Paper Bags

Paper Bags 08

The Sparkles lived up north from where Rolanda resided. It was a thirty minute walk, though there was a small bunker transport that could lead them to that residency if they wanted to. Haru's legs ached by the time they turned a corner and entered the hallway full of reds, pinks and dashes of magenta flowers to mimic some kind of flower petals falling. Well, 'mimic' being the keyword when all it looked like was someone deciding to utilise the last cans of red paint. The only thing interesting about this hall was that it somehow miraculously managed to not look like a murder scene with so many splashes of abstract redness.

Haru sighed, his ears ringing with Adam's horrible pick up lines on Rain. Jason walked next to him, their shoulders brushing once in a while, the only thing at the moment keeping him sane.

"Rain, I got another one," Adam said, earning a huff from the woman who was marching ahead without even giving the bad boy wannabe a glance. "Are you my appendix?"

Haru almost tripped on his feet at that, Jason grabbing his elbow before he could be intimately acquainted with the floor. "Did he just say that?" he said to his best friend, earning chuckles from the shorter man.

"Oh god," Fatima said, tilting her head up to look at the ceiling. "Please, save me from this hell."

"Rain, come on, entertain me," Adam said. "This one's good, I promise."

The woman who had covered her head with her hoodie finally stopped walking. Haru did as well, raising an eyebrow when she turned to look at Adam, her arms crossed. "Fine. But I reserve the right to kick your shin if this is terrible."

"I promise," Adam said, grinning and his eyes sparkled in what Haru could only imagine was pride. He almost snorted under his breath at that. Of course the idiot would take pride over his stupid pick-up lines. Hell, Haru could do better than him. "Ready?"

"Can you get on with it?" Haru said, frowning. "We have a Sparkle to catch."

Adam glanced at him before he rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, keep your panties untwisted, can you?"

"This misogynistic—" Rain started only for Adam to grab her arms, silencing her.

"Are you an appendix? Because I have a funny feeling in my stomach that makes me feel like I should take you out." Adam's words rang through the hallway, bringing forth this silence. A type of silence that had Haru breaking with a snort, this time, not holding back on his reaction. Adam snapped his head to stare at him, frowning. "Oi, what's so funny?"

"Do you hear yourself?" Haru said, biting his bottom lip a second before he lose it with that idiot's pick-up line. "You sound like a circus clown."

The bad boy wannabe narrowed his gaze. Haru had suspected that he had grazed his little ego, but he couldn't find it in himself to care. Adam, however, stood straighter, letting Rain go. Oh, look, someone was trying to be intimidating and failing. After that debacle, Haru was sure he would only be scared of this man if the pigs flew. Or when lightning struck twice on them. What he didn't expect was for the man cladded in all black to lessen the distance between them. His amusement died at the strange look in those eyes. Jason took a step back, almost like he wasn't sure what to do either.

Haru shared a glance with his best friend, who simply shrugged, eyeing them both. Then, Adam was in front of him. His breath hitched in his throat when he snapped his head to look at the bad boy. The first thing he realised was how close they were. Haru didn't hesitate to try and step back, only for Adam to grab his right arm, forcing him to stand still.

"What the hell are you doing—"

"Hey," Adam said, silencing him. The other man took another step close to him. Haru's mind blanked at the way those eyes burned into his. Up this close, he could see the subtle shades of icy blue in his irises, startling Haru with his thoughts. "Hey."