The Deal [Shicca Fanfic]

Chapter 14: To Thank You

"I'm sorry, I only saw you called today." Rebecca lies when she joins Shiki for their daily walk to school.

Shiki shakes his head slightly, a grin on his lips as he pats her back. "Don't worry about that! I was sure you wouldn't pick up anyway, it was late."

Rebecca did not like to lie to him. It pained her heart, it made her feel disgusted with herself to lie to such an honest person.

But she didn't have a choice. She had her secret to keep.

"What did you want to talk about?" She asks to distract herself.

Suddenly Shiki looked as if he would have preferred she not to asking anything. "O-Oh, it was nothing important."

"Then why would you call me so late?"

"Well..." Shiki wondered what he should say. He opted for the truth. "I just wanted to see your face."

Rebecca blinks, not expecting the answer. "You wanted to see me?" Her lips curl into a smile. "Why?"

Shiki scratches his cheek, embarrassed. "No particular reason. I just- Oh right!" He interrupts himself as he claps his hand, moving his eyes to the B-cuber. "Do you want to have lunch with us today?"

Rebecca did want to insist on the subject of the video call but she decided not to press; at least for now.

"I would love to but I'm to lunch with Labilia."

"She can come too!" He invites. "You have already met my friends but I haven't met yours."

Rebecca tried to disguise her discomfort as a conversation that had taken place a few days before popped into her mind.

"Why don't you come? I'm sure they would love to meet you." Rebecca says at Labilia during break.

Labilia turned the page of her magazine. "Not interested. Shiki does seem more or less okay but the friends he hangs out with are weird."

"Weird?" Rebecca repeats, frowning. She had never thought of them as weird.

"Yeah. That blonde guy who is fanatic about robots and that creepy girl who is always saying what she thinks. I'm not interested in making their acquaintance." Labilia lifts her gaze, giving a sharp look at her friend. "Neither should you."

Rebecca's face hardened. "They are not weird. Weisz is not fanatic about robots, he just likes them. And he's pretty cool when you go beyond that cocky attitude of his. And Homura is just too honest. And I honestly think that's a wonderful characteristic."

Labilia arches an eyebrow. "You shouldn't get too close to them." She warns. "Your deal with Shiki is ending and after that you will return to how you were before and so will them."

Rebecca's face changes, that thought never having crossed her mind. Labilia notices and sighs, placing a hand above her friend's. "It's okay, Becky. I'll be here to welcome you again and everything will be as it should be."

Rebecca forces a smile, her head telling her that was what should happen.

"Thank you for the invitation," Rebecca starts, her voice soft. "But we haven't been together just relaxing for a while and I want to be with her. I'm sorry."

Shiki shakes his head. "Don't worry, I understand. I don't want her to think I'm stealing you or anything." He winks.

Rebecca giggles, her arm intertwining with his as she started to see the outline of the school. "Oh please, she doesn't feel like that."

*

"I got surprised when I saw the video you uploaded this morning." Labilia comments as she munches on her salad. "A robot fair? That's unlike you."