Fake Authenticity

Chibi-Cookies

Full Summary: She was a cold and unreadable girl with a hard past, a fearful mother and an abusive father. When death seems the only way out, she meets a derelict that hides behind his tough exterior and his fixation on drugs. Will they help each other heal, or will he be the final cause of her downfall? Add a dash of Beauty and the Beast and a hint of Cinderella and you've got yourself a fairy tale. But will there be a 'happily ever after' at the end of their story?

Disclaimer: I do not in any way, shape, or form own CCS…Although I can still keep wishing. Heh.

Thoughts

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-Normal POV-

Long auburn locks swept lazily over her shoulder from where she had brushed them only minuets earlier. She was, at the moment, peeking into the kitchen from her hiding place in the shadows of a dimly lighted living area.

Her muscles tensed in reflex as she heard the jangling of keys from outside of the front door. She closed her eyes and let her body shudder as she heard them being rammed into the lock followed by a string of curses.

She felt her hot breath on her arm as she rapidly shoved the loose strands of hair back behind her ear. She squeezed her eyes shut he's in a temper again. She thought to herself, trying to hold back tears that were threatening to fall.

Her hand slowly moved to touch the soft cottony fabric of her oversized shirt – a hand-me-down that came from her distant cousin. The clothes she received from her relatives often didn't fit her frail, thin body, but she was constantly being reminded of how grateful she should be to be getting the semi-new clothes.

She fumbled with the seam of the shirt, then reached under and stroked a small scar that was on her stomach. It was a constant reminder to her of how her father could act when he had a bad day at work.

Her fragile wrist banged clumsily into her hip, the bone jutted out in an almost menacing way. She scratched nervously at her hand, an image flashed in front of her closed eyes, her father standing tremendously over a small girl, he held her up by the hand so she was dangling dangerously above the floor before throwing her into the jagged edge of the counter, like a old bit of paper, before walking out and slamming the door.

Her eyes snapped open almost instantly, and her body broke out in a cold sweat. She pushed herself up from the carpeted floor and dashed fitfully up the stairs. She had reached the end of the hallway and scurried into a room with a simple template baring the name 'Sakura' in clumsy child-like handwriting, it was a simple memory of her pain-ridden childhood.

She swiftly closed the door and pressed in the lock, hearing the satisfying click, she turned to her room. If you had merely walked into the room you might've thought that the person staying here was away at college, or maybe on a long vacation. The room was painted a bare white. There was a small cot in the corner of the room, and a small dresser with a cracked and dusty mirror sitting on it.

There were no belongings strewn across the floor, no jewelry, no pictures, it seemed as if the room was simply inhabited.

She strode across the floor hastily, and gently tugged open her closet door. She reached in and took out a small knapsack; and hurriedly grabbed some clothes that were suspended on hangers and stuffed them in. She then rifled through the corner of her closet and produced a small shopping bag and rapidly put that in the knapsack where it lay nestled among the clothes, like a baby bird safely tucked away in a nest.

There was a slam as the front door was closed and there was an angry shuffling of feet as they tread across the floor to the refrigerator. She grabbed a pair of shoes from under hear bed and stuffed them on her feet; dashing over to a window she undid the lock and pushed up, it didn't budge. She pushed again; it's stuck! She realized in horror. Retaliating against the stubborn mirror she rammed against it, pushing so hard that her knuckles turned white.

I need to leave! She heard grumbling from below the thin floorboards and then heard a satisfying budge from the window, she leaned onto the sill, opening it fully and climbing out onto the slanted roof. She tightened the straps of the knapsack so that it fit snuggly to the curves of her back before getting down on all fours and climbing over to the edge of roof that covered the back porch.

She looked down, this was the shortest distance from the roof to the ground, but it still didn't look like it would be that pleasant of a jump. The leaves of a nearby oak tree stirred fretfully it the autumn nights chilly air, making Sakura's skin shiver with anticipation.

She scanned the ground with her glowing emerald eyes and spotted where she was going to jump down to. An old couch that had been discarded by her father was sitting lamely in the tall, overgrown grass. It was a few feet away from her currant crouching position, but it was better than aiming for a soft spot of ground.

She reached behind her, making sure everything in her bag was secure, before looking down into the depths of darkness that swallowed her backyard whole. She took a deep breath and counted in her head. One… She repositioned herself, with one foot shakily on top of the gutter, and the other behind her supporting her body weight. Two… She looked down once more before closing her eyes and dragging herself further to the edge. Three! And with that she launched herself off the roof. She felt her body soaring weightlessly through the air as the wind whipped her hair across her face and made her eyelids water.

She forced open her eyes and saw her destination coming closer, in a small bewildering minuet she forced her hands out in front of her as a shield, and brought her legs up to her chest.

She landed with a sickening thud, half on the couch, half hanging over the end. She groaned, as the breath was knocked out of her. Sliding off the couch Sakura fell to the ground trying to regain her breathing pattern. After about a couple of scary instants when she couldn't inhale, she felt the normal regulation of her breathing come back.

As the worst was over she scrambled up and sprinted over to the decaying wooden fence that separated her house from an abandoned park. She reached the fence and crinkled her nose; the fence was giving off an indefinite smell of moisture and mold.

Sighing, she reached out and grabbed the top of the fence, using all her arm strength Sakura was able to pull herself overtop before loosing balance and falling to the other side. There was the scary feeling of flying again before she landed with a small thump in an overgrown patch of weeds.

She sat up in awe of the sight around her. There were small iridescent bugs floating around the night sky, giving off small light that was drowned out in the huge moon; it was shining brightly of a pale yellowing color, such as aged paper. Soft gray clouds drifted sluggishly past stars in the sky that put even the most beautiful diamonds to shame.

Resting her hands on her knees she stared at the wide universe, feeling the vast radiance it was giving off. Sakura suddenly felt very small and alone making her reconsider coming out here in the first place. Although thinking back to her father, she knew she had made the right decision. She but her lip, I wonder what he'll do when he finds out I'm not there? He'll go into a fury I'm guessing, but will he come searching for me?

This being the first time Sakura had run away from home, didn't know how her father would act upon finding her missing. She let out an audible sigh before getting up and stretching. Dusting of her clothes she began to walk amiably. Not really knowing where she was headed she began to walk in the direction opposite of the fence, putting more distance between her and her enraged father.

She ambled along taking in the eerie sights of objects altered from the shadows around her. She shivered and pulled her thin shirt tighter around her paling body.

Her feet made crunching sounds as she walked over the pebbles that seemed to reverberate into the night air. Her leg started tightening and she knew that a cramp would form if she didn't find somewhere to rest momentarily, in the distance she eyed an unstable looking picnic table, limping over, she gratefully heaved her body onto the tabletop.

-Sakura POV-

I massaged my leg, the tight pricks were not all that pleasant, and I stomped it on the seat of the picnic table, trying to get the blood rushing back through. Once it was beginning to get slightly back to normal I began inspecting myself to see if I had any damage from the fall.

There was a forming bruise on my shin that was going to form a nice purple-green color when it finished forming, and a small nick on my knee that was bleeding slightly. I applied pressure and watched as the blood started coming out more and more slowly until it stopped.

I turned and grabbed my knapsack, undoing the clasp I took out the plastic grocery bag that stored my supply of food for when I was banned from eating.

I took out an old apple that was bruised and a little mealy. I eyed it suspiciously before rubbing it off on my shirt and taking a huge bite. The juice seeped out and dripped onto my face and hands, I rubbed it off but the sticky feeling still remained.

The wind blew past again; my hair flew about in a disheveled manor. I shoved back my hair roughly; right now I would die for a hair scruntchie. Another gust of wind, this time stronger, made my skin prickle as I shivered. Why didn't I think to bring a stupid match? I pinched myself in the leg for my stupidity before standing up and looking around for anything that could provide warmth.

A bit to the east there seemed to be a campfire, giving off wisps of smoke that surrendered instantaneously to the wind letting itself be carried away. I wonder how I could've missed that?

I walked groggily over to the campfire, and as I got closer, noticed that there was a tent pitched up beside it also. I walked closer, still in the shadows, there was a person sitting next to the tent, staring off into space. I made to go closer when I heard a cracking beneath me and looked down to see that I had stepped on a twig. Bloody hell.

-Syaoran POV-

I heard a cracking noise and instantly turned my head. "Who's there?" I called, my voice reverberating through the darkness, making a bird take off in fright from its sleep. "Who's there?" I called out again.

I saw a small shadow moving forward then stop in front of me. I looked up and saw a small girl roughly my age. She had pale skin and long auburn hair tossed recklessly around her shoulders. She was dressed in clothes that were a couple sizes to big, the shirt hanging off of one shoulder, she saw me staring, and her arm snaked out and pushed the shirt up so that it was now sitting evenly. She was also wearing what appeared to be a skirt. It was obviously to bid and one of the ends was scrunched up and tied with a rubber band, preventing it from falling down. It fell Just below her knees along you could tell the skirt was designed to rest about mid-thigh.

One of her legs had a giant bruise forming, and the other had a thin line of blood that had apparently dried there. I then looked up at her face, her lips were slightly quavering and her cheeks looked wind burned, then I turned to her eyes. They were the most exotic shade of green I have ever seen – although as I looked at them they seemed to push me away.

"What do you want?" I asked her gruffly, and in a very monotone voice she replied, "Can I sit by your fire a bit?"

-Normal POV-

He nodded, and she walked over and knelt in a small patch of grass next to the fire. She looked over at him and took notice to what he was doing. He was expertly folding up paper – she wondered why for a moment but then looked down at a pile of an off-white substance sitting on a rock.

He was doing drugs. She watched him curiously for a moment before turning away, and looking into the burning embers of the fire. The light from the fire seemed to draw her in and her head swayed a bit as she stared intensely at them flicker. All of a sudden she sat up and held her head, as if steadying herself from a dizzy spell.

The boy stopped what he was doing and looked over at her, "You alright?" He asked in the same gruff voice as before. "Yeah…just a memory." She replied back shakily. He eyed her warily before dusting the white substance into a small container and throwing it into the tent.

"You don't have to stop yourself on my behalf." The girl said to him, she was back to staring at the flames. "I know, I just don't feel like it any more." "Oh." They both sat there in an awkward silence, they heard the hooting of a far off owl, and it sent chills through her spine.

After a couple more seconds of silence Sakura finally said, ""Why are you here?" The boy looked at her through the corner of his eye, then turned to face her completely. "Just getting away from it all I guess. Y'know, the stress and drama of all that family crap…you?"

The question took her by surprise although she should have expected it. She thought of her raging father cringing before she said, "Same here I guess." They sat in silence a bit longer before he said, "You better be getting back home then, I bet you ran away for something stupid like getting banned from a party."

She looked up at him with those emotionless eyes. He almost flinched away when she said, "Yeah, I guess it was stupid of me to run away for something so silly…" He nodded then heard something she mumbled under her breath that sounded like, "He might not be to mad…" He shook his head, confused by all of it.

He got up and stretched arching his back then looked down at the small girl below him. He reached down to pull her up, but she didn't accept his hand only looked at it like she was perplexed before nudging it away and getting up by herself.

As she turned to walk she stumbled the boy, in reflex, caught her. He enclosed his hand over her tiny wrist and helped pull her up and steadying her on her feat. He seemed shocked by the boniness of her body. She looked back at him once more with those unfeeling eyes before disappearing into the shadows again. Was she even there? Psh…maybe it was the drugs that's got me thinking I have company.

As if looking for proof his eyes fell to the spot where she had sat and saw dent marks in the grass. Huh…wonder who she was? Then something in his mind clicked, Isn't she that quiet girl who always sits in the back of the class?

-Sakura POV-

I climbed back over the fence, I guess that guy was right – there was no way I could've survived out there by myself anyway. I was in a daze throughout the whole process of getting inside. Don't ask me how I did it.

At about a quarter past eleven I was safely inside my room…if you could call it safe that is. Then I heard it, a sickening crash and my name being shouted at the top of somebody's lungs.

I silently drooped my head and hoped he wasn't to drunk yet. I crept downstairs and saw numerous beer cans strewn about the floor; there was my submissive mother picking up all his trash and cowering slightly as he called my name again.

"God-damn it Nadeshiko where the hell is your daughter?" I heard him ask her angrily. I closed my eyes, better to get it done with quick. And I stepped forth from the shadows of the stairwell, his head swiveled in my direction so fast that I was afraid for a moment that it was going to pop off…not that I would've minded.

"What the hell did you think you were doing?" He shouted at me. I wonder what I did to him this time? The thought slowly circled my mind before his shouting brought me back to reality. "First I come home and the mail is still sitting in the mailbox – so I had to inconvenience my self to go get it.

His hand slithered out and grabbed my chin, I felt stabbing pain and tried to shake my head loose from his grip, but it only tightened. "Second, when I try to confront her about it she's nowhere to be found. So tell me where have you been hiding Sakura dear?"

I tried pushing him away with my hands but that only brought him closer. "I wasn't anywhere! I was just in my room studying!" His face turned blotchy and red, I watched, as the red veins in his eyes seemed to bulge. He yanked me by my chin and threw me sideways. My hair floating down softly above me, as it caught up with the quick activity of my body.

I saw him coming nearer through half blocked vision from my hair. He came closer and slapped me across the face as more hair drifted over my eyes. "Maybe you shouldn't Ushio after all she was just studying…" He glared at my mother, Nadeshiko then said, "She wasn't there…I checked."

Okay, this will not be good. He's using his 'I'm extremely angry so now I'm going to take it out on Sakura' voice. "Nadeshiko please leave while I teach this rubbish to not lie."

I heard Nadeshiko's small voice saying how there were other ways to teach teenagers. I appreciated that she stuck up for me but that vanished when Ushio growled out, "Now." After that, she ran out of the room, I could see small translucent tears running down her soft pale skin. I felt pity for her. For a second I thought that I might've been better off than her. She had to sit in the other room listening to my screams and knowing that she was useless to stopping him, while I was only being hit.

But I ushered that thought from my mind when I thought about my past. Tears started forming involuntarily in my eyes, but I was snapped back into reality when I heard a clicking. "Maybe this will teach you not to lie." I saw that he had undone his belt and was folding it in half. Oh joy... This was going to hurt.

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Okies so this is my new story - tell me what yah think. I think it's written okay...kinda depressing but eh...the though popped into my head and I couldn't make it go away so I decided to write it. Hmm well tell me if I should continue it...I'm not sure if I should...seems kinda sad and angsty hmmm anyway tell me your feedback and advice is welcomed.

The question that I'm looking for you to answer: Should I continue or not?

So please review and tell me your thoughts.