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A Kiss to Die For
By Louann1
Chapter 2: Role Playing and Role Kissing
" My love, how long must I wait until your arrival? How many cold endless nights must I endure until I hear the soft sound of your voice in my ears? How will I survive the bitter eternal snow that falls separating us?" She fell onto her bed with tearful eyes that only expressed a small part of her sorrow.
" I think I'm gonna cry," Syaoran pulled out a Kleenex and handed it to the emotional stage prop next to him. " Thank you."
He blew his nose and handed it back,
" Uhh... You keep it." He looked up at the back of the theatre and called out to the light coming from the back of the threater. " Dim the lights and turn on the yellow for the next scene."
" Yes Li-sensei!" The small chorus of girls replied and began flicking switches.
Syaoran stretched his arms and legs and slumped back in his chair. The cast of the play had been rehearsing since that morning. Although there were a few objections to rehearsals out of school, the majority of them had been working hard running through the scenes. Syaoran was impressed with the new script; there was something about the grammar and spelling mistake riddled script that was heartfelt and real. The plot hadn't changed and yet Syaoran found that the rendition was better.
After running through the first couple of scenes Syaoran decided that it would be best to take a short break. Everyone was enthusiastic about perfecting the play but it wasn't really showing through their tired and almost depressing performance. However, there was one student who seemed to be unaffected by the dispiriting attitude of the classmates around her.
" Miss Kinomoto? May I speak with you for a moment, please?" Syaoran approached the young woman as she went over her lines. She peered up from her novel script and turned to him with a worried look." It's nothing serious. You're not in trouble. I just wanted to congratulate you on your performance earlier. It was very convincing."
" Thank you sir." She looked at him as if to say 'and?'.
" A-and with the up coming exams, I'm a little concerned as you just started attending here."
" I'll be alright. I've got a few weeks to catch up." She replied with a delightful tone.
" Well, if you need any help-"
" Li-sensei! Li-sensei! It's terrible! It's horrible! What are we going to do? All our hard work gone down the drain!"
" What is it?" Syaoran turned to the panicked student.
" Li-sensei! It's a tragedy!" The student continued in a shrilling tone.
" What is it?"
" I can't believe this is happening!"
" Just tell me what the problem is!" Syaoran's patience was running thin.
" Oh... Heh, sorry sir. It's about the leading role."
" You mean Takato's part?"
" Yes that's the one."
" Well... I don't see what's wrong."
" Well, I think that he might be a problem."
" Why do you say that?"
" Because..."
" Because?" Syaoran looked at him curiously.
" Because... He can't act!" The student finally blurted out.
Syaoran paused and saw the student waiting eagerly for the reply.
" Hahaha! Of course he can act! I've seen him lie convincingly to other teacher about homework. That's acting. Anyway what makes you say that he can't act?" Syaoran laughed at the thought.
" Dearest, this snai- I mean, snow (it's snow right?) won't last forever. Soon the sun or wind or something will met these frosty beings of frost?" The boy forced out the line.
How did this idiot get the part? I knew I should've been there at the auditions. Damn you teacher meeting! Syaoran thought as he watched Takato's horrendous non-existent acting skills.
" I don't understand this. Takato! What are you doing?" Syaoran jumped onto the stage to join the hopeless student.
" Well, I'm acting sir," The boy replied.
" Act with conviction! You're trying to convince the perfect woman in the world that you'll be with her again as soon as the weather changes," Syaoran expressed such emotion trying to pursuade Takato to be more expressing. "Miss Kinomoto? You're in this scene right?"
" Um... Yes sir," she replied startled by the sudden call of her name.
" Could you act out your part while I show Takato what to do?"
" Okay," She walked up the steps to the stage which had been quickly prepared.
" Okay, from the beginning."
" Right," She cleared her throat before starting. " Please stay with me, if you leave now then the heavens will open blanketing the earth with snow that is eternal."
She looked deeply into his eyes with a fixated glance that pierced through his heart.
" Dearest, this snow won't last forever. Soon the spring will come and will melt these frosty figures of ice that will separate us," He took her hands in his and noticed how much warmer they were.
" But I don't want you to go," She grabbed him with a tight grip and clutched onto him preventing him from moving. She rested her head on his chest and said, " I love you. I thought you understood how much I need you to smile, to breathe, to live."
" I'm sorry," He took her by her shoulders and pushed her away. " I can't stay. I have been given a mission to carry out and I have to complete the task set for me. Please forgive me, wait for my return... I beg you."
" I can't. I won't let you walk away. Don't you love me? Didn't you say that we'd be together for eternity? Are your promises as empty as your heart right now?" She averted her gaze and waited for his reply. Each second seemed much more longer. She turned away from him, satisfied but not content with his answer. " I understand. Then it is better if we forget. Forget your memories of me as I will of you. Erase me from your heart if I was eventhere at all." With a strained pace she began to walk away with her heartache dragging behind her.
" No I won't," He finally managed to bring himself to say something and as he did she paused waiting for the rest of his reaction. " I refuse to. I won't forget you. How could I? You are the person I care for the most. Why should I? It's not of any hurt to you if I remember and you don't. I don't want to leave with our circumstances like this." A cascade of tears fell to the ground, filling the empty space of silence. " Please forgive me. I didn't mean for you to show your tears."
He walked closer to her and wrapped his arms around her as she wiped her remaining tears,
" Must you leave? Cannot you tell that I am lost without you? Can't yousee that I need you by my side?"
" Do you think that you are the only person who feels like that? Don't you think that I feel like that?" She could feel his touch against her skin and she felt goosebumps rise.
" I- I cannot answer to your questions. All I know is I just want to be with you," She flustered over her words. There was nothing more she could say.
" Just because you cannot see me doesn't mean that you can't feel my love. I shall be thinking of you always."
" Then," She paused composing herself to prevent further tears. " Then I shall think of you."
She turned to face him and was greeted with a loving smile that was followed by a tight hug. After that moment they wouldn't see each other until the new buds blossomed.
" Farewell my love." He let her go and leaned closer to give her one final kiss before he began his quest. " You see that Takato? That's how I want you to do it! Now, break's over! Places everyone!"
As Syaoran went to the back of the theatre, everyone else seemed to be transfixed on the spot. What they had witnessed was something so unbelievable, it was something so magical, it was something so perfect.
" Did you see that? Did you see them? They were gonna kiss!"
" I know! Can you believe it?"
" It was like watching a real life soap!"
" Wasn't it just?"
After rehearsing the entire play, Syaoran decided that it was enough for the say; everyone was content with what had been achieved.
" Good work everyone! Check the notice board to see when the next rehearsal is."
Everyone began to back away, the lights were turned off, the props were taken off the stage and the actors changed from their costumes and removed their make up. All Syaoran had to do was watch and order students around. Simple enough. After a few minor accidents, everyone had finally finished their tasks and were half-excited to go home. Rehearsing the play had been more fun than they had previously imagined and the near kiss between Li-sensei and Sakura was still being spoken about. Neither Syaoran or Sakura had anticipated such heated discussion about the scene but it seemed to affect Sakura more than it did him.
It wasn't that she was stressed about what had happened; it was that she how she felt as it did happen and how she still felt. She wasn't desperately in love with him. She didn't become totally devoted to his every action, not at all but all that stuff she had said about 'teachers are like parents' just went out the window. There was no way that she could see him as a teacher/parent anyway, It was something about the way that he looked at her. She thought about it some more and quickly overlooked her feelings. It was all an act. He was simply acting with conviction in order for Takato to see how it was supposed the be done. Nothing else.
And yet, there was something precious in the way that he touched her that made her senses be even more alert. She told herself to calm down and firmly decided to speak to someone about it. There was only one person who she could trust with emotions like this.
" So? What do you think Tomoyo?"
" I knew that there was something different about the way you were after he spoke to you."
" Yes but what is it? I can't love him, right?"
" It's safe to say that you have a crush on him... At the very least but... I don't know. He seems to be very concerned about you," Tomoyo's voice was a little distorted through the phone.
" Concerned?"
" Like... He's always making sure that you're alright with everything, homework, the upcoming exams, just everything really."
" What should I do? It's just so strange," Sakura sighed. All this business with her teacher was playing in her mind.
" Just do what you normally do and you'll be fine. There are other people who feel the same way you do and I'm sure that he wouldn't mind having one more member in the 'I love Li-sensei' fan club."
" Hey, I resent that. I do not love him. All I know is that there's just something there. I don't know what it is but it certainly isn't love," Sakura firmly stated and almost convinced Tomoyo.
" Alright then. So, what's the matter?"
" I don't have a problem." Sakura retorted half-insulted by Tomoyo's rash question.
" So why are you phoning? If it's not love then you don't have a problem. You say you have a problem but you say it's not love, so what is it?"
" I... I don't know," Sakura replied almost tearful that she couldn't find it in herself to give a definite answer.