Tiny Dancer

What Happens in Vegas: Part 1

Semester break starts in a couple of days and while some people are more than ready to get to their plans, others are feeling a little less eager.

"So, you really don't have any plans at all?" Jesse asks as he drops a textbook in his locker and closes the door.

Tori groans and leans against the locker next to his. "No. Nothing," she says with a frown.

"Sorry, Tori," he tells her with an apologetic smile. "Look on the bright side. You still get a week out of school."

"Yeah. I guess," she sighs before she gives him a curious look. "What about you? Any great plans for the break?"

He nods. "Yeah, actually. My dad's got a fight in Vegas, so, I'll be there."

"Vegas?" she repeats, pushing off the locker with wide eyes. "That's so cool!"

"I guess," he says with a shrug. "I mean, it's fun, yeah, but it's not like it's the first time we've been."

"Who's we?" she asks curiously.

Jesse holds out one hand and starts to count off fingers as they walk down the hall. "My mom, Phoebe, me, Beck, and Jade."

Tori blinks in mild surprise. "Beck and Jade are going?"

"Yeah."

"You know what?" she says after a second. "I don't even know why I'm surprised. Of course, they are."

Jesse smiles but doesn't argue. "You don't have to say it like that." He thinks for a second then stops, gesturing over his shoulder in the vague direction of Sikowitz' room. "Hey, why don't you go ahead? I, uh, actually need to talk to Sikowitz about something."

"Oh, okay. Do you want me to get you something?" she offers.

"No. That's okay," he tells her, shaking his head. "I'll see you later, Tori."

Tori waves as she turns and continues on to the Asphalt Café. "Bye, Jesse!"

He doesn't go to Sikowitz' room. Instead, he pulls out his phone and hits a familiar number. "Hey, Dad? No, everything's fine. You got a minute?"

Later doesn't really happen until after school when Tori invites the usual group over to her place to talk about an offer she got from Festus.

"Okay. Wait," Beck says. He points at Tori who is busy pulling something up on her laptop. "I get that Festus said you could bring friends, but why are we here?"

Jesse nods in agreement as Beck gestures between the two of them. "Yeah. You know we have plans already."

"I do know that," Tori agrees as she pulls up a webpage. She shrugs. "I just feel like it's better to have a lot of opinions before I make a decision like traveling to a foreign country I've never even heard of before today."

Jesse thinks for a second then nods again. "Glad to know you're thinking things through. Also," he adds, "why is Jade not here?"

Tori frowns. "I invited her, but she said she had better things to do."

"That does sound like Jade," Andre says.

Her frown quickly shifts into a full pout. "It was a video call. She was clearly just sitting on her bed and watching a movie."

"Yeah. That's Jade alright," Beck says in amusement. He shrugs off the irritated look Tori gives him as he accepts an offered Pop-Tart from Cat.

"Anyway," Tori goes on, "I called Festus' brother as soon as I got home and it's true. If we agree then they'll pay for our plane fares, our hotel rooms, our food. All we have to do is one performance a night."