Hello everybody! I'm SyaoranFan 001 and this is my first ever fanfiction! I'm so glad that I get to write a fanfiction today, instead of simply reading them. If you can believe it, I've been in to reading fanfictions for the past 3 years and only about a week ago got an account, but then I didn't know how to write a story, so maybe I'm just stupid!

I would like to apologize in advance for any typos and/or incorrect grammar. I really like English, I'm pretty good at it, and I used a spell checker, but it still may not be correct. I also put in lots of commas, in places they don't belong, so I'll try to avoid that, for your sakes!

By the way! I'm an S+S, E+T, R+T, and T+Y fan all the way!

(Syaoran/Sakura, Eriol/Tomoyo, Rika/Terada, and Touya/Yukito)

Disclaimer: All characters herein are not mine, though I wish that they were, and belong to CLAMP, along with the other respective owners!

Chapter 1: Why Aren't They Coming?

Sakura trudged slowly past her father and into the awaiting car; on the way, dropping her suitcase near the trunk and next to Touya, who grabbed it quickly and threw it into the car. She pulled herself into the car, and scrunched her nose up at the smell. Why did it always smell like fast food in this car? Nobody ever ate fast food in the Kinomoto household. It was always home cooked meals.

Touya finished putting all of the suitcases into the car and closed the trunk, making it give off a slight thumping sound as metal hit metal. Fijitaka climbed into the car, just as Touya was finishing up. It was sure to be a long day. What with Touya upset that Yukito wasn't coming and Sakura wasn't going to be any better. She had begged for Tomoyo to be allowed to come, and had finally gotten her wish, until she asked Tomoyo, and found that Tomoyo was leaving for London, England to visit with Eriol, while her mother went to numerous European meetings! Tomoyo said that it was because Eriol was ill, but he's a magician for God's sake! Can't he take care of himself? Did Tomoyo really want to help him get better rather than help her to have fun?

At first Sakura thought that Tomoyo was being selfish, until she realized that Eriol was alone, except for Nakuru and Spinel, and they really wouldn't be of much help. Eriol had broken it off with Kaho when they realized that they were just too far away from one another. Their interest varied significantly, and they were such different ages; they assumed it wouldn't work, and quit while they were ahead, so to speak.

Thinking about it now, Sakura realized how alike Tomoyo and Eriol were, and pondered about Tomoyo's ulterior motives for going to visit. Surely it wasn't just because he was sick, there HAD to be something else.

"Are we there yet?" at his answer, Sakura continued, "Daddy, I really don't want to be stuck in this car, with Touya, and without Tomoyo, for much longer."

"Monster, we haven't been on the road for five minutes and you're already complaining. Read one of the million books that you just HAD to bring on our back-to-school vacation! One week…" and as Touya continued to mumble, the volume continued to decrease, until his mouth was moving but he wasn't speaking.

Sakura's eye twitched at the mention of her nickname, the one that her brother had unceremoniously given her, and the one that she hated more than any other. He had called her a 'squirt', a 'nuisance', and a 'brat', and those were alright, but a 'monster'? She wasn't about to put up with that.

'Ha!' she thought as her fist made contact with the top of Touya's head. "I'm not a monster Touya, and if you weren't in the front seat, I'd have kicked you in the shins like normal. Can't you just leave me alone?"

Sakura glanced hopefully towards the clock, only to have her hopes dashed. Another two hours in this car. Great, just great.

Sakura's head hurt, and her neck hurt, and just about everywhere else hurt too. Sakura had finally fallen to sleep in the car, after about twenty minutes of arguments, and with nearly two hours left in the car ride from hell.

(Author's Note: If anyone here has ever fallen asleep in a car, or other moving vehicle, they should know that your neck tips to the side and you get terrible pains. That's why Sakura is so sore from falling asleep:)

Being a sixteen year old clad in a mini skirt and tight top had its advantages when you went to the beach. Guys have the habit of staring. A bad habit, but it isn't like they can help it, so Sakura did her best to make it worth while. She wasn't trashy, but she didn't mind showing off the body she had worked for. If it sufficiently covered everything, it was alright. Everyone who knows her also knows that she had been in plenty of sports, and that's part of the reason she was as good looking as she was. Other than her sports, she wasn't very active, because usually she turns out to be clumsy.

The Kinomoto summer house was just off of the beach, and a little ways into the surrounding foliage. Sakura was the last one into the house, seeing as she was the one flirting, sightseeing, and tripping over pebbles, trying to make it to the front door in one piece. Yes, Sakura was tripping over pebbles and the occasional rock with a 1-inch diameter.

"Damn! Why didn't I wear normal shoes? I shouldn't have worn high heels, they suck. This sucks. You know what? Life sucks. Why didn't I just stay home? I wouldn't have needed to go to the stupid beach and wear stupid heels, and flirt with stupid boys, who probably don't even know what 'happenstance' means. Why didn't Tomoyo come like she always does? Just because her mom owns one of the worlds largest toy companies, she thinks that she can tell people whatever she wants and get out of being a good friend…" and the rant continued, Sakura mumbling things about her annoying brother, her studious father, her dead mother, her other friends and those friends' obsessions, and eventually about her cat, Kero, being left home, when he should've been with them this whole time.

When Sakura finally reached the door to the summer home, she sat down to pull off her heels. When she had successfully wrestled the things off her feet and set them carefully in the shoe cubby, she reached for the door, hoping it was unlocked. It wasn't. Sighing, Sakura reached out to knock, loudly, so her family could hear it wherever they were in the house. She knocked only twice, before she heard an unfamiliar voice shout something along the lines of "hang on" and waited impatiently for the door to open.

However, she was truly dumbfounded when the door opened to reveal a young girl with sleek, straight black hair, in a high ponytail and bright crimson eyes. Cocking her head to the side, Sakura's eye twitched for what felt like to hundred time today, and she question the girl softly as to where she was from and what she was doing in her summer home.

(Author's Note: To those of you who don't know, the whole crimson eyes, that's normal. I didn't make it up! Thanks!)

"Oh!" her voice was soft, but Sakura felt the power underneath it, "My name! I'm Meilin, you must be Sakura? How nice to meet you! I love your name! My aunt used to be friends with your parents, but after your mom's death, we sort of filed away, I guess, but Aunty wanted to have a chat, so here we are! Didn't your dad tell you? We're staying here too!"

So, her name was Meilin. Not only had Meilin's aunt known Nadeshiko, Sakura's mother, but they had been friends. That was weird. This girl definitely wasn't Japenese.

"Hi, Meilin, I'm Sakura, and I'm pleased to meet you, too. When you say… When you say that you're staying here too, what exactly do you mean?" Sakura crossed her fingers silently behind her back.

"Your dad invited us to stay in the house with you! But my cousin isn't happy about that!" She giggled, and Sakura silently thought up every curse word she knew, "Just so you know, he isn't the happiest person in the world, but when you really get to know him, he can be really nice, he just doesn't like to show it."

"He?" Sakura gulped. She wasn't too great at communicating with the male half of the species. "What's his name?"

"Xiao-Lang, but that's the Chinese way to say it so, just call him Syaoran. And if he asks you to call him 'Li', just ignore him, and he'll eventually give up."

Hey! Sorry if you don't like the first chapter, but I needed to end it there! I want you to know that Syaoran isn't going to be totally mean to Sakura, he's going to be more laid back and quiet, but don't worry, he'll still suck at being nice to her in the beginning!

Quick note: I really don't mind if you flame me, so long as you give me a review.

Read and Review! Thanks for reading the first chapter of "Just Before School Began" and I hope you'll be back for the next chapter!