I Think I'm In Love with My Bestfriend's Boyfriend
Author's Notes: Well, it is the (why is this chapter so LAME?) end after all. (dun dun dun!) But let's see if you can spot some hints of readers' usernames in the story!
Sorry for the delay…I had to do and redo this one to get my point straight (Hey, at least everyone agreed that Syaoran was a jerk ) and still I didn't get it right…
Disclaimer: All characters and places are property of the manga-ka CLAMP and companies related to it. Only the plot and story is my intellectual product.
Chapter Nine: Aftermath
"Wh-what?" Sakura stammered, clearly surprised. She wasn't the only one - Syaoran didn't expect that he would act so rashly. Backing up from her, he cursed himself silently for his own recklessness.
Eriol and Tomoyo paused in their silent calm, finally noticing the pressure that had formed between the other two people. Before they could even voice their own side of things, Syaoran Li had stood up, taken to his swift feet and disappeared, running into the house to escape.
"Syaoran!" Sakura called out, but there was no reply.
Eriol released his arms from Tomoyo, glanced at her reassuringly and dashed towards the other girl, who by then was sitting helplessly and clueless on the grass. Tomoyo followed suit, rushing to her treasured friend to repay for all the times she had been comforted.
Despite their concern, hands were slapped away and comments of sympathy were ignored. Sakura gathered herself together once more, shakily made an effort to get upright and slowly but surely walked towards the house.
The two others she left behind could not do anything but silently observe, speechless and caught between joy and jeopardy.
At this point, Sakura inevitably began to doubt everything. She knew from the many television drama shows she had watched that some phrases: 'I love you', 'I'm dying', 'I hate you' - could be used as a more effective 'Shut up'. Was this what she was encountering now?
She had a small sparkle of hope that Syaoran would be waiting for her in the kitchen, but that all drained away. There was another, raven-black emptiness that rung through-out her heart.
Hurt, Sakura rushed home, nearly getting run over by half a dozen cars. Going through her already wide open door, she bounded up the stairs on a crash course to her bed.
"Why, why, why? Why are people like him so insensitive?" Sakura asked herself hopelessly, pounding the pillows relentlessly on her bed. Unable to stop the tears that threatened to fall, she cried herself to troubled sleep.
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Both Eriol and Tomoyo felt little pity for Syaoran, but such great sympathy for Sakura. Even if it was not their situation, it was so…unfair.
"Eriol-kun…" Tomoyo began, "…are you sure about this decision?"
The other gave her a questioning look, then realized her doubts.
"Of course not, Tomoyo-chan. But we'll have to find a way to help them."
They both smiled.
As they were, a knock came at the Daidouji home door. There was the sound of some maids scurrying to open the entrance. Silence stayed in the air for a few moments, when there was an announcement.
"Kinomoto Sakura." Said the helper.
Rising quickly from their seats to greet the visitor at the receiving room, they began to move forward but were stopped by the sickly-looking face of Sakura herself. Eriol began to greet her in politeness, yet Sakura lifted a hand.
"I have no time for conversation. I'm sorry, but all I need from you two is advice." The green-eyed girl informed them indifferently.
"Well, what about?" Her best friend inquired, concerned.
"About Syaoran, I need to find him som-" Sakura tried to say, but Eriol who was equally worrisome about her cut in.
"Try the park. Trees."
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Sakura walked along the sand path, somewhat admiring the beauty of nature around her. The tree branches brushed lightly against her face, and there hung both quiet serenity and the sweetness of sap in the atmosphere.
As she went along, she heard a rustle in the trees and was about to investigate, when she felt a wet sensation on her cheek.
A drop fell. Another. It was raining once more.
'Eriol hates the rain. He would love the rain from now on,' she thought, happy for the reunity of the long-lost lovebirds. Sakura couldn't be too happy yet though: she was still in deep waters.
Another. It was raining.
Or…was it.
Realizing that it was bright as any day and that there were no clouds at all, she shifted her gaze up to find an answer. Expecting to find stray raindrops on the trees she instead found…a person. Sakura's eyes widened to the point that one would've thought she saw green cucumbers walk.
Hugging the large trunk like a small child, tears of confusion and stress streaming silently down his face, was Syaoran. The last time anyone had seen him shed a tear was…too long ago.
She instinctively reached out to him, but drew back her arm. He was unreasonable awhile ago, and she had every reason believe he was now. Clearing her mind of doubts and taking a risky gamble…
Making her decision, Sakura retied her undone hair and began to climb the height of bark and wood. With only a few aged branches and leaves to worry about, she hastily ascended skywards.
Tomoyo and Eriol peeked up from the bush they were hiding secretly in, having already caught up with Sakura, but, upon seeing the current situation, had good mind to stay away from intervening.
Hearing the noisy rustle of foliage and twigs from below him, Syaoran looked down. Steadying himself at the initial height shock, he located what the commotion was of. Sakura Kinomoto.
Unaware of what to do, he simply climbed further up.
Finding the new problem quite easily, Sakura increased her pace to keep up with Syaoran, who was already quite adept at climbing trees. Feeling a tiny bit of exhaustion, she began to scramble up the branches at high speed, ignoring the small animals that scattered to safety at her approach.
"Syaoran, wait up!"
All she got in return was the strangled noise of choked back tears.
'This tree has to end sooner or later.' Sakura thought miserably.
She continued upwards, and upwards…
…more and more…
…till she ultimately reached the top branches.
And there she found:
Absolutely nothing.
She had been fooled.
Sakura felt like the queen of karma. What goes around - comes around. What goes up…must, somehow, come down. Then how did Syaoran get past her? Did he-
She gulped in terror, suspecting that he might have fallen down--but luckily there was no corpse lying on the grass when she peered earthwards: just Tomoyo and Eriol, who were looking up intently.
She might have lost him entirely if it wasn't for the sound of child-like sniffling. Smirking in her own childish play, she decided to go along and play tag.
Following the released sighs and heavy, sobbing breaths, she hopped down from branch to branch, through thorny patches of leaves, determined to keep her oath to herself that she wouldn't lose Syaoran another time.
And she didn't.
…………………………………………
She found Syaoran hidden in the cover of leaves that made shades like night shadows, virtually impossible to see if he had a better control of his emotions. When Sakura took his paled hand in hers, he glared at her like she had caused the skipping of Sundays and was the queen of ice goddesses.
Syaoran snatched his fingers from her hold: and almost, almost fell down through the thin grasp of the branches and into oblivion. But not this time - Sakura was determined to set things right.
"What's wrong, Syaoran?" she asked, trying to get inbetween the immature barrier that had formed on the outside. This was the true defence: the innocence and easy-go of a kid.
Yet Syaoran Li could still feel inner disintegration at the unfairness of everything; so instead he did what was the best thing to do in such an occurrence.
Glomp-hug.
"I'm so sorry."
An apology was all she needed.
A smile of pure happiness jumped into Sakura's face; she could almost imagine star fairy dust and sakura/cherry blossoms simply twirling around them: a prince and a princess destined to have their own 'happily-ever-after' that had been their fantasy from day one…forever and always.
But that was the thing: happily ever, after trouble.
"What's wrong Syaoran?" Sakura questioned gently, careful to remain neutral in everything she said.
Down below, Eriol and Tomoyo closed their eyes and attempted to regain hold of the conversation above.
"I thought Tomoyo…" Syaoran achieved, before a new wave of tears came to being. He felt so weak…weak, weak, weak, more than old crumpled paper balls, more than anything he'd ever seen. With every new hot drop down his face his mind screamed out: 'Weak!'
"Everything will be alright."
And at that point, he did feel like all was alright.
Because Sakura Kinomoto was there.
"Everything will be alright?" he echoed, questioning like a lost child.
"Everything."
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Well…except…
'Ahh!'
A crash followed soon after the twin screams, and Eriol and Tomoyo found themselves as landing gear.
"Almost everything." Syaoran commented slyly, wiping the excess moisture from his face. "Wait a minute…how did you know that I would be up there?"
Sakura and Tomoyo looked at Eriol, who was still rubbing his head from the unexpected drop. Noticing the six pairs of eyes staring intently at him, he decided they wanted an answer.
"Just a feeling."
They all laughed. Well, until Sakura-sama found something out.
"Why are you two here?"
Turning deep red, both Eriol and Tomoyo jumped a few paces back. Sakura kept a stern expression on her face, until a fit of giggles broke loose.
They all laughed.
"Everything will be alright? I'm sorry again…" Syaoran stated again.
Sakura smiled warmly. "Yes, everything."
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