Just to hear your voice
Sakura walked, a slight skip in her step as her head bobbed to the beat of the music playing in her ears as she made her way down the street towards her destination. She was surprised at how many people were up in the morning and she had to remind herself that some people did go to work on a regular basis.
She walked into the rather empty bookstore pulling the headphones off her ears as she briefly browsed the aisles for a good read when someone caught her eye. She peered over the top of the low shelf at the rather tall man across the store. He was just about the same height and he had the same black hair that little girl in her dream did. Could he…no, she was being ridiculous, of course this man wasn't her husband to be just because he was fairly tall and had black hair didn't mean a thing. Besides, she'd seen him here a million times before, it was just that stupid dream putting images in her head.
Sakura shook her head to clear her mind and made her way to the front desk, greeting the young man she knew so well with a warm smile.
"Good morning Sora."
"Good morning Sakura, I was surprised when you answered the phone, I wasn't expecting you to be up for another few hours."
"Why does every one seem so surprised to see me awake!"
"Is that a rhetorical question?"
Sakura sighed incredulously giving Sora a halfhearted glare. "Ha. Ha, now, I believe you said something about seeing a book with my name on it?"
"Yes I did, and you want to know what else I saw?"
"Not really"
"I saw you checking out that guy over there in the business section."
Sakura could feel her face heat up as she took the paid for book from Sora's hands. "Excuse me?"
Sora chuckled, "Come on, I know you well enough to know when something's up. And you've seen Kiriyama-san in here plenty of times and never given him a second glance. I mean he's hot and all and I always thought you were crazy for overlooking him but you're a little late to the party don't you think?"
"I- What the hell are you talking about! I was not checking him out and keep your voice down will you!" Sakura sighed turning her face away from the direction the object of their conversation was standing in. "Now if you don't mind, I have my book and I'm leaving."
Sora only smiled, "Alright, should I give Kiriyama- san your phone number?"
"NO! And if it interests you so much, I only took a second look at him because he had black hair ok"
Sora smirked coyly, leaning forward on the counter running a hand through his dark locks. "So, you like black hair huh?"
Sakura only rolled her eyes shoving Sora back off the counter, "Good bye Sora, I'd hate to think what your boyfriend would say if I told him you were hitting on someone else, a girl no less." Sakura laughed at his distraught face, giving him a friendly wave before leaving.
The whole walk home Sakura couldn't stop thinking about it, and it seemed every male with black hair that walked by here caught her eye, and every man with brown hair seemed to immediately take on Syaoran's face. "Ugh! Is no one safe to look at!"
She eventually just decided to keep her head down to follow the curves and cracks of the gray sidewalk, not really following where they were taking her just that they were leading her somewhere she could sit quietly undisturbed and enjoy her new book. This place, just happened to be Kaho's Kafe and Sakura sighed sadly at the emptiness the place now reminded her of as she walked to the counter.
"Good morning Sakura. The usual?"
"Thanks Brian."
Neither spoke as the young man made her usual. The drink and money exchanging hands without so much of a word.
Sakura sat on a large chair in a far corner of the café next to where the stage was a few nights ago her eyes never moving from the space where he had once sat singing for her. A small vibration in her back pocket ripped her from her thoughts as she pulled out the cell phone answering it with a smile.
"Syaoran!"
"Hey Sakura, uh, how's it going?"
"It's going pretty good I guess. I um-just got a new book this morning"
"But isn't it like 9:30 in the morning over there?"
"Yeah so?"
"Oh, I just thought-"
"That I'd be sleeping? Yeah, You and like six other people."
Syaoran laughed, "So why ya up so early? Is the apocalypse near?"
"Ha, ha very funny Syaoran. No I just had a…weird dream. That's all"
"Bad weird, interesting weird or funny weird."
"I don't know, just…weird. Interesting weird maybe?"
"Want to talk about it?"
"Not really. But um, hey, any particular reason for the call?"
"Um…not really, just… wanted to say 'Hi' I guess, and that I got back safely. Did Eriol tell you that he's coming over here in a few days?"
"No, he hasn't but I guess that means I should be getting a distressed call from Tomoyo sometime today huh?"
"I would think so." There was a slight pause before Syaoran spoke again. "They really love each other huh?"
"Yeah…they do…"
"Look Sakura, I-"
"I know"
"Can I say it anyway?"
"…I don't know…"
"Sakura. I- I'll always be your friend"
Sakura sighed, holding in her mixed emotions in, a quiet sob leaking I her voice as she whispered a quiet "I know" It was the only thing he could say to her. The only safe thing. The only thing he could say without sending everything she had tried so desperately to piece back together into a tailspin. "I'll always be your friend too."
"Don't cry"
"I'm not crying"
"Yes you are"
Sakura sniffed as a smile came to her lips. "Didn't your mother ever tell you not to make girls cry?"
"I think I must have missed that lecture."
"Figures."
"So…what book did you get?"
" 'The Summer Country' By James A. Hetley'"
"Is it any good?"
"I don't know, I was just about to start it when a certain someone called."
"Do you want me to hang up?"
"...Not really"
"Read to me. Then you can enjoy your book and I can hear your voice"
Sakura blushed at the comment. "That's why you called? To hear my voice?"
Syaoran smiled slightly on the other end, finding a comfortable position where he was sitting. "That's only part of the reason."
"You'll be bored."
"I promise I wont."
"…Alright. Fine. But only for a little bit." Sakura heard him chuckle on the other end before agreeing and she cleared her throat and began. "Chapter one. 'That man was still following her. A gust of sleet stung Maureen's face when she glanced back into the night…'"
"Sakura there you are! I've been looking all over for you! But every time I tried to call your cell it was busy."
Sakura looked up from her book telling the person on the other end she had to go before memorizing that she was on page 103 and closed the book giving Tomoyo her undivided attention. "Sorry I was reading."
"And talking on the phone? I thought you hated to be disturbed when you're reading."
"Well, I was reading to him."
"Who's him?"
"…Syaoran"
Tomoyo's eyes widened at the revelation. "Syaoran called you! Oh my god! What did he say? What did you say? Was it really so awkward that you started reading to him!"
"We didn't really say much to each other…he just called to say he got there safely."
"And you couldn't find anything better to say other then, 'want me to read you a book so I don't actually have to talk to you?"
"Its nothing like that. I just wanted to read, and he wanted to hear my voice-"
"Aww that's so sweet!"
"-so I just read to him. I kept asking him if he was bored but he just said no all the time so I kept reading. It was only supposed to be like a chapter or something but he got into it and I just kept reading. I didn't even realize how far into the book I was when you came in. I just read to him and then occasionally we would talk and then read and…I'm sorry, you wanted to talk to me, my new phone doesn't have call waiting so I didn't know."
"I can't believe you just read the entire time!"
"We did not! I told you, we talked too."
"Oh how devious, Sakura, having an affair on the side with a mysterious man over the phone."
"Tomoyo!"
"Ha ha, you know I'm just joking around Sakura."
"Uh huh, so, you wanted to talk to me about something?"
Suddenly Tomoyo's cheerful demeanor melted as she launched into a fit of incomprehensible wails.
"Tomoyo, calm down. Jeez, I'm surprised I could even understand any of that. It's only for a little while right? He'll be back in a week or two right? Come on, its not like you're totally lost without him right?"
"But Sakura, what if he meets some hot Chinese chick while he's over there and forgets all about me! What then! What if he never comes back!"
"Tomoyo, you're being stupid. This is totally unlike you. You know Eriol would never do that."
"But what if-"
"No, no what ifs. You know he's totally in love with you and you're just being irrational. Come on, usually you're the one telling me 'come on Sakura, just because she had black hair doesn't mean he does too. Stop jumping to conclusions'"
"Sakura…what the hell are you talking about hair for?"
Sakura sputtered realizing her slip up, grasping at straws in an attempt to patch the hole in her thoughts she had just leaked out.
"Sakura, is there something you want to tell me?"
"Its just an analogy Tomoyo! A-na-lo-gy. Anyways, Uh, I have to go! Dad wanted me back home to get my packing started."
"Packing? Now you're leaving me too!"
"Of course not, you're coming with me."
Tomoyo looked at her surprised, trying to connect the invisible dots in her head. "…W- what?"
"Yeah, you know how I'm not allowed to know anything about this whole marriage thing? Well we're taking a plane tomorrow to only God knows where for preparations and all that good stuff and you're coming with me whether you like it or not. Cause honestly I don't know what I would do if I were left alone like-"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, back up a step sister. You're telling me, that you are leaving when to…wherever it is tomorrow!"
"Day after"
"Day after tomorrow to get married!"
"…Yeah. Well we're leaving the day after tomorrow, and then we're getting there and we get a day to kind of settle in and relax and get used to everything, and then Thursday we finalize preparations, I meet his family, sign the official papers to make it legal and all that jazz, and then Friday is the actual day."
"I thought you weren't supposed to know anything about this."
"Oh I'm not, I snuck a peek at the schedule that Uncle Youji faxed dad last night."
"But you still have no idea where you're going?"
"Nope, dad probably already knows by now and just needed the schedule or something…I don't know. I don't know anything that's going on except that I can bring one friend for support, - and I think also to keep me from totally freaking out at the mystery of it all- and I need my best friend with me. So you're coming with me whether you like it or not!"
Wow…I wrote this like…… 4 months ago and it wasn't till an anonymous reviewer (who I really wish wasn't anonymous so I could thank them) just commented and reminded me ." I'm so sorry this took me so long to post up.
One chapter to go. For seriously. And with my lack of summer activities, I see much writing in my future. I can't believe it's been almost a year since i first started writing this. I deffinatly thought i'd get it done before now, but what are ya gonna do. I'll def. have this done before july 22 though
Thank you for sticking it out with me this long. I'm SO uber sorry for the wait. I hope you liked it. Please review