Chapter 12 – Reliving The Memories

Sakura held a dress to the front of her body as she twirled in front of the full-length mirror. She was unsure whether to wear the dress or not. It was lovely; she'd picked it out months ago when she met the beautiful sight as she window-shopped. The elegant dress shimmered as the different specks of light hit it, and when Sakura noticed this, she knew it had to be hers. It was a lavender strapless dress with complicated designs at the back and right side, revealing a little, yet enough to make men drool. Was it going to be too much for Syaoran? Would he like it? Her heart automatically pounded at the thought of him. Sakura squealed and started changing.

Wearing a rather expensive tuxedo, Syaoran squirmed inside it. The tux was a black pair of pants with a black blazer over a white, collared blouse. He opened the first two buttons to relieve of the heat wrapping around him that night. He didn't wear a bowtie or a necktie, but as his mother and sisters said, this look was rugged and handsome and definitely sexy. Trusting their opinions since they were women, he shrugged and agreed. Syaoran shifted against the fabric again as he straightened at Sakura's living room.

"Sakura," he called. "Just come out. My patience is running thin. It's so damn hot in here." He wiped the back of his neck as the sweat trickled down his back. "I can't believe we have to go to this stupid dance."

"I'm ready," she announced, but she wasn't in sight.

Syaoran turned immediately at her words, but was presented with an empty hall. A nerve twitched at his eyebrow. "Then where the hell are you?"

She peeked from the wall, letting her head into view, but not her body. "…what if you don't like my dress?"

Suddenly, his impatience had vanished and the sight of her pretty face got his palms dampening. "Not likely." He started to walk over. "Now come on. Let me see you."

She bit her lip and nodded reluctantly. Stepping from the wall, she faced him. Unsure, she watched the comical expressions pass over his face. "You don't like it."

He swallowed. "No, no, I do." He cleared his throat. "Uh…you look…nice."

"Are you sure?"

Syaoran blinked and looked at her face. "You honestly don't think you look incredible?" He touched the fabric of her dress at the sides, letting his hands roam her waist and slightly open back.

"You don't like it then?" She asked, her bottom lip thrusting out. He pulled her close so their thighs touched. Sakura felt heat spread over her face.

He slowly wrapped his arms around her waist and bending his head down, smelling her fragrance. "You smell good."

She snaked her own arms around his neck, looking up at his chestnut locks. "And you look handsome."

"Don't I smell good too?" He teased.

Sakura laughed. "You always smell good, Syaoran." She put her head down on the cradle of his shoulder.

"Can't we just stay here and do this all night?" He asked quietly, caressing the bare side of her neck and cheek. "'Cause I could care less if we don't show up at that dance."

"But it's our last, formal dance of the year…and you're graduating, remember?" She reminded, yet she felt so tempted to just stay in his arms.

He nuzzled her neck. "Oh yeah," he murmured in a muffled sound. "So?" He left butterfly kisses on her throat, up her cheek, and finally capturing her lips in a sweet kiss.

Sakura smiled, opening her eyes in a daze of wonder as he pulled away. "Come on, Syaoran…I want to dance."

With a disappointed sigh, Syaoran played with a lock of her hair. "But you look so hot…" he dragged.

"I don't know if I should take that as a compliment or an insult," she threw over her shoulder as she began walking out of the dorm, pulling him with her.

"The guys…they're all gonna ask you to dance, and by the time this night is over, I'll end up killing one or two of them."

Sakura laughed. "Don't worry, Li. I'll stop you before you do anything overboard."

"No," he said firmly. "You're supposed to say you won't dance with anyone other than me," Syaoran said as the elevator went down to the first floor.

Sakura flashed him a happy smile. "I will dance with other guys, Syaoran, whether you like it or not."

He frowned, groaning. "Why?"

"Because I want to!" She replied.

"Fine. If you dance with other guys, I'll dance with other girl...ladies," he opened the door for her.

Sakura's eyes widened. He entered his side of the car and put the key in the ignition. "Why?"

He laughed. "Because I wouldn't want to be standing at the corner of the room, watching you enjoy a dance with a guy who'll be staring at your chest the whole time." He said, sending her a triumphant grin.

Sakura frowned. "You sure know how to ruin a day!" She crossed her arms and looked away.

"Hey, you chose to wear that outfit."

She swiveled and turned to him. "What are you saying? Are you saying I'm trying to sell myself out there by wearing this? That guys will only ask me to dance because I'm wearing this-this outfit?"

"Exactly what I'm saying," Syaoran nodded.

"You jerk!" She slapped his arm.

"What?" He glanced at her with an amused grin. "That's why you should stay with me, 'cause you know I won't be asking you to dance just because you look amazing, and you know I won't be staring at your chest the whole time."

At his words, Sakura burst out in laughter. "The whole time."

He laughed.

"You just don't want me dancing with anyone else."

"That's half of it. The other half is that they are going to do that," he said a little seriously now.

"How about we try then and we'll see?"

"Fine," he shrugged. "Then I'll dance with a couple ladies myself."

She opened her mouth to protest, but stopped before she could say anything. She bit her tongue and grinned. "Fine."

He sneered back. "Great."

Sakura smiled sweetly, practically scowling. "Wonderful."

> > >

Sakura stared at the photograph at the top of her dresser in her bedroom. The memory just came on at the blink of an eye as she recognized a picture of her own self 6 years ago and the college-boy Syaoran holding her from behind. They were smiling, but not at the camera. Their focus was entirely on each other. Sakura sighed blissfully as she fingered the intricate design of the frame. The picture was an 8x10 photo, and even though it wasn't as colorful as pictures were now, it still looked brand new to her. Sakura decided she would show him today once he showed up. There had been a call from an old friend of hers that there was going to be a reunion of their year in the same university in a week. She'd called Syaoran to tell him about it.

Sakura shook her head from the straying thoughts and waited in the kitchen for Syaoran to buzz in. She prepared some tea for the bright morning and wandered around the living room with the mug in her hands. The heater never worked in her apartment during summer, and the manager tended to "forget" how cold it was in the morning and at night. She rubbed her left arm with her free right hand and sighed into the cup. It was beautiful out. The sun was just starting to shine over the building across from her. Then the call came on. Sakura tightened the ties of her pajamas and grabbed the cordless phone.

"Hello?"

"Morning," Syaoran's voice echoed through.

Sakura warmed almost immediately. "Good morning," she murmured and pressed the number to let him in.

Syaoran knocked and was presented with an adorable-looking Sakura smiling at him. Her cheeks were reddening at the second. With a small grin, he spoke softly, "Hello."

She let him in, holding onto her cup with a tight grip. "Hi."

He buried his hands in the pockets of his jeans as he entered the almost freezing apartment. "Why's it so cold in here?"

"Oh, the heater doesn't work. Do you want some coffee or tea?"

"Uh," he turned to glance at her. "Whatever you're having."

Sakura smiled. "Ok."

Syaoran let her pass and followed to the kitchen, where there was a photo frame faced down on the counter. He glanced over at her, catching her gaze. With a reddening face, Sakura put down her cup and grabbed another from the rack behind her.

"Go ahead."

"What is it?" He asked, turning his attention back to the frame.

"Look and see," she urged and poured tea for him.

Syaoran turned over the frame. His breath let out in a swift whoosh. The picture was as clear and familiar as it was when the photographer took it. Syaoran recognized his old self, the unruly, wild hair and the mischievous glimmer in his eyes. The beauty he was presented with, though, made him lose all sense. He never thought Sakura could look more beautiful after that day when he saw her standing in that violet dress, twirling around for him. But then, he turned and glanced at her, who was watching him. She looked breathtaking now. Syaoran swallowed and patted the frame uncomfortably, placing it back on the counter a little too hard. He cleared his throat.

"Interesting…uh, picture," he willed himself to relax as he sat on a bar stool.

Sakura laughed. "The memories making you uncomfortable?"

He took the mug she offered. "A little." He laughed and shook his head. "It just feels weird, that's all."

As if deciding if his answer was fair enough, Sakura looked at the ceiling and pondered. He grinned at the cute expression on her face. Sakura glanced down at him at the sound and smiled.

"Oh yeah," he began as he put the mug down. "What were you going to tell me?"

"Hmm?" She raised an eyebrow as she sipped. "What are you talking—ohh! My friend, she called me last night and told me about our reunion coming up on Saturday before school starts."

"Really?" Syaoran asked in surprise. "Coincidence how I'm here when it happens?"

"It wouldn't matter anyway, because even if you were in China, you'd still get an invitation and an expectation to be there," her eyes twinkled.

He nodded. "So I guess we're going?"

"Yes. But now that we've got that out of the way, what are we going to do today?"

Syaoran looked at her inquiringly. "Don't we have babysitting to do?"

"It's not babysitting," she retorted, "but no, not today. So…"

"You want to do something?" he stood up and leaned over the counter. "What are you thinking?"

She shrugged, shifting inside her big shirt, and revealed a smooth, ivory shoulder. Syaoran's eyes widened just a little, but immediately looked away and returned his attention to her face. "Let's go somewhere together and just…be together," she murmured the end, flushed.

"Isn't that what we've been doing the last few days?"

"Not by ourselves," she said softly.

His gaze flitted back to her shoulder and unable to resist it, his hand shot up and pulled the shirt to cover her shoulder. "Sorry, it's just…" he stared for a second, trailed off, and dropped his hold.

Sakura's eyes widened at his comment. With a heated flush spreading all over her body, she stepped away a little. "No, it's ok. So anyway, what do you say?"

"Yeah, sure," he nodded, looking away himself. "Let's go."

> > >

As if it was one of those formal dates, Syaoran waited in Sakura's living room, trying to be patient, but you know, having waited more than 20 minutes, it was starting to get annoying. Syaoran glanced at the clock. He wasn't keen on going back there and celebrating what happened 6 years ago. But since she wanted to go, he couldn't not go, right? Syaoran sighed. Having this argument with himself was repeating itself and it was useless. He only got to waste one minute conversing with himself and that really didn't do anything in dissipating his patience. Syaoran stood up and fixed the collar of his shirt. He was glad he didn't wear a tie or bow on. Funny, just like the last dance they went to together.

"Sakura?" He called, standing up and shoving his hands in the pockets of his slacks.

"Hold on for one more minute!" She called back.

"I don't have a choice, do I?" He muttered and brushed a hand through his wild hair. He sighed and glanced at his reflection in the small mirror on the wall. "Stupid hair. Stay down, would you?" He talked to himself and pushed the spiking hair down, but no matter what he would do, they would just spring up to life. 'Lost cause.'

"I'm ready," she said from the hallway.

He turned and found a gorgeous sight. With a lopsided grin, Syaoran walked over to her and just gazed at her. "Finally," he murmured.

Sakura laughed. "Sorry I took a while."

"Forever's more like it," he teased ruefully.

She slapped his arm, but wrapped hers around it. "Jerk." She smiled.

"I'm kidding." He bent down and pressed a small kiss on her hand, like a courting man would. "It was well worth the wait. You look amazing."

Her pale cheeks reddened into color, just as she predicted. "Thank you."

> > >

Once they arrived in the large parking lot of the school, Syaoran felt a wave of memories pass over him. Everything looked and felt so familiar. A hand took his tightly as he stared at the university in front of him. He turned and saw Sakura's tentative smile. It seemed like he wasn't the only one reliving the past. With a murmured 'let's go,' Sakura nudged at him and they went inside the building, finding posters along the walls to guide them to the gym. But of course, having remembered it still, they found their way without trouble.

As soon as they entered, two people they barely recognized as the deans of their year welcomed them warmly. The party only started, though, when one of the deans went to the stage and got an old music group to start playing music. The food was laid out in different parts of the long, long table that went around the gym. In the middle was the dance floor. Syaoran and Sakura settled in two free seats and watched the several groups talking and the couples dancing so lively on the floor. They had already stuck the name tags on the front of their outfits.

"Would you like to dance?" Sakura asked with a mischievous glint in her eyes.

Syaoran blinked and glanced at her. "Sorry?"

"Dance," she giggled. "Let's."

He laughed brokenly. "Uh…forget something here?"

"No, I haven't," she said slowly. "But since there aren't any slow dances yet, we might as well enjoy ourselves with the upbeat songs."

"I don't dance, Sakura," he reminded, wincing a little at the thought.

"Uh…huh…so?" She grinned and stood up. "Syaoran, come on."

He shook his head and pulled her back down. "No thanks."

"You know what I'll do?" She asked as soon as she got an idea.

He looked at her lazily. "Probably not."

"Remember what happened in our last dance of the year?" She asked cheekily. "How…something didn't exactly fall through?"

Syaoran raised an eyebrow. "What are you—" Then realization dawned on him.

> > >

At the dance, the men had started ogling Sakura as soon as they arrived. Sakura held onto his arm so tightly, she might've stopped circulation of his blood. Syaoran, already fueled in anger by this show of outward appreciation, took off his jacket and wrapped it around Sakura's bare shoulders. With a little bit of relief, Sakura relaxed, but kept her arm around his. He brought her to one table for two and they sat down. With brightly pink cheeks in embarrassment, Sakura shifted beneath his coat and touched the wonderful china plates and utensils on the table for them.

"Ok, I'm sticking with you for the night," she mumbled morosely.

A teasing smile softened Syaoran's hardened features. "Why so depressed about that?"

She raised her eyes. "Because my pride's bruised, you jerk," she scrunched up her nose at him and looked away.

He laughed. "Sorry about that."

"Are you really?" She asked dryly, turning back to him.

He nodded. "Honest."

"Aren't you going to say something to me then?" She asked, frowning.

He raised an eyebrow. "What exactly are you looking for?"

"Since I'm not going to be dancing with any of those perverts," she shuddered.

Syaoran's face hardened. "Asses," he muttered.

Sakura's eyes widened as she looked up at him, feeling something quivering in her heart.

He walked over to her and squatted to her eye level. "You know I never even wanted to dance with any other girls here, right?" He said endearingly.

She shook her head, her heart in her eyes. "Syaoran…"

He grinned and pecked her lips. "It's a slow song. Let's dance," he suggested.

"You're the sweetest boyfriend alive," she murmured as he pulled her up with him.

"I knew that." He grinned and wrapped his arms around her waist. "You know, we could just dance right here. We don't have to go to the dance floor."

Sakura wrapped her arms around his neck. "I know."

He took hold of her waist and skimmed his hands around her hips. "You look extra beautiful tonight. Did you do it just for me?"

She grinned. "I love you Li." She whispered and tiptoed for a kiss.

> > >

With the memory refreshing their minds, the place seemed much too hot and claustrophobic for Sakura. Extremely heated at the memory, she turned away from embarrassment, having been the one to revive it. Syaoran stared at her, his cheeks surprisingly in color, and watched the different expressions in her face occur. With a deep breath, he stood up and walked over to her. Syaoran sent her a small smile, knocking her off her feet. "Before you start dancing with all the other men in here, care to dance with me first?"

She didn't speak as she stared at him in surprise.

"Come on sweetheart."

> > >

To be continued…