Tied By Fate
By: pnaixrose
Disclaimer: I do not own CCS or any of the characters.
Chapter 13: A Sudden Leave
"Hey Li-kun," Tomoyo smiled as the tired Li Leader walked over to Eriol and her sitting at a table. Taking a seat, he rubbed his amber eyes and starting putting some food on his plate. They were in the dining hall, and it was day three of their little vacation. They hadn't really didn't done anything exciting, but all of them got to think about...certain things on their minds. It wasn't a time for fun as they had all hoped. It was more like a time to relax and ponder.
They ate in silence as if the incident yesterday was still in the back of their minds. They were all thinking about it...and they felt guilty.
"Syaoran..." Eriol started. "About Meiling. I didn't tell her about you and Sakura having that connection because...well..."
Eriol looked to Tomoyo with a pleading look in his eyes. They had been discussing it before Syaoran had come in and had decided it was right to tell Syaoran why exactly they hadn't told Meiling. For Eriol and Tomoyo, it hadn't slipped their minds at all. Something had caught their eye and if they had told Meiling, she would've been...heartbroken.
"Li-kun," Tomoyo tried. "I think what Eriol is trying to say is that we think...we think Meiling...loves you."
There. She had said it. Eriol and Tomoyo sucked in their breaths and awaited Syaoran's shocked expression to come to view.
But it didn't come. They had only succeeded to cause him to look even more miserable and guilty.
"I know," he said softly.
Eriol and Tomoyo's eyes grew wide. He knew!
"Don't look so surprised," Syaoran said softly. "I've known ever since we were little. She's a great person. Caring and energetic seems to describe her. I know that she...loves me. B-But I...I don't-"
Eriol looked at him sadly. "-love her back."
Syaoran nodded, looking down at his food. "I care for her a lot. But...only as a sister. I wish she would see that I'm not the one for her, that there's some other guy that she deserves who'll love her and care for her much more than I ever will. I'm not the one for her. I feel guilty but it's true. I can't bring myself to love someone I only care for as a sister." Suddenly, he seemed to realize what he was saying and he turned red and looked away. "God I'm sorry. Since when did I talk so much anyway?" he grumbled.
Tomoyo smiled. "Hmm...I wonder."
With a groan, Syaoran turned pink and said, "Don't start this subject again, Daidouji-san. It's hard enough to just think about it. I know you know. That little idiot Hiiragazawa probably told you by now."
Eriol grinned as Tomoyo giggled. "You know, Li-kun, I think you should tell her," the raven haired girl said. "It'll be hard, but you'll be happier that she knows. And she'll probably love you back."
Syaoran raised an eyebrow. "A-Are you crazy! I can't do that! Not after-"
He stopped in mid-sentence, the memory of two days ago returning...the memory he's been trying to get rid of.
"Y-Yes! I-I...love him."
Syaoran growled and practically jumped from the table in anger. Dammit. Why'd everything bad have to happen to him? Why did his dad have to die so horribly? Why did he have to become leader of such a big clan at such a young age? Why did the girl who he loved, the one who had changed him to be a better person...
...love another man.
"Li-kun! Gomen ne!" Tomoyo said as she was about to jump from the table as well. She didn't know what she had done, but she had obviously sparked a memory in his head. A bad memory. She felt so guilty. She didn't mean to do anything that would upset him.
She felt a hand on her shoulder before she started running towards Syaoran stalking out of the dining hall.
"Tomoyo, don't worry about it. It's not your fault. Something we didn't know probably happened between them," Eriol answered gently.
Tomoyo sighed and nodded. But before Syaoran had completely walked out of the room, she wanted to make sure he heard something first. Something very important that has been upsetting Sakura ever since the start of this trip.
"Li-kun! You better start to be open with your feelings again! I know you've been hiding them with your magic so that Sakura wouldn't feel what you feel! I know what you're trying to do! Maybe you shouldn't hide anymore, and just be open to her! You're upsetting her, you know. She thinks you hate her because you're hiding your feelings!" she yelled.
Syaoran had stopped walking. He didn't turn to look at Tomoyo but she knew he had heard. And he had heard good.
As much as he wanted to be open to her... "I can't...she can't find out..." Syaoran whispered to himself as he walked out of the dining hall.
With a soft click, the emerald eyed girl yawned as she closed her bedroom door. Clad in her light pink pajamas, a furry robe and slippers, she rubbed her eyes as she started towards the dining hall. She hadn't slept all night. She just couldn't get the guilty feeling that she had when she thought about what happened with Meiling yesterday. She knew they should've all told her. But it had simply slipped her mind. However...that wasn't the only thing nagging at her. She couldn't explain it but she had felt like it was a good thing if Meiling didn't find out. That if the Chinese girl did find out about the "connection" she had with Syaoran, Meiling would feel somehow really upset...like she is now.
Sakura shook her head and gave a small, tired grin. That was a stupid idea. Why would Meiling get really upset? Besides the fact that Syaoran was keeping things from her, Meiling wouldn't care if they had this little "connection." Meiling was only upset that Syaoran was keeping secrets. After all, they were quite close relatives. They must have told each other a lot of things.
If she only knew how right the nagging feeling was. But, let's carry on.
Walking in slow, almost drunken steps, she ambled her way until she heard other footsteps in the hall. She looked up and stopped in her tracks.
Syaoran.
He stopped too when he realized there was someone in front of him. That was when Sakura gave him a sleepy smile. "Good morning! You just come back from breakfast?"
He nodded slowly. "E-Eriol and Daidouji-san are there..."
"Arigato! At least I won't be eating alone."
She watched as his face expression changed somehow, almost nervous-like. She frowned a tiny bit. He was still keeping his feelings from her. The only clue she had in finding out what emotions he was hiding was his facial expressions. And she sucked at reading expression. Heck, she couldn't even read lips that good.
"Well...I'm gonna go. Ja ne. Tomoyo-chan said that we should go swimming in the afternoon together again. Then we're going to meet with her mother and just relax. Nice way to end a trip, ne?"
"Hai."
Giving one last, sad smile, Sakura started towards the dining hall once again. Once out of Syaoran's view, she sighed. Why was he keeping secrets? Why wasn't he opening up anymore?
At last Syaoran's heart beat seemed to slow as he silently watched the girl walk away. He knew he had been rather shy to her than he usually was – not that he was shy anymore. It was just that what Daidouji had said stuck to his mind...
"...you should tell her."
Whatever. That won't ever happen. But still, he wanted to tell her. He wanted her to know. But...he couldn't. She loved someone else and that was that.
Rubbing the back of his head, he frowned a bit. He had definitely noticed the sudden mood change she had while they were talking. One second she was chattering away like her usual self and then the next she was emitting an expression of sorrow. Was it because she noticed that he was hiding something? Was Daidouji telling the truth? Did she really think he hated her?
He had to talk to her. A frown definitely doesn't suit that girl.
A body lay limply under a mass of covers as she sighed through the darkness of the room. The curtains had been drawn, the lights turned off. She didn't feel in a bright mood today. She just lay there, her ruby eyes piercing through the dreary atmosphere, not even moving her body an inch. She didn't want to get up. She didn't want to go get breakfast. She didn't want to see everyone else. She wanted to stay put here forever.
Her eyes wandered to the digital clock on her bedside table. It was around noon. She couldn't believe it. She knew she could be lazy, but this was crazy! She had been awake half the night after all. It was an amazing thing actually. She hadn't gotten enough sleep yet she wasn't tired. Her mind was running, running with the thoughts of Syaoran.
Meiling was a big mess. She knew it, too. Her new friends probably knew it too. After all, they hadn't seen her since the day before. She didn't care though. She didn't care about anything.
After all, the thing that she did care about didn't seem to care for her anyway. Why would she care? Why should she?
The thing was, she didn't want to care about him anymore. Not after finding out that someone else had made such an impact in his life. Not after realizing that the person who had changd him was the girl Syaoran loved.
Meiling didn't want to care about him anymore...but the sad thing was...she still did.
And it hurt like hell.
Suddenly two loud knocks were heard. It had broken her tense atmosphere that she had grown accustomed to. She growled at the person at her door as she buried herself into her covers more. "What the hell do you want?" came the muffled voice.
"Meiling, -chanlease open the door. You need to eat," came a soft voice. It was Tomoyo.
"I'm sorry, but I'm not hungry."
"Please?" Tomoyo pleaded.
Meiling didn't respond. Hopefully Tomoyo would get the picture and go away. But then she heard muttering from the other side and in one simple second, the locked door had become unlocked. Light streamed in the room as two figures came in. Eriol and Tomoyo.
Meiling groaned. "Aww...that's no fair, Eriol."
Eriol gave a small grin as he closed the door, making the room dark once again. "Sorry. This angel was requesting it."
Tomoyo blushed in the darkness as she went over to the bed and sat with a tray of food on her lap. "Meiling-chan," she said gently, "We're worried about you. We haven't seen you all day. You have to eat."
The girl shrugged and buried herself under the covers again. "No thank you."
Tomoyo looked to Eriol for help and he sighed. "Meiling...we know that you love him. It is quite obvious."
Wow Eriol was always straight to the point, wasn't he? But Meiling didn't answer. She didn't know what to say.
"But you must know something that Tomoyo and I have been keeping from you, Syaoran, and Sakura."
Two ruby eyes suddenly appeared slightly. "You mean aside from the whole...thing?"
Eriol nodded. "Yes aside from the connection that they have between themselves. You see Meiling, I have a theory and I think I am quite right. The reason they have the connection in the first place is because...well basically, they're soul mates."
Meiling's eyes widened. "What?"
"Well it's a long story but I think that in actuality, Syaoran was supposed to meet the Card Mistress when the Cards were release those few years ago. But because of his father's death, he couldn't come. However, because it was destiny they were supposed to meet, they developed this kind of bond between themselves. They could feel each others emotions. They had visions and dreams of each other. This bond was obviously meant to being them together."
Tomoyo and Eriol looked sadly at the girl who was keeping her eyes glued on the bed covers. They were quickly filling with tears. Tears of sadness.
"So basically, they're meant to meet. They're destined to meet...and could I guess why?" came her chocked voice.
The other two in the room were silent. It was obvious that Meiling knew the answer.
"They're destined to...fall in love."
"I'm sorry Meiling," Eriol said quietly, "I was the one to bring him here. I couldn't stand seeing him how he was. I was hoping that my theory was correct and that he would be a different man. I...didn't mean for your heart to break in return..."
Suddenly, the tears overflowed and she was sobbing into the bed covers. She let it out. She had been holding it in all this time. She had to let it out now. But she didn't care that Tomoyo and Eriol were with her. She was actually thankful that Eriol had told her why Syaoran was here in the first place.
"How come I seem to love him so much? Why did it have to be her that changed him? If they were meant for each other, then who in the world am I meant for? The only one I really cared for was Syaoran! I was the only one who understood him! Me! I was there with him the whole time! When Uncle died...when everyone was pressuring him... Yet...it wasn't me he fell in love with. And I can't even bring myself to hate Sakura! She's such a good person! I can't. I don't know what to do!"
Tomoyo, putting the tray on the bedside table, put her arm on Meiling to comfort her. She looked at Eriol who now looked as if he had nothing else to say. Sobs filled the silent air as Meiling just let her tears flow. Tomoyo sighed as she tried to console the poor girl. Meiling was innocent. She had simply fallen in love with someone like anyone else would have done. But he didn't love her back and they weren't made for each other. How was Meiling ever going to come back from all this? But Tomoyo knew for sure that there had to be someone out there for Meiling. Just as Li-kun had said, she deserved someone who'll love and care for her.
"There's no one out there for me! No one else but Syaoran!"
Tomoyo shook her head as she looked Meiling in the eye. "You're wrong. There's someone out there. And you'll probably be in even more love with him than with Li-kun. And the best thing is...he'll love you too."
Sakura contentedly flipped the page of the magazine she was reading as she scanned the pictures of beautiful movie stars and the latest celebrity gossip. She would hate being someone as popular as they were. Imagine people you don't even know gossiping about you, contradicting you or even hating you. She knew not all people were haters. There were the many fans celebrities had. But still, if you were to get into a relationship, all eyes would be on you. Sakura almost laughed aloud. She had enough trouble telling the boy she liked her feelings.
Her eyes widened and she dropped the glass of water she had been drinking.
She couldn't believe it. As soon as she had that thought, an image of Syaoran appeared.
But why him?
Suddenly, she was pushed slightly from behind and nearly jumped out of her skin.
"Scared you?" Syaoran smirked as he took the seat next to her.
She had been sitting quietly on deck beside the pool. Luckily she hadn't been that surprised otherwise she would've jumped right into the water in front of her. She giggled. "Don't do that!"
He just shrugged, a slight smile on his lips. Then he spotted the empty glass of water about to roll away and picked it up. "Guess you weren't thirsty?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.
"No, no," she said with a nervous grin. "Just dropped it by accident." Sakura had to hide her blush as hard as she could. She couldn't let him know that she had been thinking about the person she liked and his image pops up! What would he think!
But hard as she tried, he noticed and grew even more suspicious as he felt nervousness and almost embarrassment coming from her. Was he missing something? Deciding not to say anything, he sat there in the awkward silence.
Then he remembered why he had come to her in the first place. "Sakura..." he started.
"Yes?"
He had a serious yet almost sullen look to his face and she immediately knew something was up. "About this bond thing..."
Sakura's face fell. So he wanted to talk about this? Was he going to tell her that he hated it and that was reason why he was hiding his emotions all this time? Her heart suddenly felt heavy and she looked at her lap. She understood why he could hate it so much...but she had just thought that maybe...it was bringing them closer.
Syaoran of course noticed, especially since that a feeling of sorrow suddenly replaced her other feelings. "Hey what's wrong?"
She shook her head. "Nothing. Don't worry about it," she said as she looked up at him and passed a smile on her face. "Go on. You were saying something?"
He still knew that something was wrong and was still looking at her suspiciously. But he obeyed and continued what he was saying. He had to finish what he started. Besides, he wanted to clear this whole thing up with her. Daidouji had said that Sakura thought he hated her because he hid his feelings from her. It had been bothering him all day and so he had finally gotten the courage to go talk to her. "I...I know that you haven't been able to...feel any emotions from me lately. I just want you to know that it isn't meant to mock or hurt you. I-I'm just confused about some of my feelings right now. And I...I guess I just wanna figure it out for myself, okay?"
She blinked in confusion. She hadn't been expecting that at all. "So...you aren't mad at me? You don't hate me?"
Syaoran chuckled. So it was true after all. She did feel that. How ironic that she might think he hated her...when really he loved her way beyond his own understanding. "Of course not."
A burst of happiness hit him as she suddenly jumped and hugged him tightly. He blushed like a maniac and stiffly hugged back. She was so...warm.
A bright smile on her face, she clung onto him still. "I was so worried that you didn't like me or something!"
"O-Of course not."
After the girl had stopped laughing with joy, they just kind of stayed there and an air of comfort seemed to take over. They were frozen in each other's arms like statues. The only thing was that their hearts were beating like crazy.
"So...umm..." Sakura said as she pulled away slightly to look into his amber eyes. "You should tell me what you're so confused about. Maybe I could help out?"
He looked at her pretty face in shock. She wanted to help? Why?
He had the sudden urge to just tell her. To just say "Because I think I love you" and scream it to the whole world. He didn't care if she liked someone. He would say it over and over and over again. Kinomoto Sakura is the name of his first and only love! He wanted to pronounce it, tell everyone about it, tell all those stupid boys to stay away. He felt his magic shield that hid his emotions slipping as he just continued staring at her pondering eyes. Then he got that sudden urge to feel those small lips against his, against his body.
"Sakura..." he began with a slurred, deep voice. "I-"
"Hey Sakura-chan! Guess wha-"
Syaoran and Sakura turned and immediately let go of each other, both bright pink. A stunned Tomoyo stood there, a camcorder in one hand.
She couldn't believe it. They were...holding each other! And she had gotten some of it on tape! "KAWAII!"
Two other figures came up behind her as she yelled in delight.
"What's wrong?" Eriol asked. Meiling looked on with interest, a smirk on her face.
Suddenly upon seeing the raven haired Chinese girl, Sakura forgot about the current situation and jumped from her seat. "Meiling-chan!" she cried happily. "You're out!"
Meiling nodded as Sakura hugged her. Smiling, she said, "Eh...got tired of sleeping. Besides it's our last day! Let's do a little bit of swimming!"
That was when Sakura noticed that the three that had just arrived were all dressed in their bathing suits as Eriol carried the towels. Sakura smiled and nodded. "I'll go change!"
As she ran away, Tomoyo was crying out to Eriol the same word, "KAWAII!" over and over again as he laughed and tried to calm her down to see what was the matter with her. As for the Li cousins, Meiling walked past the man whom she had loved and with a big, Meiling-sized grin, winked at him before jumping into the warm pool.
As for Syaoran, he was still frozen in shock and nervousness. Shocked because Meiling seemed to be her regular self again and nervous because...
...he had almost let out his little secret.
"Well Sakura-chan," Sonomi said as she gave a little hug. "I hope you and your friends enjoyed the trip!"
It was evening and they were finally on land again. Their cruise had ended and here they were at the dock. They hadn't done much on the boat except for relaxing and swimming in the pool, but all of them seemed to be bonded closer together. Even Meiling felt that way, and she was the newest member of the little group of friends.
Sakura hugged her aunt back. "Of course we had fun! It was terrific!"
Sonomi smiled and nodded. "I'm glad."
Eriol and Syaoran were packing the luggage into the truck of a limo. Seems like they were heading home in style too! As for Meiling and Tomoyo, they were chatting and laughing, recalling the day's events when the girls verse the guys in pool volleyball and won.
"Well, it's time to go! Hop in. The limo will take all of you guys home," Sonomi said as she too slid inside the roomy car. She beamed. "I feel like I know all of you now as well as your parents know you guys! I'm glad Sakura-chan and Li-kun picked all of you."
The gang smiled and one by one entered the car after saying their farewells to the crew members and the "Trail's Trials" executives who had joined them in the cruise. Only three more people had to slide into the limo: Eriol, Tomoyo and Meiling. Just when Eriol and Tomoyo were about to hop in the car, Meiling stopped them. "Hey, wait you two..."
They looked at her. "Yeah? What is it?" Eriol asked.
The Chinese girl looked at the ground. "Well...I-I just wanted to thank you two for getting me out of my depression and for comforting me." She looked away, tears in her eyes. "I-It's not like my feelings for him just disappeared. In fact, they are still very much there. But I..." She sighed and forced a smile. "I guess you guys helped me learn that sometimes life doesn't go your way. To make someone happy doesn't necessarily mean you have to be in their life. I'm just happy that he's happy," she finished with a whisper.
Tomoyo smiled and Eriol patted the girl's shoulder. "Oh, Meiling-chan. We didn't do a thing," Tomoyo said.
Eriol smiled sadly. "I'm just sorry that things aren't going your way...and I'm still sorry for not telling you about it earlier." He looked genuinely sorry as he stared at Meiling. He had known her for awhile and never before had she said anything like this. "Do you forgive me?"
Meiling laughed – something she missed doing, and hugged both of them happily. "Of course you idiot!"
"Hey guys!" Sakura yelled from inside the limousine. "We're about to leave!"
The three hurried into the car and shut the door. They started to drive away.
Sakura giggled. "What were you guys talking about?" she asked. "You stayed out there for a long time! And it was freezing!"
"Oh," Meiling said slyly. "We were scheming a way to hook two of our friends up."
She, Eriol and Tomoyo instantly starting laughing as Syaoran blushed deeply.
Meanwhile, a confused Sakura looked on with confusion. "Hoee?"
A loud chirping came to his ears as he groaned. Damn birds. Why'd they have to be up so early?
Syaoran opened one sleepy eye to look at his alarm clock. It was six thirty in the morning. He was still extremely tired. That cruise had worn him out especially with the swimming yesterday. And today they had school. Dammit.
Forcing himself up, he wobbled over to his door. He couldn't get back to sleep anyway. Might as well have breakfast.
As soon as he opened it, a pleasant aroma came to his senses. He took it in and sighed. Was Meiling awake already? No way. Meiling was not an early bird.
He walked into the kitchen of his apartment, the source of the sweet smell. A woman was at the stove, just finishing up some pancakes. Syaoran was shocked. So she really was awake! It was weird to see her awake and making breakfast.
Meiling turned, sensing someone behind her as she turned off the stove. Finally! She had done it! She had made pancakes! This time, it didn't burn! Well, this definitely wasn't like baking a cake, but it was close. At least she knew she wasn't all that bad at cooking food besides those Chinese specialties. "Ohayou Syaoran!" she greeted happily. "You're up early."
Her cousin took a seat at the table, scratching the back of his head as he yawned. "I should say the same to you. Meiling, you were never an early bird."
She laughed as she dropped some pancakes on an empty plate in front of him and poured him some orange juice. "Well, couldn't sleep well. Besides, I still got a bit of jet lag in me even though my flight from Hong Kong was a few days ago." She yawned as she got a breakfast ready for herself too. She knew that jet lag was an excuse but was hoping Syaoran wouldn't see through it. The reason she couldn't sleep was because he was plaguing her mind all night. She had nightmares of being alone for the rest of her life and decided that staying up would be much better than sleeping and getting another nightmare.
They started eating their breakfast in silence, listening to the birds already up and about. Their forks clinked against their plates as they both had something on their minds. Syaoran was wondering about how different she was acting. She was still the same...yet different somehow. She seemed...rather calmer actually. It probably had something to do with the incident on the cruise. "Meiling."
She looked up from her plate. "Hm?" she asked with a huge piece of pancake in her mouth.
"You seem..." He looked at her expression carefully. "...different."
Meiling blinked. "Huh? How?"
Well for one thing, she hadn't hugged him out of nowhere or clung onto his arm or anything like that since the first day she got here. But he decided not to tell her that. "You just are."
The girl grinned and shrugged. "I'm just tired. I'll perk up later. Don't worry about it." She didn't want to talk to him about this. She would talk to anyone else...just not him. Hopefully, he didn't see through her lies.
"Fine..." Syaoran said. He didn't want to push it further than it was. Besides, she seemed stiff, as if she didn't want to talk about it at all. "I'm here to talk to if you need me though."
Meiling nodded with a smile. He was still as caring as ever.
"You still seem distant though. We'll call Sakura and the others after school. They can probably cheer you up more than I ever could," he said as he starting eating again. "Oh. I think Sakura was talking about shopping or something. Said she wanted show you the shops around here."
The girl smiled sadly as she watched him talk about Kinomoto Sakura. It seemed as if he was somehow happier just by saying her name. It still hurt Meiling. It hurt a lot. But she hid it well, knowing it was for the best. Fate wanted this to happen. Fate didn't want Li Syaoran and Li Meiling to love each other.
"Meiling?" he said, snapping her out of her reverie. "You okay?" He had noticed her staring at him with a sorrowful grin on her face.
"You like Sakura," she blurted quietly, the same small smile on her face. "You like her a lot."
Syaoran stopped moving, his fork in midair. A shocked expression on his face, he felt the blood rising to his cheeks. How the hell had Meiling found out? Was it obvious? Did Eriol or Tomoyo tell her? Would Sakura find out too? "W-What?"
Meiling forced herself to smile brighter as she saw Syaoran blush. "I knew it!" she exclaimed with fake happiness.
The Li Leader was blushing like mad. "How'd you-"
"Oh please, Syaoran," she said, taking a sip from her orange juice. "It's as plain as day!" She squealed. "That's so cute!"
"Meiling," he replied. "Don't make such a huge deal out of-"
"Nonsense. She's your first love and you expect me not to go ballistic?" his cousin asked. "So, give me details! When did you find out? Does she feel the same? Did you tell her? When are you going to tell her?"
Syaoran nearly jumped. "I-I can't tell her!" he sputtered. "It's totally out of the question!" He couldn't believe this. He couldn't believe he was talking to Meiling about this out of all people. Didn't she...like him? Maybe he had been wrong about thinking that she did?
"And why not?" she replied with a frown. "You should tell her...and soon. Watch. Some other guy will claim her before you get to."
He growled, feeling jealousy well up in his chest. She was right. Some other man was going to claim the Card Mistress...Tsukishiro Yukito. "Meiling! I don't want to talk about this!" Then he swallowed the rest of his breakfast whole, causing Meiling to crack up in laughter. Afterward, he put the dirty dishes in the sink and walked angrily to his room. "I'm going to get ready for school," he said.
Meiling's laughter subsided. "Okay."
Before entering his bedroom, she heard him yell. "Oh yeah. Later after school we can go over to the school to get your uniform and get you registered. You said you're staying here for awhile right?"
The girl froze. That's right. She had been planning to stay here for a couple of months and had told Syaoran when she first arrived that she was going to go to the same school as he once she got registered. But now...she wasn't sure if she wanted to stay in Japan. It wasn't that it wasn't a nice place. In fact, she thought it was beautiful. But she couldn't see how she would survive here with...Syaoran loving someone else.
She definitely couldn't stay here. She would run. No one had to know. She had some money to call a cab anyway. Then, she could pay for the flight back to Hong Kong under her mother's name. That was the plan. She was leaving...for good.
"Oh...y-yeah sure!" she yelled back nervously.
She heard the door shut and stared down at her breakfast. Tears started forming. She knew she couldn't stay here. Sure she was happy to meet Sakura and Tomoyo but...well she couldn't explain it. She didn't want to watch Syaoran falling for another girl. She wouldn't be able to stand that.
"Hey Li-kun, you okay, man?" Yamazaki asked as he picked passed him the basketball. They were in P.E. and the guys were playing basketball yet again. "You've been missing those easy shots during the whole game."
Syaoran nodded and looked at Yamazaki with confusion written all over his face. "I know. I don't know what's wrong with me."
Eriol jogged over to them, easily grabbing the ball from Syaoran's hands. "You haven't been passing all that well either, Syaoran. Is something on your mind?" Eriol asked. "You're usually a really good player."
Syaoran shrugged. Something kept nagging at him. Something that he overlooked. "I feel distracted by something...but I don't know what it is."
Yamazaki shrugged. "Well let's hit the showers before lunch. We told the girls we'd join them remember?"
Syaoran nodded blankly. What was wrong with him?
"Hey, ladies," Eriol said teasingly as he, Syaoran and Yamazaki sat next to Sakura and her friends. They were outside since it was a glorious day. Everyone seemed to be cheerful.
"Hi Eriol-kun! Syaoran! Yamazaki-kun!" Sakura said as she munched on her lunch.
They all sat together as Sakura, Eriol and Tomoyo told the others about their trip and how fun it was. However, Syaoran sat there, staring expressionlessly at his uneaten lunch on his lap.
"-I wish you all could've been there! Naoko-chan, it would've been the perfect place to read or work on your stories because it was so peaceful! Plus, Meiling-chan is a really nice person. Oh, yeah! Syaoran, did you tell her about going shopping today? I wanted her to meet everyone here," Sakura was saying.
But he didn't reply. Something was still obviously bothering him.
"Hey, Li-kun," Rika said. "You okay?"
He snapped out of it when Eriol poked his shoulder. "What? Sorry. What happened?"
"Sakura-chan was asking if you invited Meiling-chan shopping today," Tomoyo explained.
"Oh yeah. Yeah I did. Told her this morn-"
Then it hit him. Meiling! It had something to do with her! He didn't know how he knew that but he knew something wasn't right here.
"Uh...look you guys," he said as he suddenly picked up himself up. "I'm going home for lunch. Something doesn't felt right."
"Still feeling that, Li-kun?" Yamazaki asked. "That's been nagging you all day."
"No wonder you're so out of it," Chiharu added.
Sakura looked at him worriedly. "Is something the matter?"
Syaoran shook his head in response. "No. Don't worry about it. Ja."
"Wait Syaoran," Sakura said as he went off. But he hurried away and she stared after him as she too began to worry. Something was wrong with him. She could feel it.
He got home and didn't even bother closing the door behind him. The apartment was rather quiet. He had expected Meiling to be lying on the couch watching some soap opera but she wasn't there. Syaoran walked around the whole apartment, but still, she wasn't to be found.
"Meiling? Where'd she go?"
Suddenly, a post-it on the refrigerator caught his eye. It had her exact handwriting: a scribbled yet feminine style. He took it off and read the short note.
Immediately, he ran out of the apartment, not even bothering to lock the door as he dropped the post-it on the way. It fluttered to the floor.
Syaoran
I have to get out of here. I'm going back home. I can't stand it anymore. I have to go and think.
Bye.
Don't try looking for me. I'll already be gone.
Li Meiling
"She could've told me," Syaoran muttered himself as he made his way through the crowd of people. He was at the airport, trying to figure out where the departure times were showed. But it was impossible. There were just too much people in here.
He figured out what was bothering him so much. Meiling had been planning this. He had a suspicion this morning when she had stuttered after he asked her about registering in the school. But he hadn't taken much notice to it. He was worried about her. And guilty. He knew she was still saddened by the whole 'connection' thing. Even though she was hiding it, he knew she was upset. Syaoran knew he had to say sorry. She loved him, but he didn't love her. It must've broke her heart.
"This is the last call for Flight 70 bound for Hong Kong. Gate A5. I repeat, this is..."
Syaoran sighed in relief. Thank god for intercoms. But where was he? Was he even close to the gate? Luckily, he found a map of the place and quickly made his through to it. Gate A5 was all the way at the other end of the airport!
"Damn..."
Why did these things have to happen to him?
"Gate A5," Syaoran said to himself. "Here it is."
He had done it. He had gotten there on time!
And man, he was tired.
He spotted a girl in her seat, curled up into a ball on one of the seats.
"Meiling!"
A raven haired girl looked up in surprise from her seat. She had been listening to her CD player, unwilling to leave for some reason. Everyone else bound for Hong Kong had already entered the plane and the intercom kept saying that it was the last call. But she didn't want to go. Syaoran was in this country after all. And now here he was, standing in front of her.
With an utter look of shock on her face, she walked over to him, bringing her purse with her. How had he gotten here on time? He was missing school! "Syaoran!" she exclaimed. "How?"
Syaoran gave a grin and shrugged. "You should've told me Meiling. You shouldn't go around sneaking like that."
She looked at the ground. "Well I-"
"Meiling-chan!"
The two Lis turned around in surprise as three people came running towards them. Meiling was shocked. Sakura, Eriol and Tomoyo were here too? "Hey you guys!"
Meiling went over to them. "How did you-"
Eriol shrugged as he panted. "We just followed Syaoran's aura. And let me tell you, he was running all over the place! But putting that aside..."
"Meiling-chan, why are you leaving?" Sakura asked with a frown. "I was hoping you'd meet everyone else today."
Meiling grinned. "I would've liked that...really. But I...have to go back. This isn't my home. Besides, I need to think about a few things."
Tomoyo came up to her with an understanding smile on her face. "We understand, Meiling-chan. Besides, we can write and call each other and you can visit anytime!"
The Chinese girl nodded. Tomoyo understood. So did Eriol. After all, they were the ones who had helped her understand many things. "Well I better get going! I'll see you guys later!" She gave all three of them a big, group hug as the intercom yelled that it was the last call again. She ignored it once more and turned to Eriol. "Thank you for everything. Even for...telling me about...you know. I'll miss your class and jokes, Eriol!" She came closer to him and whispered, "Make sure you tell Tomoyo soon okay?"
Eriol stiffly nodded, a blush spreading on his face.
"Aw, Tomoyo! Thank you for everything! I'll miss you, girl!" Meiling again whispered something else. "And write to me how the progress between Sakura and Syaoran is okay?"
Tomoyo nodded. "Will do!"
Meiling slyly grinned. "And how you and Eriol are doing."
"Uh...sure." She blushed a bright red.
Meiling turned to the next person and hugged her again. "Sakura, thanks a lot for inviting me to the cruise. It was a lot of fun. And...I'm glad I met you. That Syaoran met you..."
Sakura blinked. "Hoe? No problem Meiling-chan! Anything for a friend!" She smiled brightly although she was slightly confused.
Lastly, the girl turned to the final and last person. Syaoran. She walked up to him as the three others walked a couple of feet away, giving them space to talk privately. Meiling shrugged and smiled. "I'll see you when you go home-" She stopped. That wasn't right. Hong Kong no longer seemed like his home. This was his home. Tomoeda, Japan. She started her sentence over, a bit sadly. "I'll see you when I see you."
Syaoran nodded slowly, looking at her carefully. "You should've still told me that you were leaving, Meiling. I wouldn't have minded bringing you, if that's what you were worried about," he said.
She shook her head and looked up at him with a plastered smile on her lips. "Nah. I'm just a burden to you, Syaoran. Besides, I can take care of myself." She looked him over once more as he stared at her with those deep amber orbs. "You know, Xiao Lang," she whispered so only he could hear. "Don't tell anyone...but I had an itty bitty crush on you before. I know it's weird but...that's how feelings are. They're weird."
He looked at her in shock. He had been right. But she didn't like him anymore? He smiled. That was good. She'd find someone else that would love her back. "Oh...really?" he said. He didn't want her to know that he had known all along. It might be embarrassing for her.
Meiling nodded, a blush covering her cheeks. "Yep."
"Meiling?"
"Yeah?"
"I'm sorry."
She looked at him in confusion. "For what? You didn't do anything."
He shrugged and looked at her sheepishly. "For not telling you about Sakura and me. And for..." He couldn't say it. But he wanted to say it. He wanted her to know. After all, they told each other everything. But maybe this wasn't the right time.
Meiling shrugged as he trailed off and another last call for the flight boomed in her ear again. She gave him a long hug. "Tell her okay, Syaoran? Tell Sakura that you love her. I want you to be happy as soon as possible," she said as she pulled away.
He stood there silently as she gave one final smile and ran off. He heard the other three who had followed him started yelling their goodbyes with tears in their eyes.
Syaoran looked at the ground and whispered to himself.
"...I'm sorry that I hurt you. I'm sorry that I didn't love you back."
Meiling ran, tears blurring her vision, as she hurried down the long hallway which led to the plane. Then, she quickly took her seat. She had been the last one to arrive.
There, she looked out the window as it took off, she curled herself into a ball in her seat as she silently wept. She had lied to him. First of all, she didn't like him just an itty bitty bit. She liked him a lot. Loved him in fact. And second of all, it wasn't that she loved him...it was that she still was in love with him. The feelings hadn't vanished. They were still lingering there as if to haunt her.
"Damn love. It sucks ass..."
"Excuse me, miss?" a voice said.
She quickly wiped away her tears and looked towards the voice. A tall Chinese man with short hair and a kind face looked at her in worry. "Yes?" she asked as she tried to hide the fact that she had been crying.
He looked at her red face silently and smiled a bit. Then, he reached down in his laptop bag and brought out a pack of tissues. "Here. You seem like you need these more than me."
Meiling let out a watery smile and gratefully took them. "Thanks...um..."
"Liang. Fai Liang," he answered with a smile. "Nice to have been of service to a lady like you."
She smiled through her tears. "Thanks."
This guy...This Liang...maybe he's a new beginning to a tragic heartbreak?