Disclaimer: I do not own CCS and any of its characters. I just own the plot.

Favorite Girl – Chapter 1: "A Guy With His Guitar"

::

I'm Sakura Kinomoto. I'm just an average teenager. Emerald eyes, auburn hair. Nothing special in my life, except that I have very wonderful parents. They are like angels to me. They're not super rich, but who cares? My family is perfect. They love and care about me so much, that even though I have neither brother nor sister, I never feel lonely at home.

School? Well, whatever happens in school is not as good as home. I'm not like the popular girls in school. I like to make friends, but it seems that they always find something funny to say about me. And since my father's job revolves around the oil and gas industry and more like a field job, my family frequently move from one small town to another, that I barely make friends.

Oh, and ever heard that new students are desired objects to be bullied? Well, that happened to me a lot of time. Maybe that made me an introvert person, who prefers spending time with a piece of paper and crayons, making some random drawings, to having some chit chats with other students. Well, I can't complain about that. I want to go to some art school once I graduate later, that's what I've been dreaming of.

:: Tomoeda. 2012. ::

"Happy birthday!"

It was Saturday, and the girl just woke up, still yawning and rubbing her eyes. "Huh?" A confused look on her face, she saw her parents stepping into her room, carrying a chocolate cake with candles. She was totally surprised. Yes, it was a very happy birthday cake, since she had just turned 15.

"Happy birthday, sweetheart!" Nadeshiko Kinomoto smiled sweetly at her daughter, hugging her as she sat up on her bed.

"Happy birthday, cherry blossom." Fujitaka Kinomoto brought the birthday cake closer to her face. "It's time for you to make a wish." He raised his brow playfully.

"Oh, God! I forgot that today's my birthday!" Sakura exclaimed, slapping herself on the forehead. Her parents laughed. "Oh, God. I just turned 15 and I already forget things. What if I turned 50?" she said, panicking, scowling at herself.

"Doesn't matter now, birthday girl. It means that we've managed to surprise you," Nadeshiko said, kissing her on the forehead. Sakura hugged her back tightly.

"So, the wish?" Fujitaka repeated, making Sakura turned to her cake with a big grin on her face. She closed her eyes, clasped her hands in front, and muttered something in her heart, so serious that it made her parents look at each other and wonder. When she finished making her wish, she blew the candles and her mother clapped.

"Mind telling me what you were wishing for?" Nadeshiko asked, curious.

"Nah, it's a secret." Sakura stuck out her tongue playfully, making her parents sigh.

"Whatever it is, honey, I hope that it will come true," Fujitaka said.

"Thank you, mom, dad. You guys are the best!" she said joyfully and giggled, hugging both Nadeshiko and Fujitaka in one blow.

Nadeshiko patted her back and said, "Now let's eat the cake outside. But first, you've to clean up yourself. Come on, sleepyhead."

"Okay, okay," Sakura groaned and got up from her bed to do what her mother had told her, heading to the bathroom to take a shower.

::

"Wow, that was yummy," Sakura said as she finished her plate, putting her fork down. The three of them were sitting at the table in the kitchen, eating the cake. "Mom, I really need to learn this from you."

"See? I told you my dear, you're the best," Fujitaka agreed, not able to stop himself from putting another slice on his plate.

Nadeshiko blushed at their compliments. "Oh, shut up, you two." She chuckled. "Anyways, how's school so far?" she asked Sakura, who was still not taking her eyes off her comic book on the table.

"School's fine," Sakura answered shortly.

Nadeshiko shifted in her seat, and Fujitaka already knew where this conversation was going. "Fine? Any exciting news?" Nadeshiko asked again.

"Uh—huh." Sakura just shook her head, still not giving her full attention.

"Any—" Nadeshiko coughed before saying, "Any guys you've been close to so far?"

This question made Sakura drop her comic book and look at her in disbelief.

"Nadeshiko…" Fujitaka said warningly, and Nadeshiko just looked at her husband and daughter in defense.

"What? I'm just asking!" she blurted out.

"No, mom." A short answer again from Sakura, and she focused again on her comic book.

"It's not yet the time for her," Fujitaka said firmly.

"I got together with you when I was in high school," Nadeshiko pointed out.

"You were in your senior year, darling. She's still a junior," he argued.

"Well, if you had been smart enough, you would have noticed that I already had a crush on you when I was in the 10th grade!"

Fujitaka got speechless for a few seconds, openmouthed, and said, "You did?"

Nadeshiko growled in frustration, hating herself for spilling the information. She got up from her chair awkwardly and opened the refrigerator to take out some drinks, while Fujitaka roared in laughter.

"You did?" he repeated, amused.

"….We're running out of ice," Nadeshiko informed in a flat tone as she looked inside the refrigerator, ignoring him.

Before Fujitaka could respond, Sakura had already got up from her chair, grabbing her jacket, and said, "I'll go." It was an excuse for her to escape the conversation.

"No, birthday girl, I—" Fujitaka got up from his chair too, but Sakura cut him off.

"Dad! I'll go get the ice," she insisted. Sometimes, she thought that he spoiled her too much. "Bye, lovebirds," she said playfully, grinning, and walked off to the door.

"Sakura, I'm not finish—" Nadeshiko's sentence was cut off when Fujitaka circled his arms around her waist.

"So, what about that 10th grade story?" he asked, making her blush.

::

Sakura walked along the street, inhaling the fresh air and liking the smell of it. Spring had just begun and it was her favorite weather, not too cold and not that hot.

She wanted to laugh thinking about her parents' behaviors. It was the kind of relationship she wanted to have with someone: never growing out of love. Her parents were perfect. Maybe that was the reason why she hadn't found anyone until now. It was because she wanted it to be like her parents, when in fact that kind of love didn't just come before you. It was one in a million, she realized.

Humming, she sped up her pace, when something caught her ears. Distantly, she heard a melody. Someone was singing.

She turned her head to an alley on her left and walked into it. As she stepped further, the sound became clearer. Curious, she went further inside, her kickers stepping slowly on the ground as she tried to locate the source of the sound.

When she almost reached the end of the alley, she turned right to another path and found a guy sitting on the ground with his guitar.

Chestnut hair, amber eyes. A guy, with his raspy voice, was singing. His fingers expertly moved against the strings of the guitar, creating a well oscillation of melody. His voice was so captivating, perfectly tuned, and his music made her want to cry. It was beautiful, flowing right into her heart.

He was beautiful. How she wanted to draw the scene before her and turned it into a masterpiece.

Hearing footsteps, the guy suddenly looked up and was taken aback when he saw her. He immediately stopped what he was doing and pushed his back against the wall; the melody vanished as silence crept back.

"Hey, don't stop," Sakura told him, not wanting him to end the song.

"I'm sorry. I was just—" The guy looked troubled and ashamed.

"No, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to interrupt you." She felt guilty, approaching him.

"It was just a piece of crap. Sorry. I didn't know that someone was actually coming here." The guy tried to fix the awkward atmosphere, rubbing the back of his head in frustration, making his hair messy.

Sakura bent down to him, disbelief in her eyes. "Are you kidding? You're calling that a piece of crap? Are you crazy? That was the most beautiful thing I've ever heard!" she told him right away.

The guy looked at her in amazement. "What? You sure?" he asked blankly.

"I'm more than sure!" she answered, sitting down in front of him, her arms hugging her knees. "Whose song was it?" she asked, having loved it already the moment she heard it.

"…Well… It's kinda thing I wrote myself," he muttered, looking down, and her eyes widened in shock.

"Oh my God! You wrote that?" she nearly shouted.

"Yeah," he answered in a low voice, before looking at her again and asked, "Did you…..like it?"

Sakura's jaw dropped hearing that. "Like it? I LOVE it! It's amazing!" she said truthfully.

He laughed seeing her reaction. "You know, it seems like you're exaggerating too much."

"I'm not!" she stated, feeling like pulling out his hair for not realizing how much talent he had. "Have you had anybody listen to that before?"

He shook his head. "Nah. Nope. Never."

"Why?" Now she knew why he didn't get it. No one had ever given him any feedback before.

"Well, I kinda write music for myself. When I felt like it, and I just couldn't contain it, I just came here, and sang my heart out," he explained, and wondered why he even told her about that. It wasn't like he was spilling his heart out to some stranger?

"Well then, can I listen again to some of those songs? Those you claimed as accidentally written?" she asked him, more like begging.

He looked at her in disbelief, but as he saw her serious expression, he began to put his guitar back in place. "If that's what you want."

He started a song. His voice began to fill the air again, the sound of the guitar accompanying it, creating a perfect harmony.

Sakura stared at the guy in front of her, who was lost in his own world. He got lost in his own music, singing with all his heart. And it was breathtaking. His voice and his music were really good. Like, really really good.

Again, it was so beautiful that she almost cried. She wondered how it was even possible for him not to realize his own talent. She wouldn't mind sitting there listening to him all day. In fact, it was the best acoustic performance she had ever seen, better than any concert she had ever been to. And she got the VVVIP seat! She was the only audience there. Could you believe that? How great was that?

He finally finished the song, ending it perfectly with a final major chord played with his guitar.

"You know, I think you should start letting people hear your voice," Sakura spoke her mind, surprising him. "If you keep that to yourself, how will other people reach it?"

"Do you think that it's important for other people to hear my music?" was the question that left his lips as he still tried to get her point. "I mean, I live with my mom in a small apartment nearby, and I haven't even had her hear me out."

"Well, you should have! She would have supported you. You really have a gift, you know," she told him matter-of-factly. "And yes, it's important for other people to reach your music. You may have done something wonderful to them, like you'd done to me just now. Hearing that just brightened my day," she told him all she was feeling inside, which flattered him.

He was lost for words. "….wow. Thanks. It means so much to me."

"You're most welcome." She smiled at him before suggesting, "So, why don't you try to do it tomorrow?"

He was taken aback, and laughed. "You don't have to be so excited."

"Of course I am! I'm your number one fan!" she claimed herself, and he was moved by her honesty.

"Roger that." He smiled. "Only if you come with me." He looked into her eyes which were full of life.

"Sure!" She giggled happily and lifted her pinky finger in front of his face. "I promise."

He chuckled at her cuteness, before linking his pinky finger with hers. "Thanks, my number one fan….?" he purposely asked her name by raising his tone.

"Oh! I'm Sakura. Nice to meet you." She grinned. "And you are…?"

"I'm Syaoran," he answered, his eyes filled with determination. "Syaoran Li."

It was my 15th birthday, and I had made a wish that day.

'Dear God, please keep my parents in happiness always. And please, let me find someone who I can share my happiness with. Let him be the one I will look for when I am in joy, and the one I will turn to when I am in sorrow. Let him be my strength, hope, and courage, and let me be his.

My special someone. My other half.'

And little did I know that it wouldn't be just another wish.