Two Broken Hearts
A young boy sat on a bench facing the harbor. He watched as all the happy couples walk by him. He sighed every so often as he thought about his loneliness. 'What am I doing here? This place is a romantic place for couples. I bet I'm the only one here alone...' he thought as he took off his glasses and wiped them. He put it back on once they're cleaned and got up and walked towards the harbor.
He sighed softly as he gripped onto the railing. Then, he heard a heavy, more feminine sigh coming from his right. Not far from him, was a girl looking out into the horizon as the sun set. Tears seemed to have appeared at the corners of her eyes as she gently rubbed them away. 'She looks familiar.' He thought as he slowly walked closer to her. 'Isn't that the girl who always tags along Li? What's her name again?'
Just then, when he was just about six feet away from her, she swung around and jumped up and sat down on the railing, her back facing the harbor. She began to rock back and forth. 'Is she trying to jump?' the boy thought. Just then, she tripped and began to rock lower backwards. 'Oh no! I've got to help her!'
He jetted towards her and she turned her head and smiled at him. "Hi Eriol. What are you... Ahh!!" but before she could ask her question, Eriol took her hand and tried to pull her in. But instead, it made her lose her grip onto the railing and she fell backwards, right into the harbor.
'Great job, Eriol!' he thought to himself as he leaned against the railing and spot the girl struggling for help. He stood on the railing just watching in awe for a while. Then, without thinking, he took off his glasses and coat, set them on the floor and dove right in.
The moment his face hit the water, he looked around to see if he could find the girl. But the bubbles he created as he landed made it hard to see underwater. Then finally, as the bubbles clear, he found the girl beginning to sink. He quickly swam over to her and took her by the waist. He struggled as he quickly swam upwards for air.
When they finally hit the surface, Eriol took a deep breath and began to swim towards the staircase which lead up to the shore. The girl began to cough out water and opened her eyes. When she did, she realized that she was in the water and she panicked. She grabbed onto Eriol's shirt tighter, afraid she was going to sink if she let go. "It's okay, Meilin. I got you."
To Meiling, it seemed like a million years until they got up the stairs and onto dry, flat land. She coughed quite a few times since she swallowed a massive amount of water. The crowd that watch them as they got ashore was now gone, and the evening was slowly slipping away.
Eriol got his glasses and coat before he came back to sit by Meilin. She didn't even noticed that he was next to her. She was shivering with coldness because of both the water and the fact that the sun is only out a tiny bit. A breeze blew by and she hugged herself tight for warmth. At this, Eriol gently placed his jacket on her shoulders and she quickly sat up and turned around. "Li?" she asked with excitement. But when she saw that the boy sitting next to her wasn't her old fiancee, she sank back into the chair and whispered, "thank you."
"No problem," Eriol said with a smile that Meilin didn't notice. "I'm sorry I accidently pushed you in before. I thought you were..."
"Jumping?" Meilin cut in as she spun her head around and looked at Eriol. He slightly nodded and turned his gaze at the ground.
He chuckled a little. "Yea, I guess I was pretty foolish, huh?"
"Well, thank you for caring. But as depressed as I am, I'll never suicide. Suicide doesn't solve anything. It just brings more troubles for ones who cared about him or her." She said.
"I agree. But what made you think that way? Have you had any experience or something?" Eriol asked curiously.
She looked at him for a moment. Then smiled and answered. "Yea, you can say that. My mother died when I was about six. And I thought of suicide because she was the closest person to me. But then, Li found out before I could do anything. He held me close and told me exactly what I just told you. I told him that no one cares for me anymore. But then he said that he did..." She stopped there as she broke into sobs. At this, Eriol quickly lend her a shoulder to cry on as he shyly patted her back with his palm.
"But that's not the reason why I was so depressed." Meilin said as she settled down.
"Well, do you want to tell me why? Or do you wish to keep it secret?" He asked softly. 'I bet it has something to do with that boy, Li...' he thought secretly.
"What kind of secret is it? I mean, everyone has known it for a long time, even me. But I just couldn't except the fact..." Meilin said. "A few.... hours ago, Li just told me that he's in love with someone else and that that person loves him back. I've known that he had a major crush on Sakura Kinomoto and that she feels the same way, but I just couldn't accept it when he told me face to face. So I just ran off." She said, drying her tears.
'Is every girl in Japan in love with Li Syaoran?' "Yea, I know how you feel right now..." he whispered as he thought of his own trouble.
"You do? How come?" Meilin asked. 'He better tell me, too. After all, I told him everything.'
"Well, I've sort of had a crush on Sakura for a long time. And today, just a few hours ago, I asked her out and she rejected me because she said that she's in love with Li Syaoran and that he was in love with her too. So I... really am quite lost. I'm thinking of going back to England and try to forget everything." He explained.
'Is every man in Japan in love with Sakura Kinomoto?' she thought with a sigh. "Yea, I was thinking about going back to Hong Kong also, it'll be hard, but I''ll try to forget about Li. And I'll try falling in love with someone else..."
"I think differently. I won't ever fall in love again. I mean, what's the point? You're always going to end up with a broken heart..." he muttered.
"Well, you shouldn't give up the whole garden just because of one flower." She suggested.
"Yea, but none other flowers are as beautiful as a sakura blossom..." He said as tears began to sting his eyes again.
"And none as cute as the little wolf who watched over this sad little girl... But the thing about love is, when it ends, it's really bitter. But during the process, it's the sweetest thing you've ever experienced." Meilin said dreamily.
"Well, us being depressed won't do anything. So as an apology, I'm going to give you the funnest, most amusing week you'll ever have." Eriol exclaimed.
'I doubt it'll be as fun and amusing as all the times I had with Li. But he's just trying to be nice, I guess I shouldn't give him a hard time.' "It's not necessary, but sure, I don't see why not." She said.
"Great, then I'll meet you at the park afterschool tomorrow, bye." Eriol hopped off the bench and began to walk home.
'Wow, I never knew she went through so much. It was cruel for Li to do that to her, especially since he knew what happened. But it's amazing how she can carry on and remain cheerful even through all this, I would have broken down. First the death of her mother, than the boy of her dreams just completely blew her off. How can she be so brave? Like she can withstand anything... I wonder what she's doing right now...' Eriol thought as he stared up at the ceiling of his room. He's been lying down on his bed, thinking.
Then he immediately sat up. "No, not again!" He said out loud as he covered his ears with his hands and shook his head wildly. 'This is the exact same thing I used to do to Sakura. Think about her late at night about how caring she is and wondering what she is doing. No, I'm not going to fall in love again. I'm not going to get hurt again. Maybe I just consider her as a really close friend, or maybe even a sister since we've just been through the exact same thing and I know how much it hurts. Yeah, that must be it. Relax, Eriol, it's nothing. Breath...'
The only light in the dark room was formed by the gentle glow of the moon outside his window. 'Tomorrow, the week begins. I have to think of a plan...' He thought as he opened up a diary to write in his day...
Meilin shifted uncomfortably in her bed. 'I wonder where Eriol is going to do with me tomorrow... He sounded so excited and comforting at the same time. It's like he can make everything all right...'
Then, she stood up. "This is useless, I can't sleep." She muttered. She walked over to the training room right in her pajamas. 'Who cares anyway?' There was a punching bean bag swinging in the middle of the room, waiting to be beaten. Meilin punched it and kicked it with all her might. As she fought, the thoughts came to her head again.
'I feel bad for him though. I mean, he got rejected by Sakura right in the face. Talk about humiliation! I mean, at least I had hints before hand that Li likes someone else, but I was just too blind to see them. But now it's all so clear. I hope Eriol's all right. As much as I'm going to have fun this week, I'm going to throw away his old, polite, quite side and refresh his fun, spontaneous side. Yup, that's exactly what I'm gonna do.' She thought as she beated on the punching bag, who's still swinging in the middle of the room with each movement.
'Hold on, why am I thinking and worrying about him? I mean, I'm in a crisis, too! I should be thinking about Li right now, like in most movies. But what is there to think about? I mean, he made it pretty clear. Us together? Never been, and never will, simple. I guess that... swim in the harbor washed away my problems. Okay, Meilin Li. From now on, Li Syaoran is no more. Now, Meilin Li is happy and free! And I'm not going to let Li spoil my week with Eriol!' She finished off with a spinning back kick near the top of the punching bag and it exploid. Flour flew all over the place but Meilin didn't care, she stood there until she was covered in flour.
"What's with all the racket?" A sleepy Li asked. He rubbed his eyes when he saw the whole room white with flour. He was stunned. "Geez, Meilin. What did the punching bag ever do to you?" Then he drearily dragged himself back to his room. Meilin walked back, feeling very excited about tomorrow.
The next day *@----}----{----@*
"Bye, Li, Sakura, Tomoyo. I'll see you all around!" Meilin almost shouted as she jetted out of school district.
"I thought you told her, Li." Sakura whispered into his ear.
"I did," he said in a soft tone.
"Well, she seems a little too happy about it. But oh well , it's not a bad thing."
"I think that she relieved her anger on the punching bag. I woke up in the middle of the night and I saw her kick the punching bag so hard it exploded and got flour all over the place." He said, worried about how Meilin's really taking it.
The girls giggled slightly. "Just be glad that she used a punching bag and not you, Li." Tomoyo said when she realized how worried he was. That loosened him up and he smiled a little bit.
"Good point, Tomoyo." Sakura said as she giggled louder.
'The day seemed like it'll never end!' Meilin thought as she jet past the people in the park. She rushed over to the spot where they're supposed to meet. And there he was, waiting patiently with his back towards her as he watched the view of the mini pond where ducks swam.
She tapped him on the shoulder and said, "Hi, have you been waiting for a long time?"
He quickly spun around. "Oh, no. I just got here. Oh yea, um... hi." There was a giant smile on her face. 'Wow, she's much better than she was yesterday.'
Meilin giggled a little. "Okay. So where are we going first?" She asked, excited to start her day.
"Have you ever... golfed?" He asked.
'Golfing?...' "No, not really..." she replied softly.
"Well, come on, I'll make you an expert in no time." He said as he grabbed her wrist and began running across the park.
When they got to the renting store, Meilin chose a red club and a red golf ball. Eriol chose a blue set. When they got out of the store, Meilin was surprised that it wasn't real golfing, just miniature golfing. 'I guess this can be fun...' Meilin thought.
"The thing about golfing is..." Eriol began. But before he can finish, Meilin was already on the first course. She set the ball down and hits it with the club. It went exactly where she wanted it to go and she got a hole in one. "Okay..."
"This isn't so hard. It's just like fighting, except with a stick..." She commented. For the rest of the game, Meilin beat Eriol pretty badly. At first Eriol thought that he'd give her some pointers, but in the end, Meilin was the one who ended up teaching him some things about golfing.
"I thought you said you've never played golf before, you liar." He said as he chuckled a little. The sun was setting and he was walking her home. He insisted on it since he said that it wasn't safe for a girl to walk home by herself. Meilin tried to explain that she knew how to take care of herself, but he insisted. So she had no choice but to accept the offer.
"I seriously have never played golf before, I swear!" Meilin said as she too, giggled a little. She felt pretty proud for doing so good at something on her first try. 'He's a real gentleman...' she thought as she smiled sweetly to herself. But Eriol noticed it too.
'She has the most beautiful smile I've ever seen on a girl, on anyone as a matter of fact.' He thought to himself as he too smiled a little as he admired her beauty. Then he shook his head. 'No, you don't like her like her, Eriol!' "Liar! How come you're so good then?"
"Well, as I said before, golfing and fighting are similar. Both, you have to wait for the right moment to strike with the right strength and speed. I've been doing martial arts for a long time and I've practically mastered the control of my strength, so I can predict how much strength I need to get the ball in the hole." She explained.
"Okay... I didn't follow a lot of that but I guess you have your reasons." Then, Meilin stopped in front of a house. "Why did you stop?" Eriol asked.
"Um... this is where I live." She replied shyly. "I'll see you tomorrow." She said as she rushed down to the front door and opened it. Before closing it completely, she shot him a smile and a wink. Then she closed the door.
Eriol stood there for a while before he came back to his senses. The smile and the wink seemed to have casted some kind of magic on him. It kind of... paralyzed him. Eriol have been studying magic for quite a while, but none like this. 'Snap out of it, Eriol!' He said to himself as he began to walk back to his house.
The next few days, they had the most fun together. Eriol took her to all kinds of places, an amusement park, the theater, a carnival, a bowling alley and so much more. Meilin seemed to have completely forgotten about her emotions for Li and Eriol has completely forgotten about Sakura. Li and Sakura seemed pretty confused, but Tomoyo had an idea what was going on. She'd ask both of them what's going on, but they'd just blush a little but not answer.
On the night of the last day of the week, Eriol couldn't get any sleep. He'd had so much fun with Meilin and whenever he's with her, it seemed like all his problems were gone, she's always so cheerful. It's a shame how it's all going to end. He looked at the clock, 11:00.
'The day isn't over yet, maybe we can still do something.' Part of him said. He reached for the phone and picked it up. He began dialing her number and then he quickly hung up. The other part of him disagreed. 'What do you think you're doing? Calling someone at eleven o'clock at night?! You must be out of your mind!' And the battle goes on in his mind...
Meilin sat down on the hard floor as she took got the needle and thread ready. She had to make a new punching bag since she broke the last one. As she began to sew the two pieces of large cloth together, she stared at the white side. Then, for a second, Eriol's face seemed to have appeared on the blank surface. The image smiled at her and she smiled back, then, she closed her eyes shut and shook her head. When she opened her eyes again, the image was gone and she let out a sigh. She stopped her needlework and dragged herself into the kitchen.
She opened her fridge and got out a bottle of ice cold water. As she drank from it, her eyes locked on one thing, the clock. '11:01, the week is over just like that, hmm? I'm really going to miss all the fun.' Just then, the phone rang. She walked over to it and picked it up. "Hello? This is the Li residence. Meilin speaking." She used her formal answer, not knowing who it was. She began drinking from the bottle again since her voice felt a little bit raspy. There was a silence until the person on the other side of the line said something.
"... Hi, Meilin? This is Eriol." He sort of stuttered out. She immediately choked out the water and coughed loudly. "Meilin? Are you okay? I'm sorry if I startled you this late at night." He quickly apologized.
She cleared her throat a bit. "No, I'm fine. I just choked on water a little. So, what's up?" she asked casually.
"Well, I promised you a week and it's not midnight yet so meet me at the harbor pronto. I'll be waiting." He said and hung up before Meilin could say anything. 'What can he possibly want this late at night? But oh well, I shouldn't let him wait there.' She said to herself as she gathered her coat and walked out the door...
'Okay, Eriol. You can do this. You already ask her to come out. Now you just have to leave the word out out.' He said to himself as he closed his eyes and took deep breaths. He could smell the water and hear it as it crashed against the harbor. 'What a soothing sound...'
"Hi!" A cheerful voice behind him said. He quickly spun around and saw Meilin.
"Uh... hi." He said. Then he looked out into the water. 'Don't think too much, Eriol, just pop the question.'
"Wow, it's really beautiful here at night. Thanks for sharing the view. I would have never thought of coming here at night." Meilin said.
"Huh?" Eriol asked. But then he realized what Meilin was talking about. The view was breathtaking. Across from them on the other side of the water was another island. It's lights glistened like a million bright stars. "Oh, you're welcome." He smiled. He was here with a girl. Nothing could have spoiled the moment. Well...
As they both sighed at the view, someone suddenly grabbed Meilin by the waist and took her away from him. He quickly spun his head around. Then, he saw two strong guys, both with pig masks and black ponchos and cleavers (AN: Hey, a lot of murderer and kidnappers do that, right? Right? Oh nevermind!).
"Hey!" He shouted. "Let go of her!" Then, suddenly, the other guy grabbed his wrists and placed them behind his back. They cracked loudly as he screamed in pain.
"Eriol!" Meilin almost screamed as he began to get weaker.
"Aww, look at the two lovebirds. I hate to spoil this romantic moment, but you better give us everything you have that's valuable now. Or we're going to have to do worse." One of the robbers said as he walked over and kicked Eriol's head pretty hard.
"Stop it!" Meilin shouted louder. Then, the two robbers' attention turned to her and they looked at her. At first they looked surprised, but then they burst out into laughter.
"Oh my! I'm real scared! This little girl is gonna tell her mommy on me." One of the guys mimicked. Meilin gritted her teeth with anger as teardrops filled her eyes. Then she looked up and glared at them. Fire seemed to have shot out of her eyes.
"I'm not a little girl and I have a name! It's Meilin Li!" With that, she struggled out of the man's grasp and turned around and kicked him with all her might in the stomach (AN: I was gonna say that she kicked him down there, but then I changed my mind because that's just cruel). Just then, the other guy let go of Eriol who immdiately fell to the ground. He was about to leap at her when she punched his face and kneed his stomach.
Both of the robbers lay on the floor, clutching their stomachs. Meilin quickly rushed over to Eriol. She helped him over to a bench, leaving the two law breakers lying on the street.
When they calmed down, Meilin broke the silence. "Are you okay?"
Then, Eriol looked up and smiled at her. "Yes, I'm okay now, thanks to you. I knew that you can fight, but I didn't know that you can fight THAT good. Does anyone else know?" He asked.
"Umm.... My punching bag. Definitely. But I think that it's in way too many pieces to talk right now. Anyway, I want to thank you." She said as she looked down. Eriol looked surprised.
"Thank me for what? You're the one who saved the day."
"Other than Li, no one has ever made an effort to save me or anything. They always expect me to be able to take care of me. But back there, you risked a lot to make sure I was safe from harm. Another thing is, I've been thinking. I really really want to thank you for such a terrific week. I enjoyed every second of it." She told him.
Eriol looked up and looked at her then smiled. "The pleasure's all mine. Oh yea, one more thing. Actually, I didn't call you out here tonight to let you enjoy the view. Actually, I didn't even thought of that."
She looked up. "Hm? Then why did you call me? What do you want to ask me?"
He looked down, trying to hide the fact that he's blushing. "I.. was wondering if..." He began, but froze. He was too embarrassed to ask her. She just saved his life practically and now he's gonna ask her this? No way!
"Well...?" Meilin asked after a short silence. Eriol sighed. 'What the hey? You won't be humilated... much. So just spill it instead of looking like a cowardly idiot in front of her.'
Eriol sighed again, hoping for a way to tell her. "Meilin... I've been thinknig a lot lately... about you. And tonight at... eleven p.m. I realized that I was in love with you as you picked up that phone. So I was wondering if... If you'll be my girlfriend." 'There, I said it. Pretty lame, but I said it. Now, I just have to wait for her reaction.'
He got his reaction all right. Meilin quickly threw her arms around him. She closed her eyes as she laid her head on his shoulder. He reluctantly wrapped his arms around her waist, not knowing what to do. Then in his ear, she whispered. "Thank you, Eriol. This is the first love confession I've ever gotten. Thank you." Eriol could have jumped with joy, but he stayed in the comfortable position he's in. He wrapped his arms around her tighter because this time he was sure that he was supposed to do that. They stayed like that for quite a while, nothing could've spoiled the moment. Seriously this time...
A young boy sat on a bench facing the harbor. He watched as all the happy couples walk by him. He sighed every so often as he thought about his loneliness. 'What am I doing here? This place is a romantic place for couples. I bet I'm the only one here alone...' he thought as he took off his glasses and wiped them. He put it back on once they're cleaned and got up and walked towards the harbor.
He sighed softly as he gripped onto the railing. Then, he heard a heavy, more feminine sigh coming from his right. Not far from him, was a girl looking out into the horizon as the sun set. Tears seemed to have appeared at the corners of her eyes as she gently rubbed them away. 'She looks familiar.' He thought as he slowly walked closer to her. 'Isn't that the girl who always tags along Li? What's her name again?'
Just then, when he was just about six feet away from her, she swung around and jumped up and sat down on the railing, her back facing the harbor. She began to rock back and forth. 'Is she trying to jump?' the boy thought. Just then, she tripped and began to rock lower backwards. 'Oh no! I've got to help her!'
He jetted towards her and she turned her head and smiled at him. "Hi Eriol. What are you... Ahh!!" but before she could ask her question, Eriol took her hand and tried to pull her in. But instead, it made her lose her grip onto the railing and she fell backwards, right into the harbor.
'Great job, Eriol!' he thought to himself as he leaned against the railing and spot the girl struggling for help. He stood on the railing just watching in awe for a while. Then, without thinking, he took off his glasses and coat, set them on the floor and dove right in.
The moment his face hit the water, he looked around to see if he could find the girl. But the bubbles he created as he landed made it hard to see underwater. Then finally, as the bubbles clear, he found the girl beginning to sink. He quickly swam over to her and took her by the waist. He struggled as he quickly swam upwards for air.
When they finally hit the surface, Eriol took a deep breath and began to swim towards the staircase which lead up to the shore. The girl began to cough out water and opened her eyes. When she did, she realized that she was in the water and she panicked. She grabbed onto Eriol's shirt tighter, afraid she was going to sink if she let go. "It's okay, Meilin. I got you."
To Meiling, it seemed like a million years until they got up the stairs and onto dry, flat land. She coughed quite a few times since she swallowed a massive amount of water. The crowd that watch them as they got ashore was now gone, and the evening was slowly slipping away.
Eriol got his glasses and coat before he came back to sit by Meilin. She didn't even noticed that he was next to her. She was shivering with coldness because of both the water and the fact that the sun is only out a tiny bit. A breeze blew by and she hugged herself tight for warmth. At this, Eriol gently placed his jacket on her shoulders and she quickly sat up and turned around. "Li?" she asked with excitement. But when she saw that the boy sitting next to her wasn't her old fiancee, she sank back into the chair and whispered, "thank you."
"No problem," Eriol said with a smile that Meilin didn't notice. "I'm sorry I accidently pushed you in before. I thought you were..."
"Jumping?" Meilin cut in as she spun her head around and looked at Eriol. He slightly nodded and turned his gaze at the ground.
He chuckled a little. "Yea, I guess I was pretty foolish, huh?"
"Well, thank you for caring. But as depressed as I am, I'll never suicide. Suicide doesn't solve anything. It just brings more troubles for ones who cared about him or her." She said.
"I agree. But what made you think that way? Have you had any experience or something?" Eriol asked curiously.
She looked at him for a moment. Then smiled and answered. "Yea, you can say that. My mother died when I was about six. And I thought of suicide because she was the closest person to me. But then, Li found out before I could do anything. He held me close and told me exactly what I just told you. I told him that no one cares for me anymore. But then he said that he did..." She stopped there as she broke into sobs. At this, Eriol quickly lend her a shoulder to cry on as he shyly patted her back with his palm.
"But that's not the reason why I was so depressed." Meilin said as she settled down.
"Well, do you want to tell me why? Or do you wish to keep it secret?" He asked softly. 'I bet it has something to do with that boy, Li...' he thought secretly.
"What kind of secret is it? I mean, everyone has known it for a long time, even me. But I just couldn't except the fact..." Meilin said. "A few.... hours ago, Li just told me that he's in love with someone else and that that person loves him back. I've known that he had a major crush on Sakura Kinomoto and that she feels the same way, but I just couldn't accept it when he told me face to face. So I just ran off." She said, drying her tears.
'Is every girl in Japan in love with Li Syaoran?' "Yea, I know how you feel right now..." he whispered as he thought of his own trouble.
"You do? How come?" Meilin asked. 'He better tell me, too. After all, I told him everything.'
"Well, I've sort of had a crush on Sakura for a long time. And today, just a few hours ago, I asked her out and she rejected me because she said that she's in love with Li Syaoran and that he was in love with her too. So I... really am quite lost. I'm thinking of going back to England and try to forget everything." He explained.
'Is every man in Japan in love with Sakura Kinomoto?' she thought with a sigh. "Yea, I was thinking about going back to Hong Kong also, it'll be hard, but I''ll try to forget about Li. And I'll try falling in love with someone else..."
"I think differently. I won't ever fall in love again. I mean, what's the point? You're always going to end up with a broken heart..." he muttered.
"Well, you shouldn't give up the whole garden just because of one flower." She suggested.
"Yea, but none other flowers are as beautiful as a sakura blossom..." He said as tears began to sting his eyes again.
"And none as cute as the little wolf who watched over this sad little girl... But the thing about love is, when it ends, it's really bitter. But during the process, it's the sweetest thing you've ever experienced." Meilin said dreamily.
"Well, us being depressed won't do anything. So as an apology, I'm going to give you the funnest, most amusing week you'll ever have." Eriol exclaimed.
'I doubt it'll be as fun and amusing as all the times I had with Li. But he's just trying to be nice, I guess I shouldn't give him a hard time.' "It's not necessary, but sure, I don't see why not." She said.
"Great, then I'll meet you at the park afterschool tomorrow, bye." Eriol hopped off the bench and began to walk home.
'Wow, I never knew she went through so much. It was cruel for Li to do that to her, especially since he knew what happened. But it's amazing how she can carry on and remain cheerful even through all this, I would have broken down. First the death of her mother, than the boy of her dreams just completely blew her off. How can she be so brave? Like she can withstand anything... I wonder what she's doing right now...' Eriol thought as he stared up at the ceiling of his room. He's been lying down on his bed, thinking.
Then he immediately sat up. "No, not again!" He said out loud as he covered his ears with his hands and shook his head wildly. 'This is the exact same thing I used to do to Sakura. Think about her late at night about how caring she is and wondering what she is doing. No, I'm not going to fall in love again. I'm not going to get hurt again. Maybe I just consider her as a really close friend, or maybe even a sister since we've just been through the exact same thing and I know how much it hurts. Yeah, that must be it. Relax, Eriol, it's nothing. Breath...'
The only light in the dark room was formed by the gentle glow of the moon outside his window. 'Tomorrow, the week begins. I have to think of a plan...' He thought as he opened up a diary to write in his day...
Meilin shifted uncomfortably in her bed. 'I wonder where Eriol is going to do with me tomorrow... He sounded so excited and comforting at the same time. It's like he can make everything all right...'
Then, she stood up. "This is useless, I can't sleep." She muttered. She walked over to the training room right in her pajamas. 'Who cares anyway?' There was a punching bean bag swinging in the middle of the room, waiting to be beaten. Meilin punched it and kicked it with all her might. As she fought, the thoughts came to her head again.
'I feel bad for him though. I mean, he got rejected by Sakura right in the face. Talk about humiliation! I mean, at least I had hints before hand that Li likes someone else, but I was just too blind to see them. But now it's all so clear. I hope Eriol's all right. As much as I'm going to have fun this week, I'm going to throw away his old, polite, quite side and refresh his fun, spontaneous side. Yup, that's exactly what I'm gonna do.' She thought as she beated on the punching bag, who's still swinging in the middle of the room with each movement.
'Hold on, why am I thinking and worrying about him? I mean, I'm in a crisis, too! I should be thinking about Li right now, like in most movies. But what is there to think about? I mean, he made it pretty clear. Us together? Never been, and never will, simple. I guess that... swim in the harbor washed away my problems. Okay, Meilin Li. From now on, Li Syaoran is no more. Now, Meilin Li is happy and free! And I'm not going to let Li spoil my week with Eriol!' She finished off with a spinning back kick near the top of the punching bag and it exploid. Flour flew all over the place but Meilin didn't care, she stood there until she was covered in flour.
"What's with all the racket?" A sleepy Li asked. He rubbed his eyes when he saw the whole room white with flour. He was stunned. "Geez, Meilin. What did the punching bag ever do to you?" Then he drearily dragged himself back to his room. Meilin walked back, feeling very excited about tomorrow.
The next day *@----}----{----@*
"Bye, Li, Sakura, Tomoyo. I'll see you all around!" Meilin almost shouted as she jetted out of school district.
"I thought you told her, Li." Sakura whispered into his ear.
"I did," he said in a soft tone.
"Well, she seems a little too happy about it. But oh well , it's not a bad thing."
"I think that she relieved her anger on the punching bag. I woke up in the middle of the night and I saw her kick the punching bag so hard it exploded and got flour all over the place." He said, worried about how Meilin's really taking it.
The girls giggled slightly. "Just be glad that she used a punching bag and not you, Li." Tomoyo said when she realized how worried he was. That loosened him up and he smiled a little bit.
"Good point, Tomoyo." Sakura said as she giggled louder.
'The day seemed like it'll never end!' Meilin thought as she jet past the people in the park. She rushed over to the spot where they're supposed to meet. And there he was, waiting patiently with his back towards her as he watched the view of the mini pond where ducks swam.
She tapped him on the shoulder and said, "Hi, have you been waiting for a long time?"
He quickly spun around. "Oh, no. I just got here. Oh yea, um... hi." There was a giant smile on her face. 'Wow, she's much better than she was yesterday.'
Meilin giggled a little. "Okay. So where are we going first?" She asked, excited to start her day.
"Have you ever... golfed?" He asked.
'Golfing?...' "No, not really..." she replied softly.
"Well, come on, I'll make you an expert in no time." He said as he grabbed her wrist and began running across the park.
When they got to the renting store, Meilin chose a red club and a red golf ball. Eriol chose a blue set. When they got out of the store, Meilin was surprised that it wasn't real golfing, just miniature golfing. 'I guess this can be fun...' Meilin thought.
"The thing about golfing is..." Eriol began. But before he can finish, Meilin was already on the first course. She set the ball down and hits it with the club. It went exactly where she wanted it to go and she got a hole in one. "Okay..."
"This isn't so hard. It's just like fighting, except with a stick..." She commented. For the rest of the game, Meilin beat Eriol pretty badly. At first Eriol thought that he'd give her some pointers, but in the end, Meilin was the one who ended up teaching him some things about golfing.
"I thought you said you've never played golf before, you liar." He said as he chuckled a little. The sun was setting and he was walking her home. He insisted on it since he said that it wasn't safe for a girl to walk home by herself. Meilin tried to explain that she knew how to take care of herself, but he insisted. So she had no choice but to accept the offer.
"I seriously have never played golf before, I swear!" Meilin said as she too, giggled a little. She felt pretty proud for doing so good at something on her first try. 'He's a real gentleman...' she thought as she smiled sweetly to herself. But Eriol noticed it too.
'She has the most beautiful smile I've ever seen on a girl, on anyone as a matter of fact.' He thought to himself as he too smiled a little as he admired her beauty. Then he shook his head. 'No, you don't like her like her, Eriol!' "Liar! How come you're so good then?"
"Well, as I said before, golfing and fighting are similar. Both, you have to wait for the right moment to strike with the right strength and speed. I've been doing martial arts for a long time and I've practically mastered the control of my strength, so I can predict how much strength I need to get the ball in the hole." She explained.
"Okay... I didn't follow a lot of that but I guess you have your reasons." Then, Meilin stopped in front of a house. "Why did you stop?" Eriol asked.
"Um... this is where I live." She replied shyly. "I'll see you tomorrow." She said as she rushed down to the front door and opened it. Before closing it completely, she shot him a smile and a wink. Then she closed the door.
Eriol stood there for a while before he came back to his senses. The smile and the wink seemed to have casted some kind of magic on him. It kind of... paralyzed him. Eriol have been studying magic for quite a while, but none like this. 'Snap out of it, Eriol!' He said to himself as he began to walk back to his house.
The next few days, they had the most fun together. Eriol took her to all kinds of places, an amusement park, the theater, a carnival, a bowling alley and so much more. Meilin seemed to have completely forgotten about her emotions for Li and Eriol has completely forgotten about Sakura. Li and Sakura seemed pretty confused, but Tomoyo had an idea what was going on. She'd ask both of them what's going on, but they'd just blush a little but not answer.
On the night of the last day of the week, Eriol couldn't get any sleep. He'd had so much fun with Meilin and whenever he's with her, it seemed like all his problems were gone, she's always so cheerful. It's a shame how it's all going to end. He looked at the clock, 11:00.
'The day isn't over yet, maybe we can still do something.' Part of him said. He reached for the phone and picked it up. He began dialing her number and then he quickly hung up. The other part of him disagreed. 'What do you think you're doing? Calling someone at eleven o'clock at night?! You must be out of your mind!' And the battle goes on in his mind...
Meilin sat down on the hard floor as she took got the needle and thread ready. She had to make a new punching bag since she broke the last one. As she began to sew the two pieces of large cloth together, she stared at the white side. Then, for a second, Eriol's face seemed to have appeared on the blank surface. The image smiled at her and she smiled back, then, she closed her eyes shut and shook her head. When she opened her eyes again, the image was gone and she let out a sigh. She stopped her needlework and dragged herself into the kitchen.
She opened her fridge and got out a bottle of ice cold water. As she drank from it, her eyes locked on one thing, the clock. '11:01, the week is over just like that, hmm? I'm really going to miss all the fun.' Just then, the phone rang. She walked over to it and picked it up. "Hello? This is the Li residence. Meilin speaking." She used her formal answer, not knowing who it was. She began drinking from the bottle again since her voice felt a little bit raspy. There was a silence until the person on the other side of the line said something.
"... Hi, Meilin? This is Eriol." He sort of stuttered out. She immediately choked out the water and coughed loudly. "Meilin? Are you okay? I'm sorry if I startled you this late at night." He quickly apologized.
She cleared her throat a bit. "No, I'm fine. I just choked on water a little. So, what's up?" she asked casually.
"Well, I promised you a week and it's not midnight yet so meet me at the harbor pronto. I'll be waiting." He said and hung up before Meilin could say anything. 'What can he possibly want this late at night? But oh well, I shouldn't let him wait there.' She said to herself as she gathered her coat and walked out the door...
'Okay, Eriol. You can do this. You already ask her to come out. Now you just have to leave the word out out.' He said to himself as he closed his eyes and took deep breaths. He could smell the water and hear it as it crashed against the harbor. 'What a soothing sound...'
"Hi!" A cheerful voice behind him said. He quickly spun around and saw Meilin.
"Uh... hi." He said. Then he looked out into the water. 'Don't think too much, Eriol, just pop the question.'
"Wow, it's really beautiful here at night. Thanks for sharing the view. I would have never thought of coming here at night." Meilin said.
"Huh?" Eriol asked. But then he realized what Meilin was talking about. The view was breathtaking. Across from them on the other side of the water was another island. It's lights glistened like a million bright stars. "Oh, you're welcome." He smiled. He was here with a girl. Nothing could have spoiled the moment. Well...
As they both sighed at the view, someone suddenly grabbed Meilin by the waist and took her away from him. He quickly spun his head around. Then, he saw two strong guys, both with pig masks and black ponchos and cleavers (AN: Hey, a lot of murderer and kidnappers do that, right? Right? Oh nevermind!).
"Hey!" He shouted. "Let go of her!" Then, suddenly, the other guy grabbed his wrists and placed them behind his back. They cracked loudly as he screamed in pain.
"Eriol!" Meilin almost screamed as he began to get weaker.
"Aww, look at the two lovebirds. I hate to spoil this romantic moment, but you better give us everything you have that's valuable now. Or we're going to have to do worse." One of the robbers said as he walked over and kicked Eriol's head pretty hard.
"Stop it!" Meilin shouted louder. Then, the two robbers' attention turned to her and they looked at her. At first they looked surprised, but then they burst out into laughter.
"Oh my! I'm real scared! This little girl is gonna tell her mommy on me." One of the guys mimicked. Meilin gritted her teeth with anger as teardrops filled her eyes. Then she looked up and glared at them. Fire seemed to have shot out of her eyes.
"I'm not a little girl and I have a name! It's Meilin Li!" With that, she struggled out of the man's grasp and turned around and kicked him with all her might in the stomach (AN: I was gonna say that she kicked him down there, but then I changed my mind because that's just cruel). Just then, the other guy let go of Eriol who immdiately fell to the ground. He was about to leap at her when she punched his face and kneed his stomach.
Both of the robbers lay on the floor, clutching their stomachs. Meilin quickly rushed over to Eriol. She helped him over to a bench, leaving the two law breakers lying on the street.
When they calmed down, Meilin broke the silence. "Are you okay?"
Then, Eriol looked up and smiled at her. "Yes, I'm okay now, thanks to you. I knew that you can fight, but I didn't know that you can fight THAT good. Does anyone else know?" He asked.
"Umm.... My punching bag. Definitely. But I think that it's in way too many pieces to talk right now. Anyway, I want to thank you." She said as she looked down. Eriol looked surprised.
"Thank me for what? You're the one who saved the day."
"Other than Li, no one has ever made an effort to save me or anything. They always expect me to be able to take care of me. But back there, you risked a lot to make sure I was safe from harm. Another thing is, I've been thinking. I really really want to thank you for such a terrific week. I enjoyed every second of it." She told him.
Eriol looked up and looked at her then smiled. "The pleasure's all mine. Oh yea, one more thing. Actually, I didn't call you out here tonight to let you enjoy the view. Actually, I didn't even thought of that."
She looked up. "Hm? Then why did you call me? What do you want to ask me?"
He looked down, trying to hide the fact that he's blushing. "I.. was wondering if..." He began, but froze. He was too embarrassed to ask her. She just saved his life practically and now he's gonna ask her this? No way!
"Well...?" Meilin asked after a short silence. Eriol sighed. 'What the hey? You won't be humilated... much. So just spill it instead of looking like a cowardly idiot in front of her.'
Eriol sighed again, hoping for a way to tell her. "Meilin... I've been thinknig a lot lately... about you. And tonight at... eleven p.m. I realized that I was in love with you as you picked up that phone. So I was wondering if... If you'll be my girlfriend." 'There, I said it. Pretty lame, but I said it. Now, I just have to wait for her reaction.'
He got his reaction all right. Meilin quickly threw her arms around him. She closed her eyes as she laid her head on his shoulder. He reluctantly wrapped his arms around her waist, not knowing what to do. Then in his ear, she whispered. "Thank you, Eriol. This is the first love confession I've ever gotten. Thank you." Eriol could have jumped with joy, but he stayed in the comfortable position he's in. He wrapped his arms around her tighter because this time he was sure that he was supposed to do that. They stayed like that for quite a while, nothing could've spoiled the moment. Seriously this time...