Disclaimer: Nope, CCS still doesn't belong to me, not now, not ever…

Reviews: Not a lot of review……But still, thx to the ones who did!

Loving the Beloved Once Again

Chapter 2 – Pieces of the Past

She lifted up her dress…running up the stairs…turned a left…and ran down the hall…running…still running…until she came in front of room 308…and stopped…hands on the knob…and she threw the door open!

A man…A bed…A blond woman…flower petals around them…

The room lighted dimly…the man and woman together…on bed…

The bed…the blond woman…the man…together…

She opened her mouth and screamed…

The scream pierced into Tomoyo's sleep and she opened her eyes immediately. She quickly got out of her bed and into the hall, and found the source of the scream without effort.

The scream stopped.

"Sakura!" she called as she entered her bedroom. "Sakura! What happened? Are you okay?" she asked worriedly as she tried to wake Sakura up.

Hearing a faint voice, Sakura slowly lifted her eyelids, to see a dark figure standing over her bed. She was frightened for a second, then, realizing it was only Tomoyo, she relaxed and tardily sat up. Sakura's face was white as a ghost, and she was sweating as if she's been working out. She was panting, hard.

"It's okay, Sakura, it's alright. It was only a bad dream…Just a bad dream." Tomoyo soothed and held her friend in her arms, and patted her lightly on the back, as if she was a five year-old who woke from a bad dream.

Sakura calmed down a while later, some colour returned into her cheeks and she looked less frightened,

Tomoyo pulled Sakura away, hands on her shoulders, and asked knowingly: "It was the same dream again, wasn't it?"

Sakura nodded. Moonlight streamed in from the windows, Tomoyo can see that Sakura's eyes were shining, now with both fury and frustration.

"It keeps on coming back to me, Tomoyo! I tried to forget, I tried! I really did!" she cried, tears now pouring out. "But it kept coming back; it just won't let me go!"

With that, Sakura encircled her arms around Tomoyo's neck and embraced her friend tightly for comfort.

"I know, Sakura, I understand, and I don't blame you!" Tomoyo said while patting Sakura's back gently. Her own eyes starting to blur. I swear, she thought violently, if I ever see that stinking little wolf, he will pay for what he did. I'll make sure of it.

Eriol woke with a start.

It was morning, sunlight streamed into the living room through the curtain-less windows, which made him squint. Eriol was on the couch, now sitting up-right, his head hurt incredibly. He couldn't figure out why at first, then he remember the nightbefore, they had been out drinking until late during the night.

He glanced down at Meilin, who was sleeping peacefully on the carpeted floor. He had no intention, however, to wake her. His gaze swept around the living room, but saw no sign of Syaoran. He stood up, still sleepy, and went down the hall to Syaoran's room – the room was empty.

Where is he? It's – checking his watch – 9:14 in the morning. Where could he be so early in the morning?

Eriol tend to worry over little things like this. Syaoran is a grown man, and he's more than capable of looking after himself. There is no need of worrying about things like this, and Eriol knew it, but he just couldn't help himself.

As if an answer to his question, he heard the front door open. He half ran half walked back into the living room, to see Syaoran carrying a plastic bag, which seems to be carrying fast-food boxes. Syaoran stepped on the cream-coloured scarf on the floor, using it as a front door mat, which is now full of dust.

Meilin was now sitting up on the floor, rubbing sleep from her eyes.

"Where were you?"

"Where does it look like? I went down to the fast food restaurant." He said in a duh-it's-so-obvious-you-idiot kind of tone. "I woke half an hour ago. And I figured you guys would need some breakfast!"

That was just typical of Syaoran, Eriol thought as he brushed his teeth while Meilin took a shower. He never gave a thought about what others are thinking, yet he always thinks ahead of time and takes care of us…Like a big brother would. The thought was comforting, Eriol did have an older brother, but he left him instead of taking care of him when his parents died from an automobile accident when he was only 14. He could've become a beggar if it hadn't been Syaoran.

Eriol was rinsing his teeth when Meilin came out of the shower with only a white comforter wrapped around her body. From the reflection in the mirror, Eriol noticed she had dyed her long black hair reddish black, which made her look even cuter.

"Wow! What's the occasion?"

Acting hurt, Meilin responded: "Do I need to have an occasion to look pretty?" she paused as she pulled on her uniform, and then added. "We are boarding the cruise today. I want to stun the boarders!"

Eriol laughed. "Believe me; you look stunning enough without any of this!"

Meilin accepted it as a compliment, and gave him a timid smile, as she pulled on her pants.

"Or, is it because you aren't satisfied with Chiharu, so wanted to find someone else?" Eriol teased as he washed his face.

Meilin didn't answer. The smile was replaced by annoyance at the mention of her girlfriend.

The three of them share the 3-room apartment. It's quite small, but won't matter since they work on the cruise most of the time.

They had lived like buddies since what seemed like forever. They went to the same school, went out together, and now, they have the same job. Eriol used to have a little crush on Meiling…until he learned about her 'condition'.

"Guys! What's taking you so long? We need to check in at the cruise at 11! We don't have forever you know!" Syaoran called out from the living room, sounding impatient.

"Coming!" Meilin called back and she immediately zipped up her pants, her hair still wet, and rushed outside.

"I'm coming too!" He dried his face and dashed after, to his two roommates.

"No, not this one either, it's too…common."

Sakura and Tomoyo were in Sakura's room, trying to find a suitable dress for the night. They had only boarded the ship for one day, and already, Sakura's got a date.

"You are so picky! If you act like this toward all matters, you won't be married by the time you're 50!" Tomoyo commented, apparently annoyed by her friend's uncertainty.

"Now, how did you relate this to something so completely different? And besides, it's the first date; I want to look extra special!"

Tomoyo laughed. "With this pretty face of yours, it's hard for you not to be. Although, I'm not sure how your date is so special."

They met the guy arguing with the waiter at the eating hall during lunch. He wanted two seats – one for himself, and one for, according to him, his "mother". He said that although his mother is now in heaven, she is still here in a spiritual form. So the waiter brought him to a table outside on the deck, mostly because it's all packed inside.

But the guy refused to, he reasoned that it's too windy outside, and it's going affect his mother's spiritual form. Then the waiter decided for him to wait for an empty table. And that's when the guy became frustrated, saying that he does not like the service, and he refuses to wait just to eat his lunch, and he threatened that he will report. Sakura and Tomoyo sat at a table near by, and watched the guy, who was now mad with anger, argued with the innocent waiter, but they didn't interrupt.

That's when the manager stepped in. He tried to calm his patron, and pleaded him not to make a scene. The guy looked absolutely furious; he turned and walked straight out of the eating hall.

Sakura was touched by his love for his mother, and thought she needed to do something for him. So, later, she went to his suite and apologized as an upper member of the company. She told him there will be a table assigned for him for the next three weeks inside the hall.

The male's introduced himself as Yukita. He apologized for making a scene earlier, and seemed quite pleased at Sakura's kindness and her thoughtful offer, and to Sakura's surprise, he asked right then and there to have dinner with her. She agreed, because she didn't want to disappoint him again.

Sakura hadn't gone on a date for quite a while; a date would probably get her mind off the painful past…Maybe.

Now, in the present, Sakura answered, "Oh, Yukita isn't that bad. I found him quite a gentleman, and he loves his mother so dearly!"

"If you say so, I'm only thinking about you, Sakura!"

Actually, there is another reason Sakura accepted the date. She knew she couldn't stand being lonely. Especially the last time she had boarded a cruse, she had spend it with a man…Three years ago it had been such a special memory…But the ending wounded her deeply…She wished so hard that she could find that same happiness…Although somewhere deep down in her heart, she knew nothing will ever replace those special memory…Again, she wished she was wrong…

"This can't be! I'm sure there is a mistake!" Syaoran exclaimed, practically yelling, when his friends shared the news.

"But it's true! Look, it says here – Sakura Kinomoto – room 401!" Eriol offered helpfully, ignoring the fact the Syaoran doesn't want to believe it.

They were standing on the deck of one end of the cruise.

"No!" He said, "I refuse to believe any of this! It's impossible! She won't be here again! Not after all that has happened!"

If they didn't know Syaoran, they would've thought he's overreacting. But they did, and his reaction is totally understandable. That rotten-blossomed-cherry – as they called her – is his worst enemy, not mentioning how she had hurt him, and scarred him for life.

"Syaoran," Meilin said in a worried tone. "It's been three years! When are you ever going to get over her? The world isn't big enough for you two to play hide-and-seek forever! You must meet again at some point." Pausing to emphasize her point. "I know she that rotten-blossomed-cherry had hurt you, but you can't hide forever like a frightened cat! Your refusal to believe reality isn't going to change the fact that she is on this ship, for the next three weeks!"

Syaoran sighed, and murmured, "I guess you're right--"

"I know I'm right!" corrected Meilin.

"Fine, you are right!" Said Syaoran emulatively, but finally giving in. "Now, we just have to figure out jus what we are going to do."

"Either war, or offer peace, or pretend you didn't know her!" Eriol offered the choices.

All of them smiled, they all know which one that's going to be.

A/N: It's takin me such a long time to write such a short chapter! Oh my….i wonder how most authors do it……..(sigh)………well PLZ PLZ REVIEW!