The New Generation: Earth-53

"Hey hey hey, we just forgot or something we didn't do it on purpose," Neal said in an attempt at a serious tone, but he couldn't help but laugh at himself as he said it. How could he have possibly forgotten to close the door after all!? Who does that!? "It was an accident, Cheetah even admitted that she wasn't even in to that kind of thing. It was a first time for both of us after all."

---

"Oh no no no Ms. Wilson," Zoe said with a smile. "Don't try to get out of this so easily. I'm sure you look great in anything just as you'd tell me I would look great in anything," Zoe pointed out. "The only way to do this fairly is to have the crowd decide for us when we go out. We'll see how many men stare at you...that will be our judge unless you can convince me otherwise."

"Ha, I'm sure," Zatanna commented, sitting up straighter in her seat. She absently pulled her rob tighter around her body as she took in a deep breath and smirked at him. "Perhaps it was just a subconscious act, then? Some part of you wanted the door open, for... the risk. Or maybe you were just thinking with your wrong head.

---

"Hrm, well then fine," Rose said, folding her arms across her chest. "I think you're in for a crushing loss if we go that route, but hey, I'm not complaining. But the question is, just what exactly will I be wearing? I think I can at least let you pick out the outfit. And what exactly are we wagering?"

"Gee...maybe it was, I mean I wouldn't know if it was right? Plus I was so certain I shut that door, so maybe my body really did go against my brain or something," Neal said absently to himself. He was fairly aware that his last sentence barely made any level of sense. "I'm guessing that I really just wasn't thinking that much. I can definitely say my mind wasn't on the door."

---

"We shall see Rose, we shall see," Zoe repeated for the classic dramatic effort technique. As the next question came Zoe had to think for a moment. "Well, you could just wear your own version of what I had on the other day. You can feel free to customize as you see fit, though sabotaging yourself is illegal," she added with another laugh. "In regards to the wager...I say it's only fair that you pick. I issued the challenge, so you get to pick the stakes."

"Well, it's not like I can blame you," Zatanna mused, holding her hands up behind her head as she leaned back in her seat. "My mind wasn't on the door either... uh, I mean, it wouldn't have been, in the same situation. That's what I meant." Clearing her throat, she whistles innocently, tapping her fingers gently against the back of her head.

---

"Well you can't go letting me dress myself if sabotage is illegal," Rose commented, with a small laugh. "You know I'll be subconsciously trying to make myself look as ridiculous as possible. I mean, I know I'm wearing a suit, but how much of it, or in what manner, escapes me. You're the suit expert, after all. I mean, I could go full jacket and tie, tie my hair back, wear a bowler cap, and end up looking like a man, but somehow I don't think that would count. And as for the wager... the loser has to get a tattoo. Of what and where on the body, is up to the winner."

Neal held his smile as he finished his drink at the same time that Zatanna spoke. It was funny how well they truly connected, it was like she really was the kind and cool Aunt that Neal never had. He liked that on the team, he felt like no matter what happened at least Zatanna would be there to support him. "Hey Zatanna...thanks for listening. It's late and I just kinda showed up uninvited. I just wanted to say thanks for really taking the time to care about me. You've made it easy for me to try to fit in to this team when I was scared as Hell the first day that we met."

---

Zoe let out a strong laugh again as Zoe said that she was going to need instruction. "Very well, your terms all seem to be acceptable. I agree to the rules and the wager so long as the tattoo is of relatively small size. If I lose I don't want to end up with a giant scorpion along the entirely of my back."

Zatanna offered up a large, comforting smile as she leaned forward, holding a hand to Neal's shoulder. She even ignored the fact that the top of her rob all but spilled open an unrestricted view inside. No need to ruin the moment, after all. "Hey, you made it easy. You're a great kid, Neal, and I'm proud to be your teacher. Any time you want to talk, no matter how late it is, I'm here for you. Ever need anything at all, just ask."

---

"Ah, so even you think you could lose," Rose remarked with a teasing grin. "I doubt I'd choose anything so garish, but alright, it can be a small one. Maybe I'll have it go right on your ass. Ha, yeah... that might be amusing. See, unlike you, I'm quite confident I'll win. Never lost a bet yet, and don't intend to start. Still up for it?"

Neal of course couldn't help but notice the view. It was RIGHT there in his face after all. Still, the words that came afterwards were enough to pull Neal's mind away from it and smile up at his teacher. "A great kid....you're not the only person that's called me that tonight," Neal recalled as he thought back to his conversation with M'gann in the kitchen. He thought back to what they talked about. "Hey Zatanna, I appreciate all that you've done for me but I don't think that I should pull any more pranks on Rose. M'gann was right about one thing, I'm a good person but I let her push me. If I want to be a good member of this team I need to treat Rose as my friend, even if she still hates my guts," Neal admitted as he looked up at his teacher once again. "I don't know if I'm going to succeed, but I need to try harder to fix things between us."

---

"Anyone can lose, only a fool truly thinks that it's impossible to be defeated. There's a reason that Pride is a deadly sin," Zoe pointed out as she crossed her arms. "And no I'm definitely not backing out of this. I know exactly what and where your tattoo is going to go once I win this one," Zoe said before extending her hands towards Rose. "We got a deal?"

Zatanna actually remained mostly leaned forward, holding her elbows against her knees now, as she listened to Neal explain his situation with Rose. She still did nothing to close her robe, but that was mostly because she wasn't even thinking about it, more interested in what Neal was saying. "Hmm... you definitely make a good point," Zatanna replied, nodding carefully. "And you're right, too. You are better than that. Me, ha, I'm a lost cause. Fallen so far down into the gutter I can't even see the light anymore. But it's alright, I'm sure we can find other ways to have fun together that don't involve sexually pranking a teammate.

---

"Oh we're so on," Rose said, extending her hand forward to shake on it. She was making this bet official, after all. "I've already got a few choices what to give you... maybe a big pair of lips, right on your rear end. Ha, yeah... that would definitely be amusing. I just hope you can handle the needle digging into your ass."

Neal let out a laugh as his teacher described himself. "Well, I wouldn't quite call you a lost cause. I think you did it to make me feel better, but I did it because I actually wanted her to feel bad. My reasons were worse than yours which is why I need to stop," Neal said before he stood up and set the glass down. "Once again thank you for the drinks and the cough drop, it helped," he said before taking one more from the bag. He out out one more solid cough before sticking the next drop in to his mouth. "I'll see you tomorrow Auntie Z, sleep well," Neal said before turning to leave.

As Neal left though, neither he nor Zatanna noticed the three drops of blood that now played at the edge of his glove.

--

"Well than, I guess if I lose at least I know that I'm getting something interesting. You on the other hand will not know what I have in store for you until you lose," Zoe said with a large smile as the two girls gripped hands and shook. "Now than, let's find you a suit."

---------

The next Saturday evening...

It had been a crazy few days for Zoe. After the first day she had at the cave things seemed pretty normal, it wasn't until the next day that she met the real folks in charge: The Justice League. She explained her general position and skill level, basically confirming what Rose had already said about her. Along with that she had been grilled about the important of working with the team and how killing would be completely banned for the time being. Everything was fine until Zoe saw the look on the man known as Batman. It was like he looked down on her from the highest throne. Something about it was just wrong.

Thankfully, it was the weekend and so far nothing major had needed their attention. They were still kids after all, so Rose and Zoe had decided to make this the night that they go out for their date. Needless to say, two hot ladies were going to crash this club. "Now this place looks like a good time," Zoe said as she lowered the glasses that she was wearing. It was like a cross between business glasses and sunglasses, a dark look that also gave her a sophisticated charm. They were one of her favorite accessories. Along with this she wore the full on suit that Rose had seen her in the first day that they had met. She might adjust her outfit as the night went on, but for now she was fully clothed and only a bit of her cleavage was visible above the white button up shirt she wore.

--

"Okay Neal, just do your best to get through this and try not to sound stupid while you do it," the young sorcerer told himself as he walked down the hallway of Mount Justice. He had decided a few days ago to try to make some sort of amends with Rose, and the way that he figured best to do it was talk to those closest to her. He needed another opinion, a way to find out what needed to change. Perhaps M'gann was right, perhaps he really was just a jerk to Rose despite how good of a person he seemed to be. If he was the one that needed to change, there was one person that he needed to ask. That was what brought him to Argent's door.

He stood outside for a moments before taking a deep breath. "God help me not to completely screw this up," Neal muttered before giving three quick knocks on the door.

Rose wasn't sure she could ever get used to wearing a suit. It just felt... weird. Maybe she'd adjust to the feeling in time, but for right now she felt really rather out of place. If not for the fact that she was with Zoe and had a bet she needed to win, she probably never would have left the cave dressed like this. As it stood right now, she was dressed almost completely in her black suit and tie, though the tie was quite loosened and the suit jacket slung over her shoulder instead of wearing it. A stylish fedora hat sat atop her head, tilted slightly to the side, with her long white hair tied into a ponytail. Other than that, the top couple of buttons of her white dress shirt were open, exposing just a small amount of cleavage at the moment. All in all... she thought she looked ridiculous.

"Alright... let's get this over with," Rose said, as she walked up to the entrance with Zoe. The fake IDs were perfect, allowing them entry despite the fact that they clearly looked a bit younger than 21. "I'll introduce you to the girls later, after their dances end and stuff. And once I win our bet."

---

The door opened a moment later, revealing Argent standing there in blue jeans and a blue sweater. She blinked a couple times in confusion, looking past Neal into the hall, then back at Neal again. He never just stopped by to talk to her... so this was strange. "Uh... hey? Something you need?"

"So sure of yourself, I like that about you. So far your one flaw appears to be the ability to see the fact that your ass looks remarkably good in those pants," Zoe said in probably the most dry voice that she could muster. After a moment she just let out another laugh as she couldn't hold up her straight face. "Sorry, I just can't wait to see the look on your face when at least four guys send you drinks tonight," Zoe said as they continued to walk in to the club where the music was playing. It was loud, but thankfully not deafeningly loud. All in all it seemed like a good scene so far.

"Let's do a bit of dancing of our own, we gotta get some guys to notice you after all," Zoe said before grabbing Zoe's hands and beginning to pull her towards the center of the dance floor. "I am so glad that my fedora fit you, it makes your outfit just perfect."

---

As Argent didn't say anything at first, Neal couldn't help but look behind him as if expecting M'gann to becoming visible once again or something. Argent just looked so surprise, but he guessed that he couldn't blame her. He couldn't even remember the last time that they had talked one on one. "Hey Argent, I was wondering if you just had a quick minute to talk. I didn't interrupt anything did I? Because I can come back later if I am, it can wait is all I'm saying."

"What? It does not," Rose said, glancing back over her shoulder and down at her behind. Granted, the suit pants were rather tight and fit rather closely around her, let's be honest, perfectly shaped ass, but it didn't look great right now. Couldn't. Certainly not. Shaking the thought from her head, Rose followed Zoe quickly inside. She looked around for several moments, taking the scene in and actually smiling. It had been almost a year since the last time she'd been in here, and the memories it brought back were actually mostly good.

"Yeah, yeah, we'll see," Rose muttered, as she made her way out towards the dancefloor with Zoe. "I think you fail to realize, though, that all their eyes are going to be on you. I mean, you look... stunning." She cleared her throat slightly, placing her hands on her hips. "Plus, I don't know how to dance. At all. But I do like the hat, at least..."

---

"Uh... no, I'm not in the middle of anything," Argent said, stepping out of her room and closing the door behind her. "Was actually on my way to grab some dinner right now. "I guess you can come with, if you want. What's up, anyway?"

"Oh Rose, you're so cute when you're like this," Zoe said as she adjusted the coat that was around her shoulders and allowed it to slip down a little bit. "All eyes are going to be on us, just wait and see what happens. The key to this is knowing how to make an impression. Just listen to the music and once you follow the beat just make sure your body moves with it," Zoe said before she began a rather simple movement with her hips and her shoulders to move to the beat of the music. Her body moved slowly and naturally, as if this movement was what she could do before she walked. Zoe's eyes slowly close as she begins to let the beat take her.

---

"Uh sure I'll come along, I don't want to keep you from your dinner if you haven't eaten yet," Neal said as he stepped back once Argent came out of her door. As long as they were somewhat away from the rest of the team Neal would be open to talking about this. He just didn't want someone like Kid Flash interrupting it. "I was just hoping that you could help me with something. I know that we're not exactly the best of friends but I need to ask you a favor. I wanted to ask you some questions...would you please just promise to tell me the truth as best you can?"

"Well, if you say so," Rose commented, as she watched Zoe begin moving to the beat of the music. It was almost intimidating, seeing her girlfriend dancing so effortlessly and flawlessly, while behind her several strippers did their own form of dancing on stage, just as expertly. Then there was Rose, who had no idea what she was doing. This was probably going to go very poorly... but it couldn't hurt to try. Taking in a deep breath, Rose straightened out the fedora on her head, then began loosening up as she let the beat take her. She was no Zoe, but at least she didn't look all that bad... still, anyone with a sane mind would be focusing on Zoe, which was fine by her. She had a bet to win.

---

Heading into the kitchen, Argent opened up the refrigerator and breathed out a long sigh as she contemplated what to eat. None of the other team members were around right now, so it was just them in the kitchen. "Hmm... I'm feeling steak," she muttered to herself, while taking out all the proper ingredients to cook with. When Neal started telling her what he wanted to talk about, though, she gave him a curious look and squinted her eyes at him. "Uh... yeah, okay, I guess," she said. What on earth was this kid going to ask her? "If I can be anything, it's honest, so... just shoot."

As the music continued to pound in their ears, Zoe slowly opened her eyes to see that Rose was letting herself move with the music. It wasn't bad for someone who said that they had no idea how to dance. Zoe would even go out of her way to say that she was quite good. "Let's live a little," Zoe said before moving close to Rose and taking Rose's hands in her own. She pulled the girl close before quickly taking the lead in their next dance step. "Just move your body in beat with mine, trust me," Zoe said as she was trying to get Rose to be more confident with her own ability. A bit of one on one should help with that. "Just focus on me."

---

"Thanks, I appreciate it," Neal said before taking a seat at a nearby counter while Argent went about preparing her meal. He wasn't sure if it was this conversation or not, but he just really didn't feel that hungry right now. Talking to Argent was going to require all of his attention as it was after all. "Okay I'm gonna try to phrase myself as best as I can but forgive me if I end up just sounding like an idiot," Neal said before taking a deep breath. HE took a moment to decide what question he should start with. "Am I really as bad as Rose says I am?" he finally asked.

As the music continued to pound in their ears, Zoe slowly opened her eyes to see that Rose was letting herself move with the music. It wasn't bad for someone who said that they had no idea how to dance. Zoe would even go out of her way to say that she was quite good.

Rose uttered a surprised yelp, as Zoe suddenly came forward and took hold of her. Not that she was complaining, of course. She'd let ZOe hold her as much and as long as she wanted to. It took a moment for her to fall into the same rhythm, but soon Rose was moving right along with Zoe, right in tune with the pulsing beat. BReathing in deeply, Rose brought her gaze straight ahead into Zoe's eyes, giving her full attention. Focusing on only Zoe was rather easy, and it made her heart beat about a thousand times a second.

---

Argent paused momentarily, as she turned on the oven. Blinking several times, she slowly turned to look over at Neal curiously. "Is that what you think?" she said, focusing on the stove again. "Well, guess it's not surprising really, with how she talks about you sometimes, and to your face, too. But really, I wouldn't take it all too personally... in spite of it, you know, basically being personal. It's not that I think she hates you specifically, she just... gets angry sometimes, you know? And she just needs to blow off steam. I guess you're just the easy target, for whatever reason. But it's not like we sit down together every night and talk about how awful you are or anything. I mean, you're actually a pretty cool guy, you know?"

Zoe just watched as their eyes connected, focusing on only the other person as if they were the only ones that were possibly in the room. The music almost felt like it played exclusively for them. Zoe's hands trailed up and down Rose's back as she moved a littler closer. She leaned her head in, her lips now exactly next to Rose's right ear. "Kiss me, and make it count," was the only thing she whispered before slowly pulling her face away from Rose'e ear.

---

Well, at least this conversation sounded like they were going in a much better direction than Neal suspected. "I guess....I know that I've said terrible things to her too, but I felt like I was just reacting to how she treated me. I never went out of my way to just get angry and lash out at her, not in the beginning at least," Neal admitted as he looked over towards Argent. "I guess I just know that no good will come if we keep going on with this feud of ours. If I did something to initiate this or piss her off in the beginning I at least want to know what it is. Other than that, I just want things to go back to how they used to be. I thought being on this team would make Rose and I better friends but it's only seemed to have pushed us apart."

Neal got quite for a moment as he thought about what Argent had said. Unless she was just lying to his face it even sounded like she had a decent opinion of him. Perhaps they could really work through this? "What do you think I should do? I wanna just talk to her and figure out a way to fix this, but I feel like too many things have been said. I feel like we'd both be on the defensive the entire time. What do you think we should do?"

Rose shuddered pleasantly as she felt Zoe's hands traveling along her backside. Her body stiffened, back arching. She could definitely get used to this... And as if that weren't great enough, when Zoe leaned in close and placed her lips just a hair's breath away from her ear and whispered to her, a strange tingling sensation spread up from below Rose's waist and traveled throughout the rest of her body, knees practically melting beneath.

Swallowing back an anxious lump, she brought her own hands up around Zoe's back and leaned in even closing, pressing their bodies together. She didn't need Zoe to tell her twice, pressing their lips together firmly and holding them there for a long while. She parted her lips slightly, too, in attempts to add her tongue to the mix. She wasn't certain if Zoe actually wanted to take the kiss that far, but hey... she had said to make it count.

---

Argent breathed out a long sigh, as she folded her arms across her chest. This whole Neal/Rose thing was really starting to become an issue, it seemed. If those two didn't at least learn to co-exist with each other without wanting to rip each other's throats out, then the team was in for some rough times ahead, for sure. "I can't tell you what to do," she admitted, with a small shrug. "That's something only you can decide. But really, this needs to resolve itself one way or another before it causes a serious problem to the team dynamic. It doesn't matter if you suddenly become best friends or just decide to never talk to each other again, we can't have you wanting to gut each other on a regular basis. You're a good guy, though, you don't need to think you're terrible for not getting along with her. Some people just don't like each other, no matter how nice they are individually. It happens."

Zoe's lips held closely to Rose's as they embraced, locking their kiss together happily in the middle of the dance floor. By this time they had attracted quite a bit of looks, and none of them were condescending. After all, who looked down on two beautiful women that were sharing such a passionate kiss. As Rose added in her tongue to the mix Zoe was happy to respond with as much enthusiasm as Rose was willing to thrown in. Zoe's tongue quickly wrapped around Rose's as their kiss became much more fiery and passionate.

If people weren't looking before, they were certainly looking now.

---

"I guess I've just had some things pointed out to me that made me question how good of a guy I really was. Zatanna basically said the same thing that you did, she thinks I might be beating myself up too much about it," Neal admitted as he thought back to his conversations with M'gann and with Zatanna. They had both been good and productive, but he was still going to have to be the one to fix it. "Well, I guess that there's not much else to try and do but talk to her," Neal admitted. He was quiet for a moment before looking towards Argent as she remained by the stove. "I know this isn't really my place to ask, but is there any chance you'd be there for when I try to talk to her?" Neal asked. "I don't want her to start off on the defensive ya know? If you're there maybe she'll be more willing to try and hear me out."

Okay, so Rose had just now discovered one of her new favorite things ever: French kissing Zoe. The feel of their tongues intertwining, coiling around in each other's mouths, was... amazing. her entire body was tingling now, though most of that was concentrated below the belt, for obvious reasons. By now, she was barely keeping to the beat of the music, quite intent of simply standing there and kissing her. Of course, they very well couldn't just stay in the middle of the dance floor making out like a couple of horny teenagers... even if that probably would have been accurate. Eventually, she pulled their lips apart and uttered a deep, exasperated breath, though remained pressed up against her as they danced. "So that was... that was... wonderful."

---

"Uh... I'm not sure if that would be the best idea," Argent commented, as she set the timer on the stove. "I mean, sure, we get alone great... but if there's one thing I've learned, it's never to get in the way of her when she's angry. Me being there and trying to help talk sense to her might only piss her off more. I mean, I can try... but it might not be pretty, is all I'm saying."

As the kiss eventually broke, Zoe reached down and locked her fingers quickly with Zoe. "I do'nt know about you but it is getting HOT in here," Zoe said before lowering the jacket she was wearing. Along with that she also pulled out the bottom part of her shirt so that it wasn't as easily stuffed in. She also undid the top button on her shirt, allowing a little bit for her black bra to be exposed to the club air. "Come on, let's go get a drink. Maybe you can introduce me to one of your friends," Zoe said before starting to walk to a few seats that the bat hadn't filled up.

---

"No no, you're right. I shouldn't get you involved in this. For all I know I'm just going to make her mad at you too, that wouldn't be fair," Neal admitted as Argent pointed out that Rose would just get angry. "I'll just try to talk to her on my own and hope for the best. All I can do is try to be patient with her....no chance you even have some advice as to how I should approach her do you?"

"Yeah, right," Rose said, swallowing the nervous lump back in her throat. She nodded, following Zoe over to the bar, and along the way also undid another couple of buttons of her shirt. It was hot as hell all of a sudden, but in a good way. A very, very good way. As she hopped up onto one of the bar stools, she took in a deep, slow breath and straightened herself, hands tapping against the counter. "Gimme a white russian," she said the the bartender, as though she'd ordered the drink a hundred times before. "Always wanted to try one of those. We'll have to wait a bit, by the way, before meeting with any of my friends. They're kind of on stage right now."

Gesturing over to the staging area, she pointed out three different strippers working at different areas throughout the club. Their clothes were pretty much already off, as they swung round the poles to the cheers and leers of the surrounding men. "And not to mention working in private." She then motioned to a curtain at the far end of the club, which led into the lapdance area. "So... just drinks for now."

---

"Not from behind," Argent quipped, with a small smirk and raise of her eyebrow." But other than that, I wouldn't be act even remotely hostile. And don't beat around the bush, either, she hates that. Just get straight to the point and pray she's not in a foul mood already. Then she might actually give you a chance to talk. Otherwise, you could be walking away with a broken nose."

"I wouldn't order too many of those if I were you," Zoe remarked as Rose ordered a white russian from the barman. "You'll see what I mean soon enough," Zoe added before smiling and glancing around the area for a minute or so. It wasn't long before Rose went out to show the three friends that she wanted to meet up with later. "We'll have to go out of our way to meet them later, I'm sure they got some interesting stories to share with us," Zoe said with a smile.

It was only a minute later that something Rose didn't see coming would happen. Suddenly the same bartender that she had spoken to earlier placed down two drinks in front of the girls. "These come from the gentleman at the table, " he said before gesturing to an area where four men were looking over to see the reactions of the girls.

"Well, looks like I'm starting off winning," Zoe said with a smile as she glanced over at Rose before taking a sip of her drink.

---

"I don't tend to act hostile at all, I just want to talk sincerely with her like we used to," Neal said as Argent continued to give him advice about how he would need to best talk to Rose. "Well thanks for helping me with the advice, I'll just have to try it and hope that it works out. I can only do my part after all. If we're going to get through this she's going to have to work with me right?"

"Uh... alright," Rose said, blinking down at her drink as it arrived. Don't drink too many of them... Zoe spoke like she knew from experience. WIth a small shrug, she reached down to take the glass and slipped down a mouthful. It was surprisingly tasty... though it did induce a sudden cough from her lips as it went down. "Whoa, that's.... *cough* ...really something," she said, with a slight smirk. "I think I like it."

When the other two drinks arrived, however, Rose's demeanor instantly changed. She stared down at the glasses in surprise, then glanced over her shoulder at the table of men, and then back at the glasses again. "Wait, what? No, no, I think you have some kind of mistake, they can't be... no, you're not winning anything, these drinks could easily be just for you. We don't have any proof that they're looking at me or anything. No way."

---

"Mmm, pretty much," Argent replied, as she opened the refrigerator again to pull out the pitcher of lemonade. As she poured out a glass for herself, she looked over at Neal and asked, "Want some?" She already had a second glass out and waiting in case he did. "Made it myself actually, but it's pretty sweet. Not everyone can handle it."

Watching Rose be in denial was quickly becoming one of Zoe's favorite things. Just the way that she always seemed so worried and unwilling to accept that anyone else might find her smoking hot and cute just always brought a smile to Zoe's face. "Well they did send two, and the bartender didn't say that they were just for me now did he?" Zoe said before taking a small sip from her drink before smirking. "Of course....if you want to prove me wrong we could always ask them who they were for."

---

"Uh sure I'd love some thanks," Neal said as Argent went to pour a glass of lemonade for him. That was nice of her to offer, and that action alone made Neal start to think of something. "You know Argent, while I'm here I really should apologize to you as well. I haven't really been that social with you, kinda because I thought you might be on Rose's side against me," Neal admitted before he took the glass that Argent eventually filled. "So for that I'm sorry and I hope you can forgive that."