.::Spilling Stars::.

By Fantasiimaker

*A/N- Thanks for the reviews!! My very first reviewers for this story: cherryblossom, Winter Dreams, hana-lai, Kitty Neko, sarah, mizutenshiai, kawaii-fairy-emma, and katana-chan!! I'm so happy T_T  Thanks for correcting me on Touya's name, it was spelled "Toya" in one of the manga... U_U  This chapter turned out longer than I thought it would...owell, that just means you get to read more! I'll stop rambling and let you read now! ^_^;;

~Chapter Two: Syaoran

Sakura plunged on along the dirt path, not really caring where she ended up as long as she could get away from that cabin. This was like one of those nightmares she'd had when she was little, of running away as fast as she could from the horrible monsters. Except this was real. Her monsters were Fujitaka and Yelan, and the thought of Keichii being with Meilin. She almost cried out at the unfairness of it all. Why did everyone else seem to be able to happily find someone to be with, even though they were completely blind to how wrong it was? Why was she the one running, and all alone? Was the whole world against her? If it was, then so be it. She wouldn't back down one step until she'd beaten it.

Clenching her fists defiantly, she came to a stop at a fork in the road. From here, she could barely see the cabin; it was only a tiny dollhouse standing a million miles away, and she didn't care to go back. She peered at the wooden sign in the center of the fork. One arrow pointed to "Whitesands Beach" and the other to "Goshawk Trail". There was bound to be more people on the beach, on a sunny day like this. Sakura turned to the trail and ran until she couldn't see the cabin anymore, until her chest heaved with exhaustion and she had to lean down to catch her breath.

"Thank god I'm taking track," she muttered to the ground, panting. That was one advantage about loving P.E.; she could run anywhere. But this run wasn't quite as enjoyable, for a bitter clenching tore at her insides, and she was sure it wasn't physical. She decided to walk instead, taking her time on the trail that was so empty of people. Tall conifers and pines were mixed in with leafy deciduous trees that had squirrels chattering all over them for the acorns. Sakura stopped to watch the antics of two squirrels that were scampering after each other's bushy tails. "Even the squirrels are against me," she smiled, strolling on through the woods.

What was she going to do? The shadows of darkness would fall soon, and she couldn't possibly stay out here into the night, could she? "I should have grabbed my bag before hurrying out so fast," she groaned. "It's getting so cold..." Shivering, Sakura rubbed her arms and started to walk more briskly for added warmth. Was she even still on the trail? All she could see was a faint trace of wavering road, with leaves and grasses taking over as she moved ahead. Well, maybe it was one of those loop trails, so she could end up where she started and find her way out. But if it wasn't...

No, she didn't want to think about it. She began to think what a fool she was for running off like that, so spontaneously, without even a little planning. Her legs began to feel weak, and she plopped down against a tree just as she was about to collapse. "I give up," she whispered, feeling moisture come to her eyes. She let the tears wash over her like rain, immersing all of her thoughts in a salty ocean. There was no one here to see anyway, she was all alone. Pulling her legs against her body to ward off the cold, she closed her eyes.

"Wait!" she cried, flinging her head up. "What am I doing, giving up so easily? I've held on for all this time, I know I can make it through this."

"You definitely will," agreed a male voice.

"That's right! I'll think of something to do. Even if I have to live out here and eat tree bark and acorns!"

"Anything...whatever happens, just don't give up," said the voice.

"That's right-" Sakura began, but stopped in mid-word. A young man stood on the edge of trail a few feet away from her. His face was turned away from her, gazing deep into the trees, and he was holding onto a pair of binoculars that were slung around his neck. A bulky backpack hung from his back.

She got up and stepped curiously closer to him, eyeing him warily. It had been hard to see him in the dusky half-darkness, but now that she was closer she could see that he was young, perhaps her age. His messy brown hair fell across his eyes, giving him a wild, careless look. He wasn't quite muscular, but there was a lean toughness to him that suggested he was good at athletics. He still wasn't looking at her, but had his eyes glued to his binoculars now.

"Are you done studying me?" His voice made Sakura jump in surprise. He lowered his eyes to hers and smiled. For some reason, she couldn't look away. His eyes were a light brown, almost amber in color, and they softened into a light-hearted twinkle when he laughed. "Not yet, I see. Am I that interesting to look at?" he teased.

Quickly, she looked away, her cheeks on fire. Why couldn't she say anything? "No, not interesting at all," she countered. "Why would there be anything interesting about you, except that your face looks like a dirty toilet seat." She cursed herself silently. That wasn't what she thought at all, his face was actually not quite bad looking. Why couldn't she say anything nice?

Her anger flared when she realized he was shaking silently with laughter. "What's so funny, stupid?" she barked, shoving him back.

His laughter died down to an amused smile. "What are you doing out here all alone?" he said, looking back to his binos.

"I-I'm...What are you doing out here? And what are you always looking at with the binoculars?"

"I asked you first. But I'll tell you. I'm here so I can spend some time alone, maybe even camp out." He indicated his bulging backpack. "And as for this, would you like to see?" Taking the binoculars from his neck, he offered them to her and, putting his hands over hers, guided her to the spot he had been looking at. At first, Sakura saw and felt nothing but the warmth of his hands, his soft breath against her hair. Then, as she slowly focused, a flash of red caught her eye. "See it?" he said into her ear.

She gasped. A small flame-colored songbird flapped its way across the dark trees with sleek black wings. The beauty of such as simple thing as its flight astonished her, and when the bird flashed out of sight, she lowered the binoculars reluctantly.

"Scarlet Tanager," said the boy, grinning at her wordlessness as she handed them back. "Feeling better now?"

"What, who says I wasn't feeling fine before?" Sakura glared at him. Why did she have to be so rude to him? She couldn't stop it.

The heavy backpack slid down to the ground, and he rummaged around inside. "You were crying," he commented nonchalantly, pulling out a bottle of water. Oh yes. Crying. She had almost forgotten. Turning away, Sakura lowered her face as the thoughts flooded her mind once again. Darn it, why did he have to bring that up now? She went back to her tree and sat down, biting her lip to keep it from trembling.

"Water?" he asked, holding out a bottle to her. Gratefully, she took it and drank, hoping that the bitter lump in her throat could be washed away. Staring down at the plastic water bottle, she didn't look at him as he lowered himself to sit next to her. "You know," he said with a contented sigh. "Just being out here makes me feel whole. There's none of the stress of the real world that you have to think about. Just toss it all away into the wind, even for a few moments. You don't have to worry about your problems, you don't have to talk to anyone-"

"Then why are you talking to me?" Sakura interrupted, turning to look straight into his surprised eyes. Hers were quivering and full of tears, and she knew she must look like a fool, but she let them stream down her cheeks. Why was she showing this weak side of her to a complete stranger? This was almost like a dream... Maybe it was a dream...

He reached out and touched her wet face, slowly brushing the tears away. The feel of his hand lingered, and Sakura wondered why she suddenly wanted it to last forever. "I don't know. I don't know why I'm talking to you," he said, not looking away from her. "Please don't ask me again." Pain suddenly clouded his bright eyes, but it was replaced so quickly by concern that she wondered if it had ever really been there. "Tell me why you're crying," he said.

No. Don't tell him. Why should she tell someone she didn't even know things that she never told anyone else? But it spilled out of her mouth before she could close it, "Keichii." She mentally kicked herself.

He nodded. "Your boyfriend?"

"No, he's not my boyfriend. He's..." she trailed off, wondering if she should really trust this guy.

"Just tell me. I don't go to your school or live anywhere close to you, so it doesn't matter."

That settled it. In a moment, Sakura was pouring everything out to him- how everything had changed when she had entered high school; how Tomoyo, her best friend since forever, still talked to her sometimes but was completely distant in school and hung out with the beautiful popular crowd now; how Meilin, her only other good friend, just had to develop a crush on Keichii... Keichii, the boy she had secretly liked since seventh grade, though it had been no secret to her best friends of course. Keichii... She bubbled on happily about him, her eyes turning bright as she described his tennis skills, his hilarious attempts at breakdancing, his seeming attraction to Meilin.

"And the worst thing is, I- I've told him how I feel," she finally admitted, and waited for the familiar sense of misery to sweep over. But it didn't come this time. She looked at the brown-haired boy, and he was still sitting there, watching and waiting patiently, his eyes focused on her. So she continued, "I told him one day, near the end of eighth grade, and his friends were there with him. He...he completely humiliated me in front of everyone. Just turned me right down." She laughed. "I'm way over him now, though, so I don't care."

"I don't think so," he stated at once, making Sakura glance up in surprise. "The way you were talking about him with such detail, I think you still like him a lot. You seem to really know him and admire him-" He stopped when he saw her head bowed, her shoulders trembling slightly. "Are you cold?" he asked gently.

"Yes," came her whispered reply. She felt a jacket slip around her, still warm from his body, and saw that he was now only wearing a dark green T-shirt and jeans in the cool dusk. "No, I can't," she protested, starting to take the jacket off, but he stubbornly wrestled it back on her.

"I don't want you freezing to death, young lady," he mocked sternly. He sounded so silly that Sakura laughed aloud, but she pulled the jacket off again and threw it at him. It hit him square in the face, and with an angry growl he pounced and wrapped the jacket over her once more, pinning her arms down to her sides so she couldn't move, even though she struggled.

She ended up with her face in chest, his strong arms locked around her. Even though they were both standing up, she still had to look up to see his face. "You're tall," she murmured into his shoulder.

"What? Did you say something? I can't really hear you," he said annoyingly, not moving an inch.

"That's because you're SQUISHING MY FACE!" At this he finally loosened his grip a little, and Sakura lifted her head gasping for sweet night air. Her head was spinning, either from the fact that she was so close to this guy she didn't even know, the earlier spill of emotions, or the momentary lack of air. She didn't really know which, and she didn't care. Suddenly, she just felt like crying.

"What's your name?" she asked, looking up at him.

He smiled. "Syaoran. And you, miss?"

"Sakura," she said. "Syaoran, may I borrow your shoulder for just a moment?"

"Whatever you wish."

"Thank you."

She buried her head in his shoulder and cried.

"Thanks, I feel much better now," said Sakura, wiping the last of her tears away and smiling ruefully at Syaoran. "I...I'm sorry for-"

"No need to apologize, I was planning to wash this shirt anyway," he said very seriously. She stared at him for a long moment. Only when she grinned did he finally permit himself to chuckle. "It's really all right," he said. "I'm glad my shoulder and I were able to offer you some assistance."

Sakura glanced at the dark sky. The sun had almost completely disappeared by now. And this boy had given her courage. "I think I should go back now," she commented.

"Okay. Bye." Syaoran waved cheerfully.

His abruptness disconcerted her, and she began to waver on her decision. "Um... well..."

"What's wrong?"

"Well... Aren't you going too?" she bursted.

"Nope. I think I'll just camp out here for the night," he said. "I have some food and a sleeping bag. It's what I came out here for. Some quality nature time." He grinned.

"Oh..." Sakura was disappointed. She had thought that perhaps he could walk with her. "Well I'm... kinda lost. Do you know how to get back to the beach-trail fork?"

"It's just that way." Syaoran pointed straight ahead. "Follow that trail, and it'll lead you to the fork. Do you need me to come with you?"

Yes! Yes! I need you to come! "No, it's okay. I'll be fine," she smiled reassuringly. "Have fun staying here, with all the lions and tigers and bears and other scary night creatures!" She made a face at him.

"I will!" he laughed. "And with the calls of owls and nighthawks, the wind rushing through the pines, and the stirring of sunset in the morning." He winked at her. Suddenly, she wanted so much to stay with him that her sadness probably showed through in her face, because he came to her and handed her the binoculars. "Keep them," he said. "Take good care of them too, they were quite expensive. Use them well. Oh, and don't ever smile, every time you do all men within a five mile radius swoon to the ground." Sakura laughed at the image his words conjured up.

Syaoran leaned forward and kissed her hair swiftly, not letting go as he murmured into it, "Hurry up and go now, your parents are probably sick with worry." He gave her a little push, propelling her in the right direction. She kept walking quickly, not trusting herself to keep her feet going forward if she dared to looked back.

*A/N- Ack! I still didn't resolve the Fujitaka/Yelan thing yet. Sorry... you'll find out in the next chapter, I promise. ^_^ Thanks again for the reviews, plz plz keep it up! Just click the button right down there and tell me what you think. You're the wonderfullest! :-D