I ship these two so hard and I wish there would be more fics of them, but I've resorted to writing my own. It's inspired by Gravity by Rendered Heartless (I know you read that magnificent story and if you haven't, do it now) and I wanted to give this pairing a try. I tried to go by the story line, although I'll be creating my own plot and events, so I'm sorry if the dialogue and sequencing is different from the movie.
"Master Li's been a little harsh lately, dontcha think?" Zhuang inquires, shielding his eyes from the blistering sun. Cheng, who's protected under a tree, nonchalantly replies, "Not really," He leans against the tree and crosses his arms against his chest. Liang looks around absently before joining the conversation. "Nothing's changed," He says.
Zhuang shrugs before shifting his weight to his left foot, "Guess it's just me"
A little bit later, Shen, a boy who comes to the park often, comes over and asks, "One of you guys wanna play? It's 2 on 2 with the American boys over there," Cheng shifts his eyes to the basketball court, where the new kid and the white boy, who's name he can't remember, stands waiting. He looks over to Liang and Zhuang with a questioning look and they both shake their heads.
"No, thanks." Cheng says, with underlying sarcasm. Shen nods, wondering why he had even asked anyway, because they would never join. When he's out of earshot, Zhuang snorts and says, "As if we'd ever play with him. Though it would be nice to defeat the new kid," Liang laughs in agreement, while Cheng smirks.
"Speaking of which, what're you gonna do to him, Cheng?," Zhuang asks, expectantly, with a hopeful look on his face.
Cheng murmurs, "I don't know yet." while looking over to the girl, sitting on the bench, practicing her violin. Zhuang follows his line of vision muttering, "What're you look..." His eyes widen a little and he says Oh a little too loudly. Zhuang nudges Liang, who's been spacing out, on the arm and gets his attention. Liang looks a little irritated but looks over to him and mouths, "What?"
Before Zhuang can reply, Cheng taps him on the shoulder and says, "Look."
They turn their heads over to the ping-pong table. The American Boy is challenging Qiao(1). Zhuang laughs loudly and exclaims, "What does he think he's doing!" He steps closer, to the other tree, so he can watch. Liang laughs quietly and says, "He's quite confident. What makes him think he can stand a chance?" Cheng doesn't answer, as he is watching as the American Boy look over to the girl on the bench, practicing with her violin. Something bubbles up inside of him, but he pushes the feeling away as he turns to Liang and replies, "Well, he won't be too cocky once Qiao humiliates him," Then, Cheng walks over to Zhuang, Liang following after shortly.
-xxx-
Mei Ying smiles a little as she watches the American boy play against Qiao. Of course, he wouldn't win, because Qiao is the best at playing around here. But she smiles because she has a small feeling that he's doing it for her.
She doesn't forget about how he has been staring for a while now. Mei Ying always finds him looking at her and it takes all her will not to look back. Cheng. She's known him for a long time and their parents are very good friends. But they are not friends. Not even close. They barely even talk and when they do, it's a very short and useless conversation and she is the only one initiating.
So, she attempts to ignore him, though it is completely futile as Cheng is like a walking magnet and you just cannot take your eyes of him. It takes a whole lot of effort to do so. She knows he's not looking anymore because his attention is fully on the American boy. She lets her vision slide over to him, just a little, to see that amused smirk on his face. It's rare to see him like this, because he's very stoic and apathy just follows him everywhere.
When the American boy loses, he walks over to the white guy, who she thinks goes by Harry or something. They talk for a while, until the American boy glances at her. She looks away and tries to lose his attention, but she cannot stop him from walking over.
-xxx-
"Hah! What a loser," Zhuang guffaws as Qiao beats the American boy harshly. Liang laughs with him as they walk over to where their friends are at. Cheng follows, his smirk still on his face. Liang goes back to the tree, taking Cheng's previous place. "Hey Cheng, can you show me that move you made when you were fighting against Shi Yong?," Zhuang announces, excitedly taking his stance. Cheng, who is full of ego, smirks and asks, "Which one?" cockily.
"This?" Cheng says as he crouches down on his knees, sweeps his leg over, stands up, and does a backflip all in one moment. Zhuang shakes his head and protests, "No, no! The one you used whe-" He is interrupted when Liang shakes Cheng's arm as if there was an emergency. Cheng looks over to where Liang is pointing and his mood went south. The American Boy is speaking to Mei Ying.
Zhuang makes a sound of annoyance and mutters, "What's he doing now?" They both stand and watch as the American boy converses with Mei Ying. The girl who sits on that bench, every Sunday, and practices playing her violin.
They watched as Mei Ying smiles at the boy, uncertainly, as he takes something out of his pocket. Cheng narrows his eyes as he presses a button on the phone and gives it to Mei Ying. She never looks away from the boy's face.
Liang stifles a laugh when the American boy starts to dance in front of her, in attempt to woo. Zhuang dances too, mocking him. They laugh together, but stop as they see Cheng walking over to them. They both glance at each other quickly, while Zhuang quietly cheers because something interesting is bound to happen. They follow Cheng, quietly laughing, leaning against the tree close to the bench.
Mei Ying notices the boys coming over and stops the music emitting from the cell phone. The American boy was absolutely clueless about everything.
Cheng stops right in front of her and murmurs, "You're supposed to be practicing," accusingly.
She looks up at him, away from the new kid, and replies, "I am practicing," Lifting her music sheets, proving her statement. Cheng glances at them and rips them out of her hands. "What is this? You don't need this!" He says, throwing it to the floor. Behind them, Liang and Zhuang laugh. She stands up in anger and confusion, "What's your problem?" Her hands ball into fists.
The American boy looks back and forth between them, since he cannot understand what they are saying. Feeling useless, he picks up the sheets and slowly gives them to Mei Ying. Before they reach her, Cheng quickly takes them, throws them to the floor and shouts, "Leave it!"
He looks over to Mei Ying again, while she shouts incoherant ramblings about him being jerk, which he doesn't really care about. When he sees the American boy attempt to pick up the papers again in his peripheal vision, his blood went cold. "I said, leave it!," He shouts louder, his temper getting the best of him, slapping the papers out of his hand. "Dude!" the American boy groans in frustration. Afterward, Mei Ying groans, "Ugh!,"and turns around to put away her violin away. Liang and Zhuang have moved from their spots, coming closer to the bench and people have come forward to see what the commotion was. The American boy pays no heed to Cheng's murderous glare, as he bends down and picks up the papers again, trying to give them to Mei Ying, with what's left of his confidence.
In a fit of anger, Cheng pushes the boy away, with his hand on his face. The American falls to the ground, looking surprised and possibly scared. Zhuang shouts, encouraging Cheng, and knowing how competetive he gets, he won't back down. Mei Ying yells in abhorrence and attempts to run to the boy, but Liang and Zhuang pull her back, forcing her to stay behind their barriers.
Cheng looks down at the boy, his eyes livid. The boy stands up and gets in his amateur stance. He does not know what he's getting into. The white guy, Harry, comes up to Cheng explaining to him that the American boy doesn't know anything about this place and that he doesn't know him, but Cheng rolls his eyes and commands him to leave.
Mei Ying cries out, "Stop it!," and tries to break free from Liang's hold. Cheng smirks as he lets his mind go override and the last thing he remembers was Mei Ying's desperate eyes and his feet taking him away from the park.
-xxx-
"You really did a number on him," Liang hums, with a thoughtful look on his face. Zhuang cheers, "I thought it was awesome!," He has that stupid grin on his face, that one grin that always appears after Cheng beats someone up. "You think all Cheng's fights are awesome," Liang drawls, putting his hands behind his head to make him more comfortable. They're in Cheng's room, where they usually hang out after going to the park on Sundays.
It's a bit roomy, a little too big as there is a big space in the middle where only a red circular rug sits on the floor. On the rug there is a design of a dragon. The walls are a dark kind of red and the carpet is of a cream color. There is a twin-bed in the corner, where Cheng is sitting. Next to the bed, is the desk, where Zhuang sits, and there is a computer and a cabinet on the other side of the room. Liang lounges about on the floor, next to Cheng, sitting against the side of the bed.
"If only Mei Ying hadn't interfered," Zhuang pouts, sighing as if there was something missing from his life. "Yeah," Liang agrees, looking at Cheng. When he doesn't get a response, he sighs, and murmurs, "She'll get over it" Which inevitably catches Cheng's attention, "What?"
"You are worried about Mei Ying, correct?"
Cheng purses his lips and then a defiant look gets on his face, "No. I don't care about her or what she thinks," Liang has this knowing look on his face, but he just shrugs and says, "Okay..."
He gets up and announces, "It's getting kind of late. Zhuang, didn't you leave something at my house?" Zhuang stands up from the chair and answers, "Oh, yeah. Man, my mom's been bugging me about that. See ya at school, Cheng" Cheng waves and nods a goodbye to Liang, whom returns the gesture subsequently.
When his friends are gone, Cheng flops down onto his bed, staring at his maroon colored ceiling. He sighs and mentally thinks about how much missing assignments he has and what his dad will do when he finds out. He gets up, grabs his backpack and sits in front of his desk, with a look of determination and a pencil in his hand.
Plus, he really needs to get her off his mind.
-xxx-
Mei Ying mentally curses Cheng for his behavior. It angers her whenever he sees him hurt someone innocent, without reason. She has known him long enough to know that he has no concious and simply does whatever he pleases to do just for his own sick amusement. And his friends. God. She doesn't necessarily hate them, but she thinks that she has a obligation to hate them. Everything they do is against her morals. They are all so egotistical, especially Cheng, and all so arrogant strolling in the halls thinking they own the place.
Liang, Mei Ying thinks he's the most tolerable out of the three. They are all best friends, but she thinks that the only thing they really have in common is their love for Kung Fu and their arrogance. Liang is the most... level-headed. He's pretty smart and thinks before he acts, but he's just as bad as the rest of them. He's very blunt and serious about things. He's rude and snide, but that isn't new.
Zhuang... he's a pretty peculiar guy, he finds everything hilarious and has a sick sense of humor. He admires Cheng and likes to cheer him on when he fights. He's loyal, annoying, and a brat. He's a sadist of some sort, even when he's not the one inflicting pain.
She looks at the clock on one of the walls. It is almost lunch time and she's a little hungry. She didn't eat breakfast today, because she had to practice her violin. Lately, her teacher is very strict and if she even gets one note wrong, he will give her a long lecture and tell her father, which is the last thing she needs right now.
When the bell rings, she gets up, says goodbye to her friends, and walks out. She walks into the cafeteria and smiles slightly at what she sees. The American boy seems to have trouble getting his food with the chopsticks. She walks over to him and pokes him in the shoulder. He jolts in surprise and turns around, thinking that it might be that boy who hurt him at the park. "Hey," Mei Ying smiles. The boy laughs, nervously and says, "Hi,"
He turns away, hiding his face as he is blushing, and resorts to trying to use the chopsticks again. He hears a giggle behind him and turns around slightly, "Here," She says, taking the chopsticks from his hands and getting his food for him. "I don't know how you guys use these," He says, raising his eyebrow at how Mei Ying handles the utencils. "I'm Mei Ying," She says and grabs her own tray. The boy watches her and after a while he manages to get out, "I-I'm Dre" He points at himself.
She giggles again and moves on in the line, getting her food, while Dre follows her, just staring. Afterward, she bites her lip and her face becomes sympathetic and a little bit regretful. "Sorry about Cheng," She says, looking at him sadly. Dre looks at his food and turns to her, "So that's his name...," His face comes across the emotions of realization, perplexity, and curiousity. "Is he your boyfriend?," He asks, looking at her intently.
Mei Ying stops getting food and turns to him with questioning eyes, "No," She's confused at how he would think of such a thing. Surely Cheng wouldn't feel that way about her... She's not sure if he's capable of doing such thing anyway. She notices the look on Dre's face and clarifies. "Our parents are close," She says. Dre nods slowly she finishes getting her food. "Well, he definitely likes you," Dre concludes, following her. Mei Ying blushes at the thought and giggles as to reassure herself that it's such a silly notion and would never be true. "I have to practice," She says, walking towards the door to hide her red face. "Wait, you practice while eating?" He asks, befuddlement apparent on his face. Mei Ying twirls around and has a look of puzzlement. "...Yeah.." She furrows her eyebrows in confusion, trying to figure what was wrong with the fact that she eats while she practices. "But... my mom says when you eat standing up... you get gas," He says, dumbfounded and clearly unknown of how stupid he sounded.
Mei Ying smiles and says, "You're funny," She walks away, her smile vanishing slowly as if someone had wiped it off. Dre smiles at himself quietly, thinking that maybe he'd like living here, just a little bit. He turns to sit at one of the tables, but the next thing he knows, his lunch is on the floor and possibly on his shirt. He looks up and sees Cheng with a smirk on his face. "Sorry," He says, teasingly. Dre sees the other two boys, who always follow the Cheng, laugh as well. "Dude!," Dre shouts angrily, and threatningly walks in front of him. Mrs. Po interferes and stops Dre from doing anything else. "Mr. Parker!," She says, pushing him away from Cheng. "He's the one who practically slapped my lunch out of my hands!," Dre points accussingly at Cheng, who Mrs. Po turns her head to, looking for answers.
"I already said sorry and he's still causing me trouble!," Cheng uses his innocent tone and his puppy dog look. Since Mrs. Po didn't witness the accident, she cannot accuse anyone of anything. "Mr. Parker, go.," Mrs. Po says, pointing outside, while she looks at Cheng with a warning look, "Mr. Cheng," She says, pointing to lunch tables. Cheng strolls away, smirking, while faintly from behind him, he hears "I HATE THIS PLACE!," from outside.
He can't help breaking into a grin and Zhuang pats him on the back, cheering like he always does. Liang flanking his other side, with a smirk on his face as well, as they are welcomed to their table.
(1) I have no idea what the old man's name was so I improvised.
Uh, yeah. Go Cheng/Mei Ying! :D and I looooove the trio coz they're so adorable. -insert glomping-