Rainvilla: Thank you so much lhaine07, sadistprincess, TheMaskedGirl, RainbowCherryBlossom, HappyHam, and Amandaffodilmelody for reading and reviewing my story this far. It really means a lot to me knowing there are still people who continue reading my first ccs fanfiction. Here's chapter 9! Enjoy!
Chapter 9: When You and I Aligned
Four days have passed since the last time Syaoran and I spoke. I remember it was a Sunday when Syaoran suddenly came inside the maid café just to make fun of me. I have to admit, even though he makes me angry all the time will all his silly pranks, I smiled a lot. I had fun. But, one thing led to another and now, he doesn't even look at me.
Whenever we eat breakfast in the mansion, Syaoran doesn't invite me anymore and just eats ahead of me. Whenever I hand him the bento lunch box I specially made for him, he doesn't even bother to joke about food poisoning anymore. Whenever I come home late from work, the lights in the living room are already turned off which made me scared amidst the darkness. But, what scares me the most is whenever I see that nobody is sitting on the living room couch anymore.
"What the heck am I thinking? Why does it feel like I'm down nowadays?" I thought furiously.
"Aaaahh! Sakura! Stop thinking about unimportant things...!" Different thoughts having opposite sides kept on arguing inside my head.
"Ms. Kinomoto? Are you alright? You seem to be mentally absent from the class," Ms. Tsutsumi called my attention all of a sudden.
"Huh? I'm fine," I replied hastily and shook my head.
I scratched and bowed my head in embarrassment. Some of my classmates just chuckled at my absentmindedness.
"As you all know, the dates of the major periodic examinations are drawing nearer and nearer. So, I advise all of you to do some advanced reviews especially with the topics you find most difficult to comprehend to prevent yourself from cramming the night before the exam," Ms. Tsutsumi said clearly.
"Ahhh! I hate periodic exams!" Chiharu complained.
"Class dismissed. See you on Monday," Ms. Tsutsumi declared.
"Goodbye and thank you, Ms. Tsutsumi," the class greeted in unison before dispersing to their club practices or classroom tasks.
After classes ended, I was about to say something to Syaoran but he quickly left the classroom. I let out a frustrated sigh as I sat still in my seat while staring blankly on the view outside the window pane with no definite reason at all.
"Sakura chan! Are you really alright? You've been spacing out a lot than the usual," Naoko chan asked worriedly.
"I'm fine, really…" I replied with a smile.
"Something's obviously bothering you. There's nothing you can't tell us," Rika chan commented while Chiharu chan simply nodded.
"Nothing... Ah! I was just worried about the upcoming periodic exams," I reasoned.
"You were absent for three days. It must be hard for you to understand the lessons we are currently discussing now," Rika chan said.
"Even I who's been present the whole time find the lessons hard," Chiharu chan commented with a very worried face.
"Why don't we visit your house this Saturday and conduct a group study?" Naoko chan suggested eagerly.
Even though I badly need and want my friends to tutor me for my missed lessons, I possibly can't, since I'm still living in the Li mansion temporarily. No one else must know that I'm currently living with Syaoran especially our fellow classmates or else it'll cause a lot of rumors and troubles. But, how could I possibly pass the examinations without any help?
"Unfortunately, my house isn't available because my dad's colleagues are doing some serious research work there. So many people, so crowded," I lied half heartedly.
"I have a lot of younger siblings so it'll be too noisy for us to be able to study properly," Chiharu said.
"Me too," Naoko muttered.
"Family relatives are coming to spend the weekend in our house," Rika chan added.
The three of them sighed heavily with a long face. Upon seeing this, I tried to cheer them up and assured that everything's going to be alright. All of us will surely pass the exams for as long as we do our best in studying.
"Ah! Rika chan, can I borrow your notes for this weekend? I want to copy the notes given by our teachers when I was absent from class," I pleaded.
"Sure… Let me see your notes first so that I can indicate where you start copying the notes in my notebook," Rika replied cheerfully.
I handed to her my notebooks right away. Rika and the rest of my friends examined my notes.
"Huh? Actually, you don't need to copy anything from my notebook, Sakura chan," Rika said in awe.
"It's strange. You were clearly absent for three days yet you didn't miss anything at all," Naoko commented.
"Sakura chan must have a secret note taker!" Chiharu teased.
"You guys are joking right? Let me take a look," I asked.
When I scanned the first pages of my notebook, I recognized my handwriting immediately. However, when I browsed the next further pages, my handwriting suddenly changed…? My handwriting suddenly became smaller in font size than the usual and the pages were written very neatly. I usually just scribble messily whenever I take down notes. Wait, this is very far from my handwriting. Someone else must have written these down here without my knowledge.
"You're right. Everything is already in here," I said while comparing my notes with Rika's notebook.
"Whoever wrote all of this is very kind and concerned of you," Rika said.
"Wait… did you get my notebook from Touya oniisan and wrote all of this?" I asked eagerly.
"Honestly, No… Besides, I don't have any contact information of your brother," Rika replied.
I asked Naoko and Chiharu if either one of them wrote these notes but both of them said no.
"The person who did this must have an easy access of your things, Sakura. Maybe, it's a ghost of your loved ones," Naoko reasoned quite too excitedly.
"No way! Ghosts can't write. They're transparent. I bet it's a stalker!" Chiharu chan exclaimed with delight instead of gasping in fear.
"I think I might know who wrote it. Rika, Naoko, Chiharu chan, good bye!" I said before carrying my notebooks in my arms and leaving the classroom in a hurry.
I sprinted with all I've got in going to the school gate. But, as what I've feared, the black car which always used to be parked in front of the school gate was now long gone this afternoon. If only I weren't working tonight, I would've rode straight home and clarified a lot of things with Syaoran.
Several days passed since that day, yet I still haven't got the chance to ask Syaoran whether he was the one who wrote those notes in my notebook. Lately, it feels like Syaoran is becoming more and more distant from me.
"What's with the long face, monster?" I heard a voice speak from behind which was definitely Touya oniisan.
"Nothing," I replied briefly.
"Huh? You didn't get mad when I just called you monster. This must be a serious problem," Touya oniisan said in shock.
"Nothing… I just spaced out again," I insisted with a nervous chuckle.
"What is it? Is it your Math grade again?" Touya asked.
"Of course not… Nothing's bothering me at all. Ah! I almost forgot to give you something," I replied and suddenly hurried to the kitchen.
"Oi! So, it really is your Math grade again," Touya yelled whilst I was in the kitchen.
"Surprise!" I shouted happily to Touya as I showed to him a vanilla strawberry cake I personally baked for him.
"What's this all of a sudden? It's still not my birthday," Touya said, confused.
"I baked this cake as a way of giving thanks for letting me work in the café. I even baked your favorite cookies," I said happily.
I went back to the kitchen to grab some cookies I made. When I arrived back in the living room, Touya was already stuffing himself with the cake I baked for him.
"Do you like it?" I asked eagerly.
"Well…Not bad… for a monster," Touya replied as he tasted one of my cookies.
"Is this a bribe?" Touya asked back, staring at me skeptically.
"Of course not!" I replied right away.
"Well… if you will have a failing grade in any subject at the end of the trimester, I'm telling Dad. He'll surely not let you work anymore," Touya said nonchalantly and went back to eating my baked cookies happily.
"If only Syaoran didn't tell you I was working there," I mumbled to myself angrily.
"Who's Syaoran?" Touya suddenly asked.
He must've deciphered what I was mumbling about because of his very odd sharp sense of hearing.
"I think you haven't met him yet. Syaoran is the only son of Mrs. Yelan Li," I explained clearly.
"I met him once," Touya replied coolly.
"Oh… of course, you would've met him once since he was the one who told you I was working in the maid café," I said.
"No… I met him once when you got terribly sick this month," Touya said plainly.
"Huh? I don't understand," I replied with a very big question mark written on my face.
"You already know I barely come here because my workplace is far. In the middle of dawn, a doctor called me saying you collapsed. So, I rushed over to this place and when I went inside your room, that fellow was already there beside you, sleeping. He must've been exhausted checking your condition and guarding you all night," Touya said nonchalantly.
"So, Syaoran was actually the one who took care of me that night? And that was the only time you and him met?" I asked to clarify my utter confusion.
Touya nodded casually.
"You could've at least allotted a portion of the cookies for him but why don't I just bring the rest of the cake back to my office?" Touya suggested greedily.
"But how did you know where I was working?" I asked with my forehead deeply creased.
"Simple… I investigated you myself and followed you that Sunday very cautiously," Touya bragged.
"Why are you telling me all of this just now? You could've answered me clearly when I asked you in the café," I muttered impatiently and snatched away my basket of cookies.
"Hey! I never thought it was important," Touya replied coolly while trying to grab my basket of cookies.
"No more cookies for you," I said furiously.
I climbed the long winding staircase as fast as I could. Finally, I am now standing in front of Syaoran's bedroom door. I knocked the door hesitantly, worried that he'll just get irritated of me and say that I'm disturbing him in the middle of the night. Strangely, Syaoran didn't answer when I knocked. I knocked again three times but nobody answered. So, I decided to turn the doorknob and to my surprise, it was left unlocked.
"Syaoran?" I muttered hesitantly.
Oddly, no one answered me again. I tiptoed carefully in approaching near his bed and decided to peek at what he's doing from behind a bookshelf. Maybe, he's too absorbed in reading something that he didn't even notice me call his name.
My eyes wandered until I saw his messy auburn hair lying carelessly on the sheets. He was lying on his bed. I wonder if he's already asleep since the lights are still on. I courageously tiptoed my way to Syaoran's bedside just to make sure whether he was sleeping or not.
His messy auburn hair covered most of his eyes preventing me from knowing whether he was really asleep or not. I lightly stroked his hair towards the side of his face to let me see his eyes clearly.
I couldn't see his amber colored eyes anymore since his eyes were shut tight. I gazed at his sleeping face for a while with no definite reason at all. Just like the first time we met, his sleeping face lays there innocent and peaceful. However, I only knew him as a self centered, spoiled, arrogant guy back then. Right now, I see him as someone who I truly misjudged. I should have watched him closely and tried to understand the things he said.
"I'm so sorry I didn't believe you before," I whispered to his sleeping face regretfully.
"Sleep tight," I whispered before turning off the lights and closing the door.
The next Sunday morning, I woke up really early to make sure that I will be the one cooking breakfast this time around. Ever since then, I always love eating pancakes for breakfast but since Syaoran dislikes anything that tastes sweet, I decided to cook something similar to what the chefs prepare for breakfast.
"Good morning Li kun! Breakfast is ready," I said as cheerful as I could.
Oddly, I didn't call him Syaoran but Li kun instead. Something tells me I should not call him by his first name that easily. Syaoran merely glanced at me as he went to his usual spot on the farthest edge while I sat on the opposite side.
"Ummm… Li kun I… Uhh… I'm," I began saying but ended up stammering badly as I tried to break the deafening silence between us.
"I'm full. Thanks for the food," Syaoran mumbled before heading upstairs.
After that complete failure of being able to talk to Syaoran, I decided to start doing my routine of household chores instead of sulking in a dark corner.
I remember Syaoran watching TV whenever I'm busy cleaning the living room. But, when I looked at the couch, he wasn't sitting there anymore. After cleaning meticulously the living room, hallway, and kitchen, the only tasks left for me now are his laundry, bedroom, and bathroom.
I knocked three times and Syaoran told me to come in briefly. I immediately placed his sorted clothes in the washing machine and cleaned his bathroom thoroughly at the same time.
I seem to be cleaning at a very fast rate than I usually do before since Syaoran wasn't there anymore to suddenly force me to watch TV with him. Syaoran used to bug me with his jokes and disturb me all the time. But right now, he's simply focused on reading a manga book while I'm cleaning his bedroom.
I wanted to talk to him just like we casually do every time I was in his room but somehow, my courage was fading fast as the silence between us becomes deeper and longer.
After filling ourselves with dinner, Syaoran immediately went upstairs to his room. I can't take this awkward silence any longer. So, I am once again standing in front of his bedroom door not knowing what to say first to him.
But, I have to clear this up once and for all. As a result, my hands started knocking on his door. After a few seconds, Syaoran invited me to come in.
"Ummm… Syaoran... I mean Li kun. Do you have some spare time right now? I need to talk to you," I requested awkwardly.
"I don't mind. What is it?" Syaoran asked calmly.
"I just wanted to say… I'm sorry… for not believing what you said in the café back then," I said while looking down nervously on the floor.
"You can hit me in the head if you want," I suggested bravely.
I closed my eyes and entwined my fingers so as to prevent myself from avoiding his hit. However, I felt his hands pulling me towards him instead.
"You really are slow, aren't you?" Syaoran muttered.
My head leaned against his chest as Syaoran entangled his arms round my shoulders. Since he was a lot taller than me, he rested his head gently against mine.
"Weren't you supposed to hit me like this?" I asked and lifted his hands near my head.
"Baka… Real men don't hit girls even when they're upset," Syaoran whispered in my ear.
"So, does this mean we're back to being friends?" I asked shyly.
"Just friends? Let's just say… You and I are okay," Syaoran answered nonchalantly, still not breaking his arms around me.
A long silence fell between us. Now, I could only hear faintly his heart beat which made me feel uneasy and nervous for no definite reason at all. So, I pushed him backwards to relieve myself from uneasiness.
"Ummm… Also, I wanted to say thank you," I began speaking and handed to him a brown box with a white ribbon on top.
"Cookies? What are these for?" Syaoran asked as he opened the box.
"I assure you it's freshly baked since Touya ate all my baked cookies last time," I mumbled grudgingly.
"Actually…It's my small way of thanking you for taking care of me when I fainted that one night and for this," I continued speaking shyly then showed to him the pages of notes I assumed he wrote.
"I had nothing to do with that," Syaoran replied nonchalantly as he pointed at the notebook I was holding.
"I couldn't think of anyone else who would be able to get my notebook from my bag placed in my bedroom other than you," I insisted seriously but Syaoran kept telling me that he didn't write it.
"Thanks for the cookies!" Syaoran said happily.
"Wait… we're not done yet. Let me see your notebook," I said firmly and began searching in his bag.
"It's with me and you'll never be able to get it," Syaoran suddenly informed me playfully.
"Just let me take a look for a second!" I exclaimed as I tried snatching the notebook from his hands.
I chased Syaoran around the bedroom but unfortunately, he has very alert and fast reflexes. He held the notebook with his arms up. So, I jumped with all my strength to match his height.
"Haha! You'll never get my notebook," Syaoran teased.
"Syaoran, look! There's a flying cockroach!" I shouted in fright.
"What?" Syaoran exclaimed, his face quite aghast.
"Yay! I got it!" I shouted happily as I got a hold of the notebook he used to be holding up high as soon as he looked at the direction I was pointing a few seconds ago.
I did get the notebook I badly wanted but I lost my balance unexpectedly when I landed on the floor and was fast falling. I thought that I was going to fall painfully on the floor but then, Syaoran swiftly grabbed my hand and pulled me towards him. It seemed like everything happened in a split second.
When I opened my eyes, my head was already on top of Syaoran's chest while his back lay flat on the floor.
"Are you okay?" I asked worriedly when I saw his face slightly cringing from the pain.
Syaoran wasn't able to answer right away. He merely stared at me until his cheeks flushed pink. His fall must really be painful.
"I'm okay," he finally answered and sat up straight immediately.
"Are you sure?" I asked once again just to make sure.
"I'm fine. Don't jump so carelessly when you don't even know how to land," Syaoran muttered with an irritated face.
"Sorry for that again," I said.
When I accidentally lost my balance and fell, Syaoran's notebook was tossed on the floor. Luckily, he was still flexing his back and seemed to forget about the notebook so I was able to get it back first.
"Small but neat… your handwriting is the same as the one written on my notebook," I said strongly as I showed to him a comparison of my strangely complete set of notes with his handwriting.
"I just wrote that ahead because I don't want you disturbing me about borrowing my notes when I'm studying," Syaoran reasoned out.
"Stop lying to me from now on. You won't fool me anymore," I said cheerfully.
"Just go back to your room and study," Syaoran muttered impatiently.
"Okay… But then again, thank you so much Syaoran kun!" I said happily and skipped my way back to my bedroom.
Exam week is fast approaching and if I don't catch up with my missed lessons, my next weeks in school would definitely be a living hell.
"Where should I start? Let's see… Chemistry… Physics… Algebra… English… Music and Arts… Home Economics," I mumbled while scanning my books.
I was able to easily comprehend the lessons I missed in Music, Arts and Home Economics. But, when I reached Chemistry and Physics, my head gradually became dizzy while reading a long paragraph of explanations.
"I don't understand it at all!" I shouted frustratingly.
I still had tons of homework to do but I haven't completed a single major subject yet. How am I supposed to catch up when I can't even understand what I'm reading?
"Why don't I start making my Math homework first," I thought nervously and grabbed my pencil.
I concentrated reading and thinking of the equations written on our Math worksheet. I think I wasn't even blinking when I gazed at the equations with my utmost focus.
On the other side of the wall, Syaoran was merely reading a manga novel while he heard Sakura shout due to frustration every now and then. He really wanted to finish the novel tonight but somehow, he can't concentrate on reading it and was feeling extremely restless.
All of a sudden, Sakura knocked in Syaoran's door.
"What is it? You're so noisy," Syaoran said with an irritated expression.
"Ummm… Syaoran kun, can you teach me the Math lessons I missed just for a little while?" I pleaded.
"Get lost," Syaoran replied nonchalantly.
I looked at him with a very sad face before going back to my bedroom.
"He was my last resort. Now, I'm totally screwed," I mumbled to myself sadly.
I had no choice but to look for the correct answers of these problems and equations by myself.
"I still don't get it at all!" I shouted to myself and scratched my head with frustration.
"It's been an hour yet you only answered one problem," Syaoran said unexpectedly.
I turned my head and to my surprise, Syaoran was already there, looking at my worksheet.
"Help me. Share your knowledge even just a little bit," I said desperately with my hands entwined.
"I'll help you with one condition," Syaoran replied.
"What is it? I'll do anything," I asked eagerly.
"I'll teach you all of this stuff if you promise me to massage my shoulders and let me take a picture with you every time I visit the maid café," Syaoran said, rather determined.
"Eh? But, those services only apply if you completed the 100,000 yen special promo. You're being unfair with the other customers," I said, very surprised of his conditions.
"It's okay with me if you refuse since it's your loss," Syaoran said nonchalantly.
I pondered for a moment and was hesitant in accepting his conditions.
"Fine… I'll take it. Just please, help me pass all our subjects," I replied with his offer.
"If you break our agreement, I'll add an additional demand," Syaoran said wittingly.
"I won't break our agreement, I promise. Just please, let's get started," I replied as I heavily sighed with what I just got myself into in exchange for Syaoran as my personal tutor.
But, the demanding agreement was all worth it. Syaoran is unbelievably very good at teaching yet he always looks so carefree during discussions and never participates voluntarily in answering problems on the board. After about one whole hour, he was able to discuss thoroughly all the Math lessons I missed and he even helped me in answering my homework.
"Amazing! I understand everything now," I exclaimed with my eyes wide due to astonishment.
"Don't feel so confident yet. Look, your answer in the last number is wrong," Syaoran said strictly.
He acts and speaks just like professional tutors making me feel impressed by him even more.
"Huh? Why?" I asked him.
"You made a slight mistake with the operations. I'll be the one to fix it," Syaoran replied.
"Ah! You're right," I said as my hands searched for the eraser placed somewhere on the desk while still busy looking at my notebook.
My hands finally felt the eraser but I also felt something smooth around it too. I decided to put down my notebook first and to my surprise, Syaoran's hand was also holding the eraser I was reaching out for. My hand was now lying unintentionally on top of his hand.
"Do you also need to use the eraser? You can go first," I said.
"I was just about to erase the- uhhh- nevermind," Syaoran replied, stuttering a bit, his face now flushed and quickly lost his grasp on the eraser.
I just smiled at him and began erasing my mistakes. Then, Syaoran just decided to sit on a chair a bit far from my desk.
"Sakura san! Syaoran kun! I'm home!" I heard a voice shout excitedly.
Just then, my bedroom door swung open and Mrs. Li was already there approaching me happily.
"So, you were just here Sakura san. I kept looking for you all over the house," Mrs. Li said.
"Welcome home Mrs. Li!" I greeted her happily as she gave me a hug.
Mrs Li has been very good to me and my whole family. I'm so happy that she's finally back from Hongkong so that Syaoran can spend some time with her.
"Huh? Is that you, Syaoran?" Mrs. Li asked as he recognized his back while sitting on a chair.
"Hey there, mom," Syaoran replied briefly.
"Isn't this Sakura's bedroom? What are you doing in Sakura's bedroom?" Mrs. Li asked, eyeing on Syaoran suspiciously.
Surprisingly, Syaoran wasn't able to answer his mom right away. He merely covered his face partially.
"Uhhh… Syaoran was just helping me answer my homework," I explained hastily.
"Syaoran just helped you with your homework?" Mrs. Li exclaimed in awe.
"Yup… Syaoran even taught me all the lessons I missed when I was absent," I added, smiling brightly.
"Really? That's great! I'm extremely moved by how you were able to change his bad attitude so fast," Mrs. Li said dramatically.
"No, I did very little about it. Syaoran, on the other hand, helped me a lot," I clarified.
"Wait… you just called my son, Syaoran," Mrs. Li said with a rather shocked expression.
"Why? He doesn't like it? I've been calling him Syaoran for a long time," I replied.
"No, it is alright, my dear. It's just that he is called Syaoran only by his family relatives but never did his classmates or his friends until now," Mrs. Li explained.
Oh, right. I forgot to ask his permission and let my instincts call him Syaoran since then.
"Oh… Is it okay if I call you Syaoran instead of Li kun?" I asked Syaoran even though it was too late.
Syaoran merely nodded but glared at his mom with an annoyed face.
"Mom! Aren't you supposed to come back three weeks later from now?" Syaoran asked impatiently.
"I came back earlier than the date I've mentioned because I wouldn't want to miss my only son's eighteenth birthday!" Mrs. Li exclaimed enthusiastically.
"But, my birthday's still two weeks from now," Syaoran interrupted.
"What I meant is I didn't want to miss the preparations for my only son's eighteenth birthday! I want to handle the preparations myself," Mrs. Li explained clearly.
"What preparations?" Syaoran and I suddenly asked in unison.
"Preparations for the grand evening party celebration," Mrs. Li said casually.
"Wow! That's exciting! Can I help?" I asked enthusiastically.
"Of course Sakura san. I'll need your opinion with a lot of things," Mrs. Li answered eagerly.
"But, we don't do big parties," Syaoran replied impatiently.
"Exactly… That's why we should celebrate one, since eighteenth birthdays are supposed to be special," Mrs. Li retorted.
"I'm not a girl mom. Special eighteenth birthdays are merely for girls and you already know that I don't want any fancy crowded parties," Syaoran convinced.
"I'm not saying we're preparing a debut for you. I just wanted to celebrate your birthday with all our relatives, family friends and anyone else you want to invite," Mrs. Li reasoned calmly.
"BUT MOM!" Syaoran yelled.
"Come on, Sakura. I'll show you my compiled party ideas in my room" Mrs. Li invited me too excitedly.
"I'd love to… Syaoran, you're not coming with us?" I asked.
"NO!" Syaoran exclaimed snobbishly.
Rainvilla: I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Shockingly, my tendency to write long chapters didn't apply with this chapter. But, the truth is, this was supposed to be part of chapter 8. Chapter 8 was already too long so I decided to break it into two. Don't forget to REVIEW! Arigatou minna san!
