Rating: G

Disclaimer: I don't own CCS or those characters. No money being made, etc etc. The song used is by Garth Brooks. No permission there either.

Notes: I haven't written anything for CCS in a long time I know, but I heard this song last night (it's one of my favorites really) and suddenly I had this plot bunny bite me. It's a short story, I know, and may one day grow into more and become an AU, but for now this is it. Only other notes are that this is kinda an AU after Meilin "gives Li up" to Sakura in the series. It's like a snapshot that took place later in that week.

Enjoy!

The Dance

By: PB

The girl looked beautiful.

It was the first thing that past through Li's mind as he watched Meilin enter the dance. Rarely did the young Chinese girl take the time to make herself up, but when she did, it was as if the heavens opened up and bathed her in its magical glow. She wore a simple red dress, trimmed in black flowers. Her raven hair was gently pulled up in a bun with red and black ribbons woven in. She wore no make-up, but Li couldn't see how something would make her look any more perfect.

She walked on soft feet; her martial arts training allowed her to look as if she floated off the ground. Though she wore heels, not a sound was made as Meilin closed the distance between them. He smiled at her and she returned the gesture.

"Hello." Though there was music filling the small gym, the word was soft yet Li didn't have to strain to hear it.

"You look wonderful," he said and she blushed gently. The pair of Chinese teens stood still a moment allowing the music to wash over them. Li made the first moved and reached out his hand to her. Meilin took the offer appendage and together they moved to the floor.

Looking back on the memory of,

The dance we shared beneath the stars above.

The music was slow, and the pair molded together without hesitation. Meilin sighed and leaned her head onto the taller boy's shoulder. They swayed in perfect rhythm with each other and with the music. To everyone watching, they looked like the perfect couple in love, but to each other, this was a bitter dance. Just days before, she had promised to let Li go and be with the small Cherry Blossom that had stolen his heart. All the Chinese girl asked was for a single dance at the school's party that weekend. Li had agreed without pause, offering her this final request.

Meilin sighed again, and removed her head from Li's shoulder. She looked in the eyes of the boy, no- she corrected young man, that she had loved for so long. He was her entire being, her heart, mind, and soul, but, for him, she was a friend. For some, that would be enough, but for her, it never would be. She needed him to love her as she did him and, knowing that he never would, meant she had to leave. If she left Japan, maybe she could leave him and her heart behind. If she stayed, Meilin knew, she would never be able to look at him with Sakura and not feel a bit of her die. So she would leave and let him go.

Still looking into Li's eyes, Meilin spoke. "I'm leaving tonight on the last flight."

For a moment, all the world was right,

How could I have known that you'd ever say goodbye?

Li watched tears slowly come to Meilin's ruby-eyes making them even brighter. He didn't say anything but only nodded, knowing that he could not ask her to stay; she had already given him enough and to ask that last thing would be too selfish. She needed to leave almost as much as he needed her to stay. He loved Sakura, he wouldn't and couldn't deny that, but he loved Meilin too. Yes, it wasn't the same manner in which her cared for the Cherry Blossom, but it was a love none-the-less.

Meilin was the sister and best friend that had always been at his side. Her presence was a warm reminder of home, of a time that was so simple. He knew that no matter where she went, he would always care for her, but he could never give Meilin his whole heart for that was taken by another. Asking her to stay with him when he was not fully hers was unfair and so, he would let her go just as she had let him go.

Still, he could not let her leave without a goodbye and this was their special goodbye.

"I'll miss you, Mei."

Holding you, I held everything,

For a moment, wasn't I the king?

Meilin tighten her hold on Li's shoulders and wasn't even aware of the tear that moved down her cheek. "Please, don't talk." She said in a broken voice. Good-byes were something that no Li was good at and she was no exception. Good-byes meant the end of something and, currently, she didn't want to imagine an end to her and Li. Yes, she knew they would still be friends, they always would be, but things would never be the same. At this moment, everything, if she quieted her mind enough, was perfect. She was as close as she had ever been with Li, slowly moving in sync with him, and she could almost make herself believe this was a reality that could last forever.

But, the raven-haired girl knew it was fruitless to pretend this was what her future held. In a matter of hours, she would be on a plane flying home to China and away from Li. As if the fates knew that Meilin was becoming too complacent with her place with Li, the song slowly was coming to an end.

The pair stopped moving, and Meilin looked into Li's eyes with her own reflecting the love she held for him that would never die.

"Thank you for the dance," she said with a bittersweet smile on her face. The Chinese girl stepped out of the young man's arms and put her own in front of her. She bowed as she had done so many times to the elders at home.

"Meilin," Li said as he shook his head. "Don't bow to me." He put his hand on her shoulder and straightened her body. Then he pulled gently and brought her into a hug. "I will always care for you, no matter where you or I go."

The young girl nodded again his chest. "And I will always love you no matter who you love or who loves you." She pulled away again and looked at him. "But I do not expect anything from you except to be happy."

I could have missed the pain…

With that, Meilin placed a kiss to Li's cheek and turned out of the dance. She walked past her Japanese friends, making sure to smiled encouragingly to Sakura who she could never hate regardless of what had happened. The Cherry Blossom returned the gesture, but did not move towards the Chinese girl; no one did. Meilin moved out of the gym, to the car the Wei had waiting.

The car moved in the night and took the young girl away from the one person she felt she would ever love. Meilin would cry, but not now. For now, she was content to think of that last dance she had shared with Li and how utterly perfect the moment had been.

But I'da had to miss the dance.

The End.