Double Disaster

The Date was not going well.

The movie could have been better. The action flick they'd all agreed to see had been sold out for the next three shows. There wasn't anything else they wanted to see, so Blake suggested Tori pick. Unfortunately, the one she chose was so boring Dustin fell asleep (incidentally on Shane, who emerged from the theater with a bit more color to his cheeks). Blake, in yet another effort to impress Tori, bought a large bucket of popcorn and offered to share with her. Unfortunately, while trying to dodge the sudden punch from a loudly snoring Dustin, he dumped the popcorn all over her. By the time they left, Tori was still picking popcorn from her hair, Blake wouldn't stop apologizing, Dustin was just waking up, and Shane was beginning to revise his opinion on dating again.

They made it to Trés Exquisé after spending several minutes trying to convince Tori's van to start, and spent another ten finding a parking place. When they got inside, the host swore up and down he didn't have a reservation for Bradley. Tori seemed ready to scream, and Blake was beginning to look a bit desperate as he argued with the man. Shane was wondering when the night would ever end.

Dustin looked at them all, sighed, and stepped forward. He straightened up, schooled his expression to vague annoyance, and spoke up in a quiet, clear voice that lacked any trace of his usual careless tone. "I'd like to speak to the manager."

The host seemed a bit wary, but called for a regal, snobbish looking woman. The second she set eyes on Dustin she was spouting apologies and showing them to a table. "I'm so sorry for the mix-up, Mr. Brooks." she practically crooned as Blake held out a seat for Tori. "This will never happen again, I promise you."

Dustin merely nodded, still keeping his calm, detached air. "I'd appreciate that." he answered coolly.

She gestured for a waiter, who hurried over with menus. "I hope your meal makes up for our mistake." she continued.

He nodded again, picking up his menu and skimming through it. She took the hint and made herself scarce, taking their waiter with her.

He was well aware of the others' stares. "What?" he asked, lowering his menu to blink at them cluelessly.

"Dude...where did you learn to do that?" Blake wanted to know. "It's like you were a different person."

He looked back down at the menu, embarrassed. "Part of growing up with my mom and grandmother. They were like, totally strict about 'proper manners' and stuff. I don't like to do it a whole lot, but it sorta comes in handy sometimes."

Tori reached over to pat his hand. "Thanks, Dustin." she said sincerely.

He shrugged, fighting the urge to sink down further into his seat. "S'no big deal." he muttered.

There was a tiny strangled noise, and they all looked over in Blake's direction. "You okay?" Tori asked, looking concerned.

Blake was staring in horror at the menu. "I can't afford this." His voice was barely a whisper.

Shane opened his own and choked. "They charge this much for *food*?" he demanded incredulously.

"Keep your voice down!" Tori hissed. Then she looked at the menu herself. Her eyes widened with a gasp. "$6.95 for an *appetizer*?"

"I got it."

Everyone's gaze switched to Dustin, who was still looking at his own menu. "What?" Tori asked.

"I got it." he repeated. "I can get the bill. Don't worry about it."

"Thanks, man." There was no mistaking the relief in Blake's voice.

Shane still looked hesitant. "You sure?"

He nodded. "No worries, dudes. Just don't order escargot."

"Why?" Blake asked.

"Snails." He leaned over and pointed to an item on Tori's menu. "That one. You don't want that. Or anguille. That's eels."

She raised an eyebrow. "People eat this stuff?"

He grinned. "It's a delicacy. Like caviar. Snobby people like to eat weird stuff."

"So what do you order?" Shane teased.

He snorted. "Steak, dude. What else?"

They got a round of muffled giggles.

Their waiter reappeared out of nowhere over Shane's shoulder, narrowly missing meeting an elbow from the startled boy. He didn't seem to notice as he popped the cork off the bottle in his hand and quickly filled one of the glasses. He moved to fill a glass for each of them, pausing to show Dustin the bottle before setting it down. "I hope this is to your liking, sir. Our finest red wine."

Dustin's eyes widened. "But we didn't order any-"

"Complements of the manager, sir."

"But we-"

"Enjoy." He bustled off again.

"Wine?" Tori looked at it skeptically. "He brought us wine? We're not old enough to drink this."

This time Dustin actually did sink into his seat, putting a hand to his head. "My mom always let me have some when we came here before." he mumbled. "They probably figure we're old enough or are too scared to ask."

Blake sniffed his glass. "Doesn't smell nasty or anything." he admitted, then took a swig before anyone could stop him. He blinked for a moment after swallowing.

"How is it?" Shane asked, looking curious.

"Not bad." He took another drink, quickly followed by Shane.

"Guys, I don't think this is such a good-"

Dustin's protest was cut off by Tori taking a cautious sip, only to make a face. "I think I'll stick with water." she declared, setting the glass well away from herself.

"Suit yourself, Tor." Shane informed her, taking another drink.

"Dudes, we're not really supposed to-" Dustin tried again.

"It's just a little wine, Dustin." Blake pointed out. "Isn't it supposed to just loosen you up?" He followed his statement with a long gulp.

Dustin closed his eyes. "I knew the bad vibes thing was gonna come back to haunt me." he muttered. He grabbed his own glass, taking a small sip. "If you're gonna do that, you should drink some water in between glasses." he said at last. "It'll help with the hangover."

"We're ninjas, man." Shane pointed out, keeping his voice low. "I think we can handle a little hangover. Besides, how bad can we get drunk, anyway?"