A quick glance over in the corner informed her that the screaming was coming from a bachelorette party in the process of consuming enough mojitos to float the Seventh Fleet.  She rolled her eyes and turned back to continue on her path to the exit...<br/><br/>...only to have her arm snatched and her body whirled around until she was face to face with...<br/><br/>"Golly gee willikers, Mr. Peabody," she said softly, blinking slowly at the guy before her.  "Set the Wayback Machine for 2007..."<br/><br/>Preston Fucking Scott.  Of all the insecure, inferiority-complected jackasses to run into tonight of all goddamn nights.  She ran an eye over him, noting how much he'd changed in just a year and a bit.  No more dark clothing, no more stealing his girlfriend's kohl pencil to mark up his face with a physical manifestation of the deep wounds within his tragic soul, or whatever the fuck excuse he'd used to give her when her hundred-dollar eyeliner turned up in the bathroom trash ground down to a mere stub.<br/><br/>And he still couldn't come up with anything witty to say.<br/><br/>"It's a free goddamn country, Blackrose," she said, and she knew the shot was a low one, but there was something about him that made her be completely incapable of helping herself.  "I don't see your name blazing in blacklight over the door, and I certainly don't see any of your little batling friends staking out goth territory for you."  She attempted to wrench her elbow out of his grasp.  "You wanna let me go before someone sees this." It wasn't a question.<br/><br/>Like she'd just summoned a genie, like freaking magic, like she'd just parted the Red Raver Sea, Jimmy appeared out of the crowd, a hulking man with a shaved head, beard and too many muscles rippling out of his black staff shirt.  "This guy bothering you, T?" he asked, ominiously eyeing Preston up and down.<br/><br/>Tanya didn't break eye contact with Preston when she spoke to the bouncer. "Nah, Jimmy.  It's alright.  Just an old boyfriend I haven't seen in awhile.  Isn't that right,<em>honey</em>?"  And if the last word was hissed through her teeth, well... that was certainly understandable, wasn't it?