Spy Racers: World Tour

Chapter 6: What's up with Toretto? Pt. 2

POV Tony

A few hours and lots of elevator rides later, the crew made their way back to their respective rooms. They'd walked around the hotel for what felt like forever and had still only explored a little over half of it. Tony had never been in a place with so many different rooms and corridors and he was honestly surprised they'd only gotten lost one time.

Now it was almost 6:00pm, and they had about an hour to get ready for the party. Tony wasn't exactly nervous, but he had no idea what to expect. He'd never even gone to a highschool dance before, so a formal dinner party with high-profile adults was definitely way out of his league. At least he'd have the team with him, though.

After they said goodbye to the girls, Tony followed Cisco and Frostee into their suite, where they found three tuxedos laid out on the sofa.

"Man, I hope this is a poly-blend," Cisco said, holding up one of the jackets. "No one's gonna want to talk to me if I'm sweating through my suit."

"Gross, bro," Tony replied, holding up his own suit. "We should get changed. Miss Nowhere will kill us if we're late."

The three of them went to their respective bedrooms to get ready. After taking a quick shower, Tony put on his tuxedo, which somehow fit perfectly. He didn't want to know how Miss Nowhere had gotten their measurements. Then, he stood in front of the bathroom mirror and tried to make his hair sit in a way that looked decent. The new color still kind of freaked him out whenever he saw his reflection. It really does look professional, he thought, recalling what Layla had said before. Layla. Tony splashed some water on his face, trying not to think about her smile and the way his heart rate had been at an all time high the entire time she was dying his hair. He'd tried to tell himself it was just because he was nervous about changing his look, but who was he kidding? Layla Gray had his heart and there was nothing he could do about it.

Tony had thought about telling her multiple times, but there were so many things that could go wrong. If she didn't feel the same way, his confession would probably just throw off their dynamic. And even if Layla liked him back, which Tony found unlikely, the two of them getting together might make things weird with the rest of the team. He wasn't sure he wanted to take a chance like that when it came to his family.

So, for now, his heart would just have to shut up and take the back seat. Although, at the moment, Tony wasn't sure he could trust his head either. Ever since their last mission, when Sudarakov had hooked him up to an AI and stolen his ability to drive, Tony had continued having flashbacks. He thought he'd been done with them after he got over the one where he couldn't save Dom, but now he was seeing himself lose other people he cared about.

It had happened when he was racing Layla for their current mission. Things were going great- they were neck and neck like usual- when suddenly Tony was back in virtual reality, chasing down an enemy car that had captured not Dom, but Layla. And, like before, he missed the turn and his virtual car went flying off the road as the enemy got away. Even though he knew it wasn't real, it felt real, and he froze up. Thankfully, Layla's voice over the comms had snapped him out of it right before the straightaway, or Tony would've gone barreling into a cement wall- in real life. After they'd both crossed the finish line, Layla had known right away that something was up. Tony was still too shaken up and embarrassed to tell her the real reason he'd choked, so he'd made up some lame excuse. He knew she didn't buy it, but he also knew she wasn't one to pry. Would he tell her eventually? Yeah, probably. But it was just one more thing that would have to wait until the right time.

Tony sighed, running a hand through his hair one last time before slipping his shoes on and heading back out to the kitchen. Frostee and Cisco joined him a few minutes later, Cisco fumbling with the sleeves of his jacket.

"You realize that's not gonna make them any looser, right?" Frostee pointed out.

Cisco sighed and his shoulders slumped.

"Ugh. This party better not last long."

"You'll be fine, man," Tony reassured him. "Come on, let's go meet up with Layla and Echo."

The three of them walked across the hall and knocked on the girls' door. Layla answered it and smiled when she saw them.

"Echo, the guys are here!" She called over her shoulder before turning back to them and taking in their new outfits. "Dang, y'all clean up nice."

Layla's blue eyes lingered on Tony for just a moment too long, and suddenly he forgot how to speak. He'd never seen her wear anything except jeans and her signature leather jacket, and now she donned a floor-length, silky blue dress with a slit just above the knee. And, as if that wasn't intimidating enough, Layla was now the same height as him thanks to a pair of silver high heels. So much for not thinking about her tonight, Tony thought, trying to recover long enough to return her smile.

"You're not too bad yourself, outlaw," Frostee replied as Layla stepped out of the doorway to let them inside.

"You uh...you look really nice, Layla." It was all Tony could manage as he walked past her, and his nervousness didn't go unnoticed.

"What's the matter, Toretto? Never seen a girl in a dress before?" Layla smirked. Never seen one who looks as good as you, Tony wanted to say, but of course he couldn't.

"Thanks, though. You look good too," Layla added with a smile, giving him a playful punch to the arm. With the amount of times she did that to him, Tony was surprised he didn't have a permanent bruise.

Echo came into view a moment later, wearing a dress similar to Layla's, except it was purple and she'd paired it with a leather blazer.

"Sup guys," Echo said. "I like the fits. Ready to go?"

The five of them took the elevator down to the second floor and then made their way down the grand staircase. Miss Nowhere was waiting for them at the bottom. She'd swapped out her lilac power-suit for a silvery-blue one covered in sequins. Under the bright lights of the chandeliers, Tony thought she kind of looked like a disco ball. He was careful not to voice that thought, however, as it probably would've earned him two weeks without his car once they got back from this mission.

"There you are." Miss Nowhere looked them up and down, assessing their new attire. "Hm. I wasn't sure you all could pull off a sophisticated look, but ya know, not too shabby."

"Glad you have so much faith in us," Tony muttered.

"Now remember," Miss Nowhere said, lowering her voice as she began leading them to the banquet room. "This is your chance to get on the inside before any of the actual racing starts. It'll be beneficial to have friends in high places for many reasons."