The Deal [Shicca Fanfic]

Chapter 18: The Secret Is Out

"I-I don't know who you are talking about. I need to go-"

"You are Rebecca!" Shiki determinedly says. Even his voice sounded like he wasn't believing. "But you look... so different from usual."

Rebecca had no words. She wasn't prepared for this, she didn't think this could happen. No one had ever recognized her; no one. Even people who she had met and taken pictures with had looked at her with this appearance and moved on with their lives.

But Shiki did. In a second, he had figured it out who she was. He had seen through her.

And now she was facing the consequences.

"Are you not going to say anything?" He asks, crossing his arms. As she looked at him, she saw curiosity in his eyes, mixed with some suspicion.

"Can... Can we talk somewhere else?" She weakly asks. The books felt too heavy on her hands.

Shiki stares at her before turning and heading toward a nearby park. She followed him in silence, her mind racing with excuses to explain her appearance and books. But none of them sounded convincing enough.

"At least now you're admitting you're Rebecca." Shiki says as he stops near a swing. "Why did you deny it?"

"I... I..."

"You lied." His voice was cold.

The one thing Rebecca knew Shiki despised the most were lies; especially from the one he cared about.

"I didn't mean to. I panicked." She couldn't even look at him in the eyes;. instead, she looked at the swing, gently rocking back and forth due to a breeze.

"Why?" The question was asked in a such a lost tone that twisted Rebecca's heart.

"B-Because... Well, you saw me like this." She spreads her hands, gesturing to herself.

"Will you explain what is going on? Since when do you use glasses? I never once saw you with those types of clothes. And you told me you didn't like reading, so why do you have three books with you? You picked them up with such care, it's obvious they are important to you."

One of the things she had always liked about Shiki was the fact that he was very observant; but not today.

"It's a bit... hard to explain." She fidgets her fingers (having places the book on a bench), not knowing what to do with her hands.

"I want to hear. But first... " He takes a few steps forward, cutting the distance a little. "Please, at least look at me."

Rebecca's hands twisted, her face tightening. Suddenly, she felt tears in the corner of her eyes upon his sentence. She couldn't bear to look at him. Not when she had hidden so many things, not one when she knew he would be looking at her with accusatory eyes.

"Rebecca..." He whispers, reaching a hand out to her. But he stops midair, retreating back to his side.

"Explain, please."

Rebecca takes a deep breath, and then another, thinking about the words she would say. It's not like she had never imagined this scenario - but between thinking and happening goes a great difference. And Rebecca forgot everything she had trained.

So, for once, she opted to tell the truth.

"I... I love being a B-cuber. I love making videos, I love seeing my fans' appreciation for them. Even though I have been at it for years, I get the same feelings I got back then. But... when I started, it was all just for fun." Her voice fails for a moment, finally saying the truth.