A/N: I know...it's late... :( But let's look on the bright side! I finished the chapter! . YAY! Ok...leaving me and my randomness (is that a word?) behind, read on and enjoy.
Disclaimer: ...UWAAAAAAN! KYYAAAAAAA... *sobs* I will interpret for all of you. Basically, I said: Awww! I don't own CCS yet...Key word being 'YET'. It will one day be mine!
Chapter 6: Love sometimes comes like a dream...
Sakura POV:
"Sakura."
Syaoran stands, gaping at me from the foot of the spiralling staircase. His hair is in a mess as though he'd just jumped out of bed. His mouth is open and he is struggling to form audible words. Smiling to myself, I curtsey again, watching his horrified expression.
"Hi, Syaoran." With a quick chirp, I run past him, following Mei Lin to her room. She smiles down at me, clearly satisfied with his reaction. Catching my eye, she winks. "Bye, Syaoran."
He doesn't say a word and doesn't even turn around to greet me. How on earth could he be so shocked from seeing a person? It's not that surprising for me to be in China, is it? I suppress a giggle as Wang Wei opens a large, wooden door and places our bags inside. Mei Lin is biting her lip, clenching her fists to stop her laughter. As soon as Wang Wei leaves, we both collapse onto our beds, grabbing our sides as we finally let the laughter fill the room.
"H-his…hahaha…h-his f-face!" Mei Lin squeals, her eyes brimming with tears as she calms down slightly. "O-oh G-god…he looked like he'd swallowed a fish. Whole!"
We are laughing again, gripping are sides as we try to stop. Sharp pains run up my sides as I collapse on the ground, closing my eyes and breathing slowly.
"No," I say quietly. "He probably swallowed a cat."
"Hahaha." Our laughter subsides into giggles and we finally sit up, thinking silently.
How are we going to get Syaoran and his family to see that he doesn't need Kanari?
My plan seems more pathetic each time I think about it.
"Why are you pouting, Sakura?" Mei Lin asks, pulling her hair into a high ponytail, keeping it in place with a dark blue ribbon. "We're going to save Syaoran from the clutches of that witch."
"Witch?" I blink at her, confused. And then it hits me. "Oh. You mean Kanari."
"Who else? Seriously, Sakura-chan it's a wonder that you managed to get all the Clow cards! You're so slow sometimes," She grins at me, standing at the door now. "We should get down Sakura. It's almost dinner time." I hesitate, looking at myself in the mirror. God, I look like a mess. "Actually, we should both get dressed in fancier clothes, shouldn't we? You go in first and I'll deal with the clothes."
With a quick wink Mei Lin slips out of the room. When I come out of the shower, wrapped in a fluffy white towel, there is a silvery-white hanfu with flowing sleeves and a pink sash around the middle laid out for me on my bed. I get ready as fast as I can, loving how the silk flows against my skin.
I hear a knock, followed by Mei Lin's voice. I gasp when she comes in, showing off her beautiful blue cheongsam. She walks steadily on a pair of turquoise stilettos, holding up a pair of adorable white wedge heels.
Yes, Sakura, says my heart to my head. They are adorable, put them on and strut your stuff.
But my head…
Nonononononononononono! You don't know how to walk on heels, idiot!
"Mei Lin-chan," I start, but she waves her hand to silence me.
"Don't worry, Sakura," she starts, handing them to me and watching me as I slip them on. "Wedge heels are easier to walk in than stilettos."
"I trust you," I mumble as I stumble around the room until I can walk decently in them. At the end of my practice, I give her a little twirl, posing while she pretends to be taking my picture.
"And Cinderella went to the ball," she laughs, holding my hand as we walk out. We bump into Syaoran in the corridor, his face flushed and flustered.
"Hello, sweetie!" Mei Lin smiles sweetly at him, earning her a soft scowl from him. "Have you noticed how beautiful Sakura looks today. Look at the pretty heels and the dress and the…" While she blabbers on, Syaoran looks up and meets my gaze.
"Yeah, she does look beautiful, doesn't she?" He mutters to himself before walking away without another word.
Did I hear him right? Did he just call me beautiful?!
When I turn to face Mei Lin, a chill runs down my spine. There is an amused look on her face and she is raising an eyebrow at me.
"Interessante," she says to herself. "Muy interessante."
…
Is she speaking Spanish?!
Um…maybe I'm imagining things.
Probably.
Most Likely.
…
…hopefully.
"Let's go, Sakura-chan!" She chirps before literally dragging me down the stairs. When we enter the dining room, everyone looks up and stares at me. I fidget, feeling their eyes burning holes into me, taking me in. Syaoran, too, is staring at me, a childish pout on his face as if I'm disturbing him. On purpose. Forcing myself not to grin, I curtsey to his family before slipping into the seat beside him.
The starter is eaten in silence and I find myself putting tiny pieces of food in my mouth, not managing to finish even half of my food. The atmosphere is so solid that I think that it just might be possible for me to cut it with a knife. Wait. How would I do that?
"Sakura…" Syaoran hisses at me, nudging me. I twist to look at him but he shakes his head silently, motioning to his mother.
"Ahem. Sakura-chan." Syaoran's mother, Yelan Li, is watching me, her dark hair flowing around her in an elegant wave. Even though her voice is composed and her face is blank, I notice her eyebrows arch slightly when she notices my daydreaming. "How have you been?"
"Very well, thank you," I reply quietly, my face flushed. "How are you?" Maybe she'll tell me about the family crisis. I have known her son for over five years, after all.
"I'm very well. Thank you for asking."
Uh. Maybe not.
Syaoran is trying not to laugh at my evident discomfort, hiding his expression by pretending to be wiping his mouth. As soon as everyone returns to eating their meals, I kick him. Hard. Startled, he yelps and everyone looks up again.
"Sorry, I think I might have hit the table leg while straightening my leg," he mumbles pathetically. I repress a giggle before feeling a sharp pain run up my leg. I stifle a cry of pain. Nobody notices my pain and I struggle to keep the tears from my eyes. Syaoran's smirk is immediately replaced with a grim line. "Sorry." His mumble is so miserable that I almost hug him right then and there. Imagine what his mother would say!
"It's fine…" I whisper, holding his hand under the table. His eyes sparkle and his ears perk up, like Kero's do when he hears of cake. Wait a minute. Where is Kero?
Suddenly, trumpets fill the house and everyone jumps out of their seat (well, Yelan gets up quickly but gracefully) as a crimson carpet is rolled into the the sitting room before the door is closed again. The sound of heels clicking can be heard from outside the dining room door.
"Nononononononono…" is all I can hear from Syaoran, his hand tugging away from mine. What I can hear from Mei Lin…oh God! She isn't happy. Mei Lin is cursing under her breath, her fists clenched at her sides. Curious. Who on earth could it be?
The door swings open and a man appears, his hands by his sides. I check to see if he has high heels and am relieved to see that he doesn't. But doesn't that mean that there is someone else here? And that's when she appears, her black hair tied in a messy bun, piled on top of her head. She is dressed in a hideous frilly frock that is cut way too high for my liking. She spots me and greets me with a chilling scowl.
"Hello, Kinomoto-san," she says coldly, her eyes narrowed.
Yes. It's her. The queen of frilly frocks and cold words.
"Hello, Kanari."
Syaoran POV:
My life has officially ended.
The girl I love and the girl I'm supposed to marry are in the same room, glaring at each other. Okay. I take that back. Kanari is doing all the glaring while Sakura is simply staring at her in disgust.
I cough, regretting it as soon as everyone turns to look at me. I look down, muttering a quick apology before letting the girls carry on with their staring contest. Oh. That's what they're doing. They're having a- I think before I mentally hit myself for the thought. No, Syaoran. Concentrate. Where were we? Oh yeah…the girl I love and the one I'm supposed to marry.
"Would you like to sit down, Mr. Kagayaki?" Mother asks Kanari's father, motioning to Wang Wei to pull out a seat for him and his daughter. Mr. Kagayaki doesn't miss a beat and bows.
"I would be honoured to join you, Yelan." Without another word, the old man is seated. But his daughter is another story. The only spare seat left is next to Sakura…so let's all imagine what would happen if she actually sat there *shudders*.
"Will you be so kind to move up, Kinomoto-san?"
Oh. That's how she wants to play it. Sakura…don't you dare mo-.
"Of course." And she moves. I scowl childishly as Kanari slips into the seat next to mine, her hideously coloured red lips pulled into a tight smirk. I swear her dress is taking up more space than she is. It's literally in my face, tickling me all the way through dinner.
"Yeesh!" Kero hisses from my lap. "She stinks."
I don't disagree. It's a wonder that I survive sitting next to something that smells as though they dunked themselves in perfume by pretending to be covering my mouth while eating for the rest of dinner. As soon as the table is cleaned up I excuse myself, dropping Kero into Sakura's hands on the way out. I run out, hoping that Kero remembers what he's supposed to tell her.
Forget Kanari, I want to see Sakura. And there's nothing that can stop me.
After racing up the stairs, brushing my teeth and changing into casual clothes, I wait for Sakura while lying on my bed. I hear a faint knock around ten o'clock, making me jump from my pillows. My heart pounds against my chest as I turn the doorknob. The door swings open and Sakura stands there. Alone. Hearing my sigh, she looks up, her face flushed.
"Syaoran."
"Sakura," I murmur, pulling her into my arms and shutting the door behind us. She wraps her arms around me, burying her face into my shoulder. We stand like that for a long time, her heart slamming against mine. Once we both calm down, I pull her away so that I can look at her. Her big green eyes look back at me, her face a soft pink. I grin. Her hair is a mess. Everything is a mess, I remind myself, my smile slipping.
"Is something wrong, Syaoran?" Her voice is soft and worried as I pull away from her.
"Everything."
"You could have told me…" she says, folding her arms around herself, shivering slightly. I frown, confused.
"What are you talking about?"
She tells me everything that I never thought she would know. Mei Lin must have told her. For once, I am not angry. Not even annoyed. In fact - call me crazy, if you like - I feel relieved. My smile forces its way past all of my miseries. I just can't help it. I grab her and squeeze her in a bear hug, a stupid grin on my face.
"Syaoran?!" She sounds startled, which makes me laugh a little. "Syaoran! What do you think you're doing?!"
"I'm falling, Sakura," I reply, cupping her face in my hands. "Falling in love."
She breathes out, closing her eyes for a moment before opening them again. Her gaze is tender and longing. I sigh, smiling at her puzzled expression.
"Who do you think?" I bring my face closer to hers, our foreheads touching. "There's only one girl for me, Sakura."
"Kanari?" She pouts, knowing fully what the answer is. I smirk back, leaning further so that we are practically breathing the same air.
"I didn't choose her, Sakura. I choose you."
And that's when I press my lips to hers, melting into a tender kiss.