L-chan's notes: How many years have gone by since I last posted? I'm sorry, everybody. This one just wasn't happening for me. But now I'm going to finally introduce the long-awaited plot point, and hopefully that will give me a jump into writing the next chapter.
Disclaimer: See Chapter 6.
Take My Advice
Chapter 7—Someone Else
"She's what?" Syaoran crossed his arms over his chest and shook his head vehemently. "No way. Absolutely not."
"Now, Syaoran-sama," Wei said calmly as he tried to placate the young master of the house, "it's only natural that a boy would find Meiling-sama lovely and charming and, therefore, wish to spend some time in her company."
Syaoran closed one brown eye and regarded his cousin as she stood behind Wei, all dressed up and ready to go out. Lovely and charming? Are we talking about the same girl? There had to be a way around this. He didn't know why, but he hated the idea of Meiling going out with some guy. Maybe it's because she's so young, he thought, which didn't make sense, as they were the same age. "What did her mother say?"
"She agreed with me that Meiling-sama is perfectly capable of deciding whether she's ready to date. We're all very proud of the mature young lady she's become."
Meiling stuck her tongue out at Syaoran.
The boy sighed, knowing that he was about to lose this battle. "So, who is it?" I need to know who to beat up later.
"Tomori Kioshi-kun," Meiling replied.
"Who?"
"From the paper. Can I go now? I'm going to be late."
"Where are you going?"
She tapped her foot impatiently. "The movies." She was going to meet Tomori at the theater and then go for ice cream after. It wasn't exactly what she'd always dreamed her first date would be, but she was still excited. At least, she'd been trying all day to convince herself that she was. "Is the interrogation over, or should I call my lawyer?"
"You can go. What do I care?" Syaoran replied indifferently. But when she was gone, he ran to the phone. He quickly punched the numbers and listened to the ringing on the other end.
"Kinomoto residence," a man answered tersely.
Syaoran clapped his hand over his eyes and groaned silently. Why did it have to be him? "Sakura, please," he requested with strained civility.
"Who is this?" the voice asked suspiciously.
If Syaoran could get his ofuda to transmit fire through the phone line, Touya would be a crispy critter. "How many boys call your sister?" he retorted. Then he wondered if he should be worried. How many boys do call her?
"Anyway, she's not here."
"She's not?"
Touya sighed. "That's what I said. Are we done here? Because I have better things to do."
"Where did she go?"
There was a clattering sound as Touya carelessly dropped the receiver onto the table. "Plushie, phone!" Syaoran heard him yell.
A few seconds later, Kero picked up the line from Sakura's room. "This better be important. I'm right in the middle of—" There was some computer-generated screaming before the theme music to his video game started playing, signifying the end of his character's life. "Stupid two-bit hedge wizard," he muttered.
"Where's Sakura?" Syaoran asked, wondering why he was still on the phone with these weirdoes.
"Over at Tomoyo's." Kero's words were punctuated with the sounds of his game restarting.
I knew that, Syaoran thought. She told me they were working on her sewing today. How did I forget? "Okay, thanks."
"Hey, want to come over and play some Di—" The rest of Kero's question was cut off as Syaoran hung up the phone.
Now what? There had to be someone else he could call. Yamazaki was probably with Mihara, and Ishida would still be in bed with the flu…. Oh, no. I can't. But his fingers began dialing, pressing the buttons against his will.
"What can I do for you, Li-kun?" The smarmy voice answered before Syaoran could even identify himself. But that wasn't necessary when you called him.
He'd never hated himself or the other boy more than at this moment. This was what desperation did to a person. "Want to go to a movie, Hiiragizawa?"
***
Meiling arrived at the theater early. She was more nervous than she was willing to admit, and she was beginning to wish she'd worn her hair down instead of pulling it into a bun. Now she didn't have anything to twist around her fingers as she waited. She started fiddling with the snap catch on her purse, clicking it open and closed in a restless rhythm.
She didn't know what to do on a date. She didn't even know anything about Tomori outside of the newspaper. They had always been in different classes. What are we going to talk about?
After their trip to the craft store yesterday, she'd asked Sakura and Tomoyo for advice. The irony didn't escape her as she'd brought up her dilemma, her cheeks pink with embarrassment. After they'd finished teasing her, saying that their little Meiling-chan was all grown up, they imparted the wisdom of their own limited dating experience.
Ask him about himself, Sakura had advised. When you find something you have in common, you'll have something to talk about.
Just be yourself, Tomoyo had told her. That's why he likes you.
Oh, and compliment him, Sakura had added. Some guys like that.
Meiling went over these ideas in her head. Compliment myself. Be common. No, wait…
"Been waiting long?"
She spun around. Tomori had approached from the opposite direction, so she didn't see him coming. "You really need to stop doing that," she said.
"But it's so much fun." He smiled at her, so she couldn't really get upset with him. "That's a nice sweater," he said, making her remember her friends' advice. Compliment him. Ask him about himself. Find out what you have in common.
"Thanks. I like your jacket." Well, this is the most riveting conversation ever. "Where did you get it?"
"Yazawa's."
Bingo! "Oh, that's a great store. I go there all the time. Are they having any good sales?"
"I don't know. I don't really like to shop."
Bzzzt. So much for that. "My cousin doesn't like to shop, either. I always have to drag him with me." She didn't know why she brought up Syaoran. She thought she was just trying to keep the conversation going. Plus, she thought he'd look good in that jacket, only in green instead of red.
"Well, most guys don't like shopping," he said. "We'd rather shave our heads than try on clothes. So, what movie do you want to see?"
She blinked as she tried to assimilate the new topic. "I hear Losing the Game is good. Have you seen it yet?"
"Nope. Let's get in line."
She tried not to be too obvious as she looked at him. He was pretty cute, but she'd never really noticed before, probably because he got on her case all the time. His straight black hair was slicked back, and his white t-shirt and black jeans were casual without being sloppy. It was a little strange; she'd never seen him in anything but the school uniform before. It was like he was out of context here. Like he was a different person.
"I hope the movie isn't too mushy for you," she said as they waited for tickets, "but I like that kind of thing. What about you?" She really didn't know anything about him.
"I'll watch just about anything, but I'm really into science fiction and fantasy the most. You know, magic and all that crazy stuff."
"Yeah, crazy." Syaoran liked going to those movies, too, but only to point out how unrealistic they were. That would never work, he'd say, or, they're not using the right kind of crystal for that spell. There she went, thinking about Syaoran again. She was on her very first date with a perfectly nice boy, so why was she thinking about her cousin?
They reached the front of the line, and after buying the tickets, Tomori turned to her with a grin. "Do you like popcorn?"
"I love popcorn." She gave him her brightest smile, determined to give him her full attention for the rest of the afternoon.
***
"I certainly was surprised when you invited me out today. Let's hope Sakura-san doesn't get jealous," Eriol joked as he and Syaoran stood in line for tickets.
The brown-haired boy wasn't listening as he concentrated his power on locating Meiling. For all I know I'm at the wrong theater, he thought. Then his eyes went wide as he recognized her unique aura behind one of the doors. She's here.
"Can I help you?" the woman behind the ticket counter asked impatiently.
Syaoran hadn't realized that they'd already reached the window. He had no idea what movie to ask for. He just knew which theater Meiling was in. "What's playing in theater three?"
The woman looked at him strangely. People didn't usually choose a movie based on which theater it was in. "Losing the Game," she replied.
Good, a sports movie. He nodded. "Two student tickets, please," he said distractedly. He was so used to paying for either Sakura or Meiling that he bought Eriol's ticket without thinking. "Come on," he said to his companion. "It's already started."
Eriol cozily looped an arm around Syaoran's shoulders. "Now, Syao-chan, aren't you going to buy your date some popcorn?" he asked, his blue eyes twinkling with mischief.
"This isn't a date, you jackass," Syaoran scowled, shoving his ancestor away. "Buy your own damn popcorn."
"Well, this is the last time I go out with you," Eriol huffed as he followed the other boy into the theater, popcornless.
The theater was dark, except for the flickering light of the film on the screen. Syaoran could see two empty seats in the back row. "Let's sit here," he said, getting shushed by several people nearby. "Sorry," he muttered.
Eriol's toothy grin was visible in the darkness, just like the Cheshire Cat's. "Feeling a bit naughty, are we? I don't normally sit in the back on a first date, but, since it's you—"
"Will you shut the hell up?" Syaoran was shushed again. This was a bad, bad idea. He didn't even know why he was here. He sank down in the seat and propped his elbow on the armrest. The movie was in the middle of a long scene between some guy and a crying girl, and then continued on to a scene between the crying girl and her friends, with no sign that sports were going to factor in any time soon.
He tried to convince himself that it was just boredom that made him look around the theater. He stretched in his seat and craned his neck, hoping he wasn't being too obvious. He recognized Meiling, not so much by sight as by intuition, several rows up and on the opposite aisle, and, sure enough, she was sitting next to a boy. He still couldn't believe it. He didn't even know this guy, but he suddenly wanted to hit him, and hard.
He'd only felt this way once before, when Eriol had first come to Tomoeda. He remembered how Eriol had weaseled his way into their little group of four, trying to get close to Sakura. Of course, the reason why was revealed later, but at the time, Syaoran couldn't even look at Eriol without wanting to do serious physical harm to his person. Tomoyo had teased him about it endlessly until he realized that she was right—he was jealous, because he liked Sakura.
But it's not the same. It can't be the same.
He focused his attention back on the movie. There was more crying as the girl and the guy broke up again. He must have missed the part where they got back together. Hey, this isn't a sports movie. It's some dopey love story.
The absurdity of what he was doing hit him. He was spying on Meiling and her date, sitting next to Eriol and watching a chick flick. Syaoran groaned and sank lower in his seat. What's wrong with me?
Eriol had been observing his perplexed descendant with amusement. He'd seen the mix of emotions that had crossed the other boy's face—curiosity, anger, confusion, realization, denial, and, finally, embarrassment. It was more than enough for one day. As entertaining as it was to see Syaoran suffer, even this was a bit much. He leaned over and whispered, "I'm starving. Let's go get some lunch. My treat."
***
"What was that all about, Li-kun?" Eriol asked after several minutes of silent eating.
Syaoran kept his eyes down as he took a sip of his soda. "I don't know what you mean."
"Well, let's see. You call me up, buy my ticket for a romantic movie, and insist on sitting in the back of the theater. So, other than the obvious, which we both know is preposterous, what's going on?"
"I really wanted to see the movie," Syaoran lied, and badly. "Everyone else was busy."
"Uh huh." The silence resumed as the two boys thoughtfully chewed their hamburgers, their minds occupied on things other than the savory flavor. "You're afraid you're going to lose her, aren't you?" Eriol asked with rare seriousness.
"Who?"
"Exactly." Syaoran's eyes narrowed in confusion, and Eriol decided he should elaborate. "Once you figure that out, your problem will be solved." Well, that was still annoyingly cryptic, but half the fun was watching his cute descendant muddle through his riddles. He couldn't give everything away.
Syaoran dipped three french fries in the ketchup and popped them in his mouth. "I have no idea what you're talking about." But part of him did. He knew he had a choice to make. He just didn't know what that choice was, or what his decision would be.
"I know I'm not your favorite person on the planet," Eriol said, less serious than before, "and I wouldn't have it any other way. I don't expect you to confide in me. But there has to be someone you could ask for advice."
"What makes you think—" But there was no point in denying it. He didn't know how, but there it was. Whatever Eriol knew or thought he knew, it was close enough to what had been bothering him lately. And he needed to talk to someone about it. But it has to be someone I can trust completely. Someone who can be absolutely objective. And, most importantly, someone who won't blab.
When Syaoran returned to the apartment, alone, Meiling hadn't come back from her date, and Wei was out running errands. It was just as well. He needed some time to himself, to think and figure out this mess.
He fell onto his bed and stared up at the ceiling, folding his arms behind his head. When did all this start? he wondered. Lately Sakura was always busy with her clubs or Tomoyo, leaving him with Meiling. He should have missed his girlfriend, but instead he enjoyed the chance to spend more time with his cousin. Until everything suddenly got confusing.
Why is this happening now? Why do I feel like I have to choose between them?
He didn't know how long he sat there. No matter how much he thought about it, he still didn't know what he was going to do.
He sighed and went over to his desk to start on his homework. When he opened his backpack, he came across the school newspaper. It was folded back to the third page, which featured the activities calendar for the coming week. He was about to pitch the paper into the trash when a headline caught his eye.
"Everyone Needs Hope."
Eriol's words came back to him. There has to be someone you could ask for advice.
No way. That's got to be the dumbest idea ever. Only girls write to advice columns. But even as he was thinking all this, he knew that he didn't really have any other options. So he sat down at his computer and began to type.
"Dear Hope…."
~~-~~
Sorry for the delay in updating. I knew where this chapter was going to go, and even started writing it when I was still working on Chapter 6, but then I kind of lost interest in it while I worked on "Shadows". I'll try not to take so long next time. Thanks for your patience.