High Explosive Romance

Contradictions

  He sat in the truck bed silently as everyone looked at their phones for the money to drop into their accounts, but Adam sat there, leaning his head against the cold steel and letting the soft hum of the engine help put him at ease after his gig. Time seems to move slower as his head bounces and rocks with the oddly gentle movement of the truck, then DING! His phone goes off. With a sigh, he takes a look at his notification, seeing that two grand was deposited into his bank. Adam began transferring money to his mother by hiding it in her savings account, which she rarely checked.

 The truck comes to a stop, then the cab window opens as Brian pokes his head out with a grin. "Our client was happy with the work we did, boys. Good work out there!" His tone was oddly cheerful, but Adam really didn't care as he sat there blankly, deep in thought about the assignment tomorrow and what to cook with Yukari since she seemed to have ZERO skills in the kitchen. With a grunt, he pops the back of the truck bed open and swings up the camper glass window. "I'm gonna hit the grocery store, you have my number and pager" he says as he hops out of the back into the dim streets of the town. He was alone and his mind was engrossed in thoughts about his day. .. so much has happened this last week "I hope Mom is doing good... I wonder if my friends miss me? Is Anne helping mom? What's up with that Yukari girl?  his mind raced with thoughts and worries. He sighed before taking his helmet and balaclava off, hooking them onto his chest rig as he walked through the streets.

He stops by a Casey's "maybe a snack will chill me out or some nicotine?" He walked inside and looks around the empty store, examining the pizza and food they had. He looked through the glass of the pizza warmer, seeing what they had and how old it was. "Guess sausage will do... it's pretty fresh, thankfully" he mutters as he grabs a slice and sets it in a small plastic bag. Adams eyes drifted to the fridge section before settling on wanting a drink as well, his boots clunk on the tiled floors with a slight sticky sound from the blood he had stepped in not too long ago. But the staff didn't seem to notice or even care as they stood at the counter, watching their phones and using the radio for the news: "It'd be too easy to steal this. .. but I'm not in the mood for the effort. Guess I'll get a fruit punch Monster then." He grabbed the can of his favorite drink, paid for it and then walked out of the store eating the slice of pizza.

In the distance, quick and light footsteps could be heard. .. they sounded awfully familiar. He turned his head to see Yukari walking fast towards the grocery store. He could see her head looking back was. .. scared? He turns his head behind her seeing a group of men on a corner exchanging money. Adam squints his eyes, seeing them all wearing the same color shirts "Looks like some sort of ghetto gang dipshits even have their Glocks loosely tucked in their sagging pants how typical." He shakes his head in disappointment before returning his gaze back to Yukari as she walked into the store in a hurry. Adam walks towards the store eating his pizza and sipping on his drink. The doors slide "OK. the meal has to be under twenty bucks and feed at least two people," he mutters to himself as he begins to run through recipe ideas in his mind.

As he looked through the aisles, he felt a sharp tap on his shoulder, making him jump a bit. "FUCKING DAMN IT!" He screams before spinning around seeing Yukari laughing her ass off, her hands on her stomach. "You nearly jumped out of your fucking boots!" She wheezes. He cringes at the sight, but it is soon replaced by something fuzzy inside. He watches her tail swish around as she laughs, "Damn. Who knew she had such a cute laugh?" he thinks to himself, making himself cringe more "Knock it off Adam! , she's just fucking with you... no need to act like a down-bad bitch," he shook his head as he put his mind on the task at hand: shopping for groceries for their assignment tomorrow. Yukari wipes a tear from her eye, leaving a small trail of mascara behind. "God damn, that was priceless" she says before taking a deep breath and looking at the empty basket in his hand. "Shopping for our assignment, huh? " she asks as she tapped his helmet on his chest rig making a muffled and metallic tapping sound "Yeah, I'm thinking about what to make. .. How does meatloaf and mashed potatoes sound? "He asked, expecting a sarcastic answer calling it bland or old people but she doesn't criticize him. "Hmm," she says, tapping her chin. "Ketchup or barbecue sauce?" She asks, her eyes oddly locked into his.

He shakes his head, "Brown gravy is the best, but I do respect the other options. Something about brown gravy and meatloaf just feels right." Yukari for the first time Adam has seen nods in approval and even a hint of a smile "Damn farm boy, I admit that doesn't sound half bad but I'll let your cooking do the talking".

 They go throughout the store picking up the ingredients and pricing them to fit in the budget, but the whole time Adams mind begins to question things he's seen from her "Why is she out this late alone? why was she panicked at the sight of those men? and who was that woman she was scowling at with the fancy car? " so many questions he had about her but no answers. He looks up from his basket and sees her grabbing a box of Cosmic Brownies with a smile on her face. He can see her excitement as she sets them in her basket. he chuckles a bit before setting a small box of bread crumbs into his own basket. He hears her phone buzzing and with a swift movement, she looks at the screen before sighing, "Dad needs me home, so it looks like I have to cut this short, farm boy." He nods as she speeds off to the checkout; he glimpses at her tail and her longer skirt. He sighs as he gets back to shopping, "Like I have a chance in hell with a fine girl like her." His mind goes back to being clouded with thoughts and questions.