Begone, Thoughts!

Sharing a bed with someone else was nerve-wracking enough, but sharing a bed with someone who’s only known for having pushed someone down a third floor window was scary as hell.

Or… it was, until Adam pulled that whole crawling-under-the-bed thing.

What was that, exactly?

Ren was as tense as he’s ever been, looking up at the ceiling while lying next to Adam who had taken over the sheets completely—not that Ren minded; it was a hot night, after all.

He looked at him from the corner of his eye.

To his surprise, Adam was wide awake, with his eyes also fixed on the ceiling.

Should I talk to him? Ren thought.

Maybe he’s not a bad guy.

Maybe he’s just weird, and that’s why people are afraid of him.

Maybe the whole pushing someone down a window thing is also not true. Maybe he was falsely accused.

…….

But, wait…

If it wasn’t true, wouldn’t he defend himself?

Wouldn’t the first thing out of his mouth be that he didn’t do it, or to provide an alibi?

And, assuming he has no alibi and was caught at the scene of the crime, wouldn’t he immediately try to prove his innocence?

…

Perhaps he did and nobody believed him… because he’s weird.

This whole thing is just odd.

How does a rumor like that spread around in the first place without the person knowing?

…Or maybe he does know.

Maybe he doesn’t care what people think of him.

Maybe it’s easier to let them think what they want instead of trying to correct everyone every time…

Yeah. That has to be it.

If he were guilty, he’d be in jail or something, wouldn’t he?

…

…….

Although…

If he did do it, and somehow all evidence was circumstantial…

If there was no concrete proof, the only rational thing to do would be to keep quiet, let rumors about you spread without paying them any mind because you know no one would be brave enough to ask if you did it, and just keep on living your life as usual.

Haaah…

That’s too crazy, isn’t it?

I really can’t see that being the c—

His internal monologue was suddenly interrupted by Adam, who suddenly turned his head to look at him.

Oh, god, he read my mind!?

“...”

He simply stared at Ren wordlessly, which was infinitely scarier than if he actually had said anything at that time.

Ren decided to talk first after taking a deep breath through his teeth.

“...You can’t sleep, either?”

Adam kept his eyes on him for a few more uncomfortable seconds, before turning his head back to the ceiling.

Ren sighed.

This was his chance to find out the truth, but the fact that he might or might not be in bed with a killer was eating at him from the inside.

“...Um…”

Before he knew it, Ren had opened his mouth. There was no time to regret his actions, as Adam had directed his inexpressive attention back at him.

Ren decided to keep on talking.

“Sorry… about all this. I know sharing a bed with someone isn’t ideal for anyone, huh. Especially not for a whole week.”

“...It’s fine.”

Ah. He talked again.

“Yeah? …I’m glad you think so.”

“Why?”

Why, he asks. Though I guess that’s a fair question in this situation…

“...I dunno. It just felt like the right thing to say.”

“.......Hm.”

Is he… mad? …Disappointed?

I really can’t tell…

“...Do you know that Julius Verne guy?”

“Eh!?”

For the first time, Adam had said something to initiate conversation.

But it was something so out of left field that Ren couldn’t help looking and sounding surprised.

Adam wasn’t fazed. He simply continued.

“He seems like a nice guy.”

And that was the second most outlandish thing Ren heard coming out of Adam’s mouth.

“A… A nice guy, huh…”

Julius. A nice guy.

Yeah, Ren wasn’t too sure about that.

Julius had been nothing but a negative realist intent on destroying any plan Ren came up with since they talked on the bus. His frank way of speaking rubbed him the wrong way, as if he was always gently trying to antagonize anyone he spoke to.

Then again, other than finding him annoying, Julius didn’t really do anything that would categorize him as a bad guy, but…

A nice guy? Not likely.

“Um. What makes you say that? I thought you guys just met.”

Adam was quiet for a moment, looking at the ceiling again.

“...He introduced himself to me.”

…Oh.

Ren realized no one other than Julius had introduced themselves to Adam. They heard about him from Cupid, so they already knew his name, but of course Adam didn’t know who any of them were.

So that’s all it takes for Adam to consider someone a nice person, huh.

“Ah, that’s right. Sorry… I guess we were all too tired for introductions. I’m Ren Dahl.”

“...Adam Stoker.”

“Yeah, I know.”

“...Julius also knew my name before I told him.”

“That’s… because the teacher told us your name.”

“.......I see.”

“......”

“......”

They were both quiet again, not looking at each other.

Ren quickly peeked at him through the corner of his eye.

Talking to him like this, he doesn’t look so scary, but…

“.........Dahl.”

“Wha-!? I- I mean… y-yeah?”

“...Why did you invite me to share the bed with you?”

“...Uh…”

“.....”

“That’s… the right thing to do, isn’t it? There’s no other place for us to sleep on, unless you want to sleep on the toilet.”

“...”

“...You don’t want to sleep on the toilet, do you?”

Ren was joking, but Adam’s silence was hard to read, so he had to make sure.

Adam looked at the ceiling again.

“...So it was the right thing to do. I see.”

“Well, yeah…”

Adam repeating his answer back forced Ren to actually hear it - and how it really sounds.

And the truth is… it sounded fake.

Even if it was the truth - even if Ren truly only wanted to share just so Adam wouldn’t sleep under his bed like some sort of monster, there was something about hearing it said out loud made Ren uncomfortable with his answer.

He twirled the thought in his head for a few moments, trying to figure out just what it was that made him feel guilty about it, but nothing came to mind.

Sharing the bed was just the rational solution for both of them, and hell, it might even help with the whole Cupid thing—

…

Ah. That’s what it is.

This is all Cupid’s fault, isn’t it.

If it wasn’t for him, I wouldn’t know who this guy is. I wouldn’t care if we ended up in the same cabin or not, or even if we ended up sharing a bed anyway. I’d be blissfully unaware, instead of completely contaminated with his twisted game and its twisted rules.

But right then, Cupid’s face flashed through Ren’s memories. His angelic mouth moved as he said those words that felt like a knife through his heart:

‘I won’t tolerate anyone looking for love anywhere else other than with Agatha or Adam.’

……..Ugh.

Ren clenched his jaw, exhaling loudly through his nose. He sounded so irritated it even caught Adam’s attention.

“......Dahl?”

Ren was quiet for a long moment.

Thinking.

Thinking…

…And then, a lightbulb went on in his head.

He knew what he had to do.

Slowly, he turned to look at his bedmate in the dark, lowering his voice to not wake the others.

“Stoker… do you believe in angels?”