mis-an-thrope

mis(ə)nˌTHrōp

noun

a person who dislikes humankind and avoids human society

synonyms: hater, cynic, recluse, hermit, grouch, grump, hikikomori

I woke Thursday morning with a sense of doom in my gut. It was Jess's last day at work. Of course, as her friend, I could understand her wanting to start her new job as quickly as possible. As a co-worker, I disapproved of the two-day notice. I indulged my melodramatic emotions by listening to all the best villain songs from musicals and Disney movies on the bus on the way to work.

By the time I reached It's Bean Great, I had really worked myself into a lather, particularly after No Good Deed from Wicked. I had determined to say something passive aggressive to Jess about her leaving, but when I pushed through and saw her standing there, a chocolate muffin in each hand, and a giant smile on her face... I couldn't hold a grudge.

"Hey freak." I snatched up one of the muffins and took a giant bite. "Happy last day."

She gave a high pitched squeak and danced on her toes. "Thank you! Thank you." She toasted me by clinking her muffin against mine, and we both chomped down. "Paul said it shouldn't be too hard to find a replacement for me, with the job market how it is. I'm sure you'll have someone soon."

"But they won't be you," I said dolefully, giving her a puppy dog face. Then I nudged her and moved into the kitchen, beginning prep work. "I'm just happy for you."

When nine o'clock crept around, there was no sign of a certain tall, handsome and volatile fellow appearing in the doorway. I wasn't really surprised, given how angry he'd been. Towards the end of the shift, I pulled Jess aside by the elbow. 

"I think I need to come in to work with you tonight."

Jess blinked and raised her brows. "I told you, I'm going to be perfectly safe."

"No, not because of that." I waved my hand. "I mean, it'll make me feel better if I see you safe behind the bar. But I need to talk to Liam. I don't have a way to get ahold of him, except the club."

"Because of the Isaac thing?"

"Yeah, I just - I want to know if he's helping me or not." I sighed and shoved my hand through my hair, feeling the short strands standing up in a frizzy mess. "Damn humidity."

"I get it. I don't see why you couldn't," Jess replied. "He'll probably be there. You might as well try."

"I just feel like I have to do something." 

"I get it," Jess repeated soothingly. She glanced at the clock. "Look, we get off in five minutes. You should call Devon, and Isaac's mom. It'll make you feel a little less restless. I'm going to try to take a nap, then go to Underworld at around five. My shift starts at seven."

"Okay. I can meet you there."

"Why don't we meet at that coffee place across the street and go together?" Jess countered. "I don't know if they'd let you in before the club opens."

"Good point." I nodded and began taking off my apron as I saw Greg from the next shift meandering down the hallway. "Mind if I take off now?"

"Go for it." Jess smiled and nudged me by pushing my butt lightly. "Get your skinny ass into some sexy jeans just in case Liam turns out to be a good guy after all."

"What's wrong with these?" I asked playfully, pulling at the sagging rear end of the blue jeans I was currently wearing.

"They give you old man butt, and you know it."

"Ouch. The verbal abuse in this relationship." I shook my head and smirked. "I'm getting out of here before my heart is broken."

"Fair." Jess waved at me as I took off down the hallway.

Once I made it out the door, I blinked in the unusually bright sunshine. It was a beautiful day, for once, and I tilted my face up to the sun. I could practically feel the freckles forming as I stood there, absorbing the vitamin D, trying to find some sense of peace.

A few deep breaths later, I was beginning to regain a sense of equilibrium, when someone brushed by me. "Get out of the way, lady," he yelled as he rushed down the sidewalk.

Right. I glanced around and realized I was kind of in the way. Damn. I started towards the bus stop, pulling out my phone as I went. First things first. Devon answered after the first ring, as I thought he might.

"Hey Jack."

I could already tell by the sound of his voice that it wasn't good news. "Hey. How did it go yesterday? Did the cops tell you anything?"

Devon sighed. "Yeah, they said they'd put him on the missing persons list, but since we don't have any reason to think he was kidnapped or anything, they couldn't actively search for him."

"Great." I rubbed the bridge of my nose and scowled. "Okay. Do you think we should make posters with his face on them and post them around town?"

"I don't know. It might be a good idea."

"Yeah." I cleared my throat. "I do have something else I'm trying. Might be a way to track down Simone. If that doesn't work out, maybe then we can do the posters?"

"Yeah." Devon groaned a little and I heard him shifting around. Probably still in bed, lazy ass. "I know this is probably bad, since he might be in trouble, but all I was thinking was how fucking spendy making the posters would be."

I twisted my mouth to one side, feeling a pang of guilt. "Yeah. Same here, actually."

"Call me tomorrow, if the Simone thing doesn't pan out," Devon said.

"Yeah. You gonna let Robbie know what's up?"

"Sure." There was a moment of hesitation, then he just hung up.

I stared down at my phone as the call disconnected, and my list of contacts was displayed again. I scrolled down to 'Isaac's Mom.' I didn't even know her real name. I only had the number in here from a couple of years ago, when Isaac still lived at home and didn't have his own phone. Hopefully it was the same number. 

It rang four times, then went to voicemail. I hung up and tried again. This time, after three rings, I heard a crackly, slurred voice on the other end.

"Who is this?"

"Hi, is this... Isaac's mom?" 

"Why? What's he done this time?" 

"What?" I blinked. "Uh, nothing. At least, I don't think so. He's just missing, he didn't show up for rehearsal and he's not at his house, so I wanted to see if you had heard from him."

"Ungrateful brat hasn't talked to me in a year." I could almost hear the sneer in her voice. "If he's gone, it's probably for the best. Probably between some whore's thighs snorting coke off her tits, like his father before him. Apple's not far from the tree, I tell ya. Both worthless."

"Okay. Thanks." I cut her off and hung up. 

Well. That was that. I reached the bus stop just as it was arriving, and climbed on. Fortunately it was almost empty, so I was able to find a seat in an abandoned corner and lean my head against the cool glass of the window. I closed my eyes and let the thrum of the engine lull me into a restless nap.

***

I frowned into my reflection in the coffee shop window and pinched my cheeks a little harder. They were refusing to get any color to them, and the paleness was emphasizing the hollows under my eyes. 

"You look fine."

I looked up to see Jess appear in the reflection next to me, and I turned to wrap one arm around her waist. "I know, I'm just giving the folks inside a show." I winked at an old man who was hunched in a window seat on the other side of the glass, staring at me.

Jess rolled her eyes and linked her arm around my waist as well. Our hips bumped together with each step as we began making our way across the street towards the octopus mural. "At least it's easy to remember where the entrance is," I muttered as we approached the small door.

She released me when we got close and took a deep breath, smoothing her ponytail down. I paused and looked her up and down, smiling and nudging her shoulder. "Hey. You look amazing. And you're gonna be great. Just remember, when in doubt, flash them."

"Hey!" Jess snorted a laugh and smacked my shoulder back. "I'm not flashing anybody."

"I meant flash them a smile, perv," I grinned and gestured grandly to the door. "Ladies first."

"I'm nervous," Jess whispered, eyeing the door.

"Screw your courage to the sticking place!" I said a little too loud, pushing her forward. "It is not in the stars to hold our destiny, but in ourselves."

"You're mixing up your Shakespeare again," Jess pointed out with another reluctant laugh. Finally she reached forward and pulled open the door.

"I think he'd have approved," I said smugly. Shakespeare was the one author that had really stuck with me, out of all the classics I'd read through my childhood. I knew it was cliche, but the man had a way with words. It couldn't be denied.

Another guard was standing in front of the door today, looking just as grim and unmovable as the last one. "We're closed," he said, not bothering to look at us.

"I'm the new bartender," Jess said, pulling something out of her pocket. I peered closer as she handed it to the man, and saw it was a small identification card with her picture.

He glanced over it, then up to her face, and nodded. "Go on in, they're expecting you." Then his gaze raked over me, and he jerked his chin towards me. "Who's the clinger?"

I realized I had my fingers wrapped around Jess's elbow, so I pulled back and stood up straight, squaring my shoulders. "I'm here for the pomegranate seeds. Actually, I just want to make sure Jess is okay and everything. I'm not staying. I'm here for the seeds, but not staying for them." I pressed my mouth shut as I realized by his glazed expression that not only was I babbling, but he didn't care.

"Fine. Just get out before seven. And don't distract Jess, here. She's going to have a long night." He paused, and a lecherous expression crossed his face. "Oh. And I'll have to search you. Both of you."

"Fine," I said, coming forward and spreading my legs and arms. Based on the lechery, I was expecting more invasive hand patting, but he was pretty brusque and efficient after all. He repeated the process with Jess, then waved his hand down that same dark hallway.

"Go on."

"Pleasant fellow," I whispered as we made our way down the hall.

As we came into the main area, I stared around the room. It was frequented by a busy, bustling crowd of staff. Most of them were cleaning, wiping down tables, tasks I was very familiar with before opening up an establishment. All of them were clad in extremely provocative outfits. Small, tight dresses were the general sense of uniform, and they were almost all female. That made sense, guys usually tip better than women, and they'll tip a girl a lot more if she's hot. Still, though. This group of women all moved like predators, sensuality oozing out of every pore.

"Hell is empty and all the devils are here," I murmured out of the side of my mouth to Jess.

She pushed my shoulder. "Stop that."

"You know I quote when I'm nervous," I protested. "I didn't notice these people with the wait staff last time we were here."

"Maybe they're just a cleaning crew," Jess said as we started forward.

Our steps were loud in the quiet atmosphere as the whole room's movement came to a stop, and a lot of eyes focused on us with an unsettling intensity. "Yep. A cleaning crew dressed as club skanks in sky highs. Reasonable."

Jess smacked me harder this time, and I flinched. "Seriously, be nice. I might have to work with these people, and they can hear you."

"Sorry. Sorry." I avoided eye contact, and as we moved to the bar, the movement in the room began to pick up again. I exhaled when I couldn't feel the burning weight of all those stares anymore. Something about them reminded me of that couple on the dance floor, and I fought the urge to shudder.

When we came up to the bar, I stole a glance around. The little red-lit door was open a crack, and I tried to peer at what was inside without looking like I was peering. All I saw was a large man-shape, though, probably Liam. I decided to wait until he came out to go talk to him, since he was so touchy about the damn door.

The tired-looking bartender from the other night was the one who greeted us from behind the bar. He was dressed in jeans and a button down shirt, with a leather vest over it, and had nice green eyes under the mohawk. His smile was friendly and genuine enough, and he didn't give me that weird prickly feeling, so I found myself relaxing immediately.

"Hey, which one is Jess?" He pointed from me to Jess and back. "Please say it's the tall one."

"It's the tall one." I pushed Jess forward. "This is she. She is Jess."

"Hi." Jess reached forward and shook his hand firmly.

"I'm Franklin. Sorry, but there's not much time for getting to know each other. There's a lot to do and not much time."

"No problem, I'm ready to work." Jess grinned and cracked her knuckles. "Show me the ropes!"

I watched them getting absorbed in the task for a few minutes. Jess was really good at multitasking, so I knew she'd do fine. I kept watching the door out of the corner of my eye, and when I saw Liam stepping out and closing it behind him, I got up hurriedly. I met Jess's eyes and gave her a nod.

Most of the strange cleaning staff were finishing their tasks and beginning to filter away towards the backstage area. They did keep glancing back at me, but I kept my head down and ignored them as I hurried across the open space. I was trusting my gut with them, and they all creeped me out.

Finally when I reached the door, I lifted my head to meet Liam's eyes.

"Hey Liam, I -" I stopped abruptly. Holy shit. This was not Liam.

He was the same height, with the same heavy build. He even had similar hair, thick, wavy, curling over the ear tips without looking shaggy. He was clad in an expensive looking suit, and he had the same wary stance about him. His eyes were dark, though, so dark brown they were almost black. I had that feeling I always got with Liam, that he was seeing every molecule of everything around him, but where Liam's face was generally hot with anger, or confusion, or a strange mixture of emotions... this man's face was completely cold. So remote and untouchable, I wondered briefly if he was a statue.

"I... uh... I thought you were Liam."

"Clearly." Even his voice was frosty and tight. His eyes flicked over me, then away, dismissing me.

"But you are not," I continued, stalling as my mind sputtered back into action. "Are you related to him?"

"He is my brother."

"Oh." I didn't know he had a brother. Of course he did. I mean, he just didn't seem like a family kind of guy. "Do you know where Liam is? I need to talk to him."

"Fuck off."

"Uh, I just need to know where he is. It's important."

He looked at me this time, and I couldn't hide my shudder at the flinty gaze. "And I said, fuck off."

Jeez. What had crawled up his ass and died? Just as I was preparing to storm across towards the bar in a display of how loud my boots could tromp, the door opened once more, and something emerged.

It was another man, though that was a weak word to describe the power emanating from him. He was about six feet, eight inches tall, wearing jeans and a tight T-shirt that hugged his muscles in a very mouth watering way. His hair was jet black, so black it was almost blue, like a crow's wing, and was pulled back in a man-bun that on anybody else, I would have made fun of. On him, however, it worked. One of his heavy, dark brows was pierced, as well as his lower lip, and his mouth was curved into a smile that I found mocking, though I wasn't sure exactly what about it gave me that impression.

His eyes, however, held me captive. At first, I thought they were black. Then I thought maybe the pupils were so large they had overtaken the whole eye. Then I began noticing small flickers as he watched me, flickers of... red? Orange, maybe? They appeared and disappeared again around the edges each time he shifted his stance.

That was weird. "That's weird," I said and thought the words simultaneously.

"Pray tell," his voice purred from his mouth like a giant cat teasing its prey. "What is weird?"

"Your eyes," I blurted out. Something about him removed what little filter I usually had.

His lips curled up higher, and he stepped forward, hands locked behind his back as those strange eyes of his looked me up and down. I took a giant step backwards to match his long legs and keep my distance, and swallowed hard.

"Well thank you, young one." He continued stalking forward, moving with lethal grace. I kept trying to back up until I banged my foot into a table, and came to a stop, shifting from foot to foot.

"I'm Jack," I offered in a squeaky voice. "Who are you?"

"I am Ajax Erebos. But please, call me Mr. Erebos."

"I, uh. Okay. Hi, Jax. I like your... clubhouse," I said, gesturing awkwardly around the room. "And your super friendly guards."

A flicker of annoyance spoiled his smile for a moment before it slid back into place. "Nicknames. What a charming trait."

"Yeah, Liam doesn't like them either. But honestly, wouldn't your life be easier if people didn't think you were a cleaning product?"

"What is the worth of an easy life?"

"Oh. Very good point."

He continued staring down at me for a long moment. "What is it you needed from my Liam, young Jack?"

His Liam. Interesting. Was Liam gay? I hadn't gotten that vibe at all. "I need to ask him something. He said he was going to help me find my friend Isaac, who went missing with somebody from your club."

"Oh, yes." His eyes slitted half closed. "I believe he mentioned something about it."

"So will you tell me where he is?" I asked eagerly. "I just need to know if he's still going to help. I think I pissed him off accidentally. Being nosy."

"He mentioned that as well," Ajax said, smile widening to a grin that made him look almost boyish for a moment.

"It is fun to see him flustered, isn't it?" 

"Of course. However, I am afraid I cannot divulge his location. Please trust that he is a man of his word. If he has promised to help you, then he will."

I sighed. Trust Liam. Right. This whole place was weird, and Liam appeared to be the most normal one of the bunch, but he hadn't done anything to make me think I shouldn't, yet. Maybe I should just take a leap of faith.

"Okay." I took a deep breath and nodded. "Just, if you see him, tell him to get ahold of me. I am very worried about my friend."

"I understand completely," Ajax said smoothly. "Thank you for bringing it to my attention. I will ensure he gets the message."

"Great. Well, thanks." I glanced at my phone. "Oh, look at the time. I should go before the hordes start to arrive."

"Allow me to take you to a more private exit." Ajax's large hand curled around my arm before I could step away, and I felt myself being pulled inexorably in his wake. "There is already a line of... horde... awaiting entrance."

"Oh. That's very nice of you, thanks." I smiled up at him and patted his bulging bicep. "You're a pal."

"A pal. Interesting."

I barely had time to snatch my purse and wave to Jess before he was sweeping me out a door behind the bar, down a dark hallway, to a door that opened on the opposite side of the building. I still hadn't totally figured out all the passages in this building, it seemed like every time I came and went it was through a different network of halls and rooms.

"Thank you for coming to Underworld," Ajax said as he pulled open the door and let in a breath of fresh, cool air, along with the dying light of sunset. "Please, feel free to return any time."

He smiled pleasantly, gave a courtly bow, and slammed the door in my face.

I blinked and stared at the closed door for a long moment, then gave a violent exhale of frustration mixed with amusement, and started towards the bus stop. Word of the day was misanthrope, but it should have been... weird. Maybe confusing. Bewildering. Complex. Baffling? I continued listing appropriate synonyms as I trudged into the gathering darkness.