.
Giving him a hard look, Franziska replied with disdain, "Now that would be incredibly foolish."
His smirk got even larger, serving to get Franziska even more annoyed, and he replied in a teasing tone, "What? Afraid you'll lose?"
Larry and Maya saw a slight twitch in her cheek, but that was the only indication of how angry she was with him.
Startling both Maya and Larry, Franziska advanced on Larry and put a finger on his chest, saying, "I would never lose to the likes of you."
Even if Franziska was noticeably shorter than Larry, she still seemed like a very formidable presence.
Then Larry laughed and said, "Okay, you're on then!"
Miles and Phoenix wisely scurried off to get her the coke she wanted, not wanting to get involved in this, but Gumshoe felt obligated in trying to stop her from doing something that was obviously a bad idea.
"Miss von Karma…I don't think this is a good idea…" Gumshoe said in hesitation.
Suddenly her whip flew in his direction, and he just barely dodged the blow.
"Stay out of this, Scruffy!" Franziska bit out, giving Gumshoe a harsh look, and then she turned back to Larry, "You will taste defeat, you fool."
Larry just laughed and then he led the way to the bar, taking a seat at a stool in front of it. With a huff, Franziska did the same next to him. Larry called the bartender over and ordered two shots of tequila. When the drinks were given to them, Larry slid one of the shot glasses in her direction while Maya and Gumshoe watched this contest from behind.
Gripping the glass tightly, Larry gave her a little playful smirk and said, "Okay, on the count of three. One, Two – "
Instead of saying three, Larry quickly downed the shot, shaking his head slightly as the liquid burned its way down his throat. Franziska had a similar reaction, but thoroughly exaggerated in comparison to his since she did not have much experience drinking hard liquor, being much more of a wine person herself.
Her head felt pretty woozy, but she managed to keep a scowl on her face and she glared at Larry as she said, "Give me another!"
Larry looked at her in surprise and then laughed.
Calling the bartender again, Larry ordered two more tequila shots, sliding a glass toward Franziska again, saying, "Bottoms up!"
This time he didn't even count, he just took the shot. Franziska quickly followed, taking it quick and slamming her glass down. Deciding that this was probably more than enough, she got off her bar stool and wavering on her feet as she stood up, about to fall if Gumshoe hadn't quickly grabbed a hold of her to support her.
Larry laughed in an obviously drunk fashion, saying, "Had enough?"
At this, Franziska unsteadily approached Larry and replied as threateningly as she could in a slurred voice, poking his nose, "Had 'nough of your foolish game."
This caused Larry to laugh again, but he lost his balance and slipped off the bar stool. At this a smirk came to Franziska's face, but suddenly she was distracted by the dance floor.
"You will dance with me, Scruffy!" Franziska said, startling everyone, "And you will come with us, Maya Fey!"
Franziska then grabbed a hold of an embarrassed looking Gumshoe, and a very surprised Maya, dragging them towards the dance floor, running as fast as she could with the world spinning around her the way it was. At this time, Larry picked himself off the floor, and noticed they were hurrying toward the dance floor.
"Wait for me!" Larry cried, trying to keep up with them, the world spinning just about as badly for him as well.
Phoenix and Miles returned from buying Franziska her coke, finding that the four of them had already left for the dance floor. They decided to just take it easy and sip their Long Island Ice Teas, silently glad that they were not dragged out on the dance floor as well. Phoenix found himself chuckling when he saw Franziska, as well as Larry, pulling some hilarious moves in their ridiculously drunk states. Miles had to chuckle as well because although this sort of behavior was almost expected from Larry, but it was unheard of from Franziska.
"I know Franziska is going to regret this tomorrow morning." Miles said, an amused smirk on his face.
"If only we brought a camera." Phoenix replied, laughing a little at the thought.
"And get whipped to death when she finds out we have incriminating evidence? Please." Miles said in a mock scoffing voice.