Disclaimer

I do not own any of these characters - CLAMP has that right. [I do own this plot though^_^]

AN: I hope you enjoy this story! It just sorta came to me today. Happy reading!

-Synea K.

Summary:

Syaoran has been living a pretty comfortable life. Until a girl he meets during a spontaneous Spring Break road trip shows up on his door step a week later, turning his comfortable world upside down.

Chapter 1: Loosening The Chains

His amber orbs fluttered shut and the pace at which he flipped through the channels slowed. It had been a long week and he was looking forward to the weekend. 'Another dull weekend… '

he blinked repeatedly in an attempt to stay awake. This entire week had seemed dull. His eyes slid shut and he drifted into a dream.

"Syaoran" her voice spoke in a soft whisper

"hmm?" He opened his eyes and was met with a pair of dazzling emeralds accompanied by a bright smile.

In the short amount of time he'd been exposed to It, he'd become very fond of that smile.

"5 more minutes?" he mumbled, his eyes closing once more.

Her response was a quiet giggle. He felt the bed shift beneath him as she got up.

"5 minutes won't stop time. No matter how long you stay in bed, tomorrow morning it's back to the real world" a sad sigh escaped her.

He awoke abruptly to the sound of the remote hitting the wooden floor. The TV screen in front of him shown bright blue. He retrieved the remote and turned it off, swinging his legs off the couch. The floor was cold beneath his feet as he stood to turn off the lamp in his quiet living room.

'Had life always been so quiet?' He thought to himself as he made his way to the single bedroom in the apartment. As if to oppose his thoughts there was a loud clap of thunder and the heavens rained down on his silent evening. Syaoran passed by his dresser mirror catching a glimpse of himself. His unruly chestnut hair was the same as it'd always been and he hadn't grown any taller.

'Nothing's really changed about me…but I feel so different'.

"Ya know, you don't seem so bad" Her legs swung back and forth from the end of the dock in a child-like manner.

Syaoran averted his gaze from his reflection to look at her.

"Everyone's got a little excitement in them—they just need the right moments to bring it out!" she continued, her emerald eyes seemed to sparkle even more between the declining sun and the reflected water below.

They sat in silence before he stood from beside her and jogged towards the entrance of the pier.

"Where are you going?" she shouted

Turning from where he stopped he flashed a boyish grin.

Realization dawned on her as he ran at full speed back towards the end of the dock, tugging his shirt off over his head.

"Syaoran, it's like 60 degrees!" she warned.

Her words were inaudible as he leapt from the pier."Bonzai!"

A moment later there was a muffled scream and a subsequent splash as he emerged on the surface of the water. She emerged a moment later, catching her breath between her laughter.

"Bonzai?" she questioned, her eyebrows raised.

"Better than screaming like a little girl" he said in between gulps of air. She was right, the water was freezing.

"Hey! I am a girl but I'm not little" she exclaimed with emphasis on 'not'. She sent a barrage of splashes in his direction.

He dove under water, coming up just under her so that she sat upon his shoulders. She let out a yelp as he tilted her backwards sending her crashing back into the water.

"Syaoran! You're gonna get it now!" she sputtered, reemerging on the surface and swimming towards him. They continued to splash their way back to the shore, laughter piercing the quiet afternoon.

There was a slam of a car door outside as he was brought back from his reverie. He ignored this and smiled to himself. 'That was the first night…with her' he sighed inwardly.

His thoughts were interrupted by a small knocking sound. He turned back to his open bedroom door that led into the dark living room. The clock on the nightstand showed the numbers 12:31am in bright neon.

The rain was coming down even harder now.

"Probably just the stor—" his words were cut off by an even louder knock. He slowly made his way into the living room, switching on the single lamp.

He stood hesitantly a few feet away. "Who is it?" he shouted through the wood.

There was silence as he reached for the doorknob.

"Hell-"

"Syaoran? Is that you?" a voice questioned from the other side.

His eyes widened and his outreached hand paused just above the knob. 'That voice…'

"Hey, are you there?" the voice questioned again.

He fumbled with the 2 locks, a surge of emotion within him.

Flinging the door open he was greeted by the very same emerald green eyes that he'd been seeing in his thoughts all week.

The girls face lit up and her lips curved into a sheepish smile. Her auburn hair much like her clothes was plastered to her, drenched with water.

Syaoran stood frozen in the doorway, a look a disbelief on his face. "Sakura?" his voice was barely above a whisper.

"Hi there" she said nervously. She took a deep breath before continuing, "You said if I ever needed a place to stay—no matter what— to find you." Her eyes shifted to the floor and she folded her arms across her chest in an attempt to stay warm

"So, here I am." she finished. There was a moment of silence between the two, his eyes glued to hers and her's to the floor."Expect the unexpected, right?" she spoke softly.

In an automatic response Syaoran's arms reached out , pulling her into a warm but soggy embrace.

"I can't believe you're here" he said into her damp hair.

It was then that he noticed the 3 suitcases that sat behind her.

'Guess this won't be a dull weekend after all'

Two weeks earlier…

Are you sure you'll be able to make it?

"Yeah, definitely." Syaoran spoke into the receiver. He continued unlocking his bike from the rack.

You mean your parole officer actually gave you permission?

Syaoran rolled his eyes. "Don't call her that. And no, I haven't told her yet"

She has your life planned out to the second. I bet you even have to tell her when you're going to use the restroom too.

The voice on the other end of the line chuckled.

"I do not" Syaoran retorted with a piercing glare despite the receiver not being able to see it.

"You don't what?" a voice spoke from behind him. Syaoran turned around to meet the curious gaze of a young girl. Her raven hair was wrapped in two buns atop her head, the remaining hair dangled on both sides.

"h-hold on Eriol" he placed his hand over the receiver.

"It's nothin', Meiling. Give me a sec" he whispered to the girl. "Hey Eriol, I'll give you a call a little later so we can talk it over."

Should I schedule in a time now? the voice laughed

Syaoran shook his head and chuckled. "Whatever. I'll call you around 6, ok?"

Sounds good to me. Later.

Syaoran ended the call and slipped his phone into his pocket. He finished unlocking his bike and turned back to the girl that accompanied him.

"So how is your dear cousin?" Meiling asked indifferently.

"Same ol', Eriol" Syaoran smirked. "He invited me to stay with him during Spring Break next week.

"But Syaoran! I've already told your sisters that we'd visit them. It's been a while since I've seen them"

He sighed. "That's perfectly fine, Meiling but I'm going to spend some time with my cousin. I'm sure the 5 of you will have a great time together"

"But-"

"No buts, Meiling." He said sternly.

Her lips curved into a frown.

He placed a comforting arm around her shoulder "Hey now, don't be that way. It's only one week"

"hmph. We'll talk about it later" shrugging him off she made a move to leave.

Syaoran grabbed her arm and brought her back to him, encasing her in a hug.

"Have a good day, ok?" he said softly.

She was taken by surprise by his sudden compassion. "I'll try." She smiled meekly and was released from his bear hug.

"My place for dinner tonight. 7:00, k?" she said while skipping away without looking back.

"Sounds like a plan!" he shouted, mounting his bike he began riding off in the opposite direction.

Syaoran placed his keys upon the side table next to his front door and removed his shoes.

"What a day, what a day" he said aloud to himself, reaching into a stretch. He turned on his television and made his way into the kitchen. There was a buzz and a small chime from his back pocket and he retrieved his phone.

I'm making pasta tonight! You can bring the rolls. See you soon! :) - Meiling

'Spaghetti and rolls. What a surprise' he thought to himself.

He returned the phone to his pocket and turned back to the fridge, scanning the contents. Grabbing a carton of milk he made his way to the cabinet for a glass. His pocket vibrated and chimed once more.

Meiling says you're not coming to visit us! You're so mean! -_- - Fuutie

'Great, now my sisters are mad at me' he let out a frustrated growl and set his phone to silent before shoving it back into his pocket.

He finished his task of pouring milk into his glass and returned the milk to the fridge. Before leaving the kitchen he grabbed a handful of chocolate chip cookies from the canister on the counter and walked over to the couch.

Dipping the cookies into the milk with one hand he flipped through the channels with the other.
"There's never anything good on" he murmured. With a defeated sigh he turned the television off, leaving him in complete silence. He glanced at the clock, it was nearly 6:00 so he figured he'd give his cousin a call back. The phone rang once before he picked up.

Eriol, here

"Hey, it's me again."

Oh hey, you escaped your captor? he joked

"Whatever. She's really not as bad as you make her seem."

Yeah? Is that why I've received 5 angry text messages from her and your sisters

Syaoran couldn't help but laugh. "Yeah, I guess you're right. Sorry about that."

It's fine. I'm not bothered by them in the least bit. You on the other hand...need to grow a backbone.

Syaoran nearly choked on his milk at his cousins bluntness.

"And just what do you mean by that?" Syaoran could feel his temper rising. As much as he loved his cousin, he still managed to find ways to irk him every time they talked.

I don't want to sound rude, Syaoran. There was a pause before he continued

Meiling isn't even your girlfriend and she has you wrapped around her finger. There's a thin line between being a good and helpful friend and being controlled and manipulated.

Syaoran clenched his fist "That's not true. You know what the situation is, Eri-"

So she had a bad break up and you were there to help her pick up the pieces. But that shouldn't give her the power to control your every movement. It's been a year

"It's more than that! And she doesn't control my eve-"

She probably scares away any girl that's even interested in you before they even have a chance to blink twice in your direction. When's the last time you had a date anyways?

Syaoran couldn't believe what his cousin was saying and as much as he wanted to disagree with him and deny all of his accusations, he was right.

"Alright, alright, I get your point." Syaoran chimed in. "You're so brutally honest, Eriol. I don't know how your girlfriend deals with you."

Eriol laughed. She may seem quiet and reserved but she can really hold her own. Trust me.

Syaoran placed his empty cup into the sink rinsing it out with water. "So what's the plan for next week" he inquired, changing the subject.

Well I thought we could figure out something more once you got here. Tomoyo is bringing her cousin along too so the 4 of us can work something out.

"Sounds good to me" Syaoran replied.

Good. You should probably try getting here by Sunday afternoon. I was thinking we could have a bonfire down by the lake to start off the week.

Syaoran opened the fridge and searched for the dinner rolls. "Should I bring anything to help out?"

Nothing that I can think of right now but I'll let you know by Saturday

"Ok, just keep me posted. I've gotta head over to Meiling's now. She's makin' dinner"

Let me guess, Spaghetti and rolls?

He put the rolls in a plastic bag and made his way to the door. "Yeah, she's not much of a cook. But hey, food is food and as long as I don't have to make it, I'm fine with anything"

I guess that's true. Well, enjoy your night. Tell your keeper I said hello

"Yeah, you too" Syaoran ended the call, ignoring his cousin's last remark. He turned off the tv and flipped off the switch for the lamp.

His phone lit up just as he was about to put it back in his pocket.

Where are you? Dinner's almost ready! – Meiling

He paused in the door frame.

…that shouldn't give her the power to control your every movement. Eriol's words rang through his head. He would really have to talk to Meiling about that tonight. He stepped out into the cool night and locked the door behind him. 'I'm sure she'll understand'