"Where did Zoe get to with our shots, aren’t you worried about other guys trying something?"

Dave shook his head, "I told you it isn’t like that."

Zoe’s eccentricities were hard to explain.

Ralph laughed and said "Now I feel like an ass for telling Vanessa you’re single. I might have hinted that you were interested in her," Ralph smiled sheepishly.

"Like I just said, it’s not like that, me and Zoe are just friends. Seriously."

"Well then, let’s get you fixed up with the always-fine Vanessa, dude."

Dave shook his head "Ralphie, I appreciate you trying to hook me up, but my head’s just not in the game right now. Or actually it IS in the game if you know what I mean. Shit’s happened and is still happening in Conquest, we gotta sit down and talk sometime soon, bro, I’ve got a lot to tell you."

"You name the time and place brother, you know I’ll be there. And I always have your back, anything going on you can count on me to help any way I can. But, c’mon, let’s go find Vaness and just say hello at least."

Dave sighed, "Okay, man. Just don’t push too hard okay."

"ME?! Push too hard? That’s hurtful bro,," Ralph replied as he looked around searching for Vanessa.

"There she is," Ralph said, pointing at a beautiful long-legged brunette sitting at the bar with a martini in her hand. Her short purple dress had almost no back, exposing a large expanse of her smooth ivory skin.

"Let’s go say hello," said Ralph.

They walked over to the bar.

"Two beers Jason."

"You got it, Ralphie," the bartender popped two bottles and put them on the bar.

Ralph moved over and stood much too close to Vanessa, breathing heavily on her neck.

"Hey, what’s a beautiful babe like you doing in a place like this?" Ralph said in his best drunk frat bro-dude imitation.

His brows waggled up and down rapidly as the woman turned, mouth open to deliver a fuck-off, annoyed at the intrusive, clumsy come-on. Then she saw it was Ralphie, her eyes flicked over to Dave who was shaking his head and grinning.

She started laughing and slapped Ralphie on the shoulder.

"Ralphie you dork! Hi David, you look great, nice suit."

"Hey Vanessa, it’s good to see you."

"Bro, it’s ALWAYS good to see Vanessa. I mean, look at her!"

Vanessa smacked his arm again, "Behave Ralphie!"

Dave relaxed, Ralphie was a good wing-bro.

"What are you doing these days."

"I do some modeling. Actually, I just got back from Europe, it’s good to be back home. Or at least close to home. "

"Wow, you’re a model, that’s great!" Dave replied.

Ralph interrupted, "I see someone I need to meet. Maybe she’ll make the cut and become the future ex-Mrs. Ralphie, see ya later bro, later Vanessa." He winked and moseyed over to chat up an attractive girl in a bright red, very low-cut dress.

Vaness watched him walk away with a bemused smile, "Ralphie’s still...different."

"Ha! Yeah, he does his own thing, and subtlety isn’t part of it. But he’s a true friend, loyal to the end."

"What about you, what have you been up to since graduation?"

"Not much," Dave said.

He was killing it, and not in a good way.

Belatedly he added, "I have my own business."

"Oh! Very good. Doing what?"

"It’s in the entertainment sector. It’s a recent thing, I can’t really say a lot about it. But I’m really happy despite some recent issues."

"That’s great Dave!"

Dave was searching for something else to chat about when they were interrupted.

"Dave, is that you?" a girl’s voice asked.

Dave turned, already knowing it was the last person he wanted to see. Anywhere. His ex, Anna. And of course Suit-Guy was there too, his arm around her possessively.

"Look at you, all cleaned up and wearing adult clothes. Did you use your rent money to get that Armani knock-off or did you steal it?" Suit-Guy popped off with a sneer.

"Oh, Honey! that was so not nice," Anna chuckled with her fiancée.

Dave stood and looked Suit-Guy up and down. The suit didn’t look so great now that Dave had some experience with real quality stuff. He really should name the twat something else.

’It doesn’t even fit right, heh, off the rack.’

Suit-Guy got in Dave’s face, sneering, "You stepping up to me? You think fancy clothes makes you someone. But you’re still just a nobody!"

Dave was about to go red on the asshat but Ralph suddenly appeared between them interrupting the douchebag.

"S’up dude? You looking for a fight? I’m standing right here if you are," Ralph said with an eager smile on his face.

Dave pulled Ralph’s arm but, the big lug wouldn’t move. Fighting was not okay, they weren’t kids anymore and there were cops everywhere. This gradeschool crap wasn’t worth going to jail over.

Especially not over Suit-Guy. No, not Suit-Guy, he was officially demoted to Douche-Guy now.

"You’re with the Devastators. Blaster, right? Stick to playing the ’muscle’ in-game. This is real life, I’ll break you, kid."

"And who the fuck are you?" Ralph was undeterred, but he wondered how this douche knew his Conquest identity.

Douche sneered at Ralphie, "I’m called Ruinsmith. I was just made Sub-guild leader in the Devastators."

"Oh look, it’s the charity case," a blonde woman snarked, looking at Dave with disgust as she joined the little confrontation.

"Look at you in your new fancy clothes, Zoe really primped you up. Is she here or did she already get tired of you?" the blonde looked around theatrically.

historical

Dave recognized her, it was Jenny, Zoe’s frenemy. He didn’t understand why she was here. She was not a classmate and he didn’t think she would ever ’lower’ herself to date someone from his school.

"Who’s the bottle-blonde Dave?" Vanessa interrupted.

Jenny looked at her, "My father owns this club, bitch." Then she turned back to Dave and her already unpleasant expression became positively gleeful with malice, "When I heard we were hosting a class reunion for some low-rent bridge-and-tunnel school I knew it would be pathetic, but I wasn’t expecting you. Where’s your little sugar-mama, Charity-Case?"

Douche-Guy and Anna guffawed loudly and contemptuously. Poor Ralphie didn’t know what to do, he didn’t hit girls, but this bitch was seriously asking for it; she was insulting his friends, his hometown, his school and his social status.

"I don’t know what you are talking about, Psycho-Girl. No one invited you to this conversation," Dave was seething. This ’Mean Girls’ wannabe really knew how to push his buttons.

Douche-Guy couldn’t resist, "Oh we want to hear what she’s saying."

Jenny ignored him, "C’mon, Charity-Boy, you’re two-timing Zoe already? Or maybe Zoe’s done with you and you really DID steal those clothes, which means I’ll have to call security and have them throw you out. Or arrest you," the girl taunted.

"This is a class reunion, what the hell is with you people? Acting like self-entitled little shits." In the modeling business Vanessa had gotten used to being around bitches and prima donnas, but that was a high stress high competition job, the endemic drug use and compulsory dieting didn’t help either.

Dave was a heartbeat away from losing his temper when someone walked up behind him and moved to stand beside him.

"Shut the fuck up and go sit down, Jenny."

Blonde Jenny stepped back and forced a smile onto her face to cover the icy wave of terror that suddenly washed through her.

Her reaction surprised Dave, hee turned to look at the woman beside him and almost fell over in shock.

’Oh fuck. What is SHE doing here?!’