DISCLAIMER: I do not own CCS or CC . . . I wish
I did though. They are owned by CLAMP.
Friend
of Mine
Chapter
One:
I walked down the street in the pouring
rain. I was cold and completely soaked. But I didn't care. I was in too much
pain.
No. I wasn't physically hurt. Or was I?
I could not tell because everything was a blur. But it sure felt like I was. My
legs were weak and wobbling, and my hands and feet were numb from the cold. But
worst of all . . .
My
heart was broken.
"How could he?" I sobbed as I trudged
down the street. "What did I do to deserve this?" I stopped walking and looking
around. Quickly, I realized where I was, I sighed. My house is almost 20 blocks
away, I thought. I can't stay out in this rain or I'll freeze.
I thought for a moment, who lives
around here? I smiled faintly. The one person, who always knew how to make me
smile, lived right across the street.
Quickly, I walked across the street and
stepped into the apartment building. After taking the elevator a few floors up,
I walked down the hall and came to door 110. I extended my arm, but drew it
back, hesitating to knock on the door. He might be angry if I interrupt him so
late, but quickly dismissed the thought. I knocked on the door a few times and
waited. Soon after, the door opened and soft amber eyes met me. They were the
most fascinating colour I'd . . .
My
thoughts were interrupted by a concerned voice, "My god Sakura! What happened?"
I looked up at him. He was so caring
and his face always made me smile (not in a bad way though). But remembering
what happened earlier brought tears in my eyes. Soon I was sobbing again. I
gasped as I felt a pair of strong arms wrap around me. He hugged me as I cried
into his shoulder.
~*~
A Different P.O.V~*~
I was surprised to open my door and see
none other than Sakura Kinomoto in front of me. She comes over often, but never
this late. After getting a good glance at her sad expression, I could tell this
wasn't a happy visit. She was soaked from head to toe and her auburn hair was
clumped and matted. What was usually a bright and happy smile was now a sad and
depressed frown. Her once shimmering emerald eyes were now dull, puffy
and red. She had been crying. "My god Sakura! What happened!"? I asked,
terrified something horrible happened to her.
She
looked up at me as if she was trying to remember. I guess she had because tears
were forming in her eyes. She started crying. I hated seeing her like this. I
hated seeing anyone like this for that matter. So I did the only thing I could
think of. I walked up and took her in my arms and hugged her. She buried her
head in my shoulder as she sobbed.
Moments later, she stepped back, still
crying slightly. She looked up at me again. "I-I'm . . . really sorry . .
. for . . . c-coming . . . this late," She said between sniffs and sobs. "I
.... just didn't . . . kn-know where else . . . to go."
I shook my head, "Hey, it's okay.
You're one of my closest friends. You're always welcome here." I stepped to the
side of the doorway, signalling for her to come in, "Now, why don't you come
inside so you can warm up?"
Sakura walked in and took off her shoes
and jacket. She looked down at her soaked clothes and sighed.
"You can borrow some of my clothes," I
said. I felt my face warm up and I knew I was blushing.
"Are you sure?" She asked. Luckily she
was unaware of my red face.
"Sure. It's better than being soaked to
the bone, right?" I joked trying to lighten things up (and to stop my
blushing). I guess she was not in the mood to laugh, so she only nodded. "Hold
on. I'll find you something." I quickly walked to my room and found some
clothes. I also grabbed a towel from the linen closet. I walked back to the
entryway and placed the clothes and the towel in her hands. "Here," I said,
"they might be a bit big, sorry. You can change in my room."
"Thank-you, Syaoran-kun," She said
quietly before walking down the hall, and going into my room.
I never got used to Sakura calling me
by my first name. It always put knots in my stomach. Hell, I never got used to
calling her by her first name either. Even though we've been calling each other
Sakura and Syaoran since the elevator incident when we were eleven.
~*~Flashback~*~
(Syaoran's
Point Of View)
The whole thing kept repeating in my
mind. Kinomoto was staggering towards the hole in the elevator wall, and
without thinking I ran towards her, hoping, praying that nothing would happen
to her. I did not want her death in my hands. I would never allow it. Different
outcomes flashed in my head, and hoped that the one with her at the bottom of
the elevator shaft would not come true.
I grabbed for her hand as she fell
through the large hole, but her fingers slipped through mine and her scream
echoed throughout the elevator. She was gone.
I slumped to the floor with tears
brimming in my eyes. I chocked on sobs as I remembered everything we had been
through together. When I first met her, well, things did not go well. I always
picked fights with her and told her she was worthless. Let us face it I was a
horrible kid. But even though I was so mean to her, she was always smiling. She
was always trying to befriend me, even when I pushed her away. And through all
of that, we became really good friends.
Have you ever heard the saying, 'you
never really know what it is until it goes?' I never really believed it until
now. I realized something as I saw Sakura fall down that elevator shaft. I
loved her. I know, eleven years old and I had already fallen in love. But it
was true, I loved her, and now she was gone. If only I had not hesitated before
she fell and maybe, just maybe, I could have caught her in time, and she would
still be here. The tears in my eyes finally spilled over and for the first time
in my life I was crying. The almighty Syaoran Li was crying. All the anger and
pain I held in over the years finally came out as I yelled out her name,
"SAKURA!!!!" I half expected to see her rise from the dead and come back, but I
knew that was not going to happen. My head hung low as I sobbed.
"I used the Float Card."
My head shot up and there she was,
smiling as always, sitting on top of the Float. I blinked, thinking I was
dreaming. No, she really was alive. I stood up, hesitating. But then I
remembered what hesitating almost cost me. I stepped towards her and put my
arms around her. "I'm glad you're okay," I whispered as I held her tighter.
Later that day the phone rang in my
room. I didn't really want to answer it but the little voice in my head told me
I should.
"Hello, Li-kun?" it was Sakura.
"Yeah?" I answered.
"Thank you very much for today."
"But I didn't do anything."
"In the elevator, when you called me
Sakura. It made me very happy."
I stood there dumbstruck as she
continued.
"I feel like we've become real friends
now," I felt slightly disappointed when I heard that. But hey, it is a start.
"May I call you Syaoran-kun as well?"
"Do whatever you want," I answered, but
inside I was yelling, dear god yes!
"Okay, Syaoran-kun," she laughed. "I'll
see you at school tomorrow then."
"Yeah," I said. We hung up and I
smiled. Wow, two things I have never done in my life happen in less then a day.
Actually, three if you count me finally figuring out what I felt for Kinomoto .
. . no . . . Sakura. It's going to be a long time to get used to that . . .
~*~
End of Flashback~*~
Seven years later (you do the math), it
still feels funny to call her by her first name. Best not to worry about it
now, I thought. I sighed as I went into the living room.
~*~ Sakura's P.O.V~*~
He's so neat and organized, I thought
to myself as I changed into the clothes Syaoran gave me. His bed was neatly
made, and there was absolutely no spec of dust on the furniture. It was also
obvious that his favourite colour was green, for everything in his room was a
deep forest green.
I finished changing and folded up my
soaking uniform. I looked at my self in the mirror on the back of his door.
Syaoran was right; the clothes were a bit big. But it felt nice to have
something warm and dry against my skin. I was wearing his green (what other
colour would it be?) t-shirt and blue jeans. Plus the slippers I left here a
while ago, considering I'm over here so often.
I
walked out of Syaoran's room and walked into the living room. I found Syaoran,
sitting on the couch, stringing at his guitar. I could never figure out how he
could see what's in front of him, for his untamed cinnamon brown hair was
always hanging down in front of his eyes. "I keep forgetting that you're in a
band, Syaoran-kun," I said, sitting down next to him. Hoping that if I started
a happy conversation, he might not ask me about what happened earlier.
Syaoran stopped playing. He put down
his guitar down and looked at me. He sighed, "Sakura, I know what you're doing.
And trust me, it's not going to work."
This time it was my turn to sigh, "You
know me too well don't you?"
Syaoran nodded, "I hate seeing you like
this. You don't have to tell me what happened. But I think it would help if you
did." He placed his hand on my cheek. Causing me to blush slightly. "You know
you can trust me."
"I know I can trust you Syaoran-kun . .
. but," I couldn't continue because I felt the tears come again. God I wish I
could forget what happened. It was too horrible remembering . . .
~*~Syaoran's
P.O.V.~*~
"You know you can trust me." I said.
Caressing my hand on her face. I still do not know how I had the courage to do
that.
"I know I can trust you Syaoran-kun . .
. but," Her voice faded.
Oh
god, the tears again. I hesitated, but I had to ask. "Sakura . . . d-did
something happen between you and Lang?"
More tears. Lang did do something.
"Sakura.
What did he do? Did he hurt you? Did he," I couldn't even finish the question,
it was too horrible, "If he did do something I'm going to kill the
bastard!!" I occasionally tend to go overboard in these situations.
She looked up at me. A bit surprised by
my 'death threat.' "Syaoran, you don't mean that. Besides . . . I guess I got
what I deserved."
I gave her a stern look. She deserved
it? No one deserves to be like this. Especially Sakura. She was, and still is,
the kindest person anyone could ever know. I placed my hands on her shoulders.
But she flinched in pain and pulled away. I quickly got the picture. I gave her
a look that told her to trust me. I took the collar of her shirt and pulled it
down off her shoulder. I was surprised to see bruises along her shoulder and at
the bottom of her neck. I looked up at Sakura. Tears were flowing down her face
again. "Sakura. You can tell me. What happened?"
~*~Sakura's
P.O.V~*~
I shuddered remembering what had
happened. Yes, Syaoran was right. Lang, the boyfriend I thought I truly
loved, was responsible for the way I was. He was responsible for the bruises
and scratches here and there. But I could not help feeling that it was my fault
to begin with. "He . . . he said he'd kill me if I told anyone," I
said, although I wished, I had not.
Syaoran did not seem the littlest bit
surprised. Which surprised me. Lang making threats? Yeah right. He was never
the type to get even the slightest bit angry, Let alone give people emotional
and physical scars. He was always so calm and nice to everyone. But I know
Syaoran. He has never trusted anyone easily.
I saw a mixed look in Syaoran's eyes.
It was a mix of confusion and sympathy but most of all anger. "Sakura, I
would never let him hurt you," He said softly.
"Well you're a little late for that!" I
said, my voice quivering. I saw Syaoran flinch as if he had been punched in the
face. I saw the hurt look in his eyes and immediately regretted what I said.
~*~Syaoran's
P.O.V~*~
"Well you're a little late for that!"
Sakura yelled in a quivering voice. She stood up and walked towards the window.
I
flinched at those words. I had vowed to myself years ago that I would never let
anyone hurt Sakura. And now, looking at this broken down person in front of me,
it was obvious that I had broken that vow.
"Syaoran-kun," she said almost
silently, "I'm sorry."
I walked up beside her, "It's okay," I said. We stood there in a long
uncomfortable silence that seemed like hours. I glanced over at Sakura. She was
so beautiful with the moonlight reflecting off her face. But the one feature I
loved most about her was gone. Her emerald eyes once sparkling and full of
life, those beautiful emerald pools, now seemed lifeless. As if her soul was
ripped out of her. Whatever Lang did to her, for her to loose that sparkle, was
pretty bad.
Sakura broke the uneasy silence was a
choked sob. But before the tears in her eyes could fall she angrily brushed
them away. She is trying so hard to be strong, I thought as I sighed. "Sakura,"
I started. "Don't try to hold it back. You'll snap if you hold everything back.
I've learned that from experience. So just let it out. I know you won't tell
anyone what happened. But at least you can . . . cry it out. And, hey, I'll
even be the shoulder you can cry on if you need one." Geez, how corny did that
sound? I mentally kicked myself for sounding so . . . well . . . corny.
"Thank you Syaoran-kun," she said. She turned
and looked me straight in the face, "I know I should tell someone. But I can't.
Lang said he would kill me if I told anyone. And I'm pretty sure that . . .
he'd go after anyone who I told. So I don't want to put anyone else at risk." She tried so hard to say that in a strong
voice, but it was shaking and she was breaking out in mid sobs. So unselfish, I
thought. "But," she started. "I could use that shoulder right now, if you don't
mind."
"Of course you can," I said as I
collected her into my arms. She buried her head into my chest and cried angry
sobs. I frowned. Lang will pay for whatever he has done to my cherry blossom, I
vowed to myself. My embrace tightened as she buried her head even deeper
against me. After a while the angry sobs turned to small cries, and then turned
into whimpers. And soon the room was completely silent. "Sakura?" I asked.
Silence.
"Sakura?" I tried again.
Snore.
I looked down at her. Her arms hung loosely around my neck and her breathing was even. She was asleep. I leaned down and placed my hand on the back of her legs, and the other on her back, and lifted her up. I walked her to my room, placed her down on my bed, and pulled the covers over her. I reached down and brushed some hair off her peaceful face. I grabbed an extra blanket and a pillow and headed off to the living room. But half way out of my bedroom door, a faint voice stopped me.
~*~Sakura's P.O.V~*~
"Syaoran-kun?" I called for him as I saw him walking out of the door.
"I'm right here Sakura-chan," I
blushed when he called me that.
"Where
are you going?" I asked referring to the pillow and blanket in his hands.
"Oh I was going to sleep on the
couch."
I frowned. "Why don't you sleep here?
It's not fair that you don't even get to sleep in your own bed," I insisted. I
fell asleep on his couch one time when we were studying for a math test and it
was not the most comfortable couch to sleep on. I did not want him getting a
bad neck ache because of me.
"No it's fine. I really don't mind taking
the couch. Besides, you need to get the better rest," he replied.
"But,"
I started feeling embarrassed. "If you stay here with me . . .I'd feel better."
~*~Syaoran's P.O.V~*~
Three things went through my mind when
Sakura asked me that.
1) Did she really say that?
2) I
could never do that!
3) Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes!
I felt
my face heat up worse than a fever. I stuttered, "Yo . . . You sure?" I asked.
She nodded. "Please?"
I dumbly nodded, "Uhh . . . Okay," I
replied. I thought my whole head was going to catch on fire as I climbed into
my bed. Sakura turned and rested her head on my chest. Correction. Now I
thought my head was going to explode. I nervously placed my arms around her
small waist.
"Thank you, Xiao Lang," Sakura murmured.
I loved it when she called me by my Chinese name.
"No problem, Ying Fa," I replied.
"Hoe?"
"That's your name in Chinese. Ying Fa," I stated.
"Oh. Goodnight, Xiao Lang."
"Goodnight, Ying Fa."
End of Chapter 1.
Liked it? Didn't like it? I know I rushed the ending of the chapter but I was
tired, cut me some slack. Please review and I do accept flames! This is my
first fan fiction so please don't be too harsh. If I get at least one review I
will continue! Cause I know what it's like to read a really good story but the
person doesn't continue because not enough people like it. So if you like it.
Then please, REVIEW!! Got any suggestions or comments then review or send me an
email at moo_moo1537@hotmai.com
Thanks!
-moo-san
