Chapter Three: Most Unique Meetup

When two souls are meant to connect, location, timing and circumstances suddenly become irrelevant. They suddenly become a magnet for one another and despite their efforts to fight it, the universe will somehow work its magic to manipulate everything in the end. 

Zoey unintentionally dozed off while on the road and she only stirred from her sleep when the taxi cab driver parked the car in front of the Dacre Club. "Miss, we're here. Get your ass out of my cab now. Come on. You ain't the only passenger that booked me."

Still quite disoriented, Zoey hopped outside the cab in a very slow motion, earning her a curse from the mad taxi driver. The driver instantaneously drove off right after Zoey closed the door, leaving Zoey coughing at the smoke and dust that attacked her nose. "Damn. What am I even doing here?"

Zoey remembers her bed and suddenly misses the softness of it against her skin. Because she was too sleepy, she had to pinch her cheeks to snap back to her senses. She fixed her thick framed eyeglasses before finally sauntering towards the club's entrance. 

She unbolted the two front doors only to be greeted by two large, bulky men. With lots of muscles, and obviously, with little brains. "This is a club, miss. Not a pajama party." The two bulky men laughed at each other because of that very lame joke. Zoey even pretended to laugh along with them.

"Very funny. Why haven't I heard of that before?" The two bulky men stopped laughing then looked at Zoey with suddenly no emotions at all. "I'm just here to meet with someone. Can I pass now?" The two bulky men shook their bald heads. "No? Alright, then. Wait, what's that? A woman on the dance floor was showing off her boobs! And, it's so big!"

Right there and then, the two bulky men immediately turned their heads around and sprinted towards the dance floor to check whether Zoey's claims were true or not. That was the exact time Zoey took the opportunity to pass through. She blended in with the wild crowd of drunken people. "Excuse me. Excuse me."

Everyone's tops and shirts were examined by Zoey's eyes like a hawk, if they were dark blue or next to that particular color. But unfortunately, Zoey cannot find one. Or perhaps, it was the fault of all the strobing, distressing, colorful lights all over the ceiling's club. She has poor vision and the strobing lights just made it worse.

Seconds later, Zoey felt nauseous and to her surprise, she vomited right in the middle of that jam-packed club. She remembered she still hasn't eaten anything since this morning that she arrived home after she failed getting her most desired job just because of a stupid suit and coffee, and a childish C.E.O. No one notices Zoey in the middle of the crowd, not until she wiped her mouth and. .

"Fuck! I gave up!" Zoey shouted at the top of her lungs all of a sudden, making the D.J. located at the stage to halt the blasting music playing in the air. Because of that, all the people gathering around Zoey, in different ages and whatnots, stepped back away from her like she was some sort of a mentally deranged woman.

"Is she nuts? Why would she shout like that?"

"Who the hell is she? Why does she look like a party gatecrasher?"

"Look at her skin." 

"Wait. Do you guys smell that? Did she just puke on the floor?"

Those were some of the loud whispers from every single drunk soul in that club hovering around Zoey. Just like that, Zoey's night turned more miserable than ever. Some girls even started poking her face and body with their fingers. Some threw their emptied soda cup over her head while booing at her direction. And, some started laughing and pushing her so hard, she had a hard time maintaining her balance.

"Stop. Please. Let me go." Zoey pleaded as she tried to walk past through the crowd but all the people around her surrounded her like some predators ready to kill their prey. "Hey. Ouch. Stop pushing me, please!"

"Or what, loser? Come on. Show us what you've got!" A young kid that only looks like eighteen years old teased Zoey, and after that, everyone laughed so hard again. Zoey's lips quivered. She wanted to talk back so badly and teach that kid a lesson he would never forget in his entire life.

But, she was too tired to engage herself in a fight again. She had a very long day and she was still moping about her failed job interview until now. With that thought, Zoey still tried to pass through the wild and drunken crowd of teenagers and maybe some middle aged people. "Hey, loser. You got some pretty big butt, huh?"

Zoey froze at that and felt a disgusting chill run down her spine. A bald man, with beard and lots of tattoos all over his muscle-bound body just freaking touched her buttocks. It was just for a brief second but Zoey felt like it was a fucking eternity. It was the first time someone groped her like that and it was a very nerve-wracking moment for her to say the least.

So, right there and then, Zoey finally found her courage to fight back. She had so many experiences of being bullied before from her middle school and the only thing she did back then was to drop out, run away and hide from everyone like a loser that she really was. But, that night, Zoey realized that that behavior of hers should be bound to change again and again. 

With tears cascading down her eyes, she searched for the man that molested her with her eyes full of overflowing rage. "No one touches me like that! Argh!" Zoey launched herself and attacked the bald man, punching his chest and stomach as hard as she could. But, all she earned was some amused laughter at the crowd because the bald man wasn't hurt by her hits at all. 

Zoey stopped moving and looked up at the bald man and realized that she looked like a dwarf compared to his height. And, she was freaking five feet and ten inches at that matter. The type of height that exceeded the average height of normal women in America! "What do you think you're doing, little pony?"

Zoey shrieked even before the bald man could get a hold of her. The bald man covered his ears and that little opportunity bought some time for Zoey to spot a waiter holding a tray with two buckets of cold bottles of beer on it. Without any hesitation or whatsoever, Zoey snatched the two bottles and smashed them both towards the bald man's head at the same time the blasting dance pop music played on the air again. "Argh!" 

~~~~

Dionysus almost closed his eyes when he saw the disturbing colorful lights adorning the exteriors of Dacre Club after he stepped outside his car. He was so close in regretting why the bloody hell he agreed on meeting with a random girl like this when in fact, he should have been sleeping in his bed by now, resting his exhausted mind and body. 

The blasting music inside the club reached Dionysus' ears. And, he was very much sure that once he stepped inside the premises, the noise would definitely be unbearable for someone like him who only likes solitude and peace wherever he goes. "Why did I even suggest this club in the first place?"

At the last minute, Dionysus decided not to meet up with the random girl his grandfather chatted with on the dating app. Besides, his grandfather wouldn't know about it, at least he still arrived at their meeting place. He opened his phone, called the girl directly from the dating app and to his absolute surprise, the girl answered immediately. "Hi? Where are you? I can't see someone with a dark blue shirt here! Are you somehow ditching me!" 

The background on the other line was the same blasting music on the Dacre Club that's why Dionysus instantaneously fathomed that the girl was already inside their agreed rendezvous. And, the girl's voice seemed quite familiar to him. He just can't pinpoint out who it was. "I'm outside. Can we just do this some other. ." Dionysus' question was left hanging in the air when the girl hung up on him. "Damn."

Dionysus paced back and forth in front of his car, completely agitated. And, thinking whether to go inside the club and just get this done and over with. Seconds later, at long last, he decided to meet the girl at the very least and tell her personally that he didn't want to pursue this anymore. He trudged towards the club's entrance with large steps only to be surprised when he saw someone going outside at the same time with him almost opening the doors. 

Dionysus' blue orbs widened in shock. Out of all places, he never really imagined that he would meet Zoey again on that very same day they first encountered each other in his office this morning, and also pulled each other's hair as well. He was just telling all about her to his grandfather an hour ago! What are the odds? "You? What are you doing here?" 

"Dark blue shirt." Even with the softest whisper like that from Zoey, Dionysus' ears still caught it right on time. He looked down at his shirt before he finally realized something hilarious. Yet, before he could even ask something about it to Zoey, a group of bulky men appeared behind Zoey. 

"Hey, little pony!" 

"Ohh, my god! Run!" Zoey shouted and in the blink of an eye, she took off. 

"What?" Dionysus only managed to ask after seeing Zoey leaving him all alone in front of all the bulky men. "Hey! Where are you going, witch?" Dionysus looked back at the group of bulky men who happened to suddenly have baseball bats on their hands out of nowhere. "I don't know her. I swear. I'm just. . passing by?" Dionysus said while he was taking two steps back to the direction where he parked his car. 

One of the bulky men roared like a beast. "Get him!" Dionysus' eyes widened. And before he knew it, he was running away from that club, but not towards his car, but towards the direction to where Zoey had disappeared.

"Motherfucker!" Dionysus cursed out so loud after he looked back behind him and saw that the group of bulky men were now chasing down his ass. He ran towards the empty and dark side walk and when he saw an alleyway, he turned left immediately. He just passed by a large trash bin when he heard something.

"Hey. Here! I'm here!" Dionysus turned his body, took some steps forward and saw Zoey hiding inside a large trash bin. Dionysus groaned and showed Zoey a 'you've-got-to-be-kidding-me' face. "Come on. Don't be such a neat freak. Now is not the time for that." Dionysus grunted once more before diving his whole body straight inside the trash bin, it created a loud noise.

Zoey immediately closed the cover as soon as they heard the heavy footsteps of the group of bulky men chasing down their asses.

"We've lost them. Damn it!" 

"They just have to be here somewhere. Come on, dudes. Let's check on the other side." 

"When you see them, beat the shit out of the man. And, leave the girl to me. I'll fuck her so hard she won't be able to walk tomorrow morning." The voices faded but Zoey and Dionysus still heard the last sentence. Zoey's body trembled in fear because of that. While Dionysus, despite being enraged at their situation, tried his hardest not to laugh at that. But, he failed, miserably.

"Woah. What the hell? He sure doesn't have a taste in women." 

"What did you say?" Zoey whispered back, clearly not believing what she just heard. What Dionysus said hurt her more than what the man chasing her ass threatened a while ago. 

"Nothing. Be quiet. I can't endure inhaling these filthy garbages' bad odor all at once." Yet, Zoey suddenly opened the trash bin's cover and jumped outside. Then, she walked away leaving Dionysus by himself again.

"Wait. Where are you going?" 

"None of your fucking business, bastard."

Dionysus also jumped out from the trash bin and tapped his shirt and pants to somehow get rid of the trash and bad odor that clung on him. After that, he immediately followed Zoey while checking everywhere to see if they had really lost the group of bulky men. "Hey, wait. Aren't you going to say sorry? You have involved me in that mess!"

Zoey stopped walking. She looked back at Dionysus with tear-stricken eyes. "So, is it my fault again? One of those bastards groped my ass! I got back at him, that's why he was running after me. But, do I really have to get all the blame here?" Dionysus was left speechless while Zoey wiped her tears. "Damn my sister. I shouldn't really agree on this meetup! Argh!" 

Zoey was about to walk away again when Dionysus sprinted towards her side and caught her right arm. "Wait. Hold your horses. You whispered something a while ago, back at the club's entrance. Are you somehow 'millieleven'?" Zoey rudely dropped Dionysus' hand away from her.

"No. I don't know what you're talking about." Then, she proceeded on walking away again but Dionysus followed her and caught her arm once more.

"Stay still. I'm gonna call someone." Dionysus fetched for his phone and dialed the random girl he was supposed to meet up from the dating app. Seconds later, something inside Zoey's denim jacket rang. "Why don't you get that? Someone's calling you."

Zoey rolled her eyes, fetched for her phone and canceled Dionysus' call from the dating app. "Fine. I am her. Happy now?" Zoey walked away again, obviously trying to spot a passing cab or something just to finally get away from Dionysus. 

"Where did you even get that?" Dionysus still followed Zoey, even though he himself had no idea why the bloody hell he was still doing that. He had confirmed his suspicions and clearly, both he and Zoey had already met each other. His part of his deal with the old Chevalier was already done. And, he can now go back to the club's parking lot, and to his car, just to get away from there. But, he still didn't. 

"Get what?"

"Your username." Zoey sighed and even though she doesn't really like answering that anymore, her own mouth has its life on its own. 

"It was my sister. She liked that famous show from N*****x. Stranger Things? Does it ring a bell? No?" Dionysus made a meh face, silently telling Zoey that he doesn't know the show at all that made Zoey rolling her eyes upwards. "How about you? You like Sherlock Holmes, huh? The book, the movie or the series?"

Dionysus grimaced. "What? No way. It was my grandfather who was an avid fan of that book ever since time immemorial. I only like reading non-fiction books." 

Zoey cleared her aching throat after a long stretch of silence had scattered in the air. "Honestly, I was just tricked by my sister into meeting you here." 

"Really? I was blackmailed by my grandfather as well. What a disaster." Zoey scoffed, walking away again while Dionysus had no choice but to follow her again, for the nth time around.

"Do you honestly believe I would fall for that lie? I mean, come on. A man with a pretty face like yours?" Dionysus blinked after Zoey gestures his whole face. Zoey cleared her throat before she continued talking even though there was a sudden awkward tension that had arisen between the two of them out of the blue. "I'm sure you were using that dating app to hook up with girls, meet with them on that kind of bar, then invite them to have a steamy and mind-boggling sex with you at some secluded, high-priced, five star hotel." 

"Did you just judge me, Miss Lavigne? I repeat, you don't know me, alright?"

"Yeah. Yeah, whatever. You know what? I wouldn't want to date someone like you even if you will just be the remaining man in the whole wide world in the near future." Dionysus laughed sarcastically at that. 

"Woah. Same here, witch. Don't talk as if I will die just to date you as well." Zoey stopped walking and faced the infamous Chevalier again.

"I got it, alright? I got it. Trust me, I know. I'm ugly as fuck. I am always reminded by that harsh reality every single second of my waking life." Zoey embraced herself when she felt the cold chills brought by the wind on that dark, silent night. Her denim jacket suddenly wasn't enough to keep her warm. 

A long stretch of silence transpired until Dionysus spoke again. "I didn't say that. And, why do you sound so upset? Why am I suddenly the bad guy here?"

"I don't know, alright? I have a very long day, thanks to you not allowing me to have my fair chance of landing the job as your executive secretary. You know what?" Zoey wiped the painful tear that managed to escape her eyes. "Days and nights for three months, I have studied everything about your chains of companies. I was fascinated by your dedication in building your own empire away from your family's clutches. And, you succeeded in doing that in just the span of two years. I thought back then, I really wanted to work for you. I really wanted to be a part of the empire you built with your own blood and sweat. I was so proud of what you have done even though I don't really know you back then and until now. But, yeah. Whatever. I got rejected. That's life, perhaps? Or, because I was really cursed or something?" 

For the first time ever, Dionysus Zephyr Chevalier felt like something had touched his heart. He was speechless once more. Those words that Zoey said, those were the words he had desired to hear from his own parents long ago. But, they abandoned him when he decided to go on his own path. It was only his grandfather who stayed with him throughout the years. That's why he loved the old Chevalier so much, more than his own life.

Zoey can't keep glancing at Dionysus' eyes because she suddenly felt uncomfortable with the sudden change of emotions in the infamous Chevalier's eyes. Dionysus' blue orbs suddenly became so intense, Zoey almost thought that he was moved by her sudden outburst of riled up emotions.

"I. . gotta go. I'm not sorry for wasting your time because mine was wasted as well. So, yeah. We're even." Finally, a taxi cab magically appeared right at the time Zoey prayed so hard to really get away from there, at last. The taxi cab stopped in front of Zoey. Dionysus inhaled a deep breath when he suddenly had this urge to stop Zoey from going away again but Zoey had already hopped inside the cab. 

As the taxi cab drove off, Dionysus felt someone lurking behind his back and he knew right there and then on who the bloody hell it was. "Did you capture all of them, Sebastian?" Sebastian stepped out from the shadows and stood beside Dionysus while grinning like a devil.

"Absolutely, boss. Before you could even order us around. Our men had already transported them somewhere. So, shall we? Show them that they have messed up with the wrong guy."