The Choice
Meilin ran as hard as she could toward Li and Sakura. How could he! After everything she had done for him! She had loved him with her whole heart, and this was what she got in return.
"Li, how could you! I loved you, and now . . ." she broke off, nearly sobbing with rage and unhappiness.
"I . . . You . . ." She groped around, trying to find a way to phrase her rage and disbelief. Unable to, she turned on Sakura.
"You . . . you . . . you little . . .bitch! You were . . . kissing my Li-chan!"
With every word she added a blow, trying unsuccessfully to land a hit on Sakura. She swung again, and again, and again. Sakura finally made a mistake, and Meilin's fist drove down hard. But instead of hitting Sakura, as Meilin had hoped, she had hit Li, who had thrown himself in front of Sakura to protect her. Meilin's grief grew as soon as she realized what Li had done for Sakura, and what it meant.
******************************************************************************************
Li groaned inside. He loved Sakura, and it had been inevitable that this would finally come out in the open. He just wished he hadn't hurt Meilin so much . . . she was the sister he never had, and he didn't want to lose her, although he knew he just had . . . 'I wish it had worked out, somehow . . .' he grimaced as he saw Meilin collapse to the ground and start weeping. She hadn't done anything wrong. She didn't deserve this . . . no one deserved this, but now there was nothing he could do about it. He felt awkward. If Meilin was an enemy, now he would have left, letting her sit crying on the ground. But she wasn't. He cared for her, and he knew that right now he was probably the last person on earth she wanted to talk to. But it wasn't like she had any other friends who would console her and bring her home, and he cared too much about her to leave her there . . . 'How can I do this? I can't leave her, but I can't very well help her, either . . .' He stood there for a moment, awkwardly, unsure of what to do.
******************************************************************************************
'Oh my gosh! They're kissing! They finally admitted how they feel!' Madison was so happy for them, even though this was plainly devastating Meilin. Her happiness then turned to pity as she watched Meilin crumble to the ground. 'Oh, poor Meilin. I know how bad I'd feel if Li had rejected Sakura, much less being rejected myself . . .' She went over and put her arms around Meilin's shoulders. She was surprised at herself, but she didn't leave. That would have made Meilin feel even worse.
******************************************************************************************
Sakura looked at Madison in surprise. Madison had never given the impression she liked Meilin, but then again, Madison was never mean to anyone. She smiled at Madison over Meilin's shoulder. Madison mouthed "I'll take care of her." Sakura mouthed back "Thanks." She put her arm around Li's shoulder, and they left, knowing their presence was causing Meilin pain.
Meilin sobbed into Madison's shoulder, just being there for a while. "My Li, oh, my Li . . . why did you leave me . . . Li . . ." They sat together for a while longer, and then Meilin looked through her tear streaked face at Madison. Her smile thanked Madison more than any words. Madison smiled back at her new friend.
******************************************************************************************
Li was melancholy. He knew Sakura didn't like to see him that way, but he couldn't help it. He had just lost his friend, his near sister, and it was depressing to think he was the one causing her all the pain. He brooded for a while, just thinking. Sakura just held his hand for a while, not bothering him and letting him think. He appreciated it. She had always seemed to understand him, even when they were on opposite sides. He realized this and turned to her. She looked at him questioningly.
"Yes, Li-chan?"
"Thank you." She looked surprised.
"For what?"
"For being there for me."
She smiled shyly. "Whenever you need me."
For an answer, he kissed her.
Sakura really thought that he was getting better at this whole kissing thing. Really. Even though she'd only kissed him a few times, it was a pleasant sensation. She felt little shivers run up and down her spine. She hoped he kissed her often. She liked it. She pulled back from him and stared into his eyes. He stared back. She felt herself getting lost in his eyes, and she liked the sensation. How long they stood there, staring at each other, they didn't care. They were together, and that was all that mattered.
Madison had talked Meilin into coming to her house. Madison knew Meilin needed a friend right now, and she was that friend. Meilin wasn't a bad person, Madison realized. 'She's just insecure. No one seems to value her, or her opinions, enough to make her feel wanted, so she over-compensates.' All she needed was someone to be a friend. Madison found she didn't really mind. In fact, she liked being Meilin's friend. 'Maybe our friendship will last longer than her grief. That would be nice, for her especially . . .'
Meilin looked up at Madison. "Thank you." She smiled. 'I might actually make a new friend, if I don't screw this up. I hope she doesn't think I'm stupid for crying.' Madison smiled back. Meilin decided she had nothing to lose by voicing this last thought. "I hope you aren't thinking I'm stupid or anything. It's just . . ." Madison held up her hand, signaling Meilin to stop. "I know. There's nothing to be embarrassed about." Meilin looked at her gratefully.
"Hey Meilin, want something to eat?"
******************************************************************************************
Li finally broke out of the trance-like state he was in. Sakura started. 'Wow.' Li was amazed. 'I wonder how long we've been here. It's almost dark. I hope Sakura doesn't get mad . . .' He realized that was a stupid thought. She wouldn't get mad at him for something like that. He knew her pretty well, even though it hadn't been obvious when he was observing her.
"Um, it's getting pretty late, Sakura. We'd better be getting home." She nodded.
"Yeah, you're right. I hope no one's worried about us . . ." He smiled.
"They know we can take care of ourselves, and if we're together . . ." He left the end unfinished, and Sakura finished it for him. " Nothing can harm us." They smiled at each other, then began walking home.
At school the next day, Meilin walked toward where Li and Sakura were standing. Sakura cringed, and Li drew her behind himself protectively. Meilin grinned ruefully, remembering yesterday's events.
"Don't worry, Li, I'm not going to hurt her." Li looked surprised.
"I had a long talk with Madison last night, and I realized that I was blind. You loved Sakura the entire time, and I just didn't see it. I'm sorry I caused so much trouble. I'm going to go hang out with Madison now." Meilin smiled. "You know, I never realized just how nice she is. She and I are friends now, I think, and I'm going to do everything I can to keep it that way." Sakura smiled at Meilin, glad that she finally understood.
Li was soooo relieved. He didn't have to worry about Meilin any more, and it had turned out for the best after all. He turned to Sakura, and they kissed again. Meilin smiled, glad that Li was happy. She left them in peace to finish their kiss. She knew she had loved it when she had private time with Li, and she was sure Sakura felt the same way.
THE END
Author's notes (PLEASE READ!):
--I'm sorry about any typos in the text. I didn't really have time to correct them.
--Please e-mail me about what you thought of my fanfic. Or, review it. I automatically get e-mails of all the reviews. It's a nice feature. And be sure to visit my website!
--I'm probably going to write more fanfics, but I think I'm going to take a break for a week or two. This is my first fanfic, and I think I'm going to wait until I have all the sections written before I submit any of it. Many people (me included) hate when you get to read half of something, and then it takes forever for the rest of it to come out. It only took me a day to write this second half, so I guess it was okay this time.
--Thank you for reading! Bye!