.::Spilling Stars::.
By Fantasiimaker
~Chapter Nine: Confession
For a long, torturous moment, time stood still as Sakura's last words rang loudly in her ears. What had she done? What evil demon had possessed her to make her utter such vile words to Syaoran? To Syaoran... The impact of what she had said hit her over and over again like a dark, stormy wave. Quivering, she looked at him.
His head was bowed so that she couldn't see his eyes. His fists were clenched shut and trembling ever so slightly at his sides. He had gone so terribly quiet that Sakura cringed, but remorse overrode her fear as she stepped forward.
"I...I didn't mean-" she began helplessly.
Syaoran took a step back, turning his head to the side so he wouldn't have to look at her. Then, in one swift motion, he whipped around and walked silently away.
"No, Syaoran! Wait! Please- I'm so sorry-" Sakura cried out despairingly, but she knew it would be no use. He was already out of earshot, and no matter how many times she said she was sorry, it wouldn't repair the damage that had been done. Dammit Sakura, you're such an idiot! she fiercely scolded herself. What in the world were you thinking? No, that's it; you weren't thinking.
Sinking to the ground, Sakura clutched her pounding head in her hands. If only Syaoran had shot something back at her, if only he had replied with something. Anything. Anything would have been better than that deafening silence that let her know exactly how deeply her words had hit him.
To her surprise, she felt a wetness at her eyes, which she scrubbed away quickly with the back of her hand. What right did she had to cry now? If anyone did, it would be Syaoran. All this hated self-regret wouldn't help her one little bit. She had to go catch up with Syaoran. Had to apologize, even if he wouldn't listen. Had to try with all her might to make him see that what had come bursting out of her mouth was the last thing she had wanted to say.
But she was so afraid, so hopelessly lost and confused.
Just go talk to him, and everything will be all right, she convinced herself firmly.
"Okay," whispered Sakura. "But first...just for a moment...just to compose myself..."
A fat teardrop rolled down her face, a salty river trailing after it. She let it flow freely for a few seconds, not caring much who saw. Then she buried her face in her hands and tried to dry as much of it as she could. But by doing so, she reminded herself what she was crying for, and more tears kept coming. Great, how am I going to get rid of all this now?
She felt a hand touch her shoulder. Whirling around, she began, "Syaoran, I'm sorry-!" Her tear-glistening eyes opened wide when she realized it wasn't Syaoran at all.
*****
"Too bad they left already," said Tomoyo, frowning as she sat next to Eriol in the backseat of the car. "I wonder if everything is okay between them?"
"Don't worry, they probably just wanted some time to be alone," replied Eriol, though he didn't look convinced. Sneaking a look at the perplexed Tomoyo, he decided to risk draping his arm lightly over her shoulder in comfort. He was delighted when Tomoyo, apparently lost in thought and not paying much attention, inched closer and carelessly snuggled against him.
"Ah, heaven!" Eriol sang out. He gave her a passionate squeeze.
"Hey!" complained Tomoyo, laughing and half-heartedly trying to get away at the same time. Abruptly, her laughter stopped and her eyes were glued to the window. "It's Syaoran!" she cried.
"James, stop the car please," ordered Eriol at once. The driver complied, and Tomoyo flew out of the car. "Wish she would greet me with such enthusiasm," Eriol muttered. Turning to the driver, he said, "Thanks, and I'll call again later if I need you." He stepped off quickly after Tomoyo.
"What's up, Syaoran?" called Eriol.
No reply. Syaoran simply walked right past them without a glance.
"Why isn't Sakura with you? What is it- Syaoran, are you hearing a word I'm saying?" Racing up to him, Tomoyo grabbed him by the arm. Finally, the brown-haired boy turned around with a dark expression frozen on his face.
"Leave me alone," he said tonelessly.
"No!" said Tomoyo. "Not until you tell us what's going on. Sakura's our friend too, you know. We want to know what's happening. Spill!"
Syaoran laughed bitterly. "Fine. You want to know what your friend did? I asked her a question about Keichii and she practically exploded. She said..." He closed his eyes against the pain it caused him to recall their conversation. He could hear every word as clearly as though Sakura was shouting it into his ear right this second.
"Why don't you hurry up and move again so you can forget and move on?"
"No way! She couldn't have said that!" gasped Tomoyo.
"Well, she did." With that, Syaoran turned on his heel to head off down the street. But before he could, Eriol caught him by the arm.
"Wait a minute. That makes no sense at all," he said. "Sakura wouldn't just go around saying things like that for no reason. And especially not to you, of all people."
"What are you talking about? Let go of me!" snapped Syaoran.
Ignoring him, Eriol continued, "Maybe this has something to do with what Meilin was telling her at lunch-"
"That's IT!" exclaimed Tomoyo loudly, so that both boys turned to stare at her in surprise. "It's gotta be Meilin, always trying to mess with Sakura's life. I'll bet you anything that she fed some horrible lies to Sakura, and she was too compassionate not to believe her. Ooh, I'm gonna KILL her!"
Digging around in her bag, Tomoyo retrieved a cell phone and snapped it open. "I only said maybe..." Eriol trailed off. "You have her cell number?" Tomoyo violently mouthed "Shhhhh!!" at him, and he obeyed meekly.
"Meilin? It's Tomoyo. We need to talk... WHAT! SHOPPING! I WOULDN'T CARE IF YOU WERE SHOPPING IN PARIS! WE NEED TO GET A FEW THINGS STRAIGHT RIGHT NOW!!"
Wincing, Eriol put a hand to his ear, but Syaoran looked mildly interested. "What's she saying?" he asked.
"Here I'll put it on speaker," replied Tomoyo, pressing a button.
Immediately, they all heard Meilin's voice saying, "-do you want to know? You'd better make it quick."
"What did you say to Sakura today?" Tomoyo demanded.
"Why?" asked Meilin suspiciously.
"She blew up at Syaoran and they had a big fight! Now tell me, quick!"
"Oh she did?" Her voice sounded amused. "Then I guess she really took that little comment to heart!"
"What little comment? Tell me now, Meilin, I'm warning you!"
"Nothing important, really. Just that Keichii really seems to like her now, some hints like that. You've noticed it too, haven't you?" Meilin's voice had taken on an edge of stoniness.
"And what else?" prodded Tomoyo, shooting a glance at Syaoran. His fist was clenched tightly, and he was glaring resentfully at the voice coming from the phone.
"Well," she said slyly. "I told her that I've fallen for Syaoran."
"HOW COULD YOU SAY THAT?!" Syaoran roared, making a grab for the phone. Tomoyo dodged out of his grasp.
"Hey, chill," said Eriol, smiling at the outburst of his usually quiet friend. Syaoran looked slightly abashed and calmed down, though he was still staring at the phone as though it was a particularly venomous snake.
"S-Syaoran?" Meilin stuttered on the other end. "Tomoyo, is that Syaoran?"
"Yes it is, and he just heard everything you said, so you just hurry up and explain yourself!" ordered Tomoyo triumphantly.
"Syaoran, I'm sorry, I really am-" Her voice seemed to break into cracking sobs. "-It's just that Sakura's getting all the attention now, and I never really had a chance with Keichii from the beginning. Anyone can plainly see that there's only one girl on his mind... And why he still wants her, I don't know. I mean, he's the one who completely rejected her before. Maybe because she's just so good and smart... And then Syaoran came and she had to take him right away without giving any of us a chance-"
"Sakura didn't take anybody! I'm the one who fell for her!" shouted Syaoran.
There was silence as everyone turned to gape at him.
Eriol was the first to break the quietness. "Congratulations, my friend," he announced, clapping a hand on Syaoran's shoulder. "It's official now."
"What's official?" muttered Syaoran gruffly, going redder than a sunburnt tomato. "Oh no, shut up-"
"You got it you got it bad..." Eriol crooned, batting his eyes at Syaoran. Tomoyo covered her mouth to keep from laughing aloud.
"Okay- Hello? Remember me?" came Meilin's voice, sounding annoyed. "Anyway, I know what I did was wrong, because obviously it didn't work." There was a pause, and she added hastily, "AND I know Sakura didn't deserve it. All she was trying to do was help me. Happy? Oh, and no offense to Syaoran, but I don't really like him. I...I like someone else."
"Keichii?" Tomoyo asked softly.
Meilin didn't say anything for a long while, and Tomoyo gave the two guys a knowing look.
"All right, whatever. Don't you need to go fix things with your Cherry Blossom girl now?"
"Oh, that's right!" exclaimed Tomoyo. "Thanks for reminding me, bye!" She flipped the cell phone shut. "Stop looking all clueless, Syaoran! We've got to go work things out between you and Sakura, of course! Is she still back at school?"
"Yeah, but- No, wait! I can't-!"
"Let's go! She's going to apologize, and then you two are going to make up and live happily ever after..." She went into a momentous sparkly-eyed mode, during which Eriol rolled his eyes.
"Hurry, we've got to catch her before she leaves. I'll call the car," he said quickly.
"What are you, stupid? The school's about five steps away!" retorted Tomoyo, yanking Syaoran off his feet and taking off down the sidewalk.
"More than five steps..." Eriol mumbled to the air with a hurt expression on his face. "H-hey! Wait for me!"
*****
"Keichii..." whispered Sakura, staring up at the familiar face. "What are you doing here?"
"I'm sorry, Sakura, I was just passing by and I heard everything," confessed Keichii. He looked down at his hands awkwardly, unsure of what to do. "I just... Are you okay?"
What a stupid question, she thought immediately. Why did he bother to say that, when he could see perfectly well that she wasn't okay? What, were the tears on her face invisible?
"Yeah, I'm fine," lied Sakura. She swiftly tried to wipe the wetness away. Suddenly, a white kleenex was thrust in front of her eyes. Blinking in surprise, she took the tissue gratefully and blew her nose.
"I always carry a pocket pack, just in case," Keichii smiled.
"Thanks," she said uncertainly. She couldn't deal with this now. The thought of Syaoran tugged urgently at her mind, yet she was still standing here. "Well, I've gotta go-" began Sakura, just as Keichii said, "So you and Syaoran-"
They both stopped. "Go ahead," said Sakura wearily.
"So you and Syaoran are going out?" he asked, reddening.
She couldn't believe it. Of all the questions. "If you already heard the whole thing-!" she said exasperatedly. Taking a couple of deep, shuddery breaths, she tried again. "No we aren't, but..." The look of immense relief on Keichii's face made Sakura stop. "Why do you want to know?" she asked curiously.
"Well, um, things haven't been going very well for Meilin and me lately. I've been thinking about breaking up with her," he admitted.
Oh no. Not this. This was what Sakura had feared he would bring up. Heart pounding out an unsteady rhythm, she casted fleeting glances about her, hoping to spot a quick exit somewhere.
"And, um, I was hoping we could..."
Oh god, he's going to ask me out! She had to stop this at all costs. Syaoran...
"No!" blurted Sakura quickly. "You...you can't break up with Meilin!"
For a moment, Keichii was surprised. Then he smiled. "I know, she's your good friend right? You don't want me to hurt her. I'm sorry, but right now, it's not gonna work..." He lowered his head quickly, but she saw his blush just the same. Sakura closed her eyes and groaned mentally. If only he had said these things to her a different time. Maybe even two months ago. How many months had she wished for him to think of her as more than just a great tennis partner, more than just a best friend?
"Sakura..." Keichii stepped closer and tentatively placed his hands on her arms. "I..."
*****
"Hurry up, Eriol! Now where is she?" Tomoyo peered over the small, broken trickling of students who were just leaving school.
"Should be around here somewhere..." muttered Syaoran. "Oh..."
"There she is. SAKU-!" she started to call out, but Eriol pulled her back. "What are you doing??"
"Look, she's in the middle of something," Eriol indicated patiently. Sure enough, Sakura was standing extremely close to Keichii, and he was staring right into her eyes.
"My god, I can't believe she's doing this," whispered Tomoyo.
They watched, frozen, as Keichii leaned closer...closer...his lips were on a direct path to Sakura's...
A sudden movement made Tomoyo and Eriol turn. Syaoran had jumped up and was racing away from the school as fast as humanly possible.
*****
"I..." Keichii leaned down, his face mere inches away from her wide emerald eyes, her trembling lips-
-she could tell exactly what he intended to do, and he was NOT going to steal her first kiss-
"NO!" bellowed Sakura, throwing her arms out and shoving him away from her as hard as she could. Keichii landed on the ground and stayed there, paralyzed, staring up at her in shock. Just wonderful...another guy I've hurt today, thought Sakura.
Heaving a sigh, she reached down and helped him up. "I'm sorry, Keichii. I know what you're going to say, and I have to tell you that I don't feel the same." She had never felt more sure of anything in her life. Confidently, Sakura looked him in the eye. "Things have changed. I've changed. We'll always be good friends, but right now, there's only one person that I know I couldn't live without. And that person is..."
She smiled and said the name with all the meaning in her heart. The word slipped so easily and comfortably from her tongue, felt so warm and beautiful coming from her own voice, that she knew it was right.
"Syaoran."
"Wonderfully touching speech there, Sakura, absolutely moving-"
"Shut up, Eriol! Oh Sakura, if only Syaoran had been there to hear you say that-"
"What? Why are you two here?" asked Sakura, looking from Tomoyo to Eriol in confusion.
"We were taking Syaoran back here so you could apologize for what you said!" cried Tomoyo, wringing her hands in frustration. "But- How could you try to kiss her, Keichii, you idiot!!" She shot him a deathly glare.
"But why... Where is he?" Sakura demanded urgently.
"Gone," replied Eriol. "He took off running, just before you pushed Keichii away."
*A/N- WAAAH! I reached 200 reviews! I can't believe it!! O.O T_T
First of all, a HUGE thank you to the reviewers of Chapter 8!! ::takes deep breath::
kelly, Spell Eater, Skylover, Midnight_moon, Soul Reaver, *Innocent kisses*, Shorti-chan, SweetCherryBlossom, T-man, SweetBabyGurl, silver_dragon, katana-chan, bunny angel, MimiGhost, BabyWolfGurl, (someone who didn't write his/her name..but thanks anyway! ^_^), Sparta, MEME, Anime Queen, Time Warp, midnight-moon-88, Miryah, Evil Jealousy, D a r k n e s s in H e a r t, EcuaGirl, T_T s+s YES! melin screw her (er, interesting sn), Xiao Mei, bestwishes, sKeWeD, helen, Chico0221, Mr Roboto, d, CardPrincess, lilcherrywolf, Meilin Baby 13, Always Dreaming, Sakura Song, AnimeObsessionFantasy, starquestor, HyPeR_ChErRyBlOsSoM, Mini Sweety, dilly-sammas luver, sally, sitachixter, and Winged Guardian! Whew! ^_^
~Special thanks to: MEME and sitachixter for reviewing "Dance With Me" ! :-D
~And to: sKeWeD, BabyWolfGurl, and Always Dreaming for putting me on their Favorite Authors lists! And also, thanks to all who put "Spilling Stars" and/or "Dance With Me" on their Favorite Stories lists!
You guys are the BEST! Thank you just for taking the time to read and tell me what you think. Each review uplifted my spirits infinitely (so my soul is still dancing up there in the stars somewhere ^_^) I read every single one since I get them by email first, and it feels unbelievable to see about 15 new emails when I open my mail... Anyway, please keep it up, and I look forward to seeing your comments again for this chapter and many more to come!
*To Mini Sweety, regarding a request to change what Sakura said to Syaoran in the last chapter (and to anyone else who may be wondering why Sakura would suddenly turn so mean _) : As a learning writer, I can't always make certain parts of the story or certain pieces of dialogue fit exactly right, though I do try my best! But if it truly bothers you, just think: Hasn't there been a day where you just feel crummy as heck, and when you open your mouth, out pops something completely wrong and unlike yourself? I'm sure we've all felt "out of character" days; I, for one, have many. Or it could have just been my current writing mood at the time; I wanted Sakura to be more human. Thank you for reading, and I'm very happy that you care about S+S's relationship so much; just keep reading to the end and you shall be rewarded! ^_^