Where You Are
by Ekai Ungson
DISCLAIMER: See previous chapters for full disclaimer. ^-^
DEDICATION: Eee. The people who terrorize me everywhere from MSN to Yahoo to finish this darn thing ALREADY. I have four chapters to write and a whole day to do it. Thanks guys. Motivation is everything to me. Wahaha. ^^
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Chapter 11: A Flat-Out Denial
Over fifty journalists, reporters, and rumormongers, plus two very lucky individuals who won a phone-on contest to see Tomoyo and Sakura live attended the presscon Ken had set up for the two.
By now every tipster who knew his stuff had told his correspondents about Daidouji Tomoyo's engagement to impossibly rich, impossibly handsome Japanese Hiiragizawa Eriol from London. Details of a 'whirlwind romance' were appearing everywhere in magazines and tabloids.
Sakura smiled inwardly. If these people knew the 'truth' truth, they wouldn't be thinking along such lines of a 'whirlwind romance'.
BUT. Details of the biggest scandal to hit Hong Kong were still unknown. Kinomoto Sakura's apparent fling with multi-millionaire Li Syaoran had neither been confirmed nor denied. Speculations were rising everywhere from the highest echelons of society to the lowest class of people. This was what would most likely be most electrifying. A famous film star and an heir to one of the largest companies in the world. And it was a known fact that the said heir was engaged to a very wealthy woman ALREADY.
Sakura knew what had to be done to save herself from further scandal and save Syaoran and his family's name to be dragged into deeper sludge.
She would have to flat-out deny everything to the Hong Kong press before flying back home to Tomoeda tomorrow.
And then maybe she could leave Hong Kong in peace and nobody in pieces.
So she raised her head in defiance of the fear she was feeling.
Because now she would have to reject Syaoran in public, too. As if rejecting him in private wasn't bad enough.
*I have to do what should be done.*
She walked in with Tomoyo to the conference room, wearing the smile that made her famous.
An uproar arose when they entered.
"They're here! Miss Kinomoto--"
"Ladies and gentlemen," Ken announced. "I present, Daidouji Tomoyo and Kinomoto Sakura."
The reporters could barely contain themselves. They fired question after question at the two girls with the speed of a machine gun. After thirty minutes, they let off an exhausted Daidouji Tomoyo and focused their attentions and their pens on Sakura.
"Miss Kinomoto, is it true that you're really leaving for Japan tomorrow?"
Sakura nodded. "Yes. That's true."
"Is it because of the rumors circulating about you and Mr. Li Syaoran?"
"No, no," Sakura said. "I'm leaving simply because the special has wrapped shooting and the tour is over. I'm not running away. I have nothing to hide."
"So it really isn't true about you and Mr. Li?"
"What is it, exactly, about me and Mr. Li?" Sakura asked.
"That you two have a 'hidden' relationship."
Sakura burst out laughing. "Well, I do suppose it isn't so hidden now, is it?"
This was met with bursts of laughter.
Sakura continued. "Li-kun and I met in fifth grade, in Tomoeda Elematary School where we used to study. He's a good friend. But he's nothing more. The circulated pictures of me and him were taken last Spring Festival. If you'll recall, that day was also my birthday. He and I didn't plan to meet, we saw each other by chance. Then he showed me around. That's it. No romantic whatever and most definitely NO hidden relationship."
The reporters were positively deflated. The biggest scandal in Hong Kong was nothing more than a rumor blown out of proportion.
"Miss Kinomoto, do you know Mr. Li's fiancee, Wong Ming-na?"
"I've met her, yes. She was nice."
"Has she reacted in any way towards you?"
"As far as I know, no, she hasn't. I hope she's not mad over this little misunderstanding. I publicly apologize for whatever pain this has caused her. I like Ming-na, and I think she's going to be very happy with Li-kun."
The press was further disheartened. The sincere answer and the smile on the actress' face further proved that what they had been told had only been mere illusions. Still, they wrote feverishly on their notepads.
"All right, people, that's about all the time we have left," Ken said. "Any last questions?"
"Miss Kinomoto!"
Sakura turned. "Yes?"
"Have you ever had a relationship with Mr. Li, ever before?"
Sakura paused.
Tomoyo looked up, awaiting her best friend's answer.
*Flat-out denial.*
After a few seconds of silence, Sakura looked up.
"No. I haven't."
"Ever?"
"... Ever."
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
In the car, a barely-contained Tomoyo exploded violently on Sakura.
"How could you say no?" Tomoyo asked.
"How would I say yes?" Sakura returned. "Let it go, Tomoyo-chan. I said what I had to say."
"I CAN'T and WON'T let it go!" Tomoyo cried. "He's MY friend, too, if you'd forgotten! He did nothing wrong to deserve this, from you, of ALL people!"
"What do you think would've happened if I HAD said yes, ne, Tomoyo-chan?!" Sakura retorted. "More fuel for their fire! Write more about me and my 'childhood romance' and my 'hidden past'! His engagement will be ruined, he'll be called a liar and a two-timer, because now they have proof and evidence to believe that he loved me once and he still does! Think of the devastation it'll bring to Ielan-sama and his sisters! Think of what it'll do to HIM! Why do you think I made Ken set this whole thing up?! I wanted to SAVE him!" she yelled.
Tomoyo was not to be deterred. "How could you deny everything?" she repeated.
"Do you think I had actually WANTED to do that?" Sakura shot back. "Do you honestly think that it was easy for me to proclaim to the whole world that I didn't and had never loved Li Syaoran? It's the opposite of what EXACTLY it is I want to do! I want to proclaim to the whole universe that I once loved Li Syaoran! And he loved me! That I _still_ love him!" Her tears began to fall. "I had to save him. Make it appear like he had never loved anyone else but Ming-na. I had to do it. I had to."
Tomoyo quieted at this and began to comfort her best friend. "I'm sorry. I didn't know."
Sakura could only cry. For herself and what she'd lost in order to save someone else from pain.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
When they arrived at the hotel, Eriol was waiting.
"Someone's here for you, Sakura-san--" he began.
Sakura walked as if she didn't hear and went in with nary a suspicion in the grim note in Eriol's voice.
She took two steps into the living room and foun a half-livid, half-sorrowful Li Syaoran. She blinked. "What are you doing here?"
"How could you deny everything?" he returned softly.
She inhaled sharply. Then she raised her head in calm defiance. "I don't have to answer that," she said as she attempted to walk past him.
"He caught her arm expertly and noticed her red-rimmed eyes. "You've been crying."
She scoffed. "Of course not," she lied.
He squinted. "You can lie to the whole world with very little effort but you can't lie to me."
She shook his hand off. "So I've been crying. What's it to you?"
"Everything," he replied. "Admit it."
"Admit what?"
"That you still love me."
Her green eyes narrowed. "You're crazy."
"Admit it, Sakura."
"No. Look, Li--"
"-- Li. What the hell. You called me Syaoran before," he said. "Look me in the eyes and tell me you don't love me and I swear I will never bother you again."
"I have nothing to say to you."
He looked into her eyes. "Like I said. You can lie to the whole world but you can never lie to me."
She could feel the wall she built around herself breaking down. She had to do something, get away, repel him, even.
"Li, get over it," she muttered, looking up at him. "I don't love you."
His eyes widened for but a second before they narrowed in anger.
*Keep it staedy, Sakura. Keep it steady.*
They were locked in face-off until Syaoran broke and stalked out.
Sakura heard the front door slam and then, silence.
Tired. She was so tired already.
So she let herself go down on her knees and weep uncontrollably.
She hoped she'd be okay by morning.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Syaoran walked out of the hotel and into his car. He revved the engine, not really sure where to go.
He had a sudden, definite desire to beat.... SOMETHING into a pulp.
*"I don't love you."*
He realized he had driven straight to Meilin's house. He got out of the car and went inside. Maybe his levelheaded cousin could do him some good.
....
"Well, you're the dimbulb who broke your promise to her," Meilin scolded. "You deserved exactly what you got. What, did you think that after almost ten years she'd still run into your arms when you asked her to? If you have failed to notice, cousin, things have changed."
"You think I forgot that promise for a second of my life?" Syaoran shot back.
"Yeah, I think you did. Three seconds, in fact. Three seconds it took to slide that ring onto Ming-na's finger!" Meilin retorted.
*Ouch. That stung.* "I got engaged to Ming-na because I _thought_ I'd fallen in love with her. And I never thought-- though I'd always dreamed-- that I'd ever see Sakura again."
"Regrets, huh?" Meilin asked.
"Tons," he replied sorrowfully. "I love her, Meilin. I love Sakura."
"Well, what do you want me to do?" she asked, exasperated.
"Point out the blinding obvious to set me straight," Syaoran replied.
"So your brain's that unclear, huh? Geez, cousin. It's staring you in the face and yet you fail to notice," Meilin replied. "Break off the engagement to Ming-na. You know in your heart that you don't love her. She deserves no pain from that. At least, even if you don't have Sakura, you don't hurt Ming-na. Or at least not very violently."
Syaoran looked at his cousin and was awed by her logic.
He was free.
by Ekai Ungson
DISCLAIMER: See previous chapters for full disclaimer. ^-^
DEDICATION: Eee. The people who terrorize me everywhere from MSN to Yahoo to finish this darn thing ALREADY. I have four chapters to write and a whole day to do it. Thanks guys. Motivation is everything to me. Wahaha. ^^
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Chapter 11: A Flat-Out Denial
Over fifty journalists, reporters, and rumormongers, plus two very lucky individuals who won a phone-on contest to see Tomoyo and Sakura live attended the presscon Ken had set up for the two.
By now every tipster who knew his stuff had told his correspondents about Daidouji Tomoyo's engagement to impossibly rich, impossibly handsome Japanese Hiiragizawa Eriol from London. Details of a 'whirlwind romance' were appearing everywhere in magazines and tabloids.
Sakura smiled inwardly. If these people knew the 'truth' truth, they wouldn't be thinking along such lines of a 'whirlwind romance'.
BUT. Details of the biggest scandal to hit Hong Kong were still unknown. Kinomoto Sakura's apparent fling with multi-millionaire Li Syaoran had neither been confirmed nor denied. Speculations were rising everywhere from the highest echelons of society to the lowest class of people. This was what would most likely be most electrifying. A famous film star and an heir to one of the largest companies in the world. And it was a known fact that the said heir was engaged to a very wealthy woman ALREADY.
Sakura knew what had to be done to save herself from further scandal and save Syaoran and his family's name to be dragged into deeper sludge.
She would have to flat-out deny everything to the Hong Kong press before flying back home to Tomoeda tomorrow.
And then maybe she could leave Hong Kong in peace and nobody in pieces.
So she raised her head in defiance of the fear she was feeling.
Because now she would have to reject Syaoran in public, too. As if rejecting him in private wasn't bad enough.
*I have to do what should be done.*
She walked in with Tomoyo to the conference room, wearing the smile that made her famous.
An uproar arose when they entered.
"They're here! Miss Kinomoto--"
"Ladies and gentlemen," Ken announced. "I present, Daidouji Tomoyo and Kinomoto Sakura."
The reporters could barely contain themselves. They fired question after question at the two girls with the speed of a machine gun. After thirty minutes, they let off an exhausted Daidouji Tomoyo and focused their attentions and their pens on Sakura.
"Miss Kinomoto, is it true that you're really leaving for Japan tomorrow?"
Sakura nodded. "Yes. That's true."
"Is it because of the rumors circulating about you and Mr. Li Syaoran?"
"No, no," Sakura said. "I'm leaving simply because the special has wrapped shooting and the tour is over. I'm not running away. I have nothing to hide."
"So it really isn't true about you and Mr. Li?"
"What is it, exactly, about me and Mr. Li?" Sakura asked.
"That you two have a 'hidden' relationship."
Sakura burst out laughing. "Well, I do suppose it isn't so hidden now, is it?"
This was met with bursts of laughter.
Sakura continued. "Li-kun and I met in fifth grade, in Tomoeda Elematary School where we used to study. He's a good friend. But he's nothing more. The circulated pictures of me and him were taken last Spring Festival. If you'll recall, that day was also my birthday. He and I didn't plan to meet, we saw each other by chance. Then he showed me around. That's it. No romantic whatever and most definitely NO hidden relationship."
The reporters were positively deflated. The biggest scandal in Hong Kong was nothing more than a rumor blown out of proportion.
"Miss Kinomoto, do you know Mr. Li's fiancee, Wong Ming-na?"
"I've met her, yes. She was nice."
"Has she reacted in any way towards you?"
"As far as I know, no, she hasn't. I hope she's not mad over this little misunderstanding. I publicly apologize for whatever pain this has caused her. I like Ming-na, and I think she's going to be very happy with Li-kun."
The press was further disheartened. The sincere answer and the smile on the actress' face further proved that what they had been told had only been mere illusions. Still, they wrote feverishly on their notepads.
"All right, people, that's about all the time we have left," Ken said. "Any last questions?"
"Miss Kinomoto!"
Sakura turned. "Yes?"
"Have you ever had a relationship with Mr. Li, ever before?"
Sakura paused.
Tomoyo looked up, awaiting her best friend's answer.
*Flat-out denial.*
After a few seconds of silence, Sakura looked up.
"No. I haven't."
"Ever?"
"... Ever."
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
In the car, a barely-contained Tomoyo exploded violently on Sakura.
"How could you say no?" Tomoyo asked.
"How would I say yes?" Sakura returned. "Let it go, Tomoyo-chan. I said what I had to say."
"I CAN'T and WON'T let it go!" Tomoyo cried. "He's MY friend, too, if you'd forgotten! He did nothing wrong to deserve this, from you, of ALL people!"
"What do you think would've happened if I HAD said yes, ne, Tomoyo-chan?!" Sakura retorted. "More fuel for their fire! Write more about me and my 'childhood romance' and my 'hidden past'! His engagement will be ruined, he'll be called a liar and a two-timer, because now they have proof and evidence to believe that he loved me once and he still does! Think of the devastation it'll bring to Ielan-sama and his sisters! Think of what it'll do to HIM! Why do you think I made Ken set this whole thing up?! I wanted to SAVE him!" she yelled.
Tomoyo was not to be deterred. "How could you deny everything?" she repeated.
"Do you think I had actually WANTED to do that?" Sakura shot back. "Do you honestly think that it was easy for me to proclaim to the whole world that I didn't and had never loved Li Syaoran? It's the opposite of what EXACTLY it is I want to do! I want to proclaim to the whole universe that I once loved Li Syaoran! And he loved me! That I _still_ love him!" Her tears began to fall. "I had to save him. Make it appear like he had never loved anyone else but Ming-na. I had to do it. I had to."
Tomoyo quieted at this and began to comfort her best friend. "I'm sorry. I didn't know."
Sakura could only cry. For herself and what she'd lost in order to save someone else from pain.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
When they arrived at the hotel, Eriol was waiting.
"Someone's here for you, Sakura-san--" he began.
Sakura walked as if she didn't hear and went in with nary a suspicion in the grim note in Eriol's voice.
She took two steps into the living room and foun a half-livid, half-sorrowful Li Syaoran. She blinked. "What are you doing here?"
"How could you deny everything?" he returned softly.
She inhaled sharply. Then she raised her head in calm defiance. "I don't have to answer that," she said as she attempted to walk past him.
"He caught her arm expertly and noticed her red-rimmed eyes. "You've been crying."
She scoffed. "Of course not," she lied.
He squinted. "You can lie to the whole world with very little effort but you can't lie to me."
She shook his hand off. "So I've been crying. What's it to you?"
"Everything," he replied. "Admit it."
"Admit what?"
"That you still love me."
Her green eyes narrowed. "You're crazy."
"Admit it, Sakura."
"No. Look, Li--"
"-- Li. What the hell. You called me Syaoran before," he said. "Look me in the eyes and tell me you don't love me and I swear I will never bother you again."
"I have nothing to say to you."
He looked into her eyes. "Like I said. You can lie to the whole world but you can never lie to me."
She could feel the wall she built around herself breaking down. She had to do something, get away, repel him, even.
"Li, get over it," she muttered, looking up at him. "I don't love you."
His eyes widened for but a second before they narrowed in anger.
*Keep it staedy, Sakura. Keep it steady.*
They were locked in face-off until Syaoran broke and stalked out.
Sakura heard the front door slam and then, silence.
Tired. She was so tired already.
So she let herself go down on her knees and weep uncontrollably.
She hoped she'd be okay by morning.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Syaoran walked out of the hotel and into his car. He revved the engine, not really sure where to go.
He had a sudden, definite desire to beat.... SOMETHING into a pulp.
*"I don't love you."*
He realized he had driven straight to Meilin's house. He got out of the car and went inside. Maybe his levelheaded cousin could do him some good.
....
"Well, you're the dimbulb who broke your promise to her," Meilin scolded. "You deserved exactly what you got. What, did you think that after almost ten years she'd still run into your arms when you asked her to? If you have failed to notice, cousin, things have changed."
"You think I forgot that promise for a second of my life?" Syaoran shot back.
"Yeah, I think you did. Three seconds, in fact. Three seconds it took to slide that ring onto Ming-na's finger!" Meilin retorted.
*Ouch. That stung.* "I got engaged to Ming-na because I _thought_ I'd fallen in love with her. And I never thought-- though I'd always dreamed-- that I'd ever see Sakura again."
"Regrets, huh?" Meilin asked.
"Tons," he replied sorrowfully. "I love her, Meilin. I love Sakura."
"Well, what do you want me to do?" she asked, exasperated.
"Point out the blinding obvious to set me straight," Syaoran replied.
"So your brain's that unclear, huh? Geez, cousin. It's staring you in the face and yet you fail to notice," Meilin replied. "Break off the engagement to Ming-na. You know in your heart that you don't love her. She deserves no pain from that. At least, even if you don't have Sakura, you don't hurt Ming-na. Or at least not very violently."
Syaoran looked at his cousin and was awed by her logic.
He was free.