Paper Bags

Paper Bags 10

It was still a mystery on how Adam knew the way to Llama Town. As far as Haru could remember, he hadn't heard of any rumours relating to his knowledge on the town. And yet, as he stared at the back of the bad boy wannabe's head, he couldn't help but to sour at the idea that the other man could be more useful than he had ever been for them. He subtly shifted his glare at Fatima and then guilt surged through him at that. It wasn't her fault that she could only get her hands on the map that may or may not be outdated.

Still, it just didn't feel right that Adam was becoming the hero in their team.

Rain was walking by the bad boy's side, slapping a hand on his arm. Adam turned to look at her, rubbing at the place she hit before the stupid leer appeared on the brown bag. Rain rolled her eyes. "We're all dying to know. How and when did you go to Llama Town?"

Haru couldn't hold back the curiosity burning within him, taking a few quick strides so he was close to the duo and could overhear their conversation. Adam hummed under his breath before he reached a hand to poke her cheek. She recoiled, taking a step back and aimed a glare at him, one that received a deep laugh back.

"Curious about me, princess?" he said, winking.

"Call me that one more time," Rain said, her voice tight. Adam shook his head, clearly not taking the threat underlying her words seriously. "Adam."

"What does it matter," the bad boy wannabe said, shoving his hands into his hoodie pockets. "I'm leading y'all losers there, aren't I?"

"It's Llama Town," Fatima said, earning his attention on her.

"So?" Adam shrugged. "You guys need to learn how to not judge someone based on their covers."

Haru snorted under his breath, unable to hold back the reaction. Thankfully, Adam didn't bother reacting to it, preferring to look at Rain, who was now steadily staring at him with her arms crossed against her chest.

"Knowing you, I'm not surprised you know your way into Llama Town," Jason said, startling Haru with how close his voice was to his right ear.

Adam flipped a middle finger at him.

"No, really," Jason said. "Llama Town has that kind of reputation and you clearly fit well in that kind of crowd."

The bad boy wannabe huffed a breath. "Maybe, but at least I belong somewhere unlike you."

There was a second of no response from his best friend before Jason said, "Yeah, you belong behind bars for the shit you've pulled all this while. You know the reason you're even walking free is because of me."

Adam stopped walking then, pausing for a second and halting the whole group. Haru's skin crawled when the other man turned to look at them, specifically at Jason. The emoji on the Bag was a furrowed-eyed look, but it clearly didn't reflect the dangerous aura emitting from him. "I didn't ask you to save me, Prince Charming. Maybe you can take your Daddy's money and flaunt it somewhere else. Oh, right. You can't because your precious Daddy never once cared—"

"At least I have a family," Jason said, snapping.

Adam took in a sharp breath before he gave a low chuckle that sent shivers down Haru's spine. "Yeah, sure, posh boy. Talk to me when you know what it feels like to be—" There was no continuation to the sentence, bringing forth a wave of silence that had Haru standing straighter. What was that? Did Adam almost spill something? The emoji on the Bag was a flat face, making Haru frown in response. "Whatever. No matter how little y'all trust me, I'm the best bet you got. Now, shut up and follow me or go ahead and get lost."

With that, Adam turned and continued to walk.

It was odd, the tone Adam had that still managed to escape the Bag. If Haru had a minute to properly process it, he could almost convince himself that what the tone was sadness. But that wouldn't make sense. Adam was a man who wore his emotions on his sleeves. And by sleeves, his fist usually carried anger that ended up transferred onto another face.