All right. Which would you prefer?
Entrancie or Entrancia?
Entrancie sounds cute.
Tomoyo's cell phone rang, but nobody heard it.
They were all too busy screaming.
"MEILING! THERE'S A POST! A POST!" Tomoyo shrieked, pointing wildly at the obstacle that the speeding car was nearing. They had been at this for half an hour now…
"I SEE IT, WOMAN! SHUT UP AND LET ME DRIVE!" Meiling screamed and fiercely spun the wheel, making a 360-degree turn.
"YOU'RE GOING TO FACE THE POLICE?!" Sakura cried out, aghast at the amount of red and blue blinking cars that were chasing after them.
There were approximately six news helicopters, ten police cars, two fire trucks, and three police motorcycles.
Oh, shit, Meiling thought, then quickly shook her head. Language…
Then, AH!! THIS IS NO DAMN TIME TO BE WORRYING ABOUT MY LANGUAGE!"Goodness, Meiling," Ruby murmured, watching the T.V. "It's on every single channel!"
Eriol was busy dialing Tomoyo's number while Syaoran was tiredly talking to the head of Soar Records. Yue was out of the room, talking to his brother, Yukito.
Eriol groaned and pressed a button on his cell. "She won't pick up!"
"I wonder why," the pink-haired beauty sarcastically remarked. Ruby had a feeling that Meiling completely forgot about the police and sped away without thinking. "Tomoyo must be freaking out by now."
"That would be a sight to see," the drummer muttered under his breath, knowing that their lead singer was usually calm and collected. He redialed Tomoyo's number.
Finally, she picked it up.
"Hello?" Her voice sounded ghastly.
"Tomoyo?" Eriol said. "Why haven't you been picking up?!"
"OH MY GOSH MEILING!!! STOP THE CAR!"
"…Oh…" he replied bluntly. He heard the tires screeching and Sakura screaming her lungs off. He wondered how they were going to pull this stunt off, telling the press lies once more to clean the mess up and get Meiling in the clear.
This was not going to be easy. He knew Meiling wasn't the type to give in; she had too much pride. Any punishment, she would take.
Eriol was afraid the upper authority would fire her. Meiling Li was the best manager they've had yet. Well, she was the only one that stayed with them for a few years.
That was saying something, wasn't it?
"Tomoyo, can you hear me?" he asked her desperately. The press must have been having a fun time right about now.
"MEILING, I SAID WATCH THE POST!" Tomoyo shrieked again.
"I'M NOT GONNA HIT IT, IDIOT!"
"Can't we just slow down?"
"NO, SAKURA, WE CAN'T!"
"JUST STOP!" Eriol winced at Tomoyo's tone of voice. That must have been the first time she used that.
"Hey, look, Meiling must've run out of gas," Ruby said, pointing to the T.V. The car was on the side of the street, finally ending the chase. He smiled.
Tomoyo is so hard to understand.
The next couple hours were spent trying to get Meiling's license back at the police station.
One of the reasons Yue hired her was because of her spunk and her attitude. It was needed to get those crazy fans to back off and to make deals with people.
Now, though, she seriously needed to keep her mouth shut.
Syaoran yelled at her the way back to the hotel. "IT'S A CAR, MEILING!"
"BUT IT'S MY CAR!" the young manager shouted in reply. "NOW IT'S DEAD!"
"QUIT BLAMING IT ON ME THEN!"
"I'M NOT!"
"THEN SHUT UP!"
"I AM!"
"You two should be a couple," Sakura meekly said, speaking to those that were bickering.
They were riding in Ruby's red Odyssey. Yue was driving while Ruby rode shotgun. Eriol and Tomoyo were in the two seats behind them, and Meiling, Syaoran, and Sakura rode in the very back with Meiling in the middle.
"HELL NO!" they both screamed at her, then looked at each other in surprise.
Once the shock was over, Syaoran smirked, "Language, Li."
She growled. "Sakura, could I switch places with you?"
"Hoe?"
"Please."
"But I like my spo—"
"SAKURA!"
She flinched. "All right, all right."
Syaoran gaped, "What? Every time this girl touches me, I end up getting hurt in some way! Meiling!"
"Would you like me to punch your nose again, Syaoran?" Sakura smiled sweetly at him, moving far back in her seat so Meiling could get over her.
"Why are women so violent?" he snarled.
Sakura pointedly ignored his comment and looked out his window. The trees, the bushes, and the buildings passed by. Just like that time when she sped down that hill on her bike.
Her eyes wandered to Syaoran's face. She blamed herself, saddened by the fact that he broke a rib because of her. Not just for that, but this band wanted her to join.
She shouldn't keep them waiting. It'd be lonely when they leave, but it would be selfish to keep them here while they wait for her answer. Better say it now when she had their attention.
I hope they don't listen, though.
"Um, you guys, I've thought about it and—"
"Oi, Sakura," Syaoran started, looking ahead of him blankly, "are you related to Nadeshiko?"
Tomoyo stopped talking to Eriol and widened her eyes at him.
Her response startled them all.
Sakura's eyes blinked in confusion. "Who's she?"
Before anymore could be said, a ring broke out. It came from the front.
Sakura wasn't introduced properly when the producers followed them to the police station. She just noticed the two now. But the male one, the one with long, silver hair, produced an unfriendly aura.
A bossy one anyway.
"Hello?" Yue's greeting filled the car's silence. Her green eyes stared at the front.
"Man, Yue. You just had to ruin it, didn't you?" the boy beside her muttered, but Sakura didn't hear.
She was too busy listening to the one sided conversation from Yue.
"Hey… No… They're fine …You did?" Yue's brows scrunched together and Ruby glanced at him, worried.
After a few minutes of huh's and hmm's while focusing on his driving, he frowned, making his lips thin. Ruby concluded that whoever called him had given him not-so-good news. Being the girl she was, she leaned in to hear the speaker on the other side.
Ruby couldn't hear anything.
"Hmm," was all Yue said, and his fellow producer scowled at him. What on earth were they talking about?
Damn it, Yue, she thought.
He flipped his phone shut after saying a quick goodbye. Reaching the hotel, he turned off the engine once he parked underneath some trees. Sakura looked at him in the rear mirror, and instinctively, Yue raised his head to stare back.
She took a sharp intake of breath at the sight of his intensive eyes and diverted her gaze outside. The clouds were starting to gather up, she noted.
"Um, Yue?" Eriol blinked and leaned forward. "Why aren't we getting out of the car?"
Yue didn't answer his question, and instead asked, "Why is that girl with you, Meiling?"
"Uh, what?" was her intelligent answer.
"Why is she with you and Tomoyo?"
Sakura was offended. Hey, I have a name…
The manager scratched her head. "We kinda just dragged her along. I came to her house and forced to her to come with us."
"Did you get her to talk?" he asked, continuing on with his interrogation.
"Huh?"
Yue took a deep breath, and turned around to face Sakura and looked her in the eye. "What job did your mother have before she died?"
Tomoyo widened her eyes. How did he know about that?
WHO DOES THIS GUY THINK HE IS? ASKING ME ABOUT MY MOM?! Sakura shouted in her mind, but remembered something. She choked, the bile in her throat bothering her.
Oh, crap... It's today?!
Syaoran, looking at her face, took out his handkerchief and dropped it on her lap. "Here."
It took her a full minute to comply. Tears were running down Sakura's face without her permission.
No, no, no, no! Quit crying! Only Tomoyo and Touya are allowed to see you cry! Stop! Stop!
"I—" she choked out, trying to sound strong. "I don't…"
That fierce gaze he held on her wasn't comforting, and it only made more tears come down.
"Yue!" Ruby scolded him, but she knew he wasn't paying attention. "YUE!"
The man sighed and took the keys out of the wheel, turning the car off. He stepped out of the car and walked towards their room.
Ruby gaped in response to his actions and quickly turned to Sakura, who was laying on Syaoran's chest. He winced. The rib still hurt, but strangely, he didn't mind.
"I'm so sorry, Sakura-chan! That was rude of him!" she apologized, seeing Meiling was now comforting her with the help of Tomoyo. Eriol was trying to open the doors. They were locked inside.
The subject of her mother must've brought back memories. Ugh, YUE! Meiling thought.
When Sakura was brought home, she was in no mood to speak. Really, she didn't even think of playing on the piano until she saw it. Touya heard her, and he was about to shout at her when he saw her sitting at the piano stool.
He decided to shut his mouth, but his heart tightened when she played with the same sadness she used to play before she met Celestine.
There it goes, he thought sadly, hearing her music fill the emptiness of the house. Why couldn't she play happy music? This house was so depressed every single day…
Touya retired to his room. He couldn't stand to listen to her playing. Calling up Syaoran on his cell, he decided to find out what happened.
"I called Yukito," Yue explained to them in their room. "And he said that Nadeshiko looked a whole lot like her mother, but it wasn't her."
"B-but," Meiling stammered, "I saw Nadeshiko's photo in her locker! It was the exact same picture you showed us!"
Ruby perked up from her reclined chair. "You mean the photo with the flowers all around her and when she's turned sideways?"
"Yes!" Meiling confirmed and nudged Eriol beside her, who was about to fall asleep. He nodded, not knowing what he was nodding to. Tomoyo stifled a giggle.
Syaoran, though, was back in his own room, not wanting to have anything to do with Nadeshiko, let alone talk about her.
"Yukito is best friends with Touya, Sakura's brother," Yue growled. "He would know what their mother looked like."
"And it's Nadeshiko!" Meiling nearly screamed. "I know she is! How else would Sakura know how to play the piano and sing at the same time?"
"That doesn't explain anything. Many people can do that," Ruby pointed out, starting to get the gist of what Yue was doing. She expectantly stared at him, and he nodded lightly. They were going to see if this girl was really worth it.
"NOT THE FREAKING PIANO CONTESTANTS!" The lead vocalist had to hold Meiling down.
"You're fond of her, aren't you?" Ruby was amazed at how Meiling felt so strongly about Sakura, and Tomoyo came at her defense.
"I am too, Ruby. The thing is, Sakura's different from all those people that want to be the keyboard in our band. I don't want anyone that just gets into our band just because Syaoran is in it or because they think they could famous," the amethyst jewel said. Under her breath, she muttered, "Those sort of people disgust me."
Eriol peacefully gave in to sleep. The last words that came out of Tomoyo's mouth contented him. Now, Yue would need to test Sakura.
Something that he knew Touya dreaded.
"Hello?" Syaoran yawned, answering his stupid phone that had to go off at 10:00 at night. Some people just wanted to sleep.
"Li? It's Touya," the person said.
"Oh, hey—"
"WHY IN THE EARTH DID MY SISTER COME INTO THE HOUSE CRYING?!?!? YOU KNOW THE FIRST THING SHE DID? SHE PLAYED ON THE PIANO! THE PIANO THAT WAS GATHERING DUST FOR NOT BEING USED FOR ONE DAY!"
Syaoran fell off his bed. This was going to be long…
"AND WHY WAS SHE IN THE NEWS?! I WAS JUST ON MY WAY HOME, AND SUDDENLY, THAT SAME CAR THAT MEILING DROVE PASSED BY ME! I SAW MY SIS IN THAT CAR!"
Oh, this was worse than Syaoran thought.
"SAKURA WAS SUPPOSED TO BE AT HOME THE WHOLE DAY! IT'S—" Realization hit Touya.
The guitarist knew that something was wrong. "What?"
"It's today," Touya whispered.
"What's today?"
"Shit, no..." and the phone released a high-pitched sound, telling Syaoran that Touya hung up.
"Okay…" Syaoran shrugged it off, but he couldn't go back to sleep. The pillows felt uncomfortable; the sheets were rough under his feel now. It bugged him.
He stayed up till twelve in the morning. Out of habit, Syaoran glanced at the calendar.
August 21st.
He quickly sat up.
Shit no.
"All right, so, now that we both are confident that you guys like this Sakura, we'll see if she is fit to be in this band tomorrow," Ruby chirped happily, and took her cell to contact Soar Records to prepare the studio.
Tomoyo nodded. "But can't we do it when she goes farther into her school year? I would hate for her to miss her first few days in school."
Meiling grunted. "I'd leave that school for anything."
Tomoyo eyed the manager. "At least not tomorrow. She hasn't even said if she wanted to be a member."
Yue frowned. "She doesn't want to join?" he asked her.
"No! No!" Tomoyo replied quickly. "Sakura said that she's thinking about it."
He sat back in his chair. "I see… then we have to hear her play."
Meiling's eyes widened, not expecting that answer from him. "What do you mean you have to?"
"She has to be very good at singing and playing the piano if she hasn't given her consent, and yet you still recommend her, right?"
Tomoyo chuckled nervously while Meiling foolishly looked away. They hadn't exactly heard Sakura play or sing.
The one who had, however, was currently snoring on Tomoyo's lap.
"Oh, um—hey, Yue, what's today? Chiharu's saying that the studio isn't available for tomorrow, and she thinks it would be better to test her a week from now," Ruby said, covering her hand on the part of the phone where she spoke.
Yue looked at his digital watch to check the date. His partner waited impatiently, tapping her foot.
"YUE!"
"August 21st," he whispered.
"What?"
"August 21st," he said again, louder. Tomoyo turned pale and gripped Eriol's shirt. She heard Meiling inhale sharply.
So many things happened today, and it was a good thing the guitarist wasn't in the room.
How could Chiharu have forgotten that today was August 21st? How could they have forgotten?
The day when Nadeshiko rebelled and changed Soar Records with Syaoran's mother, Yelan.
Fear tightened around Tomoyo's heart. What if Nadeshiko really was Sakura's mother?
Um, okay, constructive critism, suggestions, the works. Because, you know what?
I need an S+S moment in here!
Don't worry. This fic is mostly about Sakura and Syaoran.Just not there yet.
Review!
xoxoxoxoxoxo
Choco
