A/N (PLEASE READ) I've decided to make this story longer than I originally wanted it to (I hope you're cheering!), because I have a great plot now, thanks to you people! Thanks again! I'm going to incorporate some of my ideas with some of yours, yeah? I appreciate your help! –grins-
Disclaimer: I get weary of this thing. I do not own anything you recognize.
Chapter Six: Brewing Trouble
Syaoran felt dread in the pit of his stomach.
Oh boy. Here we go again.
He had friends at school now, but he was a guy. And the friends were girls. It just wasn't the same.
Dressed in some dark green khaki pants, a black t-shirt with a button up green shirt over it, of course unbuttoned, he made his way down to the kitchen and did everything that he normally did. He just plain ignored his sisters blinking at him, still trying to get used to this new image of him while his mother looked on with an expressionless face.
Ah well, his family was weird so he didn't comment.
Sliding on his backpack he gave his family a quick wave before jogging off to school.
When he got there, Chiharu, Rika, Naoko, Tomoyo and Sakura came and greeted him.
"Hey Syaoran!" Sakura welcomed, and at the same time, the rest of her friends all chimed, "Hey Li!"
Surprised, unused to greetings, and at the same time touched by this, Syaoran could only open and close his mouth, looking like a fish. Albeit, a very adorable fish.
Giggling behind her hand, Tomoyo nudged Sakura.
Blushing, Sakura asked,
"Um, Syaoran? Are you ok?"
Sensing some inside sort of joke going on, Syaoran closed his mouth abruptly and only replied,
"Yeah, sure. Let's go,"
All the girls nodded and walked with him to inside the school. (A/N: This part was pointless, I know, but I'll get to the good stuff, ok? This is going to be a very busy chapter, and it's very important to the next chapters coming up. And I know, this chapter isn't my best work, but I'm very tired at the moment, plus I have minor writer's block even though I know what I want to do with this story, I'll try to be cheerful though!)
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Before anyone knew it, lunch time had come. Although, Syaoran was still a bit annoyed at an incident that happened in second period.
"Li? Will you please come up to the board and demonstrate how to solve this problem?" his teacher asked, gesturing to a math problem up on the board. Automatically, Syaoran answered in a monotonous voice that was bordering a bored drawl,
"Yes Mr. Assonina," (he was secretly laughing at his teacher's very feminine last name) and got up from his seat, moving to the blackboard. Picking up a piece of chalk, he glanced over the question and quickly solved it in his mind.
Then, deftly, he wrote down the answer and started explaining to the class how he did it, showing his work neatly beside the question. Once he finished, he placed the chalk back on its powdery ledge and receded back to his seat.
"Thank you Li," he heard the teacher comment. Syaoran gave a nod.
But then it was only back at his seat did he finally notice the silent looks being sent his way.
Then the silence was punctuated with a squeal.
Well, he certainly knew where this was going.
So, he now was trying to evade the sneaky girls (only they were not very sneaky) trying to stalk him. Talk about subtle, thinking he couldn't hear their giggles and their hair that poked out from around the corner of the hall.
This naturally led to a very agitated Syaoran.
He hurried along in the hallways and halted when he saw Sakura and her group of girls. Relieved, he rushed up to them and hissed,
"A little help here?" and jabbed a thumb at the corner, where hushed whispering could be heard, disapproval lining the voices. It was probably directed at the group of girls that Syaoran was talking to.
"Oh…" all of them chorused.
Tomoyo had a gleeful shine to her eyes.
"This is so cute! So dramatic! I should've brought my video camera…" here she looked stumped, and she just…drooped for a moment. But then, being Tomoyo, she perked up again, "Well, that's ok! I can just draw pictures of you guys, it'll be just as good as a movie!" She quickly whipped out a notebook, a habit that Syaoran had soon come to learn, along with her recording. No wonder Sakura and Tomoyo were best friends, they seemed to have an obsession with notebooks.
Sweat dropping and shaking his head, Syaoran plastered on a big, bright smile and started chatting with them, making it look like he was flirting.
"Hey, so what's your favourite colour?" Syaoran asked conversationally.
"Purple," came Tomoyo.
"Yellow." Chiharu said, after thinking for a moment.
"Pink!" Sakura chirped, clapping her hands together.
Syaoran chuckled at this childish response, and a half smile tilted his features, eyes softening. He had no idea what it was about her.
"Um, red, because it's scary," Naoko finally announced, her love for ghost stories finally coming through. Sakura shrunk back a little, which Syaoran noticed with great amusement.
"What about you, Rika?" he questioned the quietest of the group.
"Er…I like maroon," her timid response came.
He nodded kindly.
"What's your favourite colour, Syaoran? Or should I say, Romeo?" Sakura teased lightly, nudging him with her elbow and unaware of Tomoyo's beaming face and the raised eyebrows from the rest of her friends.
Syaoran, perfectly aware of all the reactions, flushed.
"U-uhm, uh…green…" he half mumbled, lowering his gaze to the ground.
"Ooh, I should've guessed…that suits you so much!" Sakura sarcastically said, rolling her eyes, but nonetheless pulled out her trusty notebook and jotted it down, before speaking again, "This comes from a person who doesn't appreciate Mother Nature! Humph, hypocrite."
"Hey!" Syaoran looked offended, "I like the colour, and just because a lot of 'Mother Nature' is green, that doesn't mean anythin. Besides, you're way too freakish about all this 'save the earth' stuff,"
Sakura's mouth dropped open indignantly.
"No way! You did not just say that. –You did not just say that! Oh my god, don't speak about my nature that way!"
"Your nature," Syaoran said in disbelief, grunting at the end. "Well, I have my own opinion about it you know,"
"Mine's better!"
"Sakura, stop acting like a child,"
"I'm not acting like a kid!"
"Yes, you are,"
"No,"
"Yes,"
"No,"
"Yes,"
"NO!"
"YES, Sakura, and that's final."
"Oh, and this is coming from a guy who's way too grown up for his own good!"
"Hey, that's not true! And even if it were, you should try growing up in my house."
"Mansion, you mean,"
"Right, mansion. But still, you should, you would turn into an adult faster than you can say…uh, hoola hoola!"
"Hoola hoola?" Sakura snorted, "What is this? Hawaii?"
And so it continued. What a shifty, weird friendship. The stalking girls behind the corner were long forgotten, as were Tomoyo, Chiharu, Rika, and Naoko. How sad.
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Seruina frowned from around the corner as she watched her new idol, Syaoran, and that Sakura Kinomoto girl argue. They were…were…flirting! Well, arguing usually wasn't flirting, at least not in her opinion, but it was just pointless arguing and it was like they were teasing each other. Which was flirting, in a manner.
"Mai-Lang?" she looked around for her best friend.
"Yeah Seruina?" Someone whispered back. It was from a girl with long black hair slicked up into two neat pigtails and warm dark brown eyes.
"Where's Ying? She was supposed to come stalk Li with us," she named her other best friend.
"Eh…" Mai-Lang scratched her head. "I think we lost her somewhere over at another hallway. She probably stayed to stare at Xien."
Seruina rolled her eyes.
"Figures," she muttered. "Anyway, do you think I have a chance with Li?" she gave her friend a piercing look with her own lighter dark brown eyes.
"Well…" Mai-Lang started out hesitantly, avoiding her friend's intense eyes. Then, before she could lie to her best friend, she blurted, "I really don't think so. I don't think Li likes all the girls chasing him. He's just not interested. Besides, I think he likes the Kinomoto girl,"
As soon as she finished speaking, she held her breath for what she knew was to come.
…But, surprisingly, it didn't come.
"Oh. Oh… I see…" the soft answer came instead, but there was something meaningful behind it.
It would've been easier to crush Seruina's hopes if Seruina had been a complete ditz and a bitch as well, but she wasn't either, that was the thing (well, she was, sometimes…but then again, everyone was at times). Mai-Lang wouldn't befriend someone like that. But, the flaw in Seruina was that when she really badly wanted something, she wouldn't give up on it until she finally realized that it was completely hopeless for her.
And, she would do a whole lot to get what she wanted. It didn't help that she was very smart.
If the Harry Potter fantasy were real, Mai-Lang was almost positive that Seruina would be placed in Slytherin, the place for the sly and cunning.
And yet, Seruina could also be so selflessly kind as well, once she realized what she did was wrong. Sadly, that was only after she had given up on what she wanted.
And from the looks of it, she wanted Syaoran Li, badly. She was infatuated, and Mai-Lang just didn't have the heart to tell her to stop it before she got in too deep.
Yes, she knew Mai-Lang was a coward and she shamed herself for it, because she knew that so many people had gotten hurt because she and Ying, Seruina's other best friend, had only stood by and watched everything happen. Not daring to interfere, not daring to help.
And this time, she knew it would be no different.
Mai-Lang, oh-so-faithful best friend already saw the familiar steely, evaluating look appear in Seruina's eyes.
She sighed, closing her eyes.
Here we go again. I hate this.
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"La, la la, LA!" Sakura hummed as she strutted down the hall of the school, backpack over her shoulders.
She was heading for the front door to go home since it was at the end of the day (yes, Syaoran had finally lost the silly stalker girls).
However, she stopped humming for a moment once she spotted something. She retreated back a few steps, pausing curiously at an interesting looking poster tacked on a bulletin board.
Her eyes skimmed over it.
The Valentine's Day Dance
Hey all you hopefuls out there! If you still haven't found the romance out there that we all know you deserve, why don't you come to the Valentine's DayDance? It's just the perfect chance to ask that special someone to go there with you, or maybe that special someone will ask you? Candy, drinks, chips, and of course, chocolate are all included in the overall cost. This of course, all leads to the romance, which what Valentine's Day is all about! Tickets are only five dollars and fifty cents…that's right, you heard me, only five dollars and fifty cents, and it's all you can eat snacks there too. So come get your ticket, just come over to the office and take a form, ask your parents to sign, pay some money, and voila! You can go. Oh, but remember to get a ride home for the dance, which takes place right after school. Song lists will be submitted to each class, asking you what songs you would like to be played at the dance. Remember to include some slow songs, I know all you males out there are blushing, but hey, it'll be fun! The dance will be right on Valentine's day. So join the fun at the most popular dance of the year. You'll be missing out on a lot if you don't go.
Sakura felt a slow smile blossom over her face. She wanted to go! The person who wrote the poster was very convincing as well, she was sure that most of the teachers wouldn't approve of what was written there, and that was precisely what would compel a lot of students to go. That, and, the prospect of romance…
She sighed, feeling her smile fade. Nobody would send her a valentine, much less ask her to the dance (probably not anyway).
The last person that had asked her to the dance and given her a valentine had been…
No, she didn't want to think about that at the moment.
Just thinking about that made her stomach sick, but she was already long over it.
Shaking her head and letting out a wistful smile, Sakura sped to the office, stopping in front of it.
She carefully pushed the door open and stepped inside. Standing in front of the nearest desk, she tapped her fingers on it, making a drumming sound. Then, once she was sure she had gotten the secretary's attention, she inquired politely,
"Um, can you tell me where the forms for the Valentine Dance are, please?"
The secretary gave her a small, amused smile at which Sakura was confused at, and turned to the side, pointing at a quite obvious tray on a rack.
"They're right there,"
Sakura stared at the tray for a moment, now not quite as confused as before, a sweat drop slowly making its way down her head.
She coughed, face blushing with embarrassment. (A/N: This happens to me sometimes. –hides face- Oh my god, it's so embarrassing!)
"Oh. Uh, eheheh, thanks?"
The secretary laughed.
"Oh, no problem at all dear, I was like that when I was younger too. Don't worry about it, happens to all of us,"
Sakura gave a relieved smile at this and thanked the nice lady with a nod of her head, saying,
"I'll remember that, thanks!"
"You're quite welcome!"
She then trotted up to the rack, noticing it was all decorated with pink and red hearts where the tray was. Sweat dropping once again at her stupidity, she picked up a form from the tray.
She folded it, pushing it into her pocket. Then she pondered.
Hmmm, maybe she could ask Syaoran to go with her to the dance, as friends. She perked up at the idea.
Yeah, then she wouldn't be so alone. He always brought a smile to her face, and she only knew him for, what? A few days.
And with that thought in mind, she grabbed another form for Syaoran and skipped out the doors of the school and proceeded to walk home.
She started to hum again, only this time it was an actual song, unlike before when she was just…um, humming nothing in particular. Right now she was humming this great song that she absolutely adored. It was an oldie, but she loved it anyhow.
Sakura sighed, she loved this song so much, she hoped that it would be played at her own graduation in the future, but she wasn't so sure since it was a really old song. Well, it was around four to five years old at the moment, did that count as really old? She wasn't sure.
She started singing the other verses, but raucous laughter stopped her. Brows furrowed, she peeked behind her, where she heard the laughing coming from. Her eyes turned round at what she saw.
Three swaggering boys were headed her way.
They were clearly drunk.
They all had bottles in their hands, probably alcohol or beer.
They all had wrinkled, dirtied clothes.
They all had haggard appearances.
They had wild looks in their eyes, as if looking for something, or someone.
Sakura wasn't stupid, she knew what this all meant: trouble. She had heard about things in the news, she had read books, she knew what could happen to her, even though she had thought nobody in her neighbourhood, or in Tomoeda for that fact, would do that kind of stuff.
This only showed where naivety could go.
So, Sakura, now frightened but trying to stay calm, started rapidly walking faster without trying to draw attention to herself (she was almost positive that the three guys could outrun her if they tried), pumping her legs until they hurt from trying not to run.
But in her haste, she knew she had made one fleeting mistake. And it wasn't a good mistake as far as mistakes went.
Crinkle, crinkle. Crack.
She stepped on a plastic bottle lying on the sidewalk.
Watching in horror as it made a loud crackling noise and hearing the laughter stop, becoming dead silent right after. She didn't have to look to know that they were now gazing at her. The hairs at the back of her neck prickled ominously.
This couldn't be happening to her. This type of stuff just didn't happen to her.
And so she did the only thing she could.
As the adrenaline coursed through her veins, and her breathing became shallower. Her heart was beating painfully against her chest.
Thump.
Thump.
You're not fast enough, you're not going to get away… A small voice whispered in the depths of her mind, going by unnoticed.
For, there really was only one thing on her mind.
Run.
Run, Sakura.
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A/N: Busy chapter, yup, this chapter was very crucial. Yes, this is shorter than normal! YES! Go me! I managed a short chapter! I know, I know, you must be wondering, why am I cheering when I should be apologizing? Well, you see, my dear readers, I have good reason. I've noticed my chapters are getting really long, and that I'm only up to my seventh, technically sixth chapter in my story when I feel like I'm up to my eighth or ninth! This is because of my atrociously long chapters. If I want to stretch this story beyond eleven or twelve chapters, I have to make my chapters shorter, sorry! I know this chapter isn't the best, -shrugs- but I explained before somewhere in the chapter.
Question: There's no Sakura in Hong Kong! How can there be a Sakura in Hong Kong unless Syaoran went to get her from Japan?
Answer: I get weary of this. Lol, just kidding, but like I said before, this story is AU, which means alternate universe, which means I can do anything to the characters of the CCS cast and manipulate them however I want to. So, in my story, Sakura doesn't live in Japan at the moment, it was explained how she used to live in Japan but moved to Hong Kong when she was very little.
Question: Oh my god, there aren't gonna be major problems right?
Answer: Ha ha, I'm just answering this question for my own amusement (jeez, I'm like Eriol in a way), since it really isn't very important. But, as for this, I'm not going to say, but it won't be too heart-breaking because just thinking about those stories where SS encounters a lot of problems to get themselves together and they're constantly breaking each other's hearts just makes me weary. No, it's not going to be like that, unless you want me to! Do you? I wasn't planning to, but do you? I could, if you want, but not as angsy as what I just said.
Question: Is there going to be some ET and YC in this fic?
Answer: Um, as for the ET part, yes, there is going to be some of that stuff, even though I'm not a particularly big fan of theirs. About YC, eh…-scratches head sheepishly- what's that anyway? Sorry! I'm sure if you give me their names I'll know though, and I can answer in my next chapter.
Question: Was Syaoran in his cool clothes when he was with Sakura for the first time? I mean, I'm pretty sure that he had his cool clothes on with Yamazaki and Eriol. I'm confused!
Answer: Uh…ahem, well. I answered this before in another chapter. Read over that second chapter more carefully, you'll see that he wasn't in his cool clothes at all until Monday! Well, we all miss things sometimes, but it's ok, I tried to make it as obvious as possible that he was in his geeky clothes the whole weekend, but I guess I didn't make it obvious enough. Sorry!
Question: Why is it that in Chapter One, everybody talks about how ugly Syaoran Li is but in this chapter, they are shocked at finding out his name?
Answer: Good point. I missed this myself, but that was only an example. I mean, I'll try to make myself clear. For people who actually meet Syaoran and know his name, and remember it and know that the person in front of him is actually Syaoran Li, they say that. But the people at school didn't know that, nor notice what his name is because they never pay attention to him or the attendance the teacher takes past their own name. Good point though! I'm glad you noticed it!
Alright, I know you're killing me right now with this long author's note, but…ah, I need to do this! oO Really, I do. It's for your own good! Yup. -nods head knowingly-
Some replies to reviews! Sorry everyone can't have one, I just don't have the strength, lol.
Cherryxxblossom: Hey! You're becoming a regular I'mreplying to, love your reviews. By the way, you wanna travel around the world when you grow up? Hey, me too! Yah, see, we can be buddies and then we'll meet up in Rome or something and then we'll instantly recognize each other as fellow fanfictioners even though we've never met or seen each other before! …Yea, I know, I know, I'm being crazy now, aren't I? But thanks for reviewing anyway, and keep on reviewing!
Tsubamene: Aw, I'm sure the fic you're trying to write is good too! See, if you post the first chapter up soon, I just might remember to review it (I have such a bad memory, haha :D). Thanks for your review and keep reviewing!
CherrySakura5: Yeah, I know this doesn't have a lot of fluff, but things must come first! –waggles finger- Lol, but that's ok, just keep reviewing, please?
SkyStar: I can see you didn't have chocolate this time, lol! Keep reviewing!
Mariko: Konnichiwa to you too! Your question is answered in the 'question and answer area' as I like to call it, lol. Don't worry, we all get confused sometimes! As for your idea, I might use it, kinda, just keep reading to find out if I will! And keep reviewing!
Rema: Sorry girl, I couldn't update the next day, but I hope this is fine with you! Keep R&R!
Cristal-shian: My grandpa's getting better, and so my privilege on the computer is getting better. His appendix actually did explode, that's why it's so serious. Wah, I didn't know that before! Nobody tells me anything nowadays…-pouts-. Thanks for your concern though, keep R&R! Your answer's up above somewhere,
Pinaygrrl: I especially love your reviews, you know? They make me feel all happy…if there were a sticker for an awesome reviewer, I would give it to you. Thanks for reading and reviewing, keep on doing it!
Chinita92: Uhhh…-goggles nervously at you- this, is kinda scary. I'm guessing you like Syaoran a lot? Eheheh, well that's ok, I love him too! We can be Syaoran fangirls together! Lol, I know I'm scary too. And as for pictures of Syaoran, I have all kinds. Him angry (it's so cute), sleepy, lovey-dovey, nervous, blushing, flustered, all soft, serious, concentrated, scared, freaked out, annoyed, glaring, contemplating, cold…um, that's all I can think of for now but I know there's more. As for the scenes, they're mostly with Sakura. I even have one in his swimming trunks! Hey, I can also be your internet pal, no prob. Um, here, I'll dedicate the next chap to you, k? Keep R&R! Whew, this was a long reply.
Renzieyoung: Thanks for your ideas, I'll think about it. Keep reviewing!
Wolf Jade: I'm sorry your grandfather died, you must've been close to him, huh? I love your review by the way, and I might use your idea, but I don't like writing about those old criticizing geezers they call Elders a lot in my stories, they always ruin everything, lol! So I probably won't, but thanks for your suggestion, you can use that for your own story though, it's your idea! Keep R&R, I loved the long review, thank you.
Illusion Dragon: You're so sweet…always one of the first to review too! I love you gurl, in a friendly way of course. –sweatdrops- Well, you know that I sent you those kawaii pictures of Syaoran and crew, but I haven't been able to make my email work again. So, can you tell me in a review what you think of them? Thanks, I would really appreciate it! And as for your suggestions, I'm going to use some of them actually, and you're right, they are overused, but I can twist them in my own original way! Err, kinda anyway. I love your reviews!
Yeah, yeah, I know! Looong, heheh…don't kill me! –covers head-
Now, please review! No flames, but suggestions welcome!
;D