Nocturne
By Ekai Ungson
Legality: Card Captor Sakura copyright CLAMP/Kodansha. Characters used without permission.
For Les, Refe and KyteAura, as part of the Christmas present bonanza. ^-^
Her eyes were the color of amethyst gems, and in the two seconds she'd stared at him he saw a world that he never knew existed within her eyes.
But when he got up and chased after her she had, again, disappeared into thin air.
What are you doing here?
Are you trying to forget your sorrows, too?
Those eyes of hers had spoken to him. He'd never had such an experience before. And it shook him.
He had to find this girl. No matter what it took.
-Tres: Edge-
"Nope, man. I don't think I've seen her before."
Eriol turned to Kenzo. "Are you sure? I mean, she's in every single party I go to. Every single one. Long hair, pale skin, violet—"
"—eyes, I know, I know. She's a knockout. Man, if she were really as pretty as you said, I would've known. I know every pretty girl within a five mile radius," Kenzo joked. "Geez, man, you might've dreamed her up or something. You taking anything?"
"I don't do that stuff, Kenzo," Eriol said, rolling his eyes. "It's got bad side effects. And no, I'm pretty damn sure I didn't dream her up. Pretty damn sure. Wait, no, I'm not sure. Wait, I AM sure. Damn it, must be the alcohol. She was real. I don't know."
"Hey, slow down, you might hurt yourself," Kenzo reminded. "You said every single bash you went to?"
Eriol nodded.
"There's your solution then."
Eriol cocked his head to the side. "What?"
Kenzo shrugged. "You want to find her. She goes to parties. Then throw one and invite everybody. They, in turn, will invite everybody they know and we go from there."
~~~~
"Have you heard? Hiiragizawa Eriol's throwing a party at the pier," Aya said. Tomoyo could see her roommate was trying to sound nonchalant but was clearly excited.
She looked up. "Who's giving out a party?"
"Hiiragizawa Eriol," Aya repeated.
Tomoyo's expression remained blank.
"Why are you not as excited about this as I am?" asked Aya.
"Who's Hiiragizawa Eriol?" Tomoyo questioned.
Aya gaped at her. Her friend had been going to raves for years and knew not about Hiiragizawa Eriol? This was a travesty! "You don't know who Hiiragizawa Eriol is?"
"Do you not get tired of saying the man's full name all the time? Is he some sort of saint or something?" Tomoyo joked.
Aya didn't take the hint. "Why do you not know who Hiiragizawa Eriol is?"
"Should I?" asked Tomoyo, uninterested.
"Should you?! Should you!?! Hiiragizawa Eriol, like, owns the whole night scene." Tomoyo raised an eyebrow at this. "Well, not OWN own but he pretty much rules every party. You've seen him!"
"I have?" asked Tomoyo thoughtfully.
"Dark hari, blue eyes? Flanked by females?" Aya insisted.
Oh, she's talking about Blue Eyes, Tomoyo realized. "Oh. Him."
"Oh?! HIM?!" yelled Aya, as if referring to Hiiragizawa Eriol as just 'oh' and 'him' was something to the effect of sacrilege.
"What is wrong with you?" Tomoyo questioned.
"So are you coming or not?" Aya asked instead. "This is going to be the bash of the season."
Tomoyo shrugged. "Look, I don't know…"
"Why are you even pausing to think about this?" Aya screeched.
"Thinking is actually a good thing," Tomoyo reasoned calmly. "I don't like the scene anymore. I'd rather sleep."
"Sleep?!" Aya cried. "Oh, no, sister. If I go you go as well. I'm not letting you miss this. I won't stand for it."
"Why don't you go alone for once?" Tomoyo asked. "We go together but we always leave alone. Or, rather, I leave alone and you leave with some guy."
"I can't," Aya said, dropping her voice. "Not this time. Most of those guys, well, they're scary."
Tomoyo rolled her eyes. "Oh, well spotted."
"No, I mean, some of them are outright jerks. Outright dangerous jerks. I'm never afraid when you're there—you tell them off with a finesse I can't even compare to."
"Gee, thanks," Tomoyo replied dryly.
"Come on, come along. I promise you won't get bored this time."
"And why do I sincerely doubt that?" Tomoyo quipped, looking out the window.
~~~~
One can expect a multitude of people at a party thrown by the party king himself. Most of them didn't even know Eriol personally. But they DO know about his reputation. So they gatecrash, hoping to be noticed by the Golden Boy, and taken into his glittering circle.
Tomoyo had wanted to go in basic black. But Aya forced her into wearing red with the black and now she looked properly bright and noticeable. So much for hiding in the shadows tonight.
"You'd disappear in black," Aya had said, to which Tomoyo had replied with "That was the point."
Aya had fussed. "Wear the red beaded blouse. It'll turn a few heads."
Tomoyo had given. It wasn't like she was going to stay long enough to turn enough heads. Honestly, Aya was a madwoman, always trying to fix her up with someone or the other.
She pulled up in front of the converted warehouse on the pier. She could already hear the techno from inside. Aya pulled off her helmet and bounced happily as she dismounted from Tomoyo's Harley.
"I'll wait for you inside," Aya said before walking off.
Tomoyo nodded and pulled off her own helmet.
A group of guys stopped and stared.
Aya grinned.
Tomoyo parked.
I can't believe how I got sucked into this, Tomoyo thought. I don't even LIKE techno.
And yet, she always found herself gravitating to the hypnosis the music provided.
She walked inside and Aya grabbed her arm. She glanced at her watch. Eleven p.m. Still fairly early. By two a.m. she'd bolt.
Aya grabbed two drinks from a passing guy and handed one to Tomoyo. Tomoyo surveyed the place. As she did, she saw two guys moving towards them. A few more were following.
Tomoyo felt very, very trapped. This was bound to be a long three hours.
~~~~
Eriol surveyed the floor for Miss Mysterious, but there was no sign of her. Surely she danced?
A girl offered him a beer but he declined. He wanted to be completely sober when he found her. Because if he DID get intoxicated, it would be more likely for him to miss her entirely.
Two hours later and still nada.
Tomoyo had hidden in a corner to avoid being seen. A few keen-eyed guys had spotted her anyway. She waved the next one away and checked her watch. Two fifteen. She turned to Aya, who was dancing in the middle of the floor. She looked perfectly fine. Tomoyo grabbed her coat, ready to bolt.
Eriol was ready to give up. But then a flash of long, dark hair caught his eye. He turned. He stared.
It was definitely her. And he wasn't imagining things. Kenzo was right—she did come. And he wasn't letting her go so easy this time.
Tomoyo was halfway to her bike when she heard approaching footsteps. She turned.
Then she blinked. Blue Eyes?
"Hey," the guy greeted.
"Hey," she replied.
Eriol didn't waste any time. "So have you got a name along with the disappearing act?"
She looked him up and down. "Who wants to know?"
He was taken aback for a second. She didn't know who he was? He extended a hand. "Hiiragizawa Eriol."
She took it. "That's a mouthful. I think I prefer Blue Eyes."
"Blue Eyes?" he repeated in confusion.
She shook her head in silent mirth. "You don't need to know."
Eriol nodded towards the warehouse. "Not staying?"
"Stayed for three hours, Little Boy Blue. I think that accounts for 'staying'." She grinned. "It's not my kind of scene. A friend dragged me."
"The way you were dragged three parties before?"
She shrugged. "Something like that."
"Will you at least stay for one dance?" he asked.
Tomoyo smirked. "I don't dance techno."
Then, as if on cue, the music drastically changed from fast to a slow r & b tune. Tomoyo gaped.
Eriol smiled and held out his hand.
Tomoyo meant to refuse and ride her bike away from the place. But she found herself taking his hand and stepping into his arms.
It registered faintly at the back of her mind that they looked absolutely ridiculous, slow dancing in a dark parking lot beside a Harley. But it didn't remain.
And then the song ended.
Tomoyo opened her eyes and looked into her partner's blue ones. Startling, disconcerting blue.
And she stepped out of his grasp.
She mounted the bike and revved the engine.
"Wait!" Blue Eyes cried over the din. "I haven't got your name!"
She grabbed her helmet. "People call me Tomoyo," she said as she put the helmet on. Then she rode away from the pier, the warehouse, the music and the man.
~~~tsuzuku