Disclaimer: I'm just a wannabe writer. I don't own anything…yet. In any case, I don't own CCS 'cause Clamp's got it.
At Yòύŗ §ïĐέ by BlACkCAt
A/N: This is Part 2 of the last Chapter. Its suppose to be one whole chapter but it'll look weird if I have to keep on writing time intervals. It looks weird to me anyway. Okay, so it doesn't matter to you. This is the last chapter
Here we go!
~*~
Chapter 15: I See It In Your Eyes [Part 2]
~*~
Sakura made her way back to the apartment in the verge of tears. There was a terrible ache in her heart that she couldn't diminish the whole time she had been in town. After meeting Syaoran at the park, she tried to carry on her plan for the day as if nothing had happened. But five hours and numerous mugs of decafs, cappuccinos, mochas and ice-creams later, she couldn't shake it off and was forced to return home, near to a mental breakdown. But her stubborn streak wouldn't give in.
Ignoring the concerned look the other three were giving her, she shut herself in her room with a reassuring reason that she wanted a rest.
In her room, Sakura sat down at her desk and started writing in her journal, Dear Diary…
Her pen stopped and two droplets of water stained the page. Unable to think anymore, Sakura slammed shut her journal while trying dismally to stop the running tears from falling.
.:|| Syaoran ||:.
It was certainly awkward after the park encounter. He wondered if she was at home right at the moment. 'She should be' he thought while looking around. It was sunset and growing darker at each ticking moment. His leg was better by now, accustomed to his rough movement.
He was hanging around the alleys, desperate for a quiet place to think. But each time there would always be a tramp staring at him with bulging eyes, or a kid begging him for money, or a female cow checking him out by the corner of her eyes.
Taking out a stick from the packet in his jeans, he shoved it into his mouth and lit it. The relief spreading through him was unimaginable. But he was nearly coughing with the smoke at the first few instants.
"Can yaw spare one fer me?" a hand spread out under his view. Syaoran looked up and saw a familiar face of heliotrope eyes and dark hair. "You!" he coughed out.
"Me? I ain't know knowin' I'm popular wi' foreign folks! Betta kip ma head down!" the boy widened his eyes, genuinely shocked and surprised that Syaoran hinted of knowing his identity. "You're with Sakura the other time!" Syaoran continued, throwing away the cigarette.
"Sakura?" the boy scratched his head confusedly. "Auburn haired girl? Green eyes?" Syaoran asked. "Oh yaw mean Apple? She disappeared weeks ago. Dunno wad happened ter her. She was migh'ty useful. Fast hands she's got. Grea' thief. Ter bad she went away. Ryce ha' a fit, poor ol' gal…hey! How'dja know who Apple is?" the boy grew suspicious. "I'm a fr–I'm acquainted to her. She's…er…a family friend of mine," Syaoran stumbled on his words. "So whatcha want wi' me?" the boy asked. "What's your name?" Syaoran asked. "Jynx," the boy said. "Just Jynx?" Syaoran arched an eyebrow. "Yea, ya go' a problem wi' tha'?" Jynx asked heavily.
"No, no," Syaoran replied hastily. "So you givin' me tha' cigarette or not?" Jynx asked eagerly. "No, cigarettes are bad for you," Syaoran replied absentmindedly. "Selfish," Jynx sulked. "Listen, did she mention anything about me?" Syaoran grew hopeful. "Nope–" Jynx replied.
Someone else interrupted, "She mentioned a boy in her sleep, sometime ago." "Ryce!" Jynx exclaimed. The blonde ignored him and continued glaring at Syaoran, "Whaddya wanna know abou' Apple?" "Just–just…what she's been doing when she was missing," Syaoran stammered. He was getting nervous by Ryce's fierceness. "How can she be missin' when she's found?" Ryce shot back, folding her arms.
"Well, she was a month ago…" Syaoran dragged off. "I know she was with you…but…" Suddenly the reason he wanted to know what Sakura did when she was missing didn't seem important anymore. He merely wanted to know if she had mentioned him…or said anything close to 'I love you'.
"But what?" Ryce snapped. "Nothing…nothing…" Syaoran muttered. He looked up, surveying the street rats Sakura had hanged out with before. Jynx was the rugged one and Ryce…Ryce…she was certainly pretty. Her hair was blonde…but it was red at the roots…she must have dyed it. Her eyes were kind of a mixture of blue and green. They looked unworldly as though they weren't Earth's creatures.
Then he saw the girl playing with a ball of fire between her fingers. She was rolling the little flame in and out of her fingers. "You…you…" Syaoran stuttered. "I what?!" Ryce extinguished the flame with a rapid flick.
"Magic…" he breathed out. "Its not magic…" Jynx said. He waved his hands and a leaf appeared in mid air. "Its called gifts. Magic are those hocus-pocus things. Fiction, make-believe, bogus," he played with the blade of leaf. "But I have magic…" Syaoran took out an Elemental Card [A/N: I dunno what they're called…so yeah…]
He muttered and incantation and the card ignited. "That's enchantment," the two replied. "That's the same meaning as magic!" Syaoran replied. They shook they heads.
Syaoran grew confused but decided to let it pass. He hadn't the time to wonder which planet these two came from. "Okay, call it whatever you want. I just want to know what Saku–Apple– said about m–the boy in her sleep," he said.
"She mouthed something like Showron or something… love… you… why… hurt… no… she… bitch… hate… stupid… but it was gibberish…I can't lip-read," Ryce said. "Mouthed? So she didn't' speak?" Syaoran asked. "I said she mentioned not said or some other word," Ryce pointed out.
"Okay, don't blow my head off," Syaoran muttered. "Can I have that cigarette now?" Jynx asked hopefully. "If you settle with me a deal…" Syaoran replied grimly. The other two looked thoughtful.
~ Monday ~ .:|| Sakura ||:.
Sakura woke up with a jerk and found that she had fallen asleep on her desk the whole night. Disgusted that she was still wearing the blue blouse and white skirt, she ran into the bathroom straight away.
She joined the others at the breakfast table minutes later, looking pretty in a pink t-shirt and knee-length khaki skirt. She noted Syaoran was eating toast so she grabbed herself, pancakes. He hadn't even look up, busy reading the morning newspaper. She felt a pang. Had he stopped trying to pursue her already? All the better she supposed.
Cutting her pancakes into neat portions, she asked Tomoyo to pass the maple syrup. Syaoran seized it before Tomoyo could, so it seemed. Truth be told, Tomoyo was crushing his foot to hint that he should pass it. But Sakura didn't know that.
She took the bottle, slightly brushing against Syaoran's hands. He blushed, happy that his face was hidden behind the papers.
The others smiled observantly. Sakura scowled but continued to indulge into the plate of pancakes. "So Tomoyo…urm…have you decided who's going to star as Juliet in the play?" she asked, trying to change the subject of their facial expressions. But she hit the wrong note, Tomoyo beamed even more and replied, "You of course! And Syaoran will be Romeo!"
"WHAT?!" the brunettes shot up out of their seats. "NO WAY AM I–"Sakura started. "I DON'T THINK–" Syaoran yelled. Sakura glared at Syaoran who was red in the face. The boy looked away. "This is bullshit," he swore. Grabbing his bag, he ran out of the house.
Sakura sat back on her seat, white-faced and angry. "I don't believe you guys. I trusted you! And you're trying to what?! Match-make me and him?! This is so f*cking stupid. Why can't you just leave things as it is?!!" she said furiously. Eriol and Tomoyo stared at her, blinking. Sakura had never been this violent before. Meilin however was sitting back, enjoying the free movie.
Sakura got up and stomped out deliberately slamming the door on her way out.
.:|| Tomoyo ||:.
'You'll thank me after all of this is done, Sakura' Tomoyo thought. She looked at the other two, "Let's just wait for this to work out ne? And Eriol, the plan's not a fiasco yet." Eriol looked disappointed but on the other hand, rather worried. "Do you think this is wise?" he asked doubtfully. "Oh shut up and just watch the free drama. Let Tomoyo do the directing," Meilin said. Eriol still looked more worried than ever. "I hope you know what you're doing…"
.:|| School ||:.
Sakura got to school close to a fit. She swung her locker door so roughly that the next locker beside hers had an indent. Now she's stuck with the brat during rehearsals, school, home, mealtimes…what was Tomoyo trying to do? And the gaki was probably part of everything. Can't he just give up? As she had thought early that morning.
.:|| Sakura's POV ||:.
I hate my life. I hate school. I hate my best friend's habit of interfering into matters that she shouldn't interfere with. I hate the jerk. I hate the blue-haired smiling idiot. I hate that Chinese girl-cousin of the jerk. I hate my teachers. I hate Jessica Lange. I hate her group. I hate this world. I hate this country. But I hate myself above all.
What the heck was happening to me?? Why can't I give in to whatever everyone wants? I can't try anymore!! Wish I was back in carefree Japan. With my Onii-chan and Otoo-san.
I sat down on the toilet seat, trying so hard to stop my sobbing. Think Sakura. Think straight. I told myself. But my mind was all jumbled up. Like a ball of colored threads intertwined with each other… horrible.
My watch was ticking. It was two minutes to Math class. Jerk was there. Should I skip the lesson? The thought of Otto-san's money going down the drain made me get up. The toilet was mercifully empty. My eyes and nose were red so I waited for it to lighten up.
When I left the toilet, my nose was slightly pinkish but at least my eyes were quite normal. Let's make the best I can of today. Probably pray that the Idiot would be gone by tomorrow or next week.
I entered the classroom. It appeared normal, as thought nothing had happened. The Bimbo group were, as usual, giggling hysterically among themselves; Mr. Seanen was sitting at his desk, marking work while waiting for the bell to ring; my 'ex'-gang were already at their places at the back of the room, Eriol and Tomoyo's dark heads were bent together over something they were reading, the Idiot was sitting by himself, staring into space while looking like a retard.
I debated to myself whether I should sit with them. There wasn't any difference anyway since I wasn't going to talk to them at all. So I plonked on my seat, took out some Tarot Cards and played about. [A/N: If I offended anyone's religion or something…er…its purely unintentional…sorry]
I used to this whenever I was angry. Usually with the Clow Cards since they look so much like tarots. Tomoyo and Eriol didn't bother me. Good for them or they heads would be missing instantaneously.
Maybe it was a wrong move but I kept on receiving the 6th Card, The Lovers upside down; 11, Strength, upside down and the Fool on the right side up. Is everything against me now?? And that stupid nagging feeling I have somewhere in me…
The bell rang on the second before I was ready to tear the tarot cards to a zillion pieces. Lucky them…I thought, taking out my note book to take down notes for the English lessons.
~ At the End of the Day ~
"Tomoyo will now confirm what part you guys shall be taking on for the play in a fortnight's time," Mr. Seanen finished with the most dreadful sentence. Tomoyo got up and ran down the steps, facing the class. She flicked her dark hair over her shoulders. For a moment she resembled a supreme queen that my life depended on.
My heart was beating faster than usual. I clasped my hands as though praying, biting my lips taut till it bled. But she was merciless.
"Juliet– Kinomoto Sakura." I swore my heart stopped for more than 30 seconds while I sat motionless on my seat, hearing the other names being read out like water rolling down a rock.
'Romeo– Li Syaoran." Perfect…Yay! Gimme three cheers! Hip-hip—HOORAH! Hip-hip—HOORAH! Hip–hip—
.:|| Syaoran's POV ||:.
I saw Sakura sat rigid on her seat when Tomoyo read out her name. She sat on, stiff as a board. When my name was read out, she started hitting her head on the table while mouthing out some words I couldn't make out…WHAT—??!!! Me? ROMEO??
Let's see the world end. Maybe a meteor should hit earth at this current second 'cause I don't want do die from Kinomoto's wrath…
.:|| Reader's POV ||:.
"Rehearsals shall start every day from tomorrow's afternoon. Those who will be in the main cast, please meet Tomoyo for your scripts. And those not chosen, please approach our prop master, Evan. Class dismissed," Mr. Seanen said after all the names were read out.
The class immediately erupted in excited chatters. The girls in the 'Bimbo Group' sent Sakura cold looks of hatred and jealousy while the more sporty and the romantics came up to her and gave their congratulations. "Congrats Sakura! I like so~ envy you!! Syaoran and you make the perfect couple!" Gina Fant, the class most biggest romance reader came near.
Sakura who was still staring off into space, slowly looked up at the girl with an expression of pure disgust. Looks, looks and looks, that's all they care about, she thought. What about personality? Security? Honesty? Respect? And all those other important traits? This world is so shallow…
She got up, unable to stand it anymore.
"Congratulations, Kinomoto. You got the part that I tried for. Amazing," Jessica Lange stopped her on her way down the stairs. Sakura stared coldly into her blue eyes, making serious eye contact. "Get out of my way, Lange," she said.
"What? No spiteful answers? Come on, I know you can do better than that," Jessica mocked her. The other girls tittered. "Why? Have you prepared a speech of words that you can reply to me? Record it on a tape, I haven't got all day to stand her to listen to you to stutter them all out," Sakura tried to swerve away from them. Jessica blocked her, now wound up, "You'll never get Syaoran, Kinomoto. I'll always be better than you. Face it."
Sakura resisted the temptation to smack her face and said as quietly and patiently as she could, "First of all, I'm not planning to get him. He's not a possession and even if he was, I won't want to own such a hideous thing. Second, if you so very well better than me, why is it you have to flirt and flaunt you sluttish body to get your guys when all I have to do is stand where I am or why is it that you can never answer me when I pass a remark at you. Third, never try to get into a fight with a Kinomoto, you'll lose whether you like or not. Fourth and fifth, shut up you stupid blabbering mouth. You can't seem to do that, it takes two points."
Jessica gave her a poisonous glare, unable to say anything though. "Glaring won't help," Sakura walked pass her group.
"Bitch," Sakura muttered. She snatched the script from Tomoyo, almost tearing it in half. Tomoyo looked calmly at her as she ran out of the door. She raised a hand to stop Eriol from talking. "I know what I'm doing," she reassured him. He, however, still looked skeptical.
.:|| Syaoran's POV ||:.
I saw Sakura got ambushed by Jessica's gang. They exchanged a few words before Sakura made a real long speech which made Jessica dumbfounded.
I admire her so much for her fierce determination which was also obstructing her from getting my message. Sakura…why can't you see it…
.:|| Sakura ||:.
Sakura roughly changed into her cheerleading costume. The girls in the changing room got well out of her way, scared of being singed.
On her way out to the school field, she fell splat on her face, tripping over her laces. She banged the ground with her left hand, got up and stomped her way to the bleachers while sporting her bleeding nose, still cursing inside her mind, oblivious to all the cheerleaders and soccer players staring at her.
'Stupid, stupid' she muttered inside her mind while she bent over to tie her laces properly. Her nose was still bleeding a little but she wiped off the flecks of blood in an exasperated fashion. Then she retied her hair into a high ponytail.
"Sakura?" someone asked. "What?" she snapped, looking up. It was the cheerleading captain, Vanes Willis. She looked rather scared. "Uh…did I catch you at a bad time?"
Sakura shook her head in an apologetic way, " Oh, sorry…I just–I –well…" "Monday blues?" Vanes suggested. "Uh…yeah," Sakura lied. "Your nose okay?" Vanes sat beside her. "Nothing much," Sakura replied, using her tissue to wipe the blood away. "Well, practice is starting in a quarter of an hour, you better start warming up," Vanes got up. "Uh…yeah, okay," Sakura replied lamely.
She went back to the field, still looking rather pissed but cooled a little. She sat with Chiharu, Naoko and the rest while stretching. Every so often wiping her nose when the blood trickled out [A/N: I fell down once on my nose…and it bled all day… +__+]
.:|| Syaoran ||:.
When Syaoran got to the soccer field, he heard most of the guys talking about a girl in the cheerleading squad. He wondered what it was about…
"And she went like 'BAM'…she looked real pissed, man,"
"Yeah…she slammed the ground with her arm…haha…"
"Probably had a bad day…"
"Yeah, I heard her dissing Jessica this morning. Hah! That bitch-ass flirt deserved it," Ethan Cohn was saying.
"Hey, who you guys talking about?" Syaoran came in.
"Yo, Li! Your girlfriend looked real pissed this morning. Did you ditch her or something?" the boys immediately greeted him. "Girlfriend? But I don't have a girl–" Syaoran looked confused.
"Its that auburn chick you hang around with," Leo Manton told him. "Sakura? What about her?" Syaoran tried to look relaxed. "Haha, she was so mad just now in the field. You should've seen her rampaging around like a female demon," Ethan said enthusiastically.
"Oh," was all Syaoran could say. What was he suppose to say anyway? Or do? Before the boys could ask him why he hadn't much reaction, the coach came into the conversation and told them to take their positions.
As they all stood in the field while waiting for the ball to come at them, Syaoran took a peek at the cheerleaders.
They hadn't started yet and he could see Sakura still stretching in her split position. Then she did some flips. He noticed that she kept wiping her nose. Was she crying? She must have felt his gaze because she turned to look at his direction.
"LI! The ball—" someone shouted at him. He turned his head back at the game. But it was too late, the ball rammed into his head so forcefully that he was thrown off the ground, landing a few feet from his previous stand.
.:|| Sakura's POV ||:.
I rounded my stretching with some flips. It seemed like a long time since I did it. But it came naturally, strangely. My arms were stronger as though I had more power. 'Weird' I thought on my head-over-heels point of cartwheel.
I felt as though someone was looking at me. I stood up and looked around and saw him staring at me. He looked away when someone shouted at him.
The soccer ball smashed into his head.
It happened so fast that I was frozen for a moment. "LI!!!" I shouted without thinking. I started running towards him. It caused a stir in the squad and they, curious, ran after me.
He was blacked out, lying on the ground spread eagle. "Wake up, you jerk! The war hasn't ended yet!" I slapped his face. His team mates were coming up. Praying hard, I made the Time stop time. Everyone else halted mid action. I slapped his face some more, half-crying.
His head lolled about, lifeless. I squirted half a pint of water into his face and he started coughing. He sat up, shaking his head. Then he saw me, loss for words before saying, "Sakura? Why're you here?" I hadn't even realize what I was doing. My eyes widened.
"Sakura?" he asked again. The time returned and a whole crowd of soccer players mixed with cheerleaders consumed him. He tried to get to me. "SAKURA!!" he shouted amidst all the commotion. I turned and walked away, the feeling of remorse coming back to me.
I half turned back, wondering what it was that made me help him. 'Maybe I'm still in love with him…' I thought. My eyes filled with tears of both confusion and anger.
~ Overview of the Next Two Weeks ~ .:|| Reader's POV ||:.
The couple of rehearsal weeks were rather awkward for Sakura and Syaoran. They made no attempt to talk to each other unless absolutely necessary. Tomoyo was most annoyed but kept her temper at check. The kiss scenes were deleted temporarily when the main actors violently refused, supported strongly by Jessica who played, much to her disgust, the Nurse. She had fun torturing Juliet in certain scenes though.
The story line was of the Romeo and Juliet theme. But it was re-written and made into a modern version. The lines had only a tinge of old English but otherwise understood by most people even if they weren't literate with Shakespearean blabber. [A/N: No offence…hehe…] All the music were composed in tune with the current rock-ish fast beat the music industry seemed to be producing nowadays.
But overall, they were very good actors above and below the surface. Sakura managed to severe her temper and Syaoran, his urge to sweep her into his arms willingly.
~Day Before the Play~
"Kaijuu, what is this play you never told me about?" Touya asked Sakura, frowning. "SAKUA KAIJUU NANDAMO!!!" Sakura shouted in the phone. "Itai!! I'm going to be deaf soon," Touya replied in a distant voice, proving he had held the phone a little further away from himself. Sakura sat back on her seat, contented, silently eating her breakfast.
"So what about the play?" Aiden interrupted in the phone. "I…I…um…forgot–" Sakura answered lamely. "How can she forget about a production when she's acting in it??" Touya retorted in the background. Sakura laughed silently to herself, "Well, I hadn't seen you all year…" "It doesn't mean you forget us, Sakura," Aiden said gently. "SHE FORGOT ABOUT US??!" Touya rampaged about in the backdrop. Sakura sweat dropped. "Gomen, otou-san, but a lot of things is happening around here…" she replied apologetically, "How did you know about the play anyway?" "Tomoyo's mother was all over it…" Aide answered pleasantly. "THAT'S IT WE'RE GOING TO SEE HER PLAY!" Touya shouted. "We'll see you, Sakura," Aiden said, with a hint of a smile on his face. "Hai, otou-san," Sakura sweat dropped. She hung up.
She looked back at the breakfast table where everyone was staring at her, "What?!" "Who was that you were shouting at?" Meilin asked, her porridge spilling back onto the bowl from her spoon. "Oh, that was Touya, my onii-chan also known as the real monster of the house,"
"Sakura and her brother are always fighting. He's a bit too over-protective of her," Tomoyo nodded. "That's an understatement Tomoyo-chan," Sakura told her. "True…"
Syaoran stared at his plate, thinking, 'This is going to be harder then ever. She's got a mean older brother. Who knows what torture he's capable of doing.' He finished up his breakfast and made an excuse to go to the library. Meilin wondered what was wrong with him.
When it was after-hours, she went into his room only to find out him, sleeping while clutching a book, Understanding Older Brothers for Dummies. [A/N: I have no idea whether this book exists…^__–! I don't think so but I think it's a good book for poor souls like Syaoran…hehe…I have the Japanese for Dummies book…my Jap. is improving, so you won't suffer any bad ungrammatical sentences anymore *cheer*]
~ Night of the Play ~
Syaoran sat nervously backstage watching the feud played by Chiharu and Takashi on his behalf as the Montague parents. Rika and Ethan were acting as the Capulets, Juliet's parents. The fight was a fiery one, he could see the audience were astounded at the reality of it. 'Great…they'll be disappointed when it comes to me…' Naoko was narrating, "…and the families parted each time of peacemaking discussion, with even more intense anger built up, unable to split the successful business company fairly enough without the each other's party satisfied. Swearing to be enemies as long as a Capulet or Montague lives. Little do they know what lies in between them, a forbidden love situation…"
"Syaoran! You're up next!" Tomoyo hissed at his side. His heart was beating against his ribs so much it hurt. After the small scene of Benvolio(Leo) telling him to abandon his unrequited love for Rosaline and seek another, the masked ball came up. Romeo's first glimpse of Juliet.
The backstage was in full rush with the change of the settings. Sakura wasn't sighted anywhere. Syaoran's mind raced as he changed into a handsome tuxedo. 'What if she didn't appear? Or she ran away?' He raised his head over the crowd while Tomoyo straightened out the suit and handed him his mask. She wasn't anywhere!
"Sakura–" he started. "Just go!" Eriol pushed him into the stage. Pretending to straighten his bowtie, Syaoran, both in character and real life was nervous. He looked into the audience and saw Meilin giving him a thumbs up. He looked further up the audience and saw Ryce and Jynx looking starry-eyed at the wonderful scenery of the stage. Then he saw her.
Sakura looked dazzling. Her hair, in a perfect French braid which was somehow woven along with green olive leaves. She wasn't exactly wearing a dress though. In fact she was wearing a green top that hugged her body quite enough to show the curves and a soft green gauzy cloth wrapped around her legs.
Syaoran felt his breath taken away. He, though not said in the script, grabbed around wildly for a glass of wine which was carried by a passing waiter. He put it to his lips rather clumsily and several drops actually spilt from his glass. The audience laughed but he wasn't listening to them. All he saw was Sakura. He straightened his cool black leather jacket, quite unaware of what he was doing. He was instead, acting on his real reaction. He sauntered slowly towards the girl.
At the other end, Tybalt (Reid Tyco) was talking to Ethan, the microphone was off them, "Syaoran's seems as though he's just thrown in to act in the play. What's up?" "I dunno. Anyway, who wouldn't when seeing Kinomoto dressed like an angel?" Ethan replied.
A slow waltz strummed up from the orchestra. The crowd paired up quickly, deliberately making a clear way for Romeo to get to Juliet. The lighting focused on them.
Syaoran's heart was beating somewhere near his Adam's apple. Trying to act composed and 'cool' as the script asked for, he put on a smirk and bowed. Sakura bowed, a little ruffled at his seemingly genuine grin. And they danced, arms draped around each other but talking at the same time.
"Who're you?" they asked at the same time. Their masks blocked each other from knowing the horrible truth. "I–" they started simultaneously. They laughed. The audience giggled among themselves. [A/N: Sounds lame I know…but I can't think of anything humorous for now…=D…forgive me pls… ok, I'll tell you guys what…when I'm referring to Syao and Saku on script, I'll say Romeo and Juliet but if its real for life, I'll say Sakura and Syaoran? Ok? So don't get confused like I did when I re-read this…hehe…]
Juliet accidentally stepped on Romeo's foot. "Ouch!" Romeo blurted out. "Oops…uh…" Juliet looked down, looking embarrassed. "Sorry," she said at last. She grabbed Romeo immediately, noticing that her cousin, Tybalt was watching over them.
"Wha—?" Romeo was surprised at her sudden aggressiveness. "Can I tell you a secret?" she whispered, looking into his eyes. Syaoran blinked for a moment, the eye-contact was very immersing. "Yeah, sure," he said, regaining himself.
"I can't dance," Sakura answered. She was answering truthfully as being herself and Juliet both. "Oh," Romeo said, then he leaned over her shoulder and whispered, "I can't dance too. Let's just make the best of this shall we?"
Juliet nodded. And they stepped as much to the beat as they could. Sakura was fumbling, her footsteps were unwittingly clumsy. 'She really can't dance??' Syaoran thought, bewildered. "Don't laugh," she hissed, catching the look on his face.
"I'm not going to," Syaoran answered, hardly hearable. He slid his arms around her waist some more, forcing her to come nearer. He really wasn't thinking, daring to do such a thing. 'I must come out of my shell, here goes nothing' he thought.
"What are you doing?" Sakura asked harshly. The microphone was off them, fortunately, Tybalt was talking to Montague. "Teaching you how to dance," Syaoran answered simply. Sakura glared at him, uncomfortable with his warm body heat radiating against her body. But now that they were closer, she could dance more gracefully, Syaoran's leg brushing hers meant that she needed to move that foot back and so. [A/N: I can't dance either…and I still can't…hehe…] But increasingly awkward and by the time the spotlight returned to them, Sakura's face was positively maroon from flushing so much.
The song ended and it was one of the kiss moments. "Thanks for the dance," she muttered. "Don't I get a reward?" Romeo asked, teasingly. He was joking about it, evidently thinking that the girl wouldn't even answer. Juliet was supposed to give him a kiss straight away but Sakura was so fuming mad and embarrassed that she had half the mind to just walk off. But she had to wait for the Nurse to come calling and the woman wasn't showing up yet.
Sakura reached up, tip-toeing a little, and gave a kiss on the lips. Supposedly to be quick, instead she hung there.
Syaoran was melting.
The audience were 'Aw'-ing.
The rest of the production crew + cast were widening their eyes to the size of dinner plates.
Jessica Lange was pissed.
Touya was in danger of blowing up his head after making it bald by tearing his hair out if it wasn't for Aiden trying to calm him down.
In other words, it was a kiss like no other and even Sakura knew that. Ecstasy. Plain and simple.
"You kiss by the book," Juliet said when they broke apart. 'Is that true?' Syaoran wondered, panicking.
"Juliet! Your mother calls for you!" the Nurse (Jessica) cut in. Jessica looked far less than content. In fact she looked ready to murder Sakura on the spot.
"And who is her mother?" Romeo asked curiously. "Her mother is the hostess of this ball," the Nurse answered stiffly, then she turned to Juliet and hurried her away.
Romeo stood at his spot, looking absolutely thwarted. His friend, Mercutio (Eriol), stood beside him, "So who was that chick you danced with?" Romeo turned to him, "She's not a chick. She's an angel from the heavens. Such shame…"
"Why?"
"Her family is the sworn enemy of mine,"
"What? You mean that was Juliet Capulet?"
"Yes. And I am Romeo Montague,"
"You're crazy! We've gotta leave this place before they find out you, the enemy, kissed her, their little girl,"
And they left, Romeo making a mental note to come back when the party finished.
~Back-Stage~
Syaoran went behind the stage, loosening the collar of his jacket. He sweating from both his nerves and the heat killing stage lights. He looked around, Tomoyo and Eriol were already talking while passing him glances that said We-know-something-you-don't. And he was irritated.
"Alright, spit it out, what are you guys up to?" he confronted the couple. "Nothing, my dear descendent. What makes you think we are 'up to something' ? Surely you trust us not to be that intruding into other people's matters?" Eriol answered smoothly. "No I don't. I'll be watching out for your actions," Syaoran said grimly. Tomoyo smiled even more broadly, "You can try, but I'll doubt you'd find anything suspicious…everything is so…natural."
Syaoran scowled. He didn't like it when he couldn't know anything that he must. Tomoyo's smirk wasn't helpful either. "Hurry up Romeo! Your scene is coming up next!" someone called out. "Good luck Syaoran! Nice kiss you had just now," Eriol hollered after him as he walked off. Syaoran's cheeks burned. He jacket was taken off before he entered the stage.
~The Famous Balcony Scene~
Sakura appeared on the balcony. She stared off dreamily into the sky scenery, a visionary angel. She was garbed in a white toga dress with soft wings attached at the back. For a moment, she looked as though she might fly off the balcony at any second.
She heard a thud from the shadows in the dark garden below. Juliet squinted her eyes. Someone was cursing. Several bushes rustled. And someone started spouting,
"But,
soft! what light through yonder window breaks?
It is the east, and Juliet is the sun.
Arise, fair sun, and kill the envious moon,
Who is already sick and pale with grief,
That thou her maid art far more fair than she:
Be not her maid, since she is envious;
Her vestal livery is but sick and green
And none but fools do wear it; cast it off."
Juliet raised an eyebrow. "Cut off with the Shakespearean language, stranger, and reveal yourself!" she snapped.
Someone climbed up the ivy. "It's me, fair Juliet," a face appeared in the firelight. Juliet almost flung herself back in fright.
"Do you know who I am, Lady?" he said. Composing herself, she looked into his amber orbs sadly, "A Montague, Romeo Montague. Son of the Count whose family, mine despise."
"And do you despise me?" Romeo asked. Juliet paused and thought, "That is besides the point. You should not–"
"Answer my question," Romeo said firmly.
"I–I –" Juliet stammered.
"Would it help if I said I love you?" he said softly, coming closer.
"You're a–a Montague…We can never be…"
"Then, do not think of me as a Montague! I am just a stranger whose lost his heart to the charm of a beautiful girl,"
Juliet stared hopelessly at him.
"Lady!" the Nurse called for her. Time was running and yet Romeo refused to leave until he has his answer.
"And I'll no longer be a Capulet," Juliet smiled, leaning over to kiss him. 'Ugh…another kiss…' Sakura thought in her mind, 'Mushy…'
Jessica came in at that moment and she had to mutter her last lines for the scene, "Run, Romeo…you are in Capulet grounds if your presence is leaked, you shall surely be killed. I'll meet you soon if the Fates allow us to."
Romeo touched her cheek lingeringly and left. His dark shadow sped off over the wall and disappeared behind it.
~Narrator~ (Naoko)
"And so the two lovers had to meet in secret while the family's dispute continued onwards… such a sad story the Fates had in stored for them. But in each other's company they enjoyed themselves much as nothing else mattered to them while they fell more and more in love with each other…"
.:|| Backstage ||:.
Sakura sat to herself in her dressing room. They had interval, much to her relief. She looked at herself in the mirror.
It all hadn't felt genuine…unreal…yet she could feel a fluttering feeling in her stomach. What was it? It couldn't be…yet maybe it was. But she had vowed…never to… Drawing herself up, she made herself face the truth. And the real truth had hit her like a rock as she said quietly, admitting, "I lo–"
There was a knock on her door. She stopped, shook her head and got up. Opening the door…
"Ryce? Jynx? What are you doing here?" she exclaimed. The two stepped into her room and locked the door. "What are you guys doing?!" Sakura asked.
"Listen, girl, Apple…or Sakura…Yaw causin tha dear boy ter feel so damn low. And yer betta make him happier. We've seen him… and he aint happy at all. I know yer love him too much tha' yer even talk about him in yer sleep. Dun yer dare deny tha'! Now yer listen ter me and yer listen good. Stop yer selfish thinking and wallowin yerself in damn self-pity. Admit it ter yerself and tell him tha' yer love him so much tha' it tears yer heart. He mighta've been imperfect the previous time cuz of sum bitch tha' came and intruded yer life. Bu' it was unintentional tha' wench cast a spell on him for goodness sake. He dinna know till the last minute. So dun push the blame on him, yer understand? Everyone makes mistakes and are liable to be forgiven for 'em. We're humans…we aint perfect," Ryce said furiously.
Sakura was speechless for once in her life. "Matter o' factly, Ryce, we aint humans…" Jynx was saying. "Shut up! Tha's besides the point," Ryce snapped, "Now I hope I've knocked some pretty good sense into yer pretty little head." And they left, closing the door behind them quietly.
Sakura was still dumb founded.
~Last Scene~ [A/N: I'm either a) too lazy to tell the whole story b) thinking its pointless to type out all the long lines or c) plain lazy a.k.a. Let's fast forward shall we?]
–Backstage– Tomoyo was wiping her eyes. The play had gone beautifully. And now it was time to end it all…with the death of the two on-screen lovers. Eriol pat her back. He was secretly amused at his over emotional girlfriend.
–Front stage–
"Give me that bottle, Balthasar. I wish this would be quick. I can live no longer since my love has died," Romeo said fiercely. "I'll be gone, sir, and not trouble you," Balthasar [Played by Shinae Murimoto] answered.
"Thank you and goodbye. I wish you all the best for your life," Romeo said. Balthasar went off.
Then, Paris (Alex Bowman) came up. "It is due to you, Montague that dear Juliet has died. Now you shall pay," he said. He drew his sword out. "A fight there shall be then, for I am going to die anyways," Romeo answered drawing out his sword.
They started fencing. Syaoran was restraining his usually fast and aggressive reflexes so that he didn't exactly hurt Alex who was quite accident prone. After some time Alex grew tired and Syaoran did the death thrust. "Oh I am slain!" he pretended, falling to the ground.
Syaoran took out the bottle that was supposedly the poison Romeo was suppose to drink. He drank it, it actually tasted of coke, "The drug is fast. My death shall be painless then." And he laid himself down gently and 'died'.
Eriol
appeared as Friar Laurence. He rushed to Syaoran, "Romeo! Who else? What,
Paris?
And soaked in blood? Ah, what an unkind hour is guilty of this woeful chance!
The lady stirs!" Juliet got up from her tomb and looked around wonderingly,
"Friar! Where is my Romeo? I remember where I should be, and there I am. Where is my Romeo?"
The Friar looked at her sadly, "Romeo has died, Juliet. He has poisoned himself. Now please flee! I hear a noise coming our way. It doesn't sound friendly at all."
"I absolutely will not!" Juliet raised her high chin. "My lover has died due to me. And I shall die too in his arms. You leave, Friar. And may you lead a prosperous life." Friar Laurence left, rather reluctantly though.
Juliet scanned around and saw a dagger by Romeo's side. Giving him a chaste kiss she stabbed herself and fell strategically beside Romeo.
.:|| Sakura & Syaoran ||:.
Sakura turned towards Syaoran's face who was grim. "Syaoran…" she whispered. He didn't stir. They were still on the stage while the last few scenes were going on.
"Syaoran…" she repeated. He opened his eyes.
His amber eyes slowly turning towards her. "What?" he whispered back. "I know this is kind of late…but I'm sorry for being so mean to you," Sakura closed her eyes. She opened them up once again, a tear rolling down to the wooden stage.
Syaoran was startled. "Don't cry," he said, resisting the urge to lift up his hand and wipe away the tear.
"I'm just so sorry…I was so confused…"
"It doesn't matter, I wasn't fair either…my senses weren't with me…"
"I was so mean…"
"Never mind about that…I was a jerk anyway,"
"…I just realized it…when someone pointed it out to me…"
"What did you realize?" Syaoran's heart leapt.
"I…love…you…" Sakura beamed. Syaoran grinned widely, "I love you too."
Everyone was getting up. The play had ended. They got up, smiling broadly. Taking each other's hand they stood along with the rest of the cast. And bowed after a "1-2-3…" count.
Everyone was applauding. The play turned out to be a success. Even Touya, though slightly hot and bothered by the kiss scenes, couldn't deny that his little sister of a monster was quite good after all.
Ryce and Jynx sneaked off, their little deal was done and victorious. Tomoyo and Eriol were in for a week full of kissing and a month of Eriol being Tomoyo's slave. Neither minded, understandably.
When the auditorium was empty and everyone had left. Sakura and Syaoran stared at each other's eyes, reunited at last. They locked the doors together and walked hand in hand down the hall.
Each vowing to stay, "At your side."
—The End—
A/N: The ending wasn't really good…I might re-write it but it looks sorta sweet and short. At Your Side is finally finished…I'll miss writing it though…Well…My thank you list is coming on! You can look there if you're interested.
