Chapter 15: Secrets

Teebs was on his ship, reading the book that Shards showed him earlier. He was waiting for her to finish what she was doing on the island, though it seemed to be taking her forever. He started to become impatient and shited in his seat, knowing that leaving the ship would spell trouble.

Shards specifically said that if I left the ship before she came back, she’d kill me, he reminded himself.

A few minutes later, Shards climbed the ladder to the deck. Instead of being in her usual clothes, she was wearing a purple dress. Her face wasn’t covered, revealing the rose pattern tattoo on the side of her face, but that wasn’t the most noticeable part of it all. She was smiling.

“What’s the occasion?” Teebs asked.

“No occasion. Just wanted to look nice,” she replied, giving him an even bigger smile.

“Alright. You look great,” Teebs said, returning to the book.

“Really?” Shards said, “Thank you!”

“You seem oddly happy today,” Teebs said.

“Okay, so? She said, grabbing a seat next to him.

Teebs shifted in his seat uncomfortably. Something was off, but he couldn’t tell what.

“Excuse me,” Teebs said, walking to the beach.

He walked to the water’s edge and sat down. A breeze kicked up, making the ocean air to come to shore. He smiled at the fact it existed.

Cybel is treating us nicely today, he thought.

“So you ditched me to enjoy the shoreline?” Shards said.

He hadn’t realized that she had followed him out there.

“Well, I mean it’s a great shoreline,” he said, gesturing to the ocean.

She laughed and sat next to him. Then there was an odd silence between them.

“So… What’s on your mind?” Teebs said, breaking the silence.

“Nothing much. I’ve been thinking about what the guide back at that town said to me,” Shards replied.

“What did she say?” Teeb asked.

Shards went silent and started to blush. She looked at him and smiled.

“She’s very smart for someone her age,” Shards said, digressing from the question, “I didn’t think Sylan’s could be that smart.”

“That’s kind of mean to say,” Teebs said, giving her a look.

“How is that mean?” she said.

“My grandfather was Sylan,” he said.

“Oh, sorry…,” she said, “But anyway, she was very nice.”

“Yeah. And?” he said.

“She told me ways I could uhh… tell you things,” she said, blushing even more.

“What does that mean?” he replied, squinting his eyes.

“Ummm…,” she said, rubbing her own cheek.

“Shards?” He said, putting a hand on her shoulder, “Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” she said with a smile, “Just trying to figure out to get something off my chest.”

“Okay. If you need help, just tell me, okay?” he said, smiling.

He continued to look at the waves in the distance, seeming like he was in a blissful state. Shards reached for his hand to attempt to show instead of tell how she felt, but he had buried it in the sand behind him.

Why is it so hard to talk about this!? It’s just a few simple words!! She thought, mentally beating herself up.

Then she had an idea. She moved her hand under the sand and found his hand. She whispered something, causing Teebs eyes to turn purple. Then she started to think what she felt. After a few minutes, she let go of his hand and walked to the ship. Teebs watched her walk away, thinking about what he saw.

So that’s what she wanted to tell me… Never really thought she liked me too much, he thought.

He sat there for a few more minutes staring at the sea. Then he got up and walked back to his ship. Shards was reading the book he had before and sitting in his seat. She had gotten her hood and put it on over her dress. Teebs walked over to her hugged her from behind.

“Uhhh…. What?” she replied, blushing and smiling a little.

“So, that’s how you really feel?” Teebs said, letting go and smiling.

“Yeah… Do you hate me now?” Shards asked, pulling her hood over her face.

He smiled at the thought of them being together. A thief and a pirate, sounded kind of cliche once he thought about it, but she was the only person that actually stayed… stayed alive anyway. He offered a hand to her.

“What are you doing?” she asked.

“A thing. Why do you ask?” he replied.

“Because it looks like it has something to do with me,” she said.

“Well.. It does, but trust me, okay?” he said.

“... Okay,” she said, taking his hand.

He helped her out of the seat and held her close. She hid her face in her hood, trying not to look at him. Then he started to pull the hood back.

“No,” She said, pulling the hood back on, “Don’t do that.”

“Why?” he asked.

“Because no,” she said, laughing a little.

He rolled his eyes and put a hand on her cheek under her hood. He looked into her red, glowing eyes and smiled.

“Stop,” she said, smiling.

“Why?” he asked.

“Because I said so…,” she said, hugging him.

He smiled and laughed a little. She laughed as well, pulling her hood off. She was blushing a lot more than she was before.

“There, happy?” she said.

“Yes, actually,” he answered.

She covered her face with her hands, trying to hide her smile. Then he lifted her head by her chin and started to lean in. Shards got ready for a kiss, but then Teebs stopped right before it happened.

“Not until you tell me without magic,” He whispered.

He walked away, grabbing the book on his way, leaving Shards standing there with her thoughts.

What? Wait… what just happened? She thought.

He sat down in the cabin behind a desk and started to read, still blushing from what just happened.

She can tell me herself, he thought, flipping a page.