After the Never-Ending Pre-Game Shows

by

John O'Connor

Summary: The Vegas host a Super Bowl party. Follows 'After the Apologies' by about a week.

Tori and Jade convinced the Vegas to allow their friends to come by and watch the Super Bowl. As there was already plans in motion for a party, it didn't take long to add the HA kids to the small guest list. But Holly did manage to wrangle a promise to have the dishes done for a week and David was going to get his car washed and waxed weekly for a month.

But, even with the extorted promises, there was a stipulation.

"But no booze or dope…" David warned.

"Da-ad! We don't do that."

"You're teenagers…"

"Yeah, teens who don't do drugs!" Tori defended herself and her friends. Jade did a throat-clearing cough - she claimed just to embarrass her girl with the parents.

And so they quickly invited their friends from school. And any significant other any of them might have. Also invited were Jade's mother and brother.

"This is gonna be great!" Tori enthused.

"Calm down, Vega. It's just a party," Jade stated. "With football."

"And Beyonce," Tori added brightly. Jade just rolled her eyes.

Everyone arrived shortly after lunch time, each party bringing something to the shindig the Vegas had set up. David and a few of his buddies planted themselves outside to watch the game on the patio with some beers while cooking burgers, brats and hot dogs.

Inside, there was a party sub sandwich, space for a couple of pizzas that would soon be delivered, bowls of popcorn, chips, dips and salsas. And a large cooler full of various sodas and juices.

Beck drove Cat over. He came in with a large order of buffalo nuggets and bleu cheese dip. Cat brought a red velvet cake, giggling as she handed it to Holly, "Red velvet? Get it?"

"Yes, dear," Holly said with an indulgent grin.

More chips and soda courtesy of Andre and his latest flame. And Robbie brought some 'special' off-brand soda that he found in a small shop in La Cienega.

"One time, my brother had 'special' soda," Cat started, using her fingers for air quotes. "He got pulled over for driving erratically."

Jade and Tori greeted their friends as they arrived, and Jade grabbed Robbie's free arm. "That puppet better not make me angry, Shapiro."

"Uh, yes ma'am."

As they wandered out of range of Jade's hearing, Rex said, "Huh, must be that time of month."

"Rex!" Robbie hissed.

At the same moment, Jade shouted, "I heard that!"

"Eep!" Robbie ducked behind Cat who just giggled.

"So Robbie, I didn't know you were into football," Beck said, hoping to change the subject away from Jade's wrath.

"Well, I don't have a favorite team or anything and I don't watch games non-stop but I do enjoy the manly interaction on the field."

"Manly interaction… No wonder you don't have a girlfriend!"

"Rex!" Robbie said to the puppet. Jade snorted loudly.

Then, as if to defend his honor, Robbie went on, "I do have a lock on the game. Put all your money on Harbaugh's team to win."

Beck and Andre both stared at their friend with a touch of awe while Tori and Cat looked puzzled. Jade said, "Very good, Robbie. That was actually rather clever."

Robbie smiled and Cat asked, "What? I don't get it."

"Y'see Cat, Jim Harbaugh is the coach of the 49ers. His brother, John Harbaugh, is the coach of the Ravens," Beck explained.

"Ooh!" Tori understood the joke now.

"Oh, I see. No, wait, I don't see," Cat pouted.

Andre took his turn, "See, Lil' Red, the 49ers and the Ravens are playing today. So it's Jim Harbaugh's team against John Harbaugh's team."

"Oh! Heh-heh-heh! I get it. You're really funny, Robbie!"

Robbie stood by the snacks with a big grin on his face. Rex nodded and said, "Yeah, bask in the glow of your temporary coolness…"

Jade's mother and brother arrived shortly after that. "Hi Jadey! Hi Tori!"

Cat got excited and hugged both the newly arrived Wests. "Hi Mrs. West! Hi Short-stuff!"

Tori saw how the boy's eyes widened and he followed Cat around. Although, to his credit he showed more coolness than most boys his age.

As the pre-game shows finally, slowly wound down, Jade turned to Tori, "You're rooting for the Ravens, right?"

"No, I kinda want to see San Francisco win," Tori replied.

"But you're my girlfriend and should support me in this," Jade argued.

"Nooo… It doesn't work that way. Just 'cuz you want the Goth team to win…"

"Goth team?" Andre asked.

"Yeah, Jade likes the Ravens because they're from Baltimore and are named for the old Poe poem."

"Heh-heh, Poe poem," Cat giggled.

"That's not all," Jade interjected. "The 49ers had the audacity to beat Green Bay in the playoffs…"

"Well, I don't have to root for your team, Jade," Tori said snidely.

"Yeah, you do. It's in the manual."

"What manual?"

"The girlfriend manual!" Jade replied.

"There's no such thing!" Tori exclaimed.

"Well, there should be," Jade said, dryly.

The game started after Alicia Keys sang the National Anthem. Jade couldn't resist, "See, Vega? That's now it's supposed to be sung - with no dog body-sledding…"

Tori hit her girlfriend with a cushion. Having to reach over Jade's brother (who settled between the two girls when Cat sat on a chair) lessened the blow somewhat. The others laughed as they found spaces on the couches or pulled chairs from the table and elsewhere to the living room. The mothers settled onto a couple of cushions on the raised portion of the floor while they shared part of a bottle of wine.

By the end of the first quarter, David came in with a platter of barbecued meat. "Burgers, brats and dogs! Get 'em while they're hot!"

The hungry teens cleaned the platter leaving the mothers to go out to the patio for their share.

The first half was practically all Baltimore. The 49ers only scored a single field goal and were down 14 to 3 at the half.

"How did these clowns beat the Packers?" Jade lamented.

While the CBS team did a general recap of the first half, the gang at the Vega party did their own breakdown of the famed Super Bowl commercials. The general consensus was that they weren't as good as previous years.

"I liked the one with the animals!" Cat stated needlessly. She was practically in tears during the Budweiser commercial that featured the Clydesdales.

Jade got up and took Cat's hand, leading her to the kitchen and the small color TV on the counter. Jade sat Cat down on one of the bar stools to watch the "Puppy Bowl" on Animal Planet. The red head watched, clapped and laughed her loud Cat laugh as the puppies frolicked in a small faux stadium.

Jade's brother went into the kitchen, pretending to be looking for something.

"Vega, I think I'll have to plant her in our room for Puppy Bowl. That laugh is interfering with my game…"

"Ooo, shush Jade. Beyonce is starting her show!" Tori declared.

Jade narrowed her eyes at her girlfriend, her mouth was slightly puckered but then she sat next to Tori and watched the entertainment, as enthralled by the singer as their fellow students. Cat even temporarily abandoned the puppies to watch Beyonce. Everybody sat up when the rest of Destiny's Child showed up to sing with Beyonce.

"God, they're hot," Andre moaned, getting a poke from his date.

"Yeah, they are," Jade agreed, earning an elbow in the ribs from Tori.

The second half started quickly with San Francisco kicking off to the Ravens. Jacoby Jones, deep in the end zone, caught it and ran the length of the field to score a touchdown. He set a Super Bowl record with a 109 yard return.

Jade was beside herself, dancing around behind the couch and ruffling Andre's dreads then Robbie's mop. "Woo-hoo! San Francisco? Nevermore!"

"Jade, you know he broke Desmond Howard's old Super Bowl record. Remember, when the Packers won Super Bowl XXXI and Howard had that 99-yard return?" Beck asked.

"Damn it!" Jade replied. "Well, Reggie White still holds the record for the most sacks when he got three in that game."

"Actually Jade, he shares that record with Dockett who got three in Super Bowl XLIII."

"Damn it!"

"And White lost a shot at a TV gig with CBS when he said homosexuality is a sin," Beck added, one more teasing dig.

"Damn it!"

At that moment, just after Kaepernick, the 49ers quarterback got sacked, the lights in the Super Dome went out.

Tori teased at her girlfriend, "Now you did it Jade!"

"What? How…?"

Tori snickered and said, "You damned the Super Bowl!"

"I did not! It was a coincidence! Right?"

Everyone muttered. "I don't know…" "Too much negativity…" "Jade's got spooky power…"

"Damn it! Shut up! Stop it!"

Tori had to add one last, "WooOOOoooOOO…"

"Hah-hah-hah!" came from the kitchen. "It's the kitten half time show!" Cat yelled then laughed again, louder than before.

Jade walked over, turned the TV off and pointed upstairs.

"Mean," Cat muttered.

"WHAT?!"

"Nothing!" the redhead screamed as she ran up the stairs.

The littlest West followed Cat. Tori smiled at that and said to Jade, "I think someone has a crush on Cat…"

"Well, duh! It's kinda obvious Robbie's got a thing for her."

"Not Robbie. Your brother."

"Oh. Oh? OH!" Jade's face reflected understanding, confusion then wariness in equal stages. "That's not…"

"Oh, c'mon Jade. I think it's cute."

"Well, she better not MILF him or anything. If she hurts him…"

"God Jade, this is Cat!"

"Yeah, I guess you're right."

"Quiet you two, they're talking about the lights," Andre said, shushing the pair.

"Did he just shush us?" Jade asked. "Did you just shush us?!"

"Yeah, I did. And now I missed what the guy said about the lights."

"He said the lights should be cycled up in about twenty minutes," Beck said.

After over a half-hour, third quarter play resumed and the 49ers dominated the rest of the quarter but still didn't take the lead.

The fourth quarter was more of the same. Neither team scored a touchdown and Baltimore ran down the game clock near the end of the game. They called a time out with 12 seconds left then their punter, Sam Koch, fielded the ball snap in the end zone, scoring a safety.

But, even with the safety, the Ravens left San Francisco without enough time to get close enough for a game-tying field goal. The Ravens won championship with a score of 34 to 31.

Jade pointed at the image on the TV of Jim Harbaugh walking across the field to congratulate his brother and yelled, "Hah!"

Rex yelled, "Woohoo! I won the pool! Yeah, baby, that's right…"

"What pool?" Andre asked.

"The football pool with those Northridge losers!"

"How much?" Beck asked.

"I had the 4 and 1 square on the pool and the final pays $500!" The puppet turned towards Robbie, "C'mon feet, let's go collect!"

"But Rex, I wanna stay and…"

"I said, let's go!"

Robbie got up, waved meekly to his friends and said, "Um…see you guys tomorrow…"

Rex tossed out, "Later chumps!"

As the front door closed, Holly said, "That boy needs help."

"You have no idea…" "Yeah, professional help." "He should really see someone."

"It is a little creepy." The four remaining friends all spoke at the same time.

From upstairs came a loud laugh then some banging and more laughter.

"What the…" Jade charged upstairs, followed closely by Tori.

In Tori's room, they found the two 'children' in a tickle fight. They were thrashing around on the floor as they both giggled loudly.

"Hey!" Jade yelled.

The two looked up, panting and red-faced. Cat giggled and said, "Oh hi Jade!"

"Cat, what's going on?"

"We got into an argument about who the teams were for the Puppy Bowl and we just started poking each other and…"

"Leaving children unattended is never a good idea," Jade muttered as Tori pulled her back to the post-game show downstairs.

The Vince Lombardi Trophy was presented and then various members of the Ravens staff and team spoke briefly. Most of the attention seemed to be on Ray Lewis who played his entire seventeen year career with Baltimore and had announced his retirement – stating his last game was the last Ravens game of the season. At the time, no one expected that to be the Super Bowl. Or the championship.

The Vega party went on for another hour or so. Andre was the first to leave, "Gotta drop my honey at home then go see what crazy chiz Grandma has come up with."

Beck called upstairs and, soon, Cat came down with her junior paramour close behind.

"Hey! The puppies won! Hah-hah-hah!"

"Speaking of puppies," Tori whispered to Jade, indicating Jade's brother who only had eyes for Cat.

"C'mon, Cat. Time to get you home," Beck said as he led the faux redhead out. "Bye guys! Thanks for the great party!"

The Wests got ready to leave as well, mother kissing daughter goodbye and the littlest partier scrambling around with hugs and kisses for everyone.

After their friends had left, Tori started to help clean up the living room. Jade sat with a pensive look on her face. "Jade? A little help?"

Without even a glance, Jade said snidely, "Yes, very little."

"C'mon Jade…"

"Hush! I'm working on a way to make up some money next year. Our own pool…but we don't pay out everything – gotta save some for a handling charge… So…ten dollars a square with one hundred squares… No, why not fifteen dollars? That's fifteen hundred and… Ah hell, twenty-five a square and…" Jade paused and a sour look passed over her face, "I gotta talk to Robbie about the Northridge pool…"

Tori charged over, grabbed Jade's hand and pulled her up. "Help! Now!"

"Oooo, lil' Miss Toray's getting' all bossy…"

"I. Do. Not. Talk. Like. That!"