Chapter 12
Something Familiar
Sakura heard a yell coming from around the curve of the stairs and quite suddenly, a man came bouncing down the stairs and suddenly she found herself bowled over. They hit the janitor's bucket of soapy water so not only were they bouncing, but they were wet as well. They came to a rest on the fourteenth flight of stairs.
"What the hell do you think you're doing!?" she yelled, rubbing her hip where she had hit it on the mop bucket. "Didn't you see the 'wet floor' sign? Are you blind or something?"
"No!" the man said indignantly, examining his elbow which was starting to swell, his wet brown hair dripping. "I was just preoccupied. And you couldn't just be a Good Samaritan and help stop a guy from falling?"
"And who are you to lecture me on being a courteous civilian!" Sakura yelled, with her back to the man, trying to gather the contents of her purse off the stairs. "I swear, if anything was broken because of your little suicide stairwell joy ride I'll sue you for it!"
"You'd have trouble getting past my lawyer," the man said, attempting to stand up but failing miserably by slipping on yet more soapy water.
"Oh yeah?" Sakura retorted irritably. "And who is this lawyer, because unless it was the guy who defended O.J. Simpson I'm pretty sure you wouldn't survive this lawsuit!"
"That just goes to show what you know!" the man said. "You'd be better off suing the janitor here than going up against me!"
"And what makes you the authority on that?" Sakura asked.
"Being Syaoran Li, Attorney at Law! That's what!" The man said, glaring at her.
Their eyes met.
- - -
This certainly wasn't the impression I had wanted to make, Syaoran thought. Balance impaired jackass. Oh no.
"Li?" Sakura was gaping at him, slack jawed and eyes wide.
Syaoran gave her smile. A smile he had no doubt showed how uncomfortable he was. "Oh. Hey. Sakura. How ya been?" Moron! Syaoran thought, mentally kicking himself.
Sakura was still gaping at him. "Um, not to be rude or anything, but what are you doing here?"
Quick! Think of something! But Li couldn't. He felt like a guilty convict on the witness stand, trapped with an incriminating question, and under oath. He had to lie. "Oh. Umm. . . " Whatever you do, don't tell her you came to see her!
Why not?
Because it would make you seem desperate you idiot!
Isn't that how I got into this situation in the first place?
Just shut up and do it!
"I could ask you the same question," Syaoran said. Stupid question, dumb ass.
I could say the same thing about you, crazy bastard.
Look who's talking.
Nobody's talking stupid.
"I sort of live here," Sakura said.
"Oh! Wow! Really?" Syaoran said, feeling more stupid and crazy by the second. "Right here in the city?"
"Yeah."
"We haven't talked in years!" Syaoran said, trying his best to be casual; like he hadn't just been hit with a blast from the past. Or rather, like he hadn't just hit his blast from the past. It amazed him how enthusiastic his voice sounded, when all he wanted to do was slip down the stairs like a waterfall and not have to deal with this right now. Hadn't he melted already? No? Crap.
Sakura's eyes narrowed.
She hates me. He thought
"Uh – huh," she said coldly. "It's been a while."
"I saw you in the paper," he said. "And Envy magazine. It seems like you're doing pretty well."
"Yeah," Sakura said, putting her sodden cell phone in her purse. "But you still haven't answered my question. What are you doing here?"
"Ummm . . . "
- - -
How can he just sit there and act so casual? Sakura thought. The nerve! After what he put me through, there's nothing he has to say? And why is he taking so damn long!?
"Well?" she asked, irritably. "What business brings you here, Mr. Showron?"
Ha! Take that you slimy lawyer! She thought. Two can play at your game. I can make it seem like this is nothing, too!
She saw Syaoran falter. "Oh. Yeah. I was just visiting a . . . a friend."
He can't mean me. Sakura thought. I mean, he's spent ten years avoiding me. Then who? I bet it's that blonde on the fifteenth floor.
Why are you being so jealous?
I'm not being jealous.
Yes you are. Stop acting like such a girl.
I am a girl! But I'm not jealous.
Suuuure.
Stop it! Stop making me confuse myself! This is complicated enough already, thank you very much!
"Well," Sakura said, "I have many friends in this building. Anyone I know?" Get out of that one, Syaoran!
"I very much doubt it," he said vaguely.
"Try me."
But he looked very much distracted. Quite confused actually. He kept looking at the stairwell tiles and the pattern of the paint on the walls.
Strange. Sakura thought to herself.
- - -
Why does this place look so familiar? He hardly heard Sakura talking. There was a detail that was bothering him. That crack in the tile his hand was next to – the crack that looked a little like a crescent moon – he was sure he saw it before. Then, looking up, he recognized that ugly mustard yellow paint. And finally the door. The door that had the 14 on it, with the 4 slightly lopsided.
Suddenly the door opened, and he suddenly remembered when he had been there before.
A/N: Just so it's clear, Sakura's mad about one thing right now (one jackassy Li thing for the moment); he never answered any of her letters. She's about to find out a little bit more about Li the jackass. But I wrote the next chapter under the influence of writer's block, so maybe I'll change it.
