HALLELUJAH FOR WEEKENDS!

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You guys might find this chapter a leeetle boring, but come on, they can't jump into each other's arms just yet (or can they? lol). Anyway, enjoy, and review please!


Chapter 5: Her Stuff

Sometimes things happen and you can't be sure if they're good or bad. Sometimes you spend hours, maybe days, wondering how to label these things in your memory, until you realize you don't have to—because they've already happened anyway.

It doesn't matter if it was good or bad, Syaoran thought, stopping by the bathroom before he left the house. A tall, well-built, almost-18-year-old boy stared back at him blankly. It just… happened. He ran three fingers through his hair, but some of it still stuck up in uneven clumps.

I wonder if she even remembers what she said last night.

He'd felt it too, maybe even more than she had, but he hadn't expected her to ask him straight out. For a moment that night Syaoran had frozen, speechless. He'd already moved on, telling himself that it was nothing, but talking to her could bring it all back so easily…

That moment, he thought, locking the house door behind him. What happened there?

In novels and movies, after something like this, the hero would realize that he loved his girl, everything would be cleared up, and they'd all live happily ever after. But Syaoran only felt more confused than he'd ever been in his life. He could have walked the road to her house with his eyes closed, but he double-checked every road sign he turned at, not trusting himself to think clearly. The sun was hidden by clouds, and the air was hot and damp; a storm was waiting to let itself go.

Why do I keep remembering it anyway?

He reached her gate and pushed it open, ready to jump out of the way if another one of her traps burst open at him. She'd set a few of them around the house before, which he'd discovered the hard way after trying to go and "borrow" her textbook.

We didn't kiss or anything. We barely even touched.

Who knew she was so touchy about having intruders in her yard? He walked up the path to her door and knocked.

Maybe because it's the first time she didn't shrink away.

"Just a minute!"

He heard faint bangs and crashes from inside the house. Then Sakura yanked open the door and the excited smile on her face faded quickly.

"Oh, it's you…"

He stepped inside with a grin, used to this kind of reaction. "You were expecting someone?"

She scowled. "Just something I ordered by catalog. They said it would come today."

"Uh-huh, sure," he said, sprawling on her couch. "So where's your fridge again?"

She put her hands on her hips. "Don't act like this is your house! We're supposed to practice, right?"

He didn't get up, of course. "Correction: you're supposed to practice. I sit back and enjoy the music."

He'd put his hands behind his head when she grabbed one of the pillows from the other couch and hit him with it.

"Off my couch!"

He was about to get another pillow to shield himself when he remembered what Meiling had told him a long time ago, when she'd still been trying to hide that she liked him. (A/N: She DOESN'T like him that way, don't worry.)

"If a girl hits you, it means she likes you."

If she hits me…

The pillow slammed into his shoulder, hard. "Hey, that hurt—" She hit the side of his head this time. "—more than usual!"

"Off!"

"Okay, okay!" He rolled off the couch onto the floor, and then heaved himself to his feet. "We should start practicing already anyway."

Sakura went into her room, making sure to lock the door behind her even if she was only inside for a few seconds.

She's really hiding something in there, Syaoran thought, watching as she brought out a tape cassette player and plugged it in. I have to find out what it is.

"I found some old Disney tapes at the store, so I have the songs I'm going to sing," she said, popping a tape into the machine. "But for the real thing I'll have a minus one version, right?"

He shrugged. "Ask the electropeople. They're handling sound effects and lights."

"Electropeople…?"

"Electronic Management Crew, stop looking at me like I'm a retard."

She laughed and pressed PLAY on the machine. The music from Disney's Sleeping Beauty floated out and Syaoran say on the floor, waiting for her to start and pretending to be bored.

She stood in the center of the room and stuck her tongue out at him before lightly closing her eyes and starting to sing. As usual her voice cut through all other noise, almost inhuman in the way it resounded in his head. He found it hard to sit back and try to pick out its faults like she wanted him to, especially because she had a good ear and rarely even made pitch mistakes.

I wonder, I wonder
I wonder why each
Little bird has someone
To sing sweet things to
A gay little love—

Her voice trembled a bit, and he looked up to see that it was because she was trying not to laugh.

"What are you laughing at?"

"You look funny!" She was actually grinning.

"Funny how?"

"I don't know…" She tilted her head to one side. "You look like you're trying to figure out how many liters of fuel it would take to get to Pluto and back."

He frowned while she laughed at him. "Come on, I'm not a very musical person. It's hard to figure out the bad parts in your song."

"Then say there aren't any!"

"Back to work, princess." He rewinded the tape a bit and then played it again for her to sing to, smiling a little. Like her, he was alone most of the time because of busy parents, and he was sure they were both happy to have someone just to relax with.

…To sing sweet things to
A gay little love melody?
I wonder, I wonder
If my heart keeps singing

It feels like we've been best friends for ages, he thought, but that made him blush and so he turned his attentions back to her singing.

Will my song go winging
To someone who'll find me
And bring back a love song to me?

She finished and opened her eyes. "How was that?"

"94 percent."

"98!"

"96?"

"Fine." Letting herself fall into the sofa, she stretched and yawned dramatically. "When's the dress rehearsal?"

"Don't ask me, I never plan ahead." He dodged the pillow she threw at him and sat down across from her. "You wanna practice the other song? The one with the prince?"

"Later, later," she said, putting a hand on her forehead and closing her eyes. "You wanna be a good person and get some water for both of us?"

He was already on his feet, creeping to her bedroom door and reaching out for the knob. "Yes, okay…"

In two seconds she was in front of him with a pillow. "No."

"Sakura-chan…"

She stomped her foot and pointed to the kitchen. "Water."

"What secrets are you hiding in there?"

"Curiosity killed the cat."

"And satisfaction brought it back!" He didn't budge, and she sighed.

"Listen… it's just… really important to me, okay?"

He only raised an eyebrow and she shook her head. "Promise you won't try to get in anymore?"

"Yes, mommy. Note the sarcasm."

She was about to argue back when her face seemed to crumple and she held her hand to the side of her stomach. "This really hurts…"

He was getting a little worried about her. "Are you okay?"

She shook her head, biting her lip a little. "I have to go to the bathroom, umm…"

"Do you need a painkiller?" he asked, heading to the kitchen.

"No! No… it's okay…"

He came back out and looked at her, really looked at her. Her face was red and she looked tired, but her voice was as cutting as it always was. "It's nothing, Syaoran. I get…aches… every so often."

He stared, and then realized what it was and started to laugh. "Oh, so that's what it is. You need me to get anything…?"

"Whatever you know, you're not a girl, so don't act like one!" she snapped back.

"Juuust trying to help." He shrugged. "We study in a co-ed school. Guys find out about this stuff sooner or later."

"Whatever." She went into her room and locked the door, leaving him with nothing to do in the living room. He got up and made himself some powdered juice, but got bored very soon.

How long does it take to change? Syaoran thought, frowning as he went over to her bedroom door and knocked.

"Sakura-chan?"

No answer. He counted to ten and knocked again.

Where…? What if something happened?

"Sakura?"

What if it's not just her monthlies…? What if she collapsed or something?

"Sakura!" He pounded on her door, getting more than a bit worried this time. There was this survey thing we studied in health class, that majority of all accidents happen at home, what if I need to call an ambulance, or do CPR, or—

"Can't you wait five minutes!" she yelled back, and Syaoran sighed with relief, laughing a little at how paranoid he was. Don't act like you always have to take care of her.

"Why weren't you answering?" he called, leaning his weight on her door.

"Why are you so paranoid? I was washing my face." He heard her sit on her bed, pick something up, and put it back down. "I'll be out in a minute."

"A regular minute or a girl minute?"

"What!"

"Nothing. I forgot you're not like most girls…" He tipped his head back against the door, one knee bent.

"Thank you." More rustlings and thumps. He had no clue what she was doing in there. He waited a little, but it was hard not to be impatient. This is way longer than one minute…

Wait, for once I'm the one getting pissed off. He grinned to himself. "Done yet, princess?"

"I'm just clearing my desk a little…"

"Cleaning! Do it later!"

"No wait, I just have to find something and then I can come out."

He rolled his eyes. "Honestly, how long do you take to change while I stand out here like some kind of stupid bodyguard—"

Sakura pulled open the door.

Really, it wasn't like him to be caught off guard and to fall so hopelessly backward because he'd been leaning on it. It wasn't like him to crash into Sakura, seeing her startled expression as she sidestepped him and watched him flail for something to hold onto.

And it definitely wasn't like him to bang the back of his head on her wood flooring and watch as everything faded to black.


"Syaoran. Syaoran!"

Someone was shaking his left shoulder. His shirt and face felt wet with very cold water, and he was lying on something very hard and uncomfortable.

"Syaoran!"

He opened his eyes. "Why am I all wet?"

"Oh, God." Sakura rocked back on her heels with a sigh of relief from where she'd been sitting next to him. "Syaoran, you big idiot."

The back of his head stung. He put a hand up and felt something warm and sticky… blood! His fingers were stained red.

"Sakura, I need… to wash…" He stared at the red on his thumb, a dark spot no bigger than a nail, and felt his eyes popping out. This was his blood. The back of his head was bleeding. This was his blood.

"Are you okay?"

"Blood…" His hand started to shake a little, and as much as he wanted to look away from the horrifying red, he couldn't.

"Li-kun, are you scared of blood?"

Headbleedinggoingtodiebloodonhandmybloodnotanyoneelse'sit'sonmyhand!

"You…" Her voice sounded amazed. "Look here."

He shook his head slowly, and she put a finger under his chin and lifted it so he could look up. "You really are scared of blood," she said, looking very surprised and amused in equal parts.

He gulped down the big lump in his throat and wiped his fingers on his pants. "No, I mean…" She was sitting so near to him that her knees were brushing his leg.

She shook her head. "It's okay."

Why do I have to start liking this girl!

He'd admitted it to himself, so it was okay now to think those kind of thoughts about her, Syaoran concluded. He blinked hard. Sakura was getting up to go to the bathroom and muttering something about band aids, and he suddenly noticed that finally he was in her room. He looked around, seeing a normal single bed, student desk, closet, and bookshelf.

Then he turned to see the shelf behind him, and his eyes grew wide.

"…well I don't know if you want to put a band aid there because it'll stick to your hair, but anyway, here's a wet tissue to wipe it and…" she trailed off, realizing he wasn't listening to her. "Do you want to get infected or not!"

Syaoran turned and pointed. "Where did you get these?"

Carefully positioned on the shelf behind him were dozens of glass animals, each of them sparkling beautifully. He stood up and went to get a closer look, not bothering to count all of them as he lifted a few and held them up. Sakura reached out and picked up a glass horse, balancing its rearing form on her palm.

"I've had them for ages," she said, voice barely above a whisper. "My parents used to give me one for every birthday, but then I started collecting them on my own."

"They're amazing," Syaoran breathed. "How many do you have?"

She shrugged. "Around 30, maybe."

He shook his head in wonder, tapping the head of a glass puppy. "This is what you were hiding?"

She nodded. "I haven't let anyone else in my room since 6th grade."

There was even a dragon with some red fire glass coming out of its mouth. "But why would you want to hide them? The others would find them cool," he said truthfully, thinking of how expensive they probably were.

Sakura frowned. "That's just it." She slid her finger along the last row of animals, stopping at an empty space in the corner. "In 5th grade I brought my whole collection along for show-and-tell. I had around 13 of these that time." She tapped the empty space. "And someone stole one of my animals."

"No way!" Syaoran almost dropped the dragon.

"Yeah. The worst part is, I was a kid that time and I can't even remember which one it was. I think it might be a songbird." She looked almost mad at herself, tapping the shelf space harder and harder. "Since then I haven't showed these to anyone. It took me a long time to collect them, because the usual shops sell the same things over and over again, and I don't want to lose another one."

"Thanks for showing me, then."

She looked up at him and laughed. "You fell into my room and blacked out, it's the least I can do." Their eyes met, and he saw her blush. "Listen, I can practice the duet with the person who's singing it, okay?"

"Okay," he said slowly. "I guess I'll go now."

It was the wrong thing to say. He saw her smile falter just a little bit. "Oh, if you have stuff to do, okay." She wanted me to stay?

"Okay," he repeated, nodding stupidly. He looked down and saw the glass dragon was still in his hand. "Thanks. Again. I mean, for showing me all this."

He felt better when that smile came back to her face. "It's nothing. Just don't steal any of them."

"I'd probably get better ones at the toy store, thank you very much."

She rolled her eyes and he laughed, walking over to the front door. Sakura watched, looking particularly lonely as he opened it and stood on the porch.

"Hey, Syaoran?"

"Yes?" He turned.

"Did I fall asleep when you were talking to me last night?"

He looked down. Did she remember? "Yeah, it's okay."

"Oh." She was blushing now. "I say weird things when I'm falling asleep, right? Did I say anything really stupid?"

For a moment he felt like telling her, and then decided it would be mean to embarrass her that way. "Nope, nothing stupid at all." That was true, anyway.

"Thanks." She nodded. He nodded, and turned to go with a little wave. "See you on Monday."

"See you."

It was very nice to have a girl standing at her door, watching you walk away from her.


PACKAGE DELIVERY RECEIPT

Description: One (1) bird figurine, glass made with a stone base.

Sender: Li Syaoran

Received by: Kinomoto Sakura


Oh yeah. My MOM asked if she could read this fic. I had to say no, I mean... mom and CCS? lol. REVIEWS PLEASE!