Transformations
Chapter 13: The Surprise
By AutumnIllusion
Authoress' notes: o geez. Where to start? Well, I'll be explaining why I haven't updated anything in, what, the past 7 months::shudders: but that's gonna take a loongggg time so I'll write it at the end of this…but I don't wanna keep you waiting more than you already have (my gosh, the last time I updated Transformations was practically a year ago::look of horror: gomen nasai! Thank you to everyone who reviewed, for sticking with me…P Responses to u guys at the end…Well excuses later, story now…
DISCLAIMER: ahh now that I'm back, the disclaimers are too…but I'm too lazy to make this interesting. I don't own CCS, or Gwen Stefani -.-;;, only el ploto…yeah…
Decicated to: The whole Dance Ensemble, they're the reason I live…us "frootloopy kids" hehe
And suddenly, Syaoran found himself stop laughing along. He found himself leaning over the table, and closing the gap between him and Sakura, giving her…a kiss.
……
"…"
Face turned down in what would be called embarrassment, judging by the flush shades of pink staining his entire face (though half hidden by the downward angle taken), Syaoran took a profound interest in the contents of his cup, clamped between his nervous hands. Those contents, though really nothing to care much about, as Syaoran stared into it, were listed as; the remaining of his half drunken black tea, shredded bits of tea leaves stuck to the insides of the mold, and the palm-sized reflection of Sakura's face, rippling slightly with the passing breeze. Wait, was that a puzzled look on her face? Syaoran's nerves bent further, and he timidly took a quick sip of his tea, before looking down again.
"Umm…Syaoran…?"
"Y-yes, Sakura!" stammering, he responded the sweet but confused voice as soon as it reached his ears.
"Syaoran, look at me, hm?" Cheeks burned into another shade of deep crimson as Sakura tilted Syaoran's head upward, until they were at equal eye level.
"Oh, sorry about that Sakura," Syaoran started, and snapped up, straightening his posture nervously. "I was just-"
"No, I'm sorry too Syaoran!" The two spoke at the same time, each trying to squeeze in their explanations. "Its just that-"
"Oh, you first!" Syaoran exclaimed quickly, waving his hand. He pressed his lips into a smile, a completely petrified one at that.
"Oh, okay then…" Now it was Sakura's turn to look down, and she fidgeted with the embroidered hem on her skirt. "…well, its just…" suddenly she looked back up, and taking Syaoran's limp hand from the table, held it between hers. "…its just, I can't return those feelings."
"…oh…" Syaoran squeaked in a rather high pitched voice that was quite the mismatch for his character. "I completely understand and respect your feelings…"
"Really? Well, that's good Syaoran, because- this shhhh is bananas B-A-N-A-N-A-S!"
Now, if a squeaky voice was out of character for Syaoran, Sakura's outburst of Gwen Stefani-ness was even more so. Caught completely off guard by her words, Syaoran jumped back a foot or two.
"Wait…umm, Sakura…?"
"B-A-N-A-N-A-S!"
Dear lord, now it was the whole café singing it.
And by the whole café, it included Tomoyo and Eriol- ah yes, that dang Eriol sitting at the next table over.
"B-A-N-A-N-A-S!"
"AHHH!"
Syaoran found himself in a rather uncomfortable situation, that being twisted and tangled within his sheets. But then again, looking around the dark room which was his living room…that was ten, a hundred times better than some other uncomfortable situation, say being stuck in a café full of people with a bad case of Hollaback Girl Fever. Much better to be here indeed.
Untangling himself from the sheets wrapped around him, Syaoran stood up, staying still for a moment or two while his eyes adjusted to the dark around him. His arms and face were covered in sweat, and it chilled him in what he guessed was night, or early morning. As his focus cleared, the dark shapes around him came to be familiar as his couch, television, lamp, 4 sisters in various spots around the room, and then Jenny, and…Sakura.
It was just a dream. A goddamn dream. Actually no, I'd call that a nightmare.
Stepping cautiously over various objects covering the floor, Syaoran made his way to the kitchen. He opened a cupboard, taking a glass, and then held it under the faucet, letting it fill with water. He held the glass to his lips, and slowly drank from it, letting his eyes close. Calm down. It was just…a dream. Dreams…aren't real.
Syaoran leaned back against the kitchen counter, staring blankly across his apartment, out past the balcony, even past the faint city lights. Boy did he have some conflicts. That dream…I shouldn't have. I can't let that even happen outside of anything besides a dream. I'm supposed to love Jenny. He folded his arms against his chest, suddenly overwhelmed with a cold chill, a chill carrying guilt and confusion. Sighing, he poured the rest oh the water down the sink. And last of all…what the was with that dream! I mean…hollaback girl. Geez. He shook his head, in loss for explanation. Fuutie played that song WAY too many times since she's arrived.
……
"Aww, already?"
Syaoran's four siblings all held mirroring images of a disappointed pout. They looked towards their mother, Yelan, hoping to sway their fate.
"Can't we stay for just a little longer?" the four chorused, looking back to their mother.
Syaoran watched this scene from the balcony, with half a mind in listening to whatever was going on to his sister's dismay. It was Sunday, three days after his family had made that unexpected, and very gut-dropping visit to his apartment. Three days, when said out loud, seemed like barely any time at all, as Shiefa for one pointed out to Yelan, as the pouting young women (though not really acting like that mature title) tried to sway their early departure.
"We haven't even gotten to, umm…" Fu raised a finger, trying to conjure up another point for them to stay. "to, umm…"
There really wasn't much that they hadn't gotten to do, actually.
They had visited Syaoran's high school, gone to the local bakery (where they had raided the cakes section happily, thanks to their never-ending supply of money at hand- being from the Li Clan presented its many rewards), the park, the museum, met all of his friends, crashed his apartment, ohh, you get the idea…
The only thing that hadn't happened in the last few days was Syaoran getting any sort of rest.
On that mental note, he took this chance to try and accomplish that much; being able to relax. It seemed to be, in his current situation, that merely staying away from the scene on the balcony seemed to be a better option. But then again, he didn't think that he was getting anywhere towards relaxation, even if his family did…tone it down a bit.
There were other things that kept him from relaxing, besides his family settling into his life the past few days…
For one, it could have been the wandering, faded dream that seemed to cross his mind over and over and over…
Now what dream was that again?
Could it be the one where Syaoran was packed in a car with his sisters for a five hour long road trip? Syaoran shuddered, remembering the reoccurring dream from his age of twelve, when that dream- or nightmare really was real, and he had to endure endless squealing and prodding on that long, long, long trip to another Li estate. The dream still haunted him at times.
Or could it have been the one with the giant man in a bunny suit who mercilessly raced after Syaoran with a plastic flower that could be qualified as a lethal weapon in hand, as it yelled "Gaki! You damn Gaki I'm gonna-"
No it wasn't that one.
The dream that was keeping Syaoran restless was much worse than even those two nightmares.
Indeed, it was hearing Sakura's sweet voice whisper into his earlobe that she didn't return his feelings, whatever those feelings were which he had presented in a kiss- that was the most haunting.
Just the thought of it chilled his brain. Each time the events of that dream ran through his thoughts, it leaved heavy, icy footprints on his skull, even melting down to burn his heart.
Finally deciding that no matter how frustrating its possibilities contained, he would be better off listening to whatever his sisters were saying at the moment, anything that could momentarily take his thoughts away from that dream.
Syaoran walked back into his living room cautiously, and ran a hand through his messy hair slowly. He was greeted back to his world without dreams by the sounds of his siblings still at it, trying to find a way they could dominate his apartment for at least a few more days.
"But why do we have to leave so early?" protested a voice, Fuutie's.
Yelan, acknowledging her son's presence by the far end of the room, shot him a quick and knowingly glance. "We are needed at the Li estate for a most important clan meeting." Her voice firmly pressed, while her eyes, Syaoran had the feeling, told something along the lines of there's actually another reason why we must leave, one that her eyes also read and you, Syaoran, I think know what that is…
Syaoran just turned his head away, breaking off from his mother's eyes that seemed to bore into his very heart and soul, reading it and understanding it like an open book, though the task was far out of reach for himself. But yes, he supposed if his babbling siblings weren't bounding around his house and life, it would give him more time to think about that dream and his current situation.
In that case…
STAY FOREVER MY DEAREST SISTERS.
……
Despite the long conversation that had been shot back and forth through his apartment, Yelan, Fuutie, Fu, Shiefa, and Fanren had prepared for a departure. The next afternoon, Syaoran was entitled to carrying down four large cartoon patterned suitcases in an array of pinks, blues, and other pastels.
"Umm, Syao-chan, should I…can I help you with anything?" a cautious Jenny stood a few feet from Syaoran as he, with a brutally determined look in his eyes, lifted a suitcase-- a baby blue pastel with a cat in a hamburger presented on the front-- and prepared to lug it down three flights of stairs for the fourth, and thankfully last time.
Syaoran mumbled a "mm" before staggering to the stairwell. "Oh, it's okay Jenny...you don't have to carry any of this stuff, its really heavy, and…I don't think its that much fun, ahahah…"
"Oh, alright…be careful," Jenny sighed, and followed her boyfriend down the stairs, where she was nervous at hearing a few bumps and thuds. "Did you hit something?"
"Oh, no…" Syaoran's voice echoed throughout the stairs, and he breathed a sigh of relief at the door that read Floor 1 on it, "…the suitcase just did a few times…I'm okay."
Jenny laughed, and ran to catch up with Syaoran at the door. "Sure you are. You always say you're okay Syaoran, while you're really not, ya know?" she pulled open the door for him.
A moment passed, and the two looked into the other's eyes, hearing what Jenny had just said go through their mind deeper than what it had seemed before. Jenny was first to break away, looking back through the doorway. She was embarrassed to sound like she had meant any more than simply his assuredness when it came to physical awareness…not in emotional states, as it seemed to be true as well. "Go ahead," she nodded her head to the door.
"Alright," Syaoran heaved the suitcase back into his arms and passed, emerging outside where the car was parked.
Syaoran put the luggage down, and to his relief, the butler came around from the car's almost full trunk to take the suitcase from there.
"Ahh, I'm gonna miss you!" Fuutie bounded around the corner, closely followed by Shiefa, Fanren, and then Fu. One after another they flung their arms around Syaoran, bear hugging him to the near death.
"And we wanted to stay…with the wedding is so close!" Shiefa blurted, shaking her head thoughtfully.
Simultaneously, both Syaoran and Jenny turned a familiar shade of red. "S-shut it Shiefa!" Syaoran stammered.
"But anyways, Little Wolf, remember, you promised to call us every day so we can keep up on the wedding plans, alright? Don't forget!" Fu patted Syaoran's head a few times.
"W-what!" Syaoran shot a look at his sisters, "I never promised that!" he paused, thinking over what his sisters were blabbing about. "and I'm not having a wedding!"
"Oh, Little Wolf, you're so easy to provoke!" Fanren laughed, and followed by the others all agreeing.
"Miss' the car awaits," the butler announced, and bowed, before disappearing back into the driver's seat of the car.
"Awww," the four turned one last time back to Syaoran and Jenny. "You two be good!" they rounded their hugs for Syaoran and Jenny once again.
"Byebye now!" one after one they piled into the car, until only Yelan still stood before them.
"Xiao Lang, I hope you enjoy your summer…we will contact you once the meetings are over." Yelan smiled, and placed her hand on his head, smoothening out his hair a little. Her sleeves clinked with a small sound of bells, and she then turned to Jenny. "It was a pleasure to meet you Jenny, I hope I can have the chance to see you again next time I visit Xiao Lang."
"Oh, um yes, thank you, it was great meeting you too!" Jenny smiled and bowed.
"So long for now," Yelan bowed in return to the two, and then stepped into the car, before its engine revved and they were off, four sisters waving from the back.
"Phew, they're really…tiring." Syaoran stretched his arms up and yawned.
"Hehe, I think I can see…but they're really cool!" Jenny beamed, "so energetic!"
"Sure, but growing up stuck with four sisters all the time…too engergetic." Syaoran shook his head at the thought.
Bzz Bzz
"Oh, is that mine?" Jenny looked down at her purse, and took out her vibrating cell phone. "Oh, look…Tomoyo's calling," she flipped the phone open, and answered. "Tomoyo? Whats up?"
After a moment of listening to "Mhms" and such, Jenny nodded saying, "okay then, see you in a bit." And clicked her phone back into her purse.
"You meeting up with Tomoyo today?" Syaoran asked.
"Yeah…well actually, we both are! We're meeting up at 2 o'clock…Tomoyo says she's got a surprise for everyone!"
……
Once after hearing this news of Tomoyo and some "surprise" she had brought up the other day, Sakura had a quirky feeling about it. Being one of her closest companions over the many years of their childhood, she could sense it, no doubt, in her friend's tone.
It was that tone used when she asked Sakura to come over to her house to watch some "movies" when they really were endless clips of embarrassment featuring the one and only Sakura herself.
It was that tone used when Tomoyo would drop by to say hello, and…just happen to have a few new outfits for Sakura to try on.
Yes, this was the tone when Tomoyo Daidouji was up to some "ingenious" plan and wasn't letting on all that she knew.
So a bit reluctantly, Sakura made her way over to the Daidouji Residence where she had been instructed to meet at…
She glanced at her watch, and in horror realized that the ticking pink hands were on the 2 and the 6. "Two thirty! I'm late! Phweee!"
Now making a mad dash, Sakura paid no attention to the cherry blossoms down the lane, didn't even pay attention to the two familiar figures, Syaoran and Jenny, that is until they were yelling out her name.
"Hey, Sakura! Wait up!"
Realizing someone was calling her, Sakura dug her soles into the ground and stopped. She turned to see Jenny waving at her, and jogging to catch up, with Syaoran walking behind, hands in his pockets.
"Ohh, hi you guys! Sorry, I didn't see you…you're late too?" Sakura laughed shyly and waited up for the two.
Syaoran caught up with the two, "Late? Wait, Jenny, didn't you say we're meeting at 2?"
"Yup…"
Syaoran looked at his watch, and then back at Sakura. "Hey, sorry to tell you this, but…" he grinned at her, "you just ran that whole way for nothing."
"Phwee?"
"Sakura, you know, it's ten to 2. You're not late…" he held up her arm, pointing out that her watch, if looked at for a while, was not ticking at all. After a moment, he dropped her hand nervously, pushing his own back into his pockets. They laughed, watching Sakura's expression, a mixture between her state of out of breath, and being utterly shocked and confused.
"You know, that's just like you to do something like that, Sakura," Syaoran grinned, shaking his head in amusement. He ruffled her hair playfully.
"Hmph…" Sakura folded her arms dramatically. Her cheeks were hot and blushed from running quite a few blocks, but Syaoran didn't seem to be helping…
"Everybody in!" Tomoyo had opened immediately once the three had voiced her on the intercom at the front gate. She smiled happily, and ushered them inside. "Everybody here now? Alright…"
Tomoyo had led them to her living room, where Sakura beamed at seeing Eriol, Chiharu, Yamazaki, Naoko, and Rika already waiting.
They all took seats around the room, giving each other familiar nods that read 'yeah, she's up to something…' but turned their attention quickly back to Tomoyo, waiting to see what she had come up with now.
"Well, we're now on summer vacation!" she started, enthusiastically, which was greeted with grins of approval, although that statement was already more than obvious. She paused slightly, and the others waited for her to go on, not having anything been explained. "And of course I know just how much some of you need a vacation…" Both Syaoran and Sakura had sworn they saw her eyes shoot a glance their way, but as soon as they could question it, Tomoyo continued. "so why not…go on a vacation together!"
……
So that was how Syaoran found himself in the present situation of being sandwiched between Jenny and Sakura on the three hour car ride to Tomoyo's "summer get away resort" …what that was exactly, he was not completely sure.
They had packed their bags enthusiastically the next day, and the day after, the nine teens had piled into a van and hit the road.
Now, it was the midpoint of the trip, where Syaoran was failing miserably to keep peaceful. There was his own tension bubbling and boiling inside him, with Jenny and Sakura both so close to him that their shoulders touched each time the car rattled over any unpaved point in the road. Even using his usually comforting thoughts of martial arts meditation was lacking its affect…possibly for reasons being that no "serene universe" or "rock is not moved by water" analogy seemed to exist in the presence of Yamazaki's repeating chant of "Ten thousand bottles of beer on the wall" brimming through the space within the car.
Shifting his position slightly after giving up any sort of mind relaxation, Syaoran loosely crossed his arms and closed his eyes, thinking that maybe the best option (not that there were many available at this point) was to try and fall asleep. Yeah, and maybe I'll have another encore of Sakura's rejection/hollaback girl fever he sarcastically remarked to himself. As the point ran through his mind, Syaoran suddenly changed his point of view and decided that even "Ten thousand bottles of beer on the wall" was preferable to another nightmare, where if it did occur, would surely receive some stares by everyone else within the car.
"Hey, speaking of beer…" Yamazaki had broken off from the point of "one-thousand two-hundred forty-three bottles of beer" although Eriol was still happily stomping along to it in the row behind him, with a swaggering voice as if he really had somewhere near that said number of beers ingested inside him. "…did you know that this song's origins reflected the harsh society of monkeys back in the time when-"
To his right, Sakura was turned to face the seats behind, an expression of deep interest upon her, as she soaked up every word that Yamazaki told.
"Takashi Yamazaki, stop saying things like that!" Chiharu's voice raged throughout the car, with such force that the bodyguard seated in the front seat swiveled around swiftly at the surprise.
"Ooohh, she used your full name! Sounds like you're in trouble," Jenny winked, also turned around to see.
"Oh, but dear Chiharu…why should I stop saying 'things like that', while I speak only of my far and expansive knowledge?" Yamazaki cooed, which was responded to with a pound on his head, courtesy of "dear Chiharu".
"Heyyy, come on Yamazaki, you hafta keep singing with me…!" Eriol slurred, and waved a hand happily. "We're up to one-thousand two-hundred thirty-eight! Ahahaaa…!"
Syaoran raised an eyebrow at Eriol and his wavering attitude. "Yeah, please, someone join in. Eriol, you have a horrible singing voice…someone sing with him, maybe we can drown him out…" he smirked, unable to resist shooting the remark at his friend.
"Well, Syao-chan, I've never heard you sing either, so why don't you show us?" Eriol shot back, grinning lazily.
"Don't call me Syao-chan!"
""Hehe…" Sakura grinned. "But Syao-chan sounds so cute!" she stuck her tongue out at him. "And you're really easy to provoke, even your sisters mentioned it…" she teased him lightly.
Hearing her, Syaoran bit his lip slightly and looked away, trying to focus again on Eriol, even if his singing was horrible. "Oh, uh, thanks…" he distinctly heard Eriol down to one-thousand two-hundred twenty-one.
"Everybody join in!"
"One-thousand two-hundred thirty-seven bottles of beer on the wall..."
Syaoran sighed, finally giving in to the now, louder than ever, chorus of whatever number of bottles of beer on the wall. This would be some vacation. Prepare for the worst, as always.
……
Hououza- ahh, well as u just saw in this chapter, your guess was completely right! hehe oo November birthday ppl! Yay! …although I missed November, cause I didn't update in so long…eek…well then there's this year, and that's not so far, hehe…
Crystaleyez- yes, boys really are strange creatures…--;; well, this wasn't completely a cliffhanger, hm? Lol
Pnaixrose- hehe thanx for the compliment…I'm 13 now! Whoot, don't I feel so grown up? not really though…
Chikichiki- well now you found out, right? although…it's still a mystery in general, anything that boys do, lol…
Sai-chan- ahhh well…I'm updating now :nervous laugh: heh, sorry for the wait!
Angel- nope, S&S all the way! )
I DO NOT OWN DBZ- hehe that was fun to see in my inbox hehe hope my chap was longer than your review…P
Ryu-Faiya- ahh, at the rate I updated, I guess I'm already dead, hehe…come back to life? P
Blah- ahh, you'll see…
Camera-Happy- ohohoho indeed, Tomoyo's gonna brew up some trouble…
Everyone else- ahhh, thank you for the reviews! Hopefully you're still interested, hehe…
Authoress' Notes:
Okay first thing. "Each time the events of that dream ran through his thoughts, it leaved heavy, icy footprints on his skull, even melting down to burn his heart." Eeesh, that line was soooooo cliché! Heheh, but it stuck somehow…hehe just felt like pointing out my cheesiness.
Okay, so here comes the long explanation. Really long. Chances are you don't wanna read this practically essay detailing my life for the past 7 months (haha) so its completely fine if you skip this (and go straight to your review ) cause anyone who does read this is crazy lol…) but if u wanna know what exactly had been going on, here it is…just so you know I didn't get abducted by aliens for the past while or sumthin, lol. That's why I'm putting this here, at the end of the chap, lol…read it if you'd like, but then again you probably just want to read the story P. But o well I need to get this off my chest, I feel so guilty --, heheh.
So where did it start? Or should I say, where did it end? Last time I wrote anything (excluding essays for school, blah) being Fanfiction was I think December 2004. :shudder: and why did I stop? I'm not really sure. I was really overwhelmed with a lot of things I guess. Also, at that time I was really starting to get into dance…it really became my #1 priority. I was dancing with my afterschool group Dance Ensemble (who absolutely rock, I love those guys D) all the time after school, Saturdays, etc…and I was working on pieces which after working so much eventually got me sick, and I was like that for a while…so I was just completely out of it, I even quit swim club because of all the things going on. Then January I was still really busy with personal stuff and dance going on that just really made it too tiring to write anything, physically and mentally. For the next 3 months I was constantly working on 3 dance shows, rehearsals each day and weekends, etc. but don't get me wrong, that was exactly what I wanted to be doing. I guess at that time I was smack in the middle of all of it, and I didn't have the desire to sit and write. Dance had become my life and I love it(sounds corny but It really is ) and I wasn't ready to write at the same time, heheh. And I guess after not writing for so long, I just wasn't into it. I mean, I couldn't even read any Fanfiction, let alone write Fanfiction. I looked back at these stories and I thought, first: I don't even know where this story is leading, I can't write something without knowing what its supposed to do. Two: I didn't recognize my own writing, I'd say "I said this! I don't even know this word!" so I didn't think I'd be able to write, I'd be too dumb or something, heheh. And this was my last year in middle school, which I absolutely had the time of my life in (! D), and I was just so wrapped up in trying to keep up with it, absorb it all before it finished, and I just had no desire to write, it was just like a big burden in the back of my mind. But now that it's summer, I have time to sit here and dig into this pile and start to clear it up….