Disclaimer: I don't own it…so don't sue…coz if you do, I'll hurt you!
Sorry! To all those who know the Japanese names better, I don't really know them, but here's a name guide:
Sakura Avalon: Sakura Kinomoto Li Showron: Syaoran Li Madison Taylor: Tomoyo Daidouji Meilin Rae: Meiling Li Tori Avalon: Touya Kinomoto Julian Star: Yukito Tsukishiro Chelsea: Chiharu Mihara Nikki: Naoko Yanagisawa Rita: Rika Sasaki Zachary/ Zach: Takashi Yamazaki
Key: "Talking" "Whispering" "YELLING" Thinking -----New scene or POV----- POV Point Of View
Writing-notes, emails etc.!
Chapter 9:
Switching roles
Meilin was already home when he got back that evening.
She was sitting at the kitchen table, silently watching Wei cook dinner.
"Hi." Li poked his head round the kitchen door, stopping to check the mail on the kitchen table.
"Nothing for me?" He seemed confused for a moment, then noticed the single-trip ticket to Hong Kong pinned to the notice board, his name in clear black print.
"You're going home." Meilin didn't lose her temper. Saw no point.
"Yeah. No reason to stay now, is there?" And Meilin glared up at him.
"No need to stay? What about Sakura? You're just gonna abandon her? You're just gonna up and leave? You're gonna give her two days' notice?" Meilin's voice was rising now, and Li blushed, looking awkward for a moment.
"N-not exactly…" And Meilin flipped.
"You're not gonna tell her at all? You stupid, arrogant, good for nothing asshole, Li! How dare you turn everyone else's lives upside down and run away! How dare you just go and hide like a coward!" She was aware she was screaming at him, but she didn't care.
Then, for the first time since she'd known him, he did the most out of character thing.
He lost his cool.
He screamed back.
And even Wei seemed shocked.
"How dare I? This whole thing's your fault! If you hadn't gone and shot off your big mouth, everything would be fine! Everything would be normal! But no, surprise surprise! Meilin has to wreck everything! What is it, some sick revenge you felt you needed to do? I'm fed up of babysitting you, Meilin! I don't even know why you're here! Did you just come all the way over here to get in my way?" And he ripped the ticket from the notice board, storming into his room.
Which meant only Wei was left to hear Meilin's hysterical sobbing.
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SAKURA'S ROOM, THE NEXT DAY
Madison sat down next to her best friend on her bed.
"Sakura, why don't you tell him?" Madison made a bee-line straight for the hot topic.
"Tell w-who w-what?" Sakura turned away from her best friend in a desperate bid to hide her blushing.
"Sakura, I know how you feel about Li." Madison looked doubtfully at her best friend.
"I…I d-don't know what you mean…" Sakura grabbed a pen from her desk-tidy and began to twirl it nervously.
"Sakura, if you don't tell him soon, it'll be too late…" Madison grabbed a cookie from the plate on Sakura's desk and took a sip from one of the glasses.
"I know." She muttered, putting the pen back down.
"So, what ya doing for your social studies project?"
And that was that.
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MEANWHILE, AT MEILIN AND LI'S APARTMENT
"Dinner's ready." Wei called from the kitchen, and after several loud bangs and a lot of muttering, two very pissed off cousins took their places at the table.
"Pass the salt." Meilin muttered, and Li glared up at her.
"Please."
"I would have said please, but I wouldn't wanna waste your valuable time and get in your way." Meilin smiled sweetly.
"You're always in my way, why stop now?" And he slid the salt across the table.
"Well, at least I'm not a wuss. I'm not running away from my problems. I'm not a coward." She began to attack the noodles on her plate, and Li glared once more.
"I am not a coward!" Meilin shrugged and had a sip of water.
"You're scared of Sakura."
"I-I'm not…scared of her…" He muttered, and Meilin could tell he was rather shocked by this accusation.
"Miss Rae, phone call for you. It's a Miss Sakura Avalon." Meilin smiled sadistically as Wei handed her the phone.
"Sakura? Hi…" She smiled at Li, and there was some noise on the other end of the line.
"Yeah, it's true! OK. Promise! Sure…" More noise on the other end of the line.
"Ja." She hung up and Li stared at her.
"What?" She stared back.
"What did she want?" Li couldn't contain his anxiety.
"A chat." Meilin smiled innocently at her ex-fiancee, who shivered. He hated those looks. It was as if, for a moment, she could see deep into his soul, and she had complete control for that moment.
But it was the fact that his mother gave him the same looks that got to him most.
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2AM THE NEXT DAY, SAKURA'S ROOM
Kero was snoring loudly, in such a way that made Sakura wonder how she'd ever kept him a secret from her brother and father.
"Stupid brat!" Kero muttered, and Sakura jumped guiltily, as though he was reading her mind.
Why can't I get him outta my head? Why can't I just get over these feelings? Why did I even bother asking Meilin if it was true? Now she knows…
Sakura stared at the picture of her and Li at the fair. They'd got one each of them in the planetarium, and she'd glued her ticket stub to the frame.
It's no use…I can't sleep now.
In desperation, she switched the t.v on and begun to flick through the channels, stopping on a late night drama.
On the screen was a young man sprawled on a road, covered in blood with a young woman crouched by his side.
"I'm so sorry, Rick! I thought you were having an affair with Suzie! I didn't mean to run you over with my long-lost mother's car! Forgive me." The woman was hysterically sobbing.
Now was the young man's turn to speak.
"I…I forgive you…Sally…because I love you, and I need you to know that, before it's t-too…late…" And this was when Sakura fell asleep, knowing what she must do.
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THAT MORNING,9AM, SAKURA'S POV
I ran down the stairs, barging into the kitchen and scaring the hell outta my dad and Tori.
"Morning…" I muttered, my nerves getting the better of me as I took an apple from the fruit bowl, and Tori was staring at me, as though scared I was ill or something.
"Are you up at 9am on a Saturday morning?" He continued to stare at me.
"Big day…lots of things to do…" And they both exchanged puzzled glances for a moment.
I glanced at the picture of my mother on the side board.
Wish me luck, mum.
"Where you off to, monster?" I glared at my brother.
"I am not a monster!" I kicked him in the shin and he cried out in pain.
"That's enough." Dad warned, and I glanced at the clock.
"See ya!" And I ran, as fast as I could, in the direction of Li's apartment.
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LI AND MEILIN'S APARTMENT, NORMAL POV
Meilin winced as a loud bang on the door echoed through the otherwise silent apartment.
She stumbled grudgingly to the door, feeling as though she'd been crushed by a tonne of bricks.
She swung open the door and stood, glued to the spot in shock at seeing Sakura standing on the doorstep, an anxious expression on her face.
"S-Sakura? W-what are you doing here?" Sakura looked confused for a moment.
"I…c-came to t-talk to Li…" And Meilin froze.
"That idiot!" She screamed, grabbing her purse and keys from the hall table, and slamming the front door on the way.
"W-why?" Sakura grabbed Meilin's arm to stop her dashing off down the steps.
"Li's going home! For good!" She screamed, and it was Sakura's turn to freeze.
