Yancy's Christmas Carol

~Chapter Two~
An Embarrassing Secret Exposed

An awkward stare-down took place; on one end was a girl with hair so pink and cheeks rapidly turning even pinker peering out from behind a Christmas tree like a skittish deer frozen in the headlights, and on the other was a bushy-haired boy still stuck in a headlock by another boy and staring back at her with an astonished twitch in his eye. They stood like that for awhile, both staring motionlessly at the other in an awkward daze, unsure how the other was about to react to such an untimely moment of encounter. A tumbleweed carried in the breeze rolled by for dramatic effect during this long moment of awkward silence between the teens without either one of them even thinking yet to move a muscle (just what exactly a wild tumbleweed was doing in an indoor shopping mall in the middle of December, the world may never know).

Hugh was the only one remaining composed. After nonchalantly glancing back and forward between Nate and Yancy several times, waiting to no avail for one or the other to finally break out of their awkward stare and give an actual response of any sort to one another's presence, he released his bushy-haired friend from his headlock with an eyeroll and a sigh, letting the dazed goofball fall to the ground with a thud.

That seemed to snap him out of it. Nate immediately sprang back to his feet and greeted the girl with sheepish fluster. "...Ah, Yancy!" he said with a nervous smile, unsure how much of the embarrassing conversation she must have overheard just now.

At that same time, Yancy hastily jumped out from her hiding place behind the Christmas tree and greeted him likewise. "...Er— Heyyyyy! If it isn't Nate!" she said sheepishly with a nervous smile of her own to hide her own embarrassment, hoping to heaven that the boys will have somehow missed the obvious fact that she had been eavesdropping on them.

"I, uh, didn't see you there..! Heh heh..." Nate chuckled with embarrassment, trying to laugh off the awkward situation.

"I didn't either..!" lied a flustered Yancy. "...Didn't see you, that is! The tree was kinda in the way... Ah ha ha!"

"Yeah, they really ought to learn to place those things somewhere more out of the way of people instead of just leaving them...uh...in the corner like that...up against the wall."

"Oh, tell me about it! I, um, totally just walked into it! ...By complete accident, of course!"

Hugh, meanwhile, just stood by silently in the background and shook his head as the two continued their awkward exchange. If there was a prize for self-embarrassment to be awarded here today, these dorks would have undoubtedly won it by now.

"So...uh...fancy meeting you here!" Nate said to Yancy, finally bringing the first ounce of normalcy to the atmosphere. "Are you here doing some Christmas shopping, too?"

"Yeah, that's right," she answered, equally eager to get the conversation moving to a more normal subject before she has to answer any questions about her previous eavesdropping. "Oh, and thanks to your advice, I was finally able to find a good gift for my dad! I got him a heated massager for his backaches he's been having."

"Nice! I'm sure he'll love that!" smiled Nate. "I'm glad to hear my suggestions were helpful to you."

"Very much so! Thanks a ton!" Yancy beamed back at Nate for a moment, but then it occurred to her how she hadn't even acknowledged his companion's presence as of yet. "Oh, right! Where are my manners? It's good to see you again, too, Hugh."

"Hey," replied the latter with a nod. He and Yancy only vaguely knew each other, as they had only ever met a few times before, but they had both heard a fair deal about the other from Nate that they could consider themselves decently acquainted.

Turning her attention back towards Nate again, Yancy just had to learn something about what the boys were talking about a moment ago; specifically, whom this girl was that Hugh was teasing Nate about allegedly being 'obsessed' with. She couldn't just ask outright, lest she expose herself for having been eavesdropping on them (though she's pretty sure they were both already aware of it anyway), but she could try working it into the conversation by asking less conspicuous questions about the boys' business. "So...um... I'm guessing you guys are here shopping for Christmas gifts as well? W-was there anyone that you're still trying to find something special for..?"

The demeanor of both boys took a noticeable change at these words, with Hugh getting a slight smirk on his face as Nate became suddenly shy about making eye-contact. "W-well..." began the latter, obviously a little worried about where this conversation might lead. "We were just...you know...browsing the stores. Looking for ideas. And...stuff."

"He's been obsessing all day about what to get for one person in particular," said Hugh smugly, earning a quick glare from his companion.

Aware that she was indeed onto something, Yancy chose her next words carefully so that she could learn more without overtly prying. "Well, if you do need any suggestions, then perhaps...I could be of some help? Y-you know; to return the favor..!" she shyly proposed, avoiding eye-contact as she continued; "...Especially if, maybe, the person you're trying to find something for...might be...by some chance...a girl?"

Nate's face quickly grew red as a tomato at the sound of that last word. Hugh, on the other hand, looked as though he were trying to hold back a burst of laughter. "Yeah, it's for a girl, alright," smirked the latter, watching the former's flustered reaction with amusement through the corner of his eye. "A very special one, you might say."

Yancy's suspicions seemed to be being confirmed so far. She could feel herself growing more nervous by the second anticipating whether this girl was herself or another. "I see," she said, still unable to look anyone in the eye, but keeping a subtle watch on Nate's reactions as she attempted to inquire more details in a seemingly nonchalant manner. "So is she...family, or something? Like your mother, cousin or aunt? Or maybe a colleague? Or perhaps...even..." The young teen had to look away and hold herself steady to hide her nervous trembling as she forced herself to finish that sentence; "...a lover?"

Nate's face instantly went from red to redder. He wasn't normally one to get embarrassed easily, yet now he was outright petrified. "Wh-what..?! I— Uh..? N-no..! S-she's just..! Er—" he incoherently stammered, unable to form a sentence.

"Heh! More like someone he wishes would be his lover!" snorted a thoroughly amused Hugh, throwing an arm around his companion's shoulder teasingly. "Try as he might to deny it; this goof has a crush so obvious, you'd have to be blinder than a Zubat to not see it!"

"I-I told you, it's not a crush..!" the bushy-haired boy hastily tried to object as he shoved his spiky-haired friend away, but the latter only ignored him and continued;

"She comes up in just about every conversation; he's constantly checking his Xtransceiver just to see what she's up to; he even uses her photo as the backdrop's wallpaper!"

Nate tackled Hugh to try and shut him up. "D-don't listen to him!" he pleaded desperately to Yancy as he struggled to keep his friend's big mouth shut while also making some hasty adjustments to his own Xtransceiver's settings (changing the wallpaper, to be specific) at the same time. "He's just trying to embarrass me!" The pink-haired lass held a hand over her mouth to keep from laughing at the silly scenario playing out before her, but made no comment nor attempt to intervene since she really wanted to hear more.

Being the physically stronger of the two boys, Hugh was unfazed and easily pinned Nate to the ground. "I'm sure you've probably heard of her..." he smugly continued as if nothing happened. "She's someone pretty easily recognizable; having blue eyes; pink hair; a name that rhymes with 'fancy'..."

Yancy couldn't believe what she was really hearing. Her eyes widened, her heart beat faster, and her cheeks flashed many shades of red. 'Yes! Yes! YESSSSSS..!' she screamed internally, overjoyed to know that she was indeed the one whom they were talking about after all.

Nate, too, reacted with similar visible symptoms to what was just said; his eyes widened, his heart beat faster, and his cheeks flashed many shades of red...albeit all for completely different reasons than Yancy's. 'No! No! NOOOOOOO..!' he screamed internally, horrified to hear what his mischievous pal had the nerve to just reveal against his wishes.

While the other two were internally screaming over this revelation he just shared, Hugh remained cool and collected as he continued to speak; "As a matter of fact..." The spiky-haired teen paused for dramatic effect and slowly began walking a few strides ahead with his back to the others. "...She just so happens to be...right here—" There he said it. Just as Yancy was about to squeal in delight and reveal to Nate that he had no need to be embarrassed and she felt the same way about him, Hugh shocked her yet again by turning quickly and landing his finger upon a certain poster hanging on the wall nearby as he proclaimed his friend's apparent crush unambiguously; "...The one and only Nancy; Unova's most famous pop singer!"

Wait... What?

A deafening silence filled the atmosphere. The uncontrollable smile on Yancy's blushing face dropped like a thousand flies, and the color of her cheeks went from pink to pale. She looked back to Nate again to find him lowering his visor to avoid eye-contact with a just-do-me-a-favor-and-kill-me-now look of humiliation on his reddening face, no longer even attempting to deny the embarrassing accusations his friend was charging him with. Yancy had never before told him about her secondary life as the famous celebrity Nancy, so for him to have a crush on her alternate persona instead of her real self was a great disappointment to her. "...Oh," was what the pink-haired girl finally managed to say at last, trying to hide her dismay. "...A celebrity-crush, is it..?"

"W-well... I wouldn't go so far as to call it a 'crush'..." said a deflated Nate, looking away and still unable to raise his eyes.

"Yeah, that's right..." smirked Hugh as he leaned coolly against the wall. "I'd say it's more like an obsession! He said so himself that seeing her smile means the world to him, after all~"

"Dude... You can shut up now..." Nate groaned.

Although it was not at all uncommon for Yancy to hear that someone was head-over-heels infatuated with her celebrity persona, nor to receive extravagant gifts from adoring fans wanting to make an impression, but to have it coming from Nate, of all people, was more than a little disheartening to her. As far as she was concerned, Nancy was a complete different person from her true self; merely someone whom she pretends to be in order to boost her confidence before her fans when performing while simultaneously shielding her true, vulnerable self from the public eye, thus keeping her personal life separate from her career life. Sure, she can appreciate the admiration and support she gets from her many fans as Nancy, but she always knew that their love for her was only shallow, and that the person whom they know and adore is, in truth, nothing more than a superficial persona who isn't really her.

That is largely part of what always made Nate so special to her; he knew and appreciated her exclusively as Yancy without associating her with that phony persona of hers. She could truly be herself around him and know that he enjoyed her company for who she really was, just as she enjoyed his for who he was. For this reason, she had always put off the day she would have to eventually reveal her second life to him, fearing that it could forever change the way he sees her. He did always seem genuine to her though, which gave her high hope that her celebrity status would make no difference to him if and when he should eventually find out about it, but now that she was hearing how he felt about her alter ego, that hope came crashing down hard. It seemed she may have over-idealized him after all...

Deciding it best to continue keeping her alternate identity a secret for the time being, Yancy did her best to conceal the downheartedness she was currently feeling and get this uncomfortable conversation over with...both for her own sake and for the sake of sparing Nate further humiliation from Hugh. "So... if you're looking to buy this...'Nancy'...a gift, I'm guessing that means you must have plans to go see her live in the upcoming concert this Christmas Eve?"

"Yeah, Nate... just what were you planning to do this year?" Hugh inquired with amusement. "Try and give her your gift as an adoring fan from a live audience, or send it off by mail? Maybe...juuuuuust maybe...you might get super-lucky at that concert and find an opportunity to present your gift to the girl of your dreams personally~?"

Nate stood with his back to them both, too embarrassed yet to turn around and show his face again to either of them. He was deeply reluctant to speak, but eventually responded to their question as he couldn't stand to be rude before Yancy. "I... uh... I doubt I'll even be able to get a ticket to that concert at this rate anyway..."

"Oh, that's a shame," teased Hugh once more; "Since we all know just how much seeing that pink-haired beauty means to you~"

"Shut up..."

"W-well..." Yancy spoke up shyly, deeming it appropriate to gently voice some of her honest thoughts. "I'm not going to tell you what to do or what not to do, but if you want my honest opinion; I think it's best not to concern yourself with buying gifts for celebrities... I mean, I'm sure she'd appreciate the kind gesture and everything, but if I were Nancy—wh-which I'm obviously not, of course! But IF, hypothetically, I was—I know I'd feel a little awkward about my fans wasting their hard-earned money on expensive gifts for me when I'm already living as a literal celebrity and they have their own needs to take care of. As much as I'd appreciate their support, I'd still much rather they invest themselves more in the people around them, who are actually a part of their personal lives, than in someone whom they've only ever seen on TV... You know?"

"Yeah, I'm sure you're right..." Nate agreed without denial. "Gift-shopping for someone who doesn't even know I exist is a pretty stupid idea when you stop to think about it... Heh... She probably already gets so bombarded with gifts from fans everyday that anything I were to send her would most likely just get thrown out with the rest of the extra clutter anyhow."

His calm reaction gave Yancy a surprising sense of relief. She didn't necessarily expect him to be so easily accepting of this reality after how committed he must have been to his fanciful goal for who-knows-how-long, but it certainly pleased her to see how open he was to reason. Perhaps a part of him had already understood from the start how silly it was to devote oneself to a celebrity-crush and was actually feeling relieved to have someone talk him out of that fantasy he had been clinging to?

"I hear she tends to donate most of the unneeded stuff that she gets to charity," she responded to him with a smile. "But anyway, if you really want to; I'm sure there's no harm in sending her a nice fan-letter to express your admiration. I would love to hear about how much enjoyment I've been able to bring you through what I do! —Er... I-if I was Nancy, I mean..!"

"There's an idea, I guess..." said Nate, still too overcome with embarrassment yet to look anyone in the eye but slowly regaining his composure. "Thanks, I think I know what I'm going to do now..."

"Glad I could be of help!" said Yancy as she picked up her shopping-bags to leave. "Anyway, I should probably get going now. I've got a pretty busy schedule this week, but it was nice to see you!"

"Yeah, you too," Nate faintly smiled to her. "Sorry you had to see our little squabble just now."

Hugh, meanwhile, was far too amused with this encounter to just let it end so soon. "Hey, I just noticed something..." he said to Yancy with a smirk as he leaned smugly against the wall beside the poster of Nancy. "Has anyone ever told you that you look just like Nancy..? Oh, and your names even happen to rhyme, too! Gosh! What an amazing coincidence! You'd almost think—"

Yancy pretended not to hear and immediately took off sprinting down the hall. "ByeNate!BeSureToCallMeOnTheXtransceiverLaterWhenYouGetTheChance!"

The instant she was out of sight, Nate immediately grabbed Hugh by the collar of his jacket. "Any last words, traitor?!" said the fuming teen as his spiky-haired friend only burst out laughing.

Thanks for reading! I hope Hugh doesn't come across as being too out-of-character in this chapter. Although he's mostly a serious and edgy kind of character, I'd imagine he'd still have his occasional playful moments where he can let loose and goof around together with Nate in a mirthful atmosphere like this. I mean; everyone has multiple sides to their personality, right? He may be ruthless when dealing with the likes of Team Plasma, but he obviously can't be edgy all the time!