Elsewhere What happens in Vegas

[Billy Broder]

Some things are never easy.

They just... don't work out.

But human nature says one of a few things. For William Broder it was that he was overthinking, worrying for nothing, it would be fine.

A childish hope. Something to cling to that was thin as spider silk and just waiting to snap. He'd put it off all trip. The prep, the drive down, seeing his Mom, hanging with Juniper. He'd put it off because He'd known. He made a wish... with a genie back in Easthaven. He had his father's location magically burned into his brain.

A spot that hadn't moved.

Some things are never easy.

Billy asked June if she wanted to hang, drive out to the desert. He had been fighting back and forth on going alone or not. Rowling told him it would be best on his own but... he had been thinking on it a lot. In the end he had decided it wouldn't be good to do this alone. He wasn't sure what exactly he had expected but- Jeez. He hoped Juniper couldn't read his face or anything. He felt like he was trying to tell her she had cancer or something. Like, worst news kind of news, and all he was asking is if she wanted to ride out with him to the middle of no where. He made sure to load a few things into the car, snacks, drinks, a shovel, a pee pad for Scoob in case he had an accident in the back seat. Everything they would need- and a shovel. Whatever.

Billy's fingers tightened on the steering wheel, his knuckles almost white as he just drove. God he hated this.

[Juniper Gray]

For the time they were in Vegas, Juniper had been none the wiser to Billy's troubles. Instead, she was a whirlwind of activity. She needed to try everything from visiting the Strip, to going to shows, to exploring Billy's hometown and spending time with his mom. She spent far too much money. She struggled through Mrs. Broder's dinners with a smile and a smug look for her friend. She even tried out a service at the synagogue. That was a very new experience and she didn't mind it much at all, despite not understanding very much.

On one evening, she insisted on dinner at the Heart Attack Grill, and once they managed to get inside, was breathlessly wowed by the other guests' unrelenting corpulence. Then, she went ahead and tried her shifter's metabolism against the menu and even she walked away feeling like her heart was going to stop at any moment. She still finished her disgustingly massive meal, which left the nurse-slash-waitress looking at her with wide eyes.

While out on the Strip, she was almost taken in by the gifters that lined the Strip, their charisma almost charming her out of a few hundred bucks when they wanted photos. One guy who happened to be dressed convincingly like Jack Sparrow hounded her so much that she turned and snarled at him to get away, putting enough magic in her words to send him scurrying. It was a great time, all things considered.

Between that and all of the shows, she was ready for a day in. Maybe zoning out on the couch and nursing the near-sunburn she'd gotten while wandering around the day before. She was considering snooping around Billy's mom's house for a board game or a puzzle when her wizardly friend asked her to come with him. She hadn't been out to the desert yet, having only seen it while in the car, so she readily said yes, although that was when she caught something strange in the air.

While they sat in the car in the quiet, she tried to decide if she was feeling nervous or not. She could hear the tight, tense way Billy's heart beat, and the predator in her couldn't miss the sour smell of dread. It crossed her mind that he was up to some magical mischief, but it also felt a little like mob-style execution. Juniper wasn't particularly worried for herself, considering, but after about thirty minutes of quiet driving, she broke the quiet. “So... Where're we heading?”

[Billy Broder]

Billy tightened his grip on the wheel at the question. How much to say? To reveal? Ah hell. Whatever. He took a slow breath then simply started laying out information. He sounded detatched, doing his best mental gymnastics to not let one fact connect to the next emotionally for himself.

“Did you know there is a djinn in Easthaven? Nice woman. She can grant wishes- after a fashion. I went and saw her.” He laid these out bit by bit.

Yet even here the line of logic tethered and he swallowed feeling his mouth run dry.

“I wished to know exactly where my Dad was.” he said quietly.

“We are heading there now.... another fifteen to twenty minutes I think.” Billy said as he pointed confidently forward. There wasn't much in the direction he pointed but he did it with such assuring that it was hard to assume anything but that it was the exact direction where his father must have been.

[Juniper Gray]

“Your dad...” June repeated, gnawing on her words just like she chewed over this new information and Billy's demeanor.

She didn't know much about the elusive Mr. Broder except that her friend tended to get distant when he was mentioned. She knew the man had also taught Billy his particular brand of wizardry. The information about the djinn was interesting but incidental. If they were going to see Billy's father... She glanced out the window, noting the vast expanse of nothing in the desert. Fifteen or twenty minutes wasn't going to get them anywhere. Where was he staying out here?

A little seed of dread settled heavily in the pit of her stomach. “Billy...?” She ventured, her voice not suspicious but cautious as she cut her gaze back to him.

[Billy Broder]

Billy kept wriggling his hands against the wheel of the car, as if trying to twist water from it like a wet rag. His mouth was going dry but he fell back on the little things he had been telling himself this whole trip.

“Every summer we would take a road trip. He had this monster of an RV that was always just on the edge of breaking down.” He said, a hallow smile coming to his lips. “First tire I changed was on that thing. Back left wheel, where all the weight was. Jack back then was old, heard it creaking and barely got the new tire on before it broke.” He said. It seemed to calm him down a bit talking about the memory. “It um... He could be out this way in the RV.” He said more to himself.

“I only have two points. Me and him. I can't figure out exactly where he is without a third point, so I just gotta drive toward him.” he said just talking out loud now. Rowling ruffled himself up a bit in the back seat then settled his wings down watching the two humans in the front seats. He knew full well that William could send him up with a spell and have his third point to triangulate position, or even just scout the area while he and the tiger girl had enjoyed the city. The wizard simply hadn't.

“It w- was hard to tell at first when we were far away. But I don't think he has moved since we got to Vegas.” Billy said quietly.

[Juniper Gray]

Juniper had a lot of questions, and even more when Billy launched into reliving a memory. She might've enjoyed the retelling if it weren't such an obvious ploy to distract himself. So, she was quiet, waiting. Waiting for him to get to the point. Waiting for him to get to the bad news.

Not that she knew what the bad news might be, but she could guess. Context clues. She grimaced when he said that his father hadn't moved since they arrived in Vegas, a plain giveaway of her thoughts.

Still, she minded the elephant in the metaphorical room. “Yeah, maybe he's... I dunno. Cooking out in his RV or something. Was he into that kinda stuff?” Juniper grinned, but it was a weak thing, even as she tried to make some sad reference to Breaking Bad. Still, the guy could just be hanging out in the desert for a bit of fresh air, she supposed.