Disclaimer: Hmm… I don't think I'd be writing fanfics if I owned CCS…
Author's Note: Haha! We're not quite done yet! Anyone think I'm totally evil yet? Well, my next plot shall enter in this chapter! There are two, but both connected. You might think one of them will be slightly cliché, but trust me; you will throw pies at me for these frustrating plots. But do not worry, because Sakura and Syaoran WILL be together as will Tomoyo and Eriol and be very much in love. I hope you like this!
To the Reviewers: Erm… Ryou Kanzaki, thank you for telling me about my wrongness in spelling MEILING, but I'm not going to change it for the rest of the story. I will, however, keep this in mind and spell it correctly in my next story which I shall post when this one is completed. Woot! Thanks for those names for my OCs oh reviewers! I shall use some of them, or the ones I like because I'm starting that part right now! WOW! I was SO HAPPY when I saw the reviews! I almost hit my head on the ceiling I was jumping so much... THANK YOU!!! I honestly hope you like this chapter!
Chapter 9 – The Things That Should Never Happen
"DAMN IT!" he screamed so loudly that all of Tokyo should've been able to hear it.
Many people who were headed off to work turned their heads to see if something interesting had happened. A baby awoke, crying and wailing away while the mother shot a dirty look in the direction of the holler.
Eventually, people became disinterested and continued on their way. There was a cloud of silence, however, that hung over three specific people. Two were staring down the road where the vehicle that everyone wished had exploded before getting there had just moments before been. The other had sunk to the ground, clutching his fists so tightly his knuckles were turning white. Sakaki was the first to break the silence.
"Ahem," she piped up, clearing her throat. "I guess we should get to work now."
"Yeah," Tomoyo replied softly, as if she were in a traumatized state.
Syaoran remained silent and aggressively pushed open the front door of the office as he approached it. His anger was dying to lash out at something. He'd have to go to the gym later and take out some rage. He didn't look back at the two females behind him, mourning over the same subject as him. Syaoran shook his head. The same person, all different situations, and his was the worst.
-
Sakura barely had time to guess that this was an expensive car because lucky for her, she had a nice window separating her side from the drivers so she could have privacy, just like in limos. She was deadly lucky, because she started to cry again, very, very loudly. Why was it that horrible revelations always came at the worst times? Either way, she wouldn't have known what to do if she'd realized it sooner.
Oh god…I'm leaving Tokyo and I've just had the worst thing come to me.
I hate myself.
Stupid. That's what she was and it was the one word that described her perfectly. Maybe if she'd known sooner she wouldn't have made this decision although that chance was slim. Why was the thought so hard to process anyway?
She had feelings for Syaoran.
There, she admitted it.
It wasn't a tiny schoolgirl crush nor was it an all blow out 'I'M IN LOVE!' thing. What else could she say? Sakura had feelings for the egotistical guy, but deep down she knew that he wasn't like that. Most guys had what she thought of as a personality mask. They hid their true selves to be all cool and popular.
Yet Syaoran had shown her his personality, opened up to her to let her in and she still pushed him away. Why? Because she kept on denying her feelings just to prove that she could get him to stay away. The thought of her liking him was so absurd, but it didn't feel…wrong.
I have feelings for Syaoran.
I have feelings for Syaoran.
Oh man! I have feelings for Syaoran!
It's too soon to be having feelings for another guy…especially after him.
This is so wrong!…But it wasn't…not right, was it?
Sakura sniffed quietly and wiped up her shed tears. Even if she had realized she had feelings for Syaoran earlier, she probably would've gone anyway. Meilin's friendship was more precious to her than a relationship with a guy.
She looked at nothing in particular out the window with a firm look on her face. She wasn't going to cry anymore because she wasn't a baby. It sounded immature, but truth be told, Sakura had wept far too many times in the last few weeks.
-
He was absolutely positive that he wouldn't get anything at all done that day, and so far he was correct. Syaoran moped at his desk in the silence of the office as his eyes focused on nothingness. He was in a stupor and that was for sure. He didn't even know what time it was or if he was thinking or not.
He just stared.
There was a knock on Syaoran's door, but he didn't hear it in his present state. The person on the other side knocked again, louder and more impatient this time and once again the owner of the depressed amber-eyes did not respond.
"Syaoran! Open the door!" the person outside yelled, but he could not identify who it was since he wasn't paying attention.
A sound of someone tampering with the lock drifted around before the door swung open with surprising swiftness. Syaoran was still confused of who was in his office even when the person, whom he now figured was a female, stepped into the room.
"Who are you?" he croaked out as he slumped forward and hit his head on the desk in front of him. It slammed with a thunderous thud, which was painful, but he didn't seem to feel it with his numbness in play.
"Jeez," the woman snorted, smacking him on the side of his head that wasn't on the table, "it's Tomoyo you idiot. Are you drunk?"
"No. I'm stone cold sober," he replied while he lifted his head to get a full view of the woman. It indeed was Tomoyo.
"Then what are you?" she asked sternly with her hands on her hips.
"Utterly depressed."
Tomoyo sighed beside him as she flopped onto the table beside his head. "I'm okay right now, so I'm sure you'll be too."
Syaoran gave a grunt in reply.
"Oh stop sulking an do something already. You're going to like, melt or something if you don't."
"That's not funny. It doesn't help either."
"Fine then. I'm just trying to help you stop dwelling on what happened a couple hours ago. So tell me, what exactly did you feel for Sakura. We all know you like her," she inquired curiously.
"Why should I tell you?"
"'Cause it'll make you feel better."
"How?"
"Just shut up and tell me."
Syaoran then let out a long breath and closed his now dull eyes. He thought for a bit on how to describe how he felt about her. He didn't even have a clue as to why he was going to tell Tomoyo.
Maybe because she's Sakura's best friend?Maybe.
"It's sort of like love, but not quite there and it's not remotely close to a crush since it's beyond that," he explained slowly, stilling trying to figure out a way to explain it properly. "Let's just say that if I were a player who slept with every girl around once and then didn't call her back, I'd have to call back Sakura."
The young Daidouji lifted an eyebrow at his explanation. "Was that a substitute for what you feel for her or were you speaking from experience?"
"The first one."
"Right."
A silence emerged then as Syaoran put his head gently back onto the desk, now feeling that pain that he'd escaped before.
"It's sort of like love, but not quite there and it's not remotely close to a crush since it's beyond that," Tomoyo echoed from his earlier melodramatic speech.
"Huh…?" he grumbled in question.
"I wish Eriol talked like that," she told him as she swung her legs back and forth like a child while they dangled down. "It sounds so good when you put your feelings into your words."
"That's cheesy and guys aren't supposed to be cheesy," Syaoran defended although that statement didn't really hurt his ego—just Eriol's.
"Yeah, well how could you say it in a more masculine way?" she asked looking off into space as he'd done earlier.
The thought crossed his mind. How much did he like Sakura? He'd like her for a pretty long time now and she'd most definitely gotten closer to him, so where was he?
"I was—am falling in love with her," he said honestly, glancing upwards to look at the blank wall.
"But you're not in love."
"No,"
"Do you miss her already? Like me?"
"What does it look like?"
"Okay, so you're close to loving her."
"Yeah, well, you know what love's like. You're with Eriol."
At this Tomoyo froze. He could see her stiffen as her head came into her chest and her eyes darkened.
"I just don't know," she answered before gulping briefly.
"What do you mean?" Syaoran asked her in bewilderment. "I thought you two were madly in love?"
She shook her head lightly. "It may seem that way sometimes, but love involves trust and he doesn't trust me. He's insecure and doesn't believe that I'm faithful for one stupid reason."
"And what's that?" he questioned sympathetically.
"I can't tell you," she responded while her eyes close and the room resumed to be quiet.
After a few seconds Syaoran spoke.
"I'm hungry. Let's go get something to eat," he suggested, as he stood up feeling much better from this morning.
-
Sakura yawned when she woke up from a nap she took after ceasing her weeping. She was in a much better mood after that and telling herself to be strong repeatedly. Ironically, the car came to abrupt stop as her emerald eyes took in the light. Sakura spotted her house—the place she grew up in—and grew excited, even as her heart throbbed. The chauffeur then opened the door.
"Miss Kinomoto, we've arrived," he announced offering her a way out of the car she'd been sitting in for a couple of hours.
She nodded gratefully and got out of the vehicle in a hurry. The sun shone brightly outside as she took in the fresh air while the man pulled her baggage out of the trunk.
The familiar scenery made her feel happier as she tried her best to push away the thoughts of Syaoran. Satisfied with her arrival, she skipped up to the front door with the man holding her bags following suit. Sakura took in the image of her light yellow house and the neighbours' too, matching the clean, white sidewalks around her. Finally prepared to face her father, she rang the doorbell once and knocked on the door.
Almost immediately she heard feet shuffling toward her as her heart began to pick up its pace. When the door did open, she found herself in front of a person she hadn't seen since last July.
"Ah!" the man exclaimed holding his arms open. "I was expecting you, Sakura!"
"Daddy!" she squealed as she jumped into his embrace. Sakura really had always been daddy's little girl. Perhaps not to the extent that no guy was ever good enough for her, but she'd always been close to him.
"Come in! You'll be glad to know I kept your room just the way you left it!" he informed her proudly.
Sakura let another squeal out of her mouth and went inside while the chauffeur put her bags inside and was quickly gone.
-
Syaoran and Tomoyo walked back into the office both feeling that they'd developed a genuine new friendship. They were so much closer after discussing their love life because of the bond Syaoran had with Eriol and the one that Tomoyo had with Sakura. Both adults were in extremely better moods since Sakura's departure because they'd come to the conclusion that they could do nothing more but remember her and keep in contact with her.
"I feel…guilty for not being there when she left," he told Tomoyo with great truthfulness.
Tomoyo looked thoughtful for a minute as they ascended the stairs. "Send her an email and tell her that. I'm sure she'll be fine with it."
"Okay," he replied, still considering the idea.
"Tomoyo!" someone shouted—and they sounded angry.
The two both looked around for their shouter before finding that it was none other than the mighty yet insecure Eriol.
"Hey man," Syaoran greeted with a passive wave of a hand.
"Hi Eriol honey," Tomoyo also greeted cheerfully, somehow not noticing the anger in his voice.
"Where were you today? I was trying to find you for who knows how long!" the probably over-protective boyfriend demanded ragingly.
"I spent the morning with Syaoran," she educated him, blinking with slight confusion although she was catching on to where this was headed.
Syaoran did not speak. He didn't want to interfere with this couple's affairs.
"You were supposed to spend the morning with me," he said in a matter-of-factly tone.
Tomoyo sighed visibly. "Eriol, I spend every morning with you and not to mention everyday."
"Well I'm you boyfriend if you didn't notice and that means you're supposed to spend the days with me!" he retorted with fury.
"Being my boyfriend doesn't mean you get to be with me every single second of my life!" she shot back.
"Well maybe I wouldn't need to if you didn't slut yourself around to Syaoran!"
"I spent one freaking morning with him, TALKING and you're giving me this crap!"
"It's not my fault that you're unfaithful and want to throw yourself at the Kinomoto lover!"
"Why do you keep on saying my name?" Syaoran interjected in suspicion even though he really didn't want to get into this. He was just curious.
"Oh don't you know, you asshole? This slut used to be part of the Syaoran fan club!" Eriol yelled, pointing fiercely at Tomoyo.
"That was before we even started dating!" she snarled defensively. "You're just incredibly insecure you-you… man whore!"
Eriol's eyes narrowed at this turning his glance into a glare. "Don't deny that you're cheating, because I know you are you little slut. We're over."
Tomoyo's face became fearful as water found its way to her eyes. "Eriol, don't give me that crap. I blew off the tradition of being with my best friend on Christmas to be with you."
Eriol laughed. "You call that commitment? A real girlfriend would stay with her boyfriend forever!"
"Wow, you really are insecure," Syaoran mumbled airily, "so how could I have missed this?"
"Maybe because I was sucking his face off and spending quality time with him. Now he's gone nuts," Tomoyo hissed at her freaking out now ex-boyfriend.
"You're all just fools," the self-doubting man spat with confidence. "I never want to touch you again, even if it's with a stick."
Tomoyo winced, genuinely hurt by his venomous words. "F-fine. Just… Just go away then,"
He happily pranced out, leaving his probably ex-best friend now and ex-girlfriend in his dust. It was a very gloomy scene. They were lucky not a lot of people were looking, but a few whispers were being passed around. Syaoran suddenly turned to the broken-hearted girl.
"You okay?" he asked gently, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder like a good friend would.
"Yeah," Tomoyo replied, teary eyed, "but I can't believe that just happened."
He nodded in agreement. This really was a surreal moment in his life book. He couldn't remember a time where those two hadn't been together and there was a possibility that he'd just lost his best friend for doing nothing at all. Syaoran couldn't even believe that Tomoyo used to be one of those girls who just wanted to maul him either. He was angry with Eriol though because he didn't trust Tomoyo just because she used to like him.
Now he knew how Sakura felt when Meilin they had gotten pissed off at each other. He wasn't exactly sure what had happened between them, but he was pretty sure that it involved him.
"Oh no!" Tomoyo cried throwing her hands up to cover her currently wet face.
"What?" he asked, surprised by her sudden shout.
"Eriol's going to tell Sakura about this!"
-
Sakura didn't know how glad she was to be back, but it was definitely an improvement. There was tons less drama over here and it felt like a weight had just been lifted off of her shoulders.
She'd been re-exploring her room to get a feel of what it was like to be home again. Her pink covers were still there and all her stuffed animals as well, exactly like she'd left it. It looked like her dad had recently dusted though.
"Sakura! Could you get the door?" Fujitaka called from the downstairs as she heard the bell ring.
"Coming!" she yelled, finding a strange comfort in having such a familiar interaction.
Sakura pounced down the stairs and walked to the door cautiously. Maybe it was Syaoran? Coming after her to apologize for not saying goodbye? If it was, she was going to kick his ass for not showing up sooner.
Oh who am I kidding?
I want him to be there.
She began to get very nervous as her hand cupped the doorknob, turning it slowly. Gradually, a figure came into her view. She saw who it was and tried to speak, opening and closing her mouth before realizing nothing was coming out.
"Hey Sakura," was all the person said.
Author's Note: You'll know this person if you use your brain correctly. Take a guess at who it is! Let's see how many people get it right! Am I evil yet? Do not worry, Tomoyo and Syaoran ARE NOT GETTING TOGETHER! Remember that. It's strictly SxS ExT. That's all.
Please review! It'll make me happy!
